National Wear Red Day! Two OOTD Special!

Background to this post:  I was diagnosed with having a PFO (Patent Foramen Ovale) during investigations by my neurologist into my debilitating migraines.  Turns out that the most debilitating were not migraines but mini-strokes, caused by what she believed was a hole in my heart.  You can read more about this in this post.  I have since had that hole repaired, and have been on the mend for well over a year now.

I never even really thought about heart health other than being occasionally worried about high blood pressure (which does run in my family).  Having an actual "OMG, I have to fix my heart" occurrence in my own health history thrust upon me a real desire to put the word out there that women need to pay attention to their hearts more than they might realize.  For years and years, the focus on heart health was on men because they were the ones dying of massive heart attacks and strokes, and while women definitely were passing because of their hearts, supposedly the heart attacks and strokes were just not "massive" enough for anyone to really worry about it.

Yeah, they knew they were wrong, and have since changed course.  EVERYONE needs to worry about their tickers.  Although the chance of any one person having a problem with their heart is small, there is still things you can do to keep your own heart in good health.  Go to the doctor, get exercise, check your blood pressure, relax, eat well, and even if you don't think there is anything wrong with you, if you feel off, GET IT CHECKED OUT.  It actually took one of you (a blog friend) to convince me that a neurologist appointment was necessary.  And for that I am ever ever grateful.  And so is my heart.  ;)

I almost forgot that today was National Wear Red Day until a blog I read, Pumps and Gloss, published a post on it.  Upon realizing it was Wear Red day, I smacked my head because guess what I wore yesterday?  Yep, the new J. Crew Heart Throb Boy Shirt.  Wouldn't that have been utterly perfect for today?  Oh, well, at least it was in February (whole month is devoted to heart health, so I think I will wear red in some form each day).

I made up for it by wearing something red to dinner tonight, as did CW.  You will see those at the end of the post.

But first, let's start with the Heart Throb Boy Shirt outfit:

Went on the preschool run in this outfit.  Very comfortable, exactly what I needed (I have been feeling under the weather, I may have a cold--red nose, does that count towards "wear red?").  It was nice and warm, so no jacket necessary. 

Top: J. Crew Silk Boy Shirt in Heart Throb, Size 4, worn open.  Silk and spandex is a lovely combo, soft and wrinkle free.  Some may not like the texture, but I am a fan.
Tank: Liz Lange for Target.
Leggings: J. Crew Essential Leggings.
Shoes: Cole Haan.
Necklace: Fenton Fallon for J. Crew.

Really like the shirt opened, could show off my necklace that way.  :)

The sunglasses are from Target.

This shows the print nicely, plus the colors are accurate here.

Please do ignore my clutter on my countertops.  I swear on a stack of bibles that some of it is Mr. Dina's "action figure" collection (seriously!) and the other bits are the detritus from simply existing in a household of small children who eat more food than any other people I have ever met.  I ASSURE you that I am not trolling ebay so much that I am unable to clean.  The counters get cleaned, but honestly, if you all are noticing that and not anything else, well, huh...  Yeah, no words.  (FWIW, Ebay trolling is my Saturday morning activity.  I know, kinda lame, but we each have our thing.)

Heart Throb and Heart Health (Wear Red)! by dinagideon featuring vintage shades

The above polyvore shows off the outfit in its pieces.

And tonight's "wear red:"

Jacket: J. Crew Tuxedo Jacket.
Sweater: Liz Lange for Target.
Necklace: Tiffany's Paloma Picasso Open Heart Necklace.  Mr. Dina gave this to me as a wedding present, ten whole years ago. :)  Seemed appropriate to wear the heart necklace tonight.

Leggings: Madewell Convertible.  I have so much love for stretchy pants now.  I have so much pain in my legs and hips that these pants make dressing so much easier.  
Shoes: J. Crew Classic Ballet Flats.

If this outfit looks familiar, it is.  I wore it a few weeks ago.  I was too tired today to really put a whole bunch of thought into my outfit.  The jacket felt like an epiphany, which is kinda sad.  LOL.

But girlfriend really brought it.  CW is wearing a Muno dress, tiger stripe leggings, pink socks, and a pair of Circo (Target) shoes.

That's it.  Keep those hearts beating.  :)

She's Alive...and in a Silk Cargo Dress, Too!

