Remember when...

Remember when you were a kid and you were all excited because you were wearing the cutest little skirt but you also had the secret that the skirt was actually shorts? Well my friends, the skort is back. I don't know if it ever went away but I can personally say I have not thought twice about them until Zara came out with a super cute and stylish Mini Skort of their own! I first spotted the skort on model Karolina Kurkova and definitely though it was a skirt. A beautiful skirt with such a unique and interesting cut. When I later found out that it was A) a skort and B) from Zara (aka affordable) I had to investigate!

No longer carried in that vibrant blue, you can still find the skort in Black, Geranium (which I can only assume is an orange-y red), and White. From the front I would definitely wear this in a second! It's beautiful. But knowing my secret of wearing shorts is exposed from the back? That might take some getting used to. Have you ever worn a skort? Would you? I think if I would, this would be the one.

Looks of the Week

The two looks of the week I want to share with you today are two dresses that were seen last night!

First, we have Jordana Brewster. Here outfit here is so simple but so stunning. The flowy v-neck mini is in a beautiful soft aqua colour and is kept elegant with her strappy sandals. Very minimalist and perfect. Definitely versatile dress too as I could see it switched up with a pair of metallic t-strap flats. The next star is Glee star, Naya Rivera in a very sophisticated Michael Kors dress. If only I had a couple thousand dollars to spare and somewhere to wear that dress! I love how she coordinates the dress with metallic ankle strap shoes but goes with a demure hairstyle with a simple ponytail.

I don't know about you but both these outfits make me wanna have a dressy girls night out stat! What do you think of these looks from last night?

Love It or Leave It: The Dressy Track Pant

This is a trend that started a few years ago and never really went away. It has however evolved over the last few years and is now starting to become a real "thing". This trend of course is the dressy track pant, or the slouchy trouser, or whatever that particular brand likes to refer to it as. At least the first evolution - the harem pant - seems to not be getting as much traction anymore. But even with a more modern clean-looking silhouette, the question remains, is this trend silly or stylish?

Theory | DKNY | Joie | Parker

I have my answer: I'm voting for stylish. It surprises me because I was not even remotely a supporter of the harem pant, and at first I wasn't sure about these even though they are WAY more tailored looking, but I'm on board. That being said, I have yet to find a pair for myself, or even tried on a pair to see how they look on me. But I like the way they look - even the ones with the elasticized ankle! I also have yet to see them on a variety of body shapes, and I have a feeling that they are not meant to be worn by everyone (but can't the same be said for most trends/articles of clothing?). The billowing front and thigh area could be a force to be reckoned with... 

For now, I will enjoy and admire this trend from afar but enjoy it nonetheless. How do you feel about this style?

Funny Friday: Sharknado

It's real. Sharknado is a real movie. I'd heard lots of buzz about Sharknado on social media sites, in passing, and then I finally saw the trailer for it. After ALL THAT it never really dawned on me that Sharknado was a real movie. Maybe it was that I saw Ian Ziering (of original 90210 fame) and Tara Reid in the trailer - that almost made it more likely to be a spoof or an SNL digital-short or something of that nature. Nope. It has a real script, a real cast, real money went into it and a real TV network aired it. The best part maybe? That there's already a sequel in the works. Yup. So anyway, in case you've not seen it, I am making sure you see the trailer in all it's glory.



As if that's not funny enough, click here to see what The Weather Network did to acknowledge Sharknado. Not just the video, check out the commentary! 

On that note, wishing you all a happy and Sharknado-free weekend! :) 

P.S. I still can't believe this is real, haha!

My Must-Have of the Moment: EOS Lip Balm

You know sometimes in the winter (or all the time in the winter) when you get chapped lips? Well towards the end of every winter my lips can get pretty bad - this year was no exception. My problem too is that when I get chapped lips I tend to bite them. AWFUL I know but just something I find very difficult not to do! Anyway, I always do my best to give them all the moisture they need. This year something new happened though. I'm not sure if it was because (it felt like) it took the seasons forever to change, but my chapped lips maintained well into the spring. Well, that just wouldn't do.

