We will soon return to your regularly scheduled programming

The rest of my life

Last week was a crazy week (mostly in a good way) and this was a crazy weekend (in a good way). We passed papers (closed) on a house on Thursday. This involved a lot of running back and forth with final negotiating and signing loads of legal documents and then we got down to work! All the wood work in the house needs to be stripped and most of the walls need painting etc. I do have pictures to post from during the week but this weekend all I’ve worn is painting clothes.

I keep forgetting to take any pictures of the house but here is a little infographic that shows the colors we are painting the rooms (except for the upstairs bathroom, I don’t love the LEMON yellow but it’s decent shape and we have other priorities.) I am very excited to have TWO bathrooms.

Patrick tore down walls today. It was very exciting and very dusty. There’s a lot of work to be done we really love the house and most of the work is superficial, cosmetic things.

Shoeper Post Three 12/44

Shoeper Challenge

This brings me to 12 out of 44. It also means I’ve acquired four pairs of shoes since I started the challenge a month ago. Whoops. One of them is the teal flats pictured above. They were so cute and comfortable that I had to run back and get them in the gold, too. I’ve also saved another pair of wedges but I forgot to take a picture. But to balance that out I have evidence that the challenge is working! Evidence, I tells ya! I can’t remember the last time I wore those little Naturalizer almost-flats but I ended up wearing them twice last week after I saved them and remember how comfortable they are. They are also one of my oldest pairs of shoes that are still functional (as opposed to sentimental). I bought them to wear to a family wedding in July of 2007 where I knew I’d end up doing a lot of running around.

As a follow up to yesterday’s post: I went ahead and ordered the Mustard coat from Lands’ End. They have a generous return policy so I can try it on and see if anything better pops up in the next 30 days. I really couldn’t turn down a nice wool coat for under $90, though. Also, my mum pointed out that it’s easy to replace the buttons on whatever coat I settle on so “boring buttons” isn’t quite the downside I had been thinking it was. I’ll post pictures when it arrives.

(Grammar nerd confession: I may or may not get a sick pleasure from posting sentences with dangling prepositions.)

Cute Winter Coats: The Quest

Fashion, Liz can't make decisions by herself

When I woke this morning it was 56F in my bedroom. I am forced to face the inevitable conclusion that winter is coming. (Blergh) This year I need a new winter coat. The last two winters (one in DC, one in Massachusetts) have been very mild so I’ve been able to avoid the fact that I hate my winter coat. But we had a record breaking (aka miserable) summer and those are often followed by similarly record breaking winters. But even if we just had a typical winter I would spend a of quality time in that coat.

I have some specific criteria: wool, petite and pretty. I’m 5′ 2″ so petite clothes usually fit me better than standard ones but with coats it seems exaggerated. Peacoats tend to look silly if they cover one’s entire hand (it’s also not practical for one’s range of motion).

So let’s look at some coats, shall we?

This one is my favorite. It fits all of my criteria. And I adore the detailing like the the stitching at the hem and the gold buttons but it’s also $278 which is… expensive. At least to me. I was hoping to spend more like $150. But this is the coat by which all other coats will be measured. (Does anyone know anything about J. Crew quality these days? It’s been ages since I bought anything there.)

This is also a green peacoat (in case you were unsure). Yes, the color is as pretty and the buttons are boring but it’s much more practical the J. Crew number. And, at $199 it costs $80 less. I can do a lot with $80. This question is, would I just end up being cranky that I had compromised on the coat? If I was going to chose a color this sedated I’d rather go with a deep aubergine.

This brings me to my last two options.

These are both from Lands’ End. Neither of them is quite what I’m looking for. The Car Coat is beautiful but it’s long and would be heavy to carry around stores. The peacoat is a lot like the other coats I’ve looked at my it doesn’t come in green or purple (unlike the car coat, which comes in both.) The list prices are $219 and $148 but since Lands’ End is currently having a 40% off one item sale I could order either of them today for $131.40 and $89.40 respectively.

I’m torn. I love mustard but I’m not sure I want to wear it everyday all winter. I adore the J. Crew coat but at current prices it cost $200 more than the cheapest LE option. My life is so hard, you guyz.

Here’s a bonus beauty for those of you who aren’t limited to cuts that come in petite:

I would be all over this one if it came in petite. But someone else will have to enjoy it for me. So, what about you guys? What are your requirements when picking a winter coat?

30 x 30 Day 5: Green Polka Dot Capris

30X30, Fashion, Shoeper Challenge

The moment I saw these capris on the Old Navy website I knew I had to have them. They even came in petite! I ordered them in two different sizes. One in navy and one in green. The green ones fit the best and I was so excited. That was until I went to wear them and realized I had no idea how to style them.

Fortunately, the ladies over at the Shoeperwoman forum came to my rescue and after digging around in my closet I decided to switch the white t-shirt in my 30 x 30 for this white Ann Taylor blouse. That’s probably cheating but it will also be more of stretch for me to get multiple wears out the blouse. I’m pretty bad at using anything in my wardrobe that needs to be ironed. I wanted a green or brown belt but all I had was this mustard one, which looks tan enough in the context (or so I told myself).

