SPRING/SUMMER - FALL/WINTER

Wonderful Days

2011-03-21T18:45:00.004-06:00

I wish we could dress like this everyday, but the darn snow here doesn't allow for this!

Wearing Elie Tarhari dress with leather trim and Banana Republic jacket.

Wearing another Elie Tarhari dress with 3/4 length sleeves, one of my favorite work dresses. This dress reminds me of Mad Men, which makes me love it even more.

Perfume

2011-03-21T10:59:00.004-06:00

I love perfumes and candles. My favorite at the moment is En Passant by Editions de Parfums Frederic Malle, such an amazing collection of scents.

Fall 2010

2010-10-17T11:28:00.002-06:00

Current obsessions:
- skinny pants/jeans
- Aritzia leather jacket
- fuzzy vests
- MAC villian collection makeup
- Starbucks salted caramel mocha

MUST HAVE

2009-11-12T23:25:00.002-07:00

I must have this top!

Floating Lace Top from Anthropologie

Lest We Forget

2009-11-11T23:53:00.003-07:00

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders Fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

- John McCrae

Memories

2009-11-11T20:44:00.010-07:00

I love taking and looking at pictures. The following are a few of my favorite pictures from the past few years.

At Ceilis during my internship days with Ivy and Tina

Hiking in Canmore with Tina and Shenna

Wayne and I in Banff by the waterfall

Wayne and I on my 23rd Birthday

Annie and I at Convocation

San Francisco by the bay

Shopping in San Francisco

Me at the Japanese Tea Garden in San Francisco

Halloween 2008 at the Whiskey with Tina, Janice, Jessica, and Karen

Christmas Party with Tim and Karen

At The Whiskey with Annie and Alex

Heroes and Villain Ball

2009-11-01T18:35:00.005-07:00

For Halloween, I first handed out candy to the adorable kids! Some of them had some very impressive costumes! I love Halloween, all the candy and the chance to dress up as something extraordinary! So much fun. In the evening, I went to the Heroes and Villains ball and of course, I wanted to be a hero. So I decided to be Violet from The Incredibles! She's such a cute character, one that I think a lot of girls can identify with. I made the costume, aren't you proud of me?

Bumblebee and Chris as Master Chief

Tina as a cop, Steve as Two Face, Me, and Hoa as a Pirate

Janice as the Joker, Tina as a Pit Girl - with her popcorn, and Me

There's a Donkey in my Chanel!

2009-11-01T17:53:00.004-07:00

I went to Edmonton last weekend to see boyfriend and when I saw him, he gave me this adorable little donkey to cheer me up! I had a pretty hectic week at work and with homework...Any who, Edmonton was fun, we went to Noel's surprise birthday party (lots of food and lots of catching up) and of course, shopping at West Ed. I got to go to one of my favorite stores, Anthropologie! They had some great sales keke. As well, we picked up all the pieces I needed for my Halloween costume! As much as I love my city, Edmonton isn't that bad...mainly because they have an Anthropologie.

Love is in the Air

2009-11-01T17:35:00.006-07:00

My family and I went to John and Nancy's wedding a few weekends ago. The ceremony was very intimate and light. The reception was a lot of fun too! Lots of games and celebration, all and all, a great wedding.

Nancy and John

Me in a BCBG dress, Club Monaco Trench, yellow flower necklace from Anthropologie, and Vintage ostrich bag

Me in another BCBG dress and Forever 21 necklace

Lack of Updates and China

2009-10-21T21:06:00.010-06:00

Sorry for the total lack of updates for the past two weeks. I've been a bit under the weather and work and my classes are picking up again.

I've been meaning to post these pictures up for sometime now, they're from my trip to China this past summer. It was an amazing trip. We started in northern China and worked our way back to Hong Kong. I've never been to northern China before and it was actually quite a culture shock compared to the Canton region of China...the language barrier was crazy! It's so difficult when you don't speak the language. It's funny because you are more likely to find someone that speaks English than Cantonese outside of Guangzhou and Hong Kong.

The following pictures are from our first destination, Beijing. It looked like it was going to rain everyday but I guess that's smog for you. But aside from that, I learned a lot about Chinese history - actually, I think I learned the most in Xi'an, but that's for another post.

Forbidden CIty - wearing BGBC jersey dress, Tommy Hilfiger Cardigan (I know! It was way to hot to be wearing a sweater!), and Coach Bag

I got the little headband thing while we were waiting in line for our tickets into the Forbidden City. I wore the thing the entire time we were there and a few people asked me if they could take a picture of me...it was odd to say the very least.

