have yourself a merry little Christmas

Merry Christmas everyone!

this was such a completely wonderful day. I can't even begin to tell how sweet and thoughtful all my friends and family have been, and how blessed I am! or how amazingly delicious my mom's Christmas dinner was. ohhhhemmmmgeee. but I will try...just not right now. I know, I know- putting it off again! but seriously I will tell you what presents I got tomorrow. :o) right now it's 2 am and I have been up since 7:30 am because I'm still a child on Christmas.

but here's a sneak peek...

dress- Christmas present

tights- claire's

boots- Christmas present (fr. spring)

yay Christmas presents! haha I'm totally outfitted. I freaking LOVE this dress my friend sent me from Korea. it's actually kind of a greenish colour, which you can't really tell, but hopefully pictures will improve gradually from now on. ;o) I wanted to keep the outfit kind of neutral, probably because yesterday I was so bright and stuff, so I thought the grey tights and studded boots made a cool kind of industrial-meets-girly thing with the polka dot dress. and that was the extent of my thinking about it today!

also, the conclusion of my top ten favourite Christmas movies...drum roll, please...

#1.

this HAS to be number one for me. it's definitely a Christmas movie, but I watch it all year round. it's beautiful and witty and sweet and totally makes me believe in love. all kinds. seriously, as cheesy as this might sounds, in small ways this movie inspires me.

my favourite part is when Liam Neeson's kid says "let's go get the shit kicked out of us by love."golden. that's my favourite story line too, I think. or the one with Colin Firth. ADORABLE. I would totally marry him.

I could rant about Love Actually all day, but just WATCH IT. if you haven't, please love it, and if you have, watch it again.

on another note, LOVES Craig Ferguson. holy crap he is so cool.

...okay, done! I hope each of you had a wonderful, peaceful, all-is-full-of-love holiday. God bless!

twas the night before Christmas

Christmas eve already!! time, what is UP?! you are going by super fast. it's ridiculous, really.

I guess I sort of lied when I said "no more slacking off" while home for Christmas, cause clearly I haven't been updating. but I have excuses! life has been a whirlwind for the past couple days. last night especially, when my rarely seen party girl side decided to make a breakout appearance at my friend's band's reunion show. messyyyyy. but all turned out well and I think most people had a great time, so all in all a good build up to Christmas eve. (although my mom chose to ignore the fact that my sister and I had been out all night and woke us at 9 am to wrap presents. it was not the greatest morning, haha.)

I've also been running around trying to see all my friends, which was the greatest thing EVER. I've missed them all so much.
oh, that reminds me- special shout out to Janet and Butt, who are my secretly and dearly dedicated fans, apparently, haha. I hope I get to see you again before I go.

today was spent wrapping presents and drinking lots of water and in general having plenty of family time. we watched Christopher the Christmas tree (my sister loves it- we watch it every year) and ate fisherman's brewis (Newfie food! yummm) and went to the Christmas eve service at church. it was a pretty full day. but no one would watch White Christmas with me!! they said we didn't have time. :o( which really brings me to my next subject...

#2.

White Christmas is my second favourite Christmas movie! I know what you're thinking- but Sarah, what could be better than Bing Crosby and possibly the most loveable musical plot ever?? you shall see...

so many reasons to love this movie. one, Bing Crosby makes me swoon. even for a goofy lookin' guy he sure can charm with that crooning. two, the other guy (whose name constantly escapes me) is hilarious. three, the costumes are fab. and everything was classier in the 50s.

I could go on and on, but chances are you all know and love this one. and for the record, no rendition of White Chrismas will beat Bing's in my opinion.

only one left! now, I know I missed a couple outfits, but I do have them on my computer and ready to go. instead of doing a massive photo spree on Christmas eve I think I'll just save some for later. so here is my festive apparel. :o)

dress- vintage fr. billygoatvintage on etsy

tights- Modcloth

cardigan- forever 21

boots- charlotte russe

belt- primark

earrings- gift

this is my idea of festive...did I go a little overboard? haha. I originally planned to wear plain black tights, but I couldn't resist mixing patterns. it's a special occasion, after all.

