Falling for Autumn!

It's finally fall, my favourite season of the year!! it means cozy clothes, halloween, thanks giving and thennnn CHRISTMAS. I know we're a good way away from that, holiday season, but there's something about the temperature drop that I can't help but love!

You may also notice, I've gone much much darker with my hair. After having a balayage for a few months I wanted to try something completely new and out of the box. Literally, I bought a blue black box dye hair colour and gave myself a little make over. Since my hair was so light right before, it turned out almost navy coloured and it's been so much fun to get used to over the past few days.

The weather right now is at the, mild shiver in the morning and mild sweat in the afternoon, mark. Knowing how to dress for this is practically impossible, but the more layers you have, the more likely you are to get it right.

I broke out my burgundy and my thigh-high riding boots for the occasion of what felt like the first day of fall to me. If you know Canadian weather, there's never any stability in it, so I decided to take advantage of the day I had.

T-shirt Dress: H&M | Cardigan: Le Chateau
Bag: Marley Lilly | Boots: Chinese Laundry

I can't wait to be able to start throwing scarves and capes into the mix of things as well!
What's your favourite fall must have?

See yah soon,
Diana xx

By The Lake

So here in Canada, this weekend was the August long weekend. Meaning we got Monday off just for the fun of it. Lucky for me, I spent the weekend with friends and family, and even made some new friends in the process.

 
One of my best friends Monica's Family Friends were generous enough to invite them out to the cottage. It was an amazing time, and has Monica and I thinking we need to invest in one of our own!

 

What better way to appreciate nature than in your own backyard. In this case, I wish this was my backyard but it definitely shows howclose a little vacation can be. As lovers of the water, Monica and I didn’twant to get off the boat. After taking it to the cutest ice cream shop around,we did a fare bit of tubing. Although, it seemed a little bit more likeclinging onto dear life. It was a blast and we truly didn’t want to leave.

This was an amazing experience for both of us, who hope tomove further north in the future. We’ve now got our Pinterest boards filledwith lake houses and rustic décor. 

 
Let me know in the comments what your favourite long weekend activity is!

See yah soon,

Diana xx

Smells Like School Spirit

 

Four years ago I set off on the final chapter of my schooling. A BCOMM majoring in Retail Management. I started off wanting to be a buyer. On my first day the prof asked out class who wanted to be a buyer. About 80% of the class raise their hands (maybe around 100 students) and they quickly said, that by the end of our schooling maybe 10 or 15 of us would actually still want to pursue that.

 
Lo and behold, almost 4 years later, I have considered being almost everything in the field but a buyer. When I started off, I had a street style blog and was certain I wanted to go into fashion. The lines have blurred a lot since then. But, I've always been sure that I've wanted my own business.

 
I recently found so much happiness in throwing on one of my program's shirts and some slouchy shorts. I'm going to aim for a good mix of casual and more professional style for y'all.

What kind of style's your favourite?
Diana
xx

"Casual Drinks"

The title says it all. When I hear the phrase 'casual drinks', I immediately think "wtf am I supposed to wear?!" A group chat message will usually guide you in the right direction, but this outfit was all about comfort while going out with the girls.

Now that it's summer time I like wearing things that Are great for on-the-go, because you really don't know where the plans will end up. This Kate Spade salmon cross bag is perfect for running around and cleaning up a casual look. Especially with the little bow design, I had to have it! 

Classic White Converse are always the perfect match for a cool top knot! Today I did a half bun AKA the female man bun (TM) to show off some of my curls with out letting the whole mane loose. The different textures really stand out thanks to my balayaged highlights. 

the dress itself is a basic black maxi dress I picked up at Old Navy and tied a side knot on to give it a bit more of an asymmetrical, textured look. I thought the neck was a little deep for a day time occasion, so I wore a plain grey Calvin Klein sports bra underneath. 

 

  

As usual, I just paired everything off with my usual basic accessories. A vintage pearl necklace, a blue eye bracelet, and my Daniel Wellington watch.

