February Resolution: Recap

Earlier this month I made a resolution to try to have/maintain freshly polished, manicured nails for the entire month of February. Well the time has come to reveal the results...

I (almost) did it! I will be honest, the last few days I have had just a clear coat on my nails but for the other 25 days of this month I have had a constant manicure and in this entire month, never had a single chiped nail! It was definitely work but certainly not as much as I expected. I really did love having coloured nails and playing with colour. Aside from the current clear polish, I had only 4 manicures. I thought for sure there would be more - maybe I was just being more careful knowing I had made this commitment! Or maybe because it was a short month. 

I think having done it I will definitely keep up the polishing and will DEFINITELY NOT sport chipped nails again. That was my favourite part. Funny how I have always had those standards with my pedicures (the second I see chipped polish on my toes, it is immediately removed, I hate it!) but not with my hands. Well, now I do! And even though the last few days I've had an "invisible" manicure, I quite liked this resolution and will call it a success!

OPI "Red Lights Ahead...Where?"|OPI "Ski Teal We Drop"|Essie "Turquoise & Caicos"|OPI "Kiss Me On My Tulips" 

 

A Wise Man Once Said...

It's in the Bag: LFW

Last week Shopbop did it again, sharing pictures of handbags, this time featured on the streets of London for London Fashion Week. I realized after my last post, that although these are beautiful bags and I love admiring them, half the fun is seeing the ensemble that they are paired with! Mixing patterns, textures, colours - there is some neat styling to be seen here. Of this lot, I'd probably say my favourite is between the orange (love the clean, simple lines and vibrant colour) and the blue/green holographic one (holographic/metallic textiles are going to be HUGE for fall). Which one would you like to tote around?

2013 Oscar Fashion Standouts

Last night was the Oscars. And what a show it was. Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame hosted and although I woke up this morning to see mixed reviews on his hosting, I personally think he did a great job. That is part of the reason I stayed up and watched the entire show! One of my most favourite things about last night was when a winner ran over in their acceptance speech, the Jaws theme music would play. That idea HAD to have come from Seth, and it was just perfect. 

Next, my guess for best picture was wrong. I went all in for Les Misérables winning, but it was Argo that came out on top. Although I still stand by my choice, I am totally fine with Argo winning as it really was a fantastic movie. After seeing the acceptance speeches last night, I was very happy Ben Affleck. He put in a lot of work and made a great movie. Last note about the awards show itself, there was a 50 year James Bond tribute! I am a Bond fanatic and was very much looking forward to it. Although the tribute was nice it wasn't what I'd hoped. Super short and more about the music than the movies. What was also a bit sad was that there were so many rumours leading up to the show that all 6 Bonds would appear together on stage for the first time. Didn't happen. But we got a lovely highlight real of the movies and a killer performance of Goldfinger by Shirley Bassey!

Now, moving on to the fashion! This was a good show for fashion. Nothing crazy or innovative compared to the previous awards shows this season, but good nonetheless. I had many favourites but my top two are: Jennifer Aniston in Valentino and Amanda Seyfried in Alexander McQueen.

It was hard to narrow down the runners up but here are the stars who also made my list:

Amy Adams, Sandra Bullock, Charlize Theron and Jennifer Lawrence

Who did you think was best dressed last night?

 

Oscar Challenge Recap

Just under one month ago I set out to complete an Oscar Challenge. The challenge was to watch all 9 movies that are nominated for Best Picture prior to the show. I did not quite make it through all 9 but I did see 6 of them which I've got to say, I'm quite pleased with! I suppose there is still a chance I could see one or two more before the show on Sunday night, but I highly doubt it. I saw: Silver Linings Playbook, Les Misérables, Django Unchained, Beast of the Southern Wild, Zero Dark Thirty and Argo. Each one of these movies was good in their own way but I must say, after seeing Les Misérables, I felt like it was winner. I still feel that way. It's not that it was the best of the lot, because they are all VERY different movies (and this one is 100% musical, not one word spoken, so you have to like that), it's just that it was incredibly well done and affected me long after it was over. It was excellent. That being said, if Django won I would fully understand. It also impressed me.

