February's comings and goings

What came in:

• 4 pairs of new shoes from Nine West and Townshoes (ugh, on the last day I came across these pony-hair black wedges for a steal - just couldn't pass them up =S). I am NOT doing well in the shoe department.

What went out:

• 1 black cardigan/bolero
• 1 card holder - I finally was able to sell my teal Cole Haan cardholder. I will miss this piece as it was a great color but it did add some bulk to my bags; the 2 remaining cardholders work better for me as they are the slim kind.
• wristband - don't ask haha
• 1 scarf - another scarf gone! I hummed and haahed about this one because it was a great mix of blues but I've only worn it twice since I bought it 5 years ago.
• capsule wardrobe - This year I thought I would try implementing a capsule wardrobe, and I decided to do it by month. January went well; February started out well; upon my return from my trip, I gave up. I gave up because I missed wearing a lot of my clothing and I don't think I'm at a point in my wardrobe count where I won't be distracted by other items I want to wear. I think, until I am able to pare down more, where more of my favourite clothing is in constant cycle, a capsule wardrobe won't work yet. I will revisit the capsule wardrobe again, but for now, it's another wardrobe lesson learned =)

Rave!!! - my Nine West kitten heels

I mentioned before that I purchased 3 pairs of Nine West shoes. 

Yesterday, I wore my black leather kitten heels for the first time and WOW... they are SO comfortable. I have NEVER worn a pair of shoes that seem to just mold perfectly to my feett. I wore them all day and forgot about the fact that they are even heels. I know, I know, kitten heels are more comfortable in general, but the comfort that I'm talking about with these is just too amazing for words. They felt like they were painted on to my feet! I don't normally do this, but I even went walking around the mall in them - I only ever wear flat shoes to the mall. AMAZING, that's all I can say - I highly recommend them. 

(Style name: Swaymeso)

I'm wondering if all Nine West shoes are this comfy. I own a pair of flat ankle boots, and 2 pairs of high-heeled sandals, (which for high-heeled sandals, were quite comfortable given the amount of time I was in them), but they definitely were not as comfortable as these.... I can't wait to try on the other two pairs I got since they sort of gave me the same 'foot feelings' as this one, when I was in the store. 

Sold! Cole Haan business card holder

I'm pleased to share that I have let go of my Cole Haan business card holder. I love this item but it's thicker than I would like and I'm working on carrying less stuff, and bulk. 

I miss her as I really love the color, but I think it's for the better. Her new owner seems to really love her so I'm happy =)

I've found my new go-to dress pant: GAP's true straight pants

Up until 2014, I bought all my dress pants from Banana Republic and I would choose cuts with a wider pant leg. The previous year, I purchased a few slimmer fitting pants for spring and summer to wear with sandals and flats and fell in love - they are much more figure flattering and more versatile in terms of what shoes I could pair them with - flats, sandals, heels, wedges, they all looked great and because I could get them at ankle length, they didn't require any hemming (which is a HUGE plus in my books).

As luck would have it, early in 2014, I had to replace a pair of black dress pants so I went on the look-out for a nice fitting, price friendly, replacement and found myself loving the GAP's true straight pants. There were no sales going on at the time but that day the GAP was offering $15 off their dress pants so I gave them a shot.

When I tried them on, they fit perfectly, and were sooo comfortable - I was tempted to purchase more in other 'boardroom' colors but as I'm working on minimalism, only purchased what I needed. Plus, I wanted to know how they would hold up for a period of time. I wore them regularly throughout the year and they have been great. No fading in color, holds up well during wash and wear, no sagging or shrinking, and the best part is I don't have to hem them if I purchase from their 'short (A/C)' fit.

One of the last items I purchased in December included a pair in light gray for a fantastic price - it was on sale for $33.99 with an additional half off; I really couldn't say no to that. I did go home and put a pair of super wide-leg dress pants into the donations pile. One-in, one-out is my general rule of thumb!

