Braids, Bags, & Holiday Parties

Hello freedom! My first day off after a 9-day-in-a-row stint at work was still a little stressful, but I did have some fun :) I woke up bright & early to visit Blo in Yaletown. Cara was an absolute doll & braided my hair to perfection! Unfortunately after a day of running around downtown it's looking a little haggard, but nothing that can't be fixed for tonight! Tonight being our unofficial BR staff holiday party, I was going for something a little different (gosh I wish I could [french] braid myself!). I was pleased with the result; though admittedly it was a little too pricey. One of the things I miss most about having my Mom around is her obligingly braiding my hair at my every whim hehe. 

Post-Blo I took a delightful trip to Michael Kors. As mentioned in my last post this year's 'Christmas present to myself' is to be a nice new bag. I had intended to visit Holt Renfrew for  a little look-see, but to be honest the salesgirls there are just too snobby. It's a stressful experience even going in there, because no matter how dressed-to-the-nines I may be, they still ignore me. Thankfully, the girls at MK were more than obliging & went through purse by purse with me to make sure I made the right choice. 

So what bag is inside the bag? Sadly I'm keeping you all in suspense until tomorrow - I'm in a bit of a rush to get ready for tonight; but I promise that I'll share some more photos with you in the morning! :)

Tomorrow we leave for Ottawa for a 2 week holiday. Usually I'm the queen of packing, but I've been so busy with work lately that I haven't even taken out my suitcase. In other words, tomorrow morning is going to be incredibly hectic...

So off I go, to doll up my little black dress & hit the city with my dear work friends. Hope you all have a fabulous Friday night as well! <3 

Bag Lady

Bag Lady by shawnahynes featuring coach handbags

For someone my mother used to call a 'bag lady', my current collection has fallen rather short in my reckoning. For as long as I can remember I've hoarded purses, building up quite the collection between age 5 & 22. However after moving from one end of the country to the other, & leaving a solid 4/5th of my wardrobe behind, I'm faced with a serious bag shortage. For the life of me I can't understand what possessed me to leave behind every practically coloured bag I own.... because now I'm stuck between every shade of brown, pink, & blue. Not the easiest colours to match every day, so you see my dilemma.


So this Christmas I've decided my annual 'present to myself' will be a pretty yet practical bag of some sort. I've narrowed it down to something in either black, white/cream, burgundy/red, or metallic/sequin; most likely one of the ones above. I'm really leaning toward either the Marc by Marc Jacobs (it's so undeniably versatile), or a Michael Kors one. I wish I could have them all, so it's a pretty difficult call to make considering I'm one of the world's most indecisive individuals. Here is where you (my lovely readers) come in: please help me decide which one to choose! 


I know the love between a girl & a good bag. Before I moved to Vancouver I passed on a miniature green & white tote to the 3 year old love-of-my-life & she was absolutely smitten. I'm looking forward to that feeling again soon. After all, a girl can carry her whole life in her purse :) 

Gypsy . Dots

As promised here is my outfit from yesterday. These new dotted tights from ASOS are incredibly fun to wear & to my delight, seem fairly durable. I'm really looking forward to pairing them with some other outfits in the future! And perhaps a pair with more dainty dots will come my way soon :) Other than that, I love the navy + light purple colour combination. In terms of cost-per-wear I have gotten a ridiculous amount of use out of this comfy navy batwing top (seen here & here). To make this outfit a little more work-appropriate I switched up the shoes & wore my Steve Madden black peep-toes. Et voila. 

I was wearing:

Polka dot tights - Gipsy, ASOS

Navy batwing top - H&M

Light purple cross-over skirt - Vero Moda (old)

Nude suede Foxy platforms - Jeffrey Campbell

 I can't believe how much it doesn't look like December here! Sure it's a bit chilly out, but the grass is green as can be. It certainly doesn't feel so close to Christmas. Hopefully Ottawa will remedy that with lots of snow & opportunity to do some festive decorating & baking. Only 5 more days! Until then it's half Fleetwood Mac, half Christmas music. 

<3 

Whirlwind

Life has indeed been a whirlwind lately, between working full-time, 2 distance university courses, & attempting to keep an eye on the blog/fashion world. Yet again I'm off to work (in literally minutes) - so here is a quick post to let you know that yes, I am still alive :)


Above is a sneak peek of what I'm wearing today. I ordered these dotted tights from ASOS last week & they finally arrived in the mail this morning.... so of course I had to wear them instantly. They are so much fun! Not very ''Banana Republic'' attire, so I'm curious to see how this one goes over at work. Regardless, I love it; it's so ''me''. More photos to come tomorrow! 

Finally purchased my Christmas cards for this year! The cutest little Kate Spade set, as well as some festive generic ones. Also got a Christmas-tree scented candle to give the apartment a little holiday touch. It is so delightful to wake up to that scent every morning!

I'm off to work - hope you all have a fantastic day! :)

Blue Eyed Soul

At long last, an outfit post for this week! This was the outfit I wore yesterday, though bundled below my Zara jacket. The denim top was my very first Banana Republic purchase, & such a versatile piece! Work wear, casual wear, party wear... I've used it for just about everything. And I just love it paired with a collar/bib necklace, like this one from Forever 21. The House of Holland suspender tights help jazz up the outfit & give a little contrast to the tiered black skirt. And then of course, my fluorescent pink satchel from Cambridge Satchel Company (last seen here). It's undeniably (& unapologetically) bright, but it has really grown on me since I got it from my birthday over the summer. It definitely adds that perfect pop of colour in this case :)

I was wearing:

Denim shirt - Banana Republic

Black tiered skirt - Aritzia (old)

Suspender tights - House of Holland

Pink fluorescent satchel - Cambridge Satchel Company

Military-style coat - Zara

Collar necklace - Forever 21

Paloma wedges - Dolce Vita

To be honest I ended up spending all of 10 minutes editing these, but hopefully you enjoy them regardless! I was back to work today, with another string of 5 days in a row to look forward to. Although I haven't been anywhere near my usual over-the-top festive self, my Christmas-mania is beginning to kick in little by little. I'll be off to Ottawa soon for 2 weeks, which should be a nice change of scenery! Fingers crossed for snow :)

Thank you so much for reading & hope you have a wonderful day! <3