shoes

Oyster magazine did a shoot back in June with the latest Nike Free Runs and I absolutely fell in love with these babies. Over the past two months I've been really pushing myself to strengthen my body as I've had a few health mishaps. Running was something I used to enjoy until I gave myself a particularly horrible shin splint that put my running on what was then a temporary 3 weeks break. It turned into a much longer one as I discovered more a less painful/sweaty way to fit physical activity into my day: Yoga. I'll get into that another time because I'm trailing off topic here. Point is, I want these babies in every colour, and while that's unlikely, I've decided to begin to run again. God, I'm such a consumer. To be fair I don't even own a pair of real runners, only sandals, heels and boots. None of which will be good for running. Hi, new Nike Free Run 3s. I'll see you soon. Until then, I will just drool over these photos.

Social Media

Been really neglecting this blog. It's strange as I've had things to post about but had been suddenly feeling very private and reserved. I had deleted my old twitter account (munkeeeeee) because I felt a bit anxious about the endless amount of personal information available at ANYONE'S fingertips with these types of websites. I've since been slowly recovering from that fear of web invasion on my personal life and started being more active on social websites like Facebook, Pinterest (Oh my god am I EVER addicted), Reddit, Twitter and came here to write a post telling you to follow me! I'm much more active on these than I am on this blog, but I will begin posting more, promise!

Follow @JekkaCB

bags

(1/2/3/4)

fashion | Look III

food | Random Meals

Haven't been doing much really except cooking and eating. Oh boy, does that ever sound pathetic, or what? I've been taking it pretty easy. Lounging around the house, spending time with family, reading books, taking baths. Life has been nice, despite all the stress rushing around me. I will post recipes or something soon. My iPhone is gone and now my Blackberry has died; leaving me with my Sony digital camera which I can't find right now... Will take more care to update more often. For now, enjoy my not-so-aesthetically pleasing shots of a few of my kitchen adventures from the past week.

music | Climax

day(s) in the life | Fire, Dolls and Fish

Had a good week; made a few purchases, took an entire day to go out walking and enjoying the sun. Will do a post of my latest purchases soon! Right now I am too busy organizing more serious matters.

Hope everyone is well.

project | Midas Touch

Had purchased a can of Sabotaz Gold Chrome Spray Paint a few months ago with intentions to spray ALL THE THINGS. Considering I bought the can in the winter and didn't want to spray paint indoors, I had to put off this project until it got a little warmer outside. Today it was another GORGEOUS and SUNNY day in Montreal after a really fun St-Patrick's weekend, so I couldn't resist sitting out on my very grimy and dirty balconey to golden-ize a few things and I am quite pleased with the results so far. Now it's just about finding a nice place for them in my apartment where they can happily collect dust... Shouldn't be too difficult!

life | Excuses I

My health hasn't been at its best as of late and now recent events in my life have prevented me from keeping up with my regular routines which also means updating my blog as frequently as I usually do. I will still be posting as often as I can, however, definitely not as much as I have in the past.

Hope everyone is doing well.

xo

music | Myth

fragrance | Jo Malone & LaVanila

I am and have always been a huge fan of florals and vanilla. For some reason, I find a lot of my friends hate florals and it confuses me a bit. I could see how it may be too young or cliché for some, but I enjoy them very much right now. 

These two scents are the best of the bunch that I have found so far. The packaging on Jo Malone is, as always, gorgeous. Although I loathe the colour purple, I do like the box of the LaVanila perfume and the bottle isn't horrible, whatever. It's the actual product that counts, right? And the scent is phenomenal. I tend to lean towards florals when the weather is warmer which is why I love the Jo Malone for Spring. I use vanilla scents as my secret weapon against my boyfriend during the colder months, but at these in-between stages I'm never sure what I want to smell like, so this combination works very well for me.

beauty | Bath-time Essentials

       

One of my most used methods to unwind and reduce stress is to take a bath.

