Can't get my mind off of...

1. Chevron painted wall | 2. Chevron lamp shade from Target | 3. Chevron painted dresser  

4. Chevron chair | 5. Decorative chevron pillow from Target | 6. Zig Zag bracelet

7. Old Navy top | 8. Cole Haan cosmetic bag | 9. Chevron marque earrings | 10. Lanvin sandals

Chevron (or the zig-zag pattern) has been an increasingly popular pattern emerging in the last few months when it comes to home decor, jewellery, clothing, bags- you name it. Initially this pattern reminded me of racing stripes on my spandex from my rowing days, but before too long I fell in love and could appreciate the simplicity of a pattern that works in many colours and is easily integrated into so many textiles and designs. It's eye-catching but not too busy that it distracts from or clashes with other objects or patterns.

You may have noticed from my post the other day that my purse contents included a chevron notebook. I also have intentions to paint some of our plain white mugs with a bright and colourful chevron pattern! Let's just say that I also have plans to dabble in the field of necklace making- and a chevron pattern like this is definitely on my inspiration list of designs to recreate.


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What's In My Bag?

1. Christopher Kon wallet 
   I purchased this zip wallet from a local shoe store last fall. I love the soft leather and the
   abundance of space inside without the risk of losing it's contents! 
   [Find it here]
   
   
2. Can't go anywhere without these 3 things 
   a) Spray bottle with lens cleaner for my glasses 
   b) Aquify eye drops  [find it here]
   c) Bath & Body Works pomegranate hand cream
   
   
3. Idea Log 
   Book for jotting down inspiration, brainstorming ideas, and tracking project process.
   [Find it here]
   
   
4. Lip balms & lip glosses
   a) Blistex berry lip chap with SPF15  [find it here]
   b) Covergirl blast flipstick in "pucker"  [find it here] 
   c) Chanel gloss with gold sparkles  [find it here] 
   d) Elizabeth Grant moisturizing stick (received this through a GlossyBox sample- review  
       coming up later this week)
   
   
5. Notebook & Bic pen
   Chevron notebook from Indigo (upcoming post on my love for this pattern).
   [Find it here]
   
   
6. Purell hand santizer
   It's best to eliminate germs in between clients or right before picking up a snack.
   
   
7. Heart Paperweight
   This weight (~1lb) is a little tool I keep on hand when feeling a little stressed- the
   proprioceptive feedback has a calming effect for an over-stimulated nervous system. [Find it here]
   
   
8. My daytimers 
   I keep 2 separate agendas to track hours and travel for my jobs: OT work and contract
   blogging.
   
   
9. Keychain
   The keys are colour coded so I can keep them all straight! (Unfortunately none of them unlocks any safes or bank vaults.) On my keychain I also have my memory stick, gym membership card, a Starbucks gift card, and usually, but currently missing, a mini tape measure (a handy OT essential)

10.  Vichy Thermal Water
       The one item missing from the photo- this product is great for combating fatigue
       or dryness (especially in the winter). 
          [find it here]

#IFBCon Recap (Part 1)

The principles and ideas I took away from watching the most recent Independent Fashion Bloggers' (IFB) Conference have most definitely shaped some of the new goals for my blog. Every season, days before the NYFW officially begins, the online fashion blogging community meets in person to attend an all-day conference that presents and curates content relevant to the latest trends and questions in the blogging industry.

Since New York is still at the top of my must-visit locations, I have yet to attend in person, but have managed to catch the live-stream from the last 3 conferences. You still get to benefit from the information shared during the panels, but without the fun meet-and-greet with fellow bloggers.

The IFB Conference was hosted at Milk Studios in NYC.

You'll never see a blogger far from their phone. (Exhibit A on the right.)

Waiting for everyone to get seated.
400+ bloggers, media personal, and brand representatives were in attendance.

Opening speech was delivered by Jennine Jacob (left), founder of IFB.

Panel 1- What are Bloggers Worth?

Panel 1: What are Bloggers Worth?

Moderator: Jinna Boo (Grease & Glamour)

Panelists: Susan Schwartz (Glamour), Jessie Thorpe (Denimology), Carmina (La Carmina), Jenni Radosevich (I Spy DIY), Kat Griffin (Corporette), Lauren Tesar (Lifebooker)

Highlights:

• If you're self hosted, you own 100% of your content but when you blog via other platforms they have control over the existence of your blog.
• An advertorial is lingo for a post you're paid to produce and public on your blog.
• If 3 people are willing to pay your price, perhaps it's time to raise it.
• Insist brands pay your set rate.
• Sponsors are looking for flexibility, scalability (relevance to a particular demographic), and credibility.
• To separate yourself from other bloggers and reach out to brands, create a media kit that includes what you post about, your audience, partnerships you've formed, and your demographics .
• A media kit can be in PDF form.
• Give information, such as your stats, as requested (not necessarily posted directly on your blog.) 
• Only sell ads for what's relevant to your blog- keep them within your niche.
• Put together your ideas and shop it out to brands you want to work with.
• Using an agent or manager can allow you to get around having to talk about money.
• Ideally, your comment section should become a forum for readers to converse with each other.
• To encourage more comments, pose a question at the end of your blog posts. Get people to talk about your content.
• Comments show engagement, traffic shows reach.
• Blogging can be a channel to showcase your skills and target what you want to do..
• Demonstrate passion rather than just enthusiasm to set your blog apart.
• Blogging is the next marketing medium.
• Bloggers have changed what branding is.

