Back in September, State & Main opened and it is now the only full-sized restaurant located in the mall. With the constant renovations and "facelifts" being made to Southgate, State & Main has the right amount of flair to fit right into the modernized shopping centre.

State & Main - #850 5015 111 Street - Edmonton AB

State & Main is actually a new Alberta-based chain restaurant with locations already in major cities like Calgary, Lethbridge and even Saskatoon and Winnipeg. My boyfriend and I decided to stop by for a quick lunch on a Thursday around 12:30 and were actually surprised by the number of people in the restaurant. While I understand State & Main is located in a shopping centre, not many employees have a long enough break to have a sitdown lunch at a restaurant, and malls aren't very busy during the early afternoon. It's great to see that they're getting lots of business though!

When given the menu, I couldn't help but feel a bit overwhelmed by the number of options. There were so many different dishes available, and multiple potential sides with every dish. Eventually, I settled on the Long Beach Fish Tacos ($16/3 tacos): lightly spiced mahi mahi, avocado, shredded lettuce, tomato, green onion, chopped cilantro & fresh lime. Served with a mixed green salad. The waitress was kind enough to ask the kitchen to omit the cilantro from my dish, so the tacos were pretty tasty. The pieces of fish were flaky and substantial in size, and adequately seasoned so as not to taste fishy. The vegetables were fresh and tasted great inside of the lightly grilled taco. The side salad was a nice way to lighten up the dish, but I found the vinaigrette to be quite acidic, and wished it could have been less sour.

My boyfriend went with the Chicken Club Wrap ($13.50 w/ 2 sides): oven roasted chicken, peppered bacon, aged cheddar cheese, avocado, tomato, mayonnaise & crisp shredded lettuce. The price included two sides, and he chose french fries and a quinoa salad. The wrap itself was grilled crisp, encasing the fresh veggies and cooked chicken, but the bacon was quite predominant, overpowering the other elements in the wrap. The fries were delicious, almost like they were coated with batter first before they were fried to ensure they would be golden and crisp. The quinoa salad was served cold and sweet, with hints of balsamic.

As the sister restaurant to Original Joe's, the similarities in their menu and food presentation at State & Main was readily apparent to me. I can't get over it, and just have to say that it just feels like an upscale Original Joe's. The food is good, but many dishes are well-loved favourites, meaning there's nothing new and exciting on the menu. It's a nice place to go for casual lunch or dinner, as the atmosphere is relaxing, and the service is quick and friendly. Check them out on your next shopping trip to Southgate!

Happy Monday! Sorry for being super MIA lately! My best friend is getting married this upcoming weekend, so things are starting to get a little crazy around here. Aside from hosting her bridal shower this past weekend, there's lots of decorating to do, prepping for the wedding, and the rehearsal dinner this week too! I'll get back to my emails and comments soon, I promise!

So since I'm in wedding mode, I'm switching gears a little bit this week and looking for a polish colour that's suitable for the wedding. The wedding colours are white & blush pink, so I decided to swatch OPI's classic Aphrodite's Pink Nightie to see how it would look against my dress. This pale pink polish has a frosty finish to it, which I typically despise. However, the formula applies nicely and levels out quite well, which minimizes the streaky look after the polish dries. At two coats, the polish is just about opaque and shows a slightly visible nail line. It's a pretty shade that looks great in the spring, or even for weddings! Polish wears up to 4 days chip free, and the shine lasts for quite some time. It's not the colour I'm looking to wear for the wedding.. so it's time for me to keep swatching before the big day!

Mackage leather jacket | Bellatrix tank top (via Nordstrom) | F21 jeans
Prabal Gurung for Target booties | Coach clutch & accessories
A few months ago, I received an email from the duo behind FO Photography - a new photography business in the Edmonton area. After conversations on Twitter and meeting up for lunch, we decided to collaborate and shoot an outfit of the day post! I absolutely love the transitioning colours of the leaves in the Fall, so I put together burgundy & olive pieces (my current favourite colours!) to complement the yellow and orange of the foliage. Needless to say, I had a ton of fun stomping around during the shoot on the crunchy leaves - Funmi even let me throw them at her! Make sure to check out Funmi & Adrian's work at FOphotography.com :)