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Today's outfit is a combination that is a bit different for me. I gravitate toward solid color pairings, but when I had my "consultation" with my stylist Clinton Kelly he put together an outfit that used a bright geometric pattern worn under a coat. As someone who is 5'4" I would be considered petite and usually shy away from such bold patterns, because as Clinton says, "You don't want your outfit to walk into the room before you do."
So I'm happy to say that this works, and it's really basic for something that stands out without shouting out "I'M HERE!" As we head toward Christmas I find I use my red coat more. Guess I'm feeling pretty festive now that all my decorating is finished. More on that in another post...
The Breakdown.
A. Byer multi-colored shirt (Macy's sale $11), American Rag black denim jeans (Macy's sale $14), Bromleigh vintage red wool peacoat ($8), Ann Marino leather black wedge ($8 Parisians - I've been wearing these a lot lately!), MAXX New York black patent purse ($15 eBay). Grand Total: $56
This is one of those outfits that are really easy to toss on. It' s comfortable and looks pulled together (but without all the work). So what if I am a mom with two kids 6 and under whose "fanciest" destination will be the supermarket today. I feel good and my husband thinks I look good!
Today's outfit is the same outfit as a couple weeks back but with maroon cords instead of camel colored cords. I actually think it looks better with the maroon.
The Breakdown.
Arden B. sweater ($5 thrift store), American Eagle maroon cords ($5 thrift store), off white tank ($4 Rave), Nine West brushed gold pumps ($5 Kohl's) and my favorite purse, a Coach patent red leather Gallery Tote (Birthday Gift!). Grand Total: $19
Last time I feature this ensemble I didn't get a back shot. This time I just had to show the sassy scoop-neck back. See there is a way to be sexy-mama without looking like a hoochie-mama!
Ah, Thanksgiving; the preparation of the feast, the tidying of the house for guests, the smell of deadly cleaners wafting through the house...
I'm not sure why exactly this weekend turned into a cleaning-fest, maybe it was because I had a willing accomplice in my Beloved or maybe because there's a certain element in my life that feels out of control so I scurry around to make sure at least my home is order so I have some measure of sanity (can anyone out there relate?). Who knows, but for whatever reason we spent Thursday morning cleaning out the refrigerator, the pantry and the rest of the kitchen cabinets, Friday steam-cleaning the stairs and upstairs carpet and "rejuvenating" the wood floors in our foyer and steam-cleaning the second set of stairs on Saturday.
May I remind you that this was AFTER we had a house full of guests. No, we couldn't have done that BEFORE we had guests because, uh, we would have impressed our friends and family so much they would have felt uncomfortable at the blinding beauty of the stairs & wood floors. Yeah. That's it. I will say one thing, regardless of arguments of whether Saturday or Sunday is technically the Sabbath, we will be RESTING on Sunday!
As much as I jest, I have to say that the end result has been quite amazing. As I walk around our clean-floor home I am reminded again that a little savvyness (is that even a word?) applied to home maintenance can go a long way.
Carpet steam cleaner.
On this front we were lucky that our neighbor bought one from Costco recently for $189. With three kids, two dogs, two cats and two adults in their home, it has become a huge money saver for them. Before buying this gem I would estimate that she had her carpets cleaned about 3-4 times a year at about $200 a pop using a coupon. Now for the price of one cleaning she (and the rest of us neighbors) can steam clean anytime she wants!
Admittedly I don't know how using a steam cleaner can wear a carpet over time or if it destroys any warranties, but for those of us who live in homes with builder's grade carpet over 10 years old and have young children, the idea of spending just $189 for a carpet cleaner sure beats out spending THOUSANDS on new carpet. We moved into this house 5 years ago as the second owners and had always assumed we would get new carpet after the youngest Superstar was finished potty training. Now almost two years after that glorious occasion with the economy (and our budget) looking the way it does, it doesn't look like it's going to happen anytime soon. For you renters out there, it's also a great way to keep apartment/rental grade carpet looking good too!
The steam cleaner of today is a far cry from the ones you rent from the grocery store and they are so easy to use. Pull off the tank, fill with hot water and a bit of cleaning solution and voila, clean carpets. When finished, the carpet is still a little damp and takes about 1-2 hours to fully dry. We sent the Superstars to a neighbors house to play and everyone was happy. The stairs were the worst and as you can see, they cleaned up pretty well!
Remember, this is 10 year old carpet and the owners before us had 4 kids and a dog, but I think it will last us another 2-3 years if we're savvy!
