I'm back to taking tons of photos so I've got a full recap to share with you from this past weekend.  I had a great weekend and am ready to kick off the week with a bang--or at least try to (I mean, who really likes it when the weekend is over?!).  I'd love to share some photos with you...

On Friday night, my girl friend came over and we had a feast.  She brought wine, anti-pasta, fresh bread and some delicious pastry cookies.  I made a hearty spaghetti squash with turkey sausage, chicken and veggies.  We stayed up late chatting and she showed me her new H&M finds--which make me want to go to H&M this week.

Saturday morning I met my boo at the gym and we did a shoulder workout.  He snapped this photo of me as we were leaving the gym--I'm standing in the 'Boot vestibule'.

Outfit deets:  Bench jacket, Lululemon hoodie & bag, Ardene tank, Walmart leggings, Uggs & Joe Fresh snood.

We grabbed lunch at Chuck's--yay--and I had the same chicken-bacon panini with crisp veggies and a lentil salad.

Saturday evening.

Outfit deets:  Garage beanie, thrifted jacket, Club Monaco scarf, Jacob sweater, Urban Planet leggings, Aldo boots & cross-body / clutch.

We had a super late dinner at El Camino around 10pm--since we'd had a super late lunch--which was amazing per usual.  Soft tacos & beer?  I'm always down for that.

Sunday morning workout was back day.  Then we grabbed some breakfast which I didn't snap a photo of, but, you know the deal.

Outfit deets:  Sirens top, Joshua Perets tank, Walmart leggings & Nike Free 3.0.

Saturday afternoon was spent filming my next Place d'Orleans video, which should come out mid-November.  This was one of the looks, can you guess what the video is about?

Outfit deets:  Reitman's sweater (new!), Urban Planet leggings & Aldo 'Klarr' boots (all ℅ Place d'Orleans)

Post-filming and freezing!  I sat in my car, heat blasting, seat warmers turned on max for a good five minutes before my fingers thawed and I could drive.  It was so cold filming outside--three degrees Celcius--and doing outfit changes, and in true Amanda fashion I forgot to wear socks so when I was switching between boots I was standing bare-foot on frozen grass #dummie.

Annnnd, I bought the Bench jacket!

Salad snack to fuel me before I got down to editing.

Hours and hours of editing before getting a finished product that I'm happy and proud of--seriously, about six hours of editing.

Taking a break from editing for Greek on Wheels for dinner (my fave!).

Happy Monday!  Hope you had a great weekend.

October please don't go.

Hmph.

The longest month is gone and it leaves me dreading what comes next: cold, snow, and more cold.  

While I will get in the Christmas spirit sooner rather than later, I can't help but feel a bit depressed at the long cold winter we have ahead of us.  While I am grateful I live in Canada, I yearn for a warmer climate year 'round.

Enough whining, on to the recap!

In October I took the best photos of myself yet (thank you beginner photography class and 45 minutes of free time), I got a pair of boots lowered and I hosted the #MYVIPNIGHT at Place d'Orleans.  I visited Kingston with my boo, had a second pair of boots lowered and swooned over my almost-three-month-old nephew.  I wore shorts one weekend because it was so mild, celebrated Thanksgiving with family (and filmed a vlog that weekend) and went to the gym every weekend on Saturday and Sunday.  

I enjoyed the beautiful colour of leaves--or at least stood in them and looked down--and swooned over this Bench jacket (which I ended up purchasing the other day!), and did some shopping for my most recent video on Colour Pairings.

I went out for breakfast a few times, shared a Minnie Mouse DIY Halloween costume, had a great lunch at Chuck's and purchased the last Phillip Lim for Target bag (eep!).

I have been wanting to film an apartment tour but the honest to goodness truth is that I'm pretty messy and this place is so small it gets messy fast.  So, in the mean time, I thought I would share a few photos I took around my place to share some of the details, if you'd like to see...

This sequin top is from Forever 21, last year, and I've worn it with denim to a party, and dressed down with black skinnies for work.  As it's pretty and delicate, I like to keep it on display in my bedroom, hanging outside my closet--plus it would likely get ruined being smushed between the other clothes.

I created a bed-side table out of three boxes; the bottom is an 'gator embossed box my sister gave me for my birthday one year and the other two are animal hair covered and from Home Sense.

The two picture frames are housing some black-and-white polka dot scarves I managed to flatten down.  It was meant to be a quick fix for empty frames until I had time to choose and get pictures printed and it's now been over a year.  Pfffft.

The chandelier lamp is vintage and belonged to my grandparents.  I have a matching one that sits in my front foyer on a small table.

I keep two large jars with lids to the left of the night stand that hold black, white, and turquoise pashminas as they kind of work with my grey/black/white bedroom colours.

The art on the right hand side is a favourite mainly because of the metallic and texture. This piece is displayed on the wall as you enter into my bedroom.  While I wanted something over my bed, this didn't really fit and I love the idea of putting a big statement piece somewhere unexpected.

I keep my clutches together and the majority in the brown basket on the left at the top (not really shown).  The overspill is what you're seeing and I love having my Asos feather clutch on display because it's so feminine and works with the colours of the room.  Additionally, I don't use it a ton so it's nice to have it out in the open as some sort of decor.  And if I can add one more thing, when you're in a space as small as mine, a lot of things become 'decor' (ha).

