Inspired by Katy Perry

Katy Perry is one of my favorite celebrity fashion icons. Today, my outfit was inspired by a photo I recently saw of her in a Seventeen magazine for a back-to-school issue. This look reminds me of nothing else, but the 90's. I think of Kelly from Saved by the Bell, with a sassier edge from 2010.




I had recently purchased a short grey high-waisted skirt from my shopping spree in Toronto. I also had a periwinkle blue button-up oxford shirt to pair with it. I could have easily copied Katy's outfit straight from the magazine, but I decided to put my own twist to it. I am ever so found of blue and red together, so I found red accesories and used them to add more punch to my look..

(P.S. I looked like crap at the time I was taking the picture, so I just decided to lay it out on my bed instead):



Oxford Button-up: Bootlegger
Black tank (underneath): Bootlegger
Skirt: Forever 21
Earrings: Gift (from Suzy Shier)
Belt: Forever 21
Leggings: Icing By Claire's
Shoes: Le Chateau

I know you are ALL wondering about "the shoes". Aren't they spectacular!?! I lucked into them last summer on sale at Le Chateau for only $30. I had thought I hit jackpot at the time because my whole life, I've ALWAYS wanted a pair of ruby red sparkly slippers just like Dorothy from The Wizard of Oz. And now I do :)

What's yummy

Okay, I just had to let the world know just how delicious homemade pizza is. I mean, honestly, even if you didn't eat anything else, by eating pizza alone you are getting something from every single food group. And by making it youself, you are eliminating the extra salt and fat that restaurants use because they are too lazy to use real ingredients.

Matty and I have taken it upon ourselves to create new concoctions of homemade pizza once a month. It is our new "thing". The best pizza yet to date is a homemade multigrain flat crust pizza with alfredo sauce (instead of regular pizza sauce and cheese. It kind of serves as both), bbq'd chicken slices, tomato, green pepper, onions, lotsssss of mushrooms, and broccoli. Pure delish!

At my clinical placement, the hospital cafeteria makes pizza on a pita, otherwise known as "pita pizzas". Pure genius idea of a lunch. All you need is a pita (I prefer whole wheat), bbq sauce, cheese (you have a choice of feta, monzerella, parmasian, or cheddar), chicken or bacon, and literally any kind of veggie you want. It's so easy to make and it tastes good when it's done in the over or microwave. I think it's such an easy and nutritious meal to take for lunch as well. All you need is a pita, some chopped veggies (cut the night before), and a small container of bbq sauce and YOU are set. Just slap it together and into the microwave it goes for 4 small slices of pure euphoria :)





How could you HONESTLY resist? ;)

Time for tea.

So these pics are old now. My best friend, Tasha and I took them before she left to go on a workterm the end of August. The theme was, "Vintage Tea Party", and of course, her cat, Maggie, came along as our guest model. Although, I'm not too sure she was in it by her own free will. Poor thing :( Haha.








On Me:
Dress: Katie (Sm. Boutique store in Toronto)
Tights: Primark
Shoes: Aldo
Gloves: Value Village
Earrings: Icing by Claire's
Hat: Mom's closet :)
Cropped Bolero: Rio

On Natasha:
Dress: Suzy Shier
Headpiece: Icing by Claire's
Gloves: Icing by Claire's
Tights: H&M
Shoes: Payless
Necklace / Earrings: Icing by Claire's

:)

Dress you up in my love.

So, I took a break off studying last night and went to a party. I know, I know, I said I wouldn't, but I did. It was fun. Danielle turned 21, and I received an ample amount of compliments on my outfit:



Earrings/Necklace: Gift (from Bizou, I think)
Tank Top: Sirens
Pants/Belt: Zara
Shoes: Sirens

I went nuts with the makeup too:







The outfit picture was after we got home.

Anyway, must go and study again like a good like girl.

Ciao <3

Don't Rain On My Parade...

