April Flowers

Slowly but surely the snow here in NL is melting & the temperature increasing. Unfortunately that was not the case on Easter Sunday, when my festive outfit (centred around a peach chiffon dress) was considered too weather-inappropriate to be borne. Perhaps May will better suit it, & it shall end up here on the blog after all.


This morning before my German lessons, I decided to photograph the outfit I did wear for Easter: florals to make up for the lack of actual flowers blooming; my faux fur Gorilla jacket to keep me toasty warm & add some texture. Paired with an old pair of salmon-coloured Zara trousers, brown/black crossbody bag, Michael Kors ballet flats, & accessorized simply with my Michael Kors Gold Chronograph watch. Comfortable, but still stylish; & perfect for a family supper.


My Easter comprised of a too-early morning (I was childishly excited for Easter treats), then an afternoon of cooking/baking some vegan dishes with dear Mom. In the evening we had a family supper of 17 crammed around a long-but-not-long-enough table, while entertainment was provided by my favourite inexhaustible 3 year old singing Christmas carols & "playing Halloween" (her self-appointed "costume" being my Gorilla jacket). On the whole, the day was nice & simple. 


This week I'm back to my vigorous study schedule, trying to cram in as much as possible before heading off to Nova Scotia next week. As long as the weather cooperates I'll get in a few more outfit shoots before I go. Until then, I'd love to know what you think of this look! Your heart-felt comments are what keeps this blog going after all :)

I was wearing:

Floral blouse - Zara

Trousers - Zara (old)

Faux fur jacket - Banana Republic

Ballet Flats - Michael Kors

Gold Chronograph Watch - Michael Kors

Happy Holidays :)

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays everyone! 

I just wanted to do a quick post to thank my readers for having been so supportive since I began this blog several months ago. Your support & feedback has meant so much to me this year! I'm also really looking forward to sharing the year ahead with you :) 


I hope your holidays have been absolutely delightful & you've all had a wonderful time with family & friends. I'll fill you in on my holiday in Ottawa as soon as I get a spare moment! 

These photos were taken yesterday on Christmas eve. With the temperature hovering around -15 Celsius it was somewhat painful to be outside sans coat. My 'russian hat' helped, but admittedly wasn't the most photogenic. Ditto on the ASOS paperbag waist trousers (last Christmas) & River Island wool socks. I was hoping to take photos outside today in my Christmas dress but it's just to cold to bear! Instead I'm curled up with a blanket & that's where I intend to remain until Christmas supper is served. 

Merry Christmas <3 

Holiday Preparations // New In

I apologize for the lack of outfit posts, but Christmas is in the air! And with it come all those family obligations & preparations for Christmas day. Today we spent a solid 6 hours at the Rideau Centre searching for the perfect presents... and a couple treats for ourselves hehe :) Most of them will be wrapped up until Christmas day, but I will show you these two simple treats:

Adorable bow earrings with a rosy drop bead; an early present from Matt's mom, acquired at the By Ward Market // My annual Christmas pyjama's; these I got from Joe Fresh about an hour before our flight out of Vancouver. 

Here in Ottawa the rain is pouring & the little snow that greeted us this morning has turned to ice. My hopes are still high for a white Christmas however (Violetta I know you empathize with me on this one! ;) Tonight we're ordering in Thai & doing some present-wrapping - I just love relaxing evenings :)

How are your Christmas preparations going?

Lots of Christmas love! <3 

Ottawa for the Holidays

As afore-mentioned, this year I'll be spending Christmas in Ottawa. We arrived late Saturday night & have been in constant motion ever since. Between random trips into Quebec, neighbourhood Holiday parties, and extensive museum browsing, I am exhausted! Really looking forward to relaxing tonight; watching Christmas movies & catching up on my Bloglovin' :)


I'll share with you photos of the Holiday Dinner Party hosted here last night, as well as some touring of the city (Parliament buildings pictured above) & the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Gatineau, Quebec. 

Finally a Christmas tree! Delightful :)

So many delicious snacks :)

....and of course, a lot of Christmas cheer ;)

Navy & Cream + Michael Kors +Kitten Lita's (sorry for the poor Museum lighting!)

Spirit of the Haida Gwaii

Ganesha

An incredible model of Sainte Anne de Beaupré

This morning I looked at my suitcase in absolute dismay. It's so cold here, I feel like I have nothing remotely weather appropriate to wear. From Saturday in Vancouver, to Sunday in Ottawa, the temperature dropped a whopping 24 degrees - so when I went out this morning I was much less concerned by my outfit of many colours than staying warm & cosy. Multiple warm-weather accessories not shown here ;) 

I'm really looking forward to relaxing & enjoying this Christmas holiday. Once it starts snowing (soon, fingers crossed!) I'm going to build a snowman/fort, have a photoshoot in a winter wonderland, & of course do some holiday baking!

How are you spending your holidays?

Banana Republic x Vitamin Daily present ''Holiday Style in the City''

1. A fairly thick crowd on the women's floor

2. Make-up & manicures by Beauty Mark

3. Miniature cupcakes a la "Cupcakes by Heather & Lori"

4. Mannequins beautifully dressed by the bloggers of the night.

5. Holiday clothing & accessories in sequins, sparkle, & faux fur! 

6. A festive red polka dot top I've had my eye on recently

7. A beautiful cream-coloured rosette skirt that I've also been contemplating... 

8. Sequin, glitter, leopard faux fur, & velvet - 4 huge holiday trends all on one shelf! (Although difficult to discern, the black velvet top on the far right is the exact one I purchased last week!)

