Martin and Osa Goodies

My latest Martin and Osa order arrived yesterday. I ordered these items last week when they were having an extra 25% off. This week the sale is now 30% so there are good deals to be found.

First off is the Soy-Blend U-Neck Sweater.

I ordered this in Aria Pink and a medium. Currently, it is $19.95 plus 30% off. There are still a few more colors left in medium, so I think I will order another, maybe orange.

Next, the Essential Stretch Haberdasher Shirt.

This is a size 8 in Benzel Blue. It reminds me of J Crew's Kelly shirt. It's soft and is a great fitted blouse. At $19.95, plus 30% off, I would order another one but there are only two colors available. The other color is silk pink and I think it's too close to my Kelly shirt in fresh guava.

I also ordered the Candy-Strip Cuffed Shirt in Cascade Blue (size 8). The picture turned out blurry so I didn't post it but it's very similar to the Haberdasher Shirt. (What kind of name is Haberdasher?) The cuffs are wide but I think I will flip them up. Again, it's only $19.95 with an extra 30% off so it's a great buy.

I tried the Trouser-Front Strecth-Knit pants, thinking they could be a great around home pant. But these babies were TIGHT! They showed every ounce of fat on my butt so they immediately went back in the box.

Martin and Osa has become my favorite online store. Their free shipping and returns and extra percentages off are fantastic.

J Crew Dreams

Last night I had a dream that my mother and I went shopping and we stumbled across a brick and mortar J Crew. I was so happy. I went around the store, picking up armfuls of clothes. And then they flickered the lights, announcing that the store was closing. I went into a panic, trying to decide what clothes to buy. I pleaded with the staff saying, "But I'm a Canadian and I never get to come to a real J Crew. Please let me shop more." I woke up feeling stressed.

I have issues.

Casual Friday

The last Friday of every month is casual Friday at work so I was able to wear jeans to school today. I wore:

Reitman's wide leg jeans
J Crew Cardigan
Lacoste polka dot tank
Naturlizer Wedges
Pearl necklace from the Great Canadian Dollar Store (my 3$ necklace)

I found the Lacoste shirt in Mexico a couple of months ago but this was the first time I wore it. I love polka dots and love this shirt. I can't wait to try it with white jeans.

What I'm Wearing Today

J Crew A-Line Taffeta Skirt in Champagne
Martin and Osa Drape Neck Tee (Currently on sale for 9.95 + 30% off)
Naturalizer wedges
Necklace from The Bay

Tired days

I had a cute outfit planned for today but when I woke up I could feel the chill in the air. It was not a skirt day. So I had to find something warm to wear quickly in a caffeine deprived state of mind. The results are meh.

Dalia Cardigan from Costco
J Crew ruffled tank (I forget the name)
Tommy Hilfiger pants
Chaps wedges
Expressions pearl and gold necklace from The Bay

I'm feeling really worn out lately. My iron levels are low and I am tired, so very tired. I'm counting down the days until summer vacation. 7 teaching days left!

What I'm Wearing Today

JC Penney Dress
Karen Scott black patent sandals from The Bay
H&M belt
J Crew gold and black bangle
Expressions pearl earrings from The Bay

Safety pin sewing

Today, I felt like a girly girl. I wore:

J Crew Merino lea Cardigan in snow white
J Crew silk dupioni skirt
J Crew trois rosette tank
Spring pointy pink pumps
F21 pink cluster necklace
Joe Fresh fireball earrings

I had a problem with the trois rosette tank being too low for school. To solve that, I simply safety pinned the straps to move the neckline up.

My cardigan stayed buttoned all day and covered my "sewing" job.

The white pants hatred is over

Last night, DH took me out for supper at one of our favorite little cafes. It's small, casual, chic and very French. So I felt like I wear something with a little more edge than my girly sundresses.

I wore:

Mexx tee
Jones & Co jean capris
Naturalizer wedges
Mexx white and black bangle

It was the first time I have EVER worn white pants. My mother raised me to be scared of white pants. She has something against them and because I am SO much like my mother, I had something against white pants for years. But after seeing so many bloggers rock the white, I decided to give them a try. I've come to the conclusion that white pants are sexy!

