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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 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 I Wore This Week

June 12, 2017Sara 2 Comments

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I hoped because we had such a mild winter (in Canadian standards) that our summer would be colder. But apparently my hopes have been dashed because it’s not even summer yet and the heat rolled in. The stupid humidity makes it a million times worse though and today it felt like it was 38°C (100.4°F) and I was not impressed.

Does anyone else seem to spend an obscene amount of money on the weekend? I feel like we just hemorrhaged cash this weekend 🙁 It started with getting Merle a bike. She’s never had one because every time we tried to buy her one for the last few years, she said that she didn’t want one. I was concerned she was going to be like Phoebe Buffay on Friends and not learn to ride a bike un tip she was in her 30’s 😉 But she decided that this year was the year, so we got her a new bike, helmet, bell, and decorative stickers (for the helmet) and it was stupid expensive. That rolled over into dinner with friends, grocery shopping, and several other things and I can’t help but feel sick over how much we spend on weekends.

I did get a few Christmas presents this week though. The 20th Anniversary Harry Potter Editions (Gryffindor, Slytherin, Ravenclaw, and Hufflepuff) were released in Canada and the UK (I’m not sure of the US relate date) and I bought them straight away. I figured if I waited then I may regret it and have to pay more. It feels super early to start to hiding Christmas presents in my closet again but an early start is always better than a late for me.

Is anyone else contemplating Christmas yet?

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Some of my Favourite Handbags from Etsy

June 9, 2017Sara 2 Comments

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I’m not going to lie, when bloggers I have followed for a long time start/started to carry deigner bags my first thoughts are, “oh, they’ve made it.” Which when I think about it, is sad that I am tying their success to their ability to buy designer handbags. It just seems to be the way it is though, and I won’t begrudge them that because I’m sure we would all like to own an expensive handbag but it gets excessive when there is a new bag that appears out of nowhere each week. I mean, the purpose of these bags, or at least what I thought they were, were investment pieces. You are “supposed” to invest in one or two and these are your forever bags. The classics that will become your wardrobe staples and never go out of style.

In this instance, yes I would like to have one or two expensive bags that I could consider my investment pieces. But no, I don’t want a closet full of handbags because in my mind when I buy something it is because I like/love it. That means that I want to wear or use it as much as possible. If I have a closet full of bags how often am I going to be using these pieces that I supposedly love. It kind of defeats the purpose for me. I feel the same way about shoes. I don’t need 100 pairs of shoes. I would never have need for anything remotely that much.

When I think of the investment bags that I wouldn’t mind having, a few that come to mind and that seem to keep their value and never go out of style. These are the Chanel Classic Flap, Chanel Boy Bag, Hermès Birkin, Hermès Kelly, and the Louis Vuitton Neverfull just to name a few of the big ones. I’ve never really wanted a LV purse but they have an excellent resell value which makes them a smart investment piece.

Now on to the point of this post. Designer bags are beautiful but have you seen some of the handmade leather bags that people have to offer? I keep finding all kinds of purses on Pinterest and when I go to their landing pages a huge percentage of them come from Etsy. This made me spend and evening going through pages of the handcrafted leather handbags and I pulled a small selection of some of the ones that I loved. The difference of prices between these beauties and a designer bag is crazy and I wanted to draw your attention to the other option. A realistic and smart option, if designer is totally out of your budget but you want something that is quality, original, and luxurious looking without breaking the bank (compared to the thousands for a designer) some of these may be for you.

I pulled some of my favourites, but honestly I only made it through around 50 pages and there is still so many more that I missed. This is one of the reason I love Esty. It gives you access to a product of someone’s passion and talent, while supporting a small business. That to me is a great thing.

What do you think of designer vs Etsy Handmade?

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Here a list of a few sales to bring you in to the weekend:

Macy’s – and extra 20% off with code CUTE
Bloomingdale’s – up to 25% off with code MAINEVENT
Ann Taylor – Extra 40% off with code SHOP40
Ralph Lauren – 25% off $100 with code KIDS17
Pacsun – $20 off $100 with code DADSGRADS
Coach – up to 50% of select items no code
LOFT – 40% off sale no code
Neiman Marcus – up to 40% of no code
Serena & Lily – 20% off elect with code DREAMWORTHY
Pottery Barn – up to 70% off no code
West Elm – up to 40% off no code
Williams Sonoma – up to 50% off no code

Have a great weekend!

