Sunday, July 31, 2011

tiaraiconAloha!

Aloha! I am off getting laid leid in Hawai!

This is the view from our hotel's lanai (balcony) so it's easy to understand why I won't be posting this week! If you're craving some Tinfoils Tiaras you can head on over to Write it in Lipstick where I am the guest blogger for today!

I will be back to my regular schedule of posting and visiting your blogs next week but for now I'm off to the pool to enjoy a Mai Tai.  Mahalo!

Friday, July 29, 2011

tiaraiconfrom museums to martinis

As a child, my Mum stressed the importance of culture and dragged my sister and I along to museums, art galleries and theatres in every city we visited.  When I was younger I complained about this sightseeing, preferring to spend my time shopping or watching tv on the hotel's larger than life screen.  As I'm getting older I can appreciate the cultural aspects of travelling and opted to spend a day at San Diego's Balboa Park.  I bought the day pass and spent several glorious hours traipsing though the Museum of Photographic Arts (my personal favourite), the Museum of Man, the Natural History Museum (where I saw an adorable 3-D film about turtle reefs), the Mingei International Museum and the Museum of Art.  I was on cloud 9 exploring ancient artefacts and learning about San Diego's history.  When I have kids, I plan on imitating my mother's travelling philosophy and ensuring that my children experience the culture of every city they visit. 

Just because you're going to spent your day in museums doesn't mean you can't dress up!


If you look in the window behind me you can see the reluctant photographer taking pics on his lunch break!
Dress & Blouse- Chicshop; Heels- Aldo; Earrings- The Bay; Ring- Thrifted

Maneki Neko cat sculptures at the Mingei International Museum
The scenery at Balboa Park makes you feel as if you're in a tropical paradise
As the sun set, it was time for my Chicshop dress to go from museums to martinis by showcasing its sexy back detailing (and yes I have a tramp stamp, no judging)




On our last day in San Diego, my man blew off his afternoon conference sessions and I took him to Horton Plaza, acting as his personal shopper while we picked out dress shirts in all colours of the rainbows to spice up his work wardrobe. 

Romper & Belt- Thrifted; Sunglasses & Bracelet- Aldo; Sandals- Suzy Shier


{I sometimes wish we had a photography companion who travelled with us so we could avoid the extended arm snapshots!}
For our last night we visited the conference's Hospitality Suites where technology companies competed for business by enticing clients in with free drinks, food and entertainment (the most popular among the 90% male clientele being the burlesque themed room!)
Dress- Alice & Olivia; Belt, Clutch & Bracelet- Thrifted

I think they should have kept me as a permanent fixture to their exhibit- I look scarier than the skeletons!

Tuesday, July 26, 2011

tiaraiconsmiles & sunburns in san diego

You know how people always say NYC is their favourite place in the world? I used to say this as well, at least until this past October when I took my first visit to California.  I saw Beverly Hills, Venice Beach, Malibu, Santa Monica; Newport Beach, Laguna Beach, L.A. and San Diego.  Being from the East Coast of Canada, I grew up 10 minutes from a beautiful sandy beach so San Diego feels like home to me (with the addition of palm trees, warmer weather and fabulous shopping).  Now that I'm back in San Diego I'm still smiling just as much as I was the first time around!
While waiting for my luggage at the San Diego airport I perused these fabulous fashion displays


The first night here we stayed at the Westgate Hotel which I highly recommend if you have some extra cash to dole out.  Candelabras, ornate sculptures and a lobby designed for royalty is just the tip of the iceberg.  We wanted to come up to San Diego a day earlier but didn't take into account the madness of Comic Con so this was the only hotel we could book on such last minute notice (much to my pleasure!)
The entrance to our room
The hotel hallways

Dress- GAP; Sweater, Necklace & Belt- Thrifted; Heels & Purse- Aldo; Bracelet- A SweeT (Beverly Hills)

The hotel courtyard

We went for an evening walk around the neighbourhood and returned to this yummy surprise which we enjoyed in the jacuzzi sized bathtub

After our evening of pampering at the Westgate it was time to leave the luxury and check into the Hilton Bayfront where my man's work conference is being held.  We had two days before he had to start working so on Sunday we took the ferry across the water to Coronado Island where we enjoyed a day of walking, eating burritos and strolling hand on hand on island's beach resort.  It was a warm but cloudy day so we didn't think sunscreen was necessary.  Boy were we wrong, I woke up the next day with my limbs looking like a boiled lobster (thank goodness for facial moisturizer with built in SPF or I would have had a crispy face like my man!) Needless to say, yesterday was spent indoors, applying aloe vera and only leaving the hotel to eat and watch the latest Harry Potter at a deserted theatre.

Skirt- H&M; Blouse- Smart Set; Belt- Thrifted; Sunglasses & Purse- Aldo




Dress-Thrifted; Kimono Jacket- Urban Outfitters; Heels- Pierre Dumas; Belt- Gifted from ML

If you look closely at my right arm you can see some crispy skin (hence the maxi dress and kimono jacket in the California heat!)



Nothing better than sampling delectable frozen yogourt on their opening day!

Now I'm off to spend the day at Balboa Park- I hope you're all having a fabulous week!

Friday, July 22, 2011

tiaraiconvacay mode

Pants- Ricki's; Blouse- Banana Republic (Gifted from ML); Necklace- Thrifted; Heels- Walmart; Purse- Aldo
I checked out mentally at around 11 a.m. this morning because I'm already in vacation mode! So I did what any slacker would do and went to the gym, ate lunch and left the office by 1 p.m (I just couldn't put my heart into writing work e-mails!)  I leave tomorrow morning for San Diego and I still have to clean the apartment (because there's nothing worse than coming back from a relaxing trip to a mess!), do laundry and well there's that whole issue of packing.  I'm an awful packer- I bring way too many clothes and end up buying new outfits when I'm there, leaving very little suitcase space for error.  This time I am going to try and pack as light as I can with cute skirts, fun accessories and breezy tops for San Diego and bikinis, dresses and sun hats for Hawaii. 