In my experience, submerging your entire body into a tub of hot, slightly perfumed water seems to be an ultimate cure-all. A lot of people I've spoken with find it completely bizarre that I still bathe (as an alternative to showering, I mean,) because they stopped doing this as children. Others find it unhygienic or impractical because they no longer fit in the tub. If that is your case, I say try try try; my room-mate is very tall (I don't know her exact height, but she is taller than average,) and she still manages to get some relaxation time in the tub. So really, there are no other excuses. Anyway, if you're looking for some much-deserved R&R, I've compiled a little list of my bath-time products and rituals to hopefully get you guys inspired to start running some water. ;-)

Let's start with the basics. These products are items that are bath-time staples but luckily don't need to be  replaced often.

Firstly, you should invest in a bath pillow. There's nothing more discouraging than taking a nice dip only to have to deal with the cold porcelain and achy neck that you'll get from trying to position yourself comfortably. I like this one from The Body Shop (only $12!) as it's made of a cotton fabric on not a weird plastic that gets slimy with soap residue.

Second thing you will be needing is a loofah. Trust me, exfoliating does freaking wonders for the skin. I settled for the soap-bar-to-skin method for my entire life. My cousin suggested I start using a loofah to help with this irritated skin rash on my arms that I've had since I was nine years old. After using a loofah for a week, poof! Gone.  I always say you should exfoliate your entire body in the shower, slather yourself in coconut oil and then hit the sheets. You'll have genuinely perfect skin all ovah. Who doesn't want that? Maybe I should have saved all this loofah loving for another post because you won't just be using that baby at bath-time; it really should be used at least twice a week, regardless of whether you're bathing or showering. AND it eliminates the need for exfoliating shower scrubs, which, in my opinion, do sweet #@$% all. Ok, I'm going to shut-up about the loofah now.

I strongly suggest getting a natural loofah. (They look like this.) You can buy these at most natural stores or grow your own(!) apparently.

I suffer from mildly dry skin, and like most dry skin "wearers", my skin gets super parched in the winter. The internet and everyone in my life tell me to avoid taking hot showers or baths as it strips the natural oils from your skin. I would if I could but I just can't. This is why I feel a bit strange giving this advice as I won't be practising what I'm preaching; I'm a freak and I like to cook myself until my skin turns pink and the bathroom is so steamy you can't see your own hand in front of you. SO, don't be a fool like me and take ~warm~ baths. Another unfortunate thing about us is that we actually should avoid bubble baths. I know, I know. You're asking "What's the point of a bath with no bubbles?" The world is a sad place when I hear these things. I still take one from time to time just for the hell of it and it doesn't seem to do so much harm. So, like most things in life, enjoy in moderation and/or opt for a couple of drops of deeply moisturising essentials oils, some softening bath bombs or melts, or dropping a few packets of (unflavoured) oats into the tub. (Another useful tip; Grab a handful of oats and lightly wet them in the shower to use as a gentle, cheap and easy exfoliating scrub.)

Here are the products I am enjoying lately
L'Occitane - Organic Essential Oil (Purifying Blend, Relaxing Blend, Revitalizing Blend)
LUSH - (Ceridwen's Cauldron, Dreamtime, You've Been Mangoed, MMM Melting Marshmallow Moment)

O.K.

Now it is time for you to slip out of your clothes into something soft and silky and sink your feet into your slippers. Turn on some Edith Piaf, Chopin, Tribe Called Quest, Queen; you know, whatever puts you in a good mood. Light some candles, run the water, dim the lights. Mix your potions, pour yourself a glass of wine and drown yourself in some hella fine water. (Not literally though, you guys...)

fashion | Betina Lou S/S '12

Saw this collection a few months ago while my boss was buying it and have been anxiously awaiting it's arrival at work since. Everything Betina Lou does is so feminine and dainty; it's probably one of the few of this genre of clothing that I am absolutely in love with. The fabrics are always superior quality and the cuts seems to hug and dip in all the right places. It isn't too trendy or over the top; just simple, beautiful clothing that any woman would feel absolutely confident in.