My go-to products are Chapstick and Burts Bees. I also have been known to put Vaseline on my lips at night and in the morning for the ultimate moisture lock. I also tried out Maybelline's Baby Lips. Then of course brought out the big guns with Blistex. NOTHING seemed to work for me. Then one day I was wandering around a book store and saw the EOS lip balms...

I had heard about them before and heard awesome things about them. I think it might have been Kristin Cavallari on Twitter one day awhile back saying she couldn't live without them. With my curiosity peaked and necessity calling, I decided to get the Strawberry Sorbet one (middle). OMG. As long as you like flavoured lip balm, it really IS as good as they say, if not better! My lips seemed to instantly heal and rejoice. I know that like anything, everyone is different and reacts differently to every product, but this is my lip "holy grail". At about $6 a pop it's not cheap but not crazy and in my option, so worth it. I'm still on the first one I bought and it's lasted me quite awhile - and looks like it will still last quite a while longer. I could not be happier and had to share!

Room

As much as I enjoyed really jumping back into reading this summer, I've slipped out of my groove just a bit, but I have full intention of jumping back in! After reading two excellent books (Still Alice and Gone Girl) I moved on to another great read: Room.

I'm not gonna lie, this book is difficult subject matter and might not be for everyone. I only say that because I've told a few people what it's about and they shake their head and cringe a bit. I personally think that sometimes it's unique or difficult stories that can really make us grow, learn, and think. The entire book is told from the perspective of a 5 year old boy. He takes you through his daily life with him mom as they live in Room - Room being the place where he was born and is being held with his mother after she was abducted many years previously (although he is not privy to that information as his mother has tried to shelter him from their circumstances). Room is the only place he knows. I don't want to be vague with the description but that's kind of all you need to know about the book before reading it - I'm glad that's all I knew. From that you can decide if it's for you or not! Although difficult subject matter it's very well balanced by being told from this innocent 5-year-old angle. It gives the story a softer spin. This book is so incredibly well written I just couldn't believe it. And the story itself is so intriguing all the way through. Again, maybe not for everyone (but that's a very general disclaimer because I think most would enjoy it), it is an excellent and interesting read and I highly recommend. 

Up next on my list I've a much more fluffy chick-lit book "Revenge Wears Prada" the sequel to The Devil Wears Prada. I also want to check out the Steven King book "Under the Dome" which I've heard nothing but good things about and has recently been turned into a mini-series! Have you discovered any perfect summer reads?

The Weekend of all Weekends

Most of Last Year's Team

This weekend for me is the WEEKEND OF ALL WEEKENDS! Or at least tomorrow is the DAY OF ALL DAYS! Tomorrow my city is holding it's annual H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Everywhere) Volleyball Summerfest! Basically it's a just for fun (unless you're competitive, which I my friends, am not) all day volleyball tournament and all 'round good time! It is also a charity tournament, if you didn't get that from the acronym, so there really is no downside.  I look forward to this day almost all year long. Fact. Or at least starting in January. In January I start looking forward to April which I know is when the early bird registration begins. In March I have to try and restrain myself from recruiting a team because it's "too early" when in fact, I know that we're only a month away from registration! April, well April is awesome. Then every month after that I count down is in full force. It's my Christmastime in summer essentially! :)

I started playing in HOPE 8 years ago when I worked at a restaurant that put in a team. I could not believe the time I had. I played for that team for 2 more years and was addicted! The next year I had graduated school and was in my career and not at the restaurant, which meant I wouldn't be playing on that team. I took it upon myself to start my own team and have kept it up the last 5 years - this will be year 6 of my team and 9th year playing! So far my team has been an all-girls team where the point of the day is primarily to have a good time. If ever a new person plays for us sometimes they worry that they're not a good volleyball player. As much as it's fun to win, that's not what the day (and the team) is about. 

