Join the Cardi Party - Including J Crew Merino Ocelot Cardi

I loved GingerSnap's post yesterday about having a Cardi Party. I feel like I go for long stretches in a Cardi Party. And this is a fab way to catch up on some outfit posting, too... And I get to show off, once again, that I finally downloaded Picasa to my desktop so I can do collages. You'd think I'd get more creative, but I'm pretty pleased with myself thus far.

So yesterday, day before that, day before that, and 2 other random September outfits that I actually photographed.

Moving from left to right (thought I added text to the pic but apparently I'm not as good at Picasa as I thought I was...):

First up from waaaaay back on September 10, classic J Crew - misty lavender Jackie, white vneck tissue boyfriend tee, and khaki cafe capris. Twisted crystal necklace and Target sandals that are way comfy. Very basic J Crew. Next?

September 17 - finally wore IRL the merino Ocelot since it was cool enough. I had been waiting ever since our Tysons JCA event to wear it. Like Patina, I really just love this cardi with jeans...plus the usual bf tissue tee for me, natch. The cardigan (#19006, orig $88) is sold out - no surprise there - it's gorgeous. Maybe it will pop back one of these days. Gigi actually reviewed it in this post earlier in the month, and she & quite a few others preferred the Target version. Me? I really love the colors in this cardi - so pretty. I find the fit to be pretty much like the Jackies - which does make sense since it's pretty much the same cut as the Jackies (although we all know how wacky their fits can be...).

September 27 - outfit for church - cotton-cashmere bouquet cardi plus...once again, white bf tissue tee and jeans. Ooooh, think I need some new under-tops. Anyway, I heard mixed reviews on washing this cardi - but will vouch for the fact that it irons like a dream since, um, mine was at the bottom of a pile of cardis and was all wrinkly. Wore my new cutie cap toe ballet flats, too - loving these shoes!

September 28 - Kids off school for Yom Kippur, which we don't celebrate, so...fun chill day at home, some errands, lunch with dad. Actually the chilling out at home was huge - M & E have been fighting off colds just like me, so we needed an extra day of rest. And I actually didn't wear a bf tee that day. Love the linen cardigan - great layering piece and great on its own. It's still available online on sale for $29.99, if you are interested. Plus Minnie pants, confetti necklace and cap toe ballet flats again.

And that brings us to yesterday, September 29 - Hello my dear old friend. 1st wearing of the season for the Library Shawl Cardigan. I love this cardi today as much as I did the day I bought it. Like that lovely striped sweater I had in my last post, it was worth every penny of full price - and that's how you know you made the right purchase. (ps - if *everything* feels like it's worth full price, you may need to put down the Crew-lade...just sayin'....) This cardi just feels like a hug every time I wear it - and yesterday was so blustery, it was perfect. Jeans and a tee...again...I know.

When you look across the board at how many times I'm wearing a ponytail (even in not-hot weather), you will understand why I actually got 2 inches chopped off my hair yesterday. Oh, it felt so good! Pics later today or tomorrow.

So now we are pretty much caught up through yesterday. And here's the Polyvore-o-rama to go with the outfits above:

September 10:

9/10/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew


September 17:

9/17/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew


September 27:

9/27/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew


September 28:

9/28/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew


September 29:

9/29/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew


And the Cardi Party rocks on...

J Crew Fall Sweaters - A Hit aaaaand a Miss

I mentioned in my earlier post today that when out shopping before the JCA brunch I fell in love with a new J Crew sweater. And I fell hard. And went back to get it later in the week because I just couldn't get it out of my head. Is that sad? Maybe it's good in a way because I am really trying to be smarter about my purchases. I don't *need* any more sweaters. So if I'm buying one, it needs to be so fab and perfect that my wardrobe will feel incomplete with out it.

