Monday, September 30, 2013

My Monthly Purchases: September 2013

I behaved much better this month with sticking to my budget. I went over just a teeny bit compared to last month which was a complete budget-blowing circus.


Women's Crew-Neck Sweatshirts



Top: Old Navy
Discounted from $19.95 to $15.00 (still on sale)
I love the idea of wearing a blank-slate sweatshirt with a statement necklace.





Skirt: Old Navy
Discounted from $24.95 to $18.00
This is a cute an comfy skirt (although it does run kind of big and the waist can migrate up. I've worn it to work once so far. The stripes are subtle enough to make it easy to pair this with other prints.

The next three items were from my 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target mini-spree and you can see the full post with photos here.
Top: $40
Skirt: $30
Handbag: $35
I officially love Target designer collaborations. I've had lots of compliments on the skirt and handbag and I'll be styling the top sometime soon.


Cute pattern on this skirt!


Skirt: BB Dakota from Crimson Clover Boutique
Original price unknown. I paid $10
This is satisfying my need for something plaid. The skirt is above the knee, so perfect for work or weekends.

Additional purchase with no photo:
Dress: Gap Factory Store
Discounted from $65 to $36 and I saved another 50% with a mystery deal code. Total: $18.
Such a cute little red patterned dress that I will be wearing to a wedding this weekend. Remember when I said I wasn't going to buy any new dresses for this wedding season? I lied.

Total Spend for September: $161
Total Value: $225

$21 over budget, but I am okay with that!

Did you have any favorite purchases for September? It's such a wonderful month to shop!

XOXO
Glitterary GIrl

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Glitterary Girl Gets a Makeover

New season... new look.

I was aching for an aesthetic update for the blog, and I am next to useless with that sort of thing. Along came Alison to the rescue!

Alison gave Glitterary Girl a crisp and fresh header, a teal and grey color scheme, cleaned up my sidebar, and added some cute social media buttons. Speaking of... this is a great opportunity to follow me on Pinterest, Bloglovin', Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram if you don't already - click on the buttons below my photo to link to my social media.

If you are looking for a makeover for your blog, you can find Alison's blog polishing details here. It was a great value and certainly made my blog look a million times better!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl


Friday, September 27, 2013

A Day at the Office

I've mentioned before how much I love being able to wear nice things to work. I used to work in a hospital in direct patient care, so I had to wear what was comfortable and easy to wash. Skirts were definitely not appropriate for the work I was doing!

Now I work in an office environment and I go meet with clients in their homes. The office vibe in terms of work wear is pretty varied, but most people wear casual to business casual with jeans on Fridays. It's so nice to actually like what I'm wearing when I walk out the door in the morning. If I have plans after work, there's usually no need to change!


Details
Shirt: Gap
Skirt: 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target
Earrings: Handmade by my BFF
Watch: Guess
Shoes: Le Chateau





I even caught myself spinning a few times from the filing cabinet to answer the phone.... I could have been taking a very important call, but I may have just wanted to twirl in my skirt!

I'm linking with Alison for a Friday's Fancies post on work wear. Click on the box to see how the other lovely ladies strut their style while on the clock!




XOXO
Glitterary Girl





Wednesday, September 25, 2013

Rush Decisions

I bought this shirt last fall in a rush decision. Kind of like, "oh I really want a new white shirt.... this one is on sale... I love Banana Republic... here's my credit card"

Every time I wear it, I feel like I'm wearing a gi, then I have flashbacks to my one semester of Tae Kwon Do and the endless push-ups I had to do, along with occasionally bleeding feet.

I might consign it soon.


Details
Wrap Shirt: Banana Republic
Jeans: American Eagle Outfitters
Necklace: Etsy
Bracelets: Forever 21
Shoes: Nine West
Bag: 3.1 Phillip Lim for Target
Nail polish: Maybelline "Styled Out"



XOXO
Glitterary Girl








Monday, September 23, 2013

The Monday Currently 09.23.13

I do these posts every so often to help me put things into perspective. Sometimes time goes by and it's hard to figure out what exactly I've been doing that makes life so busy. I don't even have kids yet! How can things possibly get more busy? 