Summer Palace - Same outfit as above

The Summer Palace was just beautiful, despite being super crowded and HOT HOT HOT. It was midday when we got there...hence the umbrella and the lack of sweater.

Great Wall - Hollister Graphic T and Talulu high rise shorts

My friend Dom said to me before this trip that I couldn't call myself Chinese until I've walked on the Great Wall. I am officially Chinese now! The walk was crazy...it's crazy that this thing was built with the most primitive tools and the strength of men. It was actually a nice day, a bit cool so it made the hike easier.

I will post pictures for the second day of Alberta Fashion Week and the wedding we went to this past weekend soon!

xoxo

Lilac Lipgloss

2009-10-07T23:04:00.003-06:00

My friend Susan made me this pretty lilac lipgloss. I'm really digging this colour with more neutral eyes but lots of mascara. You like?

Also, I checked out the new Holt Renfrew today!!!! EEEEEEEE! It's amazing!!!!!

Alberta Fashion Week - Opening Day

2009-10-07T22:06:00.016-06:00

Me at The Banke. The venue was just amazing, it was at the old Bank of Nova Scotia building on 8th and will be turned into a new restaurant called Br& in November-ish. The following photo is of me in front of the old vault! Super cool.

The next picture is of a piece from the Dutch Blonde collection by Camille Prins. The collection has a Californian feel with a disco vibe.

The next few pictures are pieces by designer Adejoke Taiwo for her line alala. Adejoke was part of Canada's Project Runway Season Two cast but didn't make it to the top three. She said that her collection is for the woman who wants to be complicated! How awesome is that? I really enjoyed the beautiful colours in this collection. I love the second outfit, the bandage skirt in the gray purple is just beautiful, love that its not your average bandage skirt as the gaps in between each stretch as you walk, allowing for movement.

All in all, the first day of Alberta Fashion Week was loads of fun! But it takes a lot out of you! Who knew standing and looking at beautiful clothes would take so much energy!

A New Era - The Opening of the new Holt Renfrew

2009-10-07T01:06:00.006-06:00

Images from www.wwd.com

The new Holt Renfrew in Calgary opens today at 9:30am! Sucks that I'm not downtown and instead at a client this week, otherwise I would be there when it opens! But I'm definitely going to check it out before attending the second night of Alberta Fashion Week, pictures will be posted tomorrow, I promise. I'm super excited to check out the new Holt, its was pretty sad when the Edmonton Holt had more amenities than the Calgary location, but no more, Calgary is finally getting what it deserves.

The bigger Holt will be expanding its contemporary section to include lines such as Bird by Juicy Couture. As well, they are expanding the boutique leases to include Burberry, Gucci, Prada, and last but not least, Hermes!

Natural Beauty

2009-10-05T22:01:00.013-06:00

Beautiful Bow Falls in Banff, Alberta, Canada

We saw a lot of this when we were walking along the falls. The park is being replanted to fix the paths along the falls. The colours used in the above picture remind me of the holiday season, the weather definitely suggest that the holidays are around the corner.

Wearing my mom's wool jacket and black ear muffs

It was snowing on our way into Banff, most of it was melted when we went for our walk, but we found this adorable little snowman waiting to greet us along the path.

Wearing Abercrombie skinny jeans, Arnold Churgin boots, Mom's jacket, and vintage St. John's cardigan

Wearing the same outfit as above but with my mom's vintage dress

Wayne and I went to Banff this weekend and it was so beautiful to leave the city after studying for a week. We walked around the park, had some yummy pizza at Athena's Pizza, and then had fondue at the Grizzly House - my first time there. The Grizzly House is a little different than the rest of the restaurants that you'll find in Banff, it use to be a "disco" and there are phones at every table so you can call the other guest, super playful atmosphere. We had the cheese fondue to start and instead of the oil fondue, we decided to have our meats (beef, buffalo, elk, venison, and wild boar) cooked on hot rock. The hot rock is a slab of rock that has been heated to 650 degrees and then you smear some butter on top and you are ready to grill! It was very yummy but we made the mistake of bringing our jackets into the restaurant...they have the lovely smell of meat and oil now.

When we got back into Calgary, we had brunch at Nellie's in Kensington, so yummy. I love breakfast food. Went to Pink Sugar next door, they have the most beautiful black dress...leather skirt, jersey top with cap sleeves and on the shoulder, it had the cutest quilted leather detail. Super hot, can remember the designer but I might have to go back to try it on...

Alberta Fashion Week starts tomorrow! Hope to see you there.

