OOTD: Baby Girl Graduates.

Day: Monday, June 10, 2013.

Where:  CW's Preschool Graduation.

Ease of Wear: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.) You all know I love my Barbados dress (first worn here), and I was more than happy to quickly wash it for my next "dressy" outing.

I had spied the adorable crewcuts version (sold out, but skirt still around) when the adult version came out, but I couldn't justify it for CW at the higher full price cost, but *the* moment it went down in price *and* there was a 30% off sale, I jumped at the opportunity for yet another mommy/mini sartorial moment.

The least comfortable part of my outfit is the shoes, since they pinch a tiny bit through the toes, but I love the way they add a fun neutral to the outfit without being boring old nude shoes.  ;-)

Cool Factor: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)   Very pretty, and we all look so tropical that day (see this BWRR for what Mr. Dina and Rex were wearing).  Only tiny toodle (that would be Angus) was in something non-beachy that day.

No matter what, though, Caribbean cool does not equal fashion cool, so there is the justification for the "3" rating.

Anecdote from the day:  It seems like just a little while ago that Rex graduated (last photos in post) from the same preschool as CW.  I spent so much time at their school these past few years it is going to be really hard to adjust to the new and freer time schedule (well, maybe not, lol).  Angus will still be attending their school for baby classes, but it won't be anything quite so structured.  He isn't set to start preschool until 2015!

The best moment was seeing CW sing "Three Little Birds" by Bob Marley with her classmates while wearing sunglasses.  It was adorable.

Okay, that's all for now.  You all have an amazing rest of your night!

Quick reminders...

1. Bloglovin' is going to be the only way to read your blogs if you depended on Google Reader to read them (and prefer reading them in the Google Reader format).  Google Reader is set to say bye-bye to its internet presence as soon as the clock strikes midnight, tonight, July 1, 2013.  I am on bloglovin' and I have noticed a huge upswing in followers over the past week.  I decided to import all my blogs to bloglovin' even though I only use the Blogger dashboard to read my blogs, since who knows if Google is going to keep that in the long run.  (Google gets rid of EVERYTHING--does anyone remember Google Catalogs?)

2. The Boden 40% off 40 items promo ends tomorrow night.  Just a reminder.  I wrote about it here at this post.

3. The Lands' End 40% off Customer Favorites promo is going on right now, too.  I will check into its expiration date for you all, since I can't recall it off the top of my head.

OOTDs: Pencil Skirts in Summer. T'Pau!

(You should be pronouncing T'Pau like this: Tuh-Pow!)  LOL.  I was driving back from the grocery store today and was trying to think of a good title for my pencil skirt in summer post and since I already have used some version of "pencil it in" or "skirting the issue," I kind of figured I was at a dead end.  But then "Heart and Soul" came on Sirius's 80s on 8, and I had my title.  'Cause that is what I feel like when I wear a pencil skirt, like saying "Tuh Pow!"

Okay it's a stretch, but whatever, I know some of you are probably stoked that I brought up T'Pau.  ;)

Alrighty.  Let's get on with it.  I am going with the most recent first heading to the least recent last.

I make this face.  For you.

Info on the pieces in the next photo, but I wanted to remind you that I have done a review of this top before in this post.

I also wanted to make a special note on this skirt, the No. 2 Pencil Skirt in Circle Eyelet.  I usually wear a size 6 or 8 in J. Crew pencil skirts, but I had read at AJC's blog that this particular skirt ran really narrow through the hips, so I decided to size up to a 10.  It does fit well in the 10, bit big through the waist, but I am very happy that there is no excess shadowing between the liner and the eyelet outer fabric, which I think would have happened in the 8.

The shoes are still available from Boden, these are the Uptown Heels, and I did a review of them here.  If you are interested in a clearance item, remember you can use my sidebar coupon for free shipping and returns (even if you can't get an extra % off clearance stuff).

I wore this outfit to go with my hubby and Angus to dinner on Sunday night.  :)  I felt good, and it was nice to just have the three of us (even though I obviously love the older two, they are tiring).

Citron...Eyelet and Stripes. by dinagideon featuring j crew handbags

Above is the polyvore of this outfit.  The polyvore actually happened first, not the outfit.

Okay, technically this isn't a pencil skirt, but I wanted this outfit to see the light of day, and I kind of know that if I don't throw it into this post, I won't publish it at all.

I was heading to somewhere, most likely a class for the kids, but honestly, this is from a long time ago, so I am not 100% sure where I was going.  All I know is Mr. Dina wasn't home because where I am posing is where he parks his car, so it was likely during the day.

