Betty Draper Hair

Cardigan: J Crew
Tank: Old Navy
Skirt: RW&Co
Shoes: Aerosoles
Sunglasses: Burberry

Long time readers will know that I'm obsessed with Mad Men and Betty Draper's style. I've been growing out my hair for the last few months just so I can recreate Betty's fabulous 60's hair style. Today, I gave a Betty hairdo a shot, using this tutorial. It's hard to tell what the end result looks like as my hair is so dark but I think some front sections look Betty Draper-ish but the back is a hot mess. I still have some really short layers that need to grow out. My Betty Draper hair is a work in progress. . .

Score for KDot!

T-shirt: J Crew
Skirt: Old Navy
Flip flops: Simply Vera from Kohl's - It's nice to have a "better" version of the flip flop than my $1 Old Navy plastic version.
Hat: Forever 21

This t-shirt is actually a boy's shirt. I got the idea from Dina who has the same tee. During J Crew's last big sale, the had 30% off plus free shipping on Crewcuts. It was such a great deal, that I thought I'd give the boys section a try and see how boy sizes fits. The verdict: a boys' size 14 fits me perfectly. I expect to be wearing a few more boys shirts. They have cute prints, are cheaper than "grown up" tees and Crewcuts always have free shipping. Score for KDot!

KDot and RDog do Seattle Tourist Style

On our last full day in Seattle, RDog had some free time so we headed out to do the touristy thing.

While we were walking downtown, I was starving and spotted this strawberry in a store window. I HAD to have it. I had never been to Godiva before but I knew it would be a little pricey but a nice treat. I headed in, asked the cashier to wrap it up, took out my wallet and had a shock. Eight dollars for ONE strawberry! By this point, I was committed so I sucked it up and paid the eight bucks. This is the most expensive piece of fruit I have eaten.

Incidentally, after I took my first bite, two huge chunks of chocolate fell off, one landing on the floor and the other landing on my new J Crew pants. Ironically, the strawberry cost more than my pants as I found them in Bellevue for $9.99 + 30% off.

We then boarded on to the monorail, which was neat. It's like a slow subway but up high instead of underground. We went down to the Space Needle.

Here is RDog checking out the space needle.

And I'm just chilling out by this tree. (T-shirt: J Crew, Pants: J Crew, Flipflops: Simply Vera from Kohl's, bag: Burberry).

Unfortunately, we were not able to go up the space needle as the line up was huge and we only had two free hours of free time.

Later that night, RDog's boss treated us to tickets to a baseball game. It was the Mariners versus the Red Sox. Our seats were only 6 rows back which was really neat. I had only been to one baseball game before. In 2003, we went to see the Blue Jays in Toronto but had the highest seats in the stadium. The players looked liked little ants. It was nice to be close to the action.

That's the end of my Seattle pictures. I had a great week and if given the opportunity, I would go again. Thank you everyone who gave me recommendations on what to do and where to go.

KDot in Seattle - Day Four

This was the day that I explored the city on my own.

I took Lottie's recommendations and went to The Crumpet Shop (crumpet with lemon curd = yum) and Daiso (neat treasures). Thanks Lottie!

I also went to Anthrolpologie for the first time and fell in love. I spent two hours in the store! It is such a girly place and right up my alley.

After two hours, I splurged and bought a dress and it wasn't even on sale. It is so unique and fits me to a tee. It is the tea cup dress!


No real life modeling pictures today because I'm a hot, sticky, sweaty mess. Somehow I managed to spill a white freezie all over me. Freezies are really sticky. I keep on washing sticky spots but then I find another. I think the only remedy is a shower. Yuck, the spot where my arms rest when I type is sticky too.

I Like It

Dress: Winners - Normally, I would belt this dress but on a hot day like today, a belt would be a sweat catcher. Gross, but true.
Hat: Forever 21 - Once again, I'm raiding the men's section for hats for my pumpkin head.
Shoes: Old Navy - I can't believe I had these shoes for years before wearing them. I was too scared of the color. Now I wear them all the time with anything. That's what blogging makes you do; feel braver!

