Same Great Dress, Subtle New Look

Sweater - Zara; Dress - Cotton Candy from Barefoot Contessa;
Booties - Aldo; Watch - Fossil

In my day-to-day work life I tend to wear a lot of dresses. They're easy; one piece, add some shoes and your're ready to go. But, this ease doesn't mean it's easy to mix it up. It actually means the opposite. With one piece, there are only so many ways you can wear it.

But, I was up for the challenge.

I took one of my favourite dresses and decided to pair it with all brown accessories to bring out the brown tones, and give it a subtle change.

Same great dress, subtle new look!

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Back in Action

Sweater - Talula; Shirt - Barefott Contessa; Trousers - Off the Wall
Wedges - Aldo; Watch - Fossil.

After what felt like the longest 48 hours of my life, I'm happy to say that I'm back up and running. And, to celebrate I'm going to keep this post short so that I can catch up on everything that I've missed since 2:45 p.m. on Sunday.

Happy Tuesday!

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The End is Nigh

Sweater - Zara; Blouse - Barefoot Contessa; Jeans - Mavi;
Boots - Aldo; Watch - Fossil

I've made it! I am in the home stretch. After 14 straight days of alarm clocks and early mornings, work and school, I'm just four mornings away from sleeping in! I don't know if you can tell by my use of exclamation points, but I'm kind of excited about it.

My schedule these past couple of weeks does make me reflect on a time in my life when I was fresh out of college and working two jobs. How did I do it? How did I do it without going crazy? But, most importantly, I wonder: How dark were the bags under my eyes? And how did I effectively cover them? So many things to ponder.

Thankfully, I didn't have to think to hard last Friday when I put together this look. Skinnies, a poodle print blouse and a cardigan; perfect for work, school, and everything in between.

A winner every time.

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Christmas: I Did It My Way

My family has only one tradition. I'm not sure if it's a family tradition or a Czech cultural tradition, but on Christmas eve we all get dressed up, eat fried fish and open presents.

Growing up celebrating Christmas on Christmas Eve made believing in Santa a little bit difficult, but it's honestly a tradition that I love. And to this day, I protest when someone tries to change things in the slightest. I know it's something I'll have to compromise on when I have a family of my own - but until that day, I'll do it my way (imagine me singing this a la Frank Sinatra - arms spread wide... you get the idea).

And, that thought was my approach to dressing for Christmas this year.

I stuck with the tradition colours, but spiced it up by introducing the dogs.

Shirt - unknown from Barefoot Contessa; Skirt - Jacob; Heels, Ring & Earrings - Aldo

Surprisingly, my Babi (aka: Bubs) LOVED the look, but she is quite fashion forward for an 82-year-old Czech lady. She's ditched the gold shoes (seriously, go to Prague, they ALL wear gold shoes), but not her keen eye.

I'm home for one more week and I intend to make the most of the lack-of-snow by walking the dogs in the forest, and having tea with my beloved Bubs.

How are you rounding out the last few days of 2011?

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Formal... with a twist!

There's something about a day full of meetings that makes me turn to basics. But as M. Night Shyamalan would say on Robot Chicken: "...with a twist."

Please excuse the towel on my head

This black pants are my go-to when I need to be ultra-professional (also seen here). This particular day I had a meeting with my director and our creative team to approve the promotional materials for an upcoming nation-wide celebration, so I thought I needed to put my best foot forward.

But that didn't mean I couldn't have a little fun - for that I threw on the poodle shirt (also seen here). 

Blouse - Final Touch from Barefoot Contesst; Pants - Talula from Aritzia

There's something about this poodle shirt that dances between the lines of professional and quirky - exactly what I'm looking for in my work wardrobe.

If only I could find a few more tulip poodle shirts.

When in Rome

I find that casual Fridays are anything but. Getting dressed on a Friday morning in the summer causes me more stress than any other day of the week. It's too hot to throw on a pair of jeans, but then one must be cautious of wearing too little clothing - don't want to give the office too much to talk about.

More than any other day of the week I find myself changing clothes three or four times before leaving the house on a Friday morning.

And, this past Friday was no exception. It was too hot; I was sweating the moment I stepped out of the shower. It was gross. And it was only 7am. There was no way a sudden burst of cold air was going to overtake the city - it was only going to get worse.

I spent at least 20 minutes frustrated as I leafed through my closet hoping there would be something I'd forgotten about; the perfect piece tucked away at the back just screaming to be worn. 

That didn't happened. 

So, I opted for one of my favourite weekend dresses and a pair of gladiator sandals.

 The dress is a bit shorter than I would normally wear to the office - with bare legs that is, I rock this baby with tights all throughout the wintertime - but it was just too hot of a day.

Sometimes we just have to take a risk for comfort...

and fashion.

Dress - Cotton Candy from Barefoot Contessa; Sandals - Aldo

The Dog Days of Summer

After spending a week in Saskatoon where the temperatures were near freezing, I was not prepared for the humidity that Ottawa was presenting me upon my return. Even though we are far from the dog days of summer, I decided to celebrate the heat by wearing dogs - well, poodles that is (which FYI was just named as one of the newest trends by Who What Wear)

Although it's one of my favourite shirts, it has a tulip back, so I normally only pull it out on the weekends. With the extreme heat and humidity I wanted something flowy while at work, so I paired it with my favourite pencil skirt and tucked it in to conceal it's lack of back-coverage.

It was perfect!

The best part of this outfit was that it easily transitioned from day to night. All I needed was a swipe of lipstick and I was ready for a night on the town with the boy.

When it feels like the dog days of summer, why fight it! It's always better to join 'em!

Blouse - Final Touch from Barefoot Contessa; Skirt - Jacob; Espadrilles - Aritzia;
Earrings - SmartSet; Lipstick - Covergirl Ever Red-dy