Rejuvenating the Floor
You've seen the commercial on TV. Just apply this product and your floors will look brand new! I admit even as I was skeptical about the product there was a part of me that really just wanted to try it. When my friend said he used it in a house they were selling I knew that I had to give it a shot. Remember the builder's grade carpet? Well, we have builder's grade engineered plank wood floors in the foyer. Soon after moving in we ripped out all the carpet downstairs and replaced it with wood floors matching what was in the foyer.
Even though it was the same floor, there were obvious wear-and-tear differences. In an attempt to off-set those difference we added some floor rugs to help hide the wear and to keep it from wearing even more. All-in-all it's worked pretty well, but as of late, it has looked pretty sorry.
So we went and bought a bottle of Rejuvenate at the home improvement store. I would tell you which one, but I can't remember since we bought it TWO YEARS AGO. I mean, c'mon, you have a free hour or two and you want to...Rejuvenate the floors? Yeah, right. I don't know if I am the only one who does this, but sometimes I make things a whole lot more complicated and difficult in my mind and then just psyche myself up NOT to do a task. This was one of those times. Turns out it was totally easy - from start to finish it took about 1 hour.
First I used Bruce's Clean 'n' Strip which says it helps clean up wax build-up. I don't use wax on my floors, but I figured it would cut through any junk on them. Unfortunately the stuff was TOXIC. I used latex gloves and a dust mask and opened up the windows and it was still heady stuff. In fact, when I was finished, I rinsed out the cloth only to find that the cleaner dissolved the latex glove! EEK!
Then because of said glove-melting I was afraid that some chemical in the Bruce's would combine with the Rejuvenate and cause a noxious gas that would kill me so I washed the floors again with Murphy's Wood Soap. Thankfully that seemed to cut down the smell as well.
After the floor was dry I put a microfiber cloth on my Swiffer, poured a little bit of Rejuvenate on the floor and slowly spread it across like painting (once you cover the surface, move on, don't rub it in). It was the fastest and easiest part of the job. The best part is that the floors look AWESOME. If I remember right the Rejuvenate was maybe $15, the Bruce's floor cleaner $5 and the Murphy's was $1.50 so for less than $20 my floors look almost as good as the newer ones. You can see in the before picture some of the scratches on the wood, and it seems the wood looks darker in the second. And can you see the reflection of the front door in the floor????
So there you have it, what I did during my Thanksgiving vacation, because nothing says Thanksgiving like updating wood floors and steam-cleaning carpets! Can't imagine what we'll be able to accomplish during Christmas vacation...
Sorry for the lack of blogging! My next blog "How I Spent My Thanksgiving Vacation" will explain exactly why I've been a little remiss. Just think "latex gloves, knee pads and a dust mask." Oh yeah, it was...uh...fun.
I wore this little outfit to express some of the things that I am most thankful for this Thanksgiving...friends, love, peace. The only things missing are "a good glass of red wine" and "a fresh cup of espresso" and oh yeah, "kids that always obey me the first time I ask them to do something."
Breakdown.
Today's outfit is thanks to the thrift store, Parisian's, eBay and for love 21. I was being kind of hippie cool today with this great stretch black embroidered jacket that I bought at the thrift store for $6. With a little stretch in the cord like material it fits nicely to show off curves. I put two $2.50 tanks from for love 21 (I saw them layered on the store mannequin and thought it looked great) under it for a pop of color. My $13 dollar Banana Republic jeans from eBay in a dark even wash, Ann Marino wedges $8 from Parisians and my lovely tobacco colored Coach hobo from eBay at $43 completes the look. You can tell I felt a little sassy, no? Grand Total: $75
Oh, and as a little "I told you so" and because I really do love you all I've added a picture where I didn't let the tanks do their divide-and-conquer trick (per my stylist Clinton Kelly) so you can see for yourself that my butt DOES look a bigger without this handy little trick. And since not every shirt, sweater, coat, etc. will be long enough, it's worth investing in some tank tops that will allow you to use this trick. With places like Rave and for love 21, it's easy to stock up on with out spending a lot of money. I mean, what's $2.50 to make your butt look smaller?
Today's outfit comes to you from the thrift store and Parisians. Since it's getting cooler around here layering is the perfect way to stay warm outside and cool inside. I've been experimenting with different color combinations lately and found that I am using these maroon color cords much more than I thought I would.
The Breakdown.