I've come to the conclusion that you can never look completely cute when living in the place I live. The weather is soo unpredictable, so even when you try and dress for what the forecast is predicting, you always end up looking like a fool because it never matches what the sky decides to wear that day. Today, for example, I checked the forecast. It read 13 degrees, sunny and partly cloudy. I said to myself, okay. I can do this. It's too warm for my trenchcoat jacket, plus there were no signs of precipitation, but yet, too cold for a t-shirt. So, I put on a frilly white tee, rolled up jeans, a beret, jazz flats and a baggy flyaway sweater. I also didn't carry a bookbag because I only had one lecture today. Just a purse, my binder and my textbook. I get down the street, past the point of no return, when the rain decides to fall. I thought fast. Okay, I said. I have a super cute polka-dot umbrella that will fix this. Big mistake! Not only did it rain, it was WINDY, which evidently inverted my poor adorable umbrella. So here I am, waiting at the bus stop in the wind and rain, broken umbrella, book and binder getting soaked, trying to keep my hat on and freezing my butt off.

NOT cool.

So I have made a list of places which I want to move to in 2012 where I WON'T have this problem of unpredictable weather. Also, these places have better shopping and are more up-to-date on fashion and life in general:

1. Vancouver, BC
2. Montreal, QC
3. Ottawa, ON
4. Washington, DC
5. New York City, NY
6. Seattle, WA
7. Toronto, ON
8. Halifax, NS



mmmmmm. Vancouver :)

I think Hali is a joke, but it sure as hell is better than 'hurr.

So, on a broader and more serious topic, what to do with my life.

I know. It's random. But I've seriously been pondering this question to myself alot lately. I have a mere two years left in school which will fly by before my eyes, so I really have to start thinking about the areas which I want to work in.

I know I want to get married, have kids and all that funk, but there's other big goals I also want to set for myself. I really have a strong passion for philanthropy. I used to firmly believe it was a God-chosen calling on my life to work as a missionary in Southeastern Africa. I still wonder sometimes if I'm supposed to do that. My only problem is that I am poor. Missions work is EXPENSIVE. I feel that if I went on a "cheap" missions trips, which only lasts about 2 weeks or so, I wouldn't be able to accomplish much or make a huge impact over there in such a short period. I've thought of moving to life there permenantly, however, with standards of practice being different in every country, to legally work there, I'd basically have to earn my nursing degree all over again. I could go over there as an aid worker, but volunteer being the key word. I'm going to be in thousands of dollars of debt when I graduate from student loans, so I really need a paying job. It's not that I'm selfish or hate volunteering, but I need to make money or the government will be chasing after me.

I need to put a bit of "realism" to my dreams. I still have a strong passion and desire to work with the less fortunate. I can still tithe to the poor by working here in my own country. I can still reach out to the homeless where I am in my own city. There's plenty of it around, and growing up, we've all been too naive to realise. When we think of "mission work", we automatically think poor, starving people in Africa living in huts after a drought. But missions work can happen anywhere. There's always going to be people in need where ever you go. I feel like Vancouver would be a great place for me to work as a women's health or public health nurse. There's so much homelessness, poverty, prostitution, sexually transmitted diseases, and drug use.


There's so many people hurting in isolation right here and we are so blind to see it.

Maybe one of these days, God will send me to Africa if that is his will. But I have a strong desire right now to try and fix the problems that are going on within my own country so many people seem to ignore.

I must sound like a materialistic, superficial, pretentious princess sometimes with all the crap I get on with about fashion and my girly ways. But I really have a passion to help others too.

For my clinical last week, I was working at a soup kitchen-ish place. I met a girl who looked not much older than me. She was very pleasant and we had a grand chat. I noticed her looking at my clothes alot. She told me how much she loved my earrings. It broke my heart since I had only spent about 5 dollars on them and this poor girl, dressed in tattered and dated clothing, could hardly afford a meal for herself. I cannot imagine how low of a self-esteem she has, how much guilt she bears, and the kinds of horrific things she's experienced to bring her to where she is today.

I really want to change this.

I understand depression, I understand guilt, grief, sadness. I've experienced them, but I'm sure not to a fraction of what alot of people have.

God's gifted me with many talents and gifts. No, I cannot play sports. No, I am not good at math. No, I am not good at making people laugh (unless people are laughing at me), but I know God has gifted me.

I have an idea right now, something I want to do in my own city. I'll need a lot of support, but I know this can happen.

Stamp once for Britney, and twice for Beyonce..

