Author Archives: Nyree Costello

Blue Monday

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Today is apparently the most depressing day of 2014. Blue Monday. The day millions of people around the world head back into the office after taking time off over the holidays. Add that it’s also a Monday, and here in Ottawa residents woke up to a city layers in ice… it’s enough to make a girl cry in her Starbucks while listening to New Order’s Blue Monday.  (Which I recommend listening to while reading this..)

According to a study done by UK beverage company UpBeat that analyzed over two million tweets in past three years measuring for sentiment and happiness, this is in part because most of us feel low because of lack of sleep, the struggle to keep up with our New Year’s resolutions and it’s the first full week back at work. Did you know that guilty tweets about broken resolutions are apparently five times higher today?! (In case you are wondering, I’m still going strong with my Drink More Water resolution. #Hydrated)  Oh and then there’s the credit card statements that arrive like a b*tch-slap. 

However, according to this study, not only is today the day when people break their new year’s resolutions, but those who are unhappy with their love lives look for a new partner and those unhappy at work consider a change.  Call it the ‘new year, fresh start’ mentality…

However, researchers reported that the happiest days of the year are Christmas Eve and Day, (been there, did that, got the present to prove it); followed by New Year’s Day (yes, ’cause it’s a holiday!); Valentine’s Day (questionable… just ask anyone who is single;) and the ‘first sunny weekend of the year’ (agreed, can’t come soon enough). So according to this study we only have to wait another 39 days for our next shot of happiness with overpriced roses and cheap chocolates.

Now I AM depressed. Depressed but hydrated.

 

Fashion Fun Friday: Are you a Hipster?

Posted in Fashion, follow friday, Lifestyle, Lifestyles by

A year ago if you asked me what a Hipster was, I’d have probably replied that is was a style of jeans rather than a subculture people. While they’ve been around for a long time, Hipsters have come into the forefront a style revolution with their distinct fashion – often stereotyped by vintage thrift shop shirts, rolled up jeans and dark rimmed glasses. Love them or hate them, Hipsters have become the pioneers and leaders of our latest cultural and fashion trends. We can thank them for the surge of distressed jeans, leggings, plaid flannel shirts and old concert tees found at H&M, Forever 21 and American Eagle.

tees

For me, not knowing what a Hipster was, had more to do with being unaware of the current label placed on this group. Before the term Hipster was coined, waaay back in the early 90s, the style was simply called “Alternative”.  As in alternative to the mainstream – which at the time was the uniform of Polo shirts and penny loafers. In those days, the smell of teen-spirit had saturated the air thanks to Nirvana and somewhere in between Polo preppy and Seattle-grunge, “Alternative” was born. Which looking back, makes me one of the original Hipsters, what with my fake black-rimmed glasses, unisex plaid shirt and tapered jeans. (Back then they were called tapered. And we ‘tapered’ them ourselves, sometimes just using a shit-ton of safety pins.)

Here’s some Hipster inspired fashions that I currently love at Forever 21. Mix them up with some vintage finds for create a look that is unique to you.feminine-cardigan

forever-21-capsule-2.1-04

Resolutions and all that jazz

Posted in Lifestyle, Lifestyles, new years eve, nye2013 by

New_Year_wallpapers_Wishes_for_the_New_Year_2014_047680_Today is the first day of a new year. A fresh beginning. A chance to set a new intention moving forward. You know, the New Year Resolution. Even if we don’t articulate them to others, most of us make these resolutions. Some are pretty common, like “I’m gonna hit the gym every morning”, or “I’m gonna start eating better”… We set out with gusto and the best of intentions only to slip along the way. And if we slipped, we tell ourselves that it’s over and shift back to our previous selves.

According to one of my favourite sites, HowStuffWorks.com, the origin of making New Year’s resolutions rests with the Babylonians, who reportedly made promises to the gods in hopes they’d earn good favor in the coming year. Sound familiar?

