livelovesara - An over 40 Style and Travel Blog

What to Pack for Washington D.C. for 10 Days

December 7, 2016Sara 5 Comments

After skipping last week while I was trying to get some gift guides out I am back to a packing list this week. I received a request from a woman who is going to Washington D.C. at the beginning of April as a chaperone for her son’s school trip. She is stumped for what to pack for this trip as they are only allowed a carry-on. This being a school trip I assume there will be a lot of sightseeing that will involve a mix of dressy-casual, and casual outfits depending on the itinerary. I included some simple and easy to wear items that are both comfortable, and dressy when needed by some easy pairings.

I always encourage that you pack a couple of tank tops or camisoles because they take up little to no room and are perfect for layering under sweaters, cardigans, blazers, and even as a sleepwear option if necessary. This time of year in Washington is when the Cherry Blossom Festival is and would be beautiful to see and experience.

I played with some different colour combinations here because I was feeling the jewel tones. The coat is a mid-weight which is perfect for April’s unpredictability and is in a beautiful plum colour. The blazer is for a lighter jacket option, but it pays to check the forecast leading up to the day you depart so you know what type of jacket you need to bring. I added some accents of a rich green, with some leopard (because I love leopard mixed with jewel tones). The wrap shirt is multi purpose because it can be worn as a shirt over a camisole or open as a light cardigan. The key to packing light is to pack things that you can wear in several different ways so you can make the most out of what you bring. I hope these pieces give you some ideas for your trip.

The outfit options are in this post.

Have you ever been to the Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington?

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 5, 2016Sara 5 Comments

We made an exciting purchase today, we bought a new vacuum. Our old one decided it was going thing to spit the dirt out the back as I sucked it up which was really fun and seriously slows progress. I stuffed an old sock into the place the dirt was coming out of and it kind of worked as a temporary fix, but we were in the market for a new one. I also told Tom that if he bought me one for Christmas then he would be finding elsewhere to live 😉 Many, many years ago when we were dating he borrowed my disc man (without asking) when he was rollerblading and ended up dropping it and breaking it. He said he would buy me a new one to replace it since I used it everyday when I was walking to and from work 40 minutes each way. It just so happened that it was around my birthday so he bought me my replacement as a “birthday” gift. I’m sure I sound like an asshole but I was pissed that he used that as a way to replace it when he owed me one anyway. It’s like “Happy Birthday! Here is a replacement for the disc man I borrowed with asking and broke.” He kind of notoriously does that so I warned him this year that you don’t buy your wife a vacuum for Christmas unless she specifically asked for one which I did not. I could have lived with it for a bit longer (as long as the sock plugged the hole) he was the one pushing for a new one. Anyway, the new vacuum, it’s smaller, a Bissell, and lime green/grey. It’s good.

And that’s my ungrateful story of the day 😉

Note: I added a currently wearing/shop Instagram page to the blog. I get a lot of questions of where something is from on Instgram, you can’t post imbedded links on there and since a lot of my stuff is older I have to search for newer/similar items for people so it makes sense to have that info on one page. Also, I am trying to find plus size options where I can for those that asked that as well which will be included with each photo too when I can (it’s a work in progress). I am also looking for a new blog template. It’s time for an upgrade so if you know of any good sites that offer them for a reasonable price that would be great. Have a great week!

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For the Weekend

December 2, 2016Sara 3 Comments

I am so tired today because dumbass me had a brilliant idea at 2am. A few weeks ago I bought Merle her own Alvin and the Chipmunks red hooded sweatshirt for Christmas (red with a big A) and my brilliant idea was to get a matching one for best bud Alvin (aka I.T. Bone).

You’d think that wouldn’t be a ridiculously hard thing to find for a reasonable price, but man-oh-man I could not find what I was looking for.

At around 3:30 I found a woman on Etsy who makes clothes for American Girl Dolls. One of her products is an awesome red pullover for the 18″ dolls.

It will fit him perfect, and the cost was only $10 with a $6 shipping charge which shocked me because most people were charging like $20-$30 for shipping.

I think I struck gold with this, and I bought an embroidered yellow A patch to sew on when it arrives. She is going to lose her mind when she opens the matching sweatshirts.

The week kind of flew by I hope you have a good weekend!

This makes me laugh, like, really, really laugh and totally sums up my feelings of 2016. Note: this has a lot of harsh language but I use this language so it doesn’t bother me 😉

Ever since I started loving fashion I have wanted a red Sergeant Pepper style jacket. It’s on my lifetime wardrobe list and recently Zara had one but they sold out almost immediately 🙁

This past weekend Ancestry.ca had a $50 discount on their DNA Ancestry kits and I finally bit the bullet and bought one. I’m tracking it’s trip here and hoping it arrives by Monday.

I would love to complete it and ship it off before the holidays hit and it lengthens the processing time. I’m so excited to finally find out my background (my dad is adopted and his family tree is a big question mark).

This is still one of my favourite tv scenes of all time.

I love the The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning and am literally counting down the days to the final book Feversong‘s release date. I’m currently rereading the series in anticipation.

