Head to Toe with Heidi

J Crew Matchsticks - Lived In? You Better Believe It!

2011-04-02T15:26:00.014-04:00

J Crew Matchstick Jeans in lived in wash (#28163, $108). $108? Really? These were a ton of these in the sale pile at my B&M. For $29.99. Add on the Mickey card's 20% off and I got them for $24. Thank you B&M. It seems like there is always a pile of jeans in the sale section at my B&M. I don't usually go for them because it seems like you need to try on at least a dozen to find the right pair. But they are always so well priced in the sale section, maybe I should make the effort more often. Not that I actually need any more, I think this pair pretty much rounds out my jeans wardrobe for a while.

But price issues aside...let's talk about the "lived in wash." I love the online commentary on these jeans "hand sanded for that had-it-forever softness." So true. So so so true. They are so soft. So not only did they fit, but they were so comfy.

I took a 29...which is likely meaningless, because I always have issues with not buying my jeans small enough and having them loosen up too much later (I hear my sister's voice in my head right now). I just hate it when I put them on and they still are uncomfortable. Although I think I've been getting better after the weight loss this fall, trying on smaller sizes first. Of course, right now I'm wearing a pair of Crewlet matchsticks in size 31...so they're more like a boyfriend fit. But lately I've been skewing to usually a 6 in pants and taking a 28/6 in LOFT jeans, so I guess this is the equivalent of an 8? And it would make sense to go with a larger size in a slim fit to avoid muffin top.

In any case, $24 jeans that fit and were really cute...of course I got them. Love the wash - great for spring and summer since it is softer. I wore them yesterday, April 1, and was glad I did get them. April Fools' Day...oh yes, Mother Nature had a fun time with us. Chilly, chilly, chilly. And way breezy. But I'll just be happy it wasn't rainy.

So I paired the jeans with the tissue turtle in...shoot...dark charcoal, I believe. I love how it picked up the gray in the tweed Dauphine jacket. Oh, the poor Dauphine jacket, which I've hardly worn, bad me, since getting it late in spring last year on mega-sale. Really need to rectify that because it's such a great jacket! And then a pair of croc mocs to round out the outfit.

I felt comfy, casual, and chic all day. Gret for running around doing errands. Didn't even change into sweats later in the evening after dinner. *That's* how comfy the jeans are.

Bottom line...if you've got the time, definitely dig through that pile of denim in your B&M!

J Crew Urbanite Shift

2011-03-31T07:48:00.000-04:00

J Crew Urbanite Shift Dress (338605, $118 or $94.40 with Mickey card; spiced olive & muslin currently $95 online)

Since I had to pop in to my local B&M to do a couple returns on some ill-advised sale purchases, I sent a note to my PS to ask her to hold the dress for me. I've been lusting over it in the catalog. Love the retro orange color. I know I'm all about the neutrals, but that is definitely a me color. I'm very selectiveabout my colors, so I love it when J Crew does have some of my colors. And have you seen the Fall 2011 looks? Gorgeous colors, and finally a "real" red for winter!! But back to the dress....

First of all, this dress is running HUGE. I ended up with a 4. I asked Jill to grab a 6 but she nabbed the 4 saying she had several 10's go down to a 4 in it. And the retro orange wasn't even there in a 6, so I shrugged and said sure. Thanks to my sister and dear dinagideon, I'm really trying to try on the smaller sizes first. Hard to move the brain there. But I remembered how big the Shelby dress ran, so I figured it was worth a try.

Um, oh yeah, I took a 4. A 4!!!! I even tried on the 6 just to see (in the muslin) and it was like wearing a massive paper grocery bag. So size down in this...way down. Maybe that's what they mean when they say "easy fit" in the online description. Pre-weight loss, I think I still would have taken a 6.

Other than the sizing issue, it's just a good old straight shift. Lay it flat and you'll see the slight trapezoidal shape. Remember, I am more angular (i.e., shaped like a brick) than curvy. The dress hangs well from my broad shoulders. If you are curvier or more pear-shaped, I don't know how it will work. I'm happy I got to look in the mirror and go "oh yay, a dress that's not totally vacant on top". If you actually have curves and have tried this, please pipe up! I'd love to hear.

It does run on the short side, but the simple & straight silhouette offsets the length. And it's not like I ever wear heels unless decorum dictates it, anyway. The dress has an exposed back zip which is a nice feature as well as pockets. Oh, I love pockets. And it has my 2 favorite words "Machine Wash." Thank you!

Let's talk color. I'm glad I tried on the retro orange. I admit I was sorely tempted by the muslin (oooh, pretty neutral), but I figure a tan dress is easier to find than one with this color. Did not see the spiced olive in store. The Retro Orange looks, to my untrained and upaid eye, like a pretty close dupe for Modern Red. I held up the dress to a modern red perfect fit tee I got earlier in the spring and yep, they were an exact match. So if you're trying to figure out exactly how orange it is, it's basically the same as the Dorrie skirt or the tees.

How am I going to wear it? Let's see...With the navy atelier jacket and navy flats (possible Easter outfit), but I'd love some other flats...will have to play in the closet. With sandals and sunnies, duh. Maybe even with a long sleeve tee layered underneath. I definitely had some fun playing with this on Polyvore yesterday. Probably/possibly would work with tights underneath - I wonder if black tights would be too Halloween-y. Any cardigan will work over it since it's sleeveless (must be why I love sleeveless in the summer, I always need the cardi anyway inside with all the AC, so it's just easier).

Black Shoes for Spring #2 - Hunter Boots

2011-03-30T05:29:00.000-04:00

I know, I know...everyone knows about Hunter Boots...blah blah blah yadda yadda yadda whatevs.

Ok, this is for those of you who don't yet actually have a pair.

What is spring without rain boots? Yes, my first Black Shoes for Spring was rain shoes...but "April showers" anybody? Yes, they are called that for a reason. Spring is just wet. (thank you, says my garden) And some of you lucky ducks may be in perma-warm weather but here outside DC, we most certainly are not. I think there was a chance of snow in the rain last night...and maybe even tonight or Friday. And sometimes it's just too wet for shoes, you want serious coverage...you want RAIN BOOTS!

But if you can grab a pair of cute $29.99 boots from Target, why should you bother with spending the extra bucks on Hunters? I'm not going to denigrate fun rain boots...I have a cute pair of hot pink Eprit ones that never fail to garner compliments BUT....they aren't Hunters.

I got my pair in December for my birthday. My mom gave them to me and my sister (yes, us twinsies in our matching black Hunters) and then she & I gave each other our Welly socks. It was a Hunter birthday indeed. I got the black pair but they come in a rainbow of colors and quite a few other styles. But this was exactly what I wanted. If I had realized how much I would be wearing them ever since, I definitely would have put them at the top of my wish list sooner. I have been *livng* in them.

What makes Hunters so special? No, not Kate Moss wearing them to Glastonbury way back when. Although that certainly upped the glamour of the brand.

No...they are just the squishiest, comfiest boots I've ever put on. Really and truly. I admit, I love a good black boot for tromping around in...makes you feel like a bit of a bad-a$$. But these...wow...they are actually comfy. And you all know how rigid I am about mandating comfort in my daily life & wardrobe. As Coco Chanel said, "Luxury must be comfortable, otherwise it is not luxury." I think that may be my matra. And trust me, these are so comfy.

How comfy are they? To give you an indication...I spent a full hour sitting criss-cross-applesause on the floor of a gym. Quite possibly more comfortable than some of my ballet flats would have been. They just mold and bend however your body, leg, ankle, foot goes. So you can get a lot done. And I find myself keeping them on all day, even walking around the house. Never that "wow, I can't wait to ditch these as soon as I walk into the house" feeling. I even wore them Friday on a field trip with M's class to Historic St Mary's city...which is basically 6 hours of walking. They are that good.

So how do you wear them? In short, with everything. Thus far, I can't claim to have worn them bare-legged but I'll do that when (if) it ever warms up. They go with anything..and everything.

At right is just one example, when I wore them last Thursday. Minnie pants in Tall (I'm taking a 6 now, and they tuck perfectly into the boots and work great with the thick camp socks) and the Cashmere Cabin popover. In retrospect, the clunky bracelet was too much, esp with the jacket.

Then the navy Quilted Double Breasted Puffer, which I nabbed a few weeks ago on the sale racks, I kinda liked it for $158 but wasn't willing to pay the full price but I really loved it for $60. And it has a hood!! And see...the navy totally works with the black pants & boots. Yep, I think this jacket will see a lot of action this spring.

Nail Files - More Spring Polish with OPI & butter London

2011-03-29T18:32:00.001-04:00

Two more Spring polishes to share with you all...

First up...as promised (here you go, RosaLovesDC)...OPI Don't Mess With OPI. Described as a "lean, mean, kick-grass forest green." Ok, how can you not love the name? Or the description? Although I don't know that I'd actually call it forest green. I'd just go with flat-out leaf green. A true green. A green green. Have you been seeing all the navy/white/green combos for spring? Guess what I'll be wearing with all my navy & white this spring?

And yes, this was my St Patrick's Day mani. I didn't even need any other green to set it off...it spoke volumes on its own...but I did add a green turquoise bracelet. I will admit it was a bit much at first but I adjusted quickly. This will be a fun spring & summer color on tips or toes.

I've only got one picture here, because I think it shows itself quite well. Just a good old straight up green.

Application, as usual with OPI, is flawless. A very easy mani to do. I will warn you that taking off the polish, I did make somewhat of a mess with the green running everywhere...not fun...so take care when removing this polish. Unless you're a fan of the nail fungus look. And if you are, hey, who am I to judge?

And the 2nd polish..excuse me, lacquer, I have to share is butter London's No More Waity, Katie. (They call it "lacquer", I'm honestly not sure what the difference is, but I'm sure there's a reason there.) To celebrate the upcoming marriage of Prince William and Kate Middleton. Oh, I'm such a sucker for a good lacquer name/story.

NMWK is described as "soft, elegant greige shade with a splash of lilac glitter for the perfect marriage to combine fashion and fun." Lilac glitter, definitely. but the greige shade is really reads as much more purple on me than greige, IMO. Not that it matters, because it's just a fun sparkly color that's perfect for spring...that I'll be wearing on April 29...for the big event....and it's just so pretty. (Don't tell hubby, but I'm even considering letting E take a mental health day to watch the coverage - I was about her age when Di married Charles and I still remember getting up early to watch it all. Thank goodness for DVRs.)

And you know what all that glitter means, right? Less chipping. (Woot!) The glitter always helps the polish adhere to the nail. I have 2 pictures here so you can see it in different light. In terms of application, I used 3 coats because 2 coats didn't show enough of the base. But it was surprisingly easy to work with for a glitter. And it has worn pretty well. But this sucker was holy-moley-such-a-pain to remove. Again...the glitter. But totally worth it. This is the 2nd time I've worn it since getting it, so yeah, I must think so.

I honestly haven't gotten any other lacquers from them in the past (although I do have Blowing Raspberries for answering a survey - a full size of it, so kudos to them for doing the free gift thing right!!)..because I really like to see my polish before I buy.

So here's the big huge butter London news:

Starting this Friday, April 1, butter London will be in *ALL* Ulta stores here in the US. I had a rep tell me about it back when I called to get something straightened out on my NMWK pre-order and then actually verified by asking on their Facebook page yesterday. So yay! I can't wait to check out all their gorgeous shades in person!! I'm sure you can expect to see a few here.

Black Shoes for Spring #1 - LL Bean Coastal Rain Skimmers

2011-03-23T22:58:00.003-04:00

Realized I have a couple posts I've been mulling that fit this category. Today's Black Shoes for Spring are my new LL Bean Coastal Rain Skimmers. (#TA261027, $69, but I only paid $59 - thanks for the $10 Bean reward certificate, Mom!!)

Seriously, best set up ever - Mom has the Bean credit card. I get to order online with free shipping & monogramming and she gets the points. Win-win. I *do* pay her back, of course. In this case, she specifically gave me the reward because she knew I had been mulling over these shoes.

*****Update on 3/26/10 - Bean just announced yesterday that they are now, like Zappos, offering Free Shipping. Period. Free Shipping...that's it. As they say now on their home page "No minimum order, no end date, just free." Could somebody please cue the applause?

According to the Bean website, these shoes were featured in O magazine in September 2010. Ok, so apparently I missed them this fall, otherwise I would have been all over them. It's a perfect marriage of the duck shoe and the ballet flat. So it pretty much suits me to a T. You all know how I love my ballet flats. I know J Crew has the cute rubber ballet flats but they are just too narrow for me, and show a bit too much toe cleavage for a well-functioning "rain shoe".

I got a 9 which...oh, I don't know, I hate shoe sizing. Let's just say I run between 9 and 9 1/2, so if you're worried, size down. Or get 2 sizes? I don't know...that's why I went ahead and tried them on in store. I do usually take a 9 in Bean shoes.

It's a really comfortable shoe. They are weatherproof, but leather so they breathe - no stinky feet, yay! And...well...here's their blurb:

Ideal for wet trips to the office or around town, these casual weatherproof shoes combine comfort and style with protective coverage for inclement weather. Pliable patent-leather upper is seam-sealed to keep water out. Thickly padded insole and a flexible rubber outsole give you much more cushioning than traditional skimmers. Rubber outsole adds traction on wet surfaces. Imported. Best with lightweight socks.

(right....like I wear socks unless I absolutely have to, i.e., with boots)

I was tempted by the blue but I just got a pair of navy patent mocs, so these looked too similar in the navy and I ended up with the black...which I wore today...yucky rainy day. So they were perfect. (They also come in nautical red, bright yellow, and dark brown.)

I wore the skimmers with a JC black long sleeve tissue tee & cami, Loft denim mini, and black JC leggings. I see now why Summerilla is always raving about her JC leggings. Per Summerilla, she wears hers weekly, washes with no holes or fadin. Love! Then accessorizing with above shoes, black scarf, ponytail & hoops, and topped off with my BR trench.

It was a full day - mani/pedi in the AM (courtesy of gift certificate from Xmas - yeah, didn't use it when I had the cast on my right hand), then chiro visit working out an issue with my left rotator cuff muscle, and then up to school to help in M's class and in E's Jump Rope for Heart session. (and back up to school to pick up some left-behind homework...sigh...) A good outfit for my day. Comfy for mani/pedi, yet still presentable for afternoon at school - and when I was helping M's teacher pull out pieces of "parchment" the kids made out of the tea they were soaking in, I was glad I had on dark colors.

Definitely a perfect spring shoe!

Weighty Issues...How I Lost It....

2011-03-21T15:10:00.001-04:00

I feel like this post needs to have about a billion disclaimers at the top. A number of you (as well as friends at home) have asked how I lost the weight.

So let me please be very very VERY clear - this is what worked for me. And only for me. I don't pretend to know everything about health, diet, nutrition, wellness. There are lots of people who are far more expert than I am.

But this is what happened.... Back in August, there were some stressful things that happened and I had a night where it was so bad, that I literally didn't sleep. Lay awake all night with my mind a-whirring. After that, I had almost no appetite for several days. Which is SO not like me at all.

I do love my food. I think I have been blessed with a metabolism that is better than it should be, and I guess I've been spoiled by that. I've always loved my food. And have the unhealthy habit of eating fast - my mom had 2 brothers and my dad grew up in boarding schools. That's the only way to you can eat in either of those situations.

So after a couple days on not eating much, I snapped out of it. But when I did, I just wasn't as hungry anymore. Very hard to explain. Maybe my body reset itself? But all of a sudden, I stopped eating just because I could and instead ate when I was hungry. Maybe I needed to be able to stop and listen to what my body was telling me. We all get so used to eating whenever it’s easy, convenient, etc. Oh look, yummy food, I think I’ll have some. (again with the disclaimers, I don’t claim this is anyone else’s issue – it’s mine)

So the bottom line is that I waited to be hungry. Food became a means to an end, not the end itself. I remember reading an article in one of the billions of magazines I get where the writer very closely observed the uber-thin editors, etc during Fashion Week. Her conclusion? Yes, they ate, they just ate less. It wasn't magic for them, it was conscious effort.

So there are lots of platitudes here I could spout, but it really all comes down to being in tune with my body and really listening to it. And when I did, the weight started just falling off. I lost about 15 lbs from August to October. I even resorted to some minor self-sabotage by eating random junk food when I was worried that I was losing it too quickly. We all know that losing weight too quickly is not good or healthy.

Does this work forever? No, absolutely not. In fact, a few pounds started to creep back while I had the whole cast/splint on thumb thing going on with my thumb…because I was eating when bored. So for Lent, to get back on track, I gave up sweets and snacking while the kids were at school or asleep. It’s actually a modification of my Lenten diet when the year after I had E – no eating when they were asleep. Since I had an almost-1-year-old and an almost-3-year-old, there were lots of naps and early bed times. Again, you don’t realize (or at least I didn’t) how much unconscious eating we all do.

Is it exercise? No. I do try to stay active, except when I'm being lazy (see note above on cast/splint). I do have this to help keep me active:

But I honestly don't do enough activity for that to shed lots of pounds. I'm not running 10 miles a day or swimming a billion laps.

I will say, and I speak as one with the experience of having a parent who had a heart attack and needed heart surgery, exercise and activity is important. **It's essential.** Quite frankly, it's the reason my dad is still with us - if he hadn't been as active, I doubt he would have survived. Nothing like waiting in the cardiac cath lab for a supposed minor stent surgery after a minor heart attack that was only detectable from the blood chemical levels - and then finding out 4 major arteries are almost totally blocked and require a quadruple bypass. But exercise is not what's going to take the weight off me. And this is a weight conversation. Or at least it's my weight conversation.

I guess this all sounds very simplistic, but it really worked. For me, it’s about focusing on what my body is telling me. It’s ok to be a little hungry. Please don’t take this as an endorsement for eating disorders. But with our self-gratifying society, it’s so easy to do with food. (Speaking from personal experience.)

And it’s still ok to enjoy your food. You should enjoy your food. I still enjoy my food. That’s for sure!! But I just don’t need to eat as much.

So I’m getting back on track and in tune. Not that I want to lose more weight – just be healthier and more conscious. And start to tone up more. Next step for me…yoga…so important as we age (flexibility!!!) but also should help with my neck/shoulder/stress issues.

Again...with my disclaimers...this is what worked for me. I don't presume to know what works for everyone. But if you want to shoot me a note, you can always use my blog email on my profile, which is heidigblog@verizon.net.

J Crew Maritime Dress

2011-03-20T21:55:00.001-04:00

So lesson learned on Friday...when you're in Polyvore and click on Blogger, it will post the set right to your blog as a new post. Hmmm....this could take laziness to new levels for me. Click, click, click...

And it's just taken me this long to get to the regular post. The usual weekend stuff....

J Crew Maritime Dress (#37228, $78). I had been curious about this dress ever since seeing it in the catalog and a few weeks ago my fave PS, Jill, emailed to tell me it was in, so she held it for me. I asked for an M, but she said she'd hold an S & M as it was running large.

Oh yes, it most definitely was running large. I know I've lost weight since last summer, but... Anyway, the M was huge on me. To my fave petite JCA girls, I hope the XXS works on you - but considering how much room there with the S on me, I don't know. Definitely worth a try-on IRL or getting measurements from CS before ordering.

