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What I Packed For 9 Days of Travel + What I Came To Learn About My Extreme Minimalist Wardrobe

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We recently traveled to Seattle and Bellingham for a total of 9 days. When it came to packing I packed up (almost) ALL of my clothes except one dress, a black cropped jumpsuit, my clogs and a few workout clothes items.

This was the first time in the last year that I have worn ‘real’ clothes every day and by day four it was evident that I just don’t have enough clothes. I ended up doing two loads of laundry for my family while at our Airbnb just so that I would have enough clothes to last the entire trip plus I ended up having to purchase one t-shirt so that I would have enough tops to make it through the final day. Now if you don’t have kids one laundry load probably would be enough but the thing is having kids means drops of ice cream, snotty noses and dirty hands are all over my clothes in a matter of minutes.

While I am working towards living a more intentional life, filled with less things my minimalist wardrobe is not one of choice as much as a result of my postpartum weight and struggle to lose the weight, the struggle to define my style, the struggle to find sizes that fit and flatter my body and the struggle to find quality clothes that fit in my tiny wardrobe budget. These are the items I brought with me (aka my entire wardrobe):

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  • Black Gap Nursing Dress
  • Black Shorts Romper (didn’t wear)
  • 1 Pair Ankle Jeans
  • 1 Pair Distressed Step-hem Ankle Jeans
  • Grey Tee
  • 2 Black Tee
  • Army Green Tee
  • Black & White Striped Tee
  • Black Blouse Tank
  • Tan Slides
  • Denim Jacket (didn’t wear)
  • 2 Pairs of Cropped Workout Leggings
  • 2 Workout Tees
  • Native Flip Flops
  • Nike Runners

In total I own (shoes + daywear – excludes activewear): 16 items

I’d really like to have more of a capsule wardrobe which generally consists of 30-40 pieces but at this point even that seems like an incredibly expensive and daunting task.

The thing is having 4 of the same t-shirt in different colors (yes they are all exactly the same) to pair with two pairs of pants is boring and slightly depressing. It’s becoming even clearer to me that the way in which I dress and present myself to the world impacts my confidence, my productivity and my overall mood. I am not looking to be some fashionista who sets trends or even someone who completely follows them but rather I want to feel like each day I got dressed with intention and not just to cover my body up.

So share with me how does what you wear impact your day to day life? If you are a plus size women where do you shop?

This post contains affiliate links. Purchases you make through these links will help fund the work I do here at no extra cost to you. Thank you sincerely for your constant support.

A Non-Fashion Bloggers Journey To Finding Her Style

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Photo from October 2016 -imagine me now with my hair in a messy bun, yoga pants & a milk stained nursing tee.

Let’s start of this post by making it clear that I am no fashion blogger. Honestly my sense of personal style has been limited to black t-shirts and jeans for approximately the last 5 years. That isn’t to say that I don’t appreciate fashion or feel like I don’t have any sort of eye for it but rather I just don’t know what my personal style is or how to dress my body. 

After becoming a mom I feel like my perception of style has changed – I mean what do moms where anyways? I don’t even know. I don’t even know what people my age are wearing (I’m 31… almost 32 for reference) or does it even matter?

Also, what does a personal style really look like? How does one find it? And most of all how does one dress a postpartum body that they just don’t love? 

So here I am on a journey to find my personal style and build a closet with pieces that help me feel confident. A journey I thought I would share it with you and I’d love your help. Where do you go to for style inspiration? What bloggers fashion inspire you?

Share your tips for developing your personal style and where to you like to shop in the comments below. 

 

My First Dia & Co Subscription Box | October 2015

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Disclaimer: This post is not sponsored. I purchased my own box after finding out about it via a YouTube channel, EllkoNYC,  that I watch. Also side note the lighting isn’t great on these photos but I wanted to share my box before I need to make my final decision. 

All Dia & Co. links are referral links.

One of my goals for this year has been to buy clothes for myself that make me feel good no matter what the size on the tag says. I have honestly been struggling with this all year since the baby weight hasn’t come off as easily as I had hoped. Finally I decided that I just needed to do it. The yoga pants and old t-shirts just weren’t going to cut it anymore. After searching stores and leaving empty handed and frustrated I decided that I needed to stop the stress and try something else.

I debated giving  Stitch Fix another try but after having terrible luck with them in the past and worried that they wouldn’t have enough options in my size I searched for another option. I tried online shopping to reduce the stress of attempting to shop either on my own without someone to consult with or with my two littles in tow. Well that just proved to be stressful as well so I almost gave up and went back to my yoga pants and t-shirts, that is until I came across Dia & Co.2015_10_18_Dia&Co-Box1-5

Dia & Co. is a clothing subscription box for sizes 14-32. Each box is curated by a stylist at Dia & Co. based on your profile that you fill out when you sign up. In the profile you put all of your sizes, your style likes and dislikes and items/materials that you don’t want in your box. You pay a $20 styling fee each time you have a box sent to you and that $20 can be applied to anything you keep in the box (if you don’t keep anything you’re out $20). You also receive 20% of if you decide to purchase your entire box. 

So I have to say my first box was on point when it came to colors and styles that I like. I am torn on what to keep or whether I should keep it all or not. Here is what I received in my first box …
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Item 1: Reversible Shawl $36

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Item 2: Naked Zebra Draw String Dress $74.99

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Item 3: Junarose 3/4 Sleeve Chevron Top $59

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Item 4: Modamix (faux leather) Motorcycle Jacket $124

Item 5: Jessica Simpson Skinny Jeggings $69

Total: $362.99 

Total if I purchase all 5 pieces: $270.39

What should I keep?

