Field Trip Chic

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

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...

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

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

J Crew Caprese Tunic

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

Nail Files - Fall 2010 Polishes - OPI

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. 

The Nail Files - Essie Love

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. 

Cream for Cold Weather

I'm talking about the *color* cream, not the milk-based product - which, I think, pretty much works year-round. Cold weather always inspires me to wear these warm shades of white. They just feel cozier. Autumn definitely feels like it has arrived!

Yesterday - yep, pulled out the cashmere for the first time this season. J Crew long sleeve cashmere tee. This is my dressy version of "I feel like hanging out in a sweatshirt." So comfy, not tight (but not too baggy). It just feels good. Layered with a cami or tank of course. Is it me, or do you just assume that you will need an underlayer when wearing light colors on top? Anyway, paired with new Chico's off-the-cuff boyfriend jeans, new cap toe ballet flats, and the classic confetti necklace.

It was a good day because I am now dropped down to chiro only once a week - and hopefully soon can phase out altogether. I will say that it has truly been a lifesaver. My neck and shoulders are better than they have been in several years.

Oh, and that's my new haircut with 2 inches lopped off the bottom. Love love love it. Do you like getting your hair trimmed? Not to go to Britney extremes, but I love the feeling of getting a good chunk hacked off at the ends. And of course, the beauty of hair is that it grows...so if you don't like it, just wait a bit for it to grow out.

Polyvore for yesterday:

9/30/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Today, again, a nice good chill in the air, so I pulled out a new BR tee that I got yesterday (on sale for $19 in store). Love the gray and white stripes. Look at the way cute gathered cuff (below) - it's brilliant because you get plenty of length in the sleeves but it's not so long that it will drop in your soup. Fab! I definitely anticipate layering it with many sweaters this fall and winter.

And I've layered it with my BR cream sweater jacket from a couple of years ago. I love this sweater - the 60's-ish styling always makes me feel chic. The jacket is hard to photograph well, though. I love it in person, but the pics never turn out that great. And to finish out the outfit, since the tee is nice and long, I wore my gray Minnies and then added black ballet flats. Fun, comfy, and I felt great in it.

Polyvore for today (not the greatest since I had to sub both tops):

10/1/09 by HeidiGblog featuring J Crew

Boden Love

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



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

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

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

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

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


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

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

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

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

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


Polyvore from yesterday:


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


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

For you veteran Boden fans, what are you coveting?

Nail Files - "Moor" Fall Polish

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

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

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

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

Happy Polishing!!

Flats Fun at Target

Let me start by telling you about these way cute little shoes I got for E last spring from Target.

Girls' Xhilaration Flora Ballet Flats ($12.99) Adorable. And they literally go with *everything*. E had a pair last spring that she lived in. And I got her another pair this fall because, yeah, like I said, they work with everything in her closet. Did I mention how darn cute they are on her? And I've always kinda thought, hmmm, I wish they made this exact shoe in my size because it would be oh-so-versatile. Love the color, especially - that pewter is fantastic.

So, lo and behold, what did I spy with my little eye when as I wandered the Target shoes aisles today?

Why, it's the "grown-up" version of E's cute little flats. Mossimo Vlasta Snip Toe Flats ($24.99) So to put my money where my mouth is, so to speak, I did get a pair. They fit very TTS - I got a 9, not too wide, not too narrow. Love this!!

As I continued to stroll along the shoe aisles (did I mention the kiddies are back at school? first solo trip to Target in weeks)...I looked for those cute purples suede flats I posted on a few weeks ago. Not in my size, of course, (guess I'll have to go with the Steve Maddens instead, darn it), but I did see my size in Mossimo Odell Ballet Flats in the cheetah print ($12.99).

Narrow feet, stay away! It is definitely meant for those of us with the fat feet. And I sized up to 9 1/2 because the 9 felt a bit short (which never happens). That 9 1/2 does feel a bit wide, even for me, but I am hoping that an insole will make it work. For $13, I don't mind doing a little work to it.

A good start to fall, I think.

