Saturday 29 December 2012

The simplified holiday outfit




Hello everyone! What have your been wearing during this holiday season?

We have been lounging at home a lot, and I have to confess I spent a few days without even changing out of my pyjama. For New Year's Eve and the few days that follow we will back to our usual routine of home parties (breaking with this routine did not work out too well for us last year anyway). Together with the fact that my pregnant belly cannot squeeze into any of my regular clothing, I will alternate between a little black maternity dress I got from Apso Bibi, and a navy blue sequin knit dress I got during one of my recent outing at Club Monaco. If I was not pregnant, however, I would either stick to my usual holiday uniform or get new inspiration from the picture above. Don't you think that such a leopard mood is awfully festive?

P.S. This is the last post of our Simplified holiday series. Time to move on to those New Year's resolutions...


Photo: Fashion Salade.


Wednesday 26 December 2012

On my mind, Boxing Day edition




Hello everyone! Did you shop the Boxing Day sales today?

Boxing Day used to be the big "sales day" in Canada, a sort of Canadian Black Friday. When we moved here, I thought the comparison was quite inappropriate since the selection of sale items was limited, and the markdown low (think 20 to 30 percent off). Because of the economic crisis, Canadian stores now begin their sales well before Christmas (remember this post?) and today they offered, as much as their American counterparts, extra markdowns on sale items. Once again, the latter is low: Holt Renfrew opened its doors at 7 am this morning, and tried to lure in customer with an extra 20 percent off. Other stores were more generous, but if you live in Montreal you should really wait until early January to get a good deal. Alternatively, you can hit the internet -- using Purseblog as guideline.

Aside from the sales, last week my mind has been occupied by the holidays, and preparation thereof.... but surprisingly by traveling as well. This is the first year that we have spent Christmas without family and without any household help, so that thoughts of a holiday escape kept popping in my head. My perfect one? The Mt Washington Hotel and Resort, and its child-size gingerbread house (pictured above, via Yolanda). We have been to the hotel in other occasions, and it has always been my dream to go back for Christmas. Maybe next year...


Let's talk Thermomix




Hello everyone! Have you ever heard of Thermomix?

Had you asked me a couple of years ago, I would have been as clueless as probably most of you are right now. Then, my Italian fashion coach, mother-of-two best friend introduced me to it. I remember it was around Carnival and she emailed me that she had made "chiacchiere", an incredibly complicated pastry typical of the carnival season. Since she had just quit her job to be a stay-at-home mom, I joked about how she was putting her newly found spare time to the best use. No, she replied, the Thermomix made the dish. I had no idea what she was talking about.

A few weeks later I went to Italy to visit my family and she invited me and my son for dinner to demonstrate the Thermomix's abilities. Think a bread machine on steroids -- that is, which can cook anything from liqueurs to bread to first and second courses, desserts and more. Most of all, it works by itself, so that you can go and do other stuff in the meantime (read: giving the kids a bath).

When we moved to Italy last year, my mom got one for us as a gift. We ended up not using it much, because my mom did most of the cooking. I knew it was going to be a life saver when we came back to Canada though. As soon as I recovered my fonctional abilities towards the end of the summer, I went searching for the right power converter. The holy-graal-look-a-like-search led me to a shady electric store on the Plateau, where I got what I needed for 100$. Since then, the Thermomix has indeed become my best friend in the kitchen, especially right now during the holidays. Making lasagna for Christmas had never been easier. And did I say its original calling was to make baby purees? I cannot wait to try making those...


Sunday 23 December 2012

Pregnancy Style Diary, week 30 | Old habits die hard




Hello everyone! Did you remember how I thought I had to discontinue pants for the remainder of my pregnancy?

As a pant lover, and a practical person, I just could not do it. Temperatures can be very low in January, and I just did not see myself venturing outside with just a pair to stockings. This is why today I took a trip far out of town to charming Pointe-Claire (not the mall, the actual village) and checked out Mama Mia Maternité. (My official excuse was that in the nearby mall I could stock up on the Belgian chocolates my husband loves, and add a few mugs to my holiday collection of dinnerware by Villeroy & Boch).