I saw this video for a cutting board on Facebook and kind of really want one. I’m a messy food prepper with zero counter space and this would be amazing.

I think this message board would be pretty easy to make and so fun for the girls room. I may have to attempt it, maybe make it more magical and less mermaid for their tastes.

In one of my Facebook groups we were discussing books that changed your life.

I couldn’t really think of a life altering book, although I have read tons but then I remembered how when I was 16 I read A Handmaid’s Tale by Margaret Atwood and was deeply disturbed.

Disturbed to the point of thinking about it repeatedly over the years but now as an adult, it disturbs me in a more prophetic way. I think that might classify as life-changing in a way.

Do you have a book that changed your life in any way?

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The Sci-fi and Horror Geek 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

December 1, 2016Sara 4 Comments

The first gift I ever bought for my husband was in 2003. It was a KISS collectible that I got off Ebay that he had mentioned in passing. Those were the days when Ebay was a high collection of one of a kind items that people would find and post for reasonable prices. Where you would sit refreshing your page until the auction was over hoping that you wouldn’t get outbid at the last-minute. Those were the good days of Ebay, before it got flooded knock offs and over priced crap that you have to weed through to find the good shit. You can still find some good stuff on there if you search though. Several of todays links are to Ebay items.

Since then I always try to buy him some sort original gift for one of his many collections and it has passed on to my kids. They both have seemed to inherit the sic-fi/horror (much less horror) gene from Tom and it has been my most favourite things to shop for. So I have compiled a list for my fellow sic-fi/horror geeks of fun and original gift ideas in a reasonable price range. Two of my favourite shops for finding this stuff are Hottopic, and Thinkgeek. Mostly we hit the Hottopic in the mall because it is too expensive to ship to Canada with the exchange rate, but Thinkgeek is strictly online and always has great deals so you should check them out. Some of the items in my above gift guide are from each of those stores.

You can see my Introvert and Homebody 2016 Gift Guide in this post.

Do you have a sic-fi/horror fanatic in your life?

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What I Wore This Week

November 29, 2016Sara 6 Comments

Last week was Roo’s birthday, she turned 12 which makes me officially ancient. We took her to see Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find them which was AMAZING. We loved it, it was great being back in the Harry Potter Universe and I think this series is going to be outstanding. I can’t wait for the next one. We went to an early afternoon showing on a Thursday which was perfect because it was 99% empty and Merle didn’t annoy anyone when she was talking (she is a massive talker and even the movie didn’t quiet her completely. I know her limitations for this kind of thing). I am working on some Holiday gift guides this week. I posted one yesterday and will have another one Wednesday or Thursday. The next one will be for a sci-fi/horror geek, my favourite people to shop for 🙂 I may or may not get to a packing list this week because my Husband is off work for the holidays and he is slowly driving me batshit (he spent almost $200 on groceries and we have NOTHING to eat except expensive cheese, a massive container of pepperoni, beer, and frozen fruit for smoothies. I think he expects me to give him a meal planning gold star though) so I may not get to a packing list this week. I’ll try though.

I hope you’re having a great week!

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The Introvert and Homebody 2016 Holiday Gift Guide

November 28, 2016Sara 4 Comments

Top: Star Pyjamas // Cactus Light // Grey Scarf // Reading Socks // Cat Eye Mask //Mr. Tea Teapot // Ivory Knit Pouf // Key Bottle Opener // Paper & Tea Loose Tea // Moon LED Light // Kiehl’s Creme de Corps // Anthropologie Pillow // Faux Fur Throw //

Bottom: Library of Flowers Candle // Jane Austen Book Set // L’Occitane Relaxing Essential Oil Blend // Bunny Robe // Hand Signal Bookmarks // Long Camel Sweater // Cuppasaurus Tea Diffuser // Grey Faux Shearling Throw // Prismacolor Pencil Crayons // The Curated Closet by Anuschka Rees // Ugg Scuffette II Slippers // Pink Striped pyjamas // Pusheen Kitty Coloring Book

I realized this weekend that we are almost into December and I haven’t compiled any gift lists yet. I am not a huge gift guide person but sometimes it’s nice to give a few ideas that you may not have thought about before. My first gift guide is for the Introvert or Homebody. So in other words someone like me who prefers home to crowds, curling up in bed with comfortable pyjamas, warm socks, a throw, some tea, and a book. I’m always cold so I like warm things and things that are unique or quirky like the teapots from Lennymud (I have a mug from there that is my favourite mug ever), a cute LED light for the wall, and fun pillows.

My daughter is an aspiring artist and wanted some better quality pencil crayons so I picked her up some Prismacolor which come in several price ranges depending on the quality level. I bought her some mid level ones that cost me $25 on sale (regularly $50). Some good quality pencil crayons and an adult style colouring book are great gifts (I got her a learning to draw Anime book as well).

A warm yet fun robe for someone who is always cold, some loose tea and a cute diffuser for a tea lover, or The Curated Closet by Anuschka Rees for your minimalistic friend are some ideas that would be appreciated.

I officially bought my last Christmas present this weekend from a Black Friday sale (I still need some stocking stuffers but those are quick, easy, and inexpensive). It feels good to be done. How close are you?

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