Whiter than white

As warm weather approaches it's time to start bringing those white jeans back into rotation. Or maybe they never left for some of you. I know that white jeans especially are no longer subject to the not after labor day or before memorial day rule. How do you keep yours white? I used to rely on good, old fashion clorox but found that over time, in addition to wearing out the fibers, the bleach caused the whites to yellow. My personal favorite is oxy-lean. I throw a cub full in with all my white loads but for white jeans, capris and my favorite white shirts, I usually saok them in an oxy-lean solution before washing. Another great stain fighting tip is to make paste of oxy-clean and water, spread it on the stain and put out in the sun before washing. Any tips to share?

Where Stirup Cup Meets Fiesta!

One of the traditions of a hunt is the stirup cup. It is the offering of port and perhaps a small snack at the begining of every hunt. In our hunt we have a yearly competition to see who can put on the best one and believe me the competition is fierce. This past weekend it was our families turn. We went with a fiesta theme to complement our western states hunt background. Notice the table cloth? We also did tequila in addition to the port and instead of shortbread cookies we baked cornbread cheese biscuits. It was a solid entry and hopefully a winning one! Here you can see my dad, one of the Master of the Hunt, helping himself to a little port.

The Scoutiest

This past weekend was the matchbox car derby for OPB's cub scout pack. He is in the Wolf Den which is second grade. For the whole pack, his car won the award for being the most "scoutiest". He created the Boy Scout "Arrow of Light". He was so excited and totally thrilled. Although the car was scouty, it was slow and did not win the race but he didn't care!

The Classic Cardigan

Happy President's day everyone. I am taking advantage of the day off to go through my closets and take stock. One thing I noticed was that it is time for some new cardigans. Cardgians are a staple in my wardrobe. I wear them over blouses to the office and over tees with jeans. Here in Northern California and especially at my office in downtown SF, you almost always need a cardigan. Even if its a super warm summer day, rare in SF, the office AC is frigid. Anyway, as I surveyed my closet it became obvious that some of my reliable favorites are begining to look worn and are in need of replacement. I have always been a fan of the Jackie Cardigan from J Crew. A navy Jackie almost always lives in my closet. But I have heard alarming things about the quality of J Crew sweaters lately so I am casting about for alternatives. I've heard good things about the Lands End Canvas Heritage Cardigans. Anyone agree? Thoughts are welcome. I am looking for basic staple cardigans in varrious fun colors. Thanks!

Stripes Ahoy!

I am loving this cute dress from Lilly Pulitzer. It's called the Cassie dress and a fun mix of casual, nautical and yet right on trend for spring. This may be one of the few times that what is in my closet actually could be considered trendy. I'd wear it with flat gold sandles or ballet flats sunny weekend days. And you could add a skinny belt and a cardigan to cover up more or go out for a night of fun. A cardigan is always necessary where I live at night. I love the versatility and nautical feel to this dress and goodness knows I can never say no to stripes! It's to me what polka dots are to some others.

Think Pink!

I bit on J Crew's most recent promo and grabbed the double serge wool pencil skirt in the neon azalea color. It was so bright and cheery, like a pink highlighter, that I just could not help myself. This has really been the year I fell for these skirts. I now have the skirt in the bronze ocher and viridian green and also the flair in the acorn, navy and rose print. I'm stalking others on ebay and the JCA exchange. I plan to wear this skirt with camel and navy, as well as gray but any other styling tips are welcome. I also am wondering about the seasonablity (if that's a word) of this skirt. I live in Northern California and work in SF. We have pretty much a mono-climate. I can se see wearing this with bare legs and slingbacks in spring really and fall. To me this is really a 3 season skirt. We don't have the sweltering summers that other places have although we have some warmer days. What do you think?

Happy Valentine Day

A Happy Valentines Day to all of you! Hope you have a wonderful day whatever you have planned!