Mama Mia is the maternity store I liked the most so far (you may remember I am not a big fan of the category). The price point is just right, and the store is the only one in Montreal to carry the British brand Seraphine, which fits exactly my taste: simple, subdued, and classy. I picked up a beautiful and extra-comfortable grey ruched tee as well as a grey ruched dress adorned with three pearl buttons in the back. I also found a black pair of skinny pants for only 35$ on sale! The drive exhausted me, but I went home happy.

P.S. Click here for more posts in the "What I wore through my pregnancy" series.


Saturday 22 December 2012

The simplified holiday party




Hello everyone! Planning a lot of parties this holiday season?

More and more moms, from Joanna to Raleigh-Elizabeth, seem to embrace a simplified approach to holiday entertaining.

For Italians, the Christmas season is all about the food: serving a delicious, homemade, eight-course meal, washed down with the appropriate wine selection. My mom always used to throw a big Christmas Eve dinner that was exactly that -- yet I could not catch more than a glimpse of her behind the kitchen door in these occasions.

Food remains an important part of my own holiday tradition, and I could not bring myself to just eat soup on Christmas Eve, but I simplify in other ways. At all our parties, we serve two types of tartines: salmon and shrimp cocktail. If I am pressed for time, I throw a cocktail party (rather than a formal dinner) and I order sushi. I also keep a couple of panettoni in the house for unexpected holiday visitors.

This is thus my advice: identify what is important to you, and stick to it. We are all busy. We all need a break. The best gift we can give to ourselves, and our families, is to cut ourselves some slack.

P.S. You can find more posts of our Simplified holiday series here.


Photo: Smart woman.


Friday 21 December 2012

It felt like Saturday, and not in a good way




Hello everyone! Are you ready for the holidays?

Today it was my son's first day off school. I was looking forward to it for one main reason: we did not have to wake up and be out of the house by the 7:30 am. I did not have to make sure his uniform was clean and his sport clothes were packed in his backpack. I did not have to remember his lunchbox while hurrying out of the house.

Although I have tried to keep things as simple as possible for Christmas, I dreaded today because I feel there is so much to do during the holiday period (including getting the baby stuff ready before January madness hits), and so little time. Yes, in an ideal world we could all hang out, not get stressed out too much if we watch one more movie or if we play half an hour extra on the Wii. In this same world, Santa's elves would clean the house, do the laundry, and cook two healthy meals per day for all of us. The reality is that we all need some relax time, and Santa's elves are not around. This is why today ended up feeling like every other Saturday, the beginning of yet another marathon weekend... How do you deal with holiday stress? I'd love to hear.


Image: PeaceLovePaleo.


Thursday 20 December 2012

To bag or not to bag







Hello everyone! Do you own a camera bag?

Whether you are a mom, a blogger, or both like me, chances are you own at least a camera. If it is a compact, you probably carry it around in your regular handbag without a problem. If it is a full size (whether a Reflex or a mirrorless one, like the one I purchased last year), fitting it into your handbag maybe more of an issue, even without considering extra lenses or other accessories.

This is why I am always tempted to get a proper camera bag. It is not that there are no stylish options out there, like the ones pictured at the top of this post (Ona's Palma shoulder bagLoeffer Randall's fringe shooter bag, via Erica; and Style Scrapbook for Kipling, available through Yoox). For me the issue is more that I am not sure I would want to carry around two bags -- my regular handbag and a camera bag -- or even three, if one includes a diaper bag in this count. So I keep lusting over these options, and in my wildest dreams I can afford one of Proenza Schouler's camera bags from SS12.


Wednesday 19 December 2012

All roads lead to Zara




Hello everyone! Are you a fan of Zara?

I have mixed feelings about it. Generally, I find it too time consuming to sift through its huge inventory -- even when I tried to follow Garance's tips. Yet I admit that Zara saved me at the beginning of this pregnancy when maternity wear failed me, and that I am always strangely drawn to its accessory line.

This is why, now that I had to retire my maternity pants, I went back to Zara to search for sweater dresses (I admit it, I could not wait until January). Success! Two pairs of shoes came home with me as well, and I am particularly in love with the studded tweed slippers pictured above.