I wrote this post on a Sunday, to be published on Monday and linked with the blog siddathornton. I wrote a portion of the post from this location:



I abandoned the location mid-way through after struggling with the sun glaring on my laptop. 


C  U  R  R  E  N  T  L  Y  .  .  .  

R E A D I N G I'm between novels right now. I just finished Gold by Curtis Sittenfeld - a great book about an Olympic medal contending love triangle with the complicating factor of leukemia thrown in. I work with a lot of people with leukemia, so this book struck a special chord with me. 
W R I T I N G Nothing at all in the way of fiction... no time for that. I'm focusing on blog posts and composing e-mails to potential wedding vendors. 
L I S T E N I N G to the dishwasher, which gratefully makes my life a little easier.
T H I N K I N G  how lucky R and I are to have had a surprise engagement party thrown for us last weekend. It was hosted by our friends Matt, Laura, Mary and Roger at Mary and Roger's stunning lakefront home. My family and R's family relaxed and and enjoyed the beautiful sunny day by the lake and had a ton of great food. They tricked us by telling us to show up for a belated birthday party for Matt. The effort they put into making it a special day for us was amazing, and our families helped out with the food as well. We were thrilled.
S M E L L I N G my coco chai rooibos latte. Yummy!
W I S H I N G my friend Beckey a happy birthday! I wish life didn't get in the way of us seeing each other more often!
H O P I N G my newlywed friend Jenn and her hubby are having a perfect honeymoon cruise!
W E A R I N G jeans, a white shirt, and a bubble necklace
L O V I  N G that I have enough leftovers that I don't need to cook supper
W A N T I N G for summer to hang on longer. The last few days have been so gorgeous here in Halifax. Sunny, breezy, warm.
N E E D I N G to book wedding venues. 
F E E L I N G a bit sleepy to be honest. I wish I had time for a nap!
C L I C K I N G endless wedding websites. The Knot is so great for getting advice and ideas for Vegas. 

XOXO
Glitterary Girl


Friday, September 20, 2013

Fall Wishes

When I heard what the theme was for My Friday's Fancies this week, I was super excited to browse the web for fun fall finds. These are wishes -  not realistic.I should wish for a lottery win as I've already went over budget with my fall clothing and (oh hey!) I've booked a trip to Toronto for next month. I'm sure I won't go near any stores though. Ok, maybe just Yorkdale.


Fall Wishes



TIBI dress / Blazer / 3.1 Phillip Lim ankle booties / Kate Spade black statement necklace / Michael Kors oversized gold watch / Club Monaco grey brim hat

I try this hat on about once a week in Club Monaco. It is too cute. Never mind that I already have a hat almost identical to it and therefore have NO NEED for it.

The black boots, I do need. My only black boots are tall ones and I think I'd wear short ones to work all the time, where my tall ones are more evening appropriate.

I'm bored of my current brown leather jacket... maybe I should consign it and use the profit for a new one.

I have a silver watch - gold would be nice to have too.

Long-sleeved dresses are classy and cozy at the same time. I love the color-blocking on this one and blue and black together is so on trend this season.

The black necklace is a jewelry hole in my life. I wear a lot of things that I could style with a simple black bauble like this.

Take a peek on what the other bloggers are lusting for this season by clicking on the button below.





What's on your fall wish list?

XOXO
Glitterary Girl 

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Limsanity - the Halifax version

I wasn't even this excited when H&M came to town...and that's saying something. Halifax area has three new Target stores that opened yesterday. I've always loved shopping at Target in the States, so I'm excited that the brand has invaded Canada. Doubly exciting is that Target launched the collaboration with 3.1 Philip Lim this week. So, not only was I excited for opening day, I was excited to get my paws on this designer collection I've been drooling over.

