Dress: Theia (same brand, similar style here)

Heels: Aldo black pointed toe heels

Bling: borrowed (similar here and here)

Coupe Glass: Indigo (almost identical here)

I thought it would be super fun to write another New Year's Eve post, considering my last year post appears to have been quite popular. This dress is one that I absolutely love. I purchased it last year from Saks Fifth Avenue and have worn it a few times since then. I am big on re-wearing beautiful pieces, and this one definitely fits that philosophy. I find it to be just enough sparkle all the while also being a dark winter color. 

 I hope you all will have an amazing night tomorrow and a Happy New Year!

What did (or will) you wear this New Year's Eve?

I would describe my style as somewhat minimalist and most definitely classic. In the colder months I am a sucker for anything black, which kind of reminds me of this meme. The outfit in this post pretty much embodies everything I just described, and variations of this outfit have been my go-to throughout the past few weekends.

Riding Boots: Unknown (similar here)

Jeans: 7 For All Mankind skinny jeans in black

Bag: Prada Wallet on a Chain (save here)

Scarf: Hermes (splurge similar here, save here)

Coat: French Connection

Gloves: Black leather gloves

I am a big scarf person - sometimes you can catch me wearing one even in the summer. Not sure if the French side of me is responsible for this? I'm not going to lie, a lot of my money goes toward scarves. Thankfully my mother has the same addiction, so we tend to share. She has a thing for the Hermes scarves and let me have this one. The Prada Wallet on a Chain is the older model (the only difference is pretty much just the chain portion of the bag), however the new one looks very similar and can be found here. It is great quality and still looks just like new despite having purchased it several years ago. I find it so practical for city-living, and you will probably see it in several other posts until I move on to my next obsession. 

The riding boots in this post are ones I picked up at one of those shoe stores that carry a lot of different brands in downtown Montreal (I forget the name). They are genuine leather and of a great quality. Similar can be found here. My jeans are from 7 For All Mankind, and my coat is from French Connection. My gloves are basic black leather gloves that can be found at many different stores.

What is your go-to weekend winter look?

Christmas 2016 Recap

I hope you all had an amazing Christmas! We were so excited to travel down to Windsor for the holidays in order to spend some quality time with our families. My husband and I were definitely surprised with how mild the weather here is in comparison to Montreal (you know the weather is mild when you can wear thin gloves). Here are a few photos from our Christmas that you may have seen on my Instagram. Here is also a link to last year's recap. Enjoy!

Nutcracker: The Hudson Bay (similar)

Red Sweater: French Connection

Black jeans: Buffalo David Button "faith" black jeans

Rose Gold Christmas Cookie Cutter: President's Choice 

How was your Christmas? I'd love to hear about it!

If you follow my blog, you already know that I am an animal lover. In addition to our first fur baby, Baloo, we recently adopted him a little friend (a baby chow named Bella). With two dogs in the house now, I have become even more careful with regards to hazardous objects and substances - since it is the holiday season, this is especially relevant!

Thank you to PuppySpot for sending me the beautiful graphic pictured above, which outlines a  perfect "Holiday Dog Safety Checklist" that every pet owner go through this time of year. PuppySpot is a great company committed to helping find homes for dogs that come from responsible breeders. Side note, finding a responsible breeder is quite challenging, especially if you are looking for a purebred dog; for this reason, I would definitely recommend visiting the PuppySpot website if you are interested in adopting!

I'd love to hear about your dog!

Another great wine to add to the list! I'm not going to lie, I picked up this wine since I thought the bottle was good-looking (I am drawn to olden-style labels as you can see from my previous post). It ended up being a good judgment call however, since I would definitely recommend trying this wine and am going to repurchase it in the future. 

A vintage wine, it is priced relatively well. It is fermented entirely from Sangiovese grapes, often for up to 3 years. I would describe the wine as being acidic, bold and versatile. I would definitely pair this with red meat and/or a rich tomato and creamy pasta sauce. 

To summarize, my overall rating is as follows...
Appearance: Good
Aroma and Bouquet: Good

Taste and Texture: Excellent

Aftertaste: Excellent 

Overall Rating: 3.5/5

What are some of your favorite wines?

