i swore i would never do this...

i guess it's true what they say: never say never.

upon starting this blog, i swore up and down that i would never do an "outfit of the day" post.
but alas, here i am doing just that.
you can only delay the inevitable for so long - or in my case, 8 days.
so, i present to you my very first 'outfit of the day' blog post...

shirt - aritzia; skirt - bcbgeneration; shoes - material girl; nails - smokin' hot (essie)

i've been trying to find ways to incorporate some of my favorite summer pieces into my fall wardrobe.
i purchased this skirt at the very end of summer but haven't really got a chance to wear it much.
alone, it screams summer but by pairing it with a long sleeve shirt, i was able to make it a little more fall appropriate.
i chose to pair my outfit with black wedges due to the black underlay and leather detail of the skirt.

*we tried to do a walking shot - failure.

i'm never doing a walking shot again.

are any of you desperately trying to find ways to still wear your favorite summer clothes?
what are some of your tricks?

:)
vanessa

ps. all of these photos were taken by my lovely princess assistant, gabriella.

*she's actually not my assistant nor is her name gabriella.

she does think she's a princess though...

sweater weather.

although it's still relatively warm in toronto (high of 22°C today, whoot whoot), i'm already in full fall mode.

i'm talking daily caramel apple spice drinks and pumpkin sugar cookies from starbucks, boots (ankle, calf, knee, etc.) and, my personal favorite and the subject matter for this post, sweaters!

worn with skinny jeans or skirts, sweaters are the easiest way to look put together during the cooler autumn months.
and, there are so many different styles to choose from - intricate patterns, bright colors, leather accents, cropped lengths, sequins.
who says you have to sacrifice style for warmth?

these are some of my "must-have" sweaters for the fall:

to my fellow sweater addicts out there, what styles are you looking forward to rocking this fall?

:)
vanessa

if you're happy and you know it...

disclaimer: i apologize for any spelling/grammatical errors that may appear on this post.
i'm running on two hours sleep as i may or may not have spent the night hanging out with guillermo del toro...

as mentioned in my 'welcome' blog post, i have an unhealthy obsession with quotes.
to me, quotes often echo what we know and or hope in our hearts to be true.
for this reason, my phone, laptop desktop, ipod, desk at work, planner (etc.) are inundated with quotes.
this particular quote is currently pinned on my bulletin board at work:

is this not the most useful flowchart you've ever seen?

what are some of your favorite quotes?

i'm always looking for new ones to add to my quote book.

*yes, i have a quote book - don't judge.

:)

ps. can we just take a moment and...

nwts = greatness.

birthday, it's your birthday!

i'd like to dedicate my first official post (i don't think a 'welcome post' counts as real post...) to my beautiful nephew, nico:

three years ago today, this little boy came into the world and stole my heart in the process.
tatty nana loves you "a-yot".

ps. i just had to share a photo of nico's birthday cake from his art-themed party:

another beautiful creation by our family friend, ahlem of rosalina's cakes.
i nearly shed a tear when it was cut and devoured but such is the life of a cake.

hope you're all having a fabulous monday :)

WELCOME!

why hello there :)
my name is vanessa and welcome to my blog, grace and gratitude.
i've always toyed around with the idea of starting a personal blog as a way to digitally record my life.
the thought of being able to look back in a couple years time and see through words, photos and videos, how much has changed has always been a selling point to me.
so, i finally decided to take the plunge.

i hope you enjoy. 
:)

ps. the title of my blog is a quote from jonathan lockwood huie.
it's one of my favourite quotes (i'm obsessed with quotes as you'll soon come to find out) and is how i strive to live my life - full of grace and gratitude :)