Wednesday 31 August 2016

Working On The Fall Capsule Wardrobe

We are currently staying with my parents as we wait for our rental to be available this weekend.  All of our stuff is boxed up and it feels strange to go about our "regular" lives while not having our own home.  I have been working on my fall capsule and I currently have all of the pieces purchased.  I am just waiting until we are in our own home to make my final decisions.

I love "traditional" fall wear.  Cozy sweaters, plaid, jeans, boots and jackets are right up my alley.  Fall is by far my favourite season and I love dressing for the cooler weather (which has already begun!).

When I design a capsule wardrobe, I start by making a Pinterest board.  I include anything that I like on the board.  I try not to censor what I put on the board, I simply choose items that I am drawn to.  After I have built my Pinterest board, I look through it to find any obvious indications of what appeals to me.  I am pretty predictable, as it turns out.  I like a lot of denim, green, and red.  Once I know what I am drawn to, I can choose pieces out of my current wardrobe that will fit into the capsule.  I do like to try new things, so I allow myself to shop for a few items to round out the capsule.  This year I picked up a plaid top and a few other things.

I like the planning of my wardrobe the best.  Pinterest gives great inspiration and I often find new ways to use the items that I already own.  It is always smart to pick a budget to stick to and to only shop off of your list.  This can help prevent excessive shopping (the whole point of a capsule) and the purchase of items that don't really fit your capsule.

Are you excited for Fall?  How do you choose what goes into your wardrobe?


Monday 29 August 2016

A Little Change and More of the Same

Our house officially belongs to someone else.  We were able to get everything moved out by last Friday (with a huge amount of help from our family!).  It is nice to have the house sold!  However, we were thrown a slight curve ball.  Instead of moving across the province, we are now just moving across town.

Hubby got laid off right around the time that we accepted the offer on our house.  It didn't seem like great timing but we knew it would be best to just get the house sold, especially in this market.  Houses are not selling quickly in our area.

With Hubby being off work, I was able to apply for my old position at the health center.  Within 3 days of our house selling, I accepted my position back at the health center and we found a rental across town.  It was a stressful few weeks, but with the help of family and friends everything seems to be falling into place.

I was feeling overwhelmed when we knew that Hubby was laid off.  I made the conscious decision not to try to control everything.  I spent time in prayer and said "Show us where You want us to go.  We will follow the path that You want us to."  It was an enormous weight lifted.  Things seem to have worked out and we truly believe that we are supposed to remain in our small town.  We made the decision for me to apply for my old job and found out that 2 other people had been planning to apply for the job in the near future.  When applying for my job back, my boss mentioned a really nice rental that was going to be available soon.  I phoned immediately and we were fortunate enough to get the rental.  This rental is nicer than the house we owned and the owners are going to allow our golden retriever to live there, as well.  Huge win!  The people in our town have been excited to hear that we are staying and we appreciate all the love and support we have been shown.  We have even had a few good suggestions for Hubby to find work and we hope that something will work out.

So here we are.  A lot is changing, but a lot is staying the same.  We are happy to be on this path and are content to follow wherever it goes.  I hope you are all having a fabulous Monday and I plan to catch up with you soon!

Monday 22 August 2016

Bloggy Break- We are Moving

Hello!

My family and are in the process of moving.  I will be back to my regular posting next week.

Thanks!
Ashley


Friday 19 August 2016

High Five For Friday- 19.08.16

Whew!  It is Friday, which for me means more work!  Ha Ha!  We have a lot going on this weekend and I am ready to dive in.  Here are the five highlights from my week:

1.)  Our house sold.  This actually set a bunch of craziness in motion, but it is definitely a good thing!  We are packing and getting ready to move.

2.)  Miss. E is in swimming lessons this week.  She only likes shallow water and we wanted to get her feeling more comfortable at the pool.  I got to go along to the first lesson.  She wasn't too keen at first, but by the end of the lesson she was having fun!

3.)  I have been on a bit of a braid kick this week.  They were turning out pretty well!



4.)  I have been really enjoying the Olympics.  Miss. E has learned how to cheer like crazy.  We scream and yell and jump around.  It is loads of fun!

