Tuesday, May 31, 2011

tiaraicondeja porté

J'ai deja porté (or already wore in my mediocre French) this dress a few times on this blog (here, here and here) and many more times uncaptured by film.  Heck I even wore this dress as my good luck charm when I tried to go blonde 2 weeks ago (clearly that didn't turn out so well!)

It's my go-to piece, what I throw on when I'm in a hurry but still want to look cute.  And the best part about this white lacy dress? It was free! Gifted to me at a clothing swap party I hosted back in October, I love this dress as if it cost me oodles of cash.  Perfect with bare legs and cute shoes in the summer or thick tights and a blazer in the colder months, it's timeless, confortable and easy to style, just the way I like it!



Pssst...did anyone notice I actually styled my hair today? Don't get used to it, it'll be back to its state of disarray before you know it! :)



Mama Sita (grey), Marley (orange) and I enjoying the view and warmth from the balcony

My funky nails were inspired by a 17 year old at work who was rocking bright yellow nail polish with one hot pink nail on each hand.  Gotta love youthful creativity!

Dress- Gifted; Belt- Leeds, UK (can't remember the store name); Heels- Walmart; Ring- Zellers; Nail Polish- Red Hot Tamale by Revlon and Habit by L.A. Girl Addict (purple)
What's your deja porté piece of clothing?

Sunday, May 29, 2011

tiaraiconscarf sunday {1}

Besides owning a lot of nail polish (es?) and dresses, I am also the proud owner of a vast scarf collection.  Mostly thrifted or bought from street vendors in Europe, I thought it would be fun to add a Scarf Sunday feature so that I can get more use out of them.  Great for layering or adding a pop of colour to any outfit, they keep you warm in the winter and looking stylish in the summer months (although best to switch from fleece to silk to avoid severe sweating!)

These pictures were taken along the Ottawa River, near Westboro beach, a 30 minute walk from my place.  As much as I love living in the city, it's good to take a break and spend time with nature, listening to the water, enjoying the view and taking a break from technology.  Unfortunately my lovely walk was cut short due to a swarm of angry bugs headed my way but hey that's nature (and the reason why I'm not a fan of camping!)










Shirt & Scarf- Thrifted; Shorts- Old Navy; Flats- Payless Shoes; Tights- GAP; Earrings- Roadtrip; Rings- Zellers; Nail Polish- Blue Lagoon by Revlon

Saturday, May 28, 2011

tiaraiconsugary sweet

The beautiful, intelligent and stylish Dimi of Little Witches/Tiny Wizards awarded me with the Irresistibly Sweet blog award, which is appropriate because I have a huge sweet tooth (plus I like to think I'm a sweet person too!)  So without further adieu, here are 7 facts you didn't even know you wanted to know about me! :)



1.  I find it very difficult to wake up during the week so I set my alarm early so I can snooze a good 4-5 times before waking up (which probably is more disruptful to my sleep but that's how I roll!)
 2.  I love buying gifts for other people and put effort and consideration into what they like.  I particularly love buying "just because gifts" for the boy and my close friends. This Christmas I'm thinking homemade gifts for everyone (so I hope you like soap, frames and chocolate!)


3.  I am not one of those girls who wakes up with perfect hair and a perky smile.  I am grumpy, with bed head, dark circles under my eyes and drool on my pillow.  I would love to meet someone who wakes up looking like the girls in movies after a sexy sleepover cuz it sure ain't me!
 4.  I do not know how to apply makeup so the most you'll see me wearing is a dap of mascara, and some coloured lip gloss (and maybe a bit of eye liner on a good day!)

5.  Even though I have a Blackberry, I refuse to have my e-mails forwarded to it.  I  don't like the idea of being that accessible, because I know that if I receive a work e-mail after my 8-4 shift I would probably answer it and I need some professional boundaries!
 6.  That being said, I am OCD about checking my e-mails (on my computer and during work hours that is!) My perfect day at work would be receiving oodles of e-mails and spending the day responding to them.  At the end of each day I actually count how many e-mails I sent to measure my productivity (I told you I was a bit OCD!)
7.  I usually pick out my outfit the night before because on the days when I don't (after having snoozed for a good 40-50 minutes), I look like a hot mess and I always have a better day when I like what I'm wearing!
Floral Dress- Thrifted; Black Dress (worn underneath)- Smart Set; Black Vest- Suzy Shier; Heels- Walmart; Ring- H&M; Nail Polish- Lightning by L.A. Colours

Have a great weekend everyone and stay sweet!

Friday, May 27, 2011

tiaraiconphotoshoots & new features

TGIF everyone! I'm glad the crassness of my last blog post didn't offend anymore- as you can tell by today's title, my creativity has dried up for the week!

I'm excited to share with you the results of the springtime photoshoot I styled a few weeks ago for Ef Magazine.  Here are my favourite shots, the models are all wearing thrifted or vintage clothing, paired with pieces from thier own closets (to see all the photos see here and here). 

Drinks at Ei8teen

Shopping for flowers in the Byward Market

Cobblestreets in downtown Ottawa

Who says you can't be stylish when it rains?

Lunch at trendy restaurant Play

A great example of how to colour block

The photoshoot team (I'm in the floral dress)


I've been making a few changes to my blog in hopes of making it easier to navigate.  On the right side there are 4 pictures of me wearing a top made of tinfoil (for readers who have been following my blog since the beginning, you may remember that these used to be my blog header).  If you click on these photos they will direct you to a different feature.

Contact me- here you will my profile information and e-mail address (send me a line, I'd love to hear from you!)

