Hippie Casual

Before I say anything else - lets talk about how working at Forever 21 has changed multiple aspects of my life.  First, I never have any time to take outfit photos anymore because I am always inside working while it's light outside.  Second, there is a noticeable difference in my outfit deets in that most everything is now from Forever. Third, I am wearing pants a lot more often.  I have to bend down a lot and dresses aren't always conducive to that kind of movement.  I suspect when the weather turns cooler again I will be returning to dresses and tights even for work but for now I am kind of loving the casual chic look that only a good pant can offer.

Lastly, I have been buying and wearing a lot of basics lately.  Basics were always the one thing missing from my wardrobe though I am only realizing this in hindsight.  Most of my life my shopping has been done primarily at thrift stores and I never found myself being interested in basic pieces there.  It's always the different or exciting pieces I find myself buying. Even when I would walk into a regular retail establishment I would always be drawn to patterns and fun dresses or the different pieces.  I am able to see the utility in basics now, even though they are less exciting than an amazing floral dress they offer more remixing possibilities and allow me to wear my fun and exciting pieces in new ways. Plus, $2.80 tanks are kind of hard to resist.     

Yesterday was my first day off in about a week and, really, it will be my only day off for awhile now so I enjoyed the day with Dale.  We are in the midst of finally selling our house so things are completely chaotic on the home front.  We're moving into the new house really soon and while I am excited for all of the new decorating possibilities I am also so sad.  I still haven't thought too much about saying bye to this house.  I don't know how.  I told Dale that when we are rich one day we have to buy it back. 

outfit deets: shoes - crocs // jeans - Forever 21 // tank - Forever 21 // tee - Forever 21 // headband - Forever 21 // bangles - vintage/thrift // bracelets - Forever 21/Ardene/vintage

Lets put aside the fact that I have talked A LOT already in this post and talk about my actual outfit.  It's kind of a crazy cross between a boho/hippy look and a basic casual chic look.  I dig it though, I'll probably be repeating this outfit so don't judge me.

I hope to be posting again soon! I have missed all of you guys so much and feel like I have missed a lot. I want to know how you guys are! Let me know, drop me a line or send me a note.

Talk soon lovelies!

xo Robyn 

Guest Post at Beauty Simplistic

Hey guys! I'm guest posting for Alyssa over at Beauty Simplistic today! Check it out to see the incomplete list of things that make me super happy!

Happy weekend lovelies!

xo Robyn

LWP 4

Hello and welcome to the fourth edition of Last Week in Pictures! This is actually sort of the last 2 weeks or actually even last 2 and a half weeks in pictures, but who is counting?  Anyway the past little while has been spent mainly at work and apparently (as evidenced by the above photos) doing a lot of nail painting.  I'm a little obsessed with painting my nails.  Every time they start to chip in the least I feel compelled to paint them.  Canada Day happened and I celebrated mainly just by wearing my Canada themed bracelet shown above and listening to fire works in the distance. I saw Girl Talk, took pictures of sea foam toilets and the CN tower, and Dale and I ate a lot of ice cream.  Oh, also - the staff room lunch table is always covered in ketchup packets.  Always.  

'Til next week (or maybe the week after that)!

xo Robyn

Summer Uniform

Hello lovelies! It has been awhile, hasn't it? I've been working like a dog since the store opened so I haven't had much time to post.  To tell you the truth, I think I needed the break from personal style blogging.  To take a step back and create my outfits without having how it will photograph in mind.  It's been nice but now I am ready to get back into it at least once or twice a week!

As you may have noticed The Wardrobe Challenge was a bit of a failure. Julia and I just really didn't have the time to carry on with it. I hate not finishing things but it just wasn't meant to be for right now so I am going to carry on as if I was normal. In the very least, it was a great learning experience. I now know the extent to which my closet needs to be paired down and tomorrow I am going to donate even more stuff and start packing for my big move in a month!

After ceasing the Wardrobe Challenge I started to take on a bit of a summer uniform on the days when I don't work.  This button up is a key component of said uniform as the get-up mainly consists of a simple dress with a little light button up tied round my waist.  It's cute and comfy and keeps me cool so I think that is all that matters for the summer. It's not the most fashion forward but when it is nearly 40 (104 fahrenheit) degrees out I can't be bothered. Also, these crocs flats have been a foot saver whilst working on the floor all day.  Now I'm down to minimal pain when before it was almost unbearable. 

