April 9, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Free People Spring 2014 Reviews

Oh, I love me my Free People. There is just something lovely and romantic about their flowly clothes. I have wishlisted almost everything in this set.

I wore Humboldt Tunic on my outing. He was pleased to get out. Although he still has never forgiven me for wearing him without pants. I wanted to show him Vegas and for him to see that there were indeed people in this world more devious than me.

He was not impressed. He still thinks I am the worst.

Aw, well. I tried.

First, I tried on the Rocket Cat Dress. I know I look serious, but I was contemplating the ginormous pimple on my chin and if I would be able to proceed with the reviews. Thankfully seeing this pretty dress made me smile again. I really liked this, but I could only buy one thing that day and it turned out to be a slip. This is sold out online now, but the stores might still have one. I am wearing a small in this. Actually, I am wearing a small in this whole set. It is my typical Free People size.

The Printed Strappy Front Maxi underneath the Rocket Cat Dress is the item I ended up purchasing. I love an item you can layer in multiple ways and use for multiple uses. You can also see me wearing it here. I love the romantic ease of this slip. I plan on pairing it next under my Sweet Lady Maxi and then underneath my seafoam colored slip I love with a belt and easy sandals.

I really liked the Magic Garden Dress, too. If you cannot tell from the many, many pictures. ; ). It is about two inches too short for this momma to wear. But it would be great for someone younger than myself. I am wearing a small. It fit nicely. Well, except for length. Of course, my husband loved this dress. : )

Oh man. I LOVED this Rio Dress. It is so fun. It is super short. The dark color it also comes in is gorgeous, too. I love the embroidery. Both colors are on my wishlist. It was way too expensive for me at full price. I will be watching this for a good sale price.

I had decided that this Mix Print Tunic would be my first purchase in April. It sold out the day before I could purchase it. So, I am hoping they restock it. The pattern is gorgeous. The fit is free-flowing but still very flattering. It has ties on either side of the waist to cinch it in more. Love.

The Near Perfect Tunic also came in lilac and black. I liked it in all of the colors. The lilac is absolutely gorgeous. Each color has a different patterned embellishment at the top. Gorgeous. This also has ties that tighten on the side to cinch it in more (I should have used them here). It is a good tunic if you like easy oversized pieces. I think this look looks good on most body types.

Finally, the only thing I did not add to my wishlist. These Balkan Sandals. Oh, man. They were really cute without my feet in them. My feet were swollen from walking in heels all night the night before, but even so, I could not love these. They were a bit too hippie for me. I did not know that was a possibility. That I had a limit. But here it is.

I added so much to my wishlist on this trip. I am being patient on a bunch of items, hoping for a sale. In my observations (I am not an expert), Free People does not have a set schedule for markdowns. Some items will sell out at full price and never get marked down. Sometimes it can take over a year before an item gets a cut. Sometimes it gets marked down with a few months. You just never know.

Are you loving any of the new spring offerings in stores lately? Are you hoping for a good sale? I am answering a giant, “yes!” to both of those questions.

* I will have an additional outfit post up later today at 3:00 p.m. : ). I have to catch up with all of these reviews! I will finish out my review sets next week with two more for Anthropologie. To be precise, they will go up Monday and Tuesday. Whew! Then this girl is done with reviews for awhile.

Here are some more of my recent reviews:

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part I

and

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part II

January 21, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Target In January

I recently went to Target. As I do. When I want to buy a mindless variety of ~~unnecessary~~ items.

The reason I had gone there was because in my ~~rummaging~~ cleaning, I found 4 gift cards totaling $100 to Target in my drawer. They were given to me over the last few months as my kids would get them as gifts and then order something off of Amazon and pay me with their Target gift cards. I didn’t mind. I knew I would use them. Or lose them. Whichever came first. I decided to get on using them before I forgot.

With the holidays just recently being over and it being the beginning of the year, a lot of us are not spending money. I wanted to show some inexpensive options Target is offering right now, in case you wanted something new, but did not want a high price tag to struggle with.

I didn’t mean to go to the clothing section. Cross my heart. But that is where I ended up. And I saw the best shirt. Seriously. Run. Don’t walk. And go get yourself this shirt. The only sizes left in black at our Target were XS and Large. I bought a Large for myself (fits perfectly) and an XS for my daughter (now you see why they don’t mind paying me with their gift cards).

The shirt is $16.99 and so similar to the more expensive shirts in my wishlist. See here. And here. Plus, you get 5% off if you use their Target Red Debit Card. It also came in the prettiest seafoam green color. But I needed a black shirt. The back has the pretty key-hole.

