You Are a Tourist

You Are a Tourist- Death Cab for Cutie

It's always strange returning to the place you grew up. I felt like a tourist in my hometown, and it was only then that I realized how different I am now from the girl who left. Not different in the sense of who I am deep down- don't worry guys, I'll always be a book worm, design obsessed goofball- but more sure of who I am and with a much less bruised heart. (yay!)

And it really was a lovely week back, filled with so many people (and animals!) that I love, river rafting, hiking, dinners, and hanging out on the town's new pedestrian area (aww it was such a BIG deal for the little town).

White Tank- H&M, Grey Jersey Skirt- Aritzia, Straw Clutch- Vintage, Woven Belt- Aldo, Silver Flats- Joe Fresh, Wrap Bracelet- Club Monaco

And one of my favourite times was just relaxing at my parent's acreage, in the comfiest outfit ever (LOVE this jersey skirt!), feeling very much like I know who I am and where I'm going. 

Cheers to mistakes, second chances, amazing friends and fresh starts. 

love

xxx

Swell Swaps!

(L-R Cara, Mina, Jen, Me, Cee)
How adorable are all of these ladies?
I felt so bad showing up at Cee's little Parisian flat for our second Blogger Swap being such a ball of tiredness. I'd just spent 5 1/2 hours in a hot car driving back from the Okanagan, hence the low key hair and flip flops. But I wasn't about to miss out on this fun and I'm so glad I didn't!

Cee, of Coco & Vera, and her adorable fella are the sweetest couple who graciously hosted the swap again. This time we had Cara of A Fashion Love Affair, Mina of Faboulista and Jen of Her Waise Choice. There was a ton of fashion talk, clothes swapping and blog talks- and again I left feeling so excited and inspired! There's nothing like meeting up with like-minded people who also happen to be crazy nice!
(photos courtesy of Cee's husband)

Showing vintage finds! 

Deciding if this blouse reads as "I just stole a watermelon" on me or cute and swingy (verdicts still out, but you'll see it in an upcoming post and can weigh in!) 

As I was just bumming around for the day I didn't grab actual outfit shots, but my dad did snap this photo while we were out for brunch at Silverstar in Vernon. I'm loving the versatility of this lace blouse, paired with cut off shorts it's super casual but with a cute skirt it goes quite high brow!

love

xxx

Comeback Kid

Comeback Kid- Brett Dennen

It has just been gorgeous here! Beach bumming and cute little dresses have been necessities, especially when they're as cute as this little one that I borrowed from the lovely Veronika over at Girl & Closet at the last blogger swap. 

I love that she last wore it on her blog back in March, when Vancouver was quite a bit colder. She added a lace shirt underneath, tights, flats... and looked utterly adorable! I had fun playing off the flower colours in it and added bright happy heels, poppy lips and (my current staple) wrap and sequin bracelets! 

Dress- Borrowed from Veronika, Yellow Heels and Taupe Belt- Aldo, Various Bracelets- Club Monaco, Le Chateau, H&M, DIY

I actually wore this outfit last Sunday for an evening at English Bay, and despite almost getting a soccer ball kicked at my head (thankfully it hit my shoulder and I got to pretend to be cool/co-ordinated) (sarcasm*) the evening was pretty fun. And the dress was perfect for it, swapping is kinda awesome- I highly recommend trying it out with your friends! 

love

xxx

Instagraming A Week

Hey guys!

So there I was two weeks ago, scheduling posts and feeling mighty proud of myself (there may have been some back patting on my part..) Well I had posts lined up until last Monday and figured that I was awesome enough to be able to put together just one more post during the week. Hah. Oh how I lie to myself sometimes! 

That makes this is my make-up post! And with E. in town this past week there were tons of opportunities for Instagram photos!

Have you guys found the beauty that is Instagram? I think I may love it more than Nutella. Whoa.

And I definitely used it a lot last week! We hung out at the Aquarium (where we met the most photogenic dolphin ever!), indulged in lattes and scrumptious chocolates from Coco Nymph, plus so much Pinkberry and beach bumming! 

I hope you all had just as lovely of a summer week- and as you can see the sun has finally finally found it's way out West. Oh how I missed the smell of sunscreen! 

love

xxx

Weighty Ghost

Weighty Ghost- Wintersleep

The other night I met up with my lovely fashionable friend Brooke (of Center Sage) for some farewell wine. Putting together an outfit when your place is a disaster and you have no idea where most of your clothes are is...fun? Basically, I'd been wearing an oversized white tee and leggings all day but figured I should step it up a bit- so on came the sequinned dress! Nothing says "I swear I'm not a slob!" quite like
sequins.

On a side nore, Brooke entered Refinery 29 and Covergirl's Hunt for the Next Big Style Blogger and really, this girl should win... so head over and give her some love! 

Sequin Dress: Le Chateau, White Tee and Leggings: Joe Fresh, Black Boots: House of Harlow, Navy Metallic Trim Cardigan and Beret: Gap, Purple Belt: American Apparel, Knuckle Ring and Cuff: Aldo

So, a few weeks ago I had mentioned that I was working on a project and was hoping to show you guys a bit... so here we go! I debated posting this, as it's not at all fashion related, but in the end decided that it is a large part of who I am and this blog does seem to focus a lot on me (haha). 

Here's a page from the children's book I've been working on. It's about Mati, a Red Panda, who is looking for a friend! I had so much fun illustrating it- but had Brooke help out with the writing (the girl has mad skills! Plus, my over-usage of exclamation points and made up words didn't really cut it!) 

love

xxx

p.s so sorry for the lack of reply's lately- I'll be in top blogging form in a week. Pinky Promise! 

Photo Crushes Pt. 2

So it hasn't been the best of weeks in terms of photo shoots and outfit shots. I tried. I really did! But photos got deleted, cameras dies, computers stopped working and outfits became less than inspiring! So instead, I raided my overflowing inspiration folder to share some of my current obsessions with you guys. And hopefully the stars will align for some outfit photos tomorrow!

In other news, I have the best friends and family ever. I turned 24 today, for some reason a very scary number for me (which yes, I know is ridiculous) and for multiple reasons I was anticipating a very lonely and tiring day. Even though most of my family and friends were not in the same town as me they showered me with phone calls, notes, flowers and love. Thanks guys! I love you all very much! 

And in other exciting news, here's a present to you guys! CSN Stores are giving away a $35 e-gift certificate to one of my readers! Have you entered yet? You should! Seriously, who doesn't like free money??

love

xxx