Wide-shouldered gals, like myself, guess what? Plenty of room in the shoulders. Maybe because it's knit? But no pulling or tightness. Yay! The knit on this is nice & substantial - esp important when there are wide white stripes. And did you notice the cute zippers on each side at the bottom? What a fun detail!

As you can tell from the previous post, the PV set, I wore this on Friday. A gorgeous early spring day. Nice & warm, sunny, just perfect. I paired it with black leggings and my black TOMS. The TOMS themselves merit a post of their own which I promise I'll get to. I'll just say this - love love love. Then a pair of gold hoops and a ponytail to show off the hoops and the nicely wide neckline, and I was good to go.

I thought the dress worked really well with the leggings. If you're nervous about the length, they are a perfect solution. And they kept my legs warm - it was nice outside, but not that nice, and you all know I always run cold. Without the leggings, yes, it's a short dress. No, I won't be belting it like in the online pic because (1) I don't wear belts, and (2) that would likely make it too short. When it's warmer, I'll be wearing it with anything flat shoe-wise - sandals, Converse, TOMS, espadrilles, navy flats, yellow flats.

Definitely a fun dress for spring!!

3/18/11

2011-03-18T15:41:00.001-04:00

3/18/11 by HeidiGblog featuring a leather tote

J crew dress
$78 - jcrew.com

Dorothy Perkins black pantyhose
5 GBP - dorothyperkins.com

TOMS canvas shoes
$44 - toms.com

Anastasia leather tote
$110 - elliottlucca.com

Forzieri yellow gold hoop earring
$449 - forzieri.com

Leather wrap bracelet
$48 - shopbop.com

Nail Files - Perfect Monday Polish - "I Vant to Be A-Lone Star"

2011-03-07T16:54:00.000-05:00

Oh dreary Monday...well, it's sunny here but so windy and chilly and just...ewww...soggy after a soaking rain yesterday; my backyard is the consistency of a sopping wet sponge. Time to curl up with a cup of hot tea...and maybe a good book or magazine. If I hadn't been too lazy to do my nails last night, this is the polish I would/should be wearing today.

I Vant to Be A-Lone Star by OPI, part of the Spring/Summer Texas Collection. I admit, I wasn't expecting much when I went to the store to see the collection as I definitely tend to skew to OPI's Fall/Winter collections far more than any other. But I actually came home with 2 of the polishes! No pics yet of the green ("Don't Mess with OPI". ummmm, don't worry, I won't) but with St Patty's day coming up, you can bet I will.

As usual...love the name...the pairing of the classic Great Garbo quote from Grand Hotel and Texas...yes, they *do* go together. Ah, who cares, I am totally digging this color. Per OPI, it's a "starry silver-blue." It will be my go-to color this spring when I need a break from the depth of Chanel Black Pearl.

With all lighter colors, I hold my breath before opening the bottle. You never know if you're going to get thick chalkiness or smooth pigment. Totally smooth on this one. I love the color. It's definitely light blue, but it's a softer light blue, because of the silver aspect.

I could see this on a bride's toes as she walks down the aisle - how pretty would that be? (Mind on many things bridal, since my BF Patty set the place/date/time and we got bridesmaid dresses and E's flower girl dress and everything. More on that in future post.)

I've posted pics in 2 different lights...really just 2 different angles next to the windows by the kitchen...to give you a full idea of the color. So pretty. I already told my blue-eyed blonde sister to go out and get it. I don't even think I suggested it, I pretty much told her she better get it. But it will be gorgeous on her.

So if you need your nail polish to send a message...or you just want a little mood pick-me-up...I highly recommend this one.

Miracles at the Drugstore...or Target...or wherever...

2011-03-04T17:15:00.004-05:00

Miracles? Yes...they are to me. A sample here of three of my latest, life-changing products, two of which are cast-tested to make life easier when you only have 1 completely functioning hand.

#1 and definitely tops on my list: Olay Professional Pro-X Advanced Cleansing System. (usually $29.99 in drugstores)

I was seeing ads for this all over this winter, and while still casted, picked one up figuring that it would help since I really only had the use of 1 hand for exfoliating and this might make showers easier. I have friends with the amazing Clarisonic system, but I never wanted to spend $200 on it...even though I know, yes, they *swear* by it.

Admittedly, I haven't tried the Clarisonic but now....I *swear* by this one. Wow. The brush is nice and soft so it's not harsh on my skin. But it definitely clears away any flaky skin and really gets the cleanser working. I have used this with both the cleanser it comes with and another one - and they are both great. It feels like a facial massage. The only problem is I can't decide whether to keep it in the shower or to keep it by the sink because I'd love to use it twice a day - it feels that good on my face.

If I'd known how amazing it was, I would have scoured the DC metro area for one - or ordered from Amazon sooner. No wonder all the stores were sold out. I got mine at an off-the-beaten-path CVS, but it seems like the stores are better able to keep it in stock now. But if you don't need immediate gratification, the link above takes you to the Amazon sight - where you can get the Free Shipping option - have I ever mentioned that I really HATE paying for shipping? But I've also seen it at Target now, too.

I said I loved it. But....how well does it work? Well, let's see....when I went to see Black Swan with friends about a month ago, the ticket guy ID'ed me...yes, at an R movie...because "you can't see it if you're under 17". That's what he told me when I started laughing because I didn't think he could possibly be serious. I figured it was "be nice to moms" night or something. Oh no, he wanted to see the ID. And then a couple weeks ago, out with other couples for dinner, the waitress said she probably should ID us, but even I looked like I was probably an 84 or 85 birth year. Ummmm, no, 1971. So that's my testimonial right there.

#2: Garnier Anti-Dark-Circle Eye Roller ($11.39 at Amazon...I got mine at Target)

So here's the deal with this one. I love it. I really do. The color is supposed to be one-size-fits-all, and I don't know about anyone else, but it's perfection on me. It is a totally awesome everyday product for me. And here's why - it's concealer and eye cream in one. Ta da!!! Yep, saves me a step. And I do love it when I can save a step in the morning...at least most (all) mornings...

I often have trouble with eye cream in that a lot of them are way too strong for my undereye tissue - ow, the stinging, the burning...you know what I'm talking about. My faves are: Arbonne RE9 Advanced Corrective Eye Cream, Kinerase Under Eye Rescue, and Olay Regenerist Eye Serum. And the last combo eye cream/concealer product that I tried (Clinique's) was a bitter disappointment - too cakey, not moisturizing enough - blegh.

I thought I'd give this one a try while I was in the cast because I was all about saving time and keeping things easy. And this one was a winner. I will be honest - when the directions say to roll on the product and then blend in any excess - hahahahaha - um, yeah, I have yet to use it and not have to blend. So, I roll on, pat in (don't rub!!), and I'm good to go. It feels nice & cool, no stinging to be had. And I bet it's going to be even more amazing in the summer.

Yes, I still use my regular eye cream with my Bobbi Brown Corrector sometimes. But I'm going to sub in this product on a regular basis - and in the summer? It's likely all I'll use. And um, fyi, better than YSL Touch Eclat. Oh yes, I said it. And I mean it.

#3 and most recent purchase (yesterday at Target): John Frieda Full Repair Touch-Up Flyaway Tamer ($9.99)

Wow! Love love love!! I just got this yesteday - had seen it in magazines and thought "well, heck, why didn't I think of that" and "OMG, where has this been all my life?"

I can only speak to my very fine hair (we don't need to revisit the appalling haircut I got last spring when some idiot thought it would be a good idea to texturize my hair all while saying "wow, your hair really is fine"). Yes, it's fine, it's not thin - just fine. So I get those little wisps of hair at my scalp where the hair broke that stick up and always prevent me from using any type of volumizing products on my hair. UNTIL NOW.

As you can see from the product pic, it's basically like a mascara wand for your hair. And the product inside is like some wacky-good combo of smoothing/fixative/oil/hairspray whatever. I don't really care what it is, it works. Totally kept down the icky pieces and didn't make my prone-to-be-oily-and-needs-to-be-washed-every-day scalp greasy. So mega bonus for the not-greasy scalp.

The only caveat I have here is that I've only used this for a day. But I really think it's that good. I may even need to get one to tuck in my (voluminous) purse.

So those are my 3 absolute bestest products I've found lately. Enjoy! And happy shopping!

Do you have any recent discoveries you want to share? Speak up!!

The Power of an Accessory - Loft Faux Fur Neck Warmer

2011-03-04T05:51:00.001-05:00

Alrighty....first post back is up and I'm ready to go. Taking a step back from spring because brrrrrrr, it was chilly today.

One of my favorite pieces I picked up for this winter was Loft's Faux Fur Neck Warmer. I'd been seeing lots faux fur neck things...but this one really spoke to me - from an aesthetic perspective and a price point perspective. Love it when you get the balance! The Faux Fur was originally $39, but I'm pretty sure I paid closer to $25-30, because I got it when they were doing 30 or 40% off. And let's be real - I don't often purchase full-price at Loft because they run so many specials.

I think the reason I really love this piece is because it works so well with so many of my simple pieces. As I've been away from blogging, I feel like I have continued to refine my style and for me, simple is best and classic rules. Not boring (I hope) but it just works for me.

But that simplicity gives me a fantastic background for specific outstanding pieces - like a great necklace, massive cashmere scarf, fun shoes...or totally luscious faux fur neck warmer.

First outing - our annual Christmas party. Each year, we have a family Christmas party for...well, it seems like the neighborhood. Huge party. Adults & kids. Lots of fun. I get to dress up however I want because...well, it's my party. That's what's great about being the hostess. And then hubby wears jeans to balance it out so everyone's good.

I first wore the fur with the J Crew wool shift dress that the lovely dinagideon passed on to me because the waist just hit her so weirdly. It's been a perfect dress for me. It fit before I lost the weight and it fits now. And the fur was just the perfect touch to update it for this year. Did it even matter what shoes I was wearing? No, not really. Only caveat is that this is definitely a hair-up accessory, IMO.

We're going to a Brewer's Ball in a couple weeks, and I'll likely be wearing the same outfit because guess what....the fur is cozy. Shocker, I know. And for someone like me who is always cold, that's a definite bonus, especially with sleeveless!

Its next outing was for a Gift Exchange Brunch, where I paired it with my ubiquitous JC cream cashmere long sleeve tee, the Loft gold brocade skirt I picked up for a song this fall, tights, and boots. Perfect for the brunch. And nice and warm. I love the texture of the fur with the shine of the skirt.

And as my friend Kim pointed out, the fur actually works as a nice diet tool. You don't want to overeat or load up your cracker, chip, or whatever when you might be worried about (ewwwww) food falling onto the fur. Had not thought of it that way, but yes, she had a point.

The only downside of this piece is that I didn't wear it as much as I had thought I would in daily use. But that may well have been related to the whole popped ligament/cast thing. With all that going on, I think I overly clung to my massive BR cashmere scarf as a security blanket and just didn't "feel it" with the fur neck warmer. It's only the beginning of March, so I'm sure we'll have some weather for it before spring arrives for good.

Christmas Party Outfit:

Christmas Party-12/18/10 by HeidiGblog on Polyvore.com

Ann Taylor LOFT faux fur vest, $39
J Crew high heels, $70
Ippolita drop earring, $695
SEPHORA by OPI 212-Sephora Nail Colour 212-Sephora, $9
J Crew shift dress
ROUGE COCO - Rossetti - CHANEL Maquillage
Flirty Pigtails & Ponytails

Gift Exchange Brunch Outfit:

12/21/10 - Brunch & Gift Exchange by HeidiGblog on Polyvore.com

J Crew cashmere crewneck sweater, $145
Ann Taylor LOFT faux fur vest, $39
Ann Taylor LOFT pleated skirt, $69
Old Navy grey tight, $9.50
Bertie low heels, 68 GBP
J crew jewelry, $75
1928 Jewelry stretch bracelet, $18

Navy for Spring, including J Crew Shelby Dress

2011-03-03T18:42:00.000-05:00

So when my parents were here for a visit Tues-Wed of this week, my mother informed me she was tired to seeing the same darn picture of my fingernails on my blog. Ok...'nuff said...I've been wanting to get back to blogging. Black Pearl by Chanel is lovely, but you can only stare at it for so long....even for me....

And now that I am cast- & splint-free, I really have no excuse. I got discharged by my occupational therapist on Thursday and the hand surgeon on Friday last week, no surgery needed. Immobilization by cast & splint did the trick. And apparently, I have weirdly hyper-flexible thumbs, so even though I don't have all the movement back in my right thumb, I can still bend it more than the vast majority of the population. And I'm working on strength. Every bottle or jar I open is a victory. Uber-bendy thumbs...who would have thought?

So... a slew of pre-spring purchases to share. And boy have I been on a navy streak....just like I am every spring. (note same navy flats and, as appropriate, Gap jeans. and...the cast...this was a quick try-on session)

Let's start with J Crew. The Shelby Dress (#35083, $128). Wow, still full price, and I bought it a month and a half ago. Huh, how about that. What can I say? Love love love. It's navy, so that always wins in my book. I love the eyelet. I tried on the white, because I've been looking for a LWD for summer, but navy was so much better on me. Yes, the dress is short, but you know me - I'll be wearing it with flats or flat sandals to ground it. And interestingly enough, the white read as shorter on me than the navy. Optical illusion? Who knows - but it was the navy I fell for and brought home.

I took a 6 in the dress. And even though I've been sizing down across the board due to the weight loss, I really think this dress runs large. It doesn't get you in the ribcage like so many JC dresses do.

Love the cut of the dress. There's a lot of fabric up top, but because it's shirred, I didn't feel like it looked "vacant" up there. At the same time, if you are busty or actually have curves, I think the dress could totally accommodate that, too.I'll wear it tons. Nicely out to dinner or to church. Or just running around town.

Next from J Crew, the Stripe Tux Tunic, (#34997, orig $79.50, now marked down to $19.99 on the website, all sizes available). I certainly didn't pay full price for this one. I believe it was marked down, and then I got 30% off. So the price was not too far off the current price. Glad I didn't pay full price. It's really cute but it has its limitations, for sure.

I took an M in the top, but if you aren't as large in the shoulders as I am, you could definitely go down a size.

IMO, the *only* way to wear this is with very slim bottoms. In my quick try-on pics, I've got a pair of Gap legging jeans (which merit their own post soon, because I've been living in them). But truthfully, I actually liked them better with the black Minnies when I tried them on in store. The color of the stripes is "washed navy" - very pretty, but it almost works better with the black slim pants. And likely white jeans, since I wear them with everything in the spring. But again - slim is the operative word here.

I wore pretty much this outfit to the Valentine's parties at school. Loved it. It will be a fun top for spring. But again, not worth full price.

Moving on to Ann Taylor and more stripes. Because the only thing better than navy in spring is navy stripes. No idea what this dress was called. But when I saw it and then tried it on...again, it was love. I usually wear sundresses in the summer, but there are lots of times that you just want a sleeve. This dress perfectly fits the bill.

I love the wide scoopneck - and have even tested it to verify that yes, you can lean over and the top stays put. Often with necklines like this, to get the dress large enough in the shoulders, the scoopneck is so loose that I would end up flashing everyone any time I bent down to put something on the dinner table! So bravo, Ann Taylor...or should I say...brava!

In case you happen to run into one of these in the sale section, I took an M. It's fitted but not tight. And way comfy (is there any other way for my wardrobe? no...not really)

I think my mom actually liked this one better than the J Crew one.

I'll wear it with any kind of shoe in my closet really - sandals, TOMS, flats, whatever. With hoops and a ponytail, I'm done for summer.

Finally, a quick run-through at the Loft. Wow, the Splitneck Lounge Tunic is mega-on sale, with extra % off even!! It was orig $34, pretty sure I had a % off when I bought it, though...but that was back during the cast days. Now it's $29.99 with 40% off.

I took an M - the S was too tight in the shoulders. This top is very thin, which you may not be able to tell so much in the picture. And when they say splitneck...they mean it. No way can I go without a cami underneath.

I picture wearing this with every pair of slim pants under the sun that I own - white jeans, khakis, cafe capris, and (duh) regular jeans. It would also be way cute with Bermudas.

The top has a button on the outside of the sleeve and a tab inside so that you can roll up and secure the sleeves. If you wear it with sleeves down, the tab may bug you a bit, but shoot, paying that little for a cute spring top, who cares?

So you can tell by the 2nd pic that I was realizing the riculosity of posing with a big blue cast on. Is riduclosity a word? It should be...perfectly describes my state of being while I was dealing with this thumb mess.

Nail Files - Chanel Spring 2011 - Black Pearl

2011-01-10T19:42:00.000-05:00

Holidays are over...and back to blogging.... Yes, took a little longer than I anticipated but more on that in a minute...

I finally got to the mall on Friday to do the round of Christmas returns and exchanges. Yes, it took me *that* long. More on that in a minute....

And I had seen the pics online, but as I rounded the corner at Nordstrom and passed by the Chanel counter I came to a dead stop. Spring nail polish. Black Pearl. I know you've been waiting for me... I'm not going through my ridiculous visit-it-each-week saga that I had with their Paradoxal. So I bought it. And the spring Jersey Rose Rouge Coco lipstick. I needed the pick-me-up. More on that in a minute... (are you getting this?)

Quick note on Jersey Rose - ok, maybe I was a little inspired by my newfound lust for Jersey Mike's subs (#2 & #5, where have you been all my life? I'll take it Miek's way, no onions, with a glaze of mayo on the bread, mmmmmm). It's a beautiful lip color for Spring - but really for any day - a very pretty light but warm pink.

But onto the nail polish because that's I'm loving that even more....

How to describe it? Black Pearl is a dark gray/green/black/teal metallic. It's gorgeous. I've said before that I'm not a fan of blue-ish greens and they don't work on me. This one is dark enough that the slight teal tone doesn't faze me one bit. But it is also very clearly *not* black, unlike some of my many dark polishes. It is the exact color of my car, actually. Maybe that's why I bonded with it so heavily. I think this is a perfect color for now inwinter...but it will be great in spring to offset all the soft floaty colors & fabrics. It will also just rock with navy, my personal fave for spring.

And I must fish for compliments...isn't that a great manicure? That's even without the morning shower cuticle scrub, which just isn't happening right now (more on that in less than a minute). I'm going to pat myself on the back for this one.

And why?

Well...back to all that "more on that in a minute" stuff...I think it's a darned impressive mani, when my right hand looks like this:

That's right, friends...this is what we call a "short arm" cast. This is what you get when you are 39 but think you're still 25 and can move heavy furniture down steps with your husband. So when the huge & heavy entertainment center starts sliding down the stps at you and you actually don't want it to pin you to the wall, thumbs are secondary to the issue at hand. ("at hand," ha!) Don't judge me for the bad puns, right now I need all the entertainment I can get.

So...this is an evulsion fracture, where the ligament popped off the base of the thumb and took a nice little chunk of bone with it. So, in a cast for 4 weeks and then a splint for 2 and then there's only a 5-10% chance I'll need surgery. DC/MD-ers- if you need a hand surgeon, I've got a great one!

And yes, I did say "right hand" earlier- it's my right thumb and I'm right-handed. I should also mention that this happened 3 days before Christmas and I hadn't done any wrapping yet.