9. A bold centre-piece surrounded by cute shrugs & glittering clutches

10. More mannequins styled by the featured bloggers

11. Petra from Style Lounge certainly made my night when she picked me out of the crowd. She was an absolute delight to talk to, & I only wish I had had more time to do so! Thank you once again for all your positive feedback Petra :)

12. The cashmere corner

13. A gorgeous array of holiday glitz to dress up any outfit!

14. Holiday heels

15. I've been coveting one of these cute mini-cross bodies for awhile now - what do you think?

16. The event coming to a close

Although I was technically working at last night's ''Holiday Style in the City'' event, I did manage to do a little socializing & photo-documenting while on break. I also ran into some lovely ladies who follow my blog, as well as Becky from Champagne Weaknesses (who I had the pleasure of meeting last weekend at the H&M x Versace event).

Complete with cupcakes, cocktails, DJ, makeup & manicure bar, & some great shopping discounts, the event was quite a success. Bloggers Anya Georgijevic (I'm The It Girl) & Kelsey Dundon (The Anthology) were also on hand to provide style & gifting tips. From an employee point of view the women's floor was pure chaos, in terms of maintaining neatness & navigating through the crowd. That being said however, everyone was extremely friendly & patient; something that was greatly appreciated! 

Today I'm off work & really contemplating braving the rain to do a little shopping. I've got my eyes on a faux fur vest & some Betsey Johnson jewellery, so we'll see what happens. One last thing of mention before I go - I was pleasantly surprised (okay, admittedly ecstatic) to have been tweeted as 'Blog of the Day' by London online magazine ''The Upcoming''. Thank you so much for that! And a huge thank you to all of you for reading & following my blog - I can't even begin to tell you how much I appreciate & enjoy your comments & support :)  

<3 Shawna

LOOKBOOK: The night starts here

Here is my latest Lookbook.nu post - please hype if you like it! :)

As for today, I'm off to work in a few hours with a looming 9 hour shift ahead of me. Fortunately the store is having an event so it should be quite busy & interesting! The event, Holiday Style in the City, is being hosted by Banana Republic & Vancouver guest bloggers, Anya Georgijevic & Kelsey Dundon. There will be complimentary cocktails, hors d'oeuvres, & shopping discounts; so if you're in the city please stop by! :)


Wishing you all a fabulous day <3 

All Hallow's Eve

It's still quite early in the morning here and the city is so lovely and quiet. The fact that the sun is shining after countless grey days is also lifting my spirits! I'm off work today as well; so really looking forward to some sort of fun adventure :)

These pictures were taken on Saturday, when I had my 'day of Halloween fun' - I love this outfit because it's comfy, stylish & festive without being over the top. And surprisingly enough, I actually didn't freeze to death wearing this sheer lace top outside while these photos were taken (though I did wear my favourite Zara coat later, to run errands). 

A few things about the outfit - absolutely love this lace tee I got from American Apparel ages ago. It is super versatile & can be paired with just about anything. The pleated skirt is something I recently ordered online from Forever 21, & even though it is size XS it is ridiculously too big & will only stay up with a belt (hence the medallion belt). I had intended to return it but they apparently only do online returns via return mail & not at local stores (fail). Continuing on.... the white bandeau was an oversight on my part; I didn't realize how much it stood out until afterwards when I saw the pictures on my computer. In retrospect I should have gone for a black one instead of just grabbing the first one in arms reach. And finally the Michael Kors items - one of my favourite designers, I absolutely love getting new MK pieces. The gold chronograph watch has been one of my favourite accessories for over a year now; the black MK loafers are a newer addition to my wardrobe and I must say I absolutely adore them! Super comfortable and cute. And that is that!  

This little critter watched our photoshoot from quite near - but when the camera turned on him, he went on the run!

 

I was wearing:

Lace tee - American Apparel

Pumpkin pleat skirt - Forever 21

Belt - Sale bin somewhere in Ireland I can't recall...

Black loafers - Michael Kors

Gold Chronograph Watch - Michael Kors

White Bandeau - Garage

Now I'm off to start my day and get a little more in the festive spirit. Hope everyone has a safe and fun Halloween!

<3 Shawna

Thanksgiving Sunday

As per usual my holiday plans didn't quite work out, but a lovely day was had nonetheless! I had planned it all out... a nice day trip to Granville Island to stock up on fresh veggies at the market, a glorious vegan feast... To make a long story short, Granville Island did not happen, I couldn't contact my mom for her delicious layered casserole recipe, and I forgot to thaw the tofurky - brilliant I know haha (hilariously enough, the tofurky package had secondary directions in bold 'If you forgot to thaw the tofurky roast...' - I guess that's for silly folks like me :)  In the end I managed to make a tasty vegan pot pie & some chocolate chip pumpkin muffins, so our tummies were satisfied regardless. 


These photos were shot on our way to the grocery store to stock up on muffin ingredients:

 

Pumpkin muffins in the making - Relocation, Relocation reruns in the background hehe :)

~~~

I was wearing:

Military green jacket - Primark (old)

Cognac leather shorts - Vila, ASOS

Tshirt stolen from Matt - Urban Outfitters

Tights - House of Holland

Heart necklace - Tiffany's

Oxfords - Forever 21

Matte-finish sunnies - Ray Ban