All Dressed Up and...

I did have somewhere to go for most of these photos. Sadly, I did have the obvious "all dressed up and nowhere to go" for two of these photos, though. But we'll get to that later. :P

As all of you know by now, I have fully embraced becoming a SAHM who also is an Independent Arbonne Consultant (the shiny, bling-y, double-lower case "A" looking thing there to the right is my button to my website). Now normally most of my work for Arbonne keeps me at home (usually where I like to be most) filling orders for my clients, answering e-mails, checking out specials, researching ingredients, etc. But every once in a while, I do get out and have reason to don the business wear again and show off some of my finery, both J. Crew and Arbonne alike. :)

First up, let's start with the coolest place Arbonne brought me. Little back story, though: In July I was told by my friend Holly that if I were to sign up three preferred clients (who receive a 20% discount on Arbonne for the year by signing up) and if I were to make a sales goal, I would be invited to the beach (!!!) in North Carolina for an Arbonne girls weekend. Umm, what? For basically doing what I should be doing anyway as a consultant, I can get this really awesome incentive? Okay, where do I sign up?

I won't pretend that it wasn't hard work. I was prepared, though...I was there for my clients when they needed me, sent out lots of samples, talked to all sorts of folks about how much I believe in the ingredients that Arbonne uses in their cosmetics, etc. I had parties, and I was (barely) able to make the goal.

But was I ever glad I did. Holly and I went to Wrightsville Beach, just outside of Wilmington. The place we were at was a townhome right at the very southern tip of the beach. The weather as insanely perfect, the ladies were incredibly welcoming, sweet, and positive, and the wine was flowing. I don't think it could have been any better.

May 2010 Catalog Inspired, Not Copied... by dinagideon featuring j crew shoes

Up first, before you see the pics is my inspiration for the first outfit. I had made this polyvore AGES ago but it inspired my whole trip. I went with lilac, grey, and stone as my colors. The color combos in the outfits I brought were perfect with the beauty of the area. Oh, of course it matched my makeup. LOL. :)

Sizes:
Top: Size 6.  So glad I bought this embellished bow top last year.  I was back and forth, but it is one of my most favorite special blouses, hands down.  There is a factory version on the factory site...or there was last weekend.  :)
Cardigan: Size Small.  This is the Metallic Beach Cardigan, and was pretty popular this summer.  Mine has a TINY snag in one of the arms, but I think I could find a way to stitch it closed.  Hmm.
Pants: Size 30.  These are the cropped overdyed denim capris (or something like that) from 2008.  Yummy lavender color.
Shoes: Size 10.  Cole Haan's awesomeness has appeared many times this summer already here at My Superfluities, eh?

Wore this for our dinner out on the Saturday night.  I felt good.  I had fun.  It was worth all that hard work. ;)  I am prepared to work this hard for future incentives, btw.  (So if you want a hard-working Arbonne consultant, come on over, the water's fine.  LOL.)

Sizes:
Top: Size extra-small.  This is the sequin necklace tank.  This is really a great layering piece (although I am clearly not layering it here).  I tried this tank on with this skirt in the store and I loved it together.
Skirt: Size 10.  This is the fleurette pencil skirt that gave many of us so many issues when we tried it on.  This skirt did give a little in the hips by the time I sat down at church as it is a silk/linen blend, but it still bugs that the waistband and hips are nearly identical in measurement.  Last time I checked, most woman's hips and waists are significantly different in their measurements.  Yes, I had a floppy waistband.  You can't tell, so it is fine.
Shoes: See last outfit.  :)

I wore this to church (mentioned it already).  Yes, I realize that traveling does allow you to not go to church, but Holly and I really wanted to go to church on the beach.  It was pretty cool!  Right on the beach.  How freaking lucky for that priest!  :)

BTW, I like how I look mad that the sun was shining in my eyes. Quite the contrary.

How pretty is this view? Yes, this was our view. Scrumptious. :)

My favorite part of being at the beach?  You can have wet, tousled, beach hair, less makeup, and still feel just fine.  LOVE this.  Wish I could look this happy and relaxed in the middle of winter.  C'est la vie.  ;)

Just pulled back the hair, put on a little extra lip gloss, and was ready to go.  There is a group photo to go with this...privacy reasons prevent me from showing it but wowza, those ladies were GOOD looking.  :)  I promise.

