Tuesday, April 9, 2013

OOTD: Abstraction.

UPDATE: I am trying to re-publish this blog post since the original one was not showing up in either Blogger dashboard or bloglovin'.  Since I know most of you come to my site that way, I am re-publishing this post so you all can see the post.

UPDATE #2: Blogger finally published the two posts, but nearly an hour after I had published them initially.  I don't know what's up with blogger, but for any of you who use this same platform, be aware that this may happen to you, as well.

Oh, my, it truly has been too long!  I have been back in the United States for a couple of days now, but barely awake for any of it, since my darling hubby decided to get a stomach virus whilst there (which we thought was food poisoning).  I took good care of my ailing hubby and figured since I didn't get sick, I didn't get poisoned by the food.  I was so very wrong.  Within two hours of landing at home here in Virginia (gorgeous 70 degree weather welcoming me, natch), I felt the first effects of the stomach virus.  It only got worse and I was in bed for a straight 24 hours.  I am finally (sort of) on the mend, at least I am able to sit up and eat bland foods.   My only hope is that the children don't get it, since it is definitely spreadable.  So far, so good, but I know the possibility exists.  Sigh.

Anyhow, I had planned for a whole host of posts to be published while away, but the internet in Ireland was spotty, so didn't do much there, and of course, the death knell of stomach viruses hit me here, so this is my first back to business post in a week!

Okay, back to business!


His favorite activity of late?  Photo-bombing.

Where: Afternoon off from the kids--means a trip to the consignment store and Anthropologie.

Ease of Wear: (3.5 of 5 stars--5 being the most easy to wear.)  Wasn't especially cold, so I was able to wear this outfit as is.  The sweatshirt/tights/wool skirt combo helped to keep me nice and warm.

I do have a complaint about the tights, though.  They are wonderfully made, nice thick cotton with darling little dots, but the darn things are HUGE on me.  I had ordered this pair in a size large since that was all they had left.  Technically they should have fit fine since my height and weight were just inside the line for the large (height--most definitely and weight--lower end, but still there).  Unfortunately, I can hitch the tights waistband to my bosom, no joke.  I could wear these tights as some sort of weird avant-garde outfit if I so desired to be a different type of fashion blogger.  Not likely, but nice to know I have the option.

I have another set of tights from Boden in another color set, in a size medium, and those fit so well, so clearly I chose wrong at first.

I will say that even though the tights are too big, they did stay up with no issues, so big bonus points to them for that, since that normally is not the case for me.

Cool Factor: (4 of 5 stars--5 being the coolest.)   This outfit seems to be pretty cool.  The girls in the Mint Condition shop seemed to like it, especially the shoes.  I always receive compliments on these shoes when I go out...Miss Albright did me well when I bought them all those years ago..

This Proenza Schouler for Neiman Marcus/Target collab sweatshirt is my favorite, though, as far as "cool" goes.  Something about the abstract graffiti graphic and the hi-lo hemline takes this top from "decently comfortable run around town" to "wear it with a cute pencil skirt and darling shoes and have a hip outfit."  (I really like how I wore it here, too.  Clearly I am going to get my money's worth from this purchase.)

Anecdote from the day:  Nice to have an afternoon off from the kids.  My in-laws were coming into town for Angus's first birthday party, so I knew I needed to tackle some of my to-do items, which included dropping off a HUGE load of consignable items (got the list back from them recently--wow, my closet clear-out is going very well, indeed!) and a return of a pair of boots to Anthropologie.

Okay, that's it for now, but I do have two other things I wanted to mention:

1. The Boden sidebar coupons have expired, and I just noticed that.  I have put an e-mail into my affiliate program to let them know, and I expect to hear back from them a bit later today or tomorrow.  Until then, I will give you the same info I put over at my facebook page regarding how to get extra savings (especially if you are planning on buying any Summer Trim items).

From the facebook page:
Okay, just found a code, Y1H8, which will give you an amount off of a certain amount spent, like spend $75 and receive $15, etc.

Go to the website, put things in your basket, and place the code on the shopping bag page, which will then show you the discounted total (I tried it at $150, and received $30 off, which works out to 22% off total).

Only problem with this code is if you wanted to spend more at the site, since the big savings stop at $200, with $45 off that amount. (Of course, you can always order multiple times.)

I am sure the affiliate folks will get back to me with more info later, but for now this should help any of you with any need to order today.

2. 
Also, my good blog friend, Avril (of the wonderful School Gate Style blog), met up with me in Belfast last week and did an awesome write-up of our evening out together.  Definitely swing on by and visit her blog (and maybe follow her, too, if you don't already?).  It truly was a great night out, and I have officially fallen in love with her city--Belfast is chic, friendly, and beautiful--like Avril herself!