August 30, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

There And Back Again

I have this Anthropologie Ponte Bell Skirt in black and it is one of my favorites. When more colors came out, I added them all to my wishlist with the hope of one day scoring one at a huge discount. In July, I finally was able to acquire one more in the color I had been wanting the most, this really pretty green. I got it for 75% off. The green reminds me of hobbits.

Well, pretty much everything reminds me of hobbits.

It is a bit of a problem.

When I take this skirt off, it stands up all by itself.

It is as though Gandalf granted it some mysterious skirt power.

I paired my skirt with a simple dress from Target. This skirt is short, so I feel better knowing that I have extra coverage underneath it. I could have used a striped shirt, goodness knows I have enough, but I was happy with this solution. I like that the back of the dress has a zipper like the back of this skirt.

We found the neatest gully in the middle of the desert. I want to walk down there one day for pictures. There could be hobbits! But my husband says that I will not be able to get back up.

I think he is forgetting that I am wearing a magic skirt.

The earrings are from Nordstrom Rack. The bracelet is Free People’s Hammered Stacked Cuff. The shoes are Anthropologie’s Almanac Sandals. The invisible necklace made from the remnants of second breakfast is courtesy of my imagination.

Do you have anything in your closet that reminds you of your favorite movie? Have you scored any popbacks lately? I have a post coming up soon with some of my recent best finds.

*Today is typically reserved for the feature “It’s The Little Things.” Unfortunately, life got in the way of me finishing pictures for it today. It has been hard adjusting to this back to school thing. The feature should resume next week. Until then, I need to rid myself of this outfit photo backlog.

These photos were edited using the Afterlife App’s forrest filter at 55%.

P.S. * I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

May 8, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

It’s The Little Things: Paper Straws

Folks. I have a problem. We can joke about. Pretend it is a silly thing. A small thing.

But it is getting a bit out of hand.

It is kind of my habit or need, if you will, to have a supply of every possible thing. Imaginable. Just in case. You never know.

“Just in case. You never know.” That is the mantra of my life, by the way. In one word it can be summed up to: ~~greed~~ paranoia.

I have always been a Straw Freak. I bet you didn’t know there was such a thing. Well there is. Here I am. “Nice to meet you.” I cannot drink out of a glass without a straw. I make weird slurping noises. It is like I have been drinking out of puddles all of my life. My lips cannot form properly onto the glass.

I am sure at this point you are crossing off the word “straw” in Straw Freak.

I don’t blame you.

Also. I cannot drink water with a straw. Or milk (unless the milk is from a donut shop in a small container purchased on the way to the airport between the hours of five and seven thirty in the morning. Jealous of my husband now?). It is simply not done. Sends shivers down my spine, it does.

If I am at a restaurant, I always grab extra ones. Especially at Coffee Bean And Tea Leaf. Their straws are the absolute best. They are big. They are purple. They live in my purse where I can stroke them daily.

Shhhhhh!

So, I started seeing these gorgeous paper straws popping up all over the place. And the Need Beast in my heart grew.

I finally caved and purchased some hot pink paper straws from Amazon.
.

But the Need Beast was not satisfied.

So I bought a small pack of twenty yellow polkadot and stripe ones.

But he longed for more.

He wanted. All. Of. The. Colors.

RRRROOOOOAAAARRRRR!

But I did not want to pay for them. Well, the other day Anthropologie had free shipping on anything. That’s right. Anything. Do you want to know what I bought?

Clothes?

Nope.

Shoes?

Nope.

Jewelry?

Nope.

Shocker: I bought straws.

Eight boxes of fabulous clearanced paper straws. Eight boxes of 144 count straws (seriously, the best price I have found is on Anthropologie. Who knew?). This, combined with my previous Amazon purchases, left me with a total of 1,196 straws.

My husband was very impressed with this number, folks.

You should have seen his jaw clench.

I think it was in anticipation of the fun sipping he will be doing all season.

Don’t you?

I am so ready for this summer. For margaritas by the pool. For lemonade. And piña coladas.

All made more exciting with the use of colorful, happy straws.

It’s the little things: Making a drink even better.

Do you have paper straws in your house? Do you drink from a straw? Do you have weird rules about straws? Please share. My Need Beast really wants to know.

* The Amazon link is an affiliate link. The straws for this link are $1 more than what Anthropologie is selling their straws for. However, I provided the link in case Anthropologie runs out. Also, I get free shipping on Amazon but not on Anthropologie. Purchasing through the Amazon link will result in a small commission for ~~The Need Beast~~ this blog.

April 15, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part IV

This is going to be my last set of reviews for awhile. I overdid it. I broke my shop box. Tore my dressing room nerve. Split my trying-on-gene in half.

