Wednesday, October 31, 2012

We Scared the Scarecrows

What happens when you're a little late (ok... a few weeks late) for a scarecrow festival?

You see no scarecrows.

 
Details:
Vest: Zara Kids (San Francisco)
Shirt: Gap (Halifax)
Jeans: Guess (Moments, Truro)
Boots: Gap Factory (Halifax)
Hat: Joe Fresh Kids (Halifax)
Bag: Danier: (Halifax)
Sunnies: D&G (Sunglass Hut, Dartmouth)
Necklace: American Eagle Outfitters (Halifax)
Bracelets: Forever 21, The Black Market, Macy's


The lack of scarecrows didn't stop me and my friends from having a great time in Mahone Bay, a sweet little town on the south shore of Nova Scotia. We had lunch, wandered through some lovely shops, and then had delicious hot drinks at The Tea Brewery (yummy chai latte).


In the spirit of Halloween, I attempted a candy corn sponge manicure. When I finished, I discovered I reversed the proper order of orange and yellow. Oops.

Hope everyone has a safe and spooky Halloween!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Monday, October 29, 2012

Cable Car

Say "San Francisco" and the image that appears in the heads of many people is the iconic mode of transportation - the cable car.

When the driver shouted out, "It's not like the movies people - this thing doesn't ride smoothly," he was accurate. It lurches and jolts and careens around corners with the elegance of a rolling rhinoceros. White knuckle ride indeed, especially when you're hanging off the side (you knew I would).


Details:
Tunic: Dynamite (Halifax)
Leggings: Urban Behaviour (Dartmouth)
Circle Scarf: American Apparel (Halifax)
Boots: Call it Spring (Halifax)
Sunnies: Coach (South Portland)
Bag: Coach (Toronto)
Watch: Guess (Vancouver)

Thanks Target, for opening the day before we arrived.


At six bucks a ride and full of tourists, I doubt many locals use them to get around. It was a great experience and more like a theme park ride than I expected!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Sunday, October 28, 2012

Glymm October 2012

I came home from San Francisco to find something fun in the mailbox!



Pretty pink bags and two pink ribbons for Breast Cancer Awareness Month!

Thanks Glymm, for making this month's bag a good one! I was beginning to doubt you after the last two...



First, was a sample size of Johnsons' Baby Oil to promote a Glymm Mama bag they are going to launch soon. Not sure if it is a monthly service or just one special bag. This will probably get thrown in my bag of baby shower gifts, since my friends are constantly procreating.



Next was a duo of face products from a line Glymm has featured before - Cyberderm. This time we received a sample of H2O Hydration and Every Morning Sun Whip. I tried them, and they were fine but nothing special. I've never understood the concept of having separate day creams/sunscreens. Why not have the sunscreen in the cream so you can skip a step?

The sample of Miss Jessie's Baby Buttercreme smells so good.... I love foodie smells! I tried this on my hair the other night. I wasn't exactly sure of the instructions - it said apply a nickel sized amount to soften crunchy curls. I assumed they meant to apply it when hair was wet from the shower... so I did. My curls turned out soft and not frizzy at all! I also used some today to tame my slept-on dry curls and it made them look much more presentable (but I still wore a hat).



Last was a sample of Lash Card mascara shields and the full-sized Femme Couture Lightning Lash mascara. Can you believe that I opened a new Maybelline mascara HOURS before I got this in the mail? So, I won't try the mascara until my current one runs out. Actually, I always end up throwing out mascara at the six month mark before using it up. I haven't tried the lash card yet but I will soon. It helps prevent mascara from smudging. I never use mascara on my bottom lashes for this reason, so maybe this will be a miracle worker for me.

Overall, I was impressed this month. Thanks Glymm for bringing back the product card and including a full-sized make-up sample. I'm going to place an order at Glymm soon to use up my loyalty points. Has anyone tried Butter London nail polish?

If you'd like to join Glymm, you can use my link: http://www.glymm.com/share/jennifermerlin

XOXO
Glitterary Girl








Friday, October 26, 2012

Table for Ten?

How hard is it to get a table for ten on a Friday night in a busy city?

Try almost impossible.

Here's the first of my San Francisco outfit posts!

