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.

Five Things!

Scarfs - It's getting a bit cooler, and I'm having the opportunity to pull out all my scarfs from last Fall & early Spring.  I love how they can update & make a simple outfit enjoyable.

Roses - Who doesn't love receiving flowers at work - best thing, it was my first time! {my bf is the best}

Pizza - One of our favourite places to grab a bite to eat after work is Pizza Rustica.  This badboy is the: Siciliano {Hot calabrese salami, mozzarella, sweet roasted peppers, and our signature tomato sauce} 

Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte - IT'S BACK!  Unfortunately the Pumpkin Spice Latte signifies Fall, but it's the most delicious latte Starbucks offers.  Best part - not released until September 5th, but the bartista let me 'pre-order' it ;)

Completing a Project! - It's been a long time coming (probably 2 months) and I'm happy to say, it's COMPLETE!  {what an amazing feeling}

Enjoy the day!

My Favourite Cupcakes: Red Velvet!

I love to bake and I love to cook.

My mom said if you truly enjoy doing something you will excel at it and it will never feel like work or a chore.  Not only does this apply to my love of cooking/baking but I think it's a great motto to live by.  My mom was full of these inspirational quotes when I was growing up.  She would write them on a piece of paper and post them on the bulletin board in our kitchen ... I might have to do the same but update the look with a chalkboard!

I recently made red velvet cupcakes, and boy were they delicious.  Surprisingly, I actually wasn't familiar with what flavour red velvet cupcakes were.  I just knew they were a red cake base.  So when reading the recipe (I decided to make them cause I thought they sounded fancy) I was pleasantly surprised to find out that they were a chocolate cupcake with a cream cheese frosting.  Delicious. 

I found the below recipe on Annie Eats

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Yield: about 24 cupcakes

Ingredients:

For the cake:

2½ cups cake flour

1½ cups sugar

1 tsp. baking soda

1 tbsp. cocoa powder

1 tsp. salt

2 large eggs

1½ cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

2 tbsp. (1 oz.) liquid red food coloring

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. distilled white vinegar

For the frosting:*

8 oz. cream cheese

5 tbsp. unsalted butter, at room temperature

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2½ cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350° F.  Line cupcake pans with paper liners.  In a medium bowl, combine the cake flour, sugar, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt; whisk to blend.  In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the eggs, vegetable oil, buttermilk, food coloring, vanilla and vinegar.  Beat on medium speed until well blended.  Mix in the dry ingredients on low speed and beat until smooth, about 2 minutes.

Divide the batter evenly between the prepared liners.  Bake, rotating the pans halfway through baking, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 18 minutes.  Let cool in the pans 5-10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the frosting, combine the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of an electric mixer.  Beat on medium-high speed until well combined and smooth, about 2-3 minutes.  Mix in the vanilla extract.  Gradually beat in the confectioners’ sugar until totally incorporated, increase the speed and then beat until smooth.  Frost cooled cupcakes as desired.  (I used a large, unlabeled star tip to frost these cupcakes.)

*If you are big on frosting as I am, you may want to increase the quantities by 50%.  That is what I typically do for a batch of 24 cupcakes.  I usually end up with some left over, but I would rather have too much frosting than not enough!

Here is a picture of my version of Annie Eat's Red Velvet Cupcakes!!!  Unfortunately I didn't know how much red food coloring I needed so I didn't have enough to make them a dark red.  The color didn't affect the flavour!  Also, I completely agree with the note Annie mentioned on the frosting.  I love adding a lot of frosting to make the cupcake more visually appealing (and who doesn't LOVE cream cheese icing).



Here is my OOTD today!  I didn't feel like wearing jeans (even thought it's Friday), I wanted to dress up a little, so I took a dress that I usually wear out on the weekends and paired it with a more casual top!

jean shirt - jcrew

dress - aritzia

J.Crew Hits Canada & I Get a Little Piece of it!

As a somewhat preppy dresser and lover of all things pretty & structured I was ecstatic to find out that J.Crew opened their first ever store in Canada (and even better in Toronto) this past week.  I have been a fan of J.Crew for a couple of years: hearing about them and seeing their collections mainly on popular U.S talk shows.  I would luck out about twice a year when I made last minute plans to go to Buffalo in order to find deals and I would get the opportunity to stop off at both the J.Crew outlet store and the J.Crew store in the Walden Galleria.  I couldn't get enough and would always splurge on something from both locations - even if it was just a tortoise shell headband or a candy colored cardigan.

I visited the store at Yorkdale this past weekend and was blown away with what I saw.  Gorgeous silk tops, patent wedges, wool mini skirts, shirt dresses, oh-so soft cotton tees, tights in every color over the rainbow and perfectly structured leather purses.  I was in heaven - if I couldn't live in the store, I wanted everything at the store to live in my closet.  Unfortunately, my dream of owning pretty much everything in the store was shut down pretty quickly when I saw the prices of each item (I believe there is a 15% mark up from the US locations).  I don't think there was anything in the store that was under $100 (unless it was a t-shirt OR accessory).

My favourite item was this beautiful orange/red silk shirt dress.  LOVE! 

I ended up leaving the store with a classic tweed wool mini skirt and a pair of ribbed grey tights.  The tweed skirt has a bit of gold in it so I figured it was perfect for work but also for going out (imagine it with a tight tank in orange or even gold!)

Ohhh the last thing to note about the J.Crew store - If you are EVER in need of style inspiration just take a quick walk through.  The sales girls are exceptionally dressed and will offer their expertise of putting together the perfect outfit.  If I could, I would have taken pictures of all of them - I just didn't want to seem like a creeper.  My favourite sales associate was wearing a pair of skinny lavendar cords and a leopard print chiffon shirt!  I would have never have thought to pair them together, but wow! 

Ps. Follow me on Twitter @iipscrapbook