10 THINGS I CURRENTLY LOVE

1. Bath and Body Works Frosted Cupcake Candle  2. Dark maroon lips  3. Capes  4. Melona ice cream bars  5. Gabe Saporta: Cobra Starship  6. Buttercream Tea: DAVIDsTEA  7. craftgawker.com  8. Knee high socks and heels  9. Free People: Charmene platform  10. Zooey Deschanel

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SUMMERLICIOUS: CREME BRASSERIE

Yesterday I had dinner with my friend Kay. We decided to go to Creme for Summerlicious.  Creme is located in the heart of Yorkville down Cumberland st. and is well known for their delicious French cuisine. Both Kay and I were so pleased to find out that we had unintentionally made Summerlicious plans on the last day of the event! Lucky us!

Micro Greens: mixed greens, fresh berries, warm goat’s cheese, pine nuts, maple balsamic vinaigrette

Tian of Goat’s Cheese: avocado mousse, goat’s cheese, marinated tomatoes, micro greens

Grilled Cornish Hen: Dijon and herb crusted, white wine jus

Roast Monkfish: grilled Portobello mushrooms, grape tomatoes, scallion vinaigrette

Crème Brulée: Tahitian Vanilla custard, wine poached plums, cookie garnish

Everything was delicious but that Creme Brulee was to die for.

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OOTD: BLACK&NEUTRALS

Couple of days ago, I bought some Sven sandals. To my surprise, they were very comfortable when I first put them on! I wore them to work yesterday and my feet got a bit sore by the end of the shift but the sandals seem very easy to break into.

For my outfit today, I paired my sandals with a silk kimono.

Silk Kimono: Talula Babaton //Tank & Shorts: Wilfred // Purse: Marc by Marc Jacobs

Also, definitely in need of a better camera...

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SUMMERLICIOUS: SASSAFRAZ

This past week, my friends Lily, Jess, Nat and I went to Sassafraz for Summerlicious. Summerlicious is an event that takes place in Toronto every year and offers 3-course pre-fixe menus at great prices. Over 150 restaurants in the city take part in it. Sassafraz is a French-inspired Canadian cuisine located in the heart of Yorkville and is known for being the "little yellow house".

To start, we all had the "Vichyssoisse with Lobster and Truffle Essence".  It was like a cold lobster chowder/soup. 

For my main course, I had the "Mushroom Ravioli in Truffle Scented Broth with Braised Leeks and Pecorino Tartuffo".

Jess and Lily had the "Double Cut Hot Smoked Berkshire Pork Chop with Ancho Glaze, Braised Collards and Buttermilk Whipped Potatoes".

Nat had the "Chorizo Stuffed Cornish Hen with Coddled Rice Cakes, Creamed Spinach and Habenero Chutney".

All of us had a bite of everything and it was all amazingly good.

For dessert, we all shared the "Blueberry Tartlet with White Chocolate Creme Diplomat, Toasted Meringue and Lime Gelee", "Rose Water Scented Chilled Cherry Soup with Dark Chocolate Mousse and Crisped Rice Croquant, Vanilla Tuille", and the "Luis d'Or: rind washed Jura Style Cheese, Served with Fresh Fruits and Flatbreads"

It was a great night with the ladies followed by a stroll down Yorkville and story-telling until late in the night.

(photo cred: Jess Cheng)

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COCKTAIL DRESSES PT. 2

As some of you know, about a month ago I designed two cocktail dresses for Miss Universe Canada competitor, Michelle Kwan to wear during pageant week.

Here are some pictures of her wearing them:

So glad I had the opportunity of working with Michelle! She looked absolutely gorgeous in the dresses :)

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SOMETHING ORANGE

Ta-da! Been loving orange lately so naturally, I made myself a version of my sister's dress in that color. For my dress, I used silk instead of crepe de chine so the fabric is a little bit lighter compared to the blue one I made for Mel. I also decided to make a ribbon to tie around the waist so I could wear the dress with or without it.

The ribbon is made with crepe de chine (same with the bias detail on the dress) and for the hems, I used a zig-zag stitch to finish it just because I thought the detail would look nicer than a rolled hem for the dress.

The dress is so summery! Now I just need an occasion to wear it to...

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SOMETHING BLUE

This past week, my sister came to visit me in Toronto! She came from Haiti where she spent a month there doing volunteer work at wound clinics, hospitals for babies and running a summer camp for the kids. Nest week, she is going to her friends wedding and so I made her a dress to wear for it!

 It is just a very simple one shoulder dress made with crepe de chine. I am currently loving bright blue and I thought the color would look great on her! I added a cream colored bias detail around the neckline which I thought would give it a nice contrast and made the dress with two overlapping layers to make the standard hem of a dress a little more fun.



I loved it so much on her that I'm thinking about making myself one too! Maybe in a different color though..

