deb said no

Cool As Ice

Yesterday, I was accused of bringing up Cool As Ice (yes, the Vanilla Ice movie) at every chance I get. Kind of like someone who knows a famous person and mentions it constantly. You're talking about Applebee's and all the sudden they're all, 'Oh, yeah, my friend Jenn Aniston loves Applebee's". Although I guess Cool As Ice probably isn't as cool as knowing a celebrity and I highly doubt Jenn Aniston likes Applebee's... but hopefully you get my point.

Anyway, this post is actually supposed to be about nail polish, not my weird obsession with so-bad-they're-good movies...

Left: Sally Hansen X-Treme Wear in White On and Nicole by OPI in I Pink I Love Him

Since sparkly nails are in right now, I decided to try out a glitter manicure. I personally think that they usually look best when the glitter and base are similar colours, so I went chose silver glitter on a white base.

Although my coworkers might say I chose this colour combination just so I had another excuse to bring up the Vanilla Ice movie, it was actually inspired by one of my other obsessions most of them just don't seem to get: snow. I wanted the effect of a sunny winter day where the snow seems to sparkle. Since it doesn't seem I'll be getting this in real life any time soon (damn you, global warming!) I'll have to settle for the manicure version.

Oh, and since we're talking about my obsessions, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to post a picture of my favourite love of all: Maury. I took this as he helpfully stuck his face into my fame at the last second while I was trying to photograph the nail polish bottles. Thanks Maury!

Hat-trick

During 30 for 30, I made the mistake of going to the mall with my favourite shopping partner: my mom. Then, I made the even bigger mistake of checking out the clearance shoes at The Bay. Then, I made the biggest mistake of all: trying on a pair of Nine West flats that I absolutely adored. They fit like a glove. I was gutted that I couldn't buy them right then and there.

Fast forward to a couple weeks ago, just after the 30 for 30 ended. Once again, I found myself in The Bay with my mom. I sauntered over to the clearance shoe rack, fully expecting my beloved Nine West flats to be sold out...

 

But there they were! In all of their embellished, just-my-size perfection! One single pair in my size. It was meant to be, non?

My luck continued the other day at Winners. Ever since The Glamourai unveiled the bag she created for Coach, I have been lusting after a grey drawstring bag. Last week, I saw one I loved by Nine West in a magazine (I can't remember exactly which one, and I'm far too  lazy to look it up), but it was nearly $100, and I'm really trying to stay on a strict budget.

To my surprise, I found the exact. same. bag. at Winners only days later... for less than half the price!

I was worried at first that I wouldn't be able to fit much in this bag. I'm tired of having to transfer loose cards and money from purse to purse because my bag is too small for my wallet. I had nothing to worry about, though. This baby holds loads. Let's play a little game of "what's in Julie's bag", shall we?

(Note: My usual mess of crumpled up receipts have been removed)

We've got:

• BlackBerry Torch (inside the case)
• flats
• keys
• comb
• gum
• two lip glosses
• wallet
• change purse

Not bad, right?

My third score came in the form of a free (yes, FREE!) necklace rack. Every once in a while, someone in my building will leave a box of random stuff in the laundry room with a "Free!" sign on it. This was one such item.

I'm thinking of calling her Cleo Jr...

Ever the ham, Maury decided he wanted to be involved in this photo shoot as well.

What are some recent deals you've found? Do you have a particular store where you always find good deals? Tell me about it in the comments!

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

Wishing you a sweet & stylish Valentine's Day

Love,

Julie (and Maury, too!)
xoxo

Ruffle Some Feathers

So, check it: at first, I thought choosing my pieces for 30 for 30 was the hardest part. Wrong!

The hardest part? Taking a photo of myself sans tripod (thank you to the random pile of DVDs that so helpfully propped up my camera), without Maury sneaking into the background. Seriously - that cat is a total ham. I just looked back at him as I typed that, and he licked his paw defiantly. True story.

Anyway, 30 for 30 is about outfits, so I guess I should talk about mine. I wasn't really feeling the whole "dressed up" thing today, so I just picked a few of my very favourite casual pieces. Kind of a let-down for the first day, I suppose, but I promise it'll get better as we go through the challenge. Just wait until Day 29 or 30 where the only combination I haven't tried yet is, like, two skirts and a pair of jeans. That's when it will really get interesting... (I would, of course, wear one of the skirts as a tube top, wrap the other around my shoulders, and wear the jeans on the bottom. And you thought I couldn't do it! Shame on you!)

Accessory-wise, I also added a belt (not pictured, but it's there under my shirt, holding my pants up - promise!), my watch, and a ring that I bought eons ago on a trip to Ottawa. If it were the weekend, I probably would have added some sort of necklace, but having to wear a lanyard with your employee ID on it all day kind of makes necklaces unnecessary.

Oh, and in case you're wondering why the animal print shoes are in the diagram above, but not in the actual outfit photo, I forgot them under my desk at work when I changed into winter boots for the walk out to my car. Gotta love winter.

This Line: 30 Items or Fewer

After much (and I do mean much) difficulty, I have finally selected all of my 30 for 30 items, photographed them, and put them together in a collage (thanks Picnik!).

From L to R:

1. Peach top, Reitmans
2. Cream ruffle top, Ricki's
3. Grey embellished tank, Old Navy
4. Blue ruffle top, Urban Outfitters
5. Black and white ruffle top, Suzy Shier
6. White lace top, Earth Winds
7. Black tank, Dorothy Perkins (UK)
8. Navy and cream cardi, ???
9. Green top - Evans (UK)
10. Plaid flannel - The Bay
11. Leopard cardi - Cleo
12. Long grey cardi - Winners
13. Lace-back green sweater - Cleo
14. Cream sweater - Urban Outfitters
15. Black long-sleeved tee - Cleo
16. Black embellished cardi - Cleo
17. Pink flower cardi - Old Navy
18. Tan blazer - Zellers
19. Black skirt - Joe Fresh
20. Bird print skirt - H&M
21. Black jeans - The Bay
22. Black pants - Cleo
23. Tan pants - Reitmans
24. Blue jeans - Evans (UK)
25. Long brown dress - H&M
26. Floral print dress - H&M
27. Black heels - Sterling
28. Animal print flats - Payless
29. Knee-high boots - Spring
30. Black Uggs - eBay

When I first started pulling items for this challenge, I thought, "Pfft! Thirty items! This will be so easy." Yeah - not so much, really. It was a struggle paring down everything in my closet to only the 30 items that I thought I could remix enough not to repeat outfits.

During the cull, I noticed that most of my clothing has some sort of frill, ruffle, or embellishment. Is it possible that I'm even girlier than I thought? I also seem to be single-handedly keeping Cleo in business. (You're welcome, Cleo! I'll see you again when the challenge is over, dear friend. XOXO)

Anyway, I'm pretty excited to start the challenge! Hopefully it will give new insight into what I actually need, versus what I just want. If nothing else, I'll definitely produce a lot less laundry. Although I guess I'll have to do it more often, with only 30 items to choose from. Damn.

Hope you'll follow along!

P.S. Credit where credit's due: I did have a little help with the photos.  Here you can see my lovely assistant "adjusting" my blazer.