So life is interesting...and frustrating...and entertaining...and a pain in the butt...but always funny. I really should YouTube the process of getting ready in the morning. It's a hoot. I will say the dry cast cover for the shower now ranks is my favorite invention ever.

So yeah, I needed the pick me up of a pretty lippie, I'm not really able to do the morning-after-main cuticle scrub to clean up my sloppy work, it just took me a while to get to the mall (shoot, I'm still trying to figure out which sweaters fit over the cast), and I've been getting used to typing without use of my right thumb.

But most of all - I did my own nails...holding the nail polish brush between my index & middle fingers (base + top coat, too, of course). Then again...that's how I've been doing my mascara, eyebrow pencil, and eyeliner every day. And how I use the long sharp knives to cut. And so on and so forth.

Not that I'm complaining too much. It could be so much worse. So we'll leave it at 'entertaining" for now.

Happy 2011 to all!

Field Trip Chic

2010-11-08T22:04:00.001-05:00

Q: How do you know it's been too long since you blogged?
A: Blogger asks you sign back in when you get into your Blogger Dashboard. hahahaha.

I was doing so well and then work got INSANE because I had deadlines to meet before heading off to Disney for a week - we just got back yesterday. (And I even had started this post a week before we left and never finished it)

A couple Fridays ago, I went on a field trip with M's class to the Montgomery County Agricultural History Farm. This is a field trip that could have been very ugly depending on the weather. But the heavens smiled on us and we had a gorgeous, sunny, crisp fall day.

What do you wear on a field trip? Remember, you don't *have* to go into full slumpadinka mode. But like the Boy Scouts, you do need to be prepated.

First of all, read the instructions. (We're women, we're usually good at that.) When the info sheet comes home and the first item says "dress for mud", you know to toss the ballet flats or flip flops in the back of the closet. Then again...we were visitng a farm...not really sandal stuff, you know?

So I started from the bottom up...with the good old LL Bean duck boots. I couldn't even tell you how long I've had these...and they still work. And then I had to giggle when a bunch of the parents were sitting around and I looked over to see another mom in duck boots.

Jeans are the natural option. Hey, if you want to feel good about your size, head on over to Target. I just got these - Merona, fit #2, in straight - and I took a size 4. How's that for the ego? Now admittedly, I have shed some pounds over the past couple of months, but not that much. Hey, we've all made that ooh-it's-a-smaller-size-and-it-fits purchase. At least with jeans, you know you'll wear them - it's not a purple floral muumuu that will sit in the closet with its size 00 tag dangling dejectedly waiting to be worn.

And given the recent weight loss, I have no idea where I'll end up, so I don't really want to spend much on replacement bottoms right now, so $24.99 jeans from Target worked out well. It's nice to be able to wear pants that aren't falling down while you walk.

Ok, the jeans and boots were kinda obvious. What to put on top? Layers...always layers. So, last JC cambridge cable turtle with a tee & cami layered underneath. Then a puffer vest and cozy cashmere scarf. To stay warm, zip up the vest and bundle up in the scarf. To cool off, unzip vest, loosen scarf or stow in bag. It was a perfect outfit for that day.

The field trip itself was a lot of fun. And made me love M's teacher even more. Like when she, my friend Kim and I got in trouble with one of the volunteers for chatting at the back of one of the stations. We were talking about our kids as students, and not gossiping, I swear. Teacher was not really happy with the cranky lady.

And then during another demonstration, a student turned her camera off and it made a very small noise. The volunteer at the farm doing the demo pretty much freaked out - "what was that? who made that noise?" After the students around the poor little girl with camera said "oh it's ----, she just turned off her camera," yet another crankly lady LOUDLY intoned "BOYS AND GIRLS COULD WE PLEASE TURN OFF ALL CELL PHONES AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES SO WE CAN PAY ATTENTION?". Yes, she was that nuts. These kids aren't allowed to have cell phones, duh. So I really fell in love with M's teacher when she turned to me and whispered "Ok, I'll give you my cell phone number and then you can call me right now." Love that!

Nail Files - Fall 2010 - Rescue Beauty Lounge

2010-10-07T18:12:00.001-04:00

Final post (I think) on fave Fall polishes. How many of you have tried Rescue Beauty Lounge? I am a huge fan of Ji Baek - I love her book, Rescue Your Nails, it's a great how-to for home manis & pedis with other fun info included.

I don't have many RLB polishes - in fact, before this fall, I only had one. But when I saw the Fall 2010 release, I had to jump. Note - get on the email list if you like these, I was able to pre-order since I had gotten the email and had them in hand even before they were released to the public. Not because I'm special or anything...just because I signed up for the email list. And I will add that they don't inundate you with 5 emails a day - it's not even once a week, so you're not setting yourself up for spam-ville...unlike some other retailers...

Let's get to the polishes, shall we? The RBL Fall collection was inspired by the Housewives of Tudor Englad. I got 2 - Anne & Jane. And they retail for $18 each. The Real Housewives of the Tudor Dynasty....how fun is that?

image above from Rescue Beauty Lounge

First up: Anne. Per the website: Rumored to be a sorceress, Henry's second wife lends her short-lived name to this bewitching olive green with a pink-gold metallic iridescence. I'll admit - they had me at "olive green". But the little teeny hot pink sparkles in this are just gorgeous - and very subtle - it's not overly flashy. Hard to get a great picture - it's even better in person. Just a gorgeous, rich, saturated fall color. If you've ever imagined a polish inspired by a rich brocade gown, this is it. Yum.

This will be one of my mainstays this fall, without question. Application was flawless - very easy. If you click on the link to go to RBL's website, they have links to some of the main polish bloggers' pictures, including my all time fave polish blog, All Lacquered Up.

And then we have Jane. Or, as RBL says on their website: Ji’s latest favorite polish is named for Henry's favorite wife, a pale gray pearl with sheer washes of pink and gold. I was pleasantly surprised at the application - it's nice and smooth. Pale colors can often be streaky because of the way they are formulated. I like the color. A really nice neutral for year-round. The pink and gold are *very* subtle - they just add a little richness to the color.

And as you can see below, this is right in line with those gray-beige-taupe-smoky colors I like. Jane, come meet your new friends....

Bottom line - Anne is a must-have for me and I'm thrilled with it. Jane is a great neutral - so if you don't have something like it, go for it.

And I think that's it on polish purchases for me for the fall. My triumvirate for fall polish will be Essie Over the Top, Chanel Paradoxal, and RBL Anne. Now it's time to clean out the nail polish bin...

Essential Piece: The Cashmere "Sweatshirt"

2010-10-05T21:16:00.001-04:00

Still cashmere weather today. And oh, I was loving my cozy bed last night. Today was one of those days where I just wanted to be in a blanket all day. But on days like that, I often find that just making the effort to get dressed in "real" clothes helps lift my energy level. It's too easy to just sag down in the chair with the sweats on, you know? So a perfect day for my cashmere "sweatshirt".

Before you start yelling, yes, I realize this isn't really a sweatshirt...thus my use of quotation marks above. What I really mean is a nice cozy and oversized cashmere sweater to wear on these kinds of days. You *want* to be in a sweatshirt, but you feel like you want to do just a bit more. I think I do stand up a bit straighter than if I were in sweats. Obviously, this isn't something you want to spend a ton of cash on since hey, it's functioning as a sweatshirt. If you've lost a lot of weight, great, you're probably set. If you want to find one, I suggest looking at the sales and buy up a size. It's amazing how well this one works for me.

For you JCAs, you probably recognize a J Crew Cashmere Crewneck Tee when you see one (#28763, $145 - but we know these go on sale online ALL the time). This is a size L, so it's a size up from the JC cashmere turtle I wore and posted on yesterday. It's also from Fall 2008, so it's a year earlier, so who knows what that means size-wise. I love this color - was it heather blade? Such a gorgeous green, wish we'd see more of it. I think I got this on sale plus discount = happy with what I paid.

The key is to keep everything else trim, but comfy. I added a pair of black Minnies (8T) because the slim bottom is important, a white crewneck perfect fit tee, some darling old Isaac Mizrahi for Target mocs (yes, they are that old and I will cry when they bite the dust), and a black ribbon pearl necklace - also from Target. So I guess this is my J Crew/Target outfit? Funny...the 2 stores I shop most often...huh...how about that...

So as the season wears on, keep an eye out for a cashmere "sweatshirt"...you'll love it.

Polyvore from today:

10/5/10 by HeidiGblog featuring stretch twill pants

C is for Cashmere....(and cashmere is for me....)

2010-10-04T23:16:00.001-04:00

Yes, I have kids but I remember Cookie Monster's song from when I was little. Well...as a grown-up...today it was "c is for cashmere". Fall has officially arrived - with cold and rain. Down to the 40's tonight. Yeeps. We actually turned the heat on tonight and I gave our bed its usual fall makeover, swapping out the percale sheets and thermal blanket for flannel sheets, fuzzy blanket and a down quilt on top. Yum...can't wait to go to bed tonight.

It was definitely a day where I was thankful that I do work from home, as I was hanging out in a big cozy sweatshirt. And then tonight, I had a PTA chair dinner to attend, so cashmere was the only way to go. Out came last winter's dark slate cashmere turtleneck (yes, I was that chilly, size M btw) plus black Minnies (8T) and black Born Lovely flats, and a stack full of bracelets - crystal shapes, gold link, crystal supernova. It gave a little sparkle to the outfit. (Any sparkle will do. It's a great base outfit for pretty much any kind of accessorizing.)

Then some gold hoops and a ponytail and I was good to go. Anyone else read the Percy Jackson series? Yes, I am a 38-year-old woman and I like to read some juvenile fiction. I say it's just because of the kids... Anyway, in the 3rd or 4th book, where the author starts talking about the "Party Ponies"? Always makes me think of this hairdo. It's my party pony (in other words, my hair's been down all day and I need to do something different with it).

To recap the evening - lots of fun catching up with friends. And I stayed cozy the whole time. Success! I may have to pick up another one this season. I'm digging that heather cobblestone and heather saddle color. Sigh, I know, more neutrals. Maybe I need to swing over to the warm honey. We'll see. But it's late and I'm itching to crawl into my cozy bed. Good night!

Polyvore from this evening:

10/4/10 by HeidiGblog featuring crystal bracelets

Nail Files - Fall 2010 - Chanel Paradoxal...it's about time...

2010-10-01T09:44:00.002-04:00

Wow...just wow...that's all I have to say about this color. It's funny, I had been visiting Chanel Paradoxal at Nordstrom for about 2 months. Every time I went by the Chanel counter, I'd stop at look at Paradoxal. You see, I just wasn't sure I needed it, especially when I had Dior's Lemon Balm from last fall. But a few weeks ago, after realizing that I was doing this *every* time I walked through Nordstrom (in my defense, the Chanel nail polish does face right out to the mail aisle to get to the rest of the mall), I finally sprang for it. And couldn't wait to get home and put in on my nails. I love it. I do. I love love love love it. The next day, I called one of my fellow nail junkies to coo about Paradoxal...yes, it's that bad. And she agreed about the gorgeousness because she borrowed it when we got pedis together a few days later.

Of late, I had stopped buying Chanel polish, because I wasn't loving anything enough to pay the price for it. I thought Pariculiere was a fab color, but OPI's YDKJ was enough taupe for me. And I wasn't feeling any of the summer colors. And I finally realized that much as I like Blue Satin, OPI's Light My Sapphire is a better navy for me - less bright, more gray. And I heard reports of chipping issues with Jade... And... And... And... For me to spend that much on a polish it has to be pretty spectacular.

This one is. To start, Chanel polishes usually show on the nail a bit different than in the bottle - most often, it's that there is less sparkle on the nail than in the bottle. With Paradoxal, if I had known what it would look like on my nails, I would have gotten it sooner. In the bottle there is a very bright purple iridescent quality to it. But on the nail, the color morphs a bit darker, with subtle sheen in the sunlight.

How would I describe the color? Hmmmmm. It's just a gorgeous bit of smoky violet-taupe mysterious goodness. Application is fantastic. Even without my fave OPI wide brush, it applies like a dream. Not too thick, but not too thin. 2 coats really is all you need. It's funny as I post this, because I just put it on my fingers again last night.

Closest comparisons with my polish collection, with notes because, as I said, Paradoxal definitely presents as much deeper on the nail than in the bottle.

Sephora OPI Metro Chic: Paradoxal is definitely deeper/darker.
OPI You Don't Know Jacques: Paradoxal is more purple, less brown/gray.
Dior Lemon Balm: Paradoxal doesn't have as much shimmer - and it's deeper.

Bottom line - HIGHLY recommend this one, if you've been feeling the urge. It's still available online at Chanel.com, and my local Nordstrom had several bottles left in the case - so your local store may have it as well.

J Crew Caprese Tunic

2010-09-30T15:18:00.000-04:00

Yes, totally late to the party on this one, sure. J Crew Caprese Tunic (#26796, orig $35, curr $14.99). Would have been nice if I'd been blogging on this one over the summer, eh?

There is some background to this purchase...or at least what I was looking for here. I used to have, several years ago, a fantastic pale pink linen long-sleeve pop over tunic top from H&M. It wasn't super long, just enough to cover the bum, and long enough so that shape of it was a flattering vertical rectangle instead of the super-unflattering-on-me horizontal rectangle. I loved this top, lived in it during the spring and summer. I loved the popver idea, that it didn't have the button placket running up the front. Alas, after a few seasons, it was showing wear because hey, it was from H&M, and you don't go purchasing a piece you expect to last for 10 years there. But I've been searching for a replacement for it ever since. When J Crew had their chambray popovers, I was one of the first in line to grab one and try it on. Sadly, it was just too boxy - too wide and not long enough.

And then I started seeing pics of the Caprese Tunic. First thing I noticed was the length - so I thought, hey, I wonder if I could make that work. The second thing I noticed was the self-belt, so I thought, hey, I can chuck that really fast (since my plan was to wear it as a loose but straight tunic, not something belted and puffy). Of course, this was over the summer, it's not so easy to get to the B&M to try on, and so it took me a few weeks before I got there to try it.

The first thing I did was grab a S, since it looked a bit wide and I had no intention of wearing it belted. And then I realized that the S was huge on me....so next I opted for an XS. Yes, folks, an XS.... Ok sure, it's sleeveless and I don't have to worry about the shoulders, but still...5'10" and size 8 in pants here...the XS was exactly perfect for how I wanted to wear it. (No wonder there are only M's & L's left online.) Bottom line - this sucker runs HUGE.

So thanks, Jenna & company, I'm sure this isn't how you thought of it, but it worked out exactly how I wanted it to.

Now that I have semi-replaced my lovely pink linen popover...the next question is how to wear it. Well, since it was summer when I got it "with white jeans" was the easy obvious answer. See first pic above - with my Kut from the Kloth white slim jeans from Nordstroms - one of my best buys over the summer - indispensable.

That is one of those outfits (chambray top + white jeans) that works with pretty much any set of accessories you want to throw at it - metallic, bright, pastel, neutral, you name it. That day (I think the kiddies & I met Dina & her kiddies to lunch & shop a bit), I chose heeled sandals and a chunky bracelet.

Next outfit (middle pic), I went with black Minnies (Tall, size 8), and a gray cami. For chillier weather, I could have easily added a cardi. I'm pretty sure it was hot that day, so in the chambray top and black ankle pants, I felt cool and seasonally appropriate. I was headed into school for a meeting and wanted to look nice, but be comfy (then again, that's my usual dressing mantra, right?)

And then let's get to today's outfit, shall we? It's pretty yucky outside. We've got the remanants of TS Nicole blowing through. We've already gotten 3 inches of rain or so, with more to come.

But am I complaining? No, and here's why:

1 - it's not too chilly, so the rain doesn't feel to cold (don't you hate those days that are 38 degrees and rainy? ugh!!!)

2 - With all the rain coming down, the stinkbugs aren't flying. Are you getting hit with those, too???? They were divebombing us at soccer games this past weekend.

3 - I don't have to commute 99% of the time, so I'll just shut up now.
4 - I have cute pink rain boots for the grocery store runs.

Back to today's outfit. I guess the rain gave me the blues, though, because um yeah, that's pretty much all I'm wearing. Darker slim Chico's jeans, a navy cami, and a navy Jackie on top. I think I actually might like this a bit better if the jeans were a touch darker, but still I liked how it worked...even though I have since abandoned the flats for a pair of cozy socks.

And I think it shows the flexibility of this top - perfect for some of these fall days where it starts out chilly and then gets warm. I doubt I'll still have it out in December, but I think it will be in regular rotation for the next couple of months, and then tucked away until spring.
Now my question is - if you have the Caprese, how are you wearing it? I'd love to hear....
Polyvore from today:

9/30/10 by HeidiGblog featuring yellow gold earrings

Putting on the Parisian with J Crew

2010-09-29T22:21:00.007-04:00

Ok, I'm not taking credit for the theme here...I'm going with Parisian because as I was leaving the bus stop this morning, walking Lucy, one of my friends was driving by and hollered out her window "You look so French today!" Well, I'll take that as a big huge compliment...and wear this outfit again.

And here's the thing...in part, I was thinking of all my fellow JCA's as I got dressed this morning. I know a lot of uber-JCA's got the shaft regarding the Mickey card. I did get my 25% white card...and I am completely flummoxed as to how I got it when so many deserving others didn't. As I said on Rats On Parade's blog, I hardly even shopped this summer - because the kiddies are home, so not so much mommy-out time. Who knows...

So today's outfit was a few J Crew classics. Ok, both purchased in the past year, but they've already become classics to me, and will continue to be so. The vintage bateau top in dark pewter (#24484, $39.50) - still for sale on the website and in store. (This is an M, btw.) My store had it in a gorgeous bright orange, but not in my size. They also had a dark olive green, which I purchased, but then returned because it is just so similar to the dark pewter.. I am still considering ordering the orange one.. I still just adore this top. I'm curious to see how much I end up wearing this when it really turns to sweater weather. But even if I'm not wearing it as much mid-winter, I'll be wearing it plenty now. Of course, the most recent Jenna's picks suggests using a striped sailor tee as your base layer, just like a cami. Hmmm, I think I'll stick with some of my tanks. But striped tees almost always send me mentally to Paris...or the French Riviera...

If you can see the tank peeking out, it's from the Loft - their Essential Tank. I only see it on sale on the website, but if I recall correctly, the store was quite well stocked. These have been one of my major finds from this summer. They are usually $14 each, or 2/$20. But I majorly stocked up when they were on sale for $6 (um, yeah, I got 8...but I think I'm pretty set for a looooong time now). They are similar to the JC favorite tank, but the straps are a wee bit wider (good for hiding bra straps). And the Loft tanks come in a wide array of colors - even for neutral-happy me. Yes, I got white, navy, and black, but I got a yellow, orchid, several tan/taupe colors...lots of options.

The pants are, of course, the JC Minnies in Tall 8 (#24646, reg $79.50, curr on sale online for $69.50). I think I need to wash and dry these because they are way loose in the midsection now. Then again, I've lost a some weight recently, so maybe that's it. In any case, they still worked, and a quick spin in the dryer will put them back where I need them to be. As a reminder, the Tall Minnies have an inseam of 29" and I'm 5'10", so mentally adjust based on how long you want your pants to be.