My summer uniform also calls for untamed wild curly hair.  I am trying to let it grow out and not straightening it is allowing it to grow super fast! I want to have real long curly hair. 

outfit deets: dress - Forever 21 // button-up - H&M // shoes - crocs

Said summer uniform is great for lounging around the pool with a bathing suit underneath and then taking walks through the park with the boyfriend whilst sipping on Tim Hortons Strawberry Banana Smoothies.  Yum.  I wish summer could last forever.  

xo Robyn 

Last Week in Pictures 3

Heya lovelies!  As you may or may not have noticed, no outfit pictures this week.  The new store opened this past week and it has been all kinds of crazy.  We are still figuring out how to manage things for this new store but day by day we are getting the swing.  I am putting in a lot of hours so I haven't had much time to blog.  This weekend I should be able to catch up, though! 

The mass amounts of working this week led me to buy some sparkly blue keds (pic 1) to relieve my poor feetsies. They are pretty darn comfy!  Pic 2 is just a view of some Yonge and Dundas action.  Pic 3 is the new storefront!  Pic 4 sums up my Saturday night.  We always pull out the guitar hero at Kyle's place.  Pic 5 and 6 were actually taken yesterday on my only day off this week.  I spent the day lazing around reading Elle whilst Dale feverishly finished up his ASP.NET assignment. 

How was your week last week?  

I like doing these little posts because it lets you guys know I'm still alive even though I am not outfit documenting at the moment.  I am still around and reading all of your blogs as much as I can!  

All of these photos are from instagram.  Any of you folks have it?  You should add me @rhitbee!

xo Robyn 

Last Week in Pictures

Hello all of you wonderful people.  I did a similar post last week and I thought it was super fun so I think I might try and make it a bit of a regular post.  What do ya think?  I hope to normally get this post up on a Monday. 

Last week was awesome.  It was pretty well blue skies all week!  Last weekend was Dale's cousin's wedding and that was a total blast.  It was a big extravagant event the likes of which I don't experience too often.  The first five photos are from the wedding.  Throughout the week I just worked and hung out with friends.  Thursday we went perusing around the mall and popped our heads into Tiffany's.  Swoon.  That night we saw Bill Cunningham New York.  I think I am going to make a post about that film in the future but until then, I highly recommend it.  Friday I went condo hunting with my cousin and some of the places we looked at had spectacular views.  I spent this weekend at Dales and we celebrated Father's Day with his fam beside the pool with a delicious ice cream cake.  Omnom! 

All of these photos are from instagram.  Any of you folks have it?  You should add me @rhitbee!

xo Robyn 

Wardrobe Challenge Catch-Up

Heya lovelies.  Several times I have iterated the actual challenge involved in this particular wardrobe challenge.  It's just that I can never seem to find enough time in the day to photograph my outfit.  However, I refuse to give up and I have been documenting my outfits throughout the days even if I can't photograph them on me.  I have staged my outfits for days ten through fifteen and photographed them that way.  I actually quite like the way they turned out. 

outfit deets: jeans - American Eagle // blazer - vintage // accessories - vintage/H&M/Mexx // tank - bicyclette // clutch - upside of wonder

outfit deets: dress - H&M // shirt - H&M // sunnies - Forever 21 // necklace - vintage // bobby pin - chile

outfit deets: skirt - H&M // tank & tee - forever 21 // shoes - c/o Big Buddha // sunnies, necklace - Forever 21

outfit deets: skirt - H&M // shirt - UO // tights - We Love Colors // bracelets - Forever 21

outfit deets: dress - gift from Dale's mom // scarf - H&M // heels - Steve Madden

outfit deets: romper - vintage Express // belt - vintage // purse - H&M

If I can't photograph the rest of my outfits for the challenge actually on me I expect I will do this again..  I have a busy week at work looking forward to the grand opening of the new store!  

On a slightly different note, I am going to be making some changes around here pretty soon (specifically when the Wardrobe Challenge is done).  I thought about starting up an entirely new blog when I began dreaming up new directions for my online presence but I decided all of this new stuff would work just fine within the umbrella of Rhitbee-isms! So look forward to that and I promise I will explain soon.

Talk soon lovelies.

xo Robyn

A week in Wardrobe Challenge fail

OK OK, I know.  Both Julia and I totally failed this week in terms of getting wardrobe challenge stuff done.  I was pretty sick for half of the week though and I was working for the other half and this weekend has been jam packed with birthdays and weddings.  Julia has also been busy with her slew of new jobs.  All excuses aside though, we have no proper excuse for sucking this week.  What we are going to do is pretend like this week never happened (although we still have been following the rules) and pick up with Day 10 next week! Good plan?? Good plan! In lieu of outfit photos for the week I present to you my week as represented by instagram photos:

The week started out with watching a lot of Netflix and tissues (Whites and It Crowd shown in the photos above).  I also painted my nails proper black for the first time probably since high school!  Monday saw me taking pictures of alleyways and wearing my Tardis shirt whilst watching E3 conferences with Dale.  Later in the week when I started to feel better I got back to the bike at the gym.  I went house hunting and took pictures of trees while I was at it!  Friday was my dear friend Persia's birthday and we celebrated with a BBQ in her backyard.  It was super fun. Steve wore his Urkel shirt.  

