holidays

This whole week has been so busy. I've had numerous fam jams since my sister came home on Boxing Day. On Christmas day it was my mom, my stepdad, my stepdad's sister, her son, my grandma and I for dinner. Then after dinner my uncle and two cousins came over for a visit. Here are some random pictures I took:

I thought our table looked really nice, so I took a picture before dinner.

My new shoes; I'm in love with them!

Some of the gifts from my siblings. My brother and his fiancee bought me the shirts, and my sister knit the scarf!

Some other things I received. Playbook, movies, new wallet and cardigan from my mom and step-dad :)

I went Boxing Day shopping before my sister's flight landed, and found a few good deals. Bought a sweater, a nice tie-front shirt, some underwear and some make-up.

The sweater is from Gap, and the shirt from Mendocino.

On Tuesday my other grandparents came over for dinner and so did my brother and his fiancee, and on Wednesday my sister and I went for sushi with my dad. It's been so nice visiting with people all week. 

Tonight I'm going to a friend's New Year's Eve Party, so I had to find something to wear. My sister and I went to Marshalls this afternoon and I picked up this dress for $11! I was pretty impressed, I'll definitely be going back there. 

I hope everyone has a really fun and safe New Year's Eve. All the best for 2012! :)

Christmas Eve

Happy Christmas Eve! Hope you're all having wonderful holidays.
Here are a few pictures of my house all decorated:

My mom and I made Chuck and Blair gingerbread cookies. The blue line is supposed to be Chuck's tie :)

My plan for the evening: The Polar Express, hot chocolate, and sugar cookies. :)

Christmas things

This week has been so hectic. I've had so many assignments due. I got one done with today, so now I just have a philosophy essay and a short comparison type thing for media.
My friends party was really fun. Here's what I wore:

The chiffon top is from American Apparel, skirt from GUESS, heels from Costa Blanca X, and the bag is vintage.
Here are some pictures of me actually wearing the outfit. I had to crop people out so they might look a little funny.

The holidays are only a few days away, and I finally got my shopping done today. The mall was a little crazy, but I didn't mind too much. Unfortunately I haven't felt very festive lately, so I decided to remember the list of things I like about the holidays to try and cheer me up. I don't remember the exact list anymore, but I've decided to share a new version with you! 

In no particular order:

-Spending time with family and friends

-My sister coming home (!!!)

-Snow (unfortunately we don't have any yet :( )

-Old Christmas carols

-Candy canes

-Glitter eyeshadow

-Wrapping presents

-Sequins (almost every store has something covered in sequins during this time of year!)

-White peppermint mocha latte's from Starbucks

-Christmas movies and holiday episodes on tv

-Department store decorations

-Champagne

-Pretty holiday lights on houses

-Donating to the Goodwill representatives at the mall 

Here's a great version of Silver Bells by She & Him. Gotta love Zooey.

Shirts

It's been so long since I've posted! It's been pretty busy around here, with last-minute assignments before the break, and getting ready for Christmas.

In the grade 12 art class at my school the students have been making t-shirts with stencils. My really good friend is in one of the classes, so he made me two. He made me one with Twiggy on it, and one shirt with Patsy Stone from the tv series Absolutely Fabulous.

He traced and cut the stencils himself, so I'd say he did a pretty solid job. I was pretty impressed. He gave me both during lunch at school, so I put the Twiggy one on. So here's what my outfit looked like with the shirt on:

This evening I'm going out for dessert at Demetre's with some friends. I'm in the mood for cheesecake, so hopefully they'll have a good one!

Tomorrow evening another friend is having a late birthday party at a hotel. It's a kind of formal thing, so I get to dress up, and I haven't had a reason to in a long time, so I'm really excited for it. It took me a long time to figure out what to wear though, since some people are saying they'll be dressed casually, and others have said they'll be dressed fancier. But I finally decided on a body-con skirt, a flowy chiffon top, and some heels. I'll be sure to post any pictures!

mommy and me

Yesterday I had a such a good day doing things with my mom. First we went to an open house at one of the colleges I will be applying to. We got to take a tour of the residence/campus and had a session for the fashion design program. The campus was really nice and the program seems really good.

