Winter Classics

(Gap hat, Club Monaco top, Romwe jacket, BDG jeans, Rebecca Minkoff bag, Zara boots, J. Crew necklace, Michael Kors watch)

(NOTE: Bare with me, this is kind of a long one!)

Happy New Year, everyone!!
Hope you all had an awesome holiday with your family & friends. I must say mine was exceptional (and I hardly use that word! hah) - it felt amazing to be able to just kick back and relax with my favourite people, and just do classic holiday traditions like visiting friends and family, near and far, finding + wrapping great presents for everyone, holiday parties and kris kringles, having more time for baking and cooking... oh yeah, and EATING the best holiday meals! Did I mention I'm doing a post-holiday detox? Haha. More on that in my next post, possibly!

It was such a refreshing feeling to ring in the new year, as well. 2012 was such a rollercoaster year for me. It definitely threw challenges my way, but I must admit that more than anything else, it was extremely rewarding for me. I've experienced so much positive growth that I can't help but be grateful for every single event that occurred in 2012. I was frequently thrown out of my comfort zone, and thus learned to adapt and move forward. I can't wait to see what 2013 has in store. I have a few new years resolutions: care less about what others think (this is vital to discovering who one truly is - having no 'outer influence'), do something that scares me as often as possible ;) (conquering one's fears is key), and always, pay it forward (good deeds go a long way, and are the recipe for good karma). What are your new years resolutions? ;)

On to the outfit (finally): I've been obsessed with Club Monaco lately. As soon as I hit the mall, it's the first place I go! And they had such awesome sales all holiday long! The silk top is one of my recent purchases from there. Such a beautiful botanical print, and though you can't see because I have my jacket over top, it has a black leather pocket on the front-left side that adds a lil 'edge' to it too. I forgot I had this jacket from Romwe and dug it out from the back of my closet a few days ago - love the feminine silhouette, contrasted with the moto-style zipper. As for the hat, ain't it perfect?! Was eyeing a Rag & Bone one on eBay for a while but walked into Gap last week and found this one - the perfect size and love the forest green colour.

xoxo, Ally