Hope you guys liked this kind of post, if you did please let me know!
See y'all soon,
Diana xx

Victoria Day Weekend

The Canadian start of summer was the weekend before American Memorial Day weekend this year. But, the weather decided to bless us with a gorgeous weekend and we kicked off the summer perfectly.





 I love hosting events and my friends have gotten used to the varying themes my "fiesta's" usually entail. This weekend, it was a Victoria Day Tailgate. This means mason jar drinks and sweet tea to chase. Our friends have gotten so comfortable in my home and our usual anticks that the growing years seem like nothing!

Not only that, but we've gotten more comfortable I'm knowing what's necessary for everyone to feel the most comfortable. A relaxed environment with food drinks and good music is the perfect recipe. A close friend has been the honorary DJ for years and my parents have been kind enough to offer up our home as the venue all these years.

With a bit of a hang over and a lot of sun, we woke up the Monday and head to beach in my topless Jeep. (After cleaning up the wreck that was left from the night before) The idea started with a drunk text to my best friend Monica at 4 am saying we should go to the beach. The hung over reply of "want to go today?" was all we needed to grab our bikini's and head off.

All-in-All it was a gorgeous weekend with great times and great friends. If the summer is a reflection of how this was at a glance of the great weather, I can't wait and I'm ecstatic to share it with you.

see yah soon
xx
Diana

My Work Bag Essentials

Hey guys!

So, if you haven't all clued in, I work quite a bit. For my internship this summer I'm working full time, but fairly long hours. For those of you on the same boat for the summer, or working full-time, I wanted to talk about my survival kit! 

So here's a peak inside my Kate Spade leather tote, that allows me to carry just about everything!
first of all, the bottle on the left is my tanning lotion for the days I go tanning after work (my eyewear is also thrown in there somewhere). Then I've got my wallet and my sunglasses. You can't seen the pocket too much, but I've got a few pens in there as well as a hand sanitizer and lotion!

But the four books in there are the most crucial to my daily routine!
1. The gold and white striped personal planner is what I use to keep track of everything and have it in one central place. It allows me to keep up my to-do lists and things wherever I am.
2. The Vacationers; the novel I'm currently reading is what I like to keep with me if I get a little time during lunch to take my mind of work and the real world a little bit!
3. The gold foiled Notebook, similar concept to the planner but a little less organized. I can use it to jot down anything from outfit ideas to budgeting rough drafts. I find it helpful to have an open space to put ideas on paper whenever my mind's wondering off from work.
4. A simple moleskin paperback notebook. I constantly need to jot things down on the spot while I'm at work, so I like to use this almost as organized scrap paper.

let me know what you need in your bag!
see yah soon,
Diana xx

Favourite Outfit of the Week

So, I'm sure no one's proud of all of their outfits, there's always that one day that you slack off a little. So I'm not going to show you my outfits for everyday of the week but I am going to show you my favourite work outfit, since i didn't go anywhere notable this week!

It was a very preppy look with a little bit of sass! Sunglasses: Raybans Pearls: Carolee 

Vest: Patagonia Watch: Michael Kors Shirt: American Eagle Pants: Le Chateau Shoes: Ramon Tenza

Hopefully you guys like this kind of post and I'll keep this up at the end of every week, adds a little more motivation for me as well! I've been loving how put together a pearl necklace can make an outfit. 

See yah soon, xx 

Diana

Planner Preferences

For those of you who don't know, I'm a planner ADDICT. As a matter of fact, I'm addicted to pretty much anything stationary related; if we're being honest. Planner's seem to give my scattered brain some sanity. So, after using my Kate Spade Planner for the past year, I'll tell you why I'm off the moon about trying the MAMBI Happy Planner. None the less, Both of them will cover the next six months. So, I'll also be trying to balance the (in)practicality of having two planners. 

Here's a little run down of the two of them, 

They're both 18 months and start with a preview of the two years. That's about where the similarities end. 

The Kate Spade Planner ran from 2015-2016 and it's a horizontal planner which has a month overview and then a weekly view. Between months, there are simply polka-dot pages as dividers that give a lot of room for personalizing and decorating.

