Thanksgiving Stretchy Pants

I now own three pairs of these Uniqlo pants. They come in handy when there’s a high chance you’re going to overeat (a given for Thanksgiving). They’re also really comfy for traveling in and work appropriate if you have a casual office like I do.

Details

Top: Topshop

Pants: Uniqlo

Shoes: Tory Burch

Bracelet: Alex and Ani

Necklace: Banana Republic

When you're helping prepare a meal for 37 people (yes, really!) you have to make sure you wear something you can move in and no droopy long sleeves. These 3/4 sleeves worked out perfectly.

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Currently 10.14.17

Reading
I've been turning more to TV/Netflix than books lately which is really weird for me.
Faithful- Alice Hoffman
I spent half this book liking it and half disliking it. The main character is hard to like at times. In short, it’s about a young girl who plays a part in a horrible accident and how she copes afterward over the course of several years.
My Not-So-Perfect Life - Sophie Kinsella
I enjoy all books by SK. It’s very true to her usual style. A girl who thinks her own life isn’t good enough, tries to come across as someone who isn’t true to her real self.

Writing
I haven’t been writing a lot this month. I’ll get the urge to write something, then when I sit down to do it, I can’t focus. Sometimes my writing prompt book helps to get me going, but not always. And of course, I often think of things to write when I’m lying in bed and think I’ll remember them in the morning, but don’t.

Clicking
I just did an on-ine rode at Gap with 40% off. I ordered a big box from Zara, but only ended up keeping one thing. Social media is taking up more of my time than it should, but I’m okay with that! I’m finding lots of fall style inspo on Instagram.

Watching
Friends from College- I finished this at the end of August and loved it. Can’t wait for season two.
The Affair - I only started this a month ago and I’m on season three already which is really quick for me to watch a show. This show is probably why I’ve not been reading much this month! It’s very addictive.
Girlboss- this one took me severally months to get through but I really liked it. Give it a try if you love fashion and throwbacks to the mid 2000s.
This is Us- I love this show! It makes me cry.
Grey's Anatomy- I’m still trying to get through last season. So far behind...
I don’t think I’ve watched any movies lately! I was toying with going to see IT in theatre but couldn’t decide if it would freak me out too much. We’ll probably watch a few scary movies before Halloween.

Eating
We had the best dinner at our friends’ place Friday night - shrimp and salmon, asparagus, pasta, bruschetta, and pie. Yum! We’ve had Chinese food a few times lately and I grabbed some Pad Thai from Thai Express last weekend. One order feeds me twice. I had some fabulous appetizers at The Stubborn Goat a few weeks ago with friends. I was doing the Arbonne protein shakes for breakfast and lunch most of the time in September and trying to eat clean 80% of the time. My clothes are fitting normally again, so it did what I intended for it to do!

Drinking
I went to the Festival of Wines in September where I tasted a ton of really nice wines from all over the world. The same night, we ended up at Stubborn Goat where I had my favorite cocktail - The Bully. At home I’ve been enjoying the occasional glass of wine or bottle of Radler. Flavoured club soda has on high rotation as well.

Wearing
Destroyed jeans, Club Monaco long sleeve tee, black Chucks.

Seeing
I’m at Starbucks and I’m staring at some crumbs on my table that I’m trying to avoid. I’m really not feeling the vibe here today at all. Time to grab my London Fog and head home!

Smelling
I’m back at home now and totally enjoying my Pumpkin Pie candle.

Hearing
I've been playing Maroon 5's What Lovers Do waaaay too much.

Feeling
I’ve been feeling rather blah for a few days, like I’m coming down with some sort of illness but it wants to take it’s sweet time to actually present itself. Work has been more stressful than usual the past few weeks but hopefully that will settle down soon. I haven’t been working out as much. Life has been busy- lots going on in the evenings to keep me away from the workout room. It's so dark in the morning, I can't tear myself out of bed to work out before work.

Anticipating
I actually have a legit Halloween costume this year which will be fun for a change Also looking forward to figuring out the mind boggling electronics on my new car.  Much like my iPhone, it takes me a bit to warm up to new to me technology. I'm heading to Annapolis Valley soon with my friend to check out some cider, wine, and beer spots. The leaves should be gorgeous! I found a new hobby I love in September- stand-up paddle-boarding. I'm excited to do it again next year.

