Anthropologie January 2015 Reviews

I was having a bad face day. It’s how it goes, I guess. You know when you either sleep wrong on your face or eat too many salty delicious treats the day before and somehow you wake up and do not recognize the puffy monstrosity that greets you in the mirror? Perhaps one side of your cheek falls more to the right or your eyes are dull and blurry. Hmmmmm. Maybe that’s just me. Either way, I was not in the shape nor the mood for pictures on this day because all of those things seemed to occur at once that morning and no amount of mascara or powder or pushing of my skin could put gnome lover back together again. Groan.

My family and I had traveled to the museum the day of the reviews (hence the weird hand stamp in the pictures below) and spent hours wandering hallways and stairs and corridors reading plaques and looking at bones. My eyes were tired. My soul was weary. But when my husband pronounced that he wouldn’t mind if I ran into the Anthropologie on the way home, I gladly took him up on his offer, bad face day and all. I happened to have a gift card on me and I was itching to get into the store since I had not been in a physical store since October. Gosh, can you believe that?

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I ended up buying a sweatercoat (and a tree skirt that for some reason I decided to sling across my shoulders in an upcoming outfit post. The tree skirt is the raddest thing ever. Especially if you like to pretend you are a superhero. And who doesn’t? It is sold out online, but it was showing sold out online when I purchased mine in store so I am sure some stores might still have one. I plan on keeping mine out year round as decoration on my couch when I am not flying around the house).

And before we get to the good stuff, the camera case in the pictures is new after last year’s case finally died in a pool of olive oil. My purse is a cavernous monster of random food products. It did its job and saved my phone in its last moments. RIP pink bunny phone case. Welcome to your worst nightmare, new floral dreamy phone case. I hope you like cheese.

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I had to snap a picture of the finished wreath I helped contribute to when I went to make pearblossoms at the holiday workshop a few months prior. I use the word “contribute” loosely as I crumpled about ten pieces of paper and painted them.

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I had been eagerly awaiting this Floral Fit and Flare Dress to hit sale so I could scoop it up. However, once I tried it on, I did not feel the same way. I have large arms and the sleeves on this were very tight on me. I am wearing a medium in this picture. Granted, I did gain weight in the last year, but medium is still my size in dresses. I love the pattern of this dress. I love the fit and flare of it. I like the cute patterned underskirt, but I ended up removing this one from my wishlist. I knew I would never feel quite okay with the sleeves.

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Liz of With Wonder and Whimsy had previously reviewed this dress and I think it looks better on her than myself. I have also seen girls rocking it on Instagram so I think it is going to be one that needs to be tried on in person.

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Let’s get to it. Or rather cut to the chase. What does that even mean anyway? I really need to start looking things up before I go and rattle off different sayings. Where was I? Oh right. Two kids. Two years of nursing. Years of bad bras. I almost relived every moment of those things when I turned around to look at myself in the mirror in this dress. It is very low cut.

I thought it would be okay. A long maxi. Neutral black. Easy peasy.

But, unfortunately The Entrada Maxi Dress wasn’t for me. It accentuated all of the things one does not want to see when one looks at oneself in the mirror. I do not think this is the dress’s fault but rather my lack of love for the gym. I usually stick to bright colors. This dress was a pass for me for many reasons. I am in a medium. I can see the voluptuous woman looking marvelous in this dress. Or even the tall and thin.

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Not for the shocked and saggy.

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I almost didn’t show this dress (the Marled Swing Dress). As I type this, my evil mind is thinking, then don’t show it. Nobody will ever even know that you took these pictures. You don’t have to show them. Just don’t put this dress review in.

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But how could I resist not showing this beautiful picture?

I was very excited to try this dress on. I loved the pattern in the store. It was so different and cool. But the pattern placement when on was not flattering on me. I was so disappointed. It made me look lumpy. This made me grumpy. But it has good reviews online so the right body type will look great in this dress. My body just wasn’t it.

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Now we’re talkin’. Oh, I knew I would love The New Moon Tunic Dress the moment I saw it online. But something stopped me from wishlisting it. I think it is that I all ready have so many items in my closet that are so similar to this.

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I like everything about it. The easy shape that will flatter a variety of body types. The color. The embroidery. I just don’t need it. Want, yes. Need, no. I sized down to a small in this. It is definitely an item to size down in. Of course, I read online that this might not be the case if you are busty so if that is the case for you, you might want to try this on in the store. Oh! And I did find this dress a bit itchy. Not unbearable but the material is scratchy. So if you are sensitive to such things this might be a problem for you.

