September 14, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

An Artist Made of Honeycomb

I am not an artist.

My outfit is not made of actual honeycomb.

And yet, I would love it if both of these falsehoods were truths.

I imagine an artist wearing this top. It is so cool. So many different colors paired with an intricate eyelet pattern shaped like honeycombs and a centralized stabilizing mustard stripe.

I told my husband, “Hey, honey, don’t I look like an artist in this?”

And he said, “Well, you look like you are wearing an art project.”

I’ll take it.

I know I have mentioned it before, but I miss my Grandma. She was very proud of our beekeeping family. She incorporated a bee into pretty much every single one of her outfits. I have taken to wearing more bee items since she has passed. It makes me feel closer to her. So, I wore this top with my Modcloth Honeycomb Earrings and bee wrap bracelet.

I first tried on this Gabo Eyelet Tee in one of my review posts back in the spring (found here). I waited patiently for it to go on sale and I was able to grab it in August during Anthropologie’s extra 20% off sale price, sale.

It is a tricky top, because it is so boxy. I paired it with a long tank top to add an extra layer as it is see-through. This is not my favorite shape for a top, but I had to have it based on the honeycomb eyelet and multicolors.

Do you ever dress in a shape you do not love but wear because of a pattern or a color? Do you wear something to remember a loved one by?

*this post was edited using Afterlife’s Bloom Filter at 40%.

May 28, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Anthropologie Late Spring Reviews

Last week, I found myself down in San Diego with my husband and my son. My son had requested that we eat at The Cheesecake Factory after an appointment that he had. So, we were very happy to indulge him. However, it was ten o’clock in the morning and the restaurant did not open until eleven.

Whatever would we do?

My husband took my son to The Lego Store where they happily discovered that the new Minecraft Lego set is now out. They set out to find a table to build it. So, of course, their day was made.

I planned on heading to Anthropologie to try on a few lovelies, but I got sidetracked at Forever 21 where I purchased a few things (this and this). And let me pause and say Forever 21 is killing it this season. I have been so impressed with the quality and price of their clothing. Usually I just go here to shop for my daughter but their clothes have been good for me, too, this year. And the accessories are fabulous for the low cost. Who cares that I could have a daughter the age of the name of the store? ~~Sob.~~

Before I knew it, it was 10:40 by the time I made my way into Anthropologie.

I had twenty minutes to shop.

An amateur would have panicked.

I tried on the following items and even made these purchases that day in my time limit. They say everyone is good at somethin’. I don’t know that this is quite what they meant:

First, this is what I wore that day. My Savant Swing Dress I purchased on sale with my vintage boots. And my gnome necklace sweet Heather from The Peacock Fairy gifted to me.

And this Anthropologie wooden ring ($10!!!).

I was really excited about trying on the Tinamou Stitched Tunic. I loved it online. I loved it in person.

I don’t do sleeveless.

I feel too self conscience.

I reluctantly put this back on the rack. I hope it makes it to sale for me, because I would definitely purchase this top at a sale price. I just could not justify paying full price for an item that I might not feel comfortable wearing all of the time. My usual size medium in tops fit fine. It was a tiny bit big but I liked it that way.

I had immediately put the Peralta Flared Dress in my wishlist when I first saw it. I am a sucker for stripes. And bright stripes? Forget about it.

Unfortunately, this dress was not as good on me as it looked online. It is big and the cut of the arms and arm holes is awkward on my body. I tried on my usual six. Although the size six was too large, I think a size four would have been too small.

I sadly removed this from my wishlist. It just was not the right fit for me. However, it has two good reviews online. So, it definitely needs to be tried on. On the right body type, this will be beautiful. I think the more voluptuous amongst us will rock this dress!

I thought the Parc Plume Tee was one of the most gorgeous pieces of clothing I had ever seen on the hanger. My heart beat faster when I saw it.

This is my usual size six. Unfortunately, the see-through material combined with the price made it a “no” for me. It also was not flattering on my body, but this top is so pretty. I think the right person will look smoking in it.

The jeans are the Pilcro Superscript High-rise Flare Jeans. I would need to go up a size in these.

This is the summer of sleeveless.

I am the human with sleeves.

And, so, it looked like the season was to end with me buying nothing.

