Blue Fit & Flare Dress, Gap c/o
Sunglasses, Forever 21
Shoes, Vintage
Marina Tote, Michael by Michael Kors
Leopard Belt, Plum
Watch, Marc by Marc Jacobs
Bracelets, J.Crew
There’s a new essential LBD in town – the little BLUE dress, of course! Never thought somethings as simple as tossing on a cobalt blue frock would get me as many compliments as it does. Shows you the power of a great colour and perfectly cut piece! The flattering fit and flare shape easily transitions this number from work to play, which is ideal for days when I have an event to run to from the office. It has come in super handy this week too, we’ve been experience the most glorious heatwave. Makes me so excited for summer in the city 🙂
This is me finally blogging some of my favourite days ever – a year later. Â These South of France photos simply cannot waste away on my computer any longer. Â I had to share them with you because they’re just so delicious I want to jump back into these moments and never come back!
As you might remember, we were staying in Antibes, which is just past Cannes and right before Nice via train. Â The perfect distance to venture out on a day trip! Â We walked everywhere, soaking in the sights and sounds of the popular city. Â I loved the Mediterranean influence in a lot of the architecture, as well as the dreamy pastels and pops of flora. Â There are moments of perfect symmetry and then beautifully stacked organized chaos. Â We wandered Old Town and hit the usual touristy sights like the Promenade des Anglais and enjoyed breathtaking views from the Bellinda Tower at La Colline du Chateau. Â We had a break for coffee and then another break later on for wine and appies. Â Because you know, living the dream life is exhausting, right? Â We did a bit of shopping and lots of people watching. Â We ate dinner at a mediocre touristy restaurant because we were having one of those indecisive moments AND being a vegetarian in a place like France is a real nightmare. Â It was still a great meal, and as we were paying our bill I looked up and saw that the sky was positively on fire. Â The sunset was something I cannot even describe to you. Â Buzzing from our wine, we ran as fast as we could back to the Bellinda Tower, laughing and stumbling along the way. Â We managed to climb all those steps once again to the top and captured the sunset over Nice, as night fell over the city.
Read more from our France adventures here, here, oh, and here.
For the last few years, I let my health become last priority. There was no time for exercise because I had client work to do. I couldn’t eat healthy because chocolate existed. Adam and I would rarely eat at home and when we did, it was a rotation of the same 5 bland meals. We’d buy the exact same groceries and any time we’d find a sliver of motivation to buy an excess of produce, we’d end up throwing most of it away. I was tired, I was lazy, and I was stuck in a terrible rut. It was honestly really scary. I’m supposed to be in my prime, not huffing and puffing after climbing a few flights of stairs. I knew I needed to change things, but I was in a lot of denial.
That’s why I needed to take a week. I hated not blogging for so long and there were many days that I really missed it, but starting the challenge meant that I needed to pause this for a moment and search for that magical unattainable unicorn called balance. Suddenly making time for things like meal prep, grocery shops, exercising, and even more frequently washing my hair was no easy task. There were a lot of top knots happening last week. But, the Whole Life Challenge was exactly what I needed. We’re only 10 days in, but I already feel absolutely amazing. Eating clean is something I NEVER thought I could do, but it’s actually really, really easy. Exercise is and always will be a struggle, but I’m finding ways that work for me. It’s going to be a tough journey, but I already see and feel results. I wore this same skirt just a few weeks ago and it’s already a little looser on me. Which, it just a testament to how many unnecessary calories I must have been consuming prior to WLC – eek!
The challenge certainly didn’t stop us from celebrating our moms yesterday. With Flower Factory bouquets in hand, we met up with our families for delicious wine and appies at Van Urban Winery. It was such a blast, and I don’t think I need to write a speech to say how thankful I am for my mama. Plus, I have a pretty awesome mother-in-law to be. She raised her boys right! Anyway, hope you all were able to send lots of love to your moms yesterday. Thanks for sticking around while I took a mini break, y’all are simply the best.
It was recently discovered that two of my best girlfriends and I haven’t ever gone on a girl’s trip together. It was also pointed out that two of us have never been to Vegas before. The math was simple and we’re booking a weekend away in July in Sin City. I seriously can’t wait, but it’s definitely been on my mind about whipping myself back into shape beforehand. I’ll also probably have to start dress shopping this summer and I want to feel my best in a white dress!
Segue to yesterday when my studio mate Bethany and I impulsively joined the Whole Life Challenge. I love that their basis is “taking small steps outside your comfort zone, but taking them everyday”. I need something to help kick my butt into gear! I’m happy to not be cutting my favourite foods out completely, but rather be drastically limiting how often I consume them. Have you ever done a similar challenge? If so, I’m accepting any tips because it’s going to be a tough couple of months, but I’m just crossing my fingers that it’ll make all the difference! High fives for early summer workout motivation 🙂
When people find out about this site, a few of the same questions usually come up. When did I begin aliciafashionista.com? Why did I start a blog? How did I build an audience? How do you curl your hair? Can you come shopping with me? Etc.
