Striped Day

I adore this dress.  I picked it up  last month and have worn it quite a few times.  It is terribly comfy and so easy to wear.  I think the pattern of the stripes  makes the dress interesting and flattering.  I initially went into the store to get the white and black version, but when I saw that the navy version had mint stripes, I quickly changed my mind.

I hope you guys are having a great weekend!  Today was a little hectic, but I got a lot of things checked off the list.  I am planning a very quiet, relaxing day for tomorrow (starting with a massage:).  

Dress:  Anthropologie Striped Day Dress
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Tights:  Anthropologie
Belt:  Anthropologie
Bracelet:  Gift
Shoes:  Chie Mihara Loti

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Spring Wishlist (Chie Mihara and Anthropologie)

Although we still have a lot more winter to make it through here in Portland, I have spring on my mind!  I am ready for sun dresses and bright colors:)

Ped Shoes finally got their spring/summer  Chie Mihara's in!  So many beautiful shoes.......

Chie Mihara Obara

Chie Mihara Ibor

Chie Mihara Isias

I really like the purple color scheme that Ped is offering, but I like these even better:

I die.  How perfect are these?  Not sure if any US retailers are carrying the navy version, but they are available from the Chie Mihara  website. 

*Stepping away from the shoes*

Chessia Dress from Anthropologie

This is at the top of my anthropologie wishlist.  I haven't tried it on yet, but I have high hopes:)  One of the reviews mentions an awkward fit in the back.  Fingers crossed that that was an isolated occurrence.  I really like the red shoes with it.  

Lace Yoke Dress from Anthropologie

Mint + Lace!  What's not to love?  The reviews are great too.  This looks promising!

Novelty Collar Tee from Anthropologie

This seems like a great basic.  I think this is my favorite version (look at the collar up close!), though I also like the green version (the one with butterflies).  

Colorblock Pointelle Cardigan from Anthropologie

Love the colors and the texture.

Candy Apple

Here is a quick OOTD from last week.  I am feeling a bit under the weather today, so I came home from work early.  I am in my PJ's and ready for dumb movies, ginger ale, and most likely a long nap!

This is my all-time favorite essie nail polish, mint candy apple.

Please ignore our "camouflaged" house!  It is in the process of being painted.

Top:  Anthropologie
Pants:  AG Stevie Cords via Anthropologie
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Shoes:  Chie Mihara Loti

Mad Men Party!!!

Ben and I attended a Mad Men themed dress-up part last night.  It was so much fun!  I had a blast going shopping for my outfit and meeting up with my girlfriends the night before so that we could strategize about what to wear.  The party itself was just perfect - great food, great drinks, great company, and so many beautiful dresses!

When shopping for my dress, I initially passed right by this one.  When the other dresses I tried on didn't really wow me, I went back through the rack and this print caught my attention.  It looked quite frumpy on the hanger, especially because it had a huge white collar sewn on the neckline (front and back), but I decided to try it on anyways.  The shop owner, Alex Sandra, took one look and knew that it had so much potential underneath that collar.  With the collar tucked in and out of sight, I fell in love with the dress!  Once I got it home, removing the collar was a breeze.  

Dress, Hat, and Purse:  Vintage via Alex Sandra's Vintage Emporium
Gloves:  These gloves also came from Alex Sandra's, though I bought them a couple of years ago for my wedding.
Necklace:  Vintage (gift from Ben)
Shoes:  Chie Mihara Teco

It wouldn't be a Mad Men party without tons of booze!

Yes,  that's a chocolate fountain!

Grocery bills and an OOTD

Last weekend, Ben and I had our 2nd meeting with our financial adviser.  The first meeting was a 'get to know you' meeting.  The meeting last weekend was to give us an overview of our current financial situation and a plan for reaching our short-term goals.  The next meeting will be a follow up (we have homework to do!) and will also touch on more long-term goals.

I was nervous going in, but it actually went really well.  She had everything organized nicely and was prepared with a lot of lists/graphs/etc.  It was nice to be able to see how changes we make now will end up affecting us 5/10/15 years down the road.  She gave us a 'to-do' list of things to look into and take care of this month.  I am so glad we decided to work with her.  I felt reassured after the meeting and I'm excited because I know that if we follow her plan and suggestions, we will be able to reach a lot of our goals much more quickly than we anticipated.

One of the things we have to work on immediately is lowering our grocery bill.  Ben and I had a feeling she was going to address this and we  had already done some research on the matter.  Ben found a really cool website that shows you how your grocery and dining out bills compare to others in your area in various income brackets, etc. (here is the website:  http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2012/01/calculator-food-spending-budget-frugal).  It was pretty shocking when we actually sat down and calculated our food costs.  It was even more shocking to see how much more we were spending compared to the average person in our age/income group and geographical location.  We eat a mostly paleo diet and food quality is very important to us.  I think that we had just decided that quality was such a priority, that we stopped letting cost be a factor.   Now, that way of thinking has caught up with us a bit it seems.

