DIY Turban Headband

Ciao fellow fashionistas! It's Emily from Tinfoils Tiaras here to share a cheap and cheerful tip on how to turn your favourite scarf into this season's hottest trend- the turban headband

Step 1: Choose your scarf.  I buy most my scarves at second hand shops for under $5, hence my expansive and colourful collection.  

Step 2: Lay out your scarves and comb your hair before taking photos

Step 3: Fold the scarves into thick rectangles.  For square shaped scarves (like the leopard print), fold the corners into the centre.  

Step 4: Place the middle of the folded scarf behind your head and hold the ends.

Step 5: Cross the ends of the scarf high on your forehead.

Step 6: Cross the ends of the scarf again, bringing the ends back from where they started off and don't grimace and look like you're having fun!

Step 7: Tuck the ends into the back of the scarf or if they are long enough, tie or fasten with a clip.

Step 8: Pick an outfit that contemplates your new turban headband and voila! You're ready to hit the town with your stylish new accessory!

If you want to check out the moving images gif I made here's the link: 
http://makeagif.com/i/Jhdq7m

Hamlet "Re-Mixed" Ticket Giveaway

Charles McFarland, Michael Mancini and Scott Angus Wilson of Ottawa's professional theatre community has been closing the gap on classics of Shakespeare for the last two years.  The newly-launched Ottawa Shakespeare Company presents "Shakespeare Re-Mixed", Hamlet 2011 from April 26 - May 7th, 2011.  This will be the first ever production in the brand-new Centrepointe Studio Threatre .  The official opening of the Centrepointe Studio Threatre will be in fall 2011.

To enter for a chance to win two tickets to Hamlet 2011, leave a comment on this post with your email.

For an extra entry:

• Tweet the link of this post and be sure to mention @20YS and @loveashelle
• Be a follower of Twenty York Street

Expect more and wonderful details of this play to come.  

Ticket information can be found at:  http://centrepointetheatre.ca/events_tickets/details_studio/april/hamlet_2011_en.html

Reserved seats, $33.75 & General admission, $25.75

Guest post by Ashelle of Pink Beautiful Love

A 10x10 Challenge

Before jetting off for her fabulous vacation,  Marilou sent me a great fashion post idea.  A new fashion store favourite of ours is Ricki's which is a sells great outfits for work and casual wear.  What I enjoy about Ricki's is the classic style, many of the items you purchase can last for more than one season.  On the website, there is a 10x10 fashion guide.  Guides like these are great for ideas and inspiration when putting together items in different ways. 

This guide gave us an idea for a Fashion Challenge!

The challenge:  1) To take 10 items that you already have and remix it for 10 outfits.  Simple enough, right?! Well to make it even more simple: 2) these 10 items can be spanned over 2 weeks. The 14 days will give people the opportunity to break from remixing and even take a PJ day (or two). Also, to make it even more simple: 3) shoes and accessories don't count in the 10 items.  I can hear the sigh of relief from fellow shoe lovers.  

My picks for the 10x10 are:

At the end of the two weeks, I'll be posting the pictures of the remixed items.  If you'd like to participate,  all you have to do is leave a comment here saying you want to join and add any links to your remixing posts.  So challenge a friend or fellow fashionista. I'll be excited to see what people come up with.  

Guest post by Ashelle of Pink Beautiful Love

Fashionable People Doing Questionable Things

Hi fashionable peeps!

Marilou’s pal “The Busy Neighbour” here dropping in while she’s out of the country getting some much needed R’ and R’, family time and love. Normally I post about my loco life schedule, but today I wanted to write on a different and more important topic.

In the 32 minutes a day I have to myself (at least that’s how it feels), one of the things I enjoy is reading fashion blogs and news sites, not just to see the latest styles, but to see what is happening in the politics of the fashion world. I am sure everyone reading this heard of Galliano’s hate filled ranted a few months ago and many of you also saw Kenneth Cole’s untimely use of a country in turmoil to promote his brand. Really Kenneth Cole? Using civil protests and the toppling of a government for your own sake? While left feeling disgusted at these events (and many other ludicrous comments by some in the fashion industry), I couldn’t help but wonder…is everyone in this field out of touch with what’s happening in the rest of the world?

