House of Illusions

January 30, 2017April 12, 2018

Making Winter Cuter with Pom Beanies

cardigan with free people tunic and pom beanie

cardigan with free people tunic and pom beanie Pom beanie, Free People. Cardigan (Madewell) c/o Nordstrom. Dress c/o Free People. Boots, Aldo. Ring, Samantha Wills. Choker, bebe.

Winter is not a fashion show. Words that haunted me growing up and wisdom that I chose to ignore much to my dear mother’s dismay. But tell that to a girl who lives and breathes Vogue magazines, worships Jeanne Beker and watches Fashion Television religiously. Like every time it aired on City TV. (Prior to the emergence of the Fashion Television Channel for all my non millennial readers). Dressing cute and fashionable always seemed like a better trade-off than staying warm and I must admit I’ve endured my fair share of ass-freezings over the years in an attempt to do so.

Luckily with age comes wisdom and I’ve accepted that winter can be a fashion show – when done properly. Which leads me to talk about winter hats. Not really something that I’ve been into, but my boyfriend’s nagging over the years finally convinced me to start wearing them. So over the last two years as I’ve attempted to embrace winter hats I’ve actually become addicted to them. Not sure why I was so against them, as I used to rock baseball hats all the time back in the day. But maybe it was because they just weren’t as cute as they are now.

Enter the pom beanie, or even this beret style pom pom hat from Free People – over the top cuteness meant to keep one warm. For this reason (and of course because of our frigid winters), I’m expanding my collection one pom beanie at a time. With that being said, winter fashion doesn’t have to be dull or boring. Simply making weather appropriate choices while staying on trend is a great way to turn winter into a fashion show.

January 26, 2017April 12, 2018

Hidden Gems

home decor on a budget

To celebrate the opening of a new Value Village store in Mississauga (a suburb of Toronto), I was invited back to shop the store challenging a $50 budget. For those of you who may not be familiar, Value Village is a thrift retailer that offers affordable clothing and household goods. If you’ve been following the blog you would recall last summer I thrifted two outfits on that same budget.

Thrifting can be a hit or miss. At times one may end up leaving with the most remarkable vintage find. And that is exactly what happened here. While my intention was to put together a winter outfit I simply didn’t have much luck in the clothing department that day. So I started wandering the store for inspiration…And boy did I ever find it in the housewares section!

home decor on a budget

It all started when I spotted a floral keepsakes box. While I already have a few of these throughout my home another couldn’t possibly hurt. The ‘Live Laugh Love’ motif resonated with me and inspired a home decor on a budget theme. Thus creating the perfect opportunity to challenge a $50 budget on home decor.

home decor on a budget

After having settled on the box the next step was to find items to compliment its’ floral and Parisienne motif. Immediately I pictured French inspired artwork. And a white vase full of flowers to compliment the design of the box. Now came the fun part. Thrifting for aforementioned items to find great decor on a budget.

home decor on a budget

Finding artwork was a breeze. I even scored a framed mirror which had been on my home decor wish list for quite some time. In addition, mirrored-glass candle holders were a no brainer as I’m always burning candles. The only snag I hit (which turned out to be a blessing in disguise) was that I could not find an appropriate vase.

home decor on a budget

A glass pitcher kept catching my eye every time I walked by. Upon further inspection I deemed it to be vintage based on the detailing. Until eventually I decided to forgo the vase in lieu of this beauty. Best decision I I made that night. I am actually thankful that I wasn’t able to find a vase or else I would have passed up on this gem!

It’s hard to imagine that such pretty items would have otherwise ended up in a landfill. Which is why it’s great that Value Village teams up with local nonprofit parters to divert more than 650 million pounds of used goods from landfills each year. These reused goods are put into the hands of people who will give them a new life and home.

home decor on a budget

On a side note, one of the store managers gave me a behind the scenes tour of the whole process that night. Aside from accepting donations (for which they offer a discount on their merchandise), Value Village purchases their clothing from local nonprofit organizations.

More than 100,000 items are out on the sales floor at any given time, carrying everything from clothing and accessories to housewares and electronics. Up to 10,000 new items are placed on the floor daily. Any items that exceed their in-store ‘season’ are then further passed down to charities or recycled. Love how everything keeps getting re-used.

home decor on a budget

Well, and there you have it my friends. These are all the goodies I found for home decor on a budget. Whether you are looking to incorporate a few one of a kind pieces into your existing decor or create an entire display, $50 at Value Village takes you a long way.

