Leap Day

This day comes but once every four years, so I hope you are all taking advantage of this 'extra' day to do something special. And of course, it only seems proper that I share this leaping, bounding editorial shot by Greg Kadel for Numéro. Make like Ginta Lapina and have a leap day full of fun.

Reading in Style

I follow so many wonderfully inspirational blogs and tumblrs, I felt it high time to start recognizing a few of them -  I thought, who better to choose than fellow bibliophiles? Maybe not all of these ladies are true lovers of books, but I can't help but feel that these stylish ladies with their noses in books are kindred spirits of mine, so here are a few who've found their way into my inspiration folder.

Caroline de Maigret

A Parisian shot by The Selby. Can you get more simply chic than this? I think not. And check out her personal library! Amazing!

Alix

Okay, cheating a wee bit here. The lovely Alix is not really reading Nabokov's Lolita, but rather holding her Olympia le-Tan clutch. Either way, some fabulous accessorizing by one of the very first bloggers I ever started to follow.

Marianne of Esme and the Laneway is one of my favourites. Her pretty 50's inspired style and amazing hairstyling skills are always inspiring. And I have to love this cute shot of hers, reading a favourite book.

Kennedy

I loved this book and cat themed post from Kennedy Holmes. Such pretty shots and I love the vintage cat book, appropriately titled Cats Cats Cats Cats.... well, you can see what I mean. And how lovely is that hat? Seriously though.

Heather

Last but not least, Heather of Lily Voltaire, who was featured a while back on the Modcloth blog caught my eye with her adorably staged photo featuring a lovely vintage dress.

I'd love to start making this a regular feature, so if you email me a photo of yourself reading in a fabulous outfit like these ladies you may just find yourself included next time. Inspired? I hope so!

Want to see more chic reading ladies and book-inspired style? Check out my tumblr here.

 

Literary Enchantment

I've been a die-hard fan of Ruche for ages, and it seems that lately their lookbooks are getting lovelier than ever. I know I generally add almost every look to my ever-growing wishlist.  Their latest creation, Enchantment (released Monday), continues along on the inspirationally pretty path of lookbooks past.

My very favourite shots were those featuring  not only beautiful styles but also a classic old hardcover collection of plays by Henrik Ibsen, so of course I had to share.

Lovely and literary? Yes please!

Music Monday: Never Let Me Go

Florence Welch is one of my favourite artists (not to mention style inspirations) and I've been listening to her song Never Let Me Go on repeat for the last few weeks, so I thought it high time to share with you all in a Music Monday post. 

What have you been listening to lately?

NYFW: 10 Favourite Moments

I've already saved a ridiculous number of looks from the shows at New York Fashion Week into my inspiration folder, but rather than bombard you with tons and tons of favourite ensembles from the NY catwalks, I thought I'd share my top ten favourite moments from throughout the week. 

1.  Florals popped up for fall on a lot of the NYFW runways, but Derek Lam's take was one of my favourites.

2. The insane pilgrim shoes at Marc Jacobs were pretty fantastic.

3.  Flapper style dresses and general sparkle (Oscar dresses anyone?) and some seriously great plaid at Michael Kors 

4.  This gorgeous dress from an overall great collection by Jason Wu

5. A collection from Lauren Moffatt that I would wear any piece from every day.

6. This perfectly periwinkle coat from Rodarte.

7. Rich colours (teal!!), opulent pearl and chandelier-esque prints, boat necks and chic short bouffants at Oscar de la Renta.

8.  The checkerboard velvet-y coat of fabulousness from Marc by Marc Jacobs

9. Frothy dresses with modern prints, sheens, sheers and more from Prabal Gurung. Hands down one of my very favourite collections of the NYC shows. Absolutely fabulous.

10. And last but not least, a seriously strong showing from the talented fellows at Proenza Schouler. My choices for top pieces? The amazing quilted jackets which I predict will be cropping up on street style blogs everywhere in no time flat.

What were some of your favourite shows or looks from New York Fashion Week?

P.S. You can check out the rest of my NYFW favourites on my "Pin the Runway" board

Sui Style Savant

It appears that my adorable one year old niece is an unwitting trend forecaster / muse, having sported her tasseled owl toque all winter long before similar versions popped up on the Anna Sui runway for Fall/Winter 2012.  My only conclusion is that little Susannah is a style icon in the making, since she's clearly already setting  trends for the New York runways.

