Weekend Review

First of all, Happy Mother's Day to all Mothers and to all of you who may not be a Mother in name, but mother others to make their lives better. I wish I could be as eloquent as Lissa of Humble Pie, but I'm not, so I will send you over to her blog to read her post in honor of Mother's Day, I Love Being Your Mama. It is truly beautiful, inspirational, and, of course, tear-inducing. So to my wonderful children (the 2 2-legged kids, and 1 4-legged kid), I'll just say "Ditto."

Let's catch up, shall we? I really took an online break this weekend. On Saturday, 3-Penny Princess hosted a tea for the DC J Crew Aficionadas. It truly lived up to all expectations. It was absolutely lovely. A gorgeous day. Beautiful setting. Fantastic company. These ladies are so amazing. It was so great to see old friends and to meet some new ones. The tea and goodies were just divine. The garden was so beautiful. I am a total loser and did *not* bring my camera, so head over to see 3-Penny Princess' or Slastena's blog to see pics. Maybe next time. Hey, the big fat SLR just did not fit into the cutie-pie J Crew rattan clutch! (although just about everything else does)

Update - Summerilla and Cloggsy have both posted their pics. They were both just lovely and I'm so glad I got to meet them!!

I ditched my planned outfit last minute as it was so humid, so I went with an AT Loft black shift dress (soon to be replaced by its fresher, woven twin at J Crew so that it will last longer) but mostly J Crew accessories - twisted crystal + fireball necklaces, rattan clutch, Joley flats, and the bouquet cardi. I did not, in fact, wear the hat as I just wasn't feeling it that afternoon. But oh, I should have when we were outside as my nose was a little pink that evening. (And I am such a sunscreen Nazi that I really am appalled at myself.)

Polyvore set for Tea:


What I Really Wore to Tea today - 5/9/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew dresses

I wish I could have stayed longer at tea but my parents came up for the weekend so I needed to head back home and meet up with them. Hubby cooked filet on the grill. We just chilled out on the patio. And I got to road test the J Crew Dressy Strapless Dress I was posting about a week and a half ago. Final verdict? It was way comfy. A perfect piece to slip into for hanging out. For me, an excellent buy, but I need to alter the removable strap because it's just too long for me. In other words, there isn't that much there for it to hold up. And yes, I was barefoot the entire rest of the day...and it was good. It was my goal and goals are important, right?

Polyvore for later on Saturday:



What I *Really* Wore After the DC JCA Tea by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew dresses

Mother's Day started out with breakfast in bed (chocolate donut - yum, I love the ones that are yellow with the plastic-chocolate coating - but only if they have been chilled). Later in the morning, shrimp & grits, asparagus, and strawberries for Brunch, cooked by Hubby, of course. Hubby & kiddies surprised me with Wii Fit for Mother's Day (no, it wasn't a veiled insult; I had asked for it for Xmas). Speaking of veiled insults, when I was pregnant with E, I got a new digital scale for Mother's Day. Totally by request. I was like "after I have this baby and start trying to lose weight, I want to know if I've even lost 1 pound because that will motivate me." I'm such a numbers girl. But I always love telling people about the Mother's Day scale because they usually look so shocked and appalled. hehehehe.

I say surprise because we had just spent $1400 getting a new A/C for my car the day before so I thought that was my Mother's Day present. And like Dina said yesterday, "I've been in a car without A/C with kids in 90-degree heat. It's worth every penny!" Plus I got a lovely poem that M wrote in his class, and E made one of those plates with flower petals stapled/glued on that list different things she'll do for me. I opted for "wash your car" today, so she, M & hubby did a total clean out of the inside. You should have seen the bag full of stuff that hubby brought it - every nook & cranny was emptied, including the glove box & console. Outside of car was already clean...which for $1400 at the dealership, I would bloody well hope!

It's too bad there wasn't a "I will change my attitude and stop being grumpy" petal because I would have totally cashed that one in. What can I say - kiddies spent the night in the basement with Hubby as a special treat, and so they could do the breakfast in bed thing for me & my mom this morning...but they stayed up way too late, so I had 2 tired grumpy kids this evening. They went to bed early, so here's hoping tomorrow morning is not a total disaster. Nothing's better than having the health room tech call you and say "E told me that you said she should come to school and if she's not feeling well, she can come to the Health room" and me replying "I tell her that 3 days out of 5." I will note that since she started using the alarm on her clock, she has been better. But I'm not counting my chickens for tomorrow morning until they hatch themselves out of bed.

So I wore what I had originally planned for yesterday, since it was cooler today. I finally am wearing the henna tee that I obtained in the JCA weekly exchange. Love love love it! Note the accessories in the PV set differ from IRL (gold vs. silver/pewter). But I was too lazy to do a new set because hey, it's Mother's Day! I'm sure I will wear this as pictured at some point.

Polyvore set for Mother's Day:

Wearing Later Today - 5/9/09 by HeidiGblog featuring Old Navy tops

All in all, it was a wonderful day, a wonderful weekend. And now I'm off to bed...promise to catch up on blog reading tomorrow!!