Being a full-time student in university who also is on a school team, and works, and has a social life, I found bullet points to be the only functional way to pencil things in. I like to add in the time and location and found this to fit quite awkwardly.

That is what started my hunt for a vertical planner. 

and then I found the "Me and My Big Ideas" Happy Planner!

This one runs from 2016-2017 but has custom rings that allow for inserts additional pages to be popped in. Literally. 

Aside from being extremely customizable, the planners themselves come in plenty of variations to really match your style. They're also newly available to Michael's Canada! and that means couponnnss. The Planner hasn't started just yet, but I'm dying to try it out!  

Can't wait to review which one works best for me,
see yah soon xx

CALL TO ACTION: Want List Prioritization

Hey guys, this may seem like a bit of a strange concept but for as long as I can remember, I've been making want lists. Yes, my shopping addiction started young. But, in all seriousness, this helps me make decisions that are well thought out when I have a little extra money in the bank.

Basically, this can be done on paper, or on your phone using the notes app or any organizational app. If I'm going to do it digitally I love using Wunderlist for it, since it updates on all of my devices and keeps everything organized in lists and folders!

The Basis of this is to keep an updated list of things you want to purchase. If you're anything like me, you're probably thinking "... so like, everything?" well, my rule of thumb is if I would want it in my shopping cart, I want it enough to potentially purchase it. This is also good for stopping impulse buys, since you may very well look back and think, I don't actually care for that.

So, every time that wallet itch comes around and I'm able to make a good purchase, I then start looking at my list a little more critically. I start by eliminating the things I don't want as much and then prioritizing as well as weighing in all factors; such as money, upkeep, usage, etc. Eventually I'll come down to a decision. If it's down to a few and there really is no better option, I usually just go with my gut on which I choose.
(Lets be real, sometimes I just get both) 

The key is everything in moderation really! I hope this helps some indecisive shopaholics like me.
I'll see yah soon,
Sandianaa

Spring Cleaning Tips: Bedroom Edition for the Hoarder Type

This is generally what my bed looks like when it has been tidied. Although rare, it's a beautiful sight. So that's how I'm going to start off today's post.

1. Start with your bed. If you’re anything like me, There will be heaps of stuff at the foot of your bed. 90% of it clothes and perhaps some headphones or chargers. Either way, put all of those things back in their homes and Clear that cozy area of everything and anything that isn’t an active aid to your sleep. 
2. The Floor. I’m usually not much worse than a line of up bags and shoes I’ve been using, but even that can get out of control. Again this is something that shouldn’t have anything on it; other than the obvious. Even if you can vaguely put these things where they belong, once you get to that section of your room it’ll be easier to put it in its proper place. 
3. Your Desk/Vanity. I have Both, some may use one for the two purposes. I kept them under the same category anyway since they can both generally be cleaned up using the same train of thought. “Where is this supposed to go?” if you think, “trash” or “in the mug that holds my pencils,” then it’s quite obvious where it should go. If you don’t know, set it aside and give it a home once everything else has been cleaned up.
   
   Any other table tops such as dressers or night stands should generally use the same rule of thumb. I know at least, from my own experience, they all have a habit of collecting pretty much any bits and bobs.  

thank just about covers all the main area points that collect clutter. I hope to be doing wardrobe and book editions very soon! 

until then, see yah soon xx

Sandianaa 

Tan Talks

Through out the years, I've tried quite a few tanning methods and continued to strive for the golden glow that runs aways from us here up North. Although my roots are from down south and give me quite olive skin, I too get very pale deep into the winter.

While I've tried countless different methods, self-tanning is the one I've settled with while I spend my days indoors or under thick layers of clothing for warmth.

These are the ones I'm currently using and they all very in result as well as price. From left to right; Lancome Flash Brozer, Loving tan Deluxe Bronzing Mousse in Ultra Dark, and L'Oreal Sublime Bronze in Medium.

