I'm Back...Cloaked in Roses, with an Emerald Isle, and in a Lace Scallop...

Hi, all! I am feeling great! At the end of the post I will let you know how my surgery and recovery has been, but I know some of you are just beyond tickled at the gorgeous Anthropologie sale they are having on-line and in stores, so I want to get to some reviews/outfits that feature current on-sale offerings! :)

First up is the Cloaked in Roses Jacket by Charlie and Robin.  This AMAZING lace-covered, boiled wool piece was a pretty penny, ringing up at around $180 before it went on sale (this morning!!!).  I fell hook, line, and sinker in love with it in the store and although I knew it would probably go on sale, I had to have this piece for the trip I took to NYC the weekend before my surgery (for those of you counting that would be the weekend of the 10th-12th).  I knew this outfit I wore above would be the exact right outfit for walking around Soho in as I knew it would keep me warm, but be visually interesting enough that the Sartorialist wouldn't keel over and die if he saw me in it.  LOL.

Thoughts:  I bought a size small.  The length, waist, and sleeve length is exactly right on me.  The shoulders and bust are a touch too big, but nothing terrible.  I feel like the lace looks delicate, but is more sturdy than you might realize (I snagged a few lace-y bits through the day and there is no damage as far as I can see).  My hubby LOVED this jacket. 

I bought this jacket one week and six days ago.  For those of you doing the Anthro price adjustment calculations...you guessed it...I was able to apply a price adjustment to this jacket today at the Tyson's store and with that adjustment and one other (and the phenomenal extra 25% off sale items), I was able to save (your jaws are going to drop) $125.  (Which I then promptly applied to an orange Paisley Gust sweater jacket...yeah, I know...but come on, that puppy is totally selling out, I doubt that one will make it to sale!)

Rex took this picture.  He isn't even four.  Good on you, Rex. 

Before I went to Soho, we made our way to see the Statue of Liberty in real life.  Rex is actually jumping for joy over seeing it (yay, America!!!). 

I nearly tucked in my striped tee (a J. Crew gilded striped tee from Holiday '07), but in the end I liked it better untucked.

Fast forward to last night (there are other NYC pics, but you'll see those some other time). 

I have recovered enough that getting out the house isn't super-challenging and I am not liable to fall asleep in my dinner (or breakfast, you should have seen me at brunch on Sunday).  Mr. Dina's work had a smaller, more intimate party last night and I was feeling festive, so I brought out Elevenses Emerald Isle Coat for my dressy night out. 

Thoughts: This is a very elegant piece.  Feels almost like I should be heading out to the Moscow ballet wearing it.  I would not wear this coat with pants, I feel like it is perfectly made for the mini-dresses and skirts that seem to be all the rage now (and if you follow the antiquated slightly outdated rule of your coat must match your dress length).  I bought this in a six, and that is my usual Elevenses coat size.  Having said that, if you are at all well-endowed (lucky!) or more broad-shouldered than I, you may want to size up.  The skirted portion of this coat definitely fit fine over my hips. 

I am wearing the Wintertide Scarf here as well, its faux fur edging really adds to the exotic feel.

This may be the single stupidest pose I have ever made but I guess you all can pretend that I was pretending to be all cold and chilly and I was going "brrrr, it's cold outside."  Which I ended up doing for real later that night.  Turns out that a sleeveless lace dress, tights, ballet flats, faux fur scarf, and a sort of thin brocade coat may not be enough to really keep the chill out, but dang, at least it looks pretty!

