A Thousand Farewells: A Thousand Inspirations

A Thousand Farewells written by Nahlah Ayed has nothing to do with fashion, or the latest trends, in-fact the only thing about it that relates to this blog is inspiration. Throughout the book that is the one theme that continued to amaze me.

Nahlah Ayed's journey was fuelled by her inspiration and love for story telling. As a reader of fairy tales, happy endings, and fiction novels, this novel would not be my first choice to read.

If someone where to ask me what my favorite part of the book was, I would say the personal stories of Ayed, and the people that she meets. Particularly when Ayed meets Ahmad, the driver. When Ahamd finally opens up about his feelings and his story and says "Yes Nahlah. We want the war to come." this really hit me.

Ahmad was strong for telling Ayed his story, it inspired Ayed and myself. Reading about someone who was affected by such a confusing conflict, and yet they have such a clear vision of what they want is amazing to me.

What really took me out of the story was the history and the facts. I understand that a non-fiction needs to have evidence. But I feel that the facts took me out of the story. For example, after Ayed tells the reader about her experience in a Maronite church service, and the people that she met, she skips to the fortieth anniversary of the 1967 war. This threw me off as a reader. I was so invested in the story she was telling, then all of a sudden I was taken out of it.

The one thing that I think is missing from A Thousand Farewells is stories from her family. It would have been interesting to read a first person chapter from her parents on why they moved their children to a refugee camp, and how they felt about the change. It would have added another layer of emotion to the novel.

I think the main thing journalists can learn from this book is to be fearless and follow your heart. If Ayed would have listened to her brain she wouldn't have quit her job and moved. Being fearless and following her heart allowed her to met so many amazing people that changed her life and her career.

While I was reading A Thousand Farewells and the protests came up, I thought of Tiananmen Square. I recently watched a clip from BBC News in 1989 that was live from the protest. The reporter was a women, during the clip she was explaining what she was seeing and the students emotion during the protest. This made me think about the protests in the book, and how Ayed would have covered them, and how her connection to the place or people would come across, if at all. It also made me think if that reporter traveled to different places around the world, and saw what Ayed saw.

This book effected me in a different way than what I would have thought. I didn't know what to expect when I first started. When Ayed was explaining her life in Winnipeg I was thinking to myself, 'Oh yeah, I've been there before.' Then suddenly her life changed so dramatically. It was jolting reading something that was so familiar to suddenly having no idea what she was talking about or feeling. It's hard for me to think that someone that grew up like I did had such a change in their way of life.

This book really opened my eyes to the world. I didn't know much about the war in Iraq, or the protest in the Middle East, but reading this book has made me curious to know more.

Everybody's Talkin' Olympics

Today I decided to give in and discuss my favorite part of the Olympics, the fashion.

I'm not big into sports, but I did watch the opening ceremonies for the 2014 Sochi Olympics. I couldn't help to notice the fashion this year. 

The Olympics are a great opportunity for people to come together and watch the world's best athletes   compete. It is also a great opportunity to see what are the popular styles around the world. 

I have chosen 4 of the best/ interesting outfits seen on this years Sochi Olympics. 

1. The outfits worn by the German Olympic team were designed by German designer, Willy Bogner. People can't help but to assume this fashion statement is a stab at Russia. Personally, I love the vibrant colors, it helps the athletes stand out, and possibly stand up for their beliefs. 

2. The chic Lacoste is at it again. They designed a ultra glamours outfit for the France team. I love the grey tie-up coat and the accents of the red. Very stylish, and fashion forward, just like France. 

3. I'm a little biased with this choice, the Roots coats worn by the Canadian's is one of my favorites. I love the Roots collect to begin with, but this outfit has won me over again. I love the red coat with the black accent and the buttons along with the Canada pom-pom hat, and mittens. It just screams 'we are Canadian'. Well done Roots. 

4. Ugly Christmas sweater or your grandma's knit? Those are some comments I have heard about the U.S outfits designed by American designer, Ralph Lauren. I love these knitted sweaters, they look so cozy and fit into the 'winter Olympic' theme. Though they are Canada's competitor, they'll be very cozy getting their butt kicks. 

Enjoy the games! Keep your eyes open for more fashion statements. 

-K 

Suit Up Fashion Show

This Thursday I was invited to the Asper School of Business Suit Up Fashion Show sponsored by EPH Apparel. 

It was the sixth annual Suit Up show at The Park Theatre. The overall theme of the show was Great Gatsby which was executed perfectly from everything to the decorations, food, to the music the models walked to. 

