Monday, January 31, 2011

falling rainbow

yellow t - My Favorite Tee (Younkers)
green t - Old Navy
skirt - from YesStyle
green socks - Sockdreams



Sometimes I have days where I feel I need to wear Every Colour (oops, sorry orange).  And then nothing happens all day, so I draw myself upside down to make it at least a little exciting.  Tada!

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Saturday, January 29, 2011

booksale bliss






This is our Lys after a used book sale at the library.  Only, she actually couldn't have held all her new books in her arms like this—reality was a huge, heeeaaavy paper bag with tons of great stuff inside!  One of my favourites was an edition of Beauty and the Beast with an unassuming cover of green-leafy design (it had lost its slipcover).  The illustrations inside (by Hilary Knight) are just lovely!!  I also got a Cinderella book by the same illustrator, but I didn't realize it until I got home.  Here's a link to the Beauty and the Beast book—you can zoom in on the cover and get an idea of its prettiness.

In other news, I love children's books.  And I need a new bookshelf for them.

Friday, January 28, 2011

improv neapolitan

earrings - WAR Chest
sweater - AĆ©ropostale
lace shirt - f21
skirt - Fresh Brewed (Younkers)
brown shoe - Airwalk





We had an improv event thingy at my church!  I was expecting that this would be an improv troupe(?) performing, with some audience participation here and there, but it ended up being the two improv-people giving prompts and all of us were the performers.  Eek!! They got me to participate in one skit (though I did not actually pose dramatically like this).  I got to play the part of a third grader visiting the Grand Canyon!

The outfit theme—can you guess it?  It's neapolitan ice cream!  Or neapolitan candy.  Ooh, I remember in elementary school we did a unit on Space and Astronauts and stuff, and I got to taste some freeze-dried(?) neapolitan ice cream(???).  It was pretty radical to me, and that's still the first thing that comes to mind when I think "neapolitan."  I wonder if they sell that stuff somewhere...

Thursday, January 27, 2011

bus adventure

hat and yellow sweater - Target
turquoise sweater - American Eagle
pants - Wet Seal
boots - Little Laundry


This... is when... I had to... run... after a... bus—through the snow, but I couldn't catch it, and the next one didn't come for another hour, so I had to walk all the way to the other bus stop I needed to get to (instead of transferring from the bus I was chasing) so I could visit my friend at college.  I learned two things: one is that I am not used to running and ran out of breath pathetically quickly and spent the rest of the walk feeling like I was gonna die, and two is that it's not that far to the other bus stop, only a brisk half-hour walk or so.  I do like living downtown.  It's a good city, my city.

Also, that pain in my guts that makes me feel like death isn't something I enjoy, but as it gradually subsides I realize what a great feeling it is to not have pain, and I can be thankful.  So it's a good experience overall, I think!

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

rebellious hair

sweater and shirt - Old Navy
capris - UnionBay
socks - Sock It To Me (SockDreams)
shoes - Apple Bottoms






Why do you look worried, lys?  I wonder...  Maybe because I wasn't happy with my hair.  It's going through a phase, you see.  Rebellious and all that.  One day it'll grow up and learn to be more responsible...

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

the cat came back

shirt - Arizona (JC Penny)
skirt - YesStyle
tights - Gap











And the very next day... I got back to work with a new lettering project!  A Korean comic about a traveling cat!  I got really excited working on it because it's visually gorgeous—whimsical watercolour-ish illustrations with an amazing range of colours.  There was a night-sky scene that was so beautiful, I couldn't help wanting to replicate it a little with this outfit.

Monday, January 24, 2011

work casualty

skirt - YesStyle | socks - Sockdreams | lace shirt - f21 | cami - American Eagle
Aftermath!!!  After staying up I-dare-not-say-how-late (ahem, 6:30am) finishing a project, this is how I spent the rest of the day.  I don't know what to say except that I was really happy to finally have a deadline again, after many months of being sort-of-working-on-things-but-not-able-to-finish-them, and so got a bit carried away making sure I absolutely met my deadline without fail.  Aaah.  It's such a great feeling to finish things.

Anyway, I'm going to point to this incident as the reason I got a li'l behind with updating here.  It'll probably happen again whenever my next big deadline comes along, so be aware.  But I'll always come back, you know!!

Sunday, January 23, 2011

lys-de-lys

jacket - So (Kohl's)
skirt - YesStyle
tights - JC Penny
socks - Sockdreams
red earrings - f21








Fleur-de-lys socks!  That is all.

(I forgot to finish a part of this drawing too.  Darn it...)

Saturday, January 22, 2011

sailor scavenger

dress - Bodyline
tights - f21
shoes - American Eagle (Payless)




Noooooo I forgot to colour the tail of the bow in the back of the dress!  Oh well, moving on.

This day I spent mostly in pajamas, working on work.  Then around, I dunno, 4 or 5pm I decided I should get dressed because we were going to my parents' for dinner.  And after spending all day feeling like a bum in pjs, I needed a drastic change!  So I dressed up in frills.  Man, tons of frills, as I realized while drawing the outfit later.  I still had time to get work done, so I loaded up the convenient heart-pockets on the dress with dried pineapple and pecans and set back to work.  (yes, my eating habits tend toward scavenging most days.)