J Crew Striped Merino Sweater. Per the receipt, its official name is CSHFL (no idea what that means) James Stripe Henley. (#19905, $98) This sweater is not online, but the tag indicates it is a Holiday item (HO 09), so here's hoping that it ends up online so I can grab it for Polyvore. Oh come on, Polyvore addicts, you know what I mean - you just don't wear the things that aren't on PV, do you? Yeah, me too. Anyway, I also hope it ends up online so you all can order it. Color code is BWH. Black + WHite? That's my guess.


First of all, it's 100% merino, nice weight too it - not too heavy or too light. Very soft - but not so soft or thin that the sweater is flimsy. The neck is sits up ever so slightly at the shoulders. I love the stripes (which are more cream than white). I think the combo of the weight of the sweater and the stripes help camouflage any lumpiness in the middle, even without a tank or cami underneath (if you don't know what I'm talking about...well, you don't need to worry about it). This sweater runs on the long side - well, you can see by the stripes in the picture - but I got the M and it fits close to the body, not boxy at all.

But the most fab part of this sweater is in the back. (pardon the full rear view in the pic - can't believe I am showing it - but you have to see the detail) There are 3 buttons going up the back on the neck and 6 buttons on the back of each sleeve. Love love love the detail. So chic. And with a pair of black Minnies...well, I almost feel like I'm channeling Audrey Hepburn. From the instant I put it on, it was perfect. And *that's* when you know you have to have it.

On the other hand, we have the J Crew Argyle V-neck sweater (#17850, $79.50, curr $49.50 in store promo). Ok, so I remember seeing this sweater briefly on Gigi's blog. And when I was shopping with Dina last week, I picked it up in black (which is no longer showing online) to try on since they were on promo in store for $49.50. (Um, I had gotten the striped sweater and black Minnies at Montgomery Mall earlier in the day and then met her at Tysons. Do I have issues? Yeah.....) I was wearing my khaki cafe capris and with those pants they looked fab. It is a long sweater, but I liked the length, figured I could just throw a tank underneath, and that I could wear it with my khaki pants, black pants, gray pants.

And then yesterday, I was trying it on again to get pics to post, and honestly, I just don't think I love it. I really don't like it so much with the black Minnies. In spite of the original online pic, I'm probably not going to wear it with jeans. So that leaves me with khakis, and I don't have a good pair of winter khakis right now (that's what I should be spending my money on). And I don't love it so much with the tank underneath. So I think it's going back.

Don't get me wrong. It's a really cute sweater. But going back to the point I made above, it's not so special that I think I need to keep it. I do love argyle and would love an argyle sweater, but I have enough sweaters as is. And I really do need to clean out my closet.

Maybe if it's on sale again later or something. Or maybe in another color. Or maybe if I worked in an office full time - I can totally see this layered under a black suit. But not right now, not for me.

Now this...this is what I'd like to see in womens' sizes in argyle. (currently crewcuts only) How fun would that be?


Or maybe that's just me.

JCA Brunch at Le Chat Noir

The lovely Rosa organized a fab brunch for us at Le Chat Noir in DC last weekend. I'm sure many/most/all of you have read the wonderful recaps by 3-Penny Princess and Slastena.

Like Slastena, I'm not even going to try to compete with 3-PP's writing skills. But it was lovely. Perfect spot for a JCA brunch. Yummy mimosas. Yummy crepes. Love lunching with the ladies because they split dessert...

Since I had to scoot home right after brunch for my parents visiting and soccer games, I stopped by the Friendship Heights J Crew before brunch. Tried on a few things, but didn't actually get anything that day as time was getting short to get over to brunch. (yay me, for once) I did, however, fall positively in love with a new sweater and went back later that week to get it. More on that in another post.

I wore the dark slate Frances cami with white jeans and my spring daisy Jackie cardi. I love this cardi - the color literally goes with everything. Finished off with Danielle sandals and the twisted crystal necklace - which I wore as a bracelet, wrapped 5 times around my wrist. Perfect fit - I'll have to remember that trick, since I hardly wear it during winter because of the sweater-snagging issue.