I tried studying pediatrics. Failed attempt. I don't know why I am unable to retain any information. This semester is brutal for the work load, but it's sooo boring. I need to keep on my toes. I'd rather be complaining now about how it's boring rather than complaining about pulling an all-nighter for an exam.

So, outfit of the day:




Romper: Winner's
Flyaway: Envy
Tights: Icing by Claire's
Earrings: Icing by Claire's
Scarf: Urban Planet
Short boots: Sirens (in Niagara Falls)
Purse: H&M

So, I am rediculous I know, but I have my New Year's Eve outfit picked ALREADY.
I really want to order this dress online from Gojane.com. Everything there is really good quality, really trendy, and uber cheap. So worth while. It's best to order things with a group of girls so shipping costs are alot cheaper.

Here she is:

I really want an emerald dress this year. With red pumps :)
So inspired by the Wizard of Oz / Wicked / The Wiz. This has to be done!







Only 50 dolla' roos plus shipping. GUURRRRRRRRRRRLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

Yup, I like it very much.

These are red pumps I already own which I bought last Christmas:



And I was thinking, my, wouldn't that just look lovely now with a pair of red and green earrings. And I just happened to glance at my tangled mess of earrings. Low and behold, I found a perfect pair of red and green beaded hoops :)




Excited!!

I'm thinking a deep emerald smokey eye and red, red lips. Sexy sexy.
I got myself some inspiration makeup looks too:






I still have to get through this semester first. And Halloween. Gotta
get on that.

Okay, I'm out for the night.

Peace in the middle East <3

Hurricanes Are A Pain

So,

Long time, no post. School has been retarded. This weekend, I attended my cousin's wedding. It was beautiful. Made me cry and everything. I began to realise how fast we're all growing up. I remember sleepovers at Candice's, watching Disney movie after Disney movie and us growing up together, her giving me dating advice since I never had an older sister to do that. And now she is, my beautiful cousin, all grown up and gettin' hitched! I'm such a sap.

However, I can say that it won't be long before I'm in the same shoes as Candice because.. I caught the bouquet!!

You know, the old tradition where the girl who catches the bride's bouquet at the wedding is the next in line to get married. Yup, apparently I'm next if the superstition is true. It won't be any time before 2012, because I need to graduate and get a job. Weddings are not cheap, and I want a GOOD wedding. Not one of those tacky ones where you have the reception at the town hall with cold plates, and have tacky dollar store crepe streamers and bells. Ughh. And I want a nice Honeymoon, too. Like Paris. :)

Yup, need money for that.

I need to do another fashion blog. It will come soon, I promise.

Most of what I have been wearing are things you have seen in my previous blogs.

However, I will show a pic of the outfit I wore to the wedding this weekend:



Dress: Forever 21
Earrings: Joe Fresh
Necklace: Grandmother
Shoes: Aldo

That's me and my handsome boyfriend. :)

In other news, we had a hurricane yesterday. A big hurricane which wrecked out basement completely. About a foot and a half of water down there. And our dryer is broke :( And my mom is out of town. Luckily Matthew was around to help out. Our friend Nicole drove us to Home Depot to buy an uber expensive dehumidifier.
It's such a mess down there:







Such a state.

Gotta go study..bye-hee :)

You're every song, and I sing along...

Yeah, so for those of you who do not know the history of me and my boyfriend, it is long. We go way back to March 1st, 2008 when I did the most courageous and boldest thing ever at a club (sober) and asked him to dance. I never ever ask guys to dance, but I felt comfortable enough to and since then (with a few bumps in the road), we've been madly in love. It was love right away. We took things pretty slow starting off because both of us had come out of shitty relationships and Matthew was about to go away for the summer on workterm. We knew we had something, but it wasn't really apparent until a year later when we realised we were perfect for each other.

I think Matt is the only guy in the world I can feel comfortable in my own skin without wearing any makeup or looking like a princess in front of. I can tell him anything in the world and he'll always listen. We know what love is, because we worked so hard to make it work. Has it been perfect from day 1? No. We both needed to grow up and spend time apart at times, but we knew the other was worth it enough to keep going.

