With A Little Love

I got my Little City order yesterday of Yulanda Yee's Cinnamon Hearts.

I remember instantly falling for the simplicity of this photograph. Yulanda always had a way of capturing inanimate objects and making them absolutely beautiful by breathing life into them.

Anyway, I'd intended on buying this piece when Yulanda was still with us and it broke my heart to purchase them the day after she passed.

The Little City folks okay'ed it with her family first, and once approved, I was notified and told that proceeds would go to the Lymphoma Foundation of Canada.

I bought 2 pieces, one for myself and one for Diana, who had known Yulanda for years from their younger blogger days.

I'm glad to have this piece to always remember her by. Even if, I don't think I could forget her. She was an amazing, talented, good person. I miss our dear friend a lot.

::: Nathalie

Meet the new addition to my family.

I have an announcement.

I am the proud mother of a brand new pair of Miu Miu Buffalo Ribbon Cocco's. I picked them up at discount rack at Browns, from $475 down to $199.

Diana saw them first and nearly lost her mind. Size 6 1/2 sitting with the size 8's. When she showed them to me, I nearly lost it.

Now when someone says, "Cute shoes." I can respond with, "Thanks." (This is my queue to flip my hair like I'm the shit.) "They're Miu Miu."(Just kidding.)

::: Nathalie

(I realize the jeans in the fourth picture are completely inappropriate for these babies.)

Who needs "influence"?

The real deal, MBMJ Petal to the Metal Cross Body

Alexander Wang rip off bags at H&M, $14.95

The real deal, Nathalie's Alexander Wang Tina Zip Clutch

If you read our blog, you'll know that Diana and I are handbag snobs. It just kinda happened one day. After buying our first designer bag, there was no way we could go back to anything else. Since then, we've been able to spot which designer "influenced" the significantly less expensive version.

This past weekend, we ducked into Town Shoes for a quick look. Diana handed me a bag that looked strikingly like the Marc by Marc Jacobs Petal to the Metal Cross Body.

"When did they start selling MBMJ?" I asked. But it wasn't. It was their house brand.

Then today, at H&M, we walked by a display of Alexander Wang Tina Zip Clutch "influenced" bags. I'm gonna pull the snob card here and tell you that I have the real deal in my closet. So I asked Diana "Am I a sucker for spending big bucks on my bag or does H&M suck for replicating it?" Diana's a good friend and told me H&M sucked. Plus, their version is pretty awful as "influenced" items goes. Apparently $14.95 gets you the latest "it" bag.

::: Nathalie

Bye Bye FCUK (kinda)

When I was considerably heavier (we're taking 20 pounds here), I could go into an French Connection store and fit into a size 8 or 10. Um, vanity sizing much? Some of the pieces were cute and it made a chubster feel pretty awesome. Their garment measurements make absolutely no sense. Some of their pieces are teeny tiny, while others could easily fit a family from a third world country (not mine, we're not that small). I haven't shopped there in over a year and kinda forgot about the place in general.

Today, I found out that they're closing all but six of their American stores.

They usually have decent sales, so I can only imagine what it'll be like in the upcoming weeks.

-D

Nail Wars: Liberty of London for MAC & American Apparel

I was very excited when I heard about the Give Me Liberty of London MAC collection a few months back. The time has come and the collection debuted last week. The colours are lovely - vivid, but with a relaxed feel. I wanted to buy the whole lot, but responsible adults don't spend their paycheques on cosmetics now do they?

I opted for both the Nail Lacquers, Vestral White and Blue India. I've never cared for white nails but I instantly fell for this one. I was a bit fearful it'd resemble white out, but I don't believe it does and I did get some compliments. While Diana always vocalizes her distaste for MAC nail polish, I rather like it. My favorite long-wear formula is still Essie (in my opinion, nothing compares), but as long as MAC keeps pumping out awesome colours, I'll continue to buy them.

On another nail polish related note, Diana blogged about American Apparel's collection back in December. Turns out the first run of bottles were prone to breaking, therefore anyone who bought the first run can go back to AA and get a 2 for 1 replacement deal. Not too shabby.

Since Diana had bought 5 bottles, she was looking forward to collecting an extra 5 new colours. But once in the store, she was told her 2nd bottle had to be the same colour as the first. LAME.

Three of her colours were replaced with a second of the same. Her fourth colour, Office, wasn't available so they left her get 2 different ones, Berries and Passport Blue. The fifth colour, Factory Grey, also wasn't available, but she kept the original bottle because she really likes this one. She walked in with 5 bottles and walked out with 9. It's a plus for me since I get to inherit her repeats.

