Just Sayin'.....

Remember when this Versace dress Jennifer Lopez wore to the 2000 Grammys made you gasp, it was so shocking? I mean, you can see her boobies! Oh how far we've come since then. (See Miley Cyrus's Wrecking Ball video.) I'm just wondering, since basically every mainstream female singer feels they need to dress and perform like a stripper (Miley, Rihanna, etc.) to stay on top, what will shock us next, in terms of fashion? In videos, awards shows and/or on the red carpet? Anything? You can't get any more naked than being naked! (But slightly covered, to leave nothing at all a little bit to the imagination.) Is naked the new black? God I hope not. I would love to hear your thoughts.

Have a great weekend! 


 

My New Workout & New Shoes

Truth: I get bored with working out when I do the same thing over and over. I like to mix things up, whether it be doing Pilates on the mat (I taught mat classes for 5 years and have been doing Pilates for 13 years - LOVE IT!), taking a Yoga class, sweating it out at the gym or working out to an at-home DVD like Barre 3. I can now add another type of exercise to my repertoire that I've been doing for about a month now that I'm really enjoying. It's called 'Ballet Beautiful' and I bought two of their DVD's before Christmas: The Classic 60 Minute Workout and the Body Blast Series (you can check them out here.) Created by former New York City Ballet dancer Mary Helen Bowers who trained Natalie Portman for the movie "Black Swan," Ballet Beautiful provides exercises to sculpt and tone sleek "ballet muscles." I was a dancer for 15 years and I loved the body it gave me but unfortunately I had to cut down on the amount of dancing I did when I was 16 because of the severe tendonitis in my knees that I developed at age 11. My 2013 fitness goal is to get that body back with continuing Pilates and cardio and adding the 'Ballet Beautiful' DVD's to my workout plan. So far, so good!

You DO NOT need pointe shoes to do the DVD's, you can exercise in your bare feet but getting back into ballet exercises inspired me to purchase pointe shoes. Why? It's a long story but here goes: When I was in my last year of high school I was in the school play and one of the other actress's required pointe shoes for her character so I lent her mine. They were my only pair and she never gave them back!! And I've been upset about that ever since! I've seen her many times since high school in public - once on the street, once while I was getting a pedicure and funny enough, two days after I purchased my new pair I saw her at a restaurant, she was sitting right behind D.! What are the chances? But she always pretends she doesn't know who I am and I've always wanted to go up to her and ask her if she still has my pointe shoes but I never had the courage. (But if she's reading this now, can you please kindly give them back?? YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE!) So, after 15 years after the disappearance of the most beautiful pair of shoes I have ever owned, I bought a new pair! Aren't they pretty?? Now I just have to break them in and learn how to walk on my toes again ; ).

What do you do to exercise and get your sweat on? Let me know in the comment section below!

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!

Celebrities in Sweat Pants. And Uggs.

Diane Kruger, Emma Watson

Mila Kunis with Ashton Kutcher

Drew Barrymore, Hilary Duff

 Amanda Seyfried

Katie Holmes

Kate Hudson

Alessandra Ambrosia

I decided to create this post after I wore sweatpants tucked into my Uggs to go to the gym last week and felt terribly guilty about going out in public looking like a slob. (And before you knock the Uggs, let me say that when you live in a climate where the temperature can drop to -37 degrees, you need a warm pair of boots! Even if they're Uggly, they're functional!) When I'm dressed like this (which only happens once or twice a year, believe me!) I hope and pray I don't run into a reader of this blog - or worse - a styling client of mine because they'd probably look at me and think I was a slob and a fashion fraud and wonder why they even hired me! But I felt better about my lazy fashion choice when I found these photos of celebrities dressed exactly how I was dressed (and maybe worse!), even a style icon like Diane Kruger who is always featured on numerous best-dressed lists at awards shows. See, the thing is, sometimes we just want to dress comfortably. Sometimes we're lazy. Sometimes we can't be bothered to put on a full face of makeup and a cute little outfit and heels to pick up some milk at the grocery store or go to the gym. And that's okay. Once in awhile. Just don't get caught by a photographer! ; )

When Fashion Gets Ridiculous

Would you pay $55,000.00 for this crocodile backpack designed by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen of The Row and decorated with prescription pills by artist Damien Hirst? Even if I was a gazillionaire and could afford to use cashmere for toilet paper and had a butler named Jeebs I wouldn't. I have a hard time paying even three hundred dollars for a designer handbag so I'd have a really difficult time forking out fifty grand for a backpack decorated with Prozac and Viagra. Just sayin....But at least some of the proceeds will be going to UNICEF! To read more about the collaboration click here.

