Finished writing another midterm today! I finally feel like I can sit back and relax.. for a day or two before I need to start studying for another one. Exams at school feel like they've been non-stop this semester. Can't wait til my 4 month break is here! Just gotta get through these last two months :)

I received an email from a reader asking for a better picture of the bouquet ring from the Tony Duquette x Coach accessories collection.

The bouquet ring itself is a statement piece, and the colours of crystals used for the petals and pollen of the flowers look so lovely together. While I know big statement pieces are often a worry for petites, my hands are quite small and I assure you that I love the ring and try to wear it at every opportunity I get! It definitely covers more of my hand than the YSL Arty ring, and is very similar in circumference to my boyfriend watch (pic below). The height itself rises higher than the arty as well, so its not like you can ignore the fact that it's sitting on your hand.











The ring is not too heavy, but may take a bit of time to get used to if you don't wear much jewelry on a daily basis to begin with. When wearing it, I would suggest to let it shine - don't wear anything over the top that would pull attention away from the ring. Be minimalistic if you choose to wear other jewelry, and I think most importantly, confidence is key. If you don't feel you can pull off a larger sized ring, why would anyone think it looks good on you either? Be confident in anything you wear! :)

In other news.. I wanted to share with you some of the jewelry I've picked up lately! I've been on a huge jewelry kick lately - especially if its gold, or if its from BCBG. Seriously, I don't think I should step into another store for a while, because I always buy something before leaving the store!


BCBG Beaded Ball Ring | bfrend COCO Bracelet | BCBG Pave Spike Ring
BCBG Pave Leaf Ring | F21 Anchor Necklace



The bfrend COCO Bracelet by Monika of The Doctor's Closet has such a beautiful design. The pearls add femininity to the gold base metal material. The bracelet is surprisingly lightweight, and the chains almost feel like light plastic - makes me wonder what the material actually is?





The BCBG pave spike ring is current & in stores - you can purchase it online through their website. The ring is lighter than I thought it would be, but still carries some weight to it. I haven't worn it out yet, but can't wait to!



I started writing up this post this morning before I headed to school. And after writing my midterm, wouldn't you know it, I ended up inside BCBG on my way home! I saw this beautiful pave leaf cuff and had to pick it up. So happy that its mine :)

Anyone else obsessed with jewelry lately?

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February 29th happens once every 4 years - and it happens to be the last day to enter my appreciation giveaway! I will be announcing the winner within the next two days :)

Gosh, I'm terrible. I've written three midterms over the past two days and my brain is at the point of meltdown.. It's been quite a while since my post about the Coach & Tony Duquette collaboration.. and I know you want to see what I picked up. All the pictures were taken via Instagram! Yes, I'm still obsessed.

So look no further:

Love, love, love this collection. Hope you enjoyed the eye candy!

And if you haven't done so yet, enter my appreciation giveaway!

After a (somewhat) long absence, I'm back! Last week was extremely cold in Edmonton.. with windchill, temperatures dipped down to -45 degrees celcius. I tried to convert that into Fahrenheit with those unit converters on the internet - all of them failed me! So I took the liberty of doing calculations by hand and figured it out for my American readers. -45 Celcius = -49 Fahrenheit. SO. COLD. Stepping outside of my house was a nightmare.

Anyway. If you haven't heard about this collaboration already, I want to share it with you today! For those of you who have been following my blog for a while now, it shouldn't be a surprise to you that I love the American brand, Coach. This month, Coach has collaborated with the team at Tony Duquette to design a line of fashion jewelry and accessories.

During his time, Tony Duquette was a world renowned artist and designer. He designed costumes and sets for movies, winning him awards, and even designed jewelry for royalty during his career. He has had numerous exhibits at museums around the world and is well respected in the world of art and design.

When I first laid eyes on the preview pictures of the collection, there were a few pieces I coveted. But over the past week.. I have found myself to love more, and more, and more. Here's the pieces I love.

And of course, I've been trying to stick to my new years resolution of budgeting and spending less.. but I've been bad this month. I'll try again in February.. haha



... Anyone want to guess what I picked up?? :) I will reveal everything later this week!

By the way, I'm now on Instagram! Find me! I'd love to see your pictures :)

It's Fashion's Night Out tonight in cities across the world, and I'm so jealous to be stuck here in Edmonton! Boohoo. Nothing new & exciting ever happens here haha! So as a pick me up and to celebrate the world of fashion & style, I'll share with you my new fall beauty!

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I'm a seasonal bag type of girl. A girl that loves to change things up when the weather changes and the seasons come & go. Of course, I do love my staple bags that I can use all year round, but I also give my bags labels, and use them in certain instances, or during specific times throughout the year.

