Life Lately

LifeLatelyI’ve been trying to keep busy, but it’s hard! There’s only so much you can do in the run of a day, a week, a month. I’ve been avoiding the sadness but a few weeks ago it hit me hard and I fully embraced it and it sucked big time. I don’t mean that for you guys to comment in a big ol’ pity party, I’m just saying. I’m fine, everything’s going to be fine. It just sucks, and it’s hard and I don’t like it. I’m so glad my husband is so compassionate.

latteBut I’ll tell ya what I do like. Espresso. And four shots of it. I’m starting to love the taste of espresso (still not loving the taste of a coffee though), and I’m trying to figure out the cheapest way to ask for an espresso drink somewhere, without paying $6 or $7 for it. Next time I might just ask for all the espressos with no additives (milk, or fancy frothy stuff) in it, then bring’er home and add some of my own milk. Am I being a penny pincher? My parents always told me I will always have a couple of bucks on me no matter how broke I get. Guess it’s from all those days asking for pure espresso shots. Really though, I don’t drink the espresso alldayerrday. It’s about once a week when I need to get shiz done. Ya know? Like yesterday when I blogged (I’m not even going to tell you how many posts I pumped out yesterday due to the caffeine intake). BUT IT WAS GREAT! By the way, anyone try the new Lancome Juicy Shakers yet? It’s the lip product up there shown in the tiny cocktail shaker shaped thing! Cute right??

Upclose-NicZoeI don’t dress up often since I don’t have a corporate job to go to any more. But I do like to dress up for blogging events from time-to-time. I put together this little ensemble over the weekend and liked how it came out! Fancy Nancy is sportin’ all black, with a bright red shoe. No matter where I go, these shoes get complimented on, and they were SO cheap!

Stand-with-purseOutfit of the day
NIC+ZOE day to night top and perfect leggings, Nexus 5X in my hand ;)
Moto 360 watch, hand-me-down purse
Etsy necklace, Brandy Melville gold ring, Charlotte Russe flats

NIC+ZOE is a really nice place to shop online for business casual clothing. They have some beautiful pieces and I already have a few more items on my wishlist I’d like to purchase from them (the top and leggings were sent to me).

What else. I’ve been enjoying running. Although, not for very long, but getting it done quickly. Sometimes Most times I hate running, but ya gotta get a bit more exercise than a bit of bouldering, and yoga-zen-time. So, running it is. You might’ve noticed I’ve been cycling an awful lot too. That’s because I have been. I got a new bike in December from Specialized, and after my first fall I’ve resorted to wearing street shoes and not clip-shoes (what are they called? Why are they called clipless, if you clip into them?). I’ve been exploring the city about an hour each time I go out on the bike and I still feel silly walking my bike across the intersections. But I’m still a bit wobbly and clumsy on it! I’ll get used to it one day. Back to running. I had a scary moment in a sketchy neighbourhood (which I’ll never run in again by the way). I had throat-burn from running so fast away from 2 scary guys who scared me for a legitimate reason.

Moto360-watchI got my first fancy smart watch! It’s the new Moto 360 Android watch in rose gold, and it officially launched yesterday. I’ve been playing with it ever since I got it. I feel like Inspector Gadget talking to my wrist to bring up the weather app, or to text someone. It also has a really interesting feature where you can change the strap on it very easily with the push of a button on the back. I have it in a tan pebbled leather, a black silicone, and the strap that came with it — this soft tan shade. I have to say, it brings me back to my childhood when a university student who lived next door neighbour bought me a watch with interchangeable straps for my 9th birthday. Memories!

colouring-bookColouring has been awesome too. Did you guys get any colouring books this Christmas? I swear it was a popular item. My husband gave me TWO colouring books, talk about spoiled! I’ve been using fancy calligraphy markers from fancy art stores in fancy San Francisco to colour and I’ve been enjoying every moment of it. About an hour a day I turn my electronics on airplane mode, put on some chill music, and colour, or just take a bit of me time. It’s been good.

How have you been?

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It’s patio season!

Ravamp-Patio-HeaderSummer solstice has arrived, and you know what that means? It’s time to take the party outdoors!

If you follow me on Instagram you already have seen many sneak previews of what I’m about to show you guys today, a patio revamp.4-IG-picsOn week days I’m running errands and cleaning house. I want to spend as much quality time with The Guy on weekends, as much as possible and not worry about chores or laundry. It can wait. Weekends are for family time, and the past number of weeks we’ve been both outside here on the patio resting after our runs together, or even having a bite to eat out here while the sun sets. It’s perfect.

