Happy birthday to my favourite girl!

Outfit Details:

sweater - H&M, tee - J.Crew, skirt - Old Navy, boots - Fraco Sarto

Is it just me or do the days seem to be passing by quicker and quicker? Today Maya turned 3 years old, and I am simply in disbelief. When did my teeny baby grow up into this rambunctious, darling little girl, complete with a personality all her own? She tells jokes now, can do handstands (with help), chooses her own clothes and is even copying some of the behaviour from her big girl friends. (The other day, she was drawing on her MagnaDoodle and frowned at her picture. "I hate it", she sighed, and proceeded to erase and re-do her drawing.) It's funny. On the one hand, I'm proud of every one of her achievements and relish the amazing person she is becoming. But on the other hand, I feel sad with every passing day that she's getting older, and will miss who she is right at this moment.

The official party for her is on Saturday. I feel a little behind in planning, but thankfully, she's not at the point where she's overly picky about themes, colours or even the complete invite list. Her only request was that her cake be a Princess Dora one and that she get to wear a pretty dress to her party.

Teal and yellow

Outfit Details:

cardigan, Old Navy, tee - Joe Fresh, jeans - Joe Fresh, shoes - Connie, necklace - Banana Republic

Seeing Sal of Already Pretty and Diana of Smiles go With Everything rocking teal and yellow combinations lately inspired me to put together one of my own.

I just love the way they look together, and it brightened my day to be wearing such fun, spring-like colours. This necklace is a favourite in my jewelry box, yet I never seem to wear it. I seem to always reach for metallic jewelry or more understated colours.

Although I feel pretty comfortable in this outfit, it's not one of my favourites. I suppose I feel most comfortable in a dress or skirt, rather than jeans or pants, and I'd have felt much happier wearing a denim pencil skirt or similar. But once in a while, you have to truly dress for practicality, which I did today -- for Maya's parent and tot gymnastics class. It's a mild workout for the parents, and obviously a cute dress won't cut it.

Looking at this picture, I feel a little wide in these jeans (wide-leg... natch). Although I'll admit that the wrinkled pants (complete with smushed cookie on it from Maya's snack) and the craptastic hair day aren't helping matters any.

Fast yet slow

Outfit Details:

dress - Forever 21, tee - Gap, tights - Joe Fresh, boots - Frye

Do you ever have one of those days when you feel like you're rushing around, yet look at the time and realize that you have actually accomplished very little.

This is me today.

I even tried to hasten things by throwing together an outfit that requires very little thought from me. Sweater dress, tights, boots... done! Then I realized how very cold it was outside, and put on a long-sleeve tee and full slip underneath and for warmth. Then I got Maya dressed, fed (breakfast) and prepared to pack my bag (work stuff) and her baby (toddler stuff) so we could go to Nana's. (My MIL babysits while I work "from home").

In the end, it took us over an hour to leave the house. I did take a few minutes to make some coffee to drink in the car because I cannot start my day without a caffeinated beverage (yea, see my domain name). But still - doesn't it feel like it should take less time? So frustrating.

In other news, Maya spotted her first animal in the clouds on the ride over. It was a piggie. Just one, no other animals or shapes in the sky according to her. It was very windy and the clouds were moving quickly against the sky. Or as Maya explained to me "All the clouds want to go home to their cloud house. It's over there!" And she pointed to a cluster in the sky.

I'd Wear It

Outfit Details:

sweater - Martin and Osa, camisole - H&M, skirt and tights - Joe Fresh, boots - Steve Madden, belt - Forever21, necklace - Banana Republic

Recently, I came across the blog I'd Wear It. If you haven't checked out her blog, you should! She has great style, and achieves the casual pulled-together chic that I aspire for.

Here's an outfit that is totally inspired by her blog. Aww, who I am fooling? I totally copied!

When I saw this outfit, it immediately brought to mind the grey cowl-neck Martin and Osa sweater I have only worn once or twice. And I thought... hmmm, I can totally re-create this fabulous outfit from pieces in my closet! I hope she doesn't mind. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattering, and I think her style is amazing.

Digging in my Closet Day

Outfit Details:

cardigan - Banana Republic
skirt - Liquid
ruffle tee - Old Navy
tights - Walmart
shoes - Steve Madden

In an effort to reduce over-consumption, and shop more within my own closet, I decided to create a new feature on my website called "Digging in my Closet Day". The goal is to spend at least one day a week putting together an outfit around one item (or more) that has essentially been forgotten. Hopefully, it'll help me find some old favourites, and help me weed out what should be donated.

I've had this pink tweed skirt for at least 6 years. Same with the Banana Republic cardigan. The cardigan used to be a favourite item of mine. I just adore the pearl buttons, and the style of the cardigan gives it a great Mad Men vibe. I bought the pink skirt back when pink was one of the colours of the season. Since then, I've had a hard time wearing pink without feeling overly girly. When putting together this outfit, I decided to go with the girly factor, and went all out with mary-jane heels and patterned grey tights. I even added a thin headband before leaving the house!

So nice, I bought it twice

Outfit Details:

sweater - BR, skirt - Old Navy, necklace - J.Crew, tights - Hue, shoes - Nine West

I mentioned in a previous post that I have no problems with buying multiples, especially if it fits into 1 of 2 categories:

1) It's a basic
2) It's inexpensive

Because I do have a lot of multiples in my closet, I've been trying to be more critical about which items are "so nice, buy it twice" as one of my new years resolutions. So when I saw the black version of one of my favourite skirts of the season go on sale at Old Navy, I passed it by. It was super cheap ($13.99 at the time), but seemed a little trendy to get two of. Then I saw it go down to $11.99 and I again applauded my restraint and passed it by.

Last week, I found the skirt for... wait for it... $3.81. Suffice to say I caved.

Surprisingly enough, I actually think it might become one of my workhorse skirts for the rest of the season. It dresses up my basic sweaters like no other item in my wardrobe and since it's a cotton sateen, can be worn right into spring.

For the birds

Outfit Details:

tee - Jacob, skirt - Old Navy, cardigan - J.Crew, tights - Hue, shoes - Anne Klein

Much of my wardrobe basics consist of tees. Although I seem to have a plethora of them (scoop, vneck, ruffled, plain, fitted, drapey) in all sorts of colours, I never came across an allover print tee that I loved.

Last week, I found this super cute bird tee and I fell in love. The print is adorable, yet not at all juvenile. And because the print is small and the colours are neutral, I'll be able to mix this with a lot of my wardrobe. I don't love my outfit without the cardigan... I look like rectangle. Bleh! But I included the cardi-less picture to show you what the print looks like.

This skirt is part of my bargain haul from Old Navy's clearance sale last week. I picked it up for a mere $3.81! Seriously, I pay more for my coffee.

Finally, the shoes. Aren't they adorable? Maya picked out these shoes for me while we were doing our Christmas shopping in December, and proves that good taste is genetic! I let her "buy" them for my as her Christmas present to Mommy.