Confession

As promised (and to cleanse my conscience!), here are my purchases and additions since starting my Buried Treasures Closet Challenge back in November.

Clockwise From Top-Left: Smart Set; Dynamite; Smart Set; American Eagle; Bluenotes; American Eagle; Spring; Bluenotes.

Total Spending: $134

So you might be thinking to yourself, "did she really need FOUR pairs of new pants?!" or, "did she buy THREE of the same sweater?!"

Not really, and yes. 

I think I've come to realize that by denying myself the pleasure of shopping and then being unleashed on a store, I lose all self control. 

I really need a better strategy.

Tis the Season for Presents

Only 26 shopping days left until Christmas! While I'm knocking people off of my to-buy-for list, I found a few little items that I'd love to gift myself!
How perfect would this be to keep all your precious jewels on display? I need everything out where I can see it and this is a great solution!
Ikea Serving Platter - $14.99

I'm not usually one for huge danglers, but I'm heading to the Dominican again in the new year and this colour is just amazing.

Stella & Dot "Charlize" Teardrop Earrings - $34

I have been coveting a pair of fire engine red jeans since the end of the summer, but due to my shopping ban have yet to indulge in a pair.

American Eagle Jegging - $46.63

The essential party game.
This one includes tracks like "Everybody Dance Now," "Jump On It," and "Party Rock Anthem." Good Times.

Just Dance 3 for Wii - $34.99

The perfect day planner.
Monthly views, weekly views, and laminated tabs. This one can be personalized any way you'd like on the inside and monogrammed on the front!

Emma Rose & Me via Etsy - $44

What are you guys asking Santa for this year?

Shoe Lust: Holiday Sparklers

With the Holiday season fast approaching, I couldn't help but check out the sparklers.
I know I'm on a shopping ban, but I can always daydream....

top: Steve Madden; Sam Edelman; Aldo
middle: Spring; Steve Madden; Aldo;
bottom: Sam Edelman; Betsey Johnson; Jeffrey Campbell

Put a Bow on It

There's something so incredibly sexy about the conservative secretary look. I'm loving the high heeled loafer, the 50's esque midi-skirt, and of course, the bow tie blouse.

Here are just a few that I've had my eye on recently...

Sheer Floral Blouse - F21 ($30)

Polka Dotted - Dynamite ($30)

Black Plaid - Smart Set ($35)

Tele-Visionary Blouse - Modcloth ($43)

Tie Neck Henley - Gap ($65)

Helter Bow Blouse - Need Supply ($80)

I'm sort of leaning towards the adorable modcloth one, but ordering online always psychs me out, so chances are I'll end up with the Dynamite version. Not that I don't already own enough polkadots....

What are your thoughts?

Shopaholics Anonymous

I miss shopping.

I know, that sounds pathetic. I just went on a trip a month ago where I bought far too much... but I'm pretty sure I have an addiction! Something about pretty new things just gets my heart racing.
BF and I went window shopping last weekend and I nearly had a meltdown because he (rightly so) talked me out of buying the most adorable sweater from the gap at 40% off.

Is there such a thing as shopaholics anonymous?

blouse - Jacob (2010); vest - H&M (2011); skinnies - Smart Set (2010); flats - Aldo (2011)

Also, has anyone else seen Coco Rocha's Jacob ads? They've made a commitment to stop retouching their models (not that she needs any anyways)! LOVE!!

Pulling a Mel

Once again I have disappeared into the abyss. I’m quite good at this apparently. Life just gets slightly crazy sometimes and hobbies fall to the wayside.

My exam (almost two weeks ago now! Jeez…. ) went well, but instead of buying myself a new pair of shoes as a reward, I “pulled a Mel.” I’m sure that phrase will catch on. The definition?
To do something impulsive in the spur of the moment without thinking of the consequences or impact on your financial situation.

What is it I did? Oh, just bought a new car. Without doing research. Or actually shopping around. I basically pulled into a dealership in the spur of the moment, fell in love with a little red hatchback, and signed the papers then and there. While I love my new little Nissan Versa, money will be tight for the next little while, so no random new shoes for this girl…. Until of course, I “pull a Mel” again.

Decisions, Decisions...

I would just like to say how very proud of myself I am.
It's 1/3 of the way through the month, and I haven't bought ANYTHING with my clothing budget yet! I guess studying has left me a bit distracted though.
My celebration will be short lived as I plan to reward myself with something pretty after my exam tomorrow morning.

Here are two pairs of shoes that I'm SERIOUSLY debating over... I know flat sandals would be a lot more practical, but these just seem like a lot more fun!