I'm ALIVE! :)

1. Went shopping and had fun with Drewablank on Saturday, right after I posted the "new" arrivals here at My Superfluities. You can see Drewablank and CW in the first photo.

2. The next day, yours truly gets a virus and cannot do anything. Headache is so bad I stay in bed the WHOLE. DAY.

3. Talk to Drewablank on Monday, and she says she is putting on a brave face, but that yes, she, too, is suffering. Hmmm...

4. Backlog of things to get done...therefore blogs suffer.

5. CW now has the "fever." Really? Dear Lord, you know it is May, right??? She'll be fine, but ooh, it just makes me hurt feeling how hot she is!

Onto my post:


Here are Drewablank and I at J. Crew in Pentagon City. I had an insane amount of returns to do. (See this post for more info!) So you know, I did re-order the ruched v-neck dress in abyss blue, and yep, the hem is all wonky again, curses!!!

You all are gonna love this--I walked out of that J. Crew having returned everything and only spending 60 dollars on the outfit you will see in the bottom photo. Yay for restraint. :) (Gotta love a sale, too!) I even have money on a J. Crew gift card!

I am wearing the Silk Cargo dress in this photo, and it is love.

Sizes:
Dress: Size 6. I got the measurements directly from my PS for the 6 and the 8 and here they are for you:
Size 6:
Chest – 40
Waist – 38 7/8
Sweep - 43 ½
Size 8:
Chest – 41
Waist – 39 7/8
Sweep – 44 ½
The 6 is perfect. I would say that you could even size down further if you wanted. :) I love the easy elegance of a cargo dress done in silk. As you can tell, I went dressy casual with the Fenton Fallon necklace and Gladiator sandals, but you can really pump up the volume for a date or be very casual for pre-school or the dog park. Great news--it is machine washable--score! Check it out on the model in the tan color in the June catalog over at Slastena's blog.
Shoes: Size 9.5. I confess, I bought these Circa Joan & David Lalia gladiator sandals right before we went to J. Crew. I am heading to NYC soon and wanted a pair of sturdy sandals that were kind of hip yet comfortable so that I could walk miles in them. These definitely fit the bill. I had a coupon and a gift card, so I got them for nearly half of the asking price. Wilson at Macy's really liked the shoes with the outfit, he was very excited. I love customer service like that! :)
Necklace: Fenton Fallon for J. Crew Tassel Necklace. I bought this during the BIRTHDAY promo because I fell in love with it on Suzy, aka Bichonluvr. It does not disappoint. It may be a bit much for some of you, but well, that's cool, to each their own and all.


Shot of dress, sandals, and necklace in the dressing room. The dress crumples up from when you sit in it, but I don't hear or see the word "cargo" and think State Dinner, so I am okay with that. :) (Remember, I was an archaeology major, so this dress sort of brings me back to the time in my life where getting dirty on a dig was an amazing day!)

Silk Cargo Dress for Day! by dinagideon featuring J Crew bags

And above is a polyvore for all you PV addicts. :)


So what did I get for 60 dollars? Well, the two above pieces. Since there is a SUMMER promo on right now, I thought I would show off these two items to you as they are lovely and fit very well.

Sizes:
Tank: Size X-small. I have this tank in two other colors, the moroccan spice (rust red) and the natural (ivory), but while at J. Crew I decided to get the tissue ruffle tank in the heather stone color. I returned the paris pink a while back because it had issues with seaming (what is it with me and J. Crew's seams--am I just that picky or is this happening to you all, too?). I think I prefer the stone color, as I know it will be a great layering piece in the fall with cardigans and jackets. Still full price, by the way, but the 20% takes some of the sting away. Oh, just so you know, this color is super-soft, which is weird. The others are soft, but the stone feels like butter...
Pants: Size 6. These are the faded denim minnie pants. I love these for the unusual detailing on the legs, nothing at all like what I have in my closet right now. Best part besides being super-comfortable and perfect for my SAHM lifestyle? At the store they were on sale for $39.99! They are $59.99 still at jcrew.com, but if you don't live anywhere near a store, and/or your store doesn't have them, the 20% off could help you feel a bit better about the cost difference. So you all know, I wore them on Tuesday with my Dauphine jacket and the spray art tee in chartreuse. I would say that would mean they are a keeper. (BTW, eventually you will see that outfit. Sigh, I am so slow!)

Have a nice day. Enjoy the weather, I hope! :)