Officially Sweater Weather

I hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas. I spent the holidays with my husbands family in in the great white north of Sudbury - 30 cm (1 foot) of snow greeted us. It seems like a lot, however, there have been times when the snow banks were so high they covered cars and all you could see where the rooftops of homes. The kids just loved the snow, snow ball fights and tobogganing every day. We ate too much, went to church and enjoyed being with family.

We are back home where we finally got snow, 10 cm in fact. Its been something like 645 days since Toronto has had 10 cm of snow. I'm getting ready to shovel the snow with the kids but before I do I just wanted to show you what I was wearing yesterday before the fall. Its sweater weather!! The one I'm wearing is perfect - I can eat as much as I want (and I did) and no one is the wiser.

Hope everyone is enjoying the Christmas season or just the time of year.

Sweater - Ted Baker

Jeans - Adriano Goldschmied (old)

Booties - Coach (old)

Purse - Coach (old)

Necklace - Stella & Dot

Bracelet - J Crew

If you are missing something in your wardrobe Lilla P may be able to help. My giveaway is still open for a $100 gift card. Lilla P is six away from reaching 2000 likes on Facebook and they are promising their fans a nice surprise when they reach 2000. Let's help them out.

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Chunky Knits & Banana Republic

I've been glued to my television trying to understand the tragedy in Sandy Hook. I've prayed and mourned for the families affected and have been hugging my children tight. Everything else has seemed so trivial. Life will get back to normal especially with the Christmas holiday season in full swing, however, a piece of the American nation has changed.

Just updating the blog with these pictures from my blog swap with Ana from The Suburban Peasant. 

These necklaces are designed and created by my friend Maya from Urge to Splurge. Maya graciously gifted the eternity necklace to me and I just had to have the aqua one. I really love how delicate Maya’s pieces are and how I can wear them with everything.

Sweater/Cardigan– Banana Republic (old)

Denim – Paige Denim (old)

Blouse – Joe Fresh

Booties – The Gap

Belt – Cassis (old)

Necklaces – Urge to Splurge

Handbag - Coach

Feeling Blue

This weather has been erratic to say the least. The weather yesterday was mild and beautiful. Perfect vest weather.

Vest - The Gap

Shirt - The Gap

Jeans - Paige Denim (old)

Booties - The Gap

Necklace - Joe Fresh

Watch - Michael Kors

Belt - Tory Burch

Hell Just Froze Over...

I'm wearing a poncho and I like it. So yes, hell must have frozen over because I hate ponchos, except for this one. This one is from Banana Republic. It is a beautiful knit, keeps me warm and looks good. That's the thing...it LOOKS GOOD. The people at BR are calling it a cape, it is a proper poncho. Running errands and don't want the bulk of a coat? This is what you should wear. 

Just wanted to show you how it looks against lighter coloured clothing. That's why I love navy blue.

Poncho/Cape - Banana Republic (here)

Turtlenecks - The Gap (here)

Jeans - Yoga Jeans (here)

Chords - J Brand (old)

Booties - The Gap (here)

Shoes - Tory Burch (old)

Watch - Michael Kors

Bracelet - Stella & Dot (here)

Cranberry

With American Thanksgiving weekend officially in full swing and Black Friday sales underway in both countries it's beginning to feel a lot like Christmas. I think I'm ready. 

Dress - Banana Republic

Bracelet - Cocoa Jewelry

Booties - Coach

I'm linking up with Walking With Style and Grace again. Please take a look to find some other fantastic bloggers.

Denim Pearls & Patent

A dress - this one is casual and denim. Easy. So I added pearls and a skinny patent belt. I have lots of skinny belt options. I had fun dressing it up a bit. I will be dressing it down in the future, but you know me. I'm fancy.

Just a bit of a rant. This dress came with a skinny denim matching self belt. I have never met a self belt I like. I think they give you the self belt to tell you "Hey you, I need a belt. Here is a really pathetic one. Now go and spend more money on one that is nicer. We could have taken the guess work out of this and given you something nice but we didn't feel like it." The nicer take is "We think you are very creative and this self belt is a place holder. Now have fun and amaze us." It all depends on your mood. Guess where mine is?

My giveaway for Yoga Jeans is still on and here are the rules - You must "Like" Yoga Jeans on Facebook and you must comment on a post. Easy. This is an international giveaway and you can chose whatever jeans you like. I'll say that the giveaway is worth $125 depending on what jeans you pick. Good Luck everyone!

Dress - The Gap (here)

Belt - Cassis (old)

Necklace - Joe Fresh 

Shoes - Coach (old)

Watch - Michael Kors

Bracelets - Stell & Dot (here and here), Bitter Sweet

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I Love this Sequins Skirt - Not Sure if the Feelings are Mutual

I bought this skirt with my good friend Mary last year. I wanted a casual skirt that was fun, there it was in Ann Taylor. Now as a rule I am a pencil skirt girl. When I put this one on I thought it was too short for me. I didn't want to wear it and couldn't wait to take it off. Mary coaxed me out of the dressing room and told me she liked it. She then proceeded to lecture me on following my own advice and getting out of my comfort zone. Damn teachers.