I've had a slightly odd fascination with sailor outfits for a while now.  My cousin and I have an ongoing joke about dressing our future-someday children in snappy little Victorianesque sailor suits.  Ooh, the precious-ness!  Until such time as I have a child to dress up, I guess I have to make do with dressing up myself.  Therefore, this dress is awesome :D

Friday, January 21, 2011

awesome sandwiches

shirt - AĆ©ropostale
cami - Express
skirt - Wet Seal
tights - Forever21
earrings/necklace - friend-made!



Foodie pose number two!  This was actually a day full of great food, with a Salad Extravaganza dinner at my friend's place and all kinds of yummy toppings for our mounds of green leaves.  For lunch I went out with my mum to a local place that serves amazing, awesome food (Marie Catrib's, for my fellow locals) and you know what I got?  I got an awesome sandwich!  (with gluten free bread!  Marie, I love you!!)  My mum got a different awesome sandwich, and then we traded half.  And then I ate both my half-sandwiches, because they were both so delicious I couldn't bear to save one or the other for later.  *contented sigh at the memory*

Thursday, January 20, 2011

curry noodles

lace shirt - Nicole Miller
yellow shirt - Mudd
sweater dress - Wet Seal
skirt - Fire (Kohl's)
tights - Forever21
socks - Sockdreams


This is part one of a food-pose series!  Lys Making Curry-Noodle-Stuff!  I love noodles but have been afflicted with various food allergies and intolerances and generally try to avoid wheat/gluten and dairy.  Which are in, like, everything.  So how happy I was to discover rice noodles at my local Asian grocery store (and they're soooo cheap too)!  For a while I only used them in specific recipes like pad thai, but since moving out and living with my brother I find myself doing more "improv" cooking for my dinners.  One of my recent favourite things to make is this curry-pad-thai-ish dish with chicken, zucchini, spinach, onions and garlic and a sauce made of curry powder, yogurt (the one dairy food I allow myself), soy or almond milk and some peanut butter.  Sometimes I toss in dried coconut and usually a bit of cayenne pepper or something to spice it up.  Chicken-zucchini-spinach with rice noodles and spaghetti sauce is also very good.  Oh food, I love you.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

not warm

sweater - So
pin - came w/ jacket from Weathervane
skirt - Old Navy
socks - American Eagle
Sometimes sweaters aren't very warm.  Aaaaand... I can't think of anything else to say about this one.  The end!

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

chase the cat!!!!!!

green shirt - Old Navy
skirt - American Eagle (secondhand)
socks - Sockdreams
tights - JCPenny

My cat and I have this game we play in the evenings, anytime from around 6pm to midnight.  It's called "Chase the cat out of my room and halfway down the stairs, then go sit down and wait for him to come tearing into my room and crashing into the mirror or plant stand, then chase him again."  He seems to enjoy it, so I try to be accommodating, but sometimes he wants to play this game when I'm in work mode and it's very distracting.  The best part for me is the way his eyes get huge and black and ferocious-looking.  Such a cat!

Monday, January 17, 2011

options

shirt - Arizona (JCPenny)
green skirt - A. Byer
pink skirt - Wet Seal
socks - Sockdreams
barrette - dollar store






This is my dilemma.  I got lazy for a few days and didn't write down what I wore alongside the drawing, and then when I went back I had to figure it out based on the drawing and my memory.  It's usually not a problem because I've trained my brain to remember frivolous details like that, but when I got to this drawing I could not for the life of me remember what pair of tights I'd worn.  So I made three different versions—the yellow tights as you see here, the same outfit with pink tights, and with blue tights.  Now for your assignment: please write a five-paragraph essay and explain which you like best, OR which you think Lys was most likely to have actually worn, and why.

Sunday, January 16, 2011

falling through winter

sweater - The Great American Sweater Co.
skirt - friend-made!
socks - American Eagle?
I don't wear this sweater more than maybe once a year or so... I wonder why?  In any case, it was perfect with this new skirt!  Nice muted colours, my favourite for winter.

Friday, January 14, 2011

golden bubbles

tshirts - Mossimo (Target) and My Favorite Tee (Younkers)
cami - Energie (Kohl's?)
skirt - Old Navy
tights - Gap
earrings/necklace - handmade by friend

Thursday, January 13, 2011

where does it go?

top - In Vain (Kohl's)
lace shirt - ? (YesStyle)
grey shirt - Target
skirt - StringBean (secondhand)
tights - Express and Forever21
I would be grateful if you could forgive the slightly odd proportions in this drawing.  Lately I keep starting my drawings too close to the bottom of the page, but I hate cutting off the feet, so I just did my best to make it fit. And it looks a little weird.  Sorry. Hopefully the lace pattern on the tights is enough to distract you!!  Isn't it cool looking?

Oh, there was some "concept" I had in mind when I drew the pose... what was it?  Oh yeah, right, I was looking back trying to figure out where my day went. It went to doing work, that's where! But sometimes I get so wrapped up in a project that I forget about everything else and before I know it, it's 3am and I'm still working. Those are fun times.




