Looking Back at 2010

Here is my final recap post for 2010. These are just a few of the events through the year that have made and impression on me.

January

As most of you have proabably already read in previous posts, JP and I celebrated New Years Eve in Hawaii. It was a perfect start to 2010.

February

February was spent cheering on our fellow Canadian olympians at every chance, and sporting Team Canada gear to show our support. JP and I spent a lot of time at our neighbors apartment watching hockey game after hockey game.

March 

March was Alberta Fashion Week. Some friends and I went to see a Fashion show, and the picture that would become my first outfit post on Chictopia was taken. 

April

My cousin was working for a year in Vancouver, so Ashley of Opheliac and I decided to take a trip and visit her. We took a road trip across the boarder to Seattle for a couple of days and starting to search for my wedding dress and bridesmaid dresses! My cousin had a friend in Seattle who kindly showed us around. Instead of deciding on one place to take us out for the night, he took us to several little pubs and bars, which was so much fun! Along the way we took silly, touristy photos in front of fun statues, and monuments including a troll under a bridge!!

May

May was the month when I took my first outfit photos with Ashley of Opheliac. I had been complaining to her about how terrible I was with a tripod and self-timer, and how every time I attempted to take photos somewhere cool and scenic everything would go terribly wrong. She offered to help me out. 

June

June was one of my absolute favourite months at work. My bff at work S and I had so many fun lunch adventures and were totally hooked on Chictopia together. We would make mad dashes to the mall on our lunch breaks, grab bubble teas and just talk about everything! S you are the best!!

July

JP's annual brithday camping trip, PITW was in July. The weather was perfect the first day, but turned rainy and cold the second day. The rain was pouring down so hard that a mud slide started and ran right through our fire, completely burying it. The boys scrambled to rig up a tarp to protect us and the fire, while the girls chanted "Motivation Motivation!!!"As well, my search for the perfect wedding dress continued into July, but I still hadn't decided on what style of dress I wanted, so the search continued...

August

The summer was pretty stressful for JP and I this year. We found mold growing in the walls between our kitchen and bathroom, and kitchen and hallway. We had less that a week to pack up everything and find somewhere else to live. We ended up living with my parents for the month of August. Moving in with my parents for a month didn't end up to be so bad. I got to borrow my moms jewellery and perfume, and JP got to video game with my brothers.

September

This year my birthday was perfect. Me, my mom and little sister went to see Mama Mia! It was a fantastic way to spend my birthday. Because I spent my actual birthday with my mom and sister, JP planned a special night out for the two of us on the weekend. JP and I also hit the seven year mark in our relationship in September.

October/November

Near the end of October I had surgery and spent the majority of November recovering. Thank goodness for blogs. I spent most of my time off from work discovering and reading new blogs, sleeping, reading, and getting hooked on girly TV shows (Pretty Little Liars! So addicting). 

December

I had the chance to meet up with some amazing Calgary bloggers in December. We decided to meet for tea and coffee and talked about absolutely everything! We talked about blogging, living in Calgary, where to shop, school, work, and everything in between. It was so fun getting to know these girls, and I'm looking forward to our next blogger meet up.

(1, 2, 3, 4, 5)

Top Looks of 2010

It's nearing the end of 2010, so I thought I would take a look back at some of my more popular outfits. 

JUNE - Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats

In the summer I was obsessed with lace. I am still in love with this light blue, loose fitting lace top from Aritzia. I also love how a blazer can dress up the simplest of outfits. 

JULY - Bragg Creek

This outfit was from a day trip with Ashley of Opheliac to Bragg Creek. It ended up being a rainy day, so most of our photos happened under this bridge, The summer was also a time for little rompers. I can't wait for the weather to warm up so I can pull out all of my rompers again! Only 4-5 months left of snow.

JULY - The Ridge

I wore this outfit to a casual jack & Jill baby shower. It was actually JP's 8th nephew's shower! As you can see, this is the third photo in a row featuring lace. If you don't know by now, I adore lace everything!