Patio-revampSuppers on the patio, with our bistro set from O.Co made for the perfect way to end our weekend. Do you like what we’ve done with it? It was so bare before! We have been living in California over a year, and we had yet to invest in our outdoor space. I had no idea what to do with the place until I remembered when we lived in Canada we had this sweet little bistro set, and I wanted to do something similar outdoors, again.

homemade-pillowsThat palm tree over there is real, mind you. Considering I kill every plant I’ve ever owned within a few weeks, I’m hoping for the best. So far so good, I bought the plant about 3 weeks ago, and it seems to be doing good thus far.

UE-BoomEntertaining outside in California doesn’t require too much planning seeing as the weather is predictable for the most part. Sunny skies throughout the day, with cool temp’s following dusk. All you’ll need to finish off the night is a couple of swallies, some music, and a blanket, then you’re set for an evening of fun on the patio.

UE-Boom-in-handsLet’s chat about this UE Boom for a moment here. This portable bluetooth speaker is water resistant (it comes in a larger size that is 100% water proof, and yes you can chuck it in a pool and it won’t get damaged) isn’t that wild? This little speaker plays loud enough music to get us dancin’ and has incredible bass to it, and the battery life is good for up to 15 hours — which will bring you well into the morning if you’re having a grand ol’ party. Can I be invited to that one? As you can tell from the size of it in my hands, it’s easy to pop into your purse, suitcase or even bring it to the beach with you while you’re having a time with your friends this summer.

If I was made of money, I could buy up to 8 UE Boom speakers and sync them all together to create a completely wireless set of stereo speakers. I was chatting to the Logitech PR people at a tech event the other week, and one of the women mentioned that she used this in a family members home because their wiring system was outdated and simply placed a bunch of the UE Booms around the house for a party. Awesome, right?

Patio-weatherThe design of it is quite sleek, and they come in an array of colours including limited edition designs. The plus minus sign isn’t for decoration as I had originally though (duh moment right there), it’s for the volume. Go figure. Ha!

Patio-areaI bet you’ll be somewhat impressed to hear I made those floral lumbar pillows. I loved the H&M pillows but they were too large. I bought one of them anyway, and cut them down to a size I wanted, and used a lime green Ikea pillow cover to use as the backside. I’m impressed with myself, to be totally honest with you. But I wouldn’t recommend you ever using the product called heat & bond. Too much stress, and the pillows might bust apart at any minute. But for the meantime, I think they look decent.

Alfie-and-I-on-porch

Alfie-on-chair

Alfie-enjoying-Patio-life

Petting-Alfie

Alfie-in-plantAlfie and I have a grand time on the patio during the afternoons, I think he’s enjoying his perch a little too much. What do you guys think? I am probably being biased, but isn’t he the cutest dog you’ve ever seen?

Anyway, pop on over to my patio if you’re in the area! I might even make you a cuppa tea while you’re here :)


O.co bistro Set | Ikea ravenea potted plant | H&M outdoor rug | UE Boom | Ikea seat cushions

Disclaimer: Thanks to O.co & UE Boom for sending the items for me to re-vamp my patio in style!

 

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San Francisco Style – Outfit of the day

I’ve been spending the majority of my time in San Francisco lately, to get as much girl-time in with my new friend, Megan. We met in person about a month ago, by finding each other on Instagram, not realizing we were both Canadian. So we HAD to meet up.

Unfortunately, Megan is moving back to Toronto within the next few weeks. Each time we’re together, the hours simply fly by — it’s like we’ve known each other for years! I just love the ease of friendship we have and how easy it is to just chat with her. We click SO well, and it’s too bad we didn’t meet sooner. But I’m glad we bonded, and I’ll cherish our time together. Doesn’t mean we’ll never see each other again, right?

I feel like I rarely do outfit of the day blog posts anymore, so here is what I wore last week while spending the day with her in San Francisco. :)

Nancy-at-BlueBottle

OOTD-SpiffykermsStyle

Outfit-of-the-Day-SF-editioOutfit details:
Ardene sunglasss, Etsy necklace, Joe Fresh tee, H&M hoody
Suzy Shier faux leather jacket, Zara purse, Zara jeans, Target knock-off vans

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