Anthropologie Reviews: February 2015

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I had not been planning on going to Anthropologie on this day. I had planned on staying home and cleaning my house. But my mom had sent me a gift card to Anthropologie a few days before to try to lift my spirits from January.

I wore my tasseled dress from this post and a tasseled scarf from Forever 21. I had actually gone to the store with the sole purpose of purchasing this necklace. I had seen three of them at the store I went to the last time I was there and I was stunned by how gorgeous the necklace was in person. I vowed to buy it when it went on sale. It did. My store ended up having sold out of the necklace, but they did order me one that should come later this week. The store was not crowded at all. And it had all of the new arrivals that I had been wanting to try on. It was perfect. Thank you Mom for bringing joy into my day.

My last set of reviews was a hard post to write. I ended up not really loving anything. It is difficult to write about something that you aren’t passionate about. But, oh, this time, I loved every single thing I tried on. Some just as suggestions for others, but I was very pleased with the February selections in store:

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It seems as though every blogger has The Homestead Shirtdress. And they make me want it all the more. I love it on Karissa Marie. It is easy. It is comfortable. It has breathable fabric. It is pretty much perfect. I am wearing my usual size medium and that is the size I currently have wishlisted. I did have some pulling in the chest, which you can kind of see in the top picture. The buttons felt like they were straining. I am not even that busty, so more well endowed girls might have to size up.

It was a toss up between this dress and the dress below as to which one I was going to bring home with me. I loved them both a ten out of ten. But I had all ready bought this H&M dress with a similar shape and color pallet earlier in the month with their 20% off discount. I could not justify the purchase of two dresses so close in style. For those interested, the H&M dress fits true to size. It is a heavy polyester. It hangs well. I think it is a great dress for a good price (look for a discount code. They were offering 20% off awhile back, but now I think they are offering 20% off if you sign up for their email. Check their website for more information).

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Oh, Leifdottir, they always get it right. The Sarita Swing Dress is brilliant. The outer lining is 100% silk. It is groan-worthy scrumptious. I bought this in the size eight I am wearing in the pictures and wore it immediately the next day. Wait. Immediately and the next day don’t exactly go together, do they? Well, it was as immediate as I get.

Who doesn’t want to look like a tiger butterfly? Nobody, that’s who, if they’re being honest. I was so excited to see that this dress came in sizes up to 16. Of course, that size and size 14 are currently sold out online as they never stock enough of those sizes. Tsk, tsk, Anthropologie. But I do hope that a store might still have that size for those of you who want it by calling around (often when a size is sold out online, stores still have it, like the size 10 skirt further below).

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The lining is special, too. It has the sweetest crochet lace detail on the end. I wore my dress with a turquoise necklace (post coming on Thursday) and I loved the colors together.

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I had such high hopes for The Tindaya Dress. It has exquisite detail. It is flowy. And it looks good from the front. However…

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It is a bit too flowy for me. There is so much fabric to this dress it could almost be two dresses. I have seen some girls wear this belted up high and it looks very pretty that way. I could never wear this not belted. I am in a size medium.

I all ready have a lot going on down below the waist. This just adds more volume. It is like a fabric party is going on in this dress and it is a Monday and I have to work. This is a pass for me. The tall and thin would look amazing in this.

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Everybody loves The Mixed Plaid Tunic. It is all over Instagram. Usually the girls tie it at the bottom. I am not that cool. I knew trying this on that it would not work for me. I have large arms and the cut of the arms is at an odd bias which does not work for girls with larger upper arms.

I was right, so this is a pass for me, but it is still a sweet and simple dress.

I am in a medium. It fit perfectly with plenty of room. It is a cute and easy dress. It did not have the wow factor for me. But I think it will look great on a lot of body types. It will transition into each season nicely as a good piece on its own and an even more fabulous layering item.

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But? What?! How on Earth?

No pockets!

For such a simple everyday dress this seems to be a huge miss. I still cannot believe it did not have any. I am not speaking of the ones slathered on the chest. Every girl knows that those are unusable, unless you want lumpy boobs. I am speaking of waist pockets. Of course, I am old and it was not too long ago I can remember that no dresses came with pockets. But I have been spoiled these last few years and have come to expect them. Like I said, spoiled.

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I saw the price tag of this Elodie Dropwaist Dress (sold out, but might still be available in stores) and had to try it on. It was $29.95. It was a size L which I actually think works with the baggy style of the dress. Again, it did not have enough of a wow factor for me to pick it up, but it was cute. It was also extremely itchy. It was made from that itchy fake denim fabric. So, if you have sensitive skin I would definitely avoid this dress.

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I had been wanting to try on The Dotted Jacquard Skirt for some time. It just seemed like a piece that would go with most anything. I am wearing a medium in the picture and if I purchased this (which I will not be), I would size down to a small. I like the color. I like the fabric, but it is not as easy to work with as I had originally had hoped. It would be great with pullovers and simple tees, but it just did not feel like me. Great skirt, though! I recommend checking this in the store, because quite a few of them all ready had black scuff marks on them from the hazards of women trying them on. It’s tough being a white skirt!