TALULA Fall/Winter '09

2009-10-01T20:14:00.007-06:00

Images From http://www.talula.com/

I actually really love Talula clothing. I got my first Talula jacket in the 10th grade when we first got Aritzia in Chinook. I'm not a huge fan of all the TNA stuff, but the Talula collection has some great pieces. I love that all these pieces are black but you can add your own twist with your choice of accessories. Here are some of my favorite pieces for Fall/Winter '09. The lace dress is so Madonna and so cool but I think its definitely calling out for a slip, unless you have a totally rocking body, if so, all the power to you.

I really like the white leggings with the strips, there's something prison like about them, very cute. Cheap way to add some oompf to an outfit.

And lastly, I'm LOVING this faux fur vest and the bandage dress underneath! Nice way to stay warm this winter.

And lastly, the prices of these Talula pieces won't break the bank, I wanna go and try these pieces on now!

Sorry for the lack of updates...

2009-09-30T21:18:00.003-06:00

This is what I have been looking at for the past few days...not very excited. You do not want to see pictures of me in my studying state...not a pretty picture. Wish me luck!

Going to Banff this weekend, so hopefully I'll get some beautiful pictures there. As well, next week is the first Annual Alberta Fashion Week! So I'll have lots to blog about then!

Do you have your pass yet?

2009-09-29T00:11:00.003-06:00

Because, I do!

It's almost here! Get your passes soon! There will also be tickets available at the door for those who aren't sure if they make it to the entire week. To check out the events, venues, and prices, click click

I <3 Chanel

2009-09-27T23:14:00.004-06:00

Image from Claire Incorruptible

So clever! I love Chanel. Also, we share the same initials!

HOT

2009-09-27T17:30:00.004-06:00

Image: Alexander Wang Lara Combat Boots in Velvet from Opening Ceremony

I love these boots! I like the velvet version for its beautiful texture and the way that it laces up. It's a bit softer than the textured and moc croc versions. And I love the lines on the heel, that's what makes this boot so special. I also love how it looks like it has a rubber sole, it not only adds to the punk look of these boots, it's also very functional. I won't wipe out on the icy sidewalks. But alas, I likely will not get these boots...haven't seen them in Calgary and given the price, I would need to try them on before I bought them.

Lastly, I love that it's named Lara, they remind me of Lara Croft. I was watching the movie on television last night, love the movie and I love Angelina Jolie.

Through His Eyes

2009-09-26T19:36:00.005-06:00

BCBG Dress and Chanel fingerless gloves

A picture my boyfriend took from this past summer. We were getting ready for his friend's wedding. Not the greatest picture since it was taken with his Blackberry. I'm just reading the card that he bought, he actually picked out a very nice card. I was impressed.

Jimmy Choo for H&M Available November 14, 2009

2009-09-25T16:48:00.007-06:00

I really hope H&M bring this collection to the Calgary stores! Even if it is only available at one of the locations, I'll be a very happy camper. I love the following items! Let's start with my favorite!

Stunning thigh high boots, the ones I just got aren't this high so I can kinda justify getting another pair of black boots! Probably can't get away with these at work but super hot for the weekend!

I love the subtle touch of studs and grommets of this bootie and the heel and toe cut out gives it that extra something something. These are definitely an indoor boot for Calgary weather given all the snow but I think I can still rock these!

And finally, the one shoulder grey dress! Mmmmmmmmm! Perfectly in style and totally acceptable for work attire. I'm a dress person when it comes to work clothes. I don't really go anywhere after work since I get to do homework instead, but if I did, this is a totally day to night dress!

To check out the entire collection - click click

Moi

2009-09-25T01:16:00.002-06:00

Went to the Chanel makeup counter at Holt the other day and I got this new lipstick, its called Admirable. You like? It's very creamy and I'm loving the pale colour. Prior to this I had been wearing a lot of true red lip gloss, I'm opting for a softer look right now. Also, the girl helping me at Chanel Cosmetics was super sweet so it made shopping for makeup that much more fun. But on a sad note, Canada will not be getting the Green Jade Chanel nail polish, how sad!

As well, she was telling me about how when the new Holt opens on October 7th that Holt will be having guest come...I wonder who it'll be and if they are actual big name designers?! As you can tell, I'm super excited for the new Holt to open!!

Still Sunny in September

2009-09-22T00:55:00.011-06:00

I've been playing with the camera to get a few more shots in before winter is upon us. This is what I wore to work today, except I wore different shoes at work. I keep my BGBC cut out shoes at work because they are super comfy to run up stairs in and to walk around at lunch. The heel on my BCBG shoes are higher than these boots but they fit amazingly so it doesn't really feel like I'm wearing heels. I really should take a picture of them before it gets too cold to wear them.