It's the final countdown

The countdown is on; only 10 teaching days left. It was another hot day here which made teaching even more difficult. My classroom has no air circulation and was HOT! I tried to dress in light clothes today but still had a bit of sweat going on. Yuck!

I wore:
Jessica dress from Sears with a matching sweater
Expressions Pearl Necklace and bracelet from The Bay
Wedge sandals from Naturalizer

What I'm Wearing Today

Today is a hot day so I went with a sleeveless dress that I found a few months ago on Sears' Clearance website.

Jessica polka dot dress from Sears
Spring pointy pink pumps
Forever 21 pink pearl cluster necklace
Broach from my wedding dress.

I was inspired to try the broach by Kasmira over at What I Wore Today. For some reason, my wedding dress came with a broach, I didn't use it on the big day but thought it would be a different way to tie my dress's sash.

Here is a close up of my details.

What I'm Wearing Today

J Crew Nicky Skirt
Tabi pin strip cotton blouse (leftover from my larger sized days)
Reitman's belt
Bleka shoes from The Bay

The shoes didn't make it through the day. The day I have hallway duty is not the best day to debut new shoes.

What I Wore - One Year Ago

My bridal shower was a year ago today. I am a big fan of tea and tea cups so my mother threw me a tea party shower. It was a beautiful day and I had a beautiful dress.

It was a Bob Mackie silk dress that I found at Winners.

It was great day with lots of family and presents! Continuing with the trend of tea cups, a lot of people gave me tea cups from their collection. My grandmother gave me two of the tea cups she received for her shower and my aunt gave me one that once belonged to my great-grandmother. Here is my tea cup collection.

I'm a bit crazy with my dishes. This is my tea cup china cabinet. I have another, larger cabinet for our wedding china and crystal.

What I'm Wearing Today

J Crew ruffle shirt
M&O tank
Old Navy jersey skirt in navy
J Crew zebra bangle
Gap flowered ballet flats

Have a good weekend everyone!

H&M is here!

H&M opened in my city yesterday. I've heard so much about this store but have never visited one. This afternoon, even though I was feeling sick, I went out to check it out. The place was huge and packed! But I was so sick, I couldn't even shop! That's pretty sick! Tonight I was feeling better so DH and I went over to have another look. The place was still packed. I was amazed to find new things had been put out since this afternoon.

I headed first to the Matthew Williamson collection after reading so much about it over on The Purse Forum. I picked up this Peacock Wrap Dress.
I'm still undecided on this one. I like it but do I like it at $70? It feels kind of polyestery too; very shiny.

I also found this huge organic scarf which will be great for the beach. Of course, when I laid it out on the bed to take a picture, Kitty claimed it as her own.
I found a few other basics too. The line-ups for the fitting rooms were huge, so I just bought whatever I wanted to try on. But once I got home and started trying, most (dresses and blouses) did not fit the chestal area. Overall, I am excited to have H&M in town and think it will become a regular place for me to shop.

What I Wore Last Night

Last night there was a dinner honoring my school's retirees so I had the chance to dress up a little.

I wrote:

Christopher Deane silk dress that I found on Revolve
J Crew Merino Lea Cardigan
Spring sandals
Nine West & Co purple clutch purse

No one missed me in the room - I was bright. In fact, many people told me, "you look bright tonight." I don't know if that was a good thing or not.

I won, I won!

Thank you to AppGal at Musing on the Mountain and Stephanie at Sea Glasses for nominating me for a blog award!

My queenly duties include:
1. List seven things that make me awe-summm!!!
2. Pass the award on to seven bloggers I read religiously.
3. Tag those 7 bloggers.
4. Don't forget to link the Queen that tagged me.
5. Copy the pic and put it into my sidebar.

Unfortunately, I think all the bogs I read have been nominated! They are all so great that someone else has already recognized them.

So here are seven things that make me awe-summm!

1. I was the first person in my extended family to graduate from university.

2. I met my now husband when I was 19 at a bar.

3. I am very emotional person; I cry at commercials and when I see others cry. If animals are involved, I'm a basket case.

