A little haul and a little update

got back from my Vancouver trip last Thursday night and I have a little haul to show you guys.
I didn't go too crazy with shopping, but I picked up a few things that I'm in love with.

On another note, I know it's been a while since I posted last, but I'm just so busy these days. We actually started our basement renos this Monday and my house is a disaster zone. I've been taking photos daily so I'll post those up soon. I can't wait until it's all finished! Now, onto the haul:

One of my first pit stops in Vancouver was to Aberdeen Centre in Richmond to go to Daiso, the Japanese dollar store. I don't have it where I live and I loved it last time I went.

I picked up several treat cups. You may wonder why I bought these, but I stock up my craft box with
things I see for future use. You never know when these will come in handy. I can already see myself
using these when I'm planning my daughter's 1-year old birthday. BTW, did I mention that I'm having
a baby girl??? These come in 32 count. 

I also picked out a round one. These are size 8's. Not sure what that means, but it's smaller than a
cupcake wrapper. I can see myself putting amuse-bouches in here. These come in 72 counts.

Lastly I picked out a rectangular-shaped one with polka dot patterns. Aren't they cute? These are all
food safe because they are lined with a coating on the inside. They are also microwave/oven safe.

I also got 2 packs of stickers. Again, I don't have a use for them yet, but I just love the button and
patterned circles.

You may wonder why I picked out bamboo forks, but I hate the North American ones that I see.
These are so much prettier. I know I'll find a use for these in the future.

Another store that I always check out when I'm in Vancouver is Paper-Ya in Granville Island. My husband always groans when we go there because I'll literally spend an hour in there while he sits outside. It's a beautiful store stocked with cool papers, craft stuff, little gifts, etc. Here's what I got:

Japanese washi tape. I have a small collection at home, but I decided to pick these up because
I have never seen a pattern like this before. These are great to use when wrapping gifts or using it as
an accent on something.

Aren't these the cutest straws? They are paper straws that are made from food safe paper and ink.
They are by The Sugar Diva.

I also got 2 25-packs of treat bags also from The Sugar Diva. I love the chevron pattern and I can
imagine myself using these as loot bags sometime in the future.

One of the days we were in Vancouver we drove down to Seattle to go shopping. We stopped by Seattle Premium Outlets, Nordstrom Rack and Alderwood Mall. I hate shopping in Canada because the taxes are so high and plus, they mark it up way higher than our US counterparts.

At Seattle Premium Outlets I picked up 1 thing for myself- a Kate Spade bow ring. I think I paid $27
for it? I think it was close to $50 regular price. I absolutely love it. I was also eyeing a bright, neon
pink purse, but passed on it. I now wish I got it…

I picked up 3 things from Alderwood Mall. First is this Willow & Clay navy blazer. It reminded me
so much of Smythe blazers, but for a fraction of the price. This was around $90?

I also got a blue and white polka dot top. I love how it's longer at the back. It's very flattering.
I refuse to buy anything maternity as they all look so frumpy, but this one I can totally wear and still
look trendy. I think this is by a brand called Soprano? This was around $40?

Lastly I got a pair of TOMS. They are the Palmetto Seasonal Classic Slip-On in the colour purple.
I was eyeing this for a while, but I didn't want to buy it in Canada because it was so much more expensive.
I think I got it taxes in for $56?

Back in Vancouver I got an email from Holt Renfrew saying that they were having their Spring Bloom promotion. Basically whatever you buy (excludes some brands) you would get 25% of your purchase price back in a gift card. I decided to get get something that I've been lusting after for a while.

I got the YSL Arty Ring in pink. It's the most gorgeous ring and I can't stop looking at my hand every
time I wear it. I got it for $265CAD and I got $66 back in a gift card. I might use that towards another
item on my wish list- the Kate Spade Gramercy Grand Watch.

That is all for my little haul. I'm now 7 months pregnant and ready for the baby to come out! It's becoming
really uncomfortable now.

Cheap, but chic

ollar stores are one of my favourite places to shop in. You can find some real gems in these places. I knew that one of the places that I wanted to check out when I went to Vancouver a week ago was Daiso. It's a huge Japanese dollar store chain. Everything is supposed to cost $2 each unless otherwise stated. The most I saw a product for was $4 which is still pretty reasonable considering the quality of the items. I went with my sister-in-law and although it was quite a trek to get there it was well worth it. Daiso was situated inside an Asian Mall called Aberdeen Centre in Richmond. The mall itself was pretty nice. Very different from Western malls. I found an Asian beauty store that I carried the infamous Dolly Wink Eyeliner. It was quite overpriced at $20CAD, but I decided to get it anyway.The food court was pretty good too. I wish I can go back and try all the different foods in that food court.


It is pronounced 'Dah-Ee-So'. I thought it was pronounced 'Day-So'.




I picked up these 3 printed aluminum foils. Aren't they just so cute?! I'm planning to save these for future use. Maybe I'll use it to pack baby A's future lunches.



These reminded me of my Shiseido cotton pads that I have. They look to be about the same quality, but the Shiseido one is $8CAD while this was $2CAD.




I just had to get a bento box for baby A.



I got some blotting papers, but I think this one was a miss. It's definitely not like the Boscia blotting papers. However, I'm going to be using the plastic sleeve case to store my Boscia papers in. 



I brought scissors with me to the airport on the way to Vancouver and didn't realize that you can't bring scissors into the plane. I brought them to cut baby A's food to bite sized pieces. Since they confiscated it I bought these scissors from Daiso. I think they are so cute.



I bought a few packs of animal picks. Baby A is turning 2 soon so I want to start thinking about his birthday party decoration. I thought these would be so cute to stick into cupcakes.



Going back to the bento box theme these are seasoning containers. 



These are sauce containers with the lids shaped as transportation vehicles.



Again, I thought these could be cute ideas for baby A's birthday party. 



I bought pastel animal picks. My twin sister is currently pregnant so I have to start thinking about her baby shower. I thought these would be cute for her shower.




These are laver punchers. One cuts out bear-shaped heads and the other apple shapes. You would never be able to find these at regular dollar stores!



These are rice molds that form into a bear head shape, a girl's head shape and a boy's head shape. Perfect for my bento box!



My last item that I purchased was a cutlery set. I'm still shocked that something of this quality was only $2.


I wish there was a Daiso where I lived. I literally could spend a whole day there!