I, on the other hand, have already been ridiculously spoiled (it seems as though we may have a waiting problem).  When a Birks bag enters the house, how long do you realistically expect me to ignore it before pestering you with questions and begging for hints?  Taking mercy on my soul, the Mr. allowed me to open the beautiful box containing a luminous pair of Akoya pearl earrings.  Needless to say, I haven’t taken them off since, and seem to be growing my pearl collection rather quickly at this rate (I’ll have a full set by the time I get hitched)!  While I refuse to be a wedding-obsessed blogger (I just can’t, and won’t), my dress recently came, disappointingly only to be a bit of a flop.  While it’s stunning and sweet, it’s just not what I was expecting (queue bridezilla music).  Eventually I guess I’ll have to look in person, but I’m happy to share that I’ll be keeping the sweet prom-like addition to my wardrobe (and be wearing it from the other side of my posts on girly days at home).  Every dame needs a princess dress, I can’t wait to take a nap in mine.

I fell in love with these shots after I got them developed.  I was so scared they wouldn’t come out, so doubtful of the black and white despite it’s usual magical outcome.  Digital photography has literally made me petrified of losing my one-and-only-chance film shots (there is nothing more devastating than waiting for a particularly remembered frame, only to realize it fell victim to poor exposure).  With fashion week’s high-paced energy, that one click of the moment is all you’ve got.  You don’t get the shot, you’re loss.  Film really teaches you about timing.  My aim is getting better, just needs more practice…

While we’re on the subject of practice, amongst my Christmas present requests, were knitting and crochet supplies (to which I can happily confirm I’ve already gotten and raided)… to which I can’t extract myself from for the life of me.  Last night I was up until 5am, hands cramped and sore, still ecstatic to be building line after line.  While my first project is a simple wool scarf for the mister, I’m already growing greedy to learn different stitches, try new patterns, and really go full grandma on the world.  Hopefully with enough practice I’ll be able to make some scant crochet bikinis for next summer… I’m counting on the year of studio classes the man surprised me with today to help in that department!  How I top everything he has already gotten me for Christmas, I’m not quite sure yet, but I have a few tricks up my sleeve yet…

Aside from holiday cheer, I am increasingly feeling more and more as though I have been born again (no religion involved).  So much transition has happened over the past year, and I am in the happiest place I think I’ve ever been.  I feel like I’m growing into someone who is far more competent than the girl I used to be.  While I am far from a finished product, everything from my hair growing in, to my body changing with exercise, my health feeling better through my food and rest, and my mind taking the time to really think and apply, has created a self that I really love and am proud of.  It’s all really made me understand the importance of a solid base, and the loss of ego in it’s entirety.  That external factors outside of your family, hold absolutely nothing over you.  The world is your playground, it’s up to you to manoeuvre the token strategically.

I have so many hopes and dreams for the future, and am so incredibly thankful to everyone around me preparing me to conquer them all, in the realest of ways.  It is one thing to say you’ll do it, but as I’ve sometimes learnt the hard way, without the action, it never really ever existed at all.  One step at a time, and you’ll get there, wherever it is you’re going.

Special shout out to Antonio and the Moroccanoil team who extended the invitation backstage for the Mandy Coon show at Milk last fashion week.  Watching the head hairstylist in action, hearing the inspiration surrounding his collaboration with the designer, and absorbing the energy his passionate team embodies (not to mention the very talented makeup artists who complete it all), was nothing short of inspiring.  For this look, Antonio used the lines new gel formula to create a wet looking updo with it’s own piecey urban attributes.  I’d love to rock something like this (if only I had the hair!).

If you haven’t already subscribed to my newsletter list, now’s the time to do it (before I send out my holiday wishes)!  You can sign up at the top right hand of my site.  For those of you already getting them, I will be changing their frequency and infusing each new newsletter with exclusive content – so hold tight as I learn Mailchimp slowly but surely!

xox

Sometimes it takes a while to get to the place you need to be to pursue a goal (or several all at once).  It takes breaking down the expectations held of yourself, seeing through the misleading images that guide most down lingering and never ending paths, and maintaining stamina.  It also takes good influence (not necessary, but invaluable to making what you’re after a little lighter) either surrounding you, or in the very least dipping into your life here and there to push you on.  It’s fine and dandy to watch an inspiring movie, make hopeful promises and say you’re going to be that “it” person you’ve always dreamed of – but it’s an entirely other thing in itself to become it.  Things don’t just happen.  People sacrifice and trade certain luxuries for others all the time.  I am guilty of being one of those “I will” persons.  Constantly knowing what I need to do to get where I want, and always feeling like I fall short due to comforts trappings.

