My Easter Best (Well, Not Really)...but Still Points for Trying...(April 12th, 2009)!!!

I must have tried on five different dress and cardigan combos on Easter morning and none of them worked. So frustrating. I don't know what it was...everything fit...but most of them felt "off."

Until I put on a few years old Target dress and a VERY old cardigan from Chadwicks. Then it clicked. It looks so much fresher and alive than anything else I tried on that morning. The only J. Crew? My awesome Alessia peep-toes in root (love them).

Here they are--side by side--didn't really mean to put them this way, but whatever--looks good to me.

The dress is Merona and it is that stretchy, jersey type material that is so pretty and SOOOOOO comfortable. The cardigan is basic, but at Chadwicks prices (very inexpensive), so worth it. Best part? If the white cardigan gets stained (has not yet--I am a bit of a freak about stains), I won't stress too much because it cost so little. The shoes I have professed my love for so many times I could write a novel on them. ;)

So what do you all do when you find all your clothes feel wrong? I obviously go with tried and true as my backup. (Maybe I will create a poll to see what we all like to do.) Have a nice afternoon, everyone!

Fun Time on a Saturday!!! (From April 11th, 2009...)

I'm BACK!!! I have FINALLY organized my trip photos and actually managed to get four seconds of free time to think of what posts I need to do...right now I have 8 posts scheduled (including this one) and those don't even include the Paris catalog OR pics of kids OR review of the many theme parks we went to over the past month. Whew...I have a lot of catching up to do!

Here is the outfit I wore from the day before Easter...yes, that's right...over two weeks ago. Man...

I am not going to write a whole lot about it...(I have a lot of post to do)...but here is a basic description...

Cardigan: Citron Merino V-Neck Cardigan from J. Crew Holiday 2007.

Tee: DINO-MITE bejeweled tee from T. Rex restaurant (bought while in Florida).

Jeans: I forget, but probably my Levis or Eddie Bauer. Love my jeans but they sort of all look the same even if they don't feel the same (I know a lot of men don't understand this but every woman I know gets what I just said).

Shoes: Dusty Rose Juliet Patent Heels from J. Crew Spring 2009.

Look forward to more from me later today! :)

I am Back...Sort of...

I was able to comment (finally) on the posts that I created over a week ago...

I will be able (finally) to start really posting again tomorrow (if time permits)...

You all need to know how glad I was to have your comments in the back of my head when I was in California for the funeral last week. Support in any form is AWESOME.

Here are the two comments I made to the two posts I created:

From the post on April 11th, I wrote:

Hi EVERYONE:

I finally have a moment to thank you for all your comments. I really appreciate you all looking at my posts about my trip to Florida. I will eventually post all my pics from my quick trip to California, but I have to first put up pics from Easter Sunday and two of the outfits I wore that week. I also anticipate being able to put up more pics from the Paris Catalog (yay)...Also forthcoming are some sweet shots of the kids. I know some of you really have missed those!Thanks for sticking out my long absence...

From the post on April 14th I wrote:

Everyone:

Your prayers were so important to me and my family. We needed them last week. We all miss Uncle Jerry dearly. I am glad that I was able to get back to CA...if I hadn't been able to go I would have been very torn up...like I was unable to get complete closure (if you know what I mean). His love for kids is what keeps me together when I almost lose it with kids around me. Uncle Jerry rarely lost his temper with children (but often lost it with adults--so I knew he could get angry). As a teacher and a mom that quality of "keeping it together" is so very special. You all have been so patient waiting for me to post...I truly appreciate your understanding!

I have disabled commenting, not because I don't love your comments, but because I want to have you all post on future posts that actually have outfits or pictures or extra-fun stuff!!! :) HAVE A GREAT TUESDAY!!!

Part Four of my Florida Vacation...or Tuesday, April 7, and Wednesday, April 8, 2009!!!

First, I need to apologize for waiting so long to publish today's post. I had intended to post this on Sunday, along with my Easter outfit. But then I received the call...my beloved Uncle Jerry, who basically acted a lot like a grandpa, was on his way down. At 7:22 pm, he passed away in his sleep. We all knew his health was failing, but none of us knew when he would actually pass away. We are a very strong, faithful, Catholic family, so even though we have heavy hearts about losing him, we feel for Uncle Jerry to pass away on Easter is so fitting and special. He lost his own two children to polio when they were very small. I believe they were there waiting for him and welcoming him. And knowing how loved all of the children of our family were by him (it makes me incredibly sad that CW never got to meet him), I am sure when he saw his precious Donny and Margie, he had the biggest smile on his face ever.