Welp, this entire post has been a true testament to my writing skills.  I somehow managed to write the entire second paragraph in point form without maintaining point structure. Good jorb me.  

Anyway lovelies I hope you had a wonderful week and weekend!

Talk very soon,

xo Robyn 

Day Nine: Breakfast at Tiffany's

Day Nine of the Wardrobe Challenge is upon us! How sweet it is.  PLUS - it's Friday.  *happy dance*  ALSO, two posts in one day! Eegads.  I really am playing catch- up here.  I have been waiting and waiting to wear this shirt since I got it right before the challenge started!  Finally, I wore it to work.  I took on the themed tee by painting my nails Tiffany blue and throwing on some similarly coloured bangles.

I love Breakfast at Tiffany's.  I wrote a research essay about the music in it last semester. I really loved every minute of listening to Moon River over and over! It's such a silly little movie on the surface but Holly Golightly (Audrey Hepburn, of course) is so wonderful in it and I found that she really has some meaningful and insightful lines. 

My favourite line comes up in a conversation between Holly and Paul:  

Holly: You know those days when you get the mean reds?
Paul: The mean reds, you mean like the blues?
Holly: No. The blues are because you're getting fat and maybe it's been raining too long, you're just sad that's all. The mean reds are horrible. Suddenly you're afraid and you don't know what you're afraid of. Do you ever get that feeling?
Paul: Sure.
Holly: Well, when I get it the only thing that does any good is to jump in a cab and go to Tiffany's. Calms me down right away. The quietness and the proud look of it; nothing very bad could happen to you there. If I could find a real-life place that'd make me feel like Tiffany's, then - then I'd buy some furniture and give the cat a name! 

Ooh how I know the reds! Holly is saying so much here, I could write a whole paper just on this quote! Alas, I will refrain!

outfit deets: shoes - c/o Big Buddha // jeans - American Eagle // tee - Forever 21 // bangles -vintage // bracelets - Forever 21

Have any of you lovelies seen Breakfast at Tiffany's? No? JEEZ! What are you doing with yourself? Go out and watch it right now. It's 50 years old this year - I think that makes it OK to go download it! Do  movies work that way? I don't think so.  In any case, it is most certainly a  must see. 

Happy Friday!!

xo Robyn 

p.s. did this post show up in your google reader/blogger dashboard? I have been having troubles with that lately and am unsure of what the problem is!

Day Eight: Camera Woes & Floral Shorts

Julia is right! The wardrobe challenge really is rushing by at an accelerated pace.  I hope you guys are still with us.  I know it's a lot to take in everyday but hopefully you guys are finding it interesting!

Do any of you gals take your outfit pictures with an SLR and a self-timer? I can't figure out how to get the focus working properly when I am not behind the camera and so my full outfit photos are not up to the kind of quality I would like! I'm still a noob with this whole SLR thing so any advice would be muchly appreciated!

outfit deets: shoes - c/o Big Buddha // tights - We Love Colors // jumper - Forever 21 // tee - H&M // jacket - Bicyclette

I actually loved this little outfit! I picked this jumper up at Forever 21 a little while ago because I was so in love with the shorts and cute little floral print.  Plus, I don't really have many jumpers - you can't see the top of it because I am wearing a tee over it but it's kind of a little floral pair of overalls.  So cute! It was a little chilly so I threw on the jacket and it was a great outfit for running around doing errands.  

I hope you guys are all doing well! Happy Weekend lovelies.

xo Robyn 

Catchup With Julia-Bee: Day Six, Seven & Eight

 Hello Blog Readers, Julia Bee here! The Wardrobe Challenge is moving so quickly, hope you're still with us! Anyways, I won't write too much about these outfits, just that I think they're all pretty fun and summer-y. I'm pretty happy in all these pictures because really, who can be unhappy with weather like this after a Canadian winter? Toronto summers are hot, sticky, humid, but we take full advantage of them because we know that when they're gone, they're gone for a long time! To note, many of these pictures were taken while The Weeknd was blasting in the background. If you haven't heard him then get on youtube and do it NOW. Not only is he making some of the best (R&B) music that I've heard in possibly ever, he's also just reppin' Toronto proper. Basically my latest obsession.

