Nude Pumps (and a pair of Booties to boot!)

I have a wedding coming up in November that has forced me to find a cute pair of shoes (yes, forced).  I'm going to wear a navy blue dress I picked up in Zara, that has a somewhat high neckline, so I wanted some really sexy shoes.  Everything in stores that I liked were $120 and up and I just didn't feel like going that route.  So I ended up finding a pair of really sexy platform pumps on Ebay for about $30!

Nude platforms from Ebay...$30!

They are super tall and the height makes them extra sassy, which is perfect for my somewhat reserved dress.  All in all, not a bad purchase.  These remind of of the Steve Madden super high patent pumps that are in stores right now.


A few months ago I was shopping in Zara (I work downtown and go there on my lunch break waaay too often).  Anyways I found a pair of super-cute booties with a bit of a wedge heel that I fell in love with.  They only had a size 7 and 8 left so sadly I had to leave without them. But then about two weeks later they got in a nine and I was sold! I love how they can be paired with some leggings and a tunic or skinny jeans and a blazer.  They're so versatile and really comfy! ($69 Cdn)

My new Zara booties!

YSL Arty Turquoise Imitation Ring

I really enjoy YSL's rings.  They're chunky,bold and just gorgeous as can be.  Sadly, they are a tad out of my price range right now.  I do think I will get one at some point in the future but for right now I have to pass..

As you can see, they are wonderful and extremely unique.  They tend to be in the $300 price range, and can reach up to $500+ on Ebay. However, in my searches, I came across a few "fakes" that were actually quite nice.  SO I placed an order ($19.50 including shipping to Canada) and I was pleasantly surprised when I received it (see my pic below):



My new ring!



The metal is somewhat shiny, but it's quite nice in my opinion.  The stone doesn't look like real turquoise, but some of the YSL stones look quite like imitation stones as well.  Anyways, it will do for now until I can one day afford a genuine one.  If you want your own imitation ring you can find them on Ebay under "chunky stone ring" or "arty stone ring". OR if you've got more of a jingle in your pocket you can purchase the real deal here:http://www.ysl.com/en_US/shop-products/Women/Jewelry/Rings

OH.MY.GOOOOOSH!

I have not posted in MONTHS! A lot has been going on with me so I do believe I have some excuses.  I moved out at the end of the summer with my boyfriend.  We decided it was about time and decided to go for it.  We actually decided to rent the first place we saw.  It's the first floor of a nice home in Toronto that we just fell in love with and that we had to snag because so many other people were planning on viewing it.  It's a small two bedroom, with a walk in closet off of the second room. It's really ideal for us right now.  I also got a full time job that I am enjoying so much!  I am an administrative assistant for a medical company and It's going well.  They're even paying me to take a course for web design in January, and I get to travel across Canada for some of our events.


So that is just a bit of an update.  Chances are I will try to update every now any then *BUT* I don't actually have internet at home (or cable for that matter) so I will probably do a few posts on the same day and then nothing for a while.

Thanks for reading!

DIY Shark Tooth Necklace (Mila Kunis-Forgetting Sarah Marshall)

After watching Forgetting Sarah Marshall (which is a great movie, I highly recommend it)I couldn't stop thinking about the shark tooth necklace that Mila Kunis wore throughout the movie.

It's absolutely stunning and to me is a gorgeous summer piece that can be layered with other pieces or worn on its own.  I looked into buying it and found that it is by a company called Pade Vavra (http://www.shoppadevavra.com/item.php?item_id=257&category_id=47)  and comes with a $225 US price tag.  While I do love it, I just cannot justify a necklace at that price right now, especially for vermeille (dipped in gold, not solid). So I decided to make my own! I got my supplies on both Ebay and Etsy.  On Ebay, I found a man who sells fossilized and new shark teeth, some of which he sells already wrapped in gold-toned wire..I just had to request that he make the bail smaller (the little hole/hoop at the top is the bail) which he did for me.  The tooth I bought was on sale and cost me $11.

Then on Etsy, I found a gold vermeille chain for $5.  So in total I only spent $16 plus shipping for a VERY similar look-a-like!

