October 6, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Let’s Compare: Rain Boots

It seems ridiculous to post this when the temperature in my neck of the woods seems permanently set in the nineties and my air conditioner is crying with exhaustion. But I am not so silly as to think that the whole world is smoldering in their sandals. Since it is technically fall, let’s talk about rain boots:

Last year I wrote a post about the new Chooka Rain Boots that I had purchased at Costco. I was very pleased with my Chooka Rain Boots and they even garnered their own funny story. However for Christmas, my husband surprised me with a pair of Hunter Rain Boots. And I supplied a post for those, as well.

Both are in a very similar color of green.

I decided to write a new post about what I like about each of them.

First, when I pulled my rain boots from my closet after less than a year of being stored in there, my Chooka Boots appeared brand new and my Hunter Boots had a waxy white film across them. I only wore each pair of boots two to three times last year (darn California drought), so I am by no means an expert on accessories for the rain.

But I can tell you the pros and cons I have found with each of the shoes:

Chooka Rain Boots Review:

As I said above, the Chookas have retained their sheen and still look brand new after many months in storage.

I think the Chooka Boots are more comfortable than the Hunter Boots, because they are a tad bit shorter and do not hit the back of my knees like the Hunter Boots do.

The price. I paid $30 for my Chooka Boots at Costco last year (from what I have seen online, I believe the average retail price is around $60). This is a great deal for a nice pair of boots.

The negative about these boots is that I am not a huge fan of the buckle on my Chooka Boots. I do not mind it on the Hunter Boots, because the buckles are balanced by the label in the center. But I wish the Chooka Boots did not have the buckle on the side. I feel like it draws attention to the lack of a label (which is actually another positive. Most of the time I am a label-free girl).

Chooka also now sells boots with a pretty contrasting brown buckle. I like that look better than the ones that I own.

Hunter Rain Boots Review:

First, the gorgeous logo. I mentioned above in the Chooka Boot Review that I generally am not a label girl, but it has to be said that the Hunter logo is stunning and makes the boot.

The taller length of the Hunter Boot is better for skirts, and looks better with them because of their height than the Chooka Boot. However it is not as comfortable as the lower height of the Chooka Boot.

The Hunter Boot runs slightly larger than the Chooka Boot. This means that sometimes rain can get into my boot through the larger gap at the top (which kind of defeats the purpose of wearing a rain boot). I bought a size eight in both brands and the Chooka Boot fits perfectly while the Hunter Boot runs a little big. There are pros and cons to both. In colder climates, the Hunter Boot would allot for a thicker sock to keep feet warm in the brisk weather. Hunter Boots also appear to accommodate a larger calf. I feel the Chooka Boot is better for warmer climates because it would not accommodate a larger sock unless you sized up, but in California, I do not need that. I simply need a boot to keep my feet dry. Chooka Boots seem better for smaller calves.

The price. Hunter Rain Boots are expensive. My husband purchased mine for $79.99 at Nordstrom Rack. They are usually around $150. I know Costco typically offers them every year on their website at a large discount, as well.

Finally, my pair of Hunter Rain Boots do not look as pretty as they did when I first received them less than a year ago. I am hopeful the waxy finish will go away with more trips out into the rain but I am not positive. The reason I am thinking it is going to take a bit of work to remove the white film is based on this article I found on the subject. I really wanted a low maintenance shoe, so I am disappointed that these require some elbow grease.

So with all of that said, which ones do I recommend? Honestly, I like them both. The Chooka Boots have a slight advantage because of the great price I paid for them. And the fact that they still look the same as when I first purchased them.

Vainly, I like the Hunter Boot for the logo. And I adore the many colors it comes in. If you ever see a baby pink tall pair at a discount please let me know. I love that color!

I will keep wearing both of them.

And be happy and grateful that I have the options.

Do you own a pair of either of these brands? What do you think? Did your Hunter Boots produce a white film? And if so, did the waxy quality on the Hunter Boots go away without having to do anything special to them?

*I was not compensated for writing this post. These opinions and reviews are my own. Your experience with the different boots may vary.

August 13, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Anthropologie Summer Reviews

I was in San Diego the other day and somehow I was able to convince my husband that I needed to go to Anthropologie. Not wanted but needed. So he took me. And I went.

And I tried some stuff on. Not all of the stuff, but a lot of the stuff. Enough of the stuff.

