Inspiring Blog Award

Aside | Posted on by

Happy Monday, since it’s the long weekend it feels much more like Sunday today, I’m totally thrown off… I shot some looks this weekend that I can’t wait to show you. (Soon!) In the meantime, I wanted to thank June for presenting my such an wonderful award I really appreciate it! Check out her blog Always Sunny in June.

very-inspiring-blogger-award

Okay, so there are rules for this award:

1. Display the award badge on your blog

2. Announce your win with a post and link to whoever presented you with the award

3. Present 7 awards to deserving bloggers

4. Drop them a comment to tip them off after you have linked them in the post

5. Post 7 interesting things about yourself

Alright so interesting things about myself…hmm

  1. I grew up on a farm. Farm people do not find this interesting, but city people seem to.
  2. I’m a great cook, but a terrible baker. This is because I fail at following directions and like to just make it up as I go along! I’m also very impatient, I tend to cook at MAX POWER.
  3. Everything is my favourite! (You might have noticed..)  I’m not a half-way person. I love completely, not a little.  The things I like, I REALLY LIKE.. and the things I hate, I HATE.
  4. Most people would never guess that a heavy metal show is my favourite type of outing.  I’ve been going to shows regularly since I was maybe 15? A few favourites are Korn, In Flames, Lamb of God and As I Lay Dying.  Only recently has my musical taste mellowed a bit, I used to be all metal all the time, I never actually dressed the part though!
  5. I love the water.  A friend of mine who is very into astrology is always telling me “you’re such a cancer!” and in some ways it’s very true.  I’ve been a swimmer all my life, I don’t ever remember a time I wasn’t in the water.  I sometimes think I find winter here so hard because everything is frozen, no movement, no life. Water  is life. It’s the most important thing and I urge you to inform yourself about what is happening to ground water here in Alberta, and all over the world.
  6. I am the biggest animal lover (but not in the PETA way) I just… I look in their eyes and I see their soul (to quote life of Pi).  There is nothing like the bond between animal and man, growing up on a farm I’ve had almost every kind of pet you can imagine.  When people say they don’t “like animals” I immediately distrust them and assume they are most likely a murderer with an affection for lamps made of human skin.  
  7. I feel like I am a hippie at heart- I often find myself wishing I was born before these modern times.  My dearest ambition is to construct my own hobbit house and withdraw from society, to be a writer and just have a menagerie of animals to hang out with.  It would be marvelous.

Some inspiring blogs:

  1. http://leecastillio.wordpress.com/ 
  2. http://joyfitnessandstyle.com/
  3. http://vogueandheels.com
  4. http://chiclycute.com
  5. http://lozwold.wordpress.com
  6. http://trendtakeover.com
  7. http://themidwestmaven.wordpress.com

xo, aiyanajane

summer & life begins over

Posted on by

IMG_4187

denim, linen blazer, and heels by le chateau  ||  blouse by smart set ||  sunnies by rayban

Happy Friday everyone!! What are your weekend plans?  I’m hoping to spend lots of time outside and go see The Great Gatsby this weekend, but first I wanted to reread the book.  I can’t wait to see this movie, Carey Mulligan has been my girl crush for ages and I cannot wait to just drool over all the costumes and glitz and glamour.  It’s gonna be gorgeous, darling.  Have you seen it yet, what did you think??

I’ve taken to dressing up my basics lately – a blazer and dark denim are such a simple go-to for me, wearing an all too familiar color scheme by now in shades of blue and grey.  A pretty detail I can never resist is rosettes, they just add such femininity to any outfit, this top has been a long time favourite of mine.  A linen blazer over the light tank keeps it cool enough for the warm weather, but professional enough for the office.  I get away with wearing denim nearly every day to work – a dark wash pair can be so versatile, especially when paired with heels.  I actually loathe most dress pants (ill-fitting and uncomfortable things that they are) and would much rather wear jeans and a blazer than dress pants and a blouse. For those of you who only get to wear denim on Casual Friday, I feel for you, truly.

I’ve been so busy finishing up school, working, and helping out my family, May is just flying by! Only 3 days of classes left, and 9 days until I leave for Denmark, I am so excited I can hardly contain myself!  Honestly this quote is just exactly how life feels right now- suddenly Calgary is green, there are flowers (like, outside!), people are happy again.  Its beautiful, and its all rushing by so quickly!  I snapped a few shots for you, and now time to sit back and enjoy what summer is meant for- reading books in the grass under the trees.  What does summer mean to you, any favourite summer reads?

xo, aiyanajane

are we friends on instagram? why not? click here

Favourite Things

Posted on by

IMG_4217

|| denim by american eagle || shoes by guess || watch by la mer || bag by co-lab || leather jacket, tank, pashmina by le chateau ||

When I’m in a rush (which in the morning I often am) I tend to go back to pieces that I really, really love. My favourite color is teal blue, like when you look at the ocean and its the most magical shade – I pretty much like any color remotely close to that blue-green spectrum, which is why this pashmina is possibly my favourite scarf I own. I bought it while I was working at Le Chateau, and I NEVER bought stuff right when it came in, but this scarf was different, as I opened the stock box and unwrapped it from its plastic tomb, I just knew that scarf needed to come home with me. I never regretted it. Maybe this is why I’m okay with no kids – I treat clothing like my little rescue babies. You’ll come home with me my pretties, and I will love you, you will not be forgotten at the back of some unfashionable closet somewhere.