Present management




Hello everyone! How do you handle presents from out-of-town relatives?

For the first time this year, we will celebrate the holidays without either my parents or my in-laws. They have all mailed us presents, however, which brought upon us the dilemma: how should we give these presents to my son without spoiling his belief in Santa? Should we perhaps give them to him before Christmas, or maybe after? We are afraid that in either case this "spread" of presents will take his attention away from Christmas itself. Therefore we opted for putting them under the Christmas tree, indicating that they are from his grandparents, but that he will not be able to open them until Christmas Day. He tried to convince us to open just one, but in the end gave up. Later on we just caught him cutely sorting through them, to put his own presents all on one side...


Tuesday 18 December 2012

Memories from my birthday









Hello everyone! I hope you had a better week than last one, although I think that we will bear the memory of the tragic events in Newton for much, much longer.

I realized that amidst general holiday craziness I have not yet had the time to share with you what I did on my birthday last Monday. I got flowers from my parents in Italy. I got a new handbag as a present from my husband and son -- the studded version of the classic Michael Kors one, which I had had my eyes on for a while and I was able to get with a good deal during the post-Thanksgiving sales. My best friend in Montreal baked me pink frosted cupcakes (and there is no pictures to prove it because they went as fast as you can say happy birthday). My husband ended up staying at home and we went to see a grown-up movie, for once, something that we had not done in... well, I do not even remember how long. When we came home, a lot of orders I had placed online arrived at the same time, including this phenomenal pair of O Jour kitten heels and Blumarine hat. We finished with a family dinner at my favorite restaurant in Montreal, the Brasserie Centrale, where I toasted with my new signature drink, the rigorously virgin Shirley Temple.

I was blessed to spend the following day with my one of my best friends from college, who was in town for an interview and extended her stay to take me out for lunch. She was also my US courier, and brought over the items from the NM + Target collection I had ordered a few weeks ago. They were all I expected for, and this collaboration totally gets my thumb up.


Monday 17 December 2012

On my mind



Hello everyone!

I hope you had a wonderful week. I have been busy with holiday preparations, especially organizing shipping of gifts overseas in time for Christmas. Did you check out our Simplified holiday series? There are still a few posts to come (including one about what you should ask Santa), so stay tuned! With all this, not many other things have been on my mind this week...



This shot, one of the many by Yvonne Koné that I love (you can see the others on 



A friendship, in shoes (via Paula). And missing dear friends.



The newly-released series of photographs from the 1949 collaboration between Pablo Picasso 
and Gjon Mill (the pioneer of stroboscopic light in photography) by Time magazine.


Sunday 16 December 2012

Inheriting fashion




Hello everyone! Has any piece in your closet been passed down to your from your mom?

The Chanel jacket that Andi is wearing in the picture above it's her mom's, and I love the young and modern spin she gave to the piece. Back in the 70s, my mom also loved designer clothing. A few years ago she gave a selection of Valentino dresses and tops to die for. The only problem? When she was my age she was one size bigger than mine, so that I have never been able to wear any of these pieces. They are still hanging in my closet, waiting for me to make a decision about what to do with them. What do you think? Should I keep them? Try to sell them on eBay?

Photo: Garance Doré.


Saturday 15 December 2012

Pregnancy Style Diary, week 29 | Maternity pants are out




Hello everyone! Did you wear pants until the end of your pregnancy?

I honestly do not remember what happened during my first pregnancy, as in general I have little recollection of what I wore then -- just a general feeling of discomfort and bad clothing.

This time around, I am paying more attention to my pregnancy style, and so far I thought I was overall doing pretty well in spite of (many) ups and downs. Just three weeks ago I had stocked up in few basics  that I believed were going to make me sail through the end of my last trimester. Wasn't I mistaken. In the past few days, I had to retire the two pairs of maternity pants in the lot. The thing is (or so I think) that I am carrying quite low, so the maternity band keeps sliding off my belly and hurts when I am sitting down, especially if I am driving.