A Little Break

Today's an exciting day! I'm going to one of my favorite places in the world -LAS FREAKIN' VEGAS!- to celebrate my birthday for a few days but I'll be back with more posts next week. I'm really looking forward to a mini-break plus I heard it's going to be about 30 degrees while we're there. It snowed last week in Edmonton so I am very much looking forward to the warmer weather and getting some sun by the pool. (My vampire skin will thank me.) I'm also looking forward to the outlet shopping. OUTLET SHOPPING - two of my favorite words. Have a great week! I'll be posting photos during my trip on instagram @mariealamode and tweeting if you want to follow along. What happens in Vegas...is shared through social media ; ).

Thanks

I can't believe Thanksgiving is this weekend already! It crept up so fast! Soon it'll be Halloween and then Christmas isn't too far away after that. Craaaazy. Seriously, where did the summer go?? Anyways, in honor of Thanksgiving, one of my favorite holidays, I thought I'd take some time to reflect and write down ten things I'm thankful for. Here's what I came up with:

1. D., my family and friends. Without them, I have nothing.

2. My two adorable little nephews who bring so much joy to my life.

3. A roof over my head and food in the fridge.

4. A warm and cozy bed to sleep in.

5. My silly little kitty, Prints Whiskerson Sultenfuss The First who can be a terror sometimes but can also be the snuggliest, most lovable cat in the world. Nothing makes my heart melt like seeing her and D. cuddling together. (It's really cute!)

6. My physical health, being able to get out of bed every day.

7. Being able to buy clothes and post about them on this blog when some people can't even afford shoes.

8. My job(s) that pay my bills and my wacky co-workers I get to have fun with every day.

9. My Uncle, who was diagnosed with cancer a few months ago with only a few weeks to live, is still here with us and is determined to live a longer life in such an inspiring and positive way.

10. My readers of this very blog. Without this creative outlet I'd go insane! Thank you for reading!

Have a wonderful weekend! I'm really looking forward to snuggling up with a blanket, burning my fall-scented candles and watching episodes of 'Revenge' on Netflix. (I am obsessed with that show!) And eating a lot, of course. Happy Thanksgiving to all the Canadians out there! Stuff your beautiful faces and be thankful for all that you have : ).

And The Weekend Is Here

photo via fashion roadkill

Happy weekend! Thank God it's here! It's been a loooong week with work during the day and attending fashion week the past 3 nights! It was good but exhausting, especially when you have to get up at 6 a.m. every day and you don't drink coffee. I'm really looking forward to going out to my family's cabin tomorrow for a little R & R. Sometimes you just need to get away, take in some fresh air, un-plug and do nothing and that's exactly what I plan on doing ; ). Along with catching up on my sleep! The weather is supposed to be beautiful and warm, too, which is actually very uncommon during this time of year where I live so I'm going to take advantage of it before the temps drop and it starts to snow. (It can start snowing in October. Oh Canada!)

Have a wonderful weekend! I'll be back with some fashion week posts next week!

Into The Light

blazer - H & M, dress - thrifted, shoes - Aldo, purse + earrings - Banana Republic, rings - H & M and The Bay

photos by D.

This blazer is one of my favorite pieces in my closet, a staple I'll have forever which will never go out of style. (I love clothing like that!) And I think it was only $50 at H & M so SCORE! The dress is a cheapy little thing I bought for $10 if I remember correctly. Another score ; ).

How was your weekend? Mine was busy but productive and we had amazing, warm weather so I definitely took advantage of it by having a slurpee every day ; ). I wasn't looking forward to yesterday (Monday) because I had my first of two root canals yesterday. People, if you're getting a root canal do NOT google "root canal photos" before your appointment, it will invoke a type of fear you never thought existed. Even your teeth will be scared. I was in the chair practically shaking beforehand, thinking about what they were about to do but to be honest with you, it wasn't all that bad! I couldn't feel a thing. Except my jaw was sore when the dentist left me in the chair with a dental dam in my mouth for 15 minutes and I had to keep my mouth open the whole time. Like this:

No, this is NOT me, I don't have a moustache (that I know of), I got this photo off Google. Anyways, he just got up and left me there! I thought he had forgotten about me but he didn't. He eventually came back and fixed me up and I went on my way! With a very sore jaw.

My Life, Lately

all via instagram @ mariealamode

L-R, top to bottom: Earrings c/o Stella & Dot, my mug in the local newspaper!

