Tuesday, July 31, 2012

taste of summer

This summer I've been addicted to all things fresh fruit.  There's nothing that tastes better than in season cherries fresh from the market.  I think I could eat the whole basket in one sitting (don't judge me, you do it too!).  I've been finding that when I'm really craving something refreshing on a hot summer day, my go to is whatever fruit we have on hand, and it cools me down and fills me up.  On their own, or mixed with yogurt or salad, makes for a meal.
cherries, strawberries, peaches...oh my!
Look at me, being all healthy and not even knowing it!

I'm off to the market to get some more fruit!

Friday, July 27, 2012

natural light

I've been experimenting more and more with my DSLR, which also means my Bf is.  We've been playing with the idea of using natural light to create different effects.  These photos were taken just a little bit before the sunset started down by the dog beach, and we had a lot of fun trying things out.  Yes, there were a few that were so blown out from the sun that you couldn't even see me, but that's how you learn, right? 

Is anyone else as excited about the Olympics starting today?! Tonight I'm heading to a friends house for an opening ceremony party, and I've made us some medals to wear (ya know, for being so awesome).  It's going to be so fun all weekend watching all kinds of crazy sports and cheering on our country's athletes.  Hope you guys all have a wonderful weekend!! Go Canada Go!!
do you like my hat? oh wait, that's the sun.
skirt: boutique in Santa Monica, tank top, sandals: American Eagle, necklace: Le Chateau, sunnies: Anthropologie

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

afternoon reading

Guess what came in the mail yesterday? my very own copy of Cupcakes and Cashmere: A Guide for Defining your Style, Reinventing your Space and Entertaining with Ease.  I pre-ordered this book back in December and am so excited it's finally here! I've given the book a thorough flip though, but am about to dive right in for some in depth reading. 
Emily Schuman's blog Cupcakes and Cashmere is the first blog I ever read, and it's still my favourite.  Her style, beautiful photographs and the little snipits into her everyday life are just the start of getting to know her.   
She's one of the reasons I decided to start my own blog, and such an inspiration to all bloggers out there.  
 I linked the title of the book to Amazon.com so you can get your copy too!

Tuesday, July 24, 2012

Express yourself

Just over a week ago, I attended the Grand Opening of Express at the Pacific Center, downtown Vancouver, put on by the amazing FASHION Magazine. It was such a great event, drinks, tiny appetizers, and lucky for us, a shopping discount! I brought along a friend and we had such a good time shopping around and really discovering the store. I found Express to be really on trend with bright coloured denim, dresses with feminine silhouettes and some great separates for suiting.   Some of my fave pieces included a high-low striped maxi dress, blue satin shorts, black with snakeskin detailed blouse (bought this one!) and the most perfect fitting leather blazer (wanna go back for this one!). Unfortunately, we got there a bit late and missed the celebrities, Glee's Mark Salling and 90210's Shenae Grimes, but heard they did an amazing job cutting the big ribbon.  Here are a few of my favourite photos!

Thanks so much Express and FASHION Magazine for a great night! and some swag ;)

Monday, July 23, 2012

tourist in the city

Wow, what a week! I had an amazing time visiting with my sister and we had no trouble keeping busy.  Between showing her the sights, wedding events, and a few unexpected meetings for me, I think we could both use a nap.  It definitely got me a little behind in a few things...ie. blog!  so forgive me, but with that said, I've got some exciting things happening over the next little while and can't wait to share it all with you.   But first, here are a few of my fave photos from playing tourist for a week with my big sister!
Miss you already big sister!!

Friday, July 13, 2012

happy friday!

summer 2008
I've got my big sister coming to into town this weekend, and couldn't be more excited! I haven't seen her since January! She's in town for a friend's wedding, but is coming early so we can hang out too.  She live in Lunenberg, Nova Scotia, so she hasn't made the trek to Vancouver before.  I can't wait to play tourist and wander around the city in the lovely weather we've been having.  My sister's top 3 requests are to see a mountain, Granville Island, and Stanley Park.  We'll see what else we can manage to squeeze in ;) 
any suggestions?  Have a wonderful weekend!

