Monthly Archives: October 2012

Halloween: A Brief History

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Since today is Halloween, I thought it would be interesting to look into its history. How did Halloween come about? Who started it?

Halloween, also known as All Hallows’ Eve, was thought to have originated 2000 years ago with the Celtic’s celebration of the festival of Samhain. November 1 marked their New Year, where the harvest ended and the cold, dark winter began. The Celts believed that the world of the living and the dead became mixed that day. So to pay homage to the spirits, the Celts dressed up in costumes, told each others’ fortunes and built large bonfires to burn crops and sacrifice animals.

The Celt’s lived in Ireland, United Kingdom and northern France and when they immigrated to America they brought their traditions with them. By the late 1800′s and early 1900′s, Halloween became quite popular and an accepted tradition in the United States. From the Celt’s early traditions we have evolved into our current Halloween culture.

I also read that the rituals in the 1800′s focused more on the future and how to help a young woman find her future husband. Here are some rituals that were practiced back then. Can you imagine doing that now?

  • In Ireland, a matchmaker cook would bury a ring in mashed potatoes and the person that would find it, would also find true love.
  • A Scottish tradition would have a girl name a hazelnut for each of her “suitors” and throw them into the fire. The one that would burn to ashes would be her future husband.
  • Another tradition is to have girl eat a concoction of walnuts, halzenuts and nutmeg before going to bed on Halloween and she would dream about her future husband.
  • Women would throw apple peels over their shoulders hoping they would fall into the shape of the initials of their husband to be.
  • For all you apple-bobbers out there looking for a man, legend has it that the first person to successfully bob for an apple will be the first one down the aisle.

If you want to read more about the history of Halloween I got my information from www.history.com/topics/Halloween.

I like the history of Halloween and how it has evolved. It is one of my favorite holidays. I love all the preparation, decorating, baking, costume hunting and seeing all the kids dressed up. It’s nice that at least on one day of the year we adults can be a little silly :).

Please trick-or-treat safely tonight.

Halloween: A Brief History

14 Replies

Since today is Halloween, I thought it would be interesting to look into its history. How did Halloween come about? Who started it?

Halloween, also known as All Hallows’ Eve, was thought to have originated 2000 years ago with the Celtic’s celebration of the festival of Samhain. November 1 marked their New Year, where the harvest ended and the cold, dark winter began. The Celts believed that the world of the living and the dead became mixed that day. So to pay homage to the spirits, the Celts dressed up in costumes, told each others’ fortunes and built large bonfires to burn crops and sacrifice animals.

The Celt’s lived in Ireland, United Kingdom and northern France and when they immigrated to America they brought their traditions with them. By the late 1800′s and early 1900′s, Halloween became quite popular and an accepted tradition in the United States. From the Celt’s early traditions we have evolved into our current Halloween culture.

I also read that the rituals in the 1800′s focused more on the future and how to help a young woman find her future husband. Here are some rituals that were practiced back then. Can you imagine doing that now?

  • In Ireland, a matchmaker cook would bury a ring in mashed potatoes and the person that would find it, would also find true love.
  • A Scottish tradition would have a girl name a hazelnut for each of her “suitors” and throw them into the fire. The one that would burn to ashes would be her future husband.
  • Another tradition is to have girl eat a concoction of walnuts, halzenuts and nutmeg before going to bed on Halloween and she would dream about her future husband.
  • Women would throw apple peels over their shoulders hoping they would fall into the shape of the initials of their husband to be.
  • For all you apple-bobbers out there looking for a man, legend has it that the first person to successfully bob for an apple will be the first one down the aisle.

If you want to read more about the history of Halloween I got my information from www.history.com/topics/Halloween.

I like the history of Halloween and how it has evolved. It is one of my favorite holidays. I love all the preparation, decorating, baking, costume hunting and seeing all the kids dressed up. It’s nice that at least on one day of the year we adults can be a little silly :).

Please trick-or-treat safely tonight.

A Pre-School Halloweeen Party and “Arm Candy”

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Before I begin my blog, I just want to say to all the people affected by “Superstorm Sandy” that you are in my thoughts and prayers. Like many of you, I was glued to my tv last night, and watched in horror the devastation of this storm. Please stay safe and I hope that you can all get back to normal soon.

