Category: Social events

Clothes Swap 2016

I will confess that I didn’t have as much time to plan my annual clothes swap this year as in years past. Proof? I didn’t realize until about a week beforehand that it’s actually my tenth annual swap. Talk about a milestone … and a missed opportunity to go REALLY big. As it was, the theme this time around was on the vague and pulled-together-at-the-last-minute side: Springtime. Well, duh. Still, I would like to think that everything came together nicely in the end.

pastel overload
pastel overload
party snacks
party snacks
nosh station
nosh station
pretty tulips
pretty tulips

My decorations consisted of some IKEA party supplies and flowers from Costco — not exactly the stuff of Pinterest dreams. I did put my growing collection of hobnail/milk glass pieces to good use, which was nice. However, the reality is that a clothing swap is not really about the decor or food … it’s about the clothes, of course. For my part, I traded two extra large bags …

bags o' clothes to go ...
bags o’ clothes to go …

… for a bunch of neat new-to-me pieces. Check it:

Zara peplum blazer
Zara peplum blazer

One of the things I swapped was my navy Talula blazer, and as fate would have it, managed to replace it with an awesome peplum version which fits like a dream.

Milly for Banana Republic dress
Milly for Banana Republic dress

I also got this Milly for BR dress, which had me really excited; I don’t have any plain black dresses (that fit) and this one looked promising. Afterwards, I realized that it’s actually navy, not black. But! It’s still a super cute dress that I’m sure will see a lot of wear.

Nanette Lepore dress
Nanette Lepore dress

This was a dress I thrifted over a year ago, when it was far too small for me. I liked it too much to leave it behind in the store, and ended up passing it on to my friend, Cassie. Well, it came back to me! And now it fits! There’s an old adage about that, I think …

Nine West & Ferragamo shoes
Nine West & Ferragamo shoes

I also got two pairs of shoes. I’m excited to see how these cut-out Nine West pumps will work out — they’re a still I wouldn’t have tried on my own. Cassie decided to pass on her thrifted Ferragamos (!!!) and while they sadly don’t fit me (I tried, repeatedly), they are perfect for my mom. Spread the love, I say.

Last but not least, I picked up a vintage wool cape (with matching skirt that’s impossibly small, sadly) which is quite outside my style comfort zone, but too amazing to pass up. I’ll be wearing it to see the Sherlock Holmes exhibit at the Telus World of Science in a few weeks, and I can’t think of a better occasion to take it out for a spin. Stay tuned for pics.

You can check out past clothing swaps here, here, here, and here.

Ballet Night

Dress, Ted Baker (via consignment); cardigan, Theory; shoes, Bandolino (thrifted); bag, vintage Chanel (via consignment)
Dress, Ted Baker (via consignment); cardigan, Theory; shoes, Bandolino (thrifted); bag, vintage Chanel (via consignment)

I have a *lot* of dresses, which I periodically feel guilty about, but I have decided to embrace my “collector” personality and, rather than pare down, make an effort to cycle through all my pieces more regularly. I love this Ted Baker silk A-line dress, and paired with cream and black, it looked great for a night out with girlfriends. And, oh hey — look, I finally got a decent picture of my newish Alexis Bittar necklace (excuse the cleavage shot).

necklace, Alexis Bittar
necklace, Alexis Bittar

This year, I joined a group of friends and got a season pass to the Alberta ballet. Once a month, we get together, have a nice dinner out then enjoy a show. I haven’t had a lot of time for socializing outside of work in the last 5 years, so this has been a nice change.

Dynamic Directions @ Alberta Ballet
Dynamic Directions @ Alberta Ballet

The Dynamic Directions show was very interesting; there were parts I loved, and parts I didn’t understand at all, but the talent on display was phenomenal. I’m looking forward to next month’s ballet, Romeo & Juliet. I haven’t seen a “traditional” ballet since I was a kid.

girls night out-ing it
girls night out-ing it
black & tan all over
black & tan all over

Work Christmas Party, 2015

Hotel MacDonald, Empire Ballroom
Hotel MacDonald, Empire Ballroom

Merry Christmas Eve, you guys! I hope you are enjoying a lovely time with family and friends tonight … and in the meantime, here’s a look at my office Christmas party this year. Hey, this blog is nothing if not timely, right?

So, this is my 7th Christmas party at my current firm, and the first one that I helped to organize. In case you couldn’t tell from that header photo, this event is kind of a big deal on our office’s social calendar, so organizing it brought back flashbacks of my wedding planning, um, adventures – the good and the bad. Luckily, everything went off without any apparent hitches, and everyone seem to have a good time. The theme this year was Japanese tea garden, by the way. We basically wanted an excuse to use those gorgeous, pink blossom table overlays – and lots of orchids.

chandelier treatment
no one swung from the chandelier 🙁

Oh yeah, I wore stuff:

Dress, Lela Rose for Target (via eBay); belt, Anthropologie; shoes, J. Crew
Dress, Lela Rose for Target (via eBay); belt, Anthropologie; shoes, J. Crew
wearing my grandmother's jewelry
wearing my grandmother’s jewelry

This was also the first year we reserved a hotel room for the night of the party, which meant … that we could finally partay, baby!

no lipstick :(
2 am … hassling the hotel decorations

It was all a lot of fun … until the next morning, when we had to get up early-ish to go home and rescue the grandparents from kidlet duty. C’est la vie. Seize the prosecco, and make merry!