MAY - Layers & Clouds

I remember this day so clearly. Ashley of Opheliac and I drove around forever trying to find the perfect spot for photos. I really wanted to find this park that my brothers and I call "the barn" but I didn't know it's exact location. Finally we found it, but by then it was rainy and cold. Somehow, we ended up walking, talking and taking tons of photos for hours in the cold. It was such a fun day!

JUNE - Flowers & Reflections

This is one of my casual friday looks from work. The building in the background is City Hall. I remember this being such an exciting time of year because all of the tulips downtown were blooming. It was so beautiful!

So far I have been having a blast blogging. I'm really loving capturing my life through my wardrobe and really observing my personal style and learning what it means to me. Here are a few more of my favourite outfits from this year on the blog:

SPRING

SUMMER

FALL

WINTER

Thank you so much to everyone who has been supporting me along the way. I'm looking forward to what the new year has to bring, and I can't wait to sharing it with all of you. 

Pearls and Cardigans

Christmas was here and gone before I even knew it this year. I opted out of any vacation time for the holidays and decided to save it up for the wedding and some sort of trip during the summer, so I was back at work today. I miss the days of being young and having weeks off from school, just sitting by the Christmas tree staring at my presents. I miss watching hours on end of Christmas specials, and getting more and more excited for Christmas Day as the hours pass. This year I was wrapping presents until the very last minute, and didn't catch a single Christmas show. It was still a good weekend, but I just hate when special days are over so fast. I guess that's why JP and I decided to go for a destination wedding. I love the idea of drawing out the wedding events for a whole week, and then celebrating at the end of the week with a big party and a big dress. Only two more months to go!! I'm also so excited to escape to somewhere warm during the dead of winter. 

The tights, tanktop, pearl necklace and cardigan are all Christmas presents. I got three cardigans for Christmas this year! I was pretty excited. My mom and aunt know me well. I adore cardigans. <3

(skirt - Target, tanktop - American Eagle, cardigan - J. Crew, tights - Jacob, 
toque - RW&Co, shoes - Aldo Kids, jacket - Costa Blanca)

Photos by JP

Christmas 2010

Here are a few photos from the holiday weekend. JP and I spend Christmas Eve at my parents house. We snacked on holiday treats, visited with family and neighbours, and watched Home Alone. Christmas day JP and I slept in. We were woken up by a phone call from my little sister stating that she couldn't wait for us anymore. We then went back over to my parents house for gift openings and breakfast. Later that evening JP and I stopped by his sisters house to visit and play card games. Today we finally went out to see Harry Potter! I can't believe that I managed to wait this long to see it! All in all it was a pretty great Christmas weekend. 

Ice Skating and Little Sisters

Today I had a half day of work. I used the time to finished shopping for stocking gifts, and then headed over to my parents for the rest of the day. My dad made a little ice rink in their backyard, so my sister and I decided to try it out. It was pretty tiny for me to practice much skating, but the little rink was the perfect size for my sister to practice stopping and turning. She is such a good little skater already! I showed her a couple of figure skating turns and she caught on first try.

 I wasn't really planning on spending much time outside today, so I wasn't dressed to skate outdoors. My "skating outfit" is a mishmash of my moms winter gear. lol.

Parking Garage

Over the weekend some friends of mine and JP's kindly decided to take us out for dinner since they are going to miss our wedding in Cabo. I decided to take advantage of a night out and got dressed up. It was such a great night. We had dinner at The Keg, and then later came back to our place to hang out. 

I honestly can't believe that it is almost Christmas! JP and I still aren't done our Christmas shopping. We are running out later tonight to the mall to buy some gifts. The mall is so crazy during the holidays! I'm not looking forward to the trip, but we can't wait anymore. I want there to be some presents under the tree for a couple of days at least. 

We already had an early Christmas on Sunday with JP's family. He has 8 nephews and a niece! I can't believe that in two months I'm going to have several nephews and a niece. They already call me Auntie Ashley. It's so cute. 