J Crew Tissue Hoodie

Hello, Spring Weather! You are the perfect reason to bring out the J Crew Tissue Hoodie. (#10091,orig $49.50, currently $39.99 online) I got this at a B&M in late January for $19.99, while they had 30% off final sale, so it was $13.99. Inconsistent pricing, ARGH. But when it's in my favor, I'll take it. I guess the downside is I couldn't return it, but I love it - so no worries there! Would I pay the current 39.99 price for it? I don't know, maybe if I had nothing like it in my closet. The color I got is light pewter, which I am really drawn to this year. The hoodie is currently available online light pewter, champagne, and natural. By the way, this is a big reason that I didn't get the french terry double zip hoodie in light pewter - too close.

I really like the kind of rolled unfinished edge nest to the cuffs & bottom band, along the neckline, and the pockets. They give it a nice detail. Fit-wise - I sized up to a large because I wanted the looser fit. And did I tell you how soft this hoodie is? Oh, it is soft... It is so soft... It is so so very very very soft. You can't help but be happy in something this comfy.

With a nice semi-light weight overall, it's perfect for a spring day. I could just bum around with a tank and yoga pants. Or, like today, toss on that white tank with some dark (i.e. trusty Chicos) jeans, last spring's Target gray patent flats, and a sparkly necklace. I'm ready to go. I can also easily picture it with the usual summer white jeans, or a cute skirt, or some fun shorts a la the top picture, some fun sandals. Lots of options!

Time to go back outside and play. Hope you have nice weather wherever you are!

Shopping Ban Update and Success at Target

It's Thursday, so what am I up to...Day 9 of no shopping? I started by shopping my closet and pulled out one of my favorite combos from last spring. The navy striped shirt is from AT Loft (spring 07) and the cardi/jacket is from BR (last winter). This outfit always reminds me of spring.

Today was a definite test as I went to Target with my list in hand. And I only bought what was on the list - lotion (all gone, not just trying out something new), body wash (again - all gone, not just wasting current and trying something new), fruit snacks for M, tin of Altoids, Clorox Greenworks spray.

To be honest, I also got a pair of slipper socks but I had to toss my stinky slippers, so I figured an extra pair of slipper socks would get me through until next fall when I will get a decent pair. And since I hardly ever wear socks, other than with sneakers or boots, I figured this would be acceptable, as I don't currently have a huge stash of socks. They were only $3.99 after all.

So far the Lenten shopping ban has been going pretty well. But then I start to see the new J Crew catalog, the new merchandise online, the blogs with pretty pictures... Cotton cricket cardigan - you are calling my name. And even though my "Keeping a Holy Lent" info from church says that "Sundays are celebrations of Jesus' resurrection and are always an appropriate day to lessen the restrictions of Lent", I'm not quite there yet. I still need more time for reflection and consideration. I haven't broken the cycle yet. Plus I still need to clean out that closet - the shirts, the sweaters, the pants, the shoes...

Speaking of shoes... we still have snow on the ground. I wanted to wear the shoes on the left. But I thought closed toes was more acceptable, so I wore the shoes on the right. But we're supposed to get to the 70's this weekend - yay Spring!

J Crew Dressy Jersey Ruffle Dress

One of the Mardi Gras try-ons that did not jump into my bag and make it home. The J Crew Dressy Jersey Ruffle Dress (#13613, $88). I live in dresses like this in the summer. Dress, cami, knickers, sandals...you're good to go. Makes it easy to pack, too. The dress is very pretty and very comfy. I conjured up multiple beach outings and lazy afternoons on the front porch drinking iced tea. Laura, of Laura in Real Life (not be confused with my friend Laura, the leopard Dansko clog fan), had a great video review of the dress on her blog here.

I really like the longer length. Even on my taller frame with my extra long femur, it was still below the knee, but not dowdy. That extra length just made it a lot more appropriate for certain occasions. The fit below the empire waist was good, plenty of room, it didn't feel too clingy. I believe I did go with a large, instead of medium, because I hate the clinging. It did not set off any VPL or bump alarms.

The one issue I had was the low cut top. First I will wax poetic about the ruffles. They are so pretty. Here is a great closeup from the website (and it shows better in the gray) - so so so pretty. Unfortunately...and this really is because I took a large to make sure there was enough hip/butt room...it was so low cut on me, as you can see in the horribly blurry crime-scene-video-quality pic above. There is no way I would wear this without something underneath, or without pinning it, or some toupee tape (not that I have any), or....or.... So I didn't get it.

Of course, later now that I am on Lenten shopping ban, the perfect solution occurred to me. If you love love love the dress, but are worried about the low cut, voila...the strappy sports bra. It will give you some extra coverage, and may even save the need for a bra, and it won't show up as a VPL. What would that be - a VCL, visible cami line? By the way, I don't necessarily condone the white with pink trim under the dress; it was the first one I could find quickly. (Thank you, Target, you always have what I need!)

Bottom line... a no go at $88 when there were other items that I just loved. But I am hoping to snag it at some point later on sale. Now that I have my solution, I am on board! Of course, now that I've seen the parsley and gray online, color choice, hmmmmm.....