Hit the Beach

Nova Scotia has two months that make swimming at the beach sort-of possible - and we're coming up one of them. I'm linked with longdistanceloving for a seashore outfit inspiration.

Hit the Beach by jennifer-merlin featuring tory burch tunic

Tory Burch tunic / Melissa Odabash halter bikini top / Lucky Brand roll up shoes / Sophia & Chloe dangle earrings / Vince Camuto fedora hat


This bikini reminds me of one I bought in Australia and basically lived in for a month traveling down the east coast.

So, I guess Google Reader is dying this weekend. I've switched all the blogs I follow over to bloglovin and I hope the readers of Glitterary Girl will make the switch to a new blog reader service or continue to follow via Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

Have a fun and safe weekend.... a long one if you're in Canada... YAY!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Event: yhz Style

Thanks to my blog buddy Kayla over at Short Presents, I experienced the fashion and food show yhz Style at fred last weekend.

Details

Blazer: Ann Taylor

Shirt: Old Navy

Jeans: Calvin Klein via Costco

Shoes: Nine West

Necklace: Etsy find

I love going to events at fred - the location is such a great spot for small shows. I didn't take as many photos as I should have - I was more interested in seeing the clothes than being a photographer!

Fashions were by J&R Grimsmo, Mills, Biscuit General Store, YKN, and The Lion Hunter's Clutch Culture.

Delicious appetizers were courtesy of Charcuterie Ratinaud French Cuisine, Highland Drive Storehouse, Edna, Morris East, and Le French Fix Patisserie.

Who doesn't adore a generous swag bag? Local store coupons, hair product samples, and a bag of amazing fred make-up. I've tried the blush and eyeshadow (really great) and I will experiment with the red lipstick and creme eyeliner soon. I cross my fingers that eventually I will find a red lipstick that doesn't make me look like a devious child who got into mom's make-up bag.

yhz Style was an upbeat and entertaining evening, and I hope Halifax continues to have events like this!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Stripey Sailor Style

If you've been a reader of Glitterary Girl for awhile, you know I'm no stranger to stripes. I tend to go for blue and white or black and white the most. Nautical style is so classic and appropriate for all ages. I wore it as a kid, and I'm sure I'll wear it as a octogenarian  too!

Details

Cardigan: H&M

Tank and Skirt: Gap

Shoes: Miz Mooz via Town Shoes

Watch: Guess

Necklace: Forever 21

Ring: Fawcett's Fine Jewellery

This was a casual Friday work outfit (no, I don't work on a boat), and I cannot get over how nice it is to be able to wear a skirt to work! I really need to remember to drag the tripod out when I get home from work and post some more office outfits.

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

The Sunday Currently (06/23/13)

I'm linking with siddathornton for a Sunday Currently post. I hope everyone has had a great weekend!

Yup, darker hair. My camera isn't great at selfies.

Currently. . . 

READING: Magazines. Lou Lou's summer edition to be exact. No novels for me right now which is rare.

WRITING: Blog posts at Starbucks right now. Also I've been busy furiously scratching down so much information for work as I'm orienting to a new position. Week one of a six week training period is now complete. 

LISTENING: I am such a Daft Punk fan and I love their track Get Lucky.

THINKING: How easily time flies when you're trying to catch up on blogging. Have I seriously been here for two hours? Yes. I'm hungry. . . stop tempting me, cake pop.

SMELLING: Coffee! Hate the taste, love the smell.

WISHING: There were more hours in the weekend. 

HOPING: We were at a wedding last night and I hope the bride and groom have a lifetime of love and happiness! They looked so happy :)

WEARING: Black shorts, black and white dragonfly print shirt, flip flops, and sunglasses (I'm by a window).

LOVING: My new fiance and my new ring. It's a miracle I haven't rear-ended someone this week staring at my left hand.

WANTING: That freaking cake pop. NO!

NEEDING: To buy Revenge Wears Prada. I cannot wait to read it!

FEELING: Hungry - we've already gone over this.

CLICKING: Look at this gorgeous dress Cara is wearing! I love her blog (A Fashion Love Affair).  I'm glad another 5'3'' girl has a thing for maxi dresses - I'm not alone!