To finish off...crystal? starburst? pendant necklace (can't remember the name), gold hoops, braided rope rose gold bracelet, and my comfy Naturalizer croc loafers. Anything exciting today? No...just work. But I felt cute & comfy, so that's a good way to be. So if you are on a JC shopping ban because Mickey snubbed you, enjoy those classics in your wardrobe - they still work!!

Polyvore from today:

9/29/10 by HeidiGblog featuring rose gold bracelets

Nail Files - Fall 2010 Polishes - OPI

2010-09-28T22:24:00.000-04:00

Ahhh, I do love polish. I have 3 of the OPI Switzerland collection to share with you. Mixed reviews here. I'll be honest - this one didn't thrill me like the 2 previous fall collections - France & Spain. I don't love the teal-y blues, they just aren't my thing. Didn't go gaga over the reds/browns...or at least not yet. But I did find a few to enjoy.

First: Lucerne-tainly Look Marvelous. Have to get this out of the way - every time I think about the name, I picture Billy Crystal as Fernando on SNL with his "You look mahvelous" spiel. Ok, I'm done (now it will be stuck in your head, not mine). Back to the color - a sparkly dark pewter. Honestly, I wasn't feeling this one so much when I put it on, but that was earlier in August when it was so devilishly hot that it was hard to even comprehend fall...let alone fall polish. Looking at the picture now, it's really growing on me. I'll have to pull that one out again soon. It would be a fun party polish - and the darker pewter means it works with silver and gold, so it's way versatile. And do I even need to say it? Application was fantastic. And remember, as with all sparkly polishes, those little bits of glitter mean that it stays on better.

Second: Cuckoo for this Color. I've probably said it before, but at the risk of repeating, I'm just not a blue-green person. I am really way more of a yellow-green person. I don't get teals and turquoises when I shop for clothes - they just aren't great colors on me unless I have an uber-unhealthy tan. And I'm just not drawn to them in general. I go for the olives and such. Not sure why I even got this one except that it was pretty and I was just in that state of mind. Again, application is fantastic. If you skew to the blue greens, go for it. This was ok on me. But it was GORGEOUS on E's toes, so I have a feeling she'll be the one sporting it this season. I do also think it would be a great spring/summer pedi - very mermaid-ish, as well as cuckoo-ish.

2 of my fellow DC JCA's come to mind immediately when I see this color - dinagideon & Summerilla - you both need this polish - Summerilla because she loves fun polish and it will look great on her; dinagideon because she doesn't do a lot of nail polish but this would be beyond amazing on her, too, and she is such a teal chick!

And finally: Glitzerland. Ok, points along on the name, huh? I'm still on the fence about this color. I had it on last week when I wore my "you're so stylish it makes me sick" outfit and when I went to lunch, both friends commented on the polish and loved it - one of whom is a die-hard creme fan. I think my issue was that by now, I am SO READY for the dark polishes, that I wasn't in the mood for a lighter one. But as far as golds go, this one will work on a lot of people because it's not too yellow-gold, it's more tan-gold. Way more versatile and skintone friendly for more people. A great party or holiday polish. I'll probably take this one up again when I get bored with darks in a few months (usually hits me in January - I don't crave sunlight, I crave pale polish. Weird, I know). Again, great application. Can't argue with that - it's why OPI is my default polish.

So that's my summary of my 3 faves from the OPI Switzerland Collection. Some nice options for over the season. I think Cuckoo will be a hit, but for my daughter, not for me.

What are my fave fall polishes so far? Stay tuned...I'll try to churn those out this week.

Summer Dress Round Up with Their Funny Stories

2010-09-27T22:19:00.001-04:00

So it's Fall. And our first couple of days were pretty darn warm. So it was a good chance to look back at a few summer dresses and get in 1 or 2 more wearings. I'm still working on the transition-summer-dress-into-fall thing. Then again...I just love Fall clothes, so I'm usually ready to dive headfirst into Fall, and just say sayonara to the summer togs.

First up, since it's actually still available, is the J Crew Ruffled Jersey Dress (#29816, curr on sale for $59.99). I did get a PS discount on this from FP, and I'm ok with that because I've already worn it twice in the three weeks since purchasing. I took an M. Plenty of room. Love the fit on this. It works great with a black bra - the straps blend right in. It's not as low cut as the shirred v-neck dress from the spring was (this one doesn't show off a tan line, like the other one did). I love the length - it works with the dress. One note is that there is no hem - it's a raw edge. But I haven't had any problems with that so far. The weight of the knit is great - not too heavy, not too light. And by the way - yes, my dress is black - they had lots in black in the store. I only see the heather carbon or shadow online but trust me, it's black. AppGal tried it on here. (if soemone else did and I left you out, please holler.)

In the second pic, I'm wearing it with the Old Navy Cinched Front-Zip Jacket that appears to no longer be on their website. I have to thank Gigi for guiding me to this as a great alternative to the JC downtown field jacket - she had a great pic when ON was doing their 30%, so I went ahead and ordered. What I LOVE about the jacket is that I was able to get it in a Large Tall. Large so that I have enough shoulder room...and can put heavier sweaters underneath (thank you, ON for the online reviews - always helpful), and Tall so that it's long enough in the sleeves. Note in the name "cinched" - it comes in at the waist, so it avoids the all-too-common utter lack of shape that many field-type jackets have. I will be wearing this jacket tons in the fall.

Funny story for this dress: I was wearing this outfit again Friday night when hubby said to me as we were heading out the door to dinner "You're so stylish it makes me sick...but I don't mean that in a bad way." Ah men...gotta love them. What do you do? I smiled serenely and sailed out the door. Clearly it wasn't a rehearsed comment. I've got to give him credit for noticing...and realizing it was stylish? Then again, I also had a friend holler out her window to me at how nice I looked picking up dog poop. I guess it was a winner all the way around. And yes, I do clean up after my pooch when I walk her - if you have one, I hope you do the same.

Polyvore:

9/24/10 by HeidiGblog featuring ray ban sunglasses

Next up...the AT Loft Medallion Shift. I loved this dress when I first saw it. It's interesting because it's a yellow/tan print dress, like the famed LoL sateen sheath in the Dunclare print (which Dina has on here) - which I tried and immediately returned because the colors were just horrid with my skin tone. As soon as I saw this at Loft I grabbed it...fortunately, I was shopping during a 40% off sale.

I got an 8, and it had plenty of room. It's definitely not fitted - very flowy and breezy, but it shows of a lot of arm and leg to counter-balance the lack of shape. I love the linen fabric. Not see through, not stiff. The only downside, if I could come up with one would be that it really requires a strapless bra. But for this dress, it's worth it.

And again, as I do with shorter skirts/dresses, flat sandals -these are from Target a few summers ago. I wore them a ton this summer, and again, will be so sad when I have to replace them. But they are insanely comfy and work with most of my summer wardrobe. I found its perfect partner in last summer's JC linen vneck short sleeve cardigan. They were made for each other.

Funny story on this dress: A few weeks after I had purchased it, my mom and I were at Loft (30% off or something, probably) and I had pulled a few dresses into the dressing room to try on. While I was doing that, my mom came back with this dress in hand and said: Did you see this one? It just looks like you." And I said: you're absolutely right, and that's why it's already hanging in my closet. So clearly my mom knows my taste...one of the many reasons I love shopping with her.

Polyvore of Loft Medallion Shift Dress:

8/15/10 by HeidiGblog featuring flats shoes

And the final dress I have to share, which was in HEAVY rotation this summer is the Loft Empire Tank Dress with Twist Detail. Can't remember the specs on this, I know I got it as a % off, just not sure whether that was 30, 40, or whatever. In any case, in terms of cost per wear, it may well be one of the cheapest items in my closet right now.

What's not to love on this one... Great shade of gray. Beautiful draping. Lovely empire waist. I took an M in the dress, and it fit perfectly. The fabric is mostly synthetic, if I recall, but it still breathes. This was a hot, steamy day staple in my wardrobe this summer. Wore it tons.

Funny story on this dress: When I tried it on, I was asking the SA about the feasability of wearing my usual summer sports bra/cami underneath so that I didn't have to wear a real bra with it. She, of course, was going on and on about how I could dress it up with heels, necklaces, etc. 9 a bit like at left here) and I was just like: um, I have plenty of that stuff, I really just want a cute knit dress I can throw on with a sports bra on a hot day and head out the door. And that's exactly what I did with it...over and over and over again.

Polyvore of Empire Tank Dress:

7/15/10 by HeidiGblog featuring ray ban shades

I may have a post or two more on summer left, but I'll be switching to fall really soon, I swear.

J Crew Franny Dress (Retail Only?)

2010-09-04T19:27:00.000-04:00

Happy Labor Day Weekend! We are headed off to a Mexican Fiesta Pool Party tonight - grown-ups only. I want to be wearing a cute little dress...but it's about 70 degrees right now and headed down to a low of 51 tonight, so I don't think a cute little dress is in the cards...unless I go with a coat and tights...but it's Labor Day weekend - way too soon to pull out the tights in MD. Instead I'll be wearing a pair of white jeans, like probably 50% of the ladies there. I imagine that about 35% will have on regular jeans, and the other 15% will split out between black pants and the fools crazy enough to go with bare legs. Did I mention it's always very breezy at our pool, so it's going to feel a lot chillier?

But I'll have my Jaspe sequined slouchy sweatshirt to keep me warm...and sparkly...and given all the gardening I've been doing today, a sweatshirt seems about right I've posted on that before and I'm not sure if I'll get pics before I go, so I thought I'd share what I wish I were wearing. And I'll brace myself for the tomatoes, because a lot of you saw it on AppGal of Musings on the Mountain and I think pretty much everyone agreed with her big thumbs down. Then again, I've always said it would be really boring if we all wore the exact same JCrew, right?

J Crew Franny Vintage Mixy Dress (#31033, $128, currently marked down in stores but not sure of the price).

Let's get this out of the way...it's short. It's shorter than anything I own. But I fell in love with the dress...in spite of the length. Now I'm certainly not going to wear it to volunteer at school. For me, it's a great party dress. I wore it a week after I got it to a wine tasting and fundraiser for Grassroots Soccer. (fantastic organization, by the way, a co-workers daughter is doing a fellowship in South Africa this year)

Even though it's short, the way the hem falls, I actually don't feel like it's about to blow up in the wind - it's cut straight at the bottom - not billowy. I actually felt very secure in it, hem-wise...and you know me, I'm usually the first complaining (whining) about JC's hemlines.

I love love love the fact that the dress is cotton. I like the mix of textures - the black eyelet is just fun for me. The waistline hits me at a good spot. It's cool and comfy, and works great with just a regular black bra (so it's easy).

Interestingly enough, I got this dress when I was out shopping with one of my dearest bloggie friends, dinagideon - who is a couple inches shorter than me and is long-shinned as well (while I am short-shinned, with more of my leg length in my femur). Dina tried on the dress, but it actually looked shorter on her, which was weird. And we both agreed it was weird because usually everything looks and is shorter on me. We think it had something to do with the weird bodice fit on her. For me and my wide shoulders, it sat in the right spot. But it was nice to ha

But I go back to Ema's sidebar notes on her blog, My Closet, My Baby, and I: "If something that you are trying makes you feel like you are Kate Hudson (replace Kate Hudson with your favorite style icon), BUY IT." I felt a bit Gwyneth in the dress.

Given all that's going on with the dress, I kept the rest of the outfit pretty simple - ponytail, stud earrings, and flat sandals. Yes...FLAT sandals...because it is a short skirt and flat shoes always ground the short length a bit.

Funny story: When I was trying the dress on at my not-usual B&M, the SA suggested it would look great with heels. And I just looked at her and said "with a hem this short? seriously??? Um, yeah, I don't think so." But I may try it out in chillier weather with tights and a long cardi...we'll see...not sure if I'm that adventurous yet.

And if you need a tomato to toss, check out the gorgeousness below...fresh out of the garden this morning:

Back to School in the Crew...with some Loft Love

2010-09-03T17:01:00.003-04:00

Today's post is dedicated to My4Boys - have you seen her new blog, Tweed and Toile? And it's not just the cute pic of her 2 pooches on the sidebar that makes me like it...although admittedly for me, cute puppy pics always make it more fun. She's always had such great Polyvore sets, and now we get to see them in person. Check it out!

Anyway...a month ago or so, she had a way cute Polyvore set with one of my all time fave tees, the J Crew navy/white striped tissue tee from last fall with cuffed jeans and a pair of adorable red sandals - from Loft (the Bridget thong sandal). I might not have stopped to look that closely at the shoes at Loft, but the next time I went in, I moseyed over to the big huge tower o'sale shoes, tried them on, and realized that they actually were as cute as I thought they should be (note the large amount of projection here - it disappoints me when something doesn't live up to all the outfits I've created in my head). And not only were they cute, they were on sale and 50% off, so they were mine for $17.49. I was impressed with the padded footbed for comfort, and the fact that it meant my other sandal requirement - that I could slide the strap over the back of my heel without having to unbuckle it. Lazy, I know, but it works for me.

I'm viewing these as the perfect summer alternative to my patent peep toe flats - it's a great pop of color for all the neutral - white/tan/gray/navy/black - that I wear. It works with all of them.

And so to the outfit...I wore it, ironically, much earlier in August - about 2 weeks before the kiddies went back to school, but the JC Nicky skirt always has such a schoolgirl vibe for me (maybe because of the navy color?), so it really reminded me of back to school. So whenever I wear it, I'm usually trying to downplau the schoolgirl feel and skew it more to the resort vacation vibe..which is why I probably never wear it with sweaters. But colorful sandals really help with that.

The Bridget thong sandals were the perfect finishing touch to the navy skirt and white (open crewneck painter) tee ensemble. And a chunky pewter locket for some visual weight. I liked the nautical feel of this outfit. Admittedly, I could sub in most any of my colorful sandals and they would work with this outfit. I particularly look forward to utilizing the Bridgets for the 4th of July, when I'm usually wearing navy with or without some white, because I just don't do red clothing in the summer - doesn't work on me with my coloring. Speaking of the 4th, I could replicate this outfit...if only it weren't so hot every year...oh well, food for thought.

Does anyone else have the Nicky skirt from Spring 09? I wouldn't mind finding it in in the hot pink or orange color they had. Size 8...let me know. Maybe I should really be posting on the JCA exchange. (see note above on laziness)

Polyvore from 8/16/10:

8/16/10 by HeidiGblog featuring ray ban shades

Women's knits & tees - textured knits - Open crewneck painter tee -..., $30
Women skirts Cotton taffeta Nicky skirt, $78
Bridget Thong Sandal, $44
Heloise metallic shoulder bag, $860
Sterling Silver Earrings, Cheap Silver Earrings, Silver CZ Earrings at..., $102
Grandpas Pocket Watch Necklace, $28
Amazon.com: Essie Nail Color Over the Top ES-624: Beauty, $5.14
Ray Ban sunglasses sidestreet 4068
COLOURlovers :: Color / EFF2DB / Steam

And since I mentioned cute puppy pics above as well as back to school...this is Lucy's back to school picture...since the only way E would consent to get a BTS pic with her brother was if Lucy was in the pic as well. (yes...the kiddies needed to go back to school this week and get out of the house...)

Hope you are enjoying your back to school season!!

Old Navy Striped Rosette Cardigan

2010-08-22T22:50:00.002-04:00

Kiddies & I are at the River for a few days of R&R before school starts back up...next Monday...one more week before we have to back to real life. Hubby is even here for a long weekend. And of course, the pooch. Lucy always loves it here...plenty of room to roam. And M&E have a new toy to play with - my parents got a kayak, so that's been a lot of fun. I haven't tried it yet, but plan to tomorrow morning (gotta get my kids out of it first!). And maybe I'll get closer to caught up on blogging.

Last week, while still in town, I met up with one of my fave bloggie friends, dinagideon, and all our kiddies, to do some lunch and shopping. We actually started at Old Navy, since I was on the hunt for what appears to be an online only dress.

I was out of luck with the dress, but while we were there, dina stopped by the table with the cardis...including the Striped Rosette Cardigan (#772013, online $26.50, was in-store special of $19.50). The cardi comes in charcoal, heather oatmeal, purple or yellow, all with white stripes. And of course, I was drawn straight to the charcoal - a lot like my JC vintage bateau striped tee - I love that white/dark gray combo. Dina picked up the yellow as it reminded her very much of a JC cardi from a few seasons ago that she missed out on.

As of right now, while I'm typing this, the cardi has an online rating of 4 1/2 stars, based on 25 reviews. (oh, I love the online rating! wish everyone did it...)

I got an M, and I thought the fit was great - not too tight, not too loose. Interestingly enough, the cardi comes in Tall and Petite online - but I really didn't see any need to size up to the L, or go with a Tall - for how I'm going to wear this cardi, it's plenty long.

I didn't close the lower 2 buttons - I think it works better with the bottom 2 undone, or open...much like the JC Jackie. Like the Jackie, the sleeves are 3/4. Nice cotton knit - not too thin, not too heavy, very versatile - especially in transitional seasons. I've washed it once, and it seemed fine. We'll see how it does over the long haul, but so far, so good.

After picking up the cardi on Monday, we had a break in the humidity on Wednesday, with lots of rain and some cooler temps, so of course, I had to pull the new cardi out for a spin. The cardi is fitted enough to go with looser bottoms, so I paired it with my J Crew linen cotton seaside pants and a white cardi. Then some fun red sandals for a pop of color.

The ON cardi was a fun, comfy cardi for the day. I anticipate wearing it a lot with just a white tee and jeans or Minnies in the fall.

Gigi also tried on the cardi here. If I missed anyone else, please let me know.

Polyvore from Wednesday:

8/18/10 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Old Navy Womens Striped Rosette Cardigans, $27
Women - tanks - Perfect-fit tank - J.Crew, $18
Linen-cotton seaside pant - J.Crew, $20
Bridget Thong Sandal, $44
Tiffany & Co. | Search Results | International, 1,000 GBP
Nordstrom Round 3ct Cubic Zirconia Earrings, $25
Bun Hairstyles | It's All About The Hairstyles

The Nail Files - Essie Love

2010-08-17T13:01:00.002-04:00

With a blogging absence of more than a month, it's a safe bet that I have some polish pics stored up to share. So I will start with 2 new polishes that I am loving. Not new as in a new collection, but new to me. And shocker...they're both by Essie. I do tend to prefer OPI polishes over pretty much every other kind - including the OPI Sephora line. I just find that the regular OPI line has fantastic formulas, dream application with that pro-wide brush, and gorgeous colors. Essie has often been a problem child for me, especially their light and sheer colors - way streaky - even with 3 coats. But these two...totally covetable.

First up - with indoor & outdoor pics - Essie Jazz - "a neutral creamy beige-taupe", which is available in J Crew stores and on the website (#22678, $8). Finally...a JC Essie shade I can fall in love with, unlike that Russian Roulette red and some of those drippy (IMO) mauves. To start with, since application is always my issue with Essie, I will tell you that the application on this light polish is great - surprisingly easy for a paler Essie shade. Virtually no streaking, yay.