I picked out this dress for Christmas eve ages ago- I've kind of been saving it. I thought this cardigan would look great with it, and I tried breaking the dress up with a belt. then of course, the tights just kind of happened. I'm not sure how I feel about the boots matching the belt so perfectly, but I guess the rest of the outfit it loosey goosey enough that matching is a-ok. I got plenty of comments, that's for sure!

that's it for me tonight! sorry for the abrupt ending, but technically it's Christmas right now and I am so excited. besides, if I don't get to bed in time Santa won't come.

I hope you all have the sweetest dreams and happiest thoughts and that visions of sugarplums dance in your heads. have a very merry Christmas!!

playing: Aeroplane- Red Hot Chili Peppers

walls that are painted somebody else's red

well, it's far too late to post outfit photos.
tomorrow then.
but I can't forget this...

#3.

the top three were hard to separate!

I must admit I just saw It's A Wonderful Life for the first time a few weeks ago, and I fell in love. the movie is just so heart warming! and George Bailey is awesomeee. I want to watch every James Stewart movie ever made. I have a major crush.

I love every minute of this classic and even teared up a little and certain parts (but I will never admit it outside the blogosphere!). gotta love a darling man getting exactly what he deserves for Christmas :o)

I'm so tired. I'm going to do better with this thing over the next couple days, I promise. no more slacking till New York!

<3

playing: Notes From the Underground- Sara Slean

this is a decision to live fast

oh boyyy! Christmas is inching ever closer! I haven't even started on my chocolate advent calendar yet... that's a cheap chocolate binge waiting to happen.

haven't got much to say today except that walmart is awesome, so I'll just jump right into the good stuff. :o)

Annabelle was curious about what was going on... she looks so evil in pictures. oh doggy red eye, you spoil so many photos.

dress- Modcloth

cardigan- kersh fr. envy

belt- smart set

tights- ardene

boots- charlotte russe

I wanted to wear this dress over the holidays because it reminds me of a candy cane. the short sleeves called for a sweater, and I thought the belt pulled everything together. plus it makes me look skinnier, haha. that's pretty much the whole thought process for this outfit...candy cane themed and stay warm. done.

well, that was easy! next!
favourite Christmas movies you say? we've broken the top five.

#4.

this is when Will Farrell finally won me over. I'm not a fan of "stupid humour" types, as I like to call them, but after Anchorman, Stranger Than Fiction, and this gem I knew I was a little glad Will was alive.

so much to love about this movie! I love the silly, totally PG humour; my absolute favourite part is when he bounces off the couch and up onto the tree to put the star on. or when Jovie yells for him not to look at her so he covers his eyes and runs into a wall, haha. it's hilarious.

that also brings up my other favourite part of the movie- Zooey Dechanel! I think this was the first film I ever saw her in, and I thought she was adorable and talented (I was very pleased to hear that was her real singing voice.) and now she's like, my icon! go Elf.

Elf cracks the top five for being funny, totally cute, and positively drenched in Christmas cheer.

speaking of which, Christmas cheer is taking over my days and once again, I'm forced to update at 2am. I'm exhausted! bedtime for me.

have a beautiful night/day/whenever you're reading this. :o)

playing: Time to Pretend- MGMT

where the love light gleams

I'M HOMEEE!

at last. I've been non-stop doing cheerful holiday things since I woke up early saturday morning, and I couldn't be more happy. I so needed to get out of Halifax! Newfoundland has SNOW.

now I have to get back on track. I slack off on the internet use for 24 hours and I have so many blog posts to read!! and I missed three favourite Christmas movies posts and my travelling outfit. I was also going to do one of those picture-an-hour posts for my day heading home, but... I fell asleep on the plane and it threw off all the timing, haha.

I do have pictures of my travelling outfit, though.

(can I just say- yay pictures outsideeee!)

dress (as shirt)- gift

skirt- charlotte russe

tights- we love colors

boots- charlotte russe

long sleeve tee- fr. costco

I went for comfortable and warm, but still pretty. I wanted to look nice when I got of the plane to see my family. :o) I just wanted to try this plaid shirt dress as a top, and I thought this skirt would make it a nice balance of kinda-cutesy and more sophisticated. I picked pink tights for a POP of colour, and red will be used plenty in my wardrobe over the next couple of days. so there you have it! I was very comfortable. (proven by the fact that I fell asleep.)

