'Tis the Season!

I definitely should have written a long while ago.. But, after some things have settled, now here I go…We have survived the Christmas Season! I spent lots of quality time with family & friends throughout this holiday at home. And although the times spent with family & friends is great, the Christmas holidays can be pretty hectic & can feel like there’s so much to do in so little time!! Plan/Organize gatherings & hang outs (because with all of our busy lives, it’s hard to find time for that anymore), Christmas Dinner preparations, Christmas gift, meetings, other commitments or obligations (personal & business related), etc.This didn’t leave much time for just ME. I get so frazzled when things just keep piling up; there is much needed relaxation!
 

During the Christmas Season, whenever I leave the house I just feel so rushed & stressed. Everyone around is trying to find that perfect gift for someone, or even for themselves! ! All anyone wants to do is BUY, BUY, BUY! [It’s not even like the deals are as amazing as they used to be, they’re just meh] I love shopping, but I feel like shopping over the holidays almost isn’t worth the frustrations & craziness that comes with it. Crowds are my least favourite thing when shopping. I am the type to just enjoy the time; leisurely walking around, and at the same time casually looking for the things that I like. So, walking in constant herds of people is not an ideal situation for me. 

What was really cool this year is that I hardly had any desire to buy anything for myself. It was kind of nice to know that each time I went into a mall or a store, it would not be for myself, but I was searching for gifts for others. I feel like I was much more focused & put more thought into what the most suitable gifts would be for the people in my life; it put more meaning behind each gift. I think it was a great success!! Everyone was happy, and even though I didn’t buy anything for myself, I was happy that they were happy! (& also just the personal fulfillment of purchasing successful gifts). Starting to realize that buying for others can be just as satisfying. Just like in some of our previous posts, I really do love it when SOMEONE gets the “good stuff”; it feels wonderful.

Love,

T  

We SURVIVED the Holidays...

It's 2011 and we're already more than 1/3 into the year of no shopping.  Can you believe it?!

Some of you may be wondering if we received any items on our no shopping list for Christmas.  And the answer is yes...

I got the the 1st item on my wishlist, the beautiful Talulah boyfriend blazer courtesy of V, an amazing scarf (similar to the one shown here), and small gold hoop earrings (thanks Mom!).  I can't wait to wear all of these items :) and none of them will ever go out of style!!

On another note the Holidays were a tough time to avoid shopping, especially when you constantly saw signs like this:

I could only take solace in the fact that others were able to take advantage of all the good bargains this year.  I admit it was hard, really hard...there were a few deals that I just couldn't stopping thinking about,

1)  Additional 50% off on Boxing day at Banana Republic - in past years I would have gone to the mall early and bought a bunch of sweaters that I didn't really need

2) All the good shoe deals....like the one shown above.  For some reason I have become obsessed with shoes, especially with suede platform pumps as shown in my wishlist.   This may be my first purchase once our year of no shopping is up!

Besides lusting over winter deals, I have become pre-occupied with fashion blogs.  I don't know what took me so long to discover some of these blogs, but have honestly been spending a little too much time browsing through these sites.

Here a few that you guys should check out if you have time:

http://cupcakesandcashmere.com/

http://www.thecherryblossomgirl.com/

http://ashley-ringmybell.blogspot.com/

http://oh-so-coco.tumblr.com/

Did you go a little overboard on your spending during the holidays?  what items are on your radar for the upcoming year?

Love,

A

A's wishlist

Check out A's wishlist !

A Day of Window Shopping

This is a a long over due post but here it is.
Yes we did it.  We went shopping together and stuck to the rules!  I believe this is the 1st time that I have gone shopping with T where she did not buy anything lol =P   Maybe it's because we have become smarter shoppers, paying more attention the quality of clothes but there was really only one thing we both would have bought...

The lovely Zara purse was hard to walk away from for the two of us.  We both love the braided detailing and adorable lining.  For $30 it would be worth adding to our collections but alas we can only admire the picture. T might try to replicate it with some leftover leather she has...I'd be interested to see how it'll turn out.


We also fell in love with these Marc Jacobs bags for Aritzia but we would never buy them unless we were rich.  We especially liked the 2nd one =)

 Here of the some pictures of other items that caught our attention.

Classic trench from Banana Republic

Who knew BR sold shoes?! 

A girl could always use a little sparkle in her outfit ;)

Boyfriend blazer from Zara

T loved the button detailing

Another blazer from Zara

Silk dress from Urban Outfitters

We will post more when we have time, and we hope to start the wish list soon!

Love,

T&A

Tip of the week

Take advantage of make up bonuses!  I honestly can't remember the last time I bought mascara, eyeshadow or make up remover.  That's because the majority of my make up comes from Lancome and Clinique bonuses =)  Between the 3 girls in the house it's easy to buy enough to get the bonuses and usually there's something in the bonuses for everyone.  I love the cosmetic bags too, they make great clutches and pencils cases!  The best bonuses come from Holt Renfrew, you have to spend a little bit more but the bonuses are much better.  For example, this spring there was an amazing Clinique bonus from Holt Renfrew that included a bag designed by Milly!  I just love the print and it's a great size too.

Another great thing about bonuses is that the samples they give you are the perfect size.  Honestly I don't go through eyeshadow that much and mascara needs to be thrown out every 3 months so it's a waste to buy full size.  It's also nice to have new products to try, some of them are so expensive I would have never bought them.


So what do I buy?  I love Clinique skincare products, my staples are clarifying lotion 3 (toner) and dramatically different moisturizing gel.  Their acne stuff is pretty good too.  In terms of make up I use the Almost make-up (tinted moisturizer) in medium.  Some of my favorite bonus items are Lancome definicils mascara in deep black and eye shadow quad in chic,  Clinique colour surge eye shadow in come heather and Take the day off makeup remover.


I hope this tip helps and that you take advantage of Bonuses!


Love,
A