Last night in Ottawa

Here is a glimpse of my last night in Ottawa:

/ My outfit for tomorrow morning's flight /

/ Griffin being a good sport while I photograph him in my faux fur ''russian hat'' hehe /

/ Heavenly deliciousness in the form of a homemade vegan pizza /

Early tomorrow morning we fly back to Vancouver. Thankfully I'm already packed (albeit with an extra suitcase in tow) so we are taking tonight to relax & watch one of my favourite movies, Midnight in Paris. This holiday has been a lovely one, but I am really looking forward to getting back to Vancouver, putting my New Year's resolutions into practice, & gaining back a little independence. That, & decent temperatures again! (It was -21 with windchill here in Ottawa today; whereas +10 in Vancouver; you lucky people). 


The outfit I chose for the flight is simple, comfy, & layered so I don't freeze to death. With suitcase space somewhat lacking, I have no choice but to wear my kitten Lita's as they otherwise refuse to fit in. So much for plane practical footwear ;)

Have a wonderful evening everyone - I'll post again once back home :) 

Christmas Cheer // New In

I hope each & every one of you had a fantastic Christmas - here are some bits & pieces of mine :)

Christmas doggies :)

Delicious tofurkey! 

And here are some of the lovely little gifts I received:

                                                   

A Zara faux fur vest I've had my eye on for awhile - can't wait to wear this one!

So much velvet! 

This was the first Christmas away from my family, so there were many changes & admittedly, much homesickness. I called my Mom about 10 times, & skyped with my entire family; so that certainly helped. All the same, I did have a lovely time. So much delicious vegan food, delightful gifts, & (at my demand) plenty of christmas movies :) 

Tomorrow is our last day in Ottawa; then back to Vancouver & 'real life'. Between obligations & cold weather we have been very poor tourists in this city, so tomorrow I am really hoping for a solid day of exploring downtown & the Parliament buildings. 

For now however, I'm off to curl up with a blanket & a good movie. Have a wonderful evening! <3 

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 

Winter Florals

With the weather more like that of early Spring, why not add some florals into the mix? Today we spent simply relaxing & this is what I wore/am currently wearing. This floral dress is very dainty & summery, but I decided to pair it with my cosy grey knit from Banana Republic to make it winter-wearable. Simple & comfortable :)

I was wearing:

Grey knit jumper - Banana Republic, Heritage Collection

Floral dress - Jasmine London

Paloma wedges - Dolce Vita

Tonight I'm looking forward to making popcorn & watching some of my favourite Christmas movies; after all it is a little vacation for me! The forecast calls for snow overnight - fingers crossed, as I'm determined to get in a snowy photoshoot before we leave Ontario! Either way, expect a lookbook post in the morning :) 

Happy Holidays <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?

The Art of Travel [Packing]

As much as I love travelling, admittedly I'm a pain to travel with. I over-pack, can barely roll my multiple suitcases with any form of grace, & always forget at least one thing, despite endless list-making. I also always get hung up in airport security (just happened); and my flights often get delayed (just happened). I'm sure one day I'll figure out the travel secret...

M: "You're going to dance around on Parliament Hill chanting 'Kittens on my feet' aren't you?"

Me: "Maybe...."

My Macbook Pro & some accessories; the Versace H&M box is crammed full of random earrings & bracelets grabbed at the last minute. 

And my second carry-on piece? Oh hello beautiful new Michael Kors bag! It's the Hamilton model in Vanilla with gold hardware. It actually weighs a tonne on it's own, so I tried to put only the essentials into it for the flight. Hoping to finally get my Christmas cards written up; especially as I forgot to bring headphones for movie-watching... Oops...

And last but not least - my outfit for the flight! I always dress up & wear heels when travelling; but today I thought of Jenna Marbles recent video & opted for something more practical ;)


Well it's finally time to board, so I'll update you tomorrow during my first day in Ottawa! Thank you so much for reading & please feel free to comment away - I'd love to know what your take is on travel packing/dressing!

<3 

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 :)