And I *love* the color. Again, another version of classic khaki pants for your finger tips. A fantastic neutral. Definitely work-safe, IMO. I will be wearing this on my tips a lot this fall, a very good alternative to a standard nude polish. As mentioned, I purchased mine at the JC store. I haven't seen it in my usual Essie/OPI haunts (i.e. Trade Secret, Pure Beauty, Ulta), so if you really love it - try J Crew (especially if you're trying to get to that free shipping minimum) or one of the polish e-tailers.

Next...what may be my new fall fave polish - Essie Over the Top - "a dramatic metallic midnight silver", originally from their Winter 2007 collection. It reminds me a lot of YSL's Tuxedo Gray or a metallic version of OPI's Suzy Skis in the Pyrenees from last fall's Espana collection - not quite navy, not quite charcoal, but in between. Kinda like a fave J Crew shade of mine, Shadow (aka SHA). Over the Top almost looks like hematite. It's less intense than black, but still has that dark moodiness I love.

And I can't stop staring at it. After the first OTT mani on my fingers, I used it for the next one- that's love.

2 Days, 2 Denim Skirts

2010-08-16T21:59:00.000-04:00

Back again...I think I just needed the long uninterrupted break. Good to take a breather from the electronics every once in a while, no? It's funny...when I didn't have any hours at work, I thought I'd have all sorts of time to blog, but I just wasn't on the computer that much - Polyvore, blogging, blog reading, Facebook, any of that.

But work has picked back up. So back to busy, back to being on the computer. Hubby got me a real chair for my desk after I swiped his while he was in Chicago last week. So now I can sit here at my little desk in the living room and look out the window while I lean back in my comfy chair. I just have to keep kicking the kiddies out of it.

While I was breaking, I started to work on some more closet clean out and gave quite a few things the fish-or-cut-bait designation. You know...this things you always mean to wear but never get around to it. On this latest round, I realized I had 2 denim skirts hanging in there that had probably not been on my body in almost a year.

Not usually something I wear in the summer, but we had a semi-cool stretch of days, so it seemed a perfect time to pull them out. (No idea why I never wore them this past fall or winter, but enjoyed them so much, I'll definitely make that change).

First up...from this past Saturday, the Boden denim mini I got last summer...the one that I planned to wear all fall and winter with a sweater, tights, and boots....and never did. Maybe I was too into the Minnies & skinnies? I've always loved skirts, and was so happy when M & E were out of diapers so that I could actually wear them again. changing diapers on a floor while wearing a skirt take more talent or effort than I've got.

I love the buttons down the front of this skirt...not that I ever tuck anything in so that you can see most of them. But it's a really fun piece. Not too heavy. I paired with a navy JC boyfriend tissue tee & cami, a chunky bracelet, and my old trusty JC sneakers. No idea how old those sneaks are...they don't date back to my college JC outlet days, but they were purchased early on in motherhood for me. As always, with a short skirt, I don't like to do heels - at 5'10", and with a long femur (2, actually), I like a flat shoe to ground the look. And this suited a day that involved a training session at church and hanging out with the family at home. Grilling out and then s'mores, yum!! I'm pretty sure I've posted a similar outfit on Polyvore, but it's simple and it works. And it's navy. What more do I need?

Polyvore from Saturday:

8/13/10 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Women - sweaters - The Trentino cabin cardigan - J.Crew

$30 - jcrew.com

More J Crew tops »

Button Through Mini-WG317-Above Knee Skirts at Boden

$58 - bodenusa.com

More skirts »

Chuck Taylor All Star Slip

converse.com

More Converse clothing »

Very Berry Tote. 12.75"Wx4"Dx15"H

$17 - crateandbarrel.com

More tote bags »

Men - sweaters - Merino Maya cardigan - J.Crew

$75 - jcrew.com

More J Crew bracelets »

Gold Hoop Earrings

$180 - vivre.com

More earrings »

To repeat from above...what more do I need? Well, stripes for starters. Oh, I am such a sucker for stripes. Especially the navy and white ones. The tee is from Gap, and without a doubt, has one of the worst online pics I've ever seen (check out the Polyvore below or the embedded link: Striped cropped-sleeve henley tee.) It looks anemic. I never would have purchased it based on that - in person, it actually is navy and has a really great long length they seem to be trying to hide in the online pic. Well, you can see the length from the picture at left. So you know I love it. The fabric is very similar to the JC painter tees - so you definitely need a cami or tank underneath.

I got the tee (size M) a couple of weeks ago when my sister came up to visit. She liked mine so much, she went back the next day to get one for herself (of course, we had all 4 kids on the 2nd trip). I think the striped tee ended up being around $17 or so...one of those chain reactions - on sale, plus % off, plus additional 10% off since I put it on her BR card.

The outfit, btw, is from Friday, when we had some very cool weather (oh it was lovely). The denim mini here is from Loft from probably about 3 years ago. The weight of the denim (heavier than in the Boden skirt above) keeps it from flying up or riding up. But you can find a denim mini pretty much anywhere. And then my canvas slip-ons from LLBean, gold hoops and a ponytail. I felt very young and carefree that day.

Polyvore from Friday (seriously, isn't the IRL so much better?):

8/13/10 by HeidiGblog featuring GAP tops

Gap Striped cropped-sleeve henley T
$20 - gap.com
More GAP tops »

Petite Juniper Wash Denim Skirt
$49 - anntaylorloft.com
More Ann Taylor LOFT skirts »

NAVY POLKA DOT CANVAS SHOES - Flats at Peacocks
8 GBP - peacocks.co.uk
More flats »

Large 18K Yellow Gold Hoop Earrings - Forzieri
$449 - forzieri.com
More Forzieri earrings »

Flirty Pigtails & Ponytails
bosshairstyles.com

Happy to be back and looking forward to catching up with you all. Thanks to all the followers and other regular readers who didn't just jump ship! XOXO

A Belated Happy 4th of July

2010-07-10T22:54:00.010-04:00

Happy 4th! Ummm....a little late. What do you do when you're visiting your parents and realize that your BlackBerry connection for your laptop to get internet is totally messed up? Sit back and enjoy it and keep up with essential emails via BlackBerry. Oh, it was a nice electronic-lite week at the river for us.

Here's Lucy in her July 4th finest! My mom got the barrettes for E, but she was out the door too fast to ride in the town parade. Ah...love small-town 4th of July. Town parade followed by a picnic.

So anyway, Lucy ended up with the barettes. It took her a while to realize that she could rid herself of them with a couple good shakes. But it made for good pictures before that. Bandana stayed on for a few days...until she found some dead fish to roll in. Dog owners...if you don't have puppy shampoo on hand, baby or kid shampoo works really well because it's tear-free. Even if you have to wash your pooch a couple of times.

Sorry - no pics of me on 4th of July, since I was the one taking pics, as usual. But I did wear my Loft fern-print maxi dress - it is uber-cool and comfy (original try-on-at-home pic here). And that's pretty much how it looked - I added a ponytail, hat, and sandals. Don't need much with the print. E wore a Liberty of London Target dress - the maxi dress in red, white, & blue (& a bit of purple). So we had our matching maxi dresses. That's about as close to "matching" as I'm allowed to get. 4th of July Polyvore for me & E:

07/04/10-Me & E by HeidiGblog featuring Kenneth Cole NY shoes

Dresses - Fern Print Maxi Dress
$98 - anntaylorloft.com
More clothing »

July 4th Party Favors - Flag Novelty Items - Party City
$9.99 - partycity.com
More clothing »

Women's Merona® Elyssa Strappy Sandals - Bronze Snake : Target
$15 - target.com
More sandals »

Kenneth Cole NY Hampton Beach - Silver
$90 - heels.com
More Kenneth Cole NY sandals »

Girls' Liberty of London for Target® Sleeveless Woven Dress - Tan :...
$17 - target.com

stick figure family
opendoormusic.ca

Little Big Planet and Fidgit wish you a happy 4th of July | Fidgit
fidgit.com

But here's a semi-appropriate 4th of July outfit that I actually wore yesterday to run around and do errands with the kids. Ah...summer...errands with the kiddies....my friend MB commented to me that she'd rather get her right knee drained than take all 3 kids to the grocery store. Yep, I get that. Massive errand run was necessitated becuase we are having E's birthday party tonight and didn't get back into town until Thursday. 6 girls sleeping over - which means I get the couch for the night since hubby did couch duty when M had his sleepover. But it is a really nice group of girls. I'll let you know if I change my opinion in another hour, hee hee.

Back to Friday's outfit - white & blue and I guess my nails look red-ish (Essie Risky Business - supposed to be "tangerine" but read as a coral/orange/red on my hand). Hot day but not too awful...just lower 90's. I pulled out my navy Nicky skirt from last spring. And this is the first time I've had it on this year. Need to rectify that - it's such a cute skirt. Even though I don't tuck in and you can't see the grosgrain waistband, you can still see it on the pockets. Too cute. A crisp skirt felt just right for the weather. I kept it simple with a white painter tee, my fave go-with-everything Target sandals, J Crew constellation locket and ponytail. What can I say...I've just realized that, really & truly, simple works best for me.

I uncovered the skirt while doing some closet cleaning out. Oh, the bags on my floor. Consignment by season, donation, trash, and JCA exchange. I hope to update my closet blog soon with some new items. What works best for you when you clean out your closet? I'm trying really hard to be ruthless this time - which I why I wore the Nicky skirt yesterday - it needed an outing to deserve staying in my closet. Then again, we didn't really have a spring - it seemed like we went straight from frigid winter to blazing hot summer. But oh, how I love to clean out the closet - so cathartic. I find that I'm always inspired to clean out when I get back from vacation - when you're away a few days, you realize that you just don't need that much stuff.

Polyvore from yesterday:

7/9/10 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Women's knits & tees - textured knits - Open crewneck painter tee -...
$30 - jcrew.com
More J Crew t shirts »

Women - tanks - Perfect-fit tank - J.Crew
$18 - jcrew.com
More J Crew tops »

Women skirts Cotton taffeta Nicky skirt
$78 - jcrew.com
More J Crew skirts »

Women's Merona® Elyssa Strappy Sandals - Bronze Snake : Target
$15 - target.com
More sandals »

J.Crew Constellation locket
$50 - jcrew.com
More J Crew necklaces »

Gold Hoop Earrings
$180 - vivre.com
More earrings »

Paper > 12x12: A Cherry On Top
$1 - acherryontop.com

Ray Ban sunglasses sidestreet 4068
replacealens.com
More Ray-Ban sunglasses »

Summer Nails to Share

2010-06-25T19:40:00.002-04:00

E is out at a sleepover. And I'm watching 2 of my nephews. So the boys (M & nephews) are hanging out in the basement. Hubby is here, too. So there's a lot of boy-ness going on in my house right now, with just me & Lucy to keep up the girl quotient. Fortunately, she has a pink collar.

What to do? Let's talk nail polish...especially some fun summer shades. Sorry I'm so late in posting these, but I was...uh...yeah, taking that blog break.

What do I have to share? 3 of the 4 shades in Essie's Spring Resort Collection and 1 shade from Sephora by OPI's Havana Nights Spring Collection.

Guest-nailing for me here are E's toes. This was a really fun pedi to do. Next time, I'm adding white polka dots. On alternating toes, are Sephora by OPI in Havana Dreams ("sheer pale sky blue") and Essie Turquoise & Caicos ("a flirty & pretty tropical aqua"). I love doing the every-other-nail look on E. Too young for me, but perfect on my almost-8-year-old. And I love these colors on E - such a perfect pedi for going to the beach. But neither of these applied well. For a little girl's nails, they are fine, but I tried Havana Dreams on my fingers and it was a bit streaky. Then again, I have found that to be the case with some of the Sephora by OPI pale colors (especially Run With It, which I *love*, but it just never applies right). And I think the Essie T&C would really need 3 coats on a grown-ups nails to be even.

Such cute little toes!!

Next up, my pedi. Let me pause to note that I got the Essie colors as a set of 4 minis. When you look at the pic, I just want you to realize that it's a mini-bottle and that my feet really aren't that big. This is Essie Lapis of Luxury ("a dreamy ocean blue"). This one applied pretty well. I realize the names are supposed to mesh it into the collection, but it reminded me of a cornflower blue crayon - very pretty blue (not quite as turquoise-y as it looks to me on my computer). Not sure if it's too bright for me...we'll see. Maybe as a mani color with navy toes?

And finally, my fave from the collection - Playa Del Platinum ("an elegant & sheer sandy gray") here on my fingers. For a pale color and for an Essie, it actually applies really well, and I've worn it at least once since then. Love it.

Hope you have a bit of a girlie weekend...that was mine! I think I should leave the boys downstairs and take my girlie-pup upstairs to watch a chick flick.

Another Shoe to Share (My Sub for the Ares Platform Heel)

2010-06-24T08:23:00.001-04:00

Let me just start this out by saying that I love J Crew shoes (um, except for the more masculine styles which just aren't me). They are oh so pretty. I love their colorways. They are so yummy-looking when I scroll through the website or flip through the catalog. And then cold, hard reality hits. The flats really just aren't as supportive as I'd like. I honestly think some of my Target flats have more support and cushioning. And they tend to run narrow - especially up front in the toe box where, thanks to bunion genes running amok in the womenfolk of my family, my foot runs wide. (I am the only girl who hasn't had bunion surgery - my sister had it in college - ow!!)

And then there is the heel issue. I love the look of heels. I completely agree that most girl people, myself included, do look better when wearing heels. I just don't feel as mobile or as speedy. So I wear flats or a lower heel - which, admittedly is hard to find in a cute, not dowdy, shoe. I really try to stick to 3" max, and yes, I like a thicker heel if I'm planning to walk much. Maybe for my mid-life crisis when I turn 40 in a year and a half, I'll actually learn how to walk in heels and start wearing them as a default. (yeah right...)

So while I admire the J Crew shoes from afar, they just don't work for me in 99% of cases. Joley flats and Danielle flat sandals being the exception - both of which I have and love, but definitely realize are not cushioned or supportive for all day walking.

So, as with my Sofft sandals from yesterday's post, once again, I found myself with a near-dupe of a J Crew sandal - in this case, the Ares Platform Heel (#25485, $215), pictured below.

My version, purchased from Loehmanns for about $40, but still available from Piperlime - and now on sale for $29.99. Granted, they definitely aren't as edgy as the JC version, but they are wearable for me. Maybe it helps that I have longer legs, I don't know. White Mountain Medusa:

And the IRL on my toesies.

I don't think I've worn them in an outfit pic, but I'm sure that I'll get a pic of them soon enough. Especially now that I'm hopefully back in the blogging saddle again.

How much do I love these shoes? Tons. Way comfy, even for a heel. Totally stay on my foot. Great neutral go-with-everything color. Last time I wore them was with a white shirt & white jeans and they were fab. Love them with regular jeans. And I think they'll work with some of my summer dresses, too.

Close Enough....(for me) by HeidiGblog featuring White Mountain shoes

White Mountain Medusa
$40 - piperlime.gap.com
More White Mountain sandals »

Men - shoes - Ares metallic platform heels - J.Crew
$215 - jcrew.com

Happy Summer in Dress & Sandals

2010-06-23T17:59:00.003-04:00

So it's really truly officially the start of summer. I don't know about you, but for us, summer arrives in stages...first the pool opens Mem Day weekend, then spring sports end (yay!), then school's out (yay yay!!), and finally we have the official 1st day of summer right as we hit our stride into full-on summer. Been a bit absent - I think I last posted before we went down to NC to see the inlaws for my FIL's 70th bday, and here we are in June and we just got back from a 5-day weekend there to play at the beach once school let out. It is a long drive, but I can't complain about traffic because it could have been SO much worse. Looking forward to shorter drives for the rest of the summer, though.

Funny summer stories for you:

- Today E pulled out one of her teeth. It was almost out and she did the last yank. Atta girl! But yes, ewwww.

- M caught his first shark this past weekend. Ok, it was a 15" dead baby sand shark that he stepped on in the surfand then reached down to see what it was. My & my cool head...I was walking down to the water with the camera and after he showed dad, he came running out of the surf with it to show me. I freaked out and just said "Throw it back!" I wasn't sure if it was dead or alive, but in either case it really skeeved me out. Me, with the camera....and totally didn't take a picture. And let's add an ewwwwwww for that one. Oh, he's such a boy. And clearly, I'm not so good with the surprises... I do fairly well with injuries like head wounds and all that, but it's the critter stuff that gets me.

And summertime, as always, means easy dresses. I love 1-piece dressing. It just doesn't get any easier than that. Here's yesterday's outfit for a few errands before we went to the pool.

Loft knit sheath dress from several years ago and black Sofft sandals. Black dress + black sandals...ok, maybe it's not that creative, but it always works.

I got these sandals from DSW and they are insanely comfy! (Sofft, duh....) Anyway, I highly recommend. Plus, the ankle strap has enough give that I can actually slip them over my heel without unbuckling - always a bonus.

Funny thing is, when I was browsing around the J Crew website, I found a pair of heeled sandals that are way similar - the Knotted Macrame heels ($27829, $225). And you all know that (1) I just don't do heels that often, and (2) most J Crew shoes just don't work on my feet - way too narrow and not enough support. So basically I have the JC look in a much more comfortable shoe. And it was quite a bit less price-wise. Works for me!

Close up of my Sofft sandals:

J Crew Knotted Macrame Heels:

Good enough!! And both shoes have that lovely piece on the back of the heel and we all know that's for hiding a less than perfect job of buffing your heels, right?

Hope you all are enjoying the summer! Stay cool and stay safe.
Polyvore from yesterday:

06/22/10 Dupe by HeidiGblog featuring DKNY dresses

Textured Sheath Dress by DKNY
180 GBP - my-wardrobe.com
More DKNY dresses »

Belle by sigerson morrison shoes BLACK
170 GBP - matchesfashion.com
More Belle By Sigerson Morrison flats »

Very Berry Tote. 12.75"Wx4"Dx15"H
$20 - crateandbarrel.com
More tote bags »

Large 18K Yellow Gold Hoop Earrings - Forzieri
$449 - forzieri.com
More Forzieri earrings »

Ray Ban sunglasses sidestreet 4068
replacealens.com
More Ray-Ban sunglasses »

Lady Jayne Hair Care - Styling Hints
ladyjayne.co.nz

Khaki & White...Just So Right

2010-05-26T08:35:00.003-04:00

You all know I love navy. But one of my fave combos year round - especially in the spring & summer is khaki and white. It always looks fresh and crisp to me. And it's easy. My usual formula is white top + khaki bottom + whatever accessories you feel like. And it works just as well if you switch up with khaki top + white bottoms. And it almost always feels just a little bit beachy. Here are a couple of outfits to share from a few weeks ago, that I have since copied with varying tees or shoes or whatever.

Pencil Skirt: Loft Iconic Pencil Skirt (#241906, $49.50). I actually think this skirt is totally worth FP, but I did get it during the 30% F&F a few weeks ago. They are showing Black and Pebble online, but mine is much more of a gray color - I'm thinking it's probably Moon Gray? Ok maybe it's gray, but it's khaki-esque...work with me here.

The skirt is 98% cotton/2% spandex and *machine washable.* It's 22" in length - which for me, is perfect because below knee skirts - esp pencil skirts - just don't work well on a short-shinner like me. Since it's above the knee, I can totally get away with wearing flats with it - yay! And that means I will wear it much more than a heels-required skirt.

