OOTD: Channelling My Inner Blair Waldorf

I thought I would dedicate my first Outfit of the Day post to my favourite Gossip Girl character. I just recently finished watching GG and although Serena was meant to be the fashion icon of the upper east side, I was always partial to Blair; I really loved the class and sophistication of her wardrobe. Coincidentally, I noticed an influx of plaid circle skirts while I was out shopping a couple of weeks ago. I managed to find some reasonably priced ones around the mall and picked up a couple of ballerina tops to go with them. Add a peacoat or trench coat, headband and tights, and voilà! The perfect outfit à la queen B!

Trench Coat | Mango

Ballerina Top | Garage Clothing

Plaid Circle Skirt | Garage Clothing

Tights | The Bay

These skirt + ballerina top outfits make for the perfect transition pieces between the seasons. I love that we can finally start dressing for fall again!

XOXO…

| alex

On OOTD – Wedding Mint:

Congratulations to my beautiful friends, Michael and Emily who were married August 9th 2014! I wish only amazing things for both of you guys!

I decided to finally do a blog post on the outfit I was able to wear to the wedding, which my mom made (and finished an hour before I had to go…)

Happy Weddings!

Mint green hi-lo dress with a sweet heart neckline & matching flower hair piece | Made by my beautiful and talented mom!

Yup. You read that right.

Accessories:

Faux diamond earrings |Spring | $10
Nude pumps | Payless | $24 (On sale for $18)
Black bracelets/necklace| Gifts

Photos by | Lucas Gilbertson

Enjoy!

| danielle

On Healthy Snacks:

I thought I’d do a little post on a super quick and versatile health snack that I love!

It has two different ways to be served:
1. As a light morning yogurt snack
2. As a refreshing summer afternoon treat

In total, both will take you about 5-10 minutes!

What you’ll need:

| A ripe papaya
| Vanilla Icecream
| Fresh fruit – blueberries & raspberries, in this case
| Strawberry yogurt

1. Start by giving your fresh fruit a good rinse!

2. Then cut your papaya in half.

3. Scoop out all the seeds.

4. First we’ll start with the Light Morning Yogurt Snack!

5. I tend towards strawberry yogurt, but any yogurt is fine. One of those cups usually will fill the center of the papaya, so just scoop it all in.

6. Then just top it off with some fresh fruit. You can use any fruit really, but blueberries and raspberries tend to be the fastest ones, no cutting/peeling involved!

7. Now for the Refreshing Summer Afternoon Treat! Instead of using yogurt, use ice cream! I like vanilla because its light and subtle enough to not overpower the papaya and fruit, but feel free to use whatever you want!

8. And again, top it off with some fresh fruit!

You can honestly add whatever you want as toppings though, some ideas:

– Granola
– Chocolate chips
– Dry cereal

So there you have it, a super easy, delicious healthy snack for either in the morning before work, or a treat for after a long day at work!

Hope you guys enjoy!

| danielle

 

 

On Taste of Calgary:

So as many of you know, Taste of Calgary was this past weekend at Eau Claire Market! For those who don’t know, Taste of Calgary is a local food festival that allows people to sample food from a few of Calgary’s very own food vendors.

Before I start this blog post, I just wanted to point out the number one reason I will never truly be a foodie: I tend to eat the food before I can take a photo of it. So here is my blog post on Taste of Calgary and a bunch of photos of half eaten food samples!

So the way it works to try samples at Taste of Calgary, you have to buy tickets. Each ticket = $1 and each food sample has a ticket price of about 2-5 tickets ($2-$5). The best suggestions I got was to go around the festival and make note of what you want, how many tickets is required, and then buy your tickets. Otherwise you may end up with a random few ticket stubs here and there.

First up is Halo Steak, Seafood & Wine Bar!

I tried their Bacon Prawns, which were so good! Crispy, tidy to eat, and delicious!

Then I tried Crepes & Cravings! I tried the Sweet ‘Smores Crepe and the Savory Spicy Hawaiian Ham Crepe. And they were both delicious! I’ve gone to  Crepes & Cravings a few times, and I usually get their sweet crepes, the Nutella with strawberry and bananas, and yes. It is as freakin’ amazing as it sounds. I definitely suggest this place!

