To Snuggle

Some rainy days don't you just want to snuggle? 

Today is one of those days. 

(Photo via Le Love)

Quote of the Day~ Back to School Edition

"Go into the world and do well, but more importantly, go into the world and do good."

-Minor Myers Jr.

(Photo via Paper Tissue)

LIsten To This~ Pilot Speed

As you already know my kid brother is the guitarist in a kick ass Vancouver band called Elias (read previous post here). Recently signed to the new label Wax Records, the boys are almost done their work in the studio in preparation for their upcoming album. And that's just in time, because in the lives of Elias, the month of October will be spent traveling across Canada touring with Toronto-based quartet Pilot Speed. Formerly known as Pilate, this band is signed to Wax's parent company, Wind Up Records, and are garnering attention in the Canadian music scene. I've been listening to their 2003 release, Caught By The Window, for the last day and I'm definitely smitten. It usually takes me upwards of five listens to any song or album to know if I like it or not but I was drawn in by the haunting beauty of the very first track, Endgame, and it only got better from there. Pilot Speed's latest album, Wooden Bones, can be found on iTunes and is definitely worth the purchase. 

Watch the video for the single Put The Phone Down here. 

Pilot Speed with Elias will be playing at The Biltmore Cabaret in Vancouver on Monday, October 5 and I, for one, will definitely be there! 

Quote of the Day

"We don't see things as they are, 

  we see things as we are."

-Anais Nin

Equestrian Fashion Love

I am absolutely adoring the feel of these equestrian inspired looks for the upcoming fall and winter seasons. The clothes are cozy yet chic, the feel pulled together and casual yet stylish and romantic. These dreamy images stir a longing in me to pull on a crisp blazer and riding boots and go for a long walk amongst fallen leaves. Plus, the boy is pretty dreamy too! Le sigh....

I have definitely now added pieces inspired by these photos to my fashion wish list. What is on your list for fall? Do you like equestrian inspired fashion, even if you aren't off to ride horses?!

(Photos from Marc O'Polo via this is glamorous)

Quote of the Day

"You have to do stuff that average people don't understand, because those are the only good things."
-Andy Warhol

(Photo via Paper Tissue)

Chasing The Blues~ Denim That Is!

It's raining today and (insert squeal here) I'm pretty happy about it. There is nothing more iconic about this city than its penchant for rain, and that's why I love it. Fall weather (even at the tail end of summer) translates to that wardrobe switch I've been looking forward to. Instead of day dresses, skirts and sandals it's time to pull out the jeans, blouses, sweaters and boots. Specifically, jeans!

I love denim. Believe me, I live in my jeans in the cold months so having a few pairs is always a good option. What makes things more stressful for my bank balance is that I really love designer denim~ you know, the good stuff that costs a third of my rent payment. Perhaps that's why I only buy a new pair of jeans, on average, of twice a year. 7 for All Mankind, Rock and Republic, Citizens of Humanity, Habitual, Paige Premium, Hudson~ I love 'em all. To me it's worth the "investment". Well made and high priced jeans fit like a glove, gloss over imperfections and feel amazing on.

Well, now style and comfort doesn't have to come with that sky high price tag. Chief Designer Patrick Robinson (well known to the Vogue set) has revitalized The Gap since becoming its Creative Director and this season's big launch is the 1969 Denim Collection. I've been curious since hearing about the new line, although I haven't owned a pair of Gap jeans since high school. However, yesterday I was drawn in by its sexy advertising campaign. I tried on several pairs of the Always Skinny.... and promptly fell in love. These jeans have an incredibly sexy fit, are as soft and cozy as leggings and look pretty darn good too! I could never tell they weren't $300 by looking at them, and all for the I-don't-even-feel-guilty price of $69.50. Yes, you read that right. I'm even thinking of going back for another pair!




Visit The Gap to view the 1969 Collection, including the Always Skinny and six other fantastic options, including the Sexy Boot and the Boyfriend Jean.

