Shopping and Packing

So, G and I have done a bit of shopping lately, you might have noticed.  When I found out that my beloved Noa Noa's Bury branch was closing, I got the 3 skirts.  But that was after buying things at TKMaxx like crazy the day or so before.  I told you about finding the great deal on the Elie Tahari jacket, but I didn't mention that we picked up 3 French Connection shirts at a huge discount for G.  He loves them because they're 100% cotton, and they are a slimmer fit.  And getting one in a charcoal, one in blue stripes, and one in brown stripes he will most definitely be wearing them often!  We also picked up a Scotch and Soda shirt from Javelin using part of the gift voucher they gave us for the VAT.  It's purple striped and G looks fantastic in it! It came with the cutest little cuff links, which swayed G.....he's been looking for shirts to wear cufflinks with.  

We also picked up 2 pillows for our future living room in Maryland.  We have a fantastic vintage coffee/tea set that we have decided to go with color wise for the living room.  We are planning on making a trip up to Soho in NY to go to the Thomas Paul studio to look at rugs.  We found one we love online, it goes well with the colors of the coffee set, but I want to make sure it's sumptuous in person.  It's a big purchase price wise, and we want to make sure it's worth it and will hold up for a decade or so (hopefully longer).  

Thomas Paul Rug Flora in Chocolate, Aqua and Green

The pillows have some similar colors, but are a wonderful stripe (and I LOVE stripes).  And since they're Belgian velvet and have down inserts, they will make a nice little pillow on some chairs we want to get eventually.  (all of this will be done/bought over time, but we're pretty good at coming up with a look and working towards it.  For instance I want some espresso brown silk dupioni curtains, but will wait until I can find a great deal on ebay.)  We're basically trying to make our home a bit more grown-up as we go along.  It's a slow process, but we're enjoying it.  I love looking at couches, trying to decide which ones will work best for us.  I want some more structured pieces for sure. 

This is the Pottery Barn Greenwhich Sofa, which I am lusting after majorly.  Structured, but not too fussy.

Silk Dupioni curtains, I want them in an espresso.  

Photo from potterybarn.com

And right now I am also packing up my clothes for the move.  I've pulled our 2 suitcases we bought before our honeymoon and am trying to see what will fit in them.  I've made a list of things we will want for a few weeks at home.  And some things will get packed just because if God forbid something happened to our shipment there are some things I would mourn if they were lost.  I know they're just things, but some of them are family things, like my antique old OLD mother of pearl and brass opera glasses.  I would die if things like that went missing.

So far I have found that the list works wonders.  It lets me see what I really need to pack, what is useless to pack, and helps me remember some things I would have otherwise forgotten.  Once the suitcases are packed, then the rest of the clothes that we are keeping is getting boxed up in totes.  It's the most organized I've been in a long time, and it feels fantastic.  I've also made a strict rule of tossing things out that we really never wear.  And this weekend they are getting dropped off at charities in Bury (since they get more turnover there, and can ask for higher prices, therefore making more money for the charities).  

I won't say it's been easy.  I tend to keep things "just in case."  But I am trying to stay strong and really streamline my closet, and our life.  We're looking at 2 bedroom townhomes in MD right now, so it won't be an itsy bitsy place or anything.  But as mentioned in the last blog, we are planning on starting a family at some point, so we won't always have a spare room.  And really, I like having fewer options for clothes, it makes things simpler.  It's not that I really will have a lot less clothes, but I am trying to think before I buy about what in my closet it can go with.  And how many different ways I can wear something.  I am also insisting things fit me now, instead of buying anything that I need to lose even a pound for.  Yes, I will probably lose that pound, but who needs that pressure?