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 

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 :) 

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! :)

Baby you'll freeze out there

Here is a sneak peek of my newest 'Look of the Day' shoot! We may have been a little over-zealous & taken 700+ shots, so hopefully by tomorrow I'll have them sorted & edited to share with you :) In reference to the title of this post - today was freezing! I was obviously bundled in my toasty Zara coat for the most part, but the coat-less shots literally turned my hands blue. I was pretty thankful upon returning home to Chinese take-out & some festive movie-watching. 


And with my head chock full of Christmas carols I thought I'd share some recent pictures of Vancouver all lit up for the holidays! A co-worker of mine brought me on a very thorough driving tour of the city last night, & I have to admit this is one beautiful place. He showed me so many places that had previously been beyond my walking capacity & I'm so glad to have discovered them! There will definitely be more exploring in the near future :) 

Oh so Christmasy! The outdoor skating rink, on my way home from work a few days ago.

Last seen here, by day.

A Christmas ballerina inside the Pacific Centre

Christmas trees inside the Pacific Centre.

And last but not least - the Lions Gate Bridge last night, viewed from Stanley Park.

Is your city all decked out for the holidays? :)