Collective Winter Fashion Haul! (H&M, River Island, Monsoon, Zara, etc)

     I have collected a lottt of clothes between Christmas, going to Ireland and some gift card purchases I made when I got back. This is just a peak at what I got, as it would take entirely too long to take pictures and to post all of them. If I ever get into YouTube I will do more thorough hauls, but for now, I hope you enjoy the photos!

This is the Blue Stripe Panel Slouchy V Neck Jumper from River Island, which  has quickly become one of my new favourite sweaters. I got this while I was in Ireland, and I believe it was €46.00 (about $67.00). Definitely not the cheapest, but the material's really nice and warm. This is a high low sweater, which I always prefer to the standard style.

This long woolly cardigan was purchased at the Blarney Woollen Mills, which is also in Ireland. I received a gift certificate from my boyfriend's parents for Christmas, and I'm so glad I did as I wouldn't have thought to go to this store on my own. They actually ship worldwide and have a flat rate shipping price of $15, so go check out their website! This is an all Irish store based in Cork, and they sell some really amazing things. This gorgeous cardigan was on sale for €39.00 ($58). The quality is fantastic and the wool is surprisingly not itchy at all.

I purchased this long sleeved light sweater from Penney's, which is one of my new favourite stores price-wise in Ireland! I didn't own anything this colour, so it's really nice to have in my wardrobe now. I also love the leather trim! I believe this was €12.00 (about $18), so not a bad deal.

Onto the floral! Although none of these patterns compliment each other, I figured I'd just put them all in one photo. These are all beautiful individually. On the left is the floral blouse I got from Monsoon, which is a really nice store that is attached to Accessorize in Ireland. This blouse is so pretty, and really good quality. It was on sale for about  €35.00 ($52). The quality of the Floral Print Shirt With Pocket on the right is unfortunately not as good, but I absolutely love it. This was originally $39.90 but is now on sale for $25.99 on Zara's website. I love the Printed Stretch Trousers in the middle as well, but again I was disappointed with the quality. Zara needs to step up their game lately when it comes to quality. These were originally $25.90 but are now on sale for $15.99.

I bought this Superman Over-Sized Top because I wanted to change up my style a bit, and because it gave me some much needed courage when I put it on! Excuse the wrinkles, as I had just taken it out of the bag. This was $17.95 from H&M. Another reason I love this t-shirt is because it's more narrow at the bottom, so it doesn't just hang on you. 

Here's an Instagram of a sweatshirt that I purchased at H&M at the same time. This is again a little different for me, but it was super cozy and on sale for $7! Seeing as it was originally $39, this was a really good deal. It's loose, comfy and has little slits at the sides.

This is another (cheetah or leopard print?) sweatshirt that I got for Christmas, and I believe it was purchased at Target. It's by the brand Merona, and it's really nice quality and super soft. I can't find it on the Target website anymore, but they do have other Merona items on there, which I would recommend as a super affordable and really nicely made brand. 

This is such a cute hat! I haven't worn it yet but I definitely intend to. This koala hat was a Christmas gift, and I believe it is from Urban Outfitters. It's so cute and soft, I think I can definitely find a way to pull it off.

Last but not least, the C'est La Vie Sweatshirt from Urban Outfitters! I got this as a Christmas gift as well, but it retails for $39.00. This sweatshirt is extremely soft and cozy on the inside, and I love the floral print with the black. 

And that is all I will show you for now! I may make a separate post purely for accessories, as I did not include the majority of my new accessories in this haul. However, I will definitely not be making any more fashion purchases in the near future!

xx

Decorating On A Budget: Christmas Edition!

          Being a student, I am always on a budget and Christmas time is no exception. Whatever the occasion, I need to find thrifty and inexpensive ways to decorate my apartment for myself and my boyfriend! As I have finally completed all I'm going to do for this year, here's a look into the Christmas decorations in our apartment, including where I got them from. Get ready for lots of pictures!

