A bit of holiday cheer

Dec 19, 2013

It only feels right wearing red this close to the holidays. We may have not done a tree this year but I'm still trying to keep the Xmas cheer alive. I just gave my workspace a little holiday makeover, decorated our home with fir branches + garland and added some over-sized pine cones to our coffee table. We'll be spending the 24th with Martin's parents and then visiting with a few of our friends on the 25th. For the next two weeks, Martin will also be off work. The best present a girl could ask for! I can't wait to go for snowy walks, bake Christmas cookies and take lots of photos, of course. And... Martin's so kindly offered to help with setting up the store while he's off too. You know, carrying heavy boxes, building inventory shelves and other manly things! ;)

I imagine the blog will be a little quieter over the holidays as well, but then again, who am I kidding. With all the Xmas fun & festivities going on next week, I'll probably be itching to blog. Well, happy (almost) Christmas, guys. Wishing you & your families the loveliest of times!! xo

Outfit Details:

Scarf: H&M
Jacket: Forever 21 / similar
Dress: c/o Five Bamboo / similar & on sale
Tights: Joe Fresh

Hello friends... it's time for a giveaway!

Dec 18, 2013

These are the good ideas I cook up at night when I can't sleep. You're welcome! ;) I thought it'd be fun to do a banner ad giveaway on " By The Shore"... I'd love to help you promote your blog or business for free. Whoo-hoo! With 26,000 + page views a month, it's not a bad little deal, right?!

Okay, so here are the deats! Two lucky winners will receive 1 banner ad for two months and a little social media love too. Here's what you need to do to enter. Easy peasy!

To enter you must: 

1). Follow By The Shore via Bloglovin'
2). Leave a comment telling me you'd like to enter

Entries will be accepted until December 26th and the winner will be announced on December 27th!! xo

Life lately... goodness it's been awhile

Dec 16, 2013

I've been so in the throes of my outfits posts [and enjoying them immensely, I might add] that I've sort of had a brain freeze on my lifestyle posts. Are you guys missing them? I've been feeling kind of guilty for just slamming you with outfit photos, but truth be told, sometimes it's just easier to snap photos of what I'm wearing. Especially when the lifestyle portion of my life is on the down low. These days, my life revolves around our pets, my store, sushi dates with Martin, and let us not forget quality time on the couch. Haha, not so blog worthy, you feel me?!

However, today I'm popping in with a few of my favourite iphone photos in celebration of my new iphone 5s. The camera is so fantastic and I'm fighting the urge to not be instagramming every two minutes. And... can I get a unanimous, whaaaat?! Is Christmas only a week-ish away? We've been pretty terrible this year as far as decorating our home, we didn't even put up our tree. Is that bad? Oh well, next year we'll get our act together. Haha, mind you we say that every year! ;)

Coffee dates at Starbucks. My favourite is the skinny peppermint mocha. Lately coffee is what gets me through my day. Bless its heart!

Where the magic happens! ;)

Gold polka dots, everywhere. All. The. Time!!

An overdue date with my love. We spent the day eating ice cream, grabbed pine tree branches for a DIY x-mas mantle, and napped, a lot!

As for my weekend uniform? I stuck to cozy dresses + my fave booties!

PS - last but not least, thank you to Melissa from Bubby and Bean for including me in her awesome holiday gift guide. Hop on over to see what Selective Potential, Orchid Grey, A Beautiful Mess and many more are putting on their x-mas list this year! ♥

Bundled up

Dec 12, 2013

Today I'm doing my happy girl dance because I finally narrowed down all the products for my shop. Here's another sneak peek via my instagram for you guys. You'd think ordering everything would be easy, but since I wanted a well merchandised and cohesive feel to the store, I had a pretty large amount of products/suppliers to sort through. Not complaining, just thrilled we're getting closer to opening our virtual doors. For now, the plan is to keep it small. We'll have about 20 - 25 products with a strong emphasis on jewelry and a small sprinkling of women's clothes, scarves, tote bags and stationary.

Thanks for letting me get that out! ;) Honestly, this project is taking up most of my brain. Store, store, store... is what it sounds like in my head these days. As for my outfit? I styled up one of my favourite dresses for one of our coldest days so far this fall. Vancouver has been insanely cold, but thankfully, I was plenty layered and bundled. Plus, Martin & I kept warm by lunching at one of our favourite hot pot restaurants. I love ordering their vegetarian plate and loading up on yams, carrots and tofu. An absolute favourite!

