are we not like two volumes of one book?

A few days ago, my boyfriend and I celebrated a year and a half together. Time flies when you're having fun! He surprised me with flowers at work - pink roses....my favourite. It was so sweet and unexpected. I definitely felt spoiled. Then, we celebrated properly on the weekend by heading down to see a Blue Jays game before grabbing dinner and spending the night watching TV together. It was so so wonderful.

I always have fun when I'm with him and this weekend was no different. It felt great to take a bit of time to celebrate the best year and a half of my life. I am so blessed to be with him. He truly makes every single day better. I really do feel like the luckiest girl in the world.

Okay, okay, I'll stop. I just can't help it! But, since I'm being such a sap, I thought I would share some of our pictures from the weekend.

"Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, 

while loving someone deeply gives you courage."

So, that was how I spent my weekend! How did you spend yours?

xo Shannon

inspired by: khloe kardashian

Lately, I have been watching a lot of Netflix while I work. I blame the return of Arrested Development. My family never had Netflix before the latest season, but now we've signed on for another six months. And it's amazing. There are just so many TV shows and movies to choose from. It's paradise!

Let me admit right now that I have mostly been using Netflix to catch up on episodes I'd missed of Keeping Up With the Kardashians. I love that show. It's addicting!  I may love Kim's style the most (pre-pregnancy of course), but my current obsession is with Khloe. I love her bold, outrageous personality. I admire that she is always so fun, lively, and outspoken. I definitely wish that I was a little bit more like her! 

Since my Khloe Kardashian love is at an all-time high, this post is going a two-parter. (This is obviously part one!) This first post is totally dedicated to her style. Her fashion sense is definitely a little hit or miss for me, but I love that she takes risks. She epitomizes sexy, glamorous style. Plus, her makeup always looks flawless.

Here are some of my favourite pictures of Khloe's style!

Do you like Khloe Kardashian? What do you think of her fashion style?

xo Shannon

keep calm and paint your nails.

I have become very vain about my nails. After years and years of bare nails, suddenly I'm allowed to have pretty painted nails. Yup, ever since my work changed the rules about nail polish at work, I think I have a full-blown obsession. Okay, I'm still stuck in neutral territory, but still! It's something.

This time, I opted for a soft baby pink shade. I think this is my favourite of the colours I've had so far. It's super girly and pretty. I just feel really confident with them! I haven't decided what colour I'm going to try out next, but I have a feeling I'll keep coming back to this baby pink shade in the future.

Ready to see my perfectly pink nails?

Do you like this shade? What colour are your nails right now?

xo Shannon

when i shop, the world gets better.

This summer, my bank account has taken a hit. Why? Shopping! As much as I am trying to be good with money, I slip sometimes. I blame it all on fun summer fashion and being a serious shopaholic. When my mom and I went to the Christian Louboutin exhibit a little while back, we did a bit of shopping downtown. I tried to be good, but who can resist shoes and Betsey Johnson accessories? Not me, that's for sure!

Here are some of the things I picked up on my travels!

Have you caught the summer shopping bug? What have you bought lately?

xo Shannon

new in: red apple lipstick

As you know, I've posted about Red Apple Lipstick a few times on this blog....because I love their makeup! It is amazing quality and the colours are fantastic. Plus, it is gluten free and doesn't have any dangerous chemicals. You can't do much better than that! Makeup that won't harm your skin and still looks amazing? Perfection!

I recently ordered a few new makeup products from Red Apple Lipstick, so I thought I would share them with you! I already had one of their eyeshadows and really loved the texture and pigmentation...which is why I couldn't resist buying a few more. I fell in love with a few shades and needed to add them to my makeup collection! And well, I couldn't order something from Red Apple Lipstick and not buy a lipstick as well!

So, what did I buy? Let's start with the lips!  

French Skirt is a shade I was instantly drawn to. It's a light, frosty pink colour. The lipstick is super girly, flirty, and fun! It is perfect to wear when you're going out with the girls or want to make a subtle statement. I love it! The texture is smooth and it's really nourishing on the lips. Plus, the colour lasts really well. Since I got it, I've worn it quite a few times and I'm super impressed with the lipstick!