To be perfectly honest with you, I don’t know why this all began 6 years ago. On a rainy Sunday evening in April 2008, I registered on blogspot and wrote a few paragraphs and I don’t know why any of you are still here, or how I could possibly be this lucky. There’s no big secret or formula. We’re just all together in this weird online world. Though I shouldn’t be, I really should be sleeping right now.
I just had to stop all of the important things I was doing (watching stranger’s wedding videos…) to say thanks. THANK YOU for being here. For reading, sharing, supporting, smiling, emailing, liking, following, commenting, inspiring, being inspired, laughing, crying, and sticking around. If I could, I’d share one of those macarons with you as a token of my gratitude. Especially since I should never be in possession of such a large assortment sweets and I polished off more of those heavenly treats than I’d care to admit to you right now.
So, yeah. You’re kind of the best and I just wanted you to know that. K thx bye.
Seriously, how amazing would it be to actually be poolside right now?! I would certainly love to transport back into these photos! Going into one of those weeks that I know is going to be crazy and just bracing myself for the chaos. Which means I’ll be spending tonight doing super glamorous things like cleaning and grocery shopping. It’s always amazing how much better the week ends up being when you take the time to get organized on Monday! Hope you’ve all got a great week ahead xoxo
The Vibe: A small, friendly city with decent food culture and cool people
Bonus: Tax-Free Shopping
Nearby: The Oregon Coast and plenty of wine country
We left on a Friday evening. A little bit later than we’d hoped but Adam got caught up at work and my Bombay Brow Bar appointment went long. Priorities, people. The border offered us a generous hour and a half wait, but we didn’t really mind. We look forward to the six hour trek to Portland. We fueled up with gourmet Subway sandwiches in Bellingham and continued on our way through Washington. Which, I must say seems to be the state that never ends. We even had to stop for emergency lattes at one point. I’d kindly taken over the last 20 minutes of driving (I know, such a hero) and was happy that our hotel was so easy to navigate from the highway.
We pulled up to The Nines to some fancy people with expensive cars. The valet took our keys as Adam and I struggled to gather our mismatched and poorly packed luggage. I was feeling a little disheveled until we spotted a couple in North Face and hiking packs checking out. Then I felt like at least we weren’t the most casually dressed pair in the lobby. In all seriousness though, I LOVE this hotel. The decor is exactly how we all wish our homes were decorated. Pops of bright colours, a luxurious mix of patterns, accent chandeliers, marble bathroom counter tops, and dreamy all white bedding. The bed – OMG. It’s one of the most comfortable beds I’ve ever slept in. If only The Nines could reveal their secret to such a cozy mattress! Plus, you can’t beat their views. The picture below is the view of downtown Portland we enjoyed from our room.
Our first day was spent seeing the usual Portland favourites. A lot of downtown walking. Pearl district, including, Powell’s of course. I have to limit Adam on time and budget in that place, or else we’d spend the entire two days trapped in a book store. We did some leisurely shopping at any boutiques we spotted on the walk. We made our way to the market and just people watched for a good chunk of time. Adam even got a free hug. It was all very Portland. That night we thought we’d cab to a restaurant we remembered as amazing from last time. We were greeted with a 45 minute wait, which was fine enough, especially since she told us to go hang out in their lounge until our table was ready. Would have been all good, but instead this restaurant decided to completely ruin our night by not serving us drinks because we didn’t have our passports with us. It’s all so ridiculous, considering we’re both almost THIRTY years old. We really should have just left but we had no transportation and no wifi to find something else in the area. It’s under a bridge in an industrial area too, so walking around didn’t feel like the best option. We still ended up having dinner there, but the server also wouldn’t serve us drinks. So we basically pouted our way through that meal and left as quickly as possible. Sorry, I know this isn’t yelp. My dinner rant is over. Thankfully, we were able to enjoy a to die for dessert and drink at Departure restaurant – no passports required! We should have just gone there in the first place, we’ll definitely be back to Departure soon to have dinner on their rooftop patio.
Somehow the last two times we were in Portland, we’d never ventured over to the bridge. We received so many recommendations on the East side, that we knew it’d be crazy not to drive over there. We spent half the day on Alberta Street. The first stop was Pine State Biscuits for an amazing and inexpensive breakfast. Adam is still talking about that biscuit. We walked around and enjoyed the scenery and quirky Portland moments. Salt and Straw ice cream was soooo worth waiting in line for. I ended up ordering the lavender honey, though I do wish we could have also had the coffee and bourbon flavour. We were just too full. How does Anthony Bourdain do it?!
We toured around Mississippi Street next and then over to Cascade Brewery for a drink on the patio. We enjoyed Oven and Shaker pizza for dinner and then opted for a late night VooDoo Doughnut visit – I pretty much haven’t eaten since lol.