XOXO

Glitterary Girl 

Cubicle Clothes

I've been practicing massive restraint. Getting a new job (I started Monday!) means I can dress up. New work clothes! Surprisingly, I haven't bought that much yet. I'm waiting to see how I can make my current wardrobe work before I start filling in gaps.

OK, I've bought a little bit.... a paisley blouse, a white open blazer, grey dress pants, and a few statement necklaces. This week has been a crazy (getting engaged can be a bit distracting!) but I hope to post some work styles soon.

I love blazers because they work so well for the office, but can also be worn to make jeans look less casual. This chambray blazer would be a great addition to any girl's closet.

Office Style by jennifer-merlin featuring topshop

Wallis short sleeve shirt / Topshop / Diane Von Furstenberg / McQ by Alexander McQueen suede ballet flat, $415 / Coach handbag / Kate Spade


What are your office-wear staples?

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

The Rock: A Perfect Location and a Perfect Accessory

R and I have a special rock. It's a large rock that's perched on top of some other flat rocks, along a gorgeous stretch of coastline.

Purcell's Cove Road

We had our first kiss (almost three years ago) while we were sitting on the rock. Many times, we've said we were going to return to the rock but we hadn't - until this past Saturday.

R told me that he bought an amazing deal at a hotel downtown - so good of a deal that we'd be silly not to take advantage of it. R told me we needed some exercise so we should go on a little hike before we checked into the hotel.

It was a fabulous sunny day and we hiked out in the direction of the rock. We hadn't seen it for three years, so we had conflicting views on which rock was actually "ours."

R climbed up on the rock, but I was a bit scared as it was steep and I didn't feel I had a good foothold. I tried to convince him to come down, but he was very insistent that I join him. He finally convinced me to let him pull me up onto the rock.

There wasn't much room on the rock, so I sat in front of him. The scenery was so beautiful - we said we couldn't believe we let almost three years pass before returning to our special spot.

Then out came this....

EEEEEEK!!

Words can't express how happy I am to have found such a wonderful guy to spend my life with! Thank you R for a beautiful day, a beautiful love, and the most beautiful accessory I've ever seen.

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Jamaican Wedding

I saved these photos so I could link up with longdistanceloving for a summer wedding post. Although I love picking out a dress to wear to a wedding, it can be stressful, so I was stoked to not have to decide on this one - being a bridesmaid takes all the what-to-wear decisions away!

I was incredibly honored when Janet asked me to stand with her. We've known each other for thirteen years, and the first time we met was a few days before we started physiotherapy school together. Janet was dropping some of her belongings off at residence, and I had a summer job there working at the front desk. We were excited to learn we were in the same small program, and I remember Janet's parents commenting on how we "could take care of each other." Over the years Janet and I have taken care of each other in so many ways. She's the one who persuaded me to take a year off work and travel Australia, which was probably the best decision I've ever made. During that year, when we lived and worked together, Janet became like a sister to me, and the experiences we had that year will stay with me forever. Just a few weeks ago, in addition to becoming a wife, she also became a doctor! I'm so proud of her in so many ways, and couldn't have been happier to be with her on her wedding day.

Janet and I - 2005

Jamaica was a dream location for a wedding. The weather was perfect - warm but not sticky, thanks to a gorgeous breeze.

Shane (the groom) looked so stylish the night of the rehearsal party! Janet did too, but I didn't get a decent photo. Shane's attire was from Le Chateau. I love that white vest!

I had my hair done at the salon on the resort, and I was really happy with how it turned out. When I took it down at the end of the night I counted 75 bobby pins.

Janet's dress was by Palomo Blanca, and she looked stunning! She wore a birdcage in her hair instead of a traditional veil, and the pearls she was wearing were her grandmother's - she had them restrung.

 We got our bridemaids' dresses from Australia (on eBay!)

The coral dresses contrasted nicely with the ocean for the photos.

 It was a fabulous and stress-free day! Congrats to the newlyweds, and thanks for having me as a part of your special day.

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Wild Card

I do believe this might be the first time I've thought to pair coral and red together, but I think I like it!

Details

Cardigan: Old Navy

Shirt: Joe Fresh

Jeans: Aeropostale

Shoes: Miz Mooz

Bracelets: Forever 21 and gift

Do you have any favorite wild card color pairings? I also love mixed metallics and blue with orange.