Today's post title comes from the Enrique Iglesias song, "I Like It", which is stuck in my head. The song uses a line from a classic Lionel Ritchie 80's son, "All Night Long," so I find myself switching my humming from song to song.

KDot in Seattle - Day Three

Another day, another Nordstrom (and Nordstrom Rack). During the day, the girls did more shopping while the husbands worked. At night, RDog and I went on a sunset cruise. Even though I didn't lug my big Nikon camera with me, my tiny Casio still got some decent shots.

A sunset makes everything look pretty.

"Meow, meow, MEOW!"

T-shirt: Joe Fresh
Pants: J Crew (thrifted) I love their retro feel.
Shoes: Old Navy

Today I'm trying to get back in the groove of home life. The cats are trying to get their groove back too. They went on vacation as well and spent last week with RDog's grandfather and uncle at their seaside cottage. By all accounts, it was a good week but I think the two cats are happy to be home.

I went out today to do some errands (groceries and odds and ends). I was gone for maybe an hour. I arrived home to find Kitty charging down the stairs, screaming, "Meow, meow, MEOW!" Which in her language means, "Where were you? How dare you leave me alone AGAIN!" Don't worry Kitty. Soon we will have our summer mornings; snuggling in bed, drinking coffee, and watching Cityline.

Going on vacation is great but coming home is always better . . .

KDot in Seattle - Day Two

On our first full day in Seattle, the girls and I hit the shops. The three wives traveled to Seattle with the men and shopped while they worked!

I was on a mission to find RDog a Burberry coat that he had been drooling over for about a year. Burberry is a hard label to find in our part of the world. We checked Nordstrom's and knew that they carried this jacket and it was on sale. Unfortunately, the downtown Seattle location did not have it in stock. So off we went to Bellevue to hit the mall there.

Nordstrom's did not have RDog's jacket but they did have Burberry make-up. We spend at least an hour with the Burberry makeup girl, trying and buying. One of the wives I was traveling with is a make-up connoisseur (she knows her stuff!). She said it was really high quality make-up. I just wanted to get a lipstick to match my purse!

Then I popped in the Burberry store and there it was . . .

He was a happy boy. (Please excuse the bad hotel background)

I was also able to go to another J Crew. Again, the staff was so friendly towards me probably because I was giggling with glee that I was in J Crew. I really wanted to get some printed J Crew skirts and was happy when I found a few there.

The one of the far left is from The Loft. The other two are J Crew and were purchased on a heavy sale (like $110 originally for $20). KDot was a happy girl!

I'm still here

Don't worry, I'm still here. I'm back home on the East Coast and wiped out from my West Coast trip.

The internet connection at our hotel was really difficult to use so I didn't blog as much as I would have like.

I'll be back with more posts about my trip as soon as I rest up a bit.

KDot in Seattle

We arrived in Seattle Sunday afternoon. Due to the ungodly hour we left the east coast and the time change, we arrived in Seattle with a whole afternoon ahead of us. My first impression of Seattle was that it is cold. Seriously, I"m from Canada and I found it cold. It's a good 10 degrees (Celsius) cooler here than home. My second impression of Seattle was that it reminded me of Halifax, Nova Scotia. That's a good thing; both are beautiful cities.

RDog didn't start work stuff until Monday so, us being us, we headed straight for Nordstrom and J Crew. Here is what I wore:

Tank: Gap
Pants: Liz Claibourne
Cardigan: J Crew
Shoes: Keds

We hit Nordstrom looking for a particular Burberry jacket that RDog has been eying for over a year. We didn't find it and the crowds overwhelmed me so we didn't stay for long. It was SO busy.

Next we hit J Crew. The workers were so nice probably because I was SO excited to finally be in a real j Crew. I,m such a nerd. They had an extra 30% off which I took full advantage of. Here is my haul:

All that for $200! Yup, those are t-shirts that you see. I felt that I didn't have enough of J Crew's see-through tees. They sucked me in again!

My best buys were these flats. Regular $118, I got them for $29.99 + 30% off.

