Life, Lately

A lot of FUN has been had by me in the past couple of months so I thought it was time for a 'Life, Lately' update ; ) Clockwise starting from top left:
1. I attended PARKSHOW in Edmonton which I really enjoyed, I can't wait for the next one!
2. It was my one year anniversary of teaching at Barre Body Studio! I can't believe it's been a year already. I really love teaching there.
3. The most beautiful Christmas tree in the lobby of the Hotel MacDonald that I was smitten with ; ).
4. Pulling clothes for a styling session with a client of mine at Simons. I've been really busy with personal styling the past few months, it's been amazing! And my website is back up and running! Yay!

What I've been wearing lately: Outfit #1, #2, #3 and #4. There's a theme here: I love the color red. And scarves.

I was invited to a media "Dinner at Tiffany's" event at the fancy Fairmont Hotel MacDonald and felt like a Princess the whole night! All the guests were able to view beautiful jewelry and were treated to a delicious four-course meal.

A few lovelies at the Tiffany's event (I didn't get the chance to snap everyone in attendance unfortunately!)
-  Fashion bloggers Kira and Sandy Jo 
-  WHERE Edmonton Editor Lindsey Shapka, Janis Galloway of Dress Me Dearly, Fashion Magazine Writer Caroline Gault and Sarah Geddes from Sass Communications
- Me and the gorgeous Lindsey from Over My Styled Body
- New mama Sarah Giuffre from 204 Park and our gracious host Laura Smythe, Director of Tiffany's Edmonton.
This is an event I will never forget!

- I had 5" of my hair chopped off and then highlighted at Ponytails + Horseshoes. (I just wanted a change.) Shanda and Angela always do an amazing job there. My hair feels so much healthier with all that extra weight gone.
- A Christmas party brunch with friends I've known since I was 9 years old last weekend at my friend's beautiful new home.
-Elizabeth from Blushed Beaute did my makeup at our Barre Body Studio Christmas get-together, and Elissa, one of my fellow instructors got a pedicure from Feel Fabulous Mobile Spa. It was an awesome party with students and teachers in attendance; everyone got beautified while eating snacks and sipping on mimosa's ; )

And that's what I've been up to! I'm not sure how much I'll be blogging in the next couple of weeks over the holidays, but I'll definitely be Tweeting, Facebooking and Instagramming (@mariealamode) if you want to follow along!

Merry Christmas everyone!
xoxo

My California Travel Diary

Besides getting hitched in California, we also had time for a little vacation fun and I thought I'd share my travel diary with you all. I LOVE California, it's my favorite place in the world, I think I may have lived there in a previous life or something because it always feels like home to me when I visit! I love the sunshine, the palm trees, the warm weather, the ocean, the healthy food, I could go on and on and ON. But I won't, instead I'll just explain some of these photos ; ).

Clockwise starting from the top left-hand corner: After landing at LAX we rented a car and drove to Santa Barbara. We stopped in Malibu on the way for lunch and unfortunately I didn't run into Cindy Crawford again like I did last time : (. , palm trees in Montecito, my favorite green juice from Pressed Juicery (it's so good!), D. after we picked up our marriage license at the Santa Barbara Courthouse.

More palm trees (I'm obsessed!), enjoying the sunshine with our friends at Butterfly Beach, my bridesmaids the morning of my wedding walking around the Four Seasons Biltmore (which we did not stay at, but we pretended we were guests at tee hee), hanging out by the pool.

We had a beach day the day after the wedding with all of our friends and family, which was so much fun! The next day we took a drive through the Santa Ynez Valley, that's me at the Santa Cruz County Fair (which was closed, we were there too early), another photo from the fairgrounds. This is where "The Lost Boys" was filmed so we had to stop!