Makeup on set, from a commercial I acted in for Global TV a couple of weeks ago

My Western Canada Fashion Week pass, me and Janis

Malorie Urbanovitch's show at Fashion Week, Fashion Week goodies courtesy of Davines

It snowed in April, and then the snow melted. Really fast.

Easter eggs, drinks with my girlfriends at The Next Act

Just a little collage to show you what I've been up to lately! Also, I'm currently deep in the throws of a little bet. On Monday D. told me he would give me $100 if I stayed away from celebrity gossip for a week. Always up for a challenge, I shook on it. See, I have a little confession to make.  Just a sec, this deserves its own paragraph.

I'm the type of person that reads TMZ and People online 5 or 6 times a day and who goes through issues of US Magazine like rolls of toilet paper, the 1 ply kind. I can't help it, celeb gossip is my guilty pleasure! I also watch Access Hollywood, TMZ (the tv show) and sometimes Ellen, maybe a little bit of Entertainment Tonight both the US and Canadian versions, when I get home from work, if I have time. Yeah, I have a bit of a problem, I know. D. doesn't understand my fascination with famous people's personal lives and thinks I should be more involved in catching up on current events, the local and world news, watching movies instead of reality shows or better yet - reading books - so for one week I can't click on or watch anything that has to do with celebs. It's gonna be hard because I'd much rather read about which actress was arrested for DUI  (and more importantly, what was she wearing when it happened?!) than the government cutting local food-safety inspectors in my city but it's been over 36 hours and so far I haven't slipped! D. said to me, "There are so many more interesting things out in the world for you to pay attention to." Which is absolutely true! Wish me luck! I'll report back in a few days. I have 5 more to go.

Also, my friend Janis is hosting a shopping party at Black & Bold this Saturday night. There will be some great deals! I hope to make it down there myself. For more details click here!

Annnnnd I have a little giveaway going on right now with Blue Vanilla Jewelry. Click here to enter!

My Life Changing Moment and a Giveaway Winner!

I have a secret. During my first year of blogging I didn't have access to the internet at home. In fact I didn't even have a computer! I would blog on my lunch break at work, at D.'s house (before we lived together) or at my parents place. I know what you're thinking "how could a blogger not have a computer??" It's kinda like a runner not having his or her own sneakers. It's crazy, I know. But at that time I had just bought my condo and was house-poor and didn't want to pay for an internet connection. (Plus I had broken the laptop I had before. Well, my cat did - long story - and I didn't want to purchase a new one.) Call me cheap, I call myself 'creatively thrifty'. So you probably won't be surprised when I tell you I didn't have internet on my phone until yesterday. Yes people, I finally got an iPhone! This is remarkable! This would be considered Life Changing. I have caught up to everyone technologically and the world is now at my fingertips! I can now send emails from my phone! I can even take a pic on it and tweet it! When I went to the Telus store yesterday I was like a kid on Christmas morning, I was so excited! So excited, in fact, that I had to post about it. It's post-worthy don't you think? Today is Monday and usually on Mondays I wake up thinking, "ugh it's Monday" but today, today I woke up thinking "I have an iphone! Last Monday I didn't! It's gonna be a good day!" And now I have to learn how to use it! If you have any suggestions on what apps I should get let me know! Thanks : ).

And now on to the Jason Wu for Target Giveaway winner! Thank you to Target for sponsoring this giveaway and thank you to all of you who entered. The winner (chosen randomly using random.org) is Sandy Joe from The Pretty Secrets! Congratulations! I will be contacting you for your address shortly.

Stay tuned for a couple of other giveaways coming up soon ; ).

    

Seasons Of Our Discontent

via Vogue, May 2010, shot by Annie Leibovitz

Right now where I live we're experiencing what I like to call "Sprinter." That's winter weather in the springtime. A more appropriate word to describe this weather would be BULLSHIT but I won't go there. Okay yes I will. I hate talking about the weather all the time but how can I not when it's April 15th and we have 14 cm of snow on the ground? Even though this is Canada it's still abnormal and maddening. Especially since we were teased with spring-like weather a week ago only to have it taken away by angry weather gods playing a sick joke on us. Assholes.

 This is our backyard. I took this picture yesterday when I got home from work.

INSTALLING SPRING...
 

███████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░ 44% DONE.

Install delayed....please wait.

Installation failed. Please try again. 

404 error: Season not found.

Season "Spring" cannot be located. The season you are looking for might have been removed, had its name changed, or is temporarily unavailable.  Please try again.