I will not begin to tell you how upset I am about it as I am not sure that just buying yet again a larger pants' size would fix the problem for very long. My plan is thus to hold on until early January, when hopefully I will be able to score a couple of sweater dresses at good prize with the after-Christmas sales. Let's hope this time they will last longer than three weeks...

P.S. I think that there is definitely nothing to celebrate about this latest twist in pregnancy wardrobe, but I fell in love with the cupcake topper picture above (via Pink Cake Box). Wouldn't it be perfect for a baby shower?

P.P.S. Click here for more posts in the "What I wore through my pregnancy" series.


Friday 14 December 2012

Love the place you shop: Club Monaco






Hello everyone! Remember how I was searching for good-quality knits that could accommodate my bulging belly?

Today I decided to try one of my favourite stores for knitwear: Club Monaco. I was not disappointed! Although Club Monaco can be quite expensive compared to other chains such as Banana Republic or Ann Taylor, I think that it carries the best knitwear. I am especially a fan of their merino wool sweaters, who never pile and last forever.

This time I paid more attention to sweater dresses, and there was such a great selection to choose from! I went home with a navy blue sequined dress to wear for Christmas and New Year's Eve, with a chunky cream sweater for lounging at home or going holiday shopping, and with two white silk tees for layering. I also could not resist the temptation of the Erickson Beamon for Club Monaco collection. Don't you think this cocktail ring is stunning? There was so much more I had my eyes on though... maybe I will make one more trip :)

P.S. As you may have noticed from this post's title, I let myself be inspired by Gabrielle's successful "Love the place you live" series to start this "Love the place you shop" series. I have been thinking about it since this blog's first anniversary. Then I had asked a few mom friends what kind of information they thought this blog was missing. My Canadian friends all said the same thing: information about where best to shop. I can relate to that: not being from Montreal, I find it difficult to find the right stuff, especially at good prices. Compared to the US, where I lived for ten years, shopping in Montreal is less standardized -- more boutiques, less malls, less department stores, virtually no internet shopping (in fact, if you live in Quebec you cannot even have access to Club Monaco's website above!). Boutiques often carry an eclectic mix of brands with very limited inventory. Hence the idea for this series. I hope fashionable moms in Canada and elsewhere will find it a useful resource, and I am looking forward for you to share your favorite shopping spots!



Thursday 13 December 2012

The simplified gift guide: For everyone (yes, even the kids!)



 


Hello everyone! Do you still have doubts about what gifts to get for the last person on your list?

In case my previous suggestions for the hostess, the grandparents, your hubby, and the kids have not helped, I have a few more tips that I hope will.

Give something of a kind, like the arrow bracelet by Worhorse Jewerly pictured above.

Give the gift of art. You can start with a great selection here (my favourite is the Silhouette above).

Give something that gives back. You can start with these suggestions or head over to the Gilt (RED) Shop at Gilt, which has great items such as the bag above.

A good book is always in fashion! This one has received raving reviews -- and it is on my list as well.

P.S. You can find more posts of our Simplified holiday series here.


The simplified holiday decor









Hello everyone! Have you already decorated your home for Christmas?

With 12 days left, and holiday decorations on sale and selling out fast, if your home is still unadorned I hope that these tips will help. I love decorating, especially for Christmas. It was a big family tradition when I was still leaving with my parents, and I proudly continued it even after I moved into my own space. All these spaces were apartments though. When we moved into our first townhouse three years ago I discovered the challenges of decorating a big space.

To keep it manageable, I decided to keep it simple: we (obviously) decorate one big tree in the living room, and I then add festive touches in multiples places. Since what is festive to me are lights and shiny ornaments, I scatter them around the house. I do not do a theme, but I stick to a color scheme that fits within our existing home decor, so that I do not have to put away all our regular stuff to make space for Christmas decor. This year's novelty is that my son wanted to decorate a smaller tree in his room -- which brought back to my mind last year's discussion about how how many trees you decorate.

How about you? Do you choose a theme? Decorate multiple trees? Go the whole 9 yards with Christmas decor, or keep it simple like me? I'd love to hear.

P.S. You can find more posts of our Simplified holiday series here.



