August, 2015 - sparkleshinylove

Roxymandy August 31, 2015

Pencil Skirts That Are Not Just For Work

Pencil skirts usually make me think of work wear, but this particular skirt has me thinking about after work dinner and drinks!

The fact that it has a cute red camo print, and an asymmetrical cut makes it fun. I only have one other pencil skirt and I hardly wear it, but I’ve noticed that I’ve seen a lot of really great ones lately that would look very fashion forward with a crop top or loose sweater to offset the tight skirt.

This type of skirt is great for giving the illusion of a taller figure, so high heels are a must to finish the look.

Comfort-wise it’s actually surprisingly easy to wear because of the stretch in the fabric (this one is from H&M for only $39.95), and I find that high-waisted skirts can be much more flattering than one that sits on the hip.

See below for a few more of my favourite pencil skirts!

Banana Republic Sloan Fit Pencil Skirt

Zara Pencil Skirt with Ruffle

Forever 21 Origami Pencil Skirt

Gap Ribbed Pencil Skirt

All Saints Metal Pencil Skirt

Roxymandy August 28, 2015

My First Shopping Trip to Farm Boy Whitby!

Today I visited Farm Boy Whitby for the first time, and I can already say I’ll be back. I wrote last week about the grand opening and the events to come this Saturday, August 29th, but I decided to stop in to see the store for myself today.

The biggest thing I noticed was that I couldn’t actually purchase anything bad for myself! I really needed chips to get me through the weekend (I am a HUGE chip fan), and I couldn’t find them. Why? Well, they aren’t exactly healthy, but I was provided with all kinds of alternatives. I picked up some of Farm Boy’s own tortilla chips and salsa in the place of my beloved chips.

The store is packed full of everything good for you! At the checkout instead of rows of candy bars you find organic candy and gum. It’s a real change from the average chain grocery store.

The produce was incredibly fresh, and there were a few options you don’t always see at the grocery store like coloured carrots, and sliced up fruit samples in the isles.

My favourite part of the Farm Boy Whitby store is the fresh meals you can eat there or bring home! We are always on the run, so sometimes I need something quick to feed the family.

I couldn’t belive all of the options. The meat section had all kinds of marinated steaks, fish and chicken all ready for the oven or BBQ. It was a bigger selection than I have seen at a regular grocery store. The deli and cheese section had fresh products ready to be cut and packaged, and again had lots of ready-to-go options as well.

The salad bar is pretty amazing. It’s got everything from pre-made Ceasar salads, to a section where you can create your own salad, all kids of potato and pasta salads, and then other mediterranean style salads. Every kind of possible salad combination could be put together there. There was also a section to package fresh soups made daily, and even a section with hot meals like pasta and butter chicken.

There was a separate area where you could have a stir fry made on the spot, and a sandwich section where you could have it warmed up on a grill. There was also a fresh sushi spot, and a full service bakery.

The pizza area was really impressive. You could choose the toppings on your pizza, and watch it cook in a fire burning oven before it’s boxed and ready to take home.

There was a great seating area both inside and outside to eat which was nice as well.

I picked up quite a few items from the Farm Boy brand like fresh orange juice, mediterranean salad dressing, and their tortilla chips and salsa.

I don’t think my shopping cart has ever looked so healthy!

I didn’t notice too much of a price difference between Farm Boy and the other grocery stores I normally shop at. I often buy organic fruits, vegetables, and gluten free treats for my son and I found the prices very comparable to where I usually shop and what I usually buy in that regard.

I really loved that they had many pre-packaged lunches and snacks to take on the go as well. How great is this lunch in a bag? It includes a sandwich, drink, cookies, an apple and a granola bar!

For someone like me who doesn’t always have time to make dinner but has good intentions for serving something fresh and healthy to my family, I was very impressed with what they had to offer for meals to go.

Overall I loved it, and I will be back often!

Farm Boy Taunton Gardens (Whitby) is located at 2 – 360 Taunton Road East, Whitby, Ontario.

Roxymandy August 28, 2015

Winner of the Treehouse Big Day Out 2 Contest!

Thank you to everyone who entered to win 4 passes to the Treehouse Big Day Out 2 festival!

The winner randomly selected by Rafflecopter is Michelle LeClair!

Congratulations – we will contact you shortly so you can collect your prize.

Thank you!

Roxymandy August 28, 2015

CIL Paint Meet-The-Experts Event + Win 2 Cans of CIL Paint!

Last week I attended a great event at CIL Headquarters in Toronto where I learned about the hottest colour and paint trends for 2016.

A panel of CIL paint experts lead the way for a group of fabulous lifestyle and home décor bloggers (not only in person, but across the country via Webinar!), and we were able to ask questions and learn all about what’s new for paint in 2016.