If you work in a casual office, the Ashby Buttondown is wonderful. I think the price is okay for it. It is a very nice quality. It has a nice substantial weight to the fabric. The pretty grey denimy texture is soothing. It will go with a lot of different bottoms. It does not fit in with my lifestyle, so it was a pass for me. I am wearing a size medium. It fit just right. I highly recommend this one.

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Oh, Clementina Skirt. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways. Or the large patterns on this yummy design. My husband loves pencil skirts. So I buy them. Then I feel self conscious in them. And then I don’t wear them. Round and round we go… Like a clementine. I really like this skirt. I sized up to a 10 in it to allow for my ample thighs. Too many donuts not enough clementines.

I like the design, however, I tend to avoid giant designs on my lady parts. Ugh, I cannot believe I just wrote “lady parts.” But you know what I mean. I hesitate to get nitty gritty in a review post I am writing sober. This design does not bother me as much as others because the pattern repeats at the bottom. If it was singular, it would be a pass for me. It does bother me that the design does not line up on the sides, as shown in the second picture. Despite that, I have wishlisted this in hopes of getting it on sale.

The Crossed Pointelle Pullover is pretty. I like the design. It will be easy to layer this pullover over pretty slips or longer shirts. Or you could just wear it with pencil skirts. I am wearing a medium and it fit well and was soft and comfortable.

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Tricky. Tricky. The Tecoma Blouse is going to be a love/hate item. I happen to love it. It is an online only item, but my store happened to have one in my size medium that someone else had returned. I expect this to happen a lot. The pattern is amazing. The ties at the elbow are sweet yet sophisticated. The cut is flattering. It will go with pretty much any skirt that you own.

And everything about it is perfect. Except one kind of huge thing. The fabric.

Oh. That fabric. For many reasons, and so little, I own a variety of pirate wench costumes. Huh? Let’s ignore that little confession and just get to the point. My costumes always come with some sort of striped fabric. This fabric feels like that. It is that awful silky polyester that will be hot and sweaty. But I still bought it. Why? Because I just could not get over the wonderfulness of all of its other attributes. Plus, I’m used to being sweaty pirate costumes. I plan on wearing my shirt with everything. This week I will be pairing it with my Dotty Trumpet Skirt from a few years ago. I also want to mention that the top is very short. If you have a long torso, this might be a difficult top to tuck in.

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Gawh! Did I break the internet? I think not as my bum was all ready broken. I was trying to show the back of the skirt as well as the side of the shirt but instead ended up looking like a weirdo. Next time you are in a dressing room and you hate what you just tried on, just imagine that the person next door is taking odd selfies like this one. You will feel better. As for me, well, I better just stick to my pirate costumes… instead of Arr-nthropologie. Now that probably broke the internet.

Have you tried anything good on lately? Do you want to dress up like a tiger butterfly or a pirate? Or a pirafly? Or a buttrate? Oh. This could be dangerous. I better stop while I’m ahead

Not Feeling It

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I wore this all day. I was having a really hard time getting the gumption up to put an outfit together. Thankfully, this Free People jersey dress is pretty much like wearing pajamas. And I would have worn them as such if I had not borrowed my son’s deodorant that day (without his knowledge) and been knocked over by the smell of Old Spice. How do men do it? The aroma of the men’s deodorant clung to my dress and I could not sleep in it. I am used to baby powder. By the way, who decides that baby powder scent is for girls and mountain air is for boys? I was explaining my dilemma to my husband while I whined in bed and he looked around for an escape route.

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“What happened to your deodorant?” He asked like a grown up.

“I don’t know. It was just gone.”

He got up and went in to the bathroom. I watched him with a faint amount of interest.

“You mean this deodorant?” He asked as he held up my little blue container that had been sitting in direct line of sight in the middle of the counter.

“Wow! I don’t know how that got there!” Then I erupted into a cackle of lunar laughter that made my husband reevaluate the exits in our house again.

My point?

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Um, yea, sure… I had one.

Okay. I got it!

Don’t use your son’s deodorant.

And also, I’m pretty sure my deodorant is possessed.

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That day was hard. Deodorant issues aside.

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I felt as though all of my imagination was sucked dry. Maybe the deodorant worked too well.

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I just threw this dress on with some black tights and my newest popback score, these Freebird Boots I snagged for 85% off at Anthropologie. It was kind of amazing how just wearing something I liked made me feel a little better.

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I wanted to pair this dress with my striped blazer from last year. I would have loved to show it with some light colored denim skinny jeans. To me, that would have been perfect. But instead I kept the tights on. Maybe you can imagine I am wearing skinny jeans. And while you’re at it, maybe you could put me in my deodorant and not an eleven year old boy’s.

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I hope your imagination is better than mine.

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Have you ever lacked the incentive to get dressed? Have you ever used someone else’s deodorant? Do you know what kind of exorcism I could perform on mine? I think I saw it move again. It’s either that or my imagination might be coming back. I am quite sure it is the former. Which really just proves the latter.