I would love to add a dark gray and navy pair but I still have those in a wider pant leg that work perfectly fine so I will leave them be for now and only replace them if I come across another fantastic deal, or my current ones need replacing, or I've lost weight.

Removing 100 items from my home

Last month I read an article that one of my friends posted about purging 100 items from their household - 

"Get Rid of 100 Things Weekend": http://letslassothemoon.com/2011/09/11/take-100-things-off-your-houses-waistline/.

They recommended that you just go around the house with a garbage bag and without thinking, just plop in the stuff you no longer use or has a use. 

My husband is currently away so I took it as the perfect opportunity to go through things and get rid of them. I purge best when I have the house to myself. I took it a step further and set up my computer for any of the random items that needed to be logged - i.e. signing up for things, so I can throw away the bits of paper that reference codes were on; I had an empty garbage bag ready for any thing that belonged in the trash; and set aside an area for items that can be donated. 

In one evening I found glassware and candle holders I could let go of, unused items that could be donated, mail that was old and could be thrown away, empty boxes that can be recycled - it was so easy and felt so freeing! I also took out anything that was hiding and forgotten so that they can be visible and used, and not wasted by just sitting there .

When I first purged to begin my minimalist lifestyle, I would get rid of 10 items a day - ranging from donating something to disposing of a post-it. It really is the simple things that can get me on a roll to keep going and even today I try to get rid of things on a daily basis (mostly papers that can unknowingly pile up), and once I make a major donation of items, I immediately start another bag to fill up.

If anyone is wanting to declutter but finding it difficult, I'd start off with the 100 item purge of anything you can think of, and then try to let go of 10 items a day for a while. You'd be really surprised by how amazing just throwing away a piece of paper feels. 

New shoes! 3 pairs! Oops... OR, 3 pairs of perfect shoes

On Sunday I wandered into a Nine West boutique looking for some fun, colorful, sky-high heels (because you know, sometimes you just gotta have fun!) - of course I didn't find them. 

INSTEAD, I found 3 pairs of shoes that are perfect for my wardrobe and pieces I had been keeping my eye out on for a while (so I can't complain too much)

Ever since I discovered how much I love leopard print, I have been wanting a pair of pumps - these are so comfy and were a great price! My leopard flats are slowly deteriorating at the back of the heel so these will also slowly be replacements for them. I am also treating these as the fun, colorful, sky-high heels I couldn't find because they are just as fun =)

I always have a pair of black flats for work but since my last pair it's been a while since I've found one I really like so I just gave up. I found these with a tiny heel and almond toe and thought they were a perfect alternative - one of my goals is to try to be more girly with my shoes. Usually I wear really girly shoes for a few minutes at work and then change out of them, or for special occasions only - it's not because they hurt, it's just I'm always running around and in a rush and flats are just easier. Really hoping to change this habit.

I have been on the lookout for the perfect nude pump or wedge and although these aren't nude, I think they are the perfect neutral color for spring and summer. I have seen SO many

Pinterest inspirations with a light shoe and I am so happy to be able to 'complete' the look. 

All of these are perfect wardrobe staples and I can't wait to wear them! Unfortunately, they will have to wait until I return from my trip to snowy, very snowy, Nova Scotia to see my husband and in-laws. 

Can't wait to see my husband <3

Now, I have to let go of 3 pairs of shoes from my current collection to balance things out =S

Review of January's bags

In January I took to testing out a bag that I didn't use in 2014. It was my black Kate Spade Wellesley Elena tote - After a month of using her for work I have decided to keep her (at least for now). She was originally purchased for work and she has lived up to her standards. After using her for so long on a regular basis, she is much easier to carry than I remembered and the only thing that keeps me from loving her 100% is that she is very structured and I'm used to having some saggy-ness in my bags. All in all though, I love looking at her and since I find her much easier to carry now, I will be keeping her.

Weekends are when I switched out my bags for smaller bags and the first weekend, I switched into my white gold Cole Haan "Village II" zip satchel - I love this bag. It's size, versatile color and convertible wear (hand-held, or shoulder/crossbody) makes this one of my favourite bags in my closet. Not to mention, I got it at a steal last year and its cost per wear is well into the single digits.  