 
Details:
Dress: Forever 21 (Las Vegas)
Shoes: Le Chateau (Halifax)
Belt: Dynamite (Halifax)
Jacket: Danier (Halifax)
Earrings: Gap (Las Vegas)
Bracelets: Forever 21 (San Francisco)
 
 
Thanks to our amazing concierge, we finally landed a spot at Sears Fine Foods (started in 1938), where I had an excellent California Club sandwich (the California addition was avocado).
 
 
 
A big congrats is going out to longdistanceloving for her 100th Friday's Fancies link-up. I hope my casual party attire is appropriate for the big celebration! I've "met" a lot of amazing bloggers from being involved in the link-ups.
 
XOXO
Glitterary Girl
 
 
 
 
 

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Heart Heart Heart is so Jetlagged

Greetings from time zone confusion!

San Francisco was so much fun! I can't wait to share some photos and escapades on the blog soon... just give me a few days to get organized. The four hour time difference is brutal to adjust to.

Here's a cozy look from the day before I left on vacation.



Details:
Sweater: American Eagle Outfitters (Halifax)
Tank: Garage (Vancouver)
Circle Scarf: American Apparel (Vancouver)
Jeans: Aeropostale (Halifax)
Shoes: Aldo (Halifax)
Necklace: Gift
Earrings: Gift (What on Earth, Dartmouth)
 
I love elephant jewelry. Owls too.

 
One thing I was not impressed with on my vacation was my nails. I didn't take any photos because they were gross.... I used those Sally Hansen nail polish strips. I saved them especially for vacation, so I wouldn't have to worry about changing polish. They were a flaking mess by day four and I had to make an emergency trip to Target, where I picked up a pretty plum color. I was so sad, because I have friends who've used them and said they worked really well. Did I do something wrong? I followed the directions and they took over an hour to put on, so it's not like I rushed...
 
I'm sad that my holiday is done, but happy to be back to blogging and seeing all of your inspiring fall outfits.
 
XOXO
Glitterary Girl


Sunday, October 14, 2012

Emerald and Black

I love pairing a really bright color with black, which is the ultimate way to make a vivid shade POP.

 
Details:
Shirt: Suzy Shier (Truro)
Skirt: Dynamite (Halifax)
Tights: old and unknown
Belt and necklace: Forever 21 (LA and South Portland)
Watch: Roots (ancient....)
Headband: H&M (Toronto)
Earrings: Gap (Las Vegas)
Shoes: Le Chateau (Halifax)


Rant of the day: My tights constantly migrate down around my ankles. The lighting in this shot is doing a good job of hiding the bunching, but it's there. Does anyone have any recommendations for tights that stay UP? It's annoying to do that awkward "squat and yank" all the time. You know the move, and it's impossible to be discreet about it.

You won't be seeing any blog posts from me for about a week, because.... I'M GOING TO SAN FRANCISCO! I'll have lots of fun posts to share when I get home.... and hopefully the shopping will be stellar.

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Friday, October 12, 2012

Harvest Shades

Yes, I complain about the colder temperatures, but there is a piece of me that truly enjoys fall. I think most of it has to do with layering.... but I suppose the leaves are pretty too.

The trees here aren't quite at their peak glory yet, but I couldn't miss the chance to link up with longdistanceloving for a fall leaves theme post.


Details:
Denim shirt: Mavi (Margolians, Truro)
White tee: Abercrombie and Fitch (NYC)
Tank: Forever 21 (LA)
Scarf and booties: Gap (Halifax)
Jeans: American Eagle (Halifax)
Bracelet: Joe Fresh (Halifax)
Sunnies: Guess (TJ Maxx, South Portland)


Hope you're enjoying your fall!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Tuesday, October 09, 2012

Airport Antics

What to do when you're waiting for friends, but their plane is late? Take an outfit photo! Isn't that the obvious answer?

 
 
Such a cute backdrop with the town clock and Citadel Hill. Why did they have to go and put a luggage conveyor in front of it?
 
 
Details:
Jacket: Danier (Halifax)
Blouse: Joe Fresh (Tantallon)
Jeans: 7 For all Mankind (NYC)
Bag: Coach (Las Vegas)
Scarf: Mexx (Dartmouth)
Shoes: Miz Mooz (Town Shoes, TO)
Earrings: Gift
 
Does anyone else get excited being at an airport? I was happy to see that Halifax finally put a Starbucks on both sides of security. In six days I'll be at the airport again... to get on a plane! Yay!
 
