To Vogue Or Bust

Cloudbusting

2012-01-27T09:25:00.000-08:00

Club Monaco sweater & scarves, Marc by Marc Jacobs bag,
Wilfred coat, H&M booties, BDG skinnies, ring c/o Social Experiment

After what's seemed like days upon days of either snow, rain or slush, I was ecstatic that my coffee date with the beautiful Alicia of aliciafashionista was punctuated with bright blue skies and sunshine! I was heading straight from school so you're getting a good look at what my typical school uniform consists of: a men's cashmere sweater, skinnies, booties, and two layered scarves.

We went to Medina Café in Yaletown for lavender lattes, mint tea and homemade waffles with raspberry caramel - so good!

But especially good seeing this beautiful girl!

Be sure to check out Alicia's blog soon for more pics of her outfit...I absolutely loved what she was wearing. And seriously, how gorgeous is she? So irritatingly photogenic.

This weekend is going to consist of studying, studying and...studying. Fortunately, I get a little break tomorrow morning to see my lovely friend Cee, as well as a movie date with Matt later on. I really want to see Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, has anyone seen it? Give me your reviews!

Also, hop on over to Eternal Optimist today to check out my guest post! The lovely Ly asked me to be a part of her Blog Around the States in 30 days feature and I was more than happy to inject some Northern spirit into it! Thanks for including me Ly :)

Hope all of you lovelies have a wonderful weekend!

Day 'n' Nite

2012-01-25T09:20:00.000-08:00

When I received my Raven Denim Remy skinnies in Bordeaux, I was pretty over the moon. Not only is Raven known for its impeccable tailoring and quality, but the rich wine tone of these skinnies is one of my favourite colours of the season. I have been absolutely loving warm tones this winter and knew this Bordeaux shade would work seamlessly into the rest of my wardrobe. Sure enough, they've worked so well that I was able to pair them with both a cabin-chic outfit and a casually elegant look for my boyfriend's work party in a single weekend.

Badgley Mischka bag, skinnies c/o Raven Denim, Sam Edelman wedges,
H&M scarf & sweater, belt from Mexico, vintage parka, Club Monaco headband

While up at Mount Baker, my lovely friend and PR girl about town Emaan took two minutes from our permanent station on the couch to snap these pics for me. I had been living all weekend in both my Raven skinnies and my mum's goose down parka from the 70's, so I just added wedges, a delicate scarf, and a femme headband to complete the look.

Wilfred blouse, Rebecca Minkoff bag, Michael Kors pumps, Club Monaco
wrap bracelet, bag c/o Social Experiment, skinnies c/o Raven Denim

Once we got home from our trip I had to drag my sick self out to Matt's work party, so I reached yet again for my skinnies. The punch of colour and texture from the corduroy really anchored the rest of my look, which consisted of a sheer silk blouse, grey suede pumps, and a pearl and gold chain necklace. I've been loving the combination of purple with blue-green tones so my Rebecca Minkoff teal croc bag was a must. I can't say I felt all that great throughout the excruciatingly boring/long party, but at least I felt comfortable and put-together. And obviously, looking good is the most important part. Obviously.

All right, need to run to class! Hoping all of you are having a great week so far!

I've Waited For You Winterlong

2012-01-23T09:37:00.000-08:00

H&M sweater, booties & scarf, Club Monaco cardigan, tights & skirt,

Marc by Marc Jacobs bag, Wilfred blouse, belt from Mexico

These pictures were taken last week before a) the snow and slush came and b) my body finally decided to get sick. A perfect example of why you shouldn't "tempt fate," as one of my friends likes to say. I kept boasting to my boyfriend over the past two weeks about how miraculous it was that I hadn't gotten very sick yet all winter. It's like I was waving a red flag or something.

Though I felt less than amazing, I still had a great time at Mount Baker over the weekend. My friends and I did absolutely nothing other than bundling up in blankets on the couch next to a fire, watching the snow fall down outside. Kind of the perfect thing to do if you're not feeling well actually. I'm staying home from school today in the hopes that I feel 100% by the end of the day then it's back to reality tomorrow!

How did you all spend your weekends? Hope you lovelies are all of to a good start of the week so far!

Hibernating

2012-01-20T09:31:00.000-08:00

Since the snow seems to be here to stay, I have decided to just accept it and get into full hibernation mode. It's really not that tough of a job when you get to just curl up next to the fire, admiring some pretty new things, drinking tea and packing for a weekend away to a beautiful cabin!

