OOTD/Review: Poppy Printed Mini and a Mini in Printed Poppy.

Hey, all!  Happy Tuesday.  :-)

Up first is the review, followed by the ootd portion.

Factory Printed Mini and Factory Printed Girls' Poet Blouse.  The skirt is a size 10 and the girls' blouse is a size 6-7.

Really glad I sized to the 10, even though I was told the skirt runs a bit big.  It *does* run a bit big, but even with me having the ability to wear this on my hips in the size 10 (would have had  to wear it at my waist in the 8), it is still really short on me.  Not anything scandalous, of course, but not exactly church friendly, either. 

It is made from a lovely cotton sateen in one of my favorite prints from last year (that made it onto a scarf, a bathing suit, and something else that escapes me now).  I didn't grab the scarf like I should have when I reviewed here at this post, but I did grab the bikini.  I still feel the baby weight, so I haven't pulled that one out (one day, I hope to, though).  I was thrilled to see the factory had re-issued it in both women and girls items, and with the original promo of 40% off, I decided that I could grab both my piece and CW's without feeling like I had broken the budget.

Some of you will hate the back zip, since it is prominent and exposed.  It didn't bother me, but since I have to wear the skirt so low, I have to cover up the waist of the skirt anyhow.

There appears to be about two inches of hem that could be let out, and if I end up gaining any weight in my mid-section, I will have to pull the hem down if I have to wear this baby at my waist.

CW's blouse I sized up on which gives her a bit of a romantic tunic look, but as she gets older it will be a plain ole blouse.  I love that girls can get away with this kind of styling, my boys at least can share clothes, so if I have to buy something for Rex that is true to size, I know Angus can one day wear it, too.

The blouse is a very sheer silk/cotton blend, definitely not tomboy friendly, just a word of warning.  The blouse is lined fully in a cotton, so no worries on modesty, but that lining is not going to make that silk/cotton any sturdier.

Day: Friday, June 21, 2013.

Where:  Seriously?  You all can figure it out, right?  Just in case you can't, we were at the new movie "Monsters University" with our two oldest.  Angus sat this one out, you know, 'cause I actually wanted to watch the movie and not spend the whole time wrangling him.

Ease of Wear: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Very comfortable, especially since I didn't feel any pinching from the skirt.  Sizing up is a great idea if you want to be super comfortable.

I had my special lady friend visiting that day and honestly, most outfits feel awful when she comes.  I was spectacularly pleased with how good I felt, regardless of my condition.

Cool Factor: (3 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)  It is a very preppy look, pretty, but not cutting edge or trendy or super stylish.  That's fine with me.  My mini me gets a 4 out of 5, though.

Anecdote from the day:  Monsters University is a great film.  I saw Monsters, Inc. when it came out way back in the day (back when Mr. Dina and I were first together), and I remember wanting to have a little girl just like Boo when I had kids.  I have to say my little lady reminds me a lot of Boo, so I think I was blessed with my wish.

We are such fans of the Monsters that we own quite a few toys (remember, Mr. Dina collects action figures) and have been to the Monsters, Inc. ride at California Adventure.  (If you ever get a chance to go on that ride, it is awesome!)  We had wanted to see the movie the night before, since it came out on Thursday night, but we had to wait till my dad could take Angus.

Okay, that's it.

I am not going to do a post on this, but I did announce it on FB earlier today.  Boden is a having a 40% off 40 items promo right now.  There are some cute items in the sale, including the Sparkle Cotton Top, which I reviewed here. 

Have a great night! 

OOTD: Orange Stripes and Feather Paisley.

Hi, all! 

First things first, thank you to everyone who commented at my last post letting me know to keep my chin held high, roll with the punches, and everything would be fine.  And it was...of course.  We have power back (finally--and not Saturday like I initially thought--I HEART you, Dominion Power), which makes everything seem just a bit brighter (ha, pun not intended).  We will have to replace the food in the fridge (bright side--we got to clean out the fridge, definitely needed it) and we will need to replace the skylights in our aviary (we have a second small structure on our property that used to house exotic birds, really, you can see the door to it in this pic)*, but that appears to be it.

Second, for all the Boden fans out there, I am as struck by the sheer lateness of the sale's arrival as I am sure many of you are.  Turns out (I learned this on Facebook) years ago Boden would wait until the 7th or 8th of July before doing their summer clearance sale, it has only been recently where it came earlier.  I gather they are returning to their roots, so to speak.  Having said that, I bet you money that the sale starts tomorrow.  (Don't make me a liar, Johnnie!)

Third, I am going to get back on track with my ootd postings (so so so backlogged!), starting with this church outfit I wore recently on Father's Day.

The top is actually from a company called Green Envelope, and I found it at TJ Maxx for $12.  I have so many orange hued skirts and shorts and pants that this top was a no-brainer.  I didn't have an orange striped top, so it was an easy decision (having said that, I do have a superfluity of striped tops, just like every other J. Crew Aficionada out there).

If you open up the photo, you can see the details on the outfit.

The shoes are the Marci Patent Wedges, which crazily enough are still full price on line.  I went to the Fair Oaks store a while back and bought these for some good deal or another (there was a 30% off at the time), so I was surprised that they are not on sale yet on line.

They are fairly comfortable, especially after wearing it a few times, allowing the patent leather to stretch a bit.  I took my tts J. Crew size, 9.5.  They run narrow which works for my narrow feet, but if you have wider feet, you will likely want to size up.  The color was a great match for the oranges in the top, the skirt, and the necklace.