Fit-wise, I got the 10 because I wanted to be able to wear it sans tights or control garments and it's a light color (like my size up for white jeans rule). This is a summer skirt. I wanted something comfy & easy...and I got it.

I love this with just a white tee - here the perfect fit white crewneck. The combos are endless since (1) I have quite a stash of white tees, and (2) any group of accessories works as long as they work together. For this ensemble, I chose the pink Danielle sandals and the fireball necklace which is really a light pink, plus gold hoops.

And I feel polished every time I wear this skirt - even when casual. And it's so comfy. Another plus is that it really doesn't wrinkle badly - and that's always a danger with pencil skirts. I highly recommend this skirt.

Polyvore for pencil skirt (had to use a different Loft skirt in the PV, since you know the Loft/PV issues - argh):

5/5/10 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Utility skirt: Banana Republic cargo skirt. No idea on style number since I got it a couple of months ago (thanks for the coupon, Gigi) at 40% off the FP of $59.50, so it was $36. A great summer skirt. Much more casual than the pencil skirt, above, but very versatile. I think I'll wear this a lot - especially for travel. Have I ever mentioned that I prefer skirts when I travel in the car, esp in summer? Not dressy, fussy, wrinkly ones, of course. But easy cotton skirts. They're usually cooler than shorts or ccapris, easier for potty stops, and I'll wear them with a tee so the seatbelt doesn't irritate as it can with a sundress (my other top summer clothing choice).

Here, I have on the open crewneck painter tee, J Crew olive sneakers (which are a great way to ground a shorter skirt), and my Anthro initial typeset necklace. Nothing earth shattering, but a clean classic look that I loved all day.

Fit - in case you happen to stumble upon one at your local BR - I got a size 10. BR skirts seem to be tighter on me in the hips than most JC skirts are.
Polyvore for utility skirt:

5/6/10 by HeidiGblog featuring Converse clothing

Loft Fern Print Maxi Dress

2010-05-25T14:28:00.003-04:00

Loft Fern Print Maxi Dress (#240415, $98). I got this dress with the 40% off dresses promotion, so it was only $58.80 - which, for me, is a more reasonable price. It's navy - Midnight Navy, to be exact - so you know I'm a fan to start with. And I've been wanting a maxi dress, but the knit ones just haven't worked out for me.

I finally ended up returning the J Crew Promenade Jersey Gown because it just felt too heavy, esp for the price I paid, so I questioned how much I would end up wearing it (thanks to Kate who originally pointed that out, and Anon/Fave Fit Model who mentioned it in another post). Plus the whole bra thing was going to be a pain.

I am doing the review now, while the dress is actually up on the Loft site, so that hopefully the link will work. It's been disappearing from the site over the past few days, which means stock must be running low.

I am wearing a 4 here. Yes, you read that right - a 4. But I swear that's not the only reason I got it (snicker). Fit on this dress is *all* about the bust - it glides right over my hips. If you are non-curvy like me, you can size WAY down. And it's plenty long on me, but you could still get away with it if you were just a bit shorter, I think. I had originally gotten the 6 and then returned it - it was just too loose on the bust so I kept fidgeting with it - anyone see Bachelorette last night (I embarrassingly admit)? Poor Ali kept pulling up that left shoulder strap all night long. I think her dress must have been too big because she kept having to pick it up any time she walked and then there was the strap thing. Plus, she was kinda standing like she needed to hold the straps up via shoulder position (we've all been there, right?). I just wanted to take in an inch or two out of the straps - she would have been so much more comfortable.

But back to this long dress, which is way more wearable than a long black evening gown, at least in my reality...with the fabric design and ruching over the bust, if you are non-curvy, you can get away without wearing a bra (and I'm not in the pic at right) - always a bonus in the summer. But it works fine with a strapless bra, too, if you want a little more shape...and it's not bloody hot outside.

The fabric is fantastic - cotton voile, so it's nice and lightweight. (see comment above on heavy jersery promenade gown). And it's machine washable - always nice for a summer dress when you've been outside in the muggy heat and you feel icky so you *know* your clothes are icky.

It's also a nice, lower cost alternative to the fab >LL Bean signature sail boat dress here - which is not machine washable. (I've been coveting that dress, btw, but I realize the Loft one actually is more practical.)

And E approves - I had her vote on dresses before school this morning. So it's a keeper.

J Crew Sequin-Stripe Henley Tank

2010-05-20T22:19:00.003-04:00

Ok, I'll get to the comments from the last post on the Jaspe sequined slouchy sweatshirt, but I seem to be getting in this groove of blogging at the beginning of the week and then just trailing off by mid-week. So post first, comment back later. It's been a busy week - I've been painting the kiddies' rooms this week. (since I'm out of hours on my current project at work, so I might as well as get some work done at home right now, right?) I'll share pics as soon as we get everything put back in order, pictures hung, etc. But I'm thrilled with how they turned out. So I'm sitting here typing during commercials while watching the Grey's Anatomy season finale.

Back to the post...J Crew Sequin-Stripe Henley Tank (#26531, price - well, that's a longer story). The tank is a Collection piece. It was originally pictured in the catalog with the price of $59.50 but the in-store tag said $68. At the FH store, we heard mixed stories from the SA about whether or not they would honor the catalog price. I had originally purchased it then, for the catalog-honored price of $59.50. But *then* came the 20% off knits special, so I re-ordered it along with the Jaspe sweatshirt, so that was 20% off $59.50, or $47.60. But when I just went to grab the link for this post, I saw that the tank is now $68 online. Wow, price whiplash...

This is the size M, in Quarry (ooh, is that new color name? haven't heard it before). It's also available in seashore beige. Fit-wise, I'm pretty happy with the cut and the length.

So if I got it for $47.60 and it's currently $68 online and it's a Collection piece, that's an amazing deal and I should keep it, right? Hmmm...still trying to decide. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a really nice top. It's a fun piece. Actually, it's a pretty fab tank. It would go with a lot - denim-dark to light to white, black, tan, gray, red, ummmm....pretty much anything you pair it with. Such a perfect white jeans partner. Rocking under a jacket. Softened with a cardi. Lots of options.

But here's the thing...I'm just not feeling it. Do I have that weird smile on my face again in the picture? I know not everyone loved the Jaspe sweatshirt. But as soon as I put it on, I was in love. I got *that* feeling. And shouldn't that really be where we allocate our pennies? I think the main reason I picked this one up was that I wasn't sure, but thought it would be best to to get it at the lower price in case I really did want it...then it was 20% of that, so it was an even better buy. But I still think it's going back.

Chances are that if I want to wear sleeveless sequins in the summer, I'm just going to go ahead and wear a dress. Or another top, say the tango that I don't wear often enough, with some piled on jewelry.

I can think of all kinds of great outfits that I could make with this top. But if you're not dying to wear something right away, that's the sign it should go back. I've said it before and I'll say it again...if we all wore the same thing all the time, how boring would that be? You'd never find your size!!
Final verdict: Back to the store it goes....(but next week - I've got a 3rd grade field trip and then shopping for M's birthday sleepover to do tomorrow)

Oh la la...J Crew Jaspe Sequined Slouchy Sweatshirt

2010-05-17T19:57:00.008-04:00

J Crew Jaspe Sequined Slouchy Sweatshirt (#21197, $150). "Sequined" and "Slouchy"? Count me in...love it.

The back story is that, as you probably read on Summer's and Slastena's blogs, a bunch of us DC JCAs got together to do a little shopping and Starbucks time on May 1. And what happened? Well, we all dove into the Crewlade, as shown in my Polyvore below:

Crewlade Cliff Diving Anyone? by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew tops

So here's our total:
2 = already had it in white, aka "grey jaspe" (dinagideon, Summerilla)
1 = pregnant so actually had a bit of sense (Amber)
1 = Cleo was strangely immune to the charms of the sequined Jaspe
6 = the rest of us, who bought out Friendship Heights' stock of the metallic jaspe (me, drewablank, kater, Slastena, Rosa in DC, and Jane-who ordered it)

Yep, that was pretty much it. Thank goodness they didn't have crewcuts there or a crewcut version, since I brought along my mini-Jenna, E.

The sequined jaspe originally came out in December and then was waitlisted forever. But wow, that front table display was wiped out after we whirled on through. dinagideon wore hers here in the "grey jaspe" version, which has the white sequins.

This is the "metallic jaspe" color, which just means the sequins are a dark silver color. Admittedly, I re-ordered it when knits were 20% off, so at least I only paid $120 for it...which still seems like a lot...but it's just so cozy...I really love the fit. Most of the ladies got a regular sweater size. I actually got the Large. And truthfully, I really only tried it on for a lark after the SAs told kater that there was an M on the mannequin that they could grab for her since she said the L was too big. (Slastena snagged hers from a mannequin, too - like I said, we cleaned them out of Jaspes) I was thinking NO WAY, but as soon as I put it on....love love loved it! It's so comfy. And such a great combo of shiny & slouchy. And let's be honest, I love to dress up, but it always has to be comfy.

The sequin-sewing backing is totally fine - I ended up returning the Loft sequin shell because every time I put it on, the back sewing of the sequins was totally irritating to me. (wardrobe test - if you can't stop fidgeting when you try something on, don't get it because you'll be doing the same thing when you try to wear it for real.)

But back to fit...I think the Large worked on me because of my frame. With wide shoulders and a fairly flat chest, I can usually pull of slouchy better than someone with a curvier figure. And it has a nice long length so it sits on me as slouchy, not boxy. It really is a fine line, though, but fit-queen dina approved. The open neck adds a lot to the sweatshirt since it shows off some skin...and who doesn't have a great collarbone? But because of the slouchy fit, I will only wear it with slim bottoms.

So for a house party the other weekend, I wore it with skinny white jeans (KUT from the Kloth at Nordstrom - love them). Not this pic here, since it was a come home from soccer game and immediately change to go out evening - no time for pics. But this is pretty much how I wore it. Except that I also had on silver flip flops and the gray pearl earring that drewablank brought back for me (which I still love - thanks, honey!). With all the sequins, you really don't need much else - too much jewelry would actually be distracting. And oh yeah, I got a multitude of compliments. So I give it an A+.

Other ways to wear it:

Like I am in the first pic when I just tried it on for a photo but hadn't gotten around to posting. How fab would you feel lounging around home in this?
I tried it on in store with a navy blazer, while wearing my white jeans and it looked amaaaaazing under the blazer. If I actually worked in an office, I would totally try it out. And if I had a regular real navy blazer, which I don't, but it really should be on my list. Maybe next fall, I think I've blown through my spring/summer wardrobe budget.
With skinny jeans - the sequins almost have a blue tone, so it would totally work with medium to dark denim
With Minnies, duh - black definitely. not sure about the coal ones - haven't tried.
With khaki pants & black heeled sandals, a la Dec 2009 Marie Claire feature copying a Celine look ("Cents-ible chis: Shimmering sweaters and sexy ankle strap heels amp up low-key khakis) but the printer with the scanner died so you'll have to take my word for it. And yes, I have been cleaning out my magazines.
With cute shorts and flat sandals for a very casual glam beach party.

Am I crazy? Or crazy like a fox? We'll see...

Updated with:
Gigi's post on the Jaspe...
and Debye's original post on the Jaspe, her 2nd post on Jaspe styling ideas, and most recent on pairing with a pencil skirt. Thanks, ladies!!

So Hair's the full story...

2010-05-16T15:07:00.000-04:00

So when I was posting pics of the bad hair cut, I was doing my darnedest to make them as flattering as possible. But in the interest of full disclosure, I will show you exactly how crappy of a cut it was.

This is me a few weeks ago after the bad cut, before we fixed it. This was probably the best it looked over that interim time without using hot rollers or the cop-out ponytail. Usually it didn't even look this good.

(Back story to very new readers - a month ago I went to someone new for a hair cut and it was awful - he talked me into layers - they cut the layer - yes, singular - about twice as short as he said he would and then, before I could stop it, proceeded to "texturize" my hair - which you never, ever, ever do to straight fine hair. The multiple "wow, you're hair really *is* straight comments he made should have been the sign to send me running. So the end result was a cut that took much longer to style and didn't look as good unless I gave it major heat damage. And gave me frizzy hair, which I never had before. Nice, real nice.)

At a distance, it's not too bad. A bit shaggy looking, a bit scraggly. Of course, after going out in the humidity, it went fuzzy because of the awful "texturizing" the bad stylist did. I think the logic was that I was supposed to start flat ironing my hair. But why would I add extra heat damage that I didn't need to? and wouldn't that flatten the volume that the texturizing was supposed to create.

Here are the close ups:

Yes, they do look like mug shots.

So you can see, as the next stylist pointed it, he basically cut 1 layer, and then left the remaining hair in a heavy blunt cut, with fuzzy edges from the texturizing.

But the upside...I got a call from the manager at the salon, since I had only given them a 7 out of 10 on the online survey (kind of me, I thought) wanting to know how they could have improved my experience. After I very politely explained how bad the cut was, she offered to refer me to another stylist for a complimentary cut to fix it. Which was nice and the right thing to do. (Of course, I was still out an extra $15 since I tipped the new stylist because it was the right thing to do.)

So Sue agreed that the cut was really bad and didn't work with my hair and we basically chopped 3" off the bottom to bring the length up close to the "layer". She even asked if I'd had the frizziness before and when I said "no," she was like "oh, wow." And so now I have to wait a year or so for the fuzzy texture crap to grow out.

So here's the new cut, which I'm still getting used to, but it's much easier. And it's fun to have my hair at a shorter length for a bit. I may even keep it for a while.

But in the meantime, I have my hair products to help me out. I've been using both of these products for about 6 months and have been really happy, so I thought I would share.

First up: Umberto Blow Dry Lotion ($9.99 at Target). Grab it when you see it because it always sells out at my Target. And shoot, I should have looked when I was there this morning.

I love this product because it does a little bit of everything - heat protection, smoothing, and hold - so you get all that in 1 product instead of having to layer. My mom just got some after I recommended it and I think my sister did too. I have been bouncing around trying out different serums, cremes, mousses, whatever, and this one seems to be spot-on perfect for my hair. And it's not expensive.

Next, we have: Tresemme 24-hour Body Finishing Spray. This is available at most drug stores, grocery stores, Target, Walmart, etc. And it's cheap. What I really like about it is that it's not quite as heavy as a true hair spray but it helps hold and protect your style. Kind of like a hair-spray-light. And I do need help holding that volume in my hair..even with the fuzzies.

So that's the full story on the hair cuts...and I'll try to stop whining about my hair for a while...because if it's boring me, goodness knows it's got to be boring you.

J Crew Sweeping Ruffles Shirt

2010-05-15T17:10:00.000-04:00

Show of hands...how many people had their J Crew Sweeping Ruffles Shirt (#22852, $98, and I have no idea why it's still full price) on back order? And waited and waited? Only to be utterly disappointed when they got it? According to my SA, a LOT of these have been returned to the store in the past week or so, so I'm guessing you all feel the same way as I do about it.

Here's the online pic...How cute. The floaty ruffles....love it.

And here's the reality.

What can I say?

Let's see...

hahahahahahahahaha

and

hahahahahahahahaha

and let's not forget.....

hahahahahahahahaha

Ok, seriously. The full scoop. Maybe it's just awful on me because I really don't have much in the way of curves (drewablank and I were talking about it earlier this week so I hope hers worked when it arrived). And maybe it loses something when it's been folded flat in a package as opposed to being steamed into floaty loveliness in store. I got a Medium.

The good: It fit fine in the shoulders (thank you, J Crew!) I really liked the length. And I still like my new hair cut (more on that in an upcoming post).

The bad: all those flaps of fabric hanging off the shirt. I felt like a laundry line. Seriously. It's wash day, woo hoo! A hot mess on me. And I try not to overuse that term, but oh, it seriously applied here. And it was MUCH more sheer than the online pic would lead you to believe. And, for us lazybones, who wants to iron this sucker? "Not it."

Bottom line: Not even on sale, honey. Or maybe my Polyvore will tell you how I really feel....

J Crew Sweeping Ruffles Shirt by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew tops

ps - props to Chris of A Little "Crew"zy, who called this as a major miss back in January. You were right, Chris, but at least I didn't pay for shipping!

955 to go...

2010-05-09T20:55:00.000-04:00

955 blog posts to read
955 blog posts
take one down
read it around
954 blog posts to read...

(it is kinda catchy when you set it to the tune of "99 bottles of beer on the wall", I swear - or maybe I'm just that tired & punchy.)

Oy...I've been gone again. It's been fits & starts for me over the past few weeks, hasn't it? My wireless modem blew up last week and then this past week has been busy and I've just been wiped out. But I'm on my Z-pack now work has slowed way down, things are looking good.

But it's such Catch-22 - with limited time, do you post? or do you keep up with everyone else's posts? It seems kinda selfish to just post and not be reading other bloggy friends. And I miss keeping up with everyone. So I'll be back to posting soon...once I catch up. Toodles for now. And Happy Mother's Day to all!!

Nail Files - Some More Pales & The Earth Day Exchange

2010-04-27T21:45:00.001-04:00

First of all, I've been meaning to try out the new Sally Hansen Complete Salon Manicure polish (on sale this week at Target for $6.49, btw). Per their website, it has all the steps of a professional manicure in the bottle. Translation for us laymen - you don't need base or top coat. I tried Pink Slip, a very pretty and clean looking pale pink. I've heard raves from some about this polish but I just didn't get it. I used 3 thin coats, and there were still streaks. I would take it off tonight, but I'm just too tired to re-do the nails.

Then again, the streakiness happens a lot with Essie's pale cremes, too, like Ballet Slippers. (Hmmmm, pink slip and ballet slippers....are we supposed to divine a resemblance????)

Bottom line...like the color, but oh, how I wish I could return it...I don't think I'll even use this on my toes because it's so streaky! Maybe the mid-tone or dark colors work better. Would love to hear from those of you who have tried it.

Next up...Chanel Vernis in Trapeze. From the Holiday 2009 Collection, it's described as a "silver beige". Now the story on this is that I've shied away from Chanel polish lately. I just so strongly prefer the OPI formula and brush, and the Chanel polishes don't always stand up to the use that OPI does. Availability in store is limited since it is, after all, a limited edition shade. As of now, Nordstrom still has it online.

I saw the Trapeze polish at Bloomingdales at White Flint back in February when snaphappy and I were on a "get the kids out of the house before we lose our minds because of the blizzard" outing. And I've been pondering it ever since. So a few weeks ago, when snaphappy and I were again bopping through White Flint (sans bebes this time), I hit the Chanel counter at Bloomies, and sure enough, there were still 3 or 4 bottles sitting there. It was a sign, and it came home with me.

And I love it. Although, I admit to being a bit perplexed about its inclusion in a holiday collection, especially if that collection was inspired by the plumage of exotic birds (not making this up here). But I will say it would stand out in a sea of vampy manis & pedis over the holiday season...including mine, hehe.

I think it's a great spring color - reminds me of a pale metallic khaki. Much better than the Sephora OPI Under My Trenchcoat, which was ghastly on me when I tried it last fall. I also think it would be a perfect summer color...on toes buried in the sand.... Ok, pretty much, it could work year round. This one is a definite keeper.