Wednesday, July 11, 2012

moments like this

I now realize that I may have gone overboard with the summer road trip photos (read: hope I didn't bore you to death), but it's more so memories like this one that stay in my mind the most.  
Seeing all the touristy landmarks are cool. Ya know, so when people at the next table over when you're out for dinner are talking about their upcoming vacation to San Francisco and getting so excited to ride the cable car, you can lean over and tell them, yeah, I've been there! it was fun!! you've gotta do it! but $6 feels like a lotta money for one ride! 
All while trying not to be a vacation know-it-all. 
Clearly I got a little away from myself.
What I really enjoy the most is spending time with my 2 loves.
...anywhere really, as long as the 3 of us are together.

Tuesday, July 10, 2012

short

I haven't worn shorts without tights in a long time, but finally my legs can be bare!! That and they've been pretty white, so I didn't feel like blinding anyone.  I started to feel a little self conscience about wearing shorts due to the fact that they are, well... short.  I was feeling like that area of me was starting to thicken up a bit, and let's be honest, I'm not getting any younger, so showing some bum is not an option (anymore...yes, I used to loove short shorts!) Because I'm so tall I've always considered my legs to be one of my best and favourite assets, so this really had me torn.  Until I found these.  These shorts are a great compromise, they have a little bit of a longer inseam called a midi length (4"), but not boyfriend or bermuda length, the opening is wide enough that it doesn't cut of any circulation, and the slant pockets help them feel a little more sophisticated.  All in all, a great short! I liked them so much, I bought 3 pairs..... Thanks you outlet mall near Portland!

Top: Anthropologie, Shorts: American Eagle, Belt: American Eagle, Sandals: Sam Edelman via UO

Monday, July 9, 2012

Portland

The last major city on our summer road trip was Portland, Oregon.  It was beautiful walking down by the river and passing bridge after bridge.  We strolled around almost the whole city and I loved looking in all the shops (no tax in Oregon!), as well as eating some amazing food truck meals. Hello Grilled Cheese!!!! 
One of the best things we did was visit the Saturday Market.  It starts by the river and leads through to VooDoo Doughnut.  There's tons of vendors with arts and crafts, jewellery, baked goods, and so much food.  If/When I visit Portland again, my stomach will be happy.






Wednesday, July 4, 2012

L.A.

Visiting Los Angeles has always been on my travel list.  The whole idea of Hollywood, the beaches and palm trees, sounds just perfect.  And it was! We stayed just outside of Santa Monica and toured around for the couple of days we were there.  L.A. is definitely the kind of place where you need a car, it's so spread out and vast that you need to drive everywhere.  That meant that a lot of what we saw was from the car.  
One of the days we did a beach tour, Long Beach, Balboa, Seal Beach, Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, and Laguna Beach.  The Bf really loved the idea of living in a beach town.  Meanwhile all I'm doing is having flashbacks of old episodes of The O.C.

I would have to admit though, as tourists there for the first time we could have used a tour guide.  It's a bit tricky to navigate around the city, as well as knowing where the best areas are to hang out.  It's obvious to find the Hollywood sign up on the hill and Rodeo Drive (which I shopped on!), but to have a bit more of an insider feel, next time I may have to do more research (and I definitely did some)....or bring a friend that's been before...anyone wanna plan a trip?!
These are a few of my fave photos from Los Angeles.








Tuesday, July 3, 2012

San Fran

I thought I'd share a few of my favourite photos from our summer road trip, starting with San Francisco.  

Seeing as that's where my photos start.  I had some memory card issues and lost everything leading up to our first big stop, San Fran, so unfortunately no photos from Washington or the Oregon coast :(

I was really impressed with this city.  I loved the shops and restaurants (the best spaghetti carbonara!) and especially walking along the waterfront.  And yes the Golden Gate bridge is just as you imagine, huge!!  We walked all over the place, including up some of the steepest streets (including some so steep, they had stairs!).  Even our hotel was lovely, the San Remo, in North Beach was quaint and the staff were so great with suggestions and just loved Kea.

The Bf trying to escape from Alcatraz
(We couldn't get a tour, it was booked a month in advance!)