First is the "Dyle"... I love the green and white together. SO fresh and summery!

And second we have the "Krugh." (Who names these things?! I feel like they should be hair-metal bands from the 80s and not pretty platforms!)
The color is a lot more neutral, but it's the adorable crochet detail that has me absoluetly smitten...

Which do you prefer?

Building a Budget

If you know me in real life, it will come as no surprise that I LOVE Canadian financial guru Gail Vaz Oxlade. She's one of my career idols. This lady just makes SENSE!

The secret to my financial "success"? Her simple rules.
Don't spend more than you make.
Credit cards are the devil.
ALWAYS have savings.

Sounds simple enough, right? But you'd be surprised how many people just don't.
Sure, I'm human and I slip up, spend a little more than I've allocated to category, bring out the credit card for an impulsive buy, but because I have a plan (of sorts) I can always figure it out.

If you have a few minutes, you should check out the resources section on her website. It definitely helped me get my finances in check and plan for the future, something that as a young adult I never thought mattered.

My favorite is her "build a budget" tool. Download the excel version and it does all the calculations for you!

Fire in Your New Shoes

I've come down with some sort of flu, so to make myself feel better I thought I'd blog about my favorite topic: New Shoes.

I definitely went over my monthly clothing/shoe budget this month. While a "Monthly Money Check-Up" is actually on its way this month, I thought I'd take a little survey to find out whether a recent purchase is a yey, or a nay.


cardigan - Dynamite (2011); tank - Dynamite (2011); pants - Gap (2010);
clogs - Aldo "Markley" (2011)

So I realize that they're not 100% "my style" (if we can say i have a specific style...), but I'm so in love with the clog trend, and these are surprisingly easy to walk in...

What do we think?

I learned the truth at Seventeen...

Lyrics from "At Seventeen" by Janis Ian

I was kind of in a hurry when I took these shots and CUT OFF MY HEAD! Haha, damn you lack-luster photo taking skills! Ah well... at least I didn't cut out part of the outfit itself!
Anyways, lucky me, I have the day off today :) I love 3 day weekends, and sometimes you've gotta create your own! I plan on spending it getting the house ready for Christmas! Something about holiday decorating makes me feel like a kid again!

2. button down - Smart Set (2010)
24. skirt - Dynamite (2010)
25. boots - Franco Sarto (2009)

I wore this one to a holiday gift exchange at work and got tons of compliments from the ladies from the downtown office! I love those girls, I just wish I got to see them more often!
I'm also still looking for a dress for our upcoming Christmas party. Apparently it's quite fancy and it's held at the yacht club. I don't want to spend more than 50$ though, maybe $60 if shipping is involved.... anyone come across anything that meets these criteria?

Christmas Shopping for Myself @ Modcloth

I have had far too much fun lurking the modcloth website lately. It seems eery new piece is gorgeous and covetable. Here are just a few of the items on my wish list right now.

BUTTERNUT SQUASH BISQUE TOP


HELD IN SUSPENDERS SKIRT


ALPINE CLASSIC CARDIGAN



FROSTING COOKIES DRESS


THAI ICED TEA DRESS

MADAME HERRINGBONE HEEL

BUTTONS AND BOWS HEEL

Have any fellow Canadian fashionistas ever ordered from Modcloth? What's the shipping/return procedure like? Is it worth it?

I'm not very good at coming up with these.

The weekends go by way too fast in my opinion... too many things planned, and not enough time to accomplish it all!
I'm hoping to make it to the Wine & Food Show tomorrow (bf is a huge foodie, so we're hoping to try some fab new wines and nab a little bit of cooking inspiration!) and I started a little bit of Christmas shopping today before heading to my Aunt's for her birthday this evening.
Why does Christmas shopping for others always end up into a shopping trip for myself? I did pretty well though! I scored an anorak/military surplus style winter coat for $45 from Old Navy, and a super cute fur-trimmed vest for $35, both way under my budgeted amounts of $75 and $50, respectively. Lets pause while I give myself a pat on the back :)
Now I'm entering a 30 day shopping ban while I take part in the Fall edition of Kendi's 30 for 30! Anyone else joining in?

faux fur coat - H&M (2008)
l/s tee - Esprit (2010)
wool skirt - this seller on etsy (2010)

btw... how do you all come up with post titles? I always sit there for a good 5-10 minutes (no joke) trying to figure one out and then eventually just give up and write whatever. I am definitely not a right brained individual.... thats the creative one, right?

