Tag Sale and Half-Yearly Sale Bounty!

So, we are just past part two of the Anthropologie's Tag Sale ... Part Two ... who knew?!  Tag Sale part 1 was, frankly, a yawner for me.  Nothing on my wishlist made it to the sale.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn of part 2 and hoped for a few items; I was not disappointed.  


I know, I know ... you are all thinking, "um, shopping ban!"  but rest assured, I planned well and used only gift cards or merchandise credit for my purchases!  


Here is what I ended up with:

First Light Skirt

Tepore Cardigan Sweater

Both of these have been on my wishlist forever, so I feel that my gift cards were well-used.  I am somewhat puzzled by the Tag sale and why so many older items did not make it to the sale, but since I am on a shopping ban, maybe it's a good thing!  

To challenge my ban, the Half-Yearly Sale at Nordstrom started yesterday.  I love the Brass Plum cardigans and saw that they were marked down to $16.90.  With a $100 gift card I have been hoarding since Christmas, I decided to head over to purchase the red.  On my way to the Brass Plum section, I spotted an adorable crossbody bag on sale.  For us moms, a crossbody bag is essential when you are out and about... you know, it frees up your hands to hold all of the stuff that the kids get tired of wearing or holding.  I was in need of a new one, so I decided to purchase it.  

Vince Camuto "Mable" Crossbody Bag

Black leather with straw body

Brass Plum Cardigan

I realized that I would be slightly over my $100 gift card, but decided the deal was too good to pass up.  I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the sweater was marked down even further to $11.90, so I stayed within my budget (with a few dollars to spare)!  

Hope you are all having a fabulous week and that you found some good deals!  Thanks for stopping by!

Anthropologie Reviews: Readymade Dress, Horkelia Shift and Mystery Fei Skirt

Hello and happy Thursday!  I stopped by Anthro yesterday on my way home from work to rerturn a few items and get a PA on the Ardennes Skirt - what a great deal at $40!  I have been waiting for the Readymade Dress to hit my store after seeing it online and was happily surprised that it had come in the day before.  I picked up a few other items that caught my attention and hit the fitting room.  Here are my reviews:

Mystery Fei Skirt - Size XS - Style 2067877 - Navy - $78

As you can see, this skirt is purple, not navy!  This is a lovely, flowy skirt with amazing pleating at the bottom that give such nice movement when you walk.  It is fitted through the hip and has a nice, wide waistband.  I tucked the Expanding Horizons tank (in lavender!) into the skirt (poorly) and you can see the lumps ... which leads to my only criticism of the skirt and that is that the material is thin and almost sheer.  I really love this skirt, but will try to hold out for sale time.  Interestingly, this skirt has been at my store for three weeks and still has not made it online.  Hmmm.

Horkelia Shift by Moulinette Soers - Size 2 - Orange - $178

I am a sucker for Orange, so when I saw this dress I was anxious to try it.  Because I am short, I am generally not a shift dress girl, unless the cut is right.  This dress on me is a mess:  Dumpy and unflattering.  The lace is amazing, the color divine, but what is up with the spandex, shiny lining?  And the exposed zipper?  Yuck.  If this dress ever gets a second cut, I might think of taking it to a tailor and having it fitted to me, but as it is now, it's a huge pass.  

Readymade Dress by Odille - Size 2 - $128 in stores; $118 online

LOVE LOVE LOVE!  Odille hits it again with a wearable dress that is nicely made.  The top is a creamy white with red and the denim skirt is a flowy denim material.  It has a hidden side zipper with a nice button detail inside the waist.  I have the dress belted (backward) with a belt that was hanging in the fitting room - the dress really begs to be belted.  I think the looping lanes belt will be perfect.  I am a little busty, but the top had plenty of room; the skirt hit me right at my knee and thus is totally work appropriate for casual Fridays.  Nice for a casual dinner out with the family too.  This dress is a must and I will buy at full price ... but what is that price?  I am so irritated by the pricing difference.  Why should the dress be $10 more in store???  Have any of you encountered this before?


That's it for now!  Have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

First Communion - The Dress!

Good Morning!  I have promised that I would post a few pictures from First Communion - what I wore and, more importantly, what my daughter wore.  Unfortunately, the photos we have are terrible ... and I do mean terrible.  We were in such a rush all morning and thought we would take pictures in the Church but it was too dark.  We have one last First Communion event this week,  and I am hoping for some better photos.


My daughter was picky about her dress; she is tall and thin and did not want a "poofy" dress, but wanted one that still had some "twirl" to it!  I ordered 8 dresses to the house from three websites, and she tried them all on, one by one, twirling in front of the mirror.  She eventually narrowed it down to this one, purchased from PinkPrincess.com. 