Limited Jeans jacket ($5 thrift store), Old Navy white cotton gauze hoody ($4 thrift store), white tank top ($4 Rave), maroon American Eagle cords ($5 thrift store), multicolor scarf (FREE clothes exchange at Plato's Closet), Ann Marino black leather wedge ($8 Parisian's end of season sale), Michael Kors Hutton black leather hobo ($10 thrift store). Grand total: $36
A word about cords. To me, cords are like jeans. They comes in a variety of colors, and they are great wash and wear items. Khakis may be great for some people, but unless they have a touch of stretch in them to keep them from wrinkling I won't wear them because I am NOT an iron-er. My husband was in the military for a short stint and is definitely the better iron-er in the family. Truth is I don't particularly like to iron and can think of oh, about one million things I'd rather do than iron.
Yes, that's right. My stylist Clinton Kelly was in town today and I got a chance to "catch up with him"...like the other 300 women that showed up at Macy's.
I saw Clinton last year and as before, he did not disappoint. He is as engaging and endearing in person as he is on the show and even cuter.
Clinton initially talked about his top 4 tips and here they are, a good reminder to all of us of What TO Wear.
1. Get a professional bra fitting - this one step will make your clothes look better. Ideally "the girls" should be in-between your shoulders and your elbows. Most forms used by designers follow the tween-shoulders-and-elbows proportion so clothes will most likely fit better if yours do too.
2. Shapewear is your friend - most of the women fitted on the show will be fitted with shapewear. It's a great way to hide underwear lines and bulges.
3. Tailoring is for everyone, not just men. Men just assume that they will have to get tailoring done when they buy a suit, and yet we women think it should fit off the rack. Whether it's shortening or lengthening pant or skirt hems, Clinton says that almost all the clothes on the show are tailored.
4. You gotta try on LOTS of clothes. Clinton says that they really do shop from store open to store close for two days for the What Not to Wear make-over person. With two full days of shopping they are happy if they come away with 7 full outfits. Did you catch that? SEVEN outfits for two whole days of shopping. So his sympathy for someone who tries on two pairs of pants and calls it quits is NIL.
As hard as it looks on television Clinton swears it's actually harder than what's shown. Every minute you see on TV takes about 1 hour worth of filming. So a 45 minute show has been edited down from 45 HOURS of filming. Still, in the midst of all the hard work, Clinton says it's rewarding to hear back from people who have been on the show of the promotions, raises and finding the love of their lives that have happened subsequent from their makeover.
He said a few of the trends this season are purple, short or modified trench coats and plaid. I was inspired enough to even buy a purple shirt, on clearance of course. Right now is a GREAT time to shop in department stores as they are getting rid of the last of the Fall items and looking toward Winter so if you're going out to shop, remember to Shop Savvy!
Today's outfit of the day should be a familiar color scheme. I wore something like this earlier this month. I just love this green with denim blue.
Hats have also become a new item in my wardrobe. I cut my hair 10 inches in October and have been having fun trying new things. Hats are a wonderful thing when you don't have time to wash your hair.
The Breakdown.
Old Navy, TJMaxx, Rave, eBay and the thrift store put together today's outfit. Green Old Navy sweater (on sale $8), white tank ($4 Rave), B.Laguna jeans (TJ Maxx $15), brown cable knit hat ($8 For Love 21), Coach signature hobo ($43 eBay), bronze Anne Klein heels ($4 thrift store). Grand Total: $70
A note on my Rave tank tops. If you notice, I have it sticking out in one picture and not in the other, oops! A funny thing about that. I initially took a picture from behind without the tank peeking out and ended up proving Clinton (my What Not to Wear stylist) absolutely right. It's a little trick called "Divide and Conquer" - divide your butt with a jacket, shirt, etc. and it makes your butt look SMALLER!
Now, admittedly, I don't have a large butt and yet it sure looked better with it divided. I would show you the picture where it wasn't divided by the tank so you could see for yourself but I hit "delete" on the camera and it disappeared...bum-mer...ha, ha, ha! Get it BUM-mer. Ok! Moving on...
The other thing I noticed, however, is that I look taller & longer in the picture without the divide by tank top, which shows me that I need to find a longer sweater so that I can divide & conquer the butt and still look long and lean.
Today's outfit is a combination that is a bit different for me. I gravitate toward solid color pairings, but when I had my "consultation" with my stylist Clinton Kelly he put together an outfit that used a bright geometric pattern worn under a coat. As someone who is 5'4" I would be considered petite and usually shy away from such bold patterns, because as Clinton says, "You don't want your outfit to walk into the room before you do."
