Sara, Author at livelovesara

What to Wear in Cornwall England Outfit Options

March 24, 2017Sara Leave a Comment

I finally got to go outside without wearing a coat the other day. It was beautiful out, and almost at my ideal 15°C. The wind was warm, the sun was out, and it was the first time in months that felt like you could actually take your time to get to your destination instead of walking fast to battle the cold and winds. On the way home wasn’t so fun though because I totally overestimated my prowess and misjudged how many groceries I could carry (my cart is broken). What I thought looked like a reasonable amount in the shopping cart ended up being a lot of heavy things and was definitely not fun the carry that distance. I swear my backpack weighed at least 50lbs on its own, then I held 4 large grocery bags. Next on the agenda is getting a new cart.

This post has the outfit options to go with the What to Pack for Cornwall, England packing list from yesterday. The requester’s planned trip is for May, when the average temperature is early to mid teens. According to this website though it looks like the weather might be slightly warmer than average so I noted that a packing adjustment might be needed to pack the best pieces for the trip.

I put together 24 options from the pieces which will work for a variety of outings and situations. I said yesterday that I was trying to bring a little more colour in to my wardrobe so I made this list a little more colourful than I usually do. I still incorporated the neutrals that I love but decided that some yellow, a floral print dress, and green, were nice accents for a spring trip.

I’m really feeling yellow at the moment, has spring brought out your need of a little colour too (If you are a neutral person like me)?

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What to Pack for Cornwall, England

March 23, 2017Sara 2 Comments

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12 Mules for the Budget Conscious Shopper

March 21, 2017Sara 6 Comments

I mentioned in one of my my last posts how I ordered some spring/summer shoes and they sent the wrong ones. I was pretty bummed but we have a retailer that is quite close so I was able to go in and exchange for the correct pair.

I’m not going to blame them because the style name on the box were nearly identical as the correct shoes, and the only difference between the shoes is the detailing. I wanted the Kandi with the buckle and they sent the Kandi-P with a line of pearls.

The only issues that I met while getting the correct ones (and this is something that I have noticed in a lot of retailers now so this complaint is not directed specifically to them) is that when you exchange a product that is not identical to the one you bought (like a same style, different size situation) and you ordered the product online they refund you the purchase and then make you make re-purchase the correct item.

This is instead of doing a direct exchange and paying or refunding the difference like they did when I worked retail (maybe that’s old school?).

In the grand scheme of things that wasn’t a big deal. I was able to buy the shoes after the refund but that would not have been the case several years ago.

You see, I paid by Paypal when I ordered them online which means when they refunded the purchase the money did not go back into my account right away. In fact as I write this it still hasn’t gone through and isn’t due to be processed until this week sometime (which will be a week after I exchanged them). Then I have to transfer it from my Paypal to my bank account.

The whole process will take anywhere from 1-2 weeks. If I didn’t have the money in my account to pay for the new ones I wouldn’t have been able to get the correct shoe for several weeks even though the mistake was made by them.

It seems unfair to those that may have had to save to make their purchase and don’t have disposable income to cover the costs of another pair until their money is refunded.

Does that seem like a legitimate complaint to you? I wish they would review this new process because I can see it causing some real issues and even embarrassment for customers that can’t afford it and that is obviously not something you ever want your customers to feel.

Back to the new shoes now. I was looking for a decent pair of Gucci dupes. We all know which ones I am talking about, they slip-one mule style that we are seeing everywhere atm.

They come in fur, non-fur, or embroidered option. There is no way in hell that I could afford to drop $800-$1200 (depending on the style) on a pair of shoes. Technically I could pull it off if I didn’t enroll the kids in activities, skipped paying the hydro, and meal planned around cereal for a month but that’s not really affording it is it?

Affording them would be able to make the purchase without even having to think about it because the amount is too small to be an issue. So dupes it is for me and I’m pretty satisfied with these. The sizing is perfect, the leather is soft, and they look cute on. They will work well once all the snow and slush is gone.

My rant about affording expensive shoes isn’t saying that I don’t want them nor would never buy them. While I do want a pair of Gucci classic loafers and hope to save for a pair sometime in the future, I would not spend that much money on a pair of shoes that are the newest trend because that money could be put to better use in my life (if that makes sense). Now if I won the lottery it might be a different story 😉

Above I compiled a collection of slip-ons if you are in the market for a cheaper version.