I am a huge fan of Bath and Body Works, so I was thrilled to see these Christmas themed liquid soap sleeves for this season, as opposed to the original silver that just go over the top. Both these and the holiday themed liquid soaps are an inexpensive and easy way to dress up your bathroom for any occasion or season. Surprisingly, I haven't seen these holders for sale online, but they should be available in most stores. I would highly recommend the soap that I bought with it, which is the Enchanted Evergreen Luxury Hand Soap. It smells amazing, definitely the best one I tried that day. They had a buy 3 get 3 free deal that day, so I was able to get 6 items to complete my Christmas gifts and decorate my apartment. I also had a coupon for $10 off on top of it, so you definitely can't go wrong with those prices. I ended up paying $10.70 for the soap (which is actually pricey for their liquid soaps) and $8.10 for the soap sleeve. 

I purchased this Snowflake Nightlight last year from Bath and Body Works as well, and they still have the same one online for this year. I prefer the nightlight wallflowers by far, as they are so convenient to light up any dark area of your house/apartment or to have in your bathroom, while making the room smell great. Even when I run out of fragrance bulbs (which I did here!) I still keep them plugged in as nightlights. This nightlight currently retails for $8.50.

I had bought an extra string of lights to put on our tree, but because the tree we bought this year was so small, I decided it didn't need anymore. So, I just ended up stringing them over our bar stools! With these lights in one end of the apartment and the Christmas tree lights in the other end, it makes the apartment feel really festive and cozy. I bought this small string of lights at the dollar store for $2.00.

These were new this year as well, and another really good deal! We bought this 6 set of Christmas candles at Homesense for $10.00. They are all scented, and look so nice on our island area. 

This sparkly Christmas candle is one of my favourite decorations in our apartment, also bought this year. I believe it was $7.99 at the most from Homesense as well. I don't think I'll burn this candle or the candles in the previous photo, as they are just going to be for decoration.

When I saw this porcelain manger at my parents house, I asked my Mom if I could take it, as I thought it was so pretty! It used to belong to my great-grandmother, which makes it even more special. I'll definitely be bringing this out for years to come.

This swan isn't particularly Christmassy, but seeing as I love swans and didn't want to put it away, I cut some red fake flowers that I had gotten from the dollar store and put them inside to dress it up a little. I bought this swan a few months ago at Value Village for $2.00.

We bought this snowflake candle holder from Homesense once again, for $9.99. We've had these hooks on the ceiling of our kitchen since we moved in, so I've finally found a use for them! I have another glittery, silvery star next to it (not pictured) that I got from the dollar store for $1.50.

I have this little arrangement hanging on our kitchen wall. The little canvas is actually from the Dollar Store, and the Christmas pillow is from Value Village, so the two combined were only $3.00! I don't recall where I got the angel hanging above them now, but it's always in our kitchen on the same hook.

When we don't have a million things piled on our dining room table, this is what it looks like! We picked up this Christmassy tablecloth from Homesense for $12.99 at the most. It's super hard to find smaller table cloths at Homesense, but we managed to dig this one up! The snowman and Santa salt and pepper shakers are from the Dollar Store, and the little candy cane plant was $4.99 from the grocery store. The little pine cones were about $1.25 from the dollar store as well.

This mosaic style glass plate from Jysk was only $0.99, which was an amazing find! You can't really see here, but it's red on top and green on the bottom. They actually have 40-80% off their Christmas items right now, so it's a bit dangerous to go in there if you don't want to spend too much! Unfortunately, the Novelty Tin Candle on top of it wasn't the best deal. It's pretty to look at and smells nice, but it doesn't give off a lot of scent, especially for the price. I got it for $16.00 from Urban Outfitters! :( Not the best random purchase. However, it's now on sale on the Urban Outfitter's website for $9.99, which is much closer to what it's worth in my opinion!

This is a close up of the sparkly pine cone candle wreath that I got for our coffee table, also from Jysk. I thought it was so pretty and unique, and was only $5.00.

This is our little Christmas tree! As you can see, it's a little frazzled looking from being knocked over and picked up again so many times, (the joys of having a kitten) but we really didn't need one much bigger than this for our apartment. It's a real tree, and we bought it for $14.99 at the grocery store. I think next year we'll opt for a slightly bigger plastic tree, but it's fine for this year! As you can see, I went for a light blue and white theme for the decorations and the wrapping paper this year.

What kind of cat lady would I be if I didn't have stockings for my kittens? I've never gotten my pets stockings before, but I actually saw these at the dollar store and thought they were way too cute not to buy, especially for the price. These were about $2.50 each.