(Photos via The Gap.com)

My Dirty Thirty

My amazing best friend Leah organized the sweetest of birthday surprises for me yesterday. Despite my constant protestations that I wanted to do exactly "nothing" and that it was my "un-birthday" (very Alice in Wonderland) she lovingly ignored me and threw me a surprise birthday party! Held at Yew at The Four Seasons Hotel, I cocktailed and dined the evening away with my closest girlfriends, the loveliest and kindest of women, and felt utterly spoiled and loved. I haven't had a birthday party since I was a little girl so it was truly wonderful to be surrounded by the people I love most in this world! To Leah and my incredible friends~ thank you for making my birthday so special and even more, for being in my life! To my amazing and supportive parents~ thank you for being who you are and making my concept of family so wonderful. I love you all.

xoxoxo

Transatlanticism

The Atlantic was born today and I'll tell you how
The clouds above opened up and let it out.
I was standing on the surface of a perforated sphere
When the water filled every hole
And thousands upon thousands made an ocean
Making islands where no islands should go.

-Death Cab For Cutie

Resolutions

Okay, okay, by now you've got it. I'm officially 30. This new decade has made me want to turn over a new leaf and have a fresh start. Life has been weird lately and I refuse to do "weirdness" anymore. It's time to be smart, make better choices and wiser decisions. It's time to follow my head and my instincts instead of ignoring those gut feelings and being careless about my life and my feelings. In other words, it's high time to have that fresh start as a more together, directed person. This birthday has made me come up with a few resolutions for my life (which I never come up with on New Years Eve) and here are a few:

1. Be a more consistently thoughtful person to the people in my life. Selfish is lame and it's a narrow way to live. To see how my friends and family went out of their way for me, above and beyond, for my surprise birthday party yesterday (more on that later) made me cry like a child, again and again. No amount of money on earth can buy that thoughtfulness. I'm determined to be a more present and accountable friend, daughter, sister, etc. and try to make the lives of the people around me as lovely as they make mine. Small gestures, big ones~ whatever it takes.

2. Be patient, live my life a day at a time, get out of my head so much and enjoy every little step. Sometimes I try to run before I walk and then I make a mess of myself when I fall. Be present in the everyday.

3. Don't put up with junk I know I don't deserve and be prepared to walk away from lousy situations with integrity.

4. Focus on the future, career wise. It's time to think and decide what I'm going to do with myself, be it writing, Education or something else I may stumble upon that I love. I need to stop ignoring it because it scares me and chase those dreams.

5. Work at being happy, because there is truly so much to be happy about. Life is good.

Quote of the Day~ Birthday Edition

"No wise man ever wished to be younger."
-Jonathan Swift

"Grow old along with me! The best is yet to be."
-Robert Browning

"Age is a high price to pay for maturity."
-Tom Stoppard

"Everything I know I learned after 30."
-Georges Clemenceau

"Few women admit their age. Few men act theirs."
-Unknown

"In the end it's not the years in your life, it's the life in your years."
-Abraham Lincoln

"There are 364 days when you might get un-birthday presents... and only one for birthday presents you know."
-Lewis Carroll

"May you live all the days of your life."
-Jonathan Swift

(Photo via Paper Tissue)

Dear 30

Dear 30,

Hi! I know you are going to be amazing. The best decade so far. I have a feeling this is going to be a piece of cake, 30s. So welcome to my life. 

xo Ally

ps~ Today is going to be filled with family and friends, laughter, love, food, cocktails~ I can't wait! 

Home Schooling For a Lit Major

School starts in six days and for the first time in four years I won't be there when thousands of kids flood the campus of UBC, laden down with books and dreams. My part time degree has, admittedly, taken me longer than most but I've never been much of a sprinter. Besides, here I am. Two (torturous) French classes away from my BA (how can a girl who loves France so much be so hideously bad at learning the language? It seems wrong!). 