From top to bottom: a new scarf in a bright colour to cheer up the gloom outside, pretty sparklers from Anjolee, my favourite new pants from the lovely people at Raven Denim, and one of the best lattes in the city at Crema. Excited to feature a couple of these items in some upcoming posts!

Well, I'm off! So looking forward to playing and relaxing in a winter wonderland, will recap when I'm back! Have an amazing weekend lovelies!

Brick Red

2012-01-18T09:58:00.000-08:00

Wilfred coat, Sam Edelman booties, Rebecca Minkoff bag,
vintage scarf, dress c/o Lost & Found, belt from Mexico

I know my fellow Canucks probably won't be that impressed with me for saying this but...I really hate the winter. It's been snowing for the past week and isn't supposed to let up for awhile, so I'm going to have to get really creative about getting to all the things that keep my spirits up during the winter (running, getting enough light, trekking out to see friends). I also just have to keep repeating to myself: Maui in three months, Maui in three months, Maui in three months. That and I might be doing Vegas up once I'm done my term too! Just need to keep the sunshine in my mind.

One thing I'm super excited about is a little cabin trip this weekend! Should be massive amounts of good quality girl time: doing our nails, face masks, chick flicks, and lots and lots of baking.

Happy hump-day lovelies!

Sunday Funday

2012-01-16T10:25:00.000-08:00

From left to right: Matina, Peter, and Lily

Ingredients for a perfect Sunday: good people, good food and good weather! I checked off all those boxes yesterday during our blogger version of a Sunday Funday: I met up with some of my faves (Matina, Lily, and Peter) for brunch at House Guest then we meandered on over to the roof of a parking lot in Gastown for a quick photo shoot. Later, on my way home I pulled over to snap some pictures of one of the prettiest sunsets I've ever seen. All in all, one of the best Sunday Fundays to date!

Over the weekend, it seems that Mother Nature has finally decided it's winter. I don't know how obvious it is in these pictures, but we were all absolutely freezing yesterday, and there's more snow coming down now as we speak. Should add an interesting twist to doing outfit posts!

Hope you lovelies all had an amazing weekend as well!

Images 2, 8, 13, 16, 17, and 18 courtesy of Angela Matina

Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

2012-01-13T14:02:00.000-08:00

I was inspired by my lovely friend Jen of her waise choice for this post. She is a master restyler, taking a single piece and making it look entirely new with every different outfit (be sure to check out her Facebook album where you can browse all her restyling masterpieces). As someone who has either been an intern or a student for God knows how long now, I obviously am not rolling in cash and only have a finite amount of money to spend on new clothes. As such, I've taught myself to become a bit stricter with my shopping habits, only investing in pieces I really, really love and know I'll be able to wear again and again. So without further ado, here are some of my personal favourite pieces that I have restyled again and again!

Club Monaco lace skirt

I am beyond in love with this skirt. Even though it's not technically "basic", I can always think of a new way to wear it and have found it's been just as amazing in the winter as it was in the summer. Its cream tone also makes it so easy to pair with other colours, and the scalloped lace texture makes it special enough to stand alone with simple styling.

Twenty8Twelve leather jacket

I have a bit of a beautiful love story with this leather jacket. I found it at Holt Renfrew during one of their big sales, and initially wasn't quite sold on it just from seeing it on the hanger. Then the staff told me it was the last one and consequently the price had been even further reduced that day. Thinking that I might as well try it on, I slipped into it and then, to my surprise, immediately felt at home. I find it's the perfect shade of grey, one that's easy enough to pair with both cool and warm tones, and it's literally the softest leather I've ever felt. The little details like the criss-crossed double zipper and cut-away lapels make it a great statement piece on its own, though I've become so dependent on it that I usually just use it as a staple piece. Worth every penny.

Club Monaco leopard clutch

This one was a no-brainer...you just need a great leopard piece in your closet. When I spotted this beautiful clutch in Club Monaco, I knew I had to have it - it was the perfect shape, the perfect print, and the perfect colour combination. I've used it so much that it's literally paid for itself in terms of a cost to wear ratio (which is the system I use to rationalize and justify all my purchases). If you don't own a great leopard accessory, put it right at the top of your list! So timeless and glamorous.

