December 9, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Blue Moon

After the unfortunate outfit mishap with my previous outfit I had originally planned on wearing on my date night with my husband (post and explanation here), I had to go home and swiftly change.

I knew I had to pull out the big guns. ~~Oh, wait, I all ready did that. Groan.~~ And so I quickly changed into my husband’s favorite dress. Well, one of them.

This Anthropologie Arched Careena Dress from a few years ago is always the solution to my husband’s heart (I have seen this being sold on eBay. This dress came in three colors and is very forgiving in sizes. I am usually a size six or eight and I purchased this in a twelve because it was the only size available once it hit clearance at my store many years ago. I do not think it runs small. I just think it is an easy dress to size up or down in).

It is the prettiest blue. It is feminine. It is flattering. It nips in at the waist and then flares out. Plus, it has ruffles, which usually isn’t such a guy magnet. But in this case, it works.

Besides I would have to try really, really hard to flash or moon someone in this.

I assume.

I think it was best that I didn’t try. Besides, my shoes were all ready on due to the previous outfit encounter, so I could not manage a reenactment of my shame.

I want to talk about my agate necklace really quick. I forgot to mention the green agate necklace I wore in the previous post. Both necklaces are by Leila Jewelry and I had stalked them for almost a year at Nordstrom Rack until one fateful day during their 30% off clearance sale a few weeks ago, I decided to run into the store hoping beyond hope that there would be a chance that they had finally been discounted and they would still be available. It was truly my lucky day. They still had three of the four I had been watching (the fourth one having sold was the most amazing hot pink) and they had indeed gone on sale. I so very happily scooped up all three for around $17 each. Retail price was $148 each (they are gold plated).

It was a once in a blue moon kind of score.

I paired the dress with my Anthropologie Vegan Leather Jacket (previously worn here and here). My daughter has been borrowing this jacket a lot this season. In fact, she has been borrowing most of my outer wear. She is very petite, so my cardigans and this jacket are the only things we can share. I actually love sharing my clothes with her. I love lending out items. It seems like it would go against my hoarder’s heart, but it makes me happy to share. They are just clothes. And I like the joy I see on my daughter’s face when she wears some of the items.

It is fun.

And fun is the best.

In fact, I once lent this dress to a dear friend and now any time I wear it, I also think of her and smile. Clothes are good for making memories. They are even better at holding on to them.

Do you lend your clothes out? I do to close friends and relatives. There are a few item exceptions. My pieces from Etsy and my Kantha dresses. Do you have a date night dress that you reach for again and again?

I do not mind wearing this one over and over.

I like it.

My husband likes it.

In fact… We are over the moon.

*this post was edited using VSCOCAM’s C1 filter at level 3.

December 8, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

“…The Little Dog Laughed…”

I put this outfit on to go on a date with my husband this past weekend. I picked it out especially for him, because he usually likes short skirts and I thought he would like the cute dog pattern. It was a slight departure from my usual baggy style. I was excited to show him my outfit. But the moment he saw this, his face scrunched up and it took on the look of severe inner contemplation. I suddenly felt very self conscience.

“What’s wrong? You don’t like this?” I asked.

He didn’t answer at first, just kind of studied my outfit.

“It’s really short,” he finally mustered.

Okay. He is sounding kind of mean. He is actually the nicest guy in the world. In fact just the other day, I saw him smiling and asked him, “Why are you so happy?” And he said, “How could I not be happy? I’m married to you.” For real.

So, I need to tell the real story about his reaction. It was not his fault. The poor guy was in shock. You see, I am leaving out a kind of important part. The first time he actually saw this, I was sitting on the ottoman in the living room putting on my shoes.

He was behind me on the couch.

When I stood up, I did not bother to do so in a ladylike manner. So, I kind of, sort of… All right… I completely mooned him. On accident, of course.

And I definitely would be more careful in public.

Well, hopefully.

But the deed was done. I knew I would be pulling on the skirt all night in order to not have any sort of repeat of offenses. And I wanted to enjoy my night and not worry about a possible wardrobe malfunction.

So, I changed… After we went down the street and took pictures of this outfit, of course. It would have been a shame to not have any evidence of my crime.

After I changed, my husband looked confused. “I really liked that outfit. Why aren’t you wearing it?”

This made me giggle.

I will post what I actually ended up wearing later this week, but I still like this outfit. Have you ever changed because of an outfit malfunction? Do you like fun patterns as much as I do? I like the dogs or coyotes or wolves that parade across the shirt. I like how some of them are running away, while others appear to ~~not~~ be howling… At the moon.

I am sorry to say that everything I am wearing is sold out. The shirt is Anthropologie’s Ismay Buttondown (similar here), the skirt was from Anthropologie last year (similar here), the boots are Chie Miharas (similar here and here). I will talk more about agate necklaces tomorrow. Mine is by Leila Jewelry, the link is not (similar here).

