Wardrobing 101

I call this Wardrobing 101 because it's all about the BASICS.
I'm going to show you how to make a small wardrobe limitless using a mix and match approach!

As a work at home jeans and tee shirts kind of mom, I don't need a lot of dressy pieces so my basic pieces and my outfits are all causal.

9 Basic Items

3 Layering Pieces

(1 jean jacket, 1 black cardigan, 1 tan casual jacket or blazer)

 3 Solid Tees

(1 white, 1 black, 1 bright)

3 Bottoms

(1 pair white jeans , 1 pair dark jeans, 1 pair khaki jeans or pants)

The KEY to making your Basics look really cute and giving you lots of different looks are

SHOES & ACCESSORIES!

Here is what I used:

4 scarves

(2 would have worked fine - I suggest at least 1 in a solid color)

4 pairs of shoes

(although 1 pair of great black flats would work with almost everything! )

Necklaces and Bracelets

(I used what I already had but 2 'statement' necklaces and 

a silver bracelet would have been sufficient)

Ready to see it all put together?

 

 

Here are some of my favorites using the WHITE TEE and layering around it...

 My favorites with the BRIGHT TEE...

And some favorites using the BLACK TEE...

That was 23 of my favorite outfits
(there were MANY more that I didn't include!)

I kept everything VERY simple but I typically add *sparkle* with real jewelry mixed in.
I wear one of these silver wire bracelets from Tracy Brandes Designs with almost EVERYTHING!

 

Here is a list of where you can get similar items for building your own basic wardrobe:

 Black Cardigan - Target $20

 

 Denim Jacket - Old Navy $35

 

Beige Military Jacket - Old Navy $40

Basic V-Neck Tees - $8 each at Target

 

Dark Indigo Jean - Banana Republic $80

White Denim Jeans - J. Crew $98

Khaki Pants - Old Navy $30

How about these 3 pairs shoes that can all be found at Target:

 Leopard Flats - $15

 Strappy Sandals (they also come in brown!) - $15

Black Ballet Flats - $25

You can also find scarves like these at Sam Moon for $7-8

Sam Moon also has bracelets like these for $6.50 or less!

 

For unique necklaces try Etsy

$32

...or this Betsey Johnson necklace at Dillards

$45

And there you have it!
A mix and match wardrobe with 9 basic clothing pieces.

Check back to see more great basics that I incorporate into my mix and match wardrobe!

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Pardon the Mess!

Please pardon my hideous blog page! 

I am working on making some changes and have a serious learning 

curve with which to contend!

America The Beautiful

Amidst the hubbub of election news and various political conventions,

I wanted to take this opportunity to share with you some of the reasons
I am proud to be an American!

(all photos courtesy of me wasting several hours of my life 
on Pinterest that I'll never get back)

We have the right to bear arms...

'Please, maniacal gun-toting, overall wearing boy - 
stop calling me Old Yeller and stay away from the shed!"

But the ones who aren't into artillery can always join a boy band.

Hey, fellas! Let's have a Glitter Fight and look all man-ly!

Big, glittery mess to clean up?

We have dog mops,

and Asian Baby Mops

In America, our doors are always open.

Unless Asian Baby Mop's family retaliates with the invisible door!

Speaking of families...

It's a great place to raise your family.

And when you're done vomiting, 

you can find recipes on the internet to turn that vomit into a lovely dinner...

complete with a side salad.

We have a great schools in America.

And, we promote recycling.

Because pink plastic Flamingos are not nearly tacky enough when
they are strewn about your yard between the '77 Camaro on cinder blocks
and the front porch washer and dryer that you turned into beer coolers.

They are best used as a chandelier with light up beaks!

What? No duct tape?

I told you this was a great country!

 

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

A Fortune!

The last time I ate Chinese food my fortune cookie graced me with the following words of wisdom:

You will be rich and you will be poor.

You will like being rich more.

So true, great fortune cookie. So true.

For example - the other day I was cleaning out my books .

