This week flew by. This morning I found myself confused that it was truly a five day week – I love when this happens. Busy weeks always mean good things, so let’s take a few minutes to reflect on the amazing moments.
1. High school reunions – with yearbooks and all. I am so lucky to have remained very close with my girlfriends since our graduation, but many of us live in different cities and don’t get to see each other as much as we would like. This week we all gathered to catch up, it was such a great night!
2. Express shipping. I spoiled myself with a beautiful Hunter Green Rebecca Minkoff Mini MAC from eLuxe. My order was places Tuesday afternoon and by the end of the day on Wednesday I was prancing around town wearing my brand new bag!
3. Working from home. My office building has been under construction for quite some time now but this week the disruption is worse than ever. My boss told us all to stay home for the day and work in peace – I treated myself to a delicious charcuterie spread and paired with goat cheese. How’s that for a classy home office.
4. Date nights with my man at a new restaurant in town. Neil surprised me with an impromptu dinner out at Hooch Bourbon House. If you haven’t been yet, I highly recommend giving it a try. The menu is unique and the cocktails are out of this world.
5. Spending time with one of my best friends. We don’t live in the same city but that doesn’t change anything! She is the absolute best.
Thanks again to Lauren for hosting this link up. Have a fabulous long weekend friends!
Even though it was three years ago, I still remember setting foot into my first Anthropologie store like it was yesterday. The strong aroma of scented candles, beautifully curated decor on the wall, but best of all, the outfits on the mannequins were to die for. I knew immediately that this store would become a favourite of mine.
I left with three items, a simple navy and teal dress, a pale blue blouse with intricate while lace patterns and this incredible romper. Even though jumpers had gained absolutely no popularity when I first sported this outfit, I was getting compliments on the “top” all the time. When I explained to people that it was all one piece they were shocked and surprised – to this day I get the same reaction. This romper isn’t your average saggy behind one-piecer, it is beautiful tailored, head turning and classy enough to wear on special occasions.
Remember when I promised to share the recipe for those coconut lemon balls I raved about? Well I’ve tweaked them just a tiny bit over the week and decided that they are ready to be revealed, but first, let’s take a sneak peek into my photo food diary.
Breakfast – Green [Brown] Smoothie. During the summer months I always crave something cold and refreshing for breakfast. To make this beast of a smoothie I used about a cup of frozen berries, a huge handful of spinach, a scoop of protein powder and water.
Snack – Goat Yogurt with blueberries and pecan pieces.
Lunch – Zucchini noodles with tomato sauce.
Snack – A big bag of veggies. This is my go to afternoon snack, usually consisting of carrots, cucumber and cherry tomatoes.
Dinner – Steak, a couple pieces of chicken, roasted asparagus and zucchini, and homemade sweet potato fries.
Dessert – Coconut Lemon Goji Balls!! As promised – head over to I’m Fit Possible, where Tara was lovely enough to host me as a guest, to see my recipe.
This time of the year really makes me remember my childhood. Gearing up to go back to school meant shopping, new supplies, new clothes and when I finally was old enough, new makeup. Today I want to share a few of my favourite beauty buys with you – just in case you are in the market for a little back to school nostalgia. In the near future I will share more depth product reviews of many items you see here.
Laura Mercier Hydrating Primer – If you have dry and flaky skin, this primer is made for you. It will smooth any rough patches and leave your face looking matte and beautiful. Just a caveat – if you have very oily skin this primer may be too heavy and could cause breakouts. YSL Babydoll Mascara – This is my go to mascara. I use it day in and day out. It plumps and separates my lashes like now other. If you’re interested in a full product review just click here. Guerlain Lingerie De Peau – A foundation that applies effortlessly and provides moisture and medium coverage for the entire day – no reapplication required. Layer Lingerie De Peau over the Laura Mercier Hydrating Primer and be prepared to receive skin compliments all day long! Ageless Derma Satin Lip Gloss* – This moisturizing gloss is made with aloe vera and green tea extract which makes avoiding cracked, dry lips a total breeze. It isn’t often you find a lip gloss/lip chap combo that actually delivers the results it promises. After a swipe of Ageless Derma Satin Gloss your lips will be thanking you. Kate Somerville ExfoliKate – I received a tiny tester of this exfoliator and I was hooked. In just two minutes, twice a week you’ll notice a significant change in the appearance of your face. This product will rid your skin of dead cells and eliminate bacteria leaving you feeling fresh faced and beautiful. Almay Lash Care Makeup Remover Pads* – I’ve been known to sleep in my mascara more often than I’d like to admit. In all honesty, finding cotton pads and makeup remover has always been a chore for me at night, but this gentle eye makeup remover allows me to skip this step entirely. These pre-soaked towelettes make taking off my mascara a breeze, consider my days of makeup removal excuses over!