The weather here remains wet and dreary, although it’s much warmer than yesterday. If you don’t already know this about the Lower Mainland, it pretty much rains continuously from October to May/June and this past Summer well into July!!!! This is what I wore today. Since posting last week about different ways to wear a Chambray shirt, I thought ok, now it’s time to wear my Chambray shirt, not just blog about it.

Sweater (Old Navy). Chambray Shirt (American Eagle). Pants (R W and Co). Boots (Browns).

Today is my son’s preschool’s Halloween party. I volunteered to make Halloween themed cupcakes, I couldn’t resist!!! I made them on Sunday and made a few extras for us to devour. They were amazing, even without any icing on them. I made chocolate chip pumpkin cupcakes with arms, legs and skulls made out of white chocolate and covered with swiss meringue buttercream grass. I think my son is starting to realize that his Mama is a baker. He told my husband on Sunday to leave Mama alone, so she can make the cupcakes. It was so sweet. He calls himself the “cookie and cupcake monster”!!!! He is definitely both of them!!! Below are pictures of Halloween cupcakes Aiden took to preschool today.

If you are wondering why there are no pictures of my son dressed up in his Halloween costume, that’s because he doesn’t want to wear one. He is totally into Halloween, right down to yelling “trick-or-treat” and “boo” at the top of his lungs, he just simply refuses to wear a costume. So until it bothers him, my husband and I are just going with it.

So what is “arm candy”? My definition is playing dress up with your jewelry. Remember when you were a kid and you put on your mom’s dress, shoes and hat, well imagine that but on your wrist. Many people choose to showcase their “arm candy” along side their watch. I choose not to as I don’t want to scratch my watch, plus it gets quite bulky on your wrist. There are no rules or right or wrong ways of wearing “arm candy”. It’s all about mixing and matching metals, colors, textures and styles. Below are 4 looks that I put together from my collection.

Look #1: A Casual Look

Bracelets from Stella and Dot

Look #2: Everyday. I wear this one all the time

Bracelets (Stella and Dot, Poshlocket).

Look #3: Dressy

Bracelets (Stella and Dot, Etsy, Stella and Dot, Poshlocket).

Look #4: A fun one

Bracelets (R W and Co., Stella and Dot, Coach, Aldo).

As you can see, it’s all about having fun with your bracelets. For look #4 I just haphazardly grabbed bracelets and put them together. Not sure if I actually would wear look #4 but it was fun putting it together.

May this blog inspire you to help victims of this storm, to get geared up for Halloween and to put together your own “arm candy”.

Happy Halloween Eve Everyone!!!!

Weekend Fun

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Today is a dreary, cold, wet, drab, miserably wet day, but I guess we could have it worse. We could be living in the East coast waiting for Hurricane Sandy to hit. I pray that the damage is minimal and that every one remains safe. This past weekend, we too here in the lower mainland experienced mother nature’s wrath. There was a 7.7 earthquake in the Ocean which thankfully did not result in a Tsunami and/or any damage or injuries. These two events go to show us how precious life is and that anything could happen at any time. We as a family have tried our best to prepare for the “big one” (the big earthquake). What frightens me the most is the possibility that it will happen when my husband is at work and my son is at school. Anyways enough dooms day thoughts. Below is what I wore today, a nice comfy belted cardigan, jeans, white long sleeved top and my favorite boots.

Cardigan (Jacob). Jeans and Shirt (Gap). Boots (Fergalicious).

This weekend was a busy one with dance class and the symphony on Saturday, Funland and pumpkin picking/decorating and cupcake making on Sunday. We took advantage of the great weather and decided to go to Funland hosted at Art Knapps for some Halloween fun. It seemed like a mini reunion as we bumped into many people that we knew. It was a super fun afternoon. We picked up some pumpkins and headed home where we spent the afternoon carving pumpkins and baking cupcakes. Actually my husband did most of the work, as my son lost interest within 2 mins and carving the pumpkins aggravated my chest. I did manage however to carve a witches hat into one pumpkin. Below are pictures of our Halloween weekend.

My son having the time of his life on the octopus ride

Petting the resident black cat

I tried so hard to get a family picture and this is what we ended up with!!!

My son playing mini golf like it’s hockey!!!

The boys planning out the pumpkin faces

The result: 5 amazing pumpkins :)

May this blog inspire you to prepare for the “big one” if you live in the Lower Mainland, to appreciate every day and to get into the Halloween spirit!!! :)

Happy Monday Everyone!!!

