I wanted to share with you guys some groceries I recently picked up. Since my grocery runs generally look about the same with a substitute of certain fruits and veggies here and there, the basics are always kept on lock.
I love eating healthy and have trained my tastebuds to enjoy the flavours of certain things I know some people don't like. I'm a huge quinoa fan, prefer whole wheat breads (when I eat gluten), enjoy adding oatmeal in my morning shake, like the taste of unsweetened almond milk, etc. I try to eat healthy 80% of the time and make healthy food choices. I will always love pie, pastry, ginger snaps, chocolate & sweets, but try not to overindulge too much.
I typically do one larger grocery shop per week, but tend to hit the store a few times within the week to grab more unique foods that are required for a certain dish or meal I'm planning. I always keep fruit, yoghurt, eggs and some sort of salad mix on hand. I frequently eat salad for lunch during the week and usually add some form of protein--hard boiled eggs, chicken or tuna--if I can. My favourite salads contain fruit--some sort of berry or pears--avocado and nuts (if I have them on hand, which I generally don't). Most often I make a mix of avocado, grape tomatos & spinach.
I always buy the largest container of eggs as if I don't cook them, I will just hard boil all of them, stick 'em in a vase in the fridge for an easy snack or again to add to a salad in a pinch.
Back in March, when I switched over to a Gluten-free lifestyle--ish--I also swapped out my 2% milk for almond milk. I was a milk fiend and would drink two or more large glasses per day and go through, what I would call, 'withdrawls' if I didn't get my milk. This would even result in headaches; I was serious about milk. The calories and sugar in it though are pretty serious and I was likely consuming 300+ calories in milk alone. Unsweetened almond milk has 30 calories/cup which is awesome. I find it's pretty thick too so a small glass is enough for me. Additionally, I like to buy one regular--for cooking--and one vanilla flavoured for drinking. Once the vanilla runs out, I will drink the original but prefer vanilla.
The Oikos Greek yogurt is a personal fave and they come in so many flavours now. Since my last vacation in Mexico, I've become somewhat obsessed with all consumable things coconut, mainly, ice cream. Unfortunately, coconut ice cream is very hard to come by so last week I tried throwing one of my personal sized coconut yogurts in the freezer and the next day? Coconut frozen yogurt! It actually tasted pretty good and is obviously much better for you. I'd suggest taking it out an hour before you want to eat it as it gets quite frozen.
Hope this post was interesting and let me know what else you would like to see on A.Co est. 1984.
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Friday night I organized a girls dinner for my best friend's birthday. She doesn't like surprises so she knew it was happening but I couldn't resist keeping a few of the guests a surprise, which in turn really shocked her.
Outfit deets: Cynthia Rowley tee (seen here & here), Walter Baker skirt, Prabal Gurung for Target heels, H&M necklace & Auslini bangle.
I splurged on dinner and got the gnocchi in a rosé sauce with chicken and mushrooms. The last time I had gnocchi was on my birthday.
I love these shoes but to be honest haven't worn them a ton this summer. They at the very least look pretty on display in my apartment.
Saturday morning I met up with my friend at Simply Biscotti. We sipped on cappucinos and I was so impressed with the multitude of biscotti's and dessert treats--and paninis, sandwiches, and more--to choose from (but was good and didn't get any).
Saturday outfit.
Outfit deets: Gap denim jacket (thrifted and DIY bleached), Walmart trapeze top, Wet seal crochet shorts, Spring gladiators & Urban Expressions bag.
I love this because I plan to wear it to work out plus it will double as a bralette on weekends. I was eyeing the white one as well but had to pick and choose.
On Saturday afternoon, I took my car out to my parent's place and washed her. It was a long process since it was so hot, sunny and breezy and the soap was drying on the car while I was trying to wash it--a big no no--but after two hours, she was done. Feels so good to have a clean car. I didn't detail the inside but I did that about two months ago and I maintain it so it's still clean inside.
Saturday night, outfit #1.
Outfit deets: Dynamite blazer, Rachel Roy dress (new & on sale!), Asos heels, H&M belt (worn backwards), Joe Fresh bangles & Ardene clutch.
Saturday night, outfit #2.
So why am I wearing two outfits? Here comes the diva story. Marco picked me up for a date on Saturday night and I totally dressed up, trying to wear something less like what I normally wear--see above--which was a pretty dress with a defined waistline. When we got to our destination--a hipster taco spot--I felt way overdressed. I love this restaurant he was surprising me with, but felt really uncomfortable being so dressed up. We put our name in for a table, which was about a 20 minute wait and he sweetly answered my pleads to take me home so I could change. #ididthat
I got home, ran in, threw together the above outfit, which was way more appropriate and I felt way more like 1) myself and 2) comfortable and we headed back to the restaurant. We got there just in time for our table to be ready and had an amazing evening.
