Come Sail Away!

Hey, all!

Another short and sweet post, plus a request for my favorite Old School J. Crew super sleuths...I have four items I need identified, and you all were so helpful the last time, I have a feeling I will have figured them all out in no time! :) Yay!

First thing, the outfit of the day from yesterday featuring one of the items that needs a name, not just my made up name of "Harbor Beaded Sailboat Full Skirt." 

It was a gazillion degree minus one yesterday (today it was officially a gazillion degrees and tomorrow is meant to be a gazillion degrees plus one), so I chose to dress up for CW's dance class (and my doctor's appointment) by wearing a very lightweight top, skirt, and sandals.

The top is ancient, Summer 2005, frayed neckline, tissue tee, but one of my all time favorites.  I also own this in pink.  This is *not* the item I need identifying.  LOL.  The skirt is from 2005 or 2006 (I can't remember what the tag said) but it features a delicately beaded harbor scene with sailboats and lighthouses.  Very pretty and very preppy.  I bought it for maybe $40 at Mint Condition, size 4 (turns out a size 4 skirt will fit me as long as the hips are full, the skirt is probably a tad shorter than it is meant to be, but I quite like where it hits on my leg, right at the knee).  The sandals are Miss Trish of Capri for Target, the ones from 2009 featuring the starfish.  BTW, all Miss Trish for Target sandals have a leather sole.  Even the kids versions.  Ask me how many Miss Trish sandals I got this year?  NONE.  They all looked yucky, and I am very glad I bought the couple of pairs I did over the past years...

Proof of baby's dance class.  :)  She brought the duck so he could watch her. 

The doctor's appointment went well.  My world is so funny, one year ago my doctor was telling me I had a hole in my heart that could lead to strokes (and had caused countless numbers of mini-strokes) and yesterday, my other doctor said my heart was in perfect shape. YES!  :)  Still get migraines, but none of the mini-strokes have happened since, and in my world, that is more than enough for me.

So, ladies, what is this skirt? BTW, there is an exceptionally expensive one for sale on ebay, but it is NWT.  Hmm.

And while you are at it, this skirt, too, please?  (Ebay--$10!)

And the montage (so pretty, btw)...what are the shoes in the left hand corner?  I got those for $25 and I have no clue (they are Collection but seem to have man-made soles?).

And then this lovely, I know it is April 2006, but I can't tell what this print is called.  I know it is really pretty, though, and was $20 on ebay.

Interested in more on prints, go on over to Egyptomaniac, who took a look just today.  :)  I happen to agree, prints are the way to go.  (Like you all expected me to say anything else. Snort.)

Thanks again, super sleuths of Old School J. Crew!

P.S. LOVE the new rollout.  The prettiness!  Definitely eyeing the Bonnie Dress in Toile Jacquard (yum, and so very ladylike) and the Hacking Jacket in Herringbone, Midnight Ocean color.  (Not usually into this much blue, but wow...can definitely see how I could make room for these two in my closet!)

Borrowing from the Boys, Literally...

For those of you that read this post early, all you got were four pictures of me wearing the same tee as Rex, and so I am sure that even without copy you all could guess where I got the title "Borrowing from the Boys..."

But just in case you still don't get it, I wore two separate tees recently that happened to be from crewcuts, and were boy's tees. Yes, I literally borrowed from the boys. And because nothing seems to tickle me more than matching my kids (I know, it doesn't take much to amuse me), I had to buy Rex the same tees in his size.

So here you are...


Borrowed from the Boys (Section), Part One (Also today's look, so yay for that!):
Sizes:
Top: Size 12. This is the boys graphic tee with the phrase "Don't be so shellfish," and has a drawing of a lobster. Did I tell you I happen to also love puns??? ;) I like the size 12 in the crewcuts boys shirts, but far prefer a size 14 in the girls shirts, which are cut narrower.
Skirt: Size 8. This is Jones New York from last year. I like the length and modest cut of this for church.
Shoes: Size 10. These are the Carina T-Strap Sandals from last summer, J. Crew. Very comfortable and well-made.