So I cleaned out my polish bins yesterday. And separated out E's polish. Ah I love cleaning out. It's a good think to do when you can't sleep at 3 am. And I think I may even send the old polishes into Zoya. I read about this on my usual sources for important nail news, All Lacquered Up. The 2010 Zoya Nail Polish Exchange, in honor of Earth Day. From now until June 30, you can send them a minimum of 6 bottles (no max) and for $3.50 each to cover shipping & processing, they will send you however many colors your request (I think that you are maxed out to the number of polishes you are sending in). So good for the environment, as you aren't supposed to throw old polish in the trash, and you are trying out Zoya polish for half price. How cool is that? btw, USPS will not ship nail polish, but UPS & FedEx will.

I have not tried Zoya polish before, but I am going to send in a bunch of my old polish and try out a few of their colors. Will post as I do, of course. The one bit of important Zoya wisdom that I picked up (from All Lacquered Up, natch) is that you can't use fast-dry top coats with this polish because it affects the wear. Good to know.

Anything new in the polish world for you all? Me, I'm waiting for the OPI Shrek Forever collection release.

J Crew Alice Ruffled Tank

2010-04-26T18:22:00.002-04:00

J Crew Alice Ruffled Tank (#26725, orig $79.50, curr $49.99 online). I got this in PEA (pearl) in an 8 and LOVE it. I hear it's been spotted in store for as low as $29.99. I paid $49.99, plus 10% off for giving them my email (again), and don't mind. And I ended up returning the Ruthie shell in ivory because I liked this one so much more.

So let's break it down. First of all, what are all those gewgaws down the front? Let's see..some ruffles, some strips of the silk, some tonal grosgrain ribbon, some clear paillettes, and big old rhinestones. But it all works. I love that it's symmetrical and it's all right there front and center. So it's GREAT under a cardi. Or a jacket.

But it's not one of those wacky tanks where you need a topper to tone down the wackiness (come on...we've been there...). The Alice is perfectly lovely all on its own. All that "stuff" on the front - it all works together - probably because it's so tonal, it just looks textural. And it has a bit of shape to it as well, unlike MANY camis we've seen. So it's flattering without a topper.

I love the length - not too short at all (thank you, J Crew!!!) - works great on my long torso. Got a short torso? You're in luck...it comes in petites, too.

I have said before that I love the Pearl color, and it works so well with this cami. In fact, I think the subdued colors (also available in faded black, fig, and hyacinth) really play up the textural element. And the pearl Alice matches my pearl Jackie for when I want some more tonal texture going on. But really, the pearl color works with so much in my wardrobe already, without being just a white tank.

The cotton/silk fabric feels great. And...should have mentioned this earlier, and this is a key point...the Alice tank is not, I repeat, NOT see-through. I'm guessing it's because the tank has a double layer of fabric. Not that I care why, I'm just thrilled to be able to wear it solo, sans cami. It is dry clean only, but with all the gewgaws, I don't want to be responsible anyway. (and at least it's not white)

I wore it last Tuesday for a client meeting downtown with my black Loft suit from a few years ago. But as I was playing around on Polyvore last week with it, I threw together 3 other looks for different times of the year using the Alice. It should be quite a versatile piece. For the meeting on Tuesday, I just added diamond studs and black patent heels. the ruffle front made it interesting enough.

The kids were very funny that morning, because unlike my usual WAHM wear, I was wearing the suit as they got ready for school since I headed to the metro right after they got on the bus. M said to me "Mom, you look really nice...I think that's the nicest I've ever seen you look...You look like you're about to go into a meeting with a lot of people." Well, sweetie, I am. Isn't he sweet?

Then there was my very truthful daughter. About 5 minutes later..."Mommy, I really wish you'd wear your hair not in a ponytail or not in curls." You mean like I used to? "Yes." Well honey, that's not really happening, but I'll try. (ps - when I wore my hair straighter another day by just blowdrying it, she agreed it really did not look good.)

Ugh, let's talk hair another time. To cut to the chase - layers & bangs - ok, I've made peace, plus the bangs have grown out enough in a week and a half that they are fine. The texturizing - oh no, it's even worse than I thought...because the rain & humidity came.

But let's go back to the very pretty Alice....
Polyvore from last Tuesday:

4/20/10 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

And then some other looks featuring the Alice tank, all of which I plan on wearing as weather permits:

Alice-Look2 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Alice-3 by HeidiGblog featuring Jeffrey Campbell shoes

Alice-4 by HeidiGblog featuring Nine West shoes

J Crew Cashmere Tie-Front Cardigan and well, a Crappy Cut

2010-04-18T21:33:00.001-04:00

Quick outfit and review...J Crew Cashmere Tie-Front Cardigan (#18248, orig $198, curr $129.99, purchased with % off for just under $100, I believe). Still available in black, heather nickel, heather natural, and heather gray.

I got this a month ago on one of the %-off sales, in an M, and in navy (duh). I admit that I hadn't thought much about it, until dinagideon talked it up so much. (Check her out rocking it most recently here. I believe she has it in the heather natural and black, and goodness knows what other colors.) And I don't really have any v-style cashmere cardis, so I got it on a whim just to see and figured I may end up returning it. (Dina and I have very different figures even though we are close to the same height so things just fit us very differently - I'm a brick and she's a pear.)

But, lo and behold, I absolutely loved it, as she swore I would. To me the biggest downside is that with the tie, you can't really go with a tie belt type coat. So when I wore it today with my trench coat, I just left the coat open. Hey, I was wearing cashmere...it kept me warm.

No pilling so far, and I've worn it about 3 times in the past month since I got it. For cashmere in the spring with some of these super hot days we've had, I think that's pretty good (esp considering that it sat on a shelf for 2 weeks while I decided whether or not to keep it). It's a great cashmere piece to have for fall or spring because the nature of the tie front is more open, so it's not as potentially hot as a full cashmere pullover would be.

And because it's so open in the front, it is quite nice for showcasing a fab necklace, as I did today with my Anthropologie yellow beaded necklace from 2 summers ago. I forget the name, but I was pleasantly surprised to find it on Polyvore when I started the PV habit last spring, 9 months after it came out. It's also great for showing off some pretty detail on a cute tank or tee underneath. And I bet it will be great with my classic stripe tissue tee.

There have been differing opinions online about the sweater. The always-fab Post-Fab Princess got in the light ginger, maybe?, and got a major bathrobe vibe. Well, shoot, once you get that, there's no going back and you're gonna feel shlumpy every time you wear it. I totally understand her viewpoint...but I actually felt the opposite of shlumpy. You all know I love my big oversized sweaters, and I like that this did define my waist with the tie. Plus, I think doing the tie in a bow makes it less bathrobesque...plus when it's just knotted, I feel like the ties are too long.

To finish off the outfit, yellow Born Lovely flats (love me some yellow, navy, and white). Matchy matchy with the shoes? Meh, whatever, worked for me today. And then a plain white perfect fit crewneck tee and some white jeans. Springy for me.

Now...about the hair. I know...it's rather wackadoodle. Try to be kind. I thought of cropping my head out, but didn't want to do that for the next 2 months. Well see what happened was...

Ok, the last person who cut my hair, I loved. And I had been going to her for several years. But when I showed up with E for our appointment this past December, she had completely blanked and wasn't home. No problem, I understand, she had a lot going on. Happens to all of us. A friend gave both of us a trim and I figured I'd call the next time. Then when I tried calling twice this month to make an appointment, the first time she was closed through Easter, and then last week, she was closed for the next 10 days. And I just couldn't wait any longer.... (serves me right)

So I got a referral from a friend and went to a new guy. (Looking back, I realize that the 2 people I know who go to him have either mega-thick hair with a wave, or really curly hair.) Note, when someone new cutting your hair says about 5 or 6 times, "wow, your hair really is straight" after convincing you to do layers to get more volume at the top and then starts texturizing it, that's a bad sign. Plus he didn't really listen to my direction on my bangs - which I was REALLY happy with and I've been trimming for the past 4 months - they were perfect - keep them long and graduate from the middle outward so it's not a line straight across. Well, they are just barely long enough and much straighter across than they should be. Ok, that's not so bad - I need to be much more insistent on the bangs next time - and within a week, they'll be totally fine.

But the texturizing!!! Noooooooooooooooooooo!!!!!!! It looked really cute after he spent 30 minutes blowdrying it and making all the ends bend the exact right way. I actually was ok with the cut for the most part the day of (which was Friday).

Then Saturday morning when I went to style it, I spent my usual 3 minutes with the round brush to bend under the bangs so they don't stick out and give the top few pieces a bit of lift and shape. And oh it was tragic. I know this hair style. Mega shag. And shaggy. I had this hair style when I was 8. That was back in 1979, and it was stylish then. Not so much now, esp on a 38-year old woman. Up into a ponytail it went. (I will say that it looked really good in the ponytail with the layers.) Did I mention I was doing this before an 8:00 am soccer game? Yep, that's how the day started.

Today, I tried out the hot rollers. Darned if I'm going to spend 20 minutes with a frickin round brush and blowdryer - I don't have that much time in the morning. At least with the hot rollers, you put them in and can do other things. I think I left them in too long. Crazy curl today. Although E loved it and asked me to hot-roll her hair, too (which looked gorgeous on her). I think my hair worked fine today IRL, when it could moved. But I really don't think it photographed well at all.

I am so utterly disappointed in this hair cut. Clearly this guy is not good with uber-straight hair like mine. It wasn't the layers so much as the texturizing. You don't do that on superfine hair. It's never a good idea. And he was doing it before I could even stop it. Plus, he did cut the layers shorter than he said he would.

What do you do when you hate your hair cut? You can cry...but that just gives you red, puffy eyes and makes you look worse - and you don't need that when you are starting out with bad hair anyway. So, you suck it up and deal...try to find a way to make it work...and wait for it to grow. That is, after all, the great thing about hair...it does grow back. So you may see lots of ponytails or other experiments.

Question - with such a bad cut, do I even try it out again with a stronger mandate? Or just cut my losses and go somewhere else? And go ahead, tell me your awful hair cut stories...I know most of you have them, so that I can at least feel in good company.

Oh yeah, by the way...Polyvore from today:

4/18/10 by HeidiGblog featuring Born shoes

And I'm back...and sitting pretty in pink, no less

2010-04-17T20:32:00.000-04:00

Yep, prodigal blogger finally back. I was sorta taking a Spring Break break - trying to trim the electronics especially over the long Easter weekend when we went away to the River for a few days. Wonderful time, didn't have to work too much, and the weather was fantastic. And things have just been so busy between work, sick kids, sick me. I've kept a semi-conscious state on Polyvore, but that's really about it.

I did have to kick my own butt to get back on here (with some help from a little nudge from Anon & casual-crew - thanks!) because I think I've just been kinda in the blahs lately. Honestly, the holidays didn't do me in - it was the 2 back to back blizzards and 7 pounds. Thanks, Mother Nature. Yes, I know, it really is my fault - declining activity, increasing amounts of (let's be honest) crap eaten and where does that get us? You don't have to be a rocket scientist to realize it's going to add a few pounds. Maybe I should be grateful it was only 7 accumulated over the past couple of months?

And then my Lenten plan. First of all, the distracted driving part - getting rid of that - was fantastic. A true eye-opener. And I'm so glad I did it. The reigning in clutter part? Just didn't happen - work was just way too crazy. And to go back to the previous thought yeah, wellness just did not figure into the equation as I'd planned.

But spring is a time for rebirth and renewal, right? It's funny - while we were at the river, I helped my mom go through her closets - which I LOVE to do (always easier to go through someone else's, right?). And it made me realize that I just really really REALLY need to go through mine. With what time? Oh yeah, that... well the upside to the crazy hours is that there are only so many hours in a contract and it has to slow down sometime...which is now. Leaving me a bit more time for the things that I really need and want to do. Like blog. Like go through my closets. Like get back to walking Lucy as much as I should. Speaking of Lucy, here's the latest photo from Spring Break:

Is that a happy dog or what?

So the pink part...I need to get into a whole discussion on foundation later, but I was at the Nordstrom Bobbi Brown counter on Friday, and what did I spy with my little eye? New lip product...Treatment Lip Shine SPF 15. I got Pink Glisten 4.

No link there because it's not even out on the Bobbi Brown website or the Nordstrom website, but they had gotten it in the day before. Gorgeous colors. SPF 15 - always important in the summer. Feels great - perfect texture for me (not matte, not goopy). And a bit sheer so the color isn't too crazy on the lips. Below I have some on my hand next to the lippie.

It's so pretty. Just so so so pretty. Not sure when the official release will be. I haven't gotten it in my regular BB emails. And the SA told me it's flying off the shelves. They only got 6 of each color to start, and I got the 5th tube of my shade. So if you must have it now, get thee to Nordies. Or wait for the full release...I'm sure Bobbi will have some kind of fun offer.

And I must have really been in a pink mood because after the mall, I hit Target to get a few birthday presents and other odds & ends. I just happened to be strolling down the cosmetic aisle, and just had to pick up some polish. It started when the BB SA and I were talking about the polish on her thumb which was the new Chanel Riviera color - a warm peony pink. Trouble is that it's really pretty sheer. So with my new bright pink lippie in hand, I really was craving a fun pink polish. I've been wanting to try the new Sally Hansen all in one salon treatment polish, but they didn't have the right kind of pink. (You know I'm not a brights girl when it comes to polish, so I'm kinda picky about my pinks.) Then I saw this lovely little shade..for about $2. It's by NYC or New York Color - In a New York Minute Quick Dry Nail Polish, in 242B - Uptown. Not sure how the wear will be, but I'm never in the mood to keep on pinks for too long so it doesn't really matter. I will say that the brush is somewhat similar to the regular OPI brush and is kinda flat - love that - it's so much easier to control. And it really is a perfect match for my new lippie.

In other pink polish news...below are pics of OPI's Panda-monium Pink polish from this Spring's Hong Kong collection. It really is a dead ringer for Essie Neo-Whimsical - and being OPI, is SO much easier to apply. So if you're craving a lavender-pink for spring, I highly recommend the OPI.

Lots more to discuss in upcoming posts, but hubby's out for hockey game watching/beer drinking/maybe some poker playing....kids are headed to bed...and I'm trying to decide whether to color my hair, go through my closet, or just chill out and catch up Glee & Project Runway from this week. Blogging's not the only thing I've lapsed on. And to all my dear blogging friends, I'll be trying to catch up on my blog reading - I've missed you and can't wait to see what you all have been up to!!

Toodles for now...

Dum dum da dum...dum dum da dum.....

2010-03-27T15:38:00.001-04:00

Why, yes, that is a wedding march I'm dum-dumming in my title. (really? you didn't get it? gee, I thought it was soooo obvious...)

Here's my good news, my dearest friend from high school, Patty is getting married this fall in Massachusetts. (that's not her, btw, it's one of our planning pics found by here ever-resourceful sister, I believe.) I am absolutely thrilled for her because she is without a doubt the best person I know - so smart, so good, so funny, so generous, a great athlete. As in she was the complete package. Is there anything she can't do? Ummmmm, she never tested well, but that's pretty much the biggest flaw she had, I think. And it didn't interfere with her getting into college. And even though I will always love William & Mary and it is part of my soul, I have to admit that UVA actually is a good school. I'm just not going to pay for my kids to go there. Anywhere else but there...

So she found a really great guy and they are getting married...and I get to be a or the bridesmaid (numbers not yet finally determined). Which reminds me of a funny story about Grace Kelly when she was getting married and they were trying to explain bridesmaids to the foreign press because at the time (no idea if it's still true), bridesmaids where much younger unmarried women, so the phrase just didn't translate. So as a 38-year-old married woman, I get to be a bridesmaid, and I couldn't be happier. Especially since I'm supposed to wear navy blue, my all-time fave color. (Yes, it's about more than just the dress, but the dress is so much fun, isn't it?) And E & M might be flower girl & ring bearer. How cute for words. (E's feeling a little shy about it right now)

Yes, it's about more than just the dress, but come on...the dress is so much fun, isn't it? I can't wait to go looking at dresses with Patty - I hope she goes with white-white, as opposed to off-white. You know how most people need a tan to look good in white? She dosen't - she always wears that color well. She is currently favoring some Alfred Angelo dresses, and we have plans to go to one of their salons soon to check them out.

And I'm looking forward, yes to finding one for me, it's like the supporting actress category at the Oscars - I'm the supporter - a good background! And I'm supposed to wear navy blue, my all-time fave color. It has been a while since I've been in a wedding. I remember the bright purple dresses for my sister's wedding (she did go to ECU, you know) - not anything I ever wore again, but they did photograph so well with the flowers. And when her hubby's sister got married a year or two later, they recycled the dresses - I was more than happy to hand that over. Even the Liz Claiborne dress I wore in a friend's wedding - it was hot pink - I wore it one other time and then retired it - it just wasn't a me color. And there are so many more options today than back when I got married.

You know J Crew has a huge bridal section. silver_lining was kind enough to warn me on the Polyvore below about the side zippers in some of the dresses, so I'll be on the look out for that. snaphappy is going to be in a wedding in the fall, accompanying in her grandfather, so she's supposed to be wearing navy also - and the bride is looking at J Crew navy dresses. So I think snaphappy and I will be popping down to the Georgetown B&M in the next month to check out the selection, since that one has their bridal salon.

Ann Taylor has their whole bridal line, although it seems more skewed to bridesmaid dresses lately. I'm actually strongly considering one of their dresses, not a bridesmaid one, but part of the regular line,which is 30% off right now with code DRESS30. Of course, by the time I got around to looking at actually ordering it, the smaller size was gone, so I ordered the other dress in the smaller size. (all dresses currently under consideration in Polyvore below)

And right on cue, timing-wise, I just got an email from my PR Specialist contact at White House Black Market about their new bridal line. And well, since I'm not a PR Specialist, I'll let her tell you about it:

Recognizing that White House Black Market is already a destination for women planning events as special to their lives as their wedding day, the boutique fashion brand is thrilled to introduce a new Limited-Edition Bridal Collection! The collection features a stunning bridal gown ($498) beautifully designed in soft ivory satin with a fitted bodice and elegant asymmetrical skirt, complemented by a matching ivory satin clutch ($68) and heels ($98). The collection will be the centerpiece of a new service-oriented initiative of affordable couture: Wedding Specialists in four select boutiques (New York, Los Angeles, Houston and Chicago) available to assist in all aspects of dressing a wedding with the chicest in-season White House Black Market silhouettes, accessories and gifts. Wedding Specialists will also be available through a dedicated number (888.WED.WHBM) and through a new online service, the Wedding Boutique, at WHBM.COM/WEDDING. The gown is available for fitting at our boutiques mentioned above and is available for purchase exclusively by phone and online at WHBM.COM.

I would love to hear some feedback from all of you concerning wedding dresses and bridesmaid dresses.

And all of this brings me to one of my favorite wedding conversations - the First Dance, or more specifically The Song. What song did you dance to or what song do you plan to dance to? And more importantly, what songs just make you utterly cringe when you hear them? I admit to actually having my opinion of someone affected if I learn they did their first dance to a (IMO) completely and utterly cheese-tastic song. I mean there's sappy and sentimental and then there's just schmatlz and ick. You know how some songs on the radio will actually make your skin crawl? Yep, those songs... Feel free to let loose on your opinions there - music is so individual, isn't?