I am heading out to California this Thursday morning. I am heading out with just CW. Sadly, Rex and Mr. Dina (thanks for the name idea, Gigiofca) cannot make it...too expensive. What is funny about all this? Mr. Dina rightly pointed out that CW and I are amongst a small handful of people who have gone to Disneyworld's Magic Kingdom one week and then to Disneyland the next. Walt would be proud. What is bittersweet? The last time we went to Disneyland was with Uncle Jerry for Rex's first visit ever (see above pic).

Okay...so back to the Florida outfits...these are the last two. Tuesday was really cold, but we had NO idea when we left. Lucky for us we brought a few jackets. We went to Universal Studios that day and saw a lot of folks wearing Universal Studios hoodies, coats, sweatshirts, etc. I think that is how these parks make money...they fool everyone into believing Florida is warm all the time and then getcha when it is cold. :) But we were prepared!

I had forgotten to put this outfit in my polyvore, but here it is...a lime green polo with crab critters all over it from summer 2008 (J. Crew), a pair of J. Crew stretch summerweight shorts (11" inseam) in dark honey (or something like that) from this season, and of course, the lovely critter flip-flops (I guess Tuesday was a critter day).

I don't really have a lot of time to write about Universal Studios, so I will have to post on the experience later. We did have fun...even though this happened (see next photo):

Yep...that's right, Dina got sun- and wind-burned. So did Rex and CW. Mr. Dina was fine...he wore a hat. So did you know that when it is cold but the sun is bright and closer to you that you can burn? Yeah, I know, all you ski-bunnies get that, but for a proud flat-lander like myself, it didn't even freaking occur to me.

I think I should have packed a green top for this outfit (would be a lot less jarring against my very pink skin), but how was I to know I would get burned? I had wanted to wear shorts or something other than this, but darnit, it was cold again. So out came my fly-home outfit early for our last day in Orlando (we went back to Downtown Disney...fun...review at same time as Universal, maybe...). The sweater is a cashmere short-sleeve top from Garnet Hill. Ladies, the cashmere in this sweater is probably a hundred times softer than the J. Crew cashmere. Admittedly it is a bit more expensive, but if you buy it on sale (like I did), it can be a reasonable price. Plus I love wearing cashmere on planes...it's cozy without being cumbersome. The pants are the chambray cocktail pants from the Pants, Pants, and More Pants post. They are definitely getting to be too loose. WOO! And, yep, the lovely critter flip-flops.

You all have a nice night and Wednesday morning. :) I will get back in my groove soon enough...it may just take awhile (darn grades...they take forever to do and have to be turned it at the absolute worst time for me)!

Cocoa Beach...Here We Come!!!

So we chose Monday (4/6/09) to be our "beach" day. Hmm...looking back, not very wise...but that is hindsight for ya. :)

IT WAS WINDY that day. WINDY!!! Hot, but my goodness, the sand was 'a flying at us.

We chose Cocoa Beach because it is fairly close to Orlando. That seemed wise at the time. When we got there not only did we face incredible monsoon strength winds, there was a riptide warning, and many, many people. Sigh.

I am a Polly Anna, though, and will not let the odds stack against me. Turns out for all the mess that we faced, it was an enjoyable day in the end. :) Yay for optimism!!!


Here is the outfit I wore to the beach. It includes the beautiful green flower tissue tee from J. Crew this spring (and still for sale), a pair of 9-inch inseam shorts in citron from J. Crew in 2006, and my lovely critter flip-flops you most recently saw here.

I love this tee. And washing it has seemed to take a bit of the length away, making it the perfect length on my hips. SMILE. :) I love it when washing it makes it better for me to wear and not worse.

I officially have a love affair with J. Crew shorts. They fit me like a comfortable glove. Their shorts fit model must be shaped like me (yeah, right, I think I have just lucked out). I think I own twenty pairs of J. Crew shorts. (Yes, in all colors including--SHOCK--neutrals!)


Once we got to the beach we got into our swimwear and hit the sand. What you see here is my cover-up. This is from J. Crew February 2008. Love it! Just what you need to keep your heiney from being exposed walking from the changing room to your towel.

Oh, and yes, my GORGEOUS fresco bandeau bikini is underneath...and NO...no one but my family and friends get to see it in real life. Gotta keep something a secret from you all! ;)

No one ran away screaming and yelling, so I will assume that I looked okay in it!


Because I am a fan of changing multiple times in one day, especially on vacation, I brought the cottage dress to the beach to wear afterwards. Originally I was supposed to wear it on Sunday as represented in the polyvore found in this post, but because I moved the Lisa dress to Saturday, I decided to move Miss Cottage to Monday.

As you can see, the dress held up pretty well. By the time this pic had been taken, I had worn it in the car for an hour which is why the skirt is so wrinkled. But this is not meant to be a fancy dress, just something fun and pretty for summer.

The dress made its original appearance in this post, if you will recall.

