I ❤ Fall Tag

On October 17, 2016 By janessamannIn coffee, coffeeshop, coffeeshops, Essie, fall, fashion, food and drink, home, home decor, lifestyle, nail polish, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Yes, I know I haven’t posted since I started grad school. Sorry about that! I’m hoping that now that I’ve been in school for almost two months I’ve figured out scheduling, so I’ll be able to post once or twice a week here! I figured I would start back off with some fall inspiration, and soon I’ll get to posting about our new apartment and all the things we’ve been doing since moving back to Ottawa!

1. Favourite fall lip product

Rimmel Lasting Finish Lipstick #124 “Bordeaux”, Clinique Chubby stick intense #08 “Grandest Grape”, NARS “Funny Face”, and MAC #A74 “Kinda Sexy”

2. Favourite fall nail polishes

Essie “Wicked” and Sally Hansen Hard as Nails #120 “Bad to the Bone”

3. Favourite Starbucks fall drink

(Non-fat, no-whip) pumpkin spice latte, but really all I want is a tea latte. Probably a nice, spicy chai, or a London Fog.

4. Favourite fall candle

Anything pumpkin and spicy

5. Favourite fall scarf or accessory

Last fall I bought this awesome reversible blanket scarf from the Bay. It was a promotion during Breast Cancer Awareness Month and supposedly some of the money went towards research. I had been looking for the perfect size, pattern, and warmth, and this fit the list. It was even 100% manufactured fabric, so no wool to give me hives! I love to wear it open, or wrapped all around me. This weekend on the Greyhound I used it as a blanket. Perfect.

6. Haunted house, haunted hay ride, or haunted corn maze?

I had really wished we would have had time to go to Saunders Farm outside of Ottawa this October, but I’m busy every weekend, and we don’t have a car to drive out there. In high school it was always lots of fun, because you get to go around being scared by people, go on the hayride, watching their satirical play, and drinking hot apple cider. My least favourite parts were the haunted houses.

7. Favourite Halloween movie?

I definitely don’t watch scary movies, but if I was going to watch something creepy and fun, it’d be something along the lines of “Hot Fuzz.”

8. Favourite treat?

If I’m not going for pumpkin or apple pie, it would have to be these amazing pop tarts I made for one time we hosted friends!

9. Favourite fall activities

We all know how much I love to hike, so obviously that’s my favourite. I also love baking lots of fall things, celebrating Thanksgiving with friends and family, and carving pumpkins!

Summer Outfits

On July 15, 2016 By janessamannIn fashion, ootd, UncategorizedLeave a comment

Sometimes I go super casual- Ottawa Senators cap and this striped, strappy crop top. I wear it at the beach, I wear it for working out, and with maxi skirts.

Summer Outfits - JanessaMann.Com

Gap striped tank and Forever 21 shorts

Summer Outfits - JanessaMann.Com

Grey v-neck from Gap and Forever 21 joggers

Summer Outfits - JanessaMann.Com

Crop tops always for the summer – the paisley skirt was from a thrift store, but the scoop neck crop is one of those super cheap ones from H&M. Score.

Summer Outfits - JanessaMann.Com

This outfit absolutely felt like I was some Arabian princess-with the Samurai top-knot, crop top, and the maxi skirt.

June Favourites

On June 29, 2016June 29, 2016 By janessamannIn ereader, fashion, favourites, KOBO, lifestyle, makeup, nicessa, skincare, TorontoLeave a comment

June was a really awesome month! I had lots of shifts at work so that’ll help save up for a first payment for an apartment, we got to see family, we had our first wedding anniversary, and we went to the beach a bunch.

Aloe gel – I got a really, really bad burn when we went to the Toronto Islands for our annivesary. I used up our entire aloe plant easing the pain, so Nic went and bought the Life brand aloe gel from Shoppers. Ahhhh.

Washi tape – yes, my washi tape is from Dollarama, but it still works. I bought a few more rolls so I can coordinate my journal/bullet “agenda” with pages for blogging, favourites, my habit tracker, and goals. I made little tabs on each page that I wante to be able to flip to quickly.

NYX Soft Matte Lip Cream in Stockholm – still my favourite nude lip. It’s subtle enough that I can wear it while I work at the gym, but can be fancy with a smokey eye.

bareMinerals marvelous Moxie in Rebel – beautiful pink, not too sticky

Lush Aromaco deodorant – Yes, it’s that white chunk in the middle of the picture. I’ve been using this one for years. I love the smell of the patchouli, and unless I’m doing a hard workout, the scent covers any bad smells.

MUJI Moisturizing Milk – I mentioned this in my most recent skincare post. I love how gentle this is and how well it works with the MUJI cleansing oil.

Our first anniversary date at Byblos – amaaazing Mediterranean food and drinks.

I have absolutely loved my waterproof tablet pouch which I put on my KOBO. I bought it last year and have used it while reading at the dock, at the Atlantic ocean, at the beach… Just be careful you don’t leave it in there for too long if it’s super hot out, or the KOBO will overheat. Oops.

[Phone version]

I had lots of fun building a sandcastle last week. I’ve also loved wearing tons and tons of rings.

I love my new bikini from La Vie En Rose. It’s a push-up, which is crazy (cleavage in a bathing suit?!) but I love the strap detailing.

