The People Have Spoken...

And apparently they love Katy Perry, How I Met your Mother and Vampire Diaries.  What am I referring to here?  The People's Choice Awards last night...where the star power wasn't huge but there were some gorgeous dresses to drool over nonetheless.  For some reason, I can't stop thinking about this vibrant and unique Roksanda Ilincic dress that Ginnifer Goodwin wore last night:

I think she looks fabulous and it has a lot to do with the dress.  Normally Ginnifer Goodwin does the adorable/quirky thing, so seeing her in such a bold dress is a nice change.  Roksanda Ilincic is a "designer to watch" according to InStyle magazine so expect to see more of her looks on the red carpet, which is great.  I love her take on fashion:  "Women should follow their heard and feel comfortable in what they're wearing."  Agreed!

Favourite Golden Globes Gowns

The Golden Globes are this weekend, the start of the "big" awards shows in Hollywood.  I'm very excited to see what everyone wears and it got me researching into some of the most gorgeous looks from past years.  Here are some of my favourites:

Emily Blunt in Dolce and Gabbana (2010)

Felicity Huffman in Marchesa (2006)

Jennifer Lopez in Marchesa (2007)

Jennifer Garner in Valentino (2005)

Kate Hudson in Versace (2002)

Kate Winslet in Yves Saint Laurent (2009)

Kim Cattrall in Valentino (2003)

Minnie Driver in Givenchy (1998)

Fashion Websites: Refinery 29

As soon as I'm home from my "real" job and unwinding from the craziness that usually rules my day, I love visiting 3 or 4 (or 24...) different fashion sites/blogs to check out the latest style news, trend reports and beauty tips.  One of the sites I've discovered more recently is Refinery 29 and I'm so impressed with it so far.  It's very unique in the sense that it categorizes its stories by major cities like New York, LA and Miami, but also by topic like Beauty, Fashion and Shopping.  And if you weren't aware, I'm a mega type A personality, so anything that is neatly categorized, I'm instantly in love with.

Today their top stories range from finding a great parka, to celebrity baby news to how to find out what skin type you are.  I definitely recommend checking out Refinery 29!

Mid Winter Blahs

After the buzz of the holiday season, I start to get a case of the mid-winter blahs, like many people do.  Parties are over, the shopping high I'm on goes down as I realize how much I shouldn't have spent, and there are no more public holidays to look forward to until Easter.

How to keep positive?  Well, refocusing on the things that really matter like friends and family is one way.  But how about new hobbies?  I'm starting Zumba classes next week and I'm hoping that it will be a really fun way to release some negative energy and get fit again.  Another way is enjoying the little things in life -a warm cup of tea on a cold day, a call from a friend you haven't caught up with in a while, a mini-victory at work or with your favourite sports team.

What I'm getting at is...beyond all the hype of the holidays, life is still good and I need to learn to appreciate my life more.  I have a wonderful and supportive (though sometimes annoying!) family, great friends who I can count on anytime and a stable paycheque...not to mention the ability to make some amazing choices in life like quit my job and go back to school, take a long European vacation, stay single and mingle every weekend if I wanted to.  I'm so luck to live the life I have, that I'm ashamed when I take it for granted, which I often do.

So, maybe I need to rethink my New Year's resolutions and just focus on appreciating what I have, cause it all comes down to one little statement...

Still Smokin'

News flash:  David Beckham and underwear still a make a great match:

Sigh!  He's the whole "package" isn't he?  Tee-hee.  Couldn't resist!

Beauty Product Alert: Facial Oil

I know it sounds strange, but facial oils are apparently the next by thing according to one of my favourite blogs, Fashionista.  As a woman who has had oily, acne prone skin for most of her life, the thought of putting more oil on my face seems counter productive.  But...the experts say it works and I think I may have found a really great one to try for my combination skin.  I will let you know how it goes when I start using it!

Clarins Lotus Face Treatment Oil

New Year, New Body?

Like 99.9% of women out there, I am forever monitoring my figure.  When the jeans start to fit a little snugly, as they often do after the holidays, I know it's time to be more careful with my diet and start to exercise again (I often fall off the exercise bandwagon...like once a month.  Whoops.).

Life is crazy and demanding already, so I try to look for ways to incorporate changes that don't require a complete overhaul of my routine or preferences.  Here are some of the things I'm going to try to help lose the pounds I put on over the last month or so:

• I love tea but not all teas are created equal.  While green tea is known for it's metabolism boosting properties, I cannot stand the taste of it, so I was happy to hear that peppermint helps with digestion.  I think drinking more peppermint tea instead of the black tea I normally drink will be an easy change to make.  Bonus:  peppermint also helps energize you.

• They say to eat breakfast like a King, lunch like a Prince and dinner like a pauper.  Well, since I'm often famished in the mornings when I wake up and starving by the time noon rolls around, this suits me just fine.  Since protein is so filling, I am going to aim to add more protein to my breakfast in the form of a shake with Vega Whole Food Health Optimizer or even just a boiled egg.  

No I'm not getting paid to promote them but it's from experience.  Vega is amazing.  More info at http://myvega.com/

• Schedule exercise into your weekly planner.  I hate just going to the gym on a treadmill so this is an easy one:  sign up for fun exercise classes and throw them into your iPhone calendar (with reminders!).  You can change things up when you get bored with certain classes because there are so many different options out there.

I start Zumba in less than a week.  Looks like so much fun!

Hopefully these little changes help my body get back to what it was before the holidays.  We will see in a month or so!