Showing posts with label personal photos. Show all posts
Showing posts with label personal photos. Show all posts

Sunday, April 29, 2012

5 Happy Things






1. Fashionable reads in Chapters. I love this place. I wish I lived here amongst all the words & pretty pictures.
2. Soy latte at Smart Mouth Cafe in Gas Town. If you haven't been, you're missing out.
3 & 4. Tiffany's from my B
5. Bubbly and some tulips. I love adding flowers to the apartment. It's like a touch of spring even if it's rainy outside.

Saturday, February 25, 2012

Hello, I'm Twenty!


 Goodbye, 19. Hello, 20!
On Wednesday I celebrated my 20th birthday! I ventured over to Vancouver Island on the last ferry Monday night. Although I didn't arrive until the early hours of the morning on Tuesday, it felt good to sleep in my old bedroom with those old familiar pink walls. Actually, I almost didn't know where I was when I woke up! Apparently I was pretty tired. Tuesday was full of fun and SURPRISES! I love surprises! As I sat in the living room watching daytime TV with my mom and eating breakfast, she told me that we would be getting pedicures that afternoon, and then after we would be going to The Running Room (specialty running store) in Nanaimo so I could pick out some new runners. Aah, wonderful day! And it wasn't even my birthday on Tuesday! However Wednesday (my actual birthday) was nice and relaxed. I had a delicious (and indulgent) breakfast, tested out the new elliptical machine my parents recently bought, ran some errands, and my dad surprised me with a bouquet of flowers (which I forgot to take a picture of) on his lunch break! Then I unfortunately had to catch the ferry back to Vancouver. Coming home is always nice, but the visits aren't long enough! Here are some pictures I took during my birthday stay:


New kicks! Mizuno Wave Elixir 7 & a very fitting Half Marathon issue of Canadian Running. 72 days until the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon!


The original plan was to have waffles for breakfast, but after the waffle machine decided to destroy them, my mom settled on pancakes! Don't you love it when mom makes you breakfast? I had a single pancake topped with cherry pie filling (oh, yes!), strawberries (YUM), and whipped cream (oh, heavens). It was so dreamy!


I opted for a sparkly red polish for my pedicure. Note: I have bruising on my toenails from a single DAY of wearing high heels for long periods of time. Boo! :(

Wednesday, February 15, 2012

Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies


My Wednesday was devoted to staying in my pajamas, studying, and baking cookies. Since I had the day to literally do nothing but lounge around, I tried to mix relaxing with being productive. You can probably guess which won the battle. I mean, I only changed out of my pajamas to go grocery shopping early in the afternoon, and even THAT was a challenge. Sometimes pajamas are just the best things ever.

Anyway, onto the cookies!

I used this recipe to make these delicious cookies.
Instead of leaving them in the oven for the full ten minutes, however, I baked them for 8 minutes and let them sit on the cookie sheet for another minute or so. This left them a bit softer in the middle.
I also scooped the dough onto my cookie sheet with a 1 tbsp. measuring spoon 
& flattened them with a fork.
This gave me approximately 40 cookies!

I hope you all had a great day! xo

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Black on Black




Ready for a day of work!

I am also in need of a new black blazer. This one is an oversized style & I am quickly getting tired of it. It's just an awkward length and shape on my frame, so I am on the hunt for something different.
Any suggestions?

I am a huge fan of Instagram as you can see. Perhaps it's because I can be pale as a ghost or nearly carrot orange! The options are endless (I could even be gray if I wanted to go for that zombie-chic look). Since I am so original with my usernames, you can find me under the name HLDFashion. Bet you didn't see that one coming! Anyway, I hope you all have a good day!

Blazer: Suzy Shier
Black Sequin-detail sweater: Guess
Black jeans: Guess
Shoes: Gifted from B!

Monday, December 19, 2011

Rockstar 101







I wore this outfit a couple days ago when the boyfriend & I went to do the last of our Christmas shopping. I am so relieved that I am FINISHED with my shopping, as the malls are so crazy & people are rushing around in a hurry (or they don't walk at all which is equally frustrating). I had this outfit in mind as soon as I opened my closet; I knew I wanted to be comfortable, and there's nothing more comfortable than a cotton T and jeans! 
 Jeans (unpictured): Parasuco
Blazer: Suzy Shier
Chain & pearl necklace: I forget (so helpful).
Boots: Payless Shoes. Am I the only one who feels like a bad ass super woman wearing motorcycle boots? Yes? Oh, okay.
I got this shirt last year at a Rihanna concert Brandon & I went to. It was amazing!