The outfits were shown in different catorgies. Business causal, business formal, Asper wear, and  casual Friday. 

Outfits were donated from different stores around the city. The men wore mainly EPH suits. 

I was a huge fan of the EPH suits. They had a variety of colours and patterns, suits aren't my area of expertise, but they were very gorgeous. 

The girls who organized the event did a great job, the show really made me want to go shopping, which was the purpose of the event.  

Pictures haven't been posted yet, but as soon as they are I'll post them here! 

Have a great weekend, I hope you all go shopping!

“Our lives are defined by opportunities, even the ones we miss.”
~Scott Fitzgerald

-K

Grammy Glam

Hey everyone,

So this blog post is going to be short and sweet since I'm not feeling that well.

This last Sunday was the Grammy's. These are my favorite outfits.

So many amazing outfits and everyone looked so glam!

Picture from eonline.com

Have a good week!
-K

The Great Looking Faces of the Future Leaders of Manitoba

Hello all,

So last night I had the honour of volunteering for Future Leaders of Manitoba Gala at the Fort Gary Hotel. This event is to celebrate young professional Manitobans who do amazing thing in our province.

Not only did this event celebrate the amazing things these young women and men have done, but it also to celebrate the people behind the tasks.

All of the finalists were very kind, and very well-dressed. Helping others is a very difficult thing to do, but helping yourself can sometimes be harder.

I applaud these young men and women for doing such amazing things in the community, and they look  while great doing it!

Congratulations to them all!

-K

Tis' the season for award shows

Hey everyone!

Welcome back to the new and improved blog! The site needed a little makeover, but don't worry,  I'll still be talking about fashion.

This week I thought we should discuss gowns worn at the past few award shows this month since the Oscars and Grammy's are around the corner. My predictions for the 2014 award seasons are: mid-length dresses, red gold and white gowns, simple accessories, and sparkle, lot's of it.

I'll start with the Peoples Choice Awards. This night is considered the "playoffs" of the award shows. It's more of a cocktail dress style compared to a ball gown style. My two favorite dresses of the night are on the casual side for award show style, but still very elegant and classy.

Nina Dobrev was a shinning star in my eyes. Her gorgeous navy, turtle neck, half crystal dress was perfect for her in so many ways, a beautiful design by British designer Jenny Packham. It is very form fitting and hugs her curves in all the right ways. Her hair and makeup really brought out the dress as well.

My other favorite was actress Anna Faris in designer Naeem Khan. Anna was very brave to go against the grain this year, and it paid off. I think this matching paint suit looks amazing with her newly dyed white hair. Her makeup and hair are very simple, which really completes her laid back red carpet look. This style is very different for her, and I think she rocked it!

Now onto the Golden Globes! There were so many amazing dresses this year, it was very difficult to pick my favorites. 

I love all five of these dresses for very different reasons:

1) Emma Roberts wore a Dior Haute Couture scarlet dress and cigarette pants. This look was so different than the rest of the red carpet. It was fun, unique, and beautiful, just like her.

2) Cate Blanchett in blackless Armani Prive lace gown. This gown was very sophisticated and classy for the actress, and really showed off her amazing back. 

3) Lupita Nyong'o made an amazing impression at her first red carpet event. She wowed in a Ralph Lauren cape gown which accented her shoulders and collar bone. The color made her lips and eyes pop.

4) The glowing Kerry Washington showed off her baby bump in a white Balengiaga gown. 

5) Amy Adams stole the show with her jaw dropping red dress by Valentino Haute Couture. This plunging neck line was beautifully accessorized by a simple diamond necklace. It was simple and very, very gorgeous. 

I am so excited to see what these actresses, and the rest of the beautiful women in the industry have up their sleeves for the rest of the red carpet season. 

Let me know what you think of these gowns. Did I miss out on your favorite gown? 

-K 

Holiday outfit and makeup tips and tricks

With the holidays around the corner, its time to put that gorgeous fancy dress, and swipe on that amazing lip stick you've been eyeing down.

This season I am loving the dark red and plum lip colours. Something classy, but with a little bit of edge.

A tip for applying dark lipstick: Try to get a lip liner that matches your stick, as well as keep a makeup wipe close by. Go slow around around the lip edges.

These two lip sticks are from MAC. I love them both, and I'm going to buy them ASAP for the holidays.

As well as makeup, dressing properly for the occasion is very important. I love sticking with black, red, and gold dresses for the holidays. These are E news top dress picks that I love! Hopefully they'll bring some inspiration for your holiday outfits. 

I wish you all the happiest Holidays! Be safe everyone.
Talk to you all in January!

-K