On another note, a few girls I know put together this stunning video shoot. I'm loving that they're fully dressed in both Aritzia and vintage pieces. Such a great way of showing how you can mix the old with the new to great effect. Be sure to check out my girlfriend Jenny's tumblr where you can see the video's details!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend lovelies!

You've Got the Love

2012-01-11T13:00:00.000-08:00

Club Monaco blazer, gloves & scarf, BCBG clutch,
Michael Kors heels, Jay & Elle jumpsuit

I know you guys are probably sick of my weird obsession with palazzo pants, but honestly, the very fact that I found a silhouette for my bottom half that actually works for me is a small miracle and I fully plan on taking advantage of it.

You'd think having an hourglass-shaped body would be great, but really...it's not. I've learned to accept and love my body as it is, but that doesn't meant it's still not extraordinarily frustrating to find clothes that actually fit my body properly. I've slowly but surely developed an arsenal of silhouettes in my closet that work for my shape but up until this fall, I still felt like I was limited to skirts and dresses. As you may have noticed, over the past few months I've really started really immersing myself in the world of high-waisted pants, and let me tell you, it's a great place to be.

Hope you've all been having a great week so far, happy hump day!

Wine Cures Everything

2012-01-09T09:34:00.000-08:00

Blazer c/o Spank, H&M blouse & necklace, Club Monaco skirt,
Marc by Marc Jacobs bag, men's belt from Mexico, Sam Edelman booties,
ring c/o Social Experiment

I am a big believer that within moderation (or to a veeery slight excess), wine can cure just about anything. Even a wine-toned blouse seems to do the trick. Evidently, January is going to be overshadowed by a grey gloom. As such, I've been turning increasingly to warm tones to buoy my moods and happily, it actually works a bit!

I'd write more but I'm already super late for class! Still need to work on my resolution of becoming more organized, yikes.

Hope you lovelies had a wonderful weekend!

Life is Simple in the Moonlight

2012-01-05T09:19:00.000-08:00

Club Monaco coat, headband, and skirt, sweater c/o Jacob, Wilfred belt
ring c/o Social Experiment, Belle by Sigerson Morrison flats, BCBG clutch

Not gonna lie - shooting post-school sucks. It's starting to get dark around 3:30 p.m. here, and most days I'm not off until 4:30 p.m. I am not a big fan of using flash and so the result of shooting at nightfall is this: grainy, dark pics with wonky white balance. Hopefully I can figure out some system of shooting around my school schedule soon so that I can take advantage of what little light we have right now, but until then you'll just have to forgive me for photo quality!

I'd say I normally don't gravitate towards super preppy looks, but something about this whole ensemble really reminds me of Blair Waldorf on a more casual day. Her character is the only reason I ever watch Gossip Girl (I love Blake Lively but Serena is seriously annoying), and I've come to really appreciate how beautifully groomed and ladylike she always looks. It's not like I'm normally a disheveled mess, but sometimes it's nice to prep it up a bit.

Hope all of you are having a good week so far! On to my second day of school...can hardly believe it! xo

Back to the Grindstone

2012-01-03T16:58:00.000-08:00

Twenty8Twelve leather jacket, Lucca Couture palazzo pants c/o Diverse Group,
T-shirt c/o Jacob, H&M necklace, Marc by Marc Jacobs bag, Club Monaco scarf

I guess it's true that all good things must come to an end. I'm trying to soak in as much "nothingness" as possible on my last day off before heading back to school tomorrow. Matt and I started re-watching Lost from the very beginning a few days ago so that's pretty much all I've been doing all day. I'm a big Lostie so this is pretty much a perfect way to be spending my last few days of relaxation! And that does not mean I'm a huge loser...I just really love the philosophical message behind the series and love how psychologically thrilling it is. Which actually makes me really cool.

And as you can see...no stitches! My NYE was basically issue-free. No ER trips, no DJ tables falling on me, nothing! And I managed to somehow run my 5K Resolution Run in a deep haze and jump into the freezing ocean for the Penguin Plunge the next day. All in all, very proud of myself.

Hope you all you lovelies had an amazing time ringing in 2012 and that your first couple of days back to work/school are relatively painless!