I absolutely love this necklace I bought at a local consignment shop, Rikochet Resale
It's not farewell just yet- since my man is in work conferences when we're in San Diego and relaxation is not my strong point, I plan on doing some blogging next week from the comfort of the Hilton!

Thursday, July 21, 2011

tiaraiconawkwardly thrifted

Dress- Thrifted; Gloves- Gifted from Jordan; Belt- Gifted from ML; Heels- Aldo

If you're wondering why I look like a throw back to a lunching, church-going housewife it's because I'm linking up to Everybody Everwear's Thrifted edition and I'm taking this challenge seriously. Thrifted and vintage wedding dress esque attire- can't beat that! In all seriousness I bought this dress almost a year ago at a local antique market because I loved the embellishments and sheer neckline.  As I'm sure you can believe it's not a dress that fits easily into the 21st century so I thought I would give it the spotlight on today's blog post.
Thrift | Everybody, Everywear


Aren't these gloves adorable? They were handmade by Jordan from Rainbow Veins who is such a creative and inspirational photographer, artist and fashionista it's hard to believe she's only 13!
This week has been an array of awkward moments so I thought I would also link up to The Daybook's Awesome and Awesome Thursdays:


Awkward:

-wondering why I am looking like an extra from Vampire Diaries? It's because I've given up on the spray tanning and spent over an hour scrubbing the patchy remnants of colour off my skin.  As much as I loved having some colour it stained my favourite dress (worn here), got all over my bed sheets and dripped off after I showered, worked out or got rained on.

-a stranger asking my boyfriend if I was his daughter (I know I look young but really?)

-while setting up for a work event, having to stand on an older man's knee to reach the tent flaps and then feeling something strange.  I looked down and saw him slowly caressing my legs in circles- eeek! Oh yeah and this is the same guy who thought my boyfriend was my Dad...

-hosting a BBQ for my boyfriend's family of 16 and not being prepared for how thirsty 9 kids can get in the humidity...want some beer kids? I kid I kid.

-how uncoordinated I am in step class- I look like a baby giraffe who is learning how to walk

-being too lazy to finish drying my hair so taking these outfit photos with wet unstyled hair

Awesome
 -realizing that if I hem this dress it will be perfect to wear out for dinner and drinks with friends

-buying tickets to Capital Hoedown to see Rascall Flatts, Easton Corbin, The Keats & Sara Evans- yeehaw!

-buying two amazing lingerie sets from Lilac Lingerie (where I work part time as a blogger) including a navy polka dotted strapless bra and a silky seafoam green demi cup

-having a delicious lunch at Zuni Grill which is not only close to my work, they also offer great veggie options!

-having a boyfriend who woke up at 5:30 a.m. on his weekend to help me out at a work event with minimal complaints (he even wore a bright orange safety vest to do parking!)

-and the most awesome of them all- flying to San Diego on Saturday (only 2 days-yippee!) for a week of shopping and culture and then jet setting to Hawaii for 7 days of sun (although not too much, I am a redhead after all!), sand and surf


Look what a difference the higher hemline makes!

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

tiaraiconshoe heaven

When Fancy Bella asked to see my shoe collection, I thought it would be fun to document my shoe obsession over the years.  My love for shoes started when I was 15 years old, after buying a pair of bright red pointy toed heels (or cockroach killers as my Dad liked to call them), covered in studs.  I got them from Le Chateau during Boxing Day sales for only $15 and I was instantly in love.  I wore these heels everywhere and they made any outfit fun. 

Collecting shoes became my hobby, and in University if I could get away with buying new shoes instead of a textbook, I would.  I've since paired down my collection, thrifted and gifted many pairs and am left with shoes that inspire me, make me feel good and most importantly are comfortable (well for the most part at least).  I'm envious of bloggers who wear Jeffrey Campbell, Miu Miu, Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks but these shoes aren't practical with my current budget so for now I'll have to stick with department stores and thrifted varieties. 

Colourful Sandals/Flipflops
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{Clockwise from top left} Old Navy; Priceless Shoes UK; Payless Shoes; Old Navy; Winners & Nine West
Basic Sandals/Flipflops
Gisele Bundchen Ipanema's Line; Suzy Shier; Target; Walmart & Payless Shoes
Flats
Payless Shoes; Payless Shoes; Payless Shoes; Winners & Priceless Shoes UK
Colourful Open Toed Heels
Aldo; Fergalicious by Fergie; Spring; Pierre Dumas; Spring; Nine West; Aldo & Walmart
Colourful Pointy Toed Heels
Suzy Shier; Thrifted; Suzy Shier; Priceless Shoes UK; Andrew Gellar & Aldo
Wedges
Marks & Spencer; Payless Shoes; Steve Madden
Basic Heels
Thrifted; Walmart; Charlotte Russe; Walmart; Thrifted & Thrifted
Creme de la Creme of Shoes (when you're on a budget)
Pour la Victoire (my biggest splurge); Aldo; Charlotte Russe; Priceless Shoes UK & Priceless Shoes UK

....so there you have it- my beloved shoe collection (minus my boots & sneakers)


These gals love their shoes just as much (or more!) than I do: Fancy Bella; Love at First Shoe; Chic on the Cheap; Fashion Steele NYC; A Working Mom's Closet & The Fashion Keeper.