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Filed Under: ADVICE AND INFO, Daily, sponsored

Just Say No, To Credit Cards

Remember the Interac 21 Day Credit-Free Challenge I talked about? Did you take part/have you taken part? I don’t think there is an actual date set for a start time, so technically you can start tout suite if you like. Because I wrote about starting this whole, ‘only use my own money and no credit challenge’ I figured it only made sense to follow-up to let you know how it’s been going. Also so you know, that I am actually doing it that it wasn’t just a post for good looks and smiles (sponsors). So life without the use of credit cards, for the past few days (life is a bit of an overstatement) has been good and bad, here are a few points that have stood out so far.

THE HARD PARTS:

1. Online shopping – very very much a 1st world problem, so silly it feels silly to even mention. But I do about 80% of all our shopping, online. I prefer to not have to enter my petite feet into a shopping mall, and I prefer deal hunting from the comfort of my computer, than walking km’s around a mall. Online shopping is built for credit cards and it can be tricky to do so without one. But it’s not impossible! I have stuck to online stores that accept InteracDebit, some of them do. Luckily I haven’t had to do too much shopping, and really who needs to shop? Well other than necessities, and that is rarely ever online. (that picture up top? How I like to shop, comfortably).

2. Having to Really (actually) Stay on Top of my Budget – which is way easier said than done. I always thought I was pretty good at this, but it turns out I was a bit of a budget tracking slacker. This challenge has made me tighten my laces a little and be more focused on what’s coming out of our accounts.

THE GOOD PARTS:

1. Full Visibility of Spending – sure you get your credit card statements and can check those online with your bank if the two are connected, but FULL as in; full family visibility. Not that you or I need to be checking up on our spouses, or our spouses need to be checking up on our spending, right? But in the world of trying to stick to a budget, it’s really good to have visibility (for both people) on how that budget is going.

2. Stricter with Spending – I can’t be all relaxed with my spending, without having that credit card as a fall back. My eyes need to be on our spending and budget all the time. Which sounds like work, and it is ó but it’s a good thing. Which is why this point is in both the Hard and Good parts.

Otherwise everything is hunky dory, I try to live by these tips on a regular basis so the change hasn’t been gut wrenching or too difficult ó but it is always good to get a good kick in the butt when it comes to spending. Are you doing the Interac 21 Day Credit-Free Challenge? And hey guys, if you aren’t from Canada, you could still go for a 21 day no credit, only your own money, challenge.

Disclosure: This post was part of a sponsored collaboration between Interac Association and SheKnows

Interac is a registered trade-mark of Interac Inc. Used under licence.

Filed Under: Daily, STYLE AND ATTIRE, Uniform

Uniform / While The Seasons Decide

every day fall uniform every day fall boots fall style TOP: aritzia – JEANS: paradise mine – BOOTS: ted & muffy

The funny thing about these pictures is I found them on the camera after the kids and I took photos for my Not So Basics collection (PS. thank you, thank you all for your notes, likes, shares and support. You don’t know how much it truly means, I appreciate it all so much more than I can type).
If you are wondering why a couple of them are a tad bit blurry and I look maybe a bit uninterested in the camera, well that’s mostly because I didn’t know my little sneaker of a son was snapping away. There was of course hundreds more to choose from (as there always is when the kids grab a hold of the camera), but those were all super blurry or just super close-ups of my face, hair, butt and feet — you’re welcome for me leaving those out. Since I had been wanting to show you my new boots, new favorite boots I should add (LOVE THEM) — I decided to just use the pics (after a bit of clever cropping) and make a post. Also he did such a great job, my little photographer in the making.

Okay, we are moving into weather talk aka the worst kind of small talk around, but I feel like it has to be said. Since in Toronto, we seem to be in the midst of a strange (and very awesome) lengthened summer (that’s the politically correct way of saying that, correct?), fall dressing is sorta stuck in this transitional phase. The phase where you think your outfit is just right in the morning, but come the afternoon you are sweating buckets and cursing “these damn jeans!“. So while the weather decides (you can decide transitional summer-fall forever, I’m VERY cool with that!) I’m just going to alternate between my summer and fall clothes every other day, for fun.

