Christmas List 2011

I have a few things I'm alright at...and gifting is one of them.  I love it, I know some people feel overwhelmed by it, (the giving and receiving) but not me!  I do not shop last minute, in fact the last few years have had all my Christmas shopping done before December 1.  I think about my purchases and do not, I repeat, do not.. wait for a sale.  If I pass a sale though...I take advantage of it!  My list is made, and after repeat gifting the same game to a cousin...I keep my list and don't re-buy the same thing.  Very embarrassing.  Sooooo here is a few of my favourite gifts this year.  Some are from my wish list and some I have ready to be wrapped...some I dream about!  Hope this inspires you to start early!

1.  Kindle...this is not an iPad, its an e-reader and you cannot read your iPad in the sun.  This is a great gift for anyone who likes to read and anyone who likes to travel.  It comes now in a neat Fire which is a cheaper version of the iPad but nonetheless, a neat electronic at a reasonable price: $199

2. Tiffany & Co....there is nothing from a blue box that a woman doesn't appreciate getting.  Make the trip downtown and who knows where it would lead!  I love most of their collection, these are a few favourites..

Return to Tiffany Bead Bracelet $275
http://www.tiffany.ca/Shopping/Item.aspx?fromGrid=1&sku=26659531&mcat=148204&cid=288158&search_params=s+5-p+3-c+288158-r+501287458-x+-n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+

Elsa Peretti Colour by the Yard Bracelet $215
http://www.tiffany.ca/Shopping/Item.aspx?fromGrid=1&sku=27906494&mcat=148204&cid=288158&search_params=s+5-p+3-c+288158-r+501287458-x+-n+6-ri+-ni+0-t+


3. Apple....love me some apple products.  I am all about the seamless integration this company has given me.  $99

$499 Ipad.  Love em.

4. Ugg...When I first saw Brittany Spears types walking down LA streets with these on I was not on board.  But like capri pants they have stuck around and are actually really warm and pretty comfortable!


Clovis $199
http://www.onlineshoes.com/womens-ugg-australia-clovis-espresso-p_id226584

Oversized beanie $65...awesome in cream.
http://shop.nordstrom.com/S/ugg-australia-cardy-oversized-beanie/3189914?origin=category&resultback=750

5. Love skin care...and love getting what I actually use.

Miracle worker gift set $110

Purity face wash $40

Benefit 'I'm glam therefore I am' gift set $36

6.  Canucks...power play packs for $288.  Any fan would love em.
http://canucks.nhl.com/club/page.htm?id=73360



7.  Nike+ Sportwatch Tom Tom running watch $199  The only thing this doesn't do is music...but otherwise is pretty sweet.

8.  Swatch.  $70.  There is not an accessory I don't love and I spent a substantial time looking at these this summer.  It ended ugly with my 2 year old spilling some ice on the floor and me running out of the store...but nonetheless...a cool watch.  I like it in plum, rose or sky.

http://www.swatch.com/zz_en/watches/fw2011_newgent.product-SUOR703.html


9.  Aritzia...I hate their bag in the lockbox policy in their change room but otherwise this store is a source of some fun stylish pieces for us vancouverites (or valley girls with cars...bridge and tunnel people...everyone!)

Bromley Military coast $350.  I like the camel colour but all the colours are great.

Wilfred Flaubert Sweater $95...this is a great basic to have in your wardrobe.

10.  Lululemon...love it!  Great quality, these items are worth spending on.

Stride Jacket $128

Layer! T-back racer $42

If January brings a big work out regime...
Triumphant tote $118

Good luck!

October: I found a use for my hunters. So bought another pair.

Well, I have been waiting for my Little Chic website to be up and running so haven't been blogging much photography lately..I have tons to catch up on!  Things seem to be going really well and honestly have been a little overwhelmed this week.  I cannot edit at home with my little guy without his head in-between me and my lap top.  I even tried turning on the new cars movie...which he seems to like but not enough to leave me to do anything.  Fun times with a toddler!  So have set myself a schedule thats a little more manageable and am pretty much booked up till the end of the year!  Yay!

Anyhow, I bought some super cute things last month.  I had to wait a whole month to blog them because I literally spent my budget within the first week of the month.  Good thing Christmas is coming and I'm hanging in the toy aisle for the next month!

Hunters - I have a pair in a chalky black colour that are the shorties I got last year.  I found a great new use for these - I wear them on my fall shoots!  So of course I needed a pair in blue.  $125.

Then while I was at it, these cute socks go in there so nicely. $40

Jeans.  Ultimate weakness.  These are awesome.  $160 with some coupons I had for piper lime.  But they are on sale now!

I wanted a new dress for our nights out in Vegas.  Love this one and it goes with the brown sweater I bought the month before.  $175  They don't have the one I got online, its actually blue with beige flowers.  I've worn it a few times already!

Total = $500

Not horrible but still not on budget :( Also I bought tights and a belt to go with the dress. :)

www.piperlime.com
http://aritzia.com/

September | me on a budget!

I love clothes.  I love new ones, I love my old favourites.  Since being home with my kiddo I've been pretty free with my spending and now its crunch time.  I gotta live within my budget and here it is.  $400 per month for my stuff.  I've decided in order to try and keep myself accountable (aside from the cashola being gone and a hefty visa bill) I'm going to blog about what I've bought...  I read in style magazine and they have a section for 'girl on a budget' or something like that.  Anyhow, this is my version.

So, once a month, I'll blog about my carefully made purchases.  Cuz I love love love new jeans.  And they get expensive.