4. I always disliked cats until my DH convinced me to take Kitty home one day 6 years ago. Now I'm convinced that cats rule!

5. I like to collect tea cups (there is an inner grandma in me).

6. I'm starting to learn to play the piano at the age of 27.

What I'm Wearing Today

Today I'm wearing:

Ricki's pleated skirt
Caissis blouse
Reitman's leather belt
Expressions necklace from The Bay
Naturalizer wedge sandals

It was the first time I tried to wear a belt like this. I think I'm finally hopping aboard the belt train.

Martin & Osa Preferred

I received this email today.
It sounds interesting, especially private sales. Hopefully, the benefits are just not for in-store use. The closest store is far, far away.

This may be a sign that I've been shopping at M&O too much lately. Is it just a mass promotion or am I really special and preferred? Did anyone else receive this email?

Devil in a green dress

What I'm wearing today:
Cotton dress from Sears (I found this at the Sears outlet store a few weeks ago)
Naturalizer wedge sandals
M&O tank
Suzy Shier bow and pearl earrings

I got a lot of compliments on this outfit today. It made me feel so purty!

The next time I wear this one, I'd like to do more accessorizing . Because it is such a bright, unusual color for me, I kept the accessories simple. Next time, I'm thinking some hits of pink might be cute. I have a great pink polka dot scarf that I'm going to try.

That's a big box!

I arrived home yesterday to find a postal notice in my mailbox. My latest Martin and Osa order had arrived! But when I went to the post office to pick it up, I was presented with this huge box. Kitty later enjoyed checking it out.
My first thought was, "Holy crap, what did I order?" Followed quickly by, "DH is going to flip; there is probably way too many clothes in here." I breathed a sigh of relief when I opened it and saw that the box was filled with mostly air.
What a waste of shipping money. And the shipping was free, so it's not my wasted money. Besides all that plastic and air, there were a few treasures.

First off is the Watercolor Print Pleated Silk Dress. It's a beautiful dress.
The silk is soft and it has a lining, which is always nice. But the dress has little structure, which may not be good for me with my mini stomach bump. I was thinking about wearing this dress to my cousin's wedding in July but am still undecided if it is the one. I also ordered the Tie Neck Dress in Aria Pink which will be arriving next week. I'll decide then which one is the keeper. As I don't work in the summer, I have few opportunities to dress up and don't need a lot of dressier dresses. (How many times can I write dress in a sentence?)

Next up is the Square-Neck Sweater in navy. At $19.95 plus 30% off, this was a bargain. Again, the material is very soft. It's a nice spring sweater. I would order more, but it's a bit low cut so it's not appropriate for school. I said the word "naked" in class today and that set the hormones off in my 14 year old male students; they were giggling like mad. I think they would fall out of their chairs if I wore anything that low cut!

Then there was the Tuxedo Blazer which was another bargain at 44.95 plus 30% off. I've been wanting to try the blazer thing and M&O's great return policy convinced me to give it a go. But, alas, it was not meant to be. I don't have a picture of this one on me because it was back in the plastic immediately after I tried it on. It just wasn't me. Long monkey arms are hard to fit in a blazer.

I also ordered some basic tees for myself (so soft) and some work clothes for my father.

I've been telling DH to try Martin and Osa for months but he is kind of a clothing snob. He only likes certain clothes. He has his LaCoste golf shirts that he gets at a local men's store. Twice a year, we travel to the US to go to the outlet stores where he hits Banana Republic and stocks up on the rest of the wardrobe. Nothing else is good enough for him. Finally, last night after looking at my super soft sweater and hearing its super cheap price, he admitted, "Maybe I should check out this site, you know, for basics." So I had to place another order with some items for him and a few thrown in for me. He really twisted my arm ;-) Hopefully, he will be able to expand his wardrobe beyond his two current labels.

What I'm Wearing Today

I finally figured out how to use my camera's self-timer! I still have some tweaking to do but DH will be glad that I can take my own pictures. I thin he was tired of me pouncing on him when he came home every night, demanding that he take a picture of me.