After church, Mr. Dina snapped this shot of Angus and me.  I LOVE Angus's outfit, the adorable fish-printed Hawaiian shirt is my favorite.

Rex brought out his inner prep that day by popping his collar on his crewcuts (factory) polo shirt and by doing the best frat boy sneer.  That sneer is cute now, but if he does that when he is in his early 20s, I will have a few words to say to him about his attitude.  Frat boys bug me with their "better than you" attitude.  (Now, now, I know not all frat boys are obnoxious, but the stereotype is there for a reason.)  :)

Orange Stripes and Feather Paisley. by dinagideon featuring j crew shoes

Polyvore is above.

You all have a great day, will be back on here tomorrow with news of a sale (I hope!).

*Mr. Dina wants me to point out that we did not build this aviary, it was the fella who lived here in  2000, he was a bit of an eccentric based on what the neighbors tell us.  Currently the aviary is sitting there dormant.  I have zero plans to take up birding, so don't expect me to start a bird blog anytime soon.  ;)

Chroma Kimono Cardigan Plus the Outlet Greta Coat Times Two...

Ooh, man, it is FRIGID outside lately. Seriously, I don't remember a time in the 25 years I have lived in this area when it was this cold for this long of a period of time. Our usual winter is like this--cold, kinda cold, warm (like 55 or 60), cool, cold, REALLY REALLY COLD, cool, warm, etc., etc.

These last few weeks: cold, REALLY REALLY COLD, cold, OMG MY FACE IS GOING TO FALL OFF COLD, cold, cold, snow, ice, yuck, OMG MY FACE IS GOING TO FALL OFF COLD, REALLY REALLY COLD, etc. You get the idea.

I run "hot." Scratch that, I did run hot. Yesterday, after staying in the house for three straight days, I got to venture out (the plows actually plowed the ice, God Bless You, Fairfax County). But here was the deal yesterday, the highs were topping out at 29 degrees (okay, yes, Canada, I know...that isn't that cold...remember it is all relative). :) Since I am now acclimated to the warmth of my home because of my actual "housewife" status, I put on layers and layers of clothing so I wouldn't just collapse from the cold. And I did the same for my kids (of which you will only get to see one example--Rex spent the morning with Grandpa--and while he was all decked out in winter gear--only CW was around for Picture Time).



Untitled by dinagideon featuring J Crew

'Nuff said. Here is the polyvore. The coat is the outlet version of the Greta coat from last year. I bought this one on ebay, but there is a special surprise waiting for you all at the bottom of this post...and it involves the crewcuts outlet. ;)

The pants are not J. Crew, as in the polyvore, instead they are INC. by Macy's. I didn't wear flats, either, instead I wore some older pair of boots I have from Aerosoles (very comfy, stylish, and WARM).

I believe all the pieces are sold out, except the turtleneck.


Sizes:
Cardigan: Size Small. BTW, this was the item of clothing that got me kind of mad at Anthropologie. I bought it full price on a Tuesday, and the VERY next morning, it went down in price by half, or 60 dollars. So I pleaded with Anthropologie to please credit me the difference, which they SAID they would do (meant more Christmas cash for me), but some 8 days later (business days, mind you), it still wasn't in my account, and I was ready to cry. So I wrote them an e-mail explaining my disappointment, and in a fit of anger, I brought back a shirt that while I thought was pretty, didn't fit 100% beautifully. I figured I would get that money somehow, darn them. Well, here's the funny part, both the return and the difference were posted on the same day. Why it took Anthropologie so long to do this is WELL beyond me, but I am here to say J. Crew isn't the only place that has screw-ups. Oh, and J. Crew has much much MUCH friendlier customer service.

I love the cardigan, btw, perfect length, warmth, and casual prettiness for yesterday. I would like to someday see the day when this cardigan can be the outerwear, but obviously the entire United States (excluding Hawaii) has frozen over, so who knows when that will happen? I should mention that I looped the belt around TWICE to get the belt to look normal. This sucker has a REALLY LONG tie to it. :)

Gigiofca wore it here, btw.

Turtleneck: Size Small.
Pants: Size 10.
Boots: Size 10.

BTW, Baby CW carries here Baby Doll EVERYWHERE. If we take it from her to oh, say, buckle her into her car seat or, say, try to get her coat on, well, you know, fits, despair, anger, etc. She is VERY ATTACHED to her Baby Doll. It is her version of the blank-y. However, it doesn't have to be one baby doll, just a baby doll. She has like five that she is VERY ATTACHED to. It is really sweet, especially when she is walking holding a doll half her size.


Here is the surprise I was mentioning...mommy and daughter houndstooth coats from the outlet. I had bought mine from ebay in the late fall, and then in early December, when we went to Pennsylvania, I made my way to the Lancaster outlets and bought a bunch of crewcuts things for the kids for Christmas. Including her darling, darling mini-me version of the Greta. :) It was even on super-sale, which means it was meant to be.

Sizes:
Coat: Size 4.


This pic is for the grandparents, etc. :)

Coat: Size 3 (toddler size). It is clearly too big for her, but it did keep her VERY warm yesterday. And the pink lining was so nice...good thing because we had to roll her sleeves on up (too long for her arms--she is only 16 months after all). I love that she will be able to wear this for a long while. Based on her growth and this coat's general size, I bet she could get away with this when she is still 4 (I hope I can still fit into mine then, too).

I am hoping to get to more reviews today, I have them photographed, just have to actually post them. And, maybe, just maybe, Mid-Century Mom can get dressed up and sweep the floors (or something). Mid-Century Mom has been in hibernation. ;)