With this in mind I wanted to do some work to find out who in the design world is doing interesting things to make our small globe a better place. So – I am sharing with you some work I discovered that I love, and think is important and helps show that you can both be fashionable, but contribute to making the world a better place.

Gucci, one of Unicef’s corporate partners:

In 2010, Gucci donated $1 million to celebrate five years in partnership with the United Nations organization. In the past they have also released special edition bags, donating 25% of the profits to Unicef. They have also done fundraising events, and have donated over $9 million since the partnership began.

More info available here: http://www.unicef.org/corporate_partners/index_40631.html

Bulgari, supporter of Save the Children:

Bulgari has donated millions of dollars to Save the Children’s educational programs. The website donates a portion of sales from special edition rings to Save the Children’s programs. Their partnership began in 2009 and they’ve already donated $9 million.

More info available here:  http://us.bulgari.com/philanthropy/   

Ralph Lauren, partnering with the Michael J. Fox Foundation

Parkinson’s is a cause near and dear to my heart, so this initiative I find particularly great. Especially since Ralph Lauren is donating 100% of the net proceeds of two necklaces to Fox’s organization.

  

When purchasing products where a portion of the funds go to charity, it’s up to you to decide questions like – if you support the charity, would the charity benefit more if you donated to them directly, and what stipulations come with the funds attached to my purchase? Often these charitable campaigns spend millions on advertising, but only give a small and disproportionate percentage of the sales to the charity. You only have to look as far as the Gap’s (RED) campaign for criticism and to question the sustainability of initiatives like this.

Personally, I believe the decision ultimately comes down to you – if you’re already looking for a $60 tshirt, why not buy one where a percentage of the funds go to a charity doing great work? However, if you are looking to donate to a cause you care about, it’s wise to look into the most efficient way for the charity to benefit from your donation.

PS – Two fashion points to the first person that names what I am referencing in the title of this post – without the help of google!!! No cheating!

The Busy Neighbour

Royal ParTea Teaser

The Royal ParTea with special guest speaker, Jeanne Beker was a major hit.   The best part of the afternoon was that over $20, 000 was raised for the Ottawa Regional Cancer Foundation.  It's still not to late to give to this amazing foundation, just click here to donate.  A complete post, with all of the wonderful details is soon to come.  Until then, enjoy these great pictures taken by Amy Symes and have a wonderful long weekend.

Jeanne Beker with the  Governor General Foot Gaurd

Her fabulous hat was bought at the St. Laurent Centre

Ashelle and LoveK

A special thanks to Stephanie from Knock on Wood for the invite & great opportunity to cover this event.

Guest post by Ashelle of Pink Beautiful Love

Twenty York Loves Ashelle of Pink Beautiful Love

On Style and Fashion...

What and who influences your style? 

I never really considered myself a "fashionista". 

People always tended to associate me with fashion and I went along with it because I see it as a great form of expression.  My mood is a huge contributor to what influences my style choices.  Some days I will just want to be comfy, go to my "dark side" or put together something cute and trendy. I've turned our spare bedroom into a dressing room/walk-in closet/guest room which is full of so many different items that it would be hard to pinpoint a specific style.  External influences would be the countless  of favourite outfits seen and modified from: TV, Magazines, Blogs and on the Streets.

What's your favourite outfit you've ever worn? 

In the last week… A Floral Jumper.  It's not exactly warm enough to wear this but there was one sunny day last week that I was able to pull it off.  Having the sun on my leg and arms felt so good.  Now whenever I see that jumper, it just makes me smile.  There's also a few favourite items hanging in my closet right now like a Tutu Skirt from Japan, given to me by my dad.  

Any childhood or early fashion memory? 

As a little girl, I always wanted to wear skirts or dresses,  never pants.  The closest things to pants would be spandex tights with an oversized shirt.  My favourite skirt was a hot pink three tiered mini with bright stars lining the bottom of each layer.  At least that's the one I can remember as being my favourite.    

A more sentimental memory is going through my Nanny's jewelry box.  It was always one of the many things that I looked forward to when I would go over to her place.  While I riffled through her treasures, she would tell me stories about where she got the piece and what it looks good with.  

