Hi everyone!  How are you?

It's a long weekend here in Canada, which is why this post is coming to you a day later than normal!  Friday night we took the ferry to Victoria to visit our cousins and stayed up late drinking wine (me) and beer (them) and trying out their brand new hot tub!  Then on Saturday we slept in, went and got breakfast sandwiches at Red Barn, picked up some boat snacks and then drove to Brentwood Bay where their boat is moored for the summer.  We dropped prawn traps and puttered around the inlet for the afternoon.  The weather was pretty good, definitely windier in some areas and when the clouds came in it was colder, but not bad at all!  We didn't catch too many prawns, but enough for T and I to bring back for dinner tonight.  Bring on the garlic butter!  LOL . After boating we had appies and a drink at the "pub" in Brentwood Bay.  I say "pub" because it's really quite a nice restaurant!

On Sunday we had a lazy morning at my cousin's, drinking coffee on the deck and having cinnamon buns for breakfast :).  My cousin's wife had a training ride in the morning so she was gone till about noon (she had to bike 80km!!) and then we all headed over to my other cousin's for lunch!  After lunch we went to the Phillips Brewery tasting room and then back out to the ferry so we could come home to watch the GOT finale!  LOL

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Striped Midi Dress by Forever 21 (last year, similar)

Belt ?? (super old, similar)

Rodney D'Orsay Suede Flats by Sam Edelman

 Sweater by Gap
Mid-Rise Pixie Ankle Pants by Old Navy
Edie Leather Loafers by J.Crew Factory
Tassel Necklace by J.Crew Factory (old, similar)

 Bennett Silk Shirtdress by Babaton (Aritzia, old, similar, similar, similar)
Dunkirk Knit Vest by Wilfred (Aritzia, now called the Olivie)
Edie Leather Loafers by J.Crew Factory
Headband by H&M (sold out, similar)

Patterned Pocket Blouse by Dynamite (old, similar)
Mid-Rise Pixie Ankle Pants by Old Navy
(note I've linked to the full length pant in the above image but this link will take you to the ankle length pair which is what I have!)
Suede Bow Mules by Town Shoes (old, similar)
Necklace by GemPassionJewelry (Etsy)

Last week I caved and bought a bunch of stuff that was sitting in my virtual cart from Gap, Old Navy and Aldo.  Gap had two deals last week, one was 50% off shorts and the other was 50% off dresses, and both of those things were in my cart so I just went for it.  I don't have a pair of medium wash denim shorts, which are kind of a summer staple IMO, so I ordered three different styles to try (these, these, these) in a few different sizes since I've gained a bit of weight and my usual size doesn't seem to fit anymore!!  As for dresses, I ordered this one in both the blue and pink, and this one in the pink.  I hope at least one of them works!  I find Gap stuff tends to fit big so we'll see.  I also ordered a couple of new workout tanks (this, this, this - I love the Breathe series from Gap), white jeans and some sweats which I'm hoping will be good for camping this summer.  From Aldo I ordered two pairs of espadrilles - this pair in white and this pair in black.  They've both arrived and are super comfy.  I haven't worn them out of the house yet but have high hopes!

Above I'm wearing a new sweater from Gap that I ordered a couple of weeks ago.  It fulfilled my need for a lightweight spring sweater in a cute colour!  It comes in bunch of different colours, and in a v-neck tunic length version, if you're interested!  Other than that, and the headband I'm wearing in the third outfit that you can barely see, everything else I'm wearing is old!  The headband is sadly sold out but I found this very cute similar one from Anthro.

I wanted to give you an update on the mascara situation as well.  After trying them both out for a few days, I decided to return the Blinc and Ilia mascaras and have gone back to the L'Oreal one.  The Ilia mascara still left smudges under my eyes and the Blinc was harder to apply and remove.  The L'Oreal mascara has not been bothering my eyes since I've gone back to it, so that's a positive.  Maybe it was just allergies?! 

Oh, and my ASOS order arrived (win), but nothing fit or was what I was looking for (fail).  The floral print midi skirt for example wasn't lined, the plain black midi was in a cotton jersey material that I felt would fade quickly and also wasn't lined, and the jumpsuit and scalloped skirt just straight up did not fit.  I had to pay $22 for return shipping which is super annoying but at least now I know.  Just one more reason for me to (unfortunately) not shop there!

Next weekend I'm headed to Ottawa for a day and then Toronto for 4 days for work!  I'll have a blog post up next weekend (May 26) and then my Monthly Outfit Roundup for May will but up the week after than (June 2). 