Outfit Details:

Jacket: Forever 21 / similar
Cardigan: Martin's (currently being held hostage by moi) / similar & awesome
Dress: Forever 21 / similar
Necklace: Stella & Dot
Tights: Joe Fresh
Boots: Old Navy

Cozy brunch with friends

Dec 10, 2013

Just this past Saturday, we met up with friends for a cozy x-mas brunch, hosted by our good friend Cal at his city condo. I chose boyfriend jeans, a cozy sweater and statement necklace for our lazy pre-holiday afternoon. It was the greatest of get togethers... we enjoyed fabulous food & yummy drinks. Plus, both of my good girlfriends just had babies so I enjoyed a ton of cuddle time with their little bundles. My ideal day!

A big thank you to my friends at Mellow World for sending me this gorgeous bag. It's been a great go-to, and lovely in both quality & style. Well, on that note, I'm off to tackle my 100 mile long to-do list and nurse my pesky cold. But thank goodness for peppermint hot coco and Christmas music. And snow! Yup, we got our first snow fall yesterday and it's still going strong... there's nothing like looking out at the evergreen trees and seeing them all covered in white! xo veronika

Outfit Details:

Statement necklace -  Jeweliq // Sweater - LOFT // Cami - Madewell // Jeans - American Eagle // Bag - c/o Mellow World // Heels - Aldo Shoes

Five things i love

Dec 6, 2013

01. / 02. / 03. / 04. / 05.

It feels pretty great to be back to my normal posting schedule this week. My previous week was a little hairy & chaotic... being that I'm a creature of habit, this week has been suiting me much better. Today I'm popping in to share a "five things i love" round up + a few of my faved links. And amen for the weekend! I finally get to spend time with my husband... it's been two weeks and counting. On Saturday, we're doing our annual holiday brunch with friends and then Sunday we're delivering a Christmas hamper to a family in need. Happiest weekend, friends!

1). Loved Andrea's outfit from earlier this week. That girl knows how to do cozy! And seriously, don't you just want to steal all her shoes?! ;)

2). Martin & I haven't had a ton of time to get in the x-mas mood. Boo! But Tieka's awesome winter pinterest board sure is helping get my holiday cheer on. So beautiful!

3). Listening to Songza's Cozy Christmas Hits station during my work day, has been pretty darn fabulous!

4). This skirt would be perfect for Christmas dinner, especially when paired with this fair isle sweater.

5). And yay, I ordered business cards for the blog. Gold polka dots are slowly taking over my life. Haha!

Loft grand opening event

Dec 4, 2013

This past weekend, Martin & I attended LOFT's grand opening event, and we had such a wonderful time. I loved chatting style with Jen of Her Waise Choice as well as Jenny from Stuff I Love. While perusing the shop, I fell hard for LOFT's winter white super skinny jeans, poof hat and Jen's bright red dress stole my heart too. I'm thinking I might need to go back and get all three. Although, I assure you my closet is well versed in all things LOFT at the moment.

If you haven't had a chance to visit the new store, I'd definitley recommend that you do. The store is absolutely beautiful and the price point & quality are truly impressive as well. Not to mention, the Park Royal Centre expansion is fabulous. A true shopping destination and thankfully not too far from my house! ;) Last but not least, thank you to everyone that came out. I loved seeing friends and meeting readers, plus the the staff at LOFT are just some of the nicest people I've ever met. 

PS - you can find my LOFT dress here

Day off girl

Dec 3, 2013





After a morning of coding for my upcoming online store, I come to you elated and brain-dead. Quite the winning combination, wouldn't you say?! Let's hope my mug full of coffee gets the ole' brain juices flowing. Firstly, let's talk outfit: I loved adding a bright pop of lipstick and a statement necklace to my day-off look. Such an easy way to jazz up an otherwise simple outfit, and jazzing up outfits, is definitley something I'm trying to work on.

And in other news (insert excitement) I gave the blog a little makeover in anticipation of my soon to be online store. Some people drink champagne, and I celebrate with html. Totally normal, right?! For now, I'll leave you guys with a little product sneak peek for the shop. And let me tell ya, buying merchandise for the store is a very dangerous thing... although shopping just might be my true life's calling! ;)

Outfit Details:

Cardigan - husband's closet // Tee - Zara // Jeans - American Eagle // Bracelet - Stella & Dot // Necklace - Stella & Dot // Boots - Old Navy

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