December Dither

 With more couth I would've worn this outfit for Thanksgiving: 

the Collection café capri in antiqued floral, a cambridge crewneck from 2008 and the antique gold mary jane heels so wonderful I no longer pine for the spencer patent trimmed crackle metallic mary janes 

aka Emma Pillsbury's favorite shoes.

I think the antique floral print is rich and splendid. The fabric, 76% silk and 33% cotton, is quite substantial. It feels like two layers woven together. Could very well be since the reverse side barely shows any print show-through and has a different texture.

Highly recommended if you like crazy fancy pants.

Showing the shoes snapped up from Yoox but they are no more there.

Is it wrong to be in love with a pair of shoes?

 As threatened promised, here's what I wore for Thanksgiving:

This year's was a wonderful confluence of Thanksgiving and Hanukkah that I was completely unaware of since I'd been buried in work.

But look what we saw as we're fixin' the candied yams.

Is this one of those signs Jody talked about?

What the weatherman tells us for today.

And what it looks like.

But I'll be planning and packing for a week-long trip to places where the weather is difficult for me to imagine.

This (washable? faux fur) is likely the foundation for my trip.

With apologies in advance to ruth, Naomi, Heidi and anyone else I will likely offend, I will likely wear this on travel days:

With any luck, I may see some ...

That's a surprise snow storm the last time I visited my dad. 
Spending time with him will be the very best part of my trip. :)

 

Stay safe and warm and don't let the stresses take over.

Let me know what you're up to and I'll try to keep up.

See y'all in about a week.

A Moment in Time

Spurred on by Heidi's post on renovations and roses,

I clipped these from my garden and brought them to work. Why did I not do this every week all spring and summer long? They've been blooming away at the side of the house where we rarely ever see them.

Now I'm reminded to enjoy their glorious moments
and take more time to smell the roses.

Oh no. I'm dreading a Wally B moment. He recounted that here.

A pair of mine are missing. They did not come back from the wash and I've retraced my steps several times, double-checked the washer and dryer at least three times and shook out and cross-examined every item in that same load of laundry thinking they stuck. Nope.

I was blog surfing and somehow came upon this. I don't know who these ladies are but unlike Kate below who was having a rather pretty time fighting the elements, the one in the pale café au lait dress was captured in an unfortunate moment against the wind.

Kate was attending a forum where experts addressed cyber bullying; self-harm; special education needs; raising aspirations, access and achievements; and preventing addiction to build emotional resilience and strength. While the attention is likely on her Marilyn moment, perhaps some greater awareness will come of the worthy discussion to nurture good mental health in children.

It was a spur-of-the-moment decision to wear the sequin bow pant to work. Can I plead a momentary lapse of good judgment?



Wash and Wear

I won't say why or how, except I didn't cause it, but this icon trench was filthy. At first, I thought I'd relegate it for dire circumstances ... like if I knew I had to be packed onto a bus with a football team

that for some reason could not shower after a sweaty game.

But the coat was grungy enough I doubt I'd wear it even then.

Oh, I thought about taking it to the cleaners.

But I don't love the idea of spending a zillion dollars on something that may not come clean and I don't love the idea of dry cleaning chemicals. And since the football team scenario was unlikely, made one of those "what do I have to lose" decisions and threw it in the wash. Delicate cycle, cold water. Tumble dry low.
Surprise, suprise. It came out just fine.

And while it's not as crisp as before and should be lightly pressed,

I now happily wear it for the best situations.

I wore the washed trench over the above outfit when I went to:

With some good friends and we had pre-theater dinner here:

I ate every bit of:

British Columbia King Salmon

eggplant purée, soy bean, tamago, Thai curry and jasmine rice

Carried this:

Kate Spade book clutch.

And was not disappointed in any way. 

The evening far exceeded every expectation.

 

Many have wondered, some have asked and I said I'd try it so

I washed the minnie pant in bi-stretch wool.

Same way: delicate cycle, cold water, tumble dry low.

I measured before and after, the width shrunk by about 3/16".

Like jeans after they're washed and dried, they felt tightened up. 

Still quite wearable but more legging-like.

The bigger difference was the length, they're shorter by about 1/2".

 

 If you study the above carefully, you'll notice the more snug and bunched up washed minnie pant on the right. Slightly shorter.

For reference, I'm 5'2"-ish and wearing the regular length size 00.

Not sure if I prefer them before or after the wash and dry but I sure wish there was a way to shrink the waistband by about 2".

Then they'd be perfect. Like my recent evening out.

 

So have you had wash and wear dastardly disasters or surprise successes?