Fall Wants

I've been a little bored at work, so I thought I'd put together a list of my Fall Wants.
Hmmm, I see a trend here.

Fall Wants by Melrose86

Cargo Jacket - Dillard's ($119)
My Budget: $75
Fur Vest - Michael Kors ($91)
My Budget: $50
Tweed Blazer - J. Crew ($198)
My Budget: $100
Skinny Cargos - Ruche ($48)
My Budget: $40
OTK Boots - Victoria's Secret ($99)
My Budget: $75
Cape - Dorothy Perkins (65GBP)
My Budget: $100

These items are just for reference and not necessarily the exact ones I plan on purchasing. So we'll see how I make out... AND if I stay under my budget.

Tonight, I'm Cleaning Out My Closet

So I kind of think I have a slight shopping addiction. Last night (in a moment my type A personality decided to shine) I started categorizing and creating a list of all the items in my closet that I wear on a regular basis with details on where the item's from, its cost, and when it was purchased. While I do have quite a few items that are older that are still well loved (mostly structured pieces like blazers, vests, & pants and good quality knits) I realized that #1, I have a lot of crap, and #2, I have a lot of RECENTLY PURCHASED crap. The list of Summer 2010 purchases was ridiculously long. I half attribute this to the fact that I'm out of school and making money, so I feel that I can spend more on myself, but mostly it's my inability to avoid a deal.

What I did notice however, is that my well loved pieces that have lasted through the years were rarely ever impulse buys, sale items, or trendy pieces. This has really made me rethink my shopping strategies. I've decided that in order for me to buy something new it has to be somethign that I've wanted for a while, is well made, and goes with my relatively classic style. Sure, I'll still end up with a few impulsive trendy items, but I won't purchase anything I feel that I will grow out of style wise unless it's a good price.

top - Old Navy (Sum. 2010 $9)
skirt - Dynamite (Sum. 2010 $15)
beads - Dynamite (Wint. 2008)
wedges - Chinese Laundry (Sum. 2010 $50)

Shopaholic? Me? Pshhhh

I'm realizing that I'm starting to become a little bit of a blogger addict! My blog roll is absolutely massive, and if I find myself with a few minutes of downtime I'm checking to see who has updated! Not that it's entirely a bad thing I guess, but it always gives me the itch to go shopping, which is NOT a good thing. I've been 3 times in the last week, but I'm telling myself that it's okay seeing as how I got a few birthday presents early so I have a little extra cash to spend. I also talked J into letting me pick out my own present so I'll have quite a few exciting new things debuting on the blog soon!

tee - made by me (2010)

trousers - Mexx (2010)
heels - Spring (2007)

So these are my new trousers!! Aren't they awesome? They're so freaking comfy and look amazing with a pair of heels - and I have tons of those!
Also, can we tell that I've recently discovered picnik? Yeah I know... I'm a little late to jump on that bandwagon! But better late than never! Especially when you don't have photoshop skills like me!

Shoe Lust

If you haven't already checked out Lanvin's SS10 shoe line, head over to see anya at i'm the it girl and check out some of those beauties! *droooooool*

Holiday Dresses for Under $50

So I've been home in Ottawa for less than 24 hours, and I'm already at a loss for things to do. It doesn't help that I'm sans-car either.

I know it isn't even Christmas yet, but i think finding that perfect New Year's Eve dress will put me in a much better mood! And when it comes at a great price, why not get two?

Gold Brocade Tulle Dress, $40, Fred Flare

Sequined Satin Dress, $25, Charlotte Russe

Accordion Pleat Dress, $34, F21

Rouched Sequin Tube Dress, $40, Express

Tootsie Dress, $45, ModCloth

Maggie Halter, $50, Delia's

They're all SO cute, but I'm fairly sure I'm in love with that magenta pleated dress...
But I guess i should probably MAKE plans for NYE first...

Socks for Christmas

I don't know about anyone else, but in our family, every year you will get socks from either mom or gma. Not that I'm complaining - who doesn't like warm toasty feet? And the one year I didn't actually get socks I was so confused I kinda made a big deal out of it... so I guess its come to be like tradition. This being said, you can only have so many pairs of white sweat socks.... so may i make a few suggestions?



TopShop Pom Pom Leg Warmers ($24)

Jonathan Aston ($13.50)

TopShop Vintage Lace Tights ($24)

Calvin Klein Swirl Tights ($12)
So cute over a solid colour, right?

Roxy Knee Socks ($14)

Modcloth - Grammar School Knee Highs ($16)

Does anyone else receive gifts that have become like tradition every christmas?