Lifestyle Archives - Traveling With Meghan

Heathered Jersey Dress:: Remixed

This is what I wore today. I really dislike what I wore today. Oh well. If I changed again I would have been unacceptably late to work. Last week when I wore this dress, I absolutely LOVED how it turned out. This week not so much. It was definitely warm. Definitely comfortable. Less than flattering though. For several minutes I stood there contemplating my cobalt tights instead of the black leggings with knee highs underneath. Cobalt leggings might’ve been a better choice. Maybe no belt? I don’t know. What I was pleased with in this outfit were the knee highs I wore under my leggings. Cheating at it’s finest. Elastic waistband and opaqueness of the leggings with the sheer foot of the knee highs. I received the knee highs from Kushyfoot, a company who designs unique knee highs and tights. Call me an old lady, but I like knee highs. I’m hot natured, so adding a full extra layer is a bit much for me. These kushyfoot knee highs have a neat design on the foot soles to “massage” the bottoms of your feet. Though I wouldn’t call it massaging, it’s similar to circulation footwear (ya know, like for diabetics) and it did keep my feet from getting tingly after wearing wedges all day. I’m excited to try the other items they sent me.

Do you have any suggestions for this outfit? Help me out. Where did it go wrong?

**this post contains affiliate links**
dress:: Madewell (back in stock, similar) plaid shirt:: Old Navy necklace:: J.Crew (similar) belt:: Old Navy (very old, similar) leggings:: Old Navy knee highs:: c/o Kushyfoot wedges:: TOMS

Linking up with:

Lauren at Fizz and Frosting

Sunday Lately:: Wk. 1

Today I am incredibly psyched to start a new link-up with my amazing blogging buddies, Katy and Nicole. We have been doing My Favs on Thursdays for the past year and we agreed to take our link-up in a new direction and to a new day! I’m especially excited since my previous Sunday link-up ended a few months ago. Welcome to Sunday Lately. Here are this week’s lately words.

Swatching all my #julepmaven polish acquisitions so that I can see the colors when they go to their new storage. #julep #nailpolish #organization

A photo posted by Meghan Hayes (@meghan_hayesdays) on Jan 1, 2015 at 1:36pm PST

::Planning:: many hypothetical trips that I hope become realities soon. I have a friend and her little family in Mexico I want to visit and I haven’t been to New York City in 15 years. That must be some kind of sin. Of course, there’s the looming Disney World trips for the rest of the year that haven’t been booked. The travel bug is making me itch something fierce!
::Loving:: my job. Though I have complained about it before, I love being busy. January 1 is always a tumultuous time at a doctor’s office with insurance starting over, end of year accounting details, inventory, etc. Being busy is my favorite past time. Things are finally starting to fall into place too. I feel like I know what I’m doing now.
::Reading:: still Amy Pohler’s Yes Please. The reading wagon left without me a few weeks ago, so I’m behind on my fun reading. It’s not necessarily what I was expecting it to be, but I’m looking forward to finishing it and developing a more thorough opinion.
::Wishing:: for a good dresser to fall into my lap. Not literally, but figuratively. A dresser is probably a shallow sounding wish, but organizationally speaking, it would do wonders for our master bedroom and closet. We’re working with limited space and I’ve finally come to terms with the fact that we need a dresser after trying to go without one for a few years now. I’m picky and Corey actually has an opinion about furniture pieces, so we’ve been without one.
::Feeling:: so energized about getting all my bathroom goods in order. Makeup from my many mascaras to the tiny samples of luminizer to try. Then there’s the facial lotions, hair care, nail polish, and the many hotel shampoos and conditioners that all need spots. Now they have them. I took pictures too. Yes, I am an organization nerd.

An InLinkz Link-up

Knit Infinity Scarf

It’s the last outfit of 2014! I was going to wait and post this outfit, but I loved it too much to save it until after I can get my capsule photographed and posted. This dress is one of the new items in my winter capsule. It’s the perfect slate for colored accessories, which I am hot on the hunt for. My wardrobe has become all neutrals to say the least, so I’m in the market for some colors. Hopefully my quest for colors will come in the form of more knit infinity scarves. Knit Pray Love in Atlanta made this one and I picked it up at the ICE Holiday Market. The closest I’ve come to finding them outside of the market is an abandoned etsy and pinterest. Thankfully I have their card from the fair with an email on it. Can’t wait to wear more knit scarves in 2015.

