This packing list comes via request from a mom of two young girls for 7 days in Stockholm in August. I tried to keep the list casual and comfortable, but still chic because I know what it’s like chase two kids all day.
There really isn’t much room for tight, short dresses, and high heels when you are looking for comfort and ease. She also has access to laundry so I could have really lightened up this list even more but I don’t want you being a slave to laundry on vacation.
First I want to say that if anyone has sent me an email and I have not responded I didn’t receive it because I have officially replied to everyone that I have received. I noticed that several messages sent through my contact form got stuck in the server and never went through so I want to sincerely apologize to anyone this may have happened to and if you want to resend me the message then send it directly to me at hello@livelovesara.com this email goes directly to my phone.
It was Ribfest this week in town and it was conveniently located across the street, so this weekend was filled with award-winning ribs and funnel cakes. Back to your regularly schedules program of eating okayish and exercising this week. Our library which is also located across the street is on strike. So unfortunately I haven’t been able to take my kids to any of the summer programs they have running. This is leading to trying to find a way to cut down on the amount of screen time they have right now. I admit that they have a lot but my oldest has Minecraft classes where she builds in groups with other kids around the world. She spends a lot of time on these servers which is okay with me since I love Minecraft and team work 😉 It’s also too hot hang outside for very long in the concrete jungle, so I am thankful we have an indoor pool to get some exercise. Oh, and of course Pokemon Go because who isn’t doing it?
As mentioned on many occasions my kids are massive Harry Potter fans. There probably isn’t a day goes by that there isn’t a HP movie running in the background somewhere. It’s our nightly reading book with my youngest. I read them with Roo at this age and she has read the series I ongoing since. She just keeps re-reading and re-reading and listening to audio books. I’ve had to replace her Prisoner of Azkaban three times due to her wearing it out. I credit the series with taking her love of reading to a whole new level. So to say we have a lot of Harry Potter stuff is an understatement. I bought them quite a few of the HP lego sets a few years ago. They have been in a storage bin since we moved in to this place because there wasn’t room to display them, but we finally figured out a spot and opened the bin this weekend to see than many of them have fallen to pieces. I swear I almost cried when I saw that because I spent a solid 10-12 hours building all the sets for them on Christmas eve so they woke up to a Harry Potter Village. It involved many tears and massive amounts of wine to complete so to see it in a state was upsetting. We have started to slowly rebuild the sets, this time it involves not only wine, but crazy glue as well. Never again 😉
I love shopping online. It allows me to shop at my leisure, browse multiple stores at once (I always have a minimum of 15 tabs open at any given time), compare prices, find deals, and quick painless purchasing. I also try to buy from places that allow easy returns with good shipping fees. Don’t get me wrong, I love to shop in stores but with Tom working such long hours, I don’t get free time to go and shop alone. I tend to feel bad dragging the kids with me and can never spend as much time in each store as I would like to because I am constantly looking to make sure that my youngest doesn’t disappear (she tends to wander if something catches her eye), so I generally stick to online.
The Canadian H&M doesn’t have online shopping so I actually have to drag my ass down there. Yesterday I had some errands so while at the mall I thought I would stop in to see if those jeans I have my eye on were in stock yet. They weren’t, so I pulled some of the things that I have had my eye on and tried them on. I’ll sum it up as a general fail. The only thing I bought there were some loose summer Pants for my oldest and a cat sweater for my youngest. I tried on a shirt, skirt, dress, and cardigan and these were the results.
1. A red sleeveless lace shirt (I can’t find it in the red online) While the colour and fabric were nice, it wasn’t a flattering cut on me. It may have looked nicer with a skirt but that wouldn’t give me a lot of versatility. This is the small and it seems a little boxy, the x-small was a little too fitted that it bunched at the waist.
2. A long, loose summer dress (available in other prints and colours online). I have had my eye in this one for a while, and I like the casual cool effortless look of this dress but it was a huge fail for me. Way too long on my 5’3″ frame, too baggy and overwhelming. I looked like a kid playing dress up or like I should be wearing fuzzy slippers and curlers in my hair. I think this style is best suited for a taller or curvier woman. They do offer this print in a shorter more fitted option but they did not have it at more store to try on.
3. Black and white, feather print skirt. This was meh. While it would be cool for summer and I have looked for a breezy, print skirt or a while and this seemed to check a lot of boxes on the hanger. But on I am not a huge fang of the waist and it falls in a weird spot causing my legs to be cut off awkwardly. I can find something better.
4. Striped oversize sweater which I can’t find online probably since it was on sale and the stock is limited. This was an almost though. I actually really like this sweater and would have bought it once upon a time based on an almost feeling but since I don’t allow that in my shopping anymore I had to put it back. If they would have had one size down I may have bought it. I really like oversized cardigans for fall and winter. I am actually kind of regretting the decision, especially since it was $15 which is not a good reason to buy it but a hard habit to break.
I wish that I had the time to try on more things that day but the line-ups were too long (which shocked me on a Thursday morning) and as you can see my kid is getting bored. My oldest was waiting in a chair with her iPod borrowing free wifi from GAP so she was mildly entertained 😉 I am hoping for some better luck next time.
