DECONSTRUT | Taking things apart and making it your own

PHOTOGRAPHY | HOW TO BE LESS AWKWARD IN PHOTOS

May 16, 2018 No Comments

Lately I’ve been getting into photography and the whole Instagram game; and as a result I have not been as present on this platform as I should. As I’m creating more content for my feed, I’ve gone through so many awkward and embarrassing moments that I feel like I could share a plethora of Instagram vs Reality shots for you guys. The feeling of awkwardness still creeps up on me during most shoots but I’ve figured out some go to poses that will give you an awesome shot with minimizing some of the awkward-taco-ness. I wanted to share some of my photography posing tips in hopes that some of you will feel more comfortable in front of the camera!

So if you’re feeling mighty awkward in those Instagram photos, here are some go to tricks that I use and I promise you’ll look oh so good with these posing tips. (These tips are also good for photographers working with non-professional models, these are some tips you can use in helping them feel at ease…Hopefully!)

DIY

DIY | SUMMER MOODBOARDS

May 1, 2018 No Comments

Definitely over the cold and the bulky nature of my winter jacket and I’m ready to shed all the layers and break out all the dresses and shorts to show some leg! In anticipation for summer I’ve been perusing the internet and falling in love with a lot of beachy summer wear and I thought I would share some of my favourite styles that may make their way into my closet this season! These are all projects with DIY potential, so vote on your favourites in the comments so I know which projects you guys would like to see!

1. The Alexandra from Realisation ($195), 2. The Goldie Dress from Realisation ($195), 3. Riveria Dress from Faithful the Brand ($169), 4. Isabel Marant Etoile Linen Mini Dress ($475), 5. Ginger – Carmel Dress from Faithful the Brand ($159).

Wraps & Ruffles

Super in love with the design from Realisation, the ruffles are super cute and I love the star print. I’ve seen this style of dress a lot from Reformation as well and I can’t get enough of it. I love that it’s a wrap design which is flattering on everyone! The ruffles add the perfect amount of girlieness and help with extending the hem length so everything is a bit less risque! Definitely pinned to the top of my to do list for DIYs!

1. Anabelle Eyelet Crop Top from For Love and Lemons ($151), 2. Harvie Top from Reformation ($78), 3. Splice Top from Faithful the Brand ($99), 4. Toiny Stripe Ella Crop Top from Coolchange ($162)

Delicate straps

Tiny straps are making a comeback! I love the daintiness and these shoulder baring styles! I especially love the ones where they are self-tie for easy adjustment and the bow is a super cute touch! I think this could also look cool with thicker straps as well!

1. Garnier Top from Faithful the Brand ($129) 2. De Fiori Top from Faithful the Brand ($139) 3. Botany Print – Kaya Midi Dress from Faithful the Brand ($179), 4. Tropicana One Piece from Reformation ($128), 5. Tartine Tie Dress from Bec+Bridge ($250).

Tied details

Tiny bows, long wraps, knotted details… give them all to me! I love this! It’s a new way of cinching that is super flattering on the waist and boob area. Definitely will be making a variation of this as it is super easy and forgiving if measurements aren’t exact! I think its a super flattering style to give the girls a lift in a cute cropped style or as the focal point of a dress.

1. Ark Bamboo Clutch Bag from Cult Gaia ($138), 2. Macrame bag by Staud ($677), 3. Hexagonal Crossbody Bag from Zara ($40), 4. Balaio Tasselled Woven Rattan Bag by Wai Wai

Macrame and natural bags

I love the natural looking bags. Materials like cord, raffia, and rattan with woven aspects and knotted details brings back casual beach side vibes. I think a pom pom beach bag is definitely on my list of DIYs! Can’t wait for the warmer weather to bring on more nautical and beachside vibes to my closet!

Don’t forget to comment your favourite trends and stay tuned for some awesome summer DIY projects!

Travel

TRAVEL | KELOWNA

April 12, 2018 1 Comment

Flying into Kelowna, I couldn’t contain my excitement as I saw white peaks through the clouds and I knew I was almost in the mountains. Coming from Eastern Ontario, where it’s fairly flat, the change in elevation and scenery was a breath of fresh air and brought on the anticipation of new places to discover and adventure. This was my first trip out west in the winter months to experience my first big snowboarding trip!

Last year I was unable to make it out due to a knee injury but this year I was determined to travel out west to see friends and to hit up the world renown slopes of British Columbia. To say the least, it did not disappoint. The week was filled with fun times laughing with friends and a lot of fresh powdery snow that we never seem to get back home. A week was more than enough time to take in all the views that Kelowna had to offer and maybe… just maybe… next year, I’ll be ready to hit up other famous mountains. Once you get the taste of that fresh powder you just can’t wait to go back.

Read on for some great spots to check out if you’re ever in Kelowna, British Columbia!

