livelovesara - An over 40 Style and Travel Blog

What I Wore This Week

December 19, 2016Sara Leave a Comment

It’s so effing cold today I am sitting here in my slippers and housecoat over the top of my sweater with the heat cranked to 78°. For some reason the heat seems like it is being sucked outside as soon as it comes out of the vent. I don’t know what happened in the last year but the insulation in here seems to have gone to shit. Either that or I am not remembering last winter correctly. The apartment that we lived in 2 places ago was so cold. We literally had to hang curtains over open doorways to try to keep the heat in the rooms. I slept in a beanie and my hydro was $600 a month in the winter. I’m thinking that if you pay that much your house should be like an oven. I tapped danced out the door when we moved from there. Talk about a place with poor insulation.

I finished wrapping finally. There are still 3 things that haven’t arrived in the mail so I hope that they get pushed through in the influx of trying to get as much Christmas mail out as possible, and weren’t lost instead. I also bought some Christmas sacs to keep the wrapped gifts in because I didn’t want the kids manhandling them and “accidentally” ripping the wrapping paper, but I made the mistake of letting them empty one bag and put them under the tree. Now I am getting 20 questions about each gift and a million guesses. It’s non stop. Thank god it’s less than a week away because I think they would have figured them all out if they had longer. Too much Sherlock 😉

I just started watching a show called Speechless. It’s really quite funny, and great how they brought humour to a sensitive subject. I’m super picky with what I watch, but I really like this one.

I am working on a warm weather destination packing list this week. I have had to wear my winter boots too many times this past week and I need some escapism. I have a feeling this is going to be a long winter.

Is it snowy and cold wear you are?

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Happy Holidays with Daniel Wellington

December 16, 2016Sara Leave a Comment

People that know me know that I don’t wear very much jewellery. I usually try to keep it pretty simple and with some small gold hoops, my wedding rings, and a watch. I think I got in to that habit when I had kids and they yanked on everything. I realized it’s more me and it has stuck even as they passed those stages. I always make sure to wear a watch though and I have been known to make everyone turn back to go and get it when I forgot to put one on because I feel naked without it.

I was recently contacted by Daniel Wellington who are a relatively new Swedish company, and they asked me if I would be interested in one of their watches. My first thought was, “um, yeah I LOVE watches.”, so I accepted and selected a watch from their stock. I chose the Sheffield Classic Black in rose gold with a 36mm face. I love that it has a clean, minimalistic, classic design that will go everything and will never go out of style. They also offer watch + cuff bundles as well as a watch + band bundles at a discounted price.

If you are ordering for Christmas make sure to order before December 19th to get it on time. They are offering free gift wrapping, free shipping, and free returns on each purchase. These are beautiful watches that would work for all tastes with their #dwforeveryone style.

This was the perfect Christmas present for me and I am very excited to integrate it in to my wardrobe and daily outfit posts. If you use the code “LIVELOVESARA” you will get 15% off (It can also be combined with other discounts) up until January 30, 2017.

Go check out #danielwellington to see all the styles for men and women.

Happy Holidays!

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What to Wear in the Amalfi Coast Outfit Options

December 16, 2016Sara Leave a Comment

Holy Crap it’s the last full weekend before Christmas, I can’t believe it’s already here. I have to go to the mall to pick up some stuff and I’m scared to enter the insanity. Maybe I can put it off until Monday to avoid some of the craziness.

This post features the outfit options from the pieces I included in the What to Wear for the Amalfi Coast in spring list. You will notice that there is a black purse and cognac coloured purse in these options, that is because the purse is reversible so you get two looks for one giving you more variety out of your wardrobe.

I mentioned that this list was a combination of 11 separate requests to several cities and regions in Italy. I didn’t have enough time (or the mental drive) to do a separate list for each but when I researched the temperatures at this time of year they all averaged within 1-2 degrees of one another so this list would work for all of those regions I mentioned in the last post. Everything can easily layer to accommodate cooler mornings/evenings and warmer afternoons. I included a swimsuit because it is likely you will encounter a pool or warm water during your trip. I made 20 outfit options but you could easily get more with a little creativity therefore this list would work for longer trips as well as long as you have access to laundry at some point. I hope this inspires you to get creative with your wardrobe.

Are you headed out to join the last-minute shopping crowd this weekend?
I’m glad that I’m done because Tom has to work unit Christmas eve. Originally he had this time off but he fell into a show pilot for December so I am happy that I don’t have much running around left to do because there isn’t a car to use. All my outings involve walking or public transit right now and walking in a blizzard isn’t all it’s cracked out to be 😉

Have a good weekend.

