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I have a lot of love for the Casbah print in Jade from J Crew Spring 2011. I have the dress and scarf and pined over the Perfect Shirt and Silk Blouse. I regretfully missed the swimwear in this print that the lovely xoxo has and considered, for a brief moment, the Romper. A good print will do that to you. It will make you consider wearing it in something you know is going to look ridiculous on you. 
When Rynetta, from the blog jcrewismyfavstore, posted a pic of what looked like this lovely print in a skirt I immediately called my local Factory Store. I described it to the best of my ability, without the Style # (which is 37532) and luckily, this was the only green printed pencil skirt in the store. The SA confirmed it was a pencil skirt. I was hoping, just a little, that it would be the Belle Skirt. How cute would that have been?
As expected, it arrived today and I am loving it. It is cotton but un-lined which is fine by me. I ordered my normal size 6 and it is a perfect fit, per usual.
Such a pretty print. It is 98% Cotton and 2% Spandex and the color is Jade. Since this is in Factory stores now my guess is new arrivals will be on the website tomorrow. I wonder what other Spring goodies we’ll see! 
Thanks for reading! 
Two posts in one day…I’m loving my new app! Now, when I have a blog post in my head I can whip out Diva (I’ve named my iPad) and start typing away. She’ll be one hard-working iPad. 😉
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Thanks everyone for all the comments on my Straw Handbag post. I will be keeping the Brompton as it has more featues I like than the Leslie. I think because I have the larger Brompton it somewhat swayed me. But the more neutral Brompton along with the ease of opening it works better for me and my lifestyle right now. I’ll look at the Leslie again in a different color/material in the future. Also, I think, as Ema suggested, I’ll take it to my cobbler (who’s also my cousin!) to add “feet” to it. 

And speaking of feet (I know, corny segway)…I am a fan of espadrilles, both flats and wedges. I saw the Soludos for J Crew Dali Espadrilles and Classic Espadrilles pop up on the site a few weeks ago. It looks like a nice little collaboration for a cute summer shoe. And the price is great!

From the website: When Manhattanite Nick Brown couldn’t find espadrilles like the canvas classics he wore during childhood summers in England, he jumped at the chance to fill the void stateside. Based on the traditional espadrilles that have been sold in the markets and on beaches in the Mediterranean for centuries, Soludos – the name is a mash-up of the Spanish wors “salud” (cheers) and “sol” (sun) – stay true to the originals, with a few modern twists for added comfort. From the eco-friendly jute used for the soles – not too hard, not too soft – to the pure cotton fabric (in four exclusive colors you won’t find anywhere but J. Crew), Soludos are built to let your fee breathe even on the hottest summer days.

The Dali Espadrilles are solid and come in Neon Peach, Bright Spearmint, Lemon Zest and White. I chose the Spearmint as I have been wanting something mint-colored for summer for a while. According to the Soludos website, the Dali is named after Salvador Dali, the whimsical artis who would wear espadrilles while meandering the streets of his hometown Barcelona. There are some other great colors on the Soludos website including a Grape that looks like the J Crew Bright Dahlia color, my fav!
The Classic Espadrilles are Navy White Stripe and RedWhite Stripe. I really couldn’t decide between the red and the navy as I always gravitate towards Navy and the Red is a great strong color but I chose Navy as it goes with more in my closet. 
As far as fit, these come in Whole European sizes and mine is a 37. I gravitate between a 6 1/2 and 7 in various brands, J Crew included. The European 37 fit well and wasn’t too tight or narrow for me. I’ll have to report back on comfort but as far as trying them on they felt really good. 
What do you think of the Soludos? Have you tried them? 
Have a Great day!
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I have been looking for a good Summer Straw Handbag. I originally had thoughts of taking it on my trip with me but as chic as it might be it’s not practical, according to Husband. But we’ll see about that. 

I currently have the Village Green Bag from Anthropologie that I purchased last year on sale. I have yet to use it but can’t wait to do so. I thought about adding a drawstring bag inside it to thwart off thieves on our trip. It’s big enough to hold what I need for the flight and for my sight-seeing during the day. It has a flap with a turn-lock closure as well. I’ll have to see if I can convince Husband of it.
Next is one I’ve been using the past week. It’s the Medium Straw Beach Bag from J Crew, circa 2007. It’s a little on the heavy side for me and isn’t very comfortable when I try to carry it on my shoulder. It’s also open with only two suede strings to tie at the top. It is lined in a blue and white striped cotton twill. It’s still a very cute bag and will be used quite well this summer.
I was immediately in love with the Brompton Straw Mini-Hobo from J Crew when it showed up a few weeks ago. Then after seeing DaniBP’s review of it I was sold on it. I love my Suede Brompton, which is full size.. 
Lastly, is the Kate Spade Cobble Hill Straw Leslie Bag. I chose black over white because I thought it would be more functional and then I saw on the Kate Spade site that it also came in Aqua. 
Since I already have the first two bags, and they really are no comparison to the Brompton or the Leslie, I will need to choose between the latter two. 
1) Closure – I prefer a bag that has good closures but is still easy enough to get in to. I don’t want to fumble around with zippers and buckles and snaps to get to my wallet, lipstick or hand cream. The Brompton has a turn lock closure for the main compartment. It also has a top zip for the side pocket that is the full length and width of the bag. The Straw Leslie has the zipper you see in the photo that opens to the interior of the bag. The flap stays closed with a hidden magnetic closure. So if you want to access what’s inside you’ll have to keep it unzip (which is what I would do) or unzip it every time you need something. Winner: Brompton
 