For my second weekend, I was spending it at my parents and didn't need much so I decided to go for my Coach small hobo (I think from the Soho collection) in brown leather - this was a bag that I was trying to sell in 2014, but with no success, I tried to use her again and found her to be quite comfortable. I mostly use larger bags (the usual size of my bags are at least the size of the Cole Haan mentioned above) so this is quite a stretch for me. I have learned how to use it and it now works great - in fact, I ended up using her for most of the remaining weekends in January. While I won't be buying any more bags in this size or style, I am glad I did not part with this beauty because her leather is phenomenal and I love watching her leather change. 

January's comings and goings/ February's capsule wardrobe and bag of-the-month

In January, I let go of: 

• 1 scarf - it was actually a 'second chances' item - I just don't like it anymore
• 1 pair of dress pants - it is a wider leg pant and I am slowly making my way towards slimmer fitting pants for work
• 1 top - replaced it with my recent GAP plaid top that I like more
• 1 sweater - I just don't feel the same about it anymore
• 1 bag - not from my main collection - it was a bag I purchased in university and I had been using it as a beat-around bag, even though it's handles were showing large amounts of wear
• 1 perfume - I sold it! One of my minimalism goals is to have only 2 perfumes in rotation and now I have 3 in current rotation and one unopened (which was a wedding gift from my sister-in-law - it's a Hello Kitty wedding themed perfume!)
• 1 coat - finally donated one of the winter coats I was debating on letting go of last year. I did take from it its fur trim from the hood since it was easily detachable and doesn't look like anything is missing from it - I attached the trim to another coat that can't bring myself to let go of yet, to spruce it up
• 1 money clip - I gave my Gucci money clip to my guy bff - I'm SO happy to pass this on to someone who will enjoy using it; I bought it in my university days for clubbing and only used it a few times (it wasn't an ideal purchase as I thought it would be) and have been feeling guilty about not using it enough. 

8 items out of my wardrobe, and dropped off my bag of donations of household goods, books, and other random things. 

In January, I brought in:

• 1 bag - not purchased, but given to me by same guy bff: it is a canvas tote from Indigo of sizable proportions with detachable shoulder strap. It will be taking the place of the bag I just let go of but its condition and style will let me use it for other occasions

• 1 pair of tan Uggs - I have been waiting for my pair (mine are gray) to be completely unwearable before I replaced them but my mom recently bought a pair of boots she liked better and gave me her Uggs that she had only worn a few times  ~Thanks, Mom!~

• 1 scarf - it was a gift and hand-made by a close family friend, in a beautiful torquise-y/teal color - love it!
• 3 pairs of tights - I really needed to replace my old ones, and I got them on sale =) I don't count these as additions to my wardrobe since they're sort of like socks, but I am reporting them to keep myself accountable for the things that I do buy
• 1 wool coat - I found a beautiful camel colored wool coat at Nordstrom and jumped on a chance to buy a quality, neutral colored coat.

3 items into my wardrobe (cost me NOTHING!), 3 pairs of the same item that is a wardrobe staple needing of replacement , and a neutral colored coat (which I see as an upgrade and a long lasting wardrobe staple) 

February is going to be an interesting month as I will be visiting my husband and in-laws in Nova Scotia for a week. I have picked 2 very small capsules for this short month - one for home, and one for travel.

Again, no app for me to post pictures, but here is what I have picked out for my time at home - 

My bag this month will be my much-loved and used blue Coach saffiano leather tote - she is one of the easiest bags in my collection. She fits easily over my shoulders, carries tons of stuff and because she has some structure to her, I don't find myself digging through a black hole; I love her color and especially love that I don't have to worry about her when I carry her in the rain or on transit - the color and material seems to just be scratch and dirt-proof. I love her so much that I have her in white and brown for the summer (although I admit, the white is less user-friendly because I will worry about getting anything on her haha).