 The designer is from Montreal and is an incredibly sweet woman who comes into my work pretty often. She's very petite, like myself, and we were talking about how difficult it is to find clothing that fits us properly. She told me that not all of her styles run in XXS but if I found anything I liked that she would make it for me. I didn't take her up on the offer then because I didn't want to cause more work than necessary, so now I just have to hope that all of the above items are available in my size. 

Check out the rest of the collection here or see the collection in person at my work!

music | The Suburbs (Mr. Little Jeans Remix)

film | Sleeping Beauty, Leigh

Just watched Sleeping Beauty by director Julia Leigh. Despite the title, it isn't actually based on the fairytale or even similar to the Disney animated film. In fact I wouldn't say it's appropriate to show to your little sister at all. The stunning Emily Browning (some of you may recognize her as Violet from A Series of Unfortunate Events) stars as Lucy, a struggling university student who takes up a rather unusual part-time job to pay her way out of her troubles. 

The entire time I watched this film I felt uneasy but intrigued. It deals with some pretty uncomfortable issues yet seems to tackle them in a delicate and somehow pretty manner. I had been meaning to watch this for awhile and did enjoy it visually. This is why I took a few extra moments to show you guys some nice screen shots from the film. Hope these don't spoil anything for you, although I'm not too sure how they could... 

I don't know if I would necessarily watch it again but I do feel that it was time well spent. 

6.5/10

fashion | Look II

look II by astudyof featuring metal rings

celeb | Millie Mackintosh

I've tackled the entire two series of E4's Made in Chelsea in under three days. Obviously, my social life is quite lacking at the moment so I've had to live vicariously through the eyes of high society British babes. Although the show's cheese factor is a lot higher than I would normally tolerate; it's become my guilty pleasure. Made in Chelsea is to me what Jersey Shore is to my boyfriend.

Anyway, regardless of the endless drama and almost too obviously scripted dialogue, the show is aesthetically pleasing.  I like to pretend that's the only reason I watch. The hair, make-up and wardrobe, although not always suited to my tastes, is always perfectly pretty. Caggie, Rosie, and Louise are probably the three most similar to my style, but there's something about the absolutely sexy Millie Mackintosh that catches my eye all too often. I've been doing some god ol' Googling and found these devilish shots of Millie taken for FHM, a British men's magazine. Thought I'd share some here just for the sake of posting. 

Enjoy,

I hope everyone's week has been great! ;)

book | The Dreamer's Dictionary, Robinson & Corbett

Oddly enough, this book happens to be one of my most treasured childhood possessions. My copy is in no where near as good condition. I, at seven years old, or younger, remember playing with this book and pretending to be some kind of fortune-teller/witch and drawing little symbols on every new chapter page. Although, I'm not entirely sure if I should call them chapters. This book is true to the title and does actually read like a dictionary. This is one of the reasons it is one of my most treasured possessions.

When I was younger my mum and I used to share a bedroom as we lived in a small apartment and my brother needed his own room. We were incredibly close so it didn't matter much at the time that we didn't have the extra space. As a result of our constant closeness, we'd made a habit of discussing our dreams every night/morning. We would look up key elements of our dreams in this book and spend hours giggling or pondering over our subconscious. Even thinking about that now makes my heart feel a little warm.

Like I said, my copy is in horrible shape. The pages are incredibly yellowed and the cover has been torn off but I intend to keep this gem on my bookshelf forever.

fashion | My Current Favorite Rings

These are the rings I've been wearing everyday for about a month now. I love them, they add a nice touch no matter what I'm wearing. It's gotten to the point where I feel totally naked if I'm not wearing them at any point. The first one I picked up recently at Club Monaco and the second is an Erica Weiner design (buy here) that I had been pining over for ages. I really need to go on a shopping spree on her website sometime soon. If only I had enough spending money to splurge and click any other link except "Under $100".

