What to wear on NYE - Lady in Red

Song of the Day: Horchata / Vampire Weekend

Beauty Review: Viviscal Maximum Strength

Song of the Day: Cigarettes in the Theatre / Two Door Cinema Club

Fall/Winter Recent Outfits: 2012 Recap

Song of the Day: Diamond / Rihanna

Click individual outfits to see more pictures and find out where each piece is available.

Hey everyone! I'm still at my parents in Southwestern Ontario thanks to a lovely little winter storm that made the roads way too slippery to drive home today. Since it's been a few days since I last blogged, I figured I would share some of my favourite recent outfits with you. You can click the individual outfits to go to their respective posts and see more pictures, find out where each piece is from, etc.

Favourite Styles of A/W 2012
I love that layers never go out of style. This season the stores were full of chunky knits and oversized pieces - two things I'm obsessed with. I also like that OTK socks are still "in" and that deep reds and burgundies (read: oxblood, bordeau) are plentiful. Wine coloured reds are so easy to dress up or down and flatter almost every skin tone. I almost don't want spring or summer to come because I know lighter colours will return and I'll have to put away my oxblood, faux fur, and dark leathers!

Winter Styles I Want to Wear
While I can say I've gone out of my comfort zone and tried new things style-wise this fall/winter, I'd really like to wear more prints and patterns. I always opt for neutrals and solid colours and would love to start mixing it up. I'm also dying (still) to find a pair of Chelsea boots!

I'm going to do a post sometime in the next week sharing some resolution stuff and share some more about my "style resolutions" or goals. That is if I ever get back home! lol. Actually, I'll be hitting the road tomorrow heading back to Ottawa and will resume regular blogging shortly. :) Hope you had a fantastic Christmas! I know I sure did. x

Recent Posts

Beauty Review: LORAC Sweet Temptations

Song of the Day: Last Christmas / Hilary Duff

Packing for Christmas

Song of the Day: Rambling Man / Laura Marling

I type this post in between tossing my favourite items onto my bed and sorting through them to make enough outfits to get me through my Christmas home with my family. We're jumping in our car and making the seven hour drive home to spend Christmas with my parents, brother, sister, and my husband's family... and I am so excited. It's going to be so nice to get out of Ottawa and away from work and just be able to enjoy the holidays, food, drinks, and visiting with family and friends. Cole is joining me and watching Almost Famous while the packing happens. He's such a film critic.

Oxblood, faux fur & spikes

Song of the Day: Sometime Around Midnight / The Airborne Toxic >

Dress: LOVE / Tights: American Apparel / Faux Fur Stole: H&M via Ebay /
Boots: Steve Madden via Swell / Rings: Forever 21 and Peoples Jewellers /
Eyeshadow: Urban Decay Naked 2 Palette /

This is the outfit I wore to see Anna Karenina on Friday night. The movie was really good, with my favourite part being the clothing (obviously). Keira Knightley is one of my most favourite actresses and the entire cast was superb. I highly recommend seeing it if you like period-type movies or are a fan of any of the main actors. Oh, and Cara Delevingne makes an appearance, too.

Today I'm working to get some blog posts written, need to do a bit of cleaning, and then am heading out with my husband to finish up all our Christmas shopping. We head to our hometown next Friday so this is our last chance to get any "last minute" things. I've also got to snap some photos to send over to the illustrator who is helping to redesign my blog header. I love what we have planned and hope you will too!

I don't know if you already know, but I have been working with a local shopping centre on their blog. You can check it out here and I'd love for you to leave a comment or share one of the posts! I'm heading over to the mall on Sunday to film a New Years vlog entry, so wish me luck on that. People tend to gather when there's a camera around, so I'm hoping I can get there early enough to avoid a lot of spectators!

Lastly, I want to express how incredibly sorry I am to hear about what happened in Newtown, CT on Friday morning. I can't imagine what the families of the children and adults who were killed are going through, and want to remind everyone to please be understanding and compassionate about the subject. There are already idiotic tweets going around using the incident for comedic inspiration which I find totally disgusting. Anyways, there's enough information online already so I won't carry on, but will have the town and all the people involved on my mind.

Recent Posts

4 Must-Have Winter Accessories

Song of the Day: Walcott / Vampire Weekend

Winter is absolutely fabulous for layering and playing with texture, but it can be all too easy to neglect your use of accessories during the cold months. For me, I used to not only avoid accessories, but I chose to freeze my ears off while walking the dog and risk losing my fingers to frostbite as I drive to work in my cold car in the morning. If you know me, you know I'm totally obsessed with UK style blogs and lookbook.nu. I thoroughly believe this borderline creepy obsession has saved me from losing vital body parts - like my ears and fingers. Read about my four must-have winter accessories below, and let me know what yours are in a comment at the end!

Beauty Review: Soapwalla Deodorant Cream

Song of the Day: Cool Water / Laura Veirs

Beauty Review: OPI Germany Collection

Song of the Day: Red Tide / Neko Case

OPI's Germany Collection is taking the beauty world by storm and only further proving what we already know - that this season's hottest accessory is nail colour. It's very rare I'm disappointed by OPI, and their Germany Collection is no exception. There's something interesting about each shade included in the collection, and each has that signature OPI lustre and finish one would hope for.

Brand Alert: MAFIA Jewellery

Song of the Day: Santa Fe / Beirut

A couple weeks back, I sat down with a gorgeous girl from international jewelry line, MAFIA Jewellery. I got the chance to look through a bunch of their Fall/Winter samples and loved each piece's level of detail, how each was totally unique, and how they all still worked together. From logo engraved snowflake earrings and rosebud rings to wrap-around floral bracelets and dinosaur heads galore - this Ottawa-based international shop is a trend lover's paradise.