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I like The Cowled Swing Dress. It is easy. It is comfortable. If it had any other color other than maroon as its border I probably would have wishlisted it.

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But it does. And maroon is not my favorite. I am wearing my usual size medium in this dress and I maybe could have sized down to a small because the body of the dress is voluminous. I would not want the arms to be tight, though. Therefore I would probably stick with your usual size unless you have thin arms.

This is a dress you would wear to run errands or grab a quick sandwich with friends. It is pricey for a loungelike piece. I would not ever wear a necklace with a cowlneck. But this would be pretty with some fun wooden earrings. This will be a great dress on so many women.

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I had seen this Blanket Cardigan everywhere on Instagram. I am not one of those girls who cares if she is wearing the same thing as someone else. I am not one who cares if a friend and I buy the same thing. Liking something is all that matters. Besides commroderie in clothes is fun. So I could not wait to try this on after I saw it so prettily worn by so many women online.

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I did like it when I tried it on. It is a bit bright, even for me. I also own a few pieces in this pattern from discount stores, so I was not in the market for a similar sweater. I am wearing a medium here. This would be great with black. I also think this would be flattering on the more voluptuous with the panel that dips down.

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I had seen just one of these peeking out at me on the sales rack at the store. I always avoid the sales rack typically because if I have not wishlisted it before then I do not allow myself to buy it. And since I watch the sales so often it is rare that I need to look at the racks to see if something I am watching hits sale.

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I was surprised by this ruffled sweatercoat (previously worn here). I had not noticed it online. My store only had a small and I nervously tried it on. I was so happy and relieved that it fit. Petites will probably be sized out of this if they cannot find it in the petite sizes. However, size XL might fit a higher size than it usually would in this store and that would be awesome. The boiled wool is not scratchy as it has been in years past. It is soft. The ruffles cascade down the front and the shape nips in at the perfect spot on the waist to create a flattering very feminine silhouette. Even though it is in the maroon family, I still liked it. I plan on wearing mine with jeans and my ruffled skirt from 2013.

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Have you tried on anything lately? I have not been in the shopping spirit. I just have enough. I think. Well, except for this dress from Free People that makes my heart race but I think would be too tight in the arms for me. I do have Christmas gift cards to spend at Anthropologie and have been scoring some popbacks of things I have wanted for months at great sale prices. I used the other part of the one from my mom (Thank you!) that I used on the ruffled sweatercoat above for a popback of The Tasseled Maxi Dress that I had wanted for a long time. And I used another gift card from my dad and stepmom (Thank you!) for a popback of the Bimini Earrings, Draped Plaid Top and a pair of Freebird Boots (retailed for $295 but popbacked for $60! Woot!). Now I have my sister’s (Thank you!) burning a hole in my pocket. I hope I can get equally amazing deals with it!

Building A Snowgnome

Oh the joy! In my secret heart of hearts was a dream that I did not think I could even dare to close my eyes to think of. It involved my children playing in the snow. In our yard. Building a snowman.

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It doesn’t seem like a big dream, but there it was in my heart of hearts.

So when my husband woke me up on New Year’s Eve excitedly exclaiming that it was snowing, I thought I was still dreaming. It was still dark outside, and it did not seem real.

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But it was. In Southern California, it snowed.

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We woke our kids up and told them to quickly get dressed in warm clothes and shoes. And we all traipsed outside to play in the snow in the dark. Our silhouettes were lit by the streetlamps and Christmas lights twinkling on the street. It felt surreal and I understood how Harry Potter must have felt when Hagrid greeted him in the lighthouse that very first night.

Anything seemed possible.

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My kids built a snowman with my husband that I turned into a snowgnome.

He was much happier that way.

As one always is in a red pointy hat.

Did you build a snowman or snowgnome this season? Please tell me I am not the only one with a gnome hat or two.

*Outfit details: My sweater is one that I purchased from the flea market last month. I talked about it more in this post. Anthropologie has a cool cardigan out right now that is also reminiscent of an afghan or blanket. I also found this one on Etsy. If you can crochet, there are many different crochet cardigan patterns available for purchase there for around $3 so you could make your own. I was very lucky and only paid $30 for my sweater. The sleeveless chambray dress was an Anthropologie popback last year from Cloth and Stone (now sold out, similar shaped dress here).

*I shared this on The Pleated Poppy.

Babydoll Dress

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Free People does not actually call this dress, “babydoll,” however the shape that this is could not be anything else, in my humble little gnome opinion.

