OOTD: Halston Heritage and Retro Boden.

Good day, and Happy New Year, everyone!

Trying to start the new year off right by actually posting an ootd on the day I wear it, let's see how long this lasts.  LOL.  I give it a week.  ;-)

Find this darling "i heart Virginia" necklace here.  Read more about why I wanted this necklace from tru.che's etsy shop and not urban outfitters here.  I was so annoyed for tru.che that I immediately told my husband that this necklace would be a great Christmas present.  (He listened!)  I know the story of tru.che versus urban outfitters is old, but I feel like you can still show your support years in the future.

Day: Wednesday, January 1, 2014.

Where: Brunch at Louisiana Kitchen (home of the yummy Cajun martini) and my hubby's favorite comic book shop.

Ease of Wear: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear) Felt great in all the pieces.  Was a bit concerned that I wouldn't fit into the Boden dress since it had been years and one full grown baby boy since I had last worn it.  All fears were quelled once I found it slipped right on without any puckering or uncomfortable pinching.  Yay!  I made it a goal to not gain weight in Mississippi (no particular goals to lose weight, though) and was glad to find that the scale showed that I had kept my goal. 

The Halston Heritage coat is sublime, made from a cashmere/wool blend and lined in silk.  I found it at Mint Condition for a LOT LOT less than it originally cost at Net-a-Porter, so woo and hoo for a pretty, unique coat that keeps me warm, too.

Cool Factor: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest--for both outfits.) Lovely, perfectly put-together ensemble.  Bit mumsy overall to be "cool," but the coat and sunglasses help a bit.

Anecdote from the Day:  Not much to report, really.  There is this guy at the comic shop that basically hates children, especially mine, since my husband often goes in there without me, and I am the "disciplinarian" of the two of us.  Anyhow, the owner is fine and has really started to enjoy the kids, and kind of laughs about it with my hubby, but the other lovely fellow had words with me today since I chose to sit with my darling girl on the floor (in my dress and heels, natch) and *carefully* read a book about the Miyazaki's art in the film "Spirited Away."  (Tell me that's already not kind of over-the-top nerdy of us.)  Anyhow, he was like, "NO...NO!  NO!!! Please NO!"  And I just looked at him like "really, fella?"  Anyhow, we even *more carefully* looked through it, the whole time he bore his tiny little angry man eyes at us.  And then of course I *very over the top carefully* put the book back.  I am not the one for karma, but a little part of me would like to hear that he went over to see if we had inflicted any damage on the book with our pedestrian fingers (we did not, btw) and in doing so dropped the book on the floor damaging the cover.  That would have me lol-ing.  But then I remember I {heart} the owner of the shop a ton and don't wish that fiscal damage on him.  But, still.  ;-)

By the way, my husband will purchase so many comics from this shop, I am somewhat sure that this fella's salary is paid for in large part from my husband's stupidly huge comic collecting.   That in no way means I condone my children acting like crazy fools, but they were very well-behaved today ('cause Momma disciplinarian was in the house).  Ah, good times!

Okay, that's it.  You all have a great rest of your start to 2014!

Life is Like a Box of Crayons...

When you own my wardrobe.  LOL.

To catch up, I am going to just post two sets of OOTDs that I have worn recently.  Nothing extra-special, but some of the images are full-on arty-party and since many of you prefer my images being all "fancified," you all may want to check them out.

Before that, though, two things.

1.  BODEN is STILL NOT ON SALE!  Wha?  That said, I remember that in the Summer 2009 the sale started the first week of July as I very distinctly remember shopping for Boden sale items while teaching kindergarten summer school (and that was not in June, at all).  I am thinking the sale will drop Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday.  I am not betting, but I have a "feeling" (that counts, right?).

Until then, check out all my Boden Weekly Review Roundups if you want to feel "prepared."