Polyvore of bridesmaid dress possibilities:

Bridesmaid dresses.. by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew dresses

Photo credit note: sorry - no idea on the photo credits sprinkled throughout, other than the WHBM pics - the others came from a planning email from the bride. :)

Nail Files - More Spring Polish

2010-03-23T09:49:00.000-04:00

Lots of polish fun to share...

I'll start with my awfully belated MAC Liberty of London Blue India, a rich teal color. I thought it would be a bit more grayish or muted, but it was full on teal blue.

The biggest thing that bothered me was the length of my nails. I like them short short short, esp when I wear funky colors (hey, that's my aesthetic, it doesn't have to be yours), and I thought they were just too long with this color on. I am honestly not sure how much I will wear this on my fingers, but I'm pretty sure I'll be sporting it quite often on my toes this summer...esp when I'm wearing my Target LoL tankini (more on that in another post).

This was the first MAC polish I have used and I was very impressed with the formula. I had heard that some people have issues with application & streakiness, but I had none of those.

Next up, we have the guest nails of my darling daughter E, who was sporting a layered combo of OPI Thanks So Muchness, topped with 1 coat of Mad as a Hatter. (Occasion was her final basketball game of the season, nails to match the red team jerseys.)

What a fun combo! She loved it. Here's the full story on the polish - Summerilla wanted Mad as a Hatter but was only able to find the minis and quickly realized that they just were a pain to apply on grown up fingernails. So I found a full size bottle of MAAH (thank you to the Trade Secret at White Flint) and we swapped. Turns out that the OPI minis are the *perfect* size for little girl nails. Thanks, Summerilla!!

And to close, a semi-disappointing Essie spring polish. I've said before that I find a lot of their cremes, esp the lighter colors, to be very streaky. Some of them are ok, such as the J Crew Russian Roulette - I didn't love the color on me, but the application was great. And Risky Business, which I got last year, was good, too. (It's a fun orange-y spring color, so I'll probably put on and post about that one soon-ish.)

Essie Neo-whimsical. It's a pretty color - but the application was not great. And since I do my own nails fairly regularly, I need to be able to apply the color instead of relying on someone else's expertise.

What I'm really interested in is a comparison of this and the OPI Panda-monium Pink from the new Hong Kong collection. I actually got that color because I like this shade, but can't stand the application. And I love the application for about 99% of OPI polishes. We'll see how that works out...will post on it soon.

Short Skirts...Long on Style & Value

2010-03-22T08:10:00.001-04:00

Today's post will be on a couple of short skirts I have picked up recently. Both of which are, IMO, very cute, fun for summer, and a great value for the money.

First, >Old Navy Women's Linen Blend Whirly Skirt (#730585, $24.50, curr on promo for $15 in store). I tried and then purchased after seeing Gigi's post when ON first instituted the dress/skirt promo. I also used an in-store 15% off coupon to get it for $13.50. Not too shabby for a summer skirt. (and how can you not love the name "whirly"???)

I got the flax skirt; it's also available onlin in white, cobalt ink, and honey pot. The B&M may have had more colors - to be honest, I don't really remember because when it comes to linen, there's nothing better than khaki for me. (Which is why I was so bummed the JC Playa dress was only in the white & papaya - I still think it would have been perfect in khaki.)

This skirt is short - 16", as mentioned online. However, because the elastic is only in the back and the rest of the waistband is nice and wide, it's very easy to wear low on the hip. And in summertime, that's probably comfy, too. I got an M, which gave me plenty of room for the nudge down on the hips trick. (If you plan to wear at your waist, you will want to size down.) At this length, I think it works fine...as long as I'm wearing flat sandals or sneakers with it.

And that would be in direct contrast to the dreaded JC Nico skirt, which has an extremely wide elastic as its waistband that creates mega-muffintop on anyone trying to nudge it down to get the length to a decent level, if they're short-shinned like me.

I love the pockets - I think they give the skirt some extra style. But the key is wearing the skirt low enough so that the pockets aren't adding width to the hips. But you definitely want a streamlined top with this skirt - nothing too blousy.

Next skirt...from Target. No...not Liberty of London. Actually, did they even have women's skirts? Because that would have been way cute. >Merona Women's Patchwork Madras Skirt (orig $19.99, in store on sale for $14.99, online for $8). (Tough choice here - do I get a price adjustment from the 19.99, or re-order online?) I have been semi-coveting this ever since >Sweet Tea in Seattle got a similar one last summer from Target.

I got it in a 10, figuring that I may want to wear it a bit down on the hips since it's much shorter than the online picture would make you think. And the 10 works. I love it with the navy tee here, even though I just grabbed that to throw on with both skirts. (And yes, if I wear the tee sans cami, I definitely need a dark bra.)

Not much more to say on this skirt - I love the patchwork madras, the fit is just fine, I can't wait to wear it with tanks or tees this summer, and it will be great with sandals, flip flops, or sneakers.

Easy...just like a summer skirt should be...

Amazing ON Find - Best Bathing Suit Cover Up Ever...esp for the Price!

2010-03-19T18:14:00.001-04:00

Life has been crazy and I miss all my bloggie friends...and I have so much to share! But I have to do this one right away since it's about the BR/Gap/ON GiveGet promo this weekend. (First of all, did you get your coupon. If not, email me at my contact info and I'll be happy to forward to you - I still have 20 I can forward).

Anyway...while the kiddies were at school today and after my conference call, I had a bunch of returns to do, one of which was at ON. As I was chatting with a friend I ran into, I all of a sudden noticed all these really cute dresses and said "oooh, must go look" so we wandered over there...and then picked out different colors so we wouldn't be twins at the pool this summer.

It is the best (esp for the price!!!) bathing suit cover up I have seen this year. Ok, I haven't been shopping for coverups a lot but I'm always on the lookout.

Old Navy Smocked Tube Dress (#730556, $15).

But wait...there's more...the dresses are currently on promo for $8.

And then I had my 30% off GiveGet promo.

So that means....

I paid $5.60 for each. They could fall apart after a month and I would have no grounds whatsoever to complain.

Don't shoot me, I got the black and the blue (blue chip).

Fit-wise...what do you need fit for? It's a bathing suit cover up. Or at least it is for me. On my 5'10" and short-shinned frame, it's really too short to be a dress. And I'm totally comfortable with this as a single-tasker. Because it was $5.60.

I did take an M. Size down-ish. There's plenty of room.

In store, they had the black, blue, green, orchid, yellow, and coral shown online. They also had a white and a black that had some large-scale flowers printed on (the black had blues/greens; the white had corals/yellows, if I remember correctly).

Dang...now I feel like I should have gotten more than 2.

Got a few fun pieces at Gap, too, that I'll share IRL pics of soon. Here's the PV for now (all purchases on sale, then with additional 30% off):

Gap F&F 30% Off Purchases by HeidiGblog featuring Old Navy dresses

(yes, I finally caved and bought distressed jeans...but they were soooo cute!)

Yes, It's What's On the Outside that Counts

2010-03-12T20:43:00.004-05:00

First of all, following the lead of so many others, I started a secondary blog for selling clothes. It's Heidi G - From My Closet. As I say in my sub-header: "Because the post office is closet than the consignment shop." (It really is.) Browse all you want. I'll still list on the JCA Weekly Exchange and Polyvore, but this will have more than just J Crew-wear. And I'll be adding to it regularly.

Secondly - my Public Service Announcement for the Day/Week/Month/Year:

Clean out your dryer lint - the lint screen and the outtake hose! My neighbor across the street had her dryer catch on fire earlier this week. Not a fun experience at all. Fortunately everyone is ok. Which brings me to my next point - don't turn on your washer/dryer/dishwasher and leave the house...unless you are 100% sure that everything will be perfect. This will be a definite mindset change for me!!

Enough lecturing...and back to regularly scheduled blogging...

How much time do we waste on just the clothes, yu know, the shirt/sweater/pants without stopping to consider the outer and the under and the with? I'm certainly not going to pretend to be an expert on the underpinnings to put with an outfit (that's why we have Cleo's blog, Trousseau Adventures). But I am pretty comfortable talking about the "outer" and the "with" stuff...at least as it relates to my style.

Sometimes it is really is all about the outerwear and accessories. Remember in Silence of the Lambs when Hannibal Lechter made the comment to Clarice about "your good bag and your cheap shoes"?

We do love our clothes...but if you're throwing on a crappy coat or cruddy shoes, it will ruin the whole look. And when it's cold, rainy, snowy, or just not 75 degrees outside, most of what others see is your outerwear and accessories.

To illustrate here on the left. First picture: Before, perfectly fine, simple, standard type of outfit for me (I do adore this Cambridge cable turtle!) Second picture: After, with sunglasses, trench, & bag. C'est plus chic, non? (then again, didn't we learn that from Jackie O, Audrey, Grace, et al?)

Starting with the outerwear...How many coats do you have? How many do you wear? How many are actually flattering on you? Which ones improve your outfit instead of actually competing with it?

I do try to make sure my outerwear at least works with my outfit for the day - if not actually taking my look up a notch. In fact, if all I'm going to be doing is running errands, it's easy to just slip on a plain, simple (i.e., typical me) outfit, but add a coat that is either bright/happy/cheery as the focal point of the outfit - yes that would be the Winnie coat - or in warmer temps, the green Gap corduroy coat I wore today. Conversely, I find that my charcoal gray heather hooded car coat from Bloomies 10 years ago (aka my pregnancy coat), adds wonderful texture to ensembles. It all depends on mood. And weather. But you don't have to spend a fortune on coats. It's something to work on over time. And the way sales happen so soon in the season...you hardly ever have to pay full price, unless it's something that you are just *dying* over. But the great thing about coats is that when you talk CPW (cost per wear), you get a lot of value for your money because you were them so often.

The quickest way add luxury to an outfit is with a big, cozy scarf. Even if it's not super cold outside, a generous but lightweight scarf always chics up a look. And if you're always cold like me, it keeps you warm!! This is not a wardrobe item that has to cost much. If you want to lay out a ton of cash, be my guest. I won't judge. But you really don't need to. Most malls have that kiosk in the middle where they sell the pashminas rather inexpensively. And just about every store, or at least the ones I go to, has a wide selection of scarves, wraps, etc. The beauty of the scarf is that it comes in so many different colors, textures, fabrics, patterns - you are sure to find something that's right for you. One of my favorites is a damask hot pink wrap that I got from Old Navy about 5 or 6 years ago for $10 on mega-sale. I'd say the CPW of that one is down to pennies, or at least dimes. And the light gray cashmere wrap I got from Banana Republic right after Christmas for $30? Definitely under a dollar per wear and dropping rapidly. Of course, you don't always need one with a turtleneck like I have here.

Shoes? Bags? Hats? Sunglasses? Oy, I could go on for a while...but it's been a crazy busy week, and I'm done. Good night all! No, I'm not going to bed quite this early, but will be pretty soon. So I will probably try to catch up on blog reading until my eyelids close...

Polyvore from March 2:

3/2/10 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Winnie Twinnies...and how is it that Dina & I always end up at J Crew?

2010-03-04T19:14:00.005-05:00

First up...what color are Winnie Twinnies? In my world...yellow. Big, bold, bright yellow. And why is that important? Because tomorrow I am wearing yellow...and you may want to as well. Tomorrow is Wear Yellow for Chelsea day (see Debye's very moving post on her blog Modestly Styled, Modestly Me) to honor the memory of Cheslea King who lived in Debye's community. Obviously our hearts, thoughts, and prayers are with all dealing with the tragedy...but I really love the message in wearing yelllow - keeping the symbol of the light she brought to everyone. Hug your loved ones close tonight.

(And on a totally shallow note...does anyone have a Polyvore sub for the in store J Crew vneck painter tee in bright citron?)

Now on to Winnie Twinnies...I met dinagideon and drewablank last Thursday at Tysons for a quick Starbucks lunch and some J Crew time to check out the new arrivals. I'm trying to think if I actually got anything...oh wait, yes, one thing. More on that below. But it's always so fun to see them, esp before drewablank heads off on her fabilis trip back home to the Phillipines.

The fun part was that dina & I were actually wearing our matching Winnie coats (since, you know, I kinda live in mine...) and of course, we had to get a picture...

Outfitwise, I once again wore my new men's half-zip cotton sweater (size M). I am loving this sweater!! And then the classic-stripe tissue tee (size M), Chicos Ultra Slim Leg jeans (size, 0.5, which always make me feel great), and the new J Crew crystal fireworks earrings (one of my 20% off purchases a few weeks ago). The earrings are adorable - but they aren't small. The only issue I have with them is that I can't do my usual "hold the phone between my ear & shoulder while I talk and do other things" trick. Not that I really should be doing that anyway...it's bad for my chiro issues. The fab AnneG was smart enough to suggest BlueTooth to me on PV...not quite realizing that I have seriously tiny ear canals - it's very weird - M has them too - but the vast majority of ear things don't actually fit in my ear.

And it was such a yucky day from all the snow melt and dirt and mud, that I just threw on the pink rain boots. I do love them with the yellow & navy. And with cozy socks, they keep my feet quite warm.

Polyvore from last Thursday:

2/25/10 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Since hitting J Crew once a week with Dina isn't quite enough, we met up at the Montgomery Mall J Crew on Sunday morning for the crewcuts fashion show...with our mini-JCAs in tow. The SA? Manager? at the B&M who was running the show pronounce my E as a dead ringer for Jenna Lyons...so her new name is now mini-Jenna. (We did pick up a way cute dress for E - the tiptoe dress in heather aluminum- and headband. Marvel at my restraint, please...)

What did I wear? Remember I mentioned that I only got one thing when I met up with drewablank & Dina? It was the CFDA Fashion for Haiti tee. I had tried it on and hemmed & hawed earlier in the week. Then I decided that I really did like it, and at least I could say it was going to a good cause...100% of profits to Haiti relief. You can get the tee here on J Crew's website, or in store. And as you probably know, lots of retailers are offering the tee.

Size-wise, I got the W1, which would equate to "Small" on the website - these are unisex sizes, folks. If that's too large for you, you can get the crewcuts version here (like dina did, in size 14, I believe; it's currently backordered, but only until 3/16 - not too shabby). I love the graphic on the tee, not that you can really even see it here...And all I can say is that they must have pinned the daylights out of the model's tee in the online pic.

So for the fashion show, I wore the new Haiti tee with black Minnies (8), black cashmere cardigan (L), and a lime scarf from I don't even know how long ago. Plus the black Born Lovely flats and some sparkly jewelry. Very comfy and then very warm when E & I headed to the ice rink to meet Hubby & M for the kids' ice skating lessons.

Polyvore from Sunday:

New Haiti Tee by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

But I think Dina and I need a new hobby. When she stopped by her regular B&M yesterday with Rex, he asked "Where's Miss Heidi?" And I share that with you in hopes that you'll enjoy it a bit and it will add a little lightness to your day since Hubby just wouldn't appreciate it so much if I shared it with him. Knitting anyone????

Nail Files - New & Old Polishes for Spring

2010-03-04T09:24:00.001-05:00

Lots of polish pics to share...cause yeah, I've been behind on this as well.

For starters...let's discuss the OPI Hong Kong collection. One word - underwhelmed. Not a single polish enticed me enough to buy...so I ended up with another polish from the France collection (Fall 2008), Eiffel for This Color. Well...I didn't. The color is really pretty - and I'm surprised it took me this long to purchase it myself because I have often admired it on others.

What's the issue? Coverage - I trust OPI colors to give me complete coverage in 2 coats (except for the sheers, of course). Like the uber fabulous Suzi Skis the Pyrenees, which I have on tips & toes right now - the coverage on that is amazing. This one, like many of the Chanel and Essie cremes, I find, was streaky - I didn't feel that 2 coats was really great. So PASS on this one - try Give Me Moor instead, from the Spain collection this past fall.

The next collection I checked out was the Sephora by OPI Modern Flowers (Spring 10).

The first, a keeper, even though it's not terribly exciting, is Handpicked for Me - light pink lilac with silver shimmer. I'm sure E is going to want to borrow this one. It's very pretty. Great spring color. Not much more to say than that.

The second...well that one already got returned. Leaf Him at the Altar - ok, I wanted to keep it based on name alone. It's described as a metallic vine green. It's metallic. And it's green. But it just didn't do it for me. For the $ I pay, I wanted it to be a bit more special. I found it to be something I would conceivably find for $3 at Target. It just wasn't enough...or right...or whatever. The magazine pics make it look much more special. Or maybe I'm just too old...

And then we come to an oldie that I haven't worn in a while...and I'm not sure why I haven't because I was loving it. Chanel's Kaleidoscope from Fall 2008. It's this great gold-green-platinum metallic bunch of sparkliness. Not that I think that's a real word. But oh, I forgot how much I loved this polish. This was was definitely worth the Chanel price.

My next polish purchase? I am dying to see the MAC Liberty of London collection...It's supposed to be out next Friday. I am so at Nordstrom that morning - they have a polish I'm dying to see - Blue Inda. More info on it on All Lacquered Up, my fave polish blog. And the lippies looked quite pretty, too.

J Crew Dress Review - Checkered Puckered Shift Dress

2010-02-24T09:40:00.002-05:00

Oh honeys, as I mentioned in yesterday's post on the jersey promenade gown, the Checkered Puckered Shift Dress - and hehe, try saying that 5 times fast - (#22357, $150) - it just was NOT good on me. At all.

Trying to find redeeming qualities about the dress...hmmm...the fabric is kind of interesting? Um, not really. Oh wait, I've got it - there are some pretty buttons on the back at the top. That was pretty much it.

First of all - the name - checkered puckered? Sounds like a hot mess to me.

Let's start out with what I ordered - I got the dress in Pearl, in a size 10, since that's what I usually take in J Crew's more tailored dresses. This dress, of course, could use some more tailoring...or less...I don't know...something....

I think the size was probably too big, but I didn't even notice because I couldn't get past the color. I have the Jackie in pearl and it's lovely - like the color of a chocolate-vanilla milkshake. So pretty.

The dress in pearl? It looks like a white tee that got dipped into the basin of a washing machine that had a load of medium darks washing. Just dingy and dirty and icky and not at all attractive. I was so hoping this would be a cute, flirty, frothy, springy off-white dress. Sorta like the Playa dress from last summer. Seriously, the color of this dress is an insult to pearls everywhere and they should complain.

By the way, the dress is also available in dark pewter and rosy peach. Even though I just don't do warmer pinks/peaches, I think the rosy peach is probably the best option.

Outside of the unattractive color. the dress just did not look good on me. I know "hot mess" gets overused, but that really explains how I felt when I put the dress on. Too young on me. Too many ruffles. Weird bottom with the puckering under. No waistline. Weird ruffle thing at the sleeve.

If you go to Fabulous Florida Mommy's post with the scanned pics of the March catalog...or if you have a catalog yourself, the dress appears on the 12th picture, on Amanda Brooks. The stylists were wise enough to hide the dress with a large jacket. It looks much better that way.

So yes, that dress was immediately packed back up and returned. Yikes. But here are a couple of Polyvores that I made with the dress. Maybe I'll find a substitute for the spring/summer - I love the idea of it, but the actual dress was just a horror on me.

Checkered Puckered Shift Dress by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Winterizing the Checkered Puckered Shift Dress by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew