Simple Autumn Outfit Idea – White Tee, Jeans and Cardi

/ Fashion / 0 comment

The white tee, jeans and cardi outfit is one I predominantly wear throughout autumn and winter for my everyday, casual style.

It’s a simple outfit which can be changed by swapping your cardi.

white tee, jeans and cardi

Wearing Jericho Road Pink Cardi with White and Navy Stripe Tee

Winters can be mild Queensland, so having layers means we can remove them as needed to match the midday temperature.

On the weekend I headed to The Finders Keepers Markets and bought this pink cardi from Jericho Road Clothing. It was on sale and the last one in my size.

I didn’t need another cardi. I have quite a few… but I didn’t have this colour in my wardrobe and I knew I could work it casually and dress it up for work should the need arise.

Elevating a basic jeans and tee outfit can be by adding colour or texture in the way of a cardigan.

Cardigans can come in a variety of styles – waterfall, buttoned, slim fit, open collar, chunky, cable knit, v-neck and long line just to name a few. Having a variety of cardigans can offer endless outfit options.

I’ve found some simple cardis in a variety of textures, lengths, patterns and colours online. You can see in  most of them, the white tee and jeans makes each cardi sing!

Cardis to go with your White Tee and Jeans Outfit

Alaska Cardigan in Blush $69

Alaska cardigan in Blush

Lennox Relaxed Cardigan $170.00

lennox relaxed cardigan stripes with white tee and jeans

Gorman Mosaic Cardigan $249

Mosaic cardigan with jeans and tee outfit

Zaket & Plover Basket Weave Cardi $219.95

blue cardi with white tee and jeans

The Self Styler Anna Cardigan $59.95

teal cardigan self styler

She Street Coco Cardi in Pink $79

Coco cardi in pink She Street

Bohemian Traders Cable Knit Cardi in Sage $269.95

Bohemian Traders Sage Knit cardi

Are you team cardi or do you prefer jumpers?

Disclosure: There are affiliate links on this post. Should you choose to purchase an item, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

 

12 Tops Under $100 to Wear With Jeans

/ Fashion / 0 comment

Looking for tops under $100 to wear with jeans? This post has you covered.

In Queensland, the cool change has been felt! It’s the season of jeans and tops with knits and jackets layered over dresses.

Nikki from Styling You recently shared a fab post on nice tops to wear with jeans. There was also a link with tips on finding the right jeans. There is no point buying nice tops if you don’t have jeans to wear with them.

I own 3 pairs of jeans. One dark denim, one light denim and one ripped pair. The ripped pair will soon need to be replaced, not because of the rips but because bending my knees has made the rips turn into gaping holes at my knees.

However, tops can be worn with coated jeans, black and white jeans. Depending on their style, they can also be intermixed with workwear – if you’re one that has started working in an office.

Points to consider when choosing tops to wear with jeans

  • What layers can you wear over the top with your jeans to turn it from an autumn to winter outfit?
  • Shoes can dress down or elevate your look. Brogues and sneakers are great for a casual look. Heels and boots can dress your jeans and top outfit.
  • Check you have the right amount of jeans to wear with your tops.
  • Can the top be worn with other skirts or pants in your wardrobe to get more cost per wear?

If you’re on a budget and need to add some nice tops to your wardrobe, I’ve found some styles online under $100. Some could even be worn in summer with denim shorts. Think beyond the cooler months and how these tops can be worn into summer too.

12 Tops Under $100 to Wear With Jeans

12 tops under $100 to wear with jeans

Black and White/Neutral Print Tops

Orange and Blue Toned Tops

Boho Style Tops

Floral Print Tops

Disclosure: There are affiliate links on this post. Should you choose to purchase an item, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. 

10 Things to Try Before Emotional Shopping

/ Lifestyle / 0 comment

Looking for ways to control your emotional shopping? Try these tips to get your dopamine hit without it hurting your back pocket or cluttering your wardrobe.

If you watched the recent episode of Space Invaders on Saturday night, you would have seen the effects of emotional shopping.

There were racks and racks overflowing with clothes. I don’t think Peter Walsh could work out where the wardrobe started or ended! And the under drawer compartment of the bed was packed to the brim with shoes and handbags.

The overall income from the donations once all the belongings were culled was under $20,000!

I found myself relating to this beautiful lady’s story of going shopping when she needed a pick-me-up. It had become a go-to habit – a distraction if you will –  to help her forget how she felt her life should have been.

We always think about the financial cost to emotional shopping, but we never consider the costs to our wellbeing and environment. The clutter that soon forms from overconsumption soon affects our homes.

If you do suffer from emotional shopping, it’s important to find what the trigger is and the underlying cause.