If you want to check out the sellers I bought from, you can find them here:

Etsy seller:

http://www.etsy.com/shop/akya?ref=pr_shop_more  (vermeille chain)

Ebay seller:

http://collectibles.shop.ebay.com/Fossils-/3215/i.html?_nkw=shark+teeth&_catref=1&_fln=1&_ssn=whereonearth&_trksid=p3286.c0.m282

Here's my version:

I wear it every now and then and I have had quite a few compliments on it.  It's often a lot cheaper to imitate or make your own version of jewelry you like.  Sometimes it doesn't work out and other times it's just as nice!

Dolce Vita Jade

I don't know if you are familiar with Solestruck.com, but if you are you know how amazing it is, and if not you should definitely check it out.  They have some really fantastic shoes and although the prices can occasionally be steep, they have unique shoes, sandles and boots.

Anyways, one day I was looking at their new styles and I came across their Dolce Vita Jade wedges.  I fell in love with them BUT they were completely sold out.  HOWEVER! I managed to find them on Ebay, brand new, for a fraction of the cost (hell yes!).  I believe they were $179 on Solestruck but I got them on Ebay for $80 plus shipping. I am absolutely in love with the color, its so rich and vibrant and really, really comfy.  I'm completely in love with wedges lately.  I find that I can last 8+ hours in them whereas with some regular heels I find my feet hurt after an hour.

I love the tassles!

Dolce Vita also has another type of wedge that is a tad shorter but with a similar style.  It's called the Pela Wedge and it comes in an awesome hot pink as well as a really nice neutral nude.  I found out that Target actually has an identical pair for a much better price

As you can see it's very close, although the Pela's are more vibrant.  I can't wait for Target to come to Canada!

FINALLY!

I am finally able to get back onto my blog! My days of homework, exams and presentations are done..I graduated at the end of April from my program and started my new job last week.  I haven't been able to get on my blog because I work 7 days a week ( I kept my retail job for weekends and work 9-5 during the week), my parents just sold our house, I just got my first apartment and am preparing it before I move in next week.  Just a ton of changes for me, I'm really excited! I hope to get back to posting on a weekly basis

Finally passed my G2 Driving Test!

I had my G2 Road test today at 9am and ohhh my lord I am soo happy that it is finally over.  I didn't sleep AT ALL last night (literally no sleep) and I was really, really nervous.  I got out of bed at 7 and went practicing.  Guess what? As I was practicing, the automatic steering (I think thats what my boyfriend called it) started to fail!! My boyfriend drives a Pontiac and one of the issues for this car is that this often fails in his specific model.  Apparently he got it fixed but it broke today.  Basically when I try to turn or park going under 30 miles an hour, its almost impossible to turn the wheel..you literally have to put ALL of your muscle into it and it looks really, really bad; like you don't know how to control your vehicle.  However, it only gave me a problem during my parallel park and fortunately it didn't cause too much of an issue. I PASSED!!! So I can officially drive alone, on the highways, at night etc. 

For those of you who are about to take your G2 test (also called your G1 Exit test), I did make some small errors (a bit of a wide left turn, forgot my e-brake when parking downhill) but if you really drive with confidence, do frequent mirror and blind spot checks and come to a complete stop at all the appropriate stops, you will pretty much pass. Also, make sure you know how to do an emergency stop (downhill and uphill park too), parallel park and reverse park...even though she didn't have me reverse park, 9/10 people usually have to.  Overall it was a really positive experience.  And don't forget, if you fail you can retake the test in two weeks..so just practice, practice, practice!!

