Getting ReOrganized!

Last weekend, while I was packing to head out of town for the long weekend, my walk-in closet collapsed on my head.

While no bodies or shoes were injured, it left me pretty upset - who knew I had so many clothes that the weight of them would cause such a disaster?

 

my poor closet half-way through the clean out. Notice the bar on the floor? :(

So after reinforcing the structure of the closet, I thought it was time to purge & reorganize. 

The result?

 

 While it looks like a jumble, I assure you, it's organized!

1. I folded all my sweaters, pants, and tank tops, and put them on the top shelf. I divided them up with very inexpensive shelf dividers from Storage Solutions.
2. All my large bags were also put on the top shelf, and the same dividers were used to make them stand upright.
3. Tall boots also made their way to the top shelf, and rolled up magazines were used to help them keep their shape. 
4. Belts, scarves (which used to be shoved in a drawer!), and smaller bags, are now all hanging where I can see them for easy access. I was so surprised how many different types of hangers you can get, and all for only a few bucks!
5. The left side hold all my tops, coats, and layering pieces organized by type and weight. I'm not the type of person who has a "summer" and "winter" wardrobe to swap out... although maybe I should be?
6. The right side holds dresses and skirts. I'm sure I'll be sharing this space with the bf soon, so I need an alternate solution, or to downsize more..... hmmm....
7. My pride and joy! Haha, I love my shoe collection, and I love that it's all on display now. all together, these four shelves cost me $20 at Home Depot. They were super easy to put up too!
8. I know I'm gonna get a lot of flack for this one - but all my flats are now in a convenient basket. I can grab and go, and not worry about them taking up ridiculous amounts of space.

 

 I couldn't resist showcasing a close-up of my babies :)

So tell me, how do you keep your closet organized?

An Uneventful Weekend...

It's turning out to be a very uneventful weekend. Yesterday was gorgeous, but was spent cleaning the house in preparation for my mother's return, so we anticipated going into the gatineau hills today, or maybe to a farm to pick up some pumpkins... Unfortunately the weather is just awful (cold, gray, gross) so it looks like it will be another spent around the house. Maybe I'll head down to Michael's to pick up some craft items... Stephanie of love&lace has some absolutely gorgeous DIY halloween ideas on her blog.

blazer - Ricki's (2008)
cowl sweater - BCBG (2008)
pants - Gap (2010)
heels - Aldo (2010)

Convocation!

Last Friday was Convocation!

Although I feel like I was seriously misled by American movies, (no caps! no pomp and circumstance! no valedictorian!) my Graduation was pretty amazing! I had a chance to rock a seriously fabulous dress, all the parental units got to meet up, and our Chancellor (real name Tom Jackson) was Billy Twofeathers from Shining Time Station! Ohhhh early 90's children's shows... how I miss you.

This post is a little picture heavy, but can you blame me?

The girls.... minus my BFF. Damn you for not being a business student! haha.

Receiving congrats from the Chancellor

J & myself!

Fancy scenic shot of the river that runs through campus.

Nonna, myself and mom. haha poor girl forgot her sunscreen!

And of course, my fancy dress made by myself and my grandmother!

pearls - Gift from god-parents (1998)
dress- DIY (2010)
shoes - Trendzone (2010)

Something to do with My Free Time

First day back to class and I'm already done with the whole school scene. Not a good sign, haha.

Worn Mon, Jan. 11th:

cardigan - H&M
dolman top - F21
belt - Spring
pants - Miley/Max
boots - thrifted @ Just Like New

Yesterday I headed downtown to run a few errands and ended up at Chapters. Damn I love book stores. I know the selection online is better, and usually cheaper, but there's just something about browsing through crisp new books with a hot coffee that makes me all happy inside.

Anyways, in my browsing I found the most wonderful book and snatched it up right away.
Twinkle Sews is by designer Wenlan Chia of the line Twinkle by Wenlan, and actually shows you (complete with patterns) how to create some of her simpler designs and this season's trends.

She includes some awesome intricate features as well such as pleating, origami folds and pin-tucking, which is great to introduce design elements to beginners.
As someone who is definitely not a professional (never had a class), but loves to sew in her spare time, I'm recommending this book to everyone I know.
I'll be sure to share with you my future projects!

my very own le sac dress!

After reading this post by Indiana Adams over at Adored Austin, and promptly following the link to these instructions, I figured, hey, I can do that! And probably pretty quickly too...

So, instead of working on my politics paper, I made my very own Le Sac Dress.
After screwing up the ribbon twice (for future reference, a minimum of three arm lengths!), I think the result came out pretty well.

super easy to make! but whether or not i actually wear it out is still to be seen... oh! and forgive the hair and lack of make up... this is the only time i was out of my pjs all day long :)

shirt - Miss Sixty (ages ago)
shoes - Spring (ages ago)