People's Best Dressed (Thoughts & fav. pics of them!)

People Magazine has recently revealed their Best Dressed of 2011 - exciting!  I usually peruse People Magazine for some of my favourite fashion features such as: Airport Style, You Asked - We Found and Who Wore it Best (which is a crowd favourite at work). 

I've taken a look at the list, found my personal favourite outfits of each star that they have worn in the past and commented on my thoughts of their style.

1. Blake Lively

I love Blake's high fashion sense of style.  I wouldn't necessarily wear what she does to award shows (as she has a great tall, lean body and likes to show off a lot of skin), but I love her 'out and about' more casual style.  She isn't afraid of trying something new.  I also LOVE how she is styled for Gossip Girl - love love love. 

2. Jennifer Lopez

Hmmm ... this is an undecided for me.  I think J.Lo is very top of mind right now and could be the reason why she was placed on this list.  I personally have only liked her style at awards shows - reason being she likes to make a statement.

3. Mila Kunis

I love her which probably makes me love her style.  I know of Mila best from That 70's Show and of course the style in the show was very 70's (not my style).  She kept out of the limelight, so you couldn't really get a sense of her personal style.  Now that she has been in a couple Hollywood Blockbusters she's been seen out and about more and more and I'm really liking her style.  It's classic and somewhat simple but at the same time there is something creative about how she dresses, something you wouldn't expect.  She has to be my favourite on People's list.

4. Jennifer Aniston

Ok, isn't she on every list, all the time?  She's gorgeous, fit and uber successful.  She dresses well but I would really like to see her take more risks with her fashion sense.  She's average to me (always a black/grey/white/red dress to a premiere).  One of my favourite looks was when she took a seat next to Oprah.  I loved how polished she looked.  She also has a great sense of casual dressing. 

5. Jennifer Hudson

Meh. 

6. Jessica Alba

Natural beauty. Natural style.  Even being pregnant she has kept up with her style and probably looks the most adorable & best she ever has.  She keeps her outfits again very classic, but what I love most about her is she isn't afraid to use color!  She also experiments with her hair - bangs/no bangs, blond/brunette and short/long!

7. Kate Middleton

No brainer.  The most effortless style I've ever seen.  She preppy and knows what looks good on her.  She dresses like a Princess, never revealing too much skin - always demure.  Never seen her have a fashion mishap or blender - I don't think it's possible.  The best thing?  She re-wears her clothes!!!  PLUS, could she possibly be bringing back pantyhose? 

8. Kate Bosworth

Unfortunately I don't know too  much about Kate Bosworth.  Based on pictures I have just googled, I'm not wow'ed or impressed - the only picture I liked was this backless dress.  I think she should hire celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe.

9. Jennifer Goodwin

Cute girl.  Loved when she had long hair.  But now she gives off the "edgier" vibe which I don't relate to fashion wise. 

10. Reese Witherspoon

Adorable, non-aging Reese.  She has always had an eye for structured dresses and gorgeous shoes.  She gives off a confident & poised vibe.  I believe what put Reese in the fashion for front is when she cut blunt bangs and decided to wear a knee-length Nina Ricci yellow dress to the Golden Globes.  Stunning!

There it is!  People's list of Best Dressed this year!

Ones I would have liked to add to the list are:

• Rachel Bilson (of course!)
• Nicole Richie
• Olivia Palermo

Just would like to share an OOTD.  Here is what I wore to work today.  It's FRIDAY!  So I went casual.  The temperature has dropped considerably in the past week or so I've had to start wearing jackets & scarfs.

shirt & scarf - aritzia

jeans - paige

jacket - joe fresh



Fall into Fall With Gorgeous Home Decor

Tis the season of crisp cool mornings, spicy apple crisp (mmmmmm...), and crisp vibrant colors.  As much as I love the Summer, I love the beginning of Fall.  I swear it gets people giddy & excited.  However, I could deal without the dramatic changes in temperature - you know that weird phenomenon of when you leave your house in the morning and it's 12 degrees and magically it becomes 26 degrees when you go to grab lunch.

What I love about the Fall most I think is the change in Fall decor.  Here are a couple of pictures that I would love to incorporate into my home (when I get one) ;)  Most of the images are from pinterest.

Adorable leaf monogram!



Incorporate orange throw pillows

LOVE the wreath!  Would be great for a front door too!

Mantel Banner -- great for a party!

I want to host a party!!!



Mums!



An affordable Fall accent piece

Pefect porch additions

White peonies with a gold ribbon.  A simple fall bouqet = perfection

In keeping with the Fall theme, I just purchased a new eyeshadow from NARS this past weekend.  The color is called Fez - it's a brownish/bronzeish color. 

It's a very neutral shade when blended with a highlighter shadwo like Shroom from MAC.  I wore it for the first time at a baby shower I had to attend this weekend and the color lasted the entire day. I also loved the way the shadow applied.  I think I'm going to try more NARS shadows in the future!

Back-To-School (errrr... Work, well not really) Fall Fashion Crushing!

Well I'm not going 'back' anywhere - not school & not work (I work full time).  I've been out of school for years, but I always enjoyed the back-to-school time period, espically the shopping.  It was a complete re-fresh of pretty much anything I owned - new clothes, new pencil case, new shoes, new haircut, new books, new people and more importantly a new beginning!  The beginning of Fall almost had the feeling of being able to transistion & change yourself and I loved that!  I still get goosebumps thinking about not being able to sleep the night before my first day back to class!