Oi. I need to do something about these fumes.

Hoarding Covering The Walls

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I love stuff. Art. Old relics. Things that hold a memory or recall a moment in time suck me in and keep me there. But I have a small house and a lot of… Stuff. It was only a matter of time before it encroached all over the walls. It is still a work in progress. At my last estimate, I need nine more pieces of art just to complete the two gallery walls in the living room.

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I purchased this crewel work of a monkey in a sail boat at the Rose Bowl Flea Market back in July. I bought some clips and hung it by the front door. Shockingly, the sellers wanted nothing extra for the mystery stains. “My husband is so thrilled with this piece,” she says as her face spasms from winking so hard.

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My sister and my brother-in-law gave my husband and myself these awesome vintage initials from an old sign (we’re guessing J.C. Penney’s) for Christmas. I love the purple color so we hung them backwards. This also kind of represents our thought process at all times.

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My daughter just finished painting this piece of art. It is based on Van Gogh’s The Starry Night. It is her favorite thing she has done. We love our new art teacher, Jennifer Bonneteau. She is amazing. My son made a similar painting. I just forgot to take a closeup picture of it.

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The kids did their self portraits again this year. They did the paintings all by themselves at home. I think they did a great job.

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Here is where I want to put more pieces of art to complete the project.

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I bought this old folk arty game wheel at the flea market. I like it a lot. It was a lot larger than I had thought when we brought it home.

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I have an idea to put bookcases up here (better pictures of the niche can be found in this post). We are overflowing with books. I previously put bookcases in a niche in our home here. But I would have to wall in the kitchen on the other side. My husband says we need the extra natural light in both rooms. What do you think?

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I want to get a new couch in this room. I am thinking of this sofa in mustard or teal. I also considered a pink, but I think it would be too much. I am definitely waiting for a discount! What home projects are you currently working on? Any new furniture plans?

In A Gorgurd

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I have been wanting to take some pictures in this little gully for quite some time. In a moment of serendipity, we happened to be over near it when I was wearing something we could trek down into the small green valley in.

Once we got down into it, we began to notice signs of life.

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I was keeping my eyes peeled for snakes. I wasn’t too worried about myself. I had huge leather boots on, but my husband was in loafers. I wasn’t so sure he would fare as well against a snake bite.

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We didn’t find any snakes, that I know of. But we did find a giant vine with small little gourds trailing on it. There were bright ripe ones and crushed grey dusty ones. I could not help but think of my favorite books growing up, The Xanth Series by Piers Anthony. If you have not read the fantasy series, it is a world full of puns. Gourds take you into another world when you stare into them. To be specific, it is where bad dreams are created. It is ruled by Night Mare. You guessed it. A horse… Gosh! I love puns!

I was very careful not to peer inside of any gourds. You neve’ know.

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I told my husband, “Honey, it’s like we are in Ireland!”

To which he replied, “You always say that any time it is green. If you actually went to Ireland, it wouldn’t look like this. Oregon doesn’t even look like this went it is green.”

Hmmmph. Next he’ll tell me it is perfectly fine to stare into gourds, too.

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I was so excited to wear my Salt Creek Vest on this day (sold out, but when I wrote this there was a medium left and there might be some still available in stores). I am not a fur girl, even the fake kind. I loved everything about this vest when I saw it online except for the fur collar. I even saw a lone vest at my store in my size that someone returned a few months ago but did not try it on because I did not want to get attached.

She It has the most amazing back.

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I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to score one for 70% off.

I could even handle the collar.

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In fact, just between us, I think I like it.

A lot.

What the heck is happening to me? Did I fall into a gourd land where Jenni likes fur collars?

Or pays full price?

I just could not wait for this black shirt to hit sale. It wasn’t too expensive. It was the perfect length. Material. Shape. I have been wearing it twice a week. It was a wonderful splurge. I needed a basic long sleeved black tee that did not have a pocket and was not tight. The Mother Cruiser jeans were a sale score a few years ago (similar here).

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That is surprisingly hard to find.

Like a perfect valley.

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I thought we had wandered into a dream. We found an old toy. I assume it was an old dog’s toy. Which made me a little nervous. I kept looking around for its owner. Sure a rabid beast would be hulking around the hill. But all we witnessed was a lone man pull up in his car at the top of the valley with his camera to take pictures of… His car.

Lots and lots of pictures of his car.

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What an odd thing to do.

I mean, who does that?

It is almost as weird as taking pictures of yourself in outfits.

Almost.

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Do you have rolling green hills near you? Have you been to Ireland? Is my husband right? Is this green valley a sad little sight compared to there?

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The journey was almost perfect. But towards the end of the shoot, my husband gave a tremendous roar. Then he began shaking out his pants. Red ants had climbed up his legs and bit him. He literally had ants in his pants. Piers Anthony would have been so proud.

So much for a perfect green valley.

I am quite sure this never would have happened in Ireland…

Or Xanth.