I have similar feelings about these pants ($11), shoes($60), bag ($40) and jacket($35). They have a few things in common, all were on sale – the shoes, bag and skinnies at Winners, the jacket I got at a Le Chateau outlet for half off the sale price. If you go to an outlet and hunt through the racks of polyurethane you will be sure to find a few genuine leather or suede pieces at really great prices! The key to great bargain shopping is patience. I prefer to go alone so no one is waiting on me or, alternatively, slowing me down!

Shades of blue pair so easily together, most people don’t realize that blue is practically a neutral itself!All these pieces are current (or in the jacket’s case, long term) infatuations, so wearing them all together of course just makes me happy. When you are wearing something that makes you feel happy and confident it shows – pairing my trusty leather jacket with trendy mint pants and these killer metallic heels spiked my confidence through the roof. (Okay it didn’t really until I wore this to pick up groceries after work and turned heads in every isle I walked down. I’m certain its the shoes, I caught more than a few people staring at them.) I know Safeway isn’t exactly a catwalk, but the point is that dressing well will lead to feelings of confidence! I’m not the first woman to think so either!

xo, aiyanajane

chanel date with destiny quote

are we friends on instagram yet? why not!? click the pic!

Home Made Herb & Garlic Cream Cheese

Posted on by

Easy BreakfastI’m in the home stretch of school now (7 days…) so I haven’t had much time, especially in the morning. (So not a morning person.)  I love bagels because they are the perfect grab and go food.  One day I shall go to New York and sample all their marvelous bagels.  Until then, I make my own herb and garlic cream cheese.  I know, you can just buy it in the store, it sits right next to the plain cream cheese – but I like everything better when its home made.  I try to avoid eating as much processed food and unnecessary additives as possible, so by adding my own spices to plain cream cheese I avoid a whole lot of questionable additions to my digestive system.

You can really use whatever you like for spices, that’s the great thing about it – you can use all your favourites!  I LOVE spicy food, so I used lots of Chili flakes, a little dill tones down the spice and some oregano just because I love it.  I also use at least one big clove of garlic diced as well, the more garlic the better!

Buy a big tub of cream cheese and dig yourself a hole to pour the spice mixture into. Dice up the garlic (you could add green onions too, yum!) and add spices to taste, I used about a table spoon of each spice (a bit more of the chili flakes) mix well and spread it on your bagel, my favourite is kind everything. For a little protein I’ll add a slice of black forest ham – a breakfast with carbs and protein is essential for me to start my day off non-grumpy.  This mixture lasts me a few weeks and really spices up my breakfast bagel! 

xo, aiyanajane

 

instaUPDATE

Posted on by

Suddenly my instagram feed shows summer!  Canada (and especially Calgary I think) has super weird weather… one day its snowing, the next week its +30.  It can be super surreal, it does feel like time goes faster but there is nothing quite as wonderful as the feeling of green grass under your toes after 7 months of snow!  

I hope you all had a lovely Mother’s Day weekend, I spent mine technology free on the farm, my favourite things!

xo, aiyanajane

FOLLOW ME ON INSTAGRAM, BLOGLOVIN, FACEBOOK & TWITTER!

camouflage & coral

Posted on by

blush tones and camoflage on city style country smile

||  coral burnout tee  by element  ||  bralet by free people  ||  camo denim by g21  || aviators by ardenes  || shoes by le chateau  || bag by co-lab  || feather necklace by silla designs  ||

Camouflage jeans have been on my must-buy list for ages, I mentioned before here that I was searching for the perfect pair.  Camo is one of those prints I come back to every few years and right now I am having a major moment with it.  I was in Walmart a couple weeks ago getting my chocolate fix for cheap and spotted these… I actually couldn’t believe it.  I had tried on a current elliot pair and here these were- fitting better for exponentially cheaper ($200 CE v. $20 G21).

I also mentioned my latest love affair with coral (and over-sized tops) here - this burnout tee from element fits the bill perfectly.  The blush tone looks so lovely against tan skin, layered over a sweet lace bralet for an effortless and comfortable look.  An over-sized tee is absolutely essential for summer, just grab one a couple sizes up from your usual – the color of this one was too perfect to resist, so it didn’t matter that they only had medium left.  I love the burnout and the little pocket detail – element is one of my favourite brands for basic tee’s and hoodies.

I kept everything pretty simple here- sometimes the best outfits are the easiest!  Simple gold jewelry and nude accessories let the camo stay in the spotlight. (Even though that’s exactly the opposite of camo’s original purpose!)  I find it interesting how much of my favourite women’s fashion is based off of typically manly things- the military, the navy, the boyfriend jeans or blazer.  Boys just get all the fun!   Fortunately with this whole equality thing, now girls can jack their style and rock it better than any boy I know!

Hope you girls (and boys) have a wonderful weekend! Happy Friday!

xo, aiyanajane

following on instagram? why not?! just click here