This little beauty that I ordered a couple weeks ago? She's perfect for the fall, but I just might be tempted to flaunt her all year round.

Coach Madison Flagship Embossed Croc Caroline Dowel Satchel

The latest bag I've picked up is from none other than Coach. I often hear things along the lines of the following phrase: "hah, Coach? They're poor quality and cheap cause they're made in China". I don't think that the bags are poor quality, nor cheap. As an affordable luxury brand, I commend their ability to make a bag for any woman or man out there - there is so much variety that any one bag is bound to tickle your fancy.

I've always been a fan of Coach and their innovative design team. They source high quality Italian leathers and other materials to craft their bags, which, by the way, are handmade. Every time I walk into a store, I know that there is a bag for everyone.

Anyway, enough about my rambling. My admiration for this company has been put out there and I stand behind my own opinions & beliefs. Introducing my new Caroline! There's little snippets for you to piece together before seeing the whole thing!

This particular bag is a limited edition bag, designed to commemorate Coach's 70th Anniversary. This particular bag, along with other Caroline styles will be available in Flagship stores this upcoming October, given that there are any left! When I received this baby, there were only 20 left. Yikes!

There's so much texture to the leather on this bag, and the different pieces that put it together make it a showstopper. The bag is all cow leather (no crocodiles harmed in making this bag!), where the pattern is stamped on, giving it's name - croc embossed leather. The particular colour is called light pewter, and has a metallic finish to it, giving it a slight sheen. Personally, I would say the leather is taupe coloured, with a light pewter metallic finish.


Sneak peek at what I usually carry :)

Despite being petite, I love to carry my big bags. This one is no exception, with measurements of 15" x 11" x 6" - you can carry everything! The lining is also a beautiful lilac purple which compliments the pewter accents beautifully.



When empty, the bag does not maintain it's shape fully, but it holds up rather nicely. My favourite things about the bag are the attention to small details - the braided leather handles, 14K gold hardware, commemorative hang tag, pleated detailing, and of course the amazingly soft leather used to create this bag. Can't wait to wear her out with different outfits!



If you're interested at all, this bag is available for order right now, retailing $1000.

I hate to admit it, but fall is most definitely almost here. The sky is gloomy, and its cold. Makes me want want to pull out my winter mittens in fear.

To tell you the truth, it wouldn't be so bad if the weather in Alberta didn't change so drastically. Last week I felt like a heat wave was going on, high 20's everyday, heck, the wind was even warm. This weekend? It's 10 degrees outside and I have to cover every inch of my body.

I'm slowly preparing myself though, starting off by buying a pair of cute shoes for this fall. I know they're not technically considered booties, but why do I keep calling them that? I can't picture myself wearing them in the summer.. they look like they belong on feet in Autumn. I think they're a great transitional piece from sandals in the summer to boots in the fall & winter.



I picked up this pair from Coach (addict, I tell you), and they're quite easy to slip into, contrary to what you may think. The straps are for show, and the shoes feature a zipper hidden away on the inside out of sight.



With a 4.5" heel height, they're very comfortable as there is a 1" platform at the front. The leather is oh so soft, but likely prone to scratches. We'll see how things go. The soles are also completely leather, so getting the shoes soled after a wear or two will be better for both grip to the ground and increasing the lifetime of the shoe.



I'm so excited to wear these shoes out soon! I think they'll look fantastic with skinny jeans or tights, and the colour is a nice neutral to go with everything. These are called the Sandra heel, and are currently available in black through the Coach website for $218.

I'm not really a watch person, but I'm really anal about being on time. As a child, my mother would buy me watches to wear, but to her despair, I would always lose them. At the gym during gymnastics, at the swimming pool, at the dance studio.. I never knew where the heck I left the watches and I would always get in trouble. Since those times, I never ever thought I would buy a watch again.

Since the trend of oversized watches and boyfriend watches came to be in the past couple months, I really wanted to get a watch. Just one problem: my wrists are SO small. Nothing fits. The faceplate of the oversized watches are bigger than the size of my wrist. It's a sad, sad life for me in the watch world. Even if the watch isn't an oversized watch (like a bangle watch), it moves all the way up my forearm to my elbow :(

But! In the end, I think I've found the perfect match. Introducing the Coach Phoebe patent strap watch:







For accessories, I tend towards silver and other bright metals, and this is no different. I find it looks better on my skin than the gold, so maybe it was a good thing that the Michael Kors and other Coach oversized watches I looked into that didn't fit me. The faceplate is stainless steel, while the strap is silver patent leather. Plain & simple, I love it. And how cute is the dangling star?