2.  For all of you that chimed in on my mini-pity party yesterday over at this post at J. Crew Aficionada, I truly appreciate the great advice, outrage, support, etc.  I have a good life, and I recognize that I am afforded many things and I am truly grateful for that, of course, but I want to let you all know, I BUDGET like a mad woman to purchase these pretties you see.  When I was teaching full-time, it was far easier to afford everything, but now that I teach part-time, and am given a limited monetary amount for doing my job as a stay-at-home mom, I definitely feel the sting when purchasing an expensive item (even with a discount, it still hurts).  I felt downright angry and almost stupid yesterday when an item I purchased not even three weeks ago went on deep DEEP discount.  The difference from what the sale price was yesterday and what I paid initially is MORE than the sale price itself.  I know, I know, caveat emptor and all, but it seems mighty dirty play on J. Crew's part to deeply discount an item by that much something like TWO days after the "two week" price adjustment window expires.  If this doesn't get fixed by my PS (I have high hopes, though, she is awesome), I may actually be done with J. Crew and focus entirely on Old School J. Crew (via ebay and the exchange) and Boden. 

Anyhow, thank you all again for being so sweet to me yesterday.  :)

And, in honor of my ban on reviews or ootd with just new J. Crew items (take that, J. Crew--fist shake), I present you outfits that are pure Old School J. Crew and Boden...

Okay, technically the specs are new J. Crew, but they are Cutler and Gross, and unlike my floral long swing skirt, they haven't been discounted to a degree where people are basically paying $80 for it or something, so I will go ahead and show them off, too.  LOL.  (If they do ever go down to $80, do not stop...just go.  Trust me.)

The dress is old school J. Crew and an ebay find.  I adore the seersucker/textured cotton dresses that J. Crew has been making for many years, but in the past few years, J. Crew has really been focused on halter and strapless versions.  This one is from early 2008, and is in a sour lemon color that I really wish they would bring back (or not...after all, after Tuesday--which is when my PS is meant to get back to me, I may never shop with Mickey and co. again).

The scarf is the giveaway/free scarf from Boden that they were offering back in April when you purchased over $150.  It is all linen, and while not the most exciting scarf ever, I do really love the colors and find that if stashed in a purse, makes a great cover-up from the sun and gives some warmth on places like planes (which can definitely be over-ac'd in the summer).

Arty-farty party #2.  Just a closer-up version so you can see the details.  With the shades on and my hair back, I felt a bit Catherine Deneuve...

Golly, what a great image.  The cutler and gross specs (#0930) are a dead ringer, eh?

With my own mini box of crayons.  :)

I have on some Boden sandals from last year.  Love these.  All leather construction, subtle snakeskin print, almost a perfect neutral, toe holder, etc., etc.

It has pockets!  I bought the size 6, which is a smidge big through the top part, but I think the length on the 4 would have been too short (was looking for more of a knee-skimming dress).

Best part of this dress is from the back.  LOVE the buttons...how adorable!

Outfit #2--Terrazzo Tunic, which pops back from time to time.  I would wait on the sale for almost all Boden items at this point, but if this tunic pops back, just grab it, even if the only coupon you can use it the 15% off maternity (sidebar).  I have a feeling it will be far and few between, if ever, on chances of it popping back on sale.  I love this tunic a lot.  I have this soft red mosaic version, and the taupe version.  If you need help with sizing, go ahead and take a look at my original review here.

You all know the reason I wanted the soft red version right?  Yep, because I match my pretty little girl's dress.  So silly, but at least it isn't all matchy-match like I have (cough, cough) been known to do...

The photos are all taken at our secret little garden area that we have between our house and the front yard.  Because we have a raised rambler that is on a triangular shaped, inclined slope lot, our house is is perpendicular to the road (our front door is on the side of the house), AND our house is built into the hill.  Which means that if you are inside the house on the right (if you are facing the backyard), you are in the treetops if you are on the second floor (which is where our playroom is, btw).  If you are on the left side of the house (if you are facing the backyard), you can jump out of your window and not worry about careening to your death (Rex/CW/our room all have windows that are about five feet off the ground).  So--don't jump out the window in the playroom (three stories up), but go ahead and jump out of CW's.

