Janelle Burger

It wouldn’t be fair to showcase artists and not highlight one of my favourites –  Janelle Burger. She does fabulous fashion illustrations, stationery, iPhone cases and even shirts. Check out her online store. I was lucky that she was able to do illustrations and the cover for my own book, The Love List.

Located in Paris, I had the opportunity to meet up with her early this year and visit one of her favourite places, Le Bon Marche. It was fantastic!

Don’t forget to follow her on twitter: janelleburgers and instagram: janelleburger  (ps: that’s not her real name:)

ELENA:)

Maison Du Soir Review

Have you ever wanted to roll out of bed and go out for dinner without changing your outfit? With Maison du Soir, now you can! Former ballerina turned fashion designer, Courtney is the creative designer behind this SoCal line of loungewear which can double as a day to night outfit.

Pure genius!

I purchased my own silk black shorts with a cute pink trim and it arrived with two surprises! An eye mask and handwritten note from Courtney herself! Very classy and sweet considering the line has already been featured on the Zoe Report! I was going to take a picture of me wearing the shorts – but now I want the top as well so you’ll have to wait until those arrive;)

PS: If silk isn’t your thing (I’m converted now!) the line carries loungewear in cotton as well!

Get your own regular priced sleepwear from Maison Du Soir at 15% with the discount code: NEWFRIENDS15

Don’t forget to follow Courtney on twitter and instagram: @Maison_Du_Soir and ‘Like’ her page on Facebook

ELENA:)

Beautulleful Review

Many people know that I’m girly. I love a great skirt that twirls. And nothing gives rise to my inner ballerina than Beautulleful skirts. I’m so excited that they are a local Vancouver find!

The Beautulleful gals are 2 BFFs that have worked on their collection for 2 years, producing 4 colours of skirts in 3 different styles (knee, tea and full) – each with 6 layers of tulle! And don’t worry about being itchy – they are all lined! Phew! The skirts are truly the perfect POUF.

I think that the graceful grey tea skirt would look amazing with my pink Valentino’s and All Saints black leather moto jacket! You can wear them day or night. So many style options – I can’t wait to order mine 🙂

And to make sure you get yours asap, the lovely Beautulleful gals have given me a pre sale 30% discount code to share: SECRETSUMMER14  This is a day early because the sale officially begins on July 4-6!

Make sure to add them to your Twitter/Instagram to stay in the loop: @Beautulleful and ‘Like’ them on Facebook

ELENA:)

A day in Paris

A Janelle Burger original.

I finally met up with my Parisian illustrator friend Janelle. She drew all the artwork, including the cover that you see in The Love List. And thankfully, she has agreed for an interview!

Our day started out the Le Bon Marche where we ate at the Rose bakery. Then we carried on through the store shopping and chatting away. We then made our way to the Madeline area on foot searching for this speciality mustard store (which we couldn’t find – it’s La Maison Maille).  We were so hungry by the end we settled on some random restaurant.  There are so many speciality stores – I can’t wait to go back to the Madeline area.

By the end of it, i had a giant Kenzo bag in my hand filled with other finds. Yay pour soldes (for sales)!

ELENA:)

Dear Fiancé

The other day i was proposed to. In a dream. With earrings. Now, the majority of ladies want a rock to go on the finger. Not me. I want engagement earrings. Preferably something that goes with everything because i will wear them all the time. So i decided to do some pre shopping. You know, see what’s out there. Here are the choices in no particular order. Surprise me.

1) Cartier: Earrings with blossom motif

2) Harry Winston: Sunflower Earstuds

3) Birks: Diamond earrings

4) Tiffany’s: Garden flower earrings

ELENA:)

Top 5 Things I learned on my Trip: #2

TOP 5 Things I learned on my trip:

2) If you like it, just buy it. Ok. There is this pair of knee high boots that my friend and I fell in love with. Sure they were $600 but they are so fantastic. Alas, they are suede. Rain and Suede do not mix. So i did the sensible thing and left them back in Tokyo. Wrong! Now, after emailing the designer – i have sourced out two people who could potentially buy the boots and ship them over. Sheesh. Should have just bought them when i had the chance.

ELENA:)

Top 5 Things I learned on my Trip: #4

TOP 5 Things I Learned on My Trip:

4) Pack an extra bag. Ok, this one is kind of lame and usually i do pack a foldable extra bag in my luggage BUT this time i didn’t. The foldable bag serves as a refuge for dirty laundry and shoes at the end of the trip. Even, when you think you are not going to buy alot or whatever… you will need the extra bag. I spent a good chunk of time looking for an inexpensive bag that could serve as my carry on – i ended up using this free bag i got when i bought my swimsuit from Swimco. I fell in love with Porter (which they are selling here for more than double the price they were in Tokyo at the Block) and Sazaby bags. I should have just bought one!

ELENA:)

Day 8: Shopping in Tokyo

No matter how many times you visit a place – things can always change. Today we hit the area of Harajuku and realized that alot of the stores had either closed down or moved locations. I guess it was totally a sign of the Japanese economy. Kitson and TopShop have found their way to the streets of Tokyo – unfortunately both had a lame selection of goods. Of course we had to visit Marc by Marc Jacobs and I did contemplate purchasing a plaid scarf but I actually couldn’t justify the shopping purchase.

The day started by visiting a “donut shop” called Love Sweets Antique. The donuts were actually flavored ice cream. I ended up having a green tea cream puff instead. After purchasing a jacket at Laforet we had some ramen. Though I’m not a big fan of pork – I love noodles it filled us up so we could tackle Kiddy land, Anna Sui and Omotesando Hills.

Did you know prescription eyeglasses are cheap in Tokyo? Not designer brands but at the local eye glass shops you can buy fashionable frames, lenses and get an eye exam for less than $100. We checked out Zoft. I may have to purchase a pair.

We walked from Harajuku to Shibuya where we crossed at a famous crosswalk where you can cross diagonally. We had dinner at this super cheap/ super fast place called Pepper Lunch. You buy a ticket and then your beef meal cooks on a hot plate in 4 minutes or less. I got beef with rice and corn. So tasty.

After dinner we checked out one more department store where I found a Tsumori  (local designer) wallet that may replace my old one. Can’t wait. Today we will be heading over to Shinjuku for more department store shopping…. i think that i need to buy another bag.

ELENA:)

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