Latest and greatest: H&M garden collection

H&M puts together a 70’s style romantic garden collection using organic and recycled materials.
The Garden Collection is due in stores March 18th

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Top $24.95, Shorts $24.95

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OOTD: Nautical style

In honor of the sun finally coming out here in Seattle, I have nautical themed outfit of the day..

Ehh, pardon my hair. The washer used up all my hot water this morning, so I had to make do lol.

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I love the anchor buttons on this jacket

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American Eagle jacket
J.Crew striped tee
J.Crew hot pink belt
AG catwalk jeans
Carlos santana sandals

I snapped a couple of pics of the city on Friday. It was such a pretty day. My Nikon D90 is amazing at capturing color.

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Anthropologie Two paths ruffle trench review

I was so excited yesterday to see my store had the Two paths ruffle trench! They only had size 6 and up on the floor *momentarily crushed* but the SA had my size hiding in the back room. I tried on the size 0. The trench fits perfect in the shoulders but was a little roomy in the body. The sleeves are also a bit long for me. I was hoping it came in petite online but nope. The regular size 0 is certainly workable, it just runs slightly larger than my Inverness trench.

The fabric is polyester with a low key shine. Just slick enough for rain to not soak in. I doubt it is water proof though. The soft fabric combined with the lining makes the coat a little squishy and more comfortable than a crisp cotton trench.

If it was cotton instead of poly, the ruffles may have been thinner and less bulky. But can you image the wrinkles! Even in the polyester the coat could use a pressing. Although there is some width added by the layers from the hip down, I don’t think it is unflattering. They lay nice and flat and the coat is surprisingly streamline from the side and back.

Now for the pics! I took this out onto the floor so I could get better photos for you. Unfortunately, there was something on the ceiling casting a major shadow on the mirrors. Still, much better than Anthro’s dark dressing rooms.

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Continue reading Anthropologie Two paths ruffle trench review

J.Crew reviews: watercolor mini, gingham shirt, contrast pencil

J.Crew review time..

I’ve been wanting to try the Suckered gingham shirt on since it came out. I thought it would make a great spring sub for the navy check shirt that sold out so fast. I was worried that the gingham shirt would be sheer but I couldn’t see through it in the dressing room. In sunlight could be another story. So now that we’ve heard the good news…

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Suckered gingham perfect shirt

As you can see, it looks like complete @ss on me. This is the size 0. The navy check shirt had a slouchy fit but this is just big and awful. Shudder.

Continue reading J.Crew reviews: watercolor mini, gingham shirt, contrast pencil

What's in my bag: Lands' End Canvas

Okay I can’t help but jump on the Lands’ End canvas bandwagon. The more time I spend checking out LE’s new contemporary fit line, the more stuff ends up in my shopping cart. I’m up to over $300 now; this is no good lol.

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Gingham poplin shirt

I never did buy that JC navy check shirt and this one is quite a bit less.

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Steals and Deals: Chie Mihara

I’m always searching for great buys on my favorite shoe brand, Chie Mihara. Take a peek at these deals!

PS- Check retailer conditions carefully, some of these are FINAL SALE

Alegra heels $139.20 Gimmie Shoes Sizes 37, 37.5, 39.5
139!? Omg I am so tempted
Continue reading Steals and Deals: Chie Mihara

QOTD: Vegas baby

Allison asks:
Hi! I just read your excellent packing suggestions for Paris, and I hope you can help me. I’m going to Vegas for a girl’s weekend in March. I’m not really a Vegas girl, but I’ve heard the shopping is great! I’m 33, and I don’t want to look like I’m trying too hard. Most of my clothes are from J Crew and Anthropologie. I like classic, feminine style. Do you or your readers have any suggestions? Thanks for considering my conundrum!

Hi Allison, Thanks for your question! It’s been about 10 years since I’ve been to Vegas but I think it is the only city on earth that you can wear anything and not get a second look. Seriously, cut offs and ball gowns are both acceptable when you have gold lame Elvis’s wandering around lol. A girl’s weekend in Vegas is a great opportunity to wear some of those items in your closet that you are saving for a special occasion. Even if it is just a casual atmosphere, why not go all out!

