Outfit deets:

I know I said I had a purchase post coming soon on the loot I nabbed in Florida, plus a recap of my vacation, also I want to share the birthday gifts I received; I did not lie, it's just taking me a bit longer.  Between going through all my photos, editing them, and (the worst) not having Internet (the connection I was pirating has now been locked.  Damn!), I've been a little slow moving.  But alas, I have a 'net connection now and will get those posts up very soon.  Hope you are all having a great day!

I'm not sure if I'll be able to take a tropical vacation this winter (I sure hope so though because it was -34 yesterday!), but if I do, you can bet I'll be packing this dress, my new wedges and these summery earrings.  

Neutrals and pops of turquoise (my favourite colour) are my fave.  I only got the chance to wear this dress once last summer (for Canada day, with red shoes) because she sadly got into a bit of a fight with the washing machine. Turns out, if you don't want to be hand-stitching crocheted parts of a dress back together, you best get to hand washing.  

Moving on!

 Now for the fun part...

I'm on a diet.  Ha.  Haha.  Hahaha.  That is laughable because I don't do diets (you think I have that kind of will power?).  So, I guess I'm not really on a diet, but as I sit here and type this, my stomach is growling despite just eating (cottage cheese with berries).  I am certainly watching my intake since completely over indulging throughout the holidays, and am trying to get back to eating clean.  However, I'm starving.  How starving?  I just ate two Vitamin C pills to drown out of cries of my angry stomach.

Okay, so I'm not that hungry, I have eaten today, and eaten well.  An egg white omelet for breakfast (with cheese and broccoli), an apple for a snack, turkey soup, (10) almonds and the cottage cheese.  Tonight I have plans for grilled chicken (going to use my panini press instead of my oven) and a large side salad with cherry tomatos and low-fat feta.  Are you bored yet?

I wouldn't say this is a New Years Resolution (that's far too cliché), just a kick start to get back into my regular routine.  You see, over the past few months I have been indulging maybe slightly too much.  Not to the point that's it necessarily noticeable to others (is it!?) but it is to me.  And I don't like it.  One bit.  Something must be done.  Also, I'm not really digging the way it's making me feel, and when that happens, it's time to kick your own butt, hence, precisely what I'm doing.

While perusing YouTube the other day, I came across a BodyRock.tv workout they had posted, which prompted me to their site (I had a friend who used to do their workouts and she raved about them).  Sure enough, tight lean bodies, friendly (and likeable) attitudes, and simple (but killer) workouts you can do in your own living room (or at the gym, if you have a membership like I do).  Awesome.  I'm taking one of the workouts (it's seven minutes; pu-leeze, you can do anything for seven minutes) to the gym tonight and going to give it a try after I hit the cardio.  Also, I was able to download the Gymboss interval timer app on my iPhone versus forking out the cash to purchase one, which means no waiting to try these workouts 'properly' and no excuses.

I find I often need some sort of variation, kick-start or newness for my workouts.  Zumba seems to be the only thing I've stuck with consistently (almost three years) but everything else gets pretty boring.  I recently tried Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred.  Phew!  What a doozy.  Seriously killer.  There are three workouts (level 1, 2, and 3) and you do each for ten days before moving onto the next.  I certainly couldn't discipline myself to workout for 30 days in a row, but when I was lacking motivation to hit the gym, it was nice to go home and have an alternative in my living room.  That said, it didn't last long before I was unmotivated to workout from home, so back to the gym I went.

And now?  Well now I just found out that my favourite Zumba instructor might not be teaching anymore (the only time I can actually guarantee I will get my ass to the gym) and I want to cry (dra-ma-tic).  She was there when I started doing Zumba as a participant.  She started out by helping another instructor, she would teach one song a few times, and slowly she would teach half the class until she took over and it became her class.  She's amazing, and I don't want her to leave.  Wah wah.

That's all.  Happy eating.

 La Classe Couture jacket (last seen here), Old Navy dress, Aldo boots, Suzy belt, Le Chateau pashmina,

Sirens necklace & Auslini bangle

The other day while at work, a same-floor coworker exclaimed to me, 'You look just like my friend Laura!' turning to her friend the, 'Doesn't she look just like Laura?'  We'd never spoken before, and so I laughed and made a joke, 'Well I hope that's a.. good thing?'  Of course it was, she exclaimed.  She now calls me Laura every time she sees me.

About a year ago another same-floor coworker, a man this time, noticed a sparkly red (decorative) shoe I keep in my office atop a filing cabinet (you know I love shoes).  He started calling me Dorothy (as in the Wizard of Oz) and it kinda just stuck.  Over the months he'd call out to me in passing, 'Hey Dorothy!' until one day I was in the (very large) cafeteria at work in line at Tim Hortons.  I spotted him a couple people ahead of me, and when he was leaving, he saw me and shouted out, 'See you later Dorothy!'  When my turn came to order, I approach the cashier, ordered and then he said, 'Do you prefer Dora or Dorothy?'  I laughed and finally said, 'Amanda'.  He looked confused, with purpose, and I explained it was a long story.

Last summer while leaving work one day, one of the security guards asked me if my mother still works here?  I must have looked puzzeled because the other security guard chimmed in that it wasn't me, but this girl Laura that works here (hey, waitaminute...).  I guess people were getting her mixed up with me too because we sort of know each other and got to discussing it one day.  Now we laugh and tend to amicably call each other, 'Twin' when we see one another (as in, 'Hey Twin, how are you?').

Regardless of how laughable the experiences are above, I'm never phased or insulted when someone says I look like someone they know, or makes up a cute nickname for me.  Actually, in all honesty, I'm often intriguied by the unknown person they are talking about.  Could I really have a 'twin' in the city?  Have you ever been told you look like someone?  What about a celebrity?  Apparently she is mine.

Just call me Laura Dorothy Laura.

 Joe Fresh cardigan, Mexx dress, Jules & James flats, Le Chateau pashmina,

Three patterns are better than one, wouldn't you agree?  I got so many compliments on this outfit - people seem to really be digging the mix of prints (did I really just say 'digging'?).  It's pretty basic as it's all black and white, but a great way to incorporate the mixing-prints-trend into your look. 

Thank you all for your sweet comments on my return to the world of blogging.  You are all so sweet and it's much appreciated.  I'm doing well.  I know I promised you all a give-away, and I haven't forgotten; I promise to get that up early next week. 

In other news, the weekend is here, my new shoes arrived in the mail yesterday (I will post those tomorrow), I have recently had a ton of luck in the purse-shopping-department (so rare for me, I've been using the same bags for years now with the odd addition here and there, and then I find like, four in the past three months - unheard of) and it's still Summer (for those of you wishing away the Summer and craving for Fall, please stop.  It's especially disheartening for someone like yours truly who lives in winter for, oh, about eight months of the year).  Okay fine, I'm secretly excited for faux fur, layers, leggings, breaking out my (faux) leather jackets, jeans tucked into boots (and boots for that matter), hot beverages, crisp evenings and spiced candles.  But I can wait.