Today I'm sharing my second tip for wearing chunky knits without looking chunky! (In case you missed Part 1, catch up here.) 

Yesterday I wrote how some ladies prefer to stay away from thicker knit fabrics because they find them too bulky or unflattering. I love a good cable knit sweater as much as anyone, but your typical round neck or oversized turtleneck? I'll just have to admire from afar because those looks ain't gonna happen. But guess what -- that's okay! It's important to make fashion work for you, not against you. 

Being a "thick" girl (as Trinis would say) with broad shoulders, I've had to find sweaters that complement my body type and are still fashionable and funky for the colder months. So what's my second trick for wearing chunky knits without looking chunky myself? 

2. Open up your neck

Okay that tip might sound weird at first, but hear me out. If you're heavy on top or perhaps have a thicker midsection, wearing a closed neck heavy knit sweater probably makes you feel bigger than you are. I hate when I have fabric all the way up to neck as it feels so restrictive. Oftentimes being totally covered up adds width to where I'm already at my widest with nothing to break it up. I'm not doing my body justice because my proportions are all out of whack.

In contrast, wear an open neck to balance out proportions. 

By choosing a v-neck tshirt and long necklace, I'm opening up my clavicle area and drawing the eye downwards. I completed my look with skimming black jeggings (ugh I can't believe that word is a part of my vocabulary now) and tall black boots.  

1. Put a belt on it

On a completely different note, do you know the song "Cups" by Anna Kendricks (from Pitch Perfect)? I found this video of tap dancers doing their thang and it's aca-awesome (sorry couldn't resist). I can't help but smile as I watch it so I thought it'd be nice to share and brighten up your Monday morning. Kelly Sheehan is my fave dancer out of the bunch. If you make it to the end I'm sure you'll understand why ;) Enjoy!



Linking up with my fellow nail polish lovers Jennie Shaw / Glitter and Gloss / Glossy Blonde

If I was ever going to wear a watch, this watch would be it

Raw emerald and amethyst stacking rings

The knot ring

Eternity rings

An alternative kind of greeting card for the loved one in your life

This slouchy olive green touque is right up my alley

The perfect chunky knit scarf

This over-the-shoulder tote is so simple but so cute!

What have you been pinning lately? Leave a comment with the link to your profile, I'd love to check it out! Happy Friday :)

Linking up with Lauren's Fab Favorites.

Ahhh, autumn -- the season of changing leaves, lots of layers to combat the chill in the air, and perhaps most importantly -- the return of quality television shows. Most summer filler programs have likely been cancelled, making room for the heavy hitters to come back and dominate Sunday and Thursday nights (undoubtedly the best nights for television drama). So now that all of the shows have had their season premieres and had a chance to get the ball rolling, let’s dig in like girlfriends do and gossip about what’s been going on in TV land... (beware, spoilers ahead).

Scandal

If Grey’s Anatomy is the past-its-prime oldest child, Private Practice was the neglected middle kid, and Scandal is the spitfire youngest of the bunch that’s filled with energy and potential. Shonda Rhimes clearly has a favourite TV baby and Scandal is it. Are you watching yet? Please tell me you’re all caught up now (though probably still asking a million questions like the rest of us). 

via ABC

This season started with Olivia being publicly named as the president’s mistress and viewers finding out that the creepily cold and calculating commander of B613, Eli Pope, is also her father. I wonder if Olivia has pieced together her father’s role in that sex tape with her and Jake...? Anyway, last week’s episode was a bit slow with the bomb lady trying to find out what happened to her son. We all knew that, of course, Olivia would make it out alive. Poor Huck is trying to work out his issues and Mellie’s sippin’ on some southern moonshine and talking smack to Fitz. The First Lady has surprisingly become one of my favourite characters in Scandal. In fact, she’ll soon be experiencing a situation of her own as Lisa Kudrow, rumoured to be playing a congresswoman, will be making some waves for Mellie in the weeks to come.

I started writing this post on Monday October 14 but due to my lack of planning  an excess of tryptophan in my body  a slight delay it’s a few days late. Oops.

As I sit here typing away on my laptop in my childhood bedroom, the smell of seasoned turkey wafts through the house and my husband is hanging out beside me catching up on some assigned reading. Soon my aunt, uncle, cousins, and grandparents will be coming over to share in our Thanksgiving dinner. It’s been a wonderfully relaxing day so far. All week in fact, as I’ve been visiting my family in Toronto for the last little while. 

I had a laundry list of things to do and people to see, but I have done none of those things (laundry included) and seen not nearly as many friends as I would have liked to. Hopefully my absence in blogland hasn’t been noted as things have been quiet around here as well. I’m one of those writers who can’t force myself to write. It feels too mechanical and homework-like if I make myself churn out a post when I’m not in the mindset to do so. But I don’t mean to turn this into an article about blogging and productivity or my lack thereof (we'll save that for another day). 

Goodbye Toronto

The time before travelling can sometimes be the hardest part of travel itself. The build up, the anticipation, the anxiety, the excitement. The waiting game is tough, especially for an impatient soul like me, but fortunately the hardest part is already behind me. Looking back, I can tell you that last winter was the period when I struggled most. I had recently gotten married and life was supposed to be grand! Young and in love, with a decent job and steady supply of wine and cheese, what did I have to complain about? But I felt trapped. Not trapped in any way in my new marriage, that wasn’t the issue at all. In fact, Matthew was one of the only things keeping me going (plus the fact that we were going on our honeymoon right after Christmas, a week in Jamaica that I was very much looking forward to). 

As the days got shorter and work really picked up, coming home in darkness every weeknight was taking its toll. A touch of seasonal affective disorder perhaps? I don’t know, but being in a windowless room for 8+ hours a day certainly didn’t help. What I felt the most was the craving for a change of pace and taste of adventure. Where to next? My itchy feet had just spent the last three solid years in Ottawa and, with Matthew in full-time student mode, we were both ready for a change of lifestyle.

Parliament Hill in Ottawa via Brian Leckie

When we agreed we were going to go travelling through Central America for four months, it was as if a light started to break through the tunnel! Okay, maybe not quite as dramatic as a tunnel, but you know what I mean. This trip would be the first of a few lifestyle changes and it sparked an excitement in me that led to finding many of the blogs that I follow now as I delved into travel resources -- blogs, tips and advice, memoires, fictional stories -- anything I could get my hands on. 

For those of us who have neither the time nor patience to wash and style our hair every day, dry shampoo is a small miracle in our getting ready routine. It helps to absorb oil from your roots, adds volume for a bit of oomph, and can even help to texturize your hair if it’s too clean to hold teasing or curls. Especially since I chopped off my locks, dry shampoo does wonders for me with freshening up my day old hair.  

Brunettes often have a harder time finding a good dry shampoo because it has a tendency to make darker hair look a bit greyish if you spray it on too close to the roots or if the shampoo formula is mixed with powder. For those of us who can’t afford salon-priced products on the regular, naturally we turn to the more budget-friendly drugstore brands, and I’ve found two dry shampoos in particular that hold up quite well! Most days  Every day I wish I could just do a hair flip like Beyonce and have my hair fall perfectly into place, but sadly after several neck sprains I’ve learned this is, in fact, impossible.