After we left Santa Barbara D. and I drove North up the coast to San Simian where I almost drove our rental car off the cliff because I didn't put it in park (oops) and then through Big Sur (that's the top right-hand photo) which was absolutely beautiful! We stayed in Carmel which is just outside of Big Sur and went to a vegetarian restaurant one night in Pacific Grove called Julia's, it was the best vegan food we've ever had! And it was funny because the host was also the server AND the chef, it was a one-man band! Last photo is of my handsome new hubby driving, on our way to San Francisco ; ),

The Golden Gate Bridge! My cousin Lisa and I. She lives just outside of San Fran and I'm so happy we got to spend time with her and her lovely hubby! They took us on a tour because D. had never been there before so we got to see Mrs. Doubtfire's House which made me happy but sad, too. (RIP Robin Williams.) And then we took in the sight of the houses that you see at the beginning of every "Full House" episode, they're called the Seven Sisters except my photo only shows 3 of them ; ). Couldn't fit them all in!

Like every vacation, ours was too short but we're planning to take an official honeymoon when it's -30 degrees and miserable here, in January or February, somewhere hot!

Thanks for reading! And thanks for all your comments in my last post, you guys are the best!

xo

Life, Lately & A Giveaway Winner

I haven't done a "Life, Lately" post in a long time so I thought I'd let you guys know what I've been up to this summer which will explain the lack of blog posts lately ; ).

Left to right, clockwise, starting from the top left: D. and I celebrated our 8 year anniversary back in June and after we went to dinner to celebrate we went on a hike. It was during the summer solstice and it was still extremely light out at around 10 p.m. which is when D. took this photo of me.

- I went horseback riding with my friend Alanna (in the photo) at my brother and sister-in-law's place. It was so nice out that day! Gotta love those big, blue, Alberta summer skies!

- I have been eating this Mexican quinoa salad every single week lately! Recipe here.

- It was great catching up with my friends Janis and Caroline : ) How cute is Janis's bike?

- Received a fun package in the mail from Swimco!
- Bridal hair trial. My sister-in-law is very talented ; )
- Yummy eats at Noorish - that's a raw pizza and delicious quinoa salad.
- This is my BFF's little girl Violet who just turned one! Isn't she adorable?? Look at those cheeks!

- For my stagette my bridesmaids arranged a pole dancing lesson at Pole Junkies during the day, it was so much fun but really hard! You need a lot of upper-body strength. I was so sore the next day but it was worth it ; )
- Me with my beautiful bridesmaids Kristin and Jenessa that evening. "Burlesque" was the theme ; ). They threw a really fun stagette for me.
- For my bridal shower my Mom made these cute gluten-free cupcakes and arranged them so they looked like a wedding dress!
- And Kristin's mom made me a gluten-free and dairy-free cake which was delicious. I was eating desserts all night.

- This past weekend I hosted a "Meet the Blogger"/styling event at Le Chateau in West Edmonton Mall which was a lot of fun. Thank you to those of you who came out!
- Okay, I NEED those beige heels from Le Chateau!
- Lunch with my Mama at The Next Act. (I had the veggie burger, gluten-free bun.)
- The staff at Le Chateau who were wonderful to work with last weekend.

Speaking of Le Chateau, the winner of the $200.00 gift card is Eva Mitton-Urban. I will be contacting you shortly. Congratulations! And thank you to all of you who entered! 

*all photos via instagram. Follow me at @mariealamode if you feel so inclined ; )

xo

Life, Lately

I'm sorry my blog posts have been sporadic, it's been a busy past few weeks for me but I am back on track now ; ). I didn't have time to take any outfit photos this week so I thought I'd fill you all in on what I've been up to lately instead! Clockwise starting from top left: After about 6 years, I finally got new glasses, Sandy and I and Janis and Vickie at the Every Woman Festival a few weeks ago, watching the F/W 2014 LUXX Ready to Wear show at Western Canada Fashion Week (so good!) and with my date Anton (and his cute chelsea boots, on the right) in the audience.

