I've been on the hunt for leather shoes and booties size 5.  Ones that are comfortable & versatile that I can wear from sunrise to sunset.  It's hard enough locating a 5, I noticed also that leather shoes is becoming harder and harder to come by !  I've been online browsing for weeks now and got little luck.  I'm also on a budget, I gave myself a 200 quid allowance to spend on shoes.  And also, as a deal with hubby, any shoes I buy, I have to donate at least 1 old one to salvation army (because my shoes hoarding are taking over our garage). 


Yesterday, I saw a few nice ones, all leather, at Zara.com/ca but I probably want to come in and try them on as I never bought shoes from them before.  Are you as surprise as me ?  I didn't know Zara carry size 5 shoes, in both the Women's  and TRF ("young women") sections. 


Here are what I got my eyes on, the max heel height I can wear is ~ 2 inches.  I don't know about you, but I feel a bit sad realizing my style now somewhat matches my age :-(  I'm all about comfort now and I even dress depending on weather !  Man, it sucks knowing I'm no longer forever21 ....

 

 

 

These are nice but the heels are a bit high for me, I'm on the fence on them ....

 

 

These below are pretty sleek and chic ! I can only admire them as I can't see me walking in them.  If I do, my body will be slanted, like Michael Jackson's anti-gravity lean dance move :D

 

 



 

If you're looking for that perfect pair of shoes or booties, here's some info. I found during my search:

• Browns Shoes > they got really nice leather shoes and is having a sale BUT their price is on the higher end.  The nice shoes are $200+
• Aldo > good old Aldo always have decent leather shoes for decent prices (just remember to read the label as they are starting to stock up on synthetic leather :-(
• Le Chateau > they have a designer shoes section and an Italian boutique section, no 5 though !
• RW & co > this one was a surprise !  I was looking for leggings and noticed they sell shoes online.  Smallest is a 6 !  bummer !
• Zara > was looking for sweater, noticed their shoes section and decided to look into it.  Wow, they got some cute shoes and all leather to boot ! 
• The Bay >  As you probably know, the Bay has been going through a lot of changes in the past few years.  They are aiming to be the "Nordstrom" of Canada.  It's about time as we lack quality department store here.  The Bay is changing for the better !  I heart their shoes floor in downtown Vancouver.  They got some pretty pretty shoes !  Many I won't wear as the heels are too high, but it's fun gawking at them !!!  Any who, moving on, the Bay is  having a great sale going on right now on boots !!!  They don't carry many size 5 :-(  I hate my small feet !!!

If you're looking for fall/winter shoes, now is the time to buy !  good luck on finding your size.

 

I heart leggings.  This stretchy fitted thing is the best thing since chocolate.  It's all I wear since the day I learned I was pregnant, and up until it can no longer fit my bulging stomach ( ~6 mnths).  My leggings reluctantly gave way to the maternity pants for a few months, then after I gave birth we met up again and haven't been a part since.  Best investment ever !  Leggings grow with me through all the ups and downs of my weight stages.  It gives way to all the binge eating and hot chocolate drinking.  Unlike my jeans who refuses to give in, refuses to lend a few inches to let me in.  Cold blood that thing !!!

 

Leggings, when done right, is chic and stylish.  When worn wrong, can be quite distasteful.

There's one simple rule to follow when it comes to leggings ladies, just remember leggings are not pants.  LEGGINGS ARE NOT PANTS.  Leggings fit tight around the crotch and butt area, so camel toe and plumber crack are very very easily achieved !!!  To avoid it, always pairing leggings with top that goes past your butt.  I've invested also in some long tanks and cardigans to wear with tops that are just a tad shy of covering my derierre.

Where can you pick up some good leggings around here ? 

Garage (garage.ca) has some nice ones for $13.  Amongst the cheap leggings, the ones from Garage are best.  They are thick, soft and they last after many washes.  I've bought some from H&M and Forever21 and they aren't well made.  Also they fade after few washes :-(

If you wear leggings often (I wear them 5 days out of 7), invest in some decent leggings.  I got some from Zara and they are quite nice.  Very thick quality fabric and the size 34 fits my 4'11 height perfectly, no hemming needed.