My other favorite buy was this great Collection tank top. It was $24.00 + 30% off. The best part; I had to size waaaay down to an extra small. I like wearing an extra small. Vanity sizing works on me!

More on the rest of my Seattle week to come . . .

Memories of a Linen Dress

Dress: Boden via EBay
Belt: H&M
Shoes: Nygard from Sears

This dress is linen and I love it. I've been on the lookout for a linen dress for some time. I once had a great linen dress (this one was beige) and wore it until it became see through. I bought this dress in Niagara Falls when we used to live in Ontario.

One time, many years ago, I was a student with a good scholarship and a really cute boyfriend. The boyfriend (RDog) got a job in Ontario and said, "KDot, why don't you switch universities and come live with me?" And foolish KDot, being young and in love, gave up her scholarship, switched schools in her 4th year and moved away to be with her really cute boyfriend.

We should have lived happily ever after, except that RDog's job was really like a sweatshop and he got laid off after six months. So there we were, broke in a strange city far away from home. After a few months of joblessness, we decided to pack it in and head home. Before we left, we hit the nearby tourist attractions.

We went to Niagara Falls and did the touristy thing there. I remember wanting to go on the Maid of the Mist but RDog vetoed the idea as we didn't have money for tickets. We stopped at an outlet mall on the way home, that's where I found THE linen dress. I think I loved it even more because it was such a splurge during tight times.

All those memories (being young, poor and "living on love") came flooding back tonight when RDog said, "I like your dress. Is it it linen." Prompting me to say, "Hey, do you remember that linen dress I used to wear ALL the time."

Isn't it weird the memories that can be associated with clothing? Do you have any clothing that brings you strong memories?

In the end, it all worked out for us. I try not to be bitter about the year we spent "living away". It was there that we adopted my little angel cat, Kitty, and RDog's crappy job gave hm the experience for his current awesome job. Did I mention that RDog's boss is footing most of the bill for me to join them in Seattle for a week? Pretty awesome.

Wow, that's a lot of story telling for one little dress.

Copycat

I've had this tee for several weeks but didn't know what to wear with it. Ema's post yesterday gave me the inspiration to pair it with yellow. I'm a total copycat today.

T-shirt: J Crew
Skirt: J Crew
Sandals: Naturalizer - By the way, Naturalizer has a big sale going on today. I ordered two pairs of shoes, each regularly over $100, for under $50!

KDot and RDog head to Seattle

In under a week, RDog and I will be in Seattle!

He is going for a work conference and, because I whined for years about not going, I get to go too! We'll spend nights together at various dinners and parties but during the day, he will be busy with conference stuff. So KDot will be on her own to explore Seattle.

We are staying at what looks like a swanky hotel in downtown Seattle. I have already mapped out the route to J Crew. For anyone who has been to Seattle before, I'm looking for recommendations. First of all, the most important thing, where are the best places to shop? How about good lunch restaurants downtown? Any other things I should do while in Seattle?

"This tastes like it's really bad for me."

I hope everyone had a great weekend.

RDog and I spent the weekend cleaning our house, which is up for sale, and window shopping for furniture in our new forever house. All this domesticity got me in the mood for baking tonight. I recently discovered a great recipe site, The Tasty Kitchen, and tried two of its recipes, "The Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever" (made into cupcakes) and "That's the Best Frosting I've Ever Had". I figured with names like that, I couldn't go wrong with the recipes.

The verdict: to die for. RDog tasted the icing (liking the mixing beaters is the best) and declared, "This tastes like it's really bad for me." It is; that's why it is so yummy.

We'll limit ourselves to one cupcake a day.

How did you spend your weekend?

Stinky, Worn Sandals and Creepy Neighbors

I got up this morning and did my usual summer routine; make a cup of coffee and sit down to read the blogs. Gigi posted about white skirts so that's where the inspiration for this outfit came from.

Skirt: Banana Republic
Top: Banana Republic
Belt: Joe Fresh
Sandals: Naturalizer - I wore these shoes A LOT last summer but they were kind of forgotten so far this summer. I found them at the bottom of my stinky shoe tote this morning and had an aha moment. Stinky, worn sandals; oh how I've missed you. To those who are grossed out by this, don't worry. I am on the look out for a beige wedge sandal to replace these.

