Boden OOTD and Review: Favourite Jersey Maxi and Tee Ball.

I am of the desperate sort that really enjoys dressing up time, but in my life two things work against that desire--I have toddlers and our summers are vicious, humid, over the top hot, and crank-making.

So last Saturday Rex had another tee ball game (in really "warm" conditions) and then we were going to go to Bethesda to get some yummy Cajun food at our favorite Cajun restaurant, Louisiana Kitchen.  I wanted the perfect outfit that would allow me to:

1. Stay cool.
2. Look nice.
3. Be casual enough that all the people at the park wouldn't wonder what the heck I was on.
4. Allow me to bend and move with ease to shuttle various babes wherever they needed to go...
and
5. Allow me to breastfeed (with a cover, natch, I am not that daring!).

Not too long of a list, right?

(Stay with me here with this anecdote)...well, a couple weeks back I had to go to Rex's kindergarten open house night, and again, needed dressy enough but also nursing friendly and I realized last year's Boden maxi dress was the perfect solution (seen on me here, I had got a pic from this year, but the card was corrupt and poof--!!!--all the photos disappeared).  The straps can be pulled down to allow easy access for Angus, but with the overall conservative feel to the dress, more than proper for the Catholic school Rex is attending next year.  (It is also my former grammar school so I have a reputation to uphold...)

I had wanted to give this year's favourite jersey maxi dress a try as I do so love the print, but it was sold out a LONG time ago in my size and colorway preference (4L/pink pansy).  One day the 6L in pink pansy popped back and I figured it was worth a try.  It eventually came (from BRITAIN on the Moldovan boat they send to get stuff to us in America), and I had my first chance to wear it out for reals to Rex's teeball game/yummy Cajun food getting.

Mr. Dina indulged my other fantasy, taking shots of me while I am "in action" versus posed.  If he has the time and the mood (he had both!) he will happily play along.  I know his limits, though, and don't go asking him to do it when he is on his way to work or I am on my way to preschool.  We have (fairly boring) lives, people!  :)

The dress is not all that long as you can tell from the photo.  I am 5'8" and it is at my ankles which means the skirt portion is only 40 inches from my natural waist (I am 42 inches from natural waist to the floor for reference).

If you are exceptionally tall with long legs, this will likely be even shorter on you, even in this longer length.

Many women are reviewing saying they are thrilled they finally have found a maxi short enough for them (it comes in petites and regulars, too).

I don't need a super long maxi, not especially practical for my life, so this suits me just fine, but the regular would have been too short.  (I got the regular last year after reading the long was really long, but this year Boden made them too short overall, they were likely overcompensating for last year's mistake?)

Back view.  It was hot last Saturday and the sleeveless, dipped back helped to keep me cool.  Bear in mind the weight of the dress is heavy (all that jersey weighs a lot), but it flows over the body (skirt area) helping keep air circulating.

Detail of the print.  It is the same as the print in the textured cotton skirt I last wore here.  I am a sucker for these bold, super feminine prints.

The sunglasses are the Gramercy Shades from Anthropologie (yay for a sale, I had been "eyeing" them forever) and the earrings are from J. Crew.

I actually added this crewcuts (Factory girls' french terry zip-up) jacket for sun protection, not because I needed to keep warm.  With my skin, I have to be VERY careful with sun exposure (many relatives of mine have had skin cancer--fortunately no melanomas).  (I also wear a lot of sunscreen, as do my kids.)

The sandals are a really old pair from Banana Republic.

We live on the edge of a forest, but the kids will take any opportunity to play in any forest they find.  This one is at the edge of the teeball field, and they happily and merrily switched between the grassier areas and...

Playing on the logs at the edge of  the forest.  Now I personally know what is in the forest (yummy poisonous spiders like the black widow, awesome poisonous snakes like the copperhead*, and big ole birds of prey like the hawk**) but I can't stop them from going outside, so I just let them know what they could see and have told them that if they see those critters, they need to come and find Momma and let her know they saw those animals.

Upon which time I am sure I will suffer a heart attack.  LOL.

*I have quite a tale about sitting down next to a copperhead--while pregnant with CW--four years ago at the end of summer.  Rex saw the whole thing from his stroller.  Mr. Dina used words I have never heard from that man's mouth.  So, yeah, I have a bit of history with scary things here in this area.  No, I wasn't bitten.  We would have had to rename CW Vipera if I had.

**Speaking of hawks, just yesterday one attacked our playroom window with its TALONS.  I am not even joking.  Then it realized that Angus was not going to be its dinner and moved on to harassing our neighbor's animals/living creatures with its SQUEEE-EEEH call and scary big wing span.  Yeah, we are all Animal Planet up in these parts.

CW didn't try to get on the big log, she was content to stay on the little log.  That's my dainty little girl.  ;)

I watched the game (this was before my "photo shoot") from the last row in the bleachers.  Angus still feels like he had the best seat.

Okay this photo shows both the best and worst parts of my day. 

Best--Umm, that is a cajun martini I am holding, and OMG, it is amazing.  Vermouth, Absolut Peppar, and a pickled okra.  YUM.

Worst--See the bags under my eyes?  Angus wouldn't let me sleep the whole night prior cause he was hungry...and I ended up getting a migraine from it.  Now I am not normally one to bother with martinis and migraines (there's a blog name for you all, lol), but I couldn't resist.  And for about forty minutes, while at Louisiana Kitchen, I felt a bit better.

But then I got home and looked at myself in the mirror.  Those bags you see up in the photo?  That is carry-on baggage.  Two hours later I had the full on "ma'am you'll have to pay extra for those oversized bags" eye bags.

So again, for forty minutes I felt great, and besides the OMG cocktail of awesomeness, I indulged in my most favorite mid-Atlantic treat, the soft shell crab po'boy.  If you have never had soft shell crabs, it is is a Maryland institution (that a few of us from Virginia will admit to loving) and are really only available fresh between May and August.

The construction of soft shell crabs for actual eating purposes is best left described by the experts, but be warned, if you are a bit nervous about "unusual" food, this particular dish may be a bit much for you.

Okay, that's all.  I am heading off to spend time with my Grandpa and won't likely get to the Boden Weekly Review Roundup until tomorrow, so if you have a review for me, and you think I may have missed it, go ahead and leave a comment here or e-mail me at dinagideon AT aim DOT com.

Talk soon!