today was interesting.. I wanted to take photos outside but my family was confused as to why I wanted pictures of myself when it was cloudy and wet out. so I went for in front of the tree as a back up, and my dad took them. he did a pretty good job, but ick on the lighting. I need help. how do you take good photos inside?! Delightfully Tacky took amazing ones, but she's probably a camera genius anyways...

so, without further adieu, here they are.

haha I tried to get him to take a close-up so you could see my earrings, but no dice. 

they're handmade felt roses. :o) early Christmas present!

dress- local Halifax shop, splurge

turtle neck sweater- fairweather

tights- we love colors

shoes- h&m

earrings- gift (from Korea)

I'm sad the photos didn't come out the greatest cause I love this outfit! this is one of my favourite new(ish) dresses, and I only wear it when I really want to look special. since today was the official Christmas sunday and my first full day home with the fam, I thought I could break it out. the sweater is for warmth, and I picked green tights instead of red because I'll be wearing plenty of that in the next little while. besides, I love emerald green and black.

ok, moving right along!

next on my list of top ten Christmas movies...

#7.

 

okay, so I'm kind of cheating here- #7 is really two of my favourite Christmas movies, because it's the same story. that's fair, right? everyone knows The Muppet's Christmas Carol is just wonderful, but I wanted to make note of this new version. mostly because it's just visually beautiful. I love the parts with twinkling magic dust and Christmas dances and people playing in the snow. and the story is the ultimate classic, so you can't go wrong! (and I'm not even a Dickens fan. although his characters were timeless and brilliant.)

#6.

who wouldn't love a Disney movie starring Tim Allen? this has always been a holiday favourite of mine- I love the whole idea, the story, the cheesiness, everything. my favourite part is when the little girl puts out soy milk for Santa cause she remembers he said he was lactose intolerant. see, cute right? I wish my dad turned into Santa...although he fell off our roof once putting up Christmas lights, so maybe he was Santa and he lost it.

#5. 

loooove. everyone loves the classic cartoon version, and I think the live-action one totally does the simple story justice. Jim Carrey's over-acting definitely comes in handy- he's positively perfect. and that Cindy Lou is so darn sweet. it's pretty much just a heart warming tale all 'round, and it always makes me feel like Christmas.

and, fyi, sweet little Cindy Lou is now on Gossip Girl. weird.

DONE! ok so that means only FIVE DAYS to Christmas! I'm such a kid. I'm excited. I'm also excited about seeing my friends tomorrow, and the next day, and the next day... it's so nice to be back on the rock.

(I do miss Brandon already though. lame. I wish we could spend Christmas together. it's the only thing not perfect this year.)

anywho, that's all I got.

thank you to anyone who actually read that, haha.

loves!

playing: Hotel Room- Regina Spektor

get your things, we're leaving

...when the morning birds are singing.

AHHH! my holiday has almost begun!
can you tell I'm excited?
really??
ARE YOU SURE?!

I'm actually a little behind on my schedule; I'd planned on being packed by this morning so I could do a little post on what I was bringing for my two week vacation. I'm not quite done yet- I still have to pick out accessories- but I have most of the outfits figured out in my head.

I'm trying to be colourful and still stylish, but with easily mixed-and-matched pieces. solid bottoms, printed dresses, lots of tights (of course) and a couple simple tops and cozy cardigans.

I also didn't want to be dressed to the nines all the time cause, frankly, my family will make fun of me, haha. but I do plan on going out quite often. so I had to find a nice balance between casual and well put-together. that's why I'm kind of minimizing the accessories and keeping the patterns subtle, so it looks nice but not too busy.

and of course to keep the festive spirit I brought plenty of red, green, and gold!

here's what I'm packing and why
(it may look like a long list, but remember, I'm gone for over two weeks and it's COLD in Newfoundland! layers layers layers. besides, I'm an excellent packer.)

dresses
- long sleeve yellow cotton dress: comfy, casual, and bright
- vintage "strawberry" dress: red, a bit dressier, good for family dinner or church
- red stripes ruffled mini-dress: looks like a candy cane :o)
- green h&m water colours dress: it's just so preeeetty, and can be dressed up or down
- blue plaid shirt dress: versatile, can be worn as a skirt/top/dress, kind of a neutral plaid
- black vintage-inspired polka dot dress: just looks festive, can be dressed up or down
- blue pattern & lace dress- casual, dark colours

bottoms
- black pencil skirt: it's just so basic!
- red mini skirt: festive, but goes with almost everything I brought
- black skinny pants: makes any top look good
- skinny jeans: a wardrobe staple

tops
- gold h&m cardigan: colour goes with almost everything & brightens an outfit
- long brown cardigan: neutral and warm
- red sweater: wear over some dresses to make them into skirts
- black turtle neck sweater: wear under dresses to keep warm!
- floral ae tank top- my mom got it for me (she likes when I wear things she's seen before :op)
- uo "tick tock" clock v-neck: can be worn with pattern, kind of like a neutral
- blue &grey striped sweater vest: adds some pizzaz + warmth
- grey long sleeve tee: for layering
- blue plaid shirt: to wear with the red skirt, and my sis gave it to me last year

then of course a couple scarves, necklaces, hats and gloves. necessities. I'm only bringing one coat because they take up so much room, I can't justify taking two. and I was thinking about buying one in NYC anyways, because I really need a black or navy one with a hood. the one Kyla has would be perfect!

anyway, that's what I'll be wearing for the next couple weeks; here's what I wore today.

dress- vintage fr. bloomstreetvintage on etsy

tights- we love colors

belt- smart set

shoes- forever 21

first thing I thought when I got dressed this morning was "my sister would hate this dress" haha. I have a feeling a lot of people would, but I love the colour and the long sleeves. last time I wore it with black tights so this time I tried something different and went brighter. I picked the shoes to add a bit of cool/modern and I think the grey "grounds" the outfit. (pun intended, maybe?)

also. just so you know. Avatar kinda blew my mind. freaking amazingggg. I think it changed my life. srsly.

T- 9 hours!
<3

playing: Foundations- Kate Nash

let it snow

well, it appears I have used up my monthly limit of flickr..so uhhh..back to uploading the old-fashioned way I guess?

uhhh whatchou talkin' bout this is AWESOME quality!

whatever, it's SNOWINGGGG. 

shirt- h&m

sweater- forever 21

skirt- forever 21

tights- joe fresh

boots- charlotte russe

I loved wearing this today. it was comfy and cute (I think) and I really like the colours. I love this cardigan + anything red. it's one of my faves- bought from forever 21 back when I wanted every sweater on the site. is it just me or was their online selection way better last year? I miss cardigans like this one; rich colours, cute patterns, good fit. very vintage-looking.

that said, I did get this skirt there recently and love <3. I love how it fits me, and the belt is detachable. score!

today was extremely long and extremely cold and extremely frustrating, so I'll just do my next movie pick and be done with it.

#8.

that's right, I admit it. I think this move is funny and too darn cute. I confessed to my fellow interns earlier today and they told me it was because I was a girl. puh- I hate that. I'm not usually into girly movies. only the good ones.

anyway. The Holiday pleasantly surprised me. I always despised Jack Black till I saw this and actually thought he was funny. I'm also not a Cameron fan, so meh. I personally think her character is the weakest link. and well, Jude Law and Kate Winslet = gold. I always love Kate. she's perfection.

I just find this movie overall so charming! it's got some great lines and adorable characters and a little sense of seasonal cheer. it's not entirely a Christmas movie, but close enough to be my number eight.

and that's that!

time for bed. only one more oh-so-agonizing day to go! C'MONNNN saturdayyyy.

some days are better than others

could this week go any slower?!

I'm so excited I could burst. and we're (the interns) practically out of things to do at work, so the days just draaaag on. I actually spend a lot of time checking peoples blogs (shh!) so at least I keep up with everyone!

anyway. today wasn't exactly superb. I slept in, so I didn't get to adjust my outfit to quite the way I wanted it...and my hair wasn't so great. I think I'm just going to resign myself to the fact that my hair is just straight, I think I'll be less disappointed that way. it used to do everything I wanted- wavy, tousled... now it's just STRAIGHT.

well, here was what I ended up wearing!

ok, so my hair's not straight here. but this took all day! what I mean is, straight is all ti does well.

top- present fr. boyfriend :o)

pants- h&m

tank top- smart set

vest- charlotte russe

necklace- traded for!

shoes- forever 21

how much do I LOVE these shoes?! they're scary high and my feet started to hurt after 12 minutes of walking, but hey- they're so cool. there's staples in 'em!

