Post Workout Snackage

After a workout it's hard to decide whether or not to eat. You don't want to eat back all those calories you just burned in a bowl of chips, but nor do you want to starve yourself when you're clearly hungry after all that hard work. It's important to refuel your muscles after working out. You need the energy to continue on with your day. But eating after a workout doesn't have to be simply a banana or pear, you can still have some fun with it, get all the nutrients your body needs and the delicious flavours your taste buds want! (Plus these are quick and simple!)
Here are a few of my favourites:

Peanut Butter Sandwich with Bananas

Slather your bread with peanut butter and slice up about half a banana, depending on the size of your bread, on it and lightly drizzle with honey for some extra sweetness (optional, of course I did though). 

Yogurt and Granola 

Mix up your granola and yogurt if your granola isn't clustered. If it is, you can dip it in the yogurt, put a little dollop on top or eat them separately, however you want! 

Chocolate Milk

                                 

If you were just lightly exercising or aren't that hungry, a nice tall glass of chocolate milk will do perfectly well!

Today I chose the Peanut Butter Sandwich with Bananas and a drizzle of honey with a little glass of chocolate milk to hit the spot! And now I'm going to go finish off this delciousness and get back to the work I've been putting off all weekend.

Hope you guys enjoyed your weekend! xoxo

OOTD: Sun, Shine and Shades

Today. I. Went. Shopping. And. Bought. Chanel Aviators.

!!!!!!!!!

Aren't they beautiful?! I'm obsessed.

A few more angles...

Today was also the first 'real' day of spring. Even though it became spring weeks ago, apparently Mother Nature didn't get the memo and kept sending us cold, gray, rainy weather. But today was so lovely I had to get a bit more dressed up and pull out the maxi skirt! 

Frolicking in my backyard...

Jean Jacket from Club Monaco, Maxi Skirt from Zara, Shoes from Capezio, Aviators by Chanel (!!!) 

(I got my top years ago while on vacation in Tokyo from a small boutique so it would be impossible to track down the store/brand, sorry!)

Hi, I'm Chloe and I'm a Shopaholic

A very good movie, it's so funny and sweet and just a little relatable...

A few of the shopping bags I've collected over the years 

So recently I've been hearing a lot of buzz about a shopaholic tag. Usually I don't do tags but this one seemed to pretty much define me so here's my go at it! 

(I found a bunch of versions of it while searching for the questions so it might be different from other people!)

1.) How old were you when you realised you were a shopaholic?
Around 14-ish 

2.) How do you feel after shopping, and do you have any weird habits you do after shopping?
I literally leave stores with a big smile on my face feeling very satisfied. Especially when I buy something I've been wanting for a while. People would think I just won the lottery. As for weird habits, I think a lot of people do this, oh well, after shopping I usually try everything I bought on with different outfits and stuff and figuring out what I could pair it with, when I can wear it, etc.

3.) What are your top 5 favourite stores to shop at and why?
(In no particular order:)
Zara- always find what I'm looking for, great sales, unique stuff compared to other stores
H&M- on trend, cheap, huge selection but not too huge (I hate big stores)
Aritzia- gorgeous stuff, cool vibe inside the store (each store is decorated differently) 
Brandy Melville- cute clothes with a hipster-y feel to it that is hard to find anywhere else, fairly cheap
Victoria's Secret PINK- I don't often buy stuff from here but their staff is so friendly and helpful and the stores are so girly and cute, it's like a girl's only club haha  


4.) What item do you have the most of in your closet?
Knitwear or tank tops 

5.) Whats the most you have ever spent on 1 shopping trip?
From what I remember it would probably be approx. $450 when I was in New York City this past March when I bought my Rebecca Minkoff bag, a pair of shoes, a sweater, tshirt, cardigan and a pair of pants. 

6.) Do you ever experience shoppers regret?
Once in a while yeah... but I've gotten better at resisting impulse buying! 

7.) What was something you regretted buying?
This beige dress from Anthropologie, I've never worn it and it was $70. (I bought it during my early days of thinking a nice brand automatically means everything from there is nice... biggest mistake.)

8.) What is your favourite thing to buy?
Something that I know I will wear a lot and/or can wear many times. Or shoes.

9.) Do you buy the same items in different colours?
Never. I think about doing it sometimes but usually I end up thinking it's pointless and can spend the money on something I don't have. 

10.) Do you ever use dressing rooms?
Most of the time, yup! 