We discussed the CIL paint online Ask An Expert service Where you can ask CIL paint experts a question and have it answered within 2 business days.

Décor and color specialists, product and technical experts, and even experienced painters are all available to answer your questions online!

How quick they get back to you really impresses me! You can ask your questions anytime, 24/7, and an expert will get back to you with advice. It’s a really cool service.

So what is the CIL paint Colour of the Year for 2016?

Soft blush pinks are expected to be on trend for 2015, such as Chemise Pink (60YR 75/075 MC10), CIL’s offical paint Colour of the Year. You will find soft blush pinks will be super hot in the year ahead, incorporated in all elements of home décor, from walls to furnishings to accessories. It’s all about tranquility in 2016.

As for paint techniques, three kinds will stand out in 2016 including gold accenting, neo-traditional look and tone-on-tone. decor.

I love the gold accenting trend! Since I picked up a gold paint pen for my DIY globe project, I have found myself wanting to accent everything in gold!

You will likely see more doors and mouldings painted in more colourful hues instead of the standard white we are used to seeing. Even banisters which often have white spindles with a brown or black railing may start to see bolder and brighter colours to add fun to your space.

A tone-on-tone scheme uses colours of different intensity throughout a room, a look that can be dramatically altered by lightening or darkening the base colour. You will see this trend in all aspects of home décor in 2016

We learned about some very cool paint products that will be popular in 2016 including cabinet and furniture paint, and metallic gold paint.

It seems like most people are taking on DIY projects and painting vintage pieces to create a modern look. We have done a few of these projects ourselves and have loved the results. CIL Realife Furniture and Cabinets seem to do a great job at refreshing an older piece of furniture, or just to add a pop of colour to a piece that just isn’t the right color.

For a cabinet painting demonstration, visit http://www.cil.ca/Advice/June-2015/Painting-Kitchen-Cupboards. The paint CIL carries for painting cabinet’s is pretty amazing! It’s a fool-proof formula where your strokes don’t need to be perfect, but it dry’s like they were!

Shimmery metallic paint – such as CIL paint’s Disney Magnificent Metallic Specialty Finish , tintable in 24 colours including gold-tones, is ideal for adding a touch of trendy gold to traditional elements in the home.

I gave this technique a try at the Meet-The-Experts event, and it actually wasn’t hard at all! It’s so fun to create your own canvas art, and to accent it in gold all I had to do was drag the brush from top to mid way to create an fading feathered effect.

Here is a video of one of the experts showing us how it’s done!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WgFMZgl8x9k

I learned a lot at this event! We did an excellent tour of the CIL facilities that night as well, and I learned about all kind of things related to paint that I had no idea about! We couldn’t take photos in the production area, but I can tell you making paint is sort of like baking a cake! There are lots of ingredients (including some that really look like flour) which are mixed together, and voila! It was really neat to see.

One major thing I learned about is how important a primer is. I get a little lazy when it comes to painting, but I learned it’s important to not skip primer. Primer is cheaper than paint, so it’s better to prime and then paint so you need less coats of paint. The last thing you want to do is buy more paint because you need more coats!

CIL paint products are available at The Home Depot, Walmart, Canadian Tire, Rona and other independent paint dealers nationally. The price for a gallon of interior CIL paint ranges from $28 to $55, depending on the product. More information and paint discount coupons can be found at www.cil.ca.

Now for the contest!

One lucky sparkleshinylove reader will win 2 cans (an $80 value) of CIL paint to do their own project at home!

Enter via the Rafflecopter App below to win. The contest begins Friday, August 28th 2015 at midnight, and ends Monday, September 7th, 2015 at midnight. The winner will be announced on the blog following the contest closing. This contest is open to Canadian (excluding Quebec) residents only; prizes are limited to one prize per winner – i.e. while a person may enter multiple CIL paint online contests, he or she may collect a prize from only one of the contests entered.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Roxymandy August 27, 2015

Win a $200 Gift card to Dixie Outlet Mall and Find Your Own Dixie Deals!

Hopefully by now you have taken the Wild Side quiz at www.DixieWildSide.com, and maybe you’ve even visited Dixie Outlet Mall and taken a Discover Your Wild Side photo while there!

Last week you saw my fall outfit reveal, and read about how I put together an outfit for $200 (and saved a lot more!).

Now it’s time to have your own chance to shop at Dixie Outlet Mall by winning a $200 gift card on the blog!

Enter to win via the Rafflecopter App below! The contest is open to residents of Canada, but please note the winner must be able to pick up the gift card in person at the mall if they are the winner.

The contest will run from midnight, August 27th, 2015 until midnight, September 3rd, 2015.

The winner will be announced on the blog September 4th, 2015.

Good luck to everyone who enters!

I had a blast finding great fall clothes at Dixie Outlet Mall. You should check it out for yourself!

a Rafflecopter giveaway