Lady Dressing - Skirt & Blouse

I don't post enough skirt & blouse combinations. I really should try...except winter is coming...I love "Game of Thrones"...and Carriage Trade...outfit and jewelry is from Carriage Trade. Now what to do the dress or the skirt and blouse...

Blouse - Joie

Skirt - Nicole Miller

Bracelet - Carriage Trade

Shoes - Christian Louboutin

Sandy Came and Went, She is NOT Very Nice

Sandy is wreaking havoc on the East coast of the U.S. and Canada. While I am writing this there are 6000 people without power in the city of Toronto. There is a lot of rain and high winds and I'm afraid to go to bed. There are trees all around me and I'm afraid one will crash on my house. I better knock on wood. Okay did it and now I'm back.

Last week the ladies of Carriage Trade told me to come on over and try on their beautiful clothing and jewelry for upcoming posts. I love that store and the best part is I get to wear their beautiful pieces and my husband doesn't freak out because our credit card statement stays reasonable because I don't have to buy anything. But I'm just wondering if there isn't a party or two I could wear this dress too...damn beautiful clothing at Carriage Trade...

Not sure if you noticed but I went back to my roots (literally). I like to go dark in the fall/winter seasons. It's only hair and I can dye it back in a month. I didn't think like this when I was in high school. As a young woman your hair was a big deal! It's still a big deal, we all talk about good hair days and bad hair days. I would never have dyed my hair on a whim or cut off that much length when I was younger. Now I'll take more risk. I won't be sporting a short crop, only because I wore my hair like that in my early twenties and it's not my best look. 

There was one Croatian girl I grew up with who had the guts to do whatever she wanted with her hair - her name was Alison and she was fierce. Honestly she would have blond hair my length and then come to kolo practice with black spiky hair. I never knew what she was going to do next and I was always in awe of the fact she just did it. How many high school girls did you know who would do that?

I love that I can play with the ruching of this dress. Just move the folds to cover the areas you want to hide. I know you can't hide too much but that's what body slimmers are for, non?

Who needs a little black dress? Purple will do!

Dress - Nicole Miller

Necklace - Carriage Trade

Shoes - Christian Louboutin

My Process & A Blogging Award or Two

Last month I did a post on my process when getting dressed and I received a lot of positive feedback. So with this post I'm just going step by step. Below is the finished product.

A staple in women's closets across the world - a white shirt and jeans.

All I did was add a blue blazer and topped off with a scarf. The jeans are a light wash and my boots are rugged, the outfit automatically becomes casual. A pair of bedroom slippers or heels gives it a different look.

Top - Velvet (old)

Jeans - J Brand (old)

Blazer - J Crew

Boots - Frye , Steve Madden (both old)

Scarf - Sears (old)

Watch - Michael Kors

Bracelets - Stella & Dot, Cocoa Jewelry

Sarah from Sarah Hubert Style & Natalie from Peg City Lovely both nominated me for blogger awards. Thank you both, here are some questions and my answers.

Here are my questions for you:

1. Why did you originally start your blog?
2. Why do you continue to blog? What inspires you to keep going?
3. What is the most treasured item in your closet? How/why did you acquire it?
4. What is your signature style piece? (A scarf, a favorite coat, piece of jewelry, etc.)
5. What movie/TV show do you find most inspires your style?
6. Got any great pics of your sense of style as a kiddo? Please post or describe.
7. “I can’t believe I ever wore…”
8. Fill in the blank: “My biggest personal style hurtle is _________. I jump this hurtle by ________________.”
9. What era of style do you most identify with and why? (Roaring twenties, nineties grunge, etc.)
10. I have been blogging less than a year. What is the best advice you would give to a newbie blogger?

Here are my answers:

1. I started my blog because I wanted to represent how real women are dressing. I don't really talk about celebrities or their fashion choices because I'm pretty sure they're not talking about me and my life. I just wanted to show women that making time for yourself is possible (hard but possible) and beneficial. 

2. What keeps me going is the positive feedback and that women are actually inspired by me. That's what keeps me going.

3. Wayne Clark gown, from The Room. I'm just waiting to wear it.

4. For me it has to be red lipstick. I've been wearing it since high school. It's one of the few things that never goes out of style.

