♥ in her eyes & flowers in her hair

Just a photo I took on a walk with the puppy last spring. Dying for it to look like this outside again. We can't take any more snow.

xo

Travel: Sayulita, Mexico ♥

     

  Sayulita is a little tiny surfing/fishing village in the Riviera Nayarit, Mexico off the coast of california. It is not far from the puerto vallarta airport. We fell in love with this town. The culture, the food, the weather... Everything. It is not your typical tourist town, but a lot of the locals speak some english. There is just too much to say about this trip to write it all in this post, but here is the website... one of the most fun beautiful places I've ever been.

Spring Clothing Haul. *OLD* (reposted from last year)

*click on the pictures above for a closer look ;)

1. Blue Wilfred Silk spaghetti strap, Aritzia $55 ... not worth it. At value village they have a million of these, all real silk, very 90's. All for less than 10$. If I could to go back in time I would not buy this. It looks good on, because of the intense colour... but thats about it. Me and Leslie found a beautiful black one and a lilac one at Value Village just days afterwards...that looked exactly the same. no joke. & not only that but the price you'll have to pay for dry cleaning when a little spot gets on the 55$ one, it is definitely NOT worth the purchase. haha, darn... Aritzia you win again.

2. Slate Grey/white Graphic tank top $20-$25 ...worth it. For this cotton, relaxed style tank be sure to get a size up. baggy is better when it comes to this style. Looks good with leggings & a pair of aviators. Easy to wash. not too badly priced.

3. Backless tulip shaped Floral top, Costa Blanca $20 ... Definitely worth it! This top is beautiful. Costa Blanca is SO hit or miss. im not a huge fan of it, but on the occasion that I do find something there that I like, I love it. and usually wear it mulitiple times a week. havent been able to so that yet with this one, because its too scandalous with the open back, but when summer comes... oh baby. Looks good with a high waisted pair of shorts if your a little modest and want to cover up your back a little bit more, and low rise jeans and heels for a sexier look. Its great because it sits just perfectly to cover your bra!... I love this one. The picture doesn't even do it justice.

4. Turquoise cropped spaghetti strap with scalloped and embellished hem, Forever 21 $17 ... Worth it. colour is very trendy right now, the minty-tourqouise, and its just a fun, pretty, girly top that looks more expensive then it actually was because of the beading and the material.

5. Pleated floral spaghetti strap, Forever 21 $10 ...Worth it. Another score from Forever 21. yesssssss.

6. Purple Lace t-shirt, Bluenotes $11 ...WORTH IT. This is a total knockoff of what aritzia offers, but for a fraction of the price, and a better fit. I tried on the tops in aritzia and almost bought one, but it looked way too boxy on me, and made everyone who tried it on look like they have wide shoulders. this one from bluenotes has the exact same look, and feel but its cut is much more girly and feminine.

7. Red Button-up blouse, H&M $14 ...Worth it. dress it up or dress it down, the colour is beautiful and its so versatile and easy. you can even wear it open as a spring cover up over a tank top underneath.

8. Sepia toned floral lace top, Babaton, Aritzia $90 ...mmm....i guess its worth it. Because i have had it for SO long, and i always get compliments on it. But because the material is so delicate you need to keep paying for upkeep, with drycleaning and whatnot so it is kind of high maintenance. But I would still say its worth it because I was in love with it at the time. & still wear it often.

9. Cream coloured Tie-front blouse $10 ...worth it. easy peasy.

10. Cream coloured Boyfriend boyfriend style Blazer, Thrifted $4 ...worth it. i was going to buy a new one because they were so tendy it felt like everyone had one but me, but they range anywhere from 60-250$ and up! ...so i looked at VV and I found this one. I really like it :)..and 4$?? please. thats less than a coffee these days.

11. Cream cropped wilfred top, Aritzia $35... worth it! Goes with everything. especially a ripped pair of jeans.

12. Oatmeal coloured knitted cardigan with cutout details on front, Thrifted $3 easiest spring cardigan. looks good over the sepia-toned babaton top, that way your mixing completely cheap, with a more high end item. it adds interest to the outfit.

13. Denim button up, American Eagle $35 ... worth it.

14. Boyfriend Style dress shirt, American Eagle $50 ...not worth it, barely ever wear it because 'the boyfriend look' is aka 'I am drowning in it.'

15. 'Im dating the quarterback' Jacket (haha), Bluenotes $20....not worth it. Everyone has the exact same jacket as me. boring.

Tea for two.

Theres this cute little place tucked into the middle of young street in aurora called Bonsai Hill. They have over a hundred, carefully selected loose leaf teas from major tea producing regions of the world. Many of the teas are organic and fair trade products. Tea is served traditionally in-house and available for purchase so you can take it home too! Theres also coffee, homemade sandwiches, pastries...

& even traditional English afternoon tea, high tea and tea tastings made by reservations on sunday afternoons.  (ooh, fancy!)

The walls of BH are decorated with different types of vibrant original oriental artworks and gifts such as traditional Chinese brush paintings, Chinese folk paintings, paper cuts, bamboo carvings, handmade Yixing tea pots, 100% silk scarves, and some simple jewelry.

"At Bonsai Hill, you will enjoy nature, green, peace, and culture..." 

If you are in the area, I highly suggest giving this place a try. 

P.S Excuse the bad quality photos, they are from my blackberry! 

Doodles Everywhere...

With the hustle and bustle of daily life, it is hard to find the time to do the things you love. I am sure a lot of you would agree with me on that!...For me, one of these things is drawing. To draw, I like to have my ideal 'creative scenario'...and put myself in the head-space to 'make art'. I want to be relaxed, as well as have the right tools in front of me etc. But, to 'draw' doesn't necessarily mean making a big production out of it or dedicating an entire room in your house for studio-work. Everyday doodles can be just as valuable as a masterpiece you slaved over for weeks. 

 By carrying simple tools around in my purse (i.e pens, pencils, erasers) I always have the basic necessities to make art (art is subjective, after all). As for your 'canvas', you can pretty much use anything! ...in fact, it makes for more interesting art. Use a printed napkin from a restaurant, a pastry bag, cardboard or any other little beautiful papers you find throughout your day, keep your eyes open for these things! (some may say this is hoarding- haha) ...But now you have everything you need to doodle your heart out. Simple sketches and doodles made throughout your day can just be thrown into your purse, and you can do more with it when you do have more time on your hands. 

Doodle while you have your morning coffee, while you wait for the bus, while you are chatting on the phone, during commercial breaks, or even if you don't want to pay attention at work/school. (heck, Im not condoning it Buuuuuut... research has shown that some people can actually listen better while doodling).

Use your little napkin doodle as a thumbnail for a larger abstract painting that is %100 original. Or take your doodle and stick it into your sketchbook. Eventually if you collect enough doodles and little artsy scribbles you can have a nice multi-media art journal that is simple and interesting. 

so go ahead and doodle ;) 

10 Things To Do This Week, From 'Here Comes the Sun' Blog...

Things to do this week: reblogged from another Amanda at Here Comes The Sun