Bright Sun Shinny Day!

As I have mentioned before, I am SO NOT a morning person, I am literally dragging myself out of bed after hitting the snooze repeatedly. Confession: if I am having a particularly pathetic morning, I sit down in the shower for a couple of minutes. I just sit there under the water wishing I could go back to bed. Does anyone else do this? Please say yes! LOL.

Once I eventually get moving though, usually after the caffeine hits the bloodstream, I am really to take on the day. Here's a snap of what I eat for breakfast at work every weekday morning.

 This is a blow of Sally's Organic Cereals that I previously blogged about here. I sprinkle a mix of ground flax seed, additional oats, some dried raisins and pumpkin seeds. This is super filling and really  satisfying. Tastes great too!

Another way to wake me up in the morning is wearing something with color. Bright, brilliant color! I don't own many pieces in yellow, but this dress is a favorite of mine because it is so happy looking. I bought this last year to host my Rommie/BFF's first baby shower. Super stressful day but I can't proudly say I got through it without loosing my marbles.

Dress: Jacob

Belt: Bought this in Montreal, can't remember where but I wear it often.

Shoes: Adlo, seen here

Best part of this dress, the not so obvious pattern in white!

What do you do to get through the morning grind? Please share your tips with me in the comments! I obviously need them :-)

Melmac xoxoxox

How do you pick which cosmetics to buy?

*Note: This book was not sent to me to endorse in any way and I did not receive compensation. These options are my own.*

For Christmas this past year my Mom gave me a book that she saw me read in Costco one day. It's called Don't Go To The Cosmetic Counter Without Me by Paula Begoun, a well known cosmetic expert. You can read more about her on her website here. This book is like an Encyclopedia for all cosmetics from face wash to lipstick, it has tons of products listed here broken down by brands and categories.

What makes this book so useful is that her ratings are based on the ingredients used in each product and also  spells out whether to product delivers on it's claims i.e. "moisturizes for 24 hours"! She will also disclosed if the product is tested on animals which if you have a soul, you will care about :)

I am a cosmetics junkie.... this is just some of what is in my purse and desk at work.

I have a ton more at home that fills a full drawer in my dresser, several plastic storage containers and about 1/2 of my cabinet in my bathroom!

In North America, we spend $7 Billion a year on cosmetics! That's mind blowing! That doesn't count plastic surgery either. I know I spend a lot of my income on beauty products and I used spare almost no expense on what I thought was a life changing product. Now that I am older I try to be more practical with my spending on beauty and this book has been an invaluable resource in that goal.

When approaching the cosmetics area of your local department store or pharmacy, it can be overwhelming! There are so many brands and products to choose from. This one moisturizes, oh but this one makes me look younger, this one has SPF and this one has sparkles on the package (how cute!). How can we possibly choose the best product at an affordable price when there are so many options? And after we have spent our hard earned money, are we going to be happy with that purchase? Well Paula is here to help you!

Paula rates products from Poor, Average, Good and Best with honesty and fairness from how they are packaged to what the ingredients do, results you can expect and their price points (huge money save here if you are slave to expensive, trendy brands). Paula also has her own line of cosmetics available on her website.

Now there will always be a matter of preference to consider. Even if Paula rates a brand with a less than Best rating, you may still love that product and see great results from it. For example, I have no idea why people love Maybelline Great Lash Mascara. It has been rated at the top of almost every magazine's" best mascaras" for decades and makeup artists claim it is a must have. I don't get it, the brush sucks and the results are "meh" in my opinion.  Paula, however rates it as Poor, finally someone sees the light!

I think it is really great to have a reference guide to arm yourself when you purchase a cosmetic of any kind. I refer to this book all the time and her website as well!

You can find Don't Go To The Cosmetic Counter Without Me in any bookstore or on Amazon and it retails for approximately $26.36 CND.

I hope you'll find this post useful and next time, before to run out to drop your dollar bills on the latest and greatest in make up or wrinkle cream, do some research to get the best bang for your buck!

Melmac oxoxoxox

Sunday Funday!

Gooooood Morning! I hope everyone had a super weekend. Here in Ottawa, Saturday was a really grey, gloomy, muggy day (which I loath) but Sunday had glorious weather! I may be the only one but my weekends are normally split into a fun Saturday and Sunday is either lazy or dedicated to getting stuff done like laundry, cleaning, errands etc... But this weekend it was reversed! I had a great Sunday where I got up and went for a really long walk through some paths near my home which I haven't done in forever. It was bright, sunny but not unbearably hot with not too many bugs. I had my music going to keep me motivated to keep on walking and I really felt like I was able to get a lot of pent up stress out of my system. After the walk I felt refreshed, a little sore and mentally I was more at peace then I have felt in a while. I didn't realize how much I needed that outdoor activity.

After my walk, I was lucky enough to lay by the pool to catch some rays and managed to clean the pool cleaner and do a sweep with the bug net; which gave me a feeling of accomplishment for the day!

In the evening, my Rommie and I met some of her girlfriends for some drinks and a bite at Milestones restaurant here in Ottawa. I LOVE Caesar's so I downed a couple of those before dinner and had a glass of Malbec with my meal, which was Portobello Mushroom Chicken. SO YUM!

I didn't get a picture of the actual meal so this is courtesy of Sherman's Food Adventures. 

 This is what I wore out to dinner, yes that's the same Coach purse in Purple, seen here and here! If you find a clothing piece or accessory that you LOVE and comes in different colors, always buy at least two!