Thank you all so much for visiting and I hope you had a great weekend!



xo JULES

May Outfits Week Two

Hi everyone!

I can't tell you how happy I am to be sitting on our patio this morning writing this blog post!  The sun is shining, the birds are chirping, I've just finished a cup of coffee while editing these photos ... spring is here and I am all for it!

Actually, we've had a couple of summer-like days this week!  I know talking about the weather is cliche, but it genuinely has an effect on my mood & outlook.  Sun = happy Jules.  Cold = unhappy Jules.  LOL.

Also!  As you can see from these pics I've changed up my shooting location on our patio.  There are two reasons for this, the first being that with the change in seasons the lighting wasn't as good in my old spot.  The second is that we've put our patio furniture out, and it's kind of right in front of my old shooting spot!  So I'm trying to figure out how to best shoot in this new spot, which is kind of backlit but also the sun is coming up on the left ... so please bear with me!  I don't know why we have this huge rock on our patio either, I actually hate it but what can you do 🤷

 (scroll down for more!)

Cardigan by Gap (old, similar)

Striped Fit and Flare Dress by Gap (old, similar)

Calf Hair Leopard Print Belt by J.Crew (old, similar)

Zoe Suede D'Orsay Flats by J.Crew Factory

Scalloped Cami by J.Crew Factory
Cardigan by Old Navy
Mid-Rise Pixie Pants by Old Navy (old pattern, similar)
Mules by Town Shoes (old, similar)
Necklace by GemPassionJewelry (Etsy)

Polka Dot Swing Dress by Zara (old, similar, similar)

Zoe Suede D'Orsay Flats by J.Crew Factory
Gold Hoop Earrings by J.Crew Factory

Cardigan by Zara (super old, similar)

Botanical Print Sleeveless Top by Banana Republic
Mid-Rise Pixie Ankle Pants by Old Navy
Edie Leather Loafers by J.Crew Factory
Tortoise Headband by J.Crew Factory (sold out, similar)

My J.Crew Factory order arrived and as you can see I'm wearing the Scalloped Cami in Ivory.  I also bought one in black, both in size 2, which I think is the correct size for me.  I kind of wish they weren't racerback, but I looked at a lot of different versions of this kind of cami (H&M, J.Crew, Aritzia), and this one had the best price point for the material/quality I was looking for.  I'm also wearing a headband I bought from there which you can't really see, in the last outfit.  It's since sold out but they have a similar, wider one at J.Crew. 

Other than that, and the ASOS order I'm waiting on, I haven't been doing much shopping.  I had a bunch of things in my cart from Gap and Old Navy but I'm just not sure I need any of those things, so I'm holding off for now.  I would like a new pair of white jeans, and I've ordered and returned a bunch of pairs and am kind of feeling defeated by the whole ordeal, and then two weeks ago I was feeling like I needed a long sleeved midi dress or two for this weird in-between weather we were having.  But now that it's warmed up I don't know if I need one anymore!  (But what if it gets cold again?!) . LOL . Anyways, I am a very indecisive person so this type of 'leave it in the cart' for weeks behaviour is totally normal for me!

I was a bit annoyed last week by all of the Sephora sale coverage but it ended up working (you win again, Sephora!) and I bought the full size of the Fresh Sugar lip balm in Rose, this brush cleaner which I used for the first time last night and is great!, this tubing mascara and a mini size of this natural mascara.  I'm hoping the brush cleaner will get me to wash my makeup brushes more regularly ... like every week.  I was inspired by the Indie Lee episode of Bad on Paper Podcast where she talks about cleaning her makeup brushes every Sunday as part of her "self-care" routine.  I am totally a creature of habit, so if I can make cleaning my makeup brushes part of some sort of weekend routine then I'll probably stick with it!

