On Saturday, I attend the Governor General's Gala. It's a formal, annual event held in Ottawa where they celebrate great Canadian performing artists. The evening started with mingling amongst appetizers of sushi, mini quiche, bite size salads, small bbq'ed veggie skewers, rice balls on a stick and more. The drinks were flowing and everyone was out in their best attire.
After about an hour, we were ushered into the large theatre where we watched different presentations, dances, speeches, the orchestra performed, etc. to celebrate each of the artists being recognized (I think there were seven of them). There was an intermission and more recognitions, but the best part was the VIP After Party on the roof top. Keep reading below for more...
The boys coorindated the rental of a limo for our evening to make it extra special, however, upon arrival, the A/C wasn't working. It was one of the hottest days of the year and just standing around on the front stoop here, we were melting. Can you imagine piling all these peole into an un-air-conditioned limo?! Yikes. In the end, we ended up driving ourselves there. Sad faces.
Again with the Baguette-Me-Nots photo ops.
Once there, the food and drinks were flowing. On the left is the dessert table which was served at the end of the night with huge cheese platers. It was also my first time trying les macarons (they were ok). On the right is a duck confit bite-size salad which I could not get enough of--I must have ate about five of them!
The entire group, clearly having a great time--please note the drinks in hand.
Nearing the end of the night as we can tell from the tie situation.
A panoramic view of the roof-top tent area. Hard to see but there was a ton of food, drinks (they were strictly serving Belvedere vodka, if you wanted vodka #ohyoufancyhuh), a live band that included a celo, beautiful chandeliers, and just a great time overall.
And a fun shot of Eric Peterson and myself. He is a Canadian actor on the television show Corner Gas and was being honoured that night.
See more (and different) pictures on Instagram under our make-shift hashtag #SkyboxGovernorsBall2013
(All photos taken with my iPhone 5 & a friend's Android).
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What a weekend! So jam-packed and fun filled, it just sparked some life back into me. Sometimes I can be a very introverted person, which I know probably surprises some people to read that. However, sometimes being social freaks me out and I just want to hole up in my apartment, usually with my man, and hang out just us two. That said, if I push myself and go out, I often have an amazing time and feel more energized. I'm not saying I never want to be social, only sometimes, and this weekend ended up being quite social and felt so great.
Onto the recap...
On Friday night I picked up some groceries & beer and headed to my man's place. I made burgers and a strawberry spinach salad for us (he did the grilling). It turned out perfect and we watched some men's volleyball while we ate. The perfect summer dinner (with beer; important not to forget that part).
For my mom's birthday she told my sister and I that she would like a birthday lunch on a patio with us two. So, Saturday was that day and we took her to Jack Astor's. This is what I wore, which was not planned as I had another outfit I was so excited to wear until my bf's cat peed in my overnight bag. So. Pissed.
Outfit deets: D-Tox crop top (new!), DIY maxi dress & various bracelets (from bottom: garage sale, unknown, from my trip to Dominican Republic & F21 x 2).
I had the Kung-Fu Steak Salad.
Saturday night was so exciting; we attended the Governor General's Award Gala. I had never been before (nor heard of it) but it was an evening of free food, drinks and a great time. A friend works in advertising and got tickets and kindly took us all. The awards ceremony was a little dull, to be honest, but the party before, during intermission and after into the wee hours of the night was so much fun.
Outfit deets: vintage dress, Walmart shoes (I'm not kidding; and purchased like eight years ago and this is the first time I've worn them & I love them...and so did everyone else-bonus!), Asos clutch (sold out unfortunately, but similar ish HERE) & Swarovski bangle.
A friend brought along a baguette for Baguette Me Nots photo-ops, too funny! I'd never heard of the site but we got lots of funny shots.
Details.
The next day I didn't bring another purse with me so out to breakfast with my feather clutch I went!
That afternoon I met up with a client for a wardrobe consult & edit. We went through her closet, purged items & styled several different outfits for her to wear to work and on weekends. It was very successful. Our next session will be a shopping trip this week to add some staple pieces in so we can style more outfits to take her from work to weekend.
Outfit deets: the same Gap denim jacket that I bleached years ago, Joe Fresh tee (old) , Sirens shorts (old), vintage necklace & Urban Expressions bag.
Sunday evening ended up being an impromptu date night with amazing thai food in my neighbourhood.
Hope you had a great weekend!
May was a great month and I'm ready to welcome June!
This month I got my new summer tires put on my car, spent a day with Peanut and wore neon & chambray. I rocked a ton of arm swag (better late than never?), filmed a cool video about what to wear to a summer event (weddings anyone?) and was part of the #PDOPinUpGirls contest.
I rocked a faux side shave, bought some Prabal Gurung (for Target) shoes and rocked more mint. I broke out the Louboutins for the first time this year, visited Kingston with my boo and came home one day to a special surprise waiting in my apartment after work.
I made a cool bracelet (because I couldn't afford the real deal), got silly in glasses for a friend's birthday, left my car at the dealership for almost two weeks (she's back as of last night + thank goodness for warranty) and got my first set of knuckle rings (which I'd prefer to call 'top rings').
Other look-backs:
* January
* April
I love to shop, that's clearly no secret and I think pretty common among women (and some men). Just yesterday I was doing some online browsing and thought to myself how wide our access has grown to aquire different things. Think back to just a decade ago when online shopping didn't exist. Imagine your life without it; would you be affected?
Do you prefer online or in-store shopping?
I love online shopping, the convienence but mainly the accessibility. I love that I can get something from halfway across the world or simply from a store here in my city that no longer has my size. Then you receive your parcel in the mail a bit later and it's always so exciting opening it up. It's awesome.
That said, I still love shopping at the mall more. Touching and trying on the clothes, the rush you get when you walk out of the store with your new purchases. Holding that tangible item immediately. Hard to beat.
What about the type of shopping you do: Are you a sale shopping or will pay full price for the latest and greatest?
I am a big sale shopping and don't tend to pay full price for something very often unless it's shoes (my size, 10, is rare and sells out quickly). When I do purchase something full price I often feel guilty because I know it's going to be on sale soon.
That said, I have been trying to make a concious switch in my shopping within the past month or so. Instead of buying cheaper, trendy items, I'm looking for more quality-made, staple pieces. Items that will stick around in my closet for a while that are well made. I kind of came to this realization about two months ago while shopping at Forever 21 and then stepping into Zara. Now, for the record, I love F21 and you can find some great pieces there and I'm not discounting that, but going into Zara immediately after and loving almost every beautiful piece that came across my vision made me think twice about where I'm spending my money. Investment pieces aren't really something I was interested in purchasing up until now, and while I can't pass up a good sale, I also am trying to focus my purchases towards slightly higher end items.
Lastly, do you ever return items or have buyer's remose?
I return stuff like nobody's business and have become quite good at keeping my receipts organized just in case. I have no problem returning something if I've changed my mind; no point letting it sit in your closet and throwing away your money, find something else that you will love instead. While returning can be a hassel, thinking about what you could purchase instead is my motivation. When I've purchased something I cannot return, I'll either keep it in my closet and let it go to waste, or take it to a consignment shop try to make some money back.
Sound off on the (lengthy) topics above!
(Top photo at my favourite store in Montreal in 2007; in Syracuse, NY in 2008)
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