Cleaning out the closet

Today I received my latest order from Martin & Osa. As I was hanging up my new treasures, I realized that my closet will not hold any more clothes. One more clothes hanger will literally not fit on the closet's hanging bar. "Oh well," I though to myself, "I'll just use my second closet." I went to that closet, opened the door and had a pile of little-used clothing fall on me. This closet was also full. "This is bad," I thought, "very bad."

Faced with the choice of giving up shopping or cleaning out my closet, I went with the big clean. Here are the results:
I am the type of person who does not like to throw out clothes. I think it stems back to my childhood where I didn't have a lot of new-to-me clothing. Most of my outfits were hand-me-downs or from second hand stores. I rarely had anything "brand name" as my mom called it. For me growing up, Gap was a fancy brand name. Now that I'm all grown up and have the means to buy "brand name" clothes, I never want to get rid of them once I get them. Even if they are 4 sizes too large.

Last year I went on a hard core pre-wedding diet. It all started when I ordered my dream wedding dress off of Ebay for a fraction of its retail price. I ordered it in a size 12, my normal size. Little did I know that wedding dress sizes run drastically different than normal sizes. My dream dress was actually a size 6. I was determined to wear this dress and had always regretted the extra pounds I had put on since university. I had the perfect motivation to lose weight and I did it. I followed Tosca Reno's eat clean diet to a tee and lost 25 pounds in 6 months. The dress fit!

The point of that long rambling story is that I could not bear to throw out my old clothes even when I lost all that weight. I told myself that they might be good when I get "knocked up" as I affectionaly call it. Tonight as I dug through my second closet and stumbled upon a pile of "fat" clothes, I decided I was never going to wear them again. When babymaking time comes, knowing my love of shopping, I know I will want some cute maternity clothing. All the big clothes are in the bag and hitting the Salvation Army tomorrow.

Now I have room in my closet for more clothing. That was a close call; I thought I might have to actually have to give up shopping for awhile. On a related note, Martin & Osa is having an extra 30% off sale. This dress is calling my name. Now I have a place to put it.

Bubble time with F21

My order from Forever 21 arrived today (I love overnight shipping). Since I downed 4 vodka and cranberry drinks when I came home, I convinced DH to drive across town to pick them up from Purolator. Looking at my items, I notice that I am obviously in love with the whole bubble necklace trend. Here is what i got:

After seeing Gigi's posts on this necklace, I had to have it. I'm glad I ordered it when I did because it is no longer available on F21's site. I absolutely love it and it was such a steal at $7.80.
I love this blue necklace. It is nice and full with lots of beads. The best part; it doesn't look like I spent only $12.80 on it. It also unexpectantly matches my Desiree Bead Bracelet in this order. I didn't get a picture of that yet. DH took a picture of the bracelet, but it shows off my hairy man arms, so I'm not going to post it.

Pearl Cluster Necklace in light pink and black. I bought two of these necklaces. At $6.80, why not. I like them, I just wish there were more beads on the necklace.
This picture really shows off my yucky tan lines (reminders of Mexico).

I was also smart to dump this little number in my cart. At $1.50, this Grosgrain Bow Headband is super cute and surprisingly comfortable. I wish I had ordered it in more colors.
My order also included a sleeveless Zebra tank ($12.80), gray maxi dress ($13.80), and a little black skirt ($7.80). I didn't get any pictures and they are no longer on F21's site. The tank is sheer, but cute. The maxi is super comfortable but I'm a tad nipply in it. The skirt is pretty skanky. DH liked it but I don't think I could wear it outside the house. It is TIGHT!

Wearing today

It's a beautiful, freakishly warm day here in Atlantic Canada. My car's thermometer read at 30 C when I came out of school at 4. I wish it would stay like this. I took advantage of the warm weather and did the bare-legged thing today.

I wore:
Martin & Osa silk skirt
Martin & Osa ruffle tank in navy
J Crew Merino Lea Cardigan in snow white (I had to keep this on while teaching even though I was sweat girl. I felt too exposed without it. I teach 14 year boys; sometimes the hormones are raging)
Naturalizer burgundy ballet flaps
Navy bangle that I bought at Lawtons Drug store

Untitled by KDot featuring J Crew tank tops

I'm not sure what is up with the images on polyvore. It seems that any set I make looks messed up like this one. Any solutions? I'm off to have some drinks outside. Cranberry juice, soda water, and vodka = yumminess!