Our First Wedding Anniversary

On June 22, 2016 By janessamannIn beach, date, date night, downtown, explore, explore Toronto, fashion, gift, ice cream, lakeshore, marriage, my life, Nic, nicessa, ootd, outdoors, outside, personal, restaurant, review, summer, Toronto, Toronto Harbourfront, Uncategorized3 Comments

Nic and I got married June 20, 2015 in Ottawa, where we grew up. For our first anniversary, we decided we would go to Toronto Island for a beach day, and then have a delicious dinner out. Our original plans were much more grandiose-weekend hiking trip in Algonquin or on the Bruce Peninsula, bed & breakfast and a show in Stratford… But we realized that with a grad student and and under-employed-future-grad-student income, it made more sense to stick close to home.

Neither of us had been to the Islands before, so this was a lot of fun. We packed up all our essentials, and spent a really hot, relaxing day in the sun. Yes, I got a terrible burn despite repeat applications of sunscreen.

Since Nic had strained his shoulder, we knew we wouldn’t be able to play any sports at the beach. We decided to pick up a bucket and some shovels to make a sandcastle-it was a lot of fun. People kept passing by it and saying how awesome it was, probably thinking it was made by children, not two twenty-five-year-olds. We had some good laughs.

Boardwalk from Ward’s Island to Centre Island

Fresh pineapple juice in a pineapple

I bought Nic some Godiva chocolates to share

We walked from Ward’s Island to Centre Island, which was much busier, and got some fresh pineapple juice.

Byblos is a Mediterranean restaurant in the Entertainment District, and they’re phenomenal. We each got a fancy cocktail (my cucumber, mint + vodka was perfect) and then shared some plates.

Our last dish arrived after I took this picture, and we had eaten too much of the food for me to take another one. Oops! We had the best, spiciest olives, cauliflower, fried chicken, and pide.

The waitress brought us some Turkish ice cream because she knew it was our anniversary-so sweet! The booth we sat in was also super romantic. I’m so glad we went there.

Our first year of marriage has been so wonderful. First and foremost, obviously it’s been awesome living with Nic-we don’t have to be long-distance anymore, or be worried we’ll miss the last bus home because we’re having a great conversation, and there’s always our favourite person to hang out with when we get home. Second, it’s been really cool to see our relationship evolve-we’ve seen each other through tough times, dashed hopes, and joys, and have learned how to be humble about our mistakes. Third, we’ve gotten to explore places together-not just our temporary city of Toronto, but our honeymoon in Nova Scotia, bringing Nic to Manitoba for my Grandpa’s funeral, and our dream trips (B.C., New Zealand and Australia…). I’m so happy we found each other, and I can’t wait for every single anniversary after this one.

Sunglasses: thrifted
Top: Forever 21
Skirt: Suzy Shier
Heels: JustFab

After dinner we walked (I limped, I haven’t worn heels in months, and those four-inch babies were killing me) to the waterfront, shared a drink at the Amsterdam Brewery, and watched the sunset on the first day of summer.

Fall inspiration: Martin’s Apples

On October 4, 2015April 22, 2016 By janessamannIn autumn, explore, fall, fashion, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, life, Nic, pumpkin, Southern Ontario, squashLeave a comment

Turban squash

This Saturday we drove with our aunt and uncle to a family gathering, and stopped at Martin’s orchards for some produce. It was cold, but I loved taking pictures of the beautiful squash they had.

I’m loving my new scarf/poncho thing

OOTD: scarf thing from Hudson’s Bay, it’s a fundraiser for Breast Cancer research, but I couldn’t find it on their website. It’s reversible, so you can have tan or black on the outside.
White sweater from Target
My wonderful black $10 jeans from Forever21
Brown leather riding boots by Cougar

He’s a cutie

Delicious snack: cinnamon apple chips

Toronto’s Buskerfest

On August 31, 2015April 22, 2016 By janessamannIn buskerfest, fashion, festival, http://schemas.google.com/blogger/2008/kind#post, Nic, ootd, TorontoLeave a comment

We love freshly squeezed lemonade.

This weekend was Toronto’s Buskerfest. Nic and I decided to stop in on our way to my eye appointment at the Eaton Centre’s Lenscrafters, and we were glad we did.

OOTD: Costa Blanca cami

Pleather motorcycle jacket from Forever21

Jeans from Winners

We got a blooming onion

Nic always talks about how delicious the blooming onions are, and since we were hungry, we decided we “needed” to order one. It’s exactly what it sounds and looks like: a large onion, sliced so you can pull it apart, and deep-fried. Delicious, but not nutritious.

He’s excited for the onion.

Something about spinning plates on those pipes.

I wasn’t super enthused about the buskers we saw. If we had had more time, we would have listened to the bands, but the performers weren’t anything new. There were so many people out for the festival that you couldn’t see. (That picture is by holding the camera a meter above me, I didn’t actually see it.)

Grabbing money in the Car2Go booth

Nic and I have talked about getting a Car2Go membership to do errands in Toronto. They had a booth set up with a promotion of a $10 registration fee, instead of the usual $35, and half of it was going to Epilepsy Toronto. You could also step into the booth to try to catch as many extra minutes as possible. I apparently did a lot better than most people, and got about 30 extra minutes. Score.

Reading break

After my eye appointment my eyes were fuzzy (stupid eyedrops) so when we stopped for our caffeine break, Nic read to me. That was nice. I needed that. He’s cute.