A weekend to celebrate.

 Blue Harbour men's plaid top; Old Navy vest; Garage leggings; Sirens boots

Tomorrow is my birthday! There's nothing better than having a birthday on a Saturday. I can do whatever I want all day. It's pretty great that work won't be getting in the way of my happiness!

Tonight my parents are taking me out for dinner and then tomorrow I'm headed for dinner with some friends + a little partying. Duh. I finally found my birthday dress so I'll make sure to take pictures and show you all. It was one of those moments where I put on the dress and it was perfect. That doesn't happen often, so I'm excited to wear it!

Reflecting back on 22, I went through more changes in my life than I had for years. Some of them wonderful, others not-so-wonderful, and some blessings in disguise. Either way, I think 23 is going to be a good year filled with more "ups" :) I can just feel it. Feeling, you better not be wrong...

Sweater dresses and random facts.

Winners cardigan; Dynamite sweater dress; Garage tights; H&M flats; Forever 21 belt

I totally stole this fun post idea from Corinne at Life, etc. Mostly because she's awesome and comes up with better post ideas than I do ;) But I gotta tell ya, this took FOREVER. It's so hard to answer things like this about myself...

Eyes: nine celebrity crushes: I've recently discussed my three girl crushes: Kate Beckinsale, Rachel McAdams and Emma Stone. As for the men, these days I'd have to say Christian Bale, Jake Gyllenhaal, Ryan Gosling, Jim Sturgess, John Krasinski and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Ears: eight favourite sounds: Crickets when I'm going to sleep. The birds chirping when I wake up. The crackling of a fire place. The leaves crunching beneath my feet in the fall. Christmas music. My best friend's laugh (it's seriously contagious). Thunderstorms. Old favourite songs that I haven't heard in years. 

Nose: seven favourite scents. Fall (it's one awesome smell). Mom's baking on Christmas. A random body spray I got from Dynamite, I don't even know what it's called.  Peppermint. Coffee shops. Men's cologne. Freshly mowed grass.

Mouth: six favourite sayings. Don't be like the rest of them, darling. All you need is health and happiness. The best is yet to come. There are far, far better things ahead than any we leave behind. Love fearlessly.  Live, laugh, love.

Heart: five things you love. My family. My best friends. Music - I don't know what I would do without it, it's like my therapy. Chocolate anything (except chocolate cake, somehow that kinda sucks). Laughing.

Hands: four things you've created that you're proud of. A dress that I sewed last year. My blog. A mini documentary I made of my favourite summer, years ago.  The paths I've taken so far in life. 

Stomach: three comfort foods. Chocolate (of course). Pasta. My mom's cream of mushroom & corn soup - I dislike mushrooms but still think it rocks.

Knees: two things that make you go weak in the knees. Raw and uncensored emotion - happy or sad. Surprises.

Feet: one thing you want to accomplish in life. Appreciate all of the little moments in life, so that I can look back with no regrets. It's an ongoing thing :)

A walk in the park.

Aerie top; Garage leggings; Old Navy scarf; H&M flats; Castellamarre leaf necklcae

Firstly, this is a new location for me. We have a big park down the road and I've always thought about taking pictures there. Finally, the day came and I decided to venture out. By the time I got there, the sun had gone behind a HUGE cloud and I had lost my "golden light" moment. Once the photo-shoot finished, I was walking back to the car and it came out again. Figures. Oh well, it's still nice to change it up every once in a while!

Secondly, this amazing necklace. I won a giveaway over at Sharon's The Tiny Heart for Castellamarre designs.  I saw Sharon showing off this necklace on her blog and I knew I had to have it. I've worn it 5 times since I got it less than a week ago. I was pretty excited when I found out the shop was based in Ottawa, too!

Now to the outfit. I have to say this is one of my favourite comfy outfits ever. It probably looks like I should be sitting on my couch vegging, but it is so ridiculously comfortable that I wore it out of my house with pride. So what if it feels like PJs? It's not :) And I'll keep telling myself it rocks.

Surviving Canadian Winters: Accessories.

Welcome to the second part of "Surviving Canadian Winters". Previously I've shown you about how I survive in terms of jackets, and now I'm introducing you to my choice in accessories.  I don't really wear hats...? Call me crazy but hoods are wonderful and do just fine for me :)

1. The Leather Gloves & Printed Scarf.

Costco gloves & eBay scarf

I wear the leather pair of gloves more than any of the others. They're great for running errands because they keep your hands warm from the car to the store, and back.  They also give great grip when you're driving - super important. If I want to look dressy, I will wear them as well. Usually for that purpose I'll pair them with a light-weight scarf like this one :)

2. The Knits & Flannel.

Garage mitts & Old Navy scarf

When I'm looking for a bit of warmth, I turn to these mitts and this scarf.  I've also got a few knit cowls I will throw on as well, but I didn't photograph them to keep this post a little more simple. Though these are warm, if I was to be outside for a long period of time I would choose accessory set #3.

3. The Insulated Mitts & Eat-Your-Face Scarf.

?? gloves & ALDO scarf

These guys go on my hands when I'm planning on being outside for a long while.  They're insulated, warm, and waterproof. Sometimes I'll throw these on when I'm letting the puppy out for a bit so that my hands don't even feel the cold. They're wonderful inventions. Now, someone just has to make a fashionable pair! New business idea? ;) I pair these with my Eat-Your-Face scarf, because that's exactly what it does. And I don't mind, because it keeps me warm even in the most frigid of temperatures!

There you have it! The inside scoop on how Kelly survives Canadian winters with accessories. Stay tuned for the third and final instalment: boots.

Are you guys fans of winter hats? What do you wear to keep your ears warm?

Weekend Comfort and Insecurities

This weekend, all I wanted was comfort. For comfort, I reached towards my cozy knit sweater, leggings, and a warm scarf.  It's not the most stylish thing I've put together, but it was warm. And hey, I'm just keepin' it real. It's exhausting to dress to the nines every day!

Garage tights; Walmart boots; ALDO purse; Suzy Shier scarf; Costco sweater

Now onto the second part of my post, I want to chat about insecurities. We all have 'em. Generally I'm pretty happy with myself and I don't have too much to complain about. Except that I hate my forehead (and my nose, but that's another story). My hair-line starts pretty far back, and I feel like my forehead is huge. It's why I've had bangs since high school.

But I remind myself to just suck it up. So what if my forehead is huge? If I don't want my bangs touching my face, I want to be able to put them back without feeling ugly. I have to embrace my forehead and accept that it's part of who I am. It's not something I can change, so I'm learning to love it. No one's perfect, which is why we're all beautiful.  :)