(skirt - Jacob, silk blouse, polka dot tights, jewellery - Joe Fresh, shoes - Winners)

I would just like to thank all of my new and old followers, and anyone who stops by this blog. I'm really appreciative of all your support and I love every single one of your comments. Thank you so much for supporting me and this little blog. 

Blogger Spotlight | All the Pretty Birds Vintage

I'm so excited to do my first blogger spotlight! I'm sure some of you have already heard of Mikhaila from All the Pretty Birds Vintage, but for those of you who haven't, you must check out her blog! Mikhaila is one of the first blogger that I really connected with, and we've been getting to know each other through email. She is an absolute sweetheart, genuine, and has an amazing sense of style with a flare for vintage. She inspires me to search for more vintage pieces to mix into my wardrobe. Check out my interview with Mikhaila to find out more about why she started blogging, what she does outside of the blogging world, and more!

1.When and why did you start your blog?

 I used to have a LiveJournal (I recently found it and am a little bit embarrassed but loved reading it-I cried, I laughed, I felt sorry for my 19 year old self and proud at the same time) so I've always been into writing/blogging/documenting my life. I discovered fashion blogs likeSelective Potential and Flair To Remember sometime last year and fell in love with the idea of the blogging community. Especially because I often feel like my interest in fashion and vintage isn't shared by my friends and family!  At the same time I was starting my Etsy store and wanted a way to network and promote it.

2. How do you like to spend your time when you aren’t blogging? What are your hobbies/interests outside of blogging?

I love to cook and bake, most nights after work I find myself in the kitchen. I think it's therapeutic to me after a long and usually emotional day at work. I'm a caseworker for kids in foster care and it can be emotionally draining and stressful. I also go to school for holistic health counseling so I try to squeeze in homework too. Besides spending time with friends and family, I love reading, shopping and thrifting, outdoorsy things like going on walks and hikes (I always say I like to do that but I'm pretty miserable during the actual hike ha). I'm learning how to sew so that's my newest hobby, so far I've mastered pillows but am working on a dress for my niece (I might have been a little too ambitious, it's harder than I thought!) and a stuffed plush whale for my sister.

3. What are your dreams for the future?

I really hope health counseling turns into a full time job for me. As much as I love working with kids I can't do this forever. My dream life would be to have my own vintage store and do health counseling on the side and be able to enjoy life to the fullest, doing what I love.

4. What inspires your style?

I think I've always had my own take on style but fellow bloggers and my sister inspire me most! I barely read magazines or celebrity news anymore. I like seeing how girls of different shapes and sizes dress and I love vintage but I also love new so I like to wear a mix of both.

5. What music is currently on your playlist?

Let's seeee...well my favorite favorite musicians are The Weepies and Ray Lamontagne. But I'm also obsessed with The Shins, Modest Mouse, Andrew Bird, Radiohead, Sia, Band of Horses, Bright Eyes, Neon Trees, MGMT, Pheonix. Seriously, my music interest ranges from soft and acoustic indie stuff to loud and fun punk music. Depends on my mood, but that's just a taste of what I'm currently listening to.

6. What is a typical day like for you?

Monday through Friday is pretty much the same boring-ho-hum type of day. Not so much in the spring and summer but definitely in the winter. I wake up, do a little blog reading with my coffee, get ready and go to work, go home and make dinner and hang out with Frank. We usually watch T.V, or I'll do homework or work on my sewing. I try to break up the week by doing things and seeing friends. On Tuesdays my best friend comes over and we make dinner and usually watch a movie or Glee. On Thursdays I go to craft night that my friend and I put together a few weeks ago. So it's really nice to not feel like all I do is work. On the weekends, I meet up with another friend for bagels and coffee, then I usually do a little thrifting or stop in my friend Michelle from Black Bird Attic store and hang out with her. I'll head to my parents at some point to see my niece, maybe meet up with another friend for coffee, wait for Frank to get home, relax, and make plans for the night. I try to enjoy every minute of the weekend!  When the weather is nice Frank and I will go on little day trips...I struggle to find stuff to do in the winter. I just want to hibernate!

