Anthropologie Reviews Fall 2013

I went on a return run to Anthropologie. It was fun. I took back some items that I have never worn that have just been hanging in my closet from this summer. I have never done fitting room pictures or picture reviews before. But I figured, what the heck? I always like to see the clothes on a “real” girl. This will not be a reoccurring post. I do not get to a brick and mortar store, but a few times a year. Maybe once a season. I felt a little naughty and weird, taking photos of myself in the dressing room. Oh, the things I do for this blog. ; ). Warning: this post is photo heavy!

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First up is this sweater dress called Petalblush Sweater Dress. I really liked this dress. It was super flattering and comfortable. I tried on the small and the medium. I am wearing the medium in the pictures. The small fit great, except the arms were tight. But it is the size I would probably purchase.

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I really do not like the detailing at the bottom. It looks like a muppet tragedy.

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The back is so cool. It is a shame that the bottom of the dress could not follow suit. Still a love, but at $200, I am waiting for sale.

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I then tried on The Sketchbook Dress. It is so fun and versatile. It has forests and fortresses on it. They did not have my usual size 8. I tried on the 6 and it fit perfectly. I love this dress. It is so easy. This lovely came home with me.

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Can I truly be a “gnome lover” and not own a mushroom blouse? This top is unbelievably lovely. I am wearing a size 6. This top is also insanely expensive. It is called Toadstool Blouse. It is silk with beautiful beading details. I am wearing it with a Holding Horses skirt that was on sale for $10. The skirt was a no brainer, but when they removed the sensor tag at checkout, it revealed a giant round stain where the sensor tag had been. The sales associate informed me all of the skirts had been marked that way (hence the $10 price tag). It was a giant bummer. I did not buy the flawed skirt.

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This skirt is beautiful. It is called Emeline Tulle Skirt. This skirt made me smile. The zipper was broken on this one. It is a size 6. It was a little large on me. I was able to slip it up and down without any problem. Super pretty for the more feminine among us. I would buy this for a great sale price!

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This top was pretty.. The top is called Ruched Ribbon Top (thanks Jules). It is purple with pretty ribbon details. This would also make a great sale purchase. I will save this on my wishlist.

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This top is adorable. Yep. That’s the word. It is the Nora Peplum Top. It is wonderful. It felt big in my usual medium, but when I sized down to a small, the arms felt too tight. I loved this blouse, and the medium happily came home with me. Let us wave good bye to my September budget.

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I will wear this with my Mothers brand jeans that I just got on sale for $40, marked down from $198. Sorry I am not a great photographer. And please ignore my messy house in the background. It’s on my to do list. ; )

Thus, we conclude my quick shopping jaunt. But I also took some pictures of some pretties around the store:

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Have you ventured to the dreaded dressing room lately? What did you try on?

P.S. Roxy at Effortless Anthropologie also did some reviews this week. I love her take on some of Anthropologie’s new dresses!

Our New Bookcases and Library Ladder

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Do you know who the sexiest movie hero is?

That’s right. THE BEAST.

Swoon.

Belle was one lucky lady. Well, until he turned into that prince…

But before that, she received the best gift in the world. That library. I covet it.

I decided I must have a piece of her dream, even if it is on an itty bitty scale.

My husband and I collect books. Lots and lots of books. We will come home with bags full of beautiful paper time machines giddy with excitement.

My husband also collects comic books.

We ran out of storage long ago.

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Our house is 1830 square feet (that 30 is important! ; ) ). Half of our formal living room is lined with books. Eventually we are going to have to build them all the way up the walls.

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Our house is small, but it came with high ceilings and weird little square niches everywhere.

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Welcome to the early nineties!

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We hired our carpenter to build us bookcases in two of our niches. This should solve our problem this year. Maybe next year we will tackle the job of the formal living room…

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We also splurged on a library ladder. Because… Do I really need a reason? I mean, just look at it. LOVE. Best purchase ever.

I have been stalking craigslist and eBay for the last four years looking for a reasonably priced library ladder. I am still kicking myself for not snagging one during the Borders Bookstore liquidation sale.

