As promised, this post is going to get real. Ohhhh so real. 😛 But actually, I am totally guilty of never looking back and refleting on all the great things that have happened. I have a slighttt tendency (slight might be a bit of an understatement lol) to always be moving forwards without ever taking the time to reflect on the past.

Today, being that New Years Eve is tomorrow and all, I want to take a moment to think about what a great year it has been. 2014 has truly been amazing, and there have been so many significant moments that I never stopped to appreciate. There are lots of great things that have happened this year, but I will keep this short and sweet. 😉

GRAD!! 
To be honest, I wasn’t really that excited about graduation when it first happened. Probably because I actually graduated while I was on exchange and then had a delayed grad ceremony. Either way, thinking about it now, it seems pretty damn cool if you ask me. I now have a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of British Columbia. Definitely will be doing another degree at some point! MBA perhaps?! 

SKINNY BELLE!!! 
Thissss is by far my favourite thing that has happened this year. Seriously, I cannot even tell you guys how much I love this place. It is such a fun and positive environment, and nothing makes me happier than reading your comments and getting to know you better. So thank you, for allowing me to do this!! I have so much awesome stuff planned for 2015 and I can hardly wait to share. 🙂

STUDY ABROAD!! 
This was also unreal. I am SO happy I was fortunate enough to have this opportunity. The first 4 months of 2014 were spent in Prague, Czech Republic. Here I studied and completed my Bachelor degree. “Studied” is a loose term… 😉 We saw many beautiful places, and met such great people from so many different countries. I was able to extend my trip by spending my summer modelling in Milan, Italy. This was also a highly rewarding experience, and I finally got to see my homeland! (I am actually an Italian citizen, believe it or not!)

Taking this time to reflect on 2014 has showed me how much great fortune I have had this past year. My experiences have been unparalleled, and I have learned so much. I truly believe that you never stop learning, and am looking forward to the things I will experience and learn in this coming year.

I encourage you to take the time and think about your 2014, and all the great experiences you had. Damn it!! I promised myself I wouldn’t get all emotional… but here I am all emotional n’ stuff. Anyways, that’s enough realness for one day haha. 

Let me know in the comments what your favourite memory of 2014 is! I would absolutely love to hear about it. 🙂

x,

New Years is almost here!!! New Years is one of my fave holidays. Why? It is purely an excuse to dress up and spend time with friends, all while enjoying great food and drinks. What’s not to love? It also gives us a great opportunity to reflect on the year that has passed, and what we are looking forward to in the coming year. BUT… I won’t get all real on you guys today. I will crack that can of worms open another day haha. This post is about booze!! I mean… an elegant beverage that you should consume responsibly. 😉

So I came up with this beauty of a drink and am quite positive that it will be making a big appearance on New Years eve. It is great because it is made with mostly water, which will keep you hydrated throughout the night. If you know what I meannn.

What’s in it:

• 4 tsp sugar
• 8 tsp water
• 16 blackberries (not really necessary to have this many, I just like lots)
• 2 oz white rum
• 2 sprigs of rosemary
• Sparkling water (I used San Pellegrino)

Start by combining your sugar and water in a small cup. Mix warm water with the sugar is it can fully dissolve. Now, put 3 blackberries in the bottom of two separate glasses. Muddle those bad boys until they are nice and smooshy (<– totally is a word, let me have it haha.) Next you add about 6 ice cubes per drink, and pour half of the sugar & water mixture into each cup. Add 1 oz of white rum to each glass. Throw about 5 more blackberries in each cup. Don’t muddle these ones! They are meant to look pretty. Nowwww fill those cups up with your sparkling water, and add 1 sprig of rosemary to each cup! DONE AND DONE. You killed it. I can just tell. 🙂

I made this drink for Skinny Belle, because I wanted to make sure I shared a New Years drink recipe with you that wont break the bank in calories. You should really avoid drinking your calories whenever possible, because it is wayyy more fun to eat them haha. There is only 2 tsp (30 calories) of refined sugar per drink! Not bad if you ask me.

Give my Skinny Belle Blackberry Rosemary Mojito a try, and let me know what you think!

x,

Hello! So I am still in vacation-mode right now up in Whistler, Canada. It is snowing hard here and looks like a beautiful winter wonderland, I am going to try and go out to take some photos soon for you to share the winter love. I also wanted to share these photos with you that I shot a few days ago in Vancouver. In typical Vancouver fashion, it was raining like crazy the whole time! We managed to find a dry spot to snap a few pics though. 🙂

This is another Free People dress, I seem to be really into their brand lately haha! I love the black and gold look of this, it is so perfect to wear to holiday parties… even maybe on New Years eve! The best part about this dress? How loose and flowy it is. Seriously though. The other night I made the fatal mistake of wearing a tight dress to a holiday party and regretted it all night long. Why? Food. Food = the most amount of discomfort possible in a tight dress. Anyways, I was sad about my clothing choice all night long like a grumpy little toddler or something haha. This dress, would have been a much smarter decision! Which is why it will most likely be making another appearance at some holiday dinners over the next few days.