I even broke my word and bought a stuff.

It was an accident.

It tricked my sale-only-heart with its full-priced-gleaming-only-one-left-in-my-size-and-I-shall-perish-if-it-is-not-in-my-closet-sheen.

I think next time I shall bring sunglasses.

That sheen is tricky stuff.

I need immunity.

Is there a hidden idol for that? Best look in these clothes to see if it’s there:

First, what did I wear? It is the Talisman Peasant Dress I bought on sale with my birthday discount and a gift card.

It is easy.

And I like that. Especially when I am leaving the house at six in the morning.

Of course after I left Anthropologie and my son and husband picked me up, my son looked me up and down and said, “Have you been wearing that all day?”

“Um, yes,” I said. “And yesterday.” TMI?

“Oh. I thought maybe you accidentally stole it.”

Wha-a-a?!

Then I remembered the conversation we had the day before when the two ladies at the shoe store were distraught over a shoe box that someone had switched their old shoes in for the new pair.

But I had to ask him, “You don’t think I would do that, do you?”

“No. But I can see you accidentally doing that.”

Oi.

First I tried on the most gorgeous dress. It is the Azure Lace Dress. I have had my eye on this dress for awhile. I love the color.

Love it.

This is the dress my husband liked the best out of all of the things I tried on.

Of course, I am waiting for sale and I also have the size six petite in my wishlist for a bit of a shorter cut after I saw this blogger wear it that way. I think it is genius. The picture above is a regular size six.

Then I tried on a dress the salesgirl put in my dressing room. It was my size and I loved the color, so I figured, why not? I did not try the other neon green dress she left.

I really liked the Azalea Stitched Dress. Not enough to purchase it, because it was not completely “me,” but enough that I did caress it a bit in the dressing room.

What? You know you do it, too.

Then I tried on the prettiest dress called the Nanda Maxi Dress. I adored it (a nicer way of saying I caressed it, too… I might have a problem). It still cost a little too much for me, because it is sleeveless and the top does not quite sit right. But it did get added to my wishlist. I am wearing a size small. The Suzani pattern inspiration is gorgeous.

I admired the color of The Rokin Dress online and it did not disappoint in real life.

I will say if you are busty or hippy you might want to size up. I am wearing an 8 in these pictures. It is a sturdy dress and I love the pattern. The bodice is a bit odd as shown in the previous picture.

I really like it paired with a Pilcro Denim Jacket. I am wearing a medium and it is the size I would purchase.

I gladly put on the Solana Swing Dress that I have admired for over a month and the only disappointing thing about it was the price.

Because of its simplicity I would need it at a reduced price. I am wearing a medium and I like the oversize look.

I especially like it with a denim jacket (same Pilcro Denim Jacket from above).

I also tried the jacket on with the gorgeous Petaluma Skirt, because it was on the last chance rack and it happened to be my size (small), but I did not bring a top in to try with it.

This skirt is so pretty. I had kind of yawned at its appearance online (I know! How rude!). I thought it would be just like all of the other feminine tulle skirts out there.

But it is not tulle.

And it is a-mazing in person.

I drooled over it. I do not think it is quite me, but romantic feminine stylists will love it. I can see both Deniz from Dressed Up Deniz and Liz from With Wonder And Whimsy styling this skirt with grace.

A surprising 10 out of 10.

I might have to have it one day.

It had to happen.

One moment I am posing in a ladylike skirt.

And the next moment, I get so hot and sweaty I refuse. Refuse. To put on pants.

Never mind.

No one will know.

I’ll just take pictures like this.

Tricked you, didn’t I? ~~Not.~~

Yes, I am so stealthy with these awful closeup shots of this beautiful Prateria Top.

I all ready own a very similar top, ahem, called the Frangipani Top (link goes to my post styling it). It is in my wishlist. I can be patient.

For information’s sake, I am wearing a six and wishlisted an 8. I have large arms and I found the sleeves to be tight in my regular size. It is a beautiful top.

However for just a little more, you can get the dress version.

“All right. All right. All right,” said in my best Matthew McConaughey impression.

This dress is a swing dress. It is going to, hmmm, what is the word I am thinking of… Oh, yes, swing away from your body. It is not meant to be figure hugging. It is not that kind of dress. It is supposed to have a balloon shape. And it has to have tight arms and be short to offset the fabric and show a hint of a figure. I also happen to know you can drink half of a bottle of wine, and eat a quarter pound of pasta salad and two slices of pizza and still look exactly the same before and after that little bit of gluttony.