Every year we try to do some sort of theme as well. The first year most of us wore the same vibrant purple bikinis with white cover-ups, then it was the same VS deep pink bikinis, then an all-neon theme, then black and white (most of us did zebra), last year was pacific blue with neon yellow shorts, and this year is white suits with neon accessories/cover-ups. Outfits are half the fun sometimes I swear!

2010 - Neon Year

As far at the "Summerfest" goes, in addition to the volleyball playing, there are a couple of tents that serve drinks and play music all day, as well as a mini-concert series towards the end of the day. As I type this I'm pretty darn excited, and it doesn't hurt that tomorrow looks like a STELLAR day :)
 
Have an excellent weekend!

Love and Laugh

I'm SURE I've probably posted a quote about laughter before and I am SURE I will probably post a quote about laughter in the future, but I truly believe that laughter is one of the best and most important things ever. And love, well love speaks for itself. I saw this quote and thought it was absolutely perfect and absolutely true to life. Love and laughter, to me is perfection.

Wedding Wednesday

Hey look, it's Wedding Wednesday again! I had to do this Wedding Wednesday so soon after the last one because something has happened, not once, but twice now. Two recent celebrity brides wore black wedding dresses. It's one thing to rock a pink wedding dress like Jessica Biel (which really was stunning and a trend that does seem to be coming back in small doses) but black? The first celebrity to do pull this off was Shenae Grimes (of 90210 fame). I must admit, when I saw her dress I was not in love with it but I definitely didn't hate it either! I think that's because it wasn't an ALL black dress. I also tend to give celebrities a break on things like this because they tend to be a bit more "artistic" or "quirky" than the rest of us. But when I saw the second bride in black, Avril Lavigne, I was not impressed. A solid black gown with black roses... nope, not for me. I found it too dark and heavy when I think of weddings as light and romantic.

I have NO idea if this will be a trend, but I kind of hope not. Again, I'm okay with breaking tradition to create something unique and personal, but this might be too much - at least to the extent Avril went. What do you think of these brides?

Style Icon: Olivia Munn

Let's start this post with a little TV bonus: I'm super stoked that this coming Sunday season 2 of the show The Newsroom is premiering! In case you're not familiar it's an HBO series starring Jeff Daniels and Emily Mortimer, and also today's style icon Olivia Munn. It's a riveting and intelligent show that takes you on a behind-the-scenes look at a (fictional) newsroom during real-events that have made headlines. Of course it's not that simple, as they have their own side dramas to work through as well. I believe season one is out so you should definitely check it out!

Now, back to our style icon. Prior to The Newsroom I didn't know who Olivia Munn was, but later recognized her from the movie (that I much care for) Magic Mike. Both the show and the movie were coming out around the same time so she was doing double the press and it was then that I noticed her fabulous fashion sense, and she's since kept impressing. In general I find her style very effortless and simple, but she takes it to the next level with either a print or a pop of colour. Another style icon who has a realistic style that can be translated to real life. Gotta say, I'd be happy to rock any one of these outfits!

 

4th of July!

Woooo weeee! What a week, what a week! You know when you have one of those weeks where you start to feel like you never stop? Well, this is one of those weeks. Nothing to complain about but as a result blogging has fallen off my radar. I also find that being busy, combined with post-long-weekend tiredness is one difficult combo. But one I'd better get used to because I am taking the next 4 Mondays off, and the 5th Monday is a holiday, so I'm looking at many long weekends ahead! With no plans to go on any big trips this summer, long weekends are my kind of summer vacation. But enough about that for now, without further ado I would like to wish our American neighbours a very happy 4th of July!!! :)

Canada Day!

Today is Canada Day which means - long weekend and fireworks! 

Happy Canada Day (or Monday if you're not Canadian)! :)