I had found these yummy pieces in Sears the day before, when I spied a bunch of Lands End Canvas on sale.  I knew I couldn't get much, but the sweatshirt and the skirt were definitely affordable, so I brought them home and wore them the very next day (that I do remember).

The pops of red are great against the grey.  Technically the Marci wedges are orange but read red in these photos.

I even decided to make my lips a darker red than I normally would.

Continuing with the grey theme, this is an outfit I wore to my son's graduation from preschool.

Top: Anthropologie.
Skirt: J. Crew Factory.
Shoes: Anthropologie.
Earrings: Eiffel Tower earrings from Paris.

I will likely do this outfit in a polyvore, but probably not until tomorrow.

Here the outfit is in action.  The kids all have matching bits in the seersucker.  Angus is in a romper/onesie, CW has seersucker in the bib portion of her dress, and Rex is wearing seersucker shorts.

Mr. Dina is not wearing white tennis shoes.  ;)

I may have worn this outfit, comprised of lots of oldies but goodies, to a preschool run, but again, this was taken in May, so I can't remember.  But hey!  No Mr. Dina car, so I could take photos where his car usually is...

The only new thing is the shoes, which are by The Webster for Target.  These are well made and run true to size, and are still not on sale, even though most of the clothing is.

If you open the photo, you can see the information on the pieces.

Okay, that's all.  Now go rock out to some Heart and Soul, you all.  :)

P.S. I just did a sneak peek of some fall Boden items over at my FB page.  Click here to go right to the images.  :)

Richmond is so lovely...

Now don't laugh. I LOVE RICHMOND. I have been passionately, over-the-top, in love with this capital city since 1996. I admit I have an excessive love for this city.

What makes me love it so? Well, it reminds me of DC and South Arlington (this is where I grew up...I moved a whole three miles away as an adult to Alexandria) of the '80s. Not too crowded, a little gritty, pockets of beauty, culture in the form of many museums, theater, and diversity, friendly folks, and interesting little shops and restaurants wherever you turn. It is a city with a small-town feel.

Well, DC and Arlington grew up and became the uber-mega-city that it is today (although thank the sweet Lord that there are still lovely pockets like Old Town). I get so frustrated to see my hometown of Arlington turned into a hipster's paradise. People act like Arlington still has all those things that I waxed poetically about in the last paragraph, but so much of it has become cleansed and generic. For example, in North Arlington, there is a neighborhood called Clarendon which in the early 2000s reached a height of mass hysteria. Everyone had to move there...such a small town feel in such an urban space...blah, blah, blah. Well, yes, Clarendon did have that...in 1992. Then everyone "discovered" it, small shops, homes, and buildings were all torn down to make way for some sort of "new urbanism" project. What was put up in the place of an actual small town in an urban space? A clean, shiny, developer's wet dream of an urban space...now there are apartments, luxury condos and townhouses...and guess what? You can walk to the Pottery Barn and the Starbucks (I love both by the way...but not when it means tearing down something that isn't broken...) and then head to the metro for a jaunt to another "new urban" project in DC.

I can't speak to what has happened to DC because of the development, but I do know that it is happening. Some of DC may have needed the developer's magic touch. In fact, I am hugely in favor of bringing development and commerce to places that DESPERATELY need it. If a place is quite lovely on its own, why destroy it by making it exactly like the rest of the country? And please spare me the whole "Clarendon is unique thing." It was...now its uniqueness is limited. It still is special, but I bet it could have been even more special if there had been more time and energy spent to retain some of the lovely original features of that neighborhood.

My biggest worry? I grew up in South Arlington, very near Glebe Road and Columbia Pike. This area has GORGEOUS old buildings from the 20s, 30s, 40s, and 50s. I am all for maintaining and preserving these examples of the 20th-century, but unfortunately many of them (remember Arlington Hardware?) are being torn down to make way for brand-spanking new buildings made to "look" like the buildings they just tore down. AGH!

Now granted, I am not a bleeding heart liberal who wants to get rid of development. I LOVE most big box stores. I happily head down to Potomac Mills on a regular basis. Heck, I even visit them in outer Richmond. :) Here's the thing...do they really need to be in the inner-city and inner-suburbs? Can we save the small businesses and smaller, more affordable homes or does progress spell something different? I am sure you know how I feel.

So back to my original post topic, why Richmond? I feel that Richmond, because of its neat juxtaposition of history and demographics (it isn't booming the way NOVA is), will be able to maintain and preserve an area of loveliness and culture without having to overdo it the way Arlington has had to...

I am planning on publishing posts from the places I went this weekend. I go there often, so I hope there will be many future posts highlighting some of these places I have come to adore.