Auld Lang Syne

2011-12-31T15:36:00.000-08:00

Top left photo courtesy of StyleQuotient, bottom right photo courtesy of Viranlly Liemena

While picking out pictures for my year in review, I slowly became aware of how much has actually happened in just one year. I was in and out of doctor offices for the first couple of months of the year dealing with the dog bite on my face and all the complications that happened as a result, then finally feeling better and tackling the internship route, then heading off to Mexico for a wonderful vacation with Matt, then a gong show in Vegas with some of my girls, then working at Ishara and getting some great experience in the public relations world, then my whirlwind application to school, then starting journo school in September, then...well now my fingers are exhausted.

To say the least, it's been a very full year. Despite the bad, I remember the good more than anything, and at the end of the day I think that's the true mark of a good year. I feel very blessed for all the relationships that I've developed in the blogging world and in my "real world", for the amazing opportunities that have come my way, and for the love and support I receive from so many incredible people, including you if you're reading this!

I hope you all have a great time ringing in 2012 tonight, and that the new year presents only good things to you and your close ones! Thank you for all your support, it means the world to me. Happy New Year's!

With a Little Luck

2011-12-29T17:35:00.000-08:00

Club Monaco skirt, Wilfred blouse, H&M men's sweater & booties,
Rebecca Minkoff bag, vintage belt, ring c/o Social Experiment, TNA scarf

I am having a love affair with this new copper Club Monaco skirt that I picked up yesterday (I was exchanging it for a tank that my sister had gifted me, so thanks older sista!). I am so in love with it in fact that I'm dropping my already-planned New Year's Eve outfit and wearing this skirt instead. Also, my little sister shot these pics for me. I'm so impressed considering she never picked up an SLR before. Ooooh the Grant sisters...they're just filled with great gifts and hidden talents.

As some of you might have heard me say before, I have never once had a good New Year's. Last year was really the pinnacle of them all...let's just say I was in the ER for four hours with blood running down my face, then I got the New Year's gift of stitches. Fun times. I'm hoping this year will be good though. I mean, I'm kind of bound to get a break at some point or another, right? And if, by the way you ever see me in person, ask me to list off all my weird/horrifying NYE's. It's a great story.

Hope all you lovelies are having a great week so far! Any big NYE plans on the horizon?

Cabin Fever

2011-12-27T15:50:00.000-08:00

I'm back! After a very lovely two days spent lying on the couch watching Christmas movie after Christmas movie with my siblings and eating enough to feed an army, my family and I packed up and headed over to our cabin on the Sunshine Coast yesterday. I've actually only ever been to the cabin during the summer and it's been really cool being here during the winter for a change. Winter cabin days involve lots of sitting by the fire, drinking red wine, and watching the rain come down. There was a little pocket of dry weather earlier in the day so my brother, sister and I decided to head out for a walk and see what the tide brought in.

My brother got me the scarf I'm wearing in these pics, I love it! He actually has the most dead-on gift picks for me, but I guess having a sharp sense of style can almost be expected considering the fact he was raised with three sisters. I also got the Canon Rebel T3 and have been absolutely loving it. So much fun shooting all the beautiful shells that wash up on our rocky beaches...that is until I started to freeze, which usually happens pretty quickly (I am a low blood-pressure, cool-temperature freak). So now I'm sitting in front of this...

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas my lovelies! Anyone get anything particularly amazing?

The Final Countdown

2011-12-23T10:37:00.000-08:00

Lights of Hope at St. Paul's Hospital

Still can't wrap my head around the fact that Christmas is in two days...I have piles of wrapping paper just sitting here next to me but feel zero motivation to start wrapping. That could be partly because I'm the worst gift-wrapper ever (it's a running joke in my family to find the ugliest wrap job and go "Oh...and this must be from Alex!"), but mainly it's because I'm in a complete state of Christmas-denial.

These are just a few of my Instagram snaps (find me at @tovogueorbust!) during this last leg of the race to Christmas. Collectively, they also serve as my little send-off to all of you since I won't be posting again until the 26th or so!

December sun against Lions Gate Bridge on the way to the Canucks game.

Our replica Charles Dickens village from A Christmas Carol.

Festive nails! Again, shocked by how long my polish held up. I used the vegan line Soulstice Spa's Geneva, an iridescent plum shade, as the base then topped it with Butter London's sparkly Rosie Lee. Find Soulstice Spa, among other great lines, at Nail Polish Canada!

Snow up at Grouse! Thought I'd see a lot more of it this year what with all the reports of this being our coldest winter yet...surprisingly, it's been relatively warm.

