2015

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you all had a nice Christmas : ). I took a week and a half off from work and blogging and it was glorious! We all need a little break once in awhile and I thoroughly enjoyed relaxing, visiting with family and friends and sleeping in every day until 10:30 a.m. (yes I can still sleep like a teenager, please tell me I'm not the only one in their thirties who does this!) Besides wearing pajamas during my break, this outfit was my go-to holiday uniform - warm and festive ; ).

And now I'm back to the daily grind, like I'm sure most of you are. I'm not going to lie, I feel a little sad the holidays are over but I'm also looking forward to what 2015 will bring. I wish you all the best this year! Make it a good one ; )

wearing: sweater - LOFT, plaid shirt and jeans - Joe Fresh, 

purse - Forever 21, booties - Steve Madden, necklace - blogger sale, ring - ?

Stylist's Tip: Take your look from drab to fab by pairing a bold statement necklace with a collared shirt. Keep the rest of your outfit simple so that the necklace is the focus. And never be afraid to add a bold lip color, too!

Pumpkin-Inspired

This is the closest I get to dressing up for Halloween - in orange and black ; ) Don't get me wrong, I LOVE Halloween I just haven't had the time to put a costume together this year, unfortunately, but if anyone has any last minute, cheap and easy costume ideas (like maybe something that involves only a cardboard box and some scissors) let me know! Seriously.

jacket - Zara (old), top - c/o French Connection, jeans -Big Blue c/o Plen+y, 

bag - Co-Lab, necklace - c/o Delilah K, heels - c/o Le Chateau, ring - H & M

Stylist's Tip: A necklace is a great accessory that will make your outfit go from "meh" to "Bey" as in Beyonce, as in FIERCE! Don't be afraid to play around with accessories. You can smart small, with some silver studs/earrings and a simple silver or gold necklace and then later you can try adding a colorful statement necklace to an outfit, or a longer one like the Delilah K. mixed metal multi-chain I'm wearing here. Play around and have fun! A little bit of jewelry goes a long way.

Stella & Dot

Today I`m excited to feature my new Pave Spear Pendant Rose Gold Chain Necklace from Stella & Dot. I absolutely love it! It`s a versatile piece you can dress up or down. I chose to wear it with a crocheted top and these cargo pants I`ve had for at least 4 years ; ). And I`m proud to say I've had these Birkenstocks in my closet since 2004! I'm so glad they're back in style this summer and that I didn't give them away. Fashion is like Karma, what goes around always comes back around ; ).

tank top - c/o West 49 (last season), cargo pants - Vigoss, 

sandals - Birkenstock, necklace - c/o Stella & Dot, cuff - Banana Republic, 

purse - Rebecca Minkoff, sunglasses - Jessica Simpson

P.S. RIP Robin Williams. Such a sad, sad loss to the world. My heart is heavy. I pray that one day the stigma of mental illness will disappear so people will not feel ashamed or weak to get the help they need. There's no such stigma attached to illnesses like cancer or diabetes, this should be the same for any type of mental illness or disorder. Suffering is suffering, whether it's mentally or physically, both are painful, although in different ways. The world needs to have more compassion for the mentally ill. I am sending love and light to Robin Williams' family and friends and love and light to anyone who is suffering right now. There is always help out there. Always. And you are not alone.

xo

Harlow Highstreet Instagram Bracelet Giveaway

To celebrate the upcoming May 8th opening of Harlow High Street, a lifestyle boutique featuring a variety of unique brands in gifts, clothing, jewelry and home decor in downtown  Edmonton, I am giving away not one but TWO Alex and Ani bracelets (seen above) on Instagram. Follow me @mariealamode, find this photo and read the directions on how to enter for your chance to win!

*Contest is for Edmonton and surrounding area residents only* (Sorry!)

I'm Engaged!

So there was a little detail missing from my last post, where I shared photos from (and talked about) my trip to California with D.: We got engaged on the beach at night when we were in Santa Barbara! (I wanted to wait to announce it on the blog until all of my family and close friends had heard the news.) It was perfect, we had such a great day together leading up to the proposal, riding our cruiser bikes around Santa Barbara and Montecito, spending time at the beautiful beach, walking around Stearns Wharf hand in hand, eating delicious, healthy meals and watching schools of adorable seals swim around in the ocean. I had a feeling D. was going to propose on our trip (we've been together for over seven years!) and was thrilled it happened in California, which is probably my favorite place in the world. We never went ring shopping together, he picked out my ring on his own and it's exactly what I wanted - something simple, timeless and elegant that would look good on my long, skinny, alien fingers ; ). (They're a size 4.5!) We don't have a date set yet and we haven't even started planning anything, it kind of seems overwhelming right now to be honest with you, I don't even know where to begin, we just want to enjoy being engaged for awhile and savor this very special time in our lives. However, I do have my sights set on a dress already ; ). But of course.

I hope you're all having a great week so far!

