Paintbrush Floral for Pre-School.

Hi! Welcome everyone. :) Most of you who come here have been coming here since little CW still was unable to walk (and now she is having tea parties in pre-school, tear...), but today Gigiofca allowed me to do a guest post over at her blog with my Fab Fall Five, so for those of you who have never seen my blog, "howdy!" Would love to have you come by more often.

Since my life has become a virtual tornado of craziness lately, this is about as close to a real-time IRL outfit of the day as you are gonna get from me. I wore it yesterday, so yahoo!

Back to (Pre) School... by dinagideon featuring j crew handbags

Above is the polyvore of today's outfit. I had been searching and searching for the skirt, and eventually bought one on ebay. Darn seller mistook the skirt as a size 6, grr, and in reality it was more like a 4, therefore was too short and too tight. Ugh. But then I saw a size 8 for sale a few weeks later with a reasonable buy it now, and so I bought it now. Well, girlfriend selling it actually reads this blog, so if you see this now, "hi, and I LUURRRVVE it, thank you for paring with it!"

Oh, and don't worry, I sold the other one.  I don't have two of these in my closet.  

I never would have originally thought to pair this with a boldly striped top, but I was feeling risky (for a SAHM, ya know?) yesterday. I think it looks pretty good together as they are in the same color family and the patterns are of similar sizing.

And so here we are, aww, so cute, right?  :D

My daughter's pre-school class needs a family photo, and to be completely honest, we struggle with family photos.  You know what worked?  I promised the kids a treat in the car on the way to school.  It is amazing what a tiny bit of candy will do for toddlers.  Swedish Fish are my SECRET WEAPON.  LOL.

I might use this on our Christmas card.  Hmm...

I think next time I will belt the skirt, or maybe untuck the blouse.  Still deciding.  Definitely going to wear this one again.

You all have a great afternoon.  :)  Now go and mix up the prints. 

Casual Outfits Mix and Match!

I have been GONE, both mentally and physically. I am sure some of you all figured it out by now...but I was away from home for TEN whole days around Thanksgiving. Every year we leave Northern Virginia and go visit Mr. Dina's parents down in Mississippi. This year is the longest we have ever gone, and if you can imagine, it was sort of a nightmare to pack for. On one hand, it can be downright HOT in the deep South in November, but then there are times (like last year) where it is COLD! Top that all off with the combo of fashion blogger and TEN days of outfits, and well, it calls for the big guns.

Mix and Match Packing List! by dinagideon featuring a flannel dress

I have talked about packing before in this Mommy Style Monday and I find that the color combo thing usually works quite well for me. This year I highlighted the colors purple, brown, grey, and olive. I also threw in a bit of blue for fun. Above is the polyvore of the vast majority of what I brought with me...and for the most part you will be seeing all the items in action. I wore most of the items twice, three times, and all the items were perfect for both casual and dressy. Unfortunately for me, I didn't bring enough warm weather clothing, so I did have to buy clearance shorts from the local department store (Belk), but that was only for the first two days I was there. I numbered all the pieces in the polyvore so that I could make it simple for me in these posts (this one I am writing now is on the casual outfits I wore and the one I will write later is on the dressy outfits I wore). If you need more info on these pieces, click on the polyvore. If that isn't enough info, comment here or at the polyvore and *eventually* I should get back to you. :)

In New Orleans, second day (we added on a night stay in the Big Easy this year--we always fly into and out of the Louis Armstrong Airport).  It was H-O-T that day.  I wore my Dauphine as a nod to Dauphine Street but I was BROILING in this photo.  I had to change after this morning, before we went to the Audubon zoo (which is fab, btw).

This outfit consists of pieces #11, #12, #22, and #8.  Yes, those are my A.R. Trapp for J. Crew Troubadour sunglasses.  Those come with me EVERYWHERE I go.  ;)

This is a combo outfit shot and review shot.  I ordered this Milly sweater a few weeks ago and in general, I love it.  Very feminine, very French, and very Emma Pillsbury.  C'est magnifique!  Only gripe I have is that the back collar area folds under (you can tell by looking at my upper right arm area), but I think if I wash it and lay it flat to dry, it should be fine.  At any rate, the tic was barely noticeable and I felt fab wearing this cute little knitted number.  I took it in a small.

Another pic, no hand on hip.  Don't you LOVE my husband's childhood room?  All those Star Wars posters?  ;)

Here is the full outfit, which consists of #7, #6, and #1.

Wore this outfit the last day I was there in Mississippi.  We went to see the latest Harry Potter (very, very good!) and I needed a cardi to keep warm and something comfy to sit in for all those hours.  I also had a migraine that day (hence no makeup), so I needed to not feel too fussy. By the time the movie started, the medicine I take had started to work, and the outfit felt great and I was able to really enjoy the show!  (The buttery popcorn I ate also helped...lol.)

I am wearing #3, #15, #13, and #1.

From the side.

Few notes about the pieces in this outfit.  The dream v-neck cardigan is starting to pill, especially under the arms.  This heathered nordic blue is such a great color that I will shave the heck out of this cardigan in order to wear it.  That said, if you are fussy about pilling, don't buy this cardigan in this color.  The sequin drizzle tank is CRAZY.  I have it here in a size PETITE 6 and it is WAY too big.  I had to basically pin my bra to the interior of the tank so my bra wouldn't show to the whole wide world.  The tank straps are made for someone with a far longer upper body than I have.  What would the regular size 4 or 6 look like on me?  Based on this, I say size down at least two sizes and make sure to get the Petite if you are short-torsoed.  I think the petite 4 or even Petite 2 would have fit my upper body much better (don't even get me started on the gaping arm holes).  As it stands, I have to sew the straps shorter to have this work without having to pin, pin, pin.  Irritating!  The glen plaid minnies are a size 8, and feel great.  I don't mind the way wool feels, though, so bear that in mind.   There is very little stretch in these so SIZE UP from your normal Minnie Pants size (my usual size is a 6).

The dressy mix and match is coming up.  I had a lot of fun dressing up while I was down there.  ;)

P.S. I want to say I am truly sorry for being missing in action lately.  I wanted to comment back on the last few posts, but honestly, I am lacking in energy.  I feel like it is a combo of a few things...my health (I feel fine most days in the AM, but by the PM I am ready to collapse, and the PM is when I usually post or comment), my general sadness (been feeling blue a lot lately, I don't know if it is the weather or what, but it has been hard to stay upbeat), and the fear of people coming to my blog and being mean (just don't have the will to deal with negativity right now, and honestly, there has been some knocking around at my favorite blogs lately and I really worry that it will come here and muck things up!).

Missed you all!!!