Matthew could not be more perfect for me.
I want to spend the rest of my life with him.
He is someone who without fail makes me happy, even when he pisses me off with his dumb boy ways. I love you even when you act like a douche.
We fight sometimes, but we have no real unresolvable issues. We bring out the best in each other. He is my lover, my best friend, my wisdom-giver, my partner-in-crime..

Boy, I love you.

Late night chatter through a styrofoam cup.

I am IN love with this new mascara. It's Covergirl's new "LastBlast Fushion". I adored LashBlast for the longest time in its bright orange chunky tube, but now I can enjoy the wonder of intense lash volume and thickness (as was achieved through LashBlast) AS WELL as electrifying lash lengthes in a fun purple tube. I actually feel confident enough to go out the door without any liner or shadow with only this on and it does amazing things to my eyes.





I am wearing this always and forever.
LOVE!

Also, oh so random, but I blogged a couple days ago about how I was obsessed with the female fashion in "Step Up 3D". WELL, I ended up being able to find pictures of the exact outfits after much research. Boo yeah!

On Camille's (played by Alyson Stoner) character:





-Light purple loose fitted sweatshirt
-Turquoise tank
-Flouncy knee length ballet-style light pink printed skirt
-grey leggings
-striped socks
-grey Converse sneakers

On Natalie's (played by Sharni Vinson) character:



-grey flyaway sweater
-fitted cropped fushia cardigan
-oversized fushia and green fringed scarf
-grey tank
-faded skinny jeans with hole
short grey suade boots

Love eeett!

Also, bought a new sweater today. 'Tis the season for warm, wooly sweaters. My problem is that I want them all in bright colors of the rainbow but the stores only carry them in neutral colors, like brown, black, grey, white, cream and such. The only bright color I have seen is red, which I found at Old Navy. My bestie is going to hook me up with a discount there as she holds Assistant Manager position over there. Hello deals!



I love oversized, chunky sweaters.

For some reason, I'm really liking the fur vest trend too. It's pretty random. I also don't like every fur vest I see because alot of them look cheap. But this Old Navy one is pretty cute if I should say :)



This trend is a little bit risque, so I may wait a while before I try it. Maybe they will be cheaper as the season prgresses. I don't want to wait too late though, because everyone will be wearing it then!

Anyway, must be off for the night. I have orrientation volunteer training for my uni's orrientation starting Monday for the new youngens. I remember being that clueless four years ago. Wow. Was it that long ago?

I am old.

Okay, goodnight!

I love Autumn

So, even though autumn does not officially start until September 21st, It feels like autumn has officially begun here for me. Our weather right now is a good reflection of a typical fall day.

I used to think summer was my favorite holiday all through my life (childhood to late teens), but since now I'm realising that the summer for the working world is no more special than any other time of year, I could care less for it. Also, the weather here is not what you'd define as "summer weather". It was mid-July before I could consistantly wear my shorts every day. But autumn. Oh how I love you autumn. It actually looks and feels like autumn where I live. Cool, crisp sunny day s with the smell of burning woodstoves and spice faintly filling the air. It's a time of harvest and a time of reflection on the year that is about to end. It is a time of joyful anticipation for Christmas to come. It is a time to see friends again who've been gone all summer. It's a time to get back on schedule and into the swing of things contrary to the lazy, slow-paced summer days. It's a time for apple cider and pumpkin carving. A time for brightly knit sweaters and hearing the sound of leaves crunch underneath your feet. A time for warm furry socks, starting the fireplace, and hot turkey dinners. A time for planning your Christmas wishlist, Christmas shopping list, and Christmas plans with family.

I do love autumn.

I love the reds, golds, oranges, and browns.

I love the spiced scents. Cranberry, ginger, cinnamon and apple.

I love watching the trees slowly begin to change color and shed their leaves.

I love bundling up warm and taking romantic walks in the forest with a loved one. Maybe share a picnic in the park under a naked maple tree, with its firey leaves scattered all around us.

I love being able to see my breath in the cold, crisp autumn air.

I love picking out the perfect pumpkin for carving for the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie.

I love watching the Santa Clause Parade in late November with a large pipping hot cup of Tim Horton's hot chocolate between two gloved hands.

I love watching all the kids scatter about the streets with excitement on Halloween night, trying to hold up their overflowing bags of treats while wearing oversized costumes to stay warm.