Stay tuned!

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DECORATING & REORGANIZING MY ROOM PT. 1

One of my To-Do's for this summer was to tidy up my room from all my school clutter and to decorate it a little bit to make it look less like a dungeon. It's a slow process but so far I've finished my sewing area!

BEFORE (YES IT WAS A MESS)...

 

AFTER!

 

MY BAGS UPON BAGS OF FABRIC UNDERNEATH THE TABLE...

ARE NOW NEATLY STORED AND ORGANIZED INTO BINS :)

I ALSO BOUGHT SOME PRETTY PAPER...

 HAD A LITTLE CRAFT TIME...

 

AND TA-DA! MADE SOME PINWHEELS FOR A WALL DECORATION :)

Stay tuned for PT. 2!

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OOTD: ALL TIED UP

 shirt & pants: Wilfred // bustier (underneath): H&M

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MACARONS, PITA, AND A WHOLE LOT OF HOMEMADE TZATZIKI

Last week I went over to my friends Lucy and Kay's place for dinner. It was a fun night that included lots of catching up and watching the greatest 80's movie ever (mostly just ridiculous) called Teen Witch. I had the pleasure of enjoying an amazing meal made by Kay. It was so good that I wish I could have continued eating!

 

 pork tenderloin and homemade tzatziki pita; salad with apple cider vinegar, tomatoes and sunflower seeds; lemon dill potatoes

Following the delicious dinner were macarons I had bought earlier that day from La Bamboche. I have only tried macarons from a few places but I must say that La Bamboche definitely has the best!  

Flavors: Chocolate, pistachio, mango green tea, amaretto, yuzu, mystery flavor (which we later discovered was strawberry jam)

It was a wonderful last night spent with them before Lucy heads back to Edmonton for the rest of the summer.

♥

SUMMER READING PT. 1

One of my favorite things to do is curl up on the couch with a cup of hot tea and read a great book. During the school year, I was always too busy to have time to read so now that it's summer, I thought it would be the perfect time to catch up on some good books.

 I bought the book "When God Was a Rabbit" by Sarah Winman a couple weeks ago and just finished it this morning. I ended up really enjoying this book but I have to admit I was a little hesitant about whether I liked the book or not in the beginning. The book is based on the story of a girl named Elly. The first part of the book is about Elly's childhood and how relationships with her family and best friend make an impact on her life. The second part is about when everyone grows up and how certain life changing events makes Elly see her world and the people in it in a whole different way. "When God Was a Rabbit" sets a mood that is pleasant at times yet is also emotional and a bit ominous.
Overall, I would recommend this book. I'm not sure if I can say it's one of my favorites but it was definitely a good read.




Next book on the summer reading list is "Something Blue" by Emily Griffin. This book is the sequel to "Something Borrowed" which I read last summer. I loved it so much so of course I had to buy the follow-up! Can't wait to start reading this one because I'm sure it's going to be good.

Stay tuned for summer reading pt. 2!

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SUMMER TANK TOP

Summer is finally here and I wanted to make myself a very simple versatile tank top I could wear casually or dressed up. Lately, I've been very drawn to romantic colors like soft pastel pink, tan, taupe etc.. so naturally, as I was fabric shopping I instantly fell in love with this dusty rose chiffon fabric.

Bralette: Talula

I wanted to make the tank top flowy and the length to be at my hip so I could wear it untucked with skirts or shorts but I thought it would also look nice tucked into something high waisted.  Pairing it with a bandeau or bralette underneath is definitely a must.

Can't wait for more warm weather to come (and hopefully stay for a while)!

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DREAM BAGS

One day, these will be mine...

<3 Marc Jacobs: Chelsea Little Stam Bag

<3 Hermes: Kelly Bag

                                  

<3 Miu Miu: Patent Nappa Leather Shoulder Bag

Guess I better start saving!

♥

 

COCKTAIL DRESSES

I finally finished the cocktail dresses for Miss Universe Canada competitor, Michelle Kwan just last week! I made her 2 cocktail dresses for her to wear to special events.

 I feel so lucky to have had the pleasure of working with Michelle. She has a heart of gold and is absolutely stunning! Best of Luck to Michelle on this amazing journey!


Vote for Michelle Kwan here!

<3

SHOES SHOES SHOES ♥

 I am totally in love with the espadrilles, wedges, and 60/70's inspired pumps trends for summer at the moment and i couldn't help but notice that Aldo has some SUPER cute shoes lately! Here are some of my favorites. I am definitely gonna need to get myself a few pairs. Shoe shopping here I come! ♥

WATERCOLOR ILLUSTRATIONS

In illustrations class this year, we had to do a series of watercolor paintings of our eveningwear design. I enjoyed the project because i found that i really liked working with watercolors and ink.