Fashion Month S/S 2015 Favourites

Hi there! I know that some of you fashion nerds who are reading this right now are thinking something along the lines of "But wait J. Fashion Month isn't over yet. There are still x days left of Paris to go." Yes, yes I am aware. It just so happens that I a) got over-excited and b) this happened to be the only time it would've been able to fit somewhat nicely into my schedule. So I apologise for having missed Chanel and a few other big names.

I wasn't able to keep up with the shows in "real time" or anything close to it as I just whizzed through about maybe 30 collections in the span of a couple hours just now, but holy crap was it an amazing couple of hours. There are just so many beautiful and innovative collections and it's incredible to see fresh ideas being brought to the table every season. Just great, great stuff that has been drooling.

I didn't want to turn this into some huge photo reel, so I narrowed it down to five collections that I'm just so obsessed with and I think you should be obsessed with too. Enjoy!

The Imposter Syndrome & Self-Doubt: A Response to Rookie's "You Can't Fake Real"

Image Credit: benralexander via Pixabay

Hi there! As a blogger, I read tons and tons of blog posts. I might not comment on as many as I should, but I do read a lot of them. Maybe if you aren’t a blogger, you do too, and can relate to this, as well.

When I saw You Can't Fake Real from Rookie in my Bloglovin’ feed, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. I thought that the post would be more about something like high school girls being fake and how we should all be ourselves or something like that, but never did I expect to relate so much to a post. Ever. This is a big thing to say, but I’m pretty sure this has become my favourite article ever on the internet.

Sunday Funday: September 28/14

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Hi there! We're nearing the end of yet another month and as usual, I can't believe that it's already been yet another month. I feel like I just started school like last week, but I didn't because it's been like, four. Insanity, very much like this past week.

If you've been following for a while, you probably know that I get way less sleep than what I should be getting every night, and this week was another one of those really bad weeks in terms of sleep. There was one day, actually two where I just went home with the intention of getting loads done, but just ended up passing out for about 15 minutes on the couch because I was so exhausted. Not good, J, really not good.

10 Things that Make Me Happy in September

Hi there! Today, I thought I’d start a new column here on SG about things that make me happy. I first got inspired to do this when I saw Gerry from Floral and Freckled write about it. I thought it’d be a really cool thing to do once every month.

This will be the equivalent of a monthly favourites, I guess, but it won’t have as much of a “I love this, I love that” vibe as those do and will solely focus on things that me, well, happy. Since happiness is my number one priority, I try to always be more positive, appreciate the little things (and the big), and try not to let anything get me down. I hope that these monthly posts will inspire some of you to take on a more positive outlook to your life.

Treasure Hunt: September

Image Credit: Elle

Hi there! We're nearing the end of another month (crazy, isn't it?), so that means another Treasure Hunt post is in order! This month was all about the fall transition pieces as we officially leave summer behind and step into the colder months. Keep reading to see what this month's hidden gems were!

Wardrobe Favourite: September's Trusty Topshop Bucket Bag

Hi there! “Wardrobe Favourite” is a new column I’m starting that is pretty self-explanatory. Every month, I’ll share with you one thing I’ve just been obsessed with all month. In my weekly outfit posts, I try my best to change things up and put together outfits you haven’t seen before, so you usually don’t get to see the things I’ve been loving, so hopefully these posts will do a better job of showcasing those favourites.

This month, my favourite isn’t actually a clothing piece, but a black and white bucket bag that my friend got for me from Topshop when he was in Vancouver. If you’ve seen bucket bags previously, you’ll agree that the shape is pretty much standard. This one’s got a nice full tassel made of a similar material as the bag and a strap around the top that kind of closes the bag in a way. I don't know about you, but I absolutely despise it when bags have tassels that are limp little things. A little bit of extra material goes a long way, for sure. There’s also a nice thick strap so I can wear the bag either on one shoulder or crossbody, plus it’s all adjustable.

Basically perfect.

Sunday Funday: September 21/14

Image Credit: protographer23 via Flickr

Hi there! So remember how I was telling you about my not-so-great week last week? Well, things have taken a complete 180 and are really, really great now. Despite the weather being colder than ever (but randomly warmed up yesterday), I'm starting to feel really good and comfortable in school again and it's just... really great.

I've also been really busy and I just realised this week how many things I've put on my plate. I guess the fact that school has just started and I haven't been completely swamped with homework yet is giving me the illusion that I will be able to handle it all fine, but to be completely realistic, that's probably not possible. Gosh, wish me luck guys. I'll so need it.