By the way, the shoes are my Earth sandals in bronze. These are great because the force you to stand properly because the heel sits lower than your toes. I love wearing them because I feel nice and tall (yep, just what I need at 5'8")!

I hope you have enjoyed viewing this almost as much as we enjoyed (eventually) our day at the beach! Have a great night, everyone!

Dina's Day at Disney (or How I Managed to Keep it Together at the Magic Kingdom)!!!

I have a tiny, teeny, little confession to make...I LOVE DISNEY. I have been visiting Disney in all its forms since before I was CW's age. I have been to Disneyland almost as many times as my years on this earth, and I have been to the parks at Disney World a lot, too. (I even went to Tokyo Disney when we went to Japan!) Is it any surprise that we made our way to the Magic Kingdom on our first full day in Florida?

Overall the day was great. Hot, sticky, and crowded, but still it's Disney!!! I decided to wear simple and colorful to make my day as awesome as possible. I packed a dress, too, for the dinner we would later eat in Downtown Disney. Maybe I am a freak, but if I am going to eat at a place that costs nearly $30 a plate, I am going to dress up (I was the only one in our group to do so, though).

Here is where you can see the polyvore of this outfit. You may notice that the Lisa dress moves from Saturday to Sunday...this dress is very packable, even after one full day of rides and fun at the Magic Kingdom. :) You will see it in the last photo of this post!


The outfit I wore in full-length (at the beginning of the day): Parisian Polo by J. Crew in tea rose; Striped Bermuda shorts by J. Crew in pink; and Critter Flip-Flops (from 2006?) by J. Crew, the critter is a flamingo on a olive green background.

The kids already look tired, huh? They made it through the day, though! I will tell you...Rex is sleeping a lot right now...I think to make up for lost sleep time while we were in Florida.

This outfit was so awesome for the day...very comfy and soft and casual but still bright and pretty. And the flip-flops were great for walking and standing around...my feet felt great at the end of the day!


Here is a close-up of the Parisian polo. I love this color and I think the longer placket is so nice and unusual...sets it apart from other types of polos out there. I am a huge fan of J. Crew polos...I must own ten of them, in all sorts of colors, from the past five years or so!

I have no idea why Rex is fascinated with the button-hole. That kid is fascinated by everything. I hear this is common for two-year olds, but since he is my first two-year old, everything he does is new for me, too!


I confess to having a great love for the chocolate-covered frozen bananas that all Disney parks sell. Every time we go to a Disney park, I have to buy one. As I have gotten older, it is the only snack I eat the entire day (I use to down like five snacks when I was younger), but mmm....what a snack to enjoy!

In this picture you may notice the addition of a no-hassle headscarf by J. Crew from last summer (2008). These headscarves have a lot of fans over at J. Crew Aficionada...and I agree. I ONLY wear them on days where I will be out the entire day, but for those conditions, these accessories are a perfect way to protect your scalp from the sun. I have to wear mine with barrettes or else the scarf will fall off...but not a bad proposition overall.

I love the stupid face I am making in this pic. I guess this proves I am not vain if I am willing to show this picture off! (It actually reminds me of pics I had taken of me at 13, when I had no self-confidence...)


Here is the headscarf close-up. You will notice that CW also has a headscarf of her own. On 3, everybody say "AWWWW!" It is actually Rex's old hat, but doesn't matter, does the trick, and she doesn't look too much like a boy. ;)

Here is the Lisa dress in Kelly Green. This was from Summer 2008. I bought it off ebay for NOTHING. :) And I love it. Slip on and go...very very convenient for travel. For those of you scared of the bright colors, I think it comes in black, too.

I choose to wear a cami with this because I am not a fan of showing too much off to the world. (Of course, I do have a blog about clothing, but you know what I mean!)

The sunglasses perched on my head? They are BROKEN. Rex ripped them off my head on Tuesday and they were toast. Sigh.

The necklace is a miraculous medal that my mother-in-law gave me A LONG time ago. Yes, I am Catholic. I wear my medal on travel days, holy days, and any days I need a little extra grace. :)

Have a great night and Saturday, everyone. Next up: Monday at Cocoa Beach!!!

Quick Update!

I have made comments on these following posts (and the winner is, mahali dot capris, world's best uncle, and quick hello from florida)...so if you are wondering if I have updated, I have. I am waiting till tomorrow to comment on the posts I made last night (that is what I normally do...I like to comment all at once...easier when you have these little ones scampering around all the time).

I have also fixed the problem with my "in real life" picture in this post. THANK YOU, KatyO. If it weren't for your comment, I would have had no idea that my picture wasn't there!!!

Have a great afternoon, everyone. More pics and posts to come!

By the way, you all don't have to comment on this post. It seems silly to have commenting on a post about commenting. ;)