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I was on the fence about keeping this dress, because I had also gotten the dress in this post and I try, oh how I try, not to be a glutton. But I kept taking it out of the return box and caressing it until finally it felt weird to send back a dress that I had touched so many times. I’m not that kind of girl.

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Speaking of baby dolls, I have to admit to being terrified of them (ahem, gnomes being completely different). When I was a child of eight years old, I had a Cabbage Patch Doll I named Mary. I had begged Santa for a Cabbage Patch Doll that year, the ones I had seen on t.v…. With hair. And clothes… And chubby cuteness.

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I was rather surprised when I opened up Mary on Christmas day to find a withered up little thing staring at me from the box. She was a premie Cabbage Patch Kid. She was ugly. She was scary. However, she was the only one that I had and so I loved her. I played with her for years, but always in the back of my mind, was sorrow over not having a “real” Cabbage Patch Kid. Always she was not perfect. Regret swallowed her strange little head.

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I do not know what happened to Mary. Perhaps this is for the best. Otherwise I would have felt obligated to give her to my own daughter and the generational Mary duty would have continued. In fact, my daughter had no interest in baby dolls. It was not a fad while she was growing up. She did have every single Kelly doll ever made (thanks to an aunt who loved Barbie) which I regret donating many years ago.

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There was one doll I purchased for my daughter… It was a cute little baby. A sweet face… Whose body was made from some sort of water vessel. This meant she weighed one trillion pounds. She was dressed in… Wait for this. It is a doozy. She was dressed in an Eeyore suit from Winnie The Pooh and even had the hoodie with donkey ears attached. I do not know what I must have been thinking the day I purchased that doll.

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She played with it for a bit… And then it disappeared. I know. It could be anywhere. I am worried I will open up her closet one day to find the Eeyore baby staring at me from the depths of the closet. Its water body having slowly oozed out of the Eeyore suit to form a wretched smell. A gooey film clinging to its body as it stares at me accusingly.

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Aaaaaahhhh!

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How do I always manage to get so off track?

Do you own any babydoll dresses? Or baby dolls? Or warped Eeyore water babies languishing in your closet plotting your doom? I am hoping I can only answer “yes” to one of those questions.

A Leopard Cannot Change Its Spots Stripes?

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When my husband saw this outfit he was quiet.

Not a word.

Or a peep.

Out of him.

My daughter had no such restraint. “That headband with that vest?”

“No. Just no.”

This, of course, made me giggle.

I had purchased this red and white striped wrap dress from H&M the week before when I went shopping with my daughter. I knew immediately I wanted to wear it over my Bermeja Tunic Dress (sold out, similar dress here) as a vest. It was a bargain at $5. I loved the way Shy Girl Loud Voice remixed the Bermeja Tunic Dress with her vest (I previously styled the Bermeja Tunic Dress here and here). The headband was also from H&M. I believe it was more than the dress/vest at $6. I wanted to crawl into this leopard trend with soft baby moves. It is out of my comfort zone.

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So, I took some pictures with the headband and some without.

That way everyone is happy.

Except Murphy.

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We took Murphy with us that day to get pictures, because my husband had taken Ollie for a car ride earlier in the day and left Murphy at home with me.

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After listening to Murphy crying at the door for a half an hour, I called my husband to inform him that he had broken the dog.

Murphy could not comprehend not going with Ollie.

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But Murphy hates car rides.

He gets anxious.

He loves the walks.

He is the exact opposite of Ollie, not only in looks, but in activities.

Ollie had to be carried home after his last walk.

This made it difficult for my husband because he was all ready carrying me.

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Murphy was definitely not as good as Ollie during the photo shoot. Murphy does not follow direction well. He is always on the lookout for someone who is going to come and steal all of the goldfish crackers. He has convinced himself it is going to happen and will stay up nights guarding the pantry door.

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Being in a desert surrounded by nothing but dirt and brush made him leery. He was convinced The Goldfish Thief was lurking behind every bush.

Nevermind that we did not bring any goldfish crackers on this trip. Goldfish crackers appear like magic and thieves appear more quickly than that.

It is basic dog logic. The only logic that I currently adhere to.

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My poor dog. If only he knew…

The only Goldfish Thief around them here parts…

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Was the one holding his leash.

Have you jumped on this leopard trend? Do you own anything leopard? Are you yay or nay about the headband? Don’t worry. It won’t hurt my feelings if you don’t like it. I have pretty tough skin… And cheddar cheese cracker breath.