We were really hungry so then we went and got falafel wraps from a small place near our house. It was so yummy. After that we went to a holiday craft show at an art centre where I used to go to camp. My mom ended up buying some gifts, and I bought some maple candies, they're so good! Earlier in the week I saw on the Fabricland website that they were having a big members sale until Saturday, so we went to that after the craft show. I ended up getting so much stuff, it's kind of ridiculous. I'm so excited to sew now!

We came home after that to feed the dogs and let them out since they had been at home by themselves all day. Shortly after we went out for sushi for dinner. We had edamame, spicy salmon hand rolls, a "Hawaiian volcano roll' (spicy salmon roll with butterfish on top on a flaming plate), and a "red dragon roll" (shrimp tempura roll with salmon on top). After dinner we went and saw "Puss in Boots" in 3D. It was really cute and funny. I hadn't realized how many big actors were in it, I was surprised when the credits came up. It was also my mom's first 3D movie, so she was amazed. It was such a fun day, and it really got me out of the sad mood I've been in.
Here are a few pictures of the only some of the things I got at Fabricland:

busy days

Lately I've been super busy, and actually out and about doing things. I've seen 3 movies in the past few weeks. I saw In Time, Paranormal Activity 3, and A Very Harold and Kumar 3D Christmas.
In Time was really good. And not just because Justin Timberlake is in it. It had a very Bonnie & Clyde feel to it, but in the future. It was really interesting.
I'm the worst with scary movies so Paranormal Activity 3 wasn't a good decision for me. It was my friends birthday so I went for her, but the movie got me so scared. I was covering my eyes for most of the movie. Except when the husband's friend Randy was on, he was really cute.
Harold and Kumar was really funny, I would definitely see it again. Some of it was ridiculous, but it wasn't too crazy for me.
This week my school gave out our report cards, so we had Friday off. So Thursday evening I went to Wendy's and saw Harold and Kumar. Yesterday in the morning I went tile shopping with my parents, because we're renovating our basement. I went to my friends house in the afternoon and we had a mini photoshoot, then I went to my boyfriend's show with some other friends. The bands were really good. I didn't get home until around 1:30 in the morning, so today I was pretty tired. I went back downtown with my friend. Surprisingly the only thing I bought was a falafel. Usually when I go shopping downtown I end up spending more than I should, but I'm trying to save to buy nice Christmas presents. Tonight I'll probably just watch a movie with my parents, and then tomorrow I can finally just not do anything all day.

On Tuesday I saw Lykke Li at the Sound Academy. It was such an amazing concert. She had so much energy and was moving all around the stage dancing. She opened with Jerome, and continued with tracks from Wounded Rhymes, as well as Little Bit from her Youth Novels album. At the end of "Youth Knows No Pain" she incorporated Kanye Wests' "Power" into it. The whole performance was so good, I'm so glad I saw her.
Here's a video of her performing the Youth Knows No Pain mash-up at Lollapalooza and a video of Rich Kid Blues at the concert I saw (neither are mine).

best of seen and submitted/shopping haul

So today's been the best day I've had in a while. I had last period spare so I decided to go downtown to H&M, because they had a pair of shoes I really wanted. So I went to the one in Yorkville, just because I know it better than the other locations. I found the shoes I originally wanted, but decided I didn't like them as much as I originally thought. However I found a pair of black chelsea boots in my size and got them instead! I saw them there a month ago and really liked them but didn't buy them because I didn't have enough money at the time.

H&M also has a promotion on for "buy one get one free" on certain knits, and so I ended up buying two new sweaters too! I also bought a pair of suede leggings that have a sort of riding pant feel to them. I wasn't sure about them at first but when I tried them on I really liked them.

On the way home I stopped at Starbucks too, and got a caramel macchiato and red velvet whoopie pie, two of my favorite things from there!

So when I got home I was checking my email and such and came across a message on my Lookbook account from someone at American Apparel. She told me that one of my looks is being featured on the Best of Seen and Submitted page on the website! It was such a surprise, I was so happy. Here's the link if you wanna take a look :) (I'm number 5) It's kind of funny because I was wearing mostly American Apparel that day, but it was after I quit my job there. I've never been featured on something before though, so I was really excited when I saw the post!