11.) Do you prefer to go shopping alone, or with others?... and who is your favourite shopping buddy?
Definitely with somebody else, but only someone who can deal with spending a long time in a store and someone with an opinion that I trust (hey, I may think a snake-skin jacket with shoulder pads is a good idea one day, and I need someone who will drag me away from it). My favourite shopping buddy would actually be my dad. I trust his opinion a lot, I know he'll be honest but won't completely object to my picks and style. (Plus he's got a nice credit card in his wallet!)  

12.) If you could go shopping with a Celeb who would it be and why?
Either Emma Watson or Shay Mitchell. They both have a unique style that I love and they're both super confident in themselves and their own style, if they don't like something or don't feel comfortable in it, they won't wear it no matter how much people want them too and I really admire that about them! 

13.) If you could go shopping with a Blogger/Youtube guru who would it be and why?
I'm not an avid blog reader or youtube watcher but from the select few that I do regularly watch/read I'd probably pick Zoella. 

14.) Whats your favourite, treat, snack, drink during or after shopping?
Ain't nobody got time for food while shopping! (Although, a big bottle of water afterwards usually hits the spot.) 

15.) What is something you have always wanted to buy but never had the money to do so?
Chloé Eau de Parfum or any designer leather handbag, my 'dream' bag changes, but currently it's the one on everyone's mind, the Céline Luggage Tote. (Who wants donate $2500 to the buy Chloe a bag fund?) 

16.) If you had $1000 to spend on anything you want, what would you splurge on?
First I would buy everything on my shopping list and lust list, then spend the rest on shoes if I could resist more clothing.

17.) Are you a proud shopaholic? 
*All together now* HELL YES!

Sparkle, Sequins and Silk

Okay, this is a maaaajor lust item. A Needle & Thread dress.

Specifically the Tracing Mini Dress

And the Texcoco Mini Dress

Gorgeous aren't they?!

Needle & Thread is a new brand that is so new their clothes are only available on Asos. Here's how they describe themselves online:

Based in both London and Delhi, Needle & Thread is a new label that expresses itself through beautiful hand-embellished designs. Under the creative direction of Hannah Coffin, Needle & Thread present a fun and eclectic S/S’13 collection that lists Aztec patterns and Mexican art as inspiration. Created with a beach to bar feel, these standout pieces are embellished by hand in India and are destined to take pride of place in your wardrobe.

From what I've heard, the designers used to design for All Saints. I've noticed over the past year or so there has been less and less sparkly beaded and sequinned dresses at All Saints and those were my favourite of their's! I guess I know where they went now...

Each of these sparkly, sequinned, silky beauties are about $300 each so I doubt I'll be wearing one anytime soon, nor do I really have anywhere to wear them too.... But hey, a girl can lust can't she?

Put Your Records On- Corinne Bailey Rae

Put Your Records On is the song I currently cannot stop listening too! It's very light, sweet and fun. The kind of song that just makes you smile and is the perfect song to go on a walk listening too or lie down in the grass in the backyard with a book and glass of cold lemonade.

This song is pretty old, it's from 2006 (seven years, crazy!) and I discovered it while watching The Voice last week. I found myself smiling as they were singing and I immediately copied down the song in my notes on my phone (what's a pen and paper?).

Hope you enjoy this song as much as I do! 

xo

OOTD: Raptors vs. Nets

After posting my last post about Five Guys and the Raptors game, I realized that I forgot to add pictures of my outfit! So here's a quick little post about my outfit from Sunday :)

Purple shirt from Urban Outfitters (it's on sale right now!), Scarf from Forever 21, Combat Boots by Steve Madden, Purse by Rebecca Minkoff (from my NYC trip!), large bead bracelets and earrings  from Forever 21, bracelet from Aldo and nail polish from Forever 21 :) 

Five Guys and Raptors. Basically, Heaven.

Yesterday my parents and I spent the day in the city. My dad and I went to the Toronto Raptors vs. Brooklyn Nets game while my mom did a little spring shopping. We started the day off in the best way possible. Having lunch (in my case breakfast since I woke up around 10:30...) at Five Guys Burger and Fries.

They literally have the best burgers and fries in the world. I first tried Five Guys in New York City two years ago. Instantly I fell in love and so did my dad. Location started popping up around in Canada and we were so excited! There was one near my dad's office so occasionally he would bring it home for dinner. But now, one just opened up very close by! Can you say heaven?


Next, we drove down to the Air Canada Centre where I was clapping and screaming like a maniac to cheer on the Raptors. I was very excited to watch the Raptors beat the Nets 93-87! (Winning isn't exactly their forté.) They had a 20 point lead at one point, which dropped to 4 in the third quarter.... but thank god for Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan who carried the Raptors in the end and they were able to keep the lead to get the win! Woo!