Group photo because yes, I actually remembered the camera again:

Pictured above left to right:

Me

3-Penny Princess - my fellow Frances friend

Drewablank - totally rocking the dressy jersey ruffle-neck dress

Slastena - even more radiant than usual with her lovely pregnancy glow

Rosa - fab organizer and total smarty, too

CleoP - looking like a movie star - love that dress!

K - I just wish this was a full-length shot because she had to most insanely fab shoes on

Polyvore from Brunch:

9/19/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Thanks again to Rosa for organizing!!

A Pair of Pairs of Shoes (does that even make sense?)

I was planning this post along with some JC reviews, but decided to bump it up based on Harvill's comment on my last post.

So a couple of weeks ago, I ran into snaphappy at my local DSW Shoe Warehouse, which I admit, I don't visit often enough. I'm trying to branch out a bit with the shoe purchasing...and trying to really find cute shoes that are actually not bad - or maybe even good - for my feet.

Only one purchase on that 1st trip, and did I mention I had a coupon for $20 off a $49.95 purchase? Naturalizer Cedra Patent Moc (#194610, $49.95) Ok, I did use the coupon and got them for basically $30, but oh yeah, these are definitely worth full price. First let's be shallow and go with looks. Brown croc patent? Too cute. Love the little tassel thingy. They are synthetic, but are so comfy that I haven't had any rubbing or blister issues. I got a 9 1/2. I agree with DSW's reviews that they do tend to run a bit short. I love how they look with jeans - that's probably how I will usually wear them. Being that they are by Naturalizer, you do expect the support and comfort, and I give them an A+ on that. (snaphappy got a pair of these, too.)

Now, you know I love my ballet flats and let's be honest...it's a lot easier to camouflage all that support and comfort in a pair of mocs than it is in ballet flats. Probably why I usually go with my cheapie Target shoes and a gel insole, since it's not like they're going to be *that* much more supportive if I spend more money... Well, I stand corrected. Some ballet flats can be a bit more supportive and comfy. And I would like to thank snaphappy because when we were at DSW the previous week, she said "Did you look at the clearance section?" I replied, "nope, never even got there." (thinking it would be all summer and I'm looking for fall/winter shoes)

Flash forward to this past weekend when my parents were visiting, my mom wanted to stop by DSW to look at some shoes. I honestly, truly I swear, rode along to get a bag of dog food at Petco right next door. (Lucy, now 9 months old and 48 lbs, goes through a 35-lb bag of food in 1 month. And folks, she's not chunky.) So I got my intestinally-friendly large-breed puppy food (yeah, I know, ridic, huh?) and wandered back to DWS to meet my mom. She was still browsing and I had pretty much seen everything on the regular rows, so with snaphappy's words in mind, I headed back to the clearance section...and fell in love.

Me Too Swann Cap Toe Ballet Flat (#177123, $39.94 online). I got it for $54.94, less 50%, so a wee bit less than $28. Again, score! And um, yeah, I probably would have paid the full price for these too. Yes, they are a bit of a Chanel knock-off, but what ballet flats aren't (other than the TB Revas, of course). So pretty - beige leather and black patent cap toe. Love! But the big news is how comfy they are. Without looking totally clunky. I did get a 9 1/2 in these as well, but probably could have made the 9's work. Except that my mom got the 9's for herself. I did add one of those back-of-heel cushions to help them stay on a bit better. Can't wait to wear these with most or all of my fall/winter sweaters. (And now I have a pic I can clip to Polyvore because I can't on the DSW site...stinkers.)

Here are my IRL pics of the 2 shoes. Pardon the mark across the top of my foot - I was wearing toe socks earlier today with my J Crew sneakers...and did a quick photo op of both pairs of shoes before swapping out for big comfy cozy socks.

Boyfriend Tees and Cafe Capris

Whew, do I have some catching up today. If you recall, I mentioned in my last post...a week and a half ago...that I tend to get a bit obsessive about projects to the detriment of, well, everything else.