Now I'm just going to curl up and watch last night's episode of The New Girl. Such a good show!

flight of the conchords

I've recently started re-watching all of Flight of the Conchords. Last winter when my sister was visiting I started watching it because she had the episodes on her laptop, but I didn't get to see them all so I decided just to watch it all again.
The show is so funny, it's definitely one of my favorites. Jemaine looks a lot like my sisters friend too, which is pretty funny. It's sad that they stopped after two seasons but I understand how hard it could be having to write those songs every week.
The first song in the first episode, The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room), is probably my favorite. I've watched this video of it so many times, and it never stops being funny. Especially when Jemaine does his dance moves.

little red riding hood

I have so much school stuff going on this week! I have two tests, a project and I did a presentation today. It's so frustrating, especially since I've been having a hard time concentrating.
The party on Friday was a lot of fun. I ended up making the hooded cape for my costume because I couldn't find one. Now that I think of it, the only store-bought costume I've ever had was Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz.
Here's two pictures from the party. (I cropped my friends out for their sakes..)

The top is from Guess and the velvet skirt is from American Apparel.

my week

I haven't written a new post in a long time, so I'm taking a little break from my homework to do just that.
The fall weather finally seems to be sticking, so I've been able to start wearing my fall clothes. I love layering and wearing big cozy sweaters.
Friday night my school had a big football game with our rivalry school, so I went with a few friends. It was pretty cold, but we still had a good time. (Our team won too!)
I have a  lot of projects and tests coming up because report cards come out at the beginning of November. It's really stressful on top of researching colleges and universities. I keep getting nervous about not getting my portfolio done in time for applications, even though I know that's not likely to happen. I really hope to get into my two top choices of schools.
This Friday I'm going to my friend's Halloween party. I love Halloween and I always get really excited in October for cheesy Halloween movies and decorations. The next week I'm going to another Halloween party, as well as a Halloween punk/ska show that my boyfriends band organizes. For the party this week I'm dressing up as Little Red Riding Hood, and for the other events I want to dress up as Luna Lovegood, but if it doesn't work out I already have my other costume. I'll be sure to post pictures after!
What are your plans for Halloween?

Here's a photo one of my friends took at the football game.

modcloth order

So today I quit at American Apparel. The hours were really long and it was effecting my school work, so it was for the best. My manager said I could come back next summer if I wanted to though, so that's really nice of her.

On Monday I ordered a few things from modcloth.com. I really like everything on the site so it's hard to not to splurge! There was a big sale on, so I got one sale blouse, a regular price sweater, and a sketch-book. It's only the second time I've ever ordered anything online, so I was really excited. This morning I checked the UPS tracker, and it was really close, so today the box arrived! Luckily the tops fit me really nicely. Here are some photos of what I bought:

They sent me this hair clip free!

Lulu in the order box. I can't get enough of her.

Post-Clothing Show

I got back from The Clothing Show a couple hours ago, and it was great. Lots of really cool designers and artisans. I ended up taking my mom with me, we're really close and she's fun to shop with. Felt like a long day though, we did lots of walking. Here are the things I bought today:

This is an all natural deodorant from Priya Means Love. There are no chemicals and no aluminium salts, so it's much better than regular pharmacy deodorant. Plus it smells great. You can find it here.

 

Found this adorable pair of underwear on sale at With Love Lingerie. Their lingerie pieces are beautiful. You can take a look here.

I bought these three bracelets from The Bijou Box for only $7! It was the clasps that sold me on them, so cute! You can look at the other pieces here. (their Etsy is under construction, but check back in a few days!)

This shirt is from Yes World Boutique. Their pieces are so unique, and many are eco-friendly. The designer told me that the pattern on this top was inspired by a trip to Africa! Here's the online shop.

This is probably my new favorite dress. I've wanted something like this for a long time. I'm not sure where I bought it because there were no signs and they carried a bunch of different brands, but the label says Maya. 

There was also this beautiful cuff I wanted from Blackiris Design, but I didn't end up buying it. I'll have to remember it for next time. My mom bought an outfit from Yes World Boutique, sinus vapor balm from Priya Means Love and a few boxes of cookies from Sprucewood Handmade Cookie Co. She bought vanilla, maple, apricot, and raspberry. They're all very delicious. They're really cute too, they kind of remind me of the "eat me" cookies in Alice in Wonderland.

