Friday, January 20, 2012

An awesome day, featuring Oscar de la Renta, handbags, and art.

Today was kind of awesome!
One of the first things I saw when I logged onto my computer this morning was a plethora of links leading to Oscar de la Renta's new spring ad campaign. All I can say is "ooooh my..." and have stars and hearts appear in my eyes. It's no secret that I'm in love with Oscar de la Renta's designs and runway shows. I've already written specifically about how much I loved his 2011 pre-fall collection, and that's not even my most favourite collection of his. However, I think even people who don't love him will love this ad - although Karlie Kloss is far from my favourite model, she's stunning here, and the accessories and clothes and shoes and handbags and dresses and jewelry and OMG I HAVE NO WORDS TO EXPRESS THE HEARTS IN MY EYES OVER THIS AD CAMPAIGN! It's even better than his last one!
Anyways, even if you've probably already seen this pictures, take the opportunity to enjoy them once more, since I don't think you could ever look at these enough. (Though I may be biased, hehehe.)
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(Photos taken from NYT's The Cut blog's article on the campaign.)

Other reasons why my day was awesome?

I discovered through the (awesome) Fashionista 514 blog that Stylemint, Jewelmint, and Shoemint (finally) ship to Canada. I tweeted one of them (I think Jewelmint) that I was disappointed I couldn't participate in all their sales and beautiful jewelry because they didn't ship to Canada (I mean, really, I once ordered a book through an American site and shipping only cost a few dollars and it took under a full week to arrive, is it that hard to ship a pair of earrings across one single border?), so I'm really happy, though soon my bank account won't be, I'm sure ;). Anyways, Fashionista 514 is having a giveaway featuring all three mints for Canadian readers, if any of you are able to participate :).


This article about the Top 5 Bags that can take a Beating: a Fighting Spirit, by the Bag Snob, gave me hope that I will eventually find a pretty (and affordable) handbag to stash by laptop in.
Ever since I got my new laptop a few months ago, I've been having dilemmas about which case to use and which handbag to use when I need to carry the laptop with me. You see, I was going to order one of those gorgeous Marc Jacobs or Kate Spade laptop sleeves, but... they're only made in sizes 13'', 15'', and 17'', but not 14'', which I hadn't known. I then thought - ok, no big deal, I'll use one of the cute canvas bags I have to protect it. Not amazing protection or style, but it'll do, at least for now.
But then I realized my laptop doesn't fit in my usual handbags, so I have to use a knapsack, and knapsacks look ridiculous on me. All to say, even if I can't afford them, I got really excited about seeing the photo of the bags in the post, especially the Hermes, YSL, and Bottega Veneta ones.


Casee Marie, of the blog The Girl Who Stole the Eiffel Tower, blogged about a dvd put out with 50 Masterworks from the MOMA, featuring artists like Klimt, Cezanne, Monet, Van Gogh, Dali, Jackson Pollock, and others. You put it in your dvd player and voila! You have virtual paintings in your house. (It's the same effect as the fish tank or fireplace dvds). Being an art history major, I got SO excited when I saw this - I'll definitely be checking it out!


What do you think about the ODLR spring ad campaign? Do you think he's done better? Do you not really care for his designs, or are you in love with them?

XO,
Laura

Sunday, January 8, 2012

Happy New Year & Blog Changes!

I know I'm a little late, but...
HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!
(First post of 2012!!!)

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I wasn't able to get any good pictures of my New Year's outfit (boo), so here's an outfit I've been meaning to post for a while, of what I wore to my cousin's engagement party.
And, world, meet...(drumroll)...my younger (and only) sister! Her name is Julia, and she was wearing a super cute BCBG dress.


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I'm really hoping to have a good year. Last year was pretty good, though I'd definitely say that the first half was better than the second. I've actually read many posts written by bloggers saying how awesome 2011 was, so yay, that's great for them! I hope you're all really satisfied by how 2011 has turned out for you. I prefer counting the years from my birthday, not New Year's, actually - maybe because that's an actual milestone for me, having completed another entire year of my own life, instead of the world celebrating another one of its' years - it's more personal. However, I do love making resolutions, and the one I'm making this year is particularly important to me: to lose weight.
I know, I know, you're probably thinking "ugh, someone else who wants to lose 3 pounds to look better...", but no, I'm in this to improve my health. I've needed to lose a good amount of weight for about 8 years, so it's high time, haha.
So, my resolution (drumroll):
Losing 10 pounds before I turn 20, or "10 before 20", as I like to call it.
I'm turning 20 on May 5th, 2012, and I'd like to be healthier, in better shape, and of course looking better by then. Now you can all hold me accountable! I made the resolution a few days before the New Year and had a good few days but then stayed in bed for a bit with a cold, so the past few days haven't been great, but now I'm back into it!
A few ways I'll be keeping that resolution:
  • Drink at least 3 glasses of water before every meal.
  • No soda unless I'm eating out or at a big family dinner.
  • Always having cut-up veggies available to snack on.
  • Exercise at least 4 times a week - 2 weight-lifting/resistance training sessions and 2 cardio sessions.
  • Weigh myself once a week before breakfast.
  • Have at least 1 yogurt and 1 cup of milk every day.
  • Do yoga once a week. Hot yoga doesn't count.
Anyone have any other weight loss or fitness tips? I think the no soda and 1 yogurt/cup of milk a day rules will be the hardest to follow...

On top of the new year, I also celebrated my blog's first birthday on December 4th! Although I was in the middle of exams and therefore wasn't really able to fully celebrate it, I reflected on the past year quite a bit. I'm happy with how my style has evolved - although I can only seem to get good pictures half the time, I feel more daring with the way I combine different pieces to make an outfit but still don't spend an insane amount of money like I used to before I started blogging and looking at other blogs - I guess you could say it put what looks good on me and what I actually wanted and needed to spend money on into perspective. I also feel more confident with my writing! Though, am I the only one who needs a few days to finish a blog post? Not because it takes so long, just because I can't seem to put everything into words at once? I haven't worked a crazy amount of time on this even if I'm already happy with it, but it's taken me 3 days of about 20mins. Weird, huh? :)

Most of all, though, I want to thank all of you for reading and supporting me! I don't blog specifically for the comments and all that, but interaction definitely helps and motivates me to always do better and be creative with the blog. So thanks!!!

Here are two posts I think are really inspiring for the new year: "...in 5 years..." by photographer Alex Beadon, and "New Beginnings" by Kimberly of Dream.Delight.Inspire. I also really enjoyed this article to help with resolutions: "4 steps to make and keep your New Year's resolution" by Geneva of A Pair and a Spare.

Now for... blog changes!
 
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I have a facebook page! I have to admit, having this page took quite a learning curve because of the fact that I'm already used to having a personal page, but I find this is pretty different! So feel free to follow me there for more updates and pictures.

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I also have a tumblr! This has been such a pleasure to curate, but also hard - I want to get it just right and really make sure it reflects my world! I try to keep it within the topics of fashion, photography, and fashion/art history, but the occasional joke inevitably makes its way onto it :). Follow me on tumblr for a kind of extra limb to the body of my blog - there's lots of beautiful stuff on there that sometimes doesn't have a chance to make it onto the blog.

Are any of you doing any New Year's resolutions?
Also: OMG, I'm starting university tomorrow! Wish me luck! Outfit photos to come. A big and important part of my life is about to start!!!
XO,
Laura