Gangnam Style and Dancing With The Stars: Something to Brighten up Your Sunday !!!

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The song and video for Gangnam Style is everywhere and I have decided to jump on this bandwagon!!!! What I love about this song is its silliness and element of fun. It makes me smile every time I hear it and let’s face it, we could all use a little more laughter and silliness in our lives. So to cheer everyone up before the weekend ends and the craziness of Halloween week begins, here are two videos of Gangnam Style.

The first one is the original video of Gangnam Style.

This one is of the cast of Dancing With the Stars doing a group performance to it.

Watching the dancers of DWTS put a huge smile on my face. I actually laughed so hard I cried. It hurt my chest but it was worth it. I haven’t laughed that hard in a while.

Happy Sunday Everyone!!! May this song make you smile, be a little silly and help you ease into a new week.

Gangnam Style and Dancing With The Stars: Something to Brighten up Your Sunday !!!

5 Replies

The song and video for Gangnam Style is everywhere and I have decided to jump on this bandwagon!!!! What I love about this song is its silliness and element of fun. It makes me smile every time I hear it and let’s face it, we could all use a little more laughter and silliness in our lives. So to cheer everyone up before the weekend ends and the craziness of Halloween week begins, here are two videos of Gangnam Style.

The first one is the original video of Gangnam Style.

This one is of the cast of Dancing With the Stars doing a group performance to it.

Watching the dancers of DWTS put a huge smile on my face. I actually laughed so hard I cried. It hurt my chest but it was worth it. I haven’t laughed that hard in a while.

Happy Sunday Everyone!!! May this song make you smile, be a little silly and help you ease into a new week.

Different Ways to Wear a Chambray Shirt

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It was back to normal in our household today. I think the day of rest we had yesterday did wonders for both my husband and son. I on the other hand feel even more tired. This illness is exhausting!!! I recently got a Tippi sweater in Oxblood from J. Crew. Absolutely love it. I wore it today with jeans and my booties. Perfect day for wearing a sweater.

Jacket (R W & Co.). Sweater ( J. Crew). Jeans (Gap). Scarf (Jacob). Boots (Fergalicious).

Sweater (J Crew). Necklace (Banana Republic). Bracelet (Etsy). Watch (Michael Kors). Jeans (Gap). Boots (Fergalicious).

For the past two days I’ve been wanting to blog about different ways of wearing a Chambray shirt, just haven’t had the time. So today my blog is all about the Chambray Shirt. What is a Chambray Shirt? Chambray is a type of fabric that resembles a jean.

This is a Chambray Shirt

What I love about it, is its versatility. I basically look at a Chambray shirt as a neutral shirt, which can be paired with just about anything in your closet. It’s also a great layering piece that can be worn all year round. Below are different ways of wearing the Chambray Shirt.

A casual look: Wearing it under a sweater with a jean skirt and boots

Skirt and Sweater (Gap). Chambray Shirt (American Eagle). Boots (EMU).

A Work look: Wearing it with red skirt, cardigan and boots

Cardigan (Jacob). Skirt (Gap). Chambray Shirt (Amercian Eagle). Boots (Browns)

Style it underneath a dress. Thanks to Tara (Mix & Match Fashion) and Marie-Eve (A Pretty Nest) for the inspiration :)

Dress (Gap). Chambray Shirt (American Eagle). Boots (Browns).

Wear it with burgundy pants and add a pop of color with a yellow cardigan

Jeans (R W & Co). Cardigan (Jacob). Chambray Shirt (American Eagle). Boots (Fergalicious).

Wear it layered under a sweater with red cropped pants and ballet flats

Sweater (Old Navy). Pants (Gap). Chambray Shirt (American Eagle). Shoes (Aldo).

Pair it with white pants and a 3 yr year old :) ( My son wanted to be in the picture :))

Chambray Shirt (American Eagle). Pants (Gap). Shoes (Aldo).

Sweater (Jacob). Chambray Shirt (American Eagle). Jeans (Gap). Boots (Fergalicious).

May this blog inspire you to get a Chambray Shirt and see the different ways you can wear/style it. There are many great options out there: Gap, Old Navy, American Eagle, Ariztia, H and M just to name a few.

Happy Friday Everyone!!!!

