Not Feeling It OOTD

Another day when there was a dress and heels on the agenda.  Another day where I woke up and said yuck, can I just wear my sweats.  We didn't resort to sweats and I did manage to keep the sweater and shoes from the original plan in the mix, but this was the best I could do.

Anybody else really missing warm weather?  I don't need 80s, although that would be great, but can I just leave my damn gloves and coat at home already??!!

Here's my cold weather alternative to a beautiful feminine dress that's begging to be worn.  I really love this sweater.  The details and fit are very nice, but something about the collar reminds me of that ruffly ring clowns wear around their neck (see close up below).  What do you think?

cords - Blank NYC via Piperlime; tank - Madewell; sweater - Anthropologie Ha'Penny; shoes - Target; nails - Zoya Eve

I did make a discovery today.  I have no bright colors in my closet.  There is color yes, but bright color, no.  A nice bright tank would've been better under this sweater today in my opinion.  Gonna have to remedy that with more shopping!!

Ok, ok, I admit it - I changed into flats before work.

Beautiful Photography & Clothing - Ruche!

Open publication - Free publishing - More catalog

Land's End Canvas Reviews (pic heavy)

Confession - I am loving Land's End's intro of the Canvas line.  The updated yet classic styles are perfect, the prices are affordable.  And the fact that it's available at my local Sears is awesome.  Plus, there are always coupon codes available and online orders typically arrive with a discount card towards your next purchase.

My summer haul is below.  Overall, I'm extremely happy with the fit and quality of what I purchased.  Some items came from Sears and some I ordered online with a 25% off code.

Click photos to enlarge.  Links to items available in text.

Sleeveless Empire Waist Dress.  First pics shown with Freehand Tartan Belt from Anthropologie.

Thoughts:  This dress is light and beautiful.  The only thing I would change is to add pockets.  This dress screams for pockets!  Runs exactly true to size.  The length is great so no fear of giving a show and the entire dress is lined.  Highly recommended.  I probably won't wear it with the belt shown here, but it would look great with a brown belt or just by itself.  It does seem like it may wrinkle easily so that is something to keep in mind.

Pleated Pattern Skirt:

Thoughts:  Another LOVE.  And this one does have pockets.  Yay!  This particular pattern appears to be sold out online, but there were plenty available at my local Sears.  Again, fully lined and an excellent length.  Super light weight for summer.  Cannot wait to wear it.  Runs true to size.  I'm considering stocking up on the other patterns available.  And apparently something about this skirt smelled very intriguing to Rico.

Lightweight Mini Shorts and Boyfriend Pocket Tee.

Thoughts:  Much shorter than I expected.  At my age, I'd be too self conscious to wear these outside the house.  I will be returning them for the longer length though (available here).  The price was right and these are sturdy, well made shorts in a classic style.  Runs true to size and does not cut into the muffin top (gotta love that).  The tee shirt is a tee shirt.  Classic style, nice soft cotton.  Runs a bit large in my opinion.  I will go back for more colors.  Several colors are available on the site for $6.99 and $8.99 before further discounts.  Run, don't walk.  These will not last and you can never have too many plain tees.

The Heritage Cardigan.

Thoughts:  How can you go wrong.  It's a basic cardigan.  This is a somewhat heavier weight than a J Crew or Gap cardi though and probably won't work in the real heat of summer.  I find the length a little long to be worn with fuller dresses, but it is versatile for everything else from pants to shorts to pencil skirts.  This color was available on the website for $22.99 along with several others.  Full price is under $40 regardless which is a steal for this quality in my opinion.

And that's it.  That is what I have accumulated from Land's End thus far.  There are many other items I'd love to have and overall I am very happy with the quality.  Never thought I'd go into Sears for anything other than appliances either!  Have you tried LE Canvas yet?

OOTD - First Day of Spring & a B-Day

This year on the first day of spring we had a party to go to.  My little nephew (actually, he's my grand nephew but that just makes me sound much older than 37) is turning 2.  Party was held at my sister-in-law's house and the weather was pretty nice.  Warm sun but the wind had a bit of bite to it.  I figured a good ole cardigan was the way to go here.

And luckily I decided not to have my new Paige Lou Lou's hemmed before washing and drying them.  The length is now perfect for the wedges I would typically wear with these.  Probably could lose an inch off the bottom, but after seeing how much they shrunk, I'm just going to keep 'em as is.

jeans - Paige Lou Lou via Anthropologie; tank - Gap outlet; cardigan - Land's End Canvas; shoes - Preview via Nordstrom Rack ($21 score!); nails - Zoya Eve

The kids all had a blast playing outside for the first time in a while!

 The beautiful birthday boy.  Can you say eyelashes for miles!

