I received the link to view the May 2012 Anthropologie Catalog yesterday. These are just a few of my favorites from it. They are having Free Shipping for Card holders as well for any purchases over $100.

Marietta Sunhat – Now this is a hat that could dress up any plain outfit. No other accessories needed. And with my newly diagnosed Rosacea I certainly need to cover my face as much as possible, especially while on vacation. 

Petals Unfurling Top – This looks so breezy and casual and vacation-y! The length look like it covers the mid-section pretty well. I see this with rolled denim shorts. I would definitely get both white and black.

Maia Column Dress – Now this Bailey 44 column dress is one I would buy at full price. I haven’t tried any of the versions on yet but I think it was because none of the colors appealed to me. I saw this one in my store window display this past weekend but didn’t have enough time to try it on.

Blue Bombos Dress – I didn’t even notice the bees originally on this LeifNotes’ dress. This looks soft and flowy and could feel great against your skin.
Sky Trails Maxi Dress – An absolutely gorgeous beach vacation dress by Addison Story. Even the catalog shot of the model in the clear water makes me want to fly away right now. With this dress of course.
Flared Annabelle Dress – This dress makes me want to twirl, just like the catalog image. It’s cotton with a cotton lining and looks to be a midi-length dress meaning I’d need to wear heels with this. Not sure I could get away with flats at my height and the midi-length. The only thing bothering me is the back neck tie. Very odd.
Revisited Impressionist Dress – I am really drawn to digital prints on clothing and love my Crepe Myrtle Shirtdress from Sarah Ball and this Tracey Reese dress is no exception. Oh how I wish I had a summer wedding to attend. 
Leadlight Maxi Skirt – This is a gorgeous stained-glass print Maxi skirt by Maeve. They always have wonderful clothes. It may be a game-changer for my trip. With all the colors in it I can certainly wear this with different tees and my Linen Sweaters every few days. A major plus is that it is lined in Cotton. That’s always great for warm summer days. It has a matching cropped (!) top as well that I’ll pass on. I ordered it in a 8P so I’ll review that when it comes in.
I’m sure you’ve noticed two common themes here…lots of blue hues and vacation is on the brain. Many are colors of what you want the ocean to look like on a beach vacation. I hope these hold out, and maybe even make it to sale, by the time my birthday discount arrives in June. 
I can’t wait for this catalog to arrive on the Google Catalogs app for iPad. It’s great to mark and “heart” my pages or specific items. Do any of you use it? Both J Crew and Anthropologie are uploading their catalogs to it along with Boden’s, Neiman Marcus, Lands End Canvas and Madewell to name a few. 
Have you had a chance to look at the Anthropologie May catalog? What do you think? 

GAP had a 30% off sale a few weeks ago, which is where I picked up the Dotted Wrap Dress. I also added the Chambray Shirtdress to my bag.  It came in a red chambray as well so be on the look-out for it in store. 

I have on a Size Medium and it fits TTS for me. That’s the size I usually get in GAP clothing unless the reviews (Ahem…J Crew) state otherwise. I added a J Crew belt from a few years ago and my Brass Tacks Wedges from Anthropologie. The belt has some studding going around the back so it goes well with the wedges. I met some friends for dinner and a wonderful outdoor pizza restaurant near my house. It was perfect for the breezy weather we had that day.
I must say that I imagined two specific bloggers in this dress. DaniBP, who can rock a frock like no one else and AppGal, who would look darling in this dress while educating our youth. 
Unfortunately, both colors of this dress are sold-out online but I have seen these popback and also in stores so check or call your local GAP.
Have a Great Day!

This past weekend was pretty busy for us. We had a family reunion that involved a 3-hour drive, one-way, for us and it was also our Wedding Anniversary. Because of the reunion, we were unable to go to dinner Saturday night. Husband picked a super-casual place for dinner Friday night so I wasn’t able to wear what I originally wanted, the Lace Blouson Dress in Black.

I still wore a dress, my new Loft purchase I blogged about here. I paired it with the Mossimo Pollie Strappy Espadrille. These are going to be my favorites for the summer.  

It looks like the dress never made it online and it was sold out in my store when I stopped by over the weekend. It is all one piece and has slightly diagonal stripes on top with ruching/gathering at the side which then allows the stripes to change to completely horizontal. I like the slight cap-sleeve, fits great in a Size Medium and is lined (in poly…boo).

For the reunion, I went all J Crew wearing the Linen Cable-Knit Sweater in Navy, with a navy cami underneath, J Crew Summerweight Chino Shorts in Modern Red (same color in the 9-inch shorts) and the Soludos for J Crew in Navy Stripe. 
Now, regarding the comfort of the Soludos, I love them. The rope insole does not bother me in the slightest. I think I may add an insole but only because they are the tiniest bit loose on me. As I stated before, I am a 6 1/2 to a 7 in shoes and chose the bigger of the two sizes (6, 7). Aldo has some great terry insoles that are perfect for these casual shoes. Also, they’ve added a Chambray online and I saw a Navy/Red Stripe in store over the weekend. These are now in serious consideration for my trip. I’m tempted to buy them in white and soak them in tea to change the color, since they’ll dirty up pretty quickly anyway.
Have a Great Day!