My resolution has been the same for the past five years: Drink.More.Water. It’s an easy one and I firmly believe that if you can just drink more water, the rest will follow. Think about it for a minute. We need water to live. When we are properly hydrated we have more energy, think more clearly, we sleep better, our skin looks better, and we eat less – because let’s face it, sometimes we mistake thirst for hunger.

Is your new year resolution to lose weight? Then drink more water. Did you know that drinking a litre of water in a 20 minute period can help you lose weight? The water “floods” your kidneys, allowing them to function better. When your kidneys are functioning at their peek, your liver doesn’t need to help with purification as much so it has more time to do other things… like burn fat. Seriously. The liver is a major fat burning organ in the body and regulates fat metabolism by a complicated set of biochemical pathways. It can also pump excessive fat out of the body through the bile into the small intestines. So if you make your resolution this year to simply drink more water, then you’ve set yourself up for positive changes.

And speaking of positive changes, here are five other resolutions that I found online that I think are worth taking to heart from 20 Things To Let Go Of Before The New Year:

  1. Let go of feeling guilty for doing what you truly want to do.
  2. Let go of “cheating” on your future with your past. It’s time to move on and tell a new story.
  3. Let go of trying to fit in and be accepted by everyone. Your uniqueness is what makes you outstanding.
  4. Let go of the fear of the unknown; take one small step and watch the path reveal itself.
  5. Let go of blaming anyone for anything; be accountable for your own life. If you don’t like something, you have two choices, accept it or change it.

Wanna learn more about the history of New Year’s Eve? Click here to visit History.com

Picture Perfect Tuesday: Happy New Year

Posted in Lifestyle, Lifestyles, new years eve, nye2013, photography, Picture Perfect Tuesdays by

Tonight is New Year’s Eve, the night that we cut loose and celebrate the passing of another year – noting our accomplishments and brushing off our failures as we welcome in a fresh year full of possibilities.

For this week’s Picture Perfect Tuesday on the eve of the New Year, I give you roots. Take a moment to think about yours.

roots

Fashion Fun Friday: Fun Fashion Sites

Posted in Fashion, follow friday, Lifestyles by

Today for Fashion Fun Friday I wanted share some of my favourite sites for fashion for anyone still looking for ideas for New Year’s Eve.

One place that I LOVE buying stuff from is a site called FashionJunkee.com. I happened upon this site after seeing their small ad in a gossip rag I was reading while getting my hair coloured. (Spoiler alert! I’m not a natural blonde…) The ad featured this winged kimono dress that caught my eye and is now happily living in my closet:

Wing Kimono Dress

Top Shop is another favourite of mine… I learned about this store while on vacation last year in Chicago and fell in love with their cheeky, trendy and low-cost fashions. For this New Year’s Eve, I’m on the hunt for some fringe, so this cute Velvet Fringe Tunic has made the shopping list:

Velvet Fringe Dress

Another great online shopping site is still Zappos. Offering a wide variety of designers for a variety of budgets. How fun this this Parker Allegra Dress!!

Parker Allegra Dress

If all else fails, you can rent a dress from Toronto’s Rent Frock Repeat. You can wear the latest dresses from the hottest designers for around $100! Like this Ivory Beaded Fringe Cocktail Dress:

Ivory Beaded Fringe Cocktail Dress

Picture Perfect Tuesdays: Rocking Around The Christmas Tree

Posted in christmas, Lifestyle, Lifestyles, Picture Perfect Tuesdays by

Is your fridge covered in Christmas photo cards? Mine is! I love getting these because in the age of digital photography we rarely seem to print anything anymore. We now gather around the computer to look at pictures, rather than a photo album.

In honour of Christmas being tomorrow (cue the panicking..) this week’s Picture Perfect Tuesday is a Christmas Card that I created for shits and giggles of the hubby and I in front of the White House Christmas Tree…

christmas

WestJet Christmas Miracle

Posted in christmas, Communications, pr by

Over the years I’ve seen some good and bad  PR stunts. For example in 2011, South Australia’s Advantage SA sent 55 gold fish to media executives as part of a tour with the message: “Be a big fish in a small pond and come and test the water.” Cool idea right? Well, despite providing enough food for each fish for six months most fish were dead on arrival. Ouch.