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What to Pack for the Amalfi Coast in Spring

December 14, 2016Sara Leave a Comment

Please excuse the tardiness. It’s Merle’s birthday today, and while we celebrated yesterday (Tom’s only day off until Christmas eve) I didn’t want to spend the whole day on the computer. I haven’t got my shit together enough to get posts ready weeks in advance, so I pretty much finish them just before I hit publish.

What to Pack for the Amalfi Coast is a combination of several requests for various cities in Italy in spring. I couldn’t do an individual one for each because it was 11 requests which would be a lot of work and a lot of repetition. The trips range from 2 weeks to a month so I am making this one for 2 weeks. With 2 weeks worth of clothes and access to a washing machine you easily have enough clothes and outfit options to cover you for a month.

The cities/regions that this covers are Rome, Amalfi Coast, Cinque Terre, Tuscany, and Naples. I emailed back several people in regards to their preferences in style and colour but never heard back so look at these lists in general terms not necessarily by style (since it’s based on things I like). T-shirts, skirts, jeans, sweaters, shoes are all open to your own interpretation. I give you ideas of what sort of items you should bring and then you pick items in those categories suited to your tastes. The key is to find a colour palette and base it on that so everything is cohesive.

Spring in Italy is one of the greatest travelling times because there won’t be as many tourists, the flowers are blooming, and the heat isn’t extreme. The average temperature of these cities during the month of April is 14°C, with a high of 20°C and low of 9°C. To me these temperatures are perfect, you can wear sweaters, mid-lightweight jackets, but have enough layerable items in case the day gets warmer when you are sightseeing.

I included a swim suit in case the weather accommodates one or you stay in places that have pools. The purse in reversible to a solid black on the other side, which is an easy way to get some variety in your handbag. Outfit options will be in the next post.

I typed this after 4 cups of coffee so excuse me if it seems disjointed 😉

If you like this post you can find more packing lists and outfit options in my:
Packing Light Series
What to Wear Options

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What I Wore This Week

December 12, 2016Sara 6 Comments

Well, it looks like the predictions are true and we will be getting a lot more snow than last years low amount because it is currently snowing an assload. I’m so glad I went out and bought the girls their snow boots last week, and while I did we stopped at Value Village and I found a pair of Sorels for $25 in my size that looked like they were never worn. That’s a pretty good score since I was prepared to fork over the $150+ that they are.

Merle’s birthday is this week and she wants to go to either the Ontario Science Centre or the Royal Ontario Museum for the day which is fine with me since it’s been a while since we have been to either. Last time we went to the museum she was so little that she ran into the glass of a display when she got super excited. It knocked her flat on her ass which was both hilarious and sad at the same time. At least it will be a weekday when we go so the crowds should be minimal. I hate it when the crowds are so thick you almost get ushered through it by the mobs of people.

I spent 4 hours wrapping presents the other night and I’m still not done but I ran out of paper. I also realized how much I actually suck at wrapping. I’m really not very good at it and several of them are patched with various pieces of paper when I cut the wrong size. I’m still waiting for 5 things to arrive in the mail though and I hope to shit they arrive on time. I don’t know how people wait until the last-minute and not need anxiety meds 😉

I think my Ancestry DNA kit will arrive this week so I look forward to posting about that later. I hope you have a great week!

Do you suck at wrapping presents too? I even tried that Japanese gift wrapping trick but I still failed.

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What to Wear in Washington DC Outfit Options

December 9, 2016Sara 2 Comments

I would say Happy Friday but for those that have to work and have unpleasant stuff to do it isn’t so happy, so I will say the week flew by and I can’t believe it’s almost Christmas. I’m actually disappointed that it is almost over 🙁

This post is the outfit options segment of the What to Pack for 10 Days in Washington DC from Wednesday. The request is for a mom who is chaperoning her sons trip to Washington D.C. in early April. I put together 20 outfit ideas to using the pieces from that list to cover a variety of outings. The requested list is for April which is an unpredictable month weather-wise so a coat of some sort should be brought. I included several sweaters for layering and a blazer as a light jacket/dressy options. A blazer is an easy way to instantly make your outfit look more put together so I suggest you get one for your wardrobe if you don’t already have one. They are very versatile.

For the colour palette I stuck with the basic neutrals and then added the jewel tones of a dark green and plum. Because the palette is neutral it is easy to match a more colourful and rich shade of a coat, which is a good way to add some fun to your outfits. For shoes I stuck with a basic flat, casual slip-ons, and a pair of leather boots which should take you through any outing or scenario. I hope this list gives you some good ideas.

Have good weekend (if you can) 🙂

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