Versatile Tilda

The Tilda shirt from J. Crew is so grand, she deserves an epithet in front of her name. I selected versatile because you can wear this shirt with just about anything. I like to buy pieces that will work in many situations and Tilda certainly fits the bill. This summer I hope to wear her with shorts for a more polished casual ensemble. In winter, I'll throw a crew neck sweater over Tilda to add a little bedazzlement to a plain sweater. Here I am wearing the versatile tilda with the J. Crew collection Flame Floral Jacquard skirt, suprisingly still available here and on sale at Net-A-Porter. (I seriously need to check out Net-A-Porter more often for J. Crew as they have some styles which I thought were sold out on sale.)

In terms of sizing, I ordered Tilda in size 0, which seems to fit fine. I'm usually between a 0 and 2 in J. Crew shirts and blouses, but I wanted a more fitted look. Some reviews said it was a little boxy, so I think sizing down was the correct choice, even though there is just a tad bit of "gaping" going on.

While getting dressed this morning my husband said, "You have plenty of blue shirts why don't you just wear that and a necklace?" I guess that is a valid point, however there is just something special about Tilda, versatile Tilda.

Stripe Stalker

Somethings, despite being relatively simple just have that je ne sais quoi. That's how I felt about the J. Crew no. 2 pencil skirt in navy-white stripe. When I saw it on A Bigger Closet's blog a few weeks ago, I knew I had to have it. Do I have a million pencil skirts? Yes. Do I have a million things with stripes? Definitely. It defies logic and reason, but there was just something about this skirt I couldn't resist. (Perhaps the stripes are just the perfect width or it's just the perfect shade of navy? Perhaps I'm just a stripe addict?)

Well, apparently a bunch of other people also couldn't resist this skirt, because when I went to purchase it online it was on back order in my size. I thought I would wait a little bit to buy it, as most back ordered items are available for quite some time. When I checked back the next day it was sold out. So here's what I did: I called J. Crew and had them locate it in a store which is something that they'll do for crazy people such as myself. In 48 hours they let you know if their search was successful or pointless. Luckily they found this in Maryland and shortly there after it was at my doorstep.

I liked the idea of pairing this skirt with the J. Crew Punk floral shirt which is an idea I copied from other bloggers and store mannequins.  All in all, this skirt was definitely worth all of the stalking, because it will get quite a bit of use this Spring/Summer and pretty much goes with anything.

 

 

Insta What?!

Slowly, but surely I am fine tuning my knowledge of my new iPhone. It's turning to be out more useful than I imagined, but there are also a ton of frivolous features on it that I don't know how I ever lived without. Intstagram is one of them. For the last year or so I've heard about Instagram and admired the vintage inspired pics in sepia tones which it generates.

Last night I tried out this app for the first time when my husband and I went to the Hollywood Bowl. We frequent the Hollywood Bowl quite often this time of year. It is one of my favorite summer activities, as you can sit under the stars and gaze at the bowl and the iconic Hollywood sign, while listening to classical music from the Los Angeles Philharmonic. The icing on the cake is that they allow you to bring wine and your own picnic which makes the experience all the more enjoyable.

Instead of classical music, we saw Fleetwood Mac at the Bowl last night. I'm not so much a fan, but my husband is and the tickets were a Christmas present from me. Unfortunately you can't take glass or alcoholic into popular music concerts, yet the crowd (despite being mostly baby boomers) was much more boisterous than at the classical concerts, despite the extra security officers.

Anyway, while waiting for the bus, which takes you from Pasadena to the Hollywood Bowl, I decided to try out my new Instagram app and take some pics of the Pasadena City Hall. I also took one of the Hollywood Bowl while in our seats prior to the concert.

Above is the Hollywood Bowl. If you squint you can see the Hollywood sign in the background. There is also a lovely Jacaranda tree to the right which I'm obsessed with lately.

This is Pasadena City Hall during the daytime. If you watch the TV show, Parks and Recreation it should look familiar. They use images of the building for Pawnee City Hall in the show.

Coming home from the shuttle/bus which takes you to the Bowl I also shot Pasadena City Hall at night. In the background there is a full moon.

William Welcomes the Weekend

Everyone is happy that it's the weekend, especially William. While all dogs feel sad to see their masters leave the house, William is prone to separation anxiety, which is a typical problem with his breed. I think separation anxiety is more or less a PC way of saying your dog is crazy and too attached to you, but that's okay, I still love him.

William has a strange weekday routine in which he waits by my side of the bed when the alarm goes off and stares at me with a very intent, perhaps even creepy gaze until I get up. He then follows me into the bathroom, and literally grabs on to me by curling his paws around my arms. He proceeds to try to get into the shower with me and when he realizes that his efforts are futile he goes and pouts on the couch in a deep depression until everyone is dressed and ready to go.

While we are gone, he likes to drag the blue kiddie pool that we bought last year for him from one side of the yard to the other (it's always in a different place). He does other strange things like dragging a filled gallon of water outside to leave it sitting upright in the yard or shredding magazines into tiny, tiny pieces. When we get back he whimpers and squeaks for a about five minutes as though he had just endured some very traumatic event. In his mind he probably has.

So when the weekend rolls around, he is as happy as can be that we are around more than usual. He likes going for extra long walks and spending time snuggling on the couch or in bed. Here you will see William enjoying the beautiful weekend by frolicking in the park, chewing on some grass, climbing on the jungle gym and  and sitting in a pile of purple Jacaranda tree petals.

The Abstract

Due to my "artistic temperament" I am naturally drawn to any fabric that looks like it has brushstrokes and copious amounts of paint dumped on it. The Mimi dress from Anthropologie certainly matches the above criteria and is fashioned like a work of art in my opinion. The reviews of this dress online, even though there are only a few, are less than favorable. I like how one person described the dress as a sack, and then added that despite this it is still a very beautiful sack. Sometimes the negative reviews are an asset and help in lowering the price of merchandise. I suspect that was the case here. Retailing for $258 on the website, I got the Mimi dress on sale for $59.95.

I do agree with the online reviews in so far as the shape isn't for everyone. It billows out a bit in the chest and has an odd waist line that is high in the front and low in the back. I tired to fix these problems which didn't seem as pronounced on me by cinching the waist with a belt (I think next time I might go for a thicker belt). In the winter I'm anxious to wear the dress with tights, boots and a sweater (stay tuned). Overall for the price, even if it isn't perfect, I don't mind. It's worth it to feel like you're a walking painting from the Museum of Modern Art.

 

Pink Polka Dots and a Dilemma

In an effort to give more rotation and attention to all pieces in my closet, I pulled out the Kate Spade Melody skirt today. You can't go wrong with polka dots, although be forewarned, they can be somewhat of an addiction. I paired the skirt with a teal button-down from the Gap outlet and the J. Crew Wildflower bracelet. I actually didn't think I would wear this bracelet very often, but it's turning out to be perfect for spring with its neon glory.

My dilemma is that whenever I wear gold or gold-tone jewelery or accessories (as is the case with the Wildflower bracelet) I end up not wearing a watch because I don't have a yellow gold watch and I can't stand mixing metals. It is surprising that someone such as myself, married to a watch lover, would be without a yellow gold watch, but it's true. I had a gold Cartier, but it was stolen a while back and I haven't replaced it. When we were dating, my husband offered to give me a gold IWC that he no longer wanted and I refused because at the time I didn't want to wear a man's watch. Now I wish I had taken him up on that offer, before he sold it, because actually it would have come in handy had I foreseen the watch theft that took place a few months later. Plus, big round masculine watches are everywhere now, so I would have been ahead of the trend for once!

Anyway, I would like to get a yellow gold watch at some point, but one that is inexpensive because I probably will not wear it that often. I was thinking something along the lines of Kate Spade. Any suggestions?

 

Little Miss Sunshine

It's amazing the way color can affect one and one's mood. I don't know of anyone whose mood doesn't cheer just a little bit when seeing the color yellow. Unless it's sort of a murky, brownish yellow. That type of yellow is usually associated with sickness, decay, pollution and other unsavory things. T.S. Eliot was fond of using the color yellow in his poems, taken in the later sense of what I just described. Take for example, "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock":

"The yellow fog that rubs its back upon the window-panes,
The yellow smoke that rubs its muzzle on the window-panes"

Well, this isn't that kind of "depressing" yellow. Today I threw on the J. Crew no. 2 pencil skirt in abstract floral and a plain white T. The combination needed an extra "kick" so I added the J. Crew Jackie cardigan in this bright yellow color. The addition of the crystal droplets necklace was the final, finishing touch to everything. Despite the hectic workday, I felt like "Little Miss Sunshine" all day long.

Do you have any particular color which dramatically enhances your mood? (Or perhaps puts you in a fowl mood?)

Finally Getting Around To It

You know you have way too many clothes when you have things in your closet that haven't seen the light of day for over a year and still have tags attached. Sometimes (as is today's case) they are articles of clothing that you love, but yet somehow haven't made it into your regular wardrobe rotation. I feel like my closet has become a gigantic maw, bursting at the seams, but I'm always willing to cram one more piece of clothing inside of its gaping jaws. This is especially true if the article of clothing has one or all of the following: Stripes, polka dots or cute critters/animals. It's easy to see how things pass by the radar and go unnoticed and unworn for extended periods of time.

Well, I love the J. Crew painted rope skirt and I should wear it more often. I initially loved it because of the relatively thick, sumptuous silk fabric. Oh... and did I mention the stripes? Can't get enough of those. When I saw how well this skirt looked with this floral top from Forever 21 I knew it was time to dust it off and take it out for a spin.  I'm glad I finally got around to wearing it.

My Kind of Holiday

Imagine my delight when I opened up the L.A. Times (okay, actually like most people I looked at it digitally online) to find an article announcing that today is World Whiskey Day. Oh happy day! Since our trip last year to Kentucky, I've developed a love for a subset of Whiskey, Bourbon. I guess I'm not alone in my newly acquired taste as it seems that Bourbon is experiencing some what of a resurgence in popularity lately.

Here's something that you may not know, all Bourbon is Whiskey, but not all Whiskey meets the criteria of being Bourbon. In order for a spirit to earn the official title of Bourbon it must be made in the United States, it must be made from 51% corn, and it must be aged in new charred oak barrels, such as the ones featured below (courtesy of our trip to the Heaven Hill distillery).

During our trip through the Bourbon Trail in Kentucky we only made it to two distilleries: the Heaven Hill distillery and Maker's Mark. The most scenic of the distilleries on the trail is, hands down, Maker's Mark so we made sure to fit it into our schedule.

We went to Maker's Mark in the morning, right before picking William from the litter in Bardstown, Kentucky. Unfortunately the following pictures were taken with a disposable camera, as our card was filled up, so the quality might leave something to be desired. The last picture features workers on the assembly line adding Maker's Mark's signature touch, the red wax coating on the neck of the bottle.

The Holy Grail of Bourbon, is the elusive Pappy Van Winkle. You can't find this stuff anywhere and if you do, it's about 4 times the retail price. The reason for this is that, as the bottle suggests, it takes a long time to age this Bourbon and they didn't foresee the boom in Bourbon sales which is currently taking place.

Did you know that William's full name was inspired by this brand of Bourbon? My husband and I were lucky enough to find a bar in Kentucky that had Pappy Van Winkle on the menu. When we ordered it we joked about naming our new puppy after good old Pappy. Later, we decided on Colonel Willilam Van Winkle the Bard of Bardstown. It's quite the mouthful! It's like tying a big tail on a little kite (or puppy).

Below is one way I'll be celebrating World Whiskey Day, with a refreshing Mint Julep. This picture was taken from Derby Day a couple weeks ago. Cheers!

Statements Made Easy

I've said it once and I'll say it again; I love the fact that designers are now including statement necklaces pre-sewn onto shirts/sweaters. It makes getting dressed so much easier. Why fret over what necklace to wear when you can have it attached to your ensemble and ready to go?

This striped sweater, the J. Crew crystal necklace sweater, even advertises this fact in the name. It is currently sold out online, but perhaps it is still available in stores. I paired the sweater with a "chic" white pencil skirt from the J. Crew factory. The chicness of this skirt has diminished some and it is now not so white after William jumped on me with his muddy paws this afternoon. So my "chic" pencil skirt is currently balled up in my "to be dry cleaned" pile. I guess this is one of the problems with wearing white and having a dog.

While taking these pictures my husband, in a mocking tone, referred to my sweater as "bedazzled glory." Well, I rather like being bedazzled, especially when it's as easy as pie!

Not Your Average T

The Anthropologie Gilded Estate skirt is no stranger to my blog. I've featured this baroque patterned skirt several times over the last year, but today I'm being a bit more adventurous with my styling. Initially I paired this skirt with a plain white button down blouse, which is classic and simple. Today, to re-invent the skirt and my look I've added a striped T-shirt from Forever 21, available here for $15.80. As you can see I'm progressing in my mixing of patterns, slowly but surely. By time I get it down, this concept will probably be out of style! (Although I do think stripes, though they are all the rage now, will never cease to be a classic.)

Obviously, the thing I like best about this T-shirt are the puffy ruched sleeves. It adds just enough visual pizazz to make it not your run of the mill striped shirt which can be found everywhere these days.

Seeing Seahorses

It's summertime (almost) and that means the return of everything and anything nautical themed. Blue stripes and anchors aweigh! I thought the lobster was the official ambassador of all things nautical, but it looks like he has some competition from another marine creature, the seahorse. Seahorses appear to be invading the shelves of many clothing manufacturers this summer from J. Crew to Target.

This weekend while picking up some essentials at Target I happened across this cute seahorse dress from Merona. It was priced at $24.99 and was too cute to leave hanging of the rack. For those of you who are also fans of the seahorse, they have matching v-neck cardigans (on sale for $15) and button down shirts ($22.99). I went a little "over-board" and ended up buying all three pieces.

 

 Outfit: Dress: Merona (Target), Clutch: Vince Camuto, Anchor Necklace: Forever 21, Bangles: J.Crew, Shoes: Kate Spade