Ripley's Aquarium

A couple weekends ago, I took a few days off to travel to Toronto with my friend Kathy for a relaxing girls' weekend involving, eating, sightseeing and shopping. What else do girls do right? I've recently been working a lot so the weekend getaway was much needed and well deserved. One of the main places I wanted to visit while in the city was Ripley's Aquarium. I've always loved sealife and visiting aquariums whenever I travel to a destination that has one. While I'm patiently waiting for my trip to Greece in June, the aquarium will have to do in place of wild sealife. I also made a really special purchase while I was in Toronto that means a lot to me which I'll be showing you guys in an upcoming post! In the meantime, enjoy the photos from my visit to the aquarium, I highly recommend stopping by if you want something different to do while you're in the city!

Ottawa Fashion Week F/W2014 Day 2

Day 2 of OFW was just as amazing as the first. Once we got used to the pace of things, it was much easier to run around on the second day to time what we wanted to do and when. This time I brought my camera with me while I was in the media pit and got a chance to snap a couple of photos from one of the amazing collections from the night. We also managed to snag some food this time as well, learning from the night before that missing dinner on a 7 hour night doesn't do well with your stomach.

For the first set of shows, I was placed in the media pit and snapped up some beautiful pictures of Bernice&Barclay's FW2014 Collection. I'm a huge an of floral so all of the body conscious dresses were beautiful! I'm waiting for some of the official collection pictures to become available so that I can compile a post with my favourite looks from each collection.

For the second set of shows, I was placed at our station and responsible for manning the Facebook page while the collections went down the runway. Although not as many posts were written on Facebook, those posts were more content heavy in terms of summarizing the overall designer's aesthetic with beautiful visuals as opposed to the fast-paced instant social media pages of Instagram and Twitter.

I did manage to sneak some time back stage in between shows to grab some photos of the models prepping for their next walk. Joseph Ribkoff's cool-kid-from-the-block aesthetic really attracted me with the funky black-out shades that all the models were sporting. Paired with Versace-like prints, the first part of his collection had a very street chic but sexy edge to it.

 My last position of the night was backstage to capture the chaos that ensues from a fashion show. Not only did I get a chance to view some of the designs before they hit the runway, but I got a chance to see just how dedicated the designers were. Frank Sukhoo literally used every last minute up until the models stepped on the runway to fix any garment issues.

One of my favourite collections of the night was Serendipity. The models were dressed up as dolls down to rouge on lips and overly exaggerated painted eyes. The dressed flowed beautifully with chiffon and everything just seemed to be floating on a cloud of pink.

Ottawa Fashion Week F/W2014 Day 1

Part of my social media intern responsibilities included covering the pre-runway shows. It was amazing to see how dedicated many of the designers were as they walked down the runway their models tweaking any final details before their shows. As some of the walks were more complicated than others - from walking in pairs to walking down one side and then walking down the other, run-throughs were evidently important to ensure that no mistakes occurred as the models strutted their stuff.

Since I'm currently in Toronto for the weekend visiting my cousins, friends and enjoying the city, I was only able to attend the first two days of Ottawa Fashion Week (OFW). The two nights showcased F/W2014 collections for many Ottawa native and Canadian designers. Throughout the night, the social media team was given various responsibilities which included photographing the looks in the social media pit, backstage, pre-/post-set-up and composing recap posts on Facebook. As much as I would have loved to be in the media pit photographing the collections, our responsibilities didn't cover that. That's okay though, there were much more talented media and photographers present there to do all of the work for me!

I had a blast working as a social media intern for OFW and getting the chance to see all of the backstage chaos as the models got fitted for each look. With hairspray misting through the air and eyeliner marks all over the make-up artists' hands, you can tell that creativity has found its home.

In between the shows, attendees were able to visit the Loft Market and where our sponsors had their products available to try. Barefoot Wine & Bubbly were also onsite for those looking for a little something something to sip on throughout the night.

Ottawa Fashion Week F/W2014

I’ve always been fascinated by fashion weeks around the globe, and have wanted a chance to be apart of it for the longest that I can remember. Last year I missed the chance to participate in Ottawa Fashion Week SS2013 and FW2013 as I was still in school. When the opportunity to be a part of this year’s FW2014 show arose, I jumped on board to become a social media intern. I’m excited because not only do I get to attend all of the runway shows, I get the chance to see what happens behind the scenes and share all of these moments with you! What a better way to experience OFW than by spending my time snapping photos and posting some of my favourite looks? I definitely could not be asking for more.

