Caved, new purchases!

Ok, so I have been so good and resisted the 30% off promo but this morning the new rollout got me. I ordered the cute striped shirt. I love striped shirts and I ordered the slate color, not the beige. I got the napolian print skirt and the double serge skirt in papaya. Then I couldn't resist this pretty print scarf. I tossed in a final sale belt and used the code to get free shipping and then used my rewards card. The damage was big but could have been worse! What do you think?

To many Balls in the Air

This post can be subtitled "I hate Being a Working Mom". I really loath it. I don't loath my job. it's interesting and I'm good at it. It also pays suitably well which is why I do it. But being a working mom sometimes to me feels like always letting someone down or letting something fall through the cracks. Example, I have 3 kids, one in 3rd grade, one in first and one in kintergarden. The kintergardener has some learning disabilities in that although not classicly autistic, he does have some behaviors on the autistic spectrum. The 3rd grader is dyslexic and has other learning disabilities relating to language arts.

When I worked part time (up until about 18 months ago) I dropped them off at school everyday and picked them up twice a week. I was on campus alot. Now I do drop them off but only at the curb and don't get home until 7. In time to yell at everyone about unfinished homework and bed time. Now, don't get me wrong, my hubby is great. He gets home about 4:30 and makes dinner and tries to deal with the homework issues.

The Kintergarden teacher called to let me know that the little guy has been somewhat mouthy in class and not his usual sweet self. In fact, he grabbed another little boy around the neck today in line. He maintains this little boy bit him. The other little boy denied the bitting and the teacher said he didn't see the actual incident. Still, clearly an issue.

Anyway, the upshot is, now of course I feel like a complete failure. Guilt rides a white horse. I don't really have any other option but to keep working and knowing this makes it worse. Just a venting post about a crummy day. Sorry for the doom and gloom.

To Tweet or not to Tweet?

I'm trying to decide whether or not I should sign up for twitter. I haven't done it yet because I'm just not sure I would use it. It seems like a case of "TMI" to me. I'm just not sure anyone would care what I'm eating for lunch or that I dropped the kids off at school. And yet it seems that if I don't, I'm missing some huge important thing. My brother in law is the king of social media and thinks it is very important and seems to always have his i-phone in hand. Do you guys tweet? Am I missing out?

What I'm Wearing

Hi, here's a quick polyvore of what I am wearing this grey and wet day. It seems like El Nino has landed here in California and it's going to rain this way for a while. It was cold and damp this morning so I grabed a black Jcrew sweater dress (from the most recent 20% final sale), ribbed tights and ballet flats. I wore the Burberry wellies on my commute and change at the office.

Am I the only one who HATES this print?

People have been talking about the new stained glass print at Jcrew. I've know a lot of bloggers love it and I've seen some cute Polyvore sets. It comes in a cardigan, a (very short) pair of shorts and a scarf. I liked it on line and hurried into my local Jcrew hoping to meet the new love of my life. I do like it when a print is great and repeated on mulitple items. There was a sailboat print a few years ago, I have the bikini, the cardi, the strapless dress and the silk scarf. If I love the print, I usually buy as many of the pieces as I can.

Well hello, disapointment! Although I suppose my credit card thanks you. I thought it looked drab and washed out. After the gray and taupe of the winter I was hoping for some clear true colors. And the shorts were way to short. As a tallish person (5 feet 8 inches) I have this trouble with many of Jcrew's darling prints. A 3 inch inseam on a short and 16 inch skirt barely covers my, well myself. I have fairly nice legs but that's to much leg to be sharing! Trust me on this.

Oh well, maybe there is a great print out there for summer just waiting for me. A girl can dream can't she?

A Question about Boots

Ok, this is a question I have been wondering about for a while. I'm hoping one of you fabulous fashiobable ladies can help me out. I've been wanting a pair of black equestrian style flat boots to wear with my skinny jeans and minnies for a while. I have a pair of brown Steve Maddens but was wanting black ones and hadn't found any that I felt were affordable.

The yesterday hubby was cleaning out the garage and I found a pair of old ariat field boots. I stoped wearing them when I got my new custom Dehners about 5 years ago. Anyway, cleaned and polished they look pretty good. Trouble is, I have ridden in them. Even polished up on the inside leg of the boot, its clean they have actually been ridden in. Is this still ok? Or is it one thing to be "equestrian inspired" and another to be actually, authentically equestrian?

Paris, in the spring time!

I know it's not spring time and I know it's not Paris but I love this shot. I think the Paris Jcrew catalogue is one of my all time favorites. That Paris is one of my all time favorite cities helps! I missed out on the sophie sweater but have the candace jacket and the piazza sweater and also have the ruffled edge tee at home. I think I am going to try and re-create this look. Maybe with coal minnies (my Candace is orange) for the winter and my british khaki cafe capris in the spring. I'll take a picture and let you know how it's going.