de facto redhead

Pants, Tahari via Winners; sweater, White + Warren, thrifted; belt, Liz Claiborne, thrifted; bracelet, Forever 21; earrings, vintage.

Before I started work at the pharmacy, I did not own a pair of basic black pants. (What did I need THOSE for??!) I was told I would need these as part of the professional-wear dress code, so the night before I left Burlington for Espanola, I, naturally, hit the mall in a panic. Shopping for black pants is the worst. For me, it’s right up there with bra and bathing-suit shopping – ugh! Question: why do so many stores sell pants sans belt loops? And why, if belt loops are incorporated, are they made for wide belts? Smart Set, I’m talking to you. There are also the bad, bad, polyester-blend pants and the wide-bootleg pants. Oh, and the pants with misplaced back pockets and/or seams. And on and on and on. It was Suzy Shier-esque madness.

Out of desperation, I settled on the pants pictured above, even though they are a bit big in the waist. They were the best material (as far as feel and look) I could find, they have a straight-leg cut, they have an appropriate inseam for a modest heel, they have a flattering back, and they have normal-sized belt loops. I didn’t like the price ($50), but, like I said, desperation. Or is it possible I am just too picky? Let me do a mental poll of what I think my friends and family would say…yep, it’s confirmed. But, come on, people, mama’s got standards!

Shoes, Aldo; tights, Fruit of the Loom; skirt, Rodier, thrifted; top, Smart Set; belt, Liz Claiborne, thrifted; earrings, Ardene; ring, The Bay; necklace, vintage.

This shirt is reversible. Scooped back or scooped neckline – the choice is mine!

Well, here I am in Espanola, on my parents’ back deck. I have been living here for the past month while I train in my new job of pharmacy assistant. Say what? Yes, I have another new job, and it’s actually a precursor to the pharmacy technician program I have decided to sign up for. I start my course in May, in North Bay, but for now am based in Espanola. So not only have I moved in the past few weeks, I have also been working toward becoming a new kind of professional that requires, of course, a certain type of workplace attire. (I actually have to wear scrubs when I start school. Um, scrubs?!?!). Anyway, it’s been a whirlwind of schedules and chaos over here, and I warn you not to come any closer unless you are equipped with a bottle of wine under each arm. This is the hard truth, people.

This picture looks wildly out of place in light of the fact that spring is just around the corner, but there is a reason I chose it and, wait for it, it’s…LEGENDARY. OK, maybe not Barney Stinson legendary (who could ever live up that?!), but it IS news of a certain calibre. Darcy and I have moved – again – and this time we have trekked our way north, to North Bay. When I announced this at the store over a month ago, the reactions were of disappointment and some general joking that my life would pretty much be a mirror image of what’s happening in the comic above. Snow! Polar bears! Ice floes! DEATH. I, however, have decided not to die, and in a concerted effort to avoid husky Arctic men with kidnapping on the brain, am planning on embracing my new life in “the Gateway to the North.”

Now, why did we move? Well, you will notice that I started taking tripod-assisted pictures of myself this past summer, and this was because I lost my personal photographer when Darcy started a new job in our hometown of Espanola. Cue a tiring weekend commute for the next nine months and the end of our photography sessions together. It was quickly becoming pretty clear to us that moving away from Burlington was the best choice for what we wanted out of our lives, and since Darcy’s job allows for a certain flexibility between a few northern Ontario cities, we chose North Bay as the most exciting option. Neither of us have lived here before, and we are ready to settle in to our new home! (It has not escaped me that my last post was about our apartment in Burlington – a few people have asked me about my timing, and, well, my house happened to be clean before we started packing, and I hadn’t posted about the Burlington home yet, so why not then? Anyway, now you can look forward to new pictures that will be posted, oh, approximately a year from now.)

What about you, dear readers? Is anyone else on the move? Thinking about it? I can give you the name of a great company in Toronto that puts together moving-box bundles for a very decent price, and I can also regale you with campfire tales of moving about once a year for the past 11 years. The laughs! The horrors! The tears! But, oh, the memories…!