PS. The Jay Z & Kanye West concert was amazing too. Pretty sure I died and went to heaven several times last night. However, now my throat is so sore, my head is aching & my legs feel so heavy! I am currently laying in bed and plan on doing so until I have to get ready for work at 5. All of my shifts this week are closing shifts, but I finally go back to the island on Friday to be with my family for Christmas! Hallelujah.

Saturday, December 17, 2011

Tales of Recent Fortune





This month has been great as far as luck & fortune is concerned! What a perfect time to have this winning streak, as Christmas is a mere eight days away (can you believe it!?), and it always feels good to have happiness come your way around this time! I wanted to share with you some happy things that have happened to me lately!

1. I finally splurged (slightly) and bought myself a Cambridge Satchel. I have been drooling over this large size purple satchel at work for weeks now, and I figured it would be a nice Christmas present to myself that ALSO gets the whole shopping bug out of my system for a while (yeah, I say that now..).

2. Every week work has been doing something different as far as treats and staff-celebrations are concerned. One week we had free cupcakes, this week we had a potluck, and there is pizza & other goodies coming up throughout the month! I snagged a mini gingerbread cupcake that was "gone in 60 seconds," but in my case, inhaled in .5!

3. I won this lovely red cocktail ring from Social Experiment (search her on Etsy, absolutely beautiful pieces!) through the blog Belle Epoque 21. Thank you, lovely ladies, for this prize! I'm wearing it now!

4. Some days call for cozy flannel. I had this hidden away in the bottom drawers of my dresser, and while I was frantically trying on outfits and throwing clothes on the floor this morning, it dawned on me that I hadn't worn this shirt in a while. I actually found it at a local thrift store in my hometown, and it is so warm and cozy (perfect for the cold office/weather since I am closing at work tonight). Top it off with a high ballerina bun and some bow earrings, and I'm good to go. That is, after I finish my coffee.

Have a lovely weekend everyone! Do you have your Christmas shopping ready? It's sneaking up fast!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Very Cherry & The Pursuit of Happiness



Blouse: Jacob


Experimenting with some red lipstick for the first time since the dancing years! Recitals were all about wearing loads of make up that will make you stand out on stage, red lipstick included. However, I've never been bold enough to try it off of the stage. I am wearing Very Cherry (635) by Maybelline, and I love it!


Why yes, those are candy canes & Christmas ornaments hanging in the background.
Vintage inspired mirror: Ikea, 


Loved this movie, and I love this quote just as much. I often think about people who are famous or those who I admire & wonder how they got there, why aren't things happening as quickly for me, etc. etc. However, it's not about that whatsoever. Maybe they just got lucky, or perhaps they were born into it. Nevertheless, you have to go for what you want & it will happen eventually!

Tuesday, December 13, 2011

Keep Calm; It's Nearly Christmas!


1. Mini candy canes brought in by a co-worker the other day. There's nothing better than cappuccino and gingerbread flavoured candy!

2. Some days just call for faux fur! Faux fur scarf: The Gap, Satin blouse: Jacob. Note: You gotta love when your eyeshadow has so much fall out that it smears all over your nicely done foundation. Yeah, it was a struggle with that powdered eyeliner & I can tell you it will not be happening again. I hate messy make up!

3. Christmas-themed doodles at the office, from me to you.

4. Keep calm, everyone! It's almost Christmas! On the other hand, stress out because you aren't nearly prepared enough as you should be & you still have Christmas shopping to do! I can't be the only one who is feeling that way right now. Less than two weeks until Santa is here!

Have a happy Tuesday everyone!

Check out what else has been happening on HLDFashion:

Friday, December 9, 2011

Snaps of the Week



This past Sunday was Brandon's birthday, so we headed out to Brown's Social House in Richmond for some dinner & drinks! Being the girl that I am, I had to go for the mimosa on special rather than the Caesar - SO yummy, so filling!


A project of mine on Tuesday at work involved a lot of ribbons. Lots, and LOTS of ribbons (and continued on until Wednesday).


New running shirt from Skinny Runner. I love it already & have used it on the majority of my runs!


Soft, delicious oatmeal banana cookies. I used this recipe, but used 1/2 cup raisins & 1/2 cup sunflower seeds. These babies are so yummy, especially fresh out of the oven. Bonus: make the whole house smell fantastic!