With my order, I also received a sample of Secrets, which is a beautifully rich deep red shade. I haven't had a chance to wear this one out yet, but I look forward to it!

Now for the eyes!

I chose three eyeshadow shades that really spoke to me. I love, love, love a neutral coloured smokey eye, so I was instantly drawn to this medium brown shade Dirty Girl. It is just perfect for an eyelid shade or for blending out a smokey eye. Plus, the texture is so soft, it's crazy. Love!

The next colour I chose was Sand Castle, which is a pretty, shimmery champagne colour. It is perfect for the inner corner and for blending out deeper shades. Or, if you want a softer, more natural makeup look, it'll look great all over the lid!

The last eyeshadow shade that I chose was Siren. There was something about this colour that I was immediately drawn to. Now, I am not someone who typically wears a lot of bold, bright colours on the eyes. But I have to make an exception because this colour is to die for! It's a beautiful turquoise shade that just makes the eyes pop in such a stunning way. This one has to be my favourite of the three.

Every time I get new makeup, I simply have to test it out! I can't help myself. So, I had fun getting creative with these new Red Apple Lipstick products and used them to create a makeup look. Ready for the finished product?

What do you think of these products? Have you tried anything from Red Apple Lipstick?

xo Shannon

tag: 13 personal questions

A little while back, I was tagged by Georgia from Beauty Inside Art in the 13 personal questions tag. So, I thought I would finally get around to answering the questions! Feel free to do this tag on your blog - I'd love to read your answers.

1. What do you order at Starbucks?
 Believe it or not, I don't usually drink Starbucks! I don't like hot beverages, so I tend to skip out on coffee places. However, I recently tried the Vanilla Bean Frapaccino and it was delicious!

2. What's one thing in your closet that you can't live without?
Oh gosh....either my black skinny jeans or my very first Hanson shirt. Memories!

3. What's one thing that most people don't know about you?
No idea. I am pretty much an open book! Ask and I'll probably tell you.

4. What's one thing you want to do before you die?
Have one of my novels published. 

5. What's one food you can't live without?
Chocolate!

6. What's one quote that you live your life by?

"Today I choose the path that has always been mine."- Ricky Martin

7. What do you like and dislike about the Blogging community?

I love being able to communicate with a whole different group of people about things we are all passionate about. What I dislike? Hmm...I'll have to ponder that one a little bit longer!

8. What's your number 1 song on your iPod/iTunes?
Well, according to my iTunes at the moment, it is...."Silent" by Scott MacIntyre. Love that song!

9. What kind of style would you describe yourself as having?
Audrey Hepburn meets Betsey Johnson. I love classic and cute styles with fun, trendy details. 

10. Favourite number?
7!

11. What are two of your hobbies?
Reading and writing. Both of those activities pretty much take up any of my free time!

12. What are two of your pet peeves?
Rude people and people who act really entitled. Those are my biggest pet peeves. I absolutely cannot stand people who are just awful and horrible!

13. What is your guilty pleasure?
Oh gosh, it's got to be "Beauty and a Beat" by Justin Bieber. That song is super catchy!

I tag all of you to do the 13 personal questions tag!

xo Shannon

high heels are pleasure with pain.

What girl doesn't love a good pair of heels? Shoes are like art, especially some of the incredible designs from famed French designer, Christian Louboutin. When an exhibit of some of his most outrageous designs came to the Design Exchange in Toronto, I simply had to go! Since my mom is a fashion lover herself, we went to check out the exhibit together.

It was an incredible exhibit to take in. And of course, there were tons of amazing shoes to look at. They were creative, unique, interesting, dynamic - and nearly impossible to wear! The overall look of the exhibit was wonderful. However, there were some disappointing aspects to it as well. First, the price. It was $20 per admission ticket for an exhibit that took less than 20 minutes to walk through. It was way, way overpriced. Also disappointing was the lack of biographical information on Christian Louboutin. While I respect that the shoes were the focus, it would have been nice to get a closer look at the man behind the designs....what inspired them and how he got his start. Despite these disappointing elements, it was amazing to see some of his designs up close and personal!