Outfit deets: Dress & Blazer- Bluenotes // Tank - Banana Republic // Scarf - Gift from our lovely friend Persia's travels in India // Jewelry - Bought in Cuba & NYC

Outfit deets: Top & Jeans - H&M // Vest - Bluenotes // Flats - Tommy Hilfiger // Necklace // Gift from my parents' travels in Ecuador

Outfit deets: Blouse - Bluenotes // Pants - Esprit //Shoes - Vans // Purse - Gift from my mom's travels in Ukraine

Robyn will be back tomorrow with her Day Eight!

Day Seven: Maroon & Summer White

I love white for the summer and spring.  There is something so fresh and crisp about a clean white shirt.  That is, if you can keep it clean for the whole day.  I am not so great at keeping white things white for extended periods!  Although I did OK with this shirt when I wore it.  Right now Forever 21 is stocked full of cute white shirts and dresses and I have been lusting over so many of them.  Alas, I am still not allowed to buy anything for a few weeks.  Eek! This is a shirt I have had for many many moons.  My mom bought it for me a long time ago and I didn't like it at all when she first presented it to me.  Now I cannot get enough it with it's cute little ruffled collar.

This was my first go at using Dale's Nikon D90 to do solo outfit photos with the tripod.  It worked out OK but spent too long trying to get the effect I wanted to no avail.  I must practice a lot more with it! It is much more complicated than my regular ol' Canon SX110. 

I'm still playing catch-up with these blog posts for the wardrobe challenge! So far the challenge hasn't been about wearing something new everyday but rather about taking photos and making a blog post everyday. 

outfit deets: sandals - Payless // skirt - Forever 21 // top - Vintage // belt - vintage // bag - vintage

Talk tomorrow lovelies!

xo Robyn

Day 6: Blue Stripes & Green Grass

Hello all of you wonderful people! Sorry for slacking with blogging this weekend.  I had a bit of a crazy time of it.  Saturday night I went to see Jonathan Coulton with Dale and it was a fantastic concert.  The crowd was super geeky and awesome. If you haven't heard Jonathan Coulton I highly recommend you  listen to this song.  I think you'll probably be hooked after hearing it. I know I was.  We got Poutine at Poutini's after the show (om nom nom) and ran into Nat!

  As some of you may know, I have been in the process of preparing our house to move out of and sell for quite some time now.  We are getting into the home stretch so the rest of my weekend was spent working on cleaning and getting rid of A LOT of things.  I donated four garbage bags full of clothes.  FOUR.  I would really like to pare down my belongings because I really have too many things.  It has been OK up until now because I live in such a big old house but the kind of house we are looking to buy is definitely of the much smaller variety.  It is just so hard to let some things go, haha!

I went for a bit of a nautical look again today.  This seashell scarf is a favourite of mine.   I love pairing it with navy and stripes.  This look is a little out of place in the middle of a field, I know.  Let's just pretend that my boat got sucked into whatever exists in the Bermuda Triangle and shot me out into a lush field.  I then preceded to prance around and play with the dandelion seed heads.  Makes so much sense. 

outfit deets:  shoes - c/o Big Buddha // jeans - American Eagle // top - H&M  // scarf - thrifted vintage

I imagine Julia will be around soon with her Day Six outfit.  Talk very soon for now lovelies!

xo Robyn

Julia Bee's Day Four & Five

Heya lovelies! Eeek so we have some catching up to do with The Wardrobe Challenge.  We have quite a bit of blogging to do in the next few days so I am going to keep my talking to a minimum and leave you all with Julia. 

Outfit deets: Skirt - Mexx // blouse -  Esprit // Cardigan - Bluenotes

Hey Blog Readers! I once again have to apologize for my lateness. Robyn is way better at this outfit photography than I am. Anyways, this is my Day 4 outfit. It may be my favourite thus far. I volunteer on Fridays in a kindergarten classroom so I like to dress with a bit of whimsy. The 5 year old girls love it. Sorry there is only one (totally obvious) test shot! It was taken just before the camera battery died when I was in a rush to get out of the house and grab some dinner with friends. It oddly works though, I think!

These pics were taken while having a particularly pretentious Saturday afternoon. I decided I should keep my side of the 30 Day Wardrobe Challenge while take a break from reading (and trying very hard to understand) an MA anarcho-primitivist political science paper, and making notes while watching the movie Shortbus for an upcoming paper I am writing about it. All while blasting Britney Spears' new album. I guess the last part's more silly than pretentious. Either way, I haven't worn this dress in probably 2-3 years but I guess that's the beauty of this challenge. You discover some forgotten stuff in your closet. - Julia Bee

Outfit deets: Dress - Club Monaco // Cardigan: H&M // Shoes - UO online // Necklace: garage sale when I was like 9 // Rings: UO online, Rhitbee Anne Vintage

I'll be back tomorrow morning with Day Six! 

xo Robyn