5.)  I ordered my last fall wardrobe piece.  I had promised myself not to buy it unless it went on sale.  Well, it went on sale this week!  Yay!  I am excited to put my fall wardrobe together.

I hope to be back with a life update next week.  Have a lovely weekend!  If you want to link up, please join the lovely ladies below:


Wednesday 17 August 2016

Wardrobe Wednesday- 17.08.16

Rompers.  I love putting my daughter in them but when the trend started I was not convinced rompers were for me.  Rompers and jumpsuits were big again this year, so I decided to give them a go.  I tried a jumpsuit first and I loved it!  It convinced me that it was time to try a romper.  I ordered this one through Venus.  I love how airy, cool and easy it is.




Monday 15 August 2016

High Five For Friday- 29.08.16



If you follow me on Instagram (you can find me here), you already know the big news:  Our house sold!  We found out late on Friday afternoon.  Hubby and I were ecstatic.  We were also a little overwhelmed because we have a lot up in the air right now.  I hope to update you all about that soon, but it will have to wait until I know what is going on.  Here is what we do know:  We are moving and we have to be out of our house by August 26th.

After I calmed down (thanks in no small part to a chat with a good friend), I started to plan our move.  Here is our 'plan'.

1.) Pack up the house and get rid of anything that no longer fits in our life or that we don't want to move.  We already have a growing pile of items to donate.

Donations!



2.)  Start packing any items that we will not need in the next 7-10 days.



3.)  Contact my work and ask them to save any boxes from freight so that we can use them for our move.

4.)  Move all of our items out of the house and into the locked storage bin on my Dad's trailer.  Have everything out of the house by August 22.

5.)  Clean the house thoroughly after I get off work on August 23, 24 and 25.


We spent Saturday packing up our non-essentials.  I purged any items that I felt we no longer required and we labelled every box with the room it belongs to and the items in the box.  The last time we moved, we only labelled the boxes by room and it really didn't help us find things when we needed them.  The advantage to all of our minimalism projects is that we do not have a large amount of things to get rid of.  We still have found items that we need to part with, but overall packing has been pretty quick.

Miss. E is just like all other kids (and cats).  She LOVES playing in boxes!


We spent Sunday together as a family.  We went to church, watched Olympics, went to the pool, did our menu planning and got groceries.  I didn't want to spend another whole day packing.  We got a lot done on Saturday so we really did have the time to relax.

I hope to share what we learn from this move.  I will definitely update you all on what's happening with our lives as soon as we know more!  

Have a lovely Monday!

Friday 12 August 2016

High Five For Friday- 11.08.16

What a week!  I have been completely enamored with the Summer Olympics.  I have spent a good portion of my time checking the T.V. this week to catch up on how Canada is doing in the games.  Here are the five highlights from my week:

1.)  Watching Penny Oleksiak swim this week has been amazing.  She has won 2 Bronze medals, 1 Silver and 1 Gold!  She is only 16 years old and I am completely blown away by her talent.  Miss. E was as excited as we were to cheer her on!


2.)  We had a successful garage sale on Saturday.  You can read all about my tips and tricks for a successful sale here.

(Enjoying our garage sale picnic lunch!)

3.)  We had a fun time with our friends this weekend.   We did supper and then had a fire after the kids went to bed.  It was relaxing and enjoyable to spend time chilling and eating yummy campfire treats!

4,)  I have signed up to run a 5 km race in September.  Hubby decided to train with me (yay!) and we have done a good job sticking to our training schedule.  We run 3 times a week and do strength training 3 times a week.  I love working out with Hubby.  It makes it fun!

(I am super sweaty and out of breath in this picture.  Yikes!  Thank goodness for the post-workout shower!)

5.)  Our garage sale day was absolutely beautiful.  It was sunny and hot.  The rest of the week has featured a lot of rain.  We have been getting outside for walks and park time when the sun is shining.  Miss. E loves going for walks (more like runs!) and she is becoming quite the expert at navigating the playground. 



I hope you all have been enjoying the Olympics!  The American Women's gymnastic team was so impressive to watch!  Excellent!  I have also enjoyed watching all the synchronized diving and volleyball.  What are your favourite events?  

I am linking up with the lovely ladies below for High Five for Friday.  If you want to join in, click on the link and add your post to the link up.  Happy Friday!