So what have I been doing since last Wednesday?
-Furniture moving after finishing the first insane round of furniture painting (Thurs)

-Hosted a brunch for about 20 friends (Fri)

-Went to the DC JCA brunch (Sat)

-Had my parents visit to see kiddies play soccer games (Sat-Sun)

-An insane amount of gardening (Sun, Mon, Tues)

-More furniture painting after my dad came back up to bring the other bed for E's room (Tues)

-Met dinagideon (plus bro & kiddies) for some JC time (Wed)

Fortunately, work is kinda on hold right now while we await some info on the direction of the project, so I had the time. But like I said, to the detriment of all else...including my health. By late Wednesday, I realized that I had worked myself into a big old nasty sinus/head cold thing - it was more that I couldn't think straight at first, and then the symptoms arrived. (dina - I am sorry, if I realized I was sick, I wouldn't have met up with you - hope hope hope I didn't pass on the germs.)

I would like to, once again, extol the virtues of Mucinex-D for sinus issues - genius product. Once I finally went to the store on Friday and got some (motivated by the fact that we were actually down to only 2 rolls of TP in the house and we have 3 bathrooms - like I said, not thinking straight when I have a head cold)...oh, so much better. In fact, I was feeling so great that I got up at about 2:30 am and started catching up on my blog reading. But I did sleep in this morning, thanks to my wonderful hubby.

But basically, I spent Thursday and Friday parked on the couch, trying to rest and not let the house totally collapse around me. Now I am back to blogging and do I have some catching up to do... First of all, outfits for the week. J Crew boyfriend tissue tees and cafe capris. Hey, they work. Perfect for this transitional weather we are having right now. I like to think that the different colors and accessories vary the outfit, but this week, I was either too busy or too sick to care. And um, yeah, I only showered and got dressed yesterday since I had to go to the store. And I finally figured out how to use Picasa on my desktop to do the collage thing - which is nice, because seriously, these outfits really don't merit their own individual posts. But I am way amused at the fact that clearly I have a favorite pose.

Wednesday, I finally pulled out my BR statement necklace. This is the FA08 version of the SP09 one that Patina and dinagideon have. It only has 4 chunks on it - leaf, chrysanthemum, peacock, and elephant. I don't wear this often because the elephant always flips around, but I actually took a pair of pliers and switched the direction of the elephant so it's not as likely to do it now. (pats self on back) But I really think adding an extra jump ring between the elephant and the big link will really help. Need to do something as I got a ton of compliments on the necklace when I wore it Wed - which was nice, since I think that one was the most boring of the outfits.

Patina - this is for you - closer up of the BR necklace. (sorry, didn't get a separate shot, had to crop a full length photo)

Polyvore for the week:

This Week - Boyfriend Tissue Tees & Cafe Capris by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Some J Crew reviews to come shortly, including the most perfect-for-me gorgeous sweater that seems to be B&M only right now. (Come on JC, I need a pic for Polyvore!)

Happy Anniversary!

A huge Happy Anniversary to Hubby today...14 years of marriage! Yep, I was only 23 years old when we got married...and we are still happily married today. Happier, I think, as we've both matured together. It was a fun day - hubby and I had a nice lunch out at one of my fave restaurants (J Gilberts in Mclean)...then I went to the office for a meeting. At least the billed time offset the lunch. For dinner, we did fondue at home with the kids - hey, it's not just anniversary for the two of us as a couple but the anniversary of the start of our family...yes, I know that's sappy...but it's true. And fondue is so fun for dinner. We do cheese fondue for dinner - and dip bread, sausage (you know, protein), apples, celery. Dessert is (duh) chocolate fondue. Yum!!!

And it's appropriate that I'm posting on this today because hubby is a wonderful man and really does put up with me. I have been semi-absent from bloggy-land for darn near a week because I have been way overinvolved in house projects.