By the way, I know I skipped a couple days' posts, but they'll be up... soon.  Probably after the weekend, because right now I'm in Deadline Mode and anything I do that's not work or eating or sleeping makes me feel guilty and anxious.

Wednesday, January 12, 2011

twirling roses

dress - Bodyline
tights - Forever21
shoes - Rocket Dog (Younkers)






Fluffy dress fluffy dress!!  This was another  recent purchase (along with the blue print dress a few days back).  It is my favourite ever—it's got such a nice full skirt and a cute rose print!  I think if I did this colour combo again I'd switch it around, with dark tights and a brighter top.

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Sunday, January 9, 2011

self conscious sweaterdress

blouse, tights- H&M
sweaterdress - WetSeal
earrings - Forever21
sweater - TakeOut (Kohl's)
shoes - Vigoss (JCPenny)




So I was like, totally happy with this outfit when I put it together.  But then my mum saw me at church wearing it and was like, "Are you sure about that?" and I spent the rest of the day all self-conscious and distressed.  Sweater dresses are a little tricky to pull off, I guess.  But I liiiike them!

But I still like the colour and texture combinations.  I had like four shades of off-white going on there.

Saturday, January 8, 2011

grumpy chocolate day

blue shirt - ? (Younkers)
cami - Express
brown shirt - Wet Seal
capris - UnionBay (Kohl's)
tights - Forever21
legwarmers - Target?

So I was a little grumpy this day.  I addressed this problem by eating some chocolate (but I promise I only broke off one square... or maybe two) and reading manga that made me cry and knitting.  I am making these and right now they look like this!  Awesome, huh?  Hopefully they'll be awesome.  I need to get around to finishing them though.  Go lys go!!

Friday, January 7, 2011

lovely lace

lacy top - energie, from Kohl's clearance rack
purple t - American Eagle
jeans - l.e.i, Kohl's—years old and I love them to pieces (really)







I got myself in lace mode with the blouse from the previous outfit.  And I realized I hadn't worn this shirt more than once or twice since buying it!!  Oops.  So, casual frilly day!  My dear grey jeans ripped a little more while I was wearing them, boo.  I may just have to put a patch on them.

Thursday, January 6, 2011

lace ninja

blouse - Bodyline (Japanese budget-lolita(?) brand)
skirt - Old Navy
tabi socks - Tabbisocks
crystal earrings - Forever21





I don't know what this outfit is. A frilly lacy blouse and then a double layer of socks... what with the layered tabi socks and kneesocks, I kinda felt like a ninja or something. I don't know if that makes sense to anyone besides me, but...

Also, a kind reader asked if I could list brands for the clothes I'm wearing, so from now on I'll give it a try (for the things I can remember anyway)! Anyone who's interested, see the caption below the image!

The tights and kneesocks probably came from Kohl's or something, but it's been forever. Also, if you wantcoloured bobbypins, I made mine by painting some plain ones I had with nailpolish. Super easy.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

hataraki lys





And THEN!

I got the materials I needed to move forward on a work project, so I spent the day in roughly this position staring at my computer screen. Why do I default to such an uncomfortable (and probably unhealthy) position? I dunno, but it makes me feel productive...

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

comfort over frills




The problem with those lovely frilly dresses is that they're all (at least the ones I've got cutely short-sleeved and thin material. And it's winter here. And winter is cold.  So after spending a day in ruffles and lace I needed to go back to something comfy-cozy and easy to curl up under blankets in.  My good ol' tan skirt is just the thing for such an occasion!  Layer it up!

Monday, January 3, 2011

blueberry princess






See, this is why watching movies full of frilly lacy wonderful dresses is dangerous—it makes me want to wear them too!! I found a Japanese company that sells dresses at a very reasonable price—$20-30 for a lot of their pieces right now, rather than the $200+ that brands like BTSSB charge. So... I ordered a couple... few... You'll see the rest around here soon, I'm sure. (once I get my iron from my parents' place! There are some wrinkles that need fixin' up!)

Sunday, January 2, 2011

fluffy skirts for all!

Sorry for being a slacker with the last outfit.  Here's a nice fun outfit to make up for it!  Fluffy skirts make everything better, right?  I realized later the olive-dark pink colour scheme rather resembles the last outfit.

I've been using my brother's tablet to colour these last few posts.  I haven't determined whether it's faster or not, but it's really fun!  And I like not having to change my brush size when I want to colour a small area—I just don't press as hard with the tablet pen.  (Stylus? whatever it's called.)  Maybe someday I'll be skilled enough to actually draw with the tablet.  For now I still prefer pencil and paper for that.

Saturday, January 1, 2011

nothing new for the new year

Eheheheh.  Nothing to see here... I spent the night at my parents' and didn't bring a change of clothes, so I had to wear the same thing again.  And then when I got home around 2pm (after the traditional visit to the Bargain Bookstore (they have a half-off-everything sale every New Year's Day)), I didn't feel like changing with half the day already gone and no plans to do anything or go anywhere (aside from a quick run to my friends' place to check on their guinea pigs, and they couldn't care less what I was wearing).  So I just curled up with my blankets and read manga all day.