 Top: Joe Fresh, seen here.

Skirt: Giant Tiger, yep I swear it! It's just a basic black skirt but it works in several different outfit choices and it's comfy!

Necklace: Old, can't remember where I bought it.

Bracelets: Both from Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. If you ever travel to Mexico, pick up some silver jewelry there. It's reasonably priced and the pieces are beautiful.

Shoes (seen above): Novellino in Kingston, Ontario

Neon & Snake Skin

Happy Friday All! My tried and true store delivers again; I am talking about Dynamite!

I had to run to the St. Laurent Shopping Center during my lunch hour yesterday and I tried so hard no to be tempted into Dynamite. But I am weak and they are having a buy one get one at 50%off sale so how can I say no to that. Besides every dollar I spend is good for the economy....right....right?

I am in desperate need of tops so I tried on these Neon Chiffon blouses and picked up the below color, a beautifully cheery neon orange and one in white (wanted neon pink but there were out of my size). These tops are light & summery and are easy to wear with work attire or casual, like I am wearing today.

Top: Dynamite (new!)

Tank: American Eagle (old)

Jeans: Jessica Simpson, Kiss Me Jeggings, seen here, here and here

Shoes: Nine West, these are HAWT! Love these shoes and I dared to wear them to work today.

Happy Weekend! Be safe and have fun!

MelMac oxoxoxoxx

Zig! Then Zag!

Two of the BEST things I love about Spring/Summer are:

1) Not wearing socks.... who's with  me?
2) Skirts/dresses to work or to play

It is the most freeing feeling to throw on a skirt or dress and some heels or flip-flops and go. I also feel like my tops have new life breathed into them when paired with a sharp looking skirt.

 Top: Dynamite

Skirt: BCBG

I tend to shy away from busy looking prints for tops. Reason being that with my bust size and big hair; bold prints can look overwhelming on me. I normally choose clean lines for tops that are a solid color to not make me appear too top heavy. BUT when I saw this top from Dynamite I thought it might work and be a good change of pace from my typical top choices. This print top does work! It is a zig-zag pattern that draws the line of the waist in while adding pops of color. The top is flowy but has a cinched waist so it doesn't look like Maternity wear.

 Close up of the top

 This necklace is a personal favorite of mine. It was bought for me in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico in 2011 and when I wear it, I am always reminded of that amazing trip!

Shoes: Nine West, my most comfortable pair of heels!

Fav Quotes

"Happiness is only real, when it is shared" - Into the Wild, film based on Christopher McCandless 

Doors that I love

Not sure if I am the only one who loves a beautifully original yet inviting main door way. Many people love architecture and I do too but I am always drawn to the doorway first and foremost.

Dig It

I tried these UGG sandals on at the Bay this weekend. I know they don't look like much but they are really cute on and they are super comfortable! Like crazy comfortable!

Randomness on a Tuesday

 Good Morning All! Hope everyone is having a wonderful Tuesday. This will be a very random post so my apologies but sometimes these posts are the most fun to write.

First we had some visitors stop by our pool the other day. A female and male duck appear every spring to take a dip, splash around and say hi to the dogs. You can only see the male in this picture but soon after I took this another male duck swooped in and there was a bit of a love triangle going on and the female flew away with male duck #2 to leave this little guy all alone. I know how you feel bro!

A friend of my Roomies dropped by a couple of weeks ago as he was in town for business and brought over this AMAZING rum called Kraken. It's spiced and sweet so if you don't like that type rum you will probably not enjoy this; I however LOVED it. I actually drank it straight over ice which I never do; it was that good.

For those of you wondering what a Kraken is, it's basically a huge mythical Octopus.

Very cool display of the Kraken Rum.

Photo source: www.retailhellunderground.com 

And more randomness with this picture of me ready to head out the door for another glorious day at work <insert sarcasm here> ;-)

Blouse: Ricki's (love this as it doesn't need to be ironed that much)

Belt: Le Chateau (very old)

Skirt: Ricki's which you have seen here

Bag: Coach, referenced here

Peachy Keen

Hello and Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a fantastic weekend. I was fortunate enough to get my hair cut and highlighted on Saturday at The Spa in Bell's Corner's in Ottawa. I can usually get away with 9-10 weeks between hair highlighting but boy oh boy by week 9 my hair really needs it! Feels so much better to have "fresh" hair, doesn't it?

*Sorry for some of the blurriness in this pictures, they were taken with the oldest iPhone known to man ;-)*

Whenever I get my hair done, my hair dresser straightens it. Such a nice change for us curly haired Gals :-)

Since I was in that neck of the woods I ventured to Bayshore Mall to see if there was anything fun to buy. Smart Set was having a sale on dresses and since I am a self diagnosed dress addict I had to try on at least one.

Shopping outfit #1

Top: American Apparel

Jeans: Rag & Bone

Shoes: Fairweather that I got on sale last weekend for $10

Necklace: Dynamite

Bracelet: Ricki's

Tried on this Vintage Chiffon dress in this lovely peachy, coral color in both medium and large. I decided that the large looked too tent-like so I went with the medium.

Close up of the medium.

Sunday I took a drive to Wal-Mart and went super causal, it is Wally World after all :-)

Shopping Outfit #2

T-Shirt: Lucky Brand (I totally love their graphic tee's and always pick some up when I am in Florida at the Premium Outlet Malls)

Pants: Old Navy Camo Capris. Very old but I still wear them from time to time.