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Valentine’s Day Outfit Ideas

For today’s post, I’ve put together a little bit of an outfit guide for different types of Valentine’s Day celebrations! Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to be all about celebrating your relationship with your significant other – you can use this day as an opportunity to spread love to your friends and family, too. Keep reading to see some Valentine’s Day outfits for celebrations with your family, your friends, and your special someone. Enjoy!

Brunch with Family

Celebrate your family this Valentine’s Day by taking your nearest and dearest out for a family brunch. Take this opportunity to treat the people who raised you, or to carve out some special bonding time with the siblings you grew up with. When I think of going out for brunch, I think of wanting to be comfy, but still looking like I’ve put in a bit of effort. So, I’ve put together a nice and cozy outfit that won’t take long to put together at all, and will keep you nice and warm on an early February morning.

Sweater from Aritzia: Wilfred Essential Chenille Sweater
Jeans from Aritzia: Levi’s 501 Skinny
Boots from Browns: Hunter Original Refined Chelsea
Earrings from En Route: Safety Pin Earrings

Palentine’s Day

Friendships are important relationships that we should cherish deeply. Use Valentine’s Day to celebrate your pals, and to show them how much you love and appreciate them being there for you when you need a shoulder to cry on, and for always making you laugh and creating memories that you’ll keep for a lifetime. Whether you’re going out with your friends, or having a chill night in, you can still get dressed up for the occasion! I love getting a bit spruced up when I get together with my friends, and it always feels good when they compliment your outfit! I’ve put together a look that is simple, but will be sure to have your friends asking, “oh my gosh, where did you get that!”

Cardigan from Aritzia: Sunday Best Kitten Caridgan
Bodysuit from Aritzia: Babaton Contour Bodysuit
Belt from Aritzia: Auxiliary Classic Belt
Jeans from Simons: twik Black Eco-Friendly Denim Skinny Jean (similar)
Shoes from The Shoe Company: Kelly & Katie Alburitel Bootie (similar)
Earrings from Lisa Gozlan: E000

Romantic Date Night

Of course, you should also celebrate the love you share with your special someone on Valentine’s Day. Your significant other is a big part of your life, and you and your partner should celebrate one another on this holiday in a way that feels special for you. Maybe you bond over food so you’ll go out for a nice meal, or maybe you’re both really into sports so you’ll attend a hockey game together, or you’re art lovers and would love to spend an evening admiring the installations at the Art Gallery. Whatever you plan to do, make it a special night by getting dressed up for one another. I’ve put together a classy outfit that will turn any plan into a special occasion.

Blouse from Aritzia: Babaton Humbert Blouse (sold out)
Camisole from Aritzia: Babaton Everly Camisole
Pants from Aritzia: Wilfred New Tie-Front Pant
Earrings from Lisa Gozlan: E007

I hope you have a splendid Valentine’s Day sharing the love with the important people in your life! Let me know who you showed your love for, and how you celebrated!

Turn of the Key – Ruth Ware

When Rowan stumbles across an ad for a live-in nanny, she’s looking for something else completely. But it seems like too good an opportunity to miss—with a staggeringly generous salary. And when she arrives at Heatherbrae House, she is smitten—by the luxurious “smart” house fitted out with all modern conveniences, by the beautiful Scottish Highlands, and by this picture-perfect family.
What Rowan doesn’t know is that she’s stepping into a nightmare—one that will end with a child dead and Rowan in prison awaiting trial for murder.
Writing to her lawyer from prison, Rowan struggles to explain the unravelling events that have led to her incarceration. It wasn’t just the constant surveillance from the cameras installed around the house, or the malfunctioning technology that woke the household with booming music, or turned the lights off at the worst possible time. It wasn’t just the children, who turned out to be a far cry from the immaculately behaved model children she met at her interview. It wasn’t even the way she was left alone for weeks at a time, with no adults around apart from the enigmatic handyman, Jack Grant.
It was everything.
Rowan knows she’s made mistakes. She admits that she lied to obtain the post, and that her behavior toward the children wasn’t always ideal. She’s not innocent, by any means. But, she maintains, she’s not guilty—at least not of murder. Which means someone else is.

