RDog's Fashion Files

Shirt: Gap
Pants: Gap
Belt: Lacoste
Shoes: Spring

For well over a year, I've been trying to convince RDog to wear a gingham shirt. He has always refused, mumbling something about gingham being "too hip and trendy".

Gap recently had a great sale on gingham shirts and I showed RDog but this time I changed the language. I said, "Look at this great checkered shirt".

He bought the gingham, ahem, checkered shirt and loves it.

Old School and No School

Sweater: J Crew
Tank: J Crew
Skirt: J Crew
Belt: Danier leather
Shoes: Naturalizer

I'm going old school with this skirt. It's the very first skirt I bought from J Crew!

No outfit will be posted tomorrow as I 100% expect a snow day which means Juicy pants and a t-shirt. Yay!

Jewel Colors & J Crew Cancelations

Sweater: J Crew
Cami: J Crew
Belt: Joe Fresh
Pants: Gap
Shoes: Naturalizer

Another cold one in Atlantic Canada today so pants were on the menu again. I couldn't wait to try my new J Crew stuff so that's where the rest of the outfit was born I just realized at the end of the day that I should have taken the steamer to the cami. Whoops.

I have a few more J Crew items ordered but I received the dreaded cancellation email. Three items canceled! Yuck! It's really frustrating when something is canceled yet it pops back on the site, which is what happened with one item. Why do you do this to us J CRew?

J Crew Score

My J Crew 40% sale arrived today and I was pleasantly surprised because I loved everything! Normally, when I order J Crew final sale, I'm disappointed by at least one of the items when it arrives. Not this time. Here are some of my favorite items.

This is the Factory printed stretch cotton sateen pencil skirt. It is unlined and thin so I won't be wearing it any time soon (hello -38 temperatures) but it will be a spring staple. I'm thinking about ordering the plum version as well.
This Vintage cotton amour tank is super pretty in real life. It has beads on each ruffle that really sparkle. You can't beat the price of $11.99.

This is the Factory printed Annalise ruffle cami. I like it because it has pretty ruffles but they're not in your face. I don't like too many fussy things around my face.

And because 10 Jackie cardigans were not enough. This looks really bright in the picture but is a much softer color in real life. I'll have IRL pictures tomorrow because I'll be wearing lots of my new swag.

How did your purchases work out? Did you get some treasures?

Born Out of Necessity

Sweater: Old School Gap
Pants: RW & Co.
Necklace: Reitman's
Shoes: Naturalizer

This outfit was born out of necessity. These are the warmest pants I own. It was -38 Celsuis today. Ouch!

Scratching my Head

Sweater: J Crew
Tank: Forever 21
Necklace: Joe Fresh
Belt: J Crew
Skirt: Ricki's
Shoes: Naturalizer

Curling Iron Wounds

Sweater: Martin and Osa
Skirt: Gap
Shoes: Naturalizer

I don't know if you can see it but there's a bit red spot on my forehead. It is a curling iron battle wound from yesterday. I was running late and trying to do my hair quickly when I smacked myself in the forehead with my curling iron. It did some serious damage. I drove all the way to school with my morning smoothie against my forehead in attempt to cool it off. I don't think it worked as today it blistering and red. Grooooossss.

In other KDot news, my favorite game of all time released a sequel today. Little Big Planet 2! I have a date for the rest of the night with my PS3.

Tsk, Tsk

Sweater: J Crew
Shirt: Martin and Osa
Skirt: Ricki's
Belt: RW & co.
Shoes: Naturalizer

Wearing my cozy Martin and Osa sweaters last week has reawakened my love of the now defunct brand. I dug out this M&O shirt, which was only worn once before. Tsk, tsk, KDot.

J Crew Makes Me Late For Work

Shirt: Gap
Skirt: J Crew
Shoes: Naturalizer

As you may be able to tell from the scenery around me, yesterday was a snow day.

Today's hair do is a simple ponytail because of: a) I knew I had to leave early because the roads were not 100% clear of snow and b) J Crew has an epic sale and I went on an ordering spree this morning when I should have been doing my hair. Five camis, one cardigan, one necklace and one skirt are on their way to me. Don't worry RDog, I only spent $100.

Did you take advantage of J Crew's 40% off sale? What did you get?

What I'm Snacking On - Kale Chips!

Even though I'm eating clean, sometimes I just want a movie night snack. I like crunchy things and in the past would munch on dill pickle chips. Potato chips are a big no-no in the eating clean world. My solution to fulfill my crunchy cravings is kale chips. I can munch on a whole bowl and not feel one ounce of guilt.