Last but not least, some Christmas teddy bears for the couch! The one in the green sweater we actually have all the time, as that is our Ireland teddy bear. I didn't buy any Christmas themed pillows this year, so these bears work just as well. I got the Ireland teddy bear from Value Village for about $2.50, and the smaller teddy bear I borrowed from my parents house.

And that's it! Thanks for taking the time to look at this loong blog post, and I hope it gave you some ideas!

xx

Urban Outfitters Holiday Faves!

As we know, I am obsessed with Urban Outfitters and it gets even better this time of year. If anybody hasn't seen Urban Outfitter's holiday shop, I'll link it here, as you'll find unique and adorable decorations, cards, cups, ornaments etc! They combine all sorts of holiday tastes, from classic Christmas movies, to current trends, to nerdy/"geek" paraphernalia to whatever else you can think of. Check out some of my favourites above!

Wooden Tree

Love Christmas Holiday Card 

Instant Ugly Sweater Patch -Set of 6

EZ Bake Oven Ornament

Elf Smiling is My Favourite Pint Glass

Leg Lamp

Cat-Head Ornament

GOODNIGHT! xx

Fall Outfit of the Day!

I wish I had started these earlier in the season, because pretty soon I'm going to have to do winter OOTDs! Anyways, this is nothing exciting, just a look at what I would wear on a regular day out in the city!

Jacket: H&M Khaki Green 2012

I'll be sad to have to let this jacket go for the winter! Great colour, great fit, great length.

Scarf: H&M Leopard Print Scarf

I wear this all the time when I'm going out into the cold, and with everything! It's surprisingly warm, as it's quite large when you fold it out, so there's lots of layers.

Pants: H&M Super Skinny Super Low Jeans in Black

I wear these constantly and they are holding up great, plus they were cheap! I believe I purchased these for $24.95. H&M can definitely deliver if you're looking for a decent priced jean to wear around.on a day to day basis.

Bag: Zara Soft Bowling Bag in Black 

I usually use this as my school bag, and it's the perfect bag for the job. Not too big, but can fit anything you will possibly need. Great quality as well!

Shoes: Urban Outfitters Ecote Hidden Wedge High Top Sneaker in Taupe

These are really warm and are made of an amazing super soft suede. I'd definitely recommend these for fall, especially if you do a lot of walking or for running around campus.

Top: Topshop Light Jean Button Down Shirt 2011

I love this shirt! I have never found a jean shirt besides this one that actually cinches in at the waist. It fits me perfectly and is a great length.

HOPE YOU HAD A GREAT WEEKEND! xx

Starting Out: Decorating Your Apartment

             When you're in your 20's and starting out in a new apartment, chances are you're not going to have a lot left over in the budget for decorating. Unless of course you're one of those young people who gets everything handed to you, in which case I hate you. Kidding! (Kind of) But yes, while starting your first real job, making it through school and/or paying off the massive debt you've accumulated whilst in school, decorating is not going to be your number one priority. However, you still want your apartment to look nice and presentable and have a homey feel to it. This is what I've been trying to achieve since moving into my apartment with my boyfriend, and I've picked up a few tricks on how to do it without having to spend too much. Not everything is going to match right away, and some furniture may not go with others, but you do the best you can!

Everything in this photo are things that we've picked up over the years, with the occasional new item we've bought for our apartment. If you have an island area like we do, it is essential that you pick up some bar stools, as they make the biggest difference. I believe these were about $30-$40 each from Canadian Tire. They're comfortable, really sturdy and are a great way to add more seating options to your apartment.

I never thought I'd be one to buy fake flowers, but I LOVE these! These cost $10.00 altogether from the Dollar Store. It's a great way to always have seasonal looking flowers without constantly having to repurchase. Just fill the vase up with water and it's hard to tell the difference between real and fake!

Let me just say, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this dog. This is the Bulldog Decorative Figure from Urban Outfitters, which I got on sale for $27.99 from their website. Unfortunately he's no longer available, but I think he's such a cute addition to our apartment. He's quite heavy, and has little grips on the bottoms of his feet. This dog was originally $59.99, so I couldn't complain about the price.

