Get an Early Jump On Spring with These 15 Playful Picks

via Dynamite

Originally posted in The CLOSET

Okay fine, it's only February. And I know I should live for the moment and seize the day and do all of those things I'm told are good for my mental health. I love the snow. I love the winter. I love the cold. Repeat after me: we love the snow and the winter and the cold. Brrr...is it March yet? As I look at all of the pretty pieces coming into stores for spring, though, I think I've found my silver lining. These finds let me embrace the present while looking to the future, too. They let me have a cute spring fling while still making the absolute most of winter. From a fashion perspective, shopping for spring in winter is a win-win: it allows you to buy pretty new things now and wear them way longer.  Scroll down for the items on my want-list right now. So much cuteness, you'll have a really hard time waiting. And you really shouldn't. Carpe diem.

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5 Easy Updates You Need In Your Wardrobe RN

via Reitmans on Instagram

Originally posted in The Fashion Scoop

The mid-Feb struggle is real. Everyone is going on vacay, the weather is all over the map and you are so, SO sick of wearing snowboots every day. Your feet are desperate for a pedi but what's the point? Unless you're lucky enough to be headed somewhere tropical, your toes won't see the sunlight for another few months anyway. So what's one to do? Why, shop, of course!

Clear out your closet of anything that doesn't fit, doesn't flatter and doesn't make you feel amazeballs. It's the Family Day long weekend so you have an extra day to do some early spring cleaning. Okay, done? Now, it's time for a few updates. Here are 5 easy ways to upgrade your wardrobe right now...

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LOVE YOURSELF | 45 Sweet (But Not Too Sweet) Red & Pink Picks

via American Eagle

Originally posted in The CLOSET

Each year, right around this time, my husband and I have a little tête-à-tête. It's usually in the kitchen, in the morning, as we frantically make our kids' lunches and toss our breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, while I beg him to please make us cappuccinos so I can get my sense of humour back.  I'd make my own but he does it better. The conversation usually involves one of us saying something like, 'So, Valentine's Day...' and the other one of us being all like, 'Let's just do something little. Honestly, do NOT get me anything.' At this point he usually launches into his anti-Hallmark-Holiday tirade to justify not buying gifts, claiming that he doesn't like the pressure of having to prove our love in such a premeditated way. He usually gestures towards the expertly frothed cappuccino in his outstretched hand at this point, as proof that he does romantic things for me all year round.

And I tend to agree. I mean, romance should not necessarily be inextricably tied to holidays. It should be the thoughtful little things that we do on the daily for our loved ones that prove that they matter to us.  And while my 'do NOT get me anything' used to translate to 'I actually hope you get me something and if you don't I'll be annoyed,' I legitimately mean it now. He knows that I love a card with a sweet message written inside. He knows how much I adore mid-week champagne. Both of us usually cave and end up buying each other something little and occasionally something big, which I will never turn down, because DIAMONDS (HINT, HINT - no seriously, do NOT get me anything), but he understands that no matter what, I will likely go out and buy myself a gift anyway, because I've learned the importance of loving myself. That, and I have a shopping addiction. Finally, when I come home wearing my new cute new red kicks, he knows to notice and tell me how cool I look, even if he'll never, ever understand my excitement surrounding shoes. Now that's love.

Whether you're fully committed or flying solo, whether you want to surprise your bae or just want to treat yoself, you're going to love these on-point red and pink picks. Click the thumbnails to scroll through. (Oh, and also Love Yourself video below because no matter what you think of the Biebs, you have to admit he makes the best music videos.) Happy Valentines, lovelies! xo

SEE MY RED & PINK PICKS HERE...

LOVE ON THE BRAIN | 18 Valentine's Gifts to Make Them Swoon

Pretty in pink Ray-Bans via Sunglass Hut

Originally posted in The Fashion Scoop

There's nothing better than love. Sigh...I mean, what's not to love about love? From new relationships to weathered, old ones - er, I mean, deep, lifelong, stuff-that-movies-are-made-of ones - Valentine's is about celebrating that most important 4-letter word. I'm talking about love. Love is patient, love is kind, and love demands presents from time to time. Or is it just me who demands them? Anyway, it's complicated. Let's let these sweet, swoon-worthy gifts do the talking for me today. Clearly, I'm so smitten that it's making my mind foggy. Must be love on the brain...

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JET SET | 40 Resort-Ready Picks to Help You Pack Like a Pro

#followmeto the Maldives via Murad Osmann Instagram

Originally posted in The Fashion Scoop

As if the dull, grey days of Jan aren't depressing enough, our generation has social media to make taking off that much more tempting. This time of year, Facebook pages get flooded with pics of braggy beach shots. Insta stories of your friends frolicking in the ocean seem designed to torture you while you're cooped up in your cubicle (see mine here - *sorry*) I mean, it's enough to make even the most live-in-the-moment among us want to grab a last-minute flight to somewhere. Anywhere. Like, I'd take a hut on the beach with no running water, as long as I had an ocean view and someone to make me mojitos. Who's with me?

Whether you've already booked your vacay or are currently contemplating one, I've done a little research to help you pack like a total pro. After all, shopping for cute hot weather gear in January (in Canada no less) can be a serious struggle. And as far as I'm concerned, it's all about making your getaway as challenge-free as possible. Um, unless the challenge involves mojitos, of course ;)

Stream some Bob Marley, imagine yourself on a white sand beach and dream a little while you check out these resort-ready finds. Sigh...I'm feeling sunnier already...D

SHOP FOR YOUR VACAY HERE...