Join me tonight for OFW FW2014’s kick-off promotional event by following OFW and myself on Instagram and Twitter for live updates all evening! You can find me on both social media sites with the same handle: @vickiixtinhy, and OFW on Instagram using @OFWlive and Twitter using @OFW_LIVE.

Make sure to tag both myself and OFW, as well as using the hashtag #OFWlive so that we can see, comment, retweet or regram your posts. Let me know if you're attending OFW FW2014 and come say hi!

February LustListt

Where did the January LustListt go you ask? Nowhere, that's where. In between enjoying all of my Christmas gifts and Boxing Day sales, it didn't feel right lusting after any more things. There's a fine line between materialistic and wanting things. Every year, Christmas reminds me of how lucky I am to have a great family and set of friends that support and spoil me year round. I'm truly grateful for their continuous support and January just isn't the right time for me to want more.

But now that February has arrived, I've obviously gotten a little tired of the Canadian winter weather and am in the process of planning a trip to a warmer climate with a friend. That being said, color is back in its rotation of my LustListt, as are swim suits!

1. BDG Cuffed Rib-Knit Beanie in Lime - BDG (Urban Outfitters) | $19.00
   I love a neon beanie to brighten up any outfit when most of what is worn during winter are dark coats in variations of grey, black, navy blue, etc. Not only is the beanie functional but stylish as well.
2. Roses de Chloe - Chloe (Sephora) | $85.00
   Chloe's eau de perfume is my all time favourite scent that leaves a juicy and fruity scent long after the initial spritz has occurred. When Chloe released this limited edition version infused with the scent of rose, I couldn't help but automatically fall in love. The rose doesn't overwhelm the overall Chloe scent, so you still have a layer of the original perfume that lingers a little bit after the rose scent has faded.
3. Spearmint Isabel Underwear Set - Triangl | $45.00
   If you haven't been introduced to the Austrialian label Triangl, well here is your introduction. Well known for their swimwear, the company has recently launched their lingerie line in just as amazing designs and signature colors. I love the simplicity of their bra and panty sets, and with a price of $45.00 for the whole set, why not? I'm used to seeing bras priced at $45.00 upwards at Victoria Secret, so this is a steal!
4. Blue Eyelash Lace Frill Hem Dress - Chicwish | $74.90 $63.67
   I think that when lace dresses are done right, they can be beautiful. I love the vibrancy of this blue as it brightens up our current dreary winter weather. The nude "cut outs" which are actually inserts are discreetly sexy as it gives off the allure of some skin peeking out when you actually aren't.
5. Neverfull MM in Damier Ebene - Louis Vuitton | $980.00
   This bag has long been on any wishlist of mine and will soon be a resident in my closet by the end of this month. I have a habit of saving up for big splurges with sprees of shopping draught interspersed so that I can award myself a gift are certain times of the year (be it my birthday, Christmas, graduation, acceptance, etc.). As I recently completed my bachelor's degree, what better way to celebrate than to reward myself with one of the bags on my bag dream list?
6. Live Love Laugh Expressions Pillow - Chapters | $39.50
   I don't know if I've slowly domesticated recently, or if I just like the gold, but this pillow screams my name whenever I walk by it in store.
7. 1q84 - Haruki Murakami (Chapters) | $22.80
   I don't actually know what this book entails, but I've heard nothing but good things about it so I really want to read it as soon as I can! I'm currently on a book purge though and trying to rid my room of any books I haven't cared to read in the past few years, so this book won't be on rotation until the pile of novels sitting on my desk have been read through first.
8. This pair of heeled booties are no longer available online at Zara, but I spotted a pair in store today that is still priced for sale! Sadly they weren't in my size, so that pair remained on the shelves.
9. Coco Moonbeams Swimwear Set - Triangl | $79.00
   Neoprene, mesh and metallics yes please! There isn't anything that anyone can say that would dissuade me from this 2 piece bikini set. As I've said already, I'm a huge fan of Triangl that there might as well be a cult because I'd sign up immediately!
10. Mason Jar Cocktail Shaker - Chapters | $29.50
    This is the first time I've seen a glass cocktail shaker, so I though that this was pretty cool. It's different than what anyone else usually uses so it would definitely be a conversation starter for any party that you're throwing.