I heard about the craziness that happened in the Target stores in the rest of Canada and the States on Sunday when the line launched. Social media dubbed it #Limsanity and it was fun to follow on Instagram and Twitter. Horror stories about bags selling out in five minutes made me set my alarm a bit early and work 9-5 to accommodate a bit of pre-work shopping.

I love the idea of designer collaborations with a budget store because I simply can't afford designer clothes (unless I find them consigned, on massive discount, or at Winners). I love the idea of having access to an affordable line that a really amazing designer has created. I realize that the quality not  on par with what you'd get if you were paying designer prices, but that's okay by me.

I went to the store in Bayers Lake, and there were about 60 people waiting outside in the cold (brrrr!) for the doors to open when I arrived at 7:50 a.m. I was on such a mission that I couldn't focus on anything else but getting to what I wanted. I know the store was huge, bright, and there were lots of staff on hand. Starbucks is inside too!

The 3.1 Phillip Lim stuff was well marked and displayed in a prominent spot in the ladies' section. The bags were with the clothes which was great. There was only ONE of everything in size XS. Who knows if they had more out back so I wasn't chancing it. I grabbed pretty much everything and ran for the dressing room. I was clearly the only frantic one. No one else cared. Awesome-sauce.

I didn't bother trying the sparkle blue dress (although it was pretty). The drop waist dresses looked like they'd be too big on me as well so I didn't bother with them either. Our store didn't have the pants (sob! I was most excited for the blue ones with the black panel), the trenches, or the purple bags. 

Items that I tried on and decided "no" were the printed shirt dress (flared in all the wrong places on me), the ruffle tanks (too big), the Boom! sweatshirt (was sooo cute but I literally just bought a grey sweatshirt which I know would go with so much more than Boom! would), the animal print knit dress (that color doesn't look good near my face... I took it home but I'm taking it back), and the printed blouse (too big). 

Here's what I ended up with... no stress, no evil looks, and I was the very first person in the dressing room (where is my prize?)


This is a great substitute for the blue pants I wanted, and now that I work in an office, I wear skirts all the time. I think this one is multi-season. I'll try to get one bare-legged wear out of it before I throw tights on underneath. $29.99


This is the first peplum top I've found that actually works for my body shape. It's very structured and has so many colors in it. I've mentally paired it with many things I already own. $39.99

The bag is so cute! I don't have much in the way of bright bags, so this is a fun little addition to my collection. Since the original is $650, I'm thrilled that the Target version is $34.99.

I
Dearest parents, you will wrap this up and give it to me for Christmas as I have limited myself to three pieces, but I'm so not taking this back. What a steal... you got me a designer skirt for $29.99. You're welcome.

One of my favorite blogger ladies Alicia over at Aliciafashionista did a great post a few weeks ago of her collection pieces (she got them early, lucky duck!)

You can visit the Target Canada website for more information on the capsule collection. It was my first designer buy from Target and it was loads of fun! They've just announced the next collaboration with Peter Pilotto slated to launch Feb. 9, 2014.

Did you have any Limsanity purchases? Has anyone checked out the men's line? I didn't have time!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl





Monday, September 16, 2013

Brides on the Brink

I've always loved the idea of a September wedding. My parents were married forty Septembers ago (happy anniversary!) and if I were going to tie the knot in Nova Scotia (unlikely), I would pick this month. The weather is usually sunny, but not unbearably hot.

I've been to two fabulous weddings this month, and I'm always amazed by the time and details that are involved to make the day perfect. Jenn and Mallory, you were stunning brides and your weddings were so impressive. Best wishes for a lifetime of happiness!