And we had skebbies for dinner.  This is my grand niece and her first spaghetti slurp.

And one of the hubs just cuz I think he's cute.  :)

Happy Spring everyone.

Anthro Haul Reviews continued

Continuing with my recent Anthropologie purchase reviews from this post, here are the remaining reviews.  Click photos to enlarge.  Links to items in text.

J Brand Skinny Moto jeans.  From Anthro's site:

On yours truly:

Thoughts:  My first pair of J Brands and I am in L-O-V-E.  Big time.  These are very comfortable and fit like a dream.  Not worn with the right sort of top here so the front zippers make me look a little wide and I've been slacking on my workouts, but I love the cropped length which makes this perfect for several seasons.  Not sure what else to say other than I love them and was very happy to get them on sale.  I did put these through the washer and dryer and noticed some slight fading.  They will not go into the dryer again.

J Brand Love Story Petite.  From the site:

My size was sold out on Anthro's site almost immediately.  And heck, the price tag is quite steep for me right now.  So, I sought out a pair on ebay.  They are a little lighter than the wash available at Anthropologie, but are the same style so I figured why not review.  Here they are on me:

Thoughts:  LOVE.  If I could define my perfect spring/summer jean, this would be it.  I love the style, the length is perfect (these are the petite version with a 31.5 inch inseam vs. the usual 35) and they are comfortable and well made.  Sadly though, I ordered a size too small.  These do not button so I will have to resell.  Sigh...I wish I could tell you how tempted I am to keep them and just wear with long shirts so you can't tell they are unbuttoned.  But, they are very much too small.  If my size pops back online, there is no doubt that I would purchase them even at the very expensive full price.

Shimmering Trellis heels.

The sad reality:

Thoughts: These are made for people with narrow feet.  I could not fit myself inside the toe box and they were very uncomfortable as the leather cut into the sides of my feet.  It's such a shame because I had high hopes for these and they are so beautiful and feminine.  My feet are not overly wide, but as you can see, I'm popping out the sides here.  On the right person though, these shoes are beautiful.  I love the soft suede and the color.  The wooden heel and back of the shoe are so dainty.  A truly classic and romantic style.  Would really have loved for these to fit.  Returning.  Boo!

Last but not least, a belt.  The Freehand Tartan Belt.

With a Land's End dress (LE Canvas reviews forthcoming):

Thoughts: It may not be great with this dress, but I like it.  It did seem a bit on the cheap side when I opened the box but it is like no other belt I've seen before and it fits well.  The colors are versatile.  Being that I paid a whopping $20, it's a keeper.  It runs large in my opinion.  Even on the tightest notch, the Small was not as snug as I would've liked.  Worn for an extended period of time up high on the rib cage, I'd imagine I'd be pulling it up from time to time.  An XS size option would be nice but I don't see that size available with any belt on the site.

Hope you made it through all my babble and pics.  Any disappointing purchases lately?

Anthropologie Haul Reviews (lots o' pics)

Since my recent Anthro purchase included some pieces that I hadn't seen reviewed many places, I figured why not try my hand at it.  Unfortunately the closest store to me is about 30 minutes away and just not very doable with my schedule, so I have to order online, try on at home and usually, return most of it.  They must really hate me there!

Here's the latest - thankfully with a keep or two.  Click photos to enlarge.  Links to items in text.

I'll start with my favorite.  Paige denim Lou Lou jeans.  Anthro's gorgeous model (oh, I will own that shirt one day soon):

Me (with tousled hair, no makeup and a puppy to keep me company):

My thoughts:  A little on the long side (I'm 5'6 and wearing a 4 1/2 inch wedge here and still have a little over an inch that will need altering).  I love the slim fit and the soft denim.  The dark color is slimming and they fit perfectly.  I do have jeans that are a little more flattering on my flat butt, but these aren't bad.  Overall, I'm so thrilled with these!  I'm sure my husband will be thrilled with my re-discovery of premium jeans.

Next up, the First Mate Skirt.  From the site:

On moi:

Thoughts:  Well, I loved this skirt from the first time I saw it on the site.  When it went I sale, I grabbed it.  The length is odd for me.  I've never done anything below the knee unless it was a gown.  I do love the ruching in front and around the butt.  I mean hello, I actually have a butt in this skirt.  Honestly, the reason I'm considering keeping it is because of the butt and the butt alone!  As you can see, the back view is less than stellar though.  This decision will be up to the husband.  And hey, did you notice my butt?  ;)

The Ease on Down Polo:

Me:

Thoughts: Too big, shapeless and very frumpy.  Not sure what I would wear this with so it is going back.  I recommend sizing down, possibly even two sizes, on this one.



More tomorrow.  Oh, and your honest to goodness thoughts on the skirt are more than welcome.