How to: Be Less of a (Crazy) Perfectionist

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Hi there! I've called myself a perfectionist for the longest time and if asked, I'll still call myself one. Whenever I do something, I like it to be perfect and to showcase the best of my abilities, but that desire often came with a mountain of stress and a byotchy attitude that just isn't good for anyone.

In the past year, I've told myself something and did others that helped relieve that stress and all in all simply become less of a perfectionist. But don't confuse being less of a perfectionist with slacking off and being lazy - they aren't the same thing. You can (or at least I believe you still can) strive to do you best while being a bit less hardcore and perfectionistic about it, and I'm about to share with you how.

Style Diary: Last Taste of Summer

Hi there! I apologise that this is up a bit late and that I missed like two posts this week, but I've been a busy bee as always. My time-management skills will have to be put into overdrive from now until summer, so I'm crossing my fingers that things will go a bit more smoothly blogging-wise from now on.

I had a pretty darn amazing week at school these past few days, especially compared to my very eh second week of school. Loads happened, but of course, if you've been around for a while, you'll find out exactly what those things are on Sunday. It's an extremely rare case that I'll miss a Sunday Funday, so you can always tune in then to find out what I've been up to, but I've been busy, that's for sure.

Thursday's Lovely Links: September 18/14

Image Credit: photo credit: Jenny Downing via PhotoPin CC

Hi there! Another two weeks have passed and that means two weeks spent reading some really awesome blogs. I've been getting into reading more blogs and I think it has a lot to do with Twitter which I've become a pretty avid user of and the links to posts I'll find on there. (P.S. If you haven't already, you can follow me @StyleGeneris)

Keep reading for my favourite posts from the past two weeks!

DIY: Gold Polka Dot Walls

Hi there! For the longest time, I had little flower stencils on my wall that just screamed little girl's room which is pretty typical considering that I was six when my parents and I painted my bedroom walls. Now, as a 15 year old, I obviously grew out of those and wanted something a bit different and more grown up, and again, for the longest time, I couldn't figure out what I wanted to do with my walls to cover them up.

Then, one day, I think I was looking at the Kate Spade stationery when I got the idea to cover the flowers up with gold polka dots. Thankfully, the DIY worked out and now every time I look at my bedroom walls, it looks like Kate Spade which makes me really happy, so I thought I'd share with you how to do this to your own walls!

Sunday Funday: September 14/14

Hi there! It almost feels foreign to be sitting here writing again because I've been away from the whole blogging thing for about a week now. I'd prewritten a few posts to go up this week and figured that I'd write the rest as the week went by, but I just got swamped with a massive history "quiz" (what kind of a quiz is ten pages long anyway) and other work, so I just couldn't keep up with it. Something did happen this week which I won't go into detail about, but it made me realise that I do have to invest more time in school, so if I randomly stop posting for a few days, please bear with my erratic schedule. I'm just working on school stuff and I'll be back once I get things together as it's my main priority at the moment.

Lots and lots has happened this week and I'm crazy excited to tell you all about it. The only thing I'm not so crazy excited about right now is how freaking cold it is right now in Canada. The temperature is hovering dangerously close to 0 degrees and I'm wrapped up in layers upon layers of fabric and blankets to keep warm at the moment. 

And it's not even halfway through September. So not fair Canada, so not fair.

Birthday Goodies 2014

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Hi there! I asked you guys a couple of weeks ago if you'd be interested in seeing what I got for my birthday this year and I got an affirmative response, so I figured that it'd be a good idea to do so, even if it is exactly a month after my birthday.

First as a disclaimer, I'm not bragging about anything that I got at all, I just wanted to share with all of you what my amazing friends gave me on my special day. I'm so blessed and lucky to have the friends and family that I do and I really do feel like the luckiest girl.

Ultimate Fall Essentials

Image Credit: Billy Wilson via Flickr

Hi there! Inspired by Raise.com, I figured that since it's very nearly fall, it'd be a good idea to share with you my fall essentials for this year.

Raise.com is a website where you can sell or buy gift cards for a discount. We all get gift cards to places sometimes that we don’t actually shop at very often and they end up wasting away in our wallets, so I really love how Raise.com gives you a chance to both get rid of unwanted gift cards and buy them at a discounted price.

For all the essentials I’ll be mentioning, you can buy gift cards from the site to get whatever it is you’re looking for at a lower price. I’ll also be including links for each one to some stores at which you can purchase these items for your benefit as well!

So let’s get into it.