ISO...Purple Shoes

First off, forgive my absence, which I am sure you all managed quite nicely. There was some major stress going on over the week. Sometimes things happen that just throw you way off your center and that was me this week. And I just couldn't handle blogging. I barely read - maybe a post or two a day (and I know I love to get the comments/feedback from you all, but I am back to that now - it will take a few days to catch up, of course.) But it's all settled down and I'm back. And I have some catching up to do (I know I promised pics of the pearl garden bracelet in clementine - oooh, it's pretty!) At least for a week - we are headed to the beach next weekend for a week with hubby's family, so not sure how much blogging will take place that week.

I think I may be on a purple shoe kick...which is a little odd, because I am not a huge "purple" person. In fact, looking at my closet, I don't even think I see a purple tshirt (well, duh, no bf tissue tees in purple). I do have the misty lavender Jackie, but that's it. And you know I love my flats, especially ballet flats. I have been seeing purple ballet flats everywhere and am starting to want a pair for the fall - specifically, purple suede ballet flats. Why, if I don't really have purple to speak of? I think it would be a fun pop of color with all the neutrals. I love the idea of purple with all the tans/creams that I have.

It all started with a stroll through Target and these pretties were on the endcap. (Interesting that the search starts in the low end and works its way up for me.) Mossimo Odell Suede Ballet Flat ($12.99). The color is richer in person - closer to a plum. I tried it on in a 9 and found it very comfortable, with plenty of room. If you have narrow feet, this is probably not the shoe for you. If you do like this shoe, it comes in 21 incarnations right now online - suede, patent, metallic, fabric, and lots of colors, too. (Maybe it's replacing the ubiquitous Xhilaration Sable ballet flat from a couple years ago that came in a billion colors/fabrics?) The reviews for this shoe have been very positive, too. One had a 3-star average, and the others had 4-5 stars. For those of you who have not heard me go on and on about my shoe issues, this is my old-lady Target trick. Yes, their shoes are not that supportive. (Whose ballet flats are, really?) When I get a cute cheap pair of flats from Target, I usually stroll over to the foot care aisle and get a pair of gel insoles to put in them. Tacky, I know, as I run through the lame-o "gelling" lines from the commercials, but *amazing* in terms of added comfort.

The next purple shoes I spied were at Nordstroms...not on sale for the Anniversary Sale. (Jerkies! Otherwise they would be mine already.) Steve Madden Krowwn flat (#265289, $49.95) This actually might be my favorite of the bunch. Ok, it's not *exactly* purple; it's really fuchsia. Well, it's purple-ish. I love the cute little satiny ruffle along the edge all around the top - adorable!! I did not actually try it on, but I did pick it up and handle it, so I can vouch for the fact that it does seem to have some degree of cushioning in the bottom. So I would imagine they are more supportive than the standard ballet flat. They are also available in black, but that's it.

Back to a more true purple - Boden Patent Trim Flats (#AR404, $108). I have not yet tried their shoes, so I can't vouch for the fit factor. These are "fully padded for extra comfort." I like that they are leather because suede can be limiting, depending on weather. And that's why I would also have to seriously consider how much I want to spend on purple suede flats - how easily would they get ruined. Maybe leather is a better way to go. I really love the patent trim on these - way cute and such a nice detail. It is available in a couple other colors (red, green, blue), as well as the standard brown & black.

And, of course, I can't neglect J Crew, can I? Kelcey Suede Ballet Flats (#19312, $98) Let me just say how much I love J Crew for putting their shoes out in store in a size 8. All of you with your cute, tiny, dainty feet, don't complain - you get to try on everyone else's shoes. When the size 8 is out, I can usually pop my size 9 in there for a second, just to get a sense of whether a size up would work or not. I think I tried these on in store (in, ummm, the 8) the last time I was in and the fit was reasonable - so the size 9 might work without killing my wide toe box. But I'm not 100% sure since, quite frankly, there were so many cute little flats out that I was extremely distracted by all of them and I don't remember which one I actually tried. Anyway, with the Kelcey, the plum raisin is the most colorful option, but I love the navy - online it looks almost peacock (a JC fave color, I know), so it may be worth checking out IRL. The chalkboard could be a semi-decent replacement for my beloved gray patent ballet flats.

So...any other crazy cravings for Fall?