Alicia, Author at Alicia Fashionista

Featured Style

ASOS Farleigh Mom Jeans

October 6, 2017

I bought jeans online and lived to tell the tale.

Pairs of the Farleigh Mom Jeans have been on my ASOS wishlist for months. I first saw them on Sydney and they suit her so well, I felt like I might have to have them as well. Our vast difference is size was a deterrent, but I did some research online and decided to finally put them in the cart and checked the hell out. We all know I love a good mom jean!

I do like the jeans. They’re tight in a breathable, but sucks-everything-in kind of way. They especially hug the behind and lift in all the right places. The wash is great, the high waist is exactly how I like it and despite my indecisiveness when it came to size (I am anywhere from a 29-31 depending on the denim), the 30×32 seem like the right choice. The quality is a bit of a disappointment. At $65, they don’t seem to break the bank, but I was slammed with customs charges on this entire order and basically could have got another pair of jeans for the amount of extra money I paid. Look at the knees, they’re completely bagged out after just two wears!

Even at that original price, these jeans also arrived with a snag on the back that literally seem like they will inevitably just split on me one day. Which, is like denim Russian roulette. I kind of like the slight danger of it all, but don’t actually want to have to deal with the embarrassment that comes along with completely splitting your pants across the derriere.

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Featured Home Life

5 Helpful Things Every Dog Owner Needs

October 4, 2017

Okay, these aren’t necessities, but I’m pawsitive you’ll love them!

Hey guys, Alicia here with yet another post about our pup. What can I say? It’s Reggie’s world and we just live in it.

Everyone knows the list of basics that you need when you get a dog like a collar, leash, harness, dog tag, food/water dishes, comfy bed, treats, etc. But, there’s a few things we’ve acquired over the past year that aren’t necessarily top of mind, but have been super helpful day to day. Adam and I worked together on this one, but that turned it into quite the random list. Hope you enjoy!

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Featured Style

Updating A Classic Combo

October 3, 2017

Taking a striped tee, denim, and a trench coat into Fall 2017!

Getting a lot of wear out of clothing is more important to me than ever. I am STILL in the midst of streamlining and cutting down my wardrobe, and let me tell you, this process is incredibly eye opening. I have far too many pieces that shouldn’t have been purchased in the first place. At this point in my life, I’m finally getting a grasp of what I actually get the most wear out of and coming to terms with the fact that comfort plays a major role in that.

I wanted to create a look with some older timeless pieces and update them with a couple trends. The starting point was a striped long sleeve t-shirt, skinny jeans, and my classic trench coat. I always like to rock a trench as much as possible in the spring and autumn, because there’s such a small window of time for it! Added a matching black cross body bag and my Daniel Wellington watch, but wanted to add a little pop of colour as well.

I’d picked up these orangey-red mules in Bellevue a few weekends ago and am so happy I did! They’re a great shoe for this seasonal transition and who doesn’t love a good slider? The ultimate footwear choice for running out the door! It happened to be raining on and off on this particular day, so I also opted for a hat. This Baker Boy cap is absolutely my new favourite! It goes with so much and is a welcome change from my fedoras. I still love my large brim hats, but it’s great to mix it up!

How do you like to remix your fall staples? Would love to know in the comments below! Or not, that’s cool too 😉

Featured Style

First Day Of Fall

September 22, 2017

Ohmygod, fall is, like, my favourite season.

I love this time of year and I legit don’t care how basic that makes me. At this point in my life, I’m at peace with my basic tendencies. Not only is this the official kickoff of my favourite season, but it was on this day, 4 years ago, that Adam proposed! And though Adam planned a simple and lovely proposal, I am a hundred percent sure the fact that it was also the first day of fall was a coincidence. I mean bless, but there’s no way he planned that out, the universe was just gifting him with that one!

In my autumn spending spree, I found this gorgeous golden brown chunky knit sweater at Aritzia. It’s really comfortable and I love how the cut of it makes tucking it into jeans an option, which I never really thought I’d have the ability to do. Miracles can happen, people, you just need the right sweater and mom jeans! I thought I had dressing for the weather figured out with a warm sweater and cool sandals, but jokes on me because the weather is all over the place and I ended up majorly overheating in this. I think this outfit would have been a perfect ‘fall transition’ combo if I’d layered a t-shirt underneath. That way, when the sun came out, I could have ditched the sweater and been a LOT more comfortable! As Alanis said, you live, you learn.

Happy Friday, you crazy kids!

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Featured Style

Done Is Better Than Perfect

September 20, 2017

What’s Up, Where Ya Been?

Shoot guys, I have been suffering from the craziest case of writer’s block. Exhibit A, I have deleted and re-written that basic opening sentence a handful of times. This..is..so..frustrating. It’s that much more difficult to go through the ebb and flow of creative inspiration when you need to be writing every day! As these pauses usually go, I have thankfully been planning for the next few months and shooting a ton of content. Though I can’t seem to produce a final product, I’ve been full of ideas and everything has turned into a rapidly growing list of partially completed draft posts. Which, hopefully will equal a consistent delivery of content like I’ve always wanted to do.

I’ve done a lot of research about perfection/analysis paralysis lately and it’s honestly something I’ve suffered from it for as long as I can remember. Fuelled by overthinking and anxiety, I start convincing myself that if it’s not unattainably “perfect” then I can’t even start or publish what I have actually done. Can sure be crippling when you’re a one woman show! What do you do to spark creativity and/or work past a perfectionist standard?

I keep repeating the mantra, “Done is better than perfect!”

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Featured Life

A Year With Reggie

September 5, 2017

Happy Adoptiversary, Reggie Boo!