But I never found one. I finally just gave in and purchased a library ladder kit. I am really happy with it. We upgraded to oil rubbed bronze hardware and maple wood. It was fun to be able to customize our options. This was much cheaper than a fully completed library ladder. But it was still a huge splurge. We stained and installed this ourselves.

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Paul and his brother Chris, from Vrieling Woodworks (they also did our baseboards) built and installed the bookcases.

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We are so pleased with the final result. I keep pinching myself, because it truly is a dream come true.

Do you like to read? Are you a hoarder of books?

I shared this on Savvy Southern Style

And My Romantic Home

Peach Cake

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This recipe is from Ina Garten. I originally shared this recipe when I made it with strawberries in my Strawberry Cake post.

My husband’s favorite dessert is this cake. When peaches are in season, I have to remember to make it. I like to keep him happy. You know the saying, “Happy husband, Happy WO-man.” Or “Happy Husband, Happy Homeland.” Oh nevermind, you know I am horrible at jokes.

Anyhoo, off to bake a cake:

Ingredients:

1 stick softened unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar (divided into one cup and half cup)
2 extra large room temperature eggs
1 cup sour cream, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 large peaches, pitted, peeled, sliced into wedges

Optional:

1/2 cup chopped pecans (I do not like nuts in my desserts, so I omit these. They are part of her recipe. You can add them if you please).

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I just follow her very easy recipe. Seriously, this might take five-ten minutes to make. Then you just have to wait for it to bake. I am not posting the recipe, because I just want to share what I like to make. I did not invent this, so ethically and legally I cannot post the full details. However, bliss is just a click away. ; )

I bake mine for one hour and fifteen minutes. She says to bake it for 50-55. This has never been the case for me. I serve it warm, in a bowl, with vanilla ice cream on top.

I promised my husband I would bake him this cake last week. At 8:30 at night, I remembered. I started the cake and realized I only had one egg. Therefore, I halved the recipe in these pictures. If you follow the true recipe, your cake will look much more impressive.

Regardless, it ended up being fantastic. It still took one hour to bake. So, he ended up getting his much needed dessert at 10:00 that night. He ate this for lunch the next day. Uh oh, my bad habits are wearing off on him!

And being that it was 10:00, I forgot to take a final picture. This is a bummer, because the best part about this recipe is how it puffs up like magic in the oven. (Eventually, I will update with a pretty picture of the real deal. But I wanted to post this recipe while peaches are in season.)

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Hence, the final picture in bed (with cinnamon ice cream).

Oh well, I can’t think of a better way to end the night.

My Husband And The Bunny

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My husband is not going to be happy.

I am sharing a story about him. It is kind of embarrassing. I think it is the sweetest. But I completely understand now why he has not told his coworkers about this blog. And also…why he should not…

Ever…

So, my husband and I went to the grocery store for some much needed deals. As we were shopping, my husband said to me,

“Hey, honey, can we get some carrots? I NEED some carrots.”

I replied, puzzled, “Sure. It is on the list. Let’s just pick up an extra bag.” But being that he has never said that he NEEDED carrots before, I ventured further with a question: “Why?”

To which I got an unexpected reply, “The bunnies have been going in our neighbor’s yard. I want them to stay in our yard. I am going to leave them carrots.”

“You mean in the front yard? You are going to sprinkle orange carrots all over our front yard?”

He looked at me with excitement dancing in his eyes. “Yes.”

Okay! Sounds fun. I am sure the home owner’s association won’t mind one bit. On second thought, this would be just the sort of thing to irritate the association. I grabbed another bag.

And low and behold, when we got home, my husband yelled, “There he is!”

Scaring the crap out of me. Making me hit my hand against the glass window…

But he was right.

The bunny was waiting for us.

I said sweetly, “Go lay the carrots gently all over the yard. I love your kindness.”

Aaahhh, aren’t I the sweetest?

Here is what I actually said, “Do you want to pet the bunny, Lenny?”

I was greeted with silence. Which I totally deserved. Sometimes I can be an a**.

We scared the bunny away throwing carrots into our yard.

Now there are orange vegetables haphazardly strewn across our green grass.

No bunny.

Not yet.

But we are patient. We are waiting. I am sure to get a letter. A complaint.

I do not care…

My husband is adorable.