Wednesday 10 August 2016

Wardrobe Wednesday- 10.08.16

This outfit is another summer staple.  I found both the top and shorts at Maurices.  I love the colours and I love the elephants.  The shorts also feature a sweet lace waist band.  It is a comfortable, cute outfit that is well-suited to chasing a toddler!




Monday 8 August 2016

Garage Sale-Tips and Tricks for Success!


We had our first garage sale on Saturday.  We don't normally sell our items.  We usually just donate them.  We have a few changes coming up and have been working to reduce the number of items that we own.  We feel excited to move towards more minimalism.

My husband and I sorted through our items and after we saw that we mostly had large items to get rid of, we decided to try a garage sale. We decided on Thursday to have the garage sale on Saturday.  We sorted through our items on Thursday and Friday and priced everything to sell.  On Friday evening we put up signs.  We set everything out early Saturday morning and advertised our garage sale online.  We were super happy to sell most of our items and we did really well.  Here are my tips and tricks for a successful garage sale:

1.) ADVERTISE  We didn't advertise as well as we could have.  I would recommend putting up posters on the morning before your garage sale.  It will allow time for people to see the poster and be aware of your sale.  If you are having a big sale, it might be worth the money to advertise in the newspaper, as well.  Our sale wasn't large enough to warrant that kind of advertising.  On the morning of our sale, I advertised our sale in our local garage sale groups on Facebook and on my personal Facebook page.  On all of our advertisements I put our address, the date and time of the sale and the type of items that we were selling.  Facebook was our biggest payoff in advertising.



2.)  HAVE A FLOAT  I went to the bank the day before our sale and took out money for a "float".  You will need to make change for people at the sale and the float allows you to do this.  I went a little overboard and had a float of $288 in various denominations.  We really didn't need that much but at least we had it.  I would recommend a roll of each type of coins and several $5, $10 and $20 bills.  You can get a cash box if you want, but I simply put our money in a wallet and a few change purses.  I kept it in my cross body bag and on my person.  When we had my Grandma's garage sale last year my Dad kept money in his fanny pack.  It wasn't particularly fashionable but it was really practical!

3.)  PRICE ITEMS FAIRLY  We didn't try to make a huge profit off of any of our items.  We priced items at or below a 3rd of the purchase price.  Most items lose quite a bit of value with time.  The items have also been used, which also lowers the value.  People will also try to haggle and we took any reasonable price that was offered for our items.



4.)  MAKE YOUR HOME STAND OUT  We moved our vehicles across the street so they weren't blocking our house our driveway.  We put a large, tall sign on the front lawn advertising the sale.  People also use balloons to make their homes stand out.  Anything that makes your sale more visible from the street will help draw people in.

5.)  DISPLAY YOUR ITEMS IN AN ORGANIZED FASHION  I tried to group like items together.  I made categories (baby items, toys, books, household) and set up my tables according to category.  We had our large items on the ground, outlining the driveway.  We made the tables easy to access and set up anything that needed assembly.  People are much more likely to purchase an item if they can see what it looks like all set up.

6.)  MAKE SURE YOUR ITEMS ARE CLEAN  I have said it before about showing our house and I will say it again about your garage sale items: Most people can't see past dirt.  Wipe down the furniture and other items.  Wash any blankets or fabric items.  Spot clean items that can't be thrown in the wash.  Clean makes a big difference.

7.)  SETTLE IN FOR THE DAY  With the exception of bathroom breaks, our family spent the whole day outside at our garage sale.  We set up a playroom for Miss. E in the breezeway with toys and snacks.  Hubby and I had our phones and the I Pad outside with us.  We had a fun day outside and we were always readily available to greet customers.


8.)  DECIDE WHETHER YOU WILL ACCEPT "EARLY BIRDS"  Early birds can be a good thing and they can be a bad thing.  It is really up to you.  We had a friend "pre shop" our sale and she bought a few of our larger items.  She paid our asking price and ended up giving us a quarter of our profit from the sale.  I didn't mind the early birds as I simply wanted to sell our items.  If you don't want to accept early birds, then be polite but firm on your start times.

