January 2017

It’s all in the details

My mother used to tell me when I was a little girl that less was more. She felt this was necessary to remind me, at age 5, as I piled on dresses, skirts, socks, and pretty much anything I could layer onto my little body. To reinforce this idea that perhaps “simple pictures are best” I remember reading that all the chicest women of France took off one accessory before leaving the house. This concept of being choosy with that I adorn myself with led me to be very detail oriented with my furnishings. It is for this reason that I am in love with Jord wood watches. They are beautifully designed and intricately made, and they have such a charming earthy feel to them that makes these watches truly unique. I really love the Frankie 35 Series (the one I’m wearing) because the face is a little smaller than some of their other collections, and as someone with baby wrists having a smaller face is necessary. The earthy tons of Jord’s watches I find really compliment the winter since it’s such a pale and dull season. The rich and warm colours of their watches bring a little hint of summer to any outfit making it a detail not to be missed. I’m not sure if the simple lesson that less is more was meant by my parents to teach me about accessorizing, but regardless it’s made so easy and chic with these watches! If you’re as obsessed with Jord as I am, check out my giveaway with them! There’s a link at the bottom of this post.

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My watch, the Frankie 35 Series, is available here.

Follow this link to enter for a chance to win your own Jord wood watch. All entrants get a $25 discount code simply by entering the contest too. Let me know in the comments how you would style your watch if you won!

Love,

Lea

Luxury Wooden Watch
//www.woodwatches.com/widget-article/lovelylea

My StyleWe Closet Essentials

I love building my wardrobe so that I feel it has longevity, and StyleWe helps me do that. Their website is filled with affordable pieces to help any young woman prepare for her future with smart and beautiful pieces. This post has been a long time coming because I have been working on my closet for a while, it actually has helped me with budgeting too. Basically I made a list of all the things I thought I would need in my closet for the next 5 or more years and have slowly been checking things off the list. And it protects my budget too because I am only buying things that are on my list. So when StyleWe reached out about doing a little collaboration with me I was overjoyed because here was the perfect avenue to get some pieces checked off my list and to share what I considered some of the easiest and most versatile pieces.

For me two of the most versatile pieces you can have in your wardrobe are a striped shirt and a v-neck sweater. They yield endless possibilities: date night, office wear, hanging out, running errands, even brunch. They literally can be worn countless ways and are so simple to add into any wardrobe. Here is how I styled them for a more casual look and a formal look.

You can shop the v-neck sweater here and the stripped tee here.

What do you think about these two pieces from StyleWe? Let me know in the comments!

Love,

Lea

How I fixed my skin

Hey there friends! Today I thought we would talk about skin. For a long time I have struggled with my skin, but not necessarily in the conventional ways. I never had acne, I never had oily skin, nor have I had overly dry skin: what I do have is sensitive skin that is prone to rashes, and small under the skin bumps that aren’t quite pimples. So sure, I never had “bad” skin, but the skin I have has given me my own set of annoyances. But after high school most of my skin bumps seemed to sort themselves out. Unfortunately on break during university when I would go home, my skin would break out in rashes. It happened for a few years and were endlessly frustrating, but I found my cure (thank you hydro-cortisone) and moved on. More recently I stopped taking birth control because the progestins and the hormones really were not right for me (this is a long story, I tried countless different forms which either resulted in manic behavior or very depressed behavior). Ultimately it was clear it wasn’t for me so I stopped, but what I wasn’t expecting was for how it would affect my skin! Out of nowhere I started breaking out and having uneven skin tones, like super blotchy cheeks and like pimples. I mean, COME ON! I’m in my twenties, I’m not some puberty newbie, why me world why me! I had to figure out something to do to fix my skin because wallowing in my sadness wasn’t getting me anywhere. So after many trials and errors I finally have my routine that works perfectly for me.

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I try to wash my face morning and night with Just Natural Skincare’s acne soap. But I also try to give my face a day off from everything: washing, makeup, everything. So once a week I just don’t wash my face, I might add moisturizer, but I have found it’s been good to give my skin a break every now and then. Anyway, on a face washing day after I use a toner to help remove any left over dirt, right now I’m using Clinic’s classic purple toner because I had it on hand, but I am on the market for a new toner. In the morning my next step is to use Ole Henriksen’s Vitamin C Serum followed by Caudalie’s Premier Cru eye cream to try to tame my puffy eyes. Finally every morning I put on a moisterizer with SPF in it, right now I’m using one by Clinic which is nice, but again I am on the market to try something with more protection.

At night after toning I used Ole Henriksen’s Invigorating Night Treatment followed by Caudalie’s eye cream and topped off with Ole Henriksen’s Sheer Transformation cream. (Pro tip: get the Sephora 3 little wonders bundle to try the three Ole Henriksen products I use, it’s pretty affordable and an easy way to try them.) Finally if my skin feels dry, it is almost winter after all, I throw on a little of Josie Maran’s Argan oil.

This has been working really well for me right now, but it’s also important to know that your skin changes with you and that what works one year might not work the next. Listen to skin! And drink more water!

What are you using that you love? Let me know!

Love,

Lea

Welcoming in the New Year

Hey friends! So it’s been a while. I really have not been great at time management since I’ve been adjusting to life here in BC, but no more excuses! New Year new me, right?! And because it’s now 2017 I’ve been thinking that I should get to having some resolutions because why not. Tis the season.

RESOLUTION ONE:

Spend more time unattached to my phone. Yes I might miss my mom’s call, but I can call her back. There’s something so special about being present in the moment with those around you instead of tied to your cellular device. Sorry Rogers, but face to face surpasses Facetime.

RESOLUTION TWO:

I want to save more money which means no more buying dumb stuff. No more buying my lunches out. No. No more. Hungry Guys is great, but I have the technology to make salads at home. I want to be able to afford trips and memories so I have to learn to prioritize.

RESOLUTION THREE:

Educate myself on cool things like music history, movie history, and random pieces of time. I really want to learn more about Bonnie and Clyde so that will be my first stop closely followed by the feudal age of Japan and the imperial age of China. As a student of the past you really can’t stop learning, history is made every day!

And of course I want to post more, not necessarily for you, but for me. Writing gives me a special time to reflect, to think, and to create (and to use the Oxford Comma) so I definitely want to keep this up.

I hope you all have an amazing 2017 and as Hannah Montana said “Life’s what you make it so let’s make it right!”

Love,

Lea