So here it is September and there is a definite longing in me to pull my book bag out of my closet, go buy fresh school supplies and sit in one of those comfortably charmless classrooms to learn. But just because I won't be on campus doesn't mean I can't stop being a Lit major at home. I've had a summer off with little reading (and I've missed it) so my plan is this: a new book every two weeks means I will have read eight by Christmas. There are some books I've purchased and always wanted to read, others will be suggested along the way. Here are a few on my hit list:

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte~ I've sadly never read this but since being given it as a very thoughtful gift, I can't wait to get into the iconic love story. (My favourite quote by Emily here)

2. Vanity Fair by William Makepeace Thackeray

3. Less Than Zero by Bret Easton Ellis~ A life of money and excess means when you're at the top there is nowhere to go but down. Amazon bills it as "The Catcher in the Rye" for the MTV Generation, so I'm reading it. 

4. The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins

5. Revolutionary Road by Richard Yates~ I'm at a stand still with this one after Chapter one, as it just seemed too depressing, yet I keep hearing it's amazing so I will persevere (and I have yet to see the film either, which is on my list too).

6. The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls~ A memoir written by the child of two extreme eccentrics, this one sounds touching and hilarious and sad at the same time. 

7. Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy~ An English Lit major has to read some Russian Lit. 

8. The Year of the Flood by Margaret Atwood~ I've read only one of Atwood's books (Oryx and Crake) and it was for a class, though it still haunts me. This one, while compared to it, is reviewed as even better. It's not released until September 8, but I can't wait. 

What are you reading right now? Or any recommendations of must reads? 

ps- Isn't this the prettiest photo in the world? I love it so much! 

(Photo via Paper Tissue)

Break Up No More

Have you ever had a friend break-up? They are sad and angst-y and often ridiculous and far harder than any break-up I've ever had with a man. But girls are girls and things happen, feelings get hurt and people drift apart. It's inevitable. Luckily, when girls truly care about each other deep down anything can happen and reconnecting, even after months and months, is possible. I feel incredibly lucky today to have one of my best friends back in my life. We could have yelled and screamed and blamed each other for what went wrong, but we did not. We giggled and gossiped~ things girls do! She is one more reason I feel wildly fortunate. 

If you've ever gone through a friend break-up and still think of that person, do yourself a favour, swallow your pride (saving face is unimportant next to having a true friend) and contact them. An email just to let them know you miss them in your life could be what changes everything. It's so worth it. 

Hello September

I know, I know, it's still officially summer for several more weeks and, trust me, I fully intend to take advantage of the last vestiges of seasonal warmth, patio opportunities and skirt wearing before I break out the tights and boots. But September has arrived (insert squeal here)! I'm sure you summer lovers are cursing my name but look at the photo above~ how can you not love that? 

June, July, August~ see you next year! xo

(Photos via Paper Tissue)

Room Inspiration~ Time to Paint

I love the heritage features of my apartment but for the last six months I've ignored the decorating process, unsure of how to highlight the very best of my home without ruining its period charm. Do I lay an area rug over the beautiful and incredibly well maintained hardwood just so I can watch movies on the floor, as I like to do? Do I take down the floating ledges that came installed in the apartment, which are charming but taking up wall space that could be better used? Most importantly, do I paint? 

I love colour and the walls in my apartment are of the typical not-white, not-cream, not-beige neutral variety. They're not horrible but they are also not to my taste (my last place was a pretty ice blue). So in came my furniture, up went pictures but the walls stayed the same, mostly because of the amazing original molding that adorns them. What to do? As of right now the walls and molding are painted the same blah colour but I fell in love with the photos of this room. I adore how the soothing pale grey wall colour serves as the perfect subtle background for the crisp, white molding to pop in contrast. I also love her hits of juicy red in such an otherwise soothing space. This makes me want to grab my paintbrush.... although I swore I'd never paint a room myself again!

(Photos via A Cup of Jo)