Photography

PHOTOGRAPHY | #MICHAELSCHALLENGE

March 15, 2018 3 Comments

Winter is still blowing outside in full force with late winter snow hitting us daily, it gets a bit discouraging to get creative and to get ourselves motivated to be outdoors to shoot. But with the recent popularity of the #uglylocationchallenge created by Kelsey Maggart, the #michaelschallenge was born and it’s a perfect excuse to grab a few friends to try your hand at shooting in the arts and crafts store! You can briefly pretend that it’s actually spring and get your garden thumb ready for summer in the floral aisle.

Originally deemed the #hobbylobbychallenge, it quickly turned sour when Hobby Lobby’s didn’t want photographers entering their stores. Michael’s clearly saw this as an opportunity and in turn welcomed pro and amateur shooters to flock to their stores to try their hand at the newly minted #michaelschallenge. I had a blast doing this challenge and would recommend anyone who’s looking to practice their portrait photography to try this challenge out! The craft store has endless possibilities of colour and backdrops that you can get creative with. So grab some friends and head to your local Michael’s Arts and Crafts store to try this challenge out!

How do you think we did? Read on for more on the whole experience!

DIY

DIY | TEDDY FAUX FUR COAT

February 15, 2018 5 Comments

*Wearing:* DIY Teddy Coat, Heart Sweater from Simons (old), Mini Tiger Bag from Fashion Drug, Jeans from Zara (old), Boots from Zara, Hat from H&M (old), Mitts from Aritzia (similar).

After January, people say there’s only about 6 weeks of winter left but if you live where I do you know that you’re bound to get at least 2 months more of snow and chilly nights. To combat that I decided to make my own teddy coat to stay snuggly and cuddled for the remainder of this winter. The teddy coat trend has been super popular this winter season and all the styles I fell in love with were non-stop sold out so I decided to make my own. To say the least, this was the most complex DIY I’ve ever made and there were a lot of do and redo to create this teddy coat. But I am absolutely in love with the end result and you will be seeing me wearing this a lot more as we move away from the deep freeze and into a bit more warmer winter weather.

The teddy coat is definitely a milder winter weather type of a coat but it looks super cute and ultra fuzzy that everyone will want to cuddle you like a teddy bear! Perfect for those -10 winter snow days where everything looks like a winter wonderland. I created my own pattern for the teddy coat off of an older wool coat. I definitely could of used a bit more room in the arms as I did find my final piece was a bit too snug to fit a bulky sweater underneath. With that in mind, be sure to pick up some cuddly AF fabric from your local fabric store! I am absolutely in love with the faux fur fabric that I picked up from Fabricland (scored it on sale too!), any sort of faux fur material will do well with this style of coat, even a sherpa type fleece could work! The fuzzier the better to get those teddy bear vibes!

None the less, if you’re ready to take on the big teddy coat challenge please read on! I found it was easier to show you guys images of the pattern pieces and explain the steps in a more detailed manner than to show process pictures like I have previously done in other DIY projects. If you guys need more details just comment down below and I’ll try my best to show how it’s done!

TIME | 6+ hours

COST | $$

DIFFICULTY | very difficult, sewing skills required

Review

REVIEW | MEJURI – EVERYDAY ELEGANCE

February 1, 2018 4 Comments

Diamonds are a girls best-friend and it couldn’t be more true with the simplistic and minimal pieces that are created by Canadian brand, Mejuri. The fact that Mejuri is created and made in Toronto just makes me love them that much more, I love supporting local businesses! It’s also amazing to see the Mejuri doing so well and garnering international recognition for their fine jewelry, the blog-o-sphere and influencers are all over this brand!

I first discovered Mejuri on Instagram and have collected multiple pieces since and will definitely be ordering more in the near future. I find that minimal and dainty jewelry work best with my style as I don’t tend to have a lot of time to fuss over which pieces of jewelry to wear every day. Everything Mejuri offers, with weekly releases of new styles, I constantly repeating the mantra “I MUST HAVE IT” in my thoughts. With jewelry, I’m the type of girl that: once its on, it never comes off. Apologies to those who get tired of me wearing the same studs week in and week out. But I absolutely love my 360 Circle studs, they give this illusion of gauges, or eyelets being punched into the ear… really stunning, I’ve received endless compliments on how unique they look!

I love that Mejuri provides fine jewelry quality at an affordable price. When you wear the same jewelry everyday, you want to know that it will last and still look just as good on the day you received it. I have always believed that it is worthwhile to splurge on some good quality jewelry as it will last you a life time. The magical numbers of 925, symbolizing sterling silver quality, was ingrained into me since I was pretty young as most cheap metals didn’t react well with my skin (TIP: when thrifting for jewelry be sure to check out the jewelry section for some hidden silver gems!). You will never have to experience grossly green ring marks with pieces from Mejuri. All pieces are crafted out of the finest materials with options for sterling silver, gold vermeil, and gold filled. All priced fairly so that you can have that fine quality jewelry without paying the extra fine high prices.