Steve Zissou-ing it while snowshoeing.

The best cookies ever from Smitten Kitchen. I live on her Big Fat Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe, which is what's pictured here. I made these when all my friends were home for the weekend, we watched Christmas movies, ate pizza, and bundled up in blankets. So much fun!

I hope you all have an absolutely wonderful Christmas! This may sound really cheesy but I feel very grateful for the great support and connections I've made with my readers. I already feel like I have such an amazing gift as a result, and the best part is I don't even have to wait till Christmas to open it.

Happy Holidays to all of you and your loved ones!

Written in Reverse

2011-12-21T09:56:00.000-08:00

Twenty8Twelve leather jacket, Marc by Marc Jacobs bag,
H&;M shirt & necklace, gloves c/o Lost & Found, skirt c/o Shoppalu

Because I've somehow gotten myself good and sick over the past couple days, I wanted to just share the rest of the pictures from the guest post I did for the beautiful Megan of Feathers & Freckles the other week instead of making you look at pictures of me sneezing and blowing my nose. My first full realization that I was actually sick was when I woke up at 9 a.m. yesterday only to feel so woozy that I crawled back into bed, sleeping until noon. Poop. Hoping I can get my act together in the next day or so as I have events I want to get to, Emergen-c and hot tea full steam ahead!

I really need to get it together soon though because my bro is back in town and we need to partyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy. And by party I mean we're going to a Canucks game tonight and I need to not sneeze and cough on the unlucky soul's head who sits in front of me (and yes I always cough/sneeze into the crook of my elbow, but germs spread, which is why I hold my breath when someone sneezes...I'm...different!).

On a brighter/creepy note, want to see the Christmas card my fortunate family is receiving? I really wanted to channel Vanilla Ice for this masterpiece, and I have to say it worked out pretty perfectly:

This will undoubtedly fill them with Christmas joy! And it serves as a great opportunity to remind them that I am in fact da bomb, because they forget all the time.

Hope you're all having a great hump day! Four days left to Christmas, can you believe it? Hope you're all wrapped up with shopping now and get a chance to fully relax!

Candy Cane

2011-12-19T09:46:00.000-08:00

Club Monaco coat, vintage dress, H&M sweater,
belt & booties, Rebecca Minkoff bag, ring c/o Social Experiment

This outfit is my own sartorial interpretation of a candy cane - stripes of red, white and a touch of green! Not gonna lie, if I look a bit worse for wear in this post it's because I'd had a tad too much holiday cheer the night before. A few of my favourite girls were back in town for the weekend only so we made the most of our mini reunion. It was so good to not only have such a fun night out with them, but to have the day after to lounge around watching Christmas movies, eating pizza and catching up.

I have even more "holiday cheer" to look forward to over the coming week. This last stretch before Christmas is always packed with holiday events, that and my favourite little brother (and my only brother so I'm allowed to say that) is home tomorrow, which means we can finally start doing all of our weird traditions together as a family! Christmas Train, here we come.

I'm meeting up with Lily and Peter, the beautiful people behind the blogs Bleed For Fashion and The Starving Stylist, for tea later today. Then Matt and I are meeting for a quick dinner and one last final shop before giving up. We still haven't even decided what to get each other, is that bad? Hopefully we can figure out something (anything!) tonight. Should be a good day though! What do you all have planned for your week? Did you manage to wrap up your shopping?

Hope you all have great Mondays loves!

Primping and Prizes

2011-12-16T12:10:00.000-08:00

I have some great beauty finds and one amazing promotion to share with you on this very grey and rainy Friday here in Vancouver!

I mentioned eBeauty.ca in a previous post - they are literally my go-to place for all makeup and skin care buys. I tend to be very picky and really like to invest in my beauty products (except for my Nivea Lip Shine that lives in my back pocket...it costs $2!), and the range of quality lines they carry blows my mind.

You guys might pick up on this just by looking at my posts alone, but I'm not really much of a heavy makeup person. I find it really doesn't suit my face, and eyemakeup in particular can be very tricky for my light-coloured eyes. So when eBeauty.ca sent me the amazing Jemma Kidd's Eye Wardrobe Colour Quartet in plum, I felt like my makeup prayers had been answered. It gives me the smokey eye I've always longed for without looking like I had much makeup on at all.