9.)  TRY TO HOLD YOUR SALE AT THE BEGINNING OF THE MONTH  This tip came from a family friend growing up.  People generally get paid at the beginning of the month and therefore will have more to spend on your sale.  If possible you should avoid long weekends because people use long weekends to leave the town/city and go camping.


10.)  BE SAFE  Keep your home locked.  Don't allow strangers into your home.  If you are dealing with a lot of money, it might be wise to take some of it inside and lock it up.  Simple things can make your day safer.

What are your tips for a successful garage sale?  I would love to hear them!

Friday 5 August 2016

High Five For Friday- 05.08.16

Hi there!  I am happy that it is Friday again.  We are still deciding what we want to do with our weekend, but I am looking forward to the weekend anyway!  Here are my five:

1.)  We had fun last weekend.  It was a long weekend (Monday was a civic holiday) so that made things nice.  We headed to the lake so that Miss. E could play on the beach and in the water.  She had a lot of fun!

2.)  I worked this week which was okay.  None of my instruments broke down so I took that as a win!

3.)  We were in Saskatoon for Miss. E's pediatrician appointment.  It went really well and she is doing well.  That was music to my ears.  Miss. E really liked her doctor, so it was good all around.



4.)  While we were in Saskatoon, I picked up 2 of my Fall Capsule pieces on sale.  It was great!  I also bought the new Harry Potter book on sale.  I really love the Harry Potter series so I was excited to grab a copy of the new book.  When I got to the till, the clerk gave me a free Harry Potter reusable cloth bag with my purchase.  They had some leftover from their Harry potter release party so he was handing them out.  Yay!



5.)  I went out for a girl's night last night with my friend.  We went out for supper and then hung out at her place for a bit.  It was really nice to get together and chat.  I had a lot of fun.

How was your week?  Link up with the lovely ladies below to tell us all about it!  Have a great weekend everyone!


Wednesday 3 August 2016

Wardrobe Wednesday- Striped Tank Dress and a Fedora

I am bringing back "Wardrobe Wednesday".  I miss doing outfit posts and since I am getting back into Capsule Wardrobes, I thought it would be fun to dive back into wardrobe posts.  I bought my dress at Maurices (similar here), my fedora at Walmart and my Sandals are from Mark's.  All 3 of these items have been in heavy rotation this summer.  I love the loose fit of the dress and how it keeps me cool.  The sandals are super comfortable and I love the colour.  The stripes sort of look weird in these photos.  I am not sure why, but I can't seem to get stripes to photograph well!








Happy Wednesday!

Monday 1 August 2016

Thoughts on the Kon Mari Method


I began the Kon Mari Method in the beginning of the New Year.  I began with the goal to have it completed by June 30/2016.  I achieved this goal a little early.  Unfortunately for the blog, I didn't document the process as well as I would have liked.  Hubby had gotten a job 6 hours away and we were trying to get the house ready to sell.  I blew through the house implementing the Kon Mari Method and purging everything that didn't "spark joy".

The Kon Mari Method was most effective in my closet.  You can see that post here.  I have done some shopping since.  I didn't keep much in the way of summer clothes so I had to buy some new clothes so I wouldn't melt this summer!  It is easier for me to be more discerning with my clothes now that I have the "spark joy" idea in the back of my mind.  There were a few purchases that I made for the summer that really didn't work the way I wanted them to.  It was easier for me to let them go and consider them a lesson learned.

The Kon Mari Method did work in the rest of my home, but the other results weren't quite as shocking as my closet.  Hubby and I have done a pretty good job keeping a minimal amount of things so that really helped.


I have a few before and after shots of my hair styling products, makeup and papers.  I thought I would share them with you.

Papers:


The total papers that I had are all three piles.  I only kept the pile on the far right.

Makeup:

Before

After

Personal Care Products:

Before

After

Hair Products/Hair Accesories

Before

After

Marie Kondo alludes to the fact that once you are done purging, you may feel like getting rid of more with time.  She says that it is due to the fact that you become more in tune with what brings you joy.  I agree with her on this.  Even though we have completed going through our house, I am itching to do it again.  I think that you begin to realize what really contributes joy to your life and what doesn't. I am glad that I read the book and tried the method.  It wasn't truly life changing but it certainly helped lead me to more minimalism, which I appreciated.

Have you tried the Kon-Mari Method?  What did you think?