Weekend recap - Banana Republic

I had a great weekend . My brother and I went home for a couple of days to celebrate our father's birthday. My brother lives down the street from me but our parents live 160 km away. On Saturday my father was working, so Mom, my brother and I hit the malls. Here is what I got!

My first stop was Banana Republic. I was excited because it was the first time I had ever been in a real BA. We always go to the outlet in Maine. I was armed with my extra 30% off coupon and prepared to spend some of my husband's money (teehee, he is so going to regret giving me his credit card). Even with the 30% off, a non-outlet BA is a little too rich for my blood. I headed straight to the sale section and loaded my arms up. Perhaps because I went straight to the sales, I was virtually ignored by the salespeople. And there were lots of them and it wasn't busy. Grrrrr! To top it off, the cashier gave me the third degree about how I got the extra 30% off coupon. I did manage to get a few lovely things.

I wore this blouse today and absolutely love it. I like how the sleeves are like little tulips, very pretty. Here it is with the Forever 21 Pearl Cluster nacklace. I felt ladylike today.

I also found a long, cozy cardigan that reminded me of J Crew's Library Shawl Cardigan. I purchased it in a soft gray color. I found a sweater of the same color for my DH. .

I tried on about 10 pairs of pants, but as usual, I could not find one pair that looked right. I have chunky thighs and a little waist. It's a hard combination to fit. I did find this little bracelet. I seem to be on a bracelet kick lately. I love that it looks like a bangle, but is actually a hinged bracelet. I sometimes get panicky while sliding on a bangle and think, "what if this doesn't come off!"
I'll have more on my adventures in the other stores later. I found some great things at Sears, of all places.

Weekend Wear

Because I'm an organization freak, I'm already planning out my weekend's outfits.

I'm heading to my parent's home. It's suppose to be a beautiful, warm weekend. I can't wait to sit in my parents' peaceful backyard and relax.

Here is what I'm packing.

Weekend wear by KDot featuring Hollister Co. jeans

My new jean capris from Costco and my new Old Navy graphic tee. I was inspired by so many bloggers' posts about ON's tees that I had to go get a few.

I plan on giving my red wedges another try. I wore them out last weekend to do a few errands. No one looked at me in shock and horror, so I think I will try them again.

Burberry and red shoes by KDot featuring J Crew t-shirts

I also need to start using my Burberry more often. I think DH is getting insulted that I don't use it enough. I can't take it to work for many reasons. I teach in an inner city school that has a lot of poverty and theft. I would feel guilty about parading an expensive purse in there when there are so many students whose families struggle with obtaining small neccessities. Even though I put my belongings in a locker, I still worry that it would get stolen. So I must use my Burberry this weekend. I need to show it off to my mother too!

Going sockless rocks

I rocked the sandals for the second day in a row. Woot, woot, I love going sockless.

Today I wore:
Martin & Osa pants (these get wrinkled very easily)
Silk blouse from Revolve (I cut the tag off of it and actually wear it backwards)
Karen Scott black patent sandals
Joe Fresh red patent belt
Joe fresh gold link bracelet
My wedding diamond necklace
Joe Fresh fireball inspired earrings.

I'm loving the Joe Fresh accessories.

I'm so glad tomorrow is Friday; it has been a long week. I'm heading off tomorrow to visit my parents for the weekend. My mother and I are planning to do lots of shopping on Saturday. I will be sure to post all my treasures on Sunday. I can't wait to hit Banana Republic (yay, 30% off sale).

Waiting for the weekend

I had a tiring day so my work clothes didn't last until my DH came home. As soon as I got home, I was in my Juicy pants and in bed. So there is no in real life picture today.

Here is a close replica of what I wore today:

Untitled by KDot featuring Forever21 necklaces

Reitman's Pinstrip pants
J Crew Merino Lea Cardigan in Melon
Unlisted brown tank
Nude wedge sandals
Beaded necklace I found in Montreal a few years ago
Matching bracelet I found in Mexico last year

I tried sandals today for the first time. I think it is finally warm enough to ditch the socks. I'm not convinced about the bare legs yet; I think I'll give it a few more weeks.