Here are some pictures of ones I saw at my recent trip to the mall.  Very nice quality fabric and worth every penny.

Zara | Zara.com/ca

 



 

Mexx | Mexx.ca

 

 

Garage | Garage.ca

RW&co | RW-co.com

 

HomeSense is the place to look for cute, cool, funky, designer, unique pieces at discounted price.  It's a hit and miss as their stock moves quickly, so I try to visit every week if I can.  Each location is different from one another.  Around here, I like the downtown Vancouver, Coquitlam (School House), and the White Rock location most.  They have more than the usual dishes, towels and pillows :D  they have good looking furniture, like occasional chair, bench, dresser, etc.  I saw an interesting looking console table at the White Rock location, but hubby thought it was too rustic looking for our home.  Bummer :-(

If you like cute stuff (like me) !  give HomeSense a chance !  They got loads and loads of them, at every price point.  When ever we're up at the cash register, C would say to me "I hope you're not buying it for the cute factor !".  I would say "what ? no !" it's nice and also, well, it's too cute to pass :-)



Cute stool for $49.99

All kind of basket variations !  $10-$20  ($6 gets you a small one)

Super cute bird house !  this one goes for $24.99 but there were cheaper ones.

A house for Tweety at $12.99 each. 

More baskets !  The bucket right in the middle is perfect for picnic or farmer market day !

Solid wood stools.  $99 each, a bit steep but solid wood is always pricey :-(

Bee loves elephant so we bought this for $7.99

This hand blown pear from Poland is so cute !!!  I gotta have it at $9.99

Plant from beastie's house to put inside the pear !  Free of course :)

In between diaper changing, feeding and burping a baby; and in between playing, entertaining, chasing, cooking and threatening a toddler to eat; I managed to fit in few minutes to shop!!!  I love online shopping !  I shop online for everything from baby clothes to organic nut butter spread to quinoa to cosmetics to fabric...Only after when a day or two go by that I remembered the thing about online shopping that I detest >>>  processing and shipping time !  Aigooo (like the woman in the Korean drama often says), why does it have to take so long.  But yet, it doesn't discourage me to stop.  I feel it helps keep me connected to the outside world (because I'm home most days) :-)  I think :-D

I have my phases.  Some week I spent those snippets of time buying kids stuff,  then next week it'll be on hubby's clothes, then the next, health food, and recently, on home décor.  West Elm is my current crush.  I haven't been to the actual brick and mortar store yet, since it's debut in Vancouver in 2012.  I have just been admiring their stuff online.  Their prices are good, not expensive like it's mother ship, Pottery Barn.  Now that Lovebug is a bit bigger, I'm hoping to make a visit there soon.  If I could, I would craigslisted (I believe I just made up that word) most of my furniture and pick up new pieces from there.  My husband, always the voice of reason, reminded me that anything nice we buy now will be destroyed by our little kids !!!  *sigh*...Maybe I'll just work on "renovating" our walls, AFTER I buy a new dining table and a new console table :-)

Hubby and I have different décor taste.  He's into minimalist, clean line, classic color.  I found them boring with a capital B !  I'm the colorful one in our relationship.  My only problem is that I like too many things :-P  I like country style with a modern twist, mid-century, industrial chic, retro, eclectic...because I can't settle on one, our house is currently being styled by my Mister.  Although we've got many compliments on our home, I still think it needs a new make over.  I must say, my staying at home days in and out has a bit to do with me wanting change.  One can get bored with seeing the same things, same layout everyday.  An affordable way to switch things up is to re-arranging the furniture, which we just did the other day.  I like it but I'm aiming to get a few new things.  I know, I'm not making money staying at home and yet am spending more.  But we've been doing well at saving, we should spend just a bit right ?  Right.

Some fabulous items I'm eyeing:



 

Thought of the day:  I enjoyed my Our Daily Bread today.  Here's an excerpt from it:

"As we go through life striving to find our way, situations may frustrate us and cause us to respond to others in an un-Christlike way. If so, we must ask God to give us the courage to apologize to those we have offended. Our worship, according to Jesus, depends on it (Matt. 5:23-24).

We honor God when we make reconciliation with others a priority. After we have been reconciled, we can then fully enjoy communion with our heavenly Father."