If you know me personally you will know that I love my dog. I also live in a big city and usually opt for walking if it is a reasonable option. Considering this, I usually find myself bringing my dog along for the adventure. As a result, over the past several months I've discovered a few pet-friendly stores that I thought I'd share with you. Enjoy! 

1. Petsmart

This one is obvious, however still remains one of my favorites. They always have great sales and there always appears to be an endless supply of toys. 

2. Canadian Tire

The national policy of this store is that it is dog friendly. However, there are certain stores that are  sadly not pet-friendly due to the individual store owners. For those pet-friendly Canadian Tire stores, I am so grateful! I can get so much of my shopping done here as a result.

3. Home Depot

We love Home Depot! Home Depot has definitely won us over in terms of preference due to being dog-friendly. 

4. Chapters/Indigo/Barnes and Noble

I find it so neat that dogs are welcomed into these stores.

5. Banana Republic and The Gap

I love these stores - I feel like 50% of the clothing in my closet are from these stores. I was ecstatic to find out that they were dog-friendly!

6. The Hudson Bay Company

My dog and I have been shopping here many times - the staff is always so welcoming to him. This may differ depending on which store you shop at, however I can vouch for the fact that the one in Montreal is dog-friendly. 

We are still adding more stores to our list. We would love to know of any pet-friendly stores that weren't mentioned here!

Do you have any pets?

Throughout the past several years, I have tried numerous perfumes in an effort to figure out the "perfect" combination. My goal was to have an average sized collection of perfume that consisted of a perfume for every major category of occasion and/or mood. I feel fairly confident I've attained this and am super excited to share it with you! As I was creating my collection, I would often snoop the videos of others' collections and blog posts regarding the topic, so I thought it would be fun to share my own. Enjoy!

Right to left

Miss Dior Cherie "eau de toilette"

Prada "candy"

Mademoiselle Coco Chanel 

Right to Left

Guerlain aqua allegoria "flora rosa" (similar here)

Chanel "chance"

Burberry "body"

Pleats Please

Miss Dior Cherie

"Enriched with pleasant and almost fruity accents which lead us into a heart with harming popcorns, followed with pralines and vanilla"

I typically wear this perfume to formal gatherings such as galas, or on special occasions such as my birthday. I would label this scent as being of the "classic" and timeless type. 

Prada "candy"

"Magnified by white musks, noble benzoin comes together with a modern caramel accord to give the fragrance a truly unique signature"

I would describe this scent as very "dewy". This is a fragrance I tend to wear in the colder months and especially around Christmas, since it has a rather "cozy" smell.

Mademoiselle Coco Chanel

"Contains sweet and woody notes. The middle notes are turkish rose, jasmine and mimosa."

This is a very classic scent and is a favorite for all age groups. I typically wear this scent when spending an evening out.

Guerlain Aqua "flora rosa"

"Top note is red berries; middle notes are rose and iris and base note is musk"

This is my favorite summer scent since it is very light and floral. I also definitely think that owning a Guerlain perfume is a must, since Guerlain is known as the "original perfume house". 

Chanel chance "eau tendre"

"The unexpected fragrance, expressed in a romantic harmony of Grapefruit, Jasmine and White Musk notes. At once delicate and radiant, with an intoxicatingly light, floral trail"

This is my second favourite spring/summer day scent. I usually wear it when I am getting tired of the Guerlain scent described above. I especially love the notes of grapefruit. 

Burberry Body

"Electric composition of fruity-chypre notes envelopes the body, creating a suggestion of effortless seduction. In the base, woody cashmere and creamy vanilla join the sensuality of amber and musk."

This is my favorite winter day scent. It is versatile and can be suitable as a "night-out" type of scent. It is quite "musky" and warm. I usually wear this on a daily throughout fall and winter.

Pleats Please

"A floral fruity fragrance that is fresh, sweet, tasty, feminine and enlivening."

Mixed emotions on this one. It is a lovely scent for all seasons, however I find that it is too similar to Burberry Body. For this reason, I may or may not get rid of it.

What are some of your favorite perfumes?

Dress: Lilly Pulitzer (same brand, similar here, here and here)

This might be a very typical sorority-ish thing of me to say (I was president of my undergrad University's chapter of Delta Zeta), but you can never really go wrong when choosing to wear a Lilly dress in the summer. The classic Lilly shift dress is flattering for all body types, surprisingly very comfortable, and comes in very unique and noticeable colors. 