Did you see any? Any predictions?

For my brief review of each movie, scroll on down, but I want to first share another "Funny Friday" video that is quite topical. I'm pretty sure it's hilarious if you've not seen Les Misérables but if you have, all the better!


Let the Reviews Begin! (in the order I saw them)

Silver Linings Playbook - Great movie. Good, strong, unique story and incredible acting. Prior to this movie I was not a Jennifer Lawrence fan, but I became one after seeing this. Although I really liked it, and can't point out any flaw, I don't feel like it will/should win Best Picture.

Les Misérables - After this was finished, I found my self consumed with what I just saw and was sure, even though I'd not finished my challenge, that this would win best picture. I still believe that. You have to like musicals to enjoy this as there is zero talking, but I love musicals and this musical happens to be my favourite. The movie did not disappoint.

Django Unchained - Another great flick. You do have to like Tarintino in order to enjoy this movie, and if you do, you will love it too! Typical of his work you are constantly visually stimulated by his creativity, and you feel like he has shown you the world as he imagines it. As for the story, it is thought provoking and riveting. To compare it to one of his previous films, I would definitely say Inglorious Bastards style as opposed to a Kill Bill. If this won best picture I would not be surprised or disappointed.

Beasts of the Southern Wild - This movie was definitely more on the artistic side. It's not one that I would necessarily recommend but that's mostly because I don't think it would appeal to a broad audience. You'd have to like a certain kind of movie AND be in a certain kind of mood I think. The first half was VERY artsy, but I really enjoyed the story in the second half.

Zero Dark Thirty - Very tough subject matter detailing the events that followed 9/11 but it was an exceptional movie that was very tastefully done. Jessica Chastain is nominated for her role in this and I was blown away by her performance. I'm thinking she might win.

Argo - As everyone probably knows, this movie is based on a true story. I knew that going in but was not really familiar with the story itself. I thought it was riveting. I also found myself fully engaged and at the edge of my seat the whole time! It was really well told and the acting was superb. I had heard from a couple of people who saw it in the theatre that it was a little long (as in they could have cut out at least 20 minutes by editing it a bit better) but I didn`t really feel that way - likely because I was watching it from the comfort of my own couch! :)

 

Attraction Alert: Coral Shoes

As of late I have found myself VERY attracted to coral shoes. Coral shoes of any shade also - whether they be on the neon side or on the pastel side. Below I've featured Jessica Alba and Hayden Panettiere wearing a couple of beauty pairs in bright versions of the shade. They are both wearing fairly modest and classic outfits, but paired with these shoes, their overall looks are given some life and some fun!

I could not find any shoes that were quite as bright neon as Hayden's, but I think I found Jessica's. My best guess is that they are the Kate Spade "licorice too" pump in the colour "Fuxia Flouro Patent" (below). They run for a not so modest $300. In my search I was looking around for some other colour/style/price variations and this is what I found:

Rachel Roy | Kate Spade | Alice +Olivia

 Town Shoes | Aldo

What do you think of coral shoes?

It's in the Bag: NYFW

Last week during New York Fashion Week, Shopbop put up an album on Facebook with some pictures of designer handbags that were seen around the New York City streets. Some of these handbags are completely amazing! My favourite of the lot is by FAR the Kate Spade multi-colour clutch. I'm also very drawn to anything neon at the moment so that pink one is also catching my eye. Which one is your favourite?

A+O iCouture

Shortly after my post showing off my iCouture, I came across this little beauty - this is an Alice + Olivia iPhone case! I don't know if it's for sale, or if will be for sale (I've looked a bit online and haven't found it), but designer Stacey Bendet posted it on Instagram. It's not very practical - imagine it in your purse - but man is it cute! It's also pretty hilarious. I love LOVE love it!

