Pretty white stuff

Saturday morning, out the window, I was greeted with beautiful blinding white stuff - snow!

Unfortunately, there's the not so beautiful part - shovelling! My daughter loves to 'help' when my husband goes out there.

Luckily, my commute to work takes me from garage to garage so no need to overdress. I know the day will come when I receive a note from Human Resources telling me that my carpool spot is being revoked but until then, I always give thanks for the privilege. I do welcome the Winter season as I love wearing tights. At Winners (Canadian), I spotted some colourful thick cotton and woolen tights. Will have to investigate for possible outfit match-ups.

Kersh cardigan (I buy most of mine from Plum)
brown sleeveless tank (old)
H&M skirt with back zipper opening
Guess by Marciano heels

I have not had a chance to read other blogger posts but maybe tomorrow (earned day off from work)…


Thanks for dropping by!

Dark amber blouse and Taupe pants

Happy New Year everyone! Hope everyone had a wonderful holiday. Now…we resume blogging posts. I seem to have amassed thrifted items over the last few months. Today I am showcasing a silk blouse bought two months ago but the sleeves were (what else) too long and I could not find the time to take it to my tailor. I may have to get it shortened some more.

Being silk, it floats nicely on the body. I like its classic rather than fitted shape (no clinging). Just love the rich colour. Reminds me of supple leather purses.

Moda International $8 - 95%silk 5%spandex
Charles by Charles David heels

The pants are thrifted as well but the lining had been removed before I bought it. The wool blend is soft, not itchy, against the skin and I have a Spanx pant lining so I don't miss the lining. My tailor had to remove the cuff and use that to lengthen. Imagine that -- I actually had to ask my tailor not to shorten the hem but to make it longer!

Talulah Babaton $6 - 60% wool 36%polyester 4%lycra

Above, I belted over the blouse but have worn it tucked into an aubergine wool skirt.

Tahari skirt $3.75 (yep, thrifted)

Other than the taupe and black, I'd love to pair this blouse with other colours. What do you suggest?

Hair updo clips

How do you ladies find good lighting for outfit pictures? With the shorter days, I find it difficult to take pictures after work when it is already dark. It is light enough in the morning before we leave but there is never time. I recently bought a smaller camera that fits in my purse. My goal is to have hubby take pictures during our lunch hour. These days, though, both of us are always rushing to the mall in search of items that my daughter has on her Wish List or for her school concert (or replacing yet another piece of clothing that she has outgrown). All done with love, I assure you.


I thought I would post some hairclips that I have tried. These were from Save-On and Superstore (both Canadian but could probably find in any American drugstores). They ranged from $6 to $8.

On the left is the Bun Spiral, Modern Updo in the middle and Spin Pin on the right.



First is the Bun Spiral. Here is the back of the package. Gather your hair and twist around the base of your ponytail. Slowly screw the Spiral around your hair bun until it touches your scalp.

No matter how I tried, it always turns out into some variation of this fail.

Maybe my hair is too thick so I tried a half-updo.

Works better but too bulky.



Next up is the Modern Updo. I'm including the back packaging in hopes that someone can figure it out. (pull it up then down??)

Here's another fail. My husband and I could not stop laughing long enough to take more than one picture.

The third one - Spin Pin - is the most successful hair updo accessory for me.

It is similar to using a basic straight hair pin except it will not fly out if your hair is thick like mine. After twisting your hair into a French roll, screw one pin slowly to include both the rolled hair and the hair lying near your scalp. Take the other pin and do the same but screw it from the top.

If I put the pins closely beside each other without them touching, it held my hair up well.

I nodded and shook my head more than gently (but not enough to give myself a concussion) and my updo stayed secure.

I always thought I could not do a French Roll since my hair is so thick. The Spin Pins allow me to wear my hair up stylishly on those days when a ponytail won't do. Hopefully, one of you will steer me to a YouTube or picture tutorial on how to use the Modern Updo pin.

Back draft - at Tristan

If you read my previous posts, you'll know that I often visit Tristan stores. While buying dress pants in (what else) camel-shade, a sales person showed me the matching blazer.