1.  Audrey Coat -  $228

My big spend was this Audrey jacket from Lululemon.  Who doesn't love lulu!?!?!  I didn't need a new one but I love the cut of this one and with having a little kid to run after I actually don't need a super thick coat.  I got mine in black, but this grey is awesome.

Audrey

2.  Hudson Collin skinny jeans in grey wash -  $99

I love Hudson and I dunno why.  I got these at Nordstrom Rack on a Seattle trip for a steal.

Collin

3. Aritzia - Betsy blouse $50

I got this top for our family pictures.

4. Aritzia - Sweater  $98

This goes over top, but in the heather seche colour (brown)

Total: $475

overbudget.  boo me.  and, no this isn't all i bought.  but i'm working on it.  really.

Photography | sisters J & R

Ooooh how I've waited to blog about these two little girls.  These two finished off a very long day for me but were oh so cute I wished they were mine.  Love how their personality came out so quickly and how easy it was to fill my card with their sweet faces.  Lucky mom and dad are expecting #3 soon, so another gorgeous child to join the world soon!

Cooking: at the dirty apron

Ok, so I've waited to blog about this place because I had only been once, and didn't want to base my love for something on a one time experience.  This weekend I had the privilege of going for a 2nd time to the dirty apron cooking school in downtown vancouver.   The first time I went I did an Italian class where we learnt how to make pasta!  Why bother?  Cause it really is delicious.  Really.  Not gonna sugar coat it though, its a heck of a lot of work but I've done it twice since my class in April (which is a lot for a casual cook like me).  My 2nd trip was for a brunch class.  We made some super yum eggs benedict (fancy style sitting on a potato rosti) and french toast (also fancy with sauce).

Anyhow, back to the dirty apron.  The cooking school itself is top notch.  Fancy Wolf stoves and you get your own working area.  The ingredients are all measured out and prepped for you so you don't spend time doing much other than cracking eggs and chopping this and that.  You learn techniques that I would have otherwise not known existed.  The price isn't cheap, but christmas is coming and its a great opportunity for a girls night event as well.

http://www.dirtyapron.com/

Photography | Little M

Time is flying past me this year at a warp speed.  I feel like it was just yesterday that I met this little girl but it was nearly 2 months ago!  Wow, I could really have been quicker with these blog posts.  Oh well.  This little one was 4 months old at the time of our photo shoot and she was so happy and smiley.  Especially since it was getting close to the evening, I couldn't believe how happy she was.  What a little doll and you can tell she's got daddy wrapped around her finger already.

Cooking: with Gwyneth

I love to cook...but my love for it is pretty fickle.  I have to be in the right mood, have the right ingredients on hand and most of all, have a plan!  So, me and cooking tend to have a love/hate/necessity relationship.  I do enjoy buying stuff though and a new cookbook always gets me working away in the kitchen.  This particular one I have been using for about 6 months and its turned into a go - to for me.  It skips all red meat (fine for me, I don't really like them anyhow).  There is a great selection of pastas and veg too.  Definitely worth a browse, especially since the weather has turned and we are all starting to settle into fall.

This week I'm making sweet potato ravioli and tortilla soup.  Yum!

Photography | Little J

I have fun photographing 2 year olds, mostly cause that is what I know, and I know they are difficult.  But this little guy was not!  We just went on a little walk about through Elgin Heritage Park and he posed his signature pose.  What a cutie.  Here are a few of my favourites from our mini session.

Fashion: did someone say boots?

The weather is starting to change and its time for jeans!!!  Which means its also time for boots!!  I LOVE Frye.  They make a great quality boot that will last you for years.  I got my pair last year and wore them tons.  A great investment (literally) for the weather in Vancouver...from September to May... you are pretty safe in boots on any given day.  I got this pair in brown, called Veronica Slouch.  So comfy and wearable with anything.  Truly.  Not lying!

I also have my eye on this pair.... so cute!

Run | Photography: R & Lil P

Well my first running clinic in about 5 years at the Running Room is nearly done.  I have to say this is a great way to get ( & stay) in shape!  I have met some really great people which is also good cause I'm fairly new to this area.  We are finishing the clinic with a 10K next weekend, the Terry Fox run.   It will be good!    If you are considering running, I highly highly recommend joining a group like the Running room (clinics are cheap, and they add an extra day of training) or there are some others at different running stores.  Wednesday and Sunday are free training days so aside from your new runners...there isn't a high cost!  

This was the first shoot of my South Surrey day and how much fun is this family.  Seriously high high energy and they made it so easy!  This little boy was super curious and lil P was so pleasant!  What a sweetheart.  These aren't necessarily the most perfectly posed pictures but I think they capture some of the fun nature this family has.  I love it!

Photography: Baby E & Amazon Kindle

Ha! Well these two things have nothing to do with each other but this is a blog about all the things I love too.  :)  If you are considering getting an e-book...I highly highly recommend it!  I have had mine for about 6 months now.  I bought it because I always bring 4 or 5 books along with me on our vacation and didn't want to take up all the room in my suitcase anymore.  Why not just use the iPad?  Well the iPad has a glare and makes it nearly impossible to read outside.  I bought the kindle after reading many many reviews that the kobo was just not as good.  One drawback to the kindle is that you can only use a certain file type with it, meaning you can't buy books from anywhere but the Amazon store.  The selection is usually pretty good on Amazon  but I have a program I use to convert things I've bought from the Kobo store to the Kindle file type.  Problem solved!


This little guy was ALL smiles!  He was the last of my first marathon day and I was tired!  It was fabulous that he and his mom had so much energy because I really wasn't sure I had much left.  It was hot that day and I'd been shooting for 4 hours straight.  (ok..maybe that doesn't sound like much but I'm new!)

Love these dimples!