Lana Del Rey is on a Roll

Guess who's going to be the musical guest on Saturday Night Live for the January 14th show? That's right, Lana Del Rey. Amazing, I love her.

Here's her new song Off to The Races

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Kiehl's Lip Balm

I know this isn't the cutest thing to be sharing with all of you, but I have to confess... I have the worst chapped lips of everyone I know, year after year.

I've tried it all; Burts Bees, Blistex and Labello, but no matter what I do, I always end up with cracked lips. Until now...

Kiehl's Lip Balm is the answer to my dry lip's prayers. I picked mine up at Holt Renfrew for $8.50 and my lips have been super soft ever since.

This isn't a gloss and it's not scented, so this is one beauty trick you can share with the man in your life too.

Plus, at under $10 a pop, Kiehl's Lip Balm is officially the stocking stuffer of the season. That is, of course, assuming you can't spring the half a million for this...

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NY is Killing Me

I have to take a break from Drake. You know what they say about too much of a good thing, right?

So keeping in the Drake spirit, I'm all over Jamie xx. Subpop records released their staff's top 20 of 2011 lists and it's no surprise that Jamie xx and Gil Scott Heron make multiple appearances.

So without further ado, here is NY is Killing Me.



Also, completely off topic, but I love Grammar Girl.

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A Tommy Hilfiger Kinda Christmas

This Tommy Hilfiger Christmas ad is super fun.

Enjoy!

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Versace for H&M Has Arrived!!

What a morning! I'm not even sure how it happened. I woke up, took London out, was thinking "should I go?" unsure if I was ready to let my wallet face the temptation. Before I knew it, I was at H&M. 

I arrived around 9am, thinking I would just walk by and see if there was anything even left over. Long story short, I ended up being ninth in a line, standing outside H&M waiting for the lucky bracelet holders go be finished with the clothes. We were all eyeing the dresses and accessories that we hoped they wouldn't take first. 

Finally around 12:30pm, it was our turn. 

Lineup Behind Us

I ended up with the red flower ring, and the black dress I've been talking about nonstop. Only problem is, when I returned home and actually tried on the dress, it was a little (more like a lot) too tight. So I'm going to go back in a few days and see if I can exchange it.

H&M Staff Manning the Fort 

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Sample Sale!

I recently blogged about the pair of Zeha Berlin boots which I have been seriously coveting, however, the price tag has kept me from actually acquiring the boots. Funny how that works, right?

Well it would seem the fashion gods heard my cries; AM Collections is hosting a sample sale starting today and lasting until the 27th.

The sale will include various Zeha Berlin's, John Smedley sweaters, Mona Aletheia jewellery and some gorgeous Aunts & Uncles bags, all at a serious markdown from the retail price.

Stop by their studio at suite 200, 1026 Davie street (directly above Celebrities) and get your shop on!

PS - I know I have been going on an on about the boots, but there's something about the Zeha Berlin Oxford shoes that I just keep coming back to. I don't suppose I could find a way to buy both...? I mean who really needs electricity anyway?

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I'm So Proud Of You

Drake Drake Drake, we're so proud of you. Everyone is loving the album Take Care. Myself included.

The songs that stand out, in my opinion, are Crew Love, Make Me Proud, Take Care and Over My Dead Body. I haven't heard a ton of people talking about Marvin's Room, but it's also in my regular rotation. I'm especially loving the second half of the song. Pitchfork explains the story behind Marvin's Room, and it's worth a read through.

Ok so back to Take Care, which is a collaboration with Rihanna. If it sounds familiar, that's because it is. The song is produced by Jamie xx, and also borrows elements from his original version of the song I'll Take Care of You. It's a goodie.

If you haven't heard the entire new album yet, I highly recommend you do. Crew Love seems to be getting a lot of buzz this week, so take a listen below and let me know your thoughts.