Amazing tacos (beef, pork, lamb x3 & ox tongue).
A sweet dessert surprise: gelato. I got two scoops, Mister Nico--a peanut butter, chocolate combo--and Skor.
Sunday morning.
Outfit deets: Dynamite sweater, DIY denim cut-offs (from last year), Spring gladiators & Aldo clutch/cross-body.
Brunch at the Arrow & Loon.
Sunday afternoon I dragged myself to the gym, which was a good thing as I hadn't been in a week--what is happening to me!? I had a great workout and obviously felt much better afterwards.
"You never regret going to the gym" (it's just getting there that sucks).
I grabbed groceries on my way home and made a delicious strawberry-spinach salad with chicken, avocado & goat cheese for dinner.
The Sunday night tradition is always Dexter and I love to indulge in Ginger Snaps & a peppermint tea. This time though I poured myself a small cup of the snaps to avoid eating the whole bag!
Today I'm showing you a super simple Do-It-Yourself (DIY) project with my new Northern Reflections sweater.
Yes, I just said Northern Reflections. To be honest, I haven't gone in that store in ages, since I was a kid and my mom dragged me out shopping for herself. Northern Reflections always made me think of Grandma-like clothing with trees painted on the walls and wolves printed on the fronts of sweaters. Boy have things changed.
While Northern Reflections is still geared towards a slightly more mature crowd, they are definitely re-branding themselves to appeal to a younger market. That said, I was stoked when I circled around the store and found this perfectly faded pink sweatshirt (which also comes in white, blue and grey). After trying it on, I concluded an x-small would be a good place to start but the snug, restrictive neckline had to go.
Since crew neck and boatneck sweatshirts--plain and logo'ed--are an up-and-coming trend (especially for Fall), I thought this would be the perfect occasion to share this.
Keep reading to see how I changed up this sweatshirt and how I styled it two different ways; for day and for night.
Easy as pie. From there, pull on the neckline to stretch it out and you're all set.
Pull the neckline off your shoulder and pair it with some hi-top sneaks and an edgy cross-body bag for day...
...or, throw on some booties and a statement necklace and you're ready for a night on the town:
Tell me, which way would you wear it!?
HAVE FUN!
* This post is sponsored by Place d'Orleans, the mall I vlog for. As always, thanks for reading & for supporting my sponsors! Be sure to check out the Place d'Orleans Facebook page for more information & promotions happening within the mall.
I have a mad love on for social media, however, Pinterest always took a backseat. I always felt I had enough going on with Instagram, my blog, Twitter, and more recently when I added Facebook into the mix; you get the picture.
However, that has recently changed and I've been turning to Pinterest when getting dressed in the mornings. I'm not sure what it is, but it seems Monday through Friday is somewhat of a struggle to get dressed. I stand in front of my closet for far too long trying to put something that's work-appropriate together; getting dressed on the weekends is much more fun. Although I work in a large business-casual office, and sometimes push the limits, I try to veer on the side of conservative-ish... kind of. This is hard to do when knee length skirts and dresses hit me mid-thigh #tallgirlproblems.
Additionally, I cannot pick out my outfits the night before; I need to go on how I'm feeling to get dressed, and that can vary drastically from evening to next morning. The weather is always a depending factor too, but it's mainly an emotional decision (so complicated, I know).
I have found when I'm stumped, I will call on Pinterest to help me get dressed and look in my -Fashion Inspiration- folder for this. Since I signed up for Pinterest a couple years ago, I had a good base but recently have been pinning and adding more photos to this folder to help myself on those mornings when I just have nothing to wear.
How do you get dressed in the mornings?
Find my personal style board HERE, and all my boards HERE.
Outfit deets:
* Garage denim jacket--new this summer--which I'm obsessed with; love the light, acid-like wash. I think this is the first time it's been photographed officially despite wearing it countless times on the weekends.
* Forever 21 romper, which belonged to my bestie but she wore it once and generously let me have it--after I pawed at it--and you might remember seeing this during my trip to Vegas with said best friend.
* Spring gladiator sandals (old); my favourite gladiators that so badly need to be re-soled.
* Accessories: MK watch, F21 leather wrap bracelet, Gucci shades, Suzy Shier ring & Aldo bangle.
I love the fact that it's a short week, we are just that much closer to the weekend!
Last night I worked, after work, on my Place d'Orleans post that will hopefully be going up this week. I'm tying in a DIY with a cool Fall trend and am really proud of the end result. I don't want to spoil the surprise, so I won't say anymore, but look out for that.
I also purchased some Zara shoes recently and they just arrived. I took a little 36-second video of them as I'm really not sure if I want to keep them or not; I was so excited until I put them on my feet. Likely a tell tale sign they should go back but I'm still on the fence. Here's a closer look at the shoes. Care to weigh in?
Photos by Steve Palisek.
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