Anyone else remember the fake fan site (www.alliwantforxmasisapsp.com) that Sony created in 2006 to create buzz for the PlayStation PSP? It didn’t end well…. Gamers found out and hammered Sony on legitimate message boards.

Well there are also some PR stunts that are done well. Very well. Iwanted to share this one from WestJet as it’s a great idea that was successfully delivered and shared. It focuses on giving back to their customers, and yes, while it’s a PR piece, it really did happen… Plus it made me teary-eyed and filled with joy…

Fashion Fun Friday: Christmas Jammies

Posted in christmas, Communications, Fashion by

Growing up we always got a new pair of jammies for Christmas. It was the one gift my sister and I were allowed to open on Christmas eve – and we’d immediately put them on. Not sure if the tradition was born because my mother wanted us to look good in photos as we opened up our gifts, but having matching Christmas pajamas added a feeling of festivity. We’ve had matching night gowns, flannels and footies over the years, but none ever matched the hilarity of Ralphie’s Pink Bunny PJs from the movie A Christmas Story:

A Christmas Story

Fun Pajama Fact: The word “pyjama” traces its etymological origin to the Persian word “payjama,” meaning “leg garment.”

I’ve often wondered if other families had this tradition and was pleasantly surprised that many do! As an adult, I sometimes still get a set of flannel jam-jams from my mom, but all-in-all that family tradition faded away after we left the nest some 20 years ago… However, I think that there is a surge in old holiday traditions (see my post on the rise of the Ugly Christmas Sweater); and a quick Google search will bring you a plethora places to buy matching Christmas jammies.

I’ll leave you with this fun holiday message (and great PR stunt!) from the Holderness family that’s been making headlines and making Christmas jammies cool again….

The Selfie Generation

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Selfies have been getting a lot of attention these days. So much so that the term was named word of the year for 2013 by the Oxford Dictionary, defined as “a photograph that one has taken of oneself, typically one taken with a smartphone or webcam and uploaded to a social media website.”

Last week US President Obama made headlines as he was photographed taking a selfie with British Prime Minister David Cameron and Danish Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt during Nelson Mandela’s memorial service. And earlier this month, a women posted a selfie with a suicidal man being talked out of jumping off a bridge in Brooklyn.

Have we become a self-obsessed country? It seems that we love to snap quick photos of ourselves and share them with our friends – because there is no way they’re tired of looking at us right? Facebook, Twitter and Instagram have contributed to the growing narcissism that has taken over the Internet. These social sharing sites are now infamous for being hubs of egotism and self-promotion, acting as the perfect means for advertising ourselves to those around us.

I’m certainly not suggesting that I have never shared a selfie. But in a time where selfies are seemingly getting out of control, I’d say it’s time for a little selfie etiquette:

  • If you get the sudden urge to snap a selfie, don’t be oblivious to your surroundings because everything in your photo is being scrutinized.
  • It is not acceptable to snap a selfie in the midst of another person’s tragedy. Not. Ever.
    This means funerals, car accidents, suicides or anything else that has devastated another person’s life.
  • Do snap a selfie to mock yourself… we’d all love to laugh at, er I mean with, you.
  • Do take a selfie to share you happiest moments with your friends who live far away.
  • Only post the best one out of the bunch.  Nobody wants to imagine you posing a million times to get that one shot.  Let us believe that you got it effortlessly on the first try.

Picture Perfect Tuesday: Calm Before the Storm

Posted in Lifestyles, Picture Perfect Tuesdays by

We have all heard the phrase “the calm before the storm.” For this week’s Picture Perfect Tuesday, I present what that saying actually looks like!

I snapped this on a dog walk this past July. Within minutes the sky turned to black and we were bombarded with rain. Then it was over as quickly as it had begun.

The Calm Before the Storm