While we are on the topic of Fall Clothes, why not check out these Fall Trends. That I broke down to be wearable and versatile.

I’m working on a Fall Shoe Trends (that aren’t super trendy) post, sign up to get that sent right to your inbox as soon as it gets published!

Filed Under: Collaborations, Daily, SALES AND SHOPPING, STYLE AND ATTIRE

Not So Basics (exclusively for mini mioche by heart and habit) Fall 2015

NOT SO BASICS for mini mioche by heart and habit #bestnotsobasics Yay!! Guys, this is our 4th official season working with the fantastic mini mioche in a design collaborative way. Since it worked so (SO) well the past 4 seasons, we decided to give it an actual name and twist it from a simple collaboration to a capsule collection. And this is the very first drop (oh yes, there will be one more!) of Not So Basics exclusively for mini mioche by heart and habit. All styles are of course made in mini mioche’s signature (and amazing) organic cotton — which wash and wears like nothing else, so it’s always gonna be hand-me-down. And as always everything from the fabric to the sewing is done in Toronto, hurrah for organic and ethically made kids clothes.

Okay already, enough with the chatter, I can here you shushing me. Let’s get with the pictures already. [PS. the grey overalls, aren’t actually available this season the photo was just too good not to use]

Filed Under: Daily, MUSIC AND BOOKS

6 More Documentaries To Watch

Maybe just in time for the weekend, here are 6 documentaries I’ve seen recently-ish that totally stuck with me. The kind that you tell all your friends about, because they NEED to see them too.

Going Clear: Scientology and The Prison Of Belief – I found this so fascinating, I’m always so intrigued and interested to learn about cults and religions and this one was darn good. (watch the trailer) *I watched it on netflix.

Tig – A personal biography of comedian Tig Notaro about her trials with breast cancer, it’s touching and funny and just really good (way better than my first impression let on). (watch the trailer) *it’s a netflix original so you can find it on there.

The True Cost – Everyone should watch this, as someone who works in the fashion industry I found it super interesting but really anyone who wears clothes would find it interesting. (watch the trailer) *I watched it on netflix.

20 Feet From Stardom – I loved this one, it shined a light on backup singers for some of the greatest musical legends. Super cool, humbling and just flipping great. (watch the trailer) *I watched it on netflix.

Citizenfour – A must watch, really everyone needs to watch this. I don’t know what to say about this without sounding like a conspiracy theorist, but the doc follows Edward Snowden who leaked classified covert info from the US government and then shared it. (watch the trailer)

Hot Girls Wanted – This one was pretty sad for me, but good to watch and be aware of this. The doc peeks a life look inside the amateur porn industry, how the girls are treated and how they are attracted to the industry. (watch the trailer) *it’s a netflix original so you can find it on there.

There are four more I wanted to add, but haven’t had a chance to watch them yet so I don’t know if they are share worthy — so maybe once I do I’ll make yet another list, I’ll probably make another list at some point anyways. Do you have any favorite docs you want to share? Have you seen any of these?
*And if you want 24 more to check out, here you go!

Since we are talking about weekends, what are your plans for the weekend? Us we are probably going to check out some of the happenings in the city, maybe get to one of those 4 new docs I was slightly mentioning and I’m hoping (and praying) to get to either Goodlife or yoga — both have been hard to get to since I’ve been on my own (Chris is working super crazy hours). I really wish both the gym and the studio offered kids classes at the same time as my (like I own them or something) classes, so the kids and I could all get in some good old physical fitness in — wouldn’t that be awesome/way better than childcare?

Filed Under: Daily, FAVORITE THINGS

Favorite Things / 12 : BTS Edition

I usually do a fun and detailed back to school post, but honestly I just didn’t shop like that this year. Since both my kids didn’t grow out of everything they owned (like they usually do) and the majority of their supplies are still in good order I just had to freshen things up/buy the things they outgrew. So instead of a really detailed post on outfit ideas and such, here are our favorite things that we have bought for back to school.
(but if you want a fun detailed outfit post, have a look at the past years — and see how much my kids have grown…cue my mom tears!!)