Sweet ‘Smores

Savory Spicy Hawaiian Ham

I went to Bubblemania Cafe next, and if you know anything about me, it’s that I am in love with Bubblemania. I probably am seen at Bubblemania more than I am at any other location. (This includes my home.)

Without being too biased, I would like to say that at Taste of Calgary, the Karage Chicken with Sriracha Mayo Sauce was the best deal. I ate a lot of it before I took a photo (I told you, I have a problem) but for only 3 tickets, you actually get quite a good amount. This is also a dish I tend to get a lot when I go to Bubblemania, and I have never been disappointed!

(If you do end up going to Bubblemania, definitely try their Nutella Milk Toast, and I promise you, your life will never be the same!)

Next two places were Globefish and Delice Pastry, Shop and Cafe. I had the Crispy Shrimp Dumplings and some Watermelon Juice!

Both were great! The Crispy Shrimp was absolutely delicious and so worth it! The Watermelon Juice was, although not my favourite drink there, very refreshing.

At Oriental Dumpling, (Warning: their website auto-plays music. Just in case you have a heart attack like I did.) I tired their Bubble Tea with Dragonball Pearls (exploding mango pearls, or mango boba).

This was definitely my favourite drink at Taste of Calgary! Watermelon bubble tea with mango boba, so refreshing!

At Goro + Gun, I tried the really popular Ramen Burger! I found that these were super sought out for at Taste of Calgary.

While I really like the concept of this burger, I find its a bit hard to eat, the noodles tend to fall apart. The burger itself is really good, but when I eat ramen, I tend to overdo it with the seasoning, so this was a little plain for me. But it was still really good, and I would definitely suggest grabbing one, even if just to try it out!

A few other places I tried (whose food I ate before I could take photos…) were:

| Black Betty Burgers & Wine Bar – Black Betty Slider, super delicious!
| Mini Melts – Mint Chocolate Ice Cream, so fun to eat!
| Africana Bar and Grill – Mango Fruit Juice, a big fan, super mango-y

So if you haven’t had the chance to check of Taste of Calgary, I would really suggest stopping by next time it’s in town!

| danielle

Outfit of the Day: On Spring Pastels

I really love saving money. Every dollar I save feels like a tiny victory for me, so I thought I’d give you a preview of some of my Spring wear that I was able to put together at an inexpensive price!

(I’m also really into pastel pinks and mint colours lately, so get ready for that to come back frequently this season for me. Some would say too much, they would be wrong. )

 

Grey quarter sleeve cardigan | Forever 21 | $15
Mint top | Bluenotes | $10
Pastel pink skinny jeans | H&M | $25 (On sale for $20)
Nude pumps | Payless | $24 (On sale for $18)

 

Hope you guys enjoyed this outfit as much as I did and hopefully you’ll find some good deals this Spring!

Also, there’s this:

| danielle

On Anxiety (An Installation)

I’m currently an art student at the University, and I thought I would show a few art projects here and there that I did. For those of you who don’t know, an art installation is (as defined by wiki) an artistic genre of three-dimensional works that are often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of a space.

I major in drawing and sculpture, but within sculpture, I tend to do a lot of installations. This was the first one I ever did, and I was really proud of it:

I did an installation that was held at the University of Calgary last year (2013) that was on the perception from the outside and inside of anxiety.

Outside: On the framed photo in the back is the room before it was destroyed. Perfectly set up, all white, everything placed a certain way. That is the image people with anxiety try to emulate. Put together, normal. There is no room for messy or broken, everything is the way it should be.

Inside: The room itself is broken, torn apart, covered in black paint strokes. This shows the person going through anxiety inside. The reality of anxiety and how it affects us. Sometimes you aren’t aware that someone has anxiety, and that’s how they want to present themselves. But when things get rough, it gets harder and harder to hide.

I’m hoping to do this installation in a gallery one day, but for now these images will do! I hope you guys enjoy!

| danielle

Spring Has Sprung: The Essentials

It has been so beautiful in my city for the past couple of weeks! Although we’ve been revisited by an occasional snowfall, I feel like it’s safe to say that spring has finally sprung! To celebrate, I thought I’d share with all of you a couple of sunny, flowery, and practical products for the season from some of my favourite stores. What better way to ring in the spring with a little bit of online shopping? Especially if you live in a city like mine — with a five (sometimes almost six) month winter, it eventually becomes a sort of necessity to start ushering the spring into your wardrobe/home before it’s quite ready to reveal itself outside!1. Rubber Boots
I actually just bought my first pair of rain boots and I can’t believe it took me so long! I love them so much – jumping in puddles without having to worry about wet feet is the best. I personally own Hunters but I went shopping with a friend recently and saw these Steven Madden Riding Boots – we immediately fell in love with the buckles and red detailing.