Jess Estrada (left) and Aliza Licht- DNKY PR girl (right) from panel #2.

Panel 2: Media Goes Mobile

Moderator: Jess Estrada (Fresh Jess)

Panelists: Aliza Licht (DKNY PR Girl), Bryan Boy (BryanBoy.com), Tom & Lorenzo (Tom & Lorenzo), Macala Wright (Fashionablymarketing.me), Karen Moon (Style Musee)

Highlights:

• Where you can't be at a desk 24/7 using mobile apps such as Twitter and Tumblr keep the conversation going.
• There are so many mediums out there that you can only do so many things.
• With Twitter, the most popular choice, you have to condense the voice of your blog down into 140 characters.
• Using twitter to share even a little personality in every tweet helps engagement, making it a conversation.
• It's a good idea to #FF people who keep conversation going.
• Percent of engagement, not how many followers you have on Twitter is what people should look at.
• It's not how many followers you have that matters. It's what you say and are they listening.
• Don't say things [tweet] if you don't have anything to say or you're not inspired.
• What's your strengths? Let that show through the platforms you use.
• Use media platforms to drive traffic back to your blog.
• Consider, would you be interested in what you wrote on your blog? On twitter?

My notes don't necessarily capture everything communicated during the panels, but I always find these conferences a great resource for new ideas to consider for my own blog. For part two, tune in later next week where I'll share contents from Panels 3 and 4.

If you were there in person or also had the opportunity to watch the live stream a few weeks ago, which Panel was your favourite? Which was your favourite panelist of the day?

Photo sources:  IFB Conference on Livestream

top tumblrs

I have to admit, I'm not only a little behind in my blog reading, I've also been a little behind in my posts! This week you should see things returning to a normal, steady pace of blog posting.

First up this week, I'd like to share the top 5 Tumblr blogs I've been loving for style inspiration. These are great sources for some Pinterest pinning!

1. Whipped Style on Tumblr- companion to whippedStyle- a blog with 5 contributors 

who post on style, home decor, DIY crafting and shopping.

2. Vogue (the fashion magazine we all know and love) is on Tumblr

3. Rachel Zoe on Tumblr- her designs, behind-the-scenes and inspirations.

4. Style.com on Tumblr- photo inspirations posted by the editors of the fashion website

5. The Glitter Guide on Tumblr- outfit, accessory and beauty inspiration- lots of pretty pictures

In addition to this blog, I've been playing with a Tumblr blog of my own (The Love List), posting fashion and style related photos I love- sort of in the way I use use Pinterest. 

I've been playing around with the content on my Tumblr blog to figure out what content I specifically want to curate there- and make it more unique and different from the material I post on other platforms (i.e. this blog, Pinterest, Facebook, Twitter, etc). I've decided to dedicate that blog to favourite blogger outfits and street-style I find inspiring.

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unlucky skirt...

The Outfit Sweater: Press* | Skirt:: Eve Gravel  | Tights: American Apparel | Boots: Born* | Belt: H&M

I've been meaning to get out there and take more outfit photos but the Maritime weather hasn't been so cooperative! I promise, you'll see a greater influx of outfit photos with the warmer weather to come and in the meantime the frequency of photos will depend on the wind chill and how high the snow is! I find that I definitely cannot leave the house these days without high boots- so unfortunately that puts a damper on my footwear selection. On the bright side, I do find it easier to figure what to put on my feet when I'm running out the door! 

While I wait for a little more photo-friendly weather or find a friend to do photos with to make it easier in the chilly weather, I'll be working on more editorial content, doing product reviews, sharing my favourite designer collectons from NYFW, talking about favourite spring trends coming up, sharing a few DIY projects, and trying some new beauty products! (May even try doing a few vlogs.)  

Oh, and to explain the purpose of the post name, somehow- on multiple occasions- I manage to keep catching the pockets on knob doors as I walk by- and practically tear the pocket off! I feel like it's something that only I would manage to do! (Haha.) Currently the skirt is at the seamstress being fixed again.

Hope you've been having a lovely week!

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NYFW Livestreams

In today's social media driven world, news travels faster than ever. Last night I found out about the news of Whitney Houston's death within an hour of it happening- news never traveled that fast when we were younger. I caught wind of this tragic news via background noise on the TV and bee-lined my eye gaze to the Twitter feed on my Blackberry- tweets were already flooding in with notes of mourning and RIP messages.