Off the top of my head, I’d pack:
Skinny jeans, a great top, and sky high sandals for night out
A tasteful little black dress for a classy dinner
A day dress and flat or wedge sandal
A couple of tees
A bit of bling: long layering necklaces or a great chunky bracelet
On the plane I’d wear my fav bootcut jeans, a tank, cardigan, and flats

Readers! Have you been to Las Vegas recently? Can you help Allison with some packing and outfit ideas??

La la land

Happy Tuesday ladies! Before I start rambling lol,  I want to let you know this post is totally off topic. It’s more personal and has nothing interesting to say about clothes or shopping. So feel free to skip ;) I’ll have some Anthro and J.Crew reviews later this week.

So, I just wanted to say sorry for not being too responsive the last couple days! My mind has been elsewhere because, I dare say, I’ve decided to have my nose done. I’ve touched on this subject in the past and really appreciate all the kind words you girls had for me. I hope you don’t think I’ve disregarded them or the talks we’ve had about accepting yourself. I haven’t and I do feel that my profile has a certain unique and statuesque quality lol. Writing this blog and chatting with you has taught me to appreciate my good qualities. Inside and out. Yet still, I can’t shake the feeling that my nose doesn’t fit. It distracts from the rest of my face…and distracts me.

Most of the time I don’t think about it. I’m not sitting her beating myself about my profile lol. It’s just something that lingers with you. That self consciousness is always there, just a little bit. I think a big part of the reason I’ve never been able to get past it, is that my bridge is so high that I always see my nose out of the corner of my eye. Reminding me.

I hope sharing all this is not making you uncomfortable lol. It just feels a little therapeutic to write it out. I’m not the type of person who shares my personal life with people in real life (expect with dh of course.) What’s worse than when some one starts pouring out too much personal info and your standing there wondering awkwardly what to say to make them feel better lol? At least if I share on the internet, you can walk away haha. I’m not fishing for complements at all. So don’t feel obligated to comment on this rambling ;)

Anyway! What  spurred me on to actually do something about my nose, was finding out that the Dr who did my teeth was  facial surgeon and did noses as well. I felt really comfortable with him and happy with my teeth experience, so I decided to talk with him about rhinoplasty. I hate that word, rhinoplasty. Hello we obviously already hate our nose, now we have to be equated with a rhino?!

I got a lot of great info from Dr at my appointment yesterday. But to be smart, I’ve scheduled an appt with another doctor to get a second view point. The fact that I’ve scheduled two appts about this speaks volumes about how ready I am. I HATE making appts. To a disgustingly lazy degree lmao.

Obviously, a new nose doesn’t come cheap. So if I go ahead it will mean no London vacation for me this fall :( I hate spending money on myself vs a family vacation. It doesn’t seem to disappoint dh at all though and I guess there is always next year. I will have to cut back on my shopping as well. So you may see more closet reworking and less new goodies.

As I continue down my road to a new nose, I may mention it once and a while but it won’t take over the blog. I might be brave enough to share before and after pics someday, if you are interested. Thanks for reading!

OOTD: Black magic on love day

Today we celebrate our love, of shoes. No, no,no… obviously not of shoes… Of husbands. Wives. Daughters and sons. Mothers, fathers, and sisters. Brothers, relatives we never speak to, and friends that we wish were relatives instead. But maybe.. if there is any left, just a tiny bit of love for shoes. Particularly if they are insanely gorgeous Chie’s bought on sale after a tip from a lovely blog reader.

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QOTD: What to pack for a vacation in Paris

Today’s question comes from DaniBP. She asks:

Shannon, What should I bring to Paris in April for a romantic one-week holiday with DH? Our goal is to spend lots of time at the museums, but of course we’ll be eating out every night and stopping for drinks etc during the day as well. I can’t wait to go to the Louvre and the Musee D’Orsay, early April though so I am anticipating it will be chilly.

Hi Dani, The weather in Paris can be tricky. We went in October and I also expecting it to be chilly but it turned out to be warmer than normal, in the 60’s most days. Walking around all day seeing the sights, touring museums, and being down in the metro can really heat you up! Some sections of the Louvre are very warm regardless of the weather outside.

I also found Paris very humid. It didn’t rain often while we were there but a sudden down pour is always on the horizon. Some sections of the city are so densely packed that there is very little air movement. Other areas, like the Champs de Mars in front of the Eiffel tower, can be extremely windy. The huge walking paths in the park are full of sandy dirt that will fly right up into your eyes. So, bring sunglasses!
Continue reading QOTD: What to pack for a vacation in Paris