I think the most obvious connection (for a girl, of course) and back-to-school is the shopping for new clothes!  Putting away the tank tops, skirts and flip flops and transitioning warmer, cozier and textured clothing! 

So now on to my favourite Fall Fashion Crushes that I'm feeling like I'll need to incorporate into my work wardrobe in order to give myself a re-freash & small makeover.

Blazers!  I love the look of blazers with skinny jeans, dress pants and even a skirt/dress!  I have a classic black blazer, and a navy one, but I would like to incorporate a khaki and/or grey one!

Skirts & Dresses!  I love being able to update a skirt or dress from the summer by adding leggings, a jean jacket, or switching out a tank top & pairing a wornout sweatshirt with a maxi skirt!  My favourite look has to be the cable knit sweater with the pleated skirt.

Weekend/Casual!  I love the look of a baggy t-shirts, loose cardigans, longer necklaces, jean skirt, hats, etc.

Nail Polish!  I love experimenting with nail polish colors and will be trying out this new color by OPI called Get on the Espresso Lane.  It's sort of a creamy brown/grey, but goes on similar to a very matte black.  I love it!  But don't get me wrong, this wont be my go-to nail color -- I'll still be rocking the deep purples, reds, and navy blues!

Well that's my selection of fashion inspirations for the Fall!  I can't wait to try and re-create the looks!

Speaking of trying to re-create a look, I came across the most amazing, time saving hairstyle on I Pink I Love You's blog.  It's called the Sock Bun!  Yes, you read that correctly - a sock bun.  You actually use a tube sock in your hair!  It looks a bit challenging but once you've mastered her steps, it's quite simple & professional looking.  When I wore it to work, I had a ton of compliements and people asking if I had added hair extensions.  Here is my first attempt at the bun.

Body Talk: My Body Image & Body Inspirations

I've always believed that working out can truly make you feel so much better about your yourself - which is why I've become an avid fitness freak and have had a gym membership since starting my working career.  But lately I've found myself not being able to make time for working out but even more so than that, I just haven't had the motivation to work out.  Last night I visited Goodlife for the first time in over 2 months.  It felt good, but I could feel that my body was out of shape and I had to catch my breath a couple times while on the treadmill.  I didn't like the feeling at all.  I need to do something about it.

Here is a quick synopsis of my body image & weight throughout my life.

Highschool:
- Weight: Not quite overweight, but definitely not classified as thin - I would say my weight fluctuated between 130-140lbs
- Body Image: It's funny, in highschool (even grade school) I was very active and involved in school sports like Cheerleading, Flag Football, Field Hockey and Volleyball but I was never obsessed with what I looked like.  I was more interested in my friends, hanging out and enjoying life.  I was a tomboy.

First 2 Years of College:
- Weight: 175lbs.
- Body Image & Lifestyle:  I didn't go away to school and went to a college that was close to home.  I got pretty depressed with the program I decided to pursue in school (the students were very different than my high school friends), my lifestyle (ate out all the time, didn't want to be at home) and my boyfriend at the time (who didn't have a passion in life and I was just going through the motions of being comfortable).  Needless to say I didn't care how I looked.  I wore baggy sweatshirts all the time.  Knew the entire McDonalds menu by heart.  Stopped hanging out with friends.  Watched a lot of television.

Last year of College:
- Weight: 105lbs.
- Body Image & Lifestyle: I became obsessed with perfecting my life.  The 'ah-ha' moment for me was when I was eating dinner with my mom and I squirted mayo all over my fries and she said 'Do you really need that? You should really life by the motto of Eat Less, Exercise More'  At first this devastated me.  I didn't know I was overweight (maybe even obese).  After this day, I knew I needed to be in control of my life & my health.  Since I was still in school, I had so many opportunities & TIME to go to the gym.  I went twice a day and did a Tae-bo (remember those!) video each night.  Unfortunately, I let my weight issues get the best of me and I did some things I am ashamed of.  There were days I would eat 2 slices of toast.  Days I wouldn't eat at all.  I began to get heart palpitations.  I created a journal to track my weight loss, drew pictures of how I thought I looked, collected facts about weight loss.  It took over me.  I had a problem.

First couple years of working:
- Weight: 110-120lbs.
- Body Image & Lifestyle:  Since I didn't have as much free time when I first started working as I did in school I gained some weight - which was much needed.  I worked at a very hectic, stressful and extremely body conscious advertising agency.  Everyone was GORGEOUS and well kept.  This didn't help me and my body image.  I felt the need to conform and be the same.  So my weight fluctuated considerably throughout my years at this ad agency. Since I wouldn't be able to make it to the gym, I would find myself going for runs early in the morning, at lunch or at night.  I started to take control of my weight.

Now:
- Weight: 115-120lbs.
- Body Image & Lifestyle: I'm happy with my weight!  I still that there are days that I 'feel fat', but every girl does!  It's just natural.  There are things & body parts you will never be happy about.  I'm starting to feel the need to start a gym routine. I would classify my body as being 'curvy'.  I do have a larger chest and when I do gain weight it tends to be in the thighs or stomach area.

*** Please note that my height is approx. 5'3"

Since thinking about starting to get back in shape & tone up, I've started collecting some images of celebrities/models that I want to aspire to look like, or even just give me the inspiration to get back into working out!  A lot of the pics I have captured are pics of women with curves who aren't stick thin.  I like the more soft look.