As fast as we can find out about sad or disastrous news, there are also more positive perks to our instant-gratification social media driven world.  In this day and age, you don't need the prestigious connections to have visual same-day access to designer collections that have just walked the runway in New York. In fact, you don't have to have a coveted front row seat to view the latest pieces to be crafted by designer icons such as Marc Jacobs or Diane von Furstenberg. Some of these designers allow and promote livestream videos of their fashion shows so that us every-day folk have the benefit of watching (and drooling) at home from our computer screens.

Photo source: DKNY's Facebook page

I've curated a list of [some] livestream shows you can catch this week (I also have them schedule into my Blackberry)- just click the designers' name to be taken the online livestream source:

1. Donna Karan/DKNY- Sunday/ February 12/ 1pm EST
2. Diane von Furstenberg- Sunday/ February 12/ 4pm EST
3. Emilio Cavallini- Monday/ February 13/ 1:30pm CST 
4. Polyvore Live (top fashion bloggers walk the runway)- Monday/ February 13/ 6:30 EST
5. Marc Jacobs- Monday/ February 13/ 7:30pm EST 
6. Tory Burch- Tuesday/ February 14/ 9am EST
7. Madgley Mischka- Tuesday/ February 14/ 10am EST 
8. Vera Wang- Tuesday/ February 14/ 11am EST
9. Marc by Marc Jacobs- Tuesday/ February 14/ 3:45pm EST 
10. Michael Kors- Wednesday/ February 15/ 10am EST
11. J Mendel- Wednesday/ February 15/ 2pm EST

I've also been pinning [like a mad woman] the looks of runway shows that have already happened. Next week, I'll get back to Spring fashion, but while it's in the moment, here are [some of] my favourite looks (so far) for Fall 2012:

(L-to-R): Rag & Bone | Rebecca Minkoff | Jason Wu | Rebecca Minkoff

Click the links for photo sources

(L-to-R): Calla | Calla | Erin by Erin Fetherston | Erin by Erin Fetherston

Click the links for photo sources

Is it bad that last year I was disappointed I had to miss the Marc Jacobs livestream because of Valentine's Day dinner? I was glad we have dinner reservations later in the evening this year  (coincidentally) when I saw that Marc by Marc Jacobs was showing at 4:45pm (my time- AST).

Which designer's colllection are you most looking forward to?

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lately in photos...

I won a gift certificate to IN PINK  from a giveaway on Tieka's blog that I still need to spend!

Pretty flowers as a thank you to a friend.

Home-made cinammon pita chips I made for a baby shower I attended Friday night! 

I'll share the recipe in an upcoming blog post.

Chanel's June nail polish.

Goes on thinner than other Chanel polishes I own- needed multiple coats for full coverage.

New Maison Scotch t-shirt I fell in love with 

and wore Saturday evening while drinking vino with some of my besties.

We also enjoyed a faux, but lovely rolling fire over a box of pino grigio.

Jessica served us a gourmet breakfast Sunday morning!

I amusingly watched Shannon & Jess play Scategories Sunday afternoon 

with hot cocoa Jess made from scratch.

An amazing trick we learned that weekend: if you are without ipod speakers 

(or other audio options are failing you) toss your ipod into bowl (the deeper, the better) 

and it enhances the volume and acoustics! Cool party trick.

I received a complimentary GLOSSYBOX yesterday morning and can't wait to try out the contents!

Look for a review coming up soon!  Have you tried any of the other monthly beauty-sample boxes?

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winter layers

Outfit:  Sequin tank (similar): Joe Fresh | Brown tank: Abercrombie & Fitch | Sweater: Kensie 

Vest (similar): Gentle Fawn | Jeans: 7 for All Mankind | Necklace (similar): H&M | Boots: Born

You've heard me say it before- that winter outfit photos are a challenge to accomplish! (Did you notice my Rudolph nose?) Unfortunately, that's why I haven't been posting my outfits as regularly! But I hope now that with longer stretches of daylight I can at least battle the unpleasant cold to document more outfits!

Despite the fact that we are in the thick of winter here in New Brunswick, all I can think about is the new spring collections that have been coming out! I'm over darker, winter hues- bring on the pretty pastels, brights and neons! 

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double date night

The Outfit  Blouse (similar): Joe Fresh | Skirt (similar): Silvian Heach* | Tights-  Winners 

Shoes- Nine West | Necklace- Banana Republic | Nail polishes: Gosh Flamingo & Milani Jewel Fx in Gold 

Hello February 1st! Although we're still in the thick of winter, at least we're getting a wee bit more daylight- which should mean that you'll be seeing much less of my patio doors and my back deck! 

I wore this particular outfit for a double dinner date- the only flaw of pairing a polyester blouse with an elastic waist skirt was that they seemed to team up against me! Without a belt to keep everything in place, the waist line kept sliding up since the fabric of the skirt provided minimal (or no) friction to keep it in place! Got to love wardrobe malfunctions... 

This coming weekend I'm looking forward to a friend's baby shower Friday evening followed by a trip to Fredericton to drink wine with a group of girlfriends- should be an awesome time!

* The following item was purchased locally: skirt (Je Suis Prest Boutique)

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