Here is a not so good photo of her in it:

I had a lot of trouble deciding what to wear.  I never found a dress that I liked and so I put this together the morning of the event.  I am wearing the Daisy skirt by Talbots, a Talbots ruffle tank, Merona sweater and J. Crew belt.  

What you cannot see in that terrible photo are my shoes ... I LOVE them!  Jessica Simpson Kendal bought at Nordstrom on sale.  These shoes are a steal at $60 and go with everything!  I usually wear a 6 but had to size down to a 5.5.

Will post better pictures soon (I promise, mom!)


Thanks for stopping by!

A Few Things for Sale: Poppies, Alena and Babergh

Just a quick post!  I have the following for sale: 


Alena skirt - Size 4 - NWOT - $45 shipped

Knotted Poppies Dress - Size 2 - NWT - $70 shipped

Babergh Dress - size 2 - NWT - $120 shipped

Please let me know if you are interested in any of the above!  I take Paypal and ship with delivery confirmaiton.

Thanks for stopping by!

OOTD - Targeted Shopping of My Closet!

Good Afternoon!  Today is a milestone for me ... today I am posting my first OOTD!  I feel like my outfits are not as amazing or awe-inspiring as so many other bloggers (Kim!  Roxy!  Chloe!  Maria!)  but I do the best I can :)

In order to stay on the ban, I decided to post OOTDs to show myself how many things I have in my closet that I can make work ... for all types of occasions.  

Today I wore a dress I picked up at Target about a month ago.  The watercolor aspect reminded me of the dresses and shirts I have been seeing on the Anthro site and I thought I'd give it a try. 

For $19.99, this dress was a steal.  The fit is a little flowy with a beautiful, drapey neckline that is not revealing, making it perfect for work.  I am wearing an XS and at 5'3" it hit me at the knee.  I have belted it with the snakebite belt from anthro, which brings out the greys in the dress.  Overall, I am quite happy with this dress and have had a lot of compliments on it today at work.  It is 90 degrees outside and about 50 degrees in my office ... hence the sweater. 

Dress:  Target - Massimo - Size XS

Belt - Anthropologie - Snakebite 

Sweater - Target - Merona

Shoes - Knock off Anticipation heels from Ruche

Necklace - AE - double key

Have a great day, everyone!  Thanks for stopping by!



Sorry ... I Missed You! Carnitas, anyone?

Hello again ... did you think I forgot about you?  I didn't!  The past weeks have been crazy busy.  My husband returned from two months working overseas ... we visited Disneyland(!)... and now are on the downhill slide to the Big Event this weekend:  My daughter's First Communion!  

On a fashion note, I have been bad, bad, bad and have some shopping haul to share.  In light of my badness, I have joined Anthroholic's shopping ban/shop your closet challenge and hope to succeed in using the things that I have.  Thank to Kim for motivating me to do this!  I hope to actually post my OOTD, which I have never done ... but was fun to put together this morning. 

Today, however, I must wish everyone Happy Cinco de Mayo!  I love today because I love me a good margarita!  And ... carnitas!  so, in the spirit of today, I leave you with the easiest and fantastically good recipe for Carnitas that I have run across.  I make these several times a year for the family and for parties and everyone raves about them.  I make sure I cook mine a little longer as my family likes them a little crispy!  This recipe is adapted from Epicurious. 

Crispy Pork Carnitas

• 4 pounds boneless country-style pork ribs
• 2 cups (or more) water
• 1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 2 teaspoons fine sea salt
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• 1/4 cup brandy

• Warm corn or flour tortillas
• Salsa
• Guacamole

Cut pork pieces crosswise into thirds. Cut off any big chunks of fat from pork and reserve; leave small pieces of fat attached to pork. Combine pork, reserved fat, 2 cups water, and next 4 ingredients in deep 12-inch skillet. Bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer until pork is tender, stirring occasionally, about 1 hour 45 minutes, adding more water by 1/4 cupfuls if necessary to keep pork partially submerged.

Uncover; boil pork mixture until liquid is reduced by half, about 15 minutes. Stir in brandy; boil until liquid evaporates and meat browns and begins to get crisp, stirring often and shredding meat to the consistency that you prefer, about 20 - 30 minutes. Discard any loose pieces of fat. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cover and chill.)

If re-warming:  Add 2 tablespoons water to skillet. Cover and rewarm pork over medium-low heat, stirring, about 5 minutes. Season with more salt, if desired. Transfer to bowl.

Serve with tortillas, salsa, guacamole and cheese ... and a Margarita or two!  I also like mine on top of a crunchy salad. 

Enjoy and thanks for stopping by!