What I Wore This Week

June 5, 2017Sara Leave a Comment

Outfit 1- Leather Jacket • Zara (similar) | T-shirt • H&M | Jeans • H&M | Sandals • Esty | Purse • Zara (similar, similar) |
Outfit 2 – Leather Jacket • Zara (similar) | Dress • Zara (similar, similar) | Shoes • Vans |
Outfit 3 – Leather Jacket • Zara (similar) | Lace Peplum shirt • Zara (similar, similar) |
Outfit 4 – Jacket • Zara (similar, similar) | Poison T-shirt • Vintage* (similar, similar) | Jeans • H&M | Shoes • Steve Madden |
Photo 5 – New thrifted shoes: A pair of Classic Vans slip-ons, and a pair of Adidas that I can’t figure out what style of. I think they may be a vintage. They look like a cross between the Vintage country (new country OG), the Samba, and the bottom part of a vintage Adidas German wrestling shoe.

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I hate making regular, run of the mill posts after horrible shit has happened in the world. It seems so tasteless, so I want it to be known that I was/am just as shocked, saddened, angry, and devastated at what happened Saturday night in London as everyone else. I can’t accept that this is our new normal. It’s so messed up.

I caught a summer cold from my kid. They really are little germ machines and I can’t believe I am sick again. On Saturday we had another successful thrifting day. In Value Village we found an Ikea Ektorp ottoman with built-in storage for $12. The cover on it was beige and really dirty but it completely removable, so we went to Ikea and picked up a new cover in grey (the darker the better here) and now it looks like new. While the cover was 3x as much as the footstool cost us we ended up getting the ottoman for less that 1/3 of what a new one would have cost and we wanted one anyway. (For some reason the Ikea links aren’t working on mobile.)

Tom has the tendency to steal my stories or ideas and then relay them back to me like they are his or he heard them elsewhere :/ Weeks ago I told him that I wanted to get rid of our kitchen table and get a drop-leaf style from to save on space. I showed him the picture of the one I wanted. When we were at Ikea on Saturday he showed me the table that I had previously showed him and proceeded to tell me how perfect it would be for the condo. I was like, “seriously?” At least he agrees with me right? 😉

Roo ended up getting a new duvet cover for her bed. I’m not sure why she liked this one, maybe it’s the vampire guy or the little cat with steam punk goggles. Whatever the reason she thought it was great. There were some really cute new textiles right now for both kids and adults, with great prices. We couldn’t get Merle’s yellow shelf yet even though I tried, because there was no room in the suv due to Tom’s work crap being in the back of it. It’s a good excuse to go back because we kind of rushed through, and it would be nice to spend a few leisurely hours there in a less busy time of day. I hate being herded along with the crowds like sheep.

I’ve probably mentioned how Merle can’t talk quietly. When we were at Value Village they had a huge chalk-like drawing on the wall of a family holding hands and walking in the sun (family being mom, dad, daughter, son, and dog) and for some reason this pissed her off. She decided she would say really loudly (but her normal voice), “not every family has a son you know!…….Or a dog!…….And not every day is sunny!” Then she walked off in a huff. She gets the drama from Tom.

*On Instagram I told the story of this vintage Poison t-shirt (up in the 4th photo) which was given to me from a former employee. Back in 2004 I was pregnant with my first and going through a rough emotional time. He knew that I loved vintage band tees and brought me this one to cheer me up. It really meant a lot to me then and still does now.

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What I Wore This Week

May 29, 2017Sara 2 Comments

So one week in with our new couch and chair and I love it. It finally feels like we have a real living room. We can actually all sit together in one room at the same time, and we did a movie night for the first time in forever that we were all able to sit and watch together. It was nice. We watched Lord of the Rings if you are interested 😉

I’m kind of sad that I have to retire my toques/beanies for the season. I think that they have become my bad hair day crutch, and every time I try to wear my fedora it’s so windy it almost flies off my head. Maybe I need a haircut?

I had a small but successful shop at Value Village on Sunday. I was able to get a pair of checkered Vans slip-ons, and a pair of Adidas (even though I can’t figure out what kind they are). The girls found a couple of still in-the-box Minecraft plushies, and a Union Jack mug for Roo. We also donated our old, large coffee table, dining table (we need a small apartment size drop leaf table), two chairs, and a room divider so we have cleaned out a lot of clutter that this small space couldn’t handle. It’s so nice to be able to walk right in the condo without having to navigate around the crap we needed to purge. So I guess I’m already off to a productive week 😉

Here is hoping the rest goes as well. Have a good week guys!

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