I tried this all on with my silver flats and gold flats but decided that my short little legs really benefitted from the lengthening effect of the nude wedges. 

The pictures I attempted myself before I left the house were a disaster so Patrick snapped these after work. I think it worked out well.

The Woes of Wide Feet

Fashion, Shopping

I have wide feet. Now, as I peek over my lap top screen they just look like normal feet but apparently they are a cm or so wider than most people’s feet. Sometimes, in certain brands, I can wear a “regular” or “medium” width shoe especially if I go up a half size but most of the time I have to find a 7.5W. This really limits my options. Thankfully internet shopping makes it easier but it’s still difficult to find “fun” shoes in wide sizes. Shoe companies seem to think that us W people only need the bare basics. Humph.

I am on a quest for a pair of red heels. I have a pair of wedges that I wear a lot that have red canvas upper and a cork sole. During the summer they go with everything but they aren’t exactly compatible with a New England winter.

Since red heels aren’t exactly an investment piece for I’m trying to keep them under $50. I ordered three pairs.

The Getta from Madden Girl which has the tall but doable 3.5 inch heel and polka dot lining! 3.5 inches is on the tall side for me but they have a hidden platform that almost (almost) make them practical. Unfortunately, my usual size 8 fit in the toe bed but has room for two fingers at the back of the heel. I would have had to go down to the 7.5 for length but I didn’t have any room to spare in the toes.

The second pair, also from Madden Girl, was a long shot. As much as I love this silhouette, it just doesn’t love me back. I could barely cram my poor little piggies in there. I would have had to cut off some toes Grimm Brothers style. (And then I may have teetered a little on the 4.5 inch heel.)

The final pair was from Gabrielle Rocha. Like Madden Girl I have a few pairs from this brand that are staples in my shoe rotation. These are more of true red and less orangey scarlet than the picture depicts (a good thing as far as I’m concerned). There ones were all around too tight. I’m going to try ordering up (from a 7.5 to an 8).

I

30 X 30 Challenge

30X30, Shoeper Challenge
It seems like half the style bloggers I read have tried the Kendi Everyday 30 x 30 challenge. The idea is pretty simple: you choose 30 items from your wardrobe and make 30 different outfits out of them over the course of 30 days.  Since I was already doing the Shoeperwoman Shoe Challenge I left off 5 items for shoes but chose not to limit myself to 5 specific pairs of shoes. (What can I say I like challenges…) Some of the bloggers I’ve seen have also used the 30 items for accessories. Since I’m trying to encourage myself to use more accessories I opted not to do that, either.
Now that I’m done giving my list of excuses let’s talk about clothes. Since I have a cheap point and shoot camera and messy house I put together a Polyvore set to represent my 25 items. Where ever possible I used images of the actual items I own but some of my staples, like the cardigans and camis are no longer available online and had to be faked. kendi

As you can see I wear a lot of solids. There are five patterned items.  Three of them have polka dots. I hope that this challenge will force me to stop wearing yoga pants out of the house, wear more skirts and learn how I actually use my clothes. Also, I will have to figure out how to style those green polka dot capris.

I am going to have to really stick to this. We’re moving in about 30 days so I packed up all my other clothes (that weren’t in the wash and aren’t pajamas). No cheating here!

Tea!

Food

My new tea arrived quickly. In addition to my staples (Earl Grey. English Breakfast and Peppermint) I also ordered some green tea. I have tried green teamany times and I want to like it but it’s always tasted “off” to me in the past. This time I tried a flavored version this time called “citron green.” It has orange, lemon and marigold flower in it and I actually like it! It doesn’t have the “off” taste that green tea usually has for me. (I know “off” is a useless descriptor but I don’t know what else to call it.)

Shoeper Week 2 8/42

Shoeper Challenge

I’ve managed to save three more pairs of shoes since my last Shoeper update.A pair of espadrilles from Victoria Secret, Madden Girl heels and Merrell flats.

I wore these silver espadrille sandals out to dinner with my husband and a friend. The toe bed is really too narrow and I discovered that if I walk around long enough the smallest toes on my right foot will slide right through the straps and off the side. So while these shoes are “saved” I’m not sure they’re actually going to be kept.

A few years ago I was shopping with a friend who talked me into these grey Madden Girl heels. “They’re too high!” I protested. “I’ll never wear them.” As it turns out despite being one of my highest pairs of heels these are also my most comfortable and versatile I’m going to be devastated when they wear out. I wore them to a Labor Day cook out and got a lot of compliments. (I got more compliments about “cute shoes” than I did questions about why I was so “dressed up” which I count as a major victory.

These black flats are workhorses. They are probably the most expensive pair of shoes I own. I bought them for commuting and kept them under my desk for when I had to be on my feet a lot. Now that I’m back in school they are great for teaching. I hadn’t worn them in a few months and they tore up my heels. I’ve got two red blisters.