Today I'm wearing:

J Crew Merino Lea Cardigan
M&O Ruffle placket tank
Fairweather skirt
Karen Scott black patent sandals
Pearl bracelet that I found at a flea market a few years ago
Pearl dangle earrings from The Bay

Outfit of the day

I didn't have too much imagination while getting dressed today so it's just a hohum outfit of the day. Mondays = bleh. I was comforted by the realization today that there are only two more teaching Mondays left of the school year. 17 teaching days left, woot, woot! The count down begins.


I'm wearing:
Caissis pencil skirt
Sweater that I got in my college days at JC Penney
Chaps wedges
Joe Fresh bracelet
Suzy Shier bow and pearl earrings

What I'm Wearing Today

After a week of cold, wet days, we finally have a nice, almost summer-like day. I'm taking advantage and spending lots of time outside.

I'm wearing:
Burberry golf shirt
Caissis khaki skirt
Gap patent flats
Burberry bag

Back to the lounger with my book I go.

Have a great weekend!

Patience pays off

A few weeks ago, I spied a lovely yellow beaded cluster necklace at Mexx. I loved it, but at $35, there was no way I was going to buy it. I knew it would eventually go on sale. Last night I had to run into the mall to do some errands and I scored big at Mexx. My precious necklace was marked down to $14.99. Woot, woot. I also had a credit note so it felt like it was free.
I wore my new necklace today and received several compliments. One student eloquently put it, "I like your grape necklace." Now that I think about, some beads do look like grapes. I don't care; I still love it.

It was cold and wet today so I wanted to wear comfy clothes.
Gap Khakis
Dalia cardigan from Coscto
J Crew pleated tank
Martin and Osa tank
Naturalizer moccasins

Now that I look at this picture, I wish I had worn brown shoes instead. I really need to up my shoe style.

My prize arrived!

A few weeks ago, Shasta over at Bergdorf Blondes held a giveaway contest in honour of her 300th posts. I won one of the runner up prizes. My prize arrived today and I just have to share it.
My goodies came wrapped up so prettily
Lovely lotion and a yummy brown sugar scrub.
Thank you Shasta!

What I'm Wearing Today

Banana Republic blouse
Nygard gray pleated skirt that is O-L-D
Joe Fresh bead and ribbon necklace
My boring Tender Tootsies

DH needs to work on his photography skills. This photo is dark. The skirt is gray and the tights are black, but it's hard to tell.

What I'm Wearing Today

Martin and Osa dress
Victoria Secret cropped cardigan
Banana Republic gold and coral bracelet
Diamond pendant and pearl stud earrings (gifts from DH)
Nude wedge sandals

Yesterday when I was cleaning out my closet, I found this cardigan buried in the uppermost reaches of my closet's shelving. I bought it at a heavy discount last summer from Victoria's Secret. When it arrived, it was a lot shorter in length then I expected. I never wore it because I simply did not know how! Now because all you fabulous bloggers out there, I know how to wear a cropped cardi. I really like this combination; I hope the cardigan helps to slim down this dress.

After school, I hit the mall to order some flowers for a school function. I popped into Reitman's to look for some cheap scarfs in my quest to start accessorizing more. Instead, I found this belt. Belts are another thing I need to start adding to my wardrobe. I've never done a belt higher up on my waist but am going to try with this one.
Can I pull off the belt look? Any tips? I'd love to try a long open cardigan and this belt. Sounds like a good experiment for this weekend.

Flipping my closet

I did some reorganizing in my closet today. In an effort to start wearing more of my clothes, I flipped all of my clothes hangers. This served two purposes. First, it forced me to look at each piece of clothing I as I took it out and flipped it around. I was hit with several outfit inspirations with pieces I haven't looked at in awhile. Secondly, this will be an easy visual reminder of what I am not wearing. After I wear a piece, I will return it to my closet with the hanger the right side out.

I hope this will have two effects. One, I will wear all my clothes. Two, I will buy less. I'm not going to ban shopping altogether because I know with my personality, it would just not work. And there are holes in my closet that I like to full. For instance, I'd like to have more prints, scarfs, and colored shoes. I'm going to start shopping more selectively.

