Super sweet little girl clothes

I started writing this post and thought to myself: "Have I posted about Swallow's Return before?" A little search on my blog told me yes, yes I have. These dresses are super sweet and deserve another post though! I love how beautiful, but simple they are. I especially love how the middle two pieces look like pieces of art.

Find these dresses and tops and more from Swallow's Return here on Etsy.

snowy stuff + pretty stuff

This weekend I was supposed to go home for my aunt's funeral, but the weather was insane and there was a huge accident on the 401. A 25 car pile up which included seven jackknifed transport trucks. We thought about going anyway and then came to our senses. I've been there and done that (I may have had a couple of accidents with my poor little Jeep... anyone want a Jeep by the way? It has all new parts ;)).

So I unpacked all my clothes and got to thinking what a sad state my 'function' clothes are in. You know the clothes I need to wear to funerals, meetings, parties etc.

My biggest problem is that I'm smaller than I used to be and so now all my clothes hang off me. Ya I know boo hoo, but it's annoying. At one point I had enough classic pieces to keep me going, but I can't wear them anymore because they look super frumpy. Now I have a hard time justifying buying clothes like this because I'm at home with the kids.

When I am looking to buy, I typically go to Banana Republic or J.Crew, but I've been craving something a bit different. I always keep an eye out for clothes on Etsy and add them to my style board.

Honestly there's a lot of crap on there (like a lot - sorry Etsy designers), but there are also so many pieces of beautiful clothing. Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to make your own clothing? One day I'll do this.

Until then I'll stick to Etsy.

This weekend I fell in love with a designer called Lirola. This shop is out of Israel and offers romantic clothing in a chic style you can wear every day.

I feel like these could be classic staples in your wardrobe lasting a lifetime and the fit would be perfect for any body type. She has a maternity line too (not that I need that right now!) So pretty.

What do you think? What's your wardrobe like these days?

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out of line

I'm not sure about you, but the tragedy that took place in Bangladesh really had an effect on me. I can't get my head wrapped around the idea that people around the world are putting their lives at risk, and dying, just so that we can get a t-shirt for $10 from [insert cheap retailer name here]. I have definitely had my head in the sand.

The whole blogger "Target style" of dressing has started to irk me for some time. I can count how many times on one hand I've walked into Walmart. But no matter where I go to shop, Made in ChinaBangladeshIndiaPakestanCambodia has been on the tags of stuff I've been buying for years. If you're mainstream shopping, it's hard not to avoid it.

I made a vow that I would try (this is not going to be easy people) to put more of an effort into thinking about the clothes I wear and the things I buy. I was thinking that I would only buy things made in Canada, but that's not really realistic or likely even possible at this point. For example, my mom just bought a blender that was made in China - are there really alternatives for that kind of stuff? 

I've decided to start really slowly. I thought Etsy might be a good place to look for clothes and I've also done a tiny bit of research into Canadian retailers that make and sell yoga gear, for example, in Canada.

But I don't think I'll limit it to Canada if it's handmade however. There are individuals all over the world hand-making and selling some pretty cool stuff. Why not support them too?

Today I found a fun shop on Etsy called Out of Line based out of Seattle. I love these clothes. They are obviously more expensive than buying a Tee from Joe Fresh, but I think it's worth it. These clothes are made to order, so there's no mass production line and the styles are unique and fun.

Cute right?

I'm not sure how long this will last, but I feel like I need to at least try. If anything, I'll hopefully develop a good list of small retailers to refer to over time.

What do you think? Do you think I'm insane to even bother?

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ps- today is the last day to enter to win a sweet crochet animal! Don't miss out!

cozy [clothing edition]

Yesterday I wrote about making your home cozy, but equally important is making your clothing cozy. Here are my cozy clothing options via Pinterest:

Source: etsy.com via Terri on Pinterest

Source: ae.com via Natalie on Pinterest

Source: jcrew.com via Katherine on Pinterest

Source: jcrew.com via Christine on Pinterest

Source: gap.com via Veronica on Pinterest

Gotta make the boy cozy! So cute!

Source: carlynnvictoria.tumblr.com via Lexy on Pinterest

Source: zara.com via Gayan on Pinterest

Source: crushculdesac.tumblr.com via Renee on Pinterest

summer sewing series: camo skirt

We'll I've completed my first summer sewing series project - a skirt! I followed along with the video from Brett Bara about how to make a skirt. It was super easy and to be honest with you, I made a pair of shorts for Leo about a month ago using the same idea as this skirt (my husband actually thinks they look like a skirt on Leo but I digress...).

Did I mention part of the challenge is to use fabric I have on hand already? So I used some left over camo fabric I used for a tote back in the day to make my skirt.

In total I think this project took me about 45 mins. I'm not thrilled with it only because it's a bit bulky in the waist, but I think that's what you get when you use one elastic for a waistband. I pressed it out a bit and it seems to have helped a bit. Regardless, it will be perfect for slipping on when I'm in a hurry or for bummin' around in as my mother-in-law likes to say.


Hmm what shall I sew next! Stay tuned!