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Versace and H&M launch is days away

I've learned my lesson after last year's Lanvin and H&M collaboration. This Saturday I'm going to be at H&M early.

I'm particularly looking forward to trying on this little black number, pictured below.

Versace hasn't even officially launched yet and there's already whispers of Tom Ford being the next designer collaborator. I don't want to get my hopes up, but if this is true... well let's just say the Stanley Cup riots will be nothing in comparison to the fashionistas on the prowl for some Tom Ford. We're talking about one seriously cut-throat shopping extravaganza. But I digress.

Below is the video for the Versace and H&M collaboration. I like it, but maintain that the Matthew Williamson video is the best one so far.

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The Japanese Popstars

Not even my coolest friends can deny that Gossip Girl features some pretty sweet music.

Last week I tweeted about Lana Del Rey on GG, and this week I must share the Japanese Popstars. Their song Shells of Silver was on the show tonight and caught my ear straight away.

This song is the perfect background music for me to have on while reading a book and "sipping" down a big glass of red. Consider it done.

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Saturday With Chanel

I was strolling around Pacific Centre, sipping on an eggnog latte from Starbucks this Saturday, when I wandered into the Bay. While admiring the Love by Moschino bags, I was approached by one of the darlings from the Chanel makeup boutique. She asked me if I was interested in having my makeup done, and since I had a lazy morning planed anyway, I agreed.

She did a fun smokey eye for me, which I loved, but it's definitely not my usual everyday look. I ended up buying the Stylo Yeux Long Lasting Eye Liner.

It's beyond amazing. The thing I love most about this eyeliner is that it's smudge proof. That means no black marks around the tops of your eyelids if you happen to accidentally open your eyes a little too wide. (Guilty)

Stop by the Bay and talk to the ladies at Chanel about some of their upcoming holiday events. Mini facials, makeovers and champagne; sounds like the perfect combination!

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Sale at Club Monaco!

Possibly the sweetest four words a girl like me could ever hear; "sale at Club Monaco".

One of my absolute favourite stores, Club Monaco, has some fresh mark-down's, and I picked up these two skirts for a steal of a deal.

On sale for $89

Marked down from $199 to $99

I'm feeling inspired to start writing my Christmas list...

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Zeha Berlin Does it Again

Zeha Berlin's Tall Slip-In Riding Boots (548)
$620 at Gravity Pope

Zeha Berlin has stolen my heart, once again, and I fear it won't be returned until I cave and buy these boots. Sounds like a win-win situation to me.

Everyone is talking about how this is going to be the coldest winter Vancouver has seen in years. They never tire of complaining about old Jack Frost. I'm not a huge fan of being cold either, but I definitely AM a fan of stylish clothes. If warming myself up this winter season, means walking around town in these gorgeous boots, well say no more.

These Zeha Berlin's are exclusively sold at Gravity Pope and Asphalt Shoes and come in a range of vegetable dyed colours. 

Additional Fall/Winter styles are available at Lark and Umeboshi.

PS- check back in the comming days for details of a Zeha Berlin and an Aunts and Uncles sample sale. Christmas came early this year ladies!!

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Throwback Thursday: Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah

Here's the back story:

Years ago I bought an iPod touch. I was still completely committed to Blackberry at the time so an iPhone was a no-no. Anyway, I loved my iPod and had literally, thousands of songs on it. One day my computer crashed and instead of fixing it I got a new one. Only problem was that I couldn't figure out how to get the songs off of my iPod and onto my new computer. Then came the day I tossed the Blackberry and got an iPhone. Still with me?

Anyway, because I couldn't get the songs off of my old iPod, getting them on the iPhone was totally out of the question. I thought I was doomed to re-download the music, until a dear friend did some sort of sorcery on the iPod and long story short, I was able to get my old music on my iPhone. (BTW - anyone want an old iPod Touch?)