Wednesday 12 December 2012

The simplified gift guide: For the kids









Hello everyone! What do you think are the best children's gifts?

My husband and I have this discussion every year. Although my son's letter to Santa is a mile long, how many Lego sets can one have after all? We thus always try to strike a balance between what he asked for, and what we think he'd like.

In my view the best children's gifts involve experiences, so that these are my top five choices (sorry, I could not keep it to less than this number! Christmas is for kids, right?).

The Silver Spoon for Children. The Italian cooking book The Silver Spoon is the timeless classic equivalent of the American Joy of Cooking. A few years ago a stumbled upon The Silver Spoon for children, and it has been my son's favourite book ever since, because of its appealing recipes (who does not like pizza?) and its great illustrations.

Party costumes. Because playing dress up is never out of season, or out of style.

A tent or a tepee. Last summer I bought an IKEA circus tent for my son, and I was surprised by how much he has been using it. It has become his favourite reading spot, drawing factory, and hangout when friends come to visit. (I would have liked to get this tent by Restoration Hardware, but it cannot be shipped to Canada).

A super-cool backpack. With a few exceptions, boys do not like to get clothes as gift. Nonetheless, I have never seen my son getting as excited as for this Madpax backpack, which apparently started a craze at his preschool...

Something that can be enjoyed with the whole family. This can be a new board game (my son is a lot into Lego, so we are thinking about Creationary this year), a new sport accessory (for instance, a sled such as this one, if it is climate-appropriate for the place where you live), or even the new Wii U (Gabrielle has done a great review a few days ago).

P.S. You can find more posts of our Simplified holiday series here.


Monday 10 December 2012

The not-so-much rain boot




Hello again everyone! Did you read yesterday's post about being stylish in the cold?

As I mentioned then, temperatures here in Montreal have been quite mild. Today, however, the weather has officially decided to go full-scale wacko, so we had snow last night, rain and pus temperatures in the morning, freezing rain and almost -10 degrees Celsius about now, and we expect this yoyo to continue through the rest of the week.

For me, this means that my new winter Pajar boots and their fur lining are quite an overkill at the moment. I thus took advantage of a quick morning trip downtown to check out rain boots. Of course I already own a pair. It is a moss green pair with pink flamingos that I bought about eight years ago at J Crew. Of course I would never wear it to go anywhere but in my back garden.

Rain boots, let's face it, are ugly. Even the Jimmy Choo for Hunter collaboration a few years ago did not produce, in my view, a stylish pair, in spite of the price tag. What I have always been looking for is a pair of rain boots that does not look like they are made of rubber in spite of being waterproof, and that has a narrow, flattering toeline. Enter Däv. If you are not convinced by how great these completely waterproof boots look in the picture, or by their ultra soft fleece lining (because, to tell you the truth, wellies suck also because they keep your feet frozen), check out their price tag... This morning I scored a phenomenal pair of black moto boots for 65 CAD, and it wasn't even a sale.

P.S. If you are looking for good deals on winter designer boots, you may want to check out today's special over at the Outnet.


The simplified gift guide: Hubby dearest


            


Hello everyone! Do you think it is easy or difficult to get presents for your hubby?

I find it quite hard not to fall into the sweater-or-tie trap, or to be inventive if I decide to go down that road. In the past few years my husband has made my life easy, because he has asked me for a specific thing he really wanted, and I could make a surprise out of the other ones. This is thus my best advice: listen to the hints (or out loud requests) that your hubby may drop along the way. If he is not a man of many words, however, read on.

I did a small survey of my hubby and a few of my friends' hubbies, and the consensus is: do not go for the sweater (or the clothing, ever*), and stick to their hobbies. Big plus if the hobby-related gift is an activity that hubby can do with the kids, because the top New Year's resolution of all worked-out dads is to spend more time with them. My best guy friend expanded a bit and suggested one of the three foolproof gifts that follow: booze (weather a good bottle of Scotch or Port wine), a watch (don't you love the Moschino one pictured above?), or the newest gadget (this year, definitely the iPad mini, that I even considered for myself -- more on this later). I am sold to this list because at least one of these gifts would make happy most of the guys I know. I hope you are too!