I was in New York this past weekend, and a lot became clearer.  Where I want to go, what I want to do, what kind of lifestyle I will have to have to get there, and how perseverance, slowing down, better decision making/project-taking, shutting in a little more, and alternative professional thinking and strategy will become my focus’.  I had my cards read while there, and while I don’t want to divulge much of what she currently see’s or predicted, one of the main thing she warned me of, was opening my mouth too much.  It was a sad realization that most people really don’t want the best for you – if anything it seems to be quite the contrary.  Even the best people want what’s yours, and can become envious of the varying riches you’ve worked hard to accumulate and enjoy (and I’m not just talking material and lifestyle – this stands for love, health, family, physicality, etc…).  What she said really resonated with me (even though I had heard it all before), and it made me value the privacy others prioritize in their lives.  This may sound superstitious, but many cultures believe in the evil eye, and how others can “mark” you with a glance… how their reaction to who you are, what you say, and what you share can bring bad luck to your life.  I wouldn’t say I live by this rule, but I definitely feel as though at times peoples negative energy can enter your life and attempt to destroy or make your zen harder to reach.  As far as I see it, most things worth pursuing are quite a bit of effort, and I hate thinking that others are making it that much harder with a mere “look”.

So how do you balance the private with the public?  What do you choose to be either?  My blog will forever be a personal recount, and while I’ve always tried to be professional and political even in my rants and “lost girl” texts, how do I progress from this point onward?  Do I hold back on certain things?  Is trying to hide from these things pointless (especially on the internet with such a broad audience as far as reactions go)?  I guess I’m still trying to find my footing with many things, but this is the year of the “I did’s”, and not the “I wills”.

On a completely different note, I was in NYC.  I went shopping.  Big time.  So many great shops to explore and find.  So much selection in the stores that hold the collections I’ve already grown to know and love.  Two great arty shirts from the All Saints store in Meatpacking, one pair of incredibly brand new Alexander Wang whipstitch sandal beauties from Tokio 7 in the East Village (also where I stayed – adore the ambiance of the area), a nude pair of patent Louboutin Pigalles from the Bergdorf shoe lounge, American Apparel white tee essentials, cappuccinos and Neroli Portofino eau de parfum at the Madison Tom Ford store, alongside an unsuccessful hunt for the previously found Chanel purse of my dreams.

Such an abundance of incredible fashion.  I feel much more like myself when I’m in New York (hate to say it).  Aesthetic liberation just the way I like it.

I’ve been adjusting my new hair to my wardrobe (something that always has me in a bit of a slump until right before I seem to change it all over again), and am realizing that everything 60′s/70′s, brooding artist, and minimal seems to be my best bet.  I hate when too much is going on in an outfit/beauty look, and am more the kind of gal to choose detail over the blatantly obvious.  Heck, I just got my hair pink, and now I want to dye it back to brown…

In my quest for fitting ensembles, I’ve always been a huge fan of the jumpsuit.  The same way I love dresses (if only for the simplicity that comes with taking just one item out of your closet to get dressed in the morning), the one piece allows you to feel polished and stylish without the fuss of mixing and matching (something I’m really not good at to begin with anyways).  The summer always has me envisioning jersey draped deep v-neck swanky numbers (think Gucci), perfect for a drink at a lounge on a humid night.  Of course the shorter pinup looks with polka dots and gingham prints are forever favourites (paired with a wicked red lip).  While I love getting mine at Forever 21 (my long torso actually seems to fit in them properly without me having to try them on), there are so many online sources carrying a plethora of colours, styles and prints (Asos being a personal favourite).  Always a hit with celebrities and models of the moment (have you seen the tuxedo YSL ones?  *le sigh*), the jump/playsuit has become a fashion identity in itself (think all black catwoman leather – the same look latex creators consistently mimic).

Another online fashion retailer that offers a feast of jumpsuit fashion is Very (the pictures in this post are all courtesy of the site), a United Kingdom-based online shop that carries a variety of styles, brands, and sizes for both women and girls (for all you petites out there).  Check out their runway videos posted alongside the catalogued looks for a real feel of how the fabric moves (either walking, or dancing you sly sassy…).  I can’t wait for the warmer weather to return to sport the off the body styles in flowy fabrics – nothing more airy when it’s sticky out!