5. I don't have an answer...

6. I don't have any pics to share but I do remember wearing mauve chords in grade school, and guess what, coloured chords are back and I bet you mauve is the next big colour. LOL!!

7. I have worn so many things but I can't believe I rocked the grunge look. It was a university phase and I'm glad I'm out of it.

8. My biggest hurtle was accessories. I'm over it now. Accessories are an inexpensive way to add to any outfit.

9. I like the style of the 50's & 60's (before the whole hippie thing). It was a time where people dressed up for things. I love to dress up.

10. I've been blogging for less then a year too, I don't have any real advice except to have fun and use blogging as an outlet.

I just wanted to list a few of my favourite blogs. If you have a chance stop by and check out these stylish women:

Crazy Style Love - Fellow Canadian Jenny

Style Guile - Beth a lawyer turned stylist

Leopards & Lillies - Amy an American Ex-pat living in the Middle East

Kiki's Parlour - Kristina is a photographer from England and my fellow Croat

Coast With Me - Rita from California is the young one in the group

School Gate Style - Avril is one of my favourites - down to earth 

It's Not That Deep - Sheree is my girl with edge

The Suburban Peasant - Ana is the only blog here that's not about fashion, it's about food

Ava Grace's Closet - Susan is a mom of 3 and another Canuck

The ladies above have blogs I visit on a weekly basis (whenever they post). I think they are pretty great I hope you do to.

A Twist

When I like something (like my sequin Joe Fresh top & blue button down combo) I will automatically try and play with those piece to make multiple outfits. I know I'm not the only one who does that, I can't be. I changed out the pants ant blazer and played with colour this post -last years purple jeans and a navy blazer. I've been doing lots of blazer and denim posts. One more for tomorrow and I promise I plan on mixing it up next week and hopefully the week after.

I am joining "Transatlantic Blonde" in her weekly blog hop - WIWW, enjoy!

Sequin Top , Button Down & Scarf - Joe Fresh (old)

Blazer - J Crew (old)

Jeans - J Brand(old)

Shoes - Cole Haan (old)

Sunglasses - Ray Ban

Watch - Michael Kors

Bracelets - Cocoa Jewelry, Stella & Dot

Daytime Sequin

I am a huge fan of Pinterest, it is one of my favourite things to mine. I can get home decor ideas or plan a kids birthday party. Pinterest is my favourite inspirational tool. My favourite pinner right now is Sarah Hubert from Sarah Hubert's Style - a lifestyle blog. Sarah recently gave me a blog award and I will be honouring her (I also won another Liebster award from Natalie, blogger over at Peg City Lovely) and answering all her questions at the end of this week.

It never ceases to amaze me how many outfits pins there are on Pinterest, moreover because they are pinned by real women I can re-create the look or be challenged  by the look and interpret it in my own way. I love Vogue editorial fashion, but it's not for my everyday, more my fantasy world. Pinterest is the everywoman's piece of the cyber universe.

I have a white Joe Fresh sequin long sleeve top that I usually wear out to dinner or drinks. I saw a daytime sequin look on Pinterest and was inspired to replicate it and actually wear it. I went grocery shopping, dropped off dry cleaning and hit Costco wearing a top I bought just for the evening. The older I get the more balls (yeah I just wrote that) I have. I don't care what the mean girls say about me (they exist at every age and social class), I'm wearing sequence during the day...plus I'm six feet tall and now know how to use my height for intimidation...no longer the tall geeky nerd in the corner.

Tried to take pictures in a different spot...not too sure about this...

I love this spiked gold and pave bracelet from Cocoa Jewelery. It is available at select Shoppers Drug Mart Beauty bars. It is pliable so does not get in the way when you are wearing it, so that means I didn't stab myself or my child. Call your local Shoppers to see if Cocoa Jewelry is available there, this will save you time and frustration if you are not sure.

Jacket, Shirt, Top - Joe Fresh (old)

Jeans - Yoga Jeans, Second Denim Co.

Shoes - Tory Burch (old)

Bag - Fendi (old)

Watch - Michael Kors

Bracelets - Stella & Dot, Cocoa Jewelry

Mundane Monday's - Black & Grey

I'd like to start today's post by thanking everyone for their kind words from Friday's post especially Sue and The Flaky Fashionista for making me feel better about my cooking skills.