If anyone needs some tips or has questions about the test, feel free to comment and I will get back to you :)

Gym Update

So I mentioned a few posts ago that I joined the gym.  Well so far I am really, really loving it! I try to go every day whether it's early mornings on the weekend before work or after work at around 10 or so.  I generally go in and do about 45 minutes of cardio and then a half hour of weights.  I now know how to use all the machines in the women's gym (yeah, I still don't feel comfortable in the huge gym area so to the women's gym I go!!)So far I have been able to go 5 days a week! It's been three weeks and I am already starting to see some changes in my body. I feel stronger and firmer, I have more energy, and knowing I worked out helps me keep on track with my eating habits.  I've been drinking a lot of high protein shakes and have cut out a lot of the junk I used to eat.  I started out at 134 pounds and right now I am sitting at 131.  I was a bit discouraged at first because I've been doing really well with my eating and working out and though I would have lost more. Apparently though when you're building muscle, the scale doesn't budge much because muscle weighs more than fat.  So I'm just going to try to focus on how I feel and be happy with the changes I see on the outside as opposed to just focusing on what the scale tells me (although I still would like to get down to 120!ha!)

Someone told me the best way to drop pounds is to do 10 minutes cardi0, 10 minutes of weights back and forth. I may try this after I reach a plateau.  Any helpful tips?

A Pop of Color!

I picked up a copy of LouLou magazine the other day and came across a picture of a model with really natural makeup with a pop of color across her eyes done with a really nice cobalt blue eye-liner.  I then went into my makeup stash to see if I had anything in there to recreate this look. 

Here is my take on this. My color is a little bit more bright but I think it will look nicer in the summer with a bit of a tan (Please excuse the wide eyed look, I was trying to really show the color!!)

With my pale winter skin it was quite a stark contrast but I think it's a really nice, vibrant color. I used a creamy, water proof eye-liner pen from a brand called Styli-Style in color 176 Turquoise. It was purchased at Rexall for I believe around $7.  I'm not sure if Shopper's would carry it or not but I'm pretty certain it would be available at most Rexalls (or Pharma Plus).  It reminds me somewhat of a mixture between the Urban Decay Liquid liner in Ecstasy and Minx but for a much more reasonable price.

I really would like a liner like this but in a bright gold color.  Anyone know of any good drugstore brands that have a good metallic liner with staying power???



Maybelline The Falsies mascara vs.Rimmel Max Volume Flash mascara

I am a huge, huge fan of L'oreal Voluminous Mascara. It is my fave as far as mascaras go..makes my lashes look miles long and super volumized.  The only thing is that I, like a ton of others out there, love to try new products even after I've found "the one".

I got Maybelline's "The Falsies" for Christmas and just opened it a few weeks ago.  I have been trying Rimmel's Max Volume Flash for a few months now.  Here is my review and comparison!

"The Falsies"

So I have been wearing this daily now for quite some time. While I do like it, I will not be repurchasing it.  After opening it, I found it has a ton of little thread like fibers.  I think this may be an attempt to follow the whole Fiber Lash idea. However, I find they don't apply very easily to the lashes and they constantly fall into my eye.  I literally find myself constantly rubbing my eyes or having them be all red and irritated.  And I didn't find any indication on the packaging that this was even in the mascara (Maybe I missed it, I'm not sure).  It did volumize somewhat, but doing two coats is difficult because then all the litte pieces start to create fall-out so that's a no go.  Overall, kind of a sloppy mascara.

I didn't mind the wand shape, as it did allow me to get right into the base of my lashes, but again with the fibers, I didn't want to get too close for fear of getting too many of them in my eyes.

If it did not have the fibers I might have reconsidered it but definitely not with all that irritation!

"Max Volume Flash"

First of all, I love the packaging of this mascara.  Who doesn't like a girly pink packaging in their makeup bag.  Honestly this is what initially attracted me to it! However, this really isn't too bad of a mascara.  It does add substantial volume which I love and it does lengthen quite a bit.  The wand is fairly standard, not overly thick or thin and it's not that plasticky type that you get in some mascaras (like in Telescopic, I reaaaally dislike that wand). My only gripe is that you really do need two coats of it to get a dramatic look.  If you only apply the first coat, it's quite natural looking and to get the length you really have to go in behind the lashes with the wand.  Below is a photo with only one coat.



One coat



As you can see, they don't really look extra long or volumized with only the one coat.  But after applying two, it makes a pretty large difference.