Outfits- this section was more for me so I can quickly refer back to previous outfits but if you're interested in seeing my monthly round-up, this is the place to be. I have my outfits from Jan-present.

Featured on- here I have links to photoshoots I've styled, blog posts I've written and interviews I've done

Twitter- this of course brings you to my twitter page for all you tweeting fashionistas out there!

I'm hoping to change my blog header around although I'm technically challenged so this could take a while!  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  I hope everyone has a great weekend and I'll be back tomorrow with an OOTD.

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

tiaraiconforget blue balls- i've got red balls!

Sometimes I have to laugh about my creative process (or lack there of) in coming up with blog post titles.  The boy was enthused to help out and came up with such delightful suggestions as "balltastic", "big balls" and "sunny with a chance of red balls" (re-worked from the kid's movie Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs)

I guess I am an adult and this is technically a grownup fashion blog but I still feel slightly creepy with my title choice (although my good friends know that I have a crude sense of humour and this title would be considered G rated in my books!)  Bear with me folks, it's been a looong day!

Enough talk about balls, and on to fashion (see there really are big red balls, I'm not that pervy!)






Blouse, Skirt & Necklace- Thrifted; Wedges- Payless Shoes; Flower Bracelet- F21; White Bracelet- Gifted; Nail Polish- Lightning by L.A. Colors

Tuesday, May 24, 2011

tiaraiconalpha soul cafe


I am a hard core foodie.  I love the experience of eating a good meal (especially when someone else makes it!) and satisfying my cravings.  I’m not a good cook by any stretch of the imagination but I also don’t enjoy cooking so the majority of my meals are spent at restaurants.  Expensive and unhealthy =sometimes, delicious and easy =yes.  As a (picky) vegetarian I am limited to which restaurants I can eat at so when I find a new joint with yummy food and a nice ambience I am hooked.  Yesterday I ate lunch at a new restaurant in my neck of the woods called Alpha Soul Café.  Judging by the restaurant’s name, I assumed it was going to serve soul food but I was pleasantly surprised by the chic atmosphere (bright purple exterior façade and fresh flowers, personable photographs and elegant furniture on the interior) and the food was perfect- simple yet delicious.  I had a grilled eggplant sandwich with chickpea couscous; the boy had a ham & gruyere sandwich with greek orzo salad and we both had homemade lemon zest iced tea to drink (I gobbled the food up so quickly I forgot to take pictures!) It was a wonderful culinary experience and we will definitely be back, especially considering it is the only restaurant in our neighborhood that is open past 10 p.m. (perfect for those late night munchies and wine cravings!)

This is a fashion blog after all, so I present to you my outfit of choice while dining at the Alpha Soul Café.  My bright clothing matched the restaurants’ décor and it was warm enough to wear this striped blouse I got while thrifting for under $2.  These photos were taken by a mural outside one of my favourite local gift boutiques, Heavens to Betsey but I’ll save that rambling for another day...





Pants- H&M (worn here); Blouse- Thrifted (worn here); Heels- Suzy Shier; Sunglasses- Aldo; Belt- Thrifted; Ring- Zellers


Are you a foodie? Do you prefer to cook or eat out?

Monday, May 23, 2011

tiaraiconornamental sunshine

Don't you just love finding a new place to explore?  On Saturday I was on my way to Ottawa's annual Tulip Festival when I stumbled across a beautiful oasis called the Ornamental Gardens.  The flowers were in bloom and a sense of tranquility washed over me as I strolled through the gardens.  Only a hop, skip and a jump away from my condo, the Ornamental Gardens will be a great place to spend sunny summer afternoons with a picnic lunch, an interesting book and good friends.








Dress- Zara (worn here and here) ; Wedges- Steve Madden; Purse, Sunglasses & Bracelet- Aldo; Belt- Thrifted

Saturday, May 21, 2011

tiaraiconsilver nail polish

I've been a bit frazzled lately having worked two 12 hour days in a row (I don't know how the lawyers and doctors do it!) on lack of sleep and less than inspirational work outfits.  For work on Friday I decided to wear my cream coloured Anthropologie blouse (worn here) and pair it with pin striped trousers and some faux pearls.  At the start of my day my hair was down and straightened but by the time I left the office at 8 p.m. it was pulled up in a subdued Pebbles type clip.

A long day of work called for another underground parking lot photoshoot but this time I was having car guilt.  I'm not what you would call a great parker (even my drive-in park jobs turn out uneven) so when I had to park on the side of the road I did so with caution.  Not enough caution apparently because as I was pulling close to the curb I heard a strange crunching sound.  As I was driving our brand new car I winced and got out of the car.  I didn't see anything so I thought nothing of it.  I mentioned the sound to the boy when I got home and this was one time where patience was not his virtue.  We rushed down to the parking lot and sure enough I had tore up (teensy) parts of the wheel's rim. 

Me: "Oh well I don't see the big deal, it's not like I scratched the car's paint job, I'll just paint over the rim's damages with my silver nail polish"

The Boy: " You absolutely will not.  Do you know how much this will ruin the car's re-sale value? It will cost at least $500 to fix!"

Me: "Fine.  In a few years, when you decide to sell the car, come find me wherever I am (see what I did there?) and I will give you the $500 for the stupid scratch on the rim!!!" (cue me storming dramatically out of the room)

Author's Note: Do not get between a man and his expensive car, not even with your genius DIY nail polish remedy...


Bracelet- Le Chateau; Watch-Fossil; Nail Polish- Chinchilly by Essie


Blouse- Anthropologie; Trousers- Smart Set; Flats- Payless Shoes; Necklace-The Bay; Earrings- Roots