Sara, Author at livelovesara

What I Wore This Week

June 26, 2017Sara 2 Comments

Apparently I love these distressed jeans since I wore them 3 out of 4 days 😉

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Holy Value Village scores batman! This Sunday was their summer clean out pre sale for their savers club members. Monday is the actual sale date for everyone. It’s 50% off clothes, shoes, and accessories and we hauled really well.

There were a few non sale items we got that were also great finds like the Harry Potter Monster Book of Monsters licences plush which has been on our Wishlist for a long time. I honestly can’t believe we found that there, and the bonus is that when you pull his tongue he growls. I have a thing for old product advertising posters and I found a replica alcohol advertisement from 1922 (on a large, wooden wall plaque). But my biggest score of the day was a Botkier Trigger Satchel that is $300 new but I got for $4.50 (50% off $9.00). I just happened to walk by and thought, “hey, that looks like a moto bag that I would carry.” Then I recognized the name and did a quick google search and saw the price. I was like, “yep, sold.” I also found another purse which is a vintage, hand tooled leather purse similar my other one I use frequently but a darker leather and a slightly different shape, a pair of culottes (actually capris but are culottes on me) and a cute dress from H&M.

As per usual Roo found some fun t-shirts, and a pair of Little House on the Prairie style boots she wanted. They are Steve Madden and are in great condition. Merle got an Ikea wooden artist dummy to replace one that she had before that broke, a board game, and some Mexican marionettes that are creepy as shit. She has a thing for marionettes and animatronics which she definitely doesn’t get from me.

Tom found some work clothes and shoes. He usually has more success there than I do but today I seemed to score well which surprised me since they clear out fast during sales. So we spent the day traveling to various Value Villages, hit up the grocery store for the week, and then took the girls swimming. I am tired now so I am signing off. I have a packing list for 10 days in Paris and Prague coming up this week that I kind of love. It emulates my style perfectly. I hope you like it as much as me.

Have you found any good deals thrifting or store bought recently?

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A Starter Work Capsule Wardrobe

June 22, 2017Sara 4 Comments

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When it comes to work, capsule wardrobes are your friend. It helps you to have a nice, curated collection of work appropriate pieces that streamline everything and makes getting ready for work easy. When you are coming out of school and starting your first job one of the top things that come to mind are “what am I going to wear”, and the next is “how am I going to afford it?” Because let’s be honest, most of us who are starting our careers don’t have a lot of money to be spending on a brand new work wardrobe. This is why a while back I made a blog post titled A Simple Teacher Capsule Wardrobe Built from Your Closet in Steps. In that post I laid out 5 steps that would help you to build a work wardrobe out of many pieces that you already own. These steps don’t just apply to teacher wardrobe which can lean on the more casual side of business casual work attire but will also work for any new job.

Building a work wardrobe doesn’t have to be expensive because what you are doing is integrating as many pieces as you can from what you already own and then filling in any holes as inexpensively as you can (until you can afford more expensive if you wish to).

My personal wardrobe is quite casual and even I could put together a basic work wardrobe using the above suggested pieces as a guide. Off the top of my head I have 12 out of 16 pieces of the above clothing. I also have all of the scarves, accessories, and shoes that would work as well. That means if I wanted to copy the above list to perfection I would only really need 4 pieces which isn’t bad in the grand scheme of things, especially if you look at sales or second-hand stores.

To show you the variety you can get from a wardrobe of this size I put together 30 outfits below that could be worn. There are so many other combinations that could be made as well so you could easily go over a whole month without repeating an outfit. This list also will easily transition through the seasons without much alterations. If you noticed I stuck to a basic neutral palette of black, white, and grey, and then sprinkled in some colour with pink, green, and a camel trench. I played up the neutral with adding some leopard accessories and a ballet flat (leopard is a neutral) to add some cohesiveness.

Every once and a while I like to redo previous wardrobes because styles and trends change constantly. There is also the issue of many of the pieces I list sell out and people ask me for updated versions.

I hope this helps you to realize that you can start a new job with a great look without breaking the bank. 30 Outfit options are below. Have a great weekend!

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What to Wear in the UK Plus Size Outfit Options

June 20, 2017Sara 2 Comments

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You know when you are eating something sweet and it’s so rich that you are almost gagging but it’s still so good you don’t want to stop eating? That just happened with some chocolate truffles. It actually happens all the time but I try to finish it otherwise someone else will eat it on me. Unattended or abandoned food is not safe here 😉

Also that cold that I had? The one I thought was going away decided that it wasn’t ready to vacate quite yet. Several symptoms just won’t let go, and I’m going on week four of a stuffy nose and slight cough. I would have been concerned but those are the two symptoms that have stuck around for Roo too, and she got sick at the same time as me. I guess this is just a hanger on’er.

I fell victim to the Zara sale. Remember that pink tweed jacket that I got a while back? While I love it, it was actually my second choice. My first choice had more of a blue fleck than pink, 3/4 length sleeves, a collar, and buttoned up the front in more of a blazer than jacket style, but it kept selling out in my size. I’d get an email when it came back in stock and then when I added it to my cart it would be out of stock again. Very frustrating in the grand scheme of First World Problems, so when the Zara summer sale started and I saw they restocked it and it was $60 cheaper I was excited. Then it sold out again with seconds (I swear it was seconds) so I gave up. On Mandat afternoon Merle and I went to pick up some groceries and we have to walk by the big Zara to get there. As I was walking by I made eye contact with my jacket. There were 4 in a messy little row. Side note: Have you ever seen how chaotic and messy Zara gets especially during sales? It must really suck for the workers to maintain that. When I worked retail I would have to hold my breathe and walk away when someone rifled through my neatly folded tees. I can’t imagine the amount of work it takes to get it cleaned up after closing. Long story short, I pretty much dived at the rack to check and they had it in my size so I carried it to the cash in a death grip (you know. In case someone tried to snatch it like they do in movies) I kid only slightly.