I love that it was baby CW who happily posed with me, not Rex, even though he was the one most excited by the fact that we matched.


I LOVE this picture. You all be expecting my dad to come in and post a comment about how much he loves it, too. Look at that--we are all smiling, no one has their eyes closed, perfection!!! :)

And isn't Rex just DARLING in his shirt??? (Oh, and get this, one whole hour of church and Rex was amazingly well-behaved. He even did prayer hands AND did the sign of peace with one of our pew neighbors--YAY!)

Oh, and yes, inquiring minds, those sunglasses are my new A.R. Trapp for J. Crew Troubadour sunglasses, and yes, I do love them. I did save up for them, and I figure after a few years their cost per wear should be pretty low, so I anticipate these being worth every penny I spent!!!


Borrowed from the Boys (Section), Part Two:
Sizes:
Top: Size 12. This is a crewcuts from last year that I fell in love with...love softshell crabs (to eat) and felt that I had to declare it. I have not yet had ANY this summer, and from what I can tell, I may not the rest of the summer (shortest softshell crab season ever, it seems, sadness is me), so I decided to put it out there that I NEEDED some. Alas, no one caught my (admittedly subtle) plea, so no offers from random strangers in Alexandria offering me some. Boo.
Shorts: Size 10. Yummy buttercup chino color, no?
Shoes: Size 10. Miss Trish of Capri for Target, you did good.

And even though it SHOULD have been Rex in this picture with me, again it was baby CW. I think she just loves the camera (and I think it loves her right back)!


One nanosecond after this photo was taken, Rex bolted for the other side of the room. It was a minor miracle this photo looks like this. LOL.

You all have a great night. Thanks for visiting and bearing through dinagideon's children's photos. :)

P.S. Less than 1.5 hours before my giveaways end. Don't forget to enter!

To Celebrate My Birthday, I Give You a Celebration of the Sundress!

I thought I was old last year. Yeah, no. This year I feel even older. So, yay, birthdays! LOL. ;) (Happy Canada Day, you all, btw.) (Oh, and happy birthday to my fellow July 1 birthday gals, Gigiofca and Betsy! Can we be blog triplets?)

So rather than focus on me getting older, I am going to focus on one of my very favorite clothing items--the ever awesome summer sundress. I must own a bazillion sundresses, and with good reason, I wear them nearly. every. single. day. during the summer. Who can blame me when it is a million degrees outside with some insane humidity level? Plus, and this may shock some of you, sundresses are cooler than shorts and a tank. :)

I give you Part One of the Sundress Extravaganza (love that word). Part two, three, four, and more are upcoming.


Sundress #1: Target Girls Section, Liberty of London for Target, Size XL. My uncle was shocked when I told him this was a girls dress. No one batted an eye at me wearing this. I am telling you all, head to the girls section of Target for fun (and cheap) sundresses. :)

Let's Celebrate the Sundress! by dinagideon featuring Nine West shoes

Polyvore of number 2 is above. :) (Had it in the draft section, figured I should just publish it...even if the rest of these sundress outfits don't have polyvore!)


Sundress #2: Boden, Pretty Cotton Dress, Size UK 12 or US 8. On sale, you all! :) Wore it with some pretty Nine West nude peep-toes and the sea urchin bib necklace.


Sundress #3: J. Crew, Pique Shirred Dress (or something like that), Size Medium. A perennial fave of mine...I wear it constantly during the summer. Also, how fab is it that I can wear it regardless of how much I weigh?

Oh, and hello, look at baby CW doing her pose exactly like me...Agh!


Sundress #4: Target Girls Section, Xhiliration Tank Dress, Size XL. I had bought baby the dress she is wearing in Las Vegas for her 18-month birthday, and get this--her dress cost SIGNIFICANTLY more money than the one I am wearing. BTW, this dress is so comfortable. We are both wearing matching sandals from the Miss Trish of Capri for Target 2010 season. These were the only sandals that fit me this year. The rest were FAR TOO LARGE. (The width was too wide for my foot.) (P.S. I have an extra pair of size 9 if anyone wants to buy them from me.)