Here's how you make them.

Wash your kale and get rid of the stalk (it tastes yucky) and break it up into big bite sized pieces. I put the kale in a bowl with a lid.

Here's my kale with the other ingredients: lemon juice, olive oil, and sea salt. Chuck the ingredients in the bowl, pop the lid on and shake it up. I don't measure; just remember you don't want to go too crazy with the oil and salt.

Spread your kale out on a baking sheet. I cover mine with tin foil because I don't like to do dishes. Then pop in the oven at 350 for about 15 minutes.

The kale really shrinks. I did two batches to satisfy my craving. It's nice crispy, earthy tasting snack that's guilt free! Next time, I think I'll try some spices and experiment with the flavour.

What's your favorite guilt free snack?

Thingy-mo-bobby

Sweater: Martin and Osa
Tank: Thrifted
Pants: RW & Co.
Necklace: Joe Fresh
Boots: Naturalizer

I've recently rediscovered my stack of Martin and Osa sweaters that were buried high in my closet. Why haven't I've been wearing these sweaters more often! They're so soft and cozy. A few need a go-over with my pill remover thingy-mo-bobby but other than that, they're great. It makes me miss M&O!

Plaid, Sparkles, and Baubles . . . Oh My!

Sweater: J Crew
T-shirt: J Crew
Necklace: J Crew wannabe
Skirt: Ricki's
Shoes: Naturalizer

I was a rebel today and wore a t-shirt to school! We are only suppose to do that on casual days. But I didn't figure anyone would notice or dare to accuse me of being under dressed. Just today, a student told me that myself and another teacher are the only teachers who actually look like teachers because we dress up so much.

Just Me

It was my first day back at work today and we had a meeting day which means sit on your butt and listen to someone else talk all day. It's a nice way to come back after vacation because my mind doesn't have to be 100% sharp. Anyways, I knew I would be doing lots of sitting so I wanted to be cozy and comfortable.

Sweater: Martin and Osa
Top: Forever 21
Pants: Gap
Boots: Naturalizer

It was very freeing confessing my weight gain to you a couple of day ago. Last night while picking out today's outfit, I felt great. I popped 5 outfits together within a half an hour. Before Christmas vacation, I would debate on clothes for a loooong time. I was so worried about looking thin and good for my blog picture. Like seriously, an hour to pick out one outfit. That's sad and a major waste of my time. It's feels nice to just be me.

What's For Supper? Meatloaf!

Clean meatloaf that is.

This recipe is one of my favorite clean eating recipes from Tosca Reno's Eat Clean Cookbook. As I made it tonight, I'd thought I'd share it with you.

Now, be forewarned, this recipe takes a bit of prep. It's not something you can quickly whip together after a work day. I usually save it for Sunday dinners. Why? Because two ingredients have to be made before. One is cooked brown rice. I made a big pot of it on Friday as it takes forever to cook and I throw it in a lot of stuff (my favorite - tuna and brown rice sandwiches). The other ingredient that needs to be made beforehand is yogurt cheese.

Yogurt cheese is just yogurt with a lot of liquid drained off. It looks like cream cheese. To make it, set a strainer lined with 4 layers of cheese cloth in a bowl. Dump some yogurt in there and let it sit overnight. Tada, you have yogurt cheese. It should look something like this.

Notice all the liquid in the bowl. I made this up Saturday night so I was all set to make meatloaf today.

The rest of the ingredients.

1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1 c. brown rice, cooked
1 egg
3/4 c. yogurt cheese
1/2 c. chopped onion
1/2 c. chopped celery
1/2 c. chopped bell pepper, any color
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 tbsp tamari
1 tsp basil
1 tsp oregano

I also sneak some mushrooms in there but don't tell RDog (he doesn't like them).

My tip for chopping onions . . .

. . . a Cuisinart Mini Chopper. This was a wedding present and I use it all the time.

I have a confession; I hate to touch meat. For this recipe you really have to get up close and personal with the meat to mix it all up. My solution; latex gloves.

All ready to go in the oven. Bake it at 350 for an hour.

To go with the meatloaf, I cut some sweet potatoes in half and brushed them with olive oil.

I cooked them for an hour too and then scooped out the yummy potato. I do this to avoid doing a lot of potato cutting. Sweet potatoes are hard to cut! I also steamed up some frozen veggies.

The end result.

And then I topped it all off with desert; a square of dark chocolate.

Mmmmm. . . my belly is happy tonight.

