My Monthly Purchases: February 2017

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.

I spent a lot this month for someone who said she wasn't going to spend anything. No regrets! I got some great pieces for a steal.

Scarf: Wilfred Free via Aritzia (still available in alternate color)
Reg $75, on sale for $30
I was so drawn to the colors of this scarf as it has an array of neutrals and goes with all of my winter coats. It's really good quality and so warm.

Hat: TNA via Aritzia
Reg $35, on sale for $15
I'm so obsessed with baseball hats from Aritzia. They fit my small head. The other two I have are dark, and I wanted a light one to take to Palm Springs.

Top: Old Navy
Reg $25, on sale for $12
I have a lot of neutrals in my wardrobe, which can make packing for somewhere sunny and warm seem a little boring. This pink top this fun and will still mix well into pieces I already own. I love the detail around the neckline.

Top: Dynamite
Reg $35, on sale for $20
This was an impulse buy, but a sound one. I was going out and wanted a new shirt, but I made sure I bought one that was also going to be something I could wear to work or on the weekend casually.

Jeans: 7 For All Mankind via Designer Outlet (175 Horseshoe Lake Drive, Halifax)
Reg $178, on sale for $20
Do I need to explain this, really? I'm obsessed with army green and these were basically free. I already wore them to work and they are so comfortable. They are a size too big, but it just makes them slightly less fitted.

Shorts: Levis via Marshall's
Reg $70, on sale for $25
I wanted a pair of patched shorts, and was looking for a darker wash, but when I tried these on I couldn't leave the store without them.

Not included in the budget is a pair of bikini bottoms from Old Navy that can be worn with three of the bikini tops I already own.

Original value of items:  $418
Price I paid: $122
I saved  71%

I have $362 to spend for March (technically). I do have some leeway though.  I can always "borrow" from next quarter. There's also a birthday present to be bought. We'll see what Palm Springs has to offer. The dollar is gross right now, so that will certainly factor into my shopping decisions. I'm most excited to visit the Desert Hills Premium Outlets. I'd love to find a new coin purse and new black jeans because my beloved Madewell ones kicked the bucket (not impressed as they were only a year old...)

Be sure to check back in early April to see what I scooped up in California!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Not Your Grandma's Sweater

Mixed media items are my absolute favorite trend this fall. Playing with different textures can take a boring outfit to fabulous!

I can see this outfit being great for an early December get-together. You know that awkward time when it's not quite the season for serious sparkle but you want to look casually polished?

Not Your Grandma's Sweater by jennifer-merlin featuring snakeskin boots

3.1 Phillip Lim black leather sweater, $265 / 7 For All Mankind skinny leg jeans / Marc Jacobs snakeskin boots / J.Crew purple purse / AllSaints earrings / H&M loop scarf, $16 / Butter London lip treatment / Essie nail polish, $18


When you're wearing clothing sans color, it's fun to add some brightness in the form of accessories or products. This clutch is so cute - I love the studs!


Click on the link below to see how other bloggers decided to run with this week's theme on Friday's Fancies: The Sweater.

It made me smile when I titled this post, because I actually do wear my Grandma's sweater all the time. It doesn't have leather sleeves, but it'll always be cool in my books <3

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Flashback: Neon

Me and neon go waaaay back. I'm going to guess that around 1990, there was a year of my life when I was wearing neon every day. If you took a peek into my closet, you'd have found:

• Black bicycle shorts with neon side stripes
• Neon socks (I'd wear a different color on each foot)
• A Sun Ice ski jacket (I don't ski). It was full-on neon. Pink, orange, and yellow.
• Neon scrunchies and banana clips 
• Those skinny rubber bracelets
• Too many NKOTB t-shirts (one even had neon lettering)

I was over saturated with neon.

The result.... I'm not really embracing its comeback due to past overexposure - until I found this bag.

Isn't it a perfect pop of neon without being too much? I love that it's yellow! Since I don't like how yellow looks on me for clothes, I can now wear it in an accessory.