This brought me to the realization that I have a thing for jackets. I never really realized that until yesterday but I get really upset when the weather gets too hot for me to layer a fun/cool jacket over whatever I am wearing. Some people have a thing for shoes I apparently like jackets. Now on to the real meaning of this post.

I will be short and brief after a long-winded story. These 24 outfits (12 above and 12 below) are the outfit options that I put together for the What to Pack for the UK packing list from last post. The details from the trip are in the original post but I wanted to point out to those that may have not seen it that this list is plus size and meant for a 3 week trip to the UK for the end of June to middle of July, so technically early summer. The trip it is requested for is mostly casual with a few dressy nights. The colour palette was mostly blues with a few colours added, while staying away from browns/beiges. Whenever I make a packing list I tend to include mostly solid colour neutral pieces, while adding a piece or two in a bright colour or pattern. I also like to add some colour variation using scarves and sometimes a shoe. A fun colour or print shoe can add so much to an outfit, everyone should have at least one “fun” coloured shoe.

While the temperatures at this time of year can lean towards hot, it can also get cold and damp in a blink so clothes that are loose, and breathable will work for the heat while adding a sweater over top will transition you through cooler days easily. *The UK is currently having a heat wave, so pay attention to the weather.* Remember that your travel outfit comes from the pieces in the list as well, and is not in addition to. It’s always a good idea to wear your heavier, more layerable items on the plane (planes can be cold) so that you can pack less.

Have you found any good sale deals lately?

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What to Pack for the UK Plus Size Edition

June 19, 2017Sara Leave a Comment

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What I Wore This Week

June 18, 2017Sara Leave a Comment

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Have I ever mentioned that I live by a really big mall? Like, a 5 minute walk from everything I could ever need. While on most days it is really convenient to be able to walk to get whatever I need within minutes, on other days it can be dangerous to my wallet. Zara is having a big sale right now and it took everything I had not to go down and check out what was there. I seriously put on my shoes and went to leave 4 times on Saturday but reigned it in each time. That is my version of self control 😉

I totally waited last minute to buy Tom’s Father’s Day gift this year. I’m usually much more prepared but I couldn’t decided what to get him. Merle and I were out shopping together and we were walking through the linen and bedding section of the store. She reminded me that he said that he wanted a new body pillow (his is super sad looking) so we decided a new body pillow and pillow case were a good start. Then last evening around 7:00 I told him that I had to run down to the store because I forgot to buy deodorant (I actually did) but in reality I also want to do a quick perusal and find him another gift to go with the pillow. The girls decided they were going to come with me and ride their bike and scooter, which ironically makes the trip take longer than it does when we walk.

After walking from one end of the mall to the other, we ended up in Urban Outfitters because they always have fun kitschy gift ideas. There was this neat cell phone magnifier in the form of an old fashioned television that I thought he would get a kick out of because he is always watching things on his phone, but I went with a record instead. They had the Beatles double album which is a fantastic album so I figured it would be good to add to his collection. As a final touch I had the girls go into the Urban Outfitters photo booth and take some fun photos for him to put in his card. Everything went well until the last photo when it managed to capture Roo in the middle of falling off her stool. I was going to make them do a retake, but then thought, “nah, that’s totally her so it’s perfect.” For breakfast I made him Eggs Benedict (my favourite too. Everything tastes better with Hollandaise). All in all I’d say he had a good day.

I have a plus size UK packing list coming up this week, as well as I am working on an updated Starter Work Wardrobe/Capsule.

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What to Wear for One Month in Europe Outfit Options

June 15, 2017Sara Leave a Comment

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I’m watching Beetlejuice while finishing this post because we found the DVD for $1.00 at Value Village on the weekend. I love this movie. The kids love this movie. So much that Merle was Beetlejuice for last Halloween. We are big Halloween people in this house and they are already planning what their costumes are going to be this year. They are leaning towards one being Dobby the house elf and one Wednesday Addams.

Tom came home from work last night saying that he hurt his ankle at work. He rolled it and now it’s swollen and bruised. I will admit that he is definitley not the “suffer in silence” type of person. Everyone and their dog were woken by his “pirate giving birth” noises while he hobbled to the kitchen this morning. Let’s hope it heals fast for both his sake and mine.

This is the outfit options portion my What to Pack for One Month in Europe packing light list from Wednesday. Thirty outfits for 30 days. If you pop over to the original post it gives the background information for the trip. The list had a challenge that there were religious restrictions on the clothing choices. Everything needs to cover the shoulders and be past the knees. Since there are so many different destinations in this one trip they are going to encounter a lot of different temperatures from extreme heat to cooler temps, sunshine, and rain. Everything I picked should cover all situations that may arise. I hope that these options lets you see how many outfits you can get from smaller, carefully curated travel wardrobes.

It’s been a long day and I just realized that my shirt is on backwards so I am signing off. Have a great weekend!

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