Yesterday, I showed you some pretties. And, they were pretty. And I liked them a lot. But today is where my heart is. Today is the day I show… Well… You’ll see:

Do you recognize this Midday Dress? How could you not? I have been wearing pretty much nothing else for a week. If you missed it, you can see me wearing the dress here and here.

I know by now that in the Puella brand I always take a medium. This was found by trial and error. I love this brand. They create flattering silhouettes for women at a decent price in comfortable fabrics. What’s not to love?

I purchased this dress on sale. And I love it!

They only had a large in the Sunpass Dress. I have admired this dress online for awhile. I tried it on anyway. I will need a small in this dress. If I remember correctly, it was not lined. I just remember it being an incredibly thin material. Very light. Very pretty.

I believe this dress will look amazing on the more voluptuous gal. I cannot wait to see many women rock this dress.

Lovely dress that remains on my wishlist hoping for a great sale price.

The Stripe Swing Tunic Dress is another dress by Puella. It just came out. It is expensive for what it is. I love it. I mean I love this dress so much I want to cry.

I am wearing a medium in the picture. I love the way this dress flows. I am a sucker for grey and white stripes. They are everywhere in my house. I might as well match my interior.

I did not purchase this dress that day. I went home and thought about it. And thought about it. And when I was still dreaming of this dress a week after these pictures were taken, I ordered it and one other lovely below.

My soul is happy. Even the broken review parts.

This little number is the other item I ordered. It is currently on sale for approximately half off. It is so fun. Surprisingly flattering. At first I was hesitant due to the length, but I love it. The blue is so vibrant and gorgeous. I wear the Caravane Tunic Dress with silver flat sandals now. (These to be exact). I have a fun outfit post featuring this dress going up next week. In the wintertime, I will wear this with black leggings and booties. This is probably my favorite closet addition in awhile. It is a good sale price. It is mostly sold out online, but if you call customer service you might still be able to snag one.

When I was entering the dressing room, another gal was exiting. She had the Galen Dress in her hand. She was purchasing it. I got excited to try it on in the dressing room. I generally find that shirtdresses do not do much for me. It is just not my favorite style of dress.

This dress was cute. This is a size small. It fit well. It is short. The pattern is pretty. And so is the color. Again, this is a great style of dress for all women’s body types.

My husband liked this dress a lot. But I did not like how much of my side thigh was showing. Who does this dress think it is? Humboldt Tunic? Although my broken fitting room soul was not havin’ it, it is a nice easy little number.

This dress was a pass for me, but I think on the right person, it will be lovely.

I tried on the flower patterned version of the Caravane Tunic Dress I purchased, as well. It was a medium and too big, but I did like it. If I had not all ready fallen head over heels for the blue version and my heart had not been hurt from contracting the fatal shopping bug, I might have loved this. As it was, it was a “no” for me.

I am on the fence about this West End Top. It is a medium. I bought it, but I have not worn it. I am 99% sure I am taking it back. I am not sure if it is the size (maybe I need a small), but I am thinking it is not all that flattering on me. I love the rust color. It is gorgeous. The hem is such a cool idea. It is a reasonable price. But… I don’t know. I might reconsider in a different size at a sale price, though. What do you think? I need help with this one.

* Update 5/11/14: I ended up keeping The West End Top because I found a fun way to wear it here.

Thus, my reviews are concluded. I am happy to report my shopping wounds are being tended to. It makes it so much easier when your bandages are beautiful clothes.

It is going to be a ~~ridiculous~~ recovery.

And, yep, still hot in the dressing room. You can see the start ~~and the end~~ of the illness here.

What is on your wishlist this spring? Are you happy or bored with this season’s fashions?

More of my more recent reviews can be found here:

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part I

and

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part II

and

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part III

and

Free People Spring Reviews

Whew! No wonder I’m sick of the dressing room!

April 13, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Spinnin’ Jennin’

Last Wednesday it was cold. It was dreary. I wanted to stay inside, but I could not. I had many errands to run. What’s a girl to do?

Put on a fun, flirty dress with some bright colors that will beat away the grey day, that’s what!

I had been lovin’ this Anthropologie Midday Dress online, but I knew I was going to wait for a good sale price on it. When I went to do reviews at the end of March, I tried this dress on and fell in love.

It is such an easy, comfortable, flattering fit. Many other women were buying this dress the day I was there. In fact, one woman wore it up to the cash register and asked if they could cut the tags off after she paid for it, because she wanted to keep it on for an event she was going to. I loved that!

I also love the spin factor of this dress.

It is fun!

May I never grow too old that I cannot enjoy a good spin! Oh! The rush!

Back to Earth. I’m graceful.

Do you have a dress you love to spin in? A way to beat a dreary day away? Please share.

P.S. More photos of this dress can be found here.

and

I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

Gnome Lover

Stumbling through life while still having fun

stripe

There And Back Again

It’s The Little Things: Paper Straws

Anthropologie Spring Reviews Part IV

Spinnin’ Jennin’