Ma jolie petite soeur

y baby sister turned 28 today. I can't believe she's in her late 20s! I still feel young at heart so it shocks me sometimes how fast time flies. Do you guys feel that way too?
We celebrated her birthday yesterday with family, but I thought I would show you what I got for her. Her style is very different from me. She's really into preppy clothes and her favourite stores are American Eagle, J Crew and Anthropologie. I like those stores too, but I also like edgy pieces.

I got her a J Crew striped cardigan and a pair of TOMS. Considering how much she loves
comfy shoes I'm surprised she doesn't own TOMS yet. I own a pair of purple ones
and they are my most comfortable shoes in my closet.

It's hard to tell in this photo, but the shoes have gold and magenta threading throughout.

This cardigan is soooooo soft. I wish I got one for myself…

Now, I looooooove to wrap gifts. I think showing care in how you wrap gifts is a reflection
of yourself. I love getting beautifully wrapped gifts so I make sure to take the time
to wrap gifts as nicely as possible. This boggles my husband (and I'm sure a lot of
people) because people throw out wrapping paper once they open their gifts, but I don't care.

I threaded bakers twine through 2 buttons and used a glue gun to glue the buttons down.
I love wrapping gifts in Kraft paper because it just looks classy.

I always use my glue gun to glue the sides because I noticed tape doesn't adhere to
Kraft paper well. Then I finish off the sides with pretty Washi tape.

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.