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

The Body Shop's Vitamin E Cool BB Cream and Vitamin C Daily Moisturizer

For years, I avoided The Body Shop, as it conjured up vivid memories of junior high where there was a constant White Musk scented fog throughout the building. To be really really original, in grade nine, I started to blend mine with Satsuma.

Recently, I once again boarded The Body Shop train, and found out that their products absolutely have a place in my bathroom cupboard without being too reminiscent of 1994.

I joined the Love Your Body rewards program and have been stocking up on goodies ever since. I'll share with you two of my recent purchases with short reviews and I'll blog more on some other products another time. Instead of being like a normal person and buying form one of their lines, I went a bit bonkers and decided to mix and match from a bunch of lines.

Vitamin E Cool BB Cream

*All images from The Body Shop

I really enjoy BB creams. I'm usually too lazy to wear foundation that requires any sort of skill in applying, and BB creams give me just the amount of coverage I need. My skin tone is fairly even and usually clear (watch me break out because I said that). This stuff is really easy to blend and you literally only need a pea-sized amount to do the entire face. This would be my dream product IF it had a built in SPF.

Vitamin C Daily Moisturizer with SPF 30

The smell of this SPF is so incredibly fresh!  I love putting it on in the morning because it's orange-scented and really wakes me up. I always wear SPF 30 on my face, even in the dead of winter so I often try out new brands.

The one thing I'm noticing with this stuff that I don't like is that if I put it on under my BB cream, it can make the BB cream ball up on my face a bit. Perhaps the products aren't meant to be worn together (they are form two different lines). Or maybe I'm using too much BB cream. Anyways, I really like each product on its own, so maybe I'll just have to wear this when I'm not in need of any BB cream - days when I go bare-faced or days when I wear real foundation.

Do you have any must-haves from The Body Shop to share with me?

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Summer Sunnies

Last weekend was a hot one! After a dreary May, June came in with sunshine and I finally got to wear a skirt without freezing my legs off!

This look is super-casual which was great for an afternoon spent window shopping with my mom and an evening hanging out on the back deck with friends.

Details

Sunglasses: Coach

Shirt: H&M

Tank: Suzy Shier

Skirt: Old Navy

Sandals: Madden Girl

Necklace: Tiffany and Co

Bracelets: Suzy Shier, Old Navy, Macys

As usual, I'm joining forces with longdistanceloving for a Friday post. This week the focus is on sunnies. I have several pair in constant rotation, but my favorite at the moment are these ones I purchased last summer. 

I have a horrible habit of throwing my sunglasses in my bag without a case, resulting in scratches! I need to get better at protecting them! These ones have been spared so far.

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

How to Style Lace

Yellow is often a color I shy away from. Being fair-skinned, I usually find most yellow tones wash me out. With a bit of a (fake) tan, yellow becomes much more friendly! Plus, I found the top for $5 so if it didn't work not, not much harm done.

Details

Lace shirt: H&M

Button-up shirt: American Eagle Outfitters

Necklace: Forever 21

Jeans: Joe's Jeans

Shoes: Miz Mooz

Lace can be tricky. It seems to be everywhere this season, but I find it's easy to cross the line between being feminine versus cheap-looking when trying to style lace. I prefer to keep covered up when donning lace to avoid looking like I forgot to change out of my nightie.

It also helps to pair lace with more masculine pieces such as this army inspired shirt or chambray.

How do you like to style lace for summer?

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Cherry Blast

Our last night in Jamaica was spent at the Mexican restaurant, where I loaded up on their amazing guacamole. Wearing such a fitted dress probably wasn't a great idea! However, it was stretchy and comfortable and I was able to keep my food baby under control.

Details

Dress/tunic (it was really short!): Joe Fresh

Belt: RW&Co

Necklace: Gift

Shoes: Old Navy

Bracelet: Boutique in St. John's 

Bag: Coach

Some of the food highlights from Jamaica (besides the guac) were jerk everything (chicken, pork, fish), every kind of cheese you can imagine (I had gouda with each meal - not kidding), coconut ice cream, the best cheeseburger ever at the late night snack place, mango carrot juice every morning, and delicious wedding cake.

Cherry Blast

2 oz vodka

2 oz cranberry juice

4 oz soda water

Mix and serve in a tall glass on ice

I'm just realizing this drink doesn't even have cherry in it!

XOXO

Glitterary Girl