Emotional spending is often a cover to something that needs to be brought to the surface and dealt with. It can also be triggered from inadequacy. What is making you feel this way and why? I found this article from Mum’s Savvy Savings really helpful in ways to curb emotional spending.

10 things to try before emotional shopping

Starting a new habit to curb emotional shopping is something you could adopt.

Here are some things to try before you shop with your emotions

  • Catch up with a friend in person
  • Read an Uplifting Book
  • Listen to a podcast to distract your mind from shopping
  • Reach out to a friend and go for a walk
  • Head to the gym
  • Sit outside in the sunshine with your feet on the grass
  • Do something creative – like painting, drawing, singing…
  • Find a new hobby
  • Listen to music
  • Book a treatment – massage/facial/pedicure

If emotional shopping is something you partake in every once in a while, only you can determine if it is having a detrimental effect on you.

Regular donations or selling pieces when you buy something new can ensure you maintain your wardrobe efficiently.

Turning the hangers the opposite way and seeing what pieces you haven’t worn in a while is also another way to curate your clothes.

Do you have any tips to curb emotional shopping? How do you distract yourself if you need a pick-me-up?

40 Ways to Change Your Home Interior

/ Interiors / 38 Comments

Need to change your home interior? Here are 40 ways to do it with a budget and an investment of time. 

The interior of our home is a reflection on the way we live and our personal style.

There was A LOT of time spent at home last year and so changing things up can be as good as the holiday we weren’t able to go on!

Our love for renovating shows and creating mood boards from Pinterest and Instagram can make our home interior feel dated.

But a few tweaks and changes can make the biggest difference. It also doesn’t have to involve a large scale renovation.

Sometimes, a new interior look can be achieved with little cost.

I’ve compiled a list of 40 ways to change up your home interior. It doesn’t involve a lot of cost, but just a few tweaks that can make your space look different and refreshed.

I typically rotate around all 40 of these ideas. You might have some ideas to add to the list. I’d love you to share them in the comments.

40 ways to change your home interior

40 Ways to Change Your Home Interior

1. Change photos in your photos in your frames or add an updated photo to your current collection on display.

2. Buy a tea towel or fabric and frame it to put on display in a prominent area of your home.

3. Buy new artwork. This can be a luxury buy if you are after an investment piece, but if you’re simply wanting to add interest to a room, you can get some budget friendly artwork online for under a couple of hundred dollars.

4. Paint a feature wall. Feature walls are an easy way to update your home interior.

5. Rearrange your furniture. We did this recently and the difference to our living room has created a larger space.

Rearrange furniture in living room

6. Change or add a table cloth.

7. Create a new centerpiece for your dining table.

8. Remove magnets from your fridge and place all notes on the side of the fridge where they are out of view, but not completely out of sight.

9. Change your hand towel. Sometimes buying a new set of towels isn’t great on the wallet, but a hand towel will only set you back $20 and can add some colour to your bathroom and/or kitchen.

10. Add herbs to your kitchen.

add herbs to kitchen for a new interior look
11. Hide appliances in the cupboard to create a minimal look.

12. Change a pendant light for something more modern and up-to-date. (Will need an electrician for this).

13. Rearrange your books by colour in the book case.

rainbow library retro living room

Photo by Hudson Interior

 14. Create a pile of books and add a décor piece on top for a simple vignette.

15. Dig into your existing homeware collection and bring out new pieces that can be put on display. Those old glasses you inherited from your grandparents, or a trinket tray.

16. Add a vase of flowers to the end of your kitchen bench or side console.

add a vase of flowers to your side console to change up the interior of your home

17. Change your cushion sizes and rearrange around your living areas.

18. Change or add a throw to the end of your sofa.

19. Remove old magazines and donate them to schools, Kindys or nursing homes. Make a pile of books or games under or on the coffee table.

20. Update cushion covers.

21. Make a planter out of different vessels around the home. Jug, lantern or vase can be used.

22. Use a chunky throw as a bed runner.

chunky throw for bed

Photo by Immy + Indi

23. Update your soap dispenser with a new one.

24. Use a placemat instead of a tray when creating a vignette.

25. Make a gallery wall with all the artwork you’ve collected. Incorporate your kids artwork into the mix.

26. Paint the front door.

27. Change the door mat – both at the front of your home and the back.

change the front door mat

28. Buy a floor lamp for your living area.

29. Use an empty perfume bottle as a vase.

30. Add shelves to walls to add interest and put your homewares on display.

31. Display nature items like gum nuts and birds nests amongst your favourite homeware items.

32. Use washi tape to hang your kids art on the walls. Change it as new art comes in.

33. Add an occasional chair to your living room.

34. Change your rug.

35. Remove the table runner and use a plate or tray instead with condiments and servers.

36. Add plants to your living room.

37. Make a coffee table using a stool.

38. Rearrange the styling on your buffet.

39. Swap around the styling on your TV unit.

40. Light a new candle or use a diffuser – it will add a new scent to your home which will change the way you look at your home.