Stay tuned next week for pictures of our adventures to the Pumpkin Patch and pumpkin carving :).

Different Ways to Wear a Chambray Shirt

3 Replies

It was back to normal in our household today. I think the day of rest we had yesterday did wonders for both my husband and son. I on the other hand feel even more tired. This illness is exhausting!!! I recently got a Tippi sweater in Oxblood from J. Crew. Absolutely love it. I wore it today with jeans and my booties. Perfect day for wearing a sweater.

Jacket (R W & Co.). Sweater ( J. Crew). Jeans (Gap). Scarf (Jacob). Boots (Fergalicious).

Sweater (J Crew). Necklace (Banana Republic). Bracelet (Etsy). Watch (Michael Kors). Jeans (Gap). Boots (Fergalicious).

For the past two days I’ve been wanting to blog about different ways of wearing a Chambray shirt, just haven’t had the time. So today my blog is all about the Chambray Shirt. What is a Chambray Shirt? Chambray is a type of fabric that resembles a jean.

This is a Chambray Shirt

What I love about it, is its versatility. I basically look at a Chambray shirt as a neutral shirt, which can be paired with just about anything in your closet. It’s also a great layering piece that can be worn all year round. Below are different ways of wearing the Chambray Shirt.

A casual look: Wearing it under a sweater with a jean skirt and boots

Skirt and Sweater (Gap). Chambray Shirt (American Eagle). Boots (EMU).

A Work look: Wearing it with red skirt, cardigan and boots

Cardigan (Jacob). Skirt (Gap). Chambray Shirt (Amercian Eagle). Boots (Browns)

Style it underneath a dress. Thanks to Tara (Mix & Match Fashion) and Marie-Eve (A Pretty Nest) for the inspiration :)

Dress (Gap). Chambray Shirt (American Eagle). Boots (Browns).

Wear it with burgundy pants and add a pop of color with a yellow cardigan

Jeans (R W & Co). Cardigan (Jacob). Chambray Shirt (American Eagle). Boots (Fergalicious).

Wear it layered under a sweater with red cropped pants and ballet flats

Sweater (Old Navy). Pants (Gap). Chambray Shirt (American Eagle). Shoes (Aldo).

Pair it with white pants and a 3 yr year old :) ( My son wanted to be in the picture :))

Chambray Shirt (American Eagle). Pants (Gap). Shoes (Aldo).

Sweater (Jacob). Chambray Shirt (American Eagle). Jeans (Gap). Boots (Fergalicious).

May this blog inspire you to get a Chambray Shirt and see the different ways you can wear/style it. There are many great options out there: Gap, Old Navy, American Eagle, Ariztia, H and M just to name a few.

Happy Friday Everyone!!!!

Stay tuned next week for pictures of our adventures to the Pumpkin Patch and pumpkin carving :).

Sick Day and the Stylebook Fashion APP

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I had every intention today of doing a post about different ways of wearing a Chambray shirt, but my son had other plans. Instead I will be posting it tomorrow. Today is a “sick day” for my little family. Our son kept us up all night coughing and wanting to cuddle. Bless my husband’s heart for getting up with him, I slept through most of it. We decided it was best to keep Aiden home from preschool, for his and the other kid’s sake. My husband also stayed home because he too isn’t feeling well and lets face it I’m not exactly back to 100%. I wasn’t planning on venturing out today but we were out of Vic’s Vapor Rub. My outfit today is not really blog worthy, but this is the reality of what a mom who is looking after a sick kid sometimes looks like. Oh and I wore my EMU boots for the first time today :)

Sweat Shirt (Old Navy). Tank Top (Jacob). Jeans (Gap). Boots (EMU). Watch (Guess). Bracelets (Stella & Dot).

I’ve been searching for an APP that allows you to organize your closet and to help you put together outfits. There is one called Go Chic or Go Home, it’s free, but it displays your outfits to the world and you need to request an invite to join. I found one on the APP store called Stylebook which allows you to take pictures of your entire wardrobe, organize your clothes according to categories, and then put together outfits. The APP costs $3.99 but it’s worth it. I purchased it this past weekend and had a blast putting outfits together. It took me a couple of hours to photograph everything in my closet and I didn’t even get to the jewelry or shoes. That may sound like a lot of time, but once you are finished, you will see how easy it is to get dressed in the mornings and to plan your outfits. The site is private, therefore no one will see it. This APP allowed me to style my Chambray shirt with items I never would have thought of. Below are pictures I took of how the APP works.