2. Sunnies
I love Free People sunnies, especially these ones! Not only do they have a relatively wide selection of unique and fashionable sunglasses, but they’re also really reasonably priced.

3. FloralFloralFloral
What says spring better than flowers? Floral may not be groundbreaking in regards to spring fashion, but it’s definitely one of my favourite seasonal trends. One floral item is all you need to bring some sunshine into your outfit — I especially love this kimono from Urban Outfitters!

4. Umbrella
This Hunter umbrella is not only practical for rainy spring weather — it’s pretty cute too!

5. Statement Ring
Actually a staple for any season, but it’s spring so treat yourself to something new and unique! I love this one from Urban Outfitters.

6. Light-Weight Scarf
It’s finally time to pack up those thick knit scarves and trade them in for something more warm-weather appropriate! I love this one from Aritzia — it’s light-weight and oversized. Aritzia scarves may be a bit pricey but from my experience, the quality is always worth it!

7. Vases
I think that the loveliest way to bring spring into your home is to fill it with colourful, pretty flowers. But you’ll need something equally as pretty to put those flowers in! There’s a huge selection of beautiful vintage and home-made vases on Etsy — my favourite are these painted wooden ones that come in a set of three!

8. A Good Book
With spring comes the closing of another school year for us university students. For some, that means wanting to avoid all printed word for the entirety of the summer. For others, that means being able to set down those textbooks and read whatever it is your heart desires. If you enjoy YA Fiction as much as I do, I suggest you try reading John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars. It’s an incredibly smart and beautiful story — John Green is one of my favourite writers (actually, people). The movie adaptation is also set to be released in June! The screenplay was written by Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber (500 Days of Summer), scored by Bright Eyes, and is starring Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort — I am SO excited.

Happy Spring, everyone!

| alex

Spring DIY: Bike Basket

I am so ready for Calgary to experience spring weather again; it feels as if our winters get longer every year! Now that we’re finally edging toward the finish line, I thought I might as well start ushering in spring with a DIY project for my bike!

Supplies:

• Basket (I bought mine at Walmart for about $10 – I realized afterward that it was a bit big for a front basket, but still functional. I actually might use it on the back of my bike going forward!)
• Hot glue gun
• Fake flowers (These are everywhere, but cheapest at the dollar store. I originally planned on using several different types of flowers but ended up just sticking to daisies – they suit me much better!)
• Ribbon (For the way I’ve done this, the ribbon is visible so I chose a colour to match my bike!)

Step One: Pluck off all your fake flowers from their stems. They pop off easily but I realize that may be because I bought dollar store ones. If you happen to buy flowers of better quality and are having difficulties, I’m sure you could cut them off the stem with a pair of scissors! Make sure to leave a couple centimetres of stem so it’s easier to stick in the basket!

Step Two: If you have several different types of flowers, organize them into an arrangement before you start this step. If you are haphazardly sticking flowers all over your basket as I did, then you can start with gluing right away! Use your hot glue gun first on the actual flower stem – apply glue liberally to avoid having your flowers fly off mid-ride. Before the glue dries, stick the stem into a spot on the basket and apply pressure. Add some extra glue on the sides afterwards if it looks necessary.

Step Three: Continue gluing and placing until your entire basket is covered to your satisfaction! I only have flowers on the front and sides because I was planning on having the basket on the front of my bike. However, now that I’ve decided I might put it on the back instead, I’ll have to cover all four sides!

Step Four: Use the ribbon to tie your basket onto the handle bars. I’d suggest double-knotting and checking the knot before each use just in case! In the photos, I’ve tied the ribbons right on the top edge of the basket. However, I decided to re-tie them afterwards about 2 inches down from the top edge – this will just help to avoid drooping once you’ve actually put things in the basket!