Let's see...Background: first of all, back in June we got some furniture from hubby's grandmother for E's room. Backing up further, a few years ago we converted the guest room into office for hubby and made E's room the de facto guest room and she sleeps on our floor when we have guests - which is a fun treat, but she's starting to tire of it. (Although sleeping with Lucy on the floor is a huge treat, so we end up with M on the floor in our room as well.) So M had a twin bed and E had a double bed. Eventual plan was to get M bunk beds (summer-ish) and E would have 2 twin beds in her room (my parents have the mate to M's bed).

Fast forward to this weekend. Someone in the neighborhood was selling a fantastic bunk set at an amazing price, and we picked that up for M on Sunday. So we had to clean out, organize, and rearrange his room. This led to the realization that we would have the 2 twins for E, so to pull everything together, I've been out in the garage for days painting her current dresser & bookcase, Grandma's furniture, and the twin bed (still have to do its mate when I get that, hopefully next week). Also had to do a MAJOR clean out and organizing in E's room, as she is an accumulator and saves *everything*. This was also a good time for both kids to do the "do you think you've outgrown this?" test. I collected 4 bags of books plus 2 Leapsters for Dina, several bags of recycling (don't get me started on the paper in E's room), 1 huge bag of trash, and multiple bags for Salvation Army or whoever. And oh, it felt so so so so so good. And I've been cramming mini-clean out sessions in all my other spare time like...counter in the butler's pantry, kitchen linens drawer, bathroom cabinet (still need to do medicine cabinet & counter), etc. I am on a roll.

And Monday, since the bunk beds were set up in M's room, I decided to go ahead and do everything with E's room, so I disassembled her double bed, moved it all to the basement by myself, brought up the 2nd twin mattress & box spring, took the current book case & dresser out to the garage for painting. And I want to have her room mostly re-assembled before brunch on Friday morning here. Yes, I get a bit manic when I am working on a project.

Plus I got the new Dan Brown book yesterday and read that most of the morning today instead of blog-reading/posting. Again, a bit manic when I have a book I've been waiting for.

So instead of the blogosphere, I have been living in a cloud of paint fumes and moving dust. And I haven't even gotten to painting the walls yet. That's supposed to be a late spring/summer project...we'll see if I can wait that long.

See? This is what hubby has to live with. Seriously, he's such a good person. (By the way, if your eyes totally glazed over while reading all that drivel, no worries...common reaction.)

And so I think I'm back to regular blogging. And will be catching up on reading too - I have missed everyone. If you want to read a really lovely post about bloggy friendships, you should check out monogramgirl on A Nantucket State of Mind. I really loved this post...so true, so true.

So where was I? Oh yeah, anniversary lunch... Ok, I'll admit, I did the bus stop in Jaspe sweatshirt and knee pants since I was taking Lucy on a looooooong walk....and um, changed after I got back from getting the kids at the bus stop. But I looked really nice, I swear, in between. White slim stretch shirt and gray Minnies. Plus bronze twig Joleys and the confetti necklace. No bracelets since I was to be sitting at a conference table, although the pearl garden bracelet was awfully tempting (but just too noisy).

Should I have dressed up more? Maybe, but hubby had on a golf shirt and jeans, so I thought I was doing pretty well. Plus I had that meeting to sit through.... And I'll dress up for brunch on Saturday (probably).

Love these Minnies...I think I'll be living in them this fall and winter with boots and sweaters. Just can't decide whether to get the tan or black next. I'm leaning toward the black...

And this....is busted. (that would be E's koala, Fuzzy Wuzzy)

Kids: need to keep doors closed or Lucy steals things.... (I so said that I wouldn't be a door closer when we got a puppy...that she would learn. Hahahahahaha...shows you what I know.)

Polyvore for today:

9/16/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Heidi's Beauty Bag - Stinky Pits

What a post title, I know. But let's talk shaving, deodorant, and all that fun stuff. (I know, again, like the beach post, I wait until the end of summer - what can I say, I was "testing.")

