Shopping, shopping, shopping

orry for the lack of updates. June flew by and July has been a crazy month with my daughter's 1-year birthday party, my son's 4-year birthday party and hosting my inlaws for 2 weeks. I have a couple of weeks left before I go back to work :'-(
I was initially supposed to start work on July 22, but I'm taking 2 weeks vacation before I go back. It's good because that means I can have a period of rest before I start work. After I had my first (in 2009), I started work right after my son's 1-year birthday party so I was so drained and tired. This time I wanted to use up some of my vacation time. That also means I can spend more time with my little ones before I become a working mom. I know how much I'm going to cry when my daughter starts daycare… Even though I experienced putting my son in daycare after my first mat leave it doesn't make it any easier… August will be a depressing month for me.

In a lighter note, I've been doing a lot of shopping in preparation for work. Here's some of the stuff I've acquired in the past couple of weeks:

I've been wanting these Zara skort ever since I first saw them on fashion blogs.
I finally got it in white. They are super comfortable! They are still available online in
white, black and red. I even saw a gray pinstripe one in store today. These white ones
were $49.90CAD.

I got a few bottoms at HR2 a couple of weeks ago.

I got my first pair of Alice + Olivia shorts. They were marked down to $65CAD, down
from $176CAD.

These Rag & Bone Jodhpur jeans were $98CAD, down from $335CAD. You can still
find these on Shopbop in all black, but they are not on sale.

Got these gorgeous, bright jade trousers from Vince Camuto. They were $48CAD, down
from $98CAD.

I also got this Anzie necklace from HR2 last week. It's a silver disc necklace with my first
name initial. It also has a clear topaz charm attached to the chain.

Initially I wanted to get my kids initials- A & K and layer them on, but the chain is not
adjustable and it just looked messy when I had both of them on.

I wish it came in gold because I tend to wear gold jewelry more, but I really love this
necklace regardless. This was $63CAD, down from $300CAD.

I picked up 2 Gorjana rings from HR2 as well. They were $13CAD each, down from $30CAD.
I'm planning to wear them together. I don't think there is anything wrong with mixing metals.

I picked up this silk top from Aritzia today. It was on sale for $39.99CAD, down from $110CAD.
It's quite sheer so I need to wear it with a nude bra. It's also pretty loose. I got a size
small, but I think I could have gone down to XS.
I'm wearing the top with my new Alice + Olivia shorts.

I ordered these Zara ankle strap sandals online last week and I had them shipped to my
local Zara store. I picked these up today and I couldn't be happier! They are just gorge!

They are super high, but surprisingly comfortable. It's not real leather, but the price was
great at $49.99CAD. I plan on buying Zara shoes online in the future because I always
have a hard time finding my size (size 6) in stores. Plus, if you have it shipped to the
store there is no shipping fee (and shipping is free if it's over $50CAD before taxes).

While I was picking up my shoes in store I fell in love with a simple black top. I know
it doesn't look like much, but it's so lightweight and the back is why I fell in love with this
top. The front neckline is high, while the back is low.
You can see how the shoes, skort and shoes look in this look.

See what I mean? This was $19.90CAD.

Here is my Aritzia top with my Vince Camuto 

Here's how the Rag & Bone jeans look on me.

The leather panels (white) gives the illusion of thinner calves. I love that! I have fat
calves so I was pleasantly surprised when I tried these on.

Target haul

y younger sister and I checked out a Target near her house on Saturday. Her Target is bigger than the one I checked out last week. I was so excited because I didn't have my 2 kids with me and I knew that I would have more time to thoroughly go through each aisle. We started off our Target adventure with Starbucks :-)

My sister treated me to a tall non-fat latte :-P

I took a few snapshots throughout the store.
Pretty earrings. These are so perfect for Spring!

More jewelry.

I almost bought this mint green watch. It was only $19.99. I'm still debating whether to
go back and buy it…

This location that I went to had a shoe department. They weren't fully stocked as I had
hoped it would be…

Owls! Aren't these so cute? I would totally get these for my daughter when she gets a little
older. I'm not big on princess stuff and overly pink décor. This is more my cup of tea.

What a pretty pillow. The little yellow dots are tiny pom poms.

I know I showed these last time, but I'm showing it again. I love these appetizer bowls.
It also came in blue/green.

More melamine servingware.

I love that orange and oatmeal-coloured dish towels.

Huge beverage dispensers. These would be perfect for garden parties.

I was looking for a huge glass jar for storing my Oxiclean. I'm in love with that stuff.
Instead of storing them in their packaging I would rather have them in glass jars with
a wide rim. So much prettier that way.

Pretty wooden bowls.

I showed these bowls last time, but I wanted to show them with the different
coloured insides. Last time I just showed the yellow ones.

Pretty mechanical pencils.

I love Orla Kiely and I knew they collaborated with Method. This was the first time I saw
these in stores. I almost bought this hand soap, but I already have so many hand soaps
at home so I didn't end up getting it. I'm kind of regretting not buying it.
I might have to go back…

Other patterns.

Sonia Kashuk brushes. I didn't see any Sonia Kashuk makeup.
I'm a little disappointed by the beauty section. There weren't a lot of selections and brands
as I had hoped.

Nyx.
I think Rexall carries more Nyx lines.

Pixi. 

I thought the escalator for the shopping carts were so cool!

Jamie Oliver line of products.

Mental note: next time I need to pick these up.

Cute headphones.

I love Skip Hop products. Aren't these adorbs???

This pouf reminded me of something I had seen at West Elm. I couldn't find the price of these.

Now onto what I actually bought…

I've been looking for a large glass jar to store my Oxiclean in. I looked last week at
Ikea, but they didn't have the size that I wanted. I found this one at Target for $6.99CAD.

You have to twist the lid to open it.
I'm planning to make my own label and sticking it on the jar.

Appetizer plates from Threshold.

I got 4. They were $1.99CAD each.
They are look like glass plates, but they are actually melamine. 

Pretty dip bowls from Threshold.
I got 4- they were 2 for $6.99CAD.

Here they are from the side. Aren't they pretty??

Another view.

And stacked…
I think because these bowls are small they can easily be used for jewelry storage.
They are also made of melamine.

Threshold scalloped platter.
I'm a sucker for platters (I seem to pick one up from Ikea everytime I go…) so I knew
I had to have this. They only had one left. I wish I got 2… I might have to go to another
location…
This was $9.99CAD.

Here are the appetizer plates, dip bowls and platter in size relation to one another.

I also got Threshold kitchen towels.
They were $5.99 for the set.

I love how they have different patterns. I plan on hanging these on my oven door.

My only accessory that I picked up- a dainty necklace.
This was $14.99CAD.

I plan on wearing this on its own or as a layering necklace.

Here's how it looks on.