It's scary to think about how rapidly climates are changing due to global warming and all that other scientific shizz I admit I don't know enough about to discuss. With all these earthquakes and tsunami's the weather really terrifies me. What about you?

All week D. and I were looking forward to spending a lovely weekend in Banff with friends:

 This is Banff. But picture it covered in snow. Lots of it.

But we had to cancel due to the horrendous driving conditions : (. On a brighter note, since I'm not venturing out to the mountains this weekend I've decided to move to California where the weather isn't insane go shopping instead for some retail therapy. I'm thinking Sephora and maybe Zara for some dresses I'll be able to wear in July when the snow finally melts ; ). What are you all doing this weekend? Have a good one, whatever you do! And don't forget to enter my giveaway here.

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Crisis Averted

image via weheartit

Sorry I’ve been M.I.A. these past few days. I’ve had an extremely busy and somewhat stressful week with work and a couple of important auditions, one which had me watching numerous episodes of “Intervention” and youtubing/researching “people on drugs” in the little time I had to prepare. Don't do it, it's depressing.

I also had to deal with an itty bitty Fashion Crisis. I had ordered this pink dress from asos a couple of weeks ago to wear to an important fashion event tonight, I was pee-my-pants excited to wear it. My shipment was supposed to be here last Friday but it hasn’t arrived yet and the customer care center at asos tells me it probably won’t arrive for another six days or so due to postal delays. Grrrrr. So I had to go shopping for a new dress on Wednesday because when I looked in my closet of course I had nothing to wear. Doesn’t this always happen to us girls? We have a full closet (sometimes two of them! yup, that's me) yet we have nothing to wear when really we're just tired/bored of our wardrobe and don’t want to wear what we already have! Well, that was the situation I found myself in. After a trip to the mall and five stores later I finally found a lovely and suitable-and bright pink!- dress at Zara that was reasonably priced so I bought it. Then when I got home I realized I didn't have any accessories to wear with it!!! Dang! So I went back to the same damn mall the next day and picked out a necklace and earrings and now I think I'm set. Crisis averted. But I really wanted to wear that pink asos dress! Ah well...

I hope you all enjoy your weekend! I know I’ll enjoy mine : ) I'll be back on Monday with a more substantial post!

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I've Been Tagged

The lovely Cat tagged me to come up with my five current loves and to answer 5 questions so here I go!

My Five Current Loves:

 #1 Turban Hats and Turban Headbands like the ones Rumi and Lena are wearing.

Anyone know where I can get one in Canada???

#2 Clemence Poesy. French actress and a Fashion Icon. She always looks so effortlessly chic.

 Here she is at the "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" premiere.

#3 Joe Fresh Style. This clothing line, which you can find in Canadian grocery stores, is fun, fashionable and extremely affordable. I bought the dress on the left a week ago for $39.00! It was the last one in my size.
Can't wait to wear it on Christmas Eve : )

#4 My new Sigma Brushes. They're so soft and durable. I'm definitely in love.

 

#5 Online Christmas Shopping.

Eliminates the need to venture out to the mall in minus 20 degree temperatures, avoiding the sparse parking spots, crazy crowds and screaming children. Is anyone else with me on this?

Five Questions:

1. Favorite Makeup Brand?

MAC. I've been using it for years. I've never been disappointed in the quality of their products.

#2 Favorite Clothing Brand?

#3 Your indispensable make-up product?

                                         

Concealer! With my dark eye circles it's a must! Right now I'm using MAC Pro Longwear Concealer.
I bought this after I tried using Benefit's Boi-ing Concealer which for me was a waste of money.
Boi-oing Concealer was difficult to apply, it caked and creased and didn't last very long.
Pro Longwear goes on smoothly, lasts all day and gives great coverage.

#4 What country would you like to visit and why?

Greece! The culture, the delicious food, the breathtakingly beautiful beaches, the warm weather...
I just know I'd enjoy my time there : )

#5 What is the last concert you've been to?

Lady Gaga. AMAZING! You can read about that here.

I tag:

1. Lena from Quality Rivets
2. Jessica from Ciao Bella
3. Janis from Dress Me Dearly
4. Ashley from Two Eyes in the Mirror
5. Tam from Tamera's Take
6. Niko's Mommy from Fabulous! (Pasta Not Included)
7. Courtney Erin from Sartorial Sidelines
and anyone else that wants to partake!

I'm sorry I haven't done any outfit posts lately. I've been sick all week with a nasty cold so the last thing I want to do is venture outside in knee deep snow to freeze my patooties off while taking photos! And I'm not a fan of taking indoor pictures. I'll have one for you guys soon, though!