16 Quotes to Keep You Motivated This Year

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Hi there! I thought I'd kick off the week with something to get you pumped and motivated for the next five days. I’ve grown into the habit of seizing every possible opportunity for a new beginning to make new goals and try to get myself motivated to change myself for the better. I find it’s not the hardest feat to start the school year with a desire to be better and be positive, but it’s hard to maintain it throughout the year. So many things can happen in the span of ten months from friend fallouts to stressful assignments that can make you feel like you want to give up and just slack until summer comes around again.

While giving yourself a break every once in a while to avoid such thoughts is a good idea, giving up and slacking off are not and words well said (aka quotes) can really help when it comes to picking yourself up. After spending quite some time on Pinterest and collecting quotes over the course of a couple of weeks, I’ve come up with a list of quotes that I think were specially designed to keep your levels of motivation up. These aren’t the kind of quotes that are all fluffy that give off a oh-it’ll-all-be-okay vibe (even though it will all be okay), they’re more of a tough love kind of collection of quotes that will make you want to get off your butt and do something.

Enjoy!

Sunday Funday: September 7/14

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Hi there! So my first week of school is now officially over and I'm pretty glad it's the weekend. I was very nearly about to write "August" as I was writing the title of this post and it really hasn't completely sunk in yet that school is in session. There are still some bits of my "usual" routine, or at least soon-to-be-usual routine that haven't actually been added to my life yet if that makes any sense, but I guess once those things (ie. Spanish class on Saturday mornings) are added to my schedule, it'll feel like I'm getting back to normal.

Loads of fun and exciting things happened this week for me, so keep reading if you're curious to get a little peek into that!

Resolutions Diary: August 2014

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Hi there! I took a bigger step this past month to accomplish my resolutions and am pretty pleased with how it went. There's obviously still room for improvement, but it's been going well. Keep reading to see how I've been doing with each one of the ten!

Style Diary: Back to Burgundy

Hi there! Time is flying by and already my first week of school is nearly over. It's been pretty good so far and it's nice to get to see my friends again and get into a regular routine after being a bit all over the place this past summer. Some people I'm surrounded by aren't as happy about school as I am, but I'm trying not to let their negativity (or mild lack of enthusiasm) to get to me and spoil my mood.

Thursday's Lovely Links: September 4/14

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Hi there! School has just started up for me and it's easy for the excitement of getting to see your friends and getting back into a routine again to wear off, leaving you feeling a bit down that summer's over. That's why for this week's links, I chose some relatively thought-provoking ones because I find that if you open up your mind to new ideas and concepts, you generally see everything as a painting with a hidden meaning and gets you excited or intrigued by the simple things in your life. It also helps in school because the classes you might find boring can be so much more interesting if you change your mindset.

September's Big Five

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Hi there! It's crazy to think that it's already September, isn't it? You've probably heard this a lot, or at least something along these lines, but it feels like it was just yesterday that I was writing about New Year's Resolutions and now we're into the last third of 2014.

Crazy.

September is definitely one of my favourite months of the year and there are lots of things to be excited for this year, so keep reading for the monthly list!

Back to School: Sophomore Thoughts and Reminiscing

Hi there! If you’re in the States or elsewhere in the world, you might already have been in school for a solid couple weeks now, but where I live in Canada, today is our first day. It’s kind of crazy to me to think about how I’m going to be in grade 10, and even though it’s not that big of a number, it’s still a bit mind-boggling because it’s, well, two digits.

Last year, I went into my freshman year a bit worried and apprehensive, I think, but with a fairly open mind. I didn’t really have a support system of friends that I could just run to at lunch and vent or rant or whatever from the get go because I was the only one from my school going to that certain school. Daunting it was, but I was up for it.

It’s really important for me to always push myself out of my comfort zone and try something new. I did a lot of that this past year and accomplished some things that I’m really proud of, but most of those things didn’t happen in school, but rather outside of it. If you followed my Confidence series, you’ll know that I was a relatively shy, actually, very shy girl in my middle school years and it has always been something that I’ve been labelled with ever since I was pretty young.

Summer 2014

Hi there! First off, happy September! Crazy how we're already into the ninth month of the year, eh?

There's absolutely no doubt in my mind when I tell you that this has been the best summer of my life. I set the bar pretty high for myself and I had very high expectations of the previous two months back in June, so I'm very pleasantly surprised to have enjoyed myself so much. 

It still hasn't quite hit me that today is the last day of summer yet, but I'm not dreading school, which is a good sign. Honestly, I haven't been dreading very many things lately which has contributed immensely to my good mood. I say "lately" but it's been about four months now, aha.

At the beginning of summer, I wrote a to-do list of what I wanted to get done this summer and I actually completed a good 87% of that list. Keep reading to get a peek into how I spent my days.