Beach Photos Always Make Me Smile.

Hey! I am feeling like I need happy family photos here more on this blog.  I get such a thrill editing the family photos in picnik...I don't think any of you should be concerned that I will become a "mommy-blogger," but every once in awhile, I need to indulge my more creative side...

Plus I feel blegh, so I don't really want to spend what little energy I have dissecting an outfit of mine. LOL. I can do that tomorrow with my weekly Boden Roundup. :)

Anyhow, all of these were taken at the Outer Banks two weeks ago. The waves were crazy and full, but this was the first time that any of us had gone and not seen the red flags flying (which means that you pretty much can dip your ankles but beyond that and the lifeguards may have to come out and get ya, if ya last that long.)

The pics kinda speak for themselves, so enjoy!

Oh, and Smile!

Oh, yeah, Mr. Dina wasn't really playing nice and letting me photograph him, so his loss at internet immortality.  ;)

Backswept Away...

Ladies...thank you for all your sweet birthday wishes to my darling CW yesterday. :) She had such a wonderful day...evidenced by her big smile in the picture, of course.

So this post actually has to do with her birthday (really)!

She had a "Princess" party and since she basically considers any adult female in a pretty frock a "Princess," I knew that Corey Lynn Calter's Backswept Dress would fit the bill. LOL.

So yeah, I am not crazy NOR made of money, so I waited until (what?) August before I could get this pretty pretty lady on sale at Anthropologie.  Fortunately they had the size I thought I would wear on sale, so I bit immediately when it came up as "fresh cut."

Any of you who saw the catalog image (and those of you who didn't, it is directly below this photo), the image is from the back and pretty stunning (even for an Anthro catalog).  Obviously with a bow back and graceful cut out, the back is the back in the backswept.  Swoon.

I am glad this image turned out as well as it did.  Shots from the behind don't always promise to.  ;)

That is Edda, btw, my fave Icelandic model, wearing the dress in a field of vines.  Gah!  Wine, Edda, and that dress?  Per-fabulous-fection.

I chose to buy the size 4.  All the reviews said to size down if you have no "girls."  Yeah, they were right.  With the volume at the hips, I knew it would fit.  Gotta love no "girls." 

The baby on the floor is a Japanese Wii game called "Babysitting Mama."  It was a gift for CW.  It could possibly be the strangest game I have ever encountered.  You all should try it if you want to laugh you butt off.

Pretty little pockets with their own twee little bows!

The headband is J. Crew, and the shoes are Boden's Downtown Heels, and based how much I have worn them this summer, they may be my best buy of the summer. 

I would like to winterize this dress...any thoughts on how to do that?

You all, have a great night.  And go wear a dress and be a Princess!

And She is Now Three...

That's my girl.  Happy Birthday, sweet CW.  Love you!

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. 

Boden Weekly Review Roundup. You All Want Some Reviews?

How about 14?  Is that enough reviews?  :)

First some business...Susan Moran, you won my Boden scarf giveaway, but durn it, I am having a time getting the e-mails to work to you.  :)  Would you mind e-mailing me at dinagideon AT aim DOT com so I can get your lovely sequined scarf to you???

Well, anyhow, here we go.  There is some fab-u-losity happening in Boden land this past week.  Every item I have seen on my blog friends has looked awesome on them, and I have only seen one review that wasn't glowing for a fall item.  Johnnie and co. are really upping their game.  Good on you, Mr. Boden!

A reminder...if you would like to see an item on me or my kids, you can click on the photo to get a better look on a separate page.  If you would like to see an item on a blog friend, click on the link I have provided to their review.  If you would like to see availability, sizing, measurements, or other colors, click on the Boden stock photo which will take you directly to the item's home page.

Right now, I have the standard 10% off with free shipping and returns, and if you would like to apply that coupon, it is running in my sidebar or at the bottom of this post for those of you using mobile devices.  :)

Boden Limited Edition:

Lavish Tunic.  Size 8.  Dressed up with a J. Crew Collection purse (ebay, yes!), J. Crew headband, J. Crew cuff, and J. Crew Lula Snakeskin Ballet Flats (clearance center score, yes!).

Love love love the fabric (silk/cotton blend), the lining (yummy poly !!! that feels like silk), the beading at the neck (floral sequined look), and the print (very Asian inspired, almost like a gorgeous kimono imagined as a tunic).

Now to the like...I like the colors, although I truly hoped that the light blue would be a tad more saturated.  If the tunic were this blue all over without the pretty springy colored print and bejeweled neckline, I would have to return this as this blue is not always my best friend....I like the length, but feel that any shorter I would not be able to wear this as a summertime dress, it almost was there...I think an inch or two longer it would have been great (but truly not a tunic, of course).

I am not a hater of this tunic at all, BUT I will say that the measurements to me were a bit deceptive.  I have a 40 inch hipline at my widest point, and this tunic's measurement in the hips "was" 42 inches.  Hmm. I think not.  I believe that it would be 41 inches, as it fit and felt fine, but it didn't glide over my hips the way I was hoping, so I had to employ spanx to get the "glide" feel.  LOL.

Also, as it was in the 80s yesterday, I couldn't wear tights with this tunic else I burn up, so I wore sheer hosiery Spanx instead, and I personally felt that if I were to have worn heels of any sort it would have been a bit too much of my legs on display, so I wore flats.  All I see when I look at my legs in this photo, though, is how my legline looks a bit stumpy.  Que sera, but ooh, this tunic is gonna look fly with a pair of opaque black hose and contrast colored heels.  :)

I like the side view better than the front.  :)

And the back view.  The wrinkling was minimal, even after sitting all night at the sushi place with Momoberry.  I think the lining definitely helped there. 