Now it is your turn to share, what beauty products are at the top of your must buy list?
xo Lauren
*These products were provided to me directly from the company for review. All opinions are completely honest and as always, my own.
This weekend I treated myself to a few September fashion magazines. To my delight, beautiful nail art manicures were front and center in both issues, which left me no choice but to try one out. In Style featured a few do it yourself nail art instructionals using some of the best fall trends – so I happily obliged and gave one a try.The Dip-Dye Tips manicure featured both the negative space trend (as long as you use a nude base colour) and a deep blue ombre. You’ll need a makeup sponge, a pale or nude base colour , a deep blue and a top coat. I used Sephora by OPI Bare to Be Different as the neutral colour and OPI I Saw… You Saw… We Saw… Warsaw for the cobalt ombre effect. This manicure is fool proof as long as you follow a few easy steps.
Step 1: Prime your nail with a base coat – preferably a nail strengthener like OPI Nail Envy [product review here].
Step 2: Paint your nails completely using the nude/pink hue and allow it to dry completely.
Step 3: Using a makeup sponge, paint a layer of top coat on the tip and then follow with a layer of blue. Using the top coat first will dilute the colour which will give you the dip-dye look. Lightly dab the painted area on the sponge on your nail from the half way point to your tip, leave the cuticle area untouched. Allow your nails to dry completely before moving on to the next stage.
Step 4: Using a fresh makeup sponge [or the other side], paint the edge with blue polish and tab on the tip area of your nail to saturate the colour.
Step 5: Once the blue lacquer is completely dry, follow with a quick dry top coat to seal the manicure. I used essie good to go for this [product review here]. I am extremely happy with how this manicure turned out – it is very unique and intricate looking.
As always, if you’re wearing a fabulous manicure – send some pictures my way. I’d love to see how your rocking some of the new fall nail trends! Tag me in your mani pics on Instagram or Twitter.
1. How amazing does this massive plate of seafood look?! Mussels, oysters, and shrimp – OH MY. No, I didn’t not share.
2. After hearing so many great things about this Canadian skin care company, I ordered my first Miracle 10 toner. I can’t wait to share a product review with you!
3. Having the opportunity to spend the weekend with one of my best friends – living in different cities makes me appreciate the time we have together even more! I don’t know what I’d do without her.
4. A fresh bouquet of flowers, because I’m worth it! To me, from me – no judgment.
5. Spending a relaxing Wednesday night in, only to be surprised with a half hour of fireworks outside my window!
Thanks again to Lauren for hosting this weekly blog link up! Check out her blog if you’d like to see how others are celebrating their weeks.
Enjoy the weekend friends!
I eluded to a small Anthropolgogie shopping spree in my Jillian Michaels Body Shred recap, which made many of you chuckle. Really though, did anyone think I’d make it out of Toronto without setting foot in that store? [silence] Didn’t think so. It has been quite a while since I’ve shared an outfit post, so here is my excuse to show off a new purchase – and a beautiful bouquet of flowers I spoiled myself with.
Lately it feels as though I have been going grocery shopping on a daily basis but rarely have any meals to make. Over the past week I have been using the clean out the fridge mentality. For today’s What I Ate Wednesday, I unintentionally went with a meatless theme as well – which is very atypical for me. I also came up with a delicious and simple new breakfast recipe – banana, egg white and oat pancakes – the name says it all but I’ll share the specifics at the end of this post!
Breakfast – Healthy Pancakes [scroll down for the recipe] topped with fresh blueberries.
Snack – A handful of almonds.
Lunch – Homemade bento box of cucumber, hard boiled eggs, lactose free cheese, yellow pepper and hummus.
Pre-workout Snack – Goat yogurt with blueberries and pecan pieces.
Dinner – Grain free, vegetarian enchiladas
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Dessert – Lemon Coconut Balls – I’ll share the recipe for these soon, I promise!
On weekdays, my go to breakfast consists of either egg whites and spinach, or goat yogurt and berries – but lately I have been feeling so uninspired by the choices. Last week I came up with a new and extremely simple pancake recipe that I have been cooking non stop – it even gets the boyfriend seal of approval!
Banana, Egg White, Oat Pancakes
Ingedients
1 ripe banana
3/4 cup gluten free oats
1/3 cup egg whites
cinnamon [use as much or as little as you like]
dash of vanilla
Directions
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl until well combined. Cook on a skillet/pan as you would a typical pancake. For me it takes approximately 2 minutes per side, sometimes less.
What was the best thing you made or ate this past week? Did you try any new recipes?
Last Friday I experienced the opportunity of a lifetime. I worked out with celebrity trainer [and drill sergeant], Jillian Michaels. It is quite uncommon for me to enter big contests because I always get discouraged when I lose, but when I saw a chance to workout with one of the most iconic fitness professionals, I couldn’t help myself. I just had to give it a shot.