A Weighty Issue

It's the new year and all around the world it seems that people are focusing on losing weight and eating healthier. I, too, am going to jump on the bandwagon.

Over the last six months or so, I've gained about 10 pounds. It's enough to make most of my clothes not fit right and to make me not to want to post my outfit of the day pictures. It's rare that I get an outfit I feel "pretty" in any more. Notice that my monthly post count went way down hill last August - that's why.

Maintaining a healthy weight has been a struggles of mine over the past 8 years, but it wasn't always so. When I was growing up, I was stick thin and I could eat whatever. Don't you just hate people like that. Then I graduated from university the first time with a degree in history and found that I had the least employable degree ever. I was saddled with thousands of dollars of student loans and had no job. I sat on the couch for a summer, depressed, and ate chips to comfort myself. At the end of the summer, when I put my sun dresses away, I realized that none of my pants fit me. I had gained a lot of weight (and had the stretch marks to prove it).

I finally did find a job. Actually RDog did. He got me a customer service job at his former office for the grand salary of $10/hour. The unhealthy eating continued. Looking back now, I realize that I was really depressed. This was not a high point in my life.

Two years after graduating from university, I got my shit together and decided to go back. I enrolled at the University of Maine to get my teaching degree. I can't believe I am going to show this picture. This was when I first visited the campus in 2005. I am 5'10" and I think I was about 200 pounds.


It really grosses me out to look at this.

The combination of being happier with my life, eating regular, albeit, cafeteria meals and starting to use the gym, caused me to lose about 20 pounds. By the time I was finished my degree I was weighing around 175 pounds.


Here I am being a goof on one of my last days at university.

Flash forward to January, 2008. I was getting married and needed a dress. I don't know what I was thinking but I ordered a wedding dress on EBay. Actually I do know what I was thinking; I found the designer dress of my dreams (Pronovias white lace) for a steal ($400). I heard wedding dresses run small so without looking at measurements, I ordered a non-returnable dress in a size 12, one size larger that my normal 10. When the dress arrived, I realized that in Pronovias dress land, a size 12 is really like a size 6. I couldn't even get the dress up over my butt it was so small! This gorgeous wedding dress gave me the motivation to get my butt in gear and really get healthy.


I mean, look at the lace and beading. So beautiful.

So I had the motivation to get healthy, all I needed was the knowledge. Step in this book

I discovered how to eat clean and boy did I eat clean. Lots of oatmeal, tuna, chicken, egg whites, veggies and fruit. I was so hard core I gave up cheese - CHEESE (I love me some cheese). I also started using an elliptical about 5 times a week. Before I knew it, it was May and my bridal shower and I looked like this (and weighed 147 pounds!). And I loved it.


I love this picture because you can see my pretty white smile. All my life I never smiled in pictures because I had one very crooked tooth. It stuck in and made me look like I was almost missing a front tooth. I was NOT going to let my tooth ruin my wedding pictures. One veneer was all it took. Best money I ever spent!

Anyways, our wedding day arrived and it truly was the best day of my life. Oh, and the dress fit. :-)


Excuse the goofy pose, it was hard to find a picture without someone else in it. RDog prefers to remain anonymous.

After my post wedding feed of pizza (I ate it while wearing my wedding dress while my groom was passed out beside me - romantic eh :-) and a feeding frenzy during our cruise honeymoon, I kept on with the clean eating, but on a lighter level. I ate cheese and butter once again. I was able to keep my weight in the low 150s and was happy with that. Remember, I'm 5'10'. But over time, I forgot more and more of the eating clean principles and ate more and more junk. I knew I was gaining weight but didn't really want to deal with it besides drowning my sorrows in a bag of chips.

It all came to a head this past week when I stepped on the scale and was shocked. I can't believe I am going to tell you this (I am really getting up close and personal with this post) but I weighed 166 pounds. I went to the closet and took out the stack of jeans I haven't worn in months because deep down I knew they wouldn't fit and well, I tried them on. And there it was staring me straight in the face. My jeans wouldn't fit. I had gained too much weight. Enough, I thought. This is enough.

I dug out my eat clean books and sat down to have a good read. It came back pretty quickly. I made my grocery lists and hit the bulk barn for my oats and spices and other odd things that the checkout girl didn't recognize. I started cooking instead of reaching into the freezer and popping something processed into the oven. And I posted this to hold me accountable. Yes, I've gained weight but gosh darn I'm going to lose it!

So there's my story. Thank you for sticking with me through it. I plan on posting regular updates on my clean eating to get my on task. And hopefully the outfit pictures with start to return once I start to feel better about the way my clothes look on me.