December Favourites

Song of the Day: Heilige Krieg / Werkraum

LOVE sparkle skater dress & Aldo glitter heels

Dress: LOVE / Shoes: Aldo Shoes / Earrings: Aldo Accessories /
Stockings: Fancy Sox / Rings: Peoples Jewellers / Lips: OCC Lip Tar /

Forgive me for the lack of outfit pictures, but I'm about to run some errands before I head to my office's Christmas party at a local pub later tonight. I'll add some photos if I can snap them before it gets too dark, or maybe even some from Instagram later! Since our office is super casual and no one ever dresses up, I'm absolutely wearing a dress and as much glitter as I can since it's my only real chance! The dress I'll be wearing is one of the items I ordered from LOVE a few weeks back (also got this adorable romper). I've paired it with glittery, shimmery pumps from Aldo and rose gold/warm gold floral studs also from Aldo. Since it's winter, and my legs are extra pale against the black dress, I've opted for some sheer black stockings for the night.

I decided to recreate one of Kristen Stewart's Breaking Dawn Pt II premiere looks for the makeup, and found this tutorial by Emma Pickles extremely helpful in doing so. I'm not sure what I'm doing with my hair just yet but know I'll be keeping it down since I just washed it and refuse to wear a pony tail or bun until at least unwashed hair day three!

After the office party, Miranda and I are heading over to a friend's birthday party so I may have to stop into my apartment first and dress down a little. I think I'd feel slightly ridiculous showing up way overdressed to a house party for someone else's birthday. Anyways, I hope you've had a fabulous Saturday and are having an equally fabulous Saturday night. I'll be posting about my December favourite products tomorrow and also want to introduce you to a totally cool local jewelry company on Monday. Please check back for those!

How to remove glitter polish

Song of the Day: Leave The World Behind / Axwell

OPI  - The Living Daylights*

This polish is a fun mix of medium sized, circular glitter pieces. The colours are perfect for any festive fête, and I fully intend on coating my nails in this when heading home for Christmas. Instead of doing a post showing you how great it looks on, because it's glitter and we all know it's awesome, I figured I'd share a fool proof way to remove glitter polish. I'm not ashamed to say I'll avoid wearing glitter because of how difficult it can be to remove, but I've finally got the process nailed down thanks to the mecca of beauty knowledge - Pinterest.

How To Remove Glitter Nail Polish
1. Grab your nail polish, five cotton balls, and ten mini elastics or a sheet of tin foil.
2. Rip the cotton balls into halves, creating ten smaller sections of cotton.
3. If you're using the tin foil method, cut the tin foil sheet into ten pieces. They should be wide enough to cover your nail and long enough to wrap around your finger fully. If you're using the mini hair elastic method, you don't need to do anything just yet, but should have a paper towel or hand towel you don't mind ruining nearby.
4. Soak the cotton pieces in nail polish (I find it easiest to fill the nail polish bottle's lid with nail polish remover, then dip the cotton pieces into it to really soak them).
5. Immediately after soaking the cotton pieces, place one over your first finger nail, making sure you cover the nail completely. If you're using the tin foil, scrunch the foil around your finger with the cotton piece inside. This will help keep in a bit of warmth, keep the polish remover from leaking, and will hold the cotton firmly against your nail. If you're using the elastic method, slide the elastic onto your finger so that it's holding the cotton down onto your nail like a bandage. With the bandaid method, you're likely to have a bit of nail polish remover leak out of the cotton - hence the paper towel. Repeat this until all finger nails are covered.
6. Wait 3-5 minutes and then remove the cotton pieces, pressing down firmly and sliding it off your nail.
7. With another clean cotton ball, take a bit more nail polish remover and go over each nail once more to grab anything left behind.
Et voila, the glitter's gone and you're not pulling your hair out from frustration!

Be honest... do you avoid fun polishes because of how difficult they can be to take of? If so, I promise this removal technique will change your life. You can pick up The Living Daylights at a Trade Secrets near you, or anywhere that sells OPI if you're not in Canada!

Giveaway! Escape the winter with KORRES

Song of the Day: That Man / Caro Emerald

KORRES Yoghurt Instant Soothing Gel* / KORRES Yoghurt Body Butter* /
KORRES Milk Proteins Foaming Cream Cleanser* /

Winter floral shift dress

Song of the Day: Kiss Me / Ed Sheeran

Dress: London Times* / Belt: Forever 21 / Bracelets: Forever 21 / Shoes: Nine West

Before I say anything else, I need to say this week's episode of The Vampire Diaries was intense. I loved every second of it, and have been playing Ed Sheeran's "Kiss Me" on repeat ever since. Hence it being my song of the day today. Hope you like it as much as I do!

This gorgeous little shift dress was sent to me from London Times Fashion and I'm loving the neutrality of it. Wearing warm beigey browns and black in the winter gives me such a ladylike feel, plus I love any chance to wear florals past August (like this top). I belted the dress with a skinny faux leather belt from Forever 21 (it was only $4.99!) and threw on my recent obsession, my Nine West Drought pumps in black suede. While the look is fairly neutral, the colour blocking at the skirt's hem adds a little punch so I don't wash away.

I've got a bunch of blogging to get done today, including an upcoming post for a local mall I'm working with. I'm also hoping to swing by the Urban Craft Market and LUSH, since I'm officially out of bath bombs and need my weekly bath to escape the cold and "decompress" as my husband says. Hope your weekend is going amazingly so far. Bye for now!