one powerful hair dryer...

Saturday morning, I rolled out of bed and hurried across town for an appointment with my hair stylist at Reflections Day Spa (who also happens to be my aunt)! I'd been eagerly awaiting this appointment for a few weeks. WIth my colour faded and winter dryness in effect, my hair definitely in need of a pick-me-up!

Heather added caramel and blonde highlights to my hair with foils. As far as the cut, I went for a trim where I'm trying to grow out my hair for the wedding. Here's the "after shot" of my new 'do:

Here's an interest fact about my Saturday morning salon experience: I had my hair dried by a Ferrari engine. I kid you not! Ferrari has actually designed an engine specficially to fit in a hair dryer (the Babyliss Pro Voltare). Apparently it dries your hair in half the time. The world of hair care tools doesn't get any sportier than that!

(Photo: Nailtech Institute)

Saturday afternoon I met up with local photographer Sean McGrath for a photo shoot in uptown Saint John! I'll tell you, it was a windy and chilly day but Sean was great to work with and it was a fun experience (despite the fact that I was dancing around outside like an idiot to stay warm!) Look for those outfit photos in upcoming blog posts!

Tomorrow I'm featuring my first video blog post (vlog)- here's to hoping I'm not totally awkward!- to review a new cosmetics purchase.

P.S. Don't forget to enter to win a ticket to Silver Daisy Design's Fashion Social on March 3!

Fashion Social!

Ladies, if you live in the local Saint John area, be sure to mark your calendars for the evening of Thursday, March 3! Here's a great opportunity to get a sneak peek at the new clothing lines at Silver Daisy Designs, while supporting an excellent cause. Silver Daisy Designs is hosting a Fashion Social at the Canterbury Lounge on March 3 with all proceeds going to support the medical and travel costs for local girl undergoing surgery a week after this event. She has made numerous trips to the IWK and Portland, ME, for treatment of a serious bowel disorder. So come out for a great time and to support a very worthwhile cause.

 As mentioned in a blog post the other week, Silver Daisy Designs is now carrying clothing! They'll be styling their models to showcase three different looks during the evening. The latest labels in store include threestones (based in Vancouver), and Moon Collection (out of LA). Aside from clothing, they will also be featuring bath products and make-up with a booth of tester products on hand for you to sample.

Door prizes will be available, as well as the chance to enter yourself into a few great things you'll find hanging in the store! Steph Downey of K100 will be MC'ing the event and DJ Fire will be on hand to supply the music!

Tickets for admission are $20, which also puts your drink of choice in hand. Here's another perk: bring your ticket to the store within a week after the event to receive 20% off a purchase at Silver Daisy Designs. You can purchase tickets at Silver Daisy Designs at 80 King Street in Uptown Saint John. Tickets went on sale this week and are limited in number!

So come on out to the Canterbury Lounge March 3 to check out the latest of what Silver Daisy is bringing into their boutique with their latest merchandise expansion, all while supporting the well-being and recovery of a local girl.

Now here's a fun little extra! Kate of Silver Daisy Designs has kindly provided me with a ticket to the Fashion Social event to give to one lucky reader of my blog! To be eligible to win you must be living or plan to be in the Saint John area on March 3. To enter to win a free ticket to the Fashion Social, just leave a comment to the post below!

Contest closes Thursday, February 24 at 5:00pm with the winner to be announced the following morning!

P.S. For an extra entry, you can tweet about the giveaway on twitter or share this blog post on Facebook! (Then be sure to come back and leave a 2nd comment to this post as your extra entry!)

and the winners are...

Tonight winners for the Silver Daisy Designs Giveaway were chosen!

Thank you everyone for participating in the contest!

And a special thanks to Kate Lordon for providing these lovely gifts!

The $50 Gift Certificate to Silver Daisy Designs goes to...

Katie Rice!

The necklace and earrings designed by Kate Lordon herself go to...

Queen847!

Congratulations ladies! I'll be contacting you about your prizes.

Colonel Mustard...

...did it with the candlestick in the observatory!

I know, you must be incredibly tired of listening to me whine about the snow, cold, and the blistering wind on the east coast here. Because of yesterday's weather, outfit photos outside were a no-go...there was no way I was taking off my coat and mitts!

And speaking of outfit photos, I'm excited to have local photographer Sean McGrath snap my outfit photos (featuring a few new wardrobe additions) this Saturday! This weekend is fairly jam-packed! Saturday I'm subject my hair to a long overdue cut and colour, followed by the afternoon's photo shoot. That evening I'm looking forward to a girls night out uptown, anticipating that we'll end the night with a few dance moves at the Canterbury Lounge. Sunday morning, I'll be pulling myself out of bed bright and early and lugging my previously-loved items to Rhoda's for Out with the Old & In with the New! (I still need to do a final pull of items from my closests...the fact that closet is plural is largely why I need to clean out my closet again!) Hope to see you there!

The Outfit

• Sweater: Kensie- Je Suis Prest Boutique (SJ, Sept '10)
• Dress: ModCloth (ordered online, Jan '11)
• Leggings: C'est Moi- Je Suis Prest Boutique (SJ, Oct '10)
• Boots: Aldo (ordered online, Oct '09)
• Necklace: Banana Republic (Freeport, Nov '10)
• Headband: Club Monaco (Halifax, July '10)

Also worth mentioning: are you going to The Salty's (celebrating Saint John's social media community) tonight at the Saint John Ale House? (The event runs from 5pm-7pm). I'll be jaunting across town to get there after work today! Check out all the talk generated about these media award nominees on twitter via the hastag #saltys.

Don't forget to check back later today to find out the winners of the Silver Daisy Designs Giveaway! Thanks again to the lovely Kate Lordon sponsoring this giveaway by providing the beautiful jewellery set and giftcard to her store! I've also got another surprise for you all tomorrow...

a new project in the works...

I wanted to share with you an annoucement on a big project I'll be embarking on within the next month. In early December, the shopping centre Brunswick Square, approached me about collaborating with them on a project. They are looking to revamp their connection with social media and their online presence. With this, you'll be seeing a make-over of their current website. In tune with these changes, they wanted to try something new. I've been asked to write a blog for them.

I'm really excited about this opportunity and I can tell you that I wouldn't take on a project that I didn't believe in...it just wouldn't be authentic. As you may have noticed in my previous posts, I spend a great deal of time in the Uptown Saint John area, and you'll often find me shopping the levels of Brunswick Square.

So you might wondering how or if this will this affect and impact my blogging with Maritime Shopaholic? This blog is still my number one project at heart and I still plan on blogging my little heart out as a Monday to Friday style blogger. I intend to continue to work at evolving and expanding my content. I'm also really excited to take on this side project in which I have been offered the opportunity to exercise creative direction in promoting some of my favourite local stores!

Will content cross over to both blogs? Nope, each will be written and edited by me, but will have it's own focus and content. The blog for Brunswick Square will feature creative weekly posts and is slated to launch in late March!

Some of my (many) blog posts that involved the shops of Brunswick Square over the past year include:

April 2010- Shopping in Brunswick Square

May 2010- Chanel Make Up Workshop @ Perfumes Plus

September 2010- Fall Fashion Preview

November 2010- Je Suis Prest Boutique Fashion Show

If you're a local gal, be you can follow Brunswick Square on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to date on the latest news and sales! 

P.S. Oh, and have you entered the Silver Daisy Designs Giveaway? To do so click here- today's the last day! Contest closes at midnight AST and the winner will be annouced tomorrow evening (Feb 17)!