All Dressed Up and... by dinagideon featuring a print tote

Above is the polyvore of the outfit I wore to host a party on Sunday. :) I did bring the Arbonne items you see in the polyvore, and I was wearing them (on my face, of course), too.

Sizes:
Dress: Size 8.  This is from Milly.  I fell in love with this dress on Net-A-Porter, but man, was it ever expensive.  When it went on sale in the Fall of 2009 at Saks, I jumped.  It was a touch too small then, and FINALLY...finally, I was able to fit into it.
Top: Size small. This is the J. Crew Tissue turtleneck in vintage forest from last winter.  Love this hue with the olive dress, the grey shoes, and the makeup I was wearing.
Shoes: Size 9.  Umm, yes, those are the HOT Miss Albright Anticipation Heels from Anthropologie.  They WERE WORTH THE MONEY.  I got of the car and Rachel, my party hostess was all, "I need those."  LOL.  SIZE DOWN.  Yes.  The 9s fit.  And I normally wear between a 9.5 and 10 in Anthro shoes.

My Stella and Dot consultant was so kind and gracious and offered to host an Arbonne party (don't worry, she will be well taken care of as an Arbonne hostess--great rewards, btw), so I wanted to bring it for her soiree.  We had a fabulous time, and I felt super-confident in this ensemble. 

You all kind of ready for the kind of sad story of "all dressed up and nowhere to go?"  Well, here it is. I wore this gorgeous, tailored outfit for a party at my house last Saturday.  Unfortunately, the party I was hosting didn't happen.  Agh!  The lady that was meant to host sort of didn't show up (yikes), so there I was all ready to go, foot tubs, salt scrubs, yummy conconctions, wine, etc. all sitting out.  Well, I like to make lemons into lemonade and I decided to stay dressed up, go to the desk, sit down, research more on ingredients, study other consultants' great ideas, and the like.  In the end, I did get a lot accomplished.  So, there you go.  I was dressed up and ready to go to my desk.  Ha. 

 And here I am close-up. I definitely kept this makeup on.  


Check out what I used to create this look:
RE9 Advanced Regenerating Toner
RE9 Advanced Corrective Eye Creme
RE9 Advanced Intensive Renewal Serum
Everything from the Beautiful You, Beautiful Glow Set, which includes Primer, Sheer Glow Highlighter, Blossom Blush, and Translucent Loose Setting Powder
Sheer Finish Tinted Moisturizer, Medium
Lip Polish, Posh
Eye Liner, Olive
Eye Shadow, Snow
Triple Action Mascara

Well, there you are. A long post, but hopefully still enjoyable. And remember, just because you are dressed up with no place to go doesn't mean squat if you figure something out. :) Talk soon!

Tweed Dauphine and Alecia Suede Heels Review plus Zebra and Teal Sparkle!

Hi! I am back! Yay! Travelling was great, but it really limits my ability to keep up with my blogs. Pretty much the whole month of April we were off places, so it is nice to be back and in my (somewhat) relaxed SAHM mode. :)

Up today...two reviews and two outfits of the day.


This is both an outfit of the day and the reviews.

Sizes:
Jacket: Tweed Dauphine Jacket, Size 2 (!!!). Wow. This J. Crew Collection jacket runs large. I even checked with the sales assistant and she says that the jacket fits me exactly like it fit the model in the catalog, so that made me feel both good and outraged, all at the same time. Admittedly I am smaller on top than bottom, but wowza, you really petite women are probably completely sized out of this jacket. It is a beauty, too. (See next photo for a close-up.)
Top: Size small. This is the linen-cotton tiered tank that came in one moment and the next was out (probably because it went on 20% off and is a really nice tank). I bought it in the light purple which goes very nicely with the jacket and the pants.
Pants: Size 8. These are the infamous silk-linen pants from the holiday season that it seems very few of us liked. Even I was unsure UNTIL I wore them. Golly they are comfy...and shiny...which makes me feel like the are sweats but a little dressier, and really what could a SAHM want more? :)
Shoes: Alecia Suede Platform Peep-Toes, Size 9.5. A bit tight, these, but I am glad I got this size as I KNOW they are going to stretch out. I love these...and feel that they are worth the price WITH a discount of some sort. I got them in the February 30% off your whole purchase promo, which is way more reasonable of a price to me. (Speaking of, when is the next one???) I love the zipper detail at the back, plus the whole "I am now nearly 6 feet tall" thing.