Moving forward, we are making a few changes to lower the cost of our grocery bill.  We are actually sitting down and planning weekly menus, instead of just running by the grocery store every couple of days to grab whatever we feel like or going out to eat.  This will also help us plan ahead so that we have leftovers for lunches during the week.  We have decided to shop at 2 different grocery stores.  We will go to the  higher end grocery store for meats and a few other items, but we will get other things like canned goods elsewhere. I think just being mindful will help a lot (noticing when something we use a lot is on sale and stocking up, etc.).  We use a ton of coconut milk (at least 1 can a day in our morning smoothie).  It is quite pricey at the grocery store, around $3 - 4 per can.  I found that if I purchase from amazon, I can get a case (12 cans) and only pay $1.90 per can (free shipping).  I am determined to make this work without compromising too much on quality.  Please share any tips or advice you have!  

Tank:  J. Crew
Sweater:  Anthropologie Dog Rose Pullover
Pants:  AG Stevie cords in nutmet
Shoes:  Chie Mihara Teco

2012 Recap #2: Purchases

To follow up on my post from yesterday (2012 favorite outfits), here are 5 of my favorite 2012 purchases.  I'm not 100%  confident is saying that these are my absolute top 5 purchases of the year, but they are 5 of my favorites:)  It is really hard to narrow it down!  I keep thinking of other pieces that I have gotten more wear out of or ones that are more versatile, but for whatever reason, here's my list!

Camper 21514-001 Mary Jane Pump - Original post here.

Who's That Girl dress - purchased in Paris - Original post here.

J. Crew Perfect Shirt in Chambray Polka Dot - original post here, top also featured here and here.

Chie Mihara Olivan (technically not a purchase, these  were a birthday gift from Ben, but they still have a place on my favorites list:) - original post here.

Ruffled Trench Coat from Anthropologie - original post here.

Honorable mentions:

Liamolly Blazer (post here), J. Crew Peter Pan Collar Tee (post here),  Anthropologie Tiered Ruffles Open Cardigan (post here), Gray Dress, J. Crew Clearance Store find (post here).  

Nutmeg

Happy Holidays!!!  I hope you are all enjoying the weekend.  I am so happy to have a few days of quite, coziness, and fun.  Last week was super chaotic.  We are in the middle of doing a lot of work to our house and we are also refinancing (yay for super low interest rates!).  We just recently found out that for our refinance to go through, we have to have our house painted.  This has to happen by the end of the year.  I felt really weird calling around to find a painter last week - "yes, I know it's the week before Christmas and I know it's pouring down rain, but can you pleeeeease paint our house ASAP?"  Ugh.  In the middle of all of that, our car broke down.  Ben was driving and it suddenly died in the middle of the street.  It's at the shop now, but of course it can't even be looked at until after Christmas.  Luckily, Portland has great public transportation!

On a brighter note, let's talk about my new AG Stevie cords in nutmeg:)  I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE these.  They are the softest, most comfortable pants ever.  I love all of my AG jeans and I had a feeling I would love the cords too.  They have been on my wishlist for a while.  Luckily, they went on sale and anthro unveiled  a new promotion right around the same time.  I snagged these right away!  I have been stalking Molly's blog for color inspiration (love this one and I fully intend to steal this color combo!).  

Pants:  AG Stevie Cords via Anthropologie
Tee:  J. Crew
Top:  J. Crew Perfect Shirt in Chambray Polka Dot
Shoes:  Chie Mihara Loti
Necklace:  Betsy and Iya via Adorn

Fall Wishlist

Fall is my favorite season.  It has started to feel like fall here in the PNW just in the past couple of weeks, although I think we are going to get a big dose of cold and rain starting tomorrow.  I'm so excited to be thinking about tights/corduroy/coats/layers/etc.! 

Now that my commute includes more walking, waiting for the train, and just generally being outside more, I have to put more thought into outerwear.  Luckily, the realization that I needed a good, sturdy trench coat came at just the right time, when this beauty made it to sale:

Ruffled Trench Coat

 

     
It is on it's way to me now (way to go anthropologie, I love the new website and the super fast shipping!).  Hopefully it fits well and ends up being as great as all of the reviews claim.  Do any of you own this coat?  Love it?


Here are some items on my wishlist for this fall/winter:

 AG Stevie Ankle Cord

I wish I could get every single color.  Right now, I have it narrowed down to these two, turquoise and purple. 

Devin Henley

Love this top, can't decide on the color.  I think gray would go with more of my closet, but maybe I need to branch out a little.

 Tights, tights, and more tights!

    Pin Dot Sweater Tights                    Codori Crochet Tights   

I've been on the lookout for a pair of ankle boots.  Here are a few that strike my fancy!

Camper Ankle Boot

Pep Monjo Sybil Boot

Miz Mooz Bailey Boot

And, while I'm dreaming, these too:)

Chie Mihara Sano