Neons and Mint

I don't know about you but when I'm browsing fashion or making up my wishlists, I've noticed that at any given time I'm drawn to a certain theme of things, mostly relating to a certain colour scheme. For example: just last month, everything I was looking at and coveting was white, black or blue. I have no idea why, but one day I started to notice this trend in all the pages I was bookmarking or all the wishlists I was creating! Right now I'm onto a new trend that appears to be made up of neons and mint. Those don't necessarily make as much sense as the former colour scheme but it is what it is! With spring collections rolling out I suppose there is some rationale to where the inspiration came from. From looking at all the spring fashion previews months ago, and with the spring collections that are coming out right now, I'm pleased to report that it looks like neons and mints are here to stay for at least another year!

Simply out of curiosity, I decided to pull together a sample outfit to see if this colour scheme even works! Well, this is the outfit I put together - three items I own and one is on my wishlist. What do we think? I think it looks mighty fine and like a perfect outfit to rock the second spring reveals itself! :)
  
 

Funny Friday: Celebrity Tweets

If you happen to have a few minutes (and I really hope you do!), please take a look at this little YouTube playlist I've put together. 

I happen to think that Jimmy Kimmel is HILARIOUS and browsing through his YouTube channel a couple of weeks ago I stumbled upon these gems. In these 3 videos he has celebrities read real tweets that were either directed @ them or about them. Seriously funny stuff here! (I put them in order but I'd say 2 and 3 are the best) Enjoy and have a fabulous weekend! 

 

Valentine's Day!

Happy day of love everyone! As cheesy as it is I really like Valentine's Day and the idea behind it. Not the Hallmark-made-a-holiday part of it, but rather taking a day to celebrate love. I've never been one to celebrate Valentine's Day with a significant other, but let me tell you, as a single girl it's almost as though I feel like I have a duty to celebrate it! For good "love" karma maybe? :)

This Valentines my roommate and I have a dinner reservation at an Italian restaurant downtown, and then will probably watch a chick flick. Pretty typical single girl affair, but also pretty perfect.  

Love is a Risk

With tomorrow being Valentines Day, I thought I would share this because I just think it is so beautiful...

Julianne Hough for Sole Society

A couple of months ago I saw Julianne Hough announce over Twitter that she would be collaborating with Sole Society to develop a line of shoes. Well, over the weekend I noticed that they have finally been unveiled. I've only recently been browsing Sole Society footwear and so far I think they have a lot of really great styles. This collaboration I feel is no different. I tend to really like Julianne's style so I'm not surprised that I like the shoes. I'm not crazy about her flats, but I wanted to share some of the heels that I liked! 

"Makenna" sandal | "Gianna" sandal | "Angela" bootie

First, there's the "Makenna" sandal. Very fashionable and fun. I like the zipper detailing and how bright they are. Next there's the "Gianna" sandal. I feel like this one is inspired by her dancing roots as it very much reminds me of the type of shoes they wear sometimes on Dancing with the Stars! I do however think that the style and the colour are pretty darn cute. Finally we've got the "Angela" bootie. I really liked this colour with spring around the corner, and we all know a peep-toe bootie is super trendy right now. 

What do you think of her collaboration?

Cute slogan too... 

2013 Grammy Looks

As I'm sure everyone is aware, last night was the Grammy Awards. I watched the red carpet special before the show then watched the first portion of the show itself. I must say, when it comes to red carpet awards shows, I think the Grammy's are the most fun. By most fun I mean that it is a formal event that brings out a lot of gowns, but usually with an edge. Perhaps though we would have seen more risk takers if CBS hadn't issued a memo telling attendees essentially to cover up! There definitely were some celebrities that tested the limits - Katy Perry with her "key hole", Jennifer Lopez with her hip high slit, and Kelly Rowland with all of those sheer cut-outs in her dress. Compared to some outfits in previous years, those are actually fairly modest violations of the dress code. Needless to say, I really enjoyed the fashion last night.

For the evening my top fashion prize goes to Rihanna in a custom Azzedine Alaia. I couldn't stop staring at it! The colour, the way it moved - I thought it was gorgeous. My next favourite would be Carrie Underwood in Roberto Cavalli. I knew she would make it to the top of my list the second I saw her. She also looked stunning!

Here are a few of my other favourite looks on the red carpet (apparently I was drawn to dark and red gowns!):

Allison Williams, Skylar Grey, Miranda Lambert, Natasha Beddingfeld

Who were your style winners of the night?