Gotta ask this just for fun, fashion pet peeves?

When you sit down then your thong decides to show itself and not necessarily in a "sexy way".   Even though I know that I am a huge violator of this peeve, at least I'm trying to avoid it by pulling my shirts down and pants up whenever I sit.  It's such a self-conscious thing, that I even do it on the CBR600 when stopped at a red light. 

On Blogging…

Why and When did you started Blogging?

The day that I opened my Blogger account was with two of my bestest friends: Krista and Jaclyn.  For a few years, Krista had been lightly pushing me to blog.  As soon as I signed up, I knew it was the beginning of a hard-core addiction.  The name "Pink Beautiful Love" just came to me after Krista warned that the web-page name cannot be changed.  Quickly, I thought of three words that I enjoyed most.  Maybe not the most original name, but I like it.  

{Jaclyn, Krista & Myself}

What makes you come back to visit a blog? Do you have blog(s)/blogger(s) inspiration? 

What I enjoy most about blogging is the people you meet and the sense of community.   I enjoy many different kinds of blogs, from fashion to personal to photography.  I considered all the people on my reading list to be creative, nice personalities, well written and interesting. There is so many blogs that I would consider inspirations, so I will just name a few:

• 
  

  
  

  The Closet Narcissist is a blog done by two amazing ladies, Kam & Jen.  These two women are my inspiration to continue my journey towards loving and being comfortable with myself.  There are many posts that not only encourage a positive self-image but will give advice and personal stories on reaching "self love".   Plus, not  only are these lovely ladies inspiring, they are so nice and just helped me out by creating my first blog buttons.  How sweet is that?!

• 
  

  
  

  One fierce fashionista that I adore is, Alicia Fashionista, a BC beauty who was recommended to me by Krista.  Alicia was the first fashion blogger that I started following and one of my favourites.  She has an amazing sense of style and her passion shines through in every post that she does.  The thing I enjoy most about Alicia's style is how sweet and feminine it is.  Any time she is in the Ottawa area, I would love to go shopping with her and to share her tips
  
  

  .

• I must admit, that the most influential blogger is the one who started it all, my friend, Krista.  As a friend, Krista grounds me during my crazy moments as well as giving the much need words or wisdom.  As a blogger, Krista reminds me that it's for the joy of blogging not the stats or comments received.  As an artist, I'm inspired by all of the art she does: painting, photography and writing, to name a few.  Krista is awesome.  

I'm nosy, what do you really do for a living? Would you blog full-time?

Behavioural Management.  

I would love to blog part-time while getting more involved with art and charities.  My dream was to be an artist. One day I might be able to do that.  

On Lovin' Life…

What 3 things do you wish someone had told you when you were younger?

This is a hard to answer…  most people that know me, will say something along the lines that I can give good advice but never take it.  So maybe the first thing someone should have drilled through my thick skull is that you must "do what you preach".  Another message, which The Closet Narcissist was kind enough to send me in a necklace form is that "you don't have to be perfect".  This is something that even though people have said it to me in the past, it's hard to do.  Lastly, "it's okay to say: no"… And, you can take that however you want.  But what I'm talking not doing things that will make other people happy while you are unhappy doing those things.  I think we can all relate to doing things we don't like in order to make someone else happy or avoid conflict.  

What's the most adventurous thing you've ever done?  

You know I'm boring when the answer to this question is: buying a house with my Love.  But let me tell you, that the continuous quirks you find in a house is an adventure.  Not to mention the interesting facts you find out about your love after you've made that 25-year commitment.  For instance, I'm shocked at his choice on political party and we continue to have a poster war on our lawn until May 2nd. 

Describe your perfect day/perfect vacation?

A hot and sunny summer day at an ocean side beach with loved ones.  Just chilling with cold drinks and good music.  

3 Things I can't live without:

                                       

1. iPhone

2. iMac

3. Toothbrush 

Fill in the blanks…

Whenever I'm bored I usually... turn on the computer.

Don't tell my husband but I love... to play with the XBox when he is out of the house.

This year, I want... to renovate my bathroom and dressing/guest room.

If I had superpowers, it would be... to fly.

I wished that Twenty York Street asked me about... my adorable feathered and furry critters.