And now after a long day, I'm going to make some tea, and watch a movie.

The Clothing Show

Tomorrow I'm going to The Clothing Show! I'm so excited. I went to the spring/summer show with my sister in May and it was lots of fun, so I expect to find some good things and have a great time. I actually won two all-weekend passes through a contest on textstyles.ca, but I was working today and I'm working Sunday, so I'm only able to go tomorrow. But it works out, because the show hours are longest on Saturday. I'll be sure to report back with details tomorrow! (Thanks again, Stefania!)

On another note...
Last night I was feeling creative, so I decided to sew something. I based my design on a shirt I already have, but added my own elements. I love the pattern of the fabric. I really like stripes, but these ones look as if they were sketched on. Here's a picture of the fabric I used:

And here are images of the final product, and how I wore it!

(excuse the grim faces, the pictures where I'm smiling are blurry)

procrastination

I've been assigned a lot of homework lately, so it's been hard keeping up with everything.
The warm weather is coming back, which is starting to annoy me. Just when I get used to the regular fall weather it starts getting hot again. It's so frustrating!

I've been really interested in French music lately, more than I already am. It just seems to calm me down when I'm upset. The language is just so pretty! Luckily I can understand most of it too.

Right now I'm really just procrastinating, seeing that I still have homework due for tomorrow to do. So before I go to finish that, here are some of my favorite French songs of the moment:

Petite Pute - Austine

Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus - Serge Gainsbourg & Jane Birkin (an oldie but a goodie!)

Coin Du Rue - Juliette Greco

h&m bag

I've been working so much, I haven't been able to write a new post. But now that I'm free tonight, that's what I'm doing. Hopefully my hours next week will be more reasonable...

So I went back to Zara on Monday and returned the bag. It was a beautiful purse, but it just wasn't right for school. If it had been bigger with stronger handles it would be perfect. After I returned it I went and bought one from H&M. It's almost double the size of the other one, so I can fit everything I need in there. I'm really happy with this one. Here's a picture:

Today was kind of cold out, so I finally got to wear my new dress from H&M! Here's what I wore it with:

Dress: H&M

Belt: American Apparel

Fishnets: Winners

Bag: H&M

Ring: Aldo

That's about all I have to say for today. Hope you're having a great week!

school updates

So I've had my first real school day today. It's hard getting back into the routine, I'm very tired. Now that my classes are mixed rather than mostly French immersion, there are a lot of new people in my classes. Unfortunately quite a few of them are the people I don't like from my school. But I'll just have to suck it up because that's life, right?

I only have two shifts at work this week which seems like the perfect amount. More than three would be too much for me, I'd get distracted from school and I'd be too busy. Tomorrow at work I get to pick out some new fall things, as all the sales associates get packages for the seasons. I'm very excited, I've been picking out what to try on already. There's so much I want to buy, but I'll have to wait for a few more pay checks to buy it all.


I bought a new school bag as a back-to-school gift to myself. Here's a picture:

It's from Zara. I absolutely love it, but I have been having second thoughts. I really like using the long shoulder straps, but I realized the one on this bag is rather thin, so I'm nervous that if my bag gets too heavy it will break. Maybe the strap is just for show, or when the bag is light. The other straps are thick and stronger, so that could be it. I haven't taken the tags off because I'm still contemplating whether or not I should return it and buy a bigger bag with a better strap. Suggestions?

end of summer

Yesterday I got my laptop back from Staples after two weeks. The hard drive broke so they put in a new one, which means that I've been re-installing all my programs and loading all my files back on to my laptop. It's annoying to do, but I'm glad I still have all my files.
I've been working so much lately, it feels like I'm missing out on summer. It's been getting a bit cooler already, so the fact that it's the end of August is really setting in now. The end of summer is always sad, but I am kind of excited for fall. So I've made a list of a few of the things I'll miss, and a few of the things I'm excited for.

