Recently.

Reflected alleyway.

Glass of wine on a patio with friends one Spring evening.

Comfy toes by the water.

Pretty house on a walk one evening.

My daily routine: work + dog distractions.

Raindrops.

Latte in the morning.

New clutch from Anthropologie (will be featured with an outfit soon!).

Dead dragonfly :(

Afternoon tea time.

Red wine before dinner.

Happy Father's Day!

This guy makes my day.

Pizza in Kitchener for dinner.

TV time in our Kitchener hotel room before bed.

Post-dinner tea time!

French braid attempt.

Oh how I love lavender.

Romantic stroll through Niagara-on-the-Lake.

Niagara-on-the-Lake streetscape.

The fam (with Jimmy).

Quaint street in Stratford, Ontario.

Stratford really is beautiful.

Mother swan with babies.

Morning light in Stratford.

Classic lunch: tomato soup with grilled cheese and apple slices.

New chambray shirt from Joe Fresh.

A notebook that I modge podged with pretty paper from Holland and washi tape.

A cute little frog!

New Calvin Klein heels that I thrifted.

Calm before the storm? (No, because there was no storm.)

Late night snack: black current jam on cinnamon raisin toast.

Just a few snapshots of what I've been up to the last month! I hope you enjoy, and don't forget to follow me on Instagram @thefeministajournals if you don't already! 

Happy Friday!! I can't believe it's Friday already, this week has gone by so darn fast! In fact, the whole summer thus far has. What are your weekend plans? And, if you're in Canada, how do you plan to spend Canada day? I think I'm heading up to my aunt's cottage with my friend for some low-key relaxing. Oh, and I'm getting a pedicure. Duh. xo Caroline

DIY Geode Necklace.

I made this necklace a couple of weeks ago with my friend Carey. We spent the evening playing with and baking Sculpey. I was super excited when my necklace turned out exactly (if not better than) the way I'd imagined it. Don't you love when that happens? It's really not often! At least for me. Anyway, I followed this DIY tutorial and it turned out perfectly. I bought a $6 silver chain at Michael's and I actually had tons of leftover Scupley laying around from when I was kid (including neon yellow! how cool is that?). I also had a  silver lobster clasp and silver jump rings from another project that did not turn out. I used an x-acto knife instead of a razor and baked the beads for about 15 minutes, according to my package directions. Everything else you need to know can be found in the tutorial. It's really quite fool-proof, and there isn't much you need to buy, even if you don't have Sculpey! Enjoy! xo Caroline

Lonely Island Group: Funny and Feminist?

I love the Lonely Island Group. (Though they've recently stopped making videos!) I'm really into this kind of humour ... what might we call it, anyway? Below are two of my favourite of their videos and why.

This video is especially interesting because it satirically comments on our capitalist-driven society and it's domination by, let's face it, white people! The ruling social group is far too often considered inevitable and natural--the normal way things are. I love that this video humorously challenges that idea. Calling them 'feminist', however, might be pushing it (in fact, I hate labelling anything 'feminist', but thought the alliteration worked well for the post's title). I mean, they don't really bring gender into the picture. But that's okay, this post is more about what their videos do do. They tell us, "hey, the rich white people that make all the decisions about money and law and government and healthcare and advertising and you and me and even fashion are not naturally decision-makers--they're constructed as such. And HEY what about all those people that are consequently excluded from and marginalized in society????" 

Also, this video is f*ing hilarious! It comments on the whole 'adult' versus 'child' opposition, as well as the idea of, like, a non-conformist who doesn't participate in consumerist culture. I'm not sure if they're making fun of these things or challenging them or both. Either way, they're bringing to light things that are usually ignored and taken-for-granted. xo Caroline

Weekend Away Part III: Ontario's Finest.

[ American Eagle blouse (very old) // Banana Republic shorts // Belt from random boutique in Vancouver // Vintage scarf (was actually my grandmother's) // Roots Kensington purse //Patagonia sandals // Free People sunnies // Obaku watch (also old) ]

This is my favourite set of photos from my weekend away last weekend. On Father's Day we headed out to Niagara Falls, which I'd only been to as a little girl (and remembered only vaguely). It was such a blast. The falls are beautiful! I felt like they really brought out my inner child. I was giggling and running around and snapping photos and just so happy. Not  stress in the world came over me. I love moments like that! Anyway, after the falls we headed to my mom's favourite winery, Ravine Vinyard Estate Winery, where we sampled wine and ate lunch. It's beautiful there and the wine is amazing! I splurged and bought a bottle of 2008 Merlot, one of the best reds I've ever had! And, to top it off, I got to share it with a great friend last Wednesday! Finally, we briefly checked out Niagara-on-the-Lake, which is a beautiful and prestigious old town with lots of shopping, restaurants, cafés, and, clearly, flowers.

This past weekend certainly wasn't as exciting as Father's Day weekend, but it was very relaxing. I'm trying to keep things low-key before my trip. What about you? How were your weekends? Well, happy Monday! xo Caroline