A couple treats before my last exam this past Monday evening. Sometimes it's nice to just sit by the window in a coffee shop and see what's happening - most of the time you see some pretty darn funny things, too! I enjoyed a shortbread cookie (with white chocolate icing, um hello, heaven!) with an almond milk caramel macchiato. Oh, and in the bag are some shoe ornaments for the little tree in the apartment!

Hope you've all had a good week!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Falling Leaves




Red nail polish, Cherry Red by Sally Hansen
Rhinestone snake ring, H&M
Brown oxfords with gold detailing, via Winners

I don't want fall to leave (hehe, pun intended)!
Winter is on it's way, but I took the opportunity last week to snap some photos using the fresh fall leaves and beautiful fall colours as my background. I felt that my outfit matched the scene as well - a burnt orange suede mini dress paired with black opaque tights, a black boyfriend blazer, fun jewelry & brown oxfords. Of course, the red nails were a great touch as well! I'd have to say that the snake ring is one of my favourites. However, I just bought a cute bow ring from Forever 21, so we'll come back to my "favourites" in the winter and see how they've changed!

I hope you all have had a great weeked and start to your week! I had my first day at Holt Renfrew yesterday. There's lots of things to memorize, but I am excited to learn more. Also, school is almost finished! I'm on the home stretch of homework and assignments - BUT! That means exams again! Eek.

Have a happy Tuesday everyone!

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Life Lately



 


Just a few thoughts (kind of?) in the form of photos for you! Such as, how do I get the perfect ballerina bun? Perhaps less layers in my hair would help be achieve this. Or, how do I get such a gorgeous brick-walled apartment when I'm not even 20? Also, check out how beautiful the leaves are this time of year. I snapped this on my way into Oakridge Centre the other day when I was doing some shopping/picking up groceries (this time the groceries prevailed (mostly) & I only bought nail polish...hehe). Along with fall, however, comes the rain. Sometimes you can't help but love the rain, though! And finally my favourite show, one of my favourite designers & my ultimate favourite television character - Sex & the City, Chanel & Carrie Bradshaw. It's amazing how influential a television show can be, but really, it IS fabulous!

Just a few jumbled thoughts lately. I spent the weekend on the island with my family, and it was so great to see everyone again. It's wonderful how you can go back home for a little "vacation," and still have a home-like place to go back to. Plus, I have tons of stuff to take back with me - groceries, cook books, cool mugs, etc. It has been a fun learning experience living on my own, that's for sure. I suppose it's all about adapting and changing and transforming and it's all quite great. It's life!

Have you seen my latest post about Sarah Jessica Parker?

Hope your weekend has been lovely! Make sure you catch up on some of my recent posts this week:

Thursday, October 27, 2011

ABC's








A: Adventures
B: Boyfriend
C: Clothing
All of the above are a few of my favourite things!

1. Recent outfit to a management midterm this past week. It's amazing how many people you see wearing sweatpants just because there's an exam happening. Yes, post-secondary school is hard, but make it FUN with a cute, functional outfit! Wearing: Zara asymmetrical shirt (longer in the back with a neck/bottom zipper), American Eagle jeans, gifted scarf & Payless motorcycle boots.

2. Ring from H&M (they had a super cute snake bracelet there too. Nail colour is Naked by China Glaze (more pink in real life).

3. Another quick outfit snap. I apologize for the poor camera quality - I am desperately wanting to purchase a new one soon! Dark jeans by American Eagle, leopard flats from a boutique in Duncan, gifted scarf, Old Navy anorak.

4. An adventure through Delta, Richmond & Burnaby took Brandon and I over the Alex Fraser bridge. I let Brandon have the camera reigns on this one!

5. A little bit of hilarious background noise the night before my retail buying midterm. It was definitely a nice distraction from all the formulas!

6. Post-It notes on my notebook were a constant reminder of things I needed to know for my midterm! Thankfully they worked!

7. My handsome study buddy catching a glimpse at Bridesmaids on TV. Brandon made quizzes for me with content to study, and I had to fill in the blanks. He made it fun & a lot of the "tricks" he came up with helped me during the actual exam! Thank you!

I hope you are all having a wonderful week! My homework assignments are done, midterms are finished, laundry is caught up, and Sex & the City is to be watched (for about the billionth time)! I'm currently on the last disc of season 4. Good night!