And that is All right.

This is the dress. The one I could not leave without. It is called the Inez Swing Dress. The one that made me break my sale-only rule just days after posting I had a sale-only rule. It is my only purchase of the month at Anthropologie that cost more than $9.95.

You can’t help ~~who~~ what you fall in love with.

I knew this dress had to be mine. I was having a low self esteem day. This dress made me feel better.

It also brought back memories.

Memories!

Who can put a price on those?

I am not ruthless enough to turn my back on a dress formed of memories.

I took an eight in it to accommodate my arms. The same arms that hugged this dress all of the way home.

Have you tried on anything lately? Do you ever succumb to temptation simply based on what the item of clothing reminds you of? I guess Sophmore year of high school needed to be reminisced, because it cost me one full priced dress.

I suppose that is better than a letterman’s jacket.

Or the boy twenty two years before who did not appreciate the dress from the past.

Silly Sophmore.

Patches are sexy.

P.S. In June, I posted early summer reviews, in case you missed them.

August 9, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

It’s The Little Things: Some Pantry Staples

First, the items I want to discuss are more like refrigerator staples and not pantry staples, because that is where these things are stored. But “refrigerator staples” does not roll off one’s tongue in quite the same way that “pantry staples” does. What? You don’t think “pantry staples” is pure poetry? Next you’re going to say that “Mops and Brooms” is not your favorite song. It’s a rap, by the way. And it’s sweeping the nation.

There are three products I always have in my refrigerator. They are not your typical staples. Let’s discuss:

Trader Joe’s Cilantro and Chive Yogurt Dip is my go-to staple. I love it with my my favorite grilled chicken in the summertime, but I have also paired it with steak and fish and it is equally delicious.

Even served simply with some grilled flat bread and rice is yummy.

It is a greek yogurt (tzatziki type sauce) blended with herbs and it is outstanding. I do not typically care for premade sauces and dips. I much prefer making my own, but this one is perfection. It is easy. I highly recommend it. I always have a container on hand.

This brings me to my next staple. I love Stonefire’s Naan Flatbread (I have found mine at a local little grocery store and in the fresh bread section at Albertson’s). Usually you would serve pita bread with the yogurt dip, but I like naan better. It is wonderful dipped in the yogurt sauce above.

I smear melted butter on each side of the bread and toast both surfaces for a few minutes each in a hot skillet. Then I cut it with a pizza cutter and serve.

This bread freezes wonderfully. When I want to use it, I simply defrost the package for an hour and then I cook it as I previously described. It is a healthy little appetizer served with veggies and the sauce above in case company spontaneously stops by.

Which leads me to the last staple I will be writing about today. Broccoli. It has always been my favorite vegetable. My kids enjoy it, too. Two nights ago my son had two servings of broccoli before he even touched his main course. “The secret is butter.” As it always is. By the way, that’s my second favorite song. It’s creaming its competition.

I love these prewashed and chopped broccoli florets that come in their own plastic bag. You can serve them raw with the tzatziki sauce. But I usually eat them hot as a side instead of with the dip. I puncture the bag with a fork two times and then microwave the bag for three minutes on high. I let the broccoli rest in the bag for one minute then I dump the broccoli in a bowl with two tablespoons of salted butter, 1/2 teaspoon of salt, and 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper. I mix it together and serve it as a side to my family’s dinners throughout the week.

When I was taking the broccoli pictures my daughter begged me to make the broccoli even though it was almost nine o’clock at night (which explains the great lighting). I did. And we ate it up. I have heard that eating after nine is bad for you but broccoli doesn’t count right? Let’s see…

Brocolli after nine
Is perfectly fine.
Just drink some wine.
Don’t have a last line.
For this bad rhyme of mine.

What is your favorite ~~pantry~~ refrigerator staple? Do you use any of the ones I mentioned? What is your favorite thing to serve to unexpected company? I would not recommend poetry. They seem to leave after that. Hey, where are you going?

August 7, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

READING: “The One And Only Ivan” and “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane”

Two book reviews at once? There is a reason for my madness. I read two books to my ten year old son (who turns eleven on the eleventh) in July. He really enjoyed one of them and he was not enthused about the other one. As an adult, I liked both of them. As a mother, I will recommend one of them for children.