Next up is what was under the Emerald Isle Coat...the Lace Scallop Dress from the Loft.  I have dressed it up here with the Stella and Dot Charlotte necklace and a belt I made myself (crafty!).  :)

Thoughts: Gigiofca couldn't really find any redeeming qualities, and I get that.  I almost gave up when I received the size 8 I ordered during their Cyber Monday sale and found that it barely fit over my hips.  (I had *just* bought a dress from the Loft in a size 4, so I thought the 8 would be fine, even a bit loose!)  Two weeks later the size 10 pops back (I think it sells out and comes back frequently), and I get that one instead.  The ten fits much better.  Much more like the way it looks here on this model:

Thoughts continued:  I ask the lady at the Loft today if she thinks that this has been a hard fit for people, like they have been bringing it back because it is so off from their regular sizing.  She basically gives me the look of death (where is Debye when I need her?) and icily says, "no, that has not been happening at all."  (Okay...guess I will not be darkening your doors anymore, lady!  Psycho!)  Anyhow, not that I care, a size 10 is my "classic" size, if we were back in the 80s and 90s when there wasn't vanity sizing...heck, I have ZERO problems ordering an 8 or 10 with Milly, it's just the darn inconsistencies I have issues with. 

Bottom Line:  It is a beautiful dress, lined well, made well, but if you are a pear shape like me, size WAY up...for me, 2-3 sizes was the key.  If you are an inverted triangle, stick tts.

From the side. 

Belt Instructions:
1. Get red ribbon from some random gift or another that someone gave you a long time ago to which you thought (cleverly), "ooh, I can use this one day for my hair, or my waist, or my daughter's hair..."
2.  Receive yummy box of Godiva chocolates.  Eat chocolates (of course).  Take red rosette and say loudly, "how pretty, maybe I can make a barrette, or a brooch, or a pendant, or a corsage, or a..."
3. Find ribbon and rosette...discover how nicely they go together. 
4.  Receive awesome lace dress in its right size and try on...ooh, needs a belt!
5.  Take red ribbon, tie it at the waist in a simple knot.
6.  Take rosette (which already has a pin attachment--thank you very much, Godiva) and attach it to tied ribbon.
7.  Go to party in which all the girls go "oooh, I LOVE YOUR BELT!"
8.  Proudly say (making sure your husband is in ear shot), I spent 0 dollars making this.  Then as quickly as possible, read steps 1-7 for them from above so they all know how to make their own 0 dollar belt, too.

No stockings, no necklace.  Same belt.  Cute for spring, no?

From the side, all simple like.  :)

Best is always at the end.  CW in her Jacadi Liberty of London dress, with tights, silver-bowed shoes, and a precious turtleneck to keep her nice and warm. 

With her crewcuts Collection (oooh, how snazzy) coat.  (Don't worry, I bought this at the Lynchburg Clearance Center for $20?  It is a piece from 2006, I believe.  Best part is the pretty hot pink lining and the collar-less neckline, how very chic!)

That's it.  (Psyche.)

:)  Tuesday last week was my surgery day.  I went in, was cleared for takeoff, the awesome Dr. Thompson gave me some awesome sedatives and proceeded to implant the Amplatzer device in my hole.  He is done an hour later.  I then go to the recovery area, where I am forced to stay in one position for six hours (they want to make sure my entry site at the groin area doesn't burst open--that would be bad, so you all know, like emergency room, 911 call kind of bad).  I get home, receive flowers from my kids and the DC JCAs (yay for the coolest and most fashionable friends ever), and hit the hay.

The week since has been great.  I haven't had any headaches, mini-strokes, or the like.  I have been INCREDIBLY tired, but I suppose having your heart muscles growing over a device is going to do that to you.  I feel different.  Other people who have had this done know what I am talking about, but unless you have had the incredibly awful and terrifying auras that can come with migraines and mini-strokes (although with mini-strokes they are not called auras, they are simply just "symptoms"), it is truly hard to describe how my world looks and feels different.  I feel clearer.  I feel more focused.  I feel normal.  YAY!

I am still on anti-coagulant drugs to prevent my blood from continuing to clot (like it so wants to do) and will be for many months.  I will never not take a baby aspirin, or mega doses of folate but that is because MTHFR raises homocysteine levels in your blood, and that can cause clotting, so even if my hole is closed, my doctors still want my blood to be ideal, not all sticky and mean to my poor organs.  LOL.  :)

You all take care.  Hope to write and talk again soon!