2) Material – The Brompton is a nylon straw while The Straw Leslie is a natural straw. I don’t know how  it would hold up after a few months of use. I know it’s Kate Spade and a great quality bag but you are dealing with a natural material that, if it gets snagged or cut, could start unravelling. The straw on the KS looks to be more tightly woven than the JC bag. Winner: Leslie
 
Brompton on the left; Straw Leslie on the right
3) Carrying Options – The Brompton has a handle with a  6 1/2″ drop along with an additonal strap to change the bag to a cross-over body bag. The Straw Leslie has a handle with a 4″ drop as well as the cross-body strap. The Brompton can be carried on the shoulder while The Straw Leslie does not have that option due to the short drop. Winner: Brompton

4) Size – Both are almost the same size. Some would consider these small bags but, at least for me and my size/height, I consider it a Medium bag. I think both are a perfect size bag for me and don’t overpower my frame. Winner: The Straw Leslie
5) Other – The Brompton is a little lighter in color than The Straw Leslie but that doesn’t bother me. I like the contrasting color of the leather on The Brompton but I also like the black of The Straw Leslie.  The Straw Leslie has feet! I love that little feature on bags as it helps to protect the bag when you set it down. The Brompton just has the contrasting leather at the bottom with no other protection. I think The Brompton is roomier but probably because it less structured as The Straw Leslie. Winner: Tie
 
 

So, as you can see, I like a lot of the features of both bags. The gold-plated feet at the bottom sell me on The Straw Leslie while the ability to carry The Brompton on my shoulder is a selling point for that bag. I can’t decide.
Which would you choose? 

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Well, I had a long post of new J Crew Arrivals that included some of the new Apple print items and a lovely floral scarf but my computer has all but died. I guess it was a little jealous that I was spending too much time with my iPad it decided to quit on me. So, off to the computer “geek” it goes. As technically savvy as Husband is, he cannot fix computer hardware. It started giving me trouble early last week so I at least had the mind-set to back up all my files and photos. Whew! I also found what I hope is a good app for blogging and this will be the first post with that app.

Last weekend the Loft had 30% off everything in the store. They have continued that through this weekend. There was a black and white jersey striped skirt (I am stripe-sick Gigi!) that I saw the week before but when I went Saturday it was already gone. I did find this striped skirt, the Memorable Striped Skirt. You may recall the blue and white striped one I purchased in late Feb/early March. I couldn’t help myself as they had it paired with a neon pink top. I decided to use my J Crew Linen Cable-Knit Sweater in Caribbean Green and I think it looked just as lovely. 

I’m wearing a Small in the sweater and a Size 4 in the skirt. The sweater is so lightweight and perfect for the Spring. I won’t hold my breath for wearing it during the summer but it could transition to Fall pretty well as a layering piece. The skirt is a linen-cotton blend and though it’s prone to wrinkling it isn’t too bad. I also have a pretty Turquoise blue linen blend sweater from a few years ago that will go nicely with this skirt. 
I also found a navy and white striped (of course) jersey dress with ruching at the hip. Unfortunately the pic is on my laptop and back up drive that won’t link up to my iPad so no pic of it.  You’ll just have to wait for another Que Bella. I’ll wear it sooner rather than later. 
I did try on this dress – the Treasure Stripe Knit Dress. It’s a navy and cream knit jersey dress. The Medium fit well so I would say it does run TTS. It’s a little more pencil skirt-ish from the waist down so you may need Spanx or Assets or something similar.

Some of my other picks are below. I haven’t shopped at Loft in a very long time and this Spring they have really had some of the best things and great sales.

Eyelet Hem Skirt in Imperial Rose or Hot Orange
Anything above catch your eye? Have you been to the Loft lately?

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…we’ll be right back!

I have been swamped with work and my “second” job with our HOA. I hope to be all caught up by this weekend to return to my normal blogging. I have Gap, The Loft and of course, J Crew reviews coming up, along with a packing update too.

I have also been playing around with my new iPad I received from Husband as an early early birthday gift. Of course it doesn’t play nice with blogger so I’m trying to find a decent app for that. Any suggestions?

Be back soon!

AudreyBella