This is another recent purchase from St. Lawrence Market. This was from one of the souvenir stores on the first floor, and was the only one there. I wasn't originally going to buy it, as it was on for $34.99 and the very top was broken off. However, I managed to bargain down the store owner to $20.00 and he fixed the top for me. 

The best thing about this by far, is that it's a tea light holder! Once I realized that I couldn't just let it go. (That may look like dust around the edges, but it's not!)

This is the Bonjour Multi Hook in silver from the Urban Outfitter's website as well, which hangs by our doorway as a key holder! It really couldn't be much of anything else as it is quite small, but it's a nice touch as you walk in the doorway. This was not expensive at all, I purchased it for $12.00 at regular price.

There are all kinds of prints going on with our dining table, but that's okay! We actually got the table and chairs for free from someone who was getting rid of them in our building, so that was a bonus. However, the top was fairly scuffed up, so we purchased a tablecloth from Homesense to just throw over it for now. The elephant LED light was about $10 on sale from Pier 1 Imports in Guelph, and the seat covers were $12 each from IKEA. IKEA will become your new best friend when you're starting out in your apartment.

Last but not least, at any given time you will find about 5-10 items from Bath and Body Works in our apartment. This is the Birdhouse Mini Candle holder, which you can't get anymore. I need to go purchase a fall one! I have 3 Wallflowers in our apartment to keep it smelling fresh, and numerous soaps. You can always get amazing deals at Bath and Body works, and it's a great way to find little decorative details for your apartment. 

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND! xx

Collective Autumn Haul (Urban Outfitters, Zara, H&M, Value Village)

           Fall is definitely my favourite time to buy new clothes and accessories, mainly because I always seem to need them the most this time of year! Here is what I have picked up so far this season. Please excuse some of the wrinkles in the clothes, as a certain someone wanted to lie on my clothes as I was getting them ready! Thanks Kenya!

I would have to say that I buy the majority of my clothes from Urban Outfitters and Zara these days, but this season I've picked up items from Forever 21, the Gap, H&M and Value Village as well.

I purchased all of these items with the exception of the Animal Slipper Socks from Urban Outfitter's website. There is nothing here that I wouldn't recommend. The Sparkle & Fade Cross-Back Sweater in Burgundy is SO comfortable and warm for the fall, even with the open back. It's perfect for going to school, running errands and then snuggling up on the couch after a long day.

I LOVE these shoes! These are the Ecote Hidden Wedge High-Top Sneakers in taupe. I never thought I would want a pair of high tops, but these look amazing and are super comfortable. If you're used to constantly wearing flat shoes like I am, they can take a bit of getting used to, but your feet adjust quickly. Such a great buy and a great deal. Get them before they sell out! 

Other items featured here: BDG Cigarette High-Rise Jean in Grapeleaf, BDG Destroyed Slim Slouch Camp Jean, Deena & Ozzy Embroidered Animal iPad case.

The next few items I purchased were from Zara. I have never been unhappy with the quality of anything I've purchased at Zara. The Soft Bowling Bag in Black was the first bag I have ever bought from there, and it's working out fantastically as an everyday school bag. 

This super cute Short Sweatshirt with Zip at the Back in Print-1 is not so much for the colder days of autumn, but works well for days when the sun is out, or with a light jacket over top. 

I have 2 pairs of the Classic Skinny Jeans by Trafaluc, and they are my favourite fit out of any pants or jeans I own. They look great, are great quality and are a reasonable price. These are the burgundy ones here. Although I can't find them anywhere online, they should still be in stores. The only thing I don't like with these pants is that they tend to stretch a little too much in the waist band over time, so I always end up needing to wear a belt with them.

This Cheetah Jacquard Hoodie from the Gap is SO warm and cozy, the quality is unbelievable. When I first tried it on in store, I liked it a lot but wasn't willing to pay $70.00 for it. However, I went home that night and checked the website, and they were having a 30% off everything in their online store! I absolutely love it, and it will definitely last me a long time.

This vintage leather Cornell purse was my favourite find of the season, and cost me less than any other item! I paid $12.99 from Value Village for this purse, and it actually looks like one of the most expensive things I own. I was never a big thrift store buyer, but I have found some items that I absolutely love at Value Village that I wouldn't have been able to find anywhere else. I am absolutely in love with this bag, and it will definitely be carrying me through the fall and winter.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE! xx