First up, the shaving issue. Hands down, my absolute favorite shaving cream is Aveeno Positively Smooth Shave Gel. It's supposed to help you shave "less often." I discovered this when I pregnant with M, so that would be...10 years ago. I swear this works. You know how when you are pregnant, all those hormones are raging and the hair on your head gets thicker? Well, I think it all does, and with this shave cream, I needed to shave my legs less often. I will admit that I have strayed to others over the years, but I always come back to this one. Love love love.

After shaving the legs, you need some serious moisture, right? Well, you do anyway, but *especially* after shaving. Back when I first discovered the Aveeno shave cream, I used to use with their Positively Smooth lotion - which I thought worked quite well. But I don't recall seeing that in a while on my usual circuit, and last summer, I started using Aveeno Daily Moisturizing Lotion with Sunscreen. Not for active wear, but great for your everyday nominal exposure. I think it does a great job of hydrating - it may take a half minute longer to soak in, but you get the sun protection. And you all know how I am about loving my sunscreen.

Given how much I love love love my Aveeno shave minimizing, so when I saw the ads this summer for the new Dove antiperspirant - "Visibly Smooth", I was psyched. So in spite of my utter devotion to my current antiperspirant (more on that below), I ran right out to get some. Outcome? Meh, I give it a C. I gave it a true test and wore it for about 6 weeks, but I saw no difference. It was ok as an antiperspirant, but not great. Bummer!!! So as soon as my trial was over, I went running back to my all-time fave antiperspirant....

Secret Clinical Strength Antiperspirant Deodorant. I swear this stuff is magic! (I like the Light & Fresh scent)It's the first product I have ever found that truly effectively stopped perspiration and stinkiness on me. Love love love love. Wow, I gave it 1 more "love" than the Aveeno shave cream. But seriously folks, it is gold. The only teensy drawback is that you do have to be careful about the dark sleeveless top/white mark thing - but you know, antiperspirant really functions better if you apply at night before you go to bed. Your body heat helps it really sink in and be more effective the next day, even after you shower. I always forget that, but am trying to remember. Maybe I need to set it next to my toothbrush. When I need to reapply and will be wearing a dark top, I just try to apply sparingly and make sure it is very dry before dressing.

Wishing you smooth legs and fresh scents...

Boden Love

So it was ironic that I was wearing my Boden denim mini yesterday because this little lovely popped up in my in-box:



I'll give you the scoop since apparently when I upload photos from my laptop, they often can't be enlarged (and if anyone knows how to fix that, I would love a hint or two).

Free shipping AND free returns (last part important since they don't have a B&M here).

20% off everything today and tomorrow (9/9 & 9/10), drops to 15% off on Friday (9/11), then 10% on Saturday (9/12).

Beautiful part - NO CODE! That's right. They are so generous at Boden, that all you need to do is go to their website and they announce it right there at the top of the home page. No tricks, no smoke & mirrors, just a good discount for all of us.

Here's a Polyvore I did a while ago when I first got their delicious fall catalog.


Covetables from the Fall Boden Catalog by HeidiGblog on Polyvore.com

Lots of yummy choices. I don't think I'll be going hog-wild, but it's an excellent chance to give some of their pieces a try. Did I mention the free shipping and free returns? oh yeah, I did, but it bears repeating. Dinagideon is a huge fan of Boden - loves their prints, their colors, their quality, their fit. I am a total Boden newbie, but I am definitely becoming a fan.

So yesterday...back to Boden mini - love this skirt! I love the length - short on me, but not too short on my extra-long femur. (seriously, that's where all my height is) I wore it yesterday with my navy JC vneck sweater and a cream cami, plus (old) J Crew olive sneakers and a Silpada pearl necklace.

I can't wait to wear this skirt in fall/winter with tights + boots + sweaters. It's a great year-round piece.

Fun outfit for a fun day - Dog swim at the pool. Does your pool do this? The day after Labor Day, when the pool is officially closed to humans for the season, they have Doggie Swim. 5-7 pm. It is mass chaos, but totally hilarious and so much fun. Lucy still isn't a swimmer or a big water fan, but she LOVED running around and playing with the other dogs. And then she crashed for the evening.


