Slight Obsession...

I think it's safe to say I may have a slight obsession with costume jewellery... But if you ask me you can never have enough of it. Opposed to real gold or silver jewellery, costume jewellery is affordable. Due to the fact trends come and go, it's nice to know that you're not spending an overly expensive amount of money on something that may only fit a temporary trend. 

Costume jewellery truly does complete an outfit. It's capable of dressing up an outfit such as a black knit or a simple white tee. Some of my favourite stores to get trendy costume jewelry from include J Crew, Holts (and hr2), Banana Republic and Club Monaco (slightly pricier). 

From top to bottom: 

1. BCBG; gold cylindrical necklace with crystals. Perfect for dressing up a casual outfit or accenting your favourite little black dress. 

2. LuLu's; Taupe and yellow chandelier like design with accent crystals. One of my favourite necklaces- it goes with almost everything and always pairs nicely with knits and collared shirts. 

3. Holts; Coral, orange and yellow glass necklace. Looks great with coral- works with lots but I tend to always pair this necklace with summery coral dresses! 

4. J Crew; Pink chicklet necklace with clear crystal accents. Love wearing grey with this necklace because it really makes it pop and truly adds flair to a simple v-neck tee or knit. 

5. Indigo (who would have thought); forest green and pink crystal necklace. Works well with navy and black. 

6. Holts; Forest green intricate crystal necklace. Pairs well with neutral colours and even funky colours like hot pink! 

7. J Crew; Staple grey necklace. This charcoal grey necklace can be paired with just about anything! 

8. Can't remember.....; Sapphire crystals. This is one of my favourite necklaces I own. It's one of my more expensive pieces but was completely worth it. This piece is timeless and versatile. 

9. Holts; Blue and gold necklace with clear crystal accent. This is also a very versatile piece- it can be worn on a day to day basis or with more dressy outfits!

Have any questions about your own jewellery- wondering what works and what doesn't? Comment/post below and I'll be more than happy to give you my personal opinion! 

Packing must DOs

If there is one thing you should know about me, it is that I love to travel. Traveling is most definitely one of my favourite things ever. Some people strongly dislike the actual ‘traveling’ part  of traveling whether it be by car or by plane which I think is pretty ironic… but when it comes to me, I appreciate every aspect of traveling. I love the thrill and adventure that comes with visiting different countries and cities within them. But regardless of where I go… I always am faced with the same problems- What to pack, how to pack, and how to avoid overpacking. Over the years I have developed a list of packing must DOs… 

1: Don’t Over Pack

This is probably the one thing I struggle with the most. I have an extremely bad habit of packing too much (most of which I usually don’t even end up wearing). My most impressive overpacking moment thus far is packing 17 pairs of pants… 7 of which I actually wore. To avoid overpacking try to plan out outfits. Obviously bring your essentials- aka leggings, the perfect skinnies and sweats- but you don’t need to bring 3 pairs of leggings, 4 pairs of jeans, and definitely no more than one pair of sweatpants (no matter how comfortable they are). 

2: Roll it don’t Fold it

When it comes to packing efficiently it is true- rolling takes up less space. Plus a pro of rolling your close is that you can avoid wrinkling your clothing. When you fold your clothing it tends to get fairly bad deep wrinkles.

3: Buy it don’t Bring it

Things like shampoo, conditioner and face wash are heavy things to lug along so… why not just purchase it once you arrive? If it is an option available to you, take advantage of it. If you are cutting it too close to the max weight this is definitely something you want to consider.

4: Take advantage of the carry on(s)

I like to rig the system when it comes to carry ons. I pack all my necessities in my purse (some may considered  it to be a whole other carry on in itself) and all my extras that didn’t fit in my luggage in my ‘actual’ carry on- shoes, blow dryer, straighter and so on. 

5. Make a list

It actually is really beneficial to make a list. Check what the weather will be like and then pack accordingly. I have had it happen to many times before where you pack for warm weather when you should be backing sweaters and pants. It will also ensure you don’t forget the necessities like your memory card when you have packed your camera…. (been there).

6: Organization 

Whether you use a plastic bags to help sort out your stuff or actual packing aids- this will help you stay organized. By about the 3rd day of my trip my luggage is an absolute disaster but I do find it helpful to organize you luggage (or at least attempt t0).

Hopefully this will give you a bit of hand when it comes to packing for your next vacation! I am leaving for San Diego tomorrow so plenty of new blog posts will be coming super soon!

Starting off; Here Goes Nothing

Okay so I am an amateur blogger.. as a matter of fact this is my first legitimate blog postever. Sure I have had my blogger account (unsuccessful), twitter (boring), and of course multiple tumblr accounts but those never satisfied what I really wanted to blog about. I want to be able to express myself and talk about what I really want to talk about. What inspires me, what drives me, what interests me… So here goes nothing. The goal is not to be cliche and I think I am off to a pretty good start considering I just googled “what to blog about.” It’s a lot harder than I had anticipated but I am up for the challenge. I won’t just tell you about myself right now- I want you guys to actually  learn about me as my blog develops. I don’t plan on just going to give it all up that quickly- plus I would be here for a while because there is a lot to know about me.  Anonymousness (if that even is a word) will keep it interesting (hope so).

Nicole Marie

xx