In the heat of the matter, I sometime let my pride take over and refuse to see my wrong.  Only when I'm calm and collected that I realized how thoughtless I've been.  The Lord put it in my heart that, no matter how much time passed, even if it looks & feels as though they're over it, I still need to apologize for the words I said.  I think when we do that, it's not only for the good of others, but also good for us.  To forgive ourselves so we too can move on. 

ONE DAY ONLY !  Sunday April 28 !  Enjoy !
I didn't look at the date and thought it was today (Apr. 17) and went to pick up a few things !  Only to discover that the coupon is effective tomorrow :-(  I went ahead and paid full price on 2 items anyway, because I'm afraid my size might be sold out come Sunday !!!

 

 

disclaimer:  *Employees of Forever 21 and their friends and family receive 21% off regular priced merchandise (before taxes are applied) on april 28, 2013 only. No minimum purchase required. Maximum purchase of $360 CAD (before taxes are applied) qualifies for the discount. Valid in-store only. Not valid online. Offer cannot be combined with any other coupons, discounts, offers, or promotions. Offer cannot be used for gift card purchases, returns, and sale items. Valid in all Forever 21 stores in Canada. Employee 10-day return and exchange policy applies to all items purchased by an Employee with this promotion. Standard Store Return Policy applies to all other customers' purchases. Offer may be redeemed by printing out this coupon, presenting the coupon on your mobile device, or presenting an Employee badge before commencement of the transaction. Forever 21 reserves the right to modify or cancel this promotion at any time without notice. See store for details.         

Link to coupon:

 

http://ebm.e.forever21.com/c/tag/hBRe01DB8cUOiB8yIyJAAHoLY95/doc.html?t_params=EMAIL%3Dtracyntran%2540gmail.com%26PASSWORD%3DB8cUOiAAHoLYBRe01D8BdxVf0YDEzq

 

What I brought today:

 

 

I am not sure if I'm too "old" for tulle and especially tiered :-S  but the sea foam color is simply just too beautiful not to covet :-)  I might save it for my daughters :)  or not :P



When my daughter was old enough for bubble bath, she gets one every day.  Every few days or so, I noticed her skin got some red patches after she's done with her bath.  I decided to read the label on her bubble bath bottle.  It's a well know kids' products so I assumed the manufacturer used the mildest ingredients, but boy was I ever wrong.  Holding the bottle on my hand and my eyes zeroed in on the "sodium laureth sulfate", and then on the caution: that says "prolonged exposure can cause irritation to skin and urinary tract" !  I flipped because my daughter loves her bath and loves the bubbles !  I can't believe I exposed her to this harmful product.  Needless to say, we discontinued using that bubble bath.

*SLS - sodium laureth sulfate - a toxic ingredient used in products to make it bubble and foam.  You can read it more here:
http://davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/chemicals-in-your-cosmetics---sodium-laureth-sulfate/

So began my quest for natural organic bubble bath !  I'm looking for bath products that is gentle on skin, make adequate bubbles so my daughter can play with and doesn't have harmful ingredients.  Simple enough right ?  it wasn't.  I tried many products and noticed that, since they don't have SLS, the bubbles don't last !  or barely bubbly at all !  Then one day, I came across Green Beaver Bubble Bath !!!!!!!  It has few ingredients and most are organic.  It smells wonderful, the bubbles last a long time, and best of all, my daughter can sit in her bubble bath tub for a long time (20 min.) and no rash or irritation.   It was truly a life saver for us because I was beginning to pull out the hairs off my head, going mad with my daughter repeatedly asking every day, every hour, "bubble bath mommy, BUBBLE BATH !!!!"
Here's the product info:

Key ingredients :
- Formulated with the mildest plant-based cleanser
- Canadian organic raspberry and cranberry emollients
moisturizes skin leaving it soft and smooth.
- Instant foaming hand wash
- Rinses easily
- Non-drying
- Certified organic, nut free, gluten free, vegan, biodegradable

I brought Green Beaver bubble bath from Well.ca.  An online Canadian retailer that sells a lot of organic products.  I hope to try more products from this brand in the future.

Our girls enjoying bath time