Monday, September 30, 2013

Weekend Recap: iPhone Snaps

Friday night was a bit of a mish-mash night.  I got home from work and ended up taking a nap.  I ended up meeting Marco at the gym around 7:30pm for a great workout and got a (spray) tan afterwards.  Then we went to Montana's for a super late dinner, but it was delicious.  I asked for the steak with veggies but our server came back shortly thereafter and told us they were out of vegetables--what?!--so I opted for the loaded baked potato.  Naturally.


Saturday afternoon post-workout for shopping.
Outfit deets:  Mexx top, Winners leggings, Aldo boots (my newly modified ones--yay!) & purse.


 
Fall is in the air....and on the leaves of trees.


Saturday evening turned into an impromptu shawarma date & later two movies (Argo & Parker).


I hit the gym--again--on Sunday morning and did cardio for 35 minutes while catching up on my YouTube.  My butt was burnin' by the end of it but better than just sitting on my  butt watching YouTube instead.


Post-workout breakfast at the Arrow & Loon; we sat on the patio too which was so nice--minus the wasps--as there won't be too many of those opportunities much longer.


I spend Sunday afternoon doing laundry and cleaning my apartment.  I made a kale, tomato & avocado salad for a make-shift dinner and several healthy snacks afterwards to tide me over till bed time.


SHARE:

Thursday, September 26, 2013

Breakin' Out The Boots

Outfit deets:  
* Vintage top (thrifted).
* Mossimo pants that I picked up in Florida a couple years ago; you've seen them with this jacket before (which I was referencing when I got dressed) and on the weekend.
* Aldo wedge boots (Givenchy inspired) which I'm competely obsessed with and showcased in my most recent Fall Fashion video.
* Accessories:  Joe Fresh necklace (old), G21 sunnies, gifted square bangle, Suzy leather wrap bracelet & F21 bangle.

I know I'm kind of bombarding you with posts this week, but, I'm trying to make up for being so slack last week, and also, sometimes the inspiration, ideas and writing comes, and sometimes it doesn't.  I was so beat when I got home from work last night but I told myself, 'No, we're going back down and shooting these photos'--as well as the photos for my 'new' boots.

How is everyone's week thus far?  Mine has been fine, my evenings have been busy but last night was a total relax night (aside from doing dishes for an hour).  Speaking of relaxing, how anti-climatical was the ending of Dexter on Sunday.  What.  The.  Fudg..sicle?!  I'm sad it's over, but not nearly as sad as I would of been had it been a heart-wrenchingly upsetting ending.  I just feel kind of meh about it.  Like, oh well.  That ain't right.



SHARE:

Fashion Vlogger #18: Fall Fashion


I'm talking Fall fashion for this Place d'Orleans Fashion Vlogger video and I'm actually excited Autumn has arrived and is in full swing.  Normally I'm so sad to see Summer go, plus equally or more depressed about the impending arrival of Winter, but this year, I'm just embracing the cooler weather the best I can.  Additionally, since we are experiencing cooler temps so soon, it's exciting to purchase items that can be worn without a heavy jacket and shown off.

In this video I show you some key Fall trends and how I'm wearing them.  I filmed this video and edited in a way I've never done before--I'm learning!--but you'll have to watch to see what I'm talking about.  I know a lot of you loved the Aldo wedge boots I wore in my Weekend Snaps a couple weeks ago and they are making their official debut in this video, so watch to get all the nitty gritty.

And, if you don't know how I came to be the PDO Fashion Vlogger, CLICK HERE and that should answer any questions.

As always, thanks for watching & stay tuned to the Place d'Orleans Facebook page for more videos!