Summer things I'll miss:
-hot weather
-ice cream trucks
-tanning
-outdoor swimming/swimming in the river
-sleeping in
-no school

Fall things I'm excited for:
-pretty colored leaves
-Halloween
-layering
-pumpkin spice lattes
-new season of Gossip Girl
-knee socks

striped shirt

This evening I was sitting in my tv room bored when I looked over and saw my sewing machine and pile of fabric. So I decided to sew something. I haven't sewn all summer so I'm glad I did tonight. I ended up making a kind-of slouchy shirt.

Here's the beginning product:

And the finished! Here it is on a hanger:

And here it is on me: (I'm still in my pyjamas, so I didn't want to take a full picture)

harbor front

Today a few friends and I got all dressed up and went downtown for dinner. We went to a restaurant on the harbor front. It was a really fun night, we always end up laughing so much. My dad used to live around that area and we always use to take walks down there, so it was really nice being down at the water again. It made me realize how much I love it down there, and how badly I want to spend the day walking around looking in the art galleries and festivals booths like we use to. Here are some of my favorite pictures of the evening:

american apparel

I finally got a job! I now work part-time at American Apparel. I've had two shifts already, and I work again tomorrow. It's a fun job, everyone is really nice and helpful, especially since I'm new and have been needing some assistance. I'm so happy I finally got a job, I was starting to think that I would never get hired.

Last night I watched Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amelie Poulain. I absolutely loved it. Audrey Tautou is such a good actress, I've really enjoyed her films. The story line was a little confusing, but it didn't really matter because I still understood. Just everything about this movie I loved. Especially the soundtrack, I have a thing about accordions. After watching the film, I want to live in France even more. I loved it when I went to Lyon a few years ago. Everything seems less rushed than Toronto, and everything is so beautiful. I can't wait to go to Paris next year.

first half of july

I am so glad I am done with school until September. A lot of my friends are doing summer school this July, and many of them have said that it's really hard, and/or boring. So I'm quite happy that I didn't sign up to do any summer courses.
So far this summer I've only been going up to my cottage once and a while, and seeing a few friends here and there. Today I went bowling with a few, then we went to Harvey's (per my request, they're one of the only places I can find veggie burgers!). Then I went to Winners by myself and bought a few nice things that were on sale. A good day, I'd say.
Sunday I'll be taking the bus up to my cottage on my own, since I wanted to stay home for the weekend. I've never taken a coach bus anywhere other than field trips through school, so it will be a new experience. I just have to make sure I'm up early enough so I'm not late!

happy birthday to me!

This week has been so busy! Monday was my last exam, as well as my birthday. I got Starbucks for breakfast and wrote my exam in the morning, then I went to my boyfriend's house for a while. He bought me sushi for lunch too. Then I went home and hung out with my mom, step-dad, and step-sister until we went out for dinner. We had Italian, one of my favorites!

Tuesday I went shopping with my step-sister, and then had some friends over for a hot-tub party. We went crazy in Victoria's Secret, since they had their semi-annual clearance sale. I got a two new bathing suits, some body cream, and my step-sister bought me a bunch of new undies! The party was really fun too. We all just hung out and ate food.

Yesterday I went to my boyfriend's band's cd release show and met up with some friends. It was super fun, but now I have bruises on my feet from people stepping on me! It was so humid and sweaty in there too, but I didn't really mind, I having too much fun. In the morning I went to a second-hand store to look for a bench for my brother with my step-sister and my mom, and ended up finding vintage Escada kitten heels! I had to get them, they were only $10! My mom and I always have really good luck with second-hand stores, we've found Dior, Guerlain, and Diane Von Furstenburg too.

Today I'm going out with some other friends for dinner, as another birthday celebration, so I'm looking forward to that. It's really rainy out, so there's not much to do today. Tomorrow there are two more parties that I'm going to, on top of everything this week!
Here's a few pictures of some of the things I recieved :)

My new robe from Victoria's Secret, a gift from my mom

 Some books and magazines I got from my family

The bracelet and silvery necklace is from my boyfriend (he has good taste), the ring and pink necklace from my two friends, and the owl from my sister (I named him Edgar)

 Also got that shirt and skirt, both from American Apparel. This is what I wore to dinner!

 My vintage Escada pumps!