I got them in the mail yesterday and used them to jazz up this otherwise plain outfit. I really like the style of this painter shirt, but Im never entirely sure how to wear it interestingly... I think the skinny pants balanced out the proportions, but it was still to meh for me so I added the vest. not my favourite outfit, but try, try again! I'll figure out this shirt next time.

and still, the SHOES.

moving on. my next Christmas movie pick!

#9.

classic claymation Rudolph! I've watched this movie every year on cbc for as long as I can remember. I love it for its nostalgia, and cause it's just too darn adorable. and I love Clarice with her pretty little eyelashes and stylin' red bow.  I got my sister a musical Christmas bulb with Rudolph and Hermey last year. I'll never get sick of this classic.

playing: I'll Be Home for Christmas- Martina McBride

and I will see you again

I'd like to apologize in advance for the awful photos. boy, I would love a new camera. or a tripod. or some good lighting in my apartment. I don't know, anything to abolish red-eye and bland faces for good!

first picture no flash... I like it better, even though it's kind of fuzzy.

I'm a little sad because every time I wear this cute dress the pictures come out bad. I feel bad for it- it deserves better.

dress- mango

tights- primark & smart set

shoes- aldo

hat- h&m

cardigan- kersh fr. envy

this outfit is simple, I find this dress looks better that way. and I'm not usually so matchy-matchy, but I think the royal blue gives the look a bit of an edge. I really like pairing bright colours with deeper or more mellow tones, like the light brown sweater. I didn't want to add more colour in the shoes, and I love how grey looks with these tights- so that's pretty much how this came together!

today;

I look even worse in these pics, but at least the dress looks awesome! I love stripes, I should wear them more often.

dress- french connection fr. envy

tights- joe fresh

boots- spring

sweater- smart set

headband- fr. splurge

I put this outfit together very easily; I've taken to wearing sweaters under my dresses, which some people think is weird... but it's a good way to keep warm without covering parts of the dress you like, such as the back or detail at the top. in this case I like the criss-cross back but also was just being anal and didn't want to wear a cardigan two days in a row. :o)

and I know I fall back on the yellow-burgundy colour combo a lot, this time it wasn't entirely planned. I couldn't find my white tights that I originally wanted to wear, or my grey ones either. it was this or like, kelly green.

(I've decided I'm going to try and talk about my outfits a little more for a while...maybe I'll continue, maybe not. I feel like I need to have more fashion talk sometimes. !! )

I'm getting SO EXCITED for saturday.

I was going to do laundry tonight, but we're out of quarters. so I started packing instead. it's quite difficult! it's weird cause what I bring home is also what I have to make work in New York, so I have to bring stuff that's comfy and family appropriate (ie. not too over-the-top or fancy) and still fashionable. and I kind of hate wearing the same stuff two weeks in a row, so I'm picking things I can easily mix-and-match. I don't expect to be getting any clothes for Christmas...

I'll let you know how it goes

and now for something completely different!

in honour of it being officially ten days to Christmas (!!) I've decided to share with you my top ten holiday movies! now it's not a very objective list, since I haven't seen a couple classics yet, but I can certainly vouch for my choices.

I'll pick one a day till Christmas, when I shall reveal my number one favourite!

to kick off the list;

#10.

          

who doesn't love a little nostalgia around the holidays?! Home Alone (and Home Alone 2: Lost in New York) is a modern classic of a Christmas movie. I love the instantly recognizable "twinkly" music, the iconic scream, Macaulay Culkin's cute Christmas sweaters. even though I have every booby trap memorized, it still makes me laugh. and of course, he learns a valuable lesson about Christmas and family. ;o) awww! what's not to love?

oh, and random Joe Peschi is pretty sweet, too.