So I've been listening to my fav tunes from a few years back now ever since, and am falling in love with the music all over again. Before moving on to the new "cool" bands, I needs to make sure everyone is aware of the old ones. Case in point; Clap Your Hands and Say Yeah.

I've had their self titled album playing for the last week. Love it! And I'm not alone in that sentiment; in 2005 when the album was released, Pitchfork gave it a 9 out of 10.

My favourite track is The Skin of My Yellow Country Teeth. Gross name, I know, but don't let that put you off.

I think if I were a runner, this would totally be my running song.

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Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project

I am *so* looking forward to this party next weekend, hosted by Smirnoff.

The Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project is an ambitious attempt to create a once-in-a-lifetime experience on the same night, all over the globe. On Saturday November 12, Vancouver will host the Canadian Smirnoff Nightlife Exchange Project with a one-of-a-kind Vietnamese themed event taking place at the Salt Building in downtown, headlined by world-renowned Canadian DJ A-TRAK and Saigon's DJ Jase.

The Salt Building will be transformed to recreate the heart of Vietnam's urban lifestyle where the hipster and Bui (street style) scene collide, including a Vietnamese market brought to life with fresh food carts, a karaoke booth, a souvenir shop and a clothing market.

Sounds like fun, right? Tickets will not be sold for this invite only event, but lucky for you, I have a set I'm giving away to one lucky reader!

To enter, simply leave a comment answering the following question:

- After a night out, what's your fav spot to hit up for brunch?

(Contest closes on the 8th)

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Tip Toeing Into Spring...?

Ok that's optimistic given that winter hasn't even officially begun, but I just can't stop thinking about Chanel's Spring 2012 nail polish colours.

Appropriately titled April, May and June, these colours hit the shelves in January and are already on my wish list. I'm particularly fond of June, though it's hard to pick a favourite.

May reminds me of my recent obsession, OPI's Pinking of You.

Which one are you coveting?

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Style Says

Remember in Mean Girls when the plastics tell Cady they would never buy a skirt without consulting in their friends first? Well I hate to associate myself with the plastics, but I must admit, I always need a second opinion before I splurge on a purchase. (Side-note: Who am I kidding? I love Regina George)

With my besties now scattered around the globe, it makes a trip to the mall next to impossible. Lucky for me this little gem came across my inbox.

Style Says is a social media platform for fashionistas. Basically, you shop at your fav online boutiques, and when something catches your eye, you can share it with your friends (so they can tell you how adorable you'll look in it). Nothing like a little peer pressure to get something off of your wish list and into your shopping cart.

The site has lots of great features too like notifying you when your must-haves go on sale, or when free shipping is available. Plus, they're running a contest right now to win a one month ShoeDazzle subscription for two friends. All you have to do is visit their Facebook page and select a friend to enter with.

Check out the video below for a breakdown of Style Says:


StyleSays 101 from StyleSays on Vimeo.

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The Moon and the Sky vs. Trials of the Past

Tonight's episode of Gossip Girl ended with SBTRKT's Trials of the Past. I was totally feeling it, but mostly because it was reminding me of a song I was obsessed with a few months back; Sade and Jay-Z's The Moon and the Sky remix.

It's not just me, you hear it too... don't you?

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Set Your PVR

It's TV time baby!

Now that our Monday's won't be clogged up with an hour's worth of The Playboy Club (cancelled today), we can make room for some of this fall's real gems.

First things first, Up All Night.

I am absolutely loving this show. Christina Applegate, Will Arnet and Maya Rudolph are hilarious together. Applegate and Arnet are new parents, he stays home with the baby, while Applegate works as a producer for Rudolph's daytime talk show. Rudolph plays an obnoxious diva, but is still super likeable. Sort of like Kim Kardashian (she's likeable... isn't she?).

Next up is The New Girl.

While I find this show is quite funny, I will say they need to seriously lose the laugh track (it ruins my train of thought). Zooey Deschenal is the clueless new roommate, living in a house full of dudes (trust me, I never say dude, but how else would you describe this crew?). She's super awkward which is adorable, but also kind of embarrassing.

