Dare to dream...

So I am not a designer label girl...I blame that mostly on my budgetary restraints, but a girl can dream right?

Yesterday I got an email from Kate Spade informing me of the 3 day 75% off sample sale. And so what is a girl to do?...she has to follow the link.

I thought I'd show you what I would have purchased if a) I fit into anything on offer, and b) if I had the finances.



all images via Kate Spade

 An so it is that I dream...but what a happy pretty dream it is...and I look mighty fine in it too!

Happy Tuesday all!

How long does itt ake you to get ready?...

So as I was getting ready this morning I was recalling an episode of  Gail Vaz-Oxlade's Princess where the money maven gets a young woman's spending under control.

First of all, I love Gail, she is an amazing financial expert whose approach to money and debt makes so much sense to the lay person...she should be setting up curriculum in high schools that all teens should have to take before graduating...it would save so many from the throes of debt. I digress...as usual

The reason I got to thinking about Princess is because the young woman that was featured the other night was 26, and it took her no less than three to four hours to get ready each day. Now I'm not talking getting ready for a night on the town, I am talking get ready for work, or school. Crazy right?



9 step dark smokey eye tutorial via pinterest ... 9 steps

 Now this morning as I was getting ready I took stock of what that took for me (not including a shower); 1. select clothes, approx 3min. (this sometimes takes 10 minutes itself if I am feeling indecisive)
2. get dressed, approx 1min.
3. fix hair, approx 5min. (it is really short for this very reason)
4. do makeup, approx 2min.
There you have it, 11 minutes to get ready. Is that enough time? Do I really look ready?



via pinterest

 To me I do. I decide to keep my hair short because I have three children two of them quite young still, I run a household, and own a business, I need life to be as easy as possible. I wear makeup, but not a lot. My regime consists of moisturizer, some blush, a nude eye shadow, mascara (I can do without everything else, but I have to have my mascara on), and lip balm...that's it.  Don't get me wrong I can  doll it up nicely when going out on the town, but lets face it, how often does that happen?

How long does it take you to get ready? Would you ever take 4 hours?

Happy Wednesday All!

Okay...am I missing something?

So lately there has been a buzz in the air about Jenna Lyons and J. Crew. I first read an article in New York Magazine last week, and then in the Toronto Star over the weekend. Now don't get me wrong...love the J. Crew look and clearly Jenna Lyons is haute chic but what has me gobsmacked is the price tag.

Okay so clearly I am not a fashionista...and I know very little about the world of fashion, so much so that I thought J. Crew was a simple catalogue business much like Sears...shows what I know eh? Anyhow after reading all the hype about J.Crew which is set to open it's 5000sq ft. store in Toronto's Yorkdale Shopping centre, I moseyed on over to their website and though I love the look particularly this sweater and these pants

link here

 I cannot fathom in my world being able to spend over $400 on the sweater and then another almost $300 on the pants. I really really wish I could, I lust after these things but my pocket book is more the speed of Old Navy where I can get a whole wardrobe for that amount.

As I write this I think I must sound so simple. Maybe I am. Am I backwards for seeing value in spending this amount of money on art but not on fashion? I would rather spend that on a fab rug for my house or on a new chair, but on one outfit it seems a bit...well...wasted. Now maybe I am wrong...maybe because you spend the money you get the quality that makes these pieces last a lifetime...but then are they timeless? Maybe for someone else, but I don't think timeless and fashion go hand in hand for me. I like change. I like to be able to wear something new every few seasons...not because it is the latest fashion but because as I said, I like change. It makes me feel alive and fresh and as if I am evolving.

Maybe if I ever make it in the blogging world or I am making tons of money and my gallery is bursting at the seams with customers 12 months of the year, maybe then I will understand spending this kind of money, because there sure are a lot of bloggers out there coveting J.Crew and Jenna Lyons in particular, but for now I will stick with my Old Navy wardrobe and be thankful that I can afford even that and the change up it allows every few seasons.

Here is my Old Navy take on the J Crew outfit I loved...all for under $50.



Old Navy Sweater $24.50



Old Navy Pants $20