Details

Jacket: Gap (ancient... maybe not from 1990 but dangerously close). Gap lasts.

Tee: Joe Fresh (Halifax)

Jeans: 7 for All Mankind (Century 21, NYC)

Shoes: Miz Mooz (Town Shoes, Toronto)

Necklace: Random New Zealand find

Bag: Gap (sale section $13.99)

Do you have any nostalgia for neon? Do you like it for 2013?

XOXO

Glitterary Girl

Novel-Tea: Part 15

Happy Hump Day!

Isn't November a fabulous month for reading? Holiday season isn't quite upon us yet, and it's too cold to be doing a whole lot outdoors -the perfect opportunity to curl up on the couch with a good book. Keep reading to find out one of my recent favorites!


I get a lot of my outfit inspiration from other bloggers. I really love the look of a blazer and a white shirt, but it's not the kind of thing I often feel like wearing. The occasions when I do should be immortalized in a photo.

Details:

Blazer- Ann Taylor (Wrenthem)

Shirt: Smart Set (Toronto)

Jeans: 7 For All Mankind (Century 21 kids section, NYC)

Necklace: Joe Fresh (Halifax)

Bracelet: Suzy Shier (Truro)

Watch: Guess (Vancouver)

Shoes: DV Dolce Vita (Macy's, San Francisco)

When I was in San Francisco I had a fantasy of buying Frye boots, but I didn't see a pair I fell in love with. These shoes were love at first sight! I really wanted a cap toe flat and I like the stud detail.


Vanilla Orchid is a recent release from DAVIDsTEA, and I love how delicate the flavour is. It's a sweet oolong and a pleasant break from the in-your-face tastes I usually go for.


I enjoyed reading Where We Belong while sipping on my Vanilla Orchid. I always look forward to a new read by Emily Giffin. She's the author that (in my dreams) I'd love to be compared to someday. Her books flow so well, and while the endings are expected, the journey there is always a surprise.

Where We Belong is a story told from the perspective of two people- a woman who chose to give her child for adoption and the eighteen year old daughter who finds her biological mom.




Have you read anything fantastic lately? Keep the recommendations coming!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl

Airport Antics

What to do when you're waiting for friends, but their plane is late? Take an outfit photo! Isn't that the obvious answer?

 

 

Such a cute backdrop with the town clock and Citadel Hill. Why did they have to go and put a luggage conveyor in front of it?

 

 

Details:

Jacket: Danier (Halifax)

Blouse: Joe Fresh (Tantallon)

Jeans: 7 For all Mankind (NYC)

Bag: Coach (Las Vegas)

Scarf: Mexx (Dartmouth)

Shoes: Miz Mooz (Town Shoes, TO)

Earrings: Gift

 

Does anyone else get excited being at an airport? I was happy to see that Halifax finally put a Starbucks on both sides of security. In six days I'll be at the airport again... to get on a plane! Yay!

 

XOXO

Glitterary Girl



 





Football Fashionista

I'm not a huge fan of football, but I happen to share a home with someone who is. I knew R would be a wealth of information when it came to choosing team colors for a football themed post hosted by longdistanceloving.    He chose the Boise State Broncos for my team colors.

Details:

Shirt: Old Navy (Halifax)

Tank: Le Chateau (Halifax)
Jeans: 7 For All Mankind (NYC)

Scarf: Smart Set (Halifax)

Shoes: Cole Haan (Freedman's, Vancouver)

Bracelet: Random shop in St John's, Newfoundland

 

My attempt at the Heisman.

 



This was one of my more amusing photoshoots. There's Nike Air technology in my shoes, and it came in handy!

I went to Dalhousie University in Halifax a long time ago a few years back. Our colors were black and gold (Go Tigers!) Sadly, we didn't have a football team.

Source

Darn, we should've asked for blue sods when we landscaped....

Check out the other team color outfits on longdistanceloving. It's a great way to discover new blogs!

XOXO
Glitterary Girl