Last week lots of things went wrong, when I wrote the post late Thursday evening I didn't realize there could be more things that could go wrong. On Friday I treated myself to a mani/pedi where the manicurist cut me with the nail file (she wasn't paying attention because the place was too busy), she literally filed off several layers of skin and I screamed in pain and it started to bleed (and it still hurts). Moreover, my appointment was supposed to be an hour but took two and a half so I couldn't finish all of my errands that day or go to Ministry of Transportation (please keep reading for why that was so important). The kicker was getting a ticket for letting the sticker (licence plate renewal) on my minivan expire. The van is in my husbands name but I drive it. Neither one of us remember anything coming in the mail back in April/May to let us know it was up for renewal (it expired in June, how come we didn't notice sooner?). I was pulled over by a minivan full of police officers, they were very nice but I was in shock! I would like to say that Sunday was an amazing day so I think I'm going to have a better week - knock on wood.

Today's post is nice and easy, that's how I need this week to be...here's to Monday and a great week for all of us.

The wind really likes me. I keep on getting these "glamour shot" type pictures and I can't stop posting them.

Sweater - Costco (old - they carry these cashmere sweaters every year and they are softer then my expensive Velvet cashmere sweater that I have)

Shirt - Ann Taylor (old)

Jeans - J Brand (old)

Shoes - Tory Burch (old)

Necklace - F21

Bracelet - Stella & Dot

Watch - Michael Kors

One of those Weeks

It has been one of those weeks - things are just going wrong. I made a horrible dinner, kids having school issues, broken furniture and just a general feeling of disarray. I can't wait for the weekend. The outfit today is easy, I'm afraid to try anything else. Here's hoping that next week is better than this one.

Top - Velvet (old)

Jeans - James Jeans (old)

Sweater - Cassis (old)

Boots - Fry (old)

Scarf - Danier

Necklace - Stella & Dot

Watch - Michael Kors

Bracelets - Stella & Dot, Bittersweet

I feel Scholarly - Purple Jeans

Firstly, thank you Beth Goodrham from Style Guile for featuring myself and 3 other bloggers (Avril being one) for a piece she wrote for here Brit Mums Blog. I am among some very chic women bloggers.  I was very honoured you chose me because I want to be like you (and Avril) when I grow up my blog.

Today's outfit makes me feel like I should be a professor on a university campus.  Now I went to the University of Waterloo, and anyone who knows anything about Waterloo (at least when I went there, and I have been told not much has changed) knows the school was/is fashionably challenged. I'm sure my professor look would cause a bit of a stir. I'm wearing purple jeans, that is just crazy.

Sorry for the above tangent, stroll down memory lane, back to today.

I bought these jeans last year and I wore the hell out of them last year and they are in regular rotation this year as well. The thing about coloured denim is you need to stick to hues that will easily move into your closet. Dark purple goes well with all my basics and easily fit into my wardrobe. If I'm going to be honest almost any colour is going to fit into my wardrobe, for some other wonderful ladies this may not be the case. Please think of this when choosing colours.

Blazer - Kopa (old)

Shirt - Banana Republic

Jeans - J Brand (old)

Shoes - Cole Haan (old)

Belt - Joe Fresh (old)

Sunglasses - Ray Ban (old)

Watch - Michael Kors

Bracelets - Stella & Dot

A Hat

Today's post is a big fat cheat. I already wore this outfit here (so if you remember this outfit you are not going crazy), then I remembered I wanted to take a picture of me wearing the hat. I re-shot the pictures with different jewelry and the hat.

I love hats, I just don't wear them because I'm a big scaredy cat. I have no qualms about wearing leather pants or a python skirt, but give me a hat and I'm all nervous. It's just a thing I have. I can't be the only one with a thing.

Before I leave you here are they lyrics that are in my head today...Fancy by my man Drake. Toronto native, love him.

"Go
go ‘head
go go go ‘head
go go go go go go ‘head
go go go go go go ‘head
oh you fancy huh
oh you fancy huh
oh you fancy huh
oh you fancy huh

Nail done, hair done, every thing done
nails done, hair done, everything d…
oh you fancy huh
oh you fancy huh
you you fancy huh
oh you fancy huh

Nail done, hair done, every thing done
nails done, hair done, everything d…
oh you fancy huh"

Yup that's me.