I had no money in my wallet but I had 3 stacks of books like this that I took to Half Price Books:

I came out with $11.00!

The fortune cookie was right – I did like being rich more than I liked being poor.

Armed with my $11 fortune I made it to day 4 of my month of 

'no unnecessary spending' without buying anything except groceries. 

Facing a serious moral dilemma at Costco earlier today, though,
I had to ask myself,

'Does wine qualify as a necessity?'

Hmmmmmm...

It's made from grapes.

Grapes are fruit.

Fruit is necessary or you'll get scurvy!

Yep, necessity.

Here's to gettin' rich at Half Price Books, and not gettin' scurvy!

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

Day 1: Target and the Closet

Today is day 1 of my personal challenge/goal to not spend any money for 1 month on anything that is a non-necessity.

My son, Stone, already has a trip to Target planned for today – I think my husband may have to take him.

Target is my kryptonite.

Speaking of my son, I wanted to share the project I worked on this week.

My son has a small room and a lot of stuff. He needed some storage that could be concealed.

I decided a closet build out would be the best way to accomplish this.

My goal was to build out his closet using materials I had on hand and spend little to no money.

Here is what I started with:

Closet BEFORE

I came up with this plan:

So professional looking, huh?

I started by clearing everything out:

Then I got to work!

This shelf was stored in my garage. 

 I built it for Stone's nursery 11 years ago but since we were no longer using it the wood was perfect to recycle!

I used the large pieces as the side supports and then cut the existing clothes bar to fit into the supports.

He also had this bookcase in his room.

My dad built it more than 40 years ago in his high school woodworking class.

It had gotten more than its share of usefulness as a bookcase and needed new life as shelves so I dismantled it:

For the shelf supports I cut small pieces of wood that used to be part of our backyard fence:

I cut the shelves down to the width I needed and using a level I installed them at varying heights:

I managed to use almost every piece from the old bookcase :

The entire project was completed using only materials I already had on hand. 

Even the box of screws I used were leftover from other projects. 

My total cost was $0.00 and about 3 hours of work! 
(And I did everything by myself!)

Here is the finished result:

Closet AFTER

Eventually I would like to add another long shelf above the existing topshelf and some small shelves to the left of the clothes hanging area.  I also want to caulk and paint it all so it looks nicer.

But this is what I was able to accomplish with what I already had.

We still need to sort through all of the toys and books in his closet but for now at least I don't have to look at it because I can close the closet doors:

So, now I'm thinking...

If I can build out a closet and not spend a penny, surely I can make it through an entire month without buying any non-necessities, right?

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney

The Great Purge

I have pinned various quotes on Pinterest but there are a few that I find myself thinking about often.  The quote above is one of them.

Yesterday I began what I am calling, The Great Purge.
It looked a little like this:

I had a cabinet full of liquor that we never drink
(I know...hard to imagine)

so I got rid of it!

And, no, I didn't get rid of it by drinking it because it was early in the day and I still needed to be conscious.

Down the drain it went and now my liquor cabinet contains only the libations that we actually use and enjoy.

I am sharing this with you because I am in the process of de-cluttering.  

After being inspired by the blog, The Year Of Less I have decided to make a conscious effort to

Be Happy With Less

I love Kelly's ideas about “a life of radical simplicity”!  

For me living simply means more time to enjoy what I really love...

like my cleared out liquor cabinet

JUST KIDDING!

My family, of course!

I decided to start by setting some goals for myself. They are:

1. Simplify home and life; better organization
2. Leave a smaller environmental footprint
3. Spend less, save more

For the month of September I have decided to challenge myself to do the following:

1. Continue with 'The Great Purge' and rid my home of items that are not useful or beautiful
2. Find some way each day to reduce, reuse, or recycle
3. Buy only items that are necessities (I have a feeling this one may be tougher than it sounds!)

Below is another great quote and picture I found on Pinterest 

I hope that leading by example will encourage my children to remember what is truly important.

À la vie et à l'amour

-Cortney