Event Re-Caps: "My Fat Little Rule Book" Pre-Launch Party & Converse S/S 2012 Preview

#MeetJacquie

Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the pre-launch party for local author Jacquie Somerville's upcoming book, "My Fat Little Rule Book." The event was a fabulous affair, held in a gorgeous two-storey penthouse suite at the Hotel Georgia, where we downed cocktails and noshed on a delicious spread of food. Jacquie also read us some excerpts from "My Fat Little Rule Book" - a story about how a fashionista finally reconciles with being a foodie. This is definitely a girl after my own heart.

"My Fat Little Rule Book" will be available in ebook form soon, with a print copy to follow not long after. Jacquie's work is incredibly candid and funny, and I personally can't wait to read the whole thing.

Many thanks to Jacquie and Brendan Bailey PR for the invite, and Sheila for playing photographer!

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Converse Spring/Summer 2012 Preview

Yesterday, I also got to preview Converse's new designs for Spring/Summer 2012. Since my classic black and white Chuck Taylor All Stars are summertime staples, I was super excited to see what the brand has planned for the upcoming seasons.

The event was held at The Warehouse Studio in Gastown, where we were first offered glasses of the new #MBellini, a cocktail made with Molsen beer. I don't drink beer because I can't stand the taste but I really liked it in this alternative form. Yum!

Next, we were given a "tour" of Converse's Spring/Summer 2012 Collection (thanks Chris!). You can expect to see updates to the classic Jack Purcells and Chucks in seasonal colours and on-trend fabrics, as well as cool collaborations with DC Comics (my personal fave), Gorillaz, John Varvatos, and Marimekko. There are also some amazing boat shoes (think Sperrys but Converse-style) and lightweight summer styles to look forward to.

Thanks so much to Micki Benedetti for inviting me to this preview, and if you see any shoes you like (those amazing purple ones, for example), you should start to see them in stores soon!

At The Pier

In trying to make the most of the amazing weather we had this past weekend, I happily ventured over to the North Shore for a day of adventuring (though to be fair, my version of "adventuring" mainly involves eating gourmet sandwiches and Pinkberry). Funny how a little bit of sunshine seems to instantly brighten everyone's moods.

As for my casual weekend outfit, it seemed only appropriate to don a more nautical-inspired look for some time spent by the the water. You'll just have to trust me since I don't have any pictures, but the buttons on this sweater have the cutest little anchors engraved on them!

Sweater: Club Monaco / Tank Top: TNA (Aritzia) / Jeggings: Paige Premium Denim (similar)

Flats: Bloch (in cream/black) / Scarf: Singapore / Bangles: Lulu Frost for J. Crew

güd from Burt's Bees

I've been a fan of Burt's Bees for years and have even featured a few of their products on my blog (see my reviews of their Pore Refining Scrub and Tinted Lip Balm) so I was excited to hear about the recent launch of their new line, güd.

The full collection includes all the bath and body products you can think of (shampoo, conditioner, body wash, body butter, body lotion, body mist, foaming hand wash, and hand cream) in 4 different scents: Floral Cherrynova, Orange Petalooza, Vanilla Flame, and Pearanormal Activity.

I was sent a sampling of all 4 scents to try out and here are my thoughts...

Floral Cherrynova: Cherry Blossom & Almond Milk. A very floral scent, quite feminine and definitely smells like cherry blossoms. My least favourite but that's because I don't tend to like florals.

Orange Petalooza: Blood Orange Flower. My favourite! Smells like a zingy citrus, very refreshing and crisp.

Vanilla Flame: Vanilla & Rice Milk. I always love vanilla scents and this one is warm and sweet. In my opinion, it's not as special as some of the other scents in this collection, but still very nice.

Pearanormal Activity: Pear & Acai Berry. Not quite a full-on pear scent due to the acai berry but very fruity and energizing. This is my second favourite after Orange Petalooza.

As you can see, there is definitely a scent to suit all tastes and what I love is how long-lasting they are. After slathering on the body lotion, for example, I can still smell it hours later. Furthermore, none of the products are tested on animals and contain no parabens, phthalates, or petrochemicals.