A few weeks ago I appeared on Global Edmonton's Morning Show with Lorraine Mansbridge talking about kids' and teens' spring fashions at West Edmonton Mall, which was a lot of fun. I styled the outfits using clothing from The Children's Place, Simons and Below the Belt. And funny story: when I was around 8 years old I modeled on Lorraine's show she had at the time called 'Good, Good Morning' and we were reunited again many, many years later for this fashion segment. ; )

And this past Tuesday I got to work on the television series 'Blackstone', playing a nurse (again lol.) I had auditioned many times for this show (it's in its 4th season) and was happy to finally book a principal role! I had a couple of fun scenes with one of the main characters who was a hoot to work with. The episode will air this fall : ).

I hope you're all having a great week! Happy almost-Friday!

Life, Lately

I'm sorry I haven't been posting on a regular basis lately, life has been crazy busy for me. In a good way, though. I promise to return to regular scheduled programming soon! ; ) For now, here are some photos and little blurbs on what I've been up to recently!

Clockwise starting from top left: I recently hosted a fashion show at French Connection's re-location party at West Edmonton Mall. It was so much fun! I love, love, LOVE their clothes. Jaclyn and Suzy from Girls Club DJ's provided the music for the event.

In October I had the pleasure of styling the gorgeous Up99.3 radio host Kari Skelton for Glow Juicery and Barre Body Edmonton's Grand Opening. Her outfit, which I found at Bamboo Ballroom, was auctioned off for charity and ours went for the highest bid!

This month I've also been wedding dress shopping, I went to four places and I finally found The One! It's nothing like what I thought I wanted! Funny how that happens once you actually start to try dresses on ; ). We have also set the date for our wedding. I don't want to give away too much because we haven't told all of our family members yet but the actual ceremony will not be held in Canada, we'll be going away but we'll come back home and have a big party afterwards. I'm very excited, we are getting married in less than a year! So I've been planning, planning, planning.

Just some pictures of my cat. You know, cause she's my baby and I think she's the cutest thing ever.

Last month I filmed a short film at the Hotel MacDonald called 'Voila.' We shot in the middle of the night in the same hotel room that the Queen, The Rolling Stones and Sting stayed at when they came to Edmonton so that was very cool. The story takes place in 1969 and the wardrobe was so fun! I had a great time on set, the director, the cast, the crew, were wonderful. I think it's going to be a really cute film and can't wait to see it once it's edited. (That's the talented and dapper Ryan Parker in the photo with me.)

We got a HUGE dump of snow a couple of weeks ago. I wasn't happy. This is why you haven't seen any outfit posts on my blog in awhile, the weather was the sh*ts but now it's nicer out thank goodness.

My nephews! Total farm boys, they are. Cowboys, too.

I am training to be a Barre Body Instructor, I did my training this past weekend in Calgary. I love the method so much (and have seen great results) so I wanted to be able to teach it, along with teaching Pilates. I love sharing my passion for fitness with others so I'm really excited for this new journey! P.S. My butt's never been so sore but has never looked so good. HA!

Our first fire of the season at home! A fire place comes in real handy, especially when it's -30 degrees outside which is ridiculously cold yet normal for Edmonton winter weather. 

I hope you're all having a great week!

My California Adventure!

Helloooo everyone! Sorry for the lack of posts! I have a good reason for not blogging though: I was on vacation in sunny California last week with D. We had an amazing time! We flew in to San Diego and stayed with my relatives for two days (I miss them already!). Then we rented a car and drove up to Long Beach, stayed there for a couple of nights, then drove up to Santa Barbara and stayed for three days, then made our way back down to L.A. and flew out of LAX last Sunday. These are pictures from my iPhone and Instagram, funny enough they turned out better than the pics I took with my DSLR. (I blame the photographer - me!) Clockwise starting from top left: My Aunt and Uncle took us on a tour of San Diego and we stopped in beautiful La Jolla to see the ocean, walking in Venice Beach (it's a bit of a freak show down there), hanging out on our rooftop of our hotel in Long Beach, a smoothie and a juice from Cafe Gratitude in Venice Beach. (So good!)