::this post contains affiliate links::
scarf:: Knit Pray Love (similar) necklace:: J.Crew (similar) ring:: Madewell (similar) renegade bracelet:: Stella & Dot cuff:: J.Crew (similar) cardigan:: J.Crew (similar::ebay options) dress:: Madewell (similar) leggings:: aerie booties:: Sam Edelman (this year’s)

ideas for wearing a knit infinity scarf :: www.hayesdays.com

Budgeting Bloggers:: December Finals

Budgeting Bloggers is a linkup hosted by Fran of Franish where you recap what you purchased and spent in the past month in an effort to curate a functional closet!

Hello December’s end. It’s crazy to see how fast this year has gone. As cliche as it is to say that, I find myself saying it more and more. December was a small month of shopping for me. I don’t care for crowds at the malls in December and being out of town twice during the month kept me from shopping. Surprisingly, I shop less when I’m out of town. Here’s what did get delivered to my house during December::

1. Heathered Jersey Dress:: Orig $118, paid $49
2. Renegade Cluster Bracelet:: Orig $59, paid $35 for two via posh closet @missief
3. Me Too Kaden flat:: Orig $80, paid $12 via posh closet @rasampson1978
4. Buffalo Plaid Quilted Vest:: Orig $108, paid $44
5. Colorblock anorak:: Orig $125, paid $20 via posh closet @minnecita

Total:: $160 (made $242.05 off sales)

Total saved off retail:: $389

I need every month to be like this! I did a lot of Poshmark shopping compared to more recent months. They re-did the app and it has been harder to find things I like. The bracelets aren’t in the best shape, but I saved so much money and they’re great quality. I hope to clean them both up a bit. I’ve already been wearing the one that looks good. The flats are to replace a pair I wore out and are identical to another pair I already owned and am very excited to have gotten them for such a good deal. The anorak was my best purchase. New with tags for only $20? Perfect.

After taking three months off from madewell orders, (I’m so proud of myself– though I did go to a store once) I broke my streak and was (as always) more impressed with the dress in person than on their website. The fabric is amazingly soft for this dress. The only other retail order came from J.Crew factory. Vests have become my best friend this season.

So! How did you do during December?

5 Unexpected Benefits of a Capsule Wardrobe

When I started trying a capsule wardrobe in August, I was ready to reap the financial benefits. Since working with a capsule for the past several months, I have experienced more than just financial benefits.

1. Less Laundry:: less ironing, less folding, less putting away. Don’t all of those things sound great? If you only have 40 or 50 pieces, you have to do laundry on a regular basis or else you just don’t have anything to wear.
2. Easier Morning Dressing Routine:: being in a capsule doesn’t make it easier to put on clothes, but it does make it easier to pick something out. I don’t miss the mornings where I would stand in my closet and have no idea what to wear despite barely being able to pull things out my closet because it was so packed.
3. More creative outfits:: when you’re working with the same items, you are forced to be more creative with those items or else you wear the same outfit over and over.
4. Utilizing Accessories:: this goes along with being more creative. I don’t know about you, but when I was bringing in tons of new pieces, I paired the same accessories with those new pieces. Now that I’m working with the same items for a few months at a time, I’m wearing more of my necklaces and scarves. I feel like I’m putting more finishing touches on my outfits too.
5. Better Shopping Sense:: previously, I felt like I would aimlessly buy things that I wanted and maybe wasn’t in love with. Now that I wear the same items on a more regular basis, I better be in love with them since I can’t just switch what I’m wearing all the time now. I also feel like I’m buying better quality because I’m not spreading my shopping funds so thinly. My closet seems to have a good focus now.

I plan on continuing in some sort of capsule wardrobe way for the foreseeable future. Mostly my reasons are financial, but these five reasons above are icing on the cake! Which reason would be most appealing to you?

December Ipsy and Birchbox Unboxing Videos

My Birchbox and Ispy Glam Bag came a day apart this time, so I ended up combining the videos. It got a little long, so I apologize for that in advance.

Get your very own Glam Bag here and Birchbox here.

Ipsy products::