Vancouver SeaWheeze 2013

I thought I would do a quick post about the SeaWheeze half-marathon. JP and I drove out to Vancouver a couple days before the race. I had been to Vancouver twice before, but had only been there by plane, so it was a bit of an adventure driving there and seeing the scenery along the way. The neat thing about the SeaWheeze was there were a lot of other events surrounding the run including lots of yoga and a concert to end the event.

Running the SeaWheeze half-marathon was an unforgettable experience. I just love the feeling of running with so many other people who have the same goal yet the activity is individual. It's thrilling and exhilarating. It's so easy to get caught up in the energy of the crowd and to push though any pain or negative thoughts and keep running. It's very motivational. Everyone who is running is encouraging you to keep going and there are cheering teams along the way blasting music, dressed up in costumes telling you not to quit. 

Running through downtown Vancouver and around Stanley park was absolutely stunning. The race course was beautiful and I would definitely run the Sea Wheeze again. I am hoping that I will get the chance to sign up for next year. 

Last four photos via the SeaWheeze Facebook Page

Summer Reading List

I've always gone through reading spree's during the summer months and this year it seems will be no exception. This year my summer vacation is during the months of August and September, and these are the books that I'm hoping to get through. So far I have finished reading The Secret Between Us and The Cuckoo's Calling and I'm a little over half way finished reading Left Neglected. My mom is currently reading Gone Girl but has promised to hand it over to me in the next few days. Next up will be The Casual Vacancy. I don't have Confession's of a Sociopath in my possession yet, but I'm planning on looking at a couple books stores for it in the next couple weeks. 

The Cuckoo's Calling
The Cuckoo's Calling is a novel written by J.K Rowling under the pseudonym of Robert Galbraith. It's a crime/mystery novel about a private defective, Cormoran Strike, who is investigating the suspicious death of model Lula Landry.

The Secret Between Us
The novel is about a mother daughter relationship and how lies and deceptions can put a relationship in jeopardy. This story starts out with a mother and daughter who are driving home one night and are involved in a car accident. The daughter was driving, but the mother decides to take the blame for the accident. 

Left Neglected
Left Neglected is about Sarah, a career driven mother of three who is alway on the go, until a brain injury leaves her with a condition called Left Neglect. Sarah can no longer detect the left side of her world, and is left completely dependent on others to do everyday tasks. The story is about letting go and discovering what it truly means to be successful and happy. 

Gone Girl
Gone Girl is a triller novel about the dysfunctional marriage of Nick and Amy Dunne. On the couples fifth wedding anniversary Amy goes missing and Nick becomes the main suspect in his wife's disappearance. 

The Casual Vacancy
Another novel by J.K Rowling, this story is about a town that is not what it appears to be. After Barry Fairbrother dies unexpectedly at age 40, his empty spot left on the town counsel sets off a war between the towns people.

Confessions of a Sociopath
Confessions of a Sociopath is a memoir taking readers into the mind of a functional sociopath. 

I really enjoyed reading The Cuckoo's calling. The characters were interesting and I'm a fan of crime/detective novels. I liked that I wasn't able to solve the crime, even though there were plenty of clues and the ending was a surprise to me, but not unbelievable or random. The Secret Between us was good too. It had some elements of mystery to it as well, and I definitely got wrapped up in the characters emotions. So far I am also liking Left Neglected. The main character, Sarah, is witty and smart.

Has anyone else read any of these books? What did you think? Any other recommendations?

The Bay

I met up with Lorie of Clicking Pretty the other day to take some blog photos. We'd been talking about taking photos together for a while, so it was so nice that we could finally find some time to meet up! We met at The Bay downtown because it has some really interesting architectural elements. Check out Lorie's blog post for more photos of the location. 

It was a pretty hot afternoon so we started out the day with grabbing some iced drinks at Starbucks then chatted for a while and caught up. I have been dressing pretty casually lately and have been  in running mode, so for my outfit I went with these really fun leather-look running shorts, a super soft t-shirt, and my favourite casual running shoes. I just ran my second half-marathon last weekend and have been pretty pumped about it. I have a few photos from my iPhone, but I was pretty lazy with my camera while I was in Vancouver for the half-marathon so I don't have that many photos from my run weekend. I hope to post a few photos soon though. 

Outfit Details

Wilfred Free t-shirt via Aritzia

running shorts c/o Joe Fresh

Nike running shoes via Aritzia

necklace c/o CoutuKitsch

vintage watch, Stella & Dot snake bracelet, amber bracelet gift from Karolina

Photos by Lorie of Clicking Pretty

Revlon | Dare to Wear Blue

Revlon recently had a #DareToWearBlue campaign and sent me a few items challenging me to create a look with blue products including the Revlon PhotoReady Primer + Shadow in Avant Garde and the PhotoReady Kajal Intense Eyeliner and Brightener in Blue Nile. I don't typically wear a lot of coloured eyeshadows and tend to stick to neutral shades, so I decided to combine the blue shades from the Revlon palette with some neural shades from the Urban Decay Naked Basics palette.

To start my eyes I used the shadow primer from the Avant Garde palette, then used Walk Of Shame from the Naked Basics palette over my entire lid and Naked 2 in the crease. I used the darkest blue shade from the Avant Garde palette in the outer most part of my crease and the light blue shade along my lower lash line. I lined the outer third of my upper lash line with the dark blue eyeliner from the double-ended eyeliner in Blue Nile and lined my waterline with the white pencil. I finished my eyes with a couple coats of the Revlon Lash Potion mascara. The end result was a subtle blue look that I ended up really liking.

What I'm Wearing
Face
Bourjois Healthy Mix Serum and Make Up For Ever HD foundation mixed
Laura Mercier Foundation Primer - Radiance
Bobby Brown Corrector
Maybelline Dream Lumi Touch Highlighting Concealer
Hourglass Ambient Lighting Powder in Dim Light
NYX blush in Pinched
Eyes
Revlon PhotoReady Primer + Shadow in Avant Garde (c/o)
Urban Decay Naked Basics palette - W.O.S and Naked 2
Revlon PhotoReady Kajal Intense Eyeliner and Brightener in Blue Nile (c/o)
Revlon Lash Potion Volume + Length Mascara by Grow Luscious (c/o)
Benefit Instant Brow Pencil
Lips
Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick  in Pink Cognito