XOXO
Glitterary Girl

 



Sunday, October 07, 2012

Novel-Tea: Part 14

I finally read another book that I've been meaning to read for years: Snow Flower and the Secret Fan by Lisa See. There's something about reading a book that immerses you in another culture that's totally fascinating.

Source

Lily is a young girl growing up in rural China, back when foot binding was a normal thing to do. I had this naive idea that foot binding was just wearing really small shoes so they suffocated the feet to the point where they just didn't have room to grow. Not so much. Brutal practice. Don't Google it (sorry Jenn, I know you warned me).

I highly recommend this book, especially if you liked Memoirs of a Geisha or other books that look at historical cultural issues but also have amazing character development.



Organic Persian Apple by DAVIDsTEA reminds me of an apple cider without the spice. It's one if the new teas from their fall line. I tried it because I love Big Apple so much... and I still like Big Apple more.


Warning: Yes there are pistachios in the tea and they look very enticing sitting in the bottom of your steeper when you've drained the tea. Don't eat them. Trust me. They've absorbed a lot of green tea and you will spit them out.

You have no idea how excited I am for San Francisco! We leave in nine days, and I am just bursting to go shopping. I have a huge reasonable list of items to look for saved in my phone and a new LBD is near the top. I found this one on-line from bebe:

Source

Sorry it's so small.... when I tried to make the picture bigger, it was all grainy. Trust me, it's super cute. It's actually on sale now, and I bet it will be gone before I get my hands on it. There are only two left on the website. Sigh.

Hope all my Canadian readers are having a great Thanksgiving weekend!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl




Friday, October 05, 2012

Shades of Grey

Instead of Fifty Shades of Grey (which I haven't read, by the way), I'll show you four or five.

Longdistanceloving asked us to create a monochromatic inspired outfit. Braving the rain and wind, I recruited my loyal friend Joey and we went behind the train station (sounds sketchy, eh?).


 Details:
Top: Lucky Brand (Toronto)
Skirt: Gap (Halifax)
Boots: Call it Spring (Halifax)
Socks: old and unknown
Bracelet: random shop in St John's
Scarf: Le Chateau (Halifax)
Hat: Element (the late Margolians, Truro)




Before heading out for the blustery photo session, we enjoyed some yummy food and hot drinks at Jimolly's, a fantastic cafe owned by a few of my childhood friends. Check it out on Inglis Street in Truro, Nova Scotia. I had a London Fog and it tasted like hot vanilla ice cream.... soooo good. They serve baked goods from Brookfield Bakery as well. Try the whoopie pies - they were always my choice when raiding the bakery after hours as a kid (it didn't happen often- wink, wink).




XOXO
Glitterary Girl



Tuesday, October 02, 2012

Glymm September 2012

Lack of enthusiasm. That sums it up for my Glymm this month.

I still like the makeup bags. They come in handy when I have little accidents like dropping my current makeup bag from a five foot height and splitting the seam. That was yesterday.... I shattered my MAC Club eyeshadow in said act of clumsiness. Not impressed.



BENTA BERRY: Super Moisturizing Face Cream for Girls

This is the second month in a row for a Bentaberry face cream sample. I haven't tried the one from last month yet.

EVOLVh UltraShine Moisture Shampoo and Conditioner

I was impressed at the size of these samples! They smell very fresh, and I like these sizes for traveling. I'm saving them for a holiday.

LA Fresh Waterproof Makeup Remover Wipes

I loved the nail polish remover pads from this brand, so I hope I'm just as impressed with the makeup remover. Again, great for traveling.

Villainess Soaps: Whipped Body Cream Dulces En Fuego

This smells delicious. I love foody smells, especially ones that remind me of Christmas. The cream is very smooth to apply and a little goes a long way.



Now that I'm writing about the products, I feel a bit more excited about them. There's nothing wrong with the samples this month, but I am so much happier when there's make-up involved!

If I'm not impressed with October's bag, I might give another service a try. I REALLY liked Glymm at first, so I'm hoping they'll have a comeback soon.

Glymm is $12 per month and you can use this link to order yours: https://www.glymm.com/share/jennifermerlin

XOXO
Glitterary Girl