Polyvore from yesterday:


Wearing Today-9/8/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew


So...do you think you'll give Boden a try?

For you veteran Boden fans, what are you coveting?

A Perfect Piece - J Crew Daphne Dress

Don't you love it when you try on something and it really, truly feels perfect? It makes you stand up straighter and hold your head higher. Why then, did it take me so darn long to do an IRL wearing of the J Crew Daphne dress. Longer-term readers of my blog know that I was hemming and hawing about which dress to get back in the spring...and oh, thank you all for your input, this was SO the right decision.

I *finally* pulled it out to wear last Sunday for church. And yes, I did stand up straighter. I added the confetti necklace - I just love this piece - so glad I got it on sale - like pearls but matte, not shiny or iridescent, so they are kinda fun. And then the Joley flats in bronze twig. I felt kinda Mad Men-ish in this outfit. (not pictured is the cream cotton sweater jacket I wore with it since it was chilly - but you know how bad I am about getting a pic of my top-most layer).

This is definitely something I should wear more often. Simple. Easy. Perfect. And that's why I love dresses.

Polyvore from last Sunday:

Wearing This AM - 8/30/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Nail Files - "Moor" Fall Polish

I have "Moor" polish to show you...Starting with Give Me Moor, from OPI Colleccion de Espana. Described as a "stunning wine-purple." I love this color. The best way to describe it is to take the classic Lincoln Park After Dark and make it more red and more brown. GMM is the same intensity of color, just not as blue-purple as LPAD. A really great fall/winter polish. It's not as exciting as some of the other colors, but it will work well. It may even be a close Essie Wicked dupe.

And then on to the fall polish that just didn't do it for me. I was talking to my friend Laura the other day, who had just been out and stopped by Sephora the day before for polish, and I immediately jumped in, since I have a bad habit of interrupting sometimes (or often), with "You got Under My Trench Coat, didn't you? I'm coming right now to borrow it." And let me tell you, it looked fab on her toes. But it just did NOT work on me. Wrong color with my tan skin.

See what I mean? Described as "light grey khaki with gold shimmer". No...it's just khaki, as in British khaki, as in it matched my British khaki cafe capris perfectly. It seemed much more light gold in all the ads and pictures. This was a major let down for me. I'll stick with my Essie Chinchilly for gray. So, I am thrilled that I didn't waste the $9 on this polish. Maybe it would work better mid-winter on me, and maybe I'll try it again. But if you find a lot of the grays out too cadaver-ish on your pale skin, give this one a try. Comparison below of Under My Trench Coat and Chinchilly. It really did look gorgeous on Laura's toes.

One last polish to add. While at the beach, I posted pics of my OPI Tickle My France-y pedi, so I thought I would add mani pics the next time I used it. Still loving this one, and think it will complement most of my crazy fall polishes nicely for a mani/pedi combo.

Happy Polishing!!

More Cardis...Matchy, Matchy...

Let me tell you a funny story. Once upon a time there was a nice girl who liked clothes very much. She married a wonderful man and then had an adorable baby boy...and then she got pregnant with a baby girl and that wonderful husband laid down the law: "No matching outfits." I think it may have been said even before the actual labor & delivery.

This is much funnier when you're not the mom. And clearly that was me, and I have pretty much paid heed. Hubby doesn't ask for much in terms of attire from us. But then....what happens when you get 2 fabbie hand-me-down Lilly Pulitzer cardis from your sister-in-law for your darling little girl and they happen to be the exact shade of 2 cardis that you happen to have in your closet? You got it - matchy matchy time.

First up, the muted aqua faux-Jackie from ATL. I love these cardis just as much as my JC Jackie. Fit is a little different, but different is good, right? I wore this aqua-ish one on Monday since E was wearing her mini-me version for the 1st day of school. That's right - the 1st day of school - you would have thought I would have been blogging more, huh? Yeah, me too. (Work deadline, what can I say?)

