SHOPPING SPREE

I went on a little shopping spree on Saturday. My favourite boutique was having a great sale - 40% off all regular priced items! I couldn't pass up a sale like that and went a little crazy. Then later, I went into another boutique to buy a pair of jeans... spent way too much money on them, but they're beautiful. The brand is Nudie. Have your heard of it? It was my first time seeing them!

Here's what I bought (minus the jeans... they're getting tailored right now!)

Sorry for the terrible quality photos... I didn't know where to put them to get some photos... laying them out on my carpet I realize now was not the best of ideas!

Vero Moda heart scarf

Vero Moda infinity scarf

Vero Moda sheer striped blouse

BB Dakota dress

ONLY asymmetrical hemmed sweater

ONLY black faux leather coat

Vero Moda winter coat

LOVERS BREAKDOWN

Dress: H&M

Sweater: Forever 21

Ah! Boring and subdued colours today - because that's the way I'm feeling! I need to clean my condo from top to bottom today because my aunt and uncle (my roommate/cousin's parents) are coming for the weekend, and so is my sister. It's going to be a full house for a place that isn't big enough for it! I hate doing housework - I love a tidy house but hate working for it.

I started procrastinating again this week - but got everything done on time (whew!) - I really wish I would ditch that habit because it makes everything so much more stressful. I don't have very much due next week - so I think I might try to get a headstart on reading and maybe start researching for some of my final papers. No more procrastinating! Though, I did read a rather funny someecard awhile back that said something along the lines of: "Procrastinator? No, I save all my homework for the last minute because then I'll be older - therefore more wise." haha true that. That's me!

What are everyone's weekend plans? I'm going to hang out with the family and do some homework (I hope!) and of course go to the gym :)

Thanks for reading! xo

A KISS WITH A FIST IS BETTER THAN NONE

Shirt: Costa Blanca
Cardigan: H&M
Jacket: Le Chateau
Shorts: DIY (made from BDG jeans)

Chelsea Boots: Forever 21

Wow! I realize it has been ages since I last did a decent outfit post. The sun is shining today (yayyy up to 3 degrees celsius!) and I finally had decent lighting. The past gloomy weather has really put a damper on my ability to take decent outfit shots.

Apart from having poor lighting, I've also been busy with working out. I decided it was time for me to start losing some weight and getting into better shape. I'm not doing it for anyone else but myself, and I'm really proud of my progress so far. I have always ate pretty healthy, but now I'm getting super motivated to go to the gym every morning, and sometimes a second time at night. I want to feel really good about my body and be comfortable in my own skin. I believe that I can do this and hopefully by the end of summer I'll be down to my goal weight, and I will stay there.

I hope everyone is having a lovely week!

Thanks for reading! xo

WHEN THE SAINTS GO MARCHING IN

I realized I never did post any photos from New Orleans! It was the time of my life... my family and I had so much fun. We toured around, drank a fair bit (you know you're latino when you've never partied as hard with your friends as you have with your family), listened to some great jazz and blues, ate great food (mmm so many oysters!), and just all around had a good holiday. It's nice to still have family holidays like that - I'm the youngest at 22, and my sister is 25 and my brother is 29... My brother is getting married this summer which I am SO excited for. I'm really looking forward to having another person in the family! Anyway, here are some photos from our time in New Orleans.

SPOTLIGHT

I recently found the blog Mary-Kate Fashion (I have no idea how I didn't know about it before!) and I instantly fell in love with her style. She is so chic, effortless, and versatile. I've been going through pages and pages of outfit posts, each time becoming inspired. She combines all my favourite staples from this season, and she does it so well! I want her to live in my home and be my own personal stylist. ;) So here are a few of my favourite photos from her blog!

Peter pan collar & red lips 

Fur, velvet & red lips

Leopard print, masculine touches & red lips. love.

Leather!

Vintage touches

Fur, sheer, leather, leopard & bold lips

Effortless chic

Thanks for reading! xo

"TELL ME ABOUT IT, STUD"

So I tried my hand at creating some of those studded shorts I've been seeing all over the blogosphere the past many months! I started out with some BDG jeans (from Urban Outfitters), cut them off and distressed them, bleached the heck out of them for hours (they were really dark wash!) then studded them. I got the studs off of ebay. I'm pretty happy with the way they turned out. What do you think?

I can't wait to start wearing them - I don't particularly like the way they look with tights - so I think I'll wait until spring when I can wear them with some over-the-knee socks, then bare-legged in summer.

Looking forward to my next DIY project... I'm not very crafty but I really enjoyed making these!

CRAZY RIDE

By this time, most of you have probably seen this video of the girl falling while bungee jumping on the bridge between Zambia and Zimbabwe over (and into) the rapids of the Zambezi river... If not, here it is:

Well, it was especially frightening for me to see it, because at the end of August I made that exact same jump! It could have been me (or any of my 7 friends who also made the jump that week). I don't regret doing it at all - and they have still had zero fatalities (yay to the Australian girl being a strong swimmer!) so it's a safe place to bungee, but I think they'll see a lot less tourists deciding to jump! Here are my photos from when I jumped. They get you to stand with your toes over the edge, arms out, look out into the horizon, then they go "5, 4, 3, 2, 1, BUNGEE!" then they push you as you jump to be sure you get out far enough.

I'm so sorry for being absent from my blog this past month! I was in Houston for two weeks, then Ottawa for a week and I really had no time to blog at either of those places. I'm happy to be home and stationary for now! I have no more travel plans until Vegas in May and Toronto in June/July. I'm so happy to be able to relax in my own home now!

Thanks for reading. xo!

FORGET ME NOT

Shirt: 5th & Culture

Dress: American Apparel
Belt: Forever 21

Oh my gosh, it has been so long since I last posted! I was doing so well with posting regularly - then vacation happened and it all went away! I didn't ask anyone from my family to take outfit photos for me while I was away, because I didn't really want them to know about my blog (mostly because I don't want 5+ questions a week from my mother saying "that's a cute dress, but when did you buy it? save your money Raquellllll"). 

I'm so ready for the days to get longer again - there's no time of day that's good for me to take my outift photos in my room!

After just getting back from 2 weeks in Houston/New Orleans I'm leaving Monday morning to go to Ottawa for about a week, for a conference. I'm really looking forward to it - and so many of my friends from across Canada will be there, so we will all get together again after spending a lot of time together in Zambia and Malawi. :) :)

While I'm in Ottawa I think I'm going to schedule some posts, so that I don't go 10+ days without posting again... A new years resolution of mine is to post regularly and post interesting things.... and make it more "lifestyle" so maybe within every 4 or 5 outfit posts, have a recipe post or something!

I hope everyone is doing well!