Zara Blazer, H&M Dress, and 5 cm Belt

I love wearing black but when I do, I like to wear different textures and "shades" of black to make it a bit more interest. Boring?

Done and Done

2009-09-21T01:10:00.008-06:00

First things first, congratulations to all my friends who finished writing the UFE - best of luck on December 4, 2009! I also finished my Face to Face Information Session this weekend, so that's done with! Just gotta get through the exam now, less than two weeks away!

Hellz Bellz Top

Boyfriend just wrote his UFE so he was in town for the weekend to celebrate. The above picture was taken in his car. I'm wearing a Hellz Bellz top and black bubble skirt. I love this t-shirt! It's made to look like its written with my favorite nail polish, Black Satin by Chanel. Also, on the back it says "Fashion that does not reach the streets, is not a fashion". Oh Coco Chanel, how I love you so.

Rebel Luxury Booties - Picture from Holt Renfrew

I WANT THESE BOOTS! Really don't need them...but I want them. We shall see.

My dear Roxanna also came over today and we had mint and ginger tea with cheesecake, it was fantastic. I finally got to catch up with her! The last time I saw her was before I left for China. Poor thing is still on crutches after playing ultimate frisbee - the world's most evil game, even before this incident!

As well, Henry and I made a stop off at T.Pot after F2F and I had the Japanese Dice French Toast - OMG! Delicious! It was fluffy and covered in condense milk, how much better can it get?! As well, I had the milk tea - I like the Canadian version better than the ones I had in Guangzhou and Hong Kong which were a bit too strong for me. All in all, a decent weekend, just wish I didn't have to spend most of in inside a conference room next to a swimming pool.

Alberta Fashion Week - October 4 - 10, 2009

2009-09-19T10:12:00.003-06:00

http://www.albertafashionweek.ca/

I want to go!

Who wants to go with me?! I can't go to the trunk show though...I'm getting my wisdom teeth pulled one hour before it starts =(

Goodbye Summer

2009-09-16T19:27:00.011-06:00

This park might not look like much but it's where I grew up. This has to be one of my favorite places in the world. The playground that I actually played on was wood but the city rebuilt it because kids kept getting splinters.

So sad...the leaves are yellowing but I haven't gotten my share of summer. Where has the year gone?

I wore this dress to work today, I got it on sale in Hong Kong. It's not the most exciting dress but neither is my office, so it works. The necklace is a vintage piece I picked up this weekend.

I love these flip flops since they have a back strap. Last year I lost one flip flop when I fell in the river while rafting, so sad.

I <3 Weekends

2009-09-16T00:31:00.017-06:00

Labour Day Long Weekend:Forever 21 top, Talula pleated tights from Aritzia, Nine West Shoes

So for the Labour Day weekend, I went to Mercury for the first time, pretty nice place except the dance floor is in an odd place and is too small but I really enjoyed the music. I had the opportunity to test drive my new shoes and they were super comfortable! Probably should drive in them given the wedge but they were great for a night of dancing. As you can tell from the picture, I love black clothes. I love adding accessories to a black outfit to make it your own.

Mmmm BBQ

Lychee White Wine Sangria (that I made), Lily's Balkava, Colin's Peach Cobbler, and my Mango Coconut Pudding made from scratch with geletin and fresh mangos!

In addition to checking out Mercury, my family and I also had a BBQ for my aunt's birthday during the Labour Day Weekend. As you can see, we had lots of food and even more desserts! My mango pudding was actually pretty easy to make but I was really worried that it wouldn't set properly...luckily it did but it took twice as long as what the receipe said. My aunt suggested that I make it with whipped cream next time to give it a lighter texture so now I need a reason to make this yummy dessert.

Beautiful Saturday in Calgary

Downtown Calgary - Stephen Avenue

Me and Shirley taking pictures in the car while waiting for the rest of our family. Me - Talula Top from Aritzia and Wild Flower Necklace from Anthropologies. Shirley -Flannel Top from Uniqlo.

This past weekend my family and I hit up Chinook and Uptown 17th Avenue. When we were in China this past summer, I got an email from Sephora for 10% off a one time total purchase. I was trying to find this coupon for the past week in my inbox but couldn't so I just assumed that I was really tired in China and imagined this coupon. This weekend I needed to grab some stuff from Sephora and when I went to pay they told me I would receive 10% my total purchase! So I went back and raided the store and got a bunch of "necessities". I honestly thought I was going insane from sleep deprivation. I might still be a bit insane...but that's just me.