Since I found the two books both similar and dissimilar and I read them within one week of each other, I decided to review them together. Both books are supposedly geared towards children. Both books deal with mature themes. And both books are told from the point of view of a non-human narrator.

However, the two books are vastly different, as well. Let’s get to that:

Now, first I need to say that I love Kate DiCamillo. After reading and raving about “The Magician’s Elephant”, I happily devoured more of her work. It was good. “The Magician’s Elephant” is still my favorite. So, when I picked up her book, “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane”, I excitedly began reading it out loud to my child without reading it myself first.

I trusted her.

On the night of my birthday, I finished reading my son that book.

It involved many tears and sobs.

Without wanting to spoil anything, but also needing to discuss an important part of my review, I must say there is a spoiler in this paragraph. Please skip it if that bothers you. This book is about a pampered porcelain rabbit who goes on a journey not of his choosing to learn compassion. If you took “Pinocchio” and combined it with the “Velveteen Rabbit” and then cut out three quarters of the happy ending, you would get this book. It has a part in it where a child dies and I found the situation involving the body definitely not appropriate for the age group it is intended for. Then something else tragic happens to a child and you get no closure from it. That part was the most difficult scene in the book for my family. Not just the dying child but the extreme cruelty to another child by three different men in a row. And I get it. I do. That is the real world.

But I read children’s books as an escape from the real world. The conclusion was predictable and it did not satisfy the ache that was left in my heart from the unresolved ending with one of Edward’s owners.

In fact, almost all of Edward’s companions’ stories are tragic. They all took possession of this porcelain rabbit and are left with a sadness that is never resolved.

According to the Amazon description, this book is supposedly for children ages seven to ten. I do not find that to be true. If I had read this book as an adult short story knowing in advance that it would be melancholy, I would have enjoyed it more. So, if you are an adult who enjoys reading children’s books like I do, then I highly recommend this one to you. It was gut-wrenching but gorgeous. My good friend informed me last week that her twelve year old son loved this book. Each child is different. If your child wants to read this book, I would recommend you reading it first to see if it is appropriate for your child.

Now let’s get to a book I highly recommend for children.

Before it is said in defense of the book review above that children need to deal with death and life and different hard-knock scenarios through reading books, I am going to agree. I am also going to write that “The One and Only Ivan” has those things. It has death. And in the same vein as “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane,” it even has an unfortunate occurrence with a body, although this one is not human. However, it is handled with finesse. It teaches children that there will be hard times and that people can be cruel but that there is always hope.

Hope.

That is what I feel was missing from the book in the previous review.

It emphasizes that just one of us can make a huge difference. We cannot wait for someone else to change our circumstances, we have to do that ourselves.

My son and I both loved “The One And Only Ivan.” It won The John Newberry Award. It is recommended on Amazon for ages 8-12 and I would lean towards it being for ages 10-12 (although I happily devoured its pages, too). The writing is short and choppy at first. I had a difficult time settling into it. But it is being told from the point of view of a silverback gorilla, so it is to be expected. And once you recognize that, then it is a very easy and enjoyable book. While reading this story, I had strong reminiscent flashes of reading “Charlotte’s Web” as a child.

Ivan, a silverback gorilla, lives at a mall with other exotic animals. He is the main attraction and the star of a small show. His claim to fame is his likeness on a large billboard that he can see from his tiny enclosure. He paints pictures that are misunderstood. Ivan is content with his life in a compact little cage until a baby elephant arrives one day and makes him take a hard look at the life he has been living. We go on an emotional journey with Ivan as he finally remembers his tragic past and proceeds to try to change the future.

There were several lines in the book that I enjoyed. It was interesting how Ivan saw situations and described things. I enjoyed Katherine Applegate’s writing.

One line from the book that I whispered to myself more than once was, “It is the most beautiful mad I have ever heard.”

Isn’t that lovely? It is Ivan’s way of describing an elephant’s trumpet sound when it is upset. I think it is perfect.

This book brought many tears as well, but I got my happy ending.

Have you read either of these books? What did you think of them? Would you recommend them to children?

*this post contains affiliate links, purchasing a book through the link will provide a small commission for ~~tissues~~ this site.

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

review

Let’s Compare: Rain Boots

Anthropologie Summer Reviews

It’s The Little Things: Some Pantry Staples

READING: “The One And Only Ivan” and “The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane”