Black Shoes for Spring #2 - Hunter Boots

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. 

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

The Cone of Opportunity

Since so many of you were kind enough to inquire after the health of by babies, furbaby & humans...I can well you the health barometer in the G household continues to rise. M was fever-free yesterday morning and is back at school today. And Lucy...well, Lucy is back to being a rambuctious (that's the nice way of saying obnoxious) 10-month-old Labradoodle.

When she's not running around crazy, she can be very lazy...

And I'm probably the only person I know who keeps a towel by the back door to clean my dog's face when she comes in (big fan of the sandbox).

As most of you know, Lucy is in the cone of shame because she got spayed the previous Monday, the incision got infected because of 4 straight days of rain, and then this past Monday, she was put on an antibiotic for 10 days and sentenced to the cone of shame and "quiet" until next Monday when she gets the stitches out. And it can't come soon enough.

This was how we started post-surgery...

The tshirt worked pretty well....

(told you she liked the sandbox)

...until all the rain - did I mention 4 days straight? It seemed like so much longer...

So back to the cone it was. However, once she adjusted, she was doing fine. And the antibiotic kicked in because after 36 hours of it, BAM, obnoxious 10-month-old puppy was back. Stealing socks, destroying shrubbery in the back yard, digging holes in the sandbox. She can do anything with the cone except eat. It even helps camouflage the shoe she has in her mouth that she is running around with. Yes, running. Darn it, give me back my navy patent flat!

I was able to keep her quiet for about a day and a half. But she's back. And she is wielding that cone like a weapon. Thank goodness it's long-pants-weather or I would have bruises on my calves from the number of times that cone knocks into me. And she's not shy about shoving that cone right in your face or your lap when she wants attention. Oh yes, she has adjusted.

She sleeps comfortably.

She figured out how to get to her bone. (3rd appearance here, yes, it's her favorite)

And her other toys.

But if nothing else, the cone makes a nice backdrop for a portrait.

You May Be Right...I May Be Crazy...

Yes, today, I wore white jeans... on a rainy day... with a puppy. (But it just might be a lunatic you're looking for...) Ok, I'll stop quoting Billy Joel songs. So here's the thing, you know I just recently ordered the J Crew chunky star cable popover sweater. And ohhhh, it's so soft (by now, you all know how tactile I am). So I was kinda waiting for a chilly, rainy spring day to try it out. And dark jeans just looked too winter-y with it.

So I'm not going to complain about the rain. I got so much gardening done this weekend in the beautiful weather we had. Would much prefer the rain today... And I got to wear the new sweater. Oh yeah, I do have a 17-week-old Labradoodle puppy...in the rain and the mud. Well, what can I say. The sweater was fabulous. And the white jeans made it until 4:00, so 7 hours of wear. And it actually wasn't muddy paws that did me in, it was some tummy dirt - didn't dry her off well enough. My bad. Jeans have been sprayed with Shout and are sitting in the washer soaking. They'll be fine.

So as I got dressed, I realized how many different accessories would work with the sweater. Oooh, this is going to be fun, come fall! It shows off bracelets really well, but I opted for no bracelets since I was up at school volunteering in kids' classes this morning. And quite a few of the chunky necklaces worked too, including the Erickson Beamon bubble necklace. But I chose a gold and pearl chunky necklace, detail at the right. It was actually my grandmother's (my mom's mom, who passed away this fall). The value is sentimental, not monetary. It works really well layered with the J Crew twisted crystal necklace. The full story is that after my grandmother passed away, my mom put together some of her costume jewelry for E to use for dress-up, and I actually swiped a few necklaces from the stash that are fun (like the turquoise beads I wear).

Polyvore for today:

Wearing Today-You May Be Right...I May Be Crazy-04/20/09 by HeidiGblog featuring Old Navy tank tops

And wet dog pic for the day: (BTW, she doesn't get to hang out on the bathroom rug anymore because today Lucy discovered the fun contained in a roll of toilet paper. Yeah... that was entertaining. One more door to keep closed.