It was a success, I promised myself I’d do it again soon but I never got around to it.

I’d been feeling a bit unhealthy lately; I haven’t been eating well, drinking enough water and getting adequate sleep.

Watching Glamazini’s videos on MasterCleanse and a recent Nutrition Diva podcast on fasting inspired me to try another fast.

I decided to try a two day green tea fast this weekend.

Here’s what I did – on Saturday and Sunday I drank only green tea with lemon, lightly sweetened with maple syrup.

I didn’t eat anything else.

I went to the States on Saturday for a few hours to pick up a vintage Cacharel dress (more on that some day), I took two thermal bottles filled with tea and sipped on it the whole day.

I ended up walking quite a bit around the city when I got back later on in the day – I felt fine

At night we went down to English Bay to watch the Vectorial Elevation lightshow and take pictures.

I went to bed early – I guess my energy level was low.

I woke up Sunday well rested but hungry and a little woozy; I didn’t think I could make it through another day.

I had some tea, relaxed for a while and just as I was contemplating breaking the fast, I got a refreshing burst of energy.

I ran some errands, went for a little walk and danced.

I woke up early this morning and had oatmeal with generous servings of nuts and raisins.

It felt so glorious! I took my time, took long breaths and savoured every bite.

The appreciation you get for food after not eating for a while is well worth it.

And, everything tastes so much better now.

I feel a little different, things seems clearer.

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

Spring is all about new beginnings… awareness… awakenings…

My goal is to be more colourful this spring…

Deep bright colours, pastels, contrasting hues and everything in between.

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

I’m a little out of it today.

I was in bed and ready to go to sleep at 11:30pm last night when I decided I wanted to watch the two hour season premiere of Lost instead.

I muttered something to myself about not wanting to be spoiled by the blogs the next day.

So I stayed up and watched Lost.

With no one to discuss my Lost theories with, I tossed and turned for a while and finally went to sleep a little after 1:00am.

Then my phone kept waking  me up whimpering and beeping until it finally died.

I’m not one of those people who can function properly on little sleep, so I’ve been a little loopy.

Wearing:
Cowl Neck Sweater: Joe Fresh Style
Skirt: Old Navy
Belt: The Gap
Tights: Hue
Booties: Ash
Coat: Vero Moda

Cowl neck sweaters are a bit odd aren’t they? It’s basically a scarf attached to a sweater.

It’s comfortable, stylish and looks good on everyone.

This is a particularly giant cowl, it keeps me warm and I love it!

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

I don’t exactly know who ‘they’ are, I bet it’s the same people who said we can’t wear white after Labor Day.

I read this article about a study which suggests that horizontal stripes might actually be more flattering than vertical stripes.

But who cares?

These little rules sometimes just inhibits creativity, and it gets tedious.

I wore this sweater a lot, especially at the start of winter; it’s great for layering and it’s easily paired with almost anything.

Wearing:
Stripe Sweater:  Smart Set
Pink Shirt: Tommy Hilfiger
Jeans: Diesel
Quilted Down Jacket: Eddie Bauer
Scarf: H&M
Belt: H&M – old, came with a dress
Shoes: Nine West

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

I can’t believe it’s February already.

And yet it feels like February 2010 is finally here!

This is going to be one crazy exciting month.

It is kind of thrilling being in the midst of it all.

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

Long rides on foggy rainy mornings in the Pacific Northwest.

Take pictures.

Have coffee.

Foggy walks by the Seawall.

Go to the market.

Ride the train.

Eat leftover cookies from the holidays.

Think about doing good.

Listen to music.

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

Yes, there’s a story behind almost every article of clothing I own.

Some funny; like the blazer I wore inside-out to a job interview.

Some loving; like my Elsa Peretti bean necklace.

Some painful; like the expensive flats I got after a long and painful day walking the gravel paths of Jardin des Tuileries

Some bizarre; like the coat I got from the store with the special room in the back for ‘special’ customers

Some boring; like the Breton shirt I bought a couple of weeks ago.

Take this pink ruffle tank I got a while back for example; it’s been languishing in my closet for quite some time now.