So the next time you’re in search of a small treat for yourself or gifting a little something to a good friend, I would highly recommend checking out Mejuri! Maybe drop some hints to your partner as Valentine’s day is right around the corner… you may be lucky enough to own something sparkly!

Read on to see how I like to wear my current Mejuri pieces and to see what’s on my current wishlist!

DIY

DIY | MARBLE BULLET JOURNAL

January 25, 2018 2 Comments

New year, new me, means new ways of being organized so I’m trying something, well, new! I’ve finally jumped on board and decided to try out bullet journaling. I’ve been mulling with the idea of starting a bullet journal for awhile, but wasn’t sure if it was for me if I wanted to set one up and stick to it. But I finally decided that there was no better time than January to start off a new planner! I think the key thing with bullet journaling is to not sweat the small stuff. Don’t be afraid to break the rules and to customize it to your liking. It’s a journal designed by you for you!

Do any of you bullet journal? Any ideas or layouts you recommend trying out? I’m most excited about the habit trackers, I really think that they will help me achieve my goal of getting my splits this year with the constant reminder to stretch daily. The incentive to cross off a box or colour in a square is very enticing, guess I’ve always worked best with a reward based system of encouragement.

I couldn’t find the exact notebook I wanted to use so I ended up customizing my own cover for my bullet journal. The minimalistic-tumblr-loving-girl in me obviously settled on DIY-ing a marble cover to spruce up my plain black cover. I used the same method as this nail art look I’ve done in the past. Super easy and fast to do you may end up wanting to marble-ize everything in your possession!

TIME | less than 15 minutes

COST | $

DIFFICULTY | easy

Travel

TRAVEL | ARIZONA ROAD-TRIP

January 18, 2018 5 Comments

Whenever someone mentioned the desert I pictured the old Midwest. Barren and desolate, with the occasional rolling tumble weeds and ghost towns. When I finally traveled to Arizona to start my roadtrip, my mental picture of the state proved to be false. There was so much more to the landscape and a lot more greenery than expected. It was the first time travelling I’ve truly felt small and tiny in the world with the views provided by Mother Nature. The scale of the rock structures and vast landscapes reminded me that although the internet has allowed us to think we live in a small world, there are still so many wonders out there waiting to be discovered! Every turn on every hike was just more jaw-dropping sweeping views of desert landscapes.

We had a 10 day trip planned out and it was quite the adventure waiting for us. We flew into Phoenix, Arizona and embarked on our road trip heading to Sedona bright and early the next morning for the first stop of our Arizona road-trip. From there we made our way to the Grand Canyon and Page, and ended off in Las Vegas. Read on to see my must sees at each location!

DIY

DIY | LACE UP VELVET CAMI

January 11, 2018 2 Comments

Wearing: DIY Lace-up Velvet Cami, Abercrombie Girlfriend Jeans, Aldo loafer slides, LeSpecs sunglasses, Mejuri 360 Circle Earrings & DIY Pearl Drop extenders.

Combing two very popular trends this season, I’ve taken lace up details and velvet and placed it all into one great DIY. I love that this top takes on a simple cami/slip shape. By adding the lace up detail, the top transforms into a more elevated and sexy number. I think velvet is a great material that looks expensive and gives off a very luxurious aura, its perfect for dressing up any basic outfit! Creating it as I did, I made it so that the top can be worn in two ways, forwards and backwards. You can choose between having the plunging neckline in the front or having it on the back. A super fun way to add more we arability to your clothes! As shown, I’ve styled it with the higher square neckline for a more conservative daytime look, and also how turning the top around can instantly elevate everything to a sexier going out look.

If you don’t feel like creating this top from scratch you can always modify an existing v-neck cami and add in the lace up detailing. The disadvantage of doing so is that you won’t be able to wear it in the two different ways as mentioned above, but feel free to modify existing clothing items with the lace up trend as it is still a hot item this season! Happy DIY-ing!

TIME | 2 hours

COST | $

DIFFICULTY | moderate

Blog

TOP 7 MOMENTS IN 2017!

January 3, 2018 1 Comment

Welcome back!!! It’s a new year, with new adventures, new posts, and more DIYs to come.

I want to start off the New Year by reflecting on the last for a lot did happen and I thought it would be fun to do a little recap. I’ve always liked looking back and making note of things that are special to me so that I don’t ever forget. I find that it’s a great way to see progress, to see how far you’ve come, things you’ve accomplished.

I can’t wait to see what gets unraveled for 2018 and to share it all with you guys! Read on for my Top 7 Moments of 2017 which made the past year memorable!