I met fellow blogger Carrie from This Free Bird! We had become friends through the internet and have been following each other on our blogs and social media for about 3 years so it was so nice to meet her in person! D. and I met her at her boyfriend's restaurant, The Corner in Hungtington Beach. The food was AMAZING! And he customized a dessert for me, vegan and gluten-free! After Long Beach, we drove up the coast and stopped in Malibu and put our feet in the ocean. I also went into the All Saints store there where I found these boots! Sadly, I did not buy them : (.

It was soooo easy to eat a vegan and gluten-free diet in California, which I was worried about before leaving on vacation. But they have juice bars, smoothie shops and serve acai bowls everywhere, which is what you see in that first picture. While in Santa Barbara we drove to the Santa Ynez Valley and went to Sunstone Winery I didn't drink any wine (I just don't like the taste) but I drank a lot of Pressed juices while in California, this green one was my favorite. The last pic is of a Santa Barbara sunset one night. Breathtaking, isn't it?!

Yes, that is a pig with a bit of a mohawk whom we met on a bike ride, being pushed in a camo baby stroller. He was very friendly! ; ) We went on a ferry ride to Coronado Island while in San Diego with my Aunt and Uncle, that's D. riding on the bike path in Santa Barbara (I am in LOVE with palm trees), the last pic is another one of the winery.

So we met this hippie dude in a parking lot (he was as high as a kite) and I had to take a picture of his van. He glued all these little figurines on it. Crazy, hey? We stayed at a Bed & Breakfast while in Santa Barbara, called the Harbor House Inn which was just lovely and they provide bikes for all their guests so D. and I rode our bikes all around the city. When we were in L.A. we went to see stand-up comics perform at the Laugh Factory and everyone was hilarious, there was one comedienne, Iliza Schlesinger, who almost made me pee my pants. We also drove around Bevery Hills that day, that's The Beverly Hills Hotel.

My favorite beach, Butterfly Beach in Montecito (where Oprah has a house!), another pic on the beach (with my crazy, frizzy, naturally curly hair!), the infamous Chateau Marmont Hotel! (I tried lying my way to get in but security was too tight.) And another juice!

CELEBRITY SIGHTINGS!! Wherever I was in California I was always on the lookout for celebrities! I actually put it out into the Universe: "Universe, please let me see some famous people while I'm in California." We saw a few: pregnant Tammin Sursok, who plays Jenna on 'Pretty Little Liars' came out of a store in Venice Beach while we were driving past, Dustin very proudly pointed out Brent Spiner who played Data on 'Star Strek' when we were at Malibu Country Mart, Edward Furlong stepped on Dustin's foot while walking on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood (he looked really strung out) and I chatted with CINDY FRICKEN CRAWFORD in a Malibu Starbucks!! She was in line behind me and I turned and saw that famous mole on her face and was like, "OH MY GOD, CINDY CRAWFORD IS BEHIND ME!" She was on her cell phone. Once she got off, I couldn't NOT say something to her, I mean she was RIGHT THERE. So without thinking about what I was going to say, I turned to her and said, "I just have to say I LOVED your workout tape from the '90's with Radu." (Radu was her trainer, click here for the workout video.) She laughed and said, "That was a long time ago! That workout was hard, it's still hard!" I told her I used to do it all the time when I was a teenager. She said, "That's too funny!" Then I left and went outside to meet D. I told him, "Cindy Crawford is in Starbucks, Oh My God, you HAVE to take a photo of us, I talked to her, we're like besties now!" So we waited but when she came out she was on her cell phone so I didn't want to bother her. But she smiled and waved at me and said "bye" when she left! She was so nice! The last celebrity we spotted was Mila Kunis at LAX (sans Ashton). We saw her going through security and then ended up sitting right behind her at a restaurant in the airport. She was with an assistant I think. D. would not let me ask her for a photo, he said she looked like she didn't want to be bothered which was true. Actually he begged me not to ask for one and asked me if I could act normal. So I obliged, you're welcome D.! But I did take a picture of him instead and in the background you can see the back of her head. She was wearing a ball cap.