All Jemma Kidd products come with an easy-to-follow guide describing how to use each shade in the quartet. The top left lilac shade is to highlight the brow, the bottom right shade is for the eyelid, the top right plum shade is for the crease, and the bottom left shade is to define the outer corner between the crease and lashline or it can be used as an eyeliner. You can use your own brush (mine is from MAC) or they have a great sponge one inside (and it's actually good, not the ones that you usually automatically throw out). And to be perfectly honest, when I'd be late running to school sometimes I'd just use my fingers and put on some of the highlight and eyelid colour on, the product wears so well that it's easy to apply with just about anything!

I wore the quartet during my last oufit post, using only touches of the product to highlight and define my eyes. Also, if you have green eyes like me or flecks of gold in your iris, the plum quartet could not be more perfect for you!

Top: Paris, and on the bottom from left to right: Kyota and Geneva

Remember when I said I hadn't painted my nails in three weeks because of school? Well, I'm happy to report that they have not been chipped or peeling since I went on holiday. Much of that is due to the fact that I was so excited to try all of these polishes that Nail Polish Canada had sent me from Soulstice Spa, a vegan, cruelty-free and toxin-free nail polish line, that I've been so on top of my manis. I was a bit hesitant at first about the fact that they were vegan - with most other beauty ranges, I'm all for trying out vegan products, but I wasn't sure how it'd translate with nail polish.

I ended up wearing Paris on all fingers except my accent ring nail for a good week with only the most minimal chips towards the end (you can see it in my outfit posts over the week here, here, and here). So impressed. That, and the polishes dry surprisingly quickly and the colours have all been beautiful so far. I currently have Geneva on with some Butter London sprarkly polish on the tips (a festive French mani if you will) and I keep staring at my nails in amazement. Nail Polish Canada carries lots of other great lines does free shipping on orders over $29 in Canada, so get shopping!

Finally, I wanted to share this promotion with my Canadian readers (sorry international friends!) because it's so easy, no purchase is required and there's a charitable component too...basically, everyone wins.

So how it works is if you visit Jacob here, you can view or print your stocking filled with an instant surprise that you can redeem by heading to any Jacob store near you. There are $290,000 worth of prizes, so lots of love to go around! The prizes include six $10K wardrobes, discounts, and more. If you want to try for a chance at an additional $10,000 wardrobe, you can also share your stocking online. Finally, for every stocking brought in-store, $1 is donated to Goodwill and Renaissance, a Quebec-based charity. The promotion runs until December 24, good luck!

One more thing on the agenda: I know lots of you love the illustration, but I think it's time to change the banner. I have a text-based one that I love and I think it will be a great update for the blog. Anyway, expect it to switch over soon!

Hope all you lovelies have an amazing weekend!

The Bright Side

2011-12-14T09:25:00.000-08:00

Twenty8Twelve leather jacket, Rebecca Minkoff bag, Mink Pink cape,
Zara silk blouse, Urban Outfitters pants, H&M booties & necklace

Oh, how I love Vancouver weather. Two days ago, I enjoyed a beautiful, sunny day, so nice out in fact that I strolled around in a silk blouse and leather jacket and felt perfectly warm. Fast forward to today and I'm bundled up in two cashmere sweaters, throwing on earmuffs and a bulky winter parka just to walk my dog around the block. Guess I can't live in cold-weather denial forever!

I used to just ride the tide of holiday cheer until New Year's Eve then feel totally worn out and fed up over winter, but this time around I'm really trying to make the most of the season to get me through to the spring. I'm definitely one of those people who don't feel entirely themselves during the winter, so getting out and embracing the season really helps. Matt and I had such a great time up Grouse Mountain the other day - there are pics below as proof! Other items on the winter bucket list: ice skating at Robson Square, cross-country skiing, and the Christmas Train in Stanley Park! What do you all have planned?

Keeping it real in snowshoes and enjoying a beautiful sunset with nachos and beer! Perfect winter day.

Happy hump-day to all of you!

Today You Can Find Me At...

2011-12-13T10:03:00.000-08:00

...Feathers and Freckles!

Twenty8Twelve leather jacket, Marc by Marc Jacobs bag,
gloves c/o Lost & Found, H&M shirt & necklace, skirt c/o Shoppalu

I found Megan's wonderful blog a couple months ago and quickly fell in love with her classic yet eclectic style. A beautiful person inside and out, we formed a bloggy-friendship quite quickly and I've definitely come to rely on her outfit posts as some of my main sources of sartorial inspiration.

