zhangling❤photography

So I started this post in late November as a simple recap of a trip to Mexico, then it took a turn in late December when I decided to combine it with a year-in-review. It is now May. This post has been really hard and I struggled throughout with trying to articulate my thoughts and feelings in a way that doesn't come across as overly mopey or whiny. I try to keep things positive here but this issue has been clearly impacted all areas of my life, including blogging and photography, so here goes nothing my best shot. According to the Internet, 2019 was a rough year for everybody (in a whole different way give how 2020 is going so far). During my year-end "highlight/lowlight" review with friends, my mind was still preoccupied by a recent car accident I was in earlier that week. They all sympathetically agreed that was an understandable lowlight and a rough way to end the year. But when the party was over and I was working on this post, it suddenly occurred to me what w...

I say this practically every year but fall is really my favourite fashion season. I love all the seemingly endless possibilities that come with layering and being able to play with different textures and materials. Oh, and all the rich colours! There's so many fun ways to pair fall tones. Unfortunately, fall in Ottawa can be cut short by a cold front that takes us pretty much directly into winter. As much as I enjoy certain fall favourites (like light coats and leather jackets), it's really important to have solid transitional pieces that work well across both seasons so you can get more wear out of your items. Vintage camel coat (borrowed from mom) Forever21/H&M chunky scarf (borrowed from mom) Lilac cashmere sweater from Babaton Vintage Levis (thrifted) BP booties from Nordstrom Fall favourite: Vintage denim There's something so casual and chic about the washes and cuts in vintage denim that goes so well with the fall colours. A lot of blue denim or ev...

I hope everyone is having a great summer because I sure am! It's honestly such a short season compared to the long long winter here so I'm determined to get the most out of it. I had started on the content for this post in July and put off posting because thought I'd shoot more outfits by now but it's really been a whirlwind of activities and I now have a bunch of other photos I'll want to get to so here we (finally) go! Pom-pom romper from American Eagle Sunhat from Aldo Sandals from Aldo Vintage purse (thrifted) I haven't shopped much from American Eagle in a few years now but totally fell for the pom-poms on this playsuit! Summer is such a fun time to be running around in playsuits and rompers -- they're easy to wear (like a dress) but with all the freedom and coverage of shorts! Truly the best of both worlds. Disclaimer : as cute as the Aldo sandals were and as much as I wanted them to work out, they were not real leather and fell apart in...

I've lamented in the past over how Ottawa doesn't have a real spring season and it jumps very suddenly from winter to summer, usually in May-June, right around the annual Tulip Festival. This year, however, we got some sort of pseudo-spring, with the frequent rainy days and fluctuating temperatures. The weather gods must be smirking down on me with their little practical joke but joke's on them because I was super motivated to come up with cute spring outfits! So here goes my very first Spring Fashion post, whoo-hoo! The theme for the outfits below are two colours that I've had a longstanding struggle to wear: pink and purple. I've mentioned in previous blog posts that growing up a tomboy meant rejecting a lot of pink and purple, that even to this day, I'm finding it a challenge to incorporate both colours into my wardrobe. A lot of historical attempts have always felt a little bit like playing dress up, as opposed to actually utilizing pieces that were a...

Happy happy holidays and happy winter solstice! It's last day in the office for me as we'll be driving home to Toronto for the holidays so I'm very excited. Lots of folks were complaining about the shortest day of the year but to me, it means that it's all uphill from here :) It'll be summer again before we know it! There's still a lot I have to do before we drive off into the sunset, including packing up the kitties for the trip and getting the apartment in decent shape so we don't come back and start the new year in a messy place. Plus, I wanted to get this post out before I leave as well so I can take my holiday photos when I'm home without worrying about getting these done. For the product shoot, it's a pretty simple concept but I really wanted to feature my favourite mugs. I love the shape and the cute blue dots, and they're handmade in Poland!  Both mugs and these flower props were also found at the thrift store! I reall...

I can't believe that tomorrow will be December! Where has the month year gone?? I'm equal parts stunned and excited because I love the winter holiday season. One of my favourite things to do is holiday shopping. A lot of folks get stressed out by holiday shopping but I really enjoy it! The malls are all decorated and festive and I treat it as a treasure hunt finding meaningful and fun gifts for my loved ones. In the spirit of Movember (awareness month of men's health and moustaches) and to help prepare for the gift shopping ahead, I've put together some gift ideas for men as my product shoot for this month. If these shoes look familiar, they are indeed my vintage Batas featured in previous outfits here  and here . Both the shoes and gloves pictured are actually mine/women's and not Nick's/men's because Nick's shoes are too big to fit in frame. And this matters because my photo shoot set is super ghetto -- see setup photo below: yes t...