(Sorry for the blurry photos, I had to use my phone and the court was really bright)

After the game my dad and I met up with my mom at a restaurant called Marché to share a lovely dinner of mussels, ravioli, mushrooms in butter, and coconut squares and a slice of upside down pineapple cake for dessert! (Sorry there weren't any photos my phone died after the game...) 

Overall, it was a very fun day with my parents (I'm cool, I know) filled with two of my favourite pass times, eating delicious food and watching basketball. A very nice Sunday. 

New/Old Nikon!

Look what I found! It's my brother's Nikon he bought for a school course but eventually dropped. He left it here since he's off a university now and I've recently rediscovered it! Expect some nicer and artsy-er photos once in a while now ;)

I know my room looks like a hurricane just passed through it... 

Grandma's Hand-Me-Downs

Over the past year or so my grandmother started giving me a few of her old jewelry pieces. I guess I've gotten old enough to appreciate them and actually wear them. This is what I have collected so far from her :)

Definitely my favourite one, her old Cartier watch:
I wear it all the time, one of my favourite things about it is that it still has to be hand wound. Whenever I first put it on, I have to set the time again and wind it up, and wind it again every few hours or so. I really love it because it's so old but it still works and is beautiful. This watch is timeless. (Haha, get it?)

A gold patterned bangle:
I have an insanely small wrist so not many bracelets fit me but this one is perfect! The pattern is also pretty cool and unique, I've never seen another bracelet remotely simliar to this one.

A blue floral bangle:
Unfortunately, as mentioned before, my wrist is tiny so this bangle doesn't really fit well... But it's still so beautiful I wear it kinda like an arm cuff, but higher up on my forearm.

:)

Everything is gold or has gold accents to it, which isn't surprising since my grandma typically only wears gold accessories, and most of my accessories are silver so they're perfect additions to my jewelry collection! But what I really love about them are that they're so old but they're still so beautiful and I can still wear them today. And whenever I wear them, I think of my grandmother :)

(P.s. My nail polish is from Forever 21!)

Clockwork Princess

*Warning* I wrote this post minutes after finishing the book and I basically wrote down all the emotions and thoughts that were going through my head. Needless to say, I was a mess. This post is a jumble of words and emotions that may not make much sense but I hope you enjoy.

I've just finished reading Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare and oh my, I am speechless. I'm currently surrounded by a mountain of tissues. I've never cried so much in my life before. Clockwork Princess is the final instalment of a trilogy called the Infernal Devices. The first one was called Clockwork Angel and the second, Clockwork Prince. They were both great books as well but Clockwork Princess was the best. Here's the summary from the publisher:

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy. 

Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

This book was simply beautiful. It was phenomenal. I want to thank Ms. Clare for writing such a fantastic novel and creating such a unique and fascinating world that I would have loved to live in. As well as creating such complex, flawed but loveable characters. I've never been so emotionally involved with characters before, I've never cared so much about what happens to them before. Jem, Will, Tessa and everyone else are such selfless and loving and brave people.
Jem Carstairs is the kindest and gentlest soul I've ever had the pleasure to read about and fall in love with. He is wise and patient and completely selfless.
Will Herondale comes off as cocky and rude but he is hiding his true caring, loving and loyal self from a horrible mistake he made when he was young. He's intelligent and charming and a character I am glad I didn't give up on.
Tessa Gray is pretty much everything I want to be. Smart, independent, strong, loyal, kind and loving. She is selfless and puts everyone she loves before herself. She also isn't afraid. She isn't afraid to give herself up to a madman, she isn't afraid to put her heart out on her sleeve and love.

I can only wish to be as good of a person as they are.

Her book wasn't just a beautiful story, it also taught me a few things about life itself. I look at love, caring and death differently now. They're all a part of the human experience and definitely what makes it worthwhile. Love isn't all hugs and kisses, it's about selflessness and genuinely caring for another person more than yourself. Doing anything for them, even if it means letting them go. Caring about someone means always being there no matter how cruel and rude and horrible they are to you. If you genuinely care for them you will do whatever it takes to help them and ignore all the horrible things they've done. And death. Death is a scary thought and I still haven't been able to wrap my head around it completely. But this book helped me realize in some ways death isn't a bad thing. It is a good thing. If you were to live forever you would outlive everyone you ever loved and cared about. Imagine a life like that. And death makes you cherish people more. You realize they won't be apart of your life forever and you need to start showing them how grateful you are to have them and how much you care for them.


Sorry for getting all emotional and philosophical and what not but honestly this book is a gem. There is so much more to it then killing the bad guy while dealing with a love triangle. Go check it out and Cassandra Clare's other amazing novels.