Boho Mini Dress

I had every intention to avoid the Nordstrom Anniversary sale. After a few weak moment of browsing the goods I settled on this mini dress (along with a set of pink bowl, and a pillow that have since sold out). I know what you're thinking-- another floral dress?! But the longer bell sleeves and the mauve colour make it the perfect transition piece into Fall! That's one thing that I can justify spending money on right now.. if it's not a piece of furniture or a house ware item, you better believe it's going to take me right into the new season. Switch out the sandals with a pair of booties, and tights if it gets chilly, and I'm good to go! 

Things are a little chaotic right now. Moving during the summer has been intense and overwhelming, but also so lovely. We are finally a week in, and starting to figure out our groove. On Saturday we finally went out to celebrate at Paese Ristorante, an Italian inspired restaurant in North York. They invited us to come check out their menu, and it was one of the most delicious meals we had in a long time! Their veggies are sourced from their own garden located a few doors down, they have some of my favourite rose from Provence, and the served up a pretty mean basil gimlett. Needless to say I was in heaven. It was fun to finally get into something pretty and do my make up for a night out toasting to new beginnings. Is it lame for me to say coming home to "our" place after date night was even more exciting that I have anticipated? 

Do you have any tips for me on moving in together and other ways to make nights special?! 

What I'm Wearing

Lush 'Whitney" Bell Sleeve Woven Dress

Le Chateau Suede Like Open Toe Ghillie Tie Sandals 

Poppy & Peonies The Crossbody Black (wear 5 different ways!)

Blogger Pool Party & Summer Entertaining Tips

Summer comes and goes all too quickly. If there is one thing you must do it's take advantage of the time we have to get together with girlfriends and celebrate the little pleasures, in the case of this day it was sunny skies, blow up pool floats, fruit decorated sugar cookies, and cocktails made with green juice.

Meeting and connecting with fellow bloggers has been one of the greatest things to come out of the creation of this online space. Constantly seeing each other at events led to planning brunches and sharing laughs at coffee dates, which has since turned into planning get-togethers and calling these ladies my true friends. A few weeks back I hosted a few of the ladies (Joëlle, Eleni, Jackie) for a day of fun in the sun. We were lucky to have the most amazing pool party weather, and were able to celebrate our friendship with a few treats from local Toronto companies.

Planning a tropical get together can seem intimidating, but don't let that discourage you. Lucky for me these girls are as easy-going, and supportive as can be, so I didn't feel pressured to put on a fancy affair.

There are a few tips to remember when planning an afternoon for fun in the sun:

1. Prep as much as you can the night before. This always takes the pressure off of the day of, especially when guests are arriving early. I washed, cut and prepped the fruit and veggies the night before to ensure the morning of I wasn't going crazy trying to get things organized (just be sure to leave the veggies in a bowl of water do they don't dry out). I also made one dip the night before and popped it in the fridge. Leaves you with enough time to get ready for your guests to arrive! If you do plan on making a few things, keep it simple and fuss-free! Cheese tray, crudités, and fruit make for such a pretty platter and are equally as delicious.

2. Don't stress out trying to make everything yourself. I always do this! I always want to make things homemade for guests but sometimes there just isn't time! Thankfully The Dessert Lady made us some amazing fruit decorated sugar cookies. They were the cutest addition and left me feeling good knowing that I had dessert covered. Also, The Fix + Co. made some pretty amazing popsicles for us to snack on. Picking Season which was a blend of beet, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, and basil, Kompeacha, a blend of peach, kombucha and ginger, and my favourite, the Cocoamo, a blend of banana, dates, avocado and cocoa. So yummy!

3. Have a signature drink. The Fix + Co. also provided us with a delicious (and healthy) cocktail mixer made with grapefruit, cucumber, and mint. Not only was this super refreshing but it mixed impeccably with gin! It makes things so much easier when you just have a signature drink, and don't need to be buying tons of everything. Obviously provide enough water and bottled drinks for hydration.

4. Bring the fun. It doesn't take much to entertain a group of girlfriends, but a solid playlist and fun pool floats definitely help to liven things up. These pool floats were supplied by Indigo and made for such a fun afternoon. Who doesn't love jumping around on donuts and flamingos? Fun accessories like fancy straws, napkins, and cups can all be sourced on the cheap and make for fun photo props.

Check out the pictures below and let me know how you do tropical summer entertaining!


A huge thank you to the following sponsors:

Pool floats, copper mugs- Indigo 
Sugar cookies- The Dessert Lady
Popsicles, green drink- The Fix + Co.

Combatting Lifeless Hair + Kerastase Giveaway

Okay, so I know I'm not one who regularly dyes, colours, or does extremities to their hair, but I still do have hair damage! As you know, I recently updated my locks for summer with a balayage done by the amazing Victoria at The White House, in Toronto. I'm obsessed with the subtle lightness for summer. When I flip my hair a certain way, or curl it a certain way, the lighter strands shine through. It's such a nice change! I also use a blow dryer on the reg and the flat iron almost every day and it's no doubt that heat tools dry out and damage hair over time, leaving it as though all the life has gone out of it (wahhhh, the struggle!). The ends are left looking kind of burnt, and the length gets tangled and brittle. So where has that left me? I took Kérastase's online diagnostic tool to determine my over processed hair was in need of vital proteins to restore life back into it, which brings me to their Resistance-Thérapiste collection. A whole formula dedicated to bringing the life back into your hair! I'm happy to report I saw major improvements after one single wash.

It's a collection of best selling products, enriched with "resurrection sap", designed to aid damaged hair, bring the vital proteins back and bring life back into it. Don't get weirded out by the word sap, it comes from a plant called "Myrothamnus Flabellifloia". Any guesses what this plant does? It comes back to life! How cool is that?

So, what is my hair-care process? Step 1 is using the Soin Premier Thérapiste, a pre-wash. Think of this as conditioning first, so the shampoo doesn't weigh down the hair. Step 2 is the Bain Thérapiste (the shampoo), where you apply first to the ends then rub in all over. It was so lathery and luxurious feeling. Step 3 is to use the Masque Thérapiste on towel dried hair, and leave in for a few minutes, then rinse out (to save time you could wring out the hair and still do this in the shower). This step is recommended for those with thicker hair, so I don't do this one every wash.  Step 4 is to add 2 pumps of the Double Serum Thérapiste to the ends and lengths of towel-dried hair. Such a simple, at home method to really reverse those nasty effects of overprocessing your hair. Side note-- the scent is so refreshing, and soothing!

Now you may not have over processed hair (which is great for you!), but you may want to still check out another fabulous Kérastase line. The personalized diagnostic tool (here) will help you determine your hair care needs, then provide your desired results. Do you have frizzy hair? Rebellious, curly hair you want to tame? Are you loosing hair density? Or, is your hair just fine and in need of some oomph? Whatever your needs are Kérastase has a plan developed for it. Let's discover your perfect hair-care regime, shall we? Enter below to win a personalized hair care collection from Kérastase!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
The post is not sponsored, however products were provided to test out in advance of running this contest. All opinions are my own.