Her and her man are off to Cali for the week so she's lined up some great guest posts to tide us over while she's gone. I'm so honoured she asked me to guest post, and if you head on over to this link, you can view the rest of the pics that go along with the little outfit peek above!

Hope you all have a great day!

Desert Rose

2011-12-12T09:47:00.000-08:00

Blazer c/o Lost & Found, trousers c/o Shoppalu, Rebecca Minkoff bag,

Club Monaco T-shirt, H&M necklace, vintage belt, Sam Edelman booties

I used to be all about cool tones - my wardrobe used to consist solely of blues, greens, greys, and black. I had myself convinced that because of my green eyes and rosy undertones, if I wore anything warm-toned I'd look washed out. This winter, it's like a switch has flipped. I've entirely swung from the cools over to warm tones (as I'm sure you may have already noticed in some of my most recent outfit posts). I can't get enough of camels, soft pinks, and rich browns. I'm starting to feel like these warm tones actually cheer me up as the temperature dips...anything to make our grey winters less gloomy is perfection!

I had such a great weekend! Friday night Matt and I enjoyed an amazing Lebanese-style meal at Nuba and then ended up seeing Puss in Boots instead of The Muppets, and it was soooo good. Matt and I's movie-viewing maturity level sits somewhere in the five-ten year old range so we were pretty much losing it the entire time. Then Saturday I went out with a couple girlfriends to celebrate my end-of-term at London Pub. I can always count on these girls for a fun but ridiculous night, and true to form, that's exactly what it was.

And nooooooooow Matt and I are off to Grouse Mountain for the day! During December, they turn the peak into The Peak of Christmas...excited to go on an alpine sleigh ride, snowshoe, ice-skate, and drink litres of hot chocolate. Oh, the joys of having no school, at least for a little while! I'll have to put my nose back down to the grindstone soon enough so I'm making the most of my free time while I can! Hope you all had a great weekend and are off to a good start of the week!

Pieces of my Week

2011-12-09T09:20:00.000-08:00

Little peeks at what I've been up to during my first week of sweet, sweet freedom!!!

Image courtesy of Ian Lloyd

A little meet-up with some blogger friends on Saturday. Love that in every single one of these group shots, I'm always harassing whoever is standing next to me. It was Alicia last time. This time, it was Jen's turn. Sorry girl.

From left to right: Aarti, Lynn, Cee, Jen, me, Leonie, Pari, Veronika, and Cara.

We did a little cookie swap instead of clothes this time around - Leonie's boyfriend made us three different kinds, what a sweetheart!

Wednesday night a few blogger friends and I headed to Spank Clothing's blogger shopping event. It was lovely catching up with some of my faves, and I also managed to find some Christmas presents for both my mum and older sister! Thanks again to Talya and the rest of the lovely folk at Spank for the wonderful evening!

Group shot!

Matina's back from Japan!! Check out her blog to see all of her amazing travel pics, she's an incredible photographer.

From left to right: Matina, me (with a whole lotta prezzies), Alicia, Jen, and Cee.

My family is crazy Christmas-obsessed. No one ever believes me until they come to my house and see the physical proof of it. This is just a little peek into my family's holiday lair.

Monsieur Nutcracker (he's on our "Ukranian" tree in the front...we have another one in the back too...told you, we're obsessed)

Our Charles Dickens Victorian village set. Yup...a whole village.

My advent calendar! I've had this one for years, I'd highly recommend it to anyone who a. wants to be environmentally friendly (cuts down on buying a new cardboard one every year), and b. loves chocolate as much as I do, because as you can see...

...you can fill it with whatever amazing chocolates you can get your hands on! Pretty sure this one's a hedgehog...

Bailey getting into the holiday mood.

Now that school's done, I've finally had a chance to actually look at myself in the mirror. Which has been quite revealing. Apparently I forgot to paint my nails for two weeks...I had no idea until I was out Wednesday night with my bloggy-girls and noticed how nicely manicured all of them were. Blogger fail on my part.

Et voilà, all better! A two-tone neutral look, festive but still easy to pair with my wardrobe!

An eyeshadow palette from eBeauty that I'll be reviewing soon! Have already gotten tons of use out of it, perfect for a makeup novice like me.

