It's almost Christmas :)

I can't believe it's only 2 days till Christmas!  I finished all my marking a couple of days ago so I've had some time to relax.  Here's what I've been up to...

Making more bracelets :)

Christmas Baking, YUM!

Sugar Cookies (not my best batch but they tasted good!)

Candy Cane Cake Pops

I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas with your loved ones! The next couple of days will be full of family time, church, and parties but I'll be back posting soon.  I'm sure I'll have boxing week purchases to share with you all ;P


Loving Christmas Lately,
Amy

DIY:Kusudama Flower Ornament

Still looking for a Christmas gift?  Well here's a homemade gift everyone will love, Kusudama Flower Ornaments. 

Kusudama is a Japanese paper ball made of identical units glued or sewn together.  The name translates to medicine ball as they were originally filled with incense or potpourri, but now are used as decorations.  There are many different versions but this flower ball is one of the simplest to make :) 

Materials:

- 60 pieces of square paper (the bigger the paper, the bigger the ornament)
    TIP: I use these spiral notepads from the Dollar Store!
- white glue
- string/ribbon
- bead or charm


First make 12 flowers following the instructions here.  It may take a little time but the end product is worth it!  The flowers look great on their own, so if you don't want to make an ornament you could just fill a glass bowl with a couple of flowers. For the red and green version I made 6 red and 6 green flowers.  Then I attached following the instructions here (it also explains how to attach the string and charm).  I made it so that the green flowers are on the top and bottom sandwiching the red flowers in the middle. 

I really love this color combo as the flowers remind me of poinsettias :)

These ornaments make great gifts even when it's not Christmas so go grab some paper and get crafty!

Loving Kusudama Flower Ornaments Lately,
Amy

A Little Gift (or two) for Myself...

With all the Christmas sales going on I caved and bought these two fabulous pairs of shoes from Aldo and Call it Spring.

These booties had been on my wish list for sometime but I wasn't sure about the height of the heel.  Once I found them for 60% off I figured there was no harm in trying them on.  Turns out the 0.5 inch platform and chunky heel make it very easy to walk in them.  Can't wait to wear them during the holidays :)


The brogues were sort of a spur of the moment purchase but something that had been on my radar for awhile.  I just wasn't sure about buying brogues as I've only recently started to incorporate menswear into my wardrobe.  I fell in love with the color combo and for $15 they make a great alternative to flats, which I wear all the time!  Unfortunately the weather is getting colder so I'll be saving them for spring.


Now, time to STOP buying gifts for myself and actually get my Christmas shopping done!


Loving New Shoes Lately,
Amy

Style Crush: Zoe Hart

I have loved Rachel Bilson's style ever since she was on The O.C.  Now she stars in the new show Hart of Dixie,where she's bringing an edgy twist to how doctors' dress.  Zoe Hart is no frumpy doctor.  She wears heels, leather shorts,and form fitting dresses when attending to patients.  And her casual wear is just as stylish, very boyfriend chic (alot like Rachel's own style!).  My favorite Zoe Hart look is the last pic.  I love the sophisticated yet casual look of the entire outfit.

Source: Yahoo! TV

       

     Source: Instyle Magazine                                     Source: Instyle Magazine 

                          

           

             Source: the CW                                          Source: the CW

Source: Yahoo! TV

Source: Yahoo! TV

While Hart of Dixie is on a mid season break make sure you check it out when it comes back on in Janurary!

Loving Zoe Hart's Style Lately,

Amy

Christmas Wishlist

1.  Love Joy Peace

It's easy to forget that Christmas is a time for giving and NOT receiving.
My wish is that this Christmas everyone (including myself)

spreads some love, joy and peace to those around them!  
Make someone's day by showing them you care :)

If any of my friends and family have already done the above and insist on still getting me a gift, then here are a few of things I wouldn't mind getting....

   2.  Fossil Flight Watch                                 3.  Fuji Instax Mini

       

4. Howell Peacoat, Aritzia                    5. Magazine Subscription

   




Loving Christmas GIVING Lately,
Amy

t+j designs Style Challenge: Holiday Outfit

So at the last minute I have decided to enter the t+j designs style challenge.  I wanted to restyle this statement necklace for the holidays as I almost always wear it with a LBD for parties.  
*I apologize in advance for the quality and size of the photos, if I had more time I would have used a better camera and edited them.

Here's what I came up with...

Silk Blouse: Banana Republic, Pleated Skirt: Moon, Heels: Vintage YSL, 

Bag: Vintage, Headband: Aldo necklace (shown in first pic above)

Bracelets: Van Heusen and DIY, Rings: Aldo and Gifted, Earrings: Forever 21

Firstly I wanted to incorporate color because as mentioned above, LBDs are my go to party outfits.  I chose this teal silk blouse as jewel tones are perfect for the holidays.  I paired it with a pleated (hard to tell in photo) black skirt to balance it out and added the electric blue pumps for an extra pop of color. 

To change up the necklace I turned it into a headband as my black hair is the perfect canvas.  Initially I tried to use it as is, but since it's layered it wouldn't sit flat against my head.  Instead, I wrapped the necklace around a thin white headband which turned out even better!  I love how it looks like beads are intertwined with the chains.

Man I have a lot of flyaways! 

To keep the focus up near my face I decided against a necklace and wore simple pearl studs.  I added some simple bracelets and rings (sorry I forgot to take a close up them).  To balance things out I kept the chunkier bracelet and ring on one hand, and thinner ones on the opposite.  Here's a look at all the jewelry minus the studs.  I used different shades of gold to mix things up.