Two coats



In terms of the lengthening and thickening, these are both pretty similar.  I would say that the Volume Flash wins out though, because it doesn't irritate my eyes, I prefer the wand and I'm a sucker for the packaging. 

Any tips on good drug store mascaras I should try out?

My Picks for Top 5 Best Dressed at the Oscars!!

If you're anything like me, you cannot wait for Oscar night.  I love listening to the interviews, seeing the dresses and of course competing against my family and tallying up correct votes/guesses of who's going to win in which category (all while gorging ourselves might I add!)

Here are my top 5 fave outfits on the Red Carpet!

#1- Mila Kunis..by far!!! I love the colour, I love the way the dress fits and flatters her figured and I love the lace around her bust. Flawless!

#2-Jennifer Lawrence: If you saw Winter's Bone, I'm sure you had no idea that she looked anything like she did on the red carpet..WOW ! She was gorgeous even as the rough-and-tumble tomboy in her film but in this gorgeous, fitted red dress she was just astounding.

It was simple but so extraordinarily glamorous!!

#3-Reese Witherspoon: I loved her dress which was just a perfect black and white combo, especially for the red carpet.  The deep back was a unique touch and a nice way to bring a statement to a fairly low-key dress. I also really loved her hair and makeup.  She looked so fresh and young. 

#4- I really, really loved Kate Blanchette's dress.  I loved the mustard color beading with the grayish-lavendar dress color.  It was such a unique combo and her short hair was the perfectly styled to help pull it off without taking away or adding too much to the dress.  My boyfriend said the round part in the center of her dress reminded him of a carebear though! Overall, I really love the boxy, futuristic shoulders with the flowy bottom portion.  Gorgeous!

#5-For me it was a tie between Celine Dion and Scarlett Johanson. I loved Celine's tight fitting number and Scarlett's dress color combined with the exposed back and lace.

Is it just me or does Celine always look amazing? And she just had twins, what like 5 months ago? Insane.

DIY Artwork Using Old Calendar Pages

So I was at Chapter early last year and saw an old Calendar that had just expired.  It was with 12 photos of Audrey Hepburn and they were really gorgeous black and white photographs so I decided to pick it up (it was only $4) becase I figured I could use it for something.  I ended up deciding to frame them. After my sister saw this she wanted the calendar too so I ended up picking her one up as well.  Then when she went out of town, my mum decided to re-do her room(my mom loves little room makeovers). 

We picked out two cream 23x23 inch square frames which included matts, and then cut the photographs out of the calendar.  We then just placed them in the frame and voila! Instant art!

 

Imagine these pictures on a pop of wall color! They would stand out really nicely!

The one below is my favorite one of Audrey, it's a photo I had never seen before and she looks like she's so happy.  I plan on framing this one eventually when I move out.

An alternative way to frame these would be to buy an album frame (you can get them at Michael's Arts & Crafts for around $12) and frame them that way if you want a more simple line.

This is just a really good way of creating artwork on a budget, or turning your favourite calendar photos into wall-art! Enjoy!

Spring Break Baby!

SO! I have reading week this week..woohoo! A week off. Err, not really.  I dont have any classes this week (aside from my one online class).  While everyone else is going far away to some hot beaches to drink and tan, I am staying home :( I have to work and had to pick up more hours at my business placement this week.  However, it is nice to have some extra time to get things done. I just went through my closet, donated some clothing, cleaned up and organized.  I also plan on fixing some clothing that has been sitting in my closet, waiting to be repaired before I can wear them again!

I don't know about any of you, but I HATE to waste so I am very careful to fix or mend things that I know I can still get some use out of.  There are too many consumers out there that waste, waste, waste and add I try not to be one of them.

Anyways, hopefully some of you are on break too and can finally catch up on anything you haven't had time to do!!