Sundress #5: J. Crew, Ruffled Hem Jersey Dress, Size small. Another fave of mine, I just LOVE the caspian blue color from last year (this year's abyss blue is very similar). Dressed this up with the Lola for J. Crew raffia hat and the Cleo Platform Sandals.

You all have a fab day, and if you are also born on July 1, I celebrate you, too! Cheers!

Happy 4th of July! Ooops, I Mean Happy 6th of August!

FIRST! You all were too cute in your responses to the pic of CW with her little, teeny-tiny cousin Lily Clare. She DOES look like a baby doll. I laughed and laughed when I read that. But there is truth to what you all said. I think Rex and CW were that size when I was 7 months pregnant...heehee. :)

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Now onto today's post:

As ever, I am so current, it is just darn near RIDICULOUS! ;) Nope...it took me over a month to post my outfits from Independence Day (now what kind of American are you, Dina?)...

Yeah, yeah, I know you all want to copy them, right now, today! Well, here you go!

Independence Day 2009! by dinagideon featuring J Crew

This is the polyvore, in all of its red, white, and blue patriotic glory.


I absolutely love this skirt. I am not surprised in the least that this skirt was sold-out. I happily paid near the $65 it cost (minus 15% educator discount) and envision this skirt working all summer long (and possibly into the fall and spring). In addition to it being comfy, and the right amount of relaxed, and linen, it also fit beautifully in a size 6. Yes, me, Miss 8, maybe Miss 10. Now I know this is a 6 that is the victim of vanity sizing...I have NEVER been a 6 in J. Crew except in my most "exercise-a-holic" days, but still, FEELS darn good to me.

The Podna tee is also sold-out (this is the bad thing about posting a whole month late). I wore it with pride on Independence Day because of Mr. Dina being from that neck of the woods (raised in Mississippi, schooled in New Orleans). Go, 50 American states! (I also wore the tee because we were going to get Cajun food from our fave restaurant in Bethesda, Louisiana Kitchen...)

The shoes are my lovely Miss Trish of Capri sandals first worn in this post. Can you say "perfection" for the day?

So in summation, Stars (shoes) and stripes (skirt)...red (shoes), white (skirt and top), and blue (skirt and top). YEAH!


Here is my little American, Rex, in all his red, white, and blue glory, too. Sorry to say the Bumblebee shoes are yellow, but he is two, and I am not crazy enough to tell him he can't wear them because they don't "go" with his outfit...


Oh, but wait, I am not done! Let's not forget fireworks...what better than the "fireworks" tee from J. Crew? (Okay, I know it is some weird abstract floral, but all I see when I look at the tee is "bombs bursting in the air.")

Yes, the shorts are technically bistro orange, but they come close enough, and plus it's dark out when the fireworks go on...

You all have a great "dog day of August." Maybe I will actually start posting some pics of outfits on the day I actually wear them...we'll see. ;)

So this is What Mother's Day Looked Like this Year!

If you have spent anytime at Polyvore this week, you have seen my outfit for Mother's Day. Somehow it was one of the most "popular" this week because it hung out in the "popular" section of the various groups I published it to. Well, yay!

I actually loved wearing this outfit last Sunday. It was AMAZINGLY gorgeous here. In this area we typically go from yucky, cool, rainy weather to HOT AND HUMID overnight. If we are lucky we squeeze in two or three days of perfection. That was what we had last Sunday. It was 75 degrees and sunny. I think God was blessing all us moms in the DC area. So, thank you, God...we totally appreciated it!

Here is the polyvore:


Mother's Day 2009! by dinagideon featuring J Crew Clothing



Here is the full-length. I am standing next to my brother. We are at my church. Peter and I and my dad have been going to this church since I was 10. I even went to grade school here. One day maybe my own kids can go here (we are still members). I would even love to teach here one day. We'll see! :)

I loved this outfit because it was the right amount of color, fabric, and accessories for the day. The one warning I have is about the shoes. Rex decided to sit on the poor sandals and the turtle fell off. Sad! They are not put on the sandals quite in the same way as the starfish from the other Miss Trish of Capri for Target sandals I own. So I have had to buy some heavy-duty glue to place the turtle back on...