Other videos:
Fall Fashion (video #1)
Wardrobe Classics (video #2)
Bundling Up for Winter (video #3)
New Year, New You! (video #6)
What to Wear on a Date (video #8)
Dreaming of Summer (video #9)
DIY Kiss Printed Jacket (video #11)
Spring Trends (video #12)
Biggest Spring Trends (video #13)
Summer Event Wear (video #14)
* Back to School (video #17)


SHARE:

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Before & After: Shortening My Wedge Boots

(old, now modified & no longer available*)

If you've been following along on my boot-lowering/heel-shortening process, you know about these boots.  If not, you can read about it HERE.

I finally picked up my boots after having the heel shortened on them at Bells Corners Shoe Repair in Ottawa.  Alex and Tony did a great job and I'm so pleased as these boots were basically written off to the land of decorative shoes for almost four years.  You can see me wearing them--the one & only time--HERE.

As promised, I took photos of before and after to share here as I've never had boots lowered before and didn't even really know if it was possible.  It is and I considered it well worth it to do so since they are brand new, real leather and boots that I'm still loving many years after getting them.

Read on to see the before and after transformation (also note that the photos I took before were pre-DSLR-photography class and my post photos are much better, if I do say so myself).


* Note: it says on the website they are 5 inch wedges but I measured my measuring tape before taking them in to be modified and they were a solid 6 inches.


BEFORE



AFTER




BEFORE

AFTER


SHARE:

VIDEO | The Best Friend Tag


Meet my BFF, Sarah :) We answered a few fun best friend questions and filmed it for fun.


____________________________

THINGS I MENTIONED

Vegas Vlog
Toronto Fashion Week Vlog
Connect with Sarah
____________________________
MUSIC
JBJR - The Price is Right (remix)

____________________________

MONTHLY FASHION VIDEOS
____________________________

CONNECT WITH ME

TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
FACEBOOK
EMAIL | acoest1984@gmail.com
KEEK
____________________________

CAMERA / EDITING INFO

VLOG CAMERA | iPhone 5 & iPad mini
BEAUTY / FASHION CAMERA
EDITING SOFTWARE | Adobe Premiere Elements 11
CAR WINDSHIELD MOUNT
____________________________

This video is not sponsored...clearly.

Thanks for watching!
SHARE:

Monday, September 23, 2013

Weekend Recap: iPhone snaps

I wore my new shoes two days in a row last weekend since (1) I gave myself a pedicure, and (2) the weather is really cooling down and it will be too cold to wear these soon--okay and (3) I love them a lot.


Pretty flowers from Mel.


At the Catalina Wine Mixer on Friday night; an annual party that took place at a different location this year.  See our picture from last year--when we first started dating.


The semi-spread; which grew over the evening with samosas and more yummy treats.


Finally getting together with Melissa from Welcome to Planet MelMac--and giver of flowers.
Outfit deets:  Suzy Shier top (old), Foxy jeans, thrifted belt & Ardene flats.


Saturday was a complete write off but I managed to go to Five Guys with my guy and chow down on the most delicious fries ever... and a really great burger.  I'm not much of a fry person, I like them, but rarely eat them.  Saturday though?  I practically wrestled Marco for my fair share of half the cup.


Sunday morning breakfast.  I didn't eat the sausage, it just wasn't agreeing with me.


Sunday morning get-up: comfy & very casual.


Sunday afternoon I pulled myself together to film my next Place d'Orleans video!  It's all about Fall Fashion Trends and I picked up some wicked stuff that I'm excited to share with you.  This was one of the looks.


Sunday late afternoon I finished filming and spent the evening editing.  Afterwards, I watched the season and series finale of Dexter--ummm, wtf?--which I'm so sad to see end.

Happy Monday!



SHARE:

Thursday, September 19, 2013

#MYVIPNIGHT with Place d'Orleans & Pinterest


Exciting news, you guys!  I've teamed up with Place d'Orleans (PDO) again to share with you a wicked contest.   All you have to do is create a Pinterest board with all your favourite Fall fashion trends (see mine HERE, and I even created a mini one for the boys HERE).

Up for grabs?  One of 10 pairs of tickets to the PDO VIP Night on Saturday, October 5th and a $100 gift card for the mall!