Honda Civic Hatchback Sport Touring

SUP St. Margaret's Bay

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

My September 2017 Purchases

Every month, I break down my clothing expenses and share them. My quarterly budget is $500. This amount can be rolled into the next quarter if it's not all spent. My goal is to keep my out of pocket expenses within $2000 a year. Gifts and gift cards don't count towards my budget. Since I've been keeping a budget, I'm much more careful with what I buy, and I will return stuff at the end of the month if I'm not crazy about it after hanging it in my closet.

It was a beautiful September here in Halifax - to the degree that I really wasn't in the mood yet for fall  clothes. We barely even had any chilly mornings, so I was able to stretch bare legs out a little longer than normal!

Vest: H&M
Reg $50, on sale for $25
Shearling (faux) was on my need list for the fall. I wore it to work and the inside of it sheds LIKE CRAZY. Ugh.

Bag Pom: H&M
Reg. $7 (I got it for $2)
I wanted to use a H&M conscious coupon, which requires a $30 spend. So if I'm near $30, which I was with the vest above, I'll throw in something to bring the total to $30.  FYI: Tank tops are great for a throw-in item too. Love H&M tanks for layering.

Jeans: Gap Factory Store
Reg $70, on sale for $17
I like wearing cropped jeans with fun shoes. I'm pretty short, so the crop effect is sometimes hard to achieve for me.

Jacket: Zara
Reg $46, on sale for $20
I've already worn this several times. It's perfect for this time of year when the afternoon temperatures are still warm but the mornings are too chilly for bare arms.

Tee: Zara
Reg $20
I'm going to wait to see if this pearls trend sticks before spending much on anything. I love white tees, so this was an easy way to try the trend. It's hard to make out in the photos, but there are pearls around the collar and down the front.

Hat: Forever 21
Reg $21
I was on the hunt for a baker boy hat in black for a few weeks. My blogger friend Sarah appeared on her blog in this one and I rushed out to get it. I can't seem to find it on-line but it was bought in late September.

Dress: Zara
Reg $50. Free for me.
I had a Zara gift card for the store opening, so I picked up this shirt dress, which I styled last weekend with the hat above.

Original value of items (minus the free Zara dress): $214
Price I paid: $105
I saved 51%

This was the end of a quarter for my shopping budget and I actually came in $55 under budget, which I can roll ahead to next quarter. On my wish list is a pair of black leggings from Zara. I think I know the style I want already. I'd also like to find a red pullover sweater.

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Zara Tips

I’ve been shopping at Zara for years, both on-line and when traveling. Halifax now has a Zara store that opened in August. I’ve had some people ask me how I have such good luck finding stuff there. I admit, lots of the styles are not for people who want to blend in, and some of them are ridiculous, but there are hidden gems if you’re willing to spend some browsing.

Five tips for Zara success:

1) Know when to shop. I haven’t figured out the store arrivals yet, but the new styles tend to drop on-line on Tuesday and Fridays. If you go to the “New In” section on these days, you’ll find all the most recent stuff, organized by most recent. That being said, if our visit often, you can quickly see what has become available since the last time you looked.

2) It doesn’t hurt to try it. The return policy is one month for both on-line and in-store purchases. It’s also FREE SHIPPING over $50 and free mail-back or store returns. I’ve ordered two giant boxes of clothes before and only kept two pieces. If you are unsure, just get it and try it on at home. If it doesn’t work for you, return it. 

3) You snooze, you lose. Don’t wait on something you think you might like. Even though I know better, I did this last week with a green tunic.  When I went back to buy it the next day, it was gone. Remember, you can always take it back!

4) Some things run a bit small. I’ve found I need to size up one size in any tops with button fronts and most pants and jeans. Dresses and tops without buttons tend to be true to size.

5) Know where the sales are. On-line you’ll find mark downs in the “Special Prices” menu. When they have a big sale, there will be an obvious sale section on the website. In the Halifax store, there hasn’t been a big sale yet, but the mark downs hang out close to the cash.

I had a gift card recently and picked up this cute shirt dress that I wore to the Festival of Wines on Friday night. Even though the pattern is bold, it has tons of colors in it and I know I’ll be able to wear it with bare legs, leggings, tights, and skinny jeans.

Details

Dress: Zara

Tights: Calvin Klein

Boots: B2 via Browns

Hat: Forever 21 

XOXO

Glitterary Girl