E loved that she and I had on the same cardi - just as she loved it when I got similar Target shoes to hers...of course I'm not wearing them since I'm still trying to heal my heel. (Flip flops through the weekend and them I'm done, my feet are tired!)

I wore the cardi with a white tissue bf tee, outlet matchstick jeans, and an ATL scarf that matches the cardi. My daughter loved it, so it was a good outfit. 1st day of school went well for everyone, except that M is bitter that he has had homework all week and E hasn't. I adopted the twin message of "Life isn't fair, deal with it" and "Wait until next week, she'll have homework every night, too."

Such a good mom I am. At least neither one has asked for purple hair...yet. (Kathy - I especially loved the dual perspective on your post, it was hilarious. I have been on 1 side and anticipate being on the other side very shortly.)

Polyvore from Monday

Wearing Today-8/31/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

The weather has been gorgeous this week, did I mention that? Not too hot, not too chilly. So I've been loving the chance to wear sweaters this week and not swelter in the heat. Wednesday was not exactly matchy matchy, as I was sporting the cardi color that E wore the day before. Give us time though... So glad I got the spring daisy Jackie - I just love this color. I'm quite sure it will look ghastly on me mid-winter (I mean literally, it will totally wash me out and make me look like a corpse or zombie), but it's fantastic for now and fall, when I still have a little wore-SPF-but-got-some-color-anyway. Plus it's perfect with my Cocteau tote.

Under the cardi, I wore a tissue bf tee - but a *crew* neck one. I really should grab 1 or 2 of these next time I order online. Love them as much as the vneck, and it's nice to have another option...especially when the weather gets chillier. This one is dark slate or charcoal or whatever.

And then white jeans. Patina had a fun post yesterday about wearing white outside of Labor Day, and I say wear it as much as you want. I love white jeans with thick, cozy sweaters - I think they chic up some sweaters and give you a different look. White outside of summer is all about fabric weight. Linen = no. Thicker denim, wool = yes. Simple.

Totally neglected the accessories on this one. Ah well, what can you do? I think this was day 1 of flip flop wear, so I was focused on the feet and the gaping wound on my heel.

Polyvore from Wednesday:

Wearing Yesterday-9/2/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Short Sleeve Cardis This Week

Catching up... let's start with 2 outfits this week - both with short sleeve cardis. Here's today's outfit - the new linen short sleeve cardi that I got at the Tysons JCA event and my new (totally on sale) cafe capris in golden hickory. I am very glad I kept these capris, they are such a fun, offbeat color for a neutral. This cardi is going to be such a fantastic transition piece; right now it's perfect for going over all the tissue bf tees that I have...and today it was a white one. Plus the confetti necklace for more white/cream tonal...whatever. Eh, I felt like wearing it. And I have on my JC fleur de lis flip flops from 2007, I think, which happen to match the pants perfectly.

Yes, me, wearing flip flops and my feet miss being strapped in, especially when I walk Lucy. I am recovering from some major blistering on the back of my left heel that I got Tuesday and then exacerbated yesterday...so flip flops for a few days. Of course, most of my JC flip flops are a couple of years old, so not to be found in PV. No worries, I'll just have barefoot PV sets for a few days.

Polyvore for today:

Wearing Today-9/3/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Here's the other short sleeve cardigan, from Tuesday. I wore my nave blue one with a white shirt underneath. I liked how it worked. A little something different. I paired this cardi with a long sleeve white tee last spring, but hadn't done it with a shirt.

Add in simple matchstick jeans and Danielle flats, plus fireball necklace.

I *started* the day with my Clarks pink peep toes - they started the blister, which yesterday's pre-flip-flop shoes exacerbated. The things we do to ourselves, ugh. Maybe I just need to start buying expensive shoes.

New nail polish on toes - Give Me Moor. Need to post this one - fun color! perfect for fall.

Polyvore from Tuesday:

Wearing Today-9/1/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

I only have 2 short sleeve cardis, so that's it for this post. And I promise to get nail color pics up soon.