Isn’t this G Star one divine?

 New York City adventure posts to come all this week – feels so good to be back in the 514!

xox

Letting go is no easy task.

I’m learning through travelling by myself that I am a horribly awkward person when alone.  I get lonely and frazzled.  It seems that I have been taken too well care of for too long and have lost that iron core I once owned.  I feel like an emotionally dependant wreck of a girl.  Silly.  You can’t lean your paranoias and weaknesses on others – in my experience that’s when you get taken advantage of.  You can understand then, why I naturally gravitate towards self zen-medicating at times like these (Johnny Hates Jazz on loop).  I am not impressed with myself.  This will have to be something to work on.  Homework dished out by life.

The main reason why I went to New York was to attend a luxury watch fair by the name of Timecrafters.

Slowly but surely I am making my way onto New York PR agents lists when it comes to event invites and product launches.  The way I see it, New York and Toronto are the closest places outside of Montreal with the budget to keep my dreams rolling and funded (not to mention the source of some seriously international goodness) – so from this point forward I personally consider them my homes away from home.  In fact, I was thinking that when my schedule lets up a little, I am totally going to take a leap and rent an apartment on the upper west side for a month as a content/networking experiment.  Gotta look it over and prep the budget – but why the hell not right?  Of course Paris and Europe will be next up on my list right after…

… but back to Timecrafters!

Sixteen of the worlds most luxurious watch labels came together under the same roof (The Times Center) to not only display some of the historic beauties that made their reputation, but to launch new collections and place the makers behind these intricate tools face to face with the media and collectors that cherish them.  With price tags to make a girl gasp (and want to return to Montreal asap to get her ass back to werk), from Van Cleef Arpels to Bvlgari, Harry Winston and Cartier (to name only my four faves), the craftsmanship was mind blowing.  In many cases they were not mere watches – they were exotically functioning jewels representative of the female ideal who would wear them.

To view the complete jaw-dropping album of the photos I took while I was there, check out the facebook fanpage album I uploaded.

Right after I set off to soak in some beauty at the Met.  Originally lured in by the incredible McQueen exhibit, I stayed a bit longer and explored the ancient Persian and Indian ruins alongside the Asian dynasties.  More on the Savage Beauty exhibit tomorrow when I have a bit more time to really get in depth about my experience.

I couldn’t help but fall hard for the goddesses carved in stone, idolized. Proof that throughout the times the fascination with beauty and femininity have really never eased up – only transformed to different ideals and preferences.  The most beautiful part of being a woman in my books is the reactions you can create from an air of mystery.  The way some women have to power to make men weak in the knees with just a glance.  I am more or less a failure when it comes to the art of seduction… you have to have my mind and trust to ever see that side of me.  I’m learning (in very sheer lingerie).

My dream watch courtesy of Bvlgari.  Called “The Serpentine”, this wrapped up beauty is decked out in diamonds, sapphires and emeralds fit for a queen.  The finishing touch?  Flip up the snakes head to expose the face of the clock nonchalantly as you go about your day…

How long till you think I can afford this baby?

I was given two tickets to the Van Cleef Arpels exhibit going on at the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum (the complete history of the brand in depth), and think I’ll be keeping them for another near-future NYC getaway…

Till demain,

xox

Looking for an escape from the very loose routine that I hold.  Dreaming – my state of being.

The sunshine is out, fairytales are ripe for imaginations picking, and my head is high up in the clouds.

So used to everyone always trying to lasso me back down to earth and introduce me to reality, I want to be a helium balloon – far from anchored.

Currently in NYC and looking forward to spending the day with myself.  You know I’ve never been anywhere alone before?  Oh the day I have planned (not spoiling any secrets just yet though…)!

A HUGE thank you to everyone who voted for me in the Montreal MIRROR’S Best Of Montreal!!!  This year I was voted in THREE categories which is just bogusly awesome…

Best Dressed Montrealer

Best Local Blog

Best Twitter Feed

So THANK YOUUUU!  When I got the news from scrolling my twitter feed on the bus yesterday I couldn’t stop smiling.  It was just the injection of drive I needed to keep the pendulum swinging.

Smile!

It’s friday, you are healthy, beautiful and have EVERY opportunity at your fingertips!

xox