Monogram

I like the idea of personalized stationary, for those rare times I get the opportunity to send a note or thank-you card, but I haven't pulled the trigger yet. These personalized monogram stamps are a great alternative, allowing you to put your initials on plain stock as you need it.







Besotted Brand make stamps, cards, envelopes and labels. In honor of their new monogram stamp designs, including the Diptyque-inspired encircled design above, they are offering 50% off everything in their web shop until Labor Day with the code MONOGRAM.

I've ordered the Stacked Oval monogram stamp for myself, as well as a bunch of the gilded edge "merci" cards.

Fall 2012 - Rick Owens + Shopping List

As much as I'm not minding the warm weather of summer, autumn and winter are really more my thing, so I can't wait to start wearing more layers. I've already made most of my purchases for fall, collecting things throughout the spring and summer.

I only have a few more pieces to pick up over the course of the a/w seasons:

- sweater dress
- knit beanie
- wool cape
- light grey long sleeve t-shirt

Stretch leather leggings are eternally on my wish list for autumn/winter. I've toyed with the idea of some low-cost options, but deep down I really don't want to compromise, and should probably start saving up for the elastic-waist Ann Demeulemeester version. They are exactly what I want: super soft, thin leather, elastic waistband, stretchy, and long legs to allow for a bit of stacking. The only thing that is holding me back is the price, obviously. Sometimes at the end of the season you can find a pair on sale, but mostly they sell out.

I can't really afford most in-season pieces until they go on sale, but I am in love with the buffalo plaid coats from Rick Owens as well. I think it would be easy to integrate one with my existing pieces, and it would provide a little graphic pop to my otherwise monochromatic wardrobe. Plus, I can never say no to new coats and jackets- I simply love outerwear.



I'm also intrigued by the knit face mask slash beanie hybrid (only available at Luisa Via Roma so far), but not sure if I could pull it off! It's a lot of look.

Work It Out

I haven't been this excited about work-out clothing since the first Stella McCartney for Adidas collection debuted. A few weeks ago I discovered the brand Work Out Life via Australian Vogue. Their first collection just launched on August 15th and I would love to add every single piece to my very small and random "work-out wardrobe".

It was created by Rebecca Quade and designed by ex-Stella by Adidas designer Ebru Ercon. The 60-piece collection is broken up into "Work", "Out" and "Life"

WORK: High performance, high impact apprel for the gym, yoga, running and spinning.

OUT: Medium to high impact chic performance wear with a mixture of more directional fashion pieces. Apparel able to transition from the workout studio to everyday life.

LIFE: Sophisticated basics and modern track suiting for those low impact activities.

For some reason I'm more open to wearing a touch of colour in my fitness apparel, and I think Work Out Life does a great job of using colour and print in a more sophisticated way compared to the eye-blinding neons that are popular in athletic wear right now. Even so, many of the floral or coloured pieces below are also available in black.



About WORK OUT LIFE:

WORK OUT LIFE is all about innovation, sport, fashion and the freedom to choose — this 60-piece trans-seasonal range and online site is an evolution of designer fashion meets sports/active wear. The combination of modern performance pieces, mixed with pre and post workout fashion options to match, allows the modern girl to go from her workout to her daily activities. Whether it's Bikram yoga, then coffee with friends or a business meeting — life is about choices and so is the range — there are no rules.The contemporary collection has been inspired by fusing performance pieces in prints and colour ways to reflect todays fashion world. The company has listened to the woman on the go... because we are "her" and we have made sure her needs are answered by introducing a range that takes her to wherever she chooses to BE today.

























I can't even decide what to buy first.

Also, I'm about half-way through my month of Bikram yoga! I will post an update about how I'm doing soon.

Helloooo Istanbul!

No, I'm not in Istanbul, but I wish I was! I fell in love with this hotel thanks to Ideas to Steal.

Karaköy Rooms is a 9-room boutique hotel designed by Run Architects.

I'm obsessed with copper at the moment, so I love the copper tubing used to conceal wires! What a great idea- if you need to run wires everywhere, why not make them a feature? I think it looks particularly striking three or four tubes wide - circut board-esque.

Don't even get me started on the floor boards, wall moldings and those bathroom tiles!

For a little touch of copper, I love these new desk accessories from Ferm Living, fresh from their new Fall 2012 look book that's been making its way across the interior blogs today. I'm definitely interested in that tray- I think it would look great with perfumes arranged on it.

The summer bug

Now for something completely different...

I've been enjoying this summer more than most.

Yes, summer and "enjoying" in the same sentence!
Look at me!

It may have had something to do with visiting L.A. Something there rubbed off on me. Perhaps it was receiving my yearly dosage of vitamin D within one week?

For some twisted self-masochistic reason, from time-to-time I enjoy looking at swimwear. I discovered Minimale Animale, a super-sexy L.A. based swimwear line with 90's style high-cut legs, chunky zippers an lots of mesh! Motivation to get back to the gym, perhaps? I'd say so.


It's tough to choose, but I think the "Jane Fonda" is my favourite 2-piece. It's also a stunner in white.

The "Christie Brinkley" is definitely my favourite one-piece, just look at that back view. The "Grace Jones" is actually 4 separate pieces, so you can detach and mix-and-match as you like.

The "Stephanie Seymour" suit has a banded look, and almost feels like an update to Milla Jovovich's white bandage suit in the movie Fifth Element (one of my favourites, btw)

Wearing one of these awesome swimsuits is not going to happen this summer, as over the past year and a half or so, my metabolism has given me a reality check.

I've decided to finally do something about it, and this month I am going to start doing yoga. That's right- I am posting my fitness intentions here as an effort to hold myself accountable! I'm going to try yoga for one month. And not just any yoga. Bikram yoga. Hot yoga. The type of yoga that my friend convinced me to try with her once before, and thought that I was going to die. To quote Rick Owens, I thought I was going to "die in a pool of my own vomit"

I was resistant to trying it again properly, on a regular basis, because yoga is such a "thing" here in Vancouver. If you're from Vancouver, I don't even have to explain. I didn't want to be one of "those girls", those "yoga girls" mincing around in Lululemon on their way to "yoga class". I'm going to be covert about it- it's going to be a secret. I'm not going to wear my "yoga clothes" on the way to class. I may even try classes of night, so I can return home under cover of darkness. For my 1 month of yoga I may even use/rent a mat at the studio, so I needn't advertise my activities to the public as I carry it to and from class.

And I certainly won't be wearing my yoga clothes out in public, pretending that they are real clothes, like a large percentage of the population here. Men love it- have you seen your own ass in a pair of tight-fitting yoga pants? Everyone's ass looks great in those pants, but I'm screaming in my head "those are not real clothes!! When did this become socially acceptable!!"

Basically, my plans are to try something new each month and see what kind of class or gym I want to continue with long-term. I'm going to start with Bikram yoga, and then in no particular order I'd like to try: boxing, Barre (ballet barre workouts), Crossfit, pilates, a Boot camp or two, personal training and the good-ole community gym.

Like any new activity, the fun part is looking at new clothing, so expect a few fitness-apparel related posts coming up.

Also, if you have any experiences with the workouts I've listed above, or could suggest anything else you think I should try, I'm all ears!