Matt's taking me out for a post-term celebration date tonight, so excited! We're headed to Nuba first, which is this amazing Lebanese restaurant in Gastown, then I think I may have to force him to take me to see The Muppets. I'm really in love with Jason Segel, he's second only to Dave Grohl in my heart (and Matt's at the top of course, but he doesn't count in my celebrity list). So pretty much it should be the best night ever.

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! xo

Earth Tone

2011-12-07T10:57:00.000-08:00

Club Monaco silk dress & scarf, Twenty8Twelve leather jacket,
H&M sweater, necklace & rings, gloves c/o Lost & Found,
Marc by Marc Jacobs bag, Sam Edleman booties

I've come to the realization this winter that my closet is 99% pretty yet impractical things and 1% basic pieces. As my taste has changed and evolved, I've found that I almost crave the simplicity of a great camel coat (see last post) or the perfect white T-shirt more than anything. What's more, the more I stock up on basics in neutral colours, the easier it is to throw together a look, which is obviously always a big plus. This isn't to say that I'll abandon my bright colours and prints, but I did need to give myself a bit of a tutorial in dressing in basics. For example, this outfit took about two minutes to pull together, I just sought out earth tones and everything came together in record time.

After having wrapped up my term with a 10+ hour day on Monday, I decided to totally crash yesterday. I watched disgusting amounts of Say Yes to the Dress and What Not to Wear, drank tea, ate candy...and that was pretty much it. Oh, and I had two grilled cheese sandwiches.

I love having the odd day off to do nothing every once in awhile, but surprisingly, I woke up today wanting to get back to some kind of work...any work! I'm someone who naturally likes to have a full schedule just so I get to talk about how busy I am, so I'm sure I'll figure out something time-consuming to occupy myself with soon enough.

I'm actually just starting on some applications for editorial internships this week, so if any of you hear of any opportunities in the fashion/lifestyle publication industry, let me know! I can be anywhere and everywhere come April so even if it's something outside of Vancouver, I'm game!

Hope you're all having a great week so far!

Morning Dreams

2011-12-05T09:23:00.000-08:00

Club Monaco clutch, gloves, coat & skirt,
H&M shirt, belt, necklace & booties

If this past weekend was a little peek of what's to come my last day of classes today, then I'm ecstatic. With no homework to worry about, I got a chance to actually do fun things. I spent the weekend hanging out with my journo friends for our term-end party, cutting down and decorating Christmas trees with my family, eating cookies and catching up with blogger friends, running with Matt and generally just enjoying life. Such a nice change from staring at my computer screen in the newsroom for 10 hours a day!

Check out ma baaaaaaaaaaangs in action! I swung a lot from love to hate immediately after getting them, but now I've settled on love. It's just made getting ready in the morning more exciting and given me more options.

Hope all of you lovelies had a great weekend!

A Little Bit of Everything

2011-12-02T09:05:00.000-08:00

As promised, here are some images from the time I spent at Spank Clothing with their lovely in-house designer Sylvia Lee while shooting a photo and sloundslides story for school. Aside from the wonderful pieces from their label Lost & Found that are already on the floor, there's also a couple little peeks at their upcoming Spring 2012 collection! So exciting!

Thanks again to the lovely people at Spank for the wonderful day!

I recently wrote an article for my program's paper about looking chic for holiday parties without looking kitschy. I spoke to the wonderful Monika of The Doctor's Closet, Amrit of Gastown boutique ishara, Eman Aziz, a well-known local makeup artist, and Amande He, who designs the wonderful Vancouver-based jewellery line Rocaille Design. Thank you ladies for the great interview!

Finally, here's a very grainy, iPhone-taken peek at an impromptu change I made last night: I got bangs! I've been needing a change for awhile, so I thought I'd start small and get some bangs that I can easily brush to one side or pin up. I'm still warming up to the idea of having something covering part of my face (I find I keep on pushing them up and then they just stick out at weird angles, really must stop doing that), but it's definitely already given me tons of new hair-styling ideas!

Coming in on home stretch here with school. Just today left then a couple more projects due this coming Monday and I'm done, doney-done! Can't wait to just.........sleep hahaha. Haven't even started thinking of any of the fun events up ahead, I mostly just want to climb into bed and not get out for awhile. I'm sure once I've had a few eight hour sleeps back-to-back I'll be ready for some holiday fun.

I hope all of you have an amazing weekend!