livelovesara - An over 40 Style and Travel Blog

What I Wore This Week

September 19, 2016Sara Leave a Comment

I know you have all been waiting on baited breath for my search for a white blazer for the Halloween costume dilemma but I found one 😉 Not only did I find one but I also found white pants, a white button down, and a tie. I think that someone either donated their child’s wedding party outfit or it was for a religious ceremony. Either way it was a good score for under $20. Now I just need to figure out how to paint the stripes on it without ruining it. I’m definitely not a super crafty person so I do best with step-by-step instructions like this one. This picture makes me laugh so hard. Not only does she have severe hat head, it also so painfully obvious I need to remove the shoulder pads and the pants are too skinny. I’m going to look for a less tight option (and I totally which emojis worked on here because this is where I would put the laugh till you cry face. This is so funny to me).

My girls room is a complete shit-pit. It is a combination of them having way too much stuff (if I had a do over I would totally have a minimalist attitude towards their toys from day one) and not sticking to my guns when it came to making them keep things tidy and put away after every use. I am going to blame that one on past depression and not having enough energy to make it even worth my while at that time. But those are excuses and shit has to change so I pulled out a large bin that is full of Barbies, Barbie equivalents (i.e. Monster High) and Barbie paraphernalia and dumped it in the middle of their floor. They now have to go through everything and keep what will only fill to small bins. Everything else goes back in to the large bin along with whatever else I think needs to go (because if it is left up to them they would keep it all) “this broken piece from a toy I can’t find? Oh I need to keep that.” They inherited the hoarder mentality from their dad. I am pretty sure it is a gene that passes on. I swear it.

Shit is about to get real in this house because I am TIRED of all this crap. Any tips aside form Marie Kondo. I have read both her books and want to hire her.? 😉

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What to Wear for 2 Weeks in Europe for Christmas

September 16, 2016Sara Leave a Comment

This post is the follow-up to What to Pack for Europe over Christmas. With the 13 pieces of clothing plus jacket, shoes and accessories in the main list I put together 20 outfit options. I actually had a lot more options that could be made but since the trip is only for around 14 days I figured 20 outfits would suffice.

This trip covers several cities and the weather will fluctuate slightly between them all. Edinburgh is not as cold in the winter as some of the Austrian Mountain Villages but the options above will give you enough variety to be warm and comfortable. The leggings can also be worn under jeans if you find you need extra layers. I do that on winter days that the temperature drops significantly. Luckily that only happens for a few days in a row during different points in the winter.

One of my favourite colour combinations is pairing mid-dark blue with denim, then adding camel or leopard accents. I chose this palette because I thought it would work well at this time of the year and it is very easy to mix and match a grey, black, white, and blue wardrobe. For footwear you should be okay with a leather boot (for a lot of walking), and some sneakers and booties (for drier or dressier situations). In the winter I generally only wear winter boots if I am doing a lot of walking through snow/wet, or the snow is deep and they haven’t cleaned the sidewalks yet (we can get a lot of snow here). I usually just waterproof my moto boots and wear them. But it all comes down to personal choice, so bring the shoes that you feel most comfortable in for the weather conditions you are going to experience.

And this post totally reminded me that I need a new pair of winter boots.

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What to Pack for Christmas in Europe

September 14, 2016Sara 8 Comments

Today I am fast forwarding to Christmas. I am talking about a requested packing list for spending Christmas in Europe. We as a family were supposed to spend Christmas in Europe this year but the show Tom is working on currently did not leave much room for a vacation and trying to save for it this summer was an uphill battle that we lost so we postponed.

Shortly after admitting defeat I received an email asking for help for how to pack light for this trip. She is unaccustomed to cold weather so I included lots of warm sweaters and layerable pieces which will help while acclimatizing. The trip is covering Edinburgh, Dublin, Belfast, Prague, Salzburg, and several of the Mountain Villages which are amazing at Christmas.

They also will be skiing and snowboarding, but to cut down on packing decided that they will be renting everything that they needed once they get there. This is actually quite smart since all the pieces you would need would end up taking a whole suitcase of their own.

I included a versatile black dress for more formal occasions and a casual dress, several pairs of pants, and leggings that can be used to layer under dresses, for exercise, bed, and as a base layer under snow pants when skiing. A knit hat, scarf, and gloves along with a wool coat are the winter weather pieces to keep you comfortable while sightseeing and travelling. Packing light is possible even during the winter season with a little planning. Outfit options will be in Friday’s post.

What are your favourite things to pack on a winter vacation?

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What I Wore This Week

September 12, 2016Sara Leave a Comment

This past week was pretty low-key since we started our back to school with two kids this year instead of one and my toe is still effed up so my mobility is slightly limited. Well, not limited so much as I am super slow 😉 While we did some school work with Merle last year it was only for about 15 minute intervals on most subjects unless she asked to go longer. This year has amped up for her so juggling between two kids is taking some time to find a good groove for us.