The thing with this skirt is I can't figure out what else to pair it with. It has an athletic waist band feature (like jogging pants with the pulls) and that is what has me stumped. I'm wearing my most confident smile because I fake it till I make it. The sweater is very nice and looks nice with the skirt but, I don't know... I want to do better than nice. Any suggestions?

Just so you see what the back looks like. I don't care that the grey's don't match.

Here is my rule of thumb if you are wondering if something is too short. Place your hand right down against your leg/thigh, if the skirt is below the tips of your finger it is probably too short. I'm fine, my fingertips are still touching fabric.

I also get asked about mixing metals - you can do it. Metals are all neutrals so have fun. I mixed silver, gold, rose gold and gunmetal in this one. I will not be going to fashion jail for this one.

I am sporting a Shellac manicure. I can't do all the nail art (I'm still having flashbacks from the 80s) that is so popular but having the ring finger a different colour is easy and fun.

Skirt - Ann Taylor (old)

Sweater - The Gap (here)

Tights - Wonder Bra

Booties - Coach (old)

Watch - Michael Kors

Bracelets - Stella and Dot (here and here), Ann Taylor, Joe Fresh, The Bay

My giveaway for Yoga Jeans is still on and here are the rules - You must "Like" Yoga Jeans on Facebook and you must comment on the post. This is an international giveaway and you can chose whatever jeans you like. I'll say that the giveaway is worth $125 depending on what jeans you pick.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Stepford Wife

Sometimes I get into these moods when I'm picking out my clothes, I pick out a uniform or a costume. Today I am channelling my inner Stepford wife. I love this cardigan from H&M (not a big fan of their disposable fashion, it goes back to fit and being six feet tall), its part or their baroque line. The coral colour and the rhinestone buttons are what attracted me to it in the first place. In the store they had paired it with brocade pants in gold and coral. I loved the pants, I just wouldn't wear them because of my "lifestyle" plus they would be too short on me. I'm pretty sure that Avril from Schoolgate Style tried them on and she looked fab.

Anyway back to being a Stepford wife...certain cardigans say perfect suburban wife and this one was screaming it when I paired it with my jeans. I felt like my name should be Bitsie or something and I was going to make sure that my home was the epitome of perfection for my man. Hahaha! It's fun to play make believe.

 Now the question becomes tucked or untucked?

This cardigan is great but it likes to ride up because of my height. So for me I prefer something underneath. Just a cautionary tale.

Hooking up with Transatlantic blog for WIWW!

One more thing...I still need your votes. I made it through to the top 25 and I'd like to try and reach the top 15. If you can please vote by clicking here or on the badge that says Circle of Moms. Last time I checked I was #19, you can vote once every 24 hrs. Once the voting is done I will stop posting this annoying message. Thanks!

Cardigan - H&M

Jeans - Paige Denim (old)

Booties - Coach (old)

Belt - Tory Burch (old)

Watch - Michael Kors

Bracelet - Stella & Dot

Fancy Python Pants

My husband does not like my python pants, he can tolerate them much more than a maxi skirt, but not his favourite look. He says they are loud, I say they are fun. My daughter got a pair of python pants as part of her back to school stash (hers are a sand colouring like my leather python skirt), he was not impressed. My husband is a good sport about me posting his fashion likes and dislikes. We all have our things.

These pants are fun for me, I wanted to dress them up and this blazer is the best way to do it. I figured I may as well use my clothing as much as possible, especially if the pieces are classic and easily intermixed.

When I saw these pictures I didn't like the booties with the outfit. I wanted to try something different. It just cut me all wrong. So I ended up disliking the way I styled the outfit. I should have added a pair of coloured heels or flats.

Liking the outfit even less when I see the above and below picture. Plus when you are taking pictures of yourself you miss things like in the picture below. Can you spot what's wrong?

I changed out the blouse and added lots of pearls and put my pointy Choo's on and I felt all better.

I honestly think you could wear this outfit to work and go out for drinks with friends right after. For me I'll just take my kids to a swimming lesson in this outfit. Or maybe a date night, it's been a while.

One more thing, please vote for me! I am trying to be one of the 25 Top Canadian Mom Bloggers. I am under the tab of pending blogs.

Denim - CJ by Cookie Johnson

Blouse - 1st Judith & Charles (old), 2nd Ann Taylor (old)

 Belts - 1st Tory Burch (old), 2nd Ann Taylor (old)

Necklaces - Gold F 21, Pearls Le Chateau (old)

Booties - Coach (old)

Shoes - Jimmy Choo (old)

Watch - Michael Kors

Bracelets - Stella & Dot, The Bay