I'm giving outdoor pictures another try. Last year I didn't do it too often as I was creeped out my our neighbor directly behind us. He sits in his kitchen which overlooks my yard and just watches. I'm sure he is mystified about what I am doing here. But this year, I'm not going to be so paranoid because . . . (drum roll please) our house officially went on the market today! Soon I will (hopefully) have no creepy neighbors and I will have woods and 2 acres to frolic around about. Creepy neighbor, get your fill of me now while you can!

Shampoo, Cityline, and Picasa

It's another hot one here today. It was too hot to go through the blow drying and flat ironing of the hair so I tried out some dry shampoo I bought last week at Well.ca. It's called Klorane Oil-Supressing Dry Shampoo.

I bought it because I think I should start giving my hair a break, especially as I am growing it out now. Blow drying and flat ironing is probably not attractive for hair that will no longer be getting a trim every five weeks. I think dry shampoo will be great for those days when I just throw my hair up (and it's getting easier every week - only 2 bobby pins today!) My hair doesn't look exactly like it does when it's been freshly washed but it's not greasy either.

Does anyone else out there use dry shampoo? Any tips/recommendation?

On to the outfit. It's a bit wrinkled because I was lazying around on the couch watching my summer time tv treat show, Cityline. I miss all the day time shows during the school year.

Top: Martin and Osa
Skirt: Old Navy
Belt: Gap - not so sure about this color with this outfit but too lazy to find something better.
Shoes: Clark's
Headband: The Bay
Shades: Raybans

I played around with Picasa to make my head a little blurry so I won't feel as paranoid about posting my face on the interweb. Seriously, how great is Picasa? It's so much easier than Photoshop to use. I can't believe I didn't discover it until last week!

Ruby Steals the Show

It's a hot one today. My body is not built to withstand temperatures of +33 Celsius. I've been thinking of all kinds of errands I can do simply so I can go for a drive in my air conditioned car. We do not have air conditioning in our house.

The cats have been feeling the heat too. They spend most of their time stretched out on the floor with their limbs askew. When I took this picture, I thought Ruby was stretched out beside me. It wasn't until I started to edit that I realized she was doing something much different. Oh Ruby. . .

Tank: Lacoste
Shorts: J Crew
Wedges: Old Navy

Anniversary Dinner

Last night, RDog took me out for dinner to celebrate our second anniversary. It was a hot and muggy day, so I wanted to keep it cool with my outfit choice.

Dress: Christopher Deane from Revolve
Shoes: Sears

I don't nearly wear his dress enough. One reason why is because it is silk and every time I wear it, I get some sort of stain on it. Not wanting to wash silk myself, I get it dry clean. Last night was no different. The lovely vinaigrette from my salad ended up on my dress. I think I have spent more in dry cleaning this dress then in buying it. Other than my spilling food all over myself, it was a great night.

Happy Anniversay RDog

Today is our second wedding anniversary. Here are a few pictures from our special day. It feels like it was only a few months ago; it's hard to believe it has been two years.

I wanted a rustic sign pointing the way to the wedding. This is what my Dad came up with.

The setting was my parents' back yard.

I always knew I wanted to get married here. My parents worked so hard to make that happen for me.

It's my favorite place in this world. So peaceful and quiet.

Holidays, Weddings and Sand

I hope all Canadians and Americans had a great holiday weekend. We went to Nova Scotia for my cousin's wedding (yay, I love weddings!). I don't have an outfit picture because I wore basically the same thing as here. It was a success so I thought why not do it again.

The next day, RDog and I went for a walk on one of Nova Scotia's great beaches. Here is my windblown picture.

T-shirt: J Crew
Skirt: J Crew via EBay
Shoes: Aerosoles which are now full of sand

Easy Summer Days

Dress: Old Navy
Hat: H&M
Flats: Gap
Shades: Raybans
Purse: Burberry