Home Alone 2 is arguably even better, since it has that AWESOME toystore and New York is so awesome at Christmastime...but I may be a little bias this year.

either way, rascally little kid + Christmas + hilariously incompetent burglars = alright on my list.

playing: Hello, I'm in Delaware- City and Colour

let your red heart show

weekends are far too short.
the only reason I don't mind so much this time is that the quicker each day goes by, the closer I am to my Christmas holiday!

sorry for the lack of post yesterday, but it was an extremely and wonderfully busy day. Brandon and I got up and cleaned the whole apartment, I did some yoga, we watched Fantastic Mr. Fox (finally!) and then we went to see Hey Rosetta! playyyy. so much goodness packed into one saturday! alright, so the cleaning wasn't the most fun, but at least we got it done. and HEY ROSETTA! yay!

they were amazing, as usual. I feel so patriotic after seeing them outside of Newfoundland for the first time- I was so proud. I felt like all the Nova Scotians there who were cheering their love had no right, because we shared a homeland and they were Newfoundland's pride, not yours! grrrr. of course that is irrational and silly, since most of those people have probably been HR! fans longer than I have. but still. homeland!

I'm so proud to be from Newfoundland. I've never loved it more than after moving away.

anyways, for the concert I dressed more for practicality than coolness. besides, I knew no one would be looking at me. it's been freezing cold here lately, so I piled on the layers- a long sleeve shirt, a thick sweater, tights, legging, denim shorts, wool socks, a huge scarf, and a fur hat. needless to say the temperature extremes were not ideal; positively arctic outside, and a billion degrees at the crowded concert and jumping around for two hours. I think I may have sweat off a couple pounds.

sorry it's blurry, it was getting dark and then my camera died, so this was the only picture I had!

I look like the Sarah of two years ago. this is definitely something I would have worn back then. I was very into patterns and matching and was just...what's a nice word for the opposite of sophisticated? haha

I didn't like looking like my old self at first, so I changed out the denim for some plaid shorts...but it looked pretty ridiculous. so maybe 20-year-old me got it right some of the time.

sweater- h&m

shorts- bluenotes

leggins- seduction fr. sirens (oooh)

boots- spring

gold beads- claire's

so I'm thinking of hemming this dress to the length in the first picture...I love the dress, but when it's so long it kind of makes me feel a little 70s mom-ish. maybe. maybe not.

I tried to make it a little more modern with the long cardigan and mod black buttons.

dress- vintage fr. topdrawervintage on etsy

cardigan- kensie 

belt- rw&co

tights- ardene

shoes- aldo

earrings (third photo)- local shop, peepshow girly boutique 

I am very proud of my recent accessories purchases. those camera earrings are just so unique, and I've already gotten compliments on them from strangers. and I really wish you could see the heels of my new shoes- they're wooden, it's such a cute touch. and they're suede, too. I had to brave the freezing cold wind for 35 minutes on friday to pick them up at the UPS store, and at the time I felt it totally wasn't worth it- but today, from the comfort of my warm apartment, I feel much better about it. :o)

well, that's enough from me. time for more yoga! I'm going on kind of a crash fitness binge this week in preparation for my trip home. I know I'm going to be sitting on my butt all day and stuffing myself with my mom's amazing homemade goodies. so for this week I'm actually putting thought into working out and eating right, as in no sweets, no McDonald's, and nothing that is a billion calories for one meal.

oops, I'm rambling again.

6 more sleeps!

<3

playing: another pilot- Hey Rosetta!

easy as one, two, three

I took two days off after bombarding you with thoughts, now I'll do the same with pictures!
here are three- count 'em, THREE- outfits, to catch me up...or catch you up.

wednesday's look- probably my favourite of the week, even though it was wayyy too cold for short sleeves!

dress- forever 21

tights- we love colors

boots- primark

socks- ardene

scarf- smart set

tee- smart set

thursday- took a cue from the day before and dressed in warmer. of course, it wasn't cold this day. of course.

sweater- h&m

pashmina- primark

skirt- charlotte russe

tights- betsey johnson fr. modcloth

shoes- h&m

friday- today was the coldest of all. and the most casual. again, t-shirt not enough. you'd think I'd learn.

top- dynamite

sweater vest- walmart

scarf- modcloth

jeans- dorothy perkins

boots- primark

kinda funny story.

my mom called last night and told me to pick up a pair of jeans for myself for Christmas. I said I didn't want to because a) I have enough jeans, b) I hardly ever wear pants anyway, and c) she already has spent way too much on me this semester.  but I changed my mind today when this staple pair of skinnys finally wore out and ripped a hole. you can see it on my leg in the last photo, haha. guess maybe it is time for some new jeans.

anyways, that's it! I'm all caught up, and so are you.

HAPPY WEEKEND!