My living room furniture is old, but the pillows are new.  I got these two from Home Sense a couple months ago and shared them in a Home Decor Haul.  I meant to buy just the one at the back as it was on sale for $15, but then the one at the front was so nice too, I grabbed it.  They look great together despite the fact that I have far too many pillows in general.

Across from the chair--and another chair in leather that's beside it, which you didn't see--is my couch and another end table.  The lamp is a recent purchase which I fell in love with as soon as I saw it last Spring.  I scooped it up for $40 at Home Sense and it works perfectly in the space.  

See a full shot of the living room HERE.

The boots are from Aldo and a couple years old and they are actually on display in my bedroom, but the colours worked to share it beside the living room furniture.

Things you  may have missed:

* Downsizing (House --> Apartment)

* My Apartment: Closet Clean Out

* The Condo Story: Purchasing My Own Place (which I'm still not living in)

On Saturday I hit the gym with Marco and then we ran some errands and I headed home to clean my apartment--what a mess!  Melissa came over for dinner and we had a really nice time with each other and wine.

Outfit deets:  Winners jacket & sweater, La Senza trapeze tank (black), Urban Planet leggings, Aldo boots (my shortened ones) & cross-body / clutch.

Sunday morning pre-workout.  Chilly mornings and days lately so I'm bundled in a scarf and hoodie.

Workout done--can't see the smile, but it's thur.

Home-made sausage & veggie omelet.

Sunday afternoon I headed out to PDO to finish up my shopping for my November video.  I didn't purchase this turtleneck from Roots but was tempted but the fit was off, for me.  I think thin, cotton turtlenecks are going to be big this year and if not, next year--so jump on it now to be ahead of the curve.

Sunday night dinner:  Marco made prime-rib sandwiches with sautéed onions, mushrooms, home-made gravy & havarti cheese.  #likewhoa 

Hey guys!  I thought I would share a few photos I took from this week, thus far.  I haven't been using my iPhone camera a ton in the past week--um, what is going on here!?--as proof on my slower Instagram feed, but nonetheless I made sure to snap a few as I planned to share this post today.  

Nothing extraordinary went down, in fact, it has been quite an ordinary week, but alas here are some photos if you'd like to see...

Before burgers and shopping was filming my next Place d'Orleans video.  It's a chatty video and it involves a lot of colours--and bloopers!

I filmed in my bedroom this time and used the new light I got from Sarah's hubby.  They own a photo booth business--for weddings, events, etc.--and the stand for this one got broken at a party so they've given it to me on lend until further notice.  It's awesome because now I have the option to film my YouTube videos in evenings when there is no daylight.

One of my purchases you will see in my next PDO video.  I tend to sock away my purchases until I have time to film my videos, which means I don't ever wear them right away.  I wore this Le Chateau top the day after I filmed and loved it more and more as the day progressed--so pretty, a great colour & a perfect cut for me.

Since I've been lifting weights at the gym--versus cardio and body resistance workouts--I have been making protein shakes afterwards.  That said, frequently I don't have any protein with me as a gym session might happen on a whim and while I try to keep my gym bag in my car #noexcuses, I often end up "having" to buy a shake afterwards--which isn't exactly the most cost effective thing to do, but a nice treat once and a while.  Anyway, I had the brilliant idea to ration my protein into small snack bags for my gym bag (riveting, I know). It's perfect as I can just dump the pre-measured powder into my water bottle after my workout and go.

Tuesday night I met Marco at the gym for a later evening workout.  Temperatures have really dropped in Ottawa so I pulled on sweatpants, a hoodie, Uggs & a jacket to head out.

Outfit deets:  Bench jacket, Lululemon hoodie, DKYN tee, Ardene sweatpants & Uggs.

My sister came for a visit at work yesterday with my nephew.  He's almost three months and these little socks had little rubber grips on the bottom--ahhhh-dorable.

Wednesday evening I hit up Place d'Orleans to shop and collect some items for my November video.

Outfit deets:  Winners jacket, Club Monaco scarf, Sirens leggings (navy blue but you can't tell), Spring boots & Aldo cross-body/clutch.

I stopped at Marco's on my way back and he made an amazing chicken parm for dinner with a home-made spaghetti.  So good.

3.1 Phillip Lim for Targe,  Large Carryall Tote 

And finally, a purchase from last night, this 3.1 Phillip Lim bag from Target--eep!  While there are still some clothes left of the line at my location, bags have been long gone.  Even when I went at noon on opening day there were none so imagine my surprise when I sauntered in and saw this one... for 50% off!  I think someone bought it, probably used it, and returned it.  The tags were still on, but still... and guess what?  I don't care.  I scooped that up faster than you can say That's my bag, ya bish! and made my way to the cash.  

$31 with tax, thankyouverymuch.  

Also, it's super huge and will be perfect for everyday use, but even more so for lugging around extra stuff like my MacBook, DSLR, a scarf, extra pair of shoes and my lunch even.  Awe-some.

Phillip Lim, Ora  $1004