The dress is older, from last year J. Crew. It is very comfy. I bought a medium because I wanted it to fit longer. It is like wearing a really long polo shirt.

The necklace is the very pretty vintage daffodil necklace made by DianaP. The dress was the perfect backdrop for the necklace. I received a million compliments on the necklace from people last Sunday!!! (DianaP.--you have yourself a great idea here...)


Here I am with the kids in Bethesda. After church we went to one of our favorite restaurants, Louisiana Kitchen (which replaced Louisiana Express when it closed). The current Louisiana Kitchen is in a different location but serves almost the same menu. If you LOVE Cajun food, this is the best place to get it in this area. It is very similar to the food you can find in the New Orleans area. Mmmm. I do spend quite a bit of time down there as that is where Mr. Dina is from (actually SW Mississippi--but pretty darn close). Our favorite restaurant in New Orleans is Mother's and although Louisiana Kitchen doesn't have the menu of Mother's, it is almost as good!

After Louisiana Express, we went and explored the Bethesda Arts Show. We even ended up buying an original piece of art...a 3D Robot Face (it is too hard to explain--I'll just have to get a pic up at some point).

All in all, a great day!

You all have a great Sunday, too!

Our Hot Day at Riverbend Park...in a Boden Top!!! Plus, a Review of the Miss Trish of Capri for Target Sandals!!!

Boden Top for a Hot Day in DC!!! by dinagideon on Polyvore.com



This is the outfit I wore today to go take Rex to his Bug Walks and Critter Talks class. It is a lot of fun...they have all sorts of awesome creatures for us to check out...but today we needed to dress right for the weather. I don't know about you all, but here in the mid-Atlantic it was like 95 degrees. Insane. Don't worry--I LOVE this weather. Always have, always will. I don't know how my ancestors can be Scandinavian...I definitely did not inherit their love of cold weather.

The top is the Boden top I spoke about in the previous post. I ordered in 2007 after I had Rex. I ordered it in a 12 (size 8 here) but didn't realize that Boden truly means what it says about its sizes...they are true to their measurements. I couldn't wear it until I was almost 5 months postpartum. With CW I was able to wear it sooner, but of course, it was winter, so I chose not to. This is a light cotton button-up. Not the best material for keeping you warm. I bought it because I love the print so much!!! (Their prints are either love or hate. I love. A lot. But of course I love the Campo di Fiore print from J. Crew that a lot of people really hated...hmm.)

The capris are just some Target purchase for like 15 dollars. They are a color I needed so I bought them. They wrinkle very easily but suit this look and some of my other looks perfectly. Plus, if you are a dork like me, the fact that you can roll the pants to two different shorts lengths (bermuda and a slighter shorter bermuda--11 and 9 inches, respectively) really gets me excited. (Not chic in the least--haha--some of you will get that statement!)

The shoes are Miss Trish of Capri for Target. The review will come at the bottom, but they look so sweet with this outfit. No, don't worry, I did not take them out for the bug walk. They just came out for the other activities...some old J. Crew flip-flops went on the walk instead.


This is a close-up of the fabric and print. LOVE IT! The teal and red and white are so summery and fun. You will probably see me wearing this again, real soon. :) Plus, I am going to clip this to Polyvore...so expect some sets with it!


Okay, the Miss Trish sandals. They fit true to size (I wear a ten narrow). The shoe is a bit wide, but obviously I expect that if I wear a narrow. I almost went down to a 9.5, but am glad I didn't. My feet totally cover the foot-bed (which is all leather). The uppers are man-made. The red you see here is the true color. Very pretty color, almost a brick red. The starfish are also very pretty, in real life (unlike my un-pedicured toenails...but who has the time...not me). I was totally worried about the starfish falling off...but no worries, they are bolted in with hardware. You can actually spin the starfish...Rex is gonna love that when he discovers it! All in all, I have to say this purchase was totally worth it. 29.99 is a great price for something that is well-made and very unique.

I had first heard about these shoes from sparrowsandsparkles in her post here. I also happen to own the sandals with the turtle. :)

Have a great day!!!