Linking up with WIWW. Click on the badge to your right to see what others are wearing.

Hat & Tunic - Joe Fresh

Jeans - Yoga Jeans

Shoes - Steve Madden (old)

Watch - Michael Kors

Bracelets - Stella & Dot, Ann Taylor

Necklace - Stella & Dot

Python Skirt & Purple Blouse

My husband and I joined a group of friends and went out to Rodney's Oyster bar in downtown Toronto. I am never disappointed by that restaurant. We OD'd on oysters and split a Lobster BLT and lobster. Then we had dessert - chocolate mousse and carrot cake. We don't get to go out for dinner very often together so when we do we eat our faces off. Okay, its more like I do, my husband has to tell me to pace myself.

I don't know where the wind machine came from, feeling very supermodel like.

Skirt - Danier

Blouse - Joie

Shoes - Jimmy Choo (old)

Bag - Cassis (old)

Watch - Michael Kors

Bracelets - Stella & Dot, Ann Taylor

British Casual Weekend

Now I am ready for the British Countryside. I left my heels & blazer in the closet and got my boots & sweater (Hunters would be perfect but I don't own a pair). Yesterday I played around with my clothes, showing slight variations of an outfit till I got it just right. I think most of us do that. I kept the essentials from yesterdays outfit (Jeans, button down and sweater) and added a long sweater coat (not sure what to call this) and some boots. Automatically changes the outfit to something much more casual, like a day in the country.

This is also how we make use of our wardrobe and get more wear out of all our pieces.

What do you think I have in my pockets?

I just can't seem to get rid of this scarf.

See what I mean?

This is what was underneath the blazer and sweater/cardigan (still not sure).

Thank you to everyone who voted for me. I am #7 in the "Circle of Moms" Top 25 Canadian Blogs. No more annoying messages of "Please vote for me". I did discover some new blogs and one I really enjoyed was "Mommy's Weird". Kyla is funny and makes me laugh. Now that the cut throat competition is over I can give her some recognition.

Now back to what's important, what I'm wearing.

Sweater & Shirt - Brooks Brothers (old)

Jeans - James Jeans (old)

Boots - Frye (old)

Sweater - Cassis (old)

Scarf - Anthropologie (old)

Sunglasses - Ray Ban

Bracelet - Stella & Dot

Watch - Michael Kors

British Casual Fridays

I don't know where the title came from, I just feel very British. Like I need to be in the country or something, at Downton. Except without the heels. With the heels I think this is a great look for the office on a Friday or running around doing errands and then going for lunch with some girlfriends. Love the layers, I know I'm biased but I like it...No I love it.

The above picture is one of the few that looked good without my son running around me. Wait till you see...

This blazer is 3/4 sleeve and so is the white button down I'm wearing. This allowed me to wear the blazer cuffed and I think that little detail just makes the shirt pop and makes the outfit that much more interesting. It's all about the details.

 When I first tried this look I rolled the jeans. The jeans are more slim then a true skinny.

So what do you think, keep the scarf or lose it?

Why leopard? Because it really is unexpected. This outfit is very "business" the shoes are fun and sexy.  The outfit may be men's inspired but I am all woman. ROAR.

My son is running around me playing with a ball and I've given up trying to get him away from me and the camera, then the kid pings me in the back of the head with the ball. Honestly I was laughing for a good minute. You either cry or laugh, I decided to laugh. That is one of my parenting strategies in real life. My boys broke my canopy bed by hanging off one of rails a few weeks ago. I laughed.

Ah some time alone. So what are you opinions?

One more thing...I still need your votes. I made it through to the top 10 and I'd like to stay there. If you can please vote by clicking here or on the badge that says Circle of Moms. Last time I checked I was #7, you can vote one last time for me. Voting is done today 4pm PST, this is the last time I am posting this annoying message. I am begging PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE vote for me one last time. Thanks!

Blazer - Kopa (old)

Sweater & Button Down - Brooks Brothers (old)

Jeans - James Jeans (old)

Shoes - Stuart Weitzman (old)

Bracelets - Stella & Dot

Watch - Michael Kors

Scarf - Anthropologie (old)