I admit, I have a hard time deciding what to wear to a September wedding, as the weather can go either way. September here is right on the brink of summer and fall. If the sun is out, you can dress for summer. If there is no sun and the wedding is outside, things can get chilly. You have to be prepared to layer!







































Details
Dress: Yest via Moments Boutique
Cardigan: Le Chateau
Shoes: Old Navy
Clutch: Coach
Bracelet: Random store in St. John's

I got this dress at an end of summer sale, and I 'm looking forward to wearing it into fall with some tights and boots. The top is tank style so it can also work as a sundress for a hot day, and it's long enough that I can wear it to work. The more I blog, the more I look at the versatility of the clothes I buy. If I can't imagine at least three different ways to wear an item, I usually won't buy it.

How do you dress for a fall wedding?

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Friday, September 13, 2013

Niners Style

Me and football have a bit of a rocky relationship. This time of year, I lose my fiance to the television. Football seems to be a constant presence on the weekends... at a ear-ringing volume. The only good thing about it is there are sometimes donairs, pizza, and party mix involved.

R's favorite team is the 49ers. We spent much of our time in San Francisco last year browsing various sports stores. Seriously, how can he ever complain I take too long shopping when it takes him about an hour to choose between three basic t-shirts? I could try on half of the Zara store in that time.

Niners Style



Rag & Bone red sweat shirt, $135 / J Brand super skinny jeans, $190 / adidas sneaker wedge shoes / Tory Burch black shawl / Michael Kors rock n roll jewelry / People Tree glove / Bonne Bell lip gloss

I couldn't resist the penguin mittens. They have nothing to do with the theme... they were just darn cute.

I'm linked with longdistanceloving today for a (you guessed it!) football post. Click below to check out the other bloggers' tailgate party looks.



Happy Weekend!
XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

Under Construction

OK, I admit this is not the usual type of hat I wear. However, there is a sign on the front of R's under-construction-dental-practice that clearly says "hard hat area", and I felt compelled to comply.


Details
Shirt: H&M
Pants: Lucky Brand
Tank: Gap
Shoes: Old Navy
Bracelet: Random store in St. John's
Sunnies: D&G
Hat: Walmart 



I wore this outfit to work, but it's also something I'd wear on a weekend too. I can't express how much I love having no distinction between the two!

It's fun to watch the building progress. Next we can build me a new closet! In my dreams....

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Monday, September 09, 2013

Wearing Black to a Wedding

I crossed another fashion bridge on the weekend when I wore black to a wedding for the first time. I knew it was no longer a faux-pas, but I was still a bit nervous. At least five other ladies were wearing black too.

I searched high and low for the perfect heel to add some pizzazz!


Details
Dress: Guess
Shoes: Nine West
Sunnies: Coach
Earrings and Bracelet: Gifts



This might have been the most comfortable thing I've ever worn to a wedding. I danced all night in the shoes and my feet weren't sore! Nine West platforms are the best - these are my second pair.

Have you ever worn black to a wedding? 

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Friday, September 06, 2013

Time of Transition

Ah, September. The month where we desperately try to hang on to what little is left of glorious summer, but at the same time want to play with boots, scarves, and woolly things. Fall is no doubt the most stylish season as we welcome the return of layers.

I chose to take this summery dress that I sported here in Jamaica and make it wearable for the fall.


Details:
Blazer: Ann Taylor
Dress: XOXO via Macys
Leggings: Urban Behaviour
Belt: Dynamite
Shoes: BCBGeneration via Winners
Necklace: Stella & Dot


Originally I planned to wear my leather jacket with this outfit, but it was raining really hard and I don't like getting my leather soaked.

These are the flats that have replaced my Franco Sartos. I think I need to add insoles as my feet are really narrow and they feel roomy even though they stay on. I always like black flats with interesting details on the toes.


What pieces are you excited to use to transition to fall?

I'm looking forward to getting out my faux fur vest!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Wednesday, September 04, 2013

Chambray: The Easy Tone Down

Chambray - one of my favorite types of cloth. This outfit would have been way-bright and bordering on juvenile without the addition of a light blue top to ground it.