7.  What do you like best about the blogging community?

 I like that I've had the chance to meet some pretty awesome people who share the same interests as me. The inspiration is pretty wonderful too!

8. What, if anything, have you learned about yourself through blogging?

I've learned to embrace what makes me unique when it comes to my personal style and my personality. I don't have to try to be anything other than myself and people will like me for it. I've struggled with that in the past and worried too much what others will think about me. I think my blog has given me the outlet I needed to share who I really am and what makes me happy, my passions, my ideas...etc.

9. What article of clothing or outfit do you feel most comfortable in?

I wear a dress pretty much every day.  I love anything flowy and over sized too. Some days I like just wearing jeans and a t-shirt though, it depends on my mood and the weather mostly!

Thanks again Mikhaila for a lovely interview! 

This Time Last Year

Since the arrival mine and JP's Australian friends to Canada for the holidays, I've become more and more nostalgic for last years Christmas and New Years. This time last year JP and I were spending the holidays in Hawaii. We left a few days before Christmas and spent the first week of our vacation in Honolulu. It was absolutely amazing. We spent our days shopping, laying on the beach and dining on patios. It was a welcome break from the snow and cold back in Canada. 

Boxing day we met up with our friends, S and C, from Australia. It was such an exciting day because we hadn't seen each other in two years. We spent Boxing Day at Pearl Harbor. Later we spend time swimming in the ocean, and I took C to Macy's, which she had been dying to see since reading about it as a kid in the Babysitters Club series. 

JP and I went to Hawaii for the holidays because S and C were getting married on New Years Eve and JP and I were in the wedding party! The wedding was in Kona, so we took a quick plane trip from Oahu to The Big Island a few days before the wedding. We met up with another couple and shared the most amazing condo. We were right on the beach and also had a pool. The best part about staying in the condo was JP's pancake breakfasts!! Yummmm. 

After the wedding reception we carried the party over to a local bar where we celebrated the new year with our friends. It was definitely a memorable Christmas and New Years. 

Glitz and Glam

I have been so busy lately with wedding planning, visiting with friends and recovering from being sick that I haven't had much time for blogging. I can't believe I've only posted twice this month!

 My wedding dress came in, so Saturday my mom, dad and I went to try it on. We ended up being out for four hours just shopping, trying on jewellry, tiaras and veils and getting my dress fitted. Such a fun day. I was losing a little steam with the wedding planning, but Saturday got me motivated again and I ended up ordering these shoes from Aldo on Monday. Free shipping throughout the holidays!! I was pretty excited. I couldn't decide which shoe would look better with my dress and wedding colours, so I decided to just buy both and decide later. With both shoes on sale it's a win-win situation!

Torgeson peep toe shoe at Aldo

Keaty evening sandal at Aldo

Sunny Day

I have been sick the last few days and so my outfits haven't been worth taking photos of, so I decided  to post some photos from the summer. Mostly I've been lounging around in my yoga pants and baggy sweaters. I hate being sick, especially close to the holidays. There is way too much to get done during this time of year. There isn't time to be sick. I have definitely fallen behind on the Christmas shopping and decorating. I do not feel prepared for the holidays. I can't believe Christmas and New Years are right around the corner! 

Last year JP and I were in sunny Hawaii for Christmas and New Years. We actually spend Christmas Eve laying on the beach. It was beautiful. We were in Hawaii over the holidays because some close friends of ours were getting married on New Years Eve, and we were part of the wedding party. It was really special because they live in Australia and we hadn't seen them in quite a while. This year they will be spending New Years with us in Canada! I am so excited to see them! It's been a whole year. The beach and sun was a nice change for Christmas/New Years, but snow, skating and hot chocolate are nice too. 

(cardigan - American Eagle, top - Joe Fresh, skirt - American Apparel,
shoes - Sperry, belt - shop in Vancouver, locket -  vintage, necklace - custom made in India)