On this occasion, I wore one of my Lilly dresses out to tea with my mom. Going to tea at Annabelle's, a charming British style restaurant located in Kingsville, Ontario, has become somewhat of a tradition for us on our days off. It is a about a forty minute drive outside of Windsor, but is well worth it since there really aren't any other restaurants in the region that serve tea the way that they do. 

They have over 50 different loose-leaf teas to choose from, however I always seem to order the same - the coronation tea. The food they serve ranges from the traditional finger sandwich and pastry platter, to quiche, steak and salad. Contrasting to my typical choice of tea, I usually choose something different when it comes to food. This time I chose what is called the "British sampler", illustrated above. It was composed of two different types of salad, a scone and soup. It was absolutely delicious!

If you are in the area and you're looking for a cute place to go for tea and a late lunch, I would highly recommend Annabelle's. I have included a google map of its location below. Hope you enjoyed this post!

Tell me about any cute places you've gone for tea!

If you know me well, you'll know I love trying new wines. Since I usually only share my opinion of the new ones I try with my fiancé, mom and sorority little (shoutout to Rachel), I decided it might be of interest to some of you if I shared it on my blog!

To kick off my series of wine review posts, I thought I would start off with the Tommasi Amarone Classico 2012, a vintage red wine from the Valpolicella varieties found in Italy. A little bit on the "pricier" side, this wine is still well worth it. It is a very dark, bold, and heavy wine. I would describe it as very warm. It has darkened aromas of blackberry and candied cherry, but also has some spice to it. You can find out more detailed information about it here. 

I really enjoyed this wine and it is one that I would definitely re-purchase. I am more of a red-wine kind of girl and I would say that this one definitely passes the test. If you're looking to pair this specifically with a certain type of food, I would suggest serving it with red meat (steak), cheese and/or a pasta dish. Since it is vintage, it is known as more of a special occasion wine, however I wouldn't necessarily limit it to just that - with the right accompanied meal, this wine is excellent for any day of the week.

To summarise, here is my overall rating...
Appearance: Good
Aroma and Bouquet: Excellent 
Taste and Texture: Excellent 
Aftertaste: Good
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Please tell me about a wine you think I should try!

It's been a while since I've done a beauty review, and so I thought I would write one for you today. I've really taken a liking to the Vichy Aqua Thermal Night Spa, and the following post will highlight it's strengths and weaknesses as per my opinion. I hope you will find this helpful and that it puts another product on your radar!

What it is 

"This ultra-comfortable, velvety sleep mask infuses the skin with moisture and minerals during the night, when skin is most receptive to treatments. Skin is replenished, soothed and supple by morning"

Known formally as the Aqualia Thermal Night Spa, this cream is referred to as an "anti-fatigue sleeping mask". As per the description, it is technically a mask, however it is used primarily by many as their main night cream.

What I like

As mentioned before, I have combination/oily skin. This product is lightweight and therefore doesn't leave my skin feeling "cakey" before going to bed. Most night creams and masks tend to feel heavy on my skin and I always seem to wake up with major shine. This one does NOT do that, which is amazing! 

An added element of "cool" is that the cream itself is actually light blue, which is very interesting as I've never owned any cream of that color. 

What I don't like

A generous amount needs to be applied to the skin on those days when your skin is feeling extra-dry. I also wouldn't recommend this to someone who has dry skin since it will most likely not be strong enough. This product is supposedly very hydrating, hence the name, however I wouldn't necessarily categorize it as a hydrating cream. In addition, my skin feels "refreshed" when waking up after having this on overnight, however I wouldn't necessarily say that there is a significant difference in texture.

The Verdict
I would repurchase this product for the time being, since it is great for my young skin and the price is something I feel comfortable with. I might avoid using it in the winter time due to the fact that it is not very hydrating.

What's your favorite overnight beauty product?

Dress: Lulu's (similar here)

Heels: Liz Claiborne

Jewellery: Fresh water pearl necklace

Purse: Olivia + Joy (similar here)
Sunglasses: Fendi (here)

I love wearing outfits that match the season perfectly. I am also currently obsessed with floral prints, explaining why I was inclined to post this! I purchased this dress last year off the Lulu's website, and have not yet gotten tired of it. It is surprisingly comfortable, despite the fact that it is very form-fitting.

