Tinkerblue

ECCO Hobart Boots

How could I not buy these boots?

One, they fit my 17.5" calves
Two, they are named Hobart. I grew up in Hobart.

I've been looking for brown/cognac boots for ever. Seriously, ask Shazza and Kath who were with me last year. We looked in Vancouver and Seattle.

Ask Michelle who has heard me bitch more often than she ever wanted to.

So where did I find said boots? In Sechelt. That's like saying I bought them in Bicheno (for my fellow Taswegians) or Rye (for Victorians).

They were slightly over budget, but when you find boots to fit beyond extra wide calves, and they're called Hobart, you buy them.

Twin Necklaces Part II

Jo gifted me this necklace for Christmas. Before she gave it to me, she had to take it for a test run.

Jo liked it so much, she had to buy one for herself.

They are Venetian glass, made by Antica Murrina. Each piece is slightly different. Mine has more green and blue in it, Jo's has more red. I love the name, Millefiori, a thousand flowers.

I wear it a lot, as Jo says, it goes with everything. I'm considering ordering one to give as a gift as well. I like the tree pendant too. (Jo already has that one!) is it weird that we have matching jewelry?

http://www.petersofkensington.com.au/Public/Antica-Murrina-Millefiori-Pendant-Necklace.aspx

http://www.petersofkensington.com.au/Public/Antica-Murrina-Millefiori-Tree-Pendant-Necklace.aspx

Twin Necklaces

Ever heard the saying, " When you see something you like, buy multiples"?

Apparently Jo and I both subscribe to this theory.

A year or two ago I bought the silver tree necklace as a present for Jo. I also bought one as a present for Jane. Then I was jealous, so a few months later I bought one for myself. Yep, three of the exact same necklace. It's called Meghan and it's from a local Vancouver company, Sugarlime.

I have several pieces of Sugarlime jewelry that I've purchased over the years. Karen is the owner/designer. Karen's mum used to work at the same Royal Bank centre with me.

www.sugarlime.com

Which Dress to Pack

I'm only taking one. They all pack well. They are all easy care. In fact they are all pretty much the same shape and length, just different colors.

Ignore the bad hair day pony tail. It'll get felt with before I leave for the airport.

Preparing for Australia

Over Christmas I won a $25.00 gift certificate to Bloom Essentials.

Today I went to get a pedicure. Gone are the snowmen and snowflakes. Now I have blue and gold toenails. Perfect for summer.

This week I'm wearing snow boots. Next week I'll be wearing flip flops. I hope.

Advent Calendar Day #15 - Christmas Pedicure

For many years now Barb and I have been going to Bloom Essentials in December for Christmas pedicures. We were a bit late this year, but we finally went today.

But first we went to the Vancouver Christmas Market for feuerzangenbowle and raclette. (If I was posting from my laptop I'd add some links. I'm not. So google them).

Last year I had red toenails with white snowflakes, the year before I had blue toenails with silver snowflakes, and I can't remember previous years!

This year I have navy blue toenails, with cute little snowmen on my big toes and snowflakes on the rest.

Advent Calendar Day #11 - Christmas Pyjamas

I know a lot of people who give their kids a new pair of Christmas pyjamas on Christmas Eve.

I usually sleep in a t-shirt. But I lounge around in pj's. There is nothing better than coming home from work, having a bath, putting on clean jammies, pouring a nice glass of wine and reading a good book or phoning a friend for a chat.

These are my new pyjamas. Well, my new jammie pants. They cost me a whole $10.00. So I bought two pair. These are my untraditional Christmas pants - pink and grey. I'm quite taken with the grey lace on the cuffs. (My second pair are more Christmassy - red with snowflakes and white lace).

Something Blue

If we were to redo our wedding I'd be wearing these.

Charm Heels from Kate Spade.

Shoe Storage - Plastic Shoe Boxes

Continuing on with the clean up my wardrobe theme. Oh how exciting my life has become. I can see my mum and hubby rolling their eyes. Actually I can hear my mum, "Only you could talk about shoe boxes/coat hangers/insert appropriate word here."

 

We keep most of our shoes in the closet at the front door. If they don't fit in the closet then they live on the floor, or in with the hot water tank and Christmas decorations.

 

 

Until now. While shopping in the States over the weekend I picked up a box of boxes. 20 boxes on sale for $29.80. That's $1.49 a box. If they didn't work for shoes, I'd use them for crafts or hubby would use them at the hangar. 

 

 

They worked. I can see all my shoes. And the mess is gone from the floor. Can't guarantee it will stay gone.

 

 

And hubby's Blundstone's are all lined up under the bench. Well not all of them. There are still some in the closet and I'm assuming that he has a pair on his feet right now.  He has so many pairs that I found a pair with the tags still on. He's never worn them. He has black, brown, red elastic, steel toe, black dress and 2 pairs of sandals. All Blundstones. All made in Tassie. He hasn't bought any since they moved the factory to Vietnam.

 

 

Ironic isn't it. I have so many pairs of shoes, but I prefer being barefoot.

 

Huggable Hangers

Over the weekend I was reading Sara's You, Me and Anthropologie blog. She was giving a tour of her new closet. She mention that hanging space was at a premium. Several commenters posted that she should try the huggable hangers - they take up less room and clothing doesn't slide off them. The originals are from The Container Store ($9.99 for 6). Amazon ($25.00 for 50) and Target ($19.99 for 34 piece combo pack) both have versions of them to.  I kind of thought that would be nice but didn't give it much thought after that.

 

Then I was in Costco, just outside of Seattle, and they had a box of 50 for $12.00. So I thought why not give them a try. For $12.00 if they don't work it doesn't really matter.

 

Today I swapped out most of my assortment of  wood and green and white plastic hangers for the black velvety huggable hangers. Guess what? They actually appear to take up less space. I even hung up stuff that that had been relegated to a drawer. And there's still a chunk of closet at the back that is empty.

 

And I like that all the hangers are the same. Now I want another box so I can remove the rest of the plastic hangers.  I like the symmetry. Get over it. 

 

Skirts will be next. Yep, I own a crap load of skirts. Who'd have thought. Anyone want my old plastic hangers? There's about 50 of them.