Monday, January 16, 2012

Boden: Giveaway Winner, Two New Arrivals, and a Maternity Outfit!

Hi, all!  I am THRILLED that I had 31 discrete entries in the Boden $25 Gift Card giveaway.  (There were 36 total comments, but 5 were "here is my e-mail" type comments, so I didn't include those in the overall number for random.org.)

The winner is Tina Z., whose 21st entry was chosen by random.org as the winner.  Tina, I believe I have your e-mail, but just in case, will you e-mail me at dinagideon AT aim DOT com just in case?

Speaking of winners, I want to shout-out to Susan Moran, whose present from a previous giveaway I need to get to her.  :)  Thanks!

Okay, so today turned out to be a huge Boden day for me.  I received a MASSIVE package from UPS (working on MLK day, shame!) that had almost all of our pre-orders in there.  I thought they only shipped with US Mail, but hey I am not complaining.  This came really quickly, which is the antithesis of many of my packages from December.

I have MUCH that I love, and one that I (sadly) need to exchange but I definitely have a lot of fodder for future ootd posts and BWRRs!

For now I will highlight two today (at the bottom of this post), but before I do that I know that many of you are still shopping the clearance section (and who can blame you with those prices?), so I wanted to showcase an outfit I wore last week to lunch out with the family that includes two Boden pieces that are currently (or pop-back potential) in the sale.

Dress: Ruffle Front Dress, Size 6.  This is from Boden Maternity and is the perfect foil for any cardigan or jacket, owing to its black coloring.  This was the least popular color probably because of that...the ruffles get a bit lost on the dress, to be honest, unless you are right up on me.  :)  I did a review of it back here.

Cardigan: Embellished Cashmere Cardigan, Size 6.  This is from the Boden Limited Edition Line and I was fortunate to score it on a second cut, so I ended up buying it for $91.  This cardigan is for sure worth $91.  I think the detail and weight of the knit make this a great bargain, which may be why it is sold out (but watch for popbacks).  I did a written review of this cardi here.

Tights: These are from the Wal-Mart brand George, size C.  LOVE George tights and highly recommend them...they last for freaking ever.

Shoes: Naturalizer, Size 9.  Still find plenty of outfits to use with these fun brown/grey booties.

Rex is all Target-ed out, but I have a few photos of him and CW all Boden-ed out, however, I am waiting to show those off.  BTW, their new mini Boden pieces are WONDERFUL.  Truly exceptional quality with adorable colors and prints.

Close-up detail of the cardigan and dress.  I need to fix Rex's baby photo, it has gone wonky.  LOL.  :)

Ruffle Front Dress
Ruffle Front Dress.

Embellished Cashmere Cardi
Embellished Cashmere Cardigan.

Okay so here are the two new arrivals and my very early thoughts.  (I have more thoughts on other items, but these two are more "pressing" on my mind.)

Textured Cotton Skirt
Textured Cotton Skirt, Size 8 Long.  I should have known when I saw the hip measurement was 39 inches I would be in trouble.  I measured the skirt against last year's textured cotton skirt, and while this year's version is sleeker and more modern looking (they don't have the "pouf" on the tummy area), this year's is also much smaller through the hips by an inch or two on each side.  Eep!  I need to send mine back (I attempted to put it on and it barely went up--and this is well below the Gus belly, mind you, didn't actually try to zip it or anything) and exchange it for the 10 Long, which has a hip measurement of 40.5, giving me a bit more room, and measuring up to the J. Crew pencil skirts I own.  The waist, however is really generous, with almost 32 inches in the 8 Long.  I know I will need to take in the 10 Long waist at some point in the future, but that is an easy fix.  On Wednesday, I hope to have a photo of the skirt in the pink floral as it is beyond pretty...the pinks are super-saturated, with just the right mix of browns and yellows.  The grey version is super-popular and is on back order right now.  Just remember, pear-shaped ladies, SIZE UP.  ;)

Plait Trim Top
Plait Trim Top, Size 6.  THE LOVE.  No seriously.  I bought the lime green/blue/khaki version and as soon as I tried it on I realized that this is a seriously gorgeous top that is super soft and well executed.  The length is long enough to be a fun tunic after pregnancy (short tunic, but tunic length nonetheless) and a lovely "normal" top during pregnancy (its fabric is slub cotton, so it stretches over my belly nicely).  I plan to have this on tomorrow for the preschool run, so I will put IRL photos on the BWRR on Wednesday.  :)  I am telling you all about this early because the color I purchased is seeming popular and is in backorder, so if you are interested, you may want to bite if you want it. right. now.

Okay, that's it!  I hope you all enjoyed your day, and if in the US, I hope you had a moment to reflect on the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr.  Being in DC, I know quite a few folks who were fortunate enough to be at his "I have a dream" speech, and from what they tell me, as moving as it is for us to remember as part of our American cultural identity, to be there was something that cannot even be expressed by mere words.

Good night!