Although it was exciting seeing all these celebrities, my favorite part of the trip (besides spending time with my relatives) was when we spent time in Santa Barbara and Montecito, which is right next door to SB. We absolutely loved it there! It is such a beautiful place and we hope to go back soon!

I hope you're all having a great week! What's new with everyone?

 

Life, Lately

Clockwise starting from top left: First 2 pics: Finally got my hair cut and highlighted at Ponytails + Horseshoes, I waited about 7 months in between appointments which I'll never do again, yikes! Learning juicing recipes and how to make almond milk from scratch with my friend Lisa at Lululemon last week and gorgeous new shoes from SOLE SOCIETY.

Boating on Pigeon Lake, Alberta canola field, the view from my brother's jet boat when we went for a ride up and down the North Saskatchewan River, view of Hotel MacDonald from the river. 

Me in my new motorbiking gear. (I don't drive, I just ride on the back and hold on for dear life!), my nephews' new kittens at their farm, my most recent outfit post, raw, vegan chocolate banana pancakes at Noorish (so good!)

Sorry I've been M.I.A. lately, it's been a really busy week with work and styling, which is a good thing! What have you been up to? Have a great weekend, all of you!

*all photos taken via instagram @mariealamode

Life, Lately

Clockwise starting from top left: The dress I got to wear while hosting the JACOB Shopping Event, the Whirling Dervish Quinoa Salad at Noorish, horse-ing around at my brother's ranch, my favorite pair of shoes (tap shoes!) for International Tap Dance Day

Kitty being silly, my new necklace from IN PINK, filming a commercial at Coup Boutique, a wine glass in a cup! BEST INVENTION EVER! Although I don't drink wine...

The Laughing Buddha Bowl at Noorish (can you tell I love that place?), my new business cards designed by my good friend Andrew, 3 of the six kittens we rescued at work, my coworker holding my favorite one. So more on the kitten rescue: a coworker of mine noticed them trapped underneath a heavy piece of pipe in our yard, next to a bunch of other heavy-duty material that needed to be moved. We got a bunch of strong guys to lift the pipe up and pulled all 6 kittens out, to safety. (We were afraid the pipe was going to squish and kill them.) The poor little things were malnourished and lethargic and the mother wasn't around. A couple of ladies from HR took them to the vet and they were all deemed healthy. I emailed a few pictures out to everyone in our company, telling them about the rescue and how the kittens would all need caring homes to go to in a couple of weeks. Well they were snatched up in a heartbeat! We had to feed them with a syringe and formula for a few days but now they're eating solid food and have so much energy and spunk! 

all photos taken on instagram @ mariealamode

I could not end this post without thanking my readers for all the positive feedback on my last post, as well as for sharing your struggles and stories with me. It's nice to know I'm not alone ; ). I was really overwhelmed by your support, so THANK YOU so much!

Lately...

Clockwise starting from top left: 1. Nicole Campre's A/W 2013 show at Western Canada Fashion Week. 2. More of her gorgeous designs. 3. I was featured in this month's Where Magazine along with my friends Janis and Vickie. 4. I had a goal of doing Yoga 3-4 times a week (and I was meeting it!) but last week my hip came out of place and now it's off to physio I go! : (

1. I bought a Breville juicer! I love the juice I make but it's a pain in the ass to clean! But it's so worth it. 2. I received skincare from GM Collin and Yonka, I'll be doing reviews of both lines so stay tuned! 3. Funny story about this shovel: My 4 year old nephew had scribbled on his parents' garage with permanent marker so to hide it, he put a snow shovel over the graffiti. Smart kid! 4. Breakfast for dinner!

1. Breakfast Television (click here to read more about it and see the clip.) 2. Wearing my Zara necklace for Western Canada Fashion Week. 3. With my friends Janis and Jessica at Malorie Urbanovitch's A/W 2013 fashion show last week. Click here to see my coverage. 4. Malorie's beautiful designs.

