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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!
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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!
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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!

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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!