Just informed my boyfriend on where to buy my engagement ring. Heh heh... 

day(s) in the life | Candles and Sweets

This week felt never-ending. I had a lot to get done and little time to do it. Went for my second buying appointment with my bosses, this time for Insight Fall '13. As soon as I walked into the room I felt myself wishing that entire collection was in my closet. (One day...) The top photo was taken by my boss. These are the (GORGEOUS) collectible Insight51 candles from collection, and yes, we will be selling them at our store come Fall 2013. So mark your calendars, kiddies.

Anyway, I'm really starting to understand how to buy for a store. It's not always easy to put your own personal style tastes aside and think of the customer and what they would want and need. It all boils down to the fact that I do that type of work everyday; so knowing my sales and store and applying that knowledge will really help me decide which pieces to add to our stock. Blah blah blah.

On to more important things, like desserts! Please don't judge me for having the world's sweetest sweet tooth.  Bottom left is a photo of a sugar-and-spice tasting banana cupcake that my boss picked up on the way back from our buying appointment from Aux Vivres and bottom right is a pre-Valentine's day shot of my gifts for my Valentine and myself. Though none of those made it past midnight that night. 

Yes, I'll admit it; I have a problem.

food | Le Biscuit et Cie

I was ecstatic when my boyfriend surprised me at work with these aaamaaaaazing chocolate chip (in every bite) cookies.
They were the perfect texture, deliciously chewy, and had little flecks of caramel (or something?) every now and again. The company was actually started by a former co-worker of my boyfriend's and she was actually able to quit her day job and make baking her full-time job. How lucky is she? She has yet to open a store but does orders through her website. I usually find it difficult to admit that any cookies are better than my own, but I'm not even gonna lie; I would pick her cookies over my own anyday.

Place your orders here, Montrealers!

You won't regret it.

covet | Fortune Cookie Coin Purse

Fortune Cookies have seemed to be popping up in my life a lot lately. I know, it sounds strange, but I had a habit of saving a lot of the fortunes I've gotten in the hopes of rolling them and putting them in miniature glass bottles to wear around my neck. Like a lot of my projects, I "never did get around to doing that", but I did make a little treasure box necklace with one particularly important one hiding safely inside. I recently found a little baggy with all those folded, rolled and crumpled fortunes inside. Been seeing a lot of posts on social feeds including fortunes and/or fortune cookies... Anyway, blah blah blah. I've been looking for a little coin purse with personality as I have a bad habit of harvesting change in my pockets because my current wallet sucks for that. I fell in love with the idea of these lil babies immediately. Someone get me one(!) for Valentine's Day, please?

fashion | Insight Spring '12

I have been anxiously awaiting the arrival of Insight's Spring 2012 Collection at my work. I've been drooling over the images on their website at a bit of an unhealthy rate. I can't wait to have the collection in front of me to be able to feel if the texture is as I imagined it being or the colour as vibrant as had hoped. Usually, Insight doesn't fail to deliver. I will have to wait a bit to purchase since we like to let our customers have first grabs, but I don't mind. I'll just keep my fingers crossed and hope that the XS don't all sell out. 

View the entire collection - 

food | La Maison du Macaron

Been indulging in Macarons lately. Not the cheapest snack to enjoy when you have a raging sweet tooth. I had eaten so many of these bad boys in a day that I got a ridiculous tummy ache. I've been buying them at a booth on the 3rd level of the Eaton Centre, an extension of the location on La Maison du Macaron on La Roche and Mont-Royal. My favorite flavours are  Noisette (Hazelnut) and Fraise et Rhubarbe (Strawberry Rhubarb), but I haven't tried all of them... yet.

beauty | Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm

Recently picked up these three amazing Burt's Bees Tinted Lip Balm and loved them so much I went back to the drugstore and bought Rose, Red Dahlia (My favorite so far), and Honeysuckle. They're beautifully moisturizing and great for Spring, as it gives your entire face a fresher and lighter feel. 

day in the life | Marché aux puces Lesage

Stopped at a small Flea Market outside of Montreal today after a massage this morning. Was looking for some little things for my apartment and got to smell some great candles, play with three Cane Corso puppies and eat some delicious home-made fudge. Here are some quick cell phone shots of my small trip. 

I hope everyone had a good weekend. :)