#livingthedream mini mioche tee #LIVINGTHEDREAM – Okay I’m biased, because this ones mine — the boy and the tee. This tee is the very first item that is part of our Not So Basics line at mini mioche. You know how I have collaborated with mini mioche in the past? 3 whole collections we have designed together to be exact, well since they do so well (you guys like them so much) and we are just such a great fit — mini mioche decided to make it more of a standard line! So from now and forevermore (okay not really, but it sounded better than saying; till an undecided time), little clothing designed by me and mini mioche will forever be known as NOT SO BASICS and available only at mini mioche.

charmit bracelet WEE CHARM BRACELET – I remember growing up, my mom had an old charm bracelet she has gotten and collected charms for when she was young, I always loved that thing, I thought it was so neat that she had a charm for all these important milestones in her life. I ended up just “inheriting” that instead of getting my own, but lucky little Harlow has one of her very own — and its way cuter than mine (my mom’s) ever was. Maybe not for back to school, but for after school.

soyoung lunch bag IS IT LUNCH YET? – Probably the nicest looking lunch bag around, plus it’s the easiest to clean and fits pretty much any container. The soyoung lunch bag, or cooler bag is also my favorite too. Yes I carry my own lunch when I’m not working from my kitchen table — and this is way cuter than my old brown paper bag.

jogger pants PERFECT SCHOOL PANT – we are a denim loving family, even the kids wear jeans 90% of the time. But as school, they both often like to wear “comfy pants” – which makes sense because they need to be comfy and ready for any activity. This year we found the PERFECT pants for King (so perfect I bought them in every color), it’s the jogger pant. Fits like a sweat pant, but in a khaki dress pant woven fabric — best of all worlds. King loves them most of all because they are mini versions of Daddy’s pants, always a good selling point. I actually got a couple of pairs from Old Navy too, because he just loves them so much.

stuck on you bottles PERSONAL BOTTLES – Rarely does anyone I know ever find their kids name in the personalized section of stores. So instead of even wasting our time looking (cause it’s for sure not going to happen for us), we just go to Stuck On You and place an order for personalized stuff. I’m excited for the kids to have these bottles for the school year, no more having to rewrite, or reapply labels that fall off 10 times during the year. And no more having to search that lost and found and not know which bottom is my kids or someone elses, because as much as I try to buy something that’s “different” there is always another kid who has it (and also loses it). They also have really great personalized everything, even labels if you’d rather that.

mini mioche jeans MOST COMFY SKINNY JEANS – Not even saying that because I’m totally biased, but these mini mioche jeans are the best. They are super stretchy so fit like comfy pants, have an elastic waistband (that doesn’t look like an elastic waistband, might I add) and they still just look like a really adorable pair of skinny jeans. They pair well with the jogger pants in those little closets, that is if you like having every pant in their closet be comfy, fit well and look good.

Any new back to school items you purchased that you/they just love? Share!

Filed Under: Daily, SALES AND SHOPPING, STYLE AND ATTIRE

High, Low And Medium / The Best Tee Shirts

the best tee shirts / at high, low and medium prices The two things I seem to always “need” and always have my eye open for are tee shirts and jeans. My wardrobe basically consists of both and honestly a really great pair of jeans that fit and a tee-shirt that makes you feel like a million bucks are pretty much the two best things you can own. Since a tee (or a plethora of tees) is a necessity in any closet, buy t-shirts that last is important, in my nerdy fashion opinion at least. Since I already went through the best high, low and medium priced skinny jeans (in a very overly detailed, nerdy way), it really just makes sense to do the same with tee shirts. Since you really don’t have to spend a hundred bucks to get yourself a really great tee-shirt (but you also can if you want), you just have to be able to do the work and hunt down the best at a better price point – and hey looky here, that’s pretty much what I’ve done for you. And just in time for back to school, for you – because you also deserve a few new things.

My personal requirements for THE BEST TEE SHIRT title: A really good cotton or cotton blend. Something that doesn’t pill (you know those annoying little balls that collect on knits?) and something that won’t easily catch and tear. Low on the shrinkage category and of course just a really good fit that doesn’t change after washing (isn’t that just the WORST when that happens?).
*All these brands do a really good basic tee, but they are the best because they do a really great basic and also more fashion-y tees that still fit all my nerdy fashion requirements.

Heart and Habit