* I am sure that, had I asked to the husband of my mother-of-two Italian best friend, the answer would have been different, because Italian guys love their clothing...

P.S. You can find more posts of our Simplified holiday series here.


Sunday 9 December 2012

How to be stylish in the cold




Hello everyone! Do you have a strategy to keep stylish in the cold?

The weather in Montreal has been uncharacteristically mild so far. We have had a spout of snow ten days ago, but since then temperatures have lingered around zero degrees Celsius. We all know that harsher temperatures are coming tough, and one the main conversation topics around this time of the year is how to keep stylish in the cold. Some people focus on layering coordinated pieces. I am not very good at layering, so I adopt a different strategy. I focus on the puffer + winter boot combo, because they are the two main things people see when you are walking around town in winter.

Keeping with the goal of avoiding the "arctic expedition look", for the puffer I look for a down- or feather-filled garment that hits slightly above or below the knee and that is not too puffy, so that I can layer a thick sweater or cardi-coat underneath if the temperature dips below -10 degrees Celsius (yes, in winter we do get a couple of weeks of this weather, believe it or not). A big plus for me is also a detachable hood. Last year, as you may remember, I finally got  Max Mara's Cube, and I am looking forward to fit back into it next winter after I shed the baby weight. As an alternative I had considered Moncler, which in Italy is pricier than Max Mara though. In Canada, you can buy either one at Holt Renfrew, but unfortunately you should expect to pay an insane price (around 1500 CAD or more). For Canadian fashionable moms, the line of Michael by Michael Kors (sold at Ogilvy in Montreal for about 500 CAD) offers the best price-quality ratio and numerous styles to choose from.

The boots are a slightly trickier choice than the puffer, because they are supposed to fit nicely with the latter, but also to be stylish as a stand-alone item if you are not changing your shoes once at your destination (for instance, if you are just going our for a lunch with your girlfriends). The other key issue to consider is that the boots should be waterproof -- UGG suede boots, for instance, can be beautiful, but will fall apart if they come in contact with water or salt. Since moving to Canada six years ago, I have tried many different types of boots. The four main lessons I learnt are the following. First, tall boots are the most versatile, because they can be worn with skirts and dresses, or be tucked in nicely in skinny pants. Second, heels during winter can be a hazard (especially if the ground freezes and street walks are not often cleaned, as it happens in Montreal), so better to stick with flat boots, or low-heels. Third, prefer dark colors, such as black or deep brown, which mask dirt best. Fourth, after ski boots should be kept for the activity they are meant for, and not be worn on a daily basis. As for the best brands, I can now vouch for two Canadian ones: La Canadienne and Pajar (Tecnica is another great brand, but quite difficult to find in Canada). My favourite style from La Canadienne this season is the Tami boot pictured above. At 525$ (excluding tax) it is a bit pricey tough, so I recently restocked on an old favourite by taking advantage of the sales: Pajar's Natasha boots, which was under 200$. At this price, I  may be able to get another pair of boots with the after-Christmas sales...

How about you? I'd love to hear what is your strategy to keep stylish in the cold!


Photo: La Canadienne Fall 2012 ad campaign, via Pop Champagne Blog.


On my mind



Hello everyone! Did you have a good weekend?

We checked a few things off our list of Christmas-related activities, including watching the movie "Rise of the Guardians", which we all enjoyed a lot (I totally recommend it!).  Holiday preparations have not been the only thing on my mind this week though...



How to keep things simple for the holidays (check out our new series!)



Two quotes: the one picture above (via Design Mom), and another great one that came
(of all places) from the Baileys commercial: 
"Be a girl with a mind, a woman with attitude, and a lady with class."



Alexander Wang at Balenciaga! (You can follow the speculations about how 
the bags will look like over at Purseblog)



Newly-launched Dulkynis Davis leather line, especially the leather-cuff tee pictures above (via Paula).
I just hope it becomes available online soon, with international shipping options...



Phillip Lim's (via All Things Stylish), which I had the chance to check out yesterday at my local TNT store. After years of indecision, I am totally getting it for going back to work post-baby!


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