I love the overall look, it's perfect for the holidays.  Can't wait to wear this to some parties in the next few weeks:)


Loving the t+j designs style challenge,
Amy

Notice of Beautification *Update*

*Update*

I managed to go to the new IKEA with my sister after work and I have to say it's BIG!  There was so much to see that our feet were so sore after walking through the entire store.  Less people were there on opening day than I expected, but that means less line ups yay!

It's huge!

Walking through the self serve furniture area...you can't even see the cash registers at the end!

The first thing we did was EAT of course.  Here's a look at our meal :)

YUM!

I really love the new dinning area.  It's so spacious and it has tons of lighting.  Plus, check out the cool seating area below!  All I need is Wi-Fi and I'd be set :)

Love the all the glass!

Great alternative to a coffee shop and I adore those lamps!

Here are a few things that caught our eyes...

Clear bucket lamp.  Wouldn't it be cool to put different decorations for each season?

Display showing the durability of the Poang chair.  

Adorable wall lamps for kids.

Finger puppet circus, what a cute idea!

Loving the new IKEA Lately,

Amy

**********

Only 2 more days till the largest IKEA in Canada opens in Ottawa! With nearly 400,000 sq. ft. there'll be plenty of space for inspiration, meatballs and more!  

You can spend hours looking at all the unique and innovative items that IKEA comes up with.  The designers are truly talented.  And you can't forget about grabbing some food on your way out (in addition to the meatballs I love their frozen yogurt!)



As part of their marketing, IKEA Ottawa has launched the Beautification Plan.  During Nov. 30 to Dec. 10 their Beautification Truck will be around Ottawa to collect old furniture in exchange for an IKEA gift card.  In addition, if the truck spots the Beautification Notice poster (download here) hanging from your window they'll stop and you can exchange a piece of furniture for a gift card.  Hmmm I wonder what I can get rid of?

Finally during a chat with the Ottawa Citizen's Karen Turner, Isabelle Auclair, IKEA Ottawa's store manager, revealed that there will be giveaways on the opening day.  The first hundred people in line will receive a Poang armchair and the next 500 will receive mystery envelopes with various gift cards/vouchers etc.  Unfortunately due to work I won't be able to line up but I'll definitely be at the new IKEA sometime during the week!  If any of you get a chance to check it out, let me know, what do you think of CANADA'S LARGEST IKEA?

Loving IKEA Lately,

Amy

Hair Crush: Adele

When the Grammy Nominations were announced last week I was once again reminded of my love for Adele.  Not only is she an amazingly talented singer (still can't stop listening to 21!), but she also has amazing hair (and makeup)!  Her looks are always polished and full of height.  My favorite Adele look is the 1st picture below. 

                  

                                      Source: Vogue Italia

                                    

Rare picture of Adele with her hair down.

                                                                                                    Source: Just Jared

     

                                 Source: Amazon UK 

You can find a tutorial on how to get Adele's above look at the Beauty Department.

And check out her heartfelt performance at this year's MTV VMAs below.  She is one of the few singers who sounds even better live than on their record.  You can really sense the emotion that comes from the words of the song.   

                                             

Loving Adele Lately,

Amy                                                 

Holt Renfrew Private Label Paramount Beauty Bag

Those who followed my previous blog know that I'm in love with Beauty Bonuses aka Gift with Purchase (read about it here).  Well, Holt Renfrew (Canada's version of Saks Fifth Avenue/Nordstrom) has a beauty promotion that may be my most favorite yet!  Since the end of October they have been offering the Holt Renfrew Private Label Paramount Beauty Bag for $25.  I didn't find out about it till about a week ago but my mom managed to get the last 2 (thanks again mom!).


Inside the giant cosmetic bag are:

• Monogrammed padded pouch 
• Small mesh pouch
• Mini shu uemura eye lash curler
• Laura Mercier Foundation Primer (Sample Size)
• Sisley Anti-Aging Creme (Sample Size)
• $10 Voucher for next beauty purchase (so really you only paid $15 for all of the above!)

All this for $25!

I can see myself using this as a clutch during the Holidays :)

You can see the zipper is big and sturdy.

This bag is really big plus it's lined with plastic for easy cleanup!
The mesh bag is detachable from the side and there's an inside pocket on the opposite.

Yay, metal feet so the bag stays upright!

As you can tell I'm really excited about this purchase.  Even though I own tons of cosmetic bags I believe I'll get a lot of use out of these ones.  Plus I can't wait try out the samples :)  Now what I should I put that $10 voucher towards?? Typcial skin care stuff I need? Deborah Lipmann nail polishes? Holiday gift sets? 


Loving the Paramount Beauty Bag Lately,
Amy

Shop til you drop or wait....

Oh the dilemma! With so many deals in Canada to match Black Friday & Cyber Monday across the boarder, I didn't know whether or not to hold out and wait for Boxing Day/Week!  So I scoured the mall and tons of sites looking for clothing and accessories deals but in the end I only picked up this long sleeve tee from Gap. You can't go wrong with basics, especially in a lovely aubergine color and for only $8!

While I decided to hold out for better deals that doesn't mean there weren't any pretty things that caught my eye.  Here are few things that I left behind:  

LOVE PU Skirt -Vero Moda

V- Neck Tunic - Moon (they ran out of my size!)

Crest Button Pea Coat- Forever 21

And finally this gorgeous dress which looks amazing on the equally gorgeous Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha!

Pleated Tube Dress- Jacob (was 50% off!)  

I'm ok with not getting any of these items.  I don't really need any of them and with Christmas around the corner it's better to keep my money in my wallet!  What did you pick up on Black Friday or Cyber Monday?

Loving Sales Lately,

Amy