*this post was edited using the VSCO Cam App C1 filter at level 3.

November 15, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Tinamou Stitched Tunic

I had tried The Tinamou Stitched Tunic (now sold out, but the same designers made this gorgeous top more appropriate for winter) on over the summer. I fell in love with it, but because it was sleeveless, I put it in my wishlist and made myself forget about it.

By the way, did you know “Tinamou” is a type of bird? Each time I look up an unknown Anthroplogie word, it usually means “bird.” I think I have cracked ~~my head~~ the code.

Then one day, many months later, it popped back into stock after being sold out. I scored it for $20. The Mothers Jeans were a different popback at $8. Retail price for those was over $200. I knew I wanted to layer the fun tunic for the fall, so I paired it with a simple long sleeve tee from H&M.

The fun details on this top are so intricate and bright. There are black pompoms on the bottom. It is hard to tell because of my black pants.

I also wore my fringed booties. We took these pictures in a nearby park, because my husband had to get to work. But I wanted a picture of this outfit.

Winning.

These over the top neon hoop earrings are recently from Forever 21. They were less than $5 and they stole my heart. The neon bracelets garnered their own post a few months ago.

I wore this outfit to my son’s junior high school, because it was parents eat lunch with their kids day. I thought he would not want me to go.

I was right.

His exact words were, “Mom, I’m not embarrassed by you. Well, only a little embarrassed. But they play music at lunch. I don’t think you can control yourself.”

He knows me too well.

But I promised I would behave. And by behave, I meant not dance on the lunch table. It was a promise I have avoided making for years. Thankfully my husband did not hear me say it and therefore still does not know that I am capable of such actions.

To the vast relief of my son, we could not hear any music from our lunch table.

Phew.

It was a close one.

Have you scored any deals lately? If you have children, do you embarrass your kids? Do you dance to music in public? Do you keep unknowingly buying clothes named after birds?

October 24, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

A Mythical Creature

What would you do if you met a mythical creature in real life?

Would you run? Panic? Take pictures? Scream? Laugh? Cry?

Here is what you need to know about these pictures. Five minutes after they were taken, my husband and I went to our favorite Cuban restaurant to get a coffee.

I had chosen my dress that day because I wanted something fun and fantasy-like.

I chose the tights, because I could.

One day purple legs will be all the rage, you’ll see. Or is that just another fairy tale?

At the restaurant, we saw a real-life mythical creature.

One that made me blush and then quickly leave. But for now, let’s look at pictures of Jenni without any coffee. She is a beast, all by herself.

This dress is old. It was called The Myths and Legends Dress from Anthropologie. I love the creatures on the dress. I think they are plain ol’ animals but I like to squint at the pattern and pretend that the deer are unicorns. As one does. I found my dress on eBay a few years ago. I would link to a similar dress, but I do not think there is one out right now. If you are looking for whimsical clothing, I have this shirt in my wishlist in two different colors and I purchased this skirt last week (review coming on Monday).

The purple tights were $1 last year in Nordstrom Rack’s clearance bin (I cannot imagine why) and the boots can be found here.

If you are into the fantasy genre, then you might understand that I did not buy the dress strictly for the fantasy creatures. I actually purchased it for the tower-like fortresses (um, the designer might call them something odd like…trees) in the middle of the forrest pattern.

They remind me of where druids dwell in the Shanara fantasy series by Terry Brooks.

Wearing this dress always makes me feel a tad bit braver and a touch more childlike. The brave feeling turns out to be a farce, as we will see further down, but for now we can still believe.

I wonder what is behind this door?

Ancient druids practicing magic?

In five minutes, Jenni is going to wish she could figure out how to melt into this wall.

But why?

Because as I was sitting in the restaurant enjoying my hard won coffee, someone walked into the restaurant.

You know how they always say kids are amazed when they see their teachers outside of school? As if they were seeing a magical creature come to life?

Well, that is exactly how I felt when my gynecologist walked into the coffee shop as I was innocently drinking my coffee. My good looking gynecologist. With his family.

Here was my dilemma. I could go say, “hi,” but would he have recognized me? And then his four kids (in their teens and twenties) would have turned to look at me. And know. In that coffee shop. That their dad had seen all of me.

With my husband next to me.

Too many people had seen me naked in that coffee shop. There were only ten of us in there. I did not like the number equation.

So, I did what any person would do when confronted with a real life mythical creature.

I left as quickly as I could.

Went home and booked my overdue doctor’s appointment (because I believe in signs).

And am patiently waiting to see the fearsome creature in his natural environment.

Without coffee. Kids. And clothes.

Exactly the way I would greet a unicorn. Just so ya know.

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

booties

Blue Moon

“…The Little Dog Laughed…”

Tinamou Stitched Tunic

A Mythical Creature