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Prepping the home for the warmer months

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Decorating and getting ready for Fall/Winter is kind of a love/hate for me. For one, Fall is the time of year I really love to layer my clothes and bundle up in cozy knits and tons of texture. I hate wearing shorts or dresses in the summer — I’ve never been one to wear summer clothes. But on the other hand, I’m constantly cold. Right now it’s 11°C/52°F outside and I have on my Newfoundland knitted socks, jeans, a long sleeved top and a zip-up hoody. My hands and feet are still cold. I’m in California here folks, what the heck.

drinking mugI’m drinkin’ up all my tetley tea (having one at this very moment, see above? I just took that picture a few moments ago) and getting ready to write out a meal-plan for the next few days which will most definitely include some hearty warm meals.

So I’m guaranteed I have a buttload of blankets and throws laying around — I should probably stop purchasing so many, but they come in handy! I’ve even been known to add another blanket on top of me in the bed while my husband is just there wrapped in a sheet, feeling overheated.

But all those blankets needed a home. I couldn’t keep piling them in neat folded stacks on the edges of the couch, because the long couch we have was starting to turn into a one-seater. Silly.

Overstock basketsI teamed up with O.co and received a set of 3 well-designed and sturdy rope baskets. In the largest one I keep all the cozy blankets for easy access. You might’ve seen the other two smaller baskets that fit inside on my Instagram feed as some flatlay backdrops here. I always love the look of stylish homes in magazines where they have their living room set up and off to the side of the couch their blankets are draped over this stylish basket. I feel like I’m going to have these baskets for years, it’s incredible how heavy and luxe they feel. I mean, it’d make for a generous housewarming present for a friend, plus Christmas is coming too if you want to put it on your own wishlist.

Alfie in BasketAlfie loves them too.

Overstock rope basketsThat’s how I go about prepping the home for the warmer months, getting out all the fall cushions, the warm fuzzy blankets to curl up in, and making the house look that much more welcoming.

Buy| O.co Cotton Rope Baskets $89.99

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Beauty, Daily

Bobbi Brown | Original 10 Lipsticks (swatches!)

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Bobbi-HeaderBobbi Brown celebrates her 25th anniversary lip collection, the original 10. All of them being completely easy to wear and in a creamy-matte finish. Each one complements any skin tone, and from 1 to 10, the shades range from a pale salmon colour to a classic red.

BobbiBrown-Original10The Original 10 travel-sized are limited edition in this beautiful case, and once you open up the magnetic closure box, there’s a gorgeous burgundy red velvet inside (see towards the end of the post), with Bobbi Brown in gold lettering. It’s a stunner. It’s hard to pick a favourite because most of the shades are something I would easily wear every.single.day. I love all the neutral easy to wear shades. No wonder this got Bobbi Brown noticed back in 1991.

Let’s see what the look like on.

Bobbi-Brown-SalmonBobbi Brown Salmon| A peach colour for those who love a pale lip.

Bobbi-Brown-BeigeBobbi Brown Beige| Soft for the woman who likes a muted lip. Use also to blend and tone down lip colour that’s too intense.

Bobbi-Brown-RaisinBobbi Brown Raisin| A great evening colour if you usually go for a nude lip. This is also gorgeous as a neutral on dark skin tones.

Bobbi-Brown-BrownBobbi Brown Brown| An excellent pinky nude shade.

Bobbi-Brown-RoseBobbi Brown Rose| This one brightens up all skin tones without looking over done.

Bobbi-Brown-PinkBobbi Brown Pink| The perfect shade of pink that’s the right kind of bright.

Bobbi-Brown-OrangeBobbi Brown Orange| A truly wearable, toned-down orange that packs a punch.

Bobbi-Brown-BlackberryBobbi Brown Blackberry| Try using this shade to deepen any lipstick for evening.

Bobbi-Brown-Burnt-RedBobbi Brown Burnt Red| The perfect brown-red.

Bobbi-Brown-RedBobbi Brown Red| A classic red that adds elegance to any look.

Bobbi-Brown-lips-closed

Bobbi-Brown-lips-cap

It’s no surprise to hear that the lip colours (the original 10) are her bestsellers that started it all. Bobbi’s creamy, semi-matte lip colour was the first formula to launch (and sold out instantly). Each colour feels exactly the same on the lips, they’re so comfortable and easy to glide on without a drag – instantly making you look polished. Which one is your favourite colour that I tried on? Or which one would you pick?

B U Y|
Bobbi Brown Original 10 (limited edition) mini lipsticks ($115 USD | $194 value).

 

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Beauty, Daily

My perfect hair day checklist

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I’ve been styling, dying and cutting my hair (the latter, my husband does for me), ever since we moved to California. Mainly for the fact that I know exactly what I want, and how to achieve it myself. Plus, it’s really hard to find a stylist!

I started dying my hair using the same products that my at-home-stylist used on me when I lived in Canada. So far it’s been working out well — minus a few minor mistakes by me (leaving the dye on too long making it extra dark!). My hair grows at an incredibly slow pace, but I’ve figured out the products that suit my baby-fine hair, and keep it healthy looking in between trims.

My perfect hair day checklist:ghdhairghd hair dryer| Last month you guys might’ve seen me unbox my new hair dryer that ghd sent over to me.  Um, now I know why people invest in good hair dryers. One, this is super lightweight and easy to manouver with a flick of the wrist and my round brush. I blow dry my hair straight for the most part, and then follow up with a hair straightener after the fact, but using the removable nozzle on the end is fantastic for creating a sleek at home blow-out. Have you guys ever used their products before? They’re phenomenal! I highly recommend it. I’ve never had a dryer so fancy before — and the one we had prior to this was 8+ years old and totally fried my hair (or so it seemed). Oops.

ghd hair dryerBuy: ghd air® hairdryer $199USD.

perfect hairhair products| My aveda round brush is over 10 years old and I’ll never get rid of it because they no longer make this specific brush. It gives me the perfect amount of volume and has this pick-thing on the end that’s great for putting my hair into sections with those yellow clips you see above. It’s also important for me to use some sort of leave-in conditioner, and right now I’m using the drybar Mr. Incredible. It’s awesome (and in aerosol form) so it’s quick to apply to the ends. When blow-drying my hair I use a mixture between the aveda round brush and the drybar lemon drop hair brush — then follow up with straightening on the ends. To finalize everything I then apply a serum on my hair. I actually prefer a different one but I’m slowly going through the kerastase elixir.

ghd air hair dryerWhat are some of your favourite hair products? Comment below and try to make me smile a bit today — because I deleted every.single.photo. off my camera last night, by accident (switching over to a new phone). I am so upset lol.

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