This book was such a page turner, and had me hooked from the first page. Usually books take me a couple chapters to get properly into the story, but the moment I picked this book up and started reading it, I couldn’t put it down.
I got so invested in the book and the characters, I was feeling genuinely fearful for the main character, and at points I was nervous to keep reading and find out what might happen next! Trying to predict what was going to happen, and trying to guess the twists/how it might end was really fun for me as well, it was the perfect amount of mystery.
Parts of the book were quite spooky, so if you’re not into that sort of thing then this might not be for you. I don’t normally feel freaked out from reading a book, but there were certain bits where I felt quite on edge while reading it – her writing really does transport you into the world of the story.
The ending was a bit strange and unexpected in my opinion, if I’m honest. In a way it felt a bit rushed to tie up all the loose ends. It was a tiny bit anticlimactic, but not in the sense that it ruined the rest of the book. I’m not trying to say I was disappointed in the ending, but as I was reading I felt like it was being built up to go a certain way, and then suddenly took a turn towards an ending that nobody could have guessed – or maybe I just wasn’t smart enough to pick up on the clues that lead us to this ending haha! Either way, I’d still highly recommend this book.

If you end up reading this book, please let me know what you think of it below – I’d love to hear other people’s take on it!

Other Ruth Ware books I’ve read…

So…why a blog?

I just like to write.

Honestly, the big reason isn’t much more complicated than that. I’ve always enjoyed writing, and I wanted there to be a way to get my writing out into the world that I actually had control over. When it comes to pitching novels or short stories, you don’t really have any control over whether or not they get published, and that was starting to bug me – I wanted to be able to feel like I had a bit more control over whether or not my writing is seen by others. So, starting up my own blog seemed like a good way to do that.

I’ve finally gained the confidence.

I’ll be honest, I have pondered the possibility of a blog for a few years now. Every now and again I thought about how I’d like the idea of having my own blog. But then I kept doubting myself, my ability to come up with enough ideas to keep a blog running, that I wouldn’t be able to commit to it long term, that I’d never be able to think of a specific topic or theme for a blog, and on and on. But then I started writing for a blog for work, and that helped me battle those insecurities. Here’s how…

I’ve been contributing to another blog for four months now, and that made me realize that I’ll always manage to think of something to write about, because I’m surrounded by a world of inspiration. And if I do hit a wall and struggle to come up with something – so what? That doesn’t define my ability as a writer, and I can always check out other blogs to see what they’re writing about for inspiration!
Contributing to the other blog for a while now has also made me realize that I can commit to a blog for a long duration. Partially because I genuinely just enjoy it and look forward to creating new content, and partially because of the simple fact that I made the commitment, so I know I need to produce posts regularly!
This isn’t related to committing to another blog, but I did realize that I don’t need just one specific theme for my blog. It’s my blog, so I can write about whatever I want, and I can post whenever I want, because I make the rules. I have a variety of interests, so why can’t I write a little bit about each of them instead of limiting myself to just one?

My own space.

As much as I enjoy writing for others, I am looking forward to writing for myself. I’m looking forward to having my own space where I can write in any style I’d like, and on any topic I want to without worrying about whether or not it’s on brand. It will also be nice to have this as a creative outlet, free of pressure. I’m not planning to put any pressure on myself to post a certain number of times each week, or on a certain day each week or anything like that. I just want this to be a fun hobby and a creative outlet, and I’m honestly just proud of myself for finally feeling motivated enough and brave enough to do it!

Why the title: Nadine’s Narratives

I’m really, really terrible at thinking of titles for anything – essays, stories, email subject lines, WhatsApp group chats, etc. I was asking my boyfriend for help thinking of a name for my blog, so when he suggested Nadine’s Narratives, I really liked the way it sounded, and it stuck!