On the other hand, these shoes? Allllllways a good life choice. They are my Jimmy Choos (aka my pride, joy, and loves of my life 😉 .) Seriously the most comfortable shoes, and they look freaking bomb. I really should wear these more often but it kind of feels like a crime to wear them in the rain. I felt pretty guilty even after just taking photos in the rain of them! “I’m sorry my sweet sweet babies, I will do better I swear” <3 (All totally normal behavior…. 😛 )

Do you guys have a fave holiday dress to wear to dinner parties?! Let me know in the comments below, and if you have a blog feel free to link me to a post with your favourite holiday outfit. I would love to check it out! <3

x,

Today is a happy happy day. I am a bit late to join this bandwagon but I am officially in full-on psycho Christmas mode. My version of the holidays is relaxing on a mountain with the people I love, and taking every opportunity to make things a little more special than normal.

And that is EXACTLY what I am doing. My days are suppppperrrr stressful lately. I can’t EVEN. 😉 Here’s how it goes… Wake up, go skiing, après ski, relax, and repeat. This is pretty much my perfect holiday situation I have going on right now.

Today I varied a bit from my super strict schedule (lol) and made my fave pancakes before I went skiing. This is my classic pancake trick that always impresses whoever I make them for, and nobody needs to know they are not from scratch!

Now… here’s the trick. I make my pancakes skinny by shredding up a ton of apple and adding it in with the pancake mix. This is probably the greatest thing ever for two reasons.

• First, it cuts out half the carbs!! You are officially eating half the amount of pancakes that you were eating before without even knowing it! WOOO! This is reason to celebrate in my world lol.
• Second, the apple makes the pancakes taste so freaking delicious. There have been special requests made for my pancakes to always and forever be made with apple. So, my taste testers have spoken! Apple pancakes for the win. 🙂

To make your own apple pancakes, simply buy your fave pancake mix (and any ingredients it says you need,) and an apple. I like to use a Fuji apple because their flavor is just the best. Shred the apple and add it to your pre-made pancake mix (after following the directions on your mix) and voila! You are done! Be ready to impress your friends with this cozy holiday treat that in no way will break the bank in calories. (Unless you smother it in real maple syrup, which I may or may not have done, but whatevs it’s the holidays haha.)

Hope you are all having a great Sunday! Happy holidays 🙂

x,

Hi everyone! So I took these photos when I was up in Whistler this weekend. The original plan was to shoot this dress out on the end of a dock on this gorgeous frozen lake. Because that’s a normal thing to want… right? I had a vision, JEEZE. So anyways, we get out there and its about -100 degrees Celsius and I am slipping and sliding all over the place in my heels on this stupid frozen dock. I think I slightly resembled a drowning squirrel, at least that’s how I felt lol. This would be the point when I promptly declared that I hated Canada and had no idea why I live in such a cold place. Weird, because I love skiing and that’s in the cold. But apparently I don’t like the cold so much when it is off the mountains haha! Don’t worry, I actually do love Canada lots I was just angry at that the weather was stopping me from getting my perfect shot. 😛

Once I realized it was basically like the North Pole outside, I decided it would be better to shoot this look inside. Not the original style of photo I wanted for you guys today, but I don’t have hypothermia so that’s a plus. (Only a problem Canadian bloggers will understand haha.)

This dress is a new find from Free People. The material is soooo cozy, it’s a great dress for winter. One of my favourite parts of the dress are the cutouts on the arms and waist. They add such a nice shape to the dress, which tends to emphasize them curves. (Yes, them curves. Lol.)

My shoes are from Nine West, and are also so comfy (especially for heels!) I am totally into the pointed toe look these days. There will be quite a few more shoes like this coming your way soon! Check out this post where I also wore these shoes. 

And finally, my beauuuutiful pearls. These bad boys are from Birks. They make me feel like a freaking rockstar. Why? Whooooo knows. Just something about them. Do you ever have that? When something you own just makes you feel outrageously fab for no good reason? It’s kind of the best! Haha 🙂 

Can’t wait to share my upcoming posts with you, lots of fun stuff planned!

x,