DRESS it up: Night and Day

Ever find yourself staring into your closet and saying " I have nothing to wear! "? Then from the other side of the bedroom you hear your other half laughing sarcastically. In his opinion you could probably open your own clothing boutique with the amount of clothes that's in your wardrobe. He might have to stage an intervention if he witnesses you walking in the house with another shopping bag. Even if it was from that store you JUST absolutely adore, containing another shirt, you JUST had to have, because after all it was, JUST reduced 50%, on sale.

This is my life!

Even though I might be a shopaholic, I strive to find a bargain at all times. I also try to only buy an article of clothing if I know I can pair it with several existing pieces I have in my closet, creating several different looks. Call it "getting the most bang for your buck". Take the dress I am wearing today, featured in the pictures below. I bought it for a night out with my sister for her 19th birthday. I wore it only that once and it has hung hopelessly on a hanger waiting to be worn again. Today I was inspired to take it from night to day. In most cases my fellow fashionista would be on a mission to take a daytime look and make it work for a night out. I already knew I had a perfect night time look. In order to get more wear out of the dress I needed to make it work for daytime too. The dress was from Urban Behaviour on sale for $19.99, the perfect price!! It shows off my legs, which as of late I am incredibly proud of due to my daily workout regime. For my night out with my sister I chose to wear a black blazer with 3/4 length sleeves that is,  in my opinion, a wardrobe staple. I feel more comfortable covering up myt arms as they are a work in progress. I paired it with my best heels. Classic black pumps from Le Chateau that I scored for half price, $29.99. I purchased them last Christmas and have been in love ever since! It looked great. However,  it just wasn't practical for a day filled with running errands with M. I needed flat shoes and wanted to steer clear from black, it seemed too harsh for daytime. I decided to throw on a cream coloured boyfriend cardigan, another wardrobe staple. A pair of white flip flops, $7.99 Charlotte Russe this season, and my new found love, a Coach Poppy Signature swingpack, helped complete my look.

I really liked how I looked and felt, in each outfit. I took a simple dress, that I may have only ended up wearing once, and gave it a completely different look. I could have easily gone out and found a new dress to make casual. Instead, the sense of pride that came with knowing I saved money, not only on the dress originally but by wearing it a second time in a new way, was well worth it.

I strongly suggest you take a second look at the pieces in your closet and give them a new lease on life. It will make you feel good about yourself, creatively and financially. Not to mention it will save you from being signed up for "Shopaholics Anonymous" by your spouse.
You can thank me later,

XO
Amber

Wardrobe malfunction and the trouble with the 'Terrible Twos'

Any parent of a two-year-old child more than likely possesses nerves of steel, incredible patience plus quick and savy ways to get their son or daughter to cooperate. I am now in this 'elite' club (that sounds a bit more appealing) or mommies who are battling the terrible twos.

I must say, and most who know me would agree, that there are far worse behaved children than my own. That only makes her occasional tantrums even worse, because I'm just not used to dealing with that behaviour.

That brings me to this morning.

Every morning we wake up anywhere between 8-9 am and begin our day by getting little M changed and dressed before we head to the kitchen to prepare breakfast. I then clean up and head out to the YMCA with M in tow for a workout while she plays in daycare. Now that she is becoming her own person and has a mind of her own this whole routine can get challenging at times. Until recently I could pick her up out of her crib and have no problem laying her down on her change table to change her bum. Even now nine times out of ten she will comply and not fight me. This morning was one of those few times she decided to fight me until she is free from my arms and running around the house with a stinky bum screaming "no mommy, no change bum!".  I knew we were off to a rough start. Finally I managed to get her back into her room to change her. There she was laying on the change table in just a diaper patiently waiting for me to pick an outfit out. Below her, are drawers filled with clothing ( the kid has more clothes than her father and I combined) and a closet just to the left of her also packed with apparel. I found a cute pair of jeans with a great wash, that I rolled up twice and paired them with a white tee. It features a bulldog in zebra print and reads "I wish I was a Zebra" (Joe Fresh line, Zehrs Markets). I'm thinking "So cute, you look amazing!" She very often ends up looking how I wish I looked. Casual, effortlessly chic and comfortable.

I take a lot of pride in trying to maintain my style while being a great mom and finding time to make myself look put together and fashionable. I also love dressing M to follow in my footsteps and look like a mini fashionista. I think this all stems from seeing too many parents settle for dressing their child in a sleeper all day or a t-shirt and a diaper and heading out the door. They say you need to dress for success and that what you wear is a reflection of who you are. D loves clothes and loves to shop as long as she has had her nap. She will see something in a store, point and say "Oh my goodness!" She puts her two cents in and will comment on what you are looking at or showing her with a simple "cute." She is into fashion and dressing nice just as much as her mommy is. I just hope one day she will find a style that makes her happy and represents who her true self while keeping it on budget! With all that said there are days when she won't let me dress her in what I think looks good. She will have the last word and it usually boils down to her shoes.

Like I said earlier, I had a perfect outfit picked out for our trip to the Y, then came the shoes. I was deciding on a pair of black ballet flats or a pair of Roxy white strapy flipflops. She wanted neither. She walks on over to her shoes and picks out her bright pink Crocs. She is in love with them. I think mainly because she can put them on herself and easily take them off too. I agreeed she could wear them but after she tried them on it just wasn't looking right. I quickly suggested we change her shirt and before she could say "yes" or "no" it was done. A brightly coloured tee with a bright pink strawberry in the centre. "Perfect!", I told her. She looked up at me smiled, vocalized an evil laugh and ran down the hall screaming "come on!!!"

Life with a two year old isn't always perfect but it's always fun and rewarding. She is the most amazing person I know. To be able to share mother/daughter moments about the things that I love makes me look forward to the future when she's telling me what to wear and showing me what she loves!

xo
Amber

ROOTS boots

It's that time of year again. It's the time of year that I start yearning for cooler days, colourful foilage and a closet full of fall trends and accessories. It may only be August but my inner fashionista is preparing for the days of autumn.
Since I live in a climate that frowns upon wearing blazers, scarves and knee high boots this time of year I needed to find another way to fill my longing for fall attire, so I took to the mall. It was upon entering Roots that I discovered not only an amazing pair for knee high black leather riding boots but a great selling feature that totally peaked my interest. After being approaced by a sales associate I informed her that I loved the boot that I was at this point cradelling in my arms like it was a newborn baby fragile and helpless. I, however, was not thrilled that they had added bold white stitching where the sole of the boot met the leather. That's when she informed me that I could design and create my own boot to be exactly how I wanted it to look. I could pick the leather finishing, colour, height, buckle or no buckle, white stitching or black stitching! I was thrilled! The thought that I could potentailly own a pair of boots that no one else in the world ( or at least the Niagara Region) would have made me as giddy as a pre-teen at a Justin Beiber concert. The, now amazing and almost my bff, sales associate explained that it only takes about 10 minutes to create your masterpiece and that they could ship the boot in approx 4-6 weeks which suits me just fine because not only have I fed my hunger for a great fall boot but I won't be looking like a fool in 35 degree weather wearing them because by the time the are slipped on my feet it will be fall and I will be looking FABULOUS!

The only downfall to this process is that it has to be completed in store and is not available online. That does however let you explore the store for other super cute and cozy sweats, leggings and hoodies to have you looking effortlessly put together for a fun fall day out with friends or family. Also the price of the boot alone can vary depending on how you create it but generally speaking they run around the $280.00 area and to have them custom made is an additional $25.00. I do think that the extra fee is well worth it though.

I think this is a fabulous idea and I am rating it 9 out of 10 only due to the fact its not available online!
http://canada.roots.com/