Pretty People Reading

Loving this new lookbook from Aubin & Wills featuring one of my favourite Canadian models, Irina Lazareanu. That and I'm always inclined to instantly love any assortment of photographs featuring a library-inspired theme.

The setting is pretty much how I envision my perfect living room - walls lined with bookshelves brimming over with hundreds of delightful old books. Sounds pretty perfect, no?

You can check out the rest of the lookbook here.

Le Jour de la Saint-Valentin

Here

Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.  

1 Cor. 13:13

Wishing you love on this Valentine's day! 

Bookish Baubles

It's a bit too bad that I didn't find these adorable little book earrings from DuDiDesign in time for my first day of work (today!), but they are definitely on the list of must-have librarian accessories.

One Last Look

This morning I fly out of Ottawa, heading home to Prince Edward Island for good! Although I very much look forward to seeing the ocean, spending time with family and starting an exciting new job, as well as a possible Maritime blogger meet-up, I am leaving behind a lot here in Ottawa.

There's a wonderful group of friends, an amazingly lovely group of co-workers, a beautiful library (see my snaps above taken when working at our main branch last Thursday night!) and a wonderful city full of great activities to say good-bye to, but there will be lots of reunions with my family and friends back home, so the departure is bittersweet.

More good news? My next post will be coming to you live from Prince Edward Island!

Fieldguided Inspiration

I don't know if all of you are familiar the Toronto-based site Fieldguided by Anabela Carneiro, but it is a stunner of a blog filled with beautiful thoughts and photography, and is a constant source of inspiration for me.

Most recently, Anabela (and Geoff Peirsol) photographed a gorgeous lookbook for spring from Scout and Catalogue, which has since found itself immediately saved into my inspiration folder.

Although in some cases I find a mish-mash of juxtaposed pictures confusing, in this case I think it is perfectly done, dream-like and simply  lovely.

If you want to see more fabulous photography from the lady behind Fieldguided, as well as this gorgeous Scout and Catalogue lookbook, hop on over to her flickr & blog -  trust me, you won't be disappointed.

Fantastic Flying Books

With the Academy Awards coming up in a few short weeks, I thought I would share this beautiful animated film that has found itself nominated for an Oscar: The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. Of course the book lover in me was instantly intrigued, but it truly is a beautiful little film. I'm definitely hoping it'll get the win! It isn't long, just fifteen minutes or so, and trust me - it is worth every moment.

Bright and Beautiful

Although I love the cozy layers that go along with winter dressing, one thing I haven't been loving lately is the cold, grey, slushy weather we've been having lately. I don't know about you, but once Christmas has passed I am very much ready to have winter over with. I guess it makes sense then, that I'm drawn to the brightest possible crazy mixture of prints and patterns.

This editorial from Elle Greece (via Fashion Gone Rogue) shot by Dimitris Skoulos and featuring Natalia Zakharova is, in my opinion, was the perfect thing to pull me out of my winter fashion doldrums. Stylist Eirini Vassou pulled out all of the stops with beautiful bright pieces from designers like Missoni, Prada, Blumarine and more to make one of the best print-mixing stories I've seen in a while.

These are a few of my favourite looks from this stunning editorial, but if you like what you see, you can find the rest of the images here.

Staying Alert

Those of us complaining about the awful weather and cold winter days really have little to worry about compared to some. A lovely friend of mine, Kristy (of My Heart Stumbles) is currently documenting her daily adventures living in the very northernmost tip of Canada - Alert, Nunavut; which incidentally is also the northernmost permanently inhabited place in the world.

In spite of weeks of total darkness and unthinkably cold temperatures, she has been posting the most beautiful photos (think great experiments with low-light photography) and sharing the ups and downs of living in such an isolated area with the utmost positivity and charm.

You really should pop over to her blog, North of 60 (although actually she’s even north of the 80th parallel) and take a peek at a part of the world that very few people ever get to see.

From adventures ice-fishing on New Year's eve to encounters with curious arctic wolves, to glimpses of the long unseen sun, each post on North of 60 shares a new adventure experienced by this truly kind and talented lady.

Go ahead : pay her blog a visit and leave her an encouraging note or two. Wouldn’t you want a friendly hello if you were living in darkness and isolation? Yeah, I thought so.