Let's talk about the mascaras.  Many months ago I asked for long-wear mascara recommendations on my Instagram stories, as I was sick of having dark spots under the outer corners of my eyes by mid-day.  A colleague of mind saw the story and brought me a bunch of mini-size mascaras that she'd received as 'gift with purchase'.  This was right around the time that we went to Costa Rica, so I brought them with me and kind of tried all of them, and they were great, but since the climate was so different and I wasn't wearing eyeliner I didn't feel like it was the best testing ground.  Right when I got back, I saw a BuzzFeed article that I think Grace linked about the best beauty products to buy on Amazon, and this L'Oreal tubing mascara was listed.  I clicked on over and it had great reviews, and one of the best things about tubing mascara is that it's formulated differently so it doesn't flake off.  Colour me sold!  Anyways, I went to my local Shoppers and bought it and it's been working great!  It took me a little while to get used to a more natural look for my eyes (I always wanted big, bold lashes before), but now I think it's totally fine/I'm used to it.  But a couple of weeks ago, perhaps combined with allergies, my eyes started bothering me.  Like there was something stuck in there that I couldn't get out.  It would last all day until I took my makeup off.  So one day I switched mascaras to see if that would make a difference, and it did!  So that's the super long story of why I bought two new mascaras!  LOL . I wore the Blinc mascara yesterday and it went on a bit more wet than the L'Oreal, probably because it doesn't have a primer (or maybe that's just the formula), which meant it I got a bit on my eyelids, and it was a bit harder to take off at the end of the night.  But it lasted all day with no smudging or flaking, and it didn't bother my eyes.  I'm going to try the Ilia mascara today!

Did you get sucked into the Sephora sale, too?!  Share what you bought in the comments below!

As always, thank you so much for visiting!  I hope you have great weekend :)


xo JULES

May Outfits Week One

Hi everyone!  

Happy Saturday, and Happy May!

Thank you all so much for your kind comments about the gala dress I chose!  In the end I was really happy with how the whole outfit turned out and the event was really fun.  We got back into town Sunday afternoon and it was a gorgeous sunny day so I decided to catch up on some blog reading on our patio while Tony was at Avengers with a friend.  It was SO nice, I can't wait for more days like that!  Then, of course, we watched GOT!  

It felt like a short weekend since I was kind of 'working' on Saturday (at the gala), plus it was in Whistler which is about a 2 hour drive from here.  I'm working this weekend, too!  It's our live auction preview this weekend which means that we are exhibiting all of the artworks that we are going to be selling at our spring auction at the end of the month in Toronto.  

What are you all up to this weekend?

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V-Neck Blouse with Buttons by H&M

Mid-Rise Pixie Ankle Pants by Old Navy

Edie Leather Loafers by J.Crew Factory

Pearl Hair Pin from Amazon

Striped Sweater by H&M (old, similar)
Knit Pleated Midi Skirt by Wilfred Free (Aritzia, old, similar)
Trace Suede Mules by Steve Madden (similar)
Interlocking Circles Necklace by Tiffany & Co.

 Tie-Front Floral Blouse by Dynamite (old, similar)
Mid-Rise Pixie Ankle Pants by Old Navy (old colour, similar)
Suede Bow Mules by Town Shoes (similar)
Necklace by GemPassionJewelry (Etsy)

 Striped Midi Dress by Forever 21 (last year, similar)
Zoe Suede D'Orsay Flats by J.Crew Factory
Double Disc Pendant Necklace by ? (similar)
Necklace by GemPassionJewelry (Etsy)

So I'm wearing a couple of new things this week!

The top in the first outfit is new H&M.  I bought it to see if it could be a replacement for this Old Navy shirt, since I love the colour but it wrinkled SO badly/easily!  Well, the joke's on me because as you can see this one is just as bad!  Also, the sleeves on this one are a bit too long, and the peplum hem is a bit weird.  They put an interior snap button on the peplum hem, but you can see it's pulling.  I ended up using safety pins to try and keep it closed but it seems like a design flaw - why not just leave it open?  In any case, I love the colour but that's about it!

Also, I've jumped on the pearl hair pin trend!  I bought this set of 5 for $10 off Amazon and they seem great!

In the second outfit, the knit pleated midi skirt is new.  It's by Wilfred, an Aritzia brand, but I bought it at a secondhand store so I think it's from a past season.  I don't love how I look in that outfit so I won't say much more about it!  LOL

The other new item I'm wearing is the blue striped midi dress in the last outfit.  I actually bought this dress at the end of last summer, but it was too long on me and I didn't get it hemmed until I brought it home with me at Christmas (my mum hemmed it!).  It felt very fresh and spring-y!

I'm getting my hair cut today and then there's a party at a brewery our friend used to be the head brewer for later on tonight.  Other than that, we don't have any plans!  Tony and I didn't get to spend much time together last weekend so we're going to try and have some quality time today.  It's looking like the weather is going to be good, so maybe we'll be able to hang out on our patio for a bit!

Anyways, thank you all so much for visiting!  And be sure to check out my April Monthly Outfit Roundup :)


xo JULES