We’ve just returned from a long weekend camping adventure, our first as a family of three. Reggie earned the nickname BBQ Bill after jumping onto a picnic table to consume an entire plate of unoccupied meatballs. He’s spent today, his makeshift birthday, in various positions trying to find comfort in his meat sweats. Nothing like breaking his strict raw food diet with spicy meatballs. He’s paying for it though, and perhaps even feels a hint of remorse. Just a hint.

It was on this day, one year ago, that we raced home from our last weekend of freedom to get the apartment puppy ready. We spent the afternoon picking up a crate and tidying the place up, as the foster was going to drop him off later in the afternoon. She left us some provisions and this little scruff ball of cuteness. It was such an ordinary day, made extraordinary by the arrival of the third member of our little family.

All photos by Jenna Hill Photography

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Featured Style Vancouver

Rolling Into September with Lochside Cycles

September 1, 2017

Building up my confidence on these two wheels!

I’ve been in the throes of our bedroom makeover as we approach the big reveal day. As most room refreshes go, things had to get really chaotic before they could get better, which was tough. Our entire bedroom was in our living/dining room, and for a hot minute, we had double of all our bedroom furniture. Once we sold everything (to really great homes, loved how delightful everyone who bought stuff was) and were able to switch things around, everything is really coming together and it already feels like an entire new space.

When the dust settled and we cleared out living room clutter, my beautiful Lochside bike was calling my name (I love it so much that I don’t trust storing it in our building’s bike room, so it lives in our apartment rn lol). I’m so sad that I didn’t feature this beauty sooner, so please stick around while I give these guys some major love.

Lochside Cycles is a local company, started by two brothers based out of Victoria. They just love cycling and wanted to get more people out there on bikes! They’d always tinkered around with customizing their own wheels, and ended up creating what is now Lochside Cycles, names after the local bike trail they grew up riding. They saw room in the local market for minimal, stylish, yet functional bikes, and they’ve really created such a gorgeous collection. With attainability in mind, they also somehow keep the prices reasonable so that occasional riders, like myself, still find their offerings accessible.

What I ended up with was the Uptown Bike. It’s a 5-Speed with internal gears for easy shifting, and quite perfect for my city cruising. I was really great in July for going out for short rides to help build up my biking skills, but I really let that go this past month while I was in project mode. I am dedicating September to more rides! The final goal is to be able to cycle to the office in Gastown, and to nearby errands. I even bought a front basket with this goal in mind. I can’t wait to be a confident badass biker out there in those Vancouver bike lanes!

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Featured Travel

Chicago Travel Diary

August 31, 2017

This is the story of our first trip to Chicago, Illinois.

Adam’s youngest brother, Ben, and his fiancé Anya were in a long distance relationship for, well, ever. In fact, it isn’t since their Michigan days (M Go Blue!) that they’ve really been in the same place for an extended period of time. Which, is really crazy when I think about that timeline. It has been so inspiring watching them stay patient and supportive while they each pursue their dreams. And after so much waiting, they have finally settled down in the same zip code. In the same apartment! Of course we’d still see them when they’d come to Vancouver, or we’ve met up on family trips over the years, but it wasn’t until we were planning Chicago, that Adam and I realized we’d not paid them a real visit for quite a few years. This trip was bound to be massive amounts of fun.

The flights there were very easy. We left on a Thursday morning and flew West Jet to Calgary and then on to Chicago, with a late afternoon arrival. And since it was rush hour, Ben suggested we take the train into the city, which was a hundred percent the better option. We got off at a downtown stop and caught a ten minute cab to their Streeterville apartment. Which is probably the most amazing apartment I’ve ever step foot in! Their elevator doesn’t even have buttons, you just scan your fob and it takes you to your floor…technology is crazy! Anya has gorgeous design taste, so the place was immaculately decorated and the golden evening light was pouring through the floor to ceiling window, and just when I thought it was all too perfect, the doorbell rang and it was a freaking Lou Malnatis Pizza delivery guy! Those 2 had the genius idea for us to enjoy our inaugural deep dish pizza experience on the patio, with bubbly to celebrate us all finally hanging out in Chicago. Talk about a warm welcome! Anya ordered a thin crust as well, and I have to say that I actually preferred it. I am happy we tried deep dish though, wouldn’t have been the same otherwise.

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Featured Style

Seeing Stars

August 24, 2017

Life is in cosmic chaos ✨

Anyone else feeling like Mercury Retrograde is out of control right now? I don’t know if it was the combination with the eclipse or what, but this madness needs to end soon. From a tragedy, to communication breakdowns, emotional outbursts, scheduling mixups, and my phone suddenly being on the fritz at random, everything is just…off. I think we still have one more week of this round of mercury retrograde, so let’s just hope it’s not as powerful as the first half. Don’t know if our household would be able to handle it!

What this means, is that it was only fitting that this is when I’d first rock my Seeing Stars Playsuit from MACCS! How cute is that star pattern and those shoulder ruffles? Love how comfy and fun this little number is. If you’re curious, it’s true to size. I’m wearing a large, and did add a snap closure to the front in order to comfortable contain everything (just a personal preference). This playsuit is the perfect piece to wear into September with a hat, denim jacket, and black booties. Ahh, cannot wait for fall!

Speaking of which, I’ve been doing quite the fall style haul and thinking it needs to be made into a post and video! Are there any stores in particular you’d love to see items from? I went a bit mad in Zara the other day, and also have some goodies from Gentle Fawn, but more could be added for sure. Let me know in the comments below if there’s something you’d like to see in terms of fall trends/styling, or a store you’ve got a massive wishlist at.

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