That’s it! This project was so easy and quick to complete – I’m definitely going to buy another basket (or two) so I can make more! Since these baskets are so easy to attach and remove, it’ll be nice having a couple to choose from – especially since the one I’ve made here is actually the perfect size for the back of my bike!

I hope this tutorial adds a bit of sunshine to your day and gets you even more excited for spring! Happy Tuesday, everyone!

| alex

A Peek Inside Our Adventure Books

I’ve always had a deep fear of forgetting. It’s never been about leaving my keys in the car or getting to the grocery store and not knowing why I went in the first place. It’s not even about studying for weeks for an exam and then having everything fall out of my head as I sit down at my desk. It’s about those 4 a.m. heart-to-hearts with my best friend, when I get home as the sun is rising and I crawl into bed feeling like my life is finally changing for the better. It’s about those early mornings with the love of my life, when the sunlight is kissing his face and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world because I’m the one who gets to trace my fingers along his cheek and look at him one last time before I drift back to sleep. It’s about those warm summer nights with my closest friends, when we set off fireworks and sit around campfires and I look around at the people I’ve chosen to surround myself with and my heart swells with gratitude. I can’t bear the thought of forgetting moments, people, places that once meant the world to me. It’s why I used to write in my journal so often and why I’m trying to do so again. And it’s why I’ve always loved taking pictures.

Adam and I have been together for two years (as of this Saturday, actually!) and it has been a complete whirlwind of an experience. I have never been happier alongside another human being, never had someone who understood me so completely and cared for me so deeply. At a time in my life when I’m uncertain of so many different aspects of my future, I feel an incredible amount of comfort knowing that I can count on him being a part of it. I never want to forget a moment of our time together; everything from backyard camping to nights we did nothing but play our Nintendo DS’s mean the world to me. When we first started dating, we decided we would always go on adventures together and that we would keep books to document them (à la Up). I envision our future home with numerous bookshelves, at least a shelf or two dedicated to keeping our adventure books tucked inside them. We have two completed ones so far, containing things like photos, ticket stubs, and notes written to one another. There are so many opportunities to be creative and try new things: we used a sketchbook for our first adventure book, Adam made our Vietnam one, and we’re using a binder and inserts for our third. Although we occasionally fall behind on keeping them updated, they’ve been wonderful to have and to look back on. I thought I would share them in an effort to inspire those of you who have a similar appetite for memory-keeping!

I love that we’ll always have our adventure books to remind us of all the things that, no matter how small, brought us together and made us who we are. I hope this sparks a little bit of creative memory-keeping in some of you today! Happy Wednesday, everyone!

| alex

Some Quick & Healthy Snacks!

I don’t know about you, but I love snacking. However, I’m trying to be a little bit healthier as well. I feel like the toughest part about trying to keep your snacks healthy is that those types of foods can get boring really quickly. There are only so many celery sticks a girl can eat before she decides to just binge on an entire bag of Cheetos because she’s been so deprived of flavour. On top of that, I can also often be super lazy and impatient when it comes to making myself food.

I was motivated by this constant struggle to post a couple of snacks that are easy, quick to make, relatively healthy, and don’t lack in the taste department either! If you’re like me, it also takes a bit of (let’s be real, a lot of) willpower to decide on a salad instead of a way less healthy (but probably more delicious) alternative. But the sacrifice is way easier to make when the healthier option doesn’t taste like grass and can be put together in less than five minutes! Trust me, I am potato chips’ number one fan. So if I can occasionally make the choice to have one of these snacks instead, they must be really easy and taste really good.

Greek Yogurt & Berries

The easiest of the bunch! Just add some greek yogurt (I used vanilla) to a small bowl and throw in some berries!

Apples with Granola & Peanut Butter

All you have to do is core your apple (I had never done this before and found this video helpful), slice it, spread your peanut butter, and add some granola!

Spinach & Berry Salad

Just add spinach, goat cheese, balsamic vinaigrette, and your favourite berries in a bowl!

Mango Salsa

One mango, red onion, bell pepper, salt & pepper, cilantro, and 3 tbsp. lime juice! Pick up some baked chips or tortilla bread and you’re good to go!

I hope you found these as great as I did! This is by far the best piece I’ve ever decided to post — I was not only constantly taste-testing, but I also felt completely guilt-free about it! Happy snacking!

| alex