But then I spotted a dress with sleeves. The Ayame Silk Dress.

Only.

It had a print that was not something I would typically wear.

And a zipper down the front that I remember from decades ago.

I tried it on in my usual size six. I would definitely need an eight.

This dress just was not right for me. But I can see it being lovely on the right person.

Finally, I spotted the Amapola Dress. I loved the pattern. I loved the mix of the tight solid top with the flared skirt. The kind of silhouette every woman looks good in.

But no sleeves?!

I decided to try it on anyway.

And I loved it.

Even without sleeves. And even though I am probably too old to wear it.

It was $148. I very sadly put it back. I hope I will be able to get it on sale.

Have you tried anything on lately? Do you have mad skills in the fitting room? How much time do you typically give yourself to shop in a single store?

May 9, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

I Learned Something New

I went on a date night with my husband a bit ago and I learned something new. Not about him, of course. Although, there are still moments when I do and those are pieces of information I savor. No, I learned about a new species.

I went on a date night and discovered a new species!

How and when does that ever happen?

Perhaps my great to the trillionth grandfather was Christopher Columbus. Or perhaps I need to get out more. Or read more. Or…

Let’s just skip the possibilities, they are too endless.

We’ll get to what I discovered, but first and much more importantly, what did I wear?

I wore jeans. I wanted to get dressed up, but I didn’t have it in me that night. So, I just wore what I had worn all day. The dress is the Free People Mamounia Dress. I purchased mine from Nordstrom Rack for $50 (the link goes to a different store). I broke my rule for one piece of jewelry by piling on a bunch of bracelets and necklaces. I was exhausted on this day and nothing keeps one awake quite like the jingling of jewelry on one’s wrists.

Or gives one quite as big of a headache.

I ate a granola bar before we left. ‘Cause I was starving. I knew I would turn into a beast if I did not eat something before we left.

The Jenni Beast was not the new species I discovered. Besides, she was discovered long ago. You can tame her with food. Compliments. And clothes. This is important information to have if you ever see her in the wild. She is quite destructive.

We went to my favorite restaurant. It is outdoors and has beautiful views. The price is right (we split a bottle of wine, an appetizer, a pizza and two desserts for $63 before tip). There was live music playing in the restaurant. The food is fabulous. My favorite in town.

We ordered our beloved fries for an appetizer. They take the chef three days to make in a secret recipe.

We sat in the garden. On the beautiful landscaped slope next to me, a poppy plant was being tugged on by its roots. It scared me at first, but then it was comical as we realized it was probably a gopher having dinner. It must have been a rebel gopher, because it is illegal here in California to hurt the state flower. We can’t pick it. I assume you probably can’t eat it either. But could the gopher have gotten high from the roots? Would it be like opium? These were the questions we asked each other over dinner.

Okay, those are the questions I asked my husband. To which he replied, “No.”

Darn. I had imagined a happy, plump little gopher in his hole kicking back and deciphering the patterns of the dirt in his tunnel.

He took pictures of me happy after wine.

And contemplating a gopher high on drugs.

I did not take a picture of our barbecue chicken pizza, but it was yummy. My husband and I had a handshake over our deal when we both discovered we hate red onions on our pizza. So we shook on never ordering them on it again.

And it was heavenly.

But we did get pictures of our two pretty desserts we ordered.

Here is where I introduce a new species. You thought it was a Druggie Gopher, didn’t you?

Nope. It was indeed a Hummingbird Moth!

A Hummingbird Moth!

Now, when I took these pictures, I assumed this was a baby hummingbird. At first I thought it was some kind of bee, but it moved too fast and was not shaped like one. We determined it was the smallest hummingbird we had ever seen. Even the masculine guy at the table next to me locked eyes with me and made a pinching motion with his two fingers to indicate how tiny and adorable the cute little hummingbird was.

Or he wanted to crush my head with his fingertips. One can never be sure.

Our side of the restaurant was enthralled with the little guy. He zipped by my head and hovered in front of me for the briefest second.

As we were leaving, we saw a colony of what we thought were miniature hummingbirds flitting in and out of the flowers. They were adorable. I even got a picture of one.