Lavish Tunic. Sold out in some of the upper sizes, but still plenty of stock in the lower sizes.

Skirts:

Notre Dame Skirt. I can't find an affiliate link for this beauty, but I did have two blog friends review it this week, so definitely check it out. :)  (I have linked to the Boden page through the name of the skirt, though.)

First up is Polly who reviewed this skirt in the red colorway and in the PETITE size! Go petites! :)

Second is the very cool xoxo who was able to get hers FROM. THE. BODEN. STORE. IN. THE. UK. So very envious that she got to visit the store!!! :)


British Tweed Kilt. One of my fellow J. Crew fans, Sara, had this to say about this skirt in the black spotted version: Love this skirt. Not business attire but great for business casual or weekends. Lands just above the knee. Fits TTS, get your normal Boden size.

I see that this is a HOT seller. I don't anticipate that I will be able to get it when before my budget allows, but I will definitely live vicariously through the rest of you. What a beauty! :) Thanks, Sara!

Dresses:

Polka Dot Shift. The beautiful Pamela modeled this for us in the black/white version. She is a huge fan of this dress, but does mention that it has no stretch, so pay close attention to the measurements. :)

Sweaters/Knit Wear:

Sophie Jumper. Modeled by the ever awesome Polly in the mallard color. Looks great with the red notre dame skirt, too!

Jackets:

British Tweed Blazer.  Sara also reviewed this one and says: Slightly longer than the Jcrew Schoolboy
and the tweed is to die for. A good fit that is not too boxy. The tag says "British Tweed by Moon". There are lots of colors in the tweed so it could match a variety of items. This could be paired with anything from Jeans to a business skirt. Very versatile.  I know that Boden does great things with wool and it sounds like this is the case here!  Thanks!  :)


Military Jacket. Sara also tried this one on in blue and says: I am returning this. It is excellent quality, awesome details (a red velvet lines the placket and collar on the inside). The wool is thick and beautiful. It was just not versatile enough for work and weekend which I really need in high priced jackets. Runs TTS.

It sounds like this may be a good choice if you live in a climate where one could wear it as a winter coat, like South Carolina or Florida. As someone who owns a ton of jackets (yay, versatile Virginia weather, woo!--can you read the sarcasm?), I get it, never spend too much money on a jacket that won't get a ton of use.

Tunics:

Colourblock Tunic. Sara also gave this one a go in the purple and says: Love, thick substantial fabric. It has great pockets also! I think it would look great with skinny jeans and maybe tall boots. The edging is a dark purple with some brown undertones. It is fairly fitted through the top. Order your normal size or size up if you want a looser fit. Great, and I do have to say, I love it on Edda in the stock photo, yum!

Tops:

Autumn Breton. Sara raves about this top: Love, thick fabric and fitted shape. Very cute buttons on the shoulder. The buttons are definitely darling!!! THANK YOU AGAIN, SARA! Great reviews!

Mini-Boden:

I am such a cheater. My kids have already reviewed these, but since today was there back to school day, I wanted to show you the cuteness that was them this morning. LOL. For all of Rex's insistence he where his Boden "target" icon t-shirt, he ended up wearing his "In the Band T-Shirt" instead. :)


In the Band T-Shirt. Rex loves his owl playing the drums, especially, but the other two versions are really cute, too.


Funky Print Dress. CW was actually GLEEFUL when I told her that she was going to her first day of school AND she got to wear this dress. She had a tea party with one of the girls at school as soon as she sat down (a girl she has never met, mind you). I nearly died from the cuteness. Tear! My baby is growing up!

Boden Clearance:

Tropical Print Maxi.  I have and love this in the graphite colorway, so I knew that the green/purple version would also be a hit.  You all know I was at the beach last weekend, and personally what is more beachy than a dress like this???  :)

Size 4 Regular.  Fits great, but remember I sized down as my "girls" are fairly small.  The hips are free. 

Side view.  I could have gone with the long, but I like showing off cute Cole Haans, thank you very much.


Tropical Maxi Dress. 


Bow Shift. Suburban Mom made this shift in the pistachio colorway exactly as she wanted it. Love it on her! :)

Ooh, so tired.  LOL.  Long post here.

Mobile users, I didn't forget you...here is a coupon code if you need one:
10% off plus free shipping and returns!

Night, night, all!

BWRR Tomorrow. Preview Today. Smile.

Because I clearly am unable to come back from a vacation and properly time manage (if you have learned the trick of unpacking AND getting toddlers back on schedule, my hats off to you all), I am postponing what is promising to be an awesome Boden Weekly Review Roundup (lots of yummy goodies on lots of lovely blog friends) till tomorrow, when I am guessing life will be a tad bit less insane.

Okay, long run on sentence done, here is a preview of what I am reviewing tomorrow.

Lavish Tunic.  Size 8, Boden Limited Edition.  Definite love, but with some caveats.  Till tomorrow, know that this lovely lady will be with me in my night out with my friend Monica (from the awesome blog Momoberry).


Lavish Tunic. Love the other colorway, too, but the lighter blue with "spring" colors works better for my coloring.

Okay, all, have a nice night.  :)