::: Nathalie (and Diana)

MBMJ S/S 2010

I realize the next few words are going to sounds crazy, especially coming from me, but the first time I saw the Marc by Marc Jacobs S/S 2010 collection I thought, "Wtf. I could never wear this shit".

But after a trip to Holts this evening, and seeing the amazing blue flowered dress (pictured last), I get it. In the RTW world, I would wear that dress with my hair down, sans the massive bow, and with a pair of nude coloured ankle strap sandals (though the red ones are pretty cool). I'll definitely be waiting for that dress to hit the reduced rack. I can shell out the money for a good handbag, but not for a $560 cotton dress. (Sorry Marc.)

Now talk to me about those Blue Leather Rope Sandals (last row). Drool! He did something similar years ago when I never thought I'd own anything Marc Jacobs. I'll have to grab them as soon as they're available.

::: Nathalie

Picture source: Shopbop, Neiman Marcus, Style.com

Ugly Flooring, Masculine Shoes Part 2

As per Diana's previous post, we were downtown Toronto this weekend and shopped for all sorts of things. Since the desert boots I really wanted weren't available, I bought the Clarks Original Moccasins Diana wanted. Shoe swap!

Oh comfortable footwear, how I love you.

::: Nathalie

About F'n Time

So, um, Topshop's delivering to Canada now.

Excuse me as I have an aneurysm.

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH,
D

Source: LOULOU twitter

Ugly Carpets, Masculine Shoes

Saturday: Nathalie and I bought materials for the friendship bracelets sold on our Etsy site, got produce in Kensington, and we both purchased Clark's shoes.

It's kinda funny and mean that I got desert boots, since Nathalie was the one obsessing over them. They didn't have her size, so boo hoo and I win. They're pretty comfortable, but I find that they dig into the back of my ankles which sucks (probably just have to break 'em in). I've been pairing them with floral dresses and cardigans and pencil skirts with baggy sweaters.

I work in the suburbs (lame), so I'm not really surprised at the reaction I'm getting to my new footwear. Some people are nostalgic, while others are confused as to why I'm wearing 'butch' shoes (ha!). Whatevs, I dig and that's all that matters.

The crappy picture was taken in my cubicle. I'm pretty sure one of my coworkers saw me taking it, but didn't want to ask what I was doing. It's ok, they think I'm weird anyway.

Gonna be late for work (again),
D

Manicure Beauty Minute

We've been putting this off for WAY too long.
I did this one without Nathalie on my iPhone (hence the subpar quality). I gotta say, trying to talk about something in 60 seconds or less is pretty tough. I channel my inner Six every time I do one of these.

I've had a headache for three days now and it's really starting to bum me out.

ZZZ,
D

P.S. Nathalie's been blogging up a storm at The Lime Shop blog. Make sure to check it out.

Review: hydraSense Nasal Care

So I'm sitting in a boardroom in a meeting that I don't really want to be in, when my coworker sits down beside me. No biggie. We engage in idle chit chat before the meeting starts. Then, SHE COUGHS ON ME. Hello, huge deal-breaker. I felt a tiny splatter of her saliva hit my cheek and a little part of me died. Or at least my immune system did, cause now I've got the first symptoms of a cold.

I have no time for illness of any variety, so I drove over to the nearest Shopper's Drug Mart after work. A few weeks ago, a coworker (not the one who got me sick, thanks for nothing btw) told me about a nasal spray that cleaned her out real nice - mucous, dust and all. It was a pretty horrifying story but I stood there mesmerized thinking "I gotta get me some of that". Today, I did.

hydraSense® claims that it will relieve and moisturize your nasal cavities and help you breathe easier. They also did a study saying that using it while having a cold will reduce symptoms. I was all over it, and it was on sale for $12. My throat was feeling pretty gross all day, but after using hydraSense, it feels better. I've used it three times in total. I'm not sure if it's that or the echinacea based cold meds I'm taking, but I swear I feel better. Also, my office is a dust yard and I'm always congested, so I have a feeling this will come in handy.

So you wanna know how it works? You stick the nozzle parallel to your septum and tilt your head in the direction opposite of where you've placed the nozzle. You spray lightly and the liquid travels up your sinuses and comes out the other nostril (it feels super weird, but kinda satisfying). You repeat on the other side, then blow your nose. I know this isn't for everyone, but it's kind of like using a Biore strip. It's kinda gross, but you know you're getting rid of the bad stuff so you can justify it.

Grade: A (but ask me again tomorrow, it might go up or down).

Gotta sleep this cold away,
D