All housewares c/o Value Village.

January 22, 2017September 30, 2020

Winter Survival with Pretty and Useful Things

Winter Survival Guide

Ah winter….what can I say? Not my first choice of seasons. Don’t get me wrong, winter can be serenely beautiful…if you’re sitting inside by a fireplace wine glass in hand. But all hibernation ideals aside, winter really doesn’t do my body any favours; I lose my golden glow, it makes my hair static, and when it’s really frigid, my knuckles dry and crack to the point where they bleed. Fun times. Luckily I’ve been introduced to a few new products that are helping me to cope with the winter season. I’ve rounded them up here along with a few old favourites.

TEA
Lots and lots of tea. I’ve expanded my horizons in the tea department recently, venturing outside of black, green, and my favourite – jasmine tea. All of this thanks to a visit to Teavana while randomly strolling through Upper Canada Mall. The vast amounts of loose leaf teas this store has is insane…anything from specialized tea, chai, to even herbal teas. The herbal fruit teas consist of a mix of tea and dried pieces of fruit and not only smell, but look divine. Passion Tango is the one I am currently hooked on.

passion tango tea in vintage teacup

Winter Survival Guide

BOLD LIP COLOURS
A beautiful smile goes a long way in uplifting spirits and fighting the winter blues. And Bite Beauty keeps me smiling for more reasons than just their beautifully bold colours. Bite Beauty lipsticks are natural lip products made with food-grade ingredients. Which leave me happy knowing that I’m not applying harmful colours onto my lips on the daily (a reason that I avoided lipsticks for many years).

winter survival for lips

LIP CARE
I cannot even tell you how often I reach for my lip balm on a daily basis. Working in an office with dry and cool temperatures doesn’t help either. So I am really grateful to eos for sending me their lip aid kit – which has been just that – first aid for my lips during the dry winter months. Aside from just being a fun product thanks to their cute and colourful containers, eos lip balm leaves your lips not only soft and supple, but full of yummy flavour. A winter beauty hack of mine is to apply a very thin layer of moisturizing lip balm on my lips before adding lipstick.

winter lip care

A CUTE PHONE CASE
You may have seen on my Insta stories that I shattered the screen on my phone not too long ago. I think the stress of the holidays took its toll on me because at one point I was dropping my phone on the daily. Not even kidding…Until finally one day my poor iPhone just did not survive the drop.

Thankfully my friends at Arla Cases let me try out one of their cases. And would you believe the delivery coincided with my replacement phone to the exact day. I’m happy to report that I have not dropped my new phone since. That being said, I’m notorious for waiting months before getting a case or even screen protector for new phones. But there really are no excuses when hundreds of cute designs are available online.

It wasn’t easy to narrow it down to one, but after seeing this cowskull with roses designs I had eyes for no other. So far I love it (the gorgeous design is a no-brainer). Furthermore I truly appreciate the fact that my phone actually has a ‘grip’ to it now and isn’t slipping out of my hand all the time. If you are looking for a case for your phone check out the Arla Cases site and use promo code XOXO15OFF to get 15% off your order.

arla cases cow skull with roses case

MOISTURIZE ON THE DAILY
Which is exactly my routine. I’m always on the lookout for products that contain as little harmful substances as possible. So a special thank you to eos for letting me try their new line of skincare products. This line is loaded with shea butter, avocado, and all sorts of vitamins to not only help nourish dry skin but also to provide it with nutrients that it craves. Especially loving the hand cream, which is perfectly compact and prevents my hands from drying out and cracking.

Also of note is the shaving cream because it’s almost next to impossible to find one that isn’t made up entirely of harmful ingredients. Instead, this one contains vitamins, green tea and grape seed extract along with the aforementioned shea butter and avocado. The shave cream allows for a wet or dry shave and leaves my legs noticeably smooth and nourished. It’s as close to summer skin as I can get in the wintertime. And with great skin like that, who wouldn’t want to show it off? Which leads me to my next fave…

winter skincare survival

winter skincare survival
WEAR YOUR SKIVVIES
Loungewear in this house has taken on new meanings with the emergence of bralettes and, well…skivvies. On any given weekend my typical loungewear consists of a bralette, loose rocker tee (if any), skivvies and over the knee socks. To date, my bralette collection consisted of Nasty Gal only pieces however I’ve been crushing on a few For Love and Lemons pieces recently, and my boo surprised me with one. Needless to say it has quickly become a favourite, and I’m looking forward to expanding my Fore Love and Lemons collection more.