Portland is just hands down one of our favourite cities. There’s so much to love, but one big observation we made this time was the people. They smile and say hello and strike up conversation, even with strangers. On the East side, everyone seemed to know each other and the sense of community was palpable. We also noticed that no one was buried in their phones. In fact, we hardly saw any phones at all. People were soaking up their time together and being present. It was beyond refreshing and even encouraged us to think twice before reaching for our own cellular devices. Something we’ll hopefully be able to continue doing here in Vancouver 🙂
I have been on a shopping roll lately. Which, is great news for my wardrobe and a real sad moment for my credit card. This little number was one that I found amidst a sea of clothing at Forever 21 in Portland. It was a spontaneous choice, but the girl working fitting rooms insisted that I couldn’t leave without it. For a $30 dress (tax free too), I was all “Okay, okay, twist my arm, I’ll buy it.” It ended up being perfect for Palm Springs with the cutout detail in the front and low V back. And will definitely be remixing this one for a wedding related event in the future!
Also wanted to say THANK YOU to everyone who entered the Robson Street Spring Giveaway. Lucky gal Thandi won the $100 ARITZIA Gift Card, so a big congrats to her!
After Saturday’s biking blunders, I opted to leave before the group to get a head start. I knew I was in super cute but not bike friendly boots and that my behind hurt enough that I’d be needing to take breaks. Sometimes in those high stress situations, I just need to be solo and do my own thing. It was way better this way. Had Disclosure blaring on my phone as I biked my way through PGA West. I couldn’t help but smile because the day was already off to a way better start. Then, something extra magnificent happened. I actually never even told my friends about this out of shame at the time, so if they’re reading this – surprise! As I turned the corner to phase 3, a man across the street in a truck yelled out to me “You need a ride?” Initially hesitant, “actually?!” I mumbled as I attempted to get my clunky feet to start pedaling again. I turned around and saw the truck making a u-turn and pull up beside me. “Are you serious?” I asked, still amazed that this was happening and also now realizing it was a woman. “Oh yeah, this is what I do!” she assured me. For simply a tip she was willing to drive me through phases 3 AND 4. She had home printed business cards for her “service”. She spends her extra income from the two weekends on fixing up a bike of her own. This woman is my hero.
We were all meeting at the side beer garden for Chance The Rapper. He opened with Cocoa Butter Kisses and Justin Bieber made an appearance. I discovered $11 spiced rum and cokes – a game changer.
We all felt like more dancing and Rob suggested we make our way over to Rudamental. We found a great spot to the right of the stage with plenty of room for movement and the girl behind us even had one of those spray fans to cool us off every now and then. Rudamental put on such a great show, I have a serious girl crush on the blonde pictured below with bad ass braided hair. They even had one guy who’s sole purpose on stage is to hype the crowd up – and it definitely worked! We were breaking it down when all of a sudden I felt a tug on my hair and heard a sputtering engine noise. I did my best to turn around and see what I had suspected. My hair was caught in the girl’s fan. Luckily, it was a small chunk and I have plenty of hair to go around. After a photo to document its ridiulousness, we just ripped the rest of my hair away and the fan even continued to work. We got lots of extra air and water too, I’m sure out of guilt. But yes, an excellent show. I recommend you check out their song Waiting All Night – in fact, you might already know it! There we were dancing away
Then came one of my favourite acts from the entire two days. There is something to be said about music with a really great beat (Songza just taught me that it’s called trap music) so Adam brought a few of us to Flosstradamus. Oh my goodness, it was THE most epic dance party of my entire life. We posted up at the fence just outside of the Mojave tent. The people in front of us who were technically in the tent never had any room to move at all, so we definitely lucked out with our spot. It was an hour straight of dropping it like it’s hot. We had impromptu dance parties with other randoms from the crowd. We jumped up on the cables, we sang, we loved every second of it.
I’d scheduled Calvin Harris in as my resting period. This never happened. We ended up dancing with the entire side beer garden for the duration of his set. How could I deny those hits?! It was so much fun. Then Adam and I broke away because I really wanted to see Daughter and I knew their show would be almost empty because everyone would be pushing to go see Lana Del Ray. I like Lana enough but I made a judgement call. Anyway, there was maybe 50 people there waiting for Daughter, so we got an amazing spot and I got to hear them perform Smother and Human live.
Disclosure was next, but I’m such a snob and just can’t compare it to their Osheaga show where there was only a couple hundred watching and I was front row. I think the rest of the group really enjoyed them though, they really are a fun duo. Last, but certainly not least came the epicness that is Arcade Fire. Debbie Harry made a cameo for a rendition of Heart Of Glass. We danced away and sang along to all the Arcade Fire hits and favourites. It was a Coldplay at Pemberton Festival kind of moment that I’ll always cherish. Sunday was absolute Coachella redemption.
The biking was of course, not over yet! Somehow on this last ride, Adam and I got lost (ugh, so something we would do) and ended up going 20 minutes out of the way on a trail that spat us out into unfamiliar territory. We eventually found our way, but I definitely said a few curse words under my breathe as we rode the extra few blocks. At least by that time, I was a bike riding pro and was already going at a much fast speed and easily maneuvering through the crowds and cars.
Can’t believe it’s all over already. I’m having desert withdrawals! Another Coachella adventure is complete – hopefully not my last music festival of the year!
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