 

IN PINK

blazer + ring- H & M, blouse - Nordstrom Rack, trousers - Zara, 

shoes - Aldo, clutch - thrifted, necklace and earrings -c/o IN PINK

Hi all, I hope you had a great weekend! It seems like it's been forever since I posted an outfit on my blog. I swear every time I got dressed and was ready to take some photos this past week, it would start raining! (What was the Universe trying to tell me? Stay inside, naked?) So yesterday, in between light and heavy showers (and lots of wind, see my hair), I snuck outside with D. and quickly snapped these pics wearing this beautiful statement necklace and earring set from IN PINK, an online jewelry store that sells the most amazing pieces at really affordable prices. You can check them out here and enjoy a 30% discount on ALL jewelry until July 30th by using promo code MARIE30 : ).

Have a wonderful week! And thank you to all of you who came out to the Jacob Shopping Event Friday. I had a lot of fun and I hope you did, too! I also hope you're enjoying your purchases ; ).

*GIVEAWAY CLOSED* LOFT Bracelet Giveaway! (International)

GIVEAWAY IS NOW CLOSED

To celebrate the exciting news that LOFT, the fashionable women's retailer known for on-trend, stylish pieces and looks now offers international shipping to 100+ countries including Canada, I've teamed up with the poppular retailer for a giveaway! One lucky Marie a la Mode reader will win this beautiful Cabochon Stretch Bracelet. And whoever wins can be twinsies with me, because I have this exact same bracelet ; ). This contest is open internationally so anyone can enter! Here's how:

1. You must be a follower of Marie a la Mode on GFC or Bloglovin' (+1 entry, ***mandatory***). Leave a comment in the comment section below with your contact info.

For Extra Entries:

2. Follow Marie a la Mode on Twitter (+1 extra entry)
3. 'Like' Marie a la Mode on Facebook (+1 extra entry)
4. Tweet about this giveaway saying, "Enter to win this gorgeous bracelet from @LOFT and @marielamode" with a link to this post --> http://mariealamode.blogspot.ca/2013/04/loft-bracelet-giveaway-international.html (+3 extra entries)
5. Follow Loft on Twitter (+1 extra entry)

Please let me know which entries you qualify for!

Thanks and Good Luck! Winner will be chosen the week of April 29th.

**CONTEST CLOSED** International Giveaway! Win a $100 Gift Card to So Pretty Jewelry!

To say I'm excited for today's giveaway would be an understatement! I have been a huge, HUGE fan of Cara Cotter's So Pretty Jewelry line ever since I laid my eyes on her gorgeous pieces at Coup Boutique almost two years ago. Her contemporary, unique, timeless, and absolutely stunning jewelry landed her a recent feature in FASHION magazine. And lucky for us, after eight years of building her Edmonton-based business, Cara has launched a brand new website + e-commerce store plus four new lines! To celebrate, she has teamed up with Marie a la Mode to offer my readers a chance to win a $100 gift card to be used to purchase anything on her site. And since So Pretty Jewelry ships anywhere in the world, this contest is open internationally!

To enter the giveaway:

*Mandatory Entry*: Visit So Pretty Jewelry online here and tell me what piece of jewelry you would spend the gift card on if you won in the comment section below this post. Make sure to leave your email address in your comment so I know how to contact you if you win. (1 entry.)

For extra entries:

• Follow So Pretty Jewelry on Twitter here (+1 extra entry)
• 'Like' So Pretty Jewelry on Facebook here (+1 extra entry)
• Tweet about this giveaway saying 'Enter to win a $100 Gift Card to @SoPrettyJewelry  on @marielamode http://mariealamode.blogspot.com/2012/07/international-giveaway-100-gift-card-to.html  *please make sure you include the link to this post (+2 extra entries)
• Follow me on Twitter here (+1 extra entry)
• 'Like' me on Facebook here (+1 extra entry)
• Follow me on Google Friend Connect or Bloglovin' (+1 extra entry)

***Please make sure you let me know how many entries you qualify for.

Contest will be open for two weeks. Good Luck!

The Bamboo Ballroom Blogger Night

 Bloggers Sandy, Janis and me

Last night I attended the second annual 'Blogger Night' at one of my favorite stores in Edmonton, Bamboo Ballroom, which is also one of my lovely sponsors! The gals at Bamboo showed us once again, how to put on a great party ; ).

Makeup artists Nicola Gavins and Amber Prepchuk painted faces with their drool-worthy makeup collection.

Clockwise L-R: Vickie from Adventures In Fashion paints jewelry provided by Bang Bang Bijoux, my necklace creation, and yummy fruit cones.

Kyla and Stacey, the owners of Bamboo (and The Common!), Makeup artists Amber and Nicola and Rachel from Bang Bang Bijoux with clothing designer Ali from Suka Clothing.

Close-up of the necklace I wore to the event, from Zara. I took this photo in Bamboo's change room ;).

Of course there was a lot of shopping that went on as well. I picked up a grey maxi dress from Obey that I can't wait to wear when I go on vacation! Thank you to Stacey, Kyla, Rachel, Amber, Nicola, Ashley, Kassandra, Ali and everyone else at Bamboo Ballroom for putting on such a fun event and making us bloggers feel so special! You ladies rock!