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.  :)

40 and 40: Charter Club Tee and J. Crew Chinos.

If you don't know what the 40 and 40 is, please go to this post to find out more. (I will provide a link to that daily as it mentions all the ins and outs of this 40 day activity of mine.)

Since yesterday I have decided that I will split the charity amount (remember 1/2 the amount of the price of the "for sale" item--not the free item clearly--will go to charity at the end of the 40 and 40) between the PFO Research Foundation and the Drew and Maggie Fund.  So I hope to give each at least $50 by the end!

Also, both items from yesterday are still available and will be available until it says "Sold" or "Given Away."

I do feel pretty terrible right now, some bug or another, so I will keep this brief, and hope to be back with lots of blogging fun tomorrow.

Charter Club Tee, Size Small.  Yellow/Green Floral Print.  SO SOFT!  I would keep this...except...the close crewneck and short sleeves don't work on me.  I know it will look amazing on someone, though.  FREE (add $5 for shipping, though).

J. Crew Everyday Chinos, Pink (Quartz, maybe), Size 10 Regular.  I adore this color, but the everyday chino's fit on me is off.  However, I know a lot of JCAs love it, so this will no doubt make some lady super happy!  $8 (plus $6 shipping).

Have a great night, will give you 76 and 75 tomorrow.

40 and 40: Loft and Style and Co. Top.

40 and 40 has NOTHING to do with the 30 x 30 remix that is really popular lately and that many of my bloggie friends have been doing in the past few months (and for those of you who have, AWESOME!).

40 and 40 is my Lenten sacrifice.  My Superfluities, the name itself, is inherently the anti-Lenten spirit blog.  To be superfluous is to have excess, to have an over-abundance, to be in cahoots with surplus.  I, in good faith, can't allow my blog, whose very purpose is to show off the fun and ridiculous and quantity of my very full life, to be too overabundant this season.  I believe in the sacrifices one should make in the Lenten season, and although in the past two years of blogging I have had Lenten sacrifice, they were of the more private sort, and I chose not to share them with you.

Here is how 40 and 40 works.

I will, each day during the Lenten season, post two items from my closet that will be either free (with a normal shipping charge) or pretty darn cheap (again with a normal shipping charge).  I have too much and I have determined that I need to give up my excess.  I am not giving away anything that isn't in good shape, that would NOT be in the spirit of sacrifice.  I am giving away items I can still wear, and items that still (for the most part) fit. 

I am only asking for shipping because I cannot afford to ship 80 items!  That would probably work out to near $400 or more, and I just can't do that, and for that I am sorry.  For the item that is pretty darn cheap (I am capping their price to 1/3 of the value I could get it for on ebay), I will save 1/2 of the price paid and put it in a special area in my bank account where I can, at the end of this 40 and 40, give away the money to a charity (probably the PFO Research foundation, which is near and dear to my--cough, cough--heart).  My hope is that at the end of this, I have raised at least $100 for this foundation.  So if a shirt is listed at a price of $8, then the buyer pays $13 (with the shipping added in), and the PFO foundation receives $4 (1/2 of $8).

So here goes.  First person to e-mail me for the item or items receives it.  Please know that I use paypal for all transactions that I make on-line.  If the person who "claims" the item doesn't pay, I will relist the item in an upcoming 40 and 40 (meaning some nights will have more than two items).  My e-mail is dinagideon@aim.com.

Thank you for supporting my Lenten sacrifice, and thank you for (if you buy the item that actually costs money) supporting the PFO Research Foundation.

Style and Co. Button-Down Top. Petite Medium. Bought it a few years ago, love the fitted style and the easy-care fabric, but sadly the colors do not work for me. This top is FREE (pay $5 flat shipping).

Loft Cotton Sateen Button-Down Top with Crystal Buttons. Size 8. Love this. And if only I wore it more. Someone will make this shirt a more useful part of their wardrobe. This item is $3.50 (pay additional $5 flat shipping).

Thank you, all. I look forward to presenting you with 78 more items!