You inspire me!

My must read blog list grows everyday and I am continually inspired by all the great bloggers out there. Yesterday, I stumbled across this great blog and I must share.

Jessica at What I Wore puts together amazing outfits. The reason I like her style so much is that it is obtainable for me. There are no crazy designer names in her closet. She shops at normal places; H&M, Payless, thrift stores. I could probably find similar pieces here in small town Atlantic Canada and recreate some of her outfits. I could do this without the hat and clothes and make it school appropriate. I love this combination of green and navy. So sharp. And she wears colored tights! I have about five wear unworn pairs in my dresser. I didn't know how to wear them. Now I have some ideas on what do to. Jessica's blog has also convinced me that I need some scarfs. I have a few but never wear them. I simply do not know how to put them on my body. She has great ideas, including tying scarfs on your wrist.

So to all the bloggers out there, keep it up. I have never felt so well dressed in my life and it is because you all inspire me.

What I'm Wearing Tonight

Tonight I'm going out to meet a university friend who is in town for the weekend. This is almost a recreation of last Saturday's outfit. I'm becoming more comfortable with the red shoes so I'm adding another punch of color with my necklace and bracelet.

J Crew v-neck black tee
Reitman's wide leg jeans
Old Navy red patent wedges
Forever 21 necklace and bracelet
Burberry Bag
My husband's belt

I'm lacking in the jeans department and I think these are actually a big too baggy. When my leg isn't bent, the jeans look saggy. I've made up my mind that when we go on our summer trip (it will be to a place with good stores - Boston, Toronto, or Montreal), I'm going to splurge on a pair of designer jeans. I've outgrown these Reitman jeans.

Because it will be a little cooler in the evening, I'm wearing a coat I bought last weekend at The Sears Clearance Center.
Sometimes, if I have time to dig a little, I can find treasures. I love this coat, mostly because of its lining.

I love polka dots.

To keep or not to keep

In my last Martin and Osa order, I bought this dress partly as a way to get free shipping (my order was just under the minumum). I knew I would love the color but thought it might be too high waisted for me to pull off. When the order arrived this week, the dress wasn't as bad as I thought it could be. I have a long torso and sometimes dresses like this make me look preggo. DH liked it on me. What do you think? Is it a keeper or a return? I wouldn't pair it with those shoes, they just happened to be nearby when I was trying it on.

I also ordered two more of my favorite Ruffle Plackett Tank this time in purple and black. If anyone out there buys this tank, don't put it in the dryer. It will shrink. I learned that lesson with my navy version. I also ordered the Double Layer Hoodie in lavender. I'm not going to post a picture of me wearing it, because it is BAD. Although very soft, the hoodie has two lumpy pockets that hit my problem areas. This shirt makes my hips look like they have lumps of fat. No thank you!

Lipstick love

One of my favorite lip care products is MAC's Prep + Prime Lip Primer. Slap that stuff on your lips, wait a minute and then put on your lipstick; the color will LAST. I go through this stuff like mad! Since I don't live near a MAC, I took advantage of my shopping trip last weekend to stock up on this great product.

While at MAC, I went a quest for the perfect lipstick. I have been longing for a red lipstick for awhile. It is a weird craving for me because I usually don't wear lipstick or, if I do, it is very natural. Last weekend in MAC, I asked the salesperson to pick out a 50's red lipstick, something Betty Draper would wear. Her recommendation was

Amplified Cream Lipstick in Kanga Rouge. I love the color and how it looks on me. It's not too orangey and looks great with my complexion (I have yellow undertones). I love the case and the the little glasses. I have lipstick love. I haven't worn in out and about yet (it's a bit too much for work). But I did wear it around the house this afternoon. I did a little dance because it makes me feel so pretty!

I couldn't find this product on MAC's website so I took this picture myself. It took me a few minutes to take the picture. I kept on clicking the camera's button and nothing was happening. DH kindly pointed out that a digital camera needs a memory card in it in order to take a picture. Silly KBear! It's time for bed for me.

Have a great weekend ladies.