Finally, Suburgatory.

Mean Girls meets the Humphries from Gossip Girl. This one is about a teenager from New York City (Tessa) who lives with her dad. After he finds condoms in her drawer, he packs her up and they move to the suburbs. Tessa thinks the Barbie doll like girls in the suburbs are totally lame, but I think they are incredibly amusing. I wish this show was one more than once a week.

As for my old time favs, can someone please tell me when Cougar Town will come back on? I miss it. Also, what are our thoughts on The Office sans Steve Carell? I'm feeling it.

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Lana Del Rey - Video Games

Lana Del Rey is the gorgeous 24 year old New Yorker with the voice of gold.

A friend recently shared this song with me and I've had it on repeat ever since.

Read an interview with this rising star on Pitchfork.

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Colour Blocking

I'm the kind of girl who is most comfortable sporting the colours grey, cream or black, with maybe a soft pink or purple to "spice" it up. So you can imagine my anxiety when I realized that colour blocking is making a comeback.

Not only does this mean I should add something bold to my wardrobe, but on top of that, I should pair it up with something else equally bold? Bold + Bold = Me over thinking my outfit choices. 

However, my fashion anxiety came to a halt after a recent trip to Shopbop. This Jill Stuart dress makes me wish I had embraced colour blocking years ago. Seriously, could this outfit be any more adorbs? 

At $645.61 it's a bit of a splurge, but I can totally picture myself wearing this into the fall with a cute cardi or even a tailored blazer. If you're as smitten as I am, you can purchase this frock here. (And feel free to lend it to me, wink wink).

Some of the other colour blocking looks I'm coveting from Shopbop below:

3.1 Phillip Lim top, $257.01

Diane von Furstenberg dress, $385.52

Marc by Marc Jacobs cardigan, $306.36

I guess I should start saving.

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"Watch the Throne", more like watch my mouth

I am SO glad I didn't post this when I had originally written it; I had no idea what I was talking about.

Originally I wanted to say something about Kanye West and his Pichfork rated 10 out of 10 album My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy. I had planned on saying that the bar was set too high and he could never accomplish that again. I was prepared to call Watch the Throne "really good".

Shame on me.

I bought the deluxe version of the Jay-Z and Kanye West masterpiece on iTunes (that's right, I still buy my music). It's been on repeat on my iPhone since the purchase. Every single time I listen to this album I find another reason to love it.

Initially my favourite song was Why I Love You, which is easily the catchiest song on the album, but after countless listens, I can no longer pick a fav.

The songs I find myself listening to over and over are (in no particular order) Lift off, Welcome to the Jungle, H*a*m and Ni**as in Paris.

In honour of last night's huge announcement that Jay-Z and Beyonce are expecting their first bebe, here is Lift Off.

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Whatever you like...

I was recently tweeting about my love of Anya Marina, and since I still can't get this song out of my head, I think it's time to sentence others to the same fate as me. Misery enjoys company, although this song is anything but miserable.

If this sounds familiar it's because you probably already know the song. It had huge radio play a few years ago when rapper T.I. first released this hit (with a very different sound). You can check out the original here.

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My New Fav Colour

Now that it finally feels like summer around here, it's time for a fun new nail polish. 

I am obsessing over OPI's "Pinking of you". 

I'm rocking this colour on my toes as I type and every time I look down, I smile.

The pink shade is totally understated and soft, so it's not overkill to wear it on your finger AND toe nails at the same time. It's also not going to make you put your hands in your pockets every time you boss comes around. 

That's right ladies, we have found the perfect balance between professional and trendy. 

Believe it or not, fall is just around the corner. Before you know it we'll all be trading in our jean shorts, flowy tanks and leather gladiator sandals for skinny jeans and cardi's. 

Drink in the summer digs while you still can! 

