Day: Thursday, May 28, 2015.
Where: The play "Fish in the Dark" (starring Larry David--woo!), dinner at Braai (which features South African cuisine), and a tour of our friend's workplace after dark (many of the 44 floors).
Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) I wore shapewear under my dress since I knew that if I didn't, I would likely have bumps from my underwear, and since it was hot and humid (brought VA to NYC, I did!), it was a touch uncomfortable. By the end of the night it was cooler, so it wasn't as bad then.
Outfit Details: Floral Print Scuba Dress, Handmade from this McCall's Pattern; Sandals, J. Crew here (also worn here, few outfits down); Necklace, Boden.
Anecdote of the Day: I loved that Mr. Dina and I could get away to NYC for a day and a half and a night, without the kids! While heading to see Larry David be his own over the top ridiculous self in "Fish in the Dark," we noticed our friend's building was a few steps from the theater. My husband refuses to go on Facebook, so using my account, I took a photo of us in front of his building, and told the friend we were outside of his office. In mere moments, he had come up to find us and my husband was very impressed (but not enough to actually join FB, mind you). Later that night after having an insanely delicious meal of ostrich and biltong, the friend wanted to give us a tour of his building. At 11 pm at night. And since the tour was exhaustive, it didn't end until 1 am. I was dying at the end and nearly fell asleep on the subway home. The photo where I am seated on the white couch, btw, was on the 42nd floor. I thought by going up that high late at night I wouldn't have the cold clammy hands of my terrifying fear of heights, but nope, I was so scared. The whole time. Such a wimp/flatlander...
INSTAGRAM HERE.
Day: Thursday, May 28, 2015.
Where: Bus Ride to NYC from Arlington, VA, a gallery to see some Shag paintings, and the Meatball Shop for a late lunch.
Ease of Wear: (3.75 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) I look wilted in the above photo for a reason. It was HAWT and I was so stupid to wear the Turner pants instead of changing into the shorts I had brought.
Outfit Details: Tee, Madewell (they have this muscle tee this season, no Français though, I am afraid); Turner pants, J. Crew here; Pre-Montreal Racer Sneakers, here at J. Crew (only grey left, though).
Anecdote of the Day: So what is up with gallery attendants being so snobby? It is amazing. I think of any retail environment, even if it includes selling really expensive original artwork, to be a place where customer service should be paramount. Well the gallery we went to the ladies where absorbed with their computers and phones and couldn't be really bothered to answer any of our questions. Here's the thing, though, Mr. Dina and I own three original artworks from Shag (they are smaller and we did save for them) but we clearly are good customers of his. Seems a shame that they couldn't be bothered with us. ;-) Ladies, you had ONE job.
Okay, I know some of you may work in galleries, etc., but my experience, more often times than not is that the people who work there are incredibly uninterested in helping us out when we come in, I understand we are not dripping in jewels or high end bags, but that is because the money we could use for that we save to buy artwork! LOL.
(Well when we have money to save...the past few years have been a bit harder budget-wise.)
INSTAGRAM HERE.
Another INSTAGRAM HERE.
Where: Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lunch, Garment District to shop, and a bus ride home.
Ease of Wear: (3.75 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) It was a fine outfit, and the top was super comfortable, as were the shoes, but I think the bus ride would have been better if I had switched to the Turner pants.
The shorts, btw, run a bit snug. I had purchased a pair in an 8 and they fit fine, but I knew I would want to size up in the lighter color that these are, and am glad I did. The 10 fits me very well but doesn't show off lumps and bumps as well as an 8 may have. These shorts were very difficult to photograph well, I blame the color.
Outfit Details: Top, Handmade from this Butterick pattern; Crepe Pull-on Shorts, J. Crew here; Pre-Montreal Racer Sneakers, here at J. Crew (only grey left, though); Necklace, J. Crew; Bag, Anthropologie.
Anecdote of the Day: We went to bed at nearly 2 am after the long night out. We woke up at 8. I was so bleary-eyed the whole day, it really threw me off. I really hand it to people who can go go go all day long and be great the next day. Stunning ability that I wish I had.
INSTAGRAM HERE.
Where: School Meeting.
Ease of Wear: (4.25 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) This dress is so soft and cozy, if only it was a touch longer when wearing it, I would have given this a bit higher of a rating.
Outfit Details: Dress, Handmade from this Simplicity Pattern; Factory Raffia Boardwalk Sandals, J. Crew Factory here (I have worn these so many times already this summer, here, here, and here, for instance).
Anecdote of the Day: I am an alumna of the school, a parent at the school, a sub at the school, and a parishioner at the church attached to the school, so I needed to be at this meeting to represent many categories of why I care about this school and what I want it to become. It was eye-opening to see how the school is valued for different reasons. It was also shocking to see just how much is expected from a school that probably doesn't have the funds to support all the things needed by the parents. I sort of feel like there may have been a touch of too much navel-gazing going on and I really feel like it became a "what is best for my kid is what will be best for your kid." Sigh. How the focus group moderators are going to take all of that in and then get the info disseminated into eatable chunks by the powers that be, I will never know. I tip my hats to them.
INSTAGRAM HERE.
OOTDs Only on Instagram:
Winesday with my brother (in a handmade top), INSTAGRAM HERE.
Little League baseball game (Rex's) (wearing handmade shorts), INSTAGRAM HERE.
RUSH (!!!YEAH RUSH!!!) concert (wearing nothing handmade but I was a girl there in a Rush tee-shirt, so that counts for something, right?), INSTAGRAM HERE and HERE.
Today's outfit (wearing a few cute pieces from J. Crew Factory, including the Raffia sandals again, though they didn't make it into the photo), INSTAGRAM HERE.
Okay, you all have a great night! Hope all is well!