This area makes no sense to me other than it provides a way of getting light into the windows of the basement portion of our house fully...so instead of having the "basement" clerestory windows, we have full-sized windows (which are not in this camera shot--although next to my bottom, in case you are wondering, ha!).  It is quite nice to be in the basement and look out the window at this magical area...we even have a freaking chipmunk that scampers around it all day long.  "Mr. Chippy" we call him.  LOL.  :)

Yes, it has stone steps and a bird bath.  Recently the top fell off, and while we put it back on, we grabbed the pics in the "before" stage because it seemed more "atmospheric."

Atmosphere overload.  If I was wearing a cooler outfit, I could so be a hipster in Williamsburg.  :)

You all have a great Friday.  Be on the lookout for a great Boden sale, babes!

J. Crew: Paisley Bermuda Shorts IRL and an OOTD. {Smile.}

You all were SO sweet with my last post.  I still haven't gotten around to doing the review of the Floral Swing Skirt, but I anticipate being able to do a bit more on it fairly soon. 

In case you are wondering, I *do* plan on being more inventive with my photos.  That doesn't mean an arty-farty party every day, but I will at least try to get a few "fun" photos a week.  I definitely can't guarantee they are true, original B & T photos, but my hubby/tripod does just fine in a pinch.  LOL.

Up today is a review of the paisley bermuda shorts.  I grabbed them on the last promo (shorts/flip-flops at 20% off), and along with the 20% off cardholder code that I received, I believe I bought the shorts for around 35% off (woo!).

Paisley IRL! by dinagideon featuring j crew handbags

Above is the polyvore that I immediately created as soon as I saw the shorts had shipped (they have proven to be popular, and QUICKLY sold out during that promo).  They are back in stock, but only in a few sizes.  I love the paisley print with the heather agate cashmere short-sleeve tee, the quorra high-heel oxfords in tawny orange and the crystal track necklace.  I also have recently acquired the Cutler and Gross sunglasses #0930 (on promo--shhhhhhhh...no one needs to know that, lol) and they worked very nicely with the outfit, too, kind of gave it a mid-century feel.

A-ha!  The fun shot.  :)  This was taken with the smart phone by dear Mr. Dina.  See how we captured "atmosphere?"  LOL.  That is the Masonic Temple in the background, which is a pretty darn cool structure from the early 20th-century built to honor our dear first president and beloved son of Alexandria, George Washington.  It also makes a wicked background drop.  ;)

The night was a movie and dinner, and yes, we saw Bridesmaids.  I love the fact that Kristin Wiig was a protagonist that we all felt for but also sort of understood how she got what she deserved.  How great is it to have a comedic movie where the characters are developed so fully?  (Yes, I am the literary nerd who prefers great characters to great plot.)

Full on shot.  (Non-arty.)  :)

The shorts are a size 8, and fit great upon purchase.  I always, ALWAYS err on the bigger of my two sizes with J. Crew.  I have been stung by buying too small from them, and it bugs to have to return and re-buy.  The 8, at the end of the night, was a touch big (it stretches out a wee bit), but overall, I prefer the shorts be like this.

The shorts have a nice, long inseam of nine inches, which is perfect on me.  I am THRILLED that the powers that be at J. Crew finally (FINALLY) deemed that a print CAN come in a longer inseam.  Forever it seems, dear Mr. Mickey and Ms. Jenna determined that only the shorter inseam of three inches can have a print.  (And, Ms. Jenna, aren't you crazy tall?  You, more than anyone, should get how hard a three-freaking-inch inseam is to wear when you have a super-long inseam yourself!  *For reference, mine is 34 inches.*)
 

Close-up of the insanely beautiful Cutler and Gross sunglasses.  I still wear my A.R. Trapp Sunglasses ALL. THE. TIME., but it is nice to give them a day off here and there.

The Crystal Track necklace lays flat, but looks like it is a bunch of bejeweled barbells strung on a wire.  It is some sort of optical illusion, because even in the above pic it looks like the necklace is not laying flat.  Huh.

I tried tucking in the shorts and did not like the look at all, but I had to show you this pic because CW posed right along side of me in her own beautifully printed frock.  Also you get a great side view of the Quorra high heeled oxfords in this shot.

She is so CUTE.  CW is getting so big!  (She will be 3 soon.  Crazy!)

You all have a great night.  Hope to get another J. Crew review/ootd in tomorrow.  :)