How do you change the interior of your home without spending a lot? What interior tips can you share?

Finding Clothes for Tween Girls

/ Lifestyle / 1 Comment

Finding clothes for tween girls can be a hard task. Here are some tips and tricks after experiencing this season with my tween. 

I’m in the challenging stage of finding clothes to fit my 10 year old daughter who will soon be taller than me!

It seems we have outgrown the limited tween kids range and now need to explore the women’s range of clothing. But it’s tricky as the clothing options are sometimes more suited to a fully developed women’s body. Sometimes the styles are just not age appropriate.

Tween Clothes Tips from Others

Be a Fun Mum has an excellent post on how to convert kids sizing to adult sizing for girls. There is also a list of clothing stores to consider for this age group. Most of the brands weren’t ideal for my tween hence why I’m sharing what has been successful for us recently.

Suger Coat It has a list of plus sized clothes for teenagers. Definitely worth a look for your tween daughter.

It can be a heart wrenching and delicate season when your daughter can’t find clothes to fit her from what is offered in the tween/teen section.

But don’t let it define her.

In fact once you’re aware the tween clothes aren’t going to work anymore, this can open up to a whole lot of other stores which would have been previously ignored.

My advice is to not talk about their body but how pieces of clothing are made and why they aren’t always sewn to suit our frame. The fault is placed on the piece of clothing and NOT on your tween daughter’s body.

Also your daughter’s greatest example for fashion is you – her mum. So stop talking down about your body and stop focusing on size.

We spent a full day at Indooroopilly Shopping Centre to try on clothes and find pieces my tween would feel comfortable in. It was an exhausting effort and not completely successful.

However a recent online shop from Ally Fashion seemed to fill in the gaps. This is why I’ve created this post because I know I’m not alone with this struggle.

There are a few tricks I’ve discovered which may help you as you navigate this season with your tween daughter.

Finding Clothes for your Tween Girl – Where to Shop

Here are a list of brands where we have found success in purchasing clothes for the tween girl age group.

  • Best and Less
  • Kmart
  • Ally Fashion
  • Dangerfield
  • Myer
  • Dotti
  • Supre
  • Jay Jays
  • H&M
  • Shein
  • Sportsgirl

I’ve also put together some outfit ideas. All tweens will have their own sense of style and how they would like to dress. They may turn their nose at these suggestions, but my tween girl didn’t so I’m taking her feedback as being on the right track.

Tips and Tricks for Tween Clothes Shopping

  • Online stores will often have a bigger range than the bricks and mortar stores. Even stores like Ally have pieces that are only available online and not instore.
  • Choose skater style skirts and dresses as the length and style should suit a tween frame.
  • Round and square neck are great cuts for tees and dresses. V-neck and cross over style dresses will often hang loosely over the chest area.
  • What looks like short shorts on a teen/ younger woman’s body, may actually be above the knee or mid thigh for your tween. Don’t completely write them off.
  • Knit shorts are great for that transition period when growth happens. The stretchy waist is comfortable when worn on the hips or waist.
  • A few longer t-shirts can be worn as they are or knotted to create a crop style. Having a few tees with length means they are appropriate for free dress days at school.
  • A denim jacket is a classic piece all tweens and teens should have as part of their wardrobe to layer over dresses in winter.
  • Always look at the returns policy when shopping online for your tween. You may need to return some items and get a refund or exchange for something different. I have found Ally and Best and Less brilliant with their returns and exchanges when I’ve purchased online.
  • Tweens and teens can be fussy about what they will wear. Get them to look at Pinterest or peruse online shops to get an idea of what their style is.
  • Tiered style dresses are on trend and can be purchased in summer and winter styles. Team with a pair of sneakers/sandals for summer and layer with tights, boots and jacket for winter.
  • Tie dye and twin sets are also big trends with this age group. Jay Jays and Sportsgirl have had these options available.
  • Kmart is great for shoes and accessories. Their feet can grow so quickly, so I usually will invest in a pair of sandals and flat sneakers to be worn with outfits.
  • If your tween is reluctant to try clothes on, a stylist can help them discover what works for them. It’s money and time well spent. Your tween may learn a thing or two about putting outfits together which is actually a learned skill that even some adults struggle with.

Where have you gone to buy clothes for your tween girl?

Disclosure: There are affiliate links on this post. Should you choose to purchase an item, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost. 

1 … 3 4 5 6 7 … 79