Some Tips on how to successfully sell clothing on Ebay

I don't know if any of you are like me in this sense but for a long time I would buy a ton of clothing that I "loved", which I would never wear and so it would end up sitting in my closet for months and never get worn.  I eventually would do a closet clear out but did not want to just discard/donate these clothes that still had the tag attached or that had just been worn once.  So about 3 years ago I decided to give Ebay a go.  Over time I got really good at targeting those Ebayers who I thought would enjoy my clothing.  Here are my top 5 tips for anyone who is looking to successfully get rid of some clothing on Ebay:

1.) The TITLE of you listing is the most important.  If you are selling, say, a really gorgeous blouse from Anthropologie that you bought for whatever price it is important that you use certain key words like "Urban", "Bohemian", "Vintage" and other such terms in order to target those individuals who would likely buy from that store.  People who are looking for that type of clothing are more likely to search for these terms as opposed to "blue blouse".  You are not allowed to put titles of stores in your listing if your item is not from there, this is called key word spamming. BUT you can use words that are descriptors that resemble the store such as "Urban" or you can use words that would target the audience you think would be most likely to buy your item.  A lot of people make the error of putting "cute!" or something like "gorgeous pink top" but no one is going to actually search for a "cute top", they would most likely type "Chloe pink blouse" or something of the sort. 

2.) Item Condition.  Do NOT list anything that has stains, holes or marks.  People do not want to buy these things.  I once purchased a blouse that was listed as "gently used" only to receive it and notice that under each arm was a yellow sweat stain! How disgusting is that? The only exception to this rule (in my opinion, obviously) is if it is a very high-end item that is new and has a damage that is easily repairable.  Such a top with a loose seam that can be easily repaired or a stain in an unnoticeable area.  Some sellers on Ebay sell high end merchandise for ridiculously cheap because they can get it from the manufacturer at a discount and then pass that discount on to you!

3.) Photos.  Some people think that listing an item for $50 is justifiable with only one photo of the item.  This is silly.  Make sure you have at least 3 photos so that the people who do come across your item get the best idea of what your item actually looks like.  This will prevent them from getting something they don't expect and thus leaving you with positive feedback.

4.)Shipping.  In order to entice buyers, make sure you are charging shipping costs at their actual rate.  A lot of sellers try to make money by upping the shipping and therefore profiting on this as well as on the sale of their item (which is against Ebay policy, but hard to prove).  Charging $25 for shipping when it only costs $7 will reduce the amount of bids placed on your item for sure.  And for those who do follow through and pay, they will likely leave you a bad rating for expensive charges.  Also, make sure you send out your items within a reasonable 1-3 day period so your buyer gets it A.S.A.P.  Buyers get restless very easily! (If you are unsure what to charge for shipping you can take it to your nearest post office and have it weighed to get a general idea).

5.Paypal.  In order to make your sales as seamless as possible and to get the maximum number of people to bid on your item you really need paypal.  People are skeptical about giving their card out over the internet (rightly so) and Paypal allows them to feel safe.  It also give you a place to keep money securely online and then make purchases with that money, or transfer it to your bank account if you so choose.

I hope this was helpful to anyone who is interested! Let me know if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to answer! xox

My Celebrity Style Icon

I was just looking through my saved photos of "looks I like" (I don't know if you do this but if I see an outfit I love or a piece of jewelry I like and want to make myself, I save it on my computer) and I noticed that a lot of the photos are of Hillary Duff.  I don't know what it is about her but her style is absolutely my favourite, I don't think I've ever seen her in an outfit that I wouldn't personally wear (at least within the last 2-3 years, not in her Disney days!)

For one, she does the dressed up look well, whether she's wearing a pant suit or a dress.  She always looks tasteful and on trend and always wears really interesting cuts, fabrics or unique patterns.

She also always seems to rock one of my favourite looks: the super casual leggings, tee and scarf look.  This style can go wrong on so many different levels, but she always looks casual and cute at the same time..just the right amount of "I don't really care" without being sloppy.

I also think I gravitate towards her looks because she's similar to me in that I wear a lot of neutral/earthy colors, but then do a strong pop of color in a shoe, scarf of some kind of really bold accessory.  I absolutely love the above look with the bright yellow shoe, so cute!!

Whether she's going to the gym, going to an event or just getting coffee, she always looks fabulous. I love her!