Dress Up

Though the weather hasn’t been the best and I find myself busier with work than ever, this summer has been pretty wonderful so far. I’ve had the chance to work on a ton of fun creative projects, celebrated my blog’s first birthday, and coordinated an incredible party shoot with Bicyclette. Perhaps the biggest event so far though was Sarah’s visit.

Sarah and I have been best friends since we were eight years old, and though our closeness has come and gone, I don’t think any time has been quite as rough as this past year. Last summer Sarah decided to go to grad school in Vancouver, where we’re both from, and at the end of August she left her life here behind, including me. It was so hard to see her go, and even harder to have such an incredible year of success and excitement without really being able to share it with her. We kept in touch nonstop, sending one another cards and packages, but it just wasn’t the same. I felt like part of myself was missing.

Sarah’s visit these past two weeks was so bittersweet that it’s hard to even sum it up. We did all sorts of amazing things she wanted to do, and went a handful of places that I had promised to show her. It certainly wasn’t perfect, and if I’m being totally honest things did feel a little bit different at times, but when push comes to shove we had an amazing two weeks filled with beauty and adventure.

One of my favourite days with Sarah was when we headed to Toronto Island to shoot photos with Brianne for a Take me Out post. We spent the morning frolicking around the island taking pictures, and in the afternoon we lazed around on the beach until we were so hungry that we had to leave. It was a beautiful day filled with hundreds of tiny beautiful moments; here are some of my favourites!

DSC01528

DSC01543

DSC01571

DSC01660

DSC01662

DSC01684

Untitled-1 copyDSC01738

DSC01804

DSC01816

DSC01833

DSC01867

 

DSC01881

DSC01841

Photos by Brianne Burnell

Dress Up

Toronto is a city filled with magical pockets of wonder, but few are quite as lovely as Toronto Island. A short ferry ride away, this peaceful stretch of land has strict limits on the number of houses and residents living there, and contains almost no vehicles save for a small school bus. So what does the Island have to offer? Clean beaches, a tiny theme park (complete with petting zoo and swan boats), endless fields of green grass perfect for picnicking, and lovely bits of mint paint. My best friend Sarah (linenandhoney) and I visited the Island a few weeks back to cycle around and visit the dreamy sights. Our visit may not have been quite as romantic as the island date in Bicyclette’s recent video, but it was the perfect way to escape the rumble of the overheated city, if only for a day. Here’s what we saw; won’t you come along with us?

 

swan1

Alyssa- Top and skirt by Topshop, necktie ribbon from Mokuba, rose gold swan earrings by Rabbit’s Fantasy World on Etsy, sunglasses by Karen Walker, vintage braided flats from Philistine
Sarah- Vintage dress from 69 Vintage, tote bag by Fieldguided, sunglasses by Karen Walker, sneakers by Keds