OOTD: Stripes and Chevrons

An outfit I wore to work last week.  It is VERY hot in Toronto right now, so the lighter and thinner the material, the better.
(I apologize for the lighting, it was very early morning...and my camera phone is not great)

Zara black riding leggings ($40)
Forever 21 striped chiffon sleeveless blouse($21 ish dollars)
Forever 21 Silver Chevron Necklace: ($7.80-called arrow bib necklace, find it in gold here. )
Pure by Alfred Sung for Zellers Wedge Gladiors ($20)

ZARA Studded Horse Blouse

I am currently in love with pretty much everything in Zara right now.  There are feminine blouses, fun prints and pastels everywhere.  A while back I saw a horse print blouse that I really like, but that I just did not want to spent the $80 or so dollars they were asking.  I then decided to see if there was anything on Ebay recently and I came across this:

It was from a seller in China and I knew it may be terrible quality, but for $14 (plus free shipping), I just couldn't resist.  And when I received it I was shocked.  It is IDENTICAL to the Zara blouse..it even has a Zara tag, but I know it is not authentic.  Still, I couldn't believe it.  AMAZING deal. I love the studded shoulders as well. So cute.  Will do an OOTD with it soon.

Click here to visit the sellers store.  Be warned, Asian sizes are a lot smaller, I got a Large and it fits like a Medium.

Get a Perfect Ballerina Bun with a Hair Donut!

I always thought that girls with a perfectly round ballerina bun just spent a lot of time on their hair and had a good technique that I never seemed to be able to master.  Then a colleague of mine entered the office one day and I commented on her gorgeous bun.  She told me it was a "hair donut".  I then went home that night and youtubed/googled it and saw just how easy it is to do.  I started looking online and they were going for about $10, or you can easily make your own with a sock. BUT then I went onto Ebay and found one for $1.39...With FREE shipping.  I received it a few weeks later (came from China).

Trying and not really succeeding at taking a photo of my bun...but I do like this photo!

I absolutely LOVE this thing, it's so easy and I thought I would share the ridiculous deal I got on it.  Click here to go to the seller's page and purchase your own! For reference, I purchased the large, brown version for my hair.

OR if you are interested in making your own, watch this video

Chunky Curb Chain Toggle Bracelets

While taking a break from a work event downtown, I decided to stroll into a Forever 21.  I went straight to the jewelry section and found these bad boys.  I think they're fantastic! They are bold and have an elegance that I love.

These are very light as they seem to be a plastic material, which is fine for me because now they won't tarnish!

Forever 21 curb chain bracelet: $6.80 (sold out on Canadian site, find the rhinestone version here.

OOTD: Thursday Casual

This is an my Thursday outfit..I have been unable to post since I had a work event that I JUST completed this Sunday evening (I'm enjoying a rather large glass of wine as I type this...feels good to know I don't have to wake up at 5am tomorrow!).

As you can probably tell from my denim pants, my office is quite casual.  I work in the multi-business building with a ton of different offices and staff which is actually kind of nice since I am often the only person from our company who comes in.  The overall atmosphere is pretty laid back..not to mention that my boss is only in the office about 2 times a week! So on the days she is in, I dress a little more "fofessional" (inside joke...unavoidable), but when she is not in, I tend to dress a little more casual.  Another pretty plain outfit, and obviously the most amazing part of this outfit are my amazing, royal looking loafers.

List:

Top: Zara black bubble blouse ( $49)

Bottoms: Forever 21 legging jeans ($12)
Jewelry: Garage gold leaf necklace ($17)
Shoes: Little Burgundy "Every Thing" brand Loafers ($90)

Feel free to leave comments! :)

My Very first OOTD!

I've decided I would like to begin OOTD postings.  I guarantee I will not do them every day but I would like to do a couple a week.  I really enjoy looking at OOTDs done by others, as its a great way to see how a look can be put together, or even to spot a great buy and be able to go out and purchase it yourself.

For a first outfit of the day, this is quite a bland outfit, but we can't always look phenomenal.  This is a Wednesday morning before work.  I am going to post where I got everything, as well as the price.  I am a bargain hunter and a half...I do a lot of online shopping, thrifting and Ebaying. 

I am planning on putting up a nice curtain there in the background to cover my closet.  Just need to pick one up at some point :)

List:

Shorts: Gap ($39)

Orange knit top: Old Navy ( $4.99)

Black Blazer: Urban Outfitters ( $60)

Ring: The Bay ( $12)

Feel free to comment!

Eclectic Frame Collage Wall

For our living room, we wanted something somewhat different, not too crazy, but that also didn't scream "Ikea".  We found many art prints that we loved but that I found either "too masculine", or that he thought were "too feminine" and so we sort of went back and forth for a year and couldn't find anything that we both loved.  After doing some online searching for an alternative to a single print, I came across frame collages. Here are some of my faves:

Photos from simplyluxuriouslife & talkischic

Below is a photo of our wall. We bought the frames from Michaels-waited for a 40% off frame sale and used an additional 25% coupon on top of that.  The frame was from a garage sale that I picked up for 5 dollars.  I liked the idea of mixed frames so we got some silver, white and wood frames, and of course theres the gilded/bronze color from the mirror.  To tie it all in, we kept the photos all black and white.  In total, we spent under $100 and I really love the outcome.

We really thought it would be a struggle to place them evenly and ensure that they were all straight, but all you need is two people, some nails and a good eye.  We did lay them out on the floor first though to get a feel for what we wanted, and then took a photo to refer to...

My Engagement Ring

I wanted to do a post on my engagement ring, simply because before my fiance and I got engaged, I was very unsure of what I wanted.  I was unsure if I wanted simple or ornate, real diamond or gemstone, gold or rose gold, etc, etc.  I searched a TON of sites and stores and couldn't find anything that I fell in love with.  Eventually we decided upon the ring below and I couldn't be more happy about our decision.

This is my 1.8 c cushion cut, petite pave Moissanite ring with a blossom halo.  Because I generally tend to like large rings, I just couldn't see myself with a tiny little diamond, which really is all we would have been able to afford.  To be honest, I was never really one for diamonds, since I find them very overpriced and not altogether worth it.  Moissanite is a cheaper alternateive and really looks very much like a diamond, but without the price tag.  This is called a MIRA moissanite, which is an upgraded Moissy stone, which lightens it somewhat since moissy can occasionally be somewhat "cloudy".  This ring is nothing short of brilliant and sparkles amazingly, as much so as a diamond. 

This ring will not set you back nearly as much as a typical diamond ring and is soooo, soo worth the price.  I got mine from www.moissaniteco.com and would highly recommend this site. If you are interested in finding out more about moissanite engagement rings, check out the forums on www.weddingbee.com.  Many brides these days are taking the moissy route since you get more bang for your buck and there really is very little difference between the two stones.  If you have any questions about my ring, my experience with moissaniteco, etc, feel free to comment and I will share!

Update!

So I am back! After almost 9 months of not blogging, I have decided once again to give it another go.  For a quick little catch-up, I am now living with my fiance in our own place (yupp, we got engaged back before Christmas!), I just recently quit my second job AND I just turned 25 a few weeks ago. 

I will really, really try to begin posting on a weekly basis about a ton of different things.  Basically, anything that interests me, you will hear about (not sure if that is a good thing yet).  Hopefully, with only the one job, I will have some spare time on my hands!