Details: 
Overshirt: Gap
Undershirt: Forever 21
Skirt: Gap Factory Store
Shoes: Aldo
Bracelet and off-kilter necklace: Gifts
Belt: Dynamite



Wow, my hair is looking haggard, almost to the point of head-cropping (I've done it before). Good thing I'm getting it done this weekend before an extra special affair - a family wedding! Stay tuned next week to see how I make a black dress work for a happy occasion.

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Monday, September 02, 2013

My Monthly Purchases: August 2013


Welcome to my first monthly purchase post! I decided to try a post like this because I always love reading these type of posts that my blogger friends do. If you'd like to see a few of the posts that inspired me, take a look at these by Here & Now and good life.

There is a formula you're "supposed" to use (4% of your take-home pay). Mine is adjusted a bit, but I try to keep my monthly damage to $140 (pre-tax because tax is dumb and varies anyway depending on where you shop).

When I decided to share my August buys, I had no idea I was going to blow my budget. So, this lovely blog reader is my budgeting fail.


Banana Republic Anchor Graphic Tee - White


Top: Banana Republic
Discounted from $50 to $12.50
Do you see the anchors and the reduced price? Explanation enough.



Blouse: Gap
Discounted from $54.95 to $10
This color is no longer available, but it is sold in another color. The material is really soft and it's hard to tell from the photo -  the pink is neon.


T-Shirt: H&M Kids
Regular price: $5.95
Yes, this is a pre-teens shirt. The picture is blurry but the LA is sparkly and has a faded city background in the heart. This is going to look great under a black blazer, I promise. I do not buy kids clothes unless I can make them work with adult things.


Martin Pants: Banana Republic Factory Store
Discounted from $79.99 to $16.99
These are no longer available on-line. I adore Banana Republic, especially the great deals at the factory store.



Gap: Coated legging biker jean
Discounted from $89.95 to $62.97 with 30% Friends and Family discount
I was aching for coated denim last winter and didn't get a pair. My dark denim legging jeans don't look great on me (hello pancake bum), and these are amazing replacements.

Additional buys with no photos:
Brown Leather belt: Gap. Discounted from $34.99 to $14.00
Four pair of trouser socks: Club Monaco. Discounted from $50 to $10
Mixed metal oversized stud earrings: Le Chateau. Discounted from $12 to $7
Orange mini skirt from Gap Factory Store: Discounted from $44.99 to $9.47

Adding up all of the above is $148.88. Almost bang-on! Yay!

But... then came the shoes.
Shoes: Nine West via The Shoe Company
Discounted from $130 to $59.99
I'm wearing a black dress to an upcoming wedding and really wanted a bright pair of shoes to add some color. I will never regret these gorgeous shoes. They are really comfy (as are my other Nine West platform heels) and will look great with jeans or dresses.

Champion Animal Laceless



Shoes: Leopard print Keds
Discounted from $45 to $19.99 at The Shoe Company
I couldn't find these for sale anywhere on-line. They were the last pair at The Shoe Company so perhaps this particular style is no longer made.
I will get a ton of wear out of these. I love my fashion sneaks.

I also bought a pair of black flats from Winners: BCBGeneration discounted from $130 to $69.99. I wear black flats probably two or three times a week and my beloved Franco Sartos went to shoe heaven last week. The heel piece came off (thanks to rolling around in my office chair I think...) and they were looking too worn to pay to fix them. I simply can't deal with not owning black flats so that was a totally necessary buy. I was willing to pay even more for black flats, because I wear them so often, but I loved the style of the ones I bought and the price was right.

Total spending in August: $298.85

Way, way, way overbudget... but it was the first time this year I'd gone more than $20 over and I got $702.81 worth of clothes.

Do you stick to a budget? Did you find any fabulous deals in August?

XOXO
Glitterary Girl