The VIP Night will include a cool fashion show, swag bags, food, drinks, demos and discounts.  There is a huge grand-prize valued at $10k up for grabs too!  Tickets are also being sold at guest services, and all proceeds go towards Dress for Success.  Additionally, I will be hosting the event!  So come out if you're in Ottawa as I would love to meet you!

How to enter:

Simply fill out the form online and get pinning.  It's that easy!  Good luck!



I'd love to see your boards, so tweet or instagram me (@acoest1984) & Place d'Orleans (@placedorleans) with the hashtag #MYVIPNIGHT and your pinterest link.


SHARE:

New Shoes | Shoemint 'Romy'


Look what just arrived in the mail!  I ordered these back in August after coveting them all. summer. long. but they've been sold out since Spring.  I would check back every week and submitted my email twice to be notified if they came back in stock.  

So, really late one evening, I was in bed and decided to quickly check my email as a last distraction before falling asleep, and in came the email, 'Romy, back in stock!'  I did a little squeal, jumped out of bed and whipped open my laptop.

I actually debated for a solid 30 minutes if I should actually make the purchase; I felt a little guilty, to be honest.  However, I found a promo code and ended up hitting the purchase button.  Unfortunately, they took over a month to get here and now it's flipping cold and I need a pedicure.   Oh well, still stoked to have them and if I get sick of the nude colour, or they get dirty, I plan to paint them olive green or black with fabric paint.

* I promised myself I would practice my photography 15 minutes a day and it's been four days since my course and I hadn't practised once.  I must have taken 40 frames to get these two shots and I still don't know how to fix the yellow-ness of the majority of the photos I got, but these two turned out okay.

Happy Thursday!

SHARE:

Monday, September 16, 2013

Weekend Recap: iPhone Snaps

Friday night, birthday dinner for a friend.
Outfit deets:  Winners jacket, Club Monaco scarf, Jacob sweater, Urban Planet leggings, Joe Fresh necklaces & Aldo boots (new & I'm in love!) & purse.


 We went to Big Easy's for the birthday festivities and I ordered the sesame seared ahi tuna with grilled veggies and coconut rice.  The large pot of mayo on the side was still almost full when I was done but I thoroughly enjoyed a large Ceasar & glass of red wine.


When I got home, I was craving something sweet so I made a new healthier fave treat, which is similar to the coconut oatmeal bites you saw in my Recent Eats post (#28), but I don't make the balls and just eat it from the bowl.  Here's how:

1/4C oatmeal, 1/4C unsweetened coconut, 1tbsp honey, 1tsp cocoa, 2tbsp coconut oil, sprinkle of cinnamon, a few drops of vanilla & mix.  Enjoy.


On Saturday, I attended a five-hour beginner photography class that I purchased through Living Social back in August.  I have wanted a DSLR forever but have no idea how to use it.  The course focused on aperture, shutter speed & ISO.  I learned so much and am going to try and 'practice every day for a week or two'--our homework--to lock the basics in my memory.


During the second half of the class, we went outside to put our new knowledge to the test.  We had to complete an exercise where we photographed something three times at three different aperture settings and something in motion at three different shutter speed settings.  I took over 70 photos before narrowing it down to the six I wanted to use to be shown to the class on the projector screen.
Outfit deets:  Ashley B jacket, Olivia Sky thin-knit sweater, C'est Moi trapeze tank, Sirens leggings & Spring boots (last year).


Saturday night Chinese take-out & a movie.


Sunday morning I hit the gym and grabbed tea afterwards.  Then it was home for breakfast and a relaxing day inside.
Outfit deets:  American Eagle sweater (old, thrifted), Bongo jeans (old & DIY distressed, which you can't really see in the photo but a more detailed shot HERE), Spring boots folded down (from last year) & Urban Expressions bag.


Sunday afternoon: football, Apple products (ha) & working on a video.

SHARE:
Blogger Template Created by pipdig