It can be dressed-down with white or light blue flats, or dressed-up with some heels - I opted for a Liz Claiborne heel. My bag is from Olivia + Joy, and I definitely think it pulls together any summer outfit. Worn with a pearl necklace, this ensemble exudes a classic, almost 1950s style vibe. 

What do you think of this season's floral prints?

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend! I thought it would be the perfect time to talk about my upcoming wedding. In August I will be marrying the man of my dreams in two of my favorite places (church and venue), and I cannot be more thrilled! I've learned several important lessons along the way while planning my wedding that I thought I would share with you. Of course I am not an expert (first time's the charm), and I must state that these tips are based on my own opinion, but I hope that they might help at least a few of you. Enjoy!

Modelling at a wedding show (similar here)

1. Know your style and trust it
I used to purchase weddings magazines every month, however found that these became distracting. After seeing the latest wedding trend, I would second-guess my current choices. This definitely made an anxiety-filled bride out of me. I found that determining my own personal style and tuning out others really helped me in making decisions. 

2. Decide what is important to you

Is it food? Music? Flowers? Venue? You should choose wisely and put the most time and money into perfecting that. 

3. Have a budget

No matter how much money you make or how much your parents are willing to provide for the wedding, there should always be a limit on your spending; it's not always about what you can buy, it's more about what you SHOULD buy. Having a price range in mind for every element helped keep me focused.

4. Don't shop around too much

This one is closely related to the first one. Many choices often equates to less decision-finalizing. If you meet a vendor, like their price and what they have to offer, don't second-guess yourself and go ahead and book them!

5. Remember what's important

This definitely helps keep me grounded. The truth is that the actual "wedding event" is not as important as the fact that you will be making a promise under God to your significant other for the rest of your life. 

What are you best wedding-prep tips?

I've travelled to several difference caribbean islands in my life thus far, however Barbados is my favorite. I've visited the island five times, and each time provided me with some sort of new adventure. In my opinion Barbados is quite unique as it strikes the perfect balance between modernity and island culture.  This year, I spent about two weeks here and I would definitely recommend staying at least ten days if you want to fully experience what this island has to offer. 

If you've visited my instagram lately you'll find that I took the Eco-tour at Harrisons Cave and also took a catamaran tour on the "Elegance". In addition, I had the chance to visit the Garrison at night (highly recommend this if you are a history buff), and eat delicious food at the famous Oistins street festival on Fridays. There are many different tours and experiences that you can fill your schedule with, however these would be my most recommended. 

The following post will comprise what a typical "beach day" looks like for me on vacation in Barbados. This would include those days where I was not "out-and-about" on some sort of excursion. Enjoy!

 

8:00am - Workout
I am going to be honest, this is my least favorite part of the day. I usually take it easy on vacation and simply go on a 5k walk/run and maybe do some ab exercises. Barbados is a very safe island so thankfully we can walk throughout the streets and neighbourhoods. It is very warm, even early in the morning, so the walk is still challenging. We walk up hills throughout the neighbourhoods surrounding our villa, and often see monkeys (which is a a very common sight around the golf courses here). Above is a picture of my fiancé with the "green monkeys" found on the island; they usually roam freely, however this one was on a leash. 

9:00am - Coffee and Emails
I like to sit outside and catch up on my emails, blog etc. during this time of day. Our villa is right by the sea, so I definitely enjoy the view!

10:00am - Late Breakfast 
I'm not a big lunch person and prefer having a late breakfast. Our villa cook usually make us a very filling breakfast. This is what my plate usually looks like.

11:00am - Travel to Beach
Our villa is located in Holetown, yet the beach we like to visit is in Carlisle Bay. We usually drive there in our rental or take the bus if we want to walk through the streets of Bridgetown (the capital). I absolutely love walking through the streets of Bridgetown. There is always something new to explore!

12:00pm - Beach!
The beaches here are so nice - the water is crystal clear and the sand is so soft. I could definitely spend my days here everyday. 

6:00pm - Dinner at "home"
Since we were fortunate enough to have a cook at our villa, we usually eat dinner here. This is what a typical dinner looks like. It is definitely a feast!

10:00pm - Bed
I don't actually fall asleep at this time (night-owl problems), but I do head to bed and watch a movie or a tv show. 

Where is your favorite tropical vacation destination?