I even love the exhilerating feeling of trying to study hard for exams while unable to get the anticipation for Christmas plans out of your head. I must be crazy.

If these don't make you the slightest bit weak in your knees, you are hopeless.














Autumn, how I love you so.

Summer 2010

Okay, so it's the 2nd of September and I feel like my summer has officially ended. Well, not officially ended. It ends officially September the 8th when I go back to school for my third year of nursing school. Hard to believe how fast time flies. I want to make a list of things about this summer which I want to remember the most. The good and the bad. It's all life. I always thought that by 2010 we'd be driving flying cars and wearing silver jumpsuits with jetpacks. Still a way's away, I guess.

Anywhoo. A list of Summer 2010 Favorites:

Songs: "Dynamite" by Taio Cruz
"Somebody to Love" by Usher ft. Justin Bieber (don't make fun!)
"California Gurls" by Katy Perry
"Wall of Sound" by Naturally 7
"Ready or Not" by Naturally 7

Food: Asian cuisine alllll the way! Rice noodles, beef & broccoli, bubble tea, Dim
Sum brunch, Kimchi, bok choy, XO sauce, sweet chili Thai sauce. Pure yum-ness!

Fashion: Pale blue, pale pink, red and coral colors; jazz flats!!; dainty pearl
stud earrings; black leggings; flowered scarfs and purses; gold jewelery;
gold gladitors.

This is the winning outfit of the summer. And the "punny" thing about it is that I got it at Winner's. For 14 dolla billz!!!



Past time: So, as most of you know, I was very frugal this summer for my lack of
hours at work, so I didn't do a whole lot but try and save up spending
money for when I went to Toronto. All I pretty much did was work out at
gym literally every day and scrapbook. I decided to try and scrapbook my
four years of nursing, so needless to say, there's alot more to be added
to my book. Right now, I've scrapbooked up to last Halloween. I'm waiting
for it to get closer to Christmas so I can find some Holiday scrapbook
decor and do pictures from last Christmas / New Year's.

This is a picture of the page capturing my Masquarade event in March 2009. Probably the nicest page I have done:




Memorable Moments:
+ Canada Day nurses & navy party.

+ Matthew meeting the fam-jam. He met all of Mom's extended family Canada day weekend.

+ Beauty of a night at Club V with Jean, Nic and Katie. I've known these girls for YEARS and what never got old is that we still always remembered how to have fun.

+ Steph's surprise 21st birthday. Poor Steph didn't have a good birthday in such a long time, so I made it my mission to change that for her this year. I invited all her closest friends (about 20 showed up!) and we had a nice dinner at a Mexican restaurant. She thought she was going to a concert with me, but was she surprised!!

+ Beach day at Middle Cove!

+ Vintage photoshoot with Jerrica

+ Retro photoshoot with Kaleigh. It involved rainbow striped leg warmers and a TON
of candy :)

+ TORONTO: Michael Buble, shopping at Eaton, Canada's Wonderland, Niagara Falls,
meeting up with Jonathan and Uncle Clayton, Toronto Island, Seeing
Inception for a THIRD time at an IMAX, watching a 4D film, meeting up with
Matt's family, lots of Asian food, hot and beautiful weather.

+ Vintage tea party photoshoot with Natasha and Aleasha (pictures to come..)

Movies: "Inception". BEST MOVIE OF LIFE! I saw it THREE times in theatres.
Seriously. I would NEVER pay to see a movie three times unless it was
pure amazement. The most intellectually stimulating movie I have ever seen.
I just love Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page!

"The Back Up Plan". So tottally cute. One of the few chick flicks that
doesn't make me cringe with all its cheese.

"Step Up 3D". Good story line, althought somewhat predictable. Great fashion.
Sexy boys and girls. Lots of ass-grinding dance action. Wit and charm. Great
music. FABULOUS effects for a 3D movie.


Overall, it was an okay summer. I've had better. I've had worse. Actually. No, It was a GREAT summer which had a few shitty moments, but overall it was quite sweet.

I will do a blog of all my summer dislikes, but right now I am lazy andddd I am going grocery shopping / wedding jewelery shopping.

Now, on to Autumn. My favorite season.. :)