After that, we hit up Uptown 17th Ave and found a cute little store called Coco + Violet and they had some very stunning pieces! As well, they are having a great sale on William Rast jeans...I didn't pick any up given that I can't wear jeans to work so I barely wear the ones that I do have. But I did get a pretty blue dress that I'm planning to wear before the weather gets gross again. From there, we wandered back to the main portion of 17th and went to good ol' Purr's. You can never be disappointed by Purr. After that we went to Junk Star Vintage and I found an adorable black leather top handle bag that was lined in suede.

On Sunday, I went to Sass Consignment Boutique and I got the most amazing Corbeau camel colour ostrich skin bag for only $29! I'm dying to use it! I will post pictures when I use these great vintage finds.

OMFG! Gossip Girl!

2009-09-14T21:22:00.006-06:00

Image: The CW Gossip Girl Photos

My favorite show is back on!! I'm so happy. I love Blair, I love her throw back ultra luxurious style. I also do enjoy Serena's laid back European look too - very Kate Moss cool.

I will post pictures from the long weekend and this past weekend soon! xoxo

Stressed but Happy

2009-09-10T12:18:00.002-06:00

Ahhh so stressed with work and good ol' CASB (hence why I haven't posted pictures from this weekend). But boyfriend was able to put a smile on my face with this picture:

So cute! Smile everyone, because if a box can, so can you =)

New Shoes!

2009-09-05T20:17:00.006-06:00

I got these new shoes from Nine West today (additional 25% off all sale items!) and I'm dying to wear them already! They were pretty comfy when I was walking around the store so hopefully they are. They're pretty trendy but I think I can still get away with them on casual Fridays =)

I can't wait til it's fall (it's almost here...the leaves are starting to fall and its getting chill at night) so I can wear these knee high boots from Browns. I'm so proud of myself, I waited a whole year for these guys and they were finally on sale when I checked out the new Crossiron Mall in Balzac. The new mall isn't horrible, has a few good stores, sucks that they didn't open the Holt Renfrew though. I was expecting the mall to be more aesthetically pleasing, but you can't have everything that you want.

Fall is in the Air

2009-09-05T02:36:00.011-06:00

Images: Canada Goose; Jane Harlow - Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images; Little Edie - Grey Gardens; Saks Fifth Avenue; Bergdorf Goodman

Given yesterday's fantastic wind storm, I quickly stopped at Holt Renfrew to protect my eyes from the blowing dust! While inside, I saw the most beautiful fur coat by Carolina Herrera, the colour of the fur was amazing, a beautiful shade of cognac with a chocolate brown almost black collar, it's the stuff that dreams are made of. Totally couldn't buy it, not only would it be totally impractical for my commute to work but $7,500?! Totally could not afford it. This got me thinking, I need a new coat for the fall/winter (get my blog name now?) season. I think I want some luxurious but I do need a good winter coat for when it gets down to minus 35 with wind chill, hence the Canada Goose picture. What to do? I'm leaning towards luxurious.

Summer Recap - Part I

2009-09-02T21:13:00.008-06:00

To end this beautiful summer, I thought I would recap some of my favorite memories from the past few months. Early in spring, my friend Roxanna and I were wandering around Uptown 17th Ave and Mission looking for some sushi. Instead, we came across a cute little coffee shop called Purple Perk, it was like the only place open on a Sunday at the time. It was also crazy packed so we knew it had to be good. So we both decide to have the eggs benedict and after we order, we see the most wonderful collection of pies and cakes in the fridge. We agreed that if we weren't full afterwards, we would get a slice of pie. However, after the delicious eggs benedict, a generous serving of hash browns, and a large cup of Americano, we were stuffed.

Therefore, I vowed that the next time I went, I would get the dessert. And I did. I got the huge slice of carrot cake and Chris got the strawberry rhuarb pie. (Picture courtesy of Chris) Both were heavenly...however, two much for two people as you can see from the photo.

The last time I went there with my boyfriend, Wayne, I got another cup of Americano (yum) and the apple pie. This apple pie was exactly how apple pie should look, huge chunks of apple with a flaky crust. Absolute perfection. Therefore, I would totally recommend a visit to Purple Perk - 2212 4 Street SW.

So today we went to a new client, and man was it ever hot! Such a beautiful day to have spent inside. Worst part of the day, taking the oven hot bus, so sad. But today wasn't terrible since I did run into an old friend, Bobby, who I haven't seen since maybe first year university and we were able to catch up on what has been happening in our life. I guess that is the beauty of the bus, it is the essense of life in that the journey is just as exciting as the final destination.