Does this remind you of anything? How about my Ruffled Hem Pullover? This was less than 1/4 of that price?! I do like my Anthropologie sweater better. The back is more detailed. But this Target sweater was a great price. At $20, this was a nobrainer and my daughter got one, too. I bought the medium in this although I think I could have even gotten a large. It matches my AG Stevies Cords perfectly.

And this awesome poncho pullover is so cool! At $20, it is simple to throw on. It is the easiest black and white stripes. Goes with so much. It covers the bum. Another steal. Another win for Target. By the way, I have no idea what is on my thigh. I had put those pants on for the very first time five minutes prior to this pic.

I did not buy either of these sweaters. Not at Anthropologie. Not at Target. I do not own a French Bulldog, so it wasn’t for me. There was a popback of this sweater at Anthropologie last week and I would have ended up paying the same amount as the Target price. But I didn’t need it. So I didn’t buy it.

I just have to say… Umm. I’m not sayin’ this is a blatant copy of Anthropologie’s sweater. What do you think? Wink. If you missed it at Anthropologie, Target’s copy is $20.

Gnomes!!! Look at these little darlings. I love ’em. I want to marry them. I want to rub their cold little hard bodies all over my cheeks. I want to… Okay. Let’s quit there. $4 a piece (just the 4 crackled versions in the pot). Adorable.

And a big one to greet folks at the door. I only wish they had two more of him.

And a sad, sad little fellow. He looked so forlorn, I had to take him home to cheer him up. He still isn’t happy. I have a feeling he never will be. But he is a pretty color. Blue. Just like his heart.

This awesome crockpot was marked down from $35 to $17.48. How cool is it? I cannot wait to use it!

Have you been to Target lately? Do you always walk away with more than you came for? The buyers there are doing it right!

* Some pictures shown here were taken from Target and Anthropologie’s websites.

September 16, 2013 by gn0mel0ver

Operation Spider Rescue

“I just about had a heart attack!”

My husband came running into the room panting. He began rummaging around our dresser. Papers were being tossed about. He was frantic.

“What happened?” I was not worried. This pretty much happens every time my husband goes outside. He is quite the adventurer.

I could guess it would have something to do with spiders. It has been our obsession for the last three weeks. We have had an unfortunate infestation of brown widows in our backyard. They have made every crevice under every piece of our furniture their luxurious breeding ground.

My husband had gone outside to try to remove more webs. The exterminator was coming to spray for the third time (this month) everything down with a delightful mix of poison which seems to do nothing except make the ground wet for five minutes.

“There is the biggest green spider on the fence! I thought it was a praying mantis. So, I went to pick it up. But right when I almost touched it, I realized it was a spider!”

He paused here to catch his breath. Then he exclaimed excitedly, “I’ve got to get a picture of it!”

He grabbed the camera from his bedside (don’t ask) and dashed outside. Not one to miss seeing a creature in my yard (or a funny story in case it jumped on him), I followed.

It was a magnificent spider. One of its legs was missing. I could only hope this was a war wound from a victorious battle it had had with a brown widow.

After my husband finished taking pictures, I looked at him.

“The exterminator is coming!” I proclaimed in my best voice of panic. To which I seem silly. I guess I am a hypocrite killing one species and wanting to protect another. But this green spider couldn’t land my family in the hospital.

We looked at the beautiful spider and pondered our next move.

“Well, you’re just gonna have to move it.” I said.

My husband did not seem pleased. But he realized it was what he had to do. That is his role in this household, designated spider mover. He has had plenty of practice with the daddy long legs we keep all over the house. My role is to scream, wring my hands, and give unhelpful advice.

I am available for hire.

My husband finished taking his pictures and delicately moved the spider (which we later looked up and realized was a Green Lynx Spider) to the trees behind our house.

“With his hands?” You ask.

Oh no. That would be taking this ~~little~~ ~~grand~~ ~~sad~~ adventure too far. On a stick. The spider was moved on a stick.

A very long stick.

We spent the entire day waiting for the exterminator to arrive so we could ask him not to spray the trees and watch to make sure this was actually carried out. Yes, we ~~wasted~~ spent the entire day protecting this one spider.

Again, available for hire.

My husband just loves nature.

As for me, I am sitting here watching the wet ground where the exterminator has just sprayed. It is drying.

I swear I can hear a web being made.

My husband is very excited.

* I shared this on The Daily Post’s Weekly Writing Challenge: Dialogue.

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

garden

Free People Spring 2014 Reviews

Target In January

Operation Spider Rescue