Factory Commendatory

Before I could say highly recommend, the Factory classic button-down shirt in jeweled oxford sold out oh well and the Factory skinny cord in polka dot is just about gone. The polka dot cords are part of the Fall Essentials Sale of 40% off selected items good through Sunday, Sept. 29. If you use the SEPTSAVE code (10% off $75+, 20% off $125+, 30% off $200+) at checkout, there are some gems of a good deal.

Close-up of the "jewels" on the button-down.

The thin wale corduroy jeans are skinny. No need to size down.

In fact, I'm afraid of what might happen when I wash and dry them. Wearing size 25 here and thinking I should grab the size 26.

The material is 99% cotton, 1% spandex.

They don't get baggy saggy during the day ... yay!

But you cannot get undressed in a hurry, I had a tough time getting the leg opening over each foot pulling them off. 

Did I say they are skinny?

The Factory skinny ankle jean in classic rinse are not as skinny.

They're what I'd consider a comfortable, favorite fit and could very well become my go-to jeans. I don't have to worry whether it's one of my skinny days. I know they won't ride up or droop down.

They won't cut and bind (you're supposed to hear Brett and Dale Jr. say this).

And they're not distressed to look too casual.

I even feel tall (ha) when I wear them.

They're rough and tumble, earthy, sturdy and substantial.

I won't even care if I spill on them or sit on a dusty park bench.

Heck yeah, I love, love, love them. Especially for $33.25.

The Factory skinny jean in black can also be had for the same price. They have the same fit, and just like the classic rinse, they're

98% cotton, 2% spandex, but feel just a tad thinner.

With black stitching instead of the usual contrasting thread used for

blue denim jeans, they don't read as obvious jeans.

I think they're quite versatile and make great traveling pants.

The above were on the travel days for my recent business trip.

(The giant sequined heart is to cheer up the grumpiness that can be the airport crowd.)

(Better pics of the black skinny jeans since they're not off a hotel mirror.)
The shirt is the Factory two-pocket chambray shirt that has been around for at least a couple years, now better for me because it comes in XXS. Though it's not the fine, silky chambray of the selvedge chambray shirt, the rough and tumble, earthy, sturdy and substantial shirt has earned some love in blogland. What some said.

I've reviewed a few more Factory shirts that are part of this double whammy SEPTSAVE on top of Fall Essentials Sale. Just click on the Chambray-Denim Shirts tab at the top to see.

Happy shopping and happy weekend!

Hangdog

Though I have a dozen brilliant posts written by that
prolific writer who lives only in my head, IRL I am lazy.
Thus, I am resorting to pics from months ago,
when this adorable sad faced puppy won me over.

The baby bulldog sweater was my first and only
ModCloth venture and I don't regret it one little bit.

It was inexpensive, it's 100% cotton and

has a cute critter that makes one smile.

Could use one, working like a dog and a zillion hours last week.

OK not a zillion, but more than 60, including one night morning

when I didn't leave the office until 1 a.m.

Feeling as sick as a dog by then.

Tomorrow, I'll have to be in the office by 6 a.m.

It will be brutal.

I won't be a cheerful early bird.

I will be a grump dog.



A Very Late Thanksgiving

You call that a gravy boat?

This is a gravy boat.

You're supposed to read that

with this in mind:

In addition to big bird (a 23.7 pound turkey)

we did 10 pounds of candied yams

five pounds of mashed potatoes,

two different stuffings (they filled two extra large roasting pans),

two kinds of cranberry sauce,

some peas so we can pretend we ate vegetables,

and had pumpkin pie and ice cream.

 

We did not host dinner for 20, there were only five of us.

Which is why I was glad I didn't glam,

I had all these ideas but I wore this (perfect wear for peeling potatoes and stuffing stuffing):

This is obviously an awfully tardy post.

And an awkward segue to say thank you.

(With all good intentions I meant to do it way before now.)

First to M of Apples & Pencil Skirts

and rynetta of jcrewismyfavstore

for giving me

Then to Andrea of Tweed and Toile

for awarding me

And last but certainly not at all the least

TC of What I Bought Today

and Danielle of Chocolate, Shoes, and Debate

for bestowing on me the

There are questions to be answered and other bloggers to nominate.

But I figure I should get on with at least the thanks

so I'm not even more delinquent with each passing day.

{hangs head in shame for realizing how overdue I am}

Is it really true better late than never?

And can overalls ever work with heels?



Sequin Secrets

If you had to go straight from the airport to an event where

the dress code is described as business casual afternoon cocktail attire,

what would you do/how would you dress?

 

A quick change of shoes from traveling flats to Valentinas

and pulling something sparkly over my plain traveling tee while in the taxi 

has been what I've done on three occasions now.

 

I didn't take a picture but this was the first time.

Some type of skinny minnies were my traveling pants each time.

The above was in May and below was three weeks ago.

I don't know what business casual afternoon cocktail really means.

But when in doubt, I go with my skinny pants and sequins.