I took a ton of pictures - over a hundred, in fact! I was in shoe heaven. But, since I'm sure you have better things to do than look at a hundred pictures of red-soled shoes, I picked out a couple of my absolute favourites. 

 

And my all-time favourite pair is....

Can you believe those bad boys? I absolutely loved how creative and bold the design was. Stunning and totally unforgettable! 

Do you love Christian Louboutin shoes? What do you think of the exhibit?

xo Shannon

drugstore makeup: hard candy and maybelline

 

If you know anything about me at this point, it is that I love makeup! A lot. So, I always get excited when I try out new products. A while back, I picked up a couple of new things from the drugstore - Hard Candy's "That's How Eye Roll" and another shade from Maybelline's Colour Whisper line. Here are some of my thoughts on my latest drugstore buys.

Hard Candy: That's How Eye Roll in Emma-Belle

When it comes to Hard Candy, there are certain products that I can't get enough of and some that totally fall flat. Despite this hit-or-miss track record, I often find myself picking up new Hard Candy products. (Maybe it's because of the super cheap price. I can't resist!) So, when I saw That's How Eye Roll at my local drugstore, I impulsively picked it up. Essentially, it is a cream stick on one end with a glitter rollerball on the other. Layering the two together should make a dramatic, shimmery eye look.

What I love about this product was the cream stick. The shade I chose was a rich maroon that works great as a base. However, I wouldn't recommend that you use it as is. It doesn't take long to crease! Used as a cream base, it is fantastic, though, so this product wasn't a total bust. The glitter rollerball end on the other hand, was a total bust. The product doesn't actually work well on your eyelid. In fact, it barely at all. Very disappointing.

Maybelline: Colour Whisper in Rose of Attraction 

There are so many different drugstore lip products to choose from. Out of all of them, I think the Colour Whispers are my favourites. The colour is so buildable, it's quick and easy to apply (and re-apply) and there is a gorgeous range of shades to choose from. What I love most of all is that they are super moisturizing! This is always a plus. Since the Colour Whispers are so great, I wanted to try another shade. This one is Rose of Attraction. It is a gorgeous rosy-berry shade. It's perfect for going to dinner or a night out. I just love it! I find myself reaching for this a lot lately. It's a beautiful shade with a hint of shimmer. It's just beautiful.

Have you tried any of these products? What did you think of them?

xo Shannon

a good traveler has no fixed plans and is not intent on arriving.

Sometimes, it's nice to get away from it all. That is exactly why my boyfriend and I decided to take a weekend trip to....Toronto! Okay, this may not be the most exotic location (we don't live too far away from the city) but it was a ton of fun. Rather than spend a lot of money going somewhere far away, we made the most of what was nearby.

So, what did we do? We visited the Science Center (which I had never been to), went to Uptown Abbey - a Downtown Abbey themed mystery dinner theater, wandered around the city, caught a movie, went to dinner, and just acted like tourists. It was so much fun. Plus, it was really nice to get away from work for a little bit and relax! I definitely needed that. It was the perfect weekend with the perfect person.

Since I had such a wonderful time, I thought I would share some of the pictures from our mini-getaway.

Have you taken a vacation recently? Where did you go?

xo Shannon

it is how people dress in their days off that are the most intriguing.

As if my ever expanding wardrobe needed more expanding....I've got a wardrobe little haul here. Eesh! Well, I blame Target. And going shopping with my mother. This is always a brutal combination for my bank account! The last time I was there, I picked up a few new pieces. Mostly just some basic tops and a couple of dresses. Nothing too crazy! (One of the dresses was actually reduced from $75 to $15, so I think that purchase was totally justified!)

Here are the latest additions to my wardrobe. You know, the one that won't close anymore....

Have you done any summer shopping? What did you pick up?

xo Shannon