I said I would try to do a monthly purchase post every month when I bought new items for my wardrobe. I didn’t buy anything new in June so I decided to show my Value Village haul instead. We try to thrift shop once a week since their turnover is so great and there are always new things to go through every time awe go. If we get up and out the door early enough we drive around trying to hit as many as we can (which is a lot because there are more than a dozen in a reasonable driving distance that we can hit). I don’t usually find a lot of clothes in thrift stores, but I always seem to find some little stuff for the house that I like.
Wool/felt hat – This one is old, well-made and never appears to have been used. It’s a man’s hat but I have a big head so it fits, and is smoke grey with a black band. It’s the only wardrobe item I bought. $6
I like weird things. This is a stash box disguised as an old book. It is made from wood and felt lined. The image on the front is a copy of a medieval painting of St. George the Victorious (AD 275–281 to 23 April 303). I love things like this. Four years ago we were right at the worst we ever were financially. We were so broke that, that Christmas I decided to make the girls as many of their gifts that I could. As much as I hate sewing, I can do it so I pulled out my machine I hadn’t used in ages and went searching about for inexpensive fabric or things that can be pulled apart to use as fabric and got to work. I made dolls, doll clothes, masks, clothes, cloud decorations for their room (used this as a guide but made my own pattern), and a clubhouse. One of the only items I didn’t sew was a stash box I made for Roo like the one above, but I made it from an old copy of her favourite book (Prisoner of Azkaban) by following these instructions. It was tedious but it turned out really well. She still has it and uses it so I guess it was well worth the time and effort. $2.50
Berlitz Self-Teacher Italian version from 1950. I collect language learning books and I am always on the look out for old editions because the older ones always seem like they are the most thorough. $1.29
A set of 5 cafeteria style sectioned glass plates. Now I don’t have to hear “I can’t eat that, it’s touching” anymore. Anything that makes life a little easier 😉 $5 for all 5
A Hamilton Beach drink/milkshake mixer. You know, because I need the excuse to make a milkshake. I love the retro colour and the way it looks on the counter top. It also works well as a bribery tool. “Clean your room and I will make you a milkshake” works every time. $6.99
This Saturday was my 12th wedding anniversary. It feels like we just celebrated our 11th. I always thought it was a cliché when I was younger, but time really does go by fast as you get older. I think we both almost forgot about it too, though neither has admitted it. I had to go back and check my Facebook posts from last year so I could remember the date. For some reason I always think it is the 10th when it is the 9th. Then I think my anniversary Facebook post prompted Tom to remember (he was at work and posted after I did). We aren’t huge celebration people but I got dressed up for a bit which I will probably post on Instagram this week because I forgot to on Saturday.
I was able to show some versatility of my Asos dress above by wearing it as a shirt on one of the days. It easily knots and can be worn as an oversize tee. Someone on Instagram left a comment about how she bought it but it was too short so be warned if you do. I am 5’3″ and it fits well on me but perhaps I have a short torso and it falls longer. It’s really hard to tell sometimes until you try something on which is a risk your take when shopping online. That’s why I always try to buy from places with excellent returns for shipping (although I hate returning things).
Our car lease was up soon and this past Friday we traded it in for a new car. This time we got a SUV and man is it different. Our old car was a very basic bottom of the line model, because we were broke and needed and inexpensive vehicle. It did the job for 5 years (a few hiccups along the way like a break-in and vandalism that led to needing a new motor but all in all it did the job). With all my excitement you would think we got a luxury vehicle, but it’s just Hyundai Tucson although it feels like a dream after the last one (it even has a panoramic sunroof).
We have had a few good Value Village hauls the last couple of weekends. I think I am going to put together a thrifting haul post sometime this week because I love finding a good deal and fun little treasures. I am also working on a 7 days in Stockholm packing list that will be coming up soon.
If you thrift how often do you hit the thrift stores? We try to go weekly because of the constant changeover, we don’t want to miss anything. Now that we have a car with a big trunk space we can actually donate all the huge shit that has been hanging around and cluttering the condo. Good-bye giant coffee table and Tom’s hideous frat boy style chair.
These are 30 outfit options to go with the 3 week packing list from last post. Spain and Italy can get really hot in July, but at night they cool so it’s best to always bring a sweater and light jacket. Outfit #1 I planned out as the travel outfit, it includes some of the heavier/bulkier items leaving less to pack. Although Spain and Italy are relatively modest in fashion (there are always exceptions), wearing shorts and sleeveless shirts is acceptable and as long as you are not visiting any religious sites. Walking through Pompeii or old Roman ruins you won’t look out ofplace in a pair of shorts, but if you plan on visiting many of the beautiful old churches it is generally required that you cover your shoulders and legs. Women can usually get away with capris/culottes, and mid length skirts/dresses. It is easy to bring an oversized scarf with you to cover your shoulders since it will fit easily in to your purse, and because they take up no room in your suitcase it might be a good idea to bring a couple for variety. If there is a chance you might visit a site with a dress code then make sure you plan your outfit accordingly. Most places will have a sign posted on site if there are dressing requirements, but it is always a good idea to check online beforehand so you are prepared.
Pompeii is really high on my to-see list. Have you ever been there?
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