All Dia & Co. links are referral links. If you would like to try a box for yourself I’d love for you to use my link. Thank you!

Konmari & My Unintentional Capsule Wardrobe

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Konmari & My Un-intentional Capsule Wardrobe

We have a lot of stuff. Some of it has value and is used regularly but a lot of it has been moved from home, to home, to home. We finally hit a wall and decided that it was time to make some major changes in our home. I’ve tried a variety of tidying/de-cluttering methods so you won’t be surprised when I jumped on the Konmari* bandwagon. 

While Neil was off this past week we both took on the first step of theKonmari* Method and went through and cleaned our closets. Included in the clean out where all of our clothes, coats, shoes, bags and accessories. I was surprised by how much clothing et al that I actually own considering I only wear a handful of items. 

I went through my large pile of clothes and ended up with two boxes of off season clothes/pre-pregnancy clothes that still don’t fit but I would wear them in a heartbeat if they did. I also ended up with about 22 articles of season appropriate clothing, 10 or so pajama tops and bottoms and 15 or so workout tops and bottoms, plus one stuffed to the brim bag for thredup.com*, three bags to donate and one bag of items to just toss. Neil on the other hand still has a 40+ item closet, two boxes of off season plus four bags to donate and one bag to toss. #horders

Konmari & My Un-intentional Capsule Wardrobe

After Konmari*-ing my closet I ended up with an un-intentional capsule wardrobe. This wardrobe includes:

  • 1 pair of shorts
  • 1 pair of crop pants
  • 2 dresses
  • 6 black t-shirts
  • 3 tank tops
  • 3 sweaters/long sleeve 
  • 1 denim jacket
  • 4 sandals 
  • 1 healed sandal

If I’m being completely honest I would say that I could easily eliminate another 5-8 items from my closet because they don’t give me joy aka I’m not practicing pure Konmari*. Those 5-8 items are ones I kept because going out in the nude is not an option (for me). I have also hit that point in the season where I am having a hard time convincing myself to spend more money on clothes that I will only wear for a few months and ideally I’ll would never wear again because they will be too big (that’s an entirely different post). How do you deal with a lack of clothing when you are far from the size you want to be and you are mid season? 

*Affiliate Link 

5 Things: Food, Fitness & Fashion Blogs

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I read a variety of blog from food to fashion and today I am going to feature a few of my favorites.  I read these blogs not only for entertainment but refer to them for recipes, fitness tips/ideas/motivation, and fashion ideas (I’m trying to be more fashionable).  This is by no means a complete list of the blogs I read but a high light of five from each category that I really enjoy. 

Five Food Blogs:

  1. Peas and Thank You
  2. Spabettie
  3. Pure2Raw
  4. Oh She Glows
  5. 101 Cookbooks

Five Fitness (/running/healthy living) Blogs:

  1. Carrots ‘n Cake
  2. Healthy Ashley
  3. Meals and Miles
  4. Healthy Tipping Point
  5. Faith Fitness Fun

Five Fashion Blogs:

  1. My Style Pill
  2. What I Wore
  3. The Sartorialist
  4. Kendi Everyday
  5. J’s Everyday Fashion
Q: What are you favorite food, fitness and fashion blogs? 

{Giveaway} Beauty Without Cruelty

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Have you ever considered what is actually in your nail polish? Most nail polishes are filled with toxic ingredients, including phthalates, toluene, and formaldehyde. In addition to being filled with toxins many nail polishes, like other beauty products, are tested on animals.

Beauty Without Cruelty, a British based company, has spent over 40 years dedicating itself to creating natural, color cosmetics that are NOT tested on animals and do NOT contain any animal ingredients. In 1989, Beauty Without Cruelty was introduced in the United States and later that year natural skin care line was developed to compliment the color line from England. Today, Beauty Without Cruelty has a full line of cruelty-free, vegetarian skin, body, and hair care products made with the finest natural ingredients and aroma-therapeutic essential oils, and a full line of colour cosmetics to meet the needs of every woman.

My first experience with Beauty Without Cruelty was with their hair care products, which I absolutely love, so I was delighted when I was given the opportunity to try out one of their nail polishes from their Attitude collection.  I chose tangerine because it was not my normal colour and I thought it would be fun for summer.  As soon as the package arrived I  opened it up and tried it out right away.  I was impressed that I didn’t need to do a million layers to get the right shade and how quickly it actually dried. I have had so many “quick dry” nail polishes that always took forever to dry, but the BWC nail polish dried super fast.

The nail colour lasted, without chipping, for about five days.  For me this is impressive; most nail polishes that I use last me for about an hour before I chip them.  Overall I was impressed by the colour and quality of the nail polish and have already asked my husband for three more colours for my birthday.

Giveaway Details:
Winner receives 1 Attitude Nail Colour, in a shade of their choosing.

– 2 Winners total

– US residents only

Giveaway is open until August 6th at 8pm EST. CLOSED.


Giveaway requirements:

  • Visit the BWC website and tell me which colour of nail polish you would pick. (Mandatory)
  • Become friends/follow BWC on facebook. (Mandatory)
Leave one comment telling me your colour choice AND that you follow BWC on facebook.

Additional Entries:

Leave one comment for each additional entry.
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Disclaimer: Beauty Without Cruelty provided me with a sample of their products to review and giveaway, and I was under no obligation to review it if I so chose. Nor was I under any obligation to write a positive review or sponsor a product giveaway.