Hey there! Hope everyone had a great weekend and wonderful weather like we’ve been experiencing in South Texas. I’ve had a busy week followed by an even busier weekend. I have a little weekend break this weekend but then it will be non-stop for the next 9 weekends. I did manage to swing by our lovely outdoor mall yesterday and do a little shopping. Of course, I stopped in at J Crew and picked up an unexpected item, on sale of course.

I really hadn’t been participating in any of the sales lately as I am really trying to cull my closet to have clothes I love. I know there will be the occasional “gotta have that” buy but for the most part I’ve been meticulous about what I buy. I have been trying to stay away from any new pencil skirts as I have amassed quite a few. Mini-skirts need to be fun but pass the bend-over test and I’m starting to find and wear more dresses lately. Shirtdresses have become my newest obession. You’ll see a few in the coming days (Girl Scout Promise!).

Anyway, a few weeks ago I tried on the No. 2 Long Pencil Skirt in Sovereign Paisley and fell in love with the print. Unfortunately, the skirt was too long so I passed on it. I’ve been thinking about that print since then and knew my store had plenty of the Cafe’ Capris in that print on sale. Now, I tried on, purchased and returned the solid version in Bright Dahlia from the Spring as the fit was weird on me. The size 6 was a teensy bit snug in the booty but the 8 was saggy. Because of this, I hadn’t tried on any other of the Cafe’ Capris, including the printed versions. I decided to give them a try to see how they compared in fit with the solid color.
Here they are in a Size 6.
I must say they are a perfect fit. I didn’t even bother with a size 8. I cuffed them twice to see how they would look hemmed and LOVEIT!! I paired them with the Garment Dyed Linen Cable-Knit Sweater in Neon Azalea and the Suede Mona Pumps in Wild Berry. All three items were on sale plus the 30% off. The pants had a tag of $109.99 and I was resigned to purchasing them at that price, less the 30% off. When it rang up they were actually $79.99, plus 30% off! The sweater was $54.99 and there were all sizes and colors on sale. I am wearing an XS here but sized up to a Small (which is really down a size from my normal Medium). I also have this in Green, White and Navy. If they make it to a second cut on sale I’ll grab the rest of the colors. The Mona’s were $99.99.
And since I was in the dressing room already, I also tried on the Cafe’ Capri in Seersucker, Size 6. My SA gave me the Perfect Shirt in Stripe Linen to try with it along with the Patent Leather Belt in Bright Dahlia. I added the Mona’s and absolutely loved the look. I am wearing a size 4 in the shirt but would size to a 6 for a little bit more comfort in the arms, shoulders and chest. Again, I cuffed the pants to a true “capri” length. The pants fit well and sizing up would have made them baggy and less fitted.
I hope my willpower holds out until these pants go on sale but they almost seem too perfect to pass up at full price. Actually, the whole outfit does. 
Have a Great Day!

Here are a few outfits from the week. First is a great wrap dress from the GAP, the Dotted Wrap Dress. I ordered this without trying it on but based on the reviews and Rose’s post, from One More Shopping Blog, I sized down one to a Small. I’m glad I did. This fits great and is very comfortable. I added a lace cami from Banana Republic and my Lanvin Espadrilles, as I had a board meeting that evening.

Next is what I wore Wednesday. This is the Draped Snail Tank by from Anthropologie. I love the little snail print all over. As you can see this is a pretty wide blouse. I’m wearing a size 6. It will certainly look better layered under a cardigan to tone done the a-line shape of the blouse. The jeans are from 2006(!) and are from Express. The shoes are the J Crew Joley flats. 
I did tuck in the shirt to give myself a better shape and you can see that it made a difference. I forgot to add a belt but would have added a yellow one for just another small touch of color. 
I was so happy to find the Oroya Dress, by Eva Franco from ,Anthropologie on ebay in my size. I had bought it before, on sale no less, and returned it for some ridiculous reason. I’ve been pining for it ever since. I added some new Target Mossimo Espadrille Wedges and a cami I’ve had for years from The Limited. The yellow cami paired nicely with the colors in the dress. I met a friend Thursday evening for “Margaritas and Manis” at the Westin La Cantera Hotel. We had a great time enjoying a yummy delicious margarita and a mini-manicure. 
The wedges are Mossimo Pollie Strappy Espadrille. I took a size 7 and they were quite comfortable. I normally stay away from ankle strapped shoes but these don’t contrast too badly with my skintone to cut me off at the ankle. 
Have a Great Day!