Would you buy a pair of dupes or would you rather save for the real thing?

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What I Wore This Week

March 20, 2017Sara 4 Comments

It was Comicon weekend and I promised myself I would take lots of photos, but once again that didn’t work out. It is so crazy busy and congested in there that it is really hard to stop and take a picture of anything. I was more concerned with not losing a kid in the crowd so I only took a couple and a video of the super cool Dalek Robots they always have there.

Merle loves pictures and always smiles when asked, Roo on the other hand hates pictures and tries to give me the weirdest or creepiest smile she can come up with :/

It took us an hour and a half to get from where we live to the Toronto Convention Centre. An hour and a half. The drive should have taken 15 minutes (there was an accident, but a completely minor one so I have no idea how it messed with the traffic so badly). Then of course the downtown parking lot guys rip you off because they know you have no other choice so we had to pay $30 to park :/ I miss living close to the Yonge St subway line, it was so convenient and so much cheaper to do things downtown. It would be nice to live right down there but then I look at the cost of the real estate and wonder how anyone can actually afford to live there. What average person can afford to pay over a million for a home that needs work? Seriously, it makes me sick thinking about it. And if you can squeak by paying mortgage that large, why would you ever want to work to make enough to just cover your mortgage? I would rather spend money on life experiences than for a house just so I can say I bought a house. You know what I mean?

Tom and Roo went one way at Comicon and Merle and I ended up going another (not really a voluntary separation. Merle and I got stuck in a crowd and had to go with the flow). It’s funny though because I knew they would buy all kinds of things without me there to kibosh it and lo and behold they walk up to us with hands full of bags, and all Merle got was brain freeze from an Icee drink. Poor kid got screwed when she stuck with me 😉

Never fear, she ended up getting a Living Dead Doll for her Collection. They had one she had never seen before who was yellow, so she was thrilled. Tom and Roo ended up getting me the collection of The Golden Girls Funko Pops. I love the Golden Girls.

I’m a Sophia (but I definitely have some sarcastic Dorothy), which Golden Girl are you?

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What to Wear for a 21 Day European Vacation in April Outfit Options

March 17, 2017Sara Leave a Comment

I ordered some new spring/summer shoes online but they sent the wrong ones 🙁 I can totally see how that happened though because there is only a one letter difference between the name of the ones I wanted and the ones they sent. Thankfully there is a store within a few minutes walk from here that has the right pair that I can exchange for which I am going to do in a few minutes when I drop Roo of at her “tween” group. Now why didn’t I go to the brick and mortar store in the first place you make ask, or not because I’m sure you don’t give a shit on my shopping habits 😉 But I like to order things using the Ebates website because it gives me a small percentage of the purchase back which can add up especially during Christmas when I tend to buy a lot online. They have sites for different countries which offer different stores (stores targeted for your region). I use ebates.ca (<—– that’s a referral link so if you want to bypass that just type in ebates) but if you go to that main page and scroll to the bottom they list the global sites so you can see if they offer your country. That’s pretty much the only reason I shop online (well, that and it saves me from fighting crowds). Those dollars add up, and it’s kind of like getting paid to shop (or that’s what I keep telling myself). Different stores offer different cash-back percentages so it can be totally worth it. I got 10% back on my AncestryDNA purchase which was a nice chunk of change. I am in no way a connoisseur of shopping deals but this is one that I use regularly. Anyway, whatever the reasons I am excited to get the right shoes. Bring on no sock weather.

I’m bringing the point back to this post now. These are the outfit options that go with the What to Pack for Paris, Italy and Greece in April packing list. If you want the details behind the trip or my choices it explains it more in the original post. The gist is that the trip is for 21 days in April, starting in Paris, moving on to Venice, where they then hop on a cruise through Greece, various Italian cities, and Croatia before the land in Spain. The weather will be incredible at this time of year even though it won’t be very beachy temperatures. Light jackets with sweaters, and layers should get you through from day time to the lower end night-time temperatures. Being on the water for the cruise may also feel cooler so being able to layer is important.

Your travel outfit comes from the pieces in the list (which should be the heavier and bulkier pieces to add ease to your packing and lessen the amount).

I’ll see you Monday with some photos from Comicon hopefully. I suck at remembering to take photos in the moment though.

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What to Pack for a 21 Day European Vacation in April – Packing Light

March 16, 2017Sara 3 Comments

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