Lancome Flash Bronzer:
This lotion retails for about $40 and gives a warm tan that makes you look like you spent the weekend in the tropics. It takes a little while to dry and fully develops in a few hours. I almost never had issues with streaking, although I consider myself a pro at this point. I love this product and would recommend it to anyone who wanted a natural but build-able tan.

Loving Tan Mousse:
With shipping and taxes, I believe I paid about $50 CAD when our dollar was a bit stronger than the Autralian one. It gives a very olive dark tan that looks amazing for events, especially if lots of pictures are being taken. It dries extremely quickly and develops in a couple of hours, how ever there is a 2-hr express serum available. This is my favourite of the three tans but I must warn the inexperienced tanner that hand and dry spot streaks are very noticeable given it's so dark.

L'Oreal Sublime Bronze Gel:
I believe this product retails just under $20 and leaves a very light subtle tan. This tan is intended to be built up gradually and has the best smelling formula I've ever tried! I didn't quite notice how long that tan takes to develop since it's very subtle, but I was very impressed that it didn't transfer onto my clothes in the process.

All in all, I'm very happy with all of them and think they all have their own merits. I hope this helps anyone who's looking to try new self tanning products.

See you soon,
Sandianaa xx

Superstars!

Hey guys!

So, I've had my eye on the Adidas Superstars for MONTHS and it crushed my soul to see my brother get them for himself before I did. But, FINALLY I purchased a pair of my own. Although, he earned the rights to the "you copied me" comments, I'm in love with them. They've become the ultimate cool shoe to simply through into an ensemble when in doubt. 

Not only are they comfortable, but they also earn me a little more street cred than my Nike FreeRun's. I mean, not that this tiny girl is really fooling anyone anyways. HA!

Of course they look great with all jean and jogger combo's but I'm the ultimate fan of sneakers and dresses! I can't wait until it warms up a little more in Toronto and I can start experimenting with the girly meets sporty outfit mix! 

If any of you are tempted to purchase a pair, I would tell you 10 times out of 10 that it's a great purchase that you won't regret. 

talk to you soon, 

Sandianaa xx 

I'm back! Happy Easter!

Hello loves!
So, first of all, I'd like to deeply apologize for leaving as quickly as I came. I've been juggling a lot lately, and unfortunately that doesn't give me much time on my own to create content.
You may not know, but I have a youtube channel named Sandianaa A that I had to pause from developing because of this. I hope that now that school is coming to a close, I'll be able to get my act together and start creating great things.

Secondly I'd like to say Happy Easter!! I hope it was a wonderful day spent with family/friends whether you celebrate Easter or not.

My day began just as every easter does in my house hold. With a gorgeous chocolate hunt that ends in a Cora's breakfast. What more could we ever ask for? Especially with the world's greatest easter bunny in charge! We ended up going to the movies and seeing Zootopia (which was the cutest and a must see) to end our day off. I love easter so much because it's such a family holiday for me.

Aviator Sunglasses: Rayban | Top: Zara | Jeans: Hollister | Wedges: Can't quite remember?

Ps. yes, those are new highlights in my hair. I'm also loving those!

Once again, hope y'all had a lovely day!
See yah soon,
Sandianaa xx

Hello!

My name is Diana and I'm a 20 year old student with buckets of creativity and way too much energy. I have an immense drive for the new and exciting, new experiences are the highlight of my day no matter the size of them.

Time and time again, I've tried to channel my creative energies through many different outlets and my most successful, in terms of how satisfied I was with my content was my first blog. Unfortunately, it was a shared blog so it did not work out very well.

So, today I give birth to this new baby blog Sandiana (me) Blogs. Ideally, this will be a daily diary featuring moments in my life, outfits of the week's and tips and tricks for beauty, fashion, fitness and lifestyle. Basically, welcome to me life is all I can say.

Today, I'm plagued with the guilt of my shopping addiction, although I don't regret my most recent beauty purchases for a second.

First, getting the Urban Decay Naked Smokey Palette 

and then, beautiful lippies from MAC

(Lipstick: Stone, Lip Liner: Chestnut)

So, you could say I've been in the mood to slay!
anyways, that's been enough for my introduction.
See you all soon xx