Now I'm not as picky as I should be when it comes to fitting. I'm learning from you lovely ladies but I do compromise. The front part looks so lovely in person. So I bought it with only two minutes to think about it (Hubby had to return to work for a meeting). When I tried it again at home, I turned to look at the back and was dismayed.

The jacket was too long for my torso so the vent kept wanting to open (causing a "back draft"). Even when the jacket was unbuttoned, it stayed open -- not as much but still annoyingly noticeable to me. For that reason, I've returned it. If you are at least 5'3", this would fit much better on you. I think Tristan is still having their 50% off sale. Don't be intimidated by the high-end display. March to the back of the store where they store more price-reduced items.

Click here to connect to their website. This jacket is not showing up on their website.

Excuse the shirt and pants. I just wanted to post this up quickly while the jacket is still in the stores.

Enjoy the weekend!

Skinny jeans love

At the cost of dating myself, I remember wearing skinnies back in high school. Now I know they say, if you're old enough to have worn them the first time they were in fashion…Ha! I've learned to ignore some sayings.

I tried a few jeans before I settled on this Gap jeans. I have found some other brands since that purchase but there's something about first love that makes you reach for it again and again. This is an easy pairing for me on casual Fridays.

I've worn them so much that the waist has stretched out more than an inch. That, or I've lost weight (not likely). To avoid having to pull them up so often, I found that a belt is a must. I tried the front tuck. Is it ok?

I rely on shirts and jackets to hide the gape at the back. (Looks like I might need a hair trim)

During their Black Friday sale here in Canada, I stopped by at Gap to find a replacement. Nope, nothing left in my size. I might just have to add these to the pile destined for my tailor.

Ladies who own Gap jean leggings: did the waist line stretch out on you?

Animal Print heels

I've always thought animal print shoes were not for me. Classic but not really basic. It was not something that stores near me would sell anyway. Two weeks ago, I passed by The Bay's (Canadian) shoe section on my way to girl's wear (no, not for me but my daughter). Guess what I found?

Beautiful almond toe and hint of toe cleavage make it a yes for me. Platform heel is about 4". This Expression brand came in two versions: Carina is the wedge and Christina in non-wedge. The animal print only came in the wedge. Other shades were brown croc, nude, black, black patent and red. Some shades are fast becoming "extinct" online.

I had to try it on. I was secretly praying it was not comfortable. Nope. It felt and looked good. Several customers commented on how good it looked then proceeded to ask the sales clerk for their size too.


If you read my nude shoe post, you know that most of my shoes are from sample shoe sales. So at full price of $79.99, I was going to take my chances at finding my size in the nude and animal print when they are on sale. The sales clerk kindly advised me that the 2-for-$99.99 event just finished a week ago so it likely will not be on sale again. I walked away empty-handed. That was a Wednesday. By Friday night, I resolved to buy the nude at full price. On Saturday, the same sales clerk was there and was about to leave (end of shift) but not before she told the cashier that the 2-for sale price is still valid. When she looked my way, I mouthed my heartfelt "thank you" for helping me save. You see, the nude was definitely coming home with me - sale or no sale - but I could not leave the animal print at the store.

Looking back, I do not know what I would have done if it also came in flats…hmmm.

October was a blur

The last few weeks have been busy for me - personally and professionally. October up to mid-November, I'm up to my ears with planning a kid's party, finding the perfect gifts and orchestrating a grand day for hubby. My daughter celebrated her birthday by having a pool party with several of her friends.

One of the friends has severe nut allergy so after-dinners were spent looking for simple cake recipes to make at home to ensure no nuts in the ingredients. Bakeries could not guarantee that any cake would be 100% nut-free. In the end, we settled for cupcakes which were easy to make and serve. The kids loved it so much that they had seconds and thirds so there were none left to take home.

Here is my daughter testing out her requested birthday gift - boots - as her Dad looks on.

Tomorrow will be my husband's birthday and we both took the day off from work to pad around downtown. My daughter is coming with us since her school is closed for Professional Day. The weather forecast is for clouds. I'll take that over a wet day. I'm excited for tomorrow!


Happy birthday my sweeties!