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The Smell of 1000 Flowers is in the air

The one thing that almost every girl will have no trouble splurging on is perfume. Musks, florals, sweet scents and fruity ones too, the way you smell is part of your identity.

Tonight at Lark Clothing you have the rare opportunity to meet a renowned perfumer. Jessica Buchanan will be speaking about the inspiration behind her latest fragrance, 1000 Flowers, which is being launched tonight at the shop.

Complimentary gin and tonics will be served along with a 10% discount off everything in store, including sale items.

This could get dangerous, my Visa better watch out!

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Raspberry Mojitos

If the sun ever comes back out, you will totally want to check out this recipe for raspberry mojitos. A girlfriend made them for us last week and I can confirm that they tasted just as delicious as they look.

Ingredients:
3 sprigs fresh mint
2 teaspoons sugar
5 to 8 raspberries
3 tablespoons of lemon juice or 3 tablespoons of lime juice, fresh
1 1/2 ounces light rum
Club soda, chilled

Directions: 1 In a tall thin glass, crush or muddle part of the mint and raspberries. 2 Add the sugar and lime juice and stir thoroughly. 3 Top with ice. 4 Add rum and mix. 5 Top off with the club soda (or seltzer). 6 Add a lime or lemon slice and the remaining mint. 7 Serves one.

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Marc by Marc Jacobs "Aid for AIDS" tees

I am definitely digging the recently launched Marc by Marc Jacobs Aid for AIDS tees.

As a person who works in the HIV/AIDS field, I was especially interested and cannot wait to get my hands on one.

I'm particularly loving the angel print, but at $35 a piece I could splurge and buy all three!

I've tried to purchase online, however the Marc Jacobs online boutique seems to either be down, or sold out of the coveted tops. Fingers crossed that Holt's will carry them.

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Long Beach Lodge, Tofino

Since first moving to the west coast, I've heard over and over again about the small surfing town of Tofino.

Last summer I popped by for a day trip, but with less than desirable weather, I left not convinced it lived up to the hype.

Well this year, at the Long Beach Lodge, I was proved wrong.

We made the long journey to Tofino for the beach side wedding of one of my besties. The weather was beautiful and our private cottage was even more amazing.

The weekend went off without a hitch; sunny skies, delicious food, the most comfortable beds of all time, and our very own hot tub.

Our cottage

The Hot tub

Mr. & Mrs. Hughes

My date and I

Watching the sunset over the beach with a glass of pinot noir

When you wish upon a star....

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A Walk on the Seawall

Only in Canada could you be walking downtown in the mids of all the hustle and bustle, and still run into a flock of Canadian Geese.

Canadian Geese hanging out by the water

Tree lined seawall

Flowers in bloom. Loving the summer weather

Green grass

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Happy Canada Day!

To all of my fellow Canadians; have a lovely Canada day filled with red and white, fireworks, camping trips, hockey games and of course, some Tim Hortons coffee!

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This Heart's on Fire

All good things must come to an end, right? Knowing this, I shouldn't have been so naive to think that one of my favourite bands of all time, Wolf Parade, would be around forever. The group went on an indefinite hiatus on May 30th. Heartbreaking, I know.

On the bright side (if there is a bright side) at least their last show was in Vancouver at the Commodore. On the very bright side, at least I was at the show.

Having seen them play before, I knew going into this that it would be fantastic, which it was. That being said... was it just me or did the whole thing seem kind of... sad? It was like the band knew this was it and I could hear the mourning in the music.

It was a short night for me as I was sick the day of the show, but from what I hear, they played all of their classics well into the night/early morning. This Heart's on Fire, I'll Believe Anything, Kissing the Beehive, Dear Sons and Daughters of Hungry Ghosts, What Did My Lover Say, You are a Runner and I am my Father's Son, and the list goes on and on until the show ended with Bob Dylan's Knockin on Heaven's Door. The complete setlist can be found here.

Spencer Krug

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