Winner NEXT Giveaway

Thank you to all who entered the NEXT Giveaway.
I wish you could all be winners!

My apologies for the delayed winner announcement,
I meant to do this earlier today...

This girl is probably the luckiest girl I know. But she's also one of the kindest, sweetest girls I know.
Making her super deserving of all the giveaways out there.

Congratulations, KS! 

Random.org certainly LOVES you :)

xo

Ela

p.s. Be back in a few days!

Hope you're all having a great week!

The Love of My Life

In the past few weeks, S and I have faced some things that have caused us to reflect on how much we truly, deeply, love one another. No, we never questionned it. Not for a minute. I say this, simply because when faced with this, and going through it together...

...every

step

of the way...

we feel so grateful and blessed to have one another.

He is my rock. He is my strength. He is my best friend.

He is the love of my life.

It's been a wave of emotions these last few weeks.
And today, I am incredibly humbled and inspired to watch this, and see the beautiful Nielson family, who through trials and their faith, have so enriched the lives of others. Life is so beautiful and "oh so good".

Have a lovely weekend everyone!
xo Ela
p.s. Enter the NEXT Classic 5 Giveaway if you haven't already
p.p.s. Canadian and International readers, please be patient with me, giveaway is in the works :)

NEXT Giveaway - CLOSED

"NEXT please"...words I absolutely love to hear when I've been waiting in a queue for an extended period of time, but it's also something I've been saying since my fabulous Black and White Stripe Jacket, courtesy of the stylish and generous folks at NEXT, arrived in the mail a little while ago. I LOVE it! And am already thinking about the next NEXT item I want.

um...the vent gave me a bit of an unchoreographed Marilyn Monroe moment there...

For over 25 years, NEXT has been one of Britain’s most popular brands – acclaimed for its mastery of classic contemporary style evidenced in the combination of outstanding design, great quality and true value. When NEXT contacted me and asked if I'd like to receive one of their Classic 5 I said, "heck yeah!!!" "Yes, please!!!"

{Classic 5}

I love all five pieces but was so drawn to the Black and White Stripe Jacket. Isn't it fabulous??? What's even more fabulous is that NEXT wants to give one of my readers a chance to win one of the Classic 5 pieces. And the best part, you get to choose which one you want!

For ONE entry:
i) Be or become a follower of this blog
and
ii) Tell me which of the Classic 5 you'd like to win. And how you'd wear it.

For an EXTRA entry:
i) In addition to above, post this giveaway on your blog, add it to your sidebar, or tweet about it, just make sure to leave me another comment telling me you've done so, with the link.

For ANOTHER EXTRA entry:
i) On a separate comment, visit NEXT online and tell me what your favourite item is. FYI, I am in love with their dresses!

Giveaway will be open till May 9th.
Winner will be picked via random.org and announced May 10th.

Open to US residents only.

Good luck, everyone!

xo

Ela

p.s. Canadian and International readers, stay tuned for a little something-something next week!
p.p.s. Thank you, sweet KS. I heart you.

Shirley Temple on the Rocks

Hey guys, are you still here???

These past few weeks...eek, I can barely put in words. Here are a few high(?)lights.

Smiling on the outside with my Shirley Temple curls...

that smile is about to disappear.

My kitchen faucet, sprays water. That's good, right? Well last week it sprayed water from places that water should not be coming out of. It gave my kitchen blinds a nice wash though. I refused to call a plumber and "fixed" the problem by going all McGiver with a butter knife. No seriously, that's what I did. It seems to have stopped the leakage. Fingers crossed. Have I mentioned our home is less than two years old...

I've been battling with a skin rash I got from being around my friend's dog (I'm allergic to everything). Two weeks later it was barely any better. Turns out the cream I was given has a side effect, that shows up in about 1% of the population (yay me), of causing a skin rash. Did you get that? A cream that combats skin rash but actually can cause a skin rash. Can I say, WTHeck??? So, I'm now using two creams, one to fight off the rash and another to fight off the second skin rash the first cream is causing.

FACE = WTHeck???

Notice the one smaller eye with the puffier eye bag. Yup, that's what happens when I feel stressed. Serenity now, serenity now!!!

The other day S was pulling out of the garage then I heard some sort of commotion. Turns out our garage door decided to come off its tracks. Or thankfully(?) track, as in just on one side. It took 3 strong men and 3 hours later just to get the door back on the ground. We've had to leave it unopened this last week to you know, prevent it from killing anyone. We are still waiting to hear back from the garage people about when they can come to "service" it. Have I mentioned that our home is less than two years old....

When cleaning our master ensuite last week, I dropped a bottle of nail polish. On our bathroom tiles. Amazing how a small bottle can cause so much tears such a mess. Did I mention that our tiles are a creamy off white? Did I mention that the nail polish was RED??? Long story short, I got it off the tiles but we need to regrout some. S was sweet enough to tell me not to worry, that it's super easy to fix. Bless his heart.

I had to make a fondant cake for my BFF's little girl. 20+ hours later, no I'm not exagerrating, I got her Dora cake done. Never. Again.
Pics to follow...seem to have misplaced my camera. Seriously.

Anyway, that's just a piece of the last few weeks, there's more but then you'd think I'm lying so let's just leave it at that. MISS you all!!! Off to catch up on all you lovelies.

 xoxo

Ela

Things I...Ch 3

A few days ago after a heavy lunch, S and I decided to take a long walk short stroll few steps in the park. It's amazing what I learned from the brief time I was there...

1. Heels + Rocks = Not such a good idea. Did I really just learn this now?

2. All you need is a safety pin to add some dimension to a long top/tunic.
Just gather and pin {pin from the inside. duh}

3. Looking down as you step from rock to rock = Good idea.

4. I can't do up my hair in a bun at this length, but I can do a ponyhawk.

5. I squint a lot little when the sun is in my eyes.
Which makes me look a tad angry, no? HA.

6. I kinda like hay....that is what this is right?

7. Whoa. I gotta lot of moles. See the 4 on my cheek alone?

8. Pockets on skirts are awesome but so are pockets on tops! 

Perfect for putting my glasses in. Oh wait, where'd they go?

9. The best part about taking a walk in heels is finding a place to sit.

10. Big rocks are actually quite comfy. Not even kidding. This one would've been perfect for my lawn or backyard. Made me wish I had a flatbed truck to haul it. Or a big monster of a man to pick up perfect rock-chair on his back.
Though it's probably illegal to steal rocks from a park...

Blazer - Necessary Objects, Striped Tank - Winners
Ankle Zip Grey 'Jeggings' {I hate that word} - H&M,  
Grey Suede Shoes - Juicy Couture 
Earrings - Heidi Klum, Necklace - Adina Reyter 
Rest of jewelry- Vintage

Sorry for all the pics in the same outfit. I cropped my head out of a few so you wouldn't have to keep staring at my face.

You're welcome.

Learn anything new lately?

xo Ela