I try not to set a time schedule because it just gets frustrating when that doesn’t go as planned so I just use my weekly planner to give a basic outline of what I would like accomplished each day. This one is perfect for what I need and I have it in hot pink, although it took forever to find it. I am still a stickler for pen and paper. Whatever doesn’t get done gets bumped forward. Some days you get everything plus more done and other days you find you have gone off on rabbit trails for subjects that they have shown interest in and that is okay too. I’m still trying to get their bedtime going at a more reasonable hour which isn’t going well. Both have always been night hawks who were nightmares to put to bed as babies, but once they fell asleep they were out for the entire night until late morning. That has stuck and it makes for a slow start each day. Here is to finding our groove this week.

Sunday we went to Value Village so I could try to find pieces for the girls Halloween costumes. Merle wants to be Beetlejuice and Roo wants to be Coraline. We managed to find a yellow jacket for Roo, and a burgundy cross body. We found the blue wig last week and she already has rain boots, so aside from a star sweater and striped tights she is good to go. Merle’s I am having issues with. I gave up trying got find a striped blazer so I opted for a white one instead that I could paint some stripes on. I thought I would easily find one but the white blazer is becoming extremely elusive. I saw a few on ebay from China that are inexpensive but I can’t guarantee they will arrive on time 🙁 If you have seen a child size white blazer or a woman’s xxs (I don’t mind a little oversize) that doesn’t cost a fortune can you send me a link? I would be grateful.

If you have kids have they picked their Halloween costumes yet?

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What to Wear in Germany and Austria

September 9, 2016Sara Leave a Comment

What to Wear in Germany and Austria is part 2 to last post’s packing list What to Pack for Germany and Austria. I made this list for a woman who is taking a Christmas Market Cruise on the Danube River in November (Something like this by Tauck River Cruises. It looks amazing doesn’t it?). The weather will be changing from late fall to early winter at that point and will feel colder while on the water so clothing that layers easily is key. Sweaters over blouses and t-shirts, dresses with leggings, a coat, scarf, gloves, and a hat. I chose a pair of tall boots, ankle boots, and flats in a fun print because I thought these would give a lot of versatility. An actual winter boot won’t be necessary at this time of year.

In the collage above and below are 20 outfit options to show you how many ideas you can get out of a small wardrobe. Simple changes of accessories and shoes can give your outfit a day-to-night look which is key when you want to pack light. I added some colour to the mostly neutral pieces by adding a colourful cardigan, and printed scarf and animal print shoes.

Every time I make one of these I get a weird excitement like “what would I bring if I was going right now?” Then I plan that out in my head and switch out some pieces based on the tastes of the person who requested the list. It’s impossible to put something together without your own personal tastes coming through but if you find that you aren’t feeling my choices it is very easy to swap out things that are more suited to your style.

I hope you have a fantastic time on your trip and that I was able to give you some packing ideas 🙂

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What to Pack for Germany and Austria

September 7, 2016Sara 4 Comments

I’m going to start this off with saying that I think I broke my toe last night on our ottoman. I’m prone to stubbing my toe but man did it ever hurt. My baby toe immediately swelled up like a little grape and within 30 minutes the top of my foot running towards the toes was purple. Even the blanket lying on it last night was painful. Today I have hobbled around the house with the girls Gandalf wizard stick. I’m sure I will look cute walking down the street with it 😉

Back to business. Every so often I like to go back to an old packing list and update it with new suggestions. With how fast retail changes over seasons and stock, so many items get sold out and people will often message me asking if I know where they can find anything like the sold out item.

I got an email about my Vienna, Austria packing list from last April. It was from a woman in her 50’s who is going on a Danube River Christmas Market Cruise in November and wanted to know if I had an updated list. I told her that I would try to pull as many updated items as I could and email her. I decided it would be better to put together a whole new post for her so she can have the visual guidance as well. I tried to follow a similar colour theme and style as the original.

A Danube River Cruise to see all the Christmas Markets is on my bucket list. Christmas is my favourite time of year and to experience the markets that have been there for centuries would be amazing. While November isn’t in the middle of winter the weather can be quite chilly, especially being on the water so a nice weather appropriate jacket and layers are important.

Several sweaters, pants, leggings/tights to wear under dresses, and a scarf or two. I decided to include a wool hat in this list because it can be more dressy but I would probably bring a knit hat as well, it wouldn’t take up much room. Jeans in a darker wash are very versatile, and any pair of black pants in a cut and fabric that works best on your body and is your style. I tend to lean towards a very straight or skinny cut because I like the ease of tucking them into boots. Don’t forget your gloves or mittens. Outfit Options will be in the next post.

Have you ever been on a Christmas Market Cruise? What was it like?

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