Unfortunately the line only seems to be available in the US right now but hopefully it will make its way to Canada (and internationally) soon.

RE-CAP: #VanBloggerSale

Dress: Dil|ema (Aritzia) / Vest: Club Monaco / Boots: Topshop / Tights: Primark

Necklace: House of Harlow 1960 (here) / Ring: Michael Kors (here)

The much-anticipated Vancouver Fashion Blogger Clothing Sale was this past Saturday! I had a ton of fun meeting all the shoppers (there are so many fashion-forward people here in Vancouver), checking out what the other girls were selling, and manning my own booth with the lovely Randa.

Not gonna lie, when I arrived at The Waldorf to set up and saw that there was a already a line-up to get in, I started to get pretty anxious. But it seemed like everything went off without a hitch!

Kudos to Cee and Alicia for organizing the whole thing - you girls are superstars! And major thanks to everyone who came out to the event!

P.S. Thanks to Leonie for taking my outfit photos. Some photos also via Randa, Monika and Cee's husband, Ian.

A Tuxedo Blazer

Despite how versatile this cropped tuxedo-style blazer seemed in the store (it's black and white... seriously, what doesn't go with those two colours?), I'd been having the hardest time figuring out how to style it. It finally occurred to me to try pairing this as-yet-unworn blazer with the similarly as-yet-unworn chain print dress (we all know how much I love chain print) that's been sitting in my closet for months just waiting to be worn. Faith in this blazer's possibilities has now been renewed - phew!

Dress: ASOS / Blazer: Zara / Tights: Hue (here) / Cuff: Soo Ihn Kim (here) / Shoes: Nine West

A Little Bit of Leopard

A girl can never have too much leopard print, right? Which is why this new leopard print piece from OASAP makes the perfect addition to my wardrobe - especially since it can be easily dressed up or down.

For those of you who haven't heard of OASAP, it's a great place to find high street fashions at amazing prices. This mini dress (which I'm wearing as a top) is only $25 with free worldwide shipping. Plus all new shoppers get a 25% discount coupon for signing up as a "new customer."

Dress (worn as top): c/o OASAP / Skirt: T. Babaton (Aritzia) / Heels: Steve Madden (in black)
Wallet: Miu Miu / Necklace: House of Harlow 1960 (here) / Bangle: Lulu Frost for J. Crew
Watch: Michael Kors (here)

And while we're on the topic of leopard print, have you seen my tutorial for leopard print nails? I really should do those again... they were super cute!

Work Wear

I recently realized that even though most of my time is spent at work, I rarely show my work outfits here on my blog. I figured I'd give you guys a peek into my everyday work wardrobe since I always find it interesting to see how people style their office attire.

My office is quite casual for a law firm so we typically don't wear suits unless we're going to court or meeting clients. I still like to dress up a bit though, so my usual outfits consist of silk blouses and pencil skirts. I'm also a huge fan of well-tailored dress pants like these navy wool ones from Theory. And can I just say how excited I am that J. Crew will be opening in Vancouver soon? No more dealing with missed deliveries for me!

Blouse: J. Crew / Pants: Theory (similar in black) / Belt: J. Crew / Shoes: Aldo

Vancouver Fashion Blogger Clothing Sale

Vancouverites: mark your calendars for March 17 - the first ever Vancouver Fashion Blogger Clothing Sale! Come out for a fun afternoon of shopping your favourite bloggers' closet, listening to music, and indulging in some sweet treats courtesy of Cakelicious.

Admission is $2 to cover the cost of the event location, with all additional proceeds going to Dress For Success Vancouver. The first 50 people to arrive to the sale will receive a unique gift bag full of tons of swag from cool people like: Establishment, Barre Fitness, Bfrend, LOVE+MARK'D, I See Noise, Girl's Next Best Friend, Wolf Circus Jewelry, Social Experiment, Jennifer Williams Photography, and more!

Check out the Facebook Event Page for more info. I can't wait to meet you all!!