Let’s make a long story short. I won – I was going to workout with Jillian Michaels, and I could bring a friend to torture as well! Off I went to Toronto to get my butt seriously kicked by the most intense trainer I know of. Since I was only in town for one day, I packed as much into it as possible; registering for the workout bright and early, grabbing some Starbucks [and a banana] for workout fuel, a quick pit stop at Anthropologie [a quite successful one too], and then finally – the moment I had been waiting for – a Jillian Michaels “ass kicking” [her words, not mine]. With my best friend in tow, we secured spots near the front of the class. I was in for a surprise – I figured that the room would be filled with contest winners like myself. Boy was I wrong. About half of the attendees were actually fitness professionals… and there we were, right near the front. I wish I could have gotten a closer/clear/one on one picture with Michaels, however, just breathing the same air as someone so motivated and influential in the fitness world was unbelievable!
As soon as Jillian Michaels emerged from backstage things got serious. She began to walk us through the exercises we would be using for the class, explaining the structure as she went. If you aren’t familiar with her workout program I’ll give you a quick run down. Body Shred, which is offered through Goodlife Fitness in Canada, is a high intensity interval training class. It follows a 3-2-1 format, with only 24 minutes of work. Sure it sounds easy when you type it out, but in practice, 24 minutes without breaks, while your heart rate is between 90 – 100% of your max is no laughing matter. During the half an hour class you will warm up and cool down [3 minutes each] and complete 4 rounds of circuits in between which are comprised of 3 minutes of resistance, 2 minutes of cardio, and 1 minute of active recovery [which actually means intense ab workouts – not break time]. I highly recommend visiting a Goodlife Fitness near you to try this class for yourself. You’ll love me and hate me all at the same time! Working out with such an intense instructor [and a huge group of fitness professionals and enthusiasts] was one of the most motivating experiences I have ever had and it allowed me to push myself harder than I thought possible. Although the workout Jillian Michaels led us through was challenging, I must admit that my Tuesday night Rideau Center instructor Sarah, works her class ten times harder – she is ruthless, but awesome. It didn’t surprise me when I found out that Jillian Michaels was one of her idols – they definitely have that drill sergeant thing in common! I loved that options were given so that first time shredders and veterans could choose their levels to intensify [or not] the workout. My guest, Sarah, had never tried the class before – you can see our pre workout faces here, she was terrified. I however, was on top of the world! Sarah was an awesome sport and made it through the half hour HIIT workout like a champ, she even admitted to enjoying it afterwards. Unfortunately as soon as the workout ended Jillian ran off the stage leaving no opportunities to get a group photo, let alone individual pictures. Not to worry though, a life-size cut out was waiting outside to pose with after we finished the class. If you look quickly it almost looks real!
Working out with the tiny dynamo only fueled my admiration and appreciation for her even more. The entire experience was something I could only ever dream about and I am still pinching myself to make sure it really happened! Thanks again to Goodlife for hosting this contest and giving fitness enthusiasts and professionals the opportunity to meet such an influential trainer in the industry – you better believe my motivation to workout has sky rocketed after this class!
Have you ever tried BodyShred or any other Jillian Michaels workouts?
When a unique polish is on sale, there is absolutely nothing I can do to help it from ending up in my shopping basket. This is exactly what happened with the Nails inc Leather Effect lacquer that became part of my collection this weekend. Although I had no intention of trying another textured formula since I am usually disappointed with the results, but when I saw the colour, I couldn’t say no.
Shoreditch Lane is a dark, vampy, mulberry hue that dries to a leather textured finish. In my opinion, the application is a little tedious. The formula seems to get tacky very quickly and it is hard to achieve a smooth look with each application. I had to use three coats to cover up the streaks. Although this quick dry factor is an issue when painting, it is also one of the best attributes of the polish when it comes to the post manicure waiting period. The texture is interesting, I suppose it feels like a rough leather, and the colour is beautiful and rich. In all honesty though, I just don’t love the look. It reminds me of the times I paint my nails right before bed and wake up with a bed sheet pattern embedded into my manicure. Without adding the gold pyramid studs, this mani was just plain boring… and looked like a bit of a mess.
As with all other textured polishes, it is recommended that you skip the top coat. I followed the instructions, however, the tips of my nails are really chipping badly, I’ll have to touch them up daily to keep my digits looking presentable and professional.
Would I recommend this polish? Probably not. If you love a textured manicure then perhaps you’ll like this look – but I have come to the realization that I’m more of a nail art gal [surprise, surprise].
As always, if you’re wearing a fabulous manicure – send some pictures my way. I’m planning to do a reader manicure feature in the near future. Tag me in your mani pics on Instagram or Twitter.
A 5'3 Perspective 