Stylebook APP

Home Page/Main Menu

Closet: Where you organize your clothes according to categories

The Tops category and its subcategories

The Looks category: Where you can put your different outfits together

What the screen should look like when you create a new look

Examples of different outfits I put together in the Day Looks category

A closer look at one of the outfits I created

This APP is very user-friendly. It’s like having your own private stylist, but much cheaper. It allows you to make your own categories and subdivisions. I made one called Cardigans in the Tops category. You can also add accessories and shoes to your outfits. It’s very easy to take pictures and organize them. Like I said before the most time-consuming part is the actual picture-taking. The putting together of outfits can be an ongoing process, taking as much or as little time as you want. It’s a great tool to have when you’ve run out of ideas and it’s convenient to take along with you when you go shopping. It will also help you organize your closet :). By the way how’s that going?

Let me know what you think of this APP and if you know of any others, please let me know.

May this blog inspire you to take it easy and to give yourself a “sick” day every once in a while, and to use this APP or others to help you organize your closet and help you put outfits together.

Happy Thursday Everyone!!! :)

The opinions of this blog are my own. I was not paid by the maker of the Stylebook APP. I found this APP in the October issue of In Style Magazine and decided to try it out. I found the app to be useful and decided to blog about it.

Sick Day and the Stylebook Fashion APP

3 Replies

I had every intention today of doing a post about different ways of wearing a Chambray shirt, but my son had other plans. Instead I will be posting it tomorrow. Today is a “sick day” for my little family. Our son kept us up all night coughing and wanting to cuddle. Bless my husband’s heart for getting up with him, I slept through most of it. We decided it was best to keep Aiden home from preschool, for his and the other kid’s sake. My husband also stayed home because he too isn’t feeling well and lets face it I’m not exactly back to 100%. I wasn’t planning on venturing out today but we were out of Vic’s Vapor Rub. My outfit today is not really blog worthy, but this is the reality of what a mom who is looking after a sick kid sometimes looks like. Oh and I wore my EMU boots for the first time today :)

Sweat Shirt (Old Navy). Tank Top (Jacob). Jeans (Gap). Boots (EMU). Watch (Guess). Bracelets (Stella & Dot).

I’ve been searching for an APP that allows you to organize your closet and to help you put together outfits. There is one called Go Chic or Go Home, it’s free, but it displays your outfits to the world and you need to request an invite to join. I found one on the APP store called Stylebook which allows you to take pictures of your entire wardrobe, organize your clothes according to categories, and then put together outfits. The APP costs $3.99 but it’s worth it. I purchased it this past weekend and had a blast putting outfits together. It took me a couple of hours to photograph everything in my closet and I didn’t even get to the jewelry or shoes. That may sound like a lot of time, but once you are finished, you will see how easy it is to get dressed in the mornings and to plan your outfits. The site is private, therefore no one will see it. This APP allowed me to style my Chambray shirt with items I never would have thought of. Below are pictures I took of how the APP works.

Stylebook APP

Home Page/Main Menu

Closet: Where you organize your clothes according to categories

The Tops category and its subcategories

The Looks category: Where you can put your different outfits together

What the screen should look like when you create a new look

Examples of different outfits I put together in the Day Looks category

A closer look at one of the outfits I created

This APP is very user-friendly. It’s like having your own private stylist, but much cheaper. It allows you to make your own categories and subdivisions. I made one called Cardigans in the Tops category. You can also add accessories and shoes to your outfits. It’s very easy to take pictures and organize them. Like I said before the most time-consuming part is the actual picture-taking. The putting together of outfits can be an ongoing process, taking as much or as little time as you want. It’s a great tool to have when you’ve run out of ideas and it’s convenient to take along with you when you go shopping. It will also help you organize your closet :). By the way how’s that going?

Let me know what you think of this APP and if you know of any others, please let me know.

May this blog inspire you to take it easy and to give yourself a “sick” day every once in a while, and to use this APP or others to help you organize your closet and help you put outfits together.

Happy Thursday Everyone!!! :)

The opinions of this blog are my own. I was not paid by the maker of the Stylebook APP. I found this APP in the October issue of In Style Magazine and decided to try it out. I found the app to be useful and decided to blog about it.

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