Did you know that all Coach watches are manufactured by Movado? They're backed by a pretty good name, and almost all their watches are water resistant up to 99 feet. There's your fun fact for the day!

So, as I'm sitting here blogging and uploading my photos, something at the top of my screen caught my eye. It was an advertisement for Coach on Photobucket (where I upload all my pictures).

The little banner itself was displaying a couple items, with a link to 'shop now'. However, looking at the pictures, I instantly recognized them. Out of the four pictured, I owned three, and the fourth one was a makeup bag I've been contemplating buying purely based on colour. Weird, hey?



Has anyone else seen this ad with different items? It would make things seem less odd. Does this mean I am the ideal Coach customer? HAHA. Just made me smile.

Tonight, Vince & I were headed to see Serenade & Vigil of Angels put on by the Alberta Ballet. The performances were beautiful as always! George Balanchine's choreography was my favourite of the two, however, because the dark-themed sets in Vigil of Angels made me very sleepy, hah.

Since it was close to the Jube, we headed to Phobulous for supper, where I had their yummy hu tieu :)

Also! I picked up this baby today from Coach - the Kristin elevated leather crossbody. I love the light gold colour of the chain, and the silver leather is just so pretty and soft!



Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

As I sit here in my hot room, waiting for the thunderstorm to pass and ultimately avoiding studying for the MCAT, I thought I'd at least put some wasted time to use and post!

This past Saturday after a long scheduled meeting from 9am - 330pm, Vince and I needed a quick fix before I headed to my next work responsibility at 6pm. With the outdoor temperature being so hot, pho was out of the question even though I was CRAVING it.. so I suggested heading over to Mongolie Grill on Calgary Trail, since I enjoyed having it for lunch with the girls and Vince had yet to try their cooking concept.

I had never tried this restaurant up until about a month ago, when Cassie suggested going there for lunch. I guess it was likely because of my parents, saying that the restaurant was extremely overpriced for eating just a simple stir fry - what can I say, they're Asian ;)

Upon arriving at 430, the restaurant was pretty empty, with maybe two or three tables occupied at most. We were greeted by the friendly hostess, and our server was very polite! The thing I like most about this stir fry restaurant is that you have the option to choose what you want to eat, and how much you want to eat. It is the perfect option for those trying to watch what they eat - you control portion size, flavouring, etc. For starters, both of us decided to try their Hot & Sour Soup.

Hot & Sour Soup

The soup itself looks interesting, very different from the traditional hot and sour soup that my parents have been feeding me my entire life. While the type I have at home is usually jam packed with asian ingredients like bamboo, shiitake mushrooms, wood ear fungus, this bare version at Mongolie grill mostly consisted of a broth with some egg, flaked bean curd and chewy pieces here & there (I say chewy pieces because I had no idea what I was eating!) Despite this vast difference, the soup itself wasn't bad. The flavouring to the soup made me want it more & more - it was a very unique mix between salty, sweet, sour and spicy. All in all I would recommend it, but I hope overtime they will reduce the amount of sodium in this one!

My vegetarian stir fry

For my stir fry, I opted for the vegetarian, choosing my favourite stir fry stars: baby corn, broccoli, onions/green onion, white and portabello muchrooms,and of course Shanghai noodles! I think the funnest part of the meal is choosing the sauces for the stir fry, and crossing your fingers hoping the resulting plate will taste decent! For me I chose house blend, spicy thai, pureed garlic, teriyaki, oyster sauce, and black bean sauce. The result? Delicious. Combined with the complimentary wraps & rice and you've got yourself a substantial meal!

Oh, and on a side note, I bought myself the Coach Alexandra bag this past weekend in Champagne.. isn't she a beauty? She's gorgeous and I can't wait to use her!

meet alexandra :)

Mongolie Grill
3345 Calgary Trail
Edmonton AB

As the company's fiscal year comes to a close, Coach Leatherware will be officially introducing a new collection on July 1st, the Alexandra Collection. I am aware that some of these bags are currently in the store, but the full display will be layed out on July 1st.



The Alexandra bag is very versatile & functional everyday bag. It is marketed as a bag that can be worn in three ways: a satchel, and crossbody bag, and a shoulder bag. This bag has a great silhouette, and since it's available in multiple colours and materials (sateen, fabric, leather, patent leather, metallic leather & embossed leather), it's perfect for fall. My favourite material in this collection would have to be the leather, as it is soft, pebbled and thick. Despite being soft, it is durable and able to keep it's shape, and I love that it is available in rich fall colours. In addition, the zipper runs very well considering it is on a slouch! It actually reminds me a bit of the Miu Miu bow satchel..

My picks? The leather Alexandra in Champagne, Berry, and Black Embossed Croc.

Champagne
Berry
Embossed Croc