It’s one of those things that just didn’t turn out the way I expected.

Even though I got it in a ‘small’, I found it was just too big to wear as a tank.

I probably didn’t realize that the sizes run big because my glasses tend to makes objects appear smaller (seriously!).

Reading this post on how Kelly Ripa wore it still didn’t help.

I finally decided to try wearing it as a vest, and I’m still not sure if it worked.

There are some aspects I like about the outfit and some that I don’t.

I’ll have to try a few other styling options, this could be fun.

I wore this on my first day back at work after the holidays, it rained spectacularly that day.

I got to wear my favourite rain boots all week long.

Wearing:
Pink Ruffle Tank: J. Crew
Black Turtleneck: The Gap
Pants: BAIA (The Bay)
Rain Boots: United Colors of Benetton

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

I took some pictures on my last trip down there and I just thought I’d share them.

Bellingham is the closest ‘big US town’ to me, about an hour’s drive away depending on the wait at the border.

These days we use the Aldergrove/Lynden crossing which has short wait-times and then Bellingham is just about twenty minutes away.

A lot of cross border shopping happens in Bellingham.

It’s close, has most of the basic big box American shops we don’t have here in Vancouver and efficient because most of these stores accept Canadian dollars and or take Canadian debit cards.

Bellingham’s where I get my Target and Trader Joe’s fix; and it’s close enough for a quick afternoon trip.

There are also quite a few organic health foods stores too, which makes it even more great.

In the past year we’ve began exploring the city beyond the strips and shopping malls, on this last trip we did the downtown proper.

Downtown Bellingham is charming with galleries, museums, specialty stores and cafés.

Behind the abandoned Dahlquist building.

The Post Office, downtown also has beautiful old buildings.

The Public Market – contains a series of year-round local stores.

In here is Terra Organica, a well stocked great health foods store is one of the many in Bellingham.

I just love the textures of this building.

Local business thrive, I bought a lovely pair of boots here .

And of course, the adult store; every great town deserves one of those.

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

It reminded me of summer; I think I’m ready for winter to be over.

I took this picture a few days after Christmas, waiting for the new year… still in holiday mood.

The necklace is from Sigrid Olsen, a label which went out of business in 2008.

There’s a New York Times article on Ms. Olsen’s new much simpler and happier life.

Also check out the slideshow of her home/gallery.

I love this necklace now more than ever because of the history that surrounds it now.

I recently found out that I like green, I tend to gravitate towards green.

Wearing:
Green Sweater: Dorothy Perkins
Black T-Shirt: Joe Fresh Style
Dark Trouser Jeans: Banana Republic

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.

I wasn’t allowed to wear black as a child.

My mom outright forbade it!

She’d get melodramatic whenever I protested and say things like;

“Are you going to a funeral?” “Did someone die?”

I’d say no and her response always was… “Then why do you want to wear black? It’s bad luck for children to wear black”

Recently, I read Amanda Brook’s I ♥ Your Style, and in it she mentions that she too wasn’t allowed to wear black as a child.

I guess it’s a universal thing.

After my grandmother died, my mom mourned for a year wearing only black clothes.

I stopped arguing with her about wearing black after that and never really wore black again.

Years later as a young adult on the cusp of discovering my own personal style, I still couldn’t bring myself to wear black.

That was until I tried on a little black dress.

I went into a fancy store looking for a dress for a fancy dinner.

After I’d tried on several dresses I’d picked out, the cheery and very patient guy who was helping me had me try on a black shift dress.

It was simple, clean and gorgeous, it was beautiful and I loved it.

With that, I slowly introduced black clothes into my wardrobe.

And now maybe I have too many black clothes.

I may have gone a little overboard – my mom complains that I have too many dark coloured clothes.

I try to lighten my black outfits up with a dash of colour here and there, like these pattern tights and brown suede boots.

Wearing:
Black Dress: The Gap
Long Sleeves T-Shirt: Joe Fresh Style
Belt: Danier
Pattern Tights: Hue
Boots: Browns Couture

©2010 the whinery 2.0. All Rights Reserved.