My silly cat, Prints Whiskerson Sultenfuss The First. Such a weird, feisty, at times hostile and vicious yet lovable, silly and cuddly furry creature! Basically, she's schizophrenic. I'm 100% serious.

Have a great long weekend and Happy Easter!

Life, Lately & A Giveaway Winner!

Clockwise starting from the top left: My favorite earrings c/o Stella & Dot, a delicious lunch had at Noorish, baby Tom's!, my BFF's new baby girl, Talia. (Isn't she sweet?)

I was in Jasper this past weekend shooting a commercial and the first scene we filmed was in the Maligne Canyon. We had to hike there and back (about 30 minutes each way). That is all ice! It reminded me of melted candle wax ; ). The canyon was so beautiful. Cold, but beautiful!

 More pics from Jasper, my go-to winter outfit, some of my favorite books.

Me and my nephews ; ), Rachel Roy fancy pants I scored for 70% off at The Bay (this made me very happy), Kitty exhausted, a gorgeous sunset at Pigeon Lake.

All pics from instagram @mariealamode

And the SmartBuyGlasses Giveaway winner is Celeste! Congratulations! I'll be emailing you shortly. Thanks to everyone who entered! 

Insta Dump and Update

Just some pics I took on instagram (@mariealamode) over the past few weeks. From left to right, starting at the top left corner:

1. My first outfit post of 2013!

2. My new work-out and new shoes!

3. Last week I had a fiberceutic treatment at Ponytails + Horseshoes and then had my hair highlighted and trimmed. My hair feels soooo much healthier now.

4. My Sorel winter boots that keep my feet nice and toasty.

5. Squishing Kitty (but not really.)

6. A new Joe Fresh sweater I picked up on sale for $19.99. Boo-yah!

7. Perfect snowflakes on my windshield one sunny morning.

8. My new favorite lipstick from my friend Janis.

9. I 'm an Auntie again! My BFF gave birth to Miss Talia Mae last week! She's adorable!

Also, last week I told you I purchased a Happy Light and some of you wanted to know what it was like. Well I've been using it all week and it has definitely made a difference in my mood and energy. I have the lamp sitting on my desk at work and I turn it on for an hour in the morning and an hour in the afternoon. The light is extremely bright, which took some time getting used to but once I did I found I was craving the light when it wasn't on, for reals. When I have my Happy Light on it makes me feel happy. Cheesy but true! The sun makes me happy and this is as close to the sun I can get to inside. (Besides using a tanning bed but but those are baaaaad.) And it was totally worth the money. Now, where can I buy a beach?? ; )

Stuff, Lately

Just a few photos! Clockwise starting from top left:

My 90 year-old Grandmother's MAC lipsticks (she's a classy lady)

Bundled up in my new parka from Simons. It's getting really cold! (Today is -30 with the windchill.)

Two books I recently read. Both were really good! I highly recommend them.

Funky boots c/o Sway Chic.

Kitty taking advantage of my socks

Pennington's Customer Appreciation Event (I was a Styling Consultant that day!)

Kitty trying to hide but failing miserably

Outfit post wearing in a jacket I thrifted from Value Village

My new favorite gold necklace c/o Shoppalu

It's Christmasssss!

Products I'm loving, see here.

Gorgeous new Ray-Bans from Smart Buy Glasses! (Giveaway coming soon.)

All photos via instagram @mariealamode

Ahhh, it's Friday! And thank heavens we're alive after all that end-of-the-world hoopla, hey? ; ) What are your plans for Christmas? After today I have 9 days off! I am so looking forward to sleeping in, spending time with my family and friends, watching Christmas movies ('Love Actually' and 'The Family Stone' are my faves) and just enjoying the Christmas season. I think I might take a little break from the blog next week so I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! Thank you so much for reading and supporting my blog!