For what its worth, my hubby hated this outfit. I have enough confidence now to laugh at him. He was wearing white tennis shoes, an oversized tee, and light-wash loose fit jeans when he said this to me. I just pointed to his shoes and said, "you are giving me fashion advice wearing those???" ;)


Here is the Dauphine close-up. The price on-line is EXCELLENT, with the current extra 20% off sale items. At 160 dollars, I thought I GOT a steal...turns out, no, those of you who waited until now got the BEST deal, so BRAVO!



Zebra and Teal Sparkle! by dinagideon featuring J Crew

Up next is today's outfit. I felt a bit iffy about the combo of zebra stripes and teal sparkles, but, eh, you only live once.

By the way, I visited the Lynchburg Clearance Center in Wyndhurst (the second of two clearance centers in Lynchburg, VA) on Tuesday and found these pants for $30! Down from $170, these may be my FAVORITE pants ever. They are the Collection Minnies, in the grey stretch wool and I just about died when I put them on, they were that comfy and sleek. Yay!!! (Oh, and my 15% educator discount was applied, which made it more like $27. It made the sewing of the ripped seam--tiny, by the way--feel like nothing!)


And here it is on me. Yes, my hubby had a hey-day with this one, too. He said I was a "dancing queen." Haha, real funny. But, then he said, "no, that's okay, I actually really love this outfit." And then he winked, all rico suave-like. Hmm, okay.

Then the coffee guy was all, "ooh, sparkly!" I guess guys like sparkle. Good to know. :)

Sizes:
Cardigan: Size small. Love me some zebra-print. Yum!
Top: Size Medium.
Pants: Size 6. YAY!
Shoes: Size 10.

You all have a great, sparkly day!

Dress-Up for Whole Foods, Part Two and a Little Bit of SAHM Clothing!

Happy Friday before Labor Day Weekend!!! I know that some of you have already started your long weekend, so please do enjoy and be safe (!!!)...

Today, I had planned on showing you my outfit that I wore to the White House last weekend with the fabulous DC JCAs but then when I looked in my computer this morning, I realized I never uploaded them...and I am being lazy so I will just publish the post this weekend. (Gingersnap, this is the outfit that has the Cole-Haans, so rest assured, you will see their fabulous-ness sometime soon!) Also, for those of you thinking about buying the twist-sash dress on sale, that is the dress that I wore to the outing...so I will treat it as a mini-review for those of you on the fence...

Dress Up for the Grocery Store, Part Two! by dinagideon featuring J Crew

Here is the polyvore for the first outfit (and only the first outfit--the second outfit, as you will see, was not worth doing a polyvore for...).


Yes, I dressed up to go to Whole Foods again. I mean, really, now that I am only venturing out of the house five times a week or so, I really make the outfits sing as much as possible. I have even turned to wearing nice outfits in the house because I love dressing up so much! (Although my SAHM outfit in the second photo is my very casual daily look--especially useful in the mornings.)

A Bigger Closet reviewed these sandals, and I put some comments in her post to talk about the fit...so if you have questions on the shoes, try her post first. The rest of the outfit's info is in the polyvore, but if you have specific questions, go ahead and ask in the comments!


Yes, this is my very casual, let's just hang with the kiddies look. The head-scarf is J. Crew, back when they thought it was okay to produce head-scarves. Can you imagine Jenna Lyons approving them now? Haha...no way, Jose. The striped tank is from J. Crew back in February 2009. I actually had to shorten the tank straps and dry it in the dryer to make it fit properly. Irritating, but worth it for such a nice-looking tank top. The shorts are Ann Taylor Loft and are so comfy and cozy. The flip-flops are J. Crew...and one of about 7000 pairs that I own (I am a swim coach--I can sort of get away with the excess...)

You all have a great day...I will be posting a bit this weekend...come on by if you need a break from all the sun and playing and happiness that these long weekends afford us. ;)

Oh, and P.S.: I am at 99 followers!!! Lemonade Makin' Mama joined in as a follower yesterday...her blog is really funny, btw. I just want to say thank you to each and every single one of my followers...I love that you all get to join me daily with whatever I have in overabundance in my life (and with 99 followers, I would say I have you all in overabundance--YAY!).