It turns out hummingbirds do not like to gather nectar together. Hummingbird Moths do. I discovered these little facts here and here after I searched for “Tiny Hummingbird” on the internet. It turns out if you think you see the tiniest hummingbird you have ever seen or even a baby hummingbird (baby hummingbirds cannot fly), you are actually observing a Hummingbird Moth. There are twelve hundred varieties of the Hummingbird Moth and they live all over the world! The one in the Western half of the United States (and the one I saw) is the Snowberry Clearwing (isn’t that a lovely name?) and the Eastern side of the United Stares typically hosts the Hummingbird Clearwing. The Hummingbird Moth is also less skittish than the hummingbird and will let you get close to it.

What a cool, fascinating little creature.

I never knew these existed. Did you?

Also, I am curious. Where did you go on your last date night? Do you dress up? Or do you wear jeans?

Outfit Source List: Free People Mamounia Dress, Anthropologie Pilcro Flares (old), Bracelets from H & M (old, similar here), Anthropologie layering necklaces (old, similar here), and Lucky Brand Emmie Silver Flats.

April 5, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part II

This post should really be entitled, “The Time I Melted In The Dressing Room And Lived To Tell About It.”

In the first set of my reviews a few days ago, you will notice I started with a sideways braid.

But it started to unravel. And I started to unravel.

So, in the next few pictures, you will get to see me attempt to cool down by moving my hair off of my neck. It ain’t pretty.

It didn’t work.

This is going to be anti-climatic, but I am going to give away the ending.

I survived.

I tried on fifteen items in a dressing room.

And I survived.

Who knew I was made of such ~~strong~~ stuff?

Linen pants.

I really liked these pants on the hanger. These were too tight on my thighs. As most linen pants are. I wish I could remember what size I tried on the Level 99 Wideleg Linen Pants for you. I think it was a 28, because I think I wanted to try on a size 29 and they did not have it. Or it was the other way around. All I know is, maybe these would be good in a size up, but the store did not have it. Which was also good, because I did not have it in me to try one more thing on.

Told you, my reviews are helpful.

The color of these pants is amazing. If you can wear linen pants then these are for you.

The Pintucked Buttondown is so cute. In the print I am wearing, there are sweet little pastel birds lounging around. I am wearing a size six here. Kristin from Lovely Apidae bought this top a few weeks ago and it looks so much better on her. She gives a good representation of this top. It looks much better with jeans.

Then I tried on this Mahdia Peasant Top with a pair of Pilcro Stet Slim Bootcut Jeans. I like the jeans. They are a size 28. What do you think? I do not know if they are too short with these boots. But with flats, they might be too long. I also realize it is hard to tell because of the way I am standing. Remember, I was melting. So, this seems to be a good stance to take to sink into the floor. Other than that, I have no answer or excuse for you.

I added these pants to my wishlist. Please let me know what shoes I should wear with them. I am clueless.

I adored this top. It ended up being the same Mahdia Peasant Top as above, just in a different print. I am wearing a size six in both pictures. I am still unsure about it. I do not know. I did not add it to my wishlist, but I might. Purple is my least favorite color, but I love it with the turquoise necklace here.

Speaking of purple.

This Del Mar Tunic was the top I thought I was definitely going to buy before I tried it on. I loved it online. This is a medium. I have larger arms and this sleeve was not flattering on me.

Notice my hair and make up falling. The end is near, I’m sure.

What can I say about the Haru Pullover?

It has really good reviews on the product page.

It was not my favorite, but I think the sleeves are fun.

This Texture-Print Tunic was me stepping out of my comfort zone. This is a small. I think it is flattering. It is cute and preppy. It is not my style, but it would be great on someone whose style it is. I also think the center pink stripe is surprisingly flattering.

I think I would have really liked this sweater, except it was the last thing I tried on. And that dressing room was hot. And, well, this is a sweater. I like the color and the crochet panel. It is called the Sujet Top. I am wearing a small in this picture. I think this runs big. It was extremely comfortable. It is see through, so an undershirt of some kind is required.

Have you braved a dressing room lately? Do you like trying on clothes? Do you find yourself getting warmer in the dressing room?

P.S. I recently did Free People Spring Reviews, too!

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

Pilcro

An Artist Made of Honeycomb

Anthropologie Late Spring Reviews

I Learned Something New

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part II