R. I. P.

*sniff*

I had to have my black cashmere hoodie put down over the weekend. I am still a bit sad about it. It had a long, good life (5 years), was well loved and will be missed.

As is the case with most beloved sweaters and shoes, you swear you aren't going to go out right away and get a new one... But then I found myself at Macy's a few days ago - just checking to see if the jeans I've been wanting - that are just the right color, fit so nicely and are the perfect length, but are $80 - have somehow been marked down to, say, $40. No such luck.

But there, just across the aisle from the Michael Kors section was Calvin Klein. Now, I have no reason to look for jeans in the Calvin Klein section because, as beautiful as Mr. Klein's things are, he refuses to acknowledge that women have hips. But I digress... As I woefully turned away from my not-marked-down jeans, something did catch my eye.

It was adorable. And snugly. And so needed a home.

First let me say, I've been admiring all of the super-long, chunky, cable-knit hoodies and cardigans that are so popular this season, however, being short and chunky means they don't look good on me. But there it was. A cotton, not-so-chunky, hip-length, cable-knit grey cardigan with a hood and a drawstring tie - not a big, bulky bathrobe tie that my dogs would assume was a pull toy. It was so soft, it almost felt like cashmere. And, unlike my jeans, had been marked down. Quite a bit, actually.

So, here's my new addition:


And, to honor my dearly departed black cashmere hoodie, I'm wearing the new sweater today with my beloved stripey cashmere scarf (that sort of looks like this) I got it forever ago when I still liked J Crew's clothes...

And, while we're at it...

Either from Target or Old Navy. I'm too messy to invest good money in white t-shirts. I expect this one to have mustard and/or coffee on it by the end of the day.



Trusty trouser jeans. I stalked these last year at Macy's until they were marked way down. (BTW -Tommy Hilfiger also acknowledges that women have hips - are you listening, Mr. Klein?)

Kenneth Cole Mary Janes - also on super mark-down, but from DSW. Except my straps don't buckle. They're Velcro. Because I'm eight and will have mustard on my shirt by the end of the day.

Grey herringbone trouser socks. I love fall/winter when you can wear fancy socks. I have these in tights too.

And it's raining - so I have my burberry plaid umbrella with me. (While shopping in Vegas the boys I was with patiently watched as I drooled over a pair of rain boots in the Burberry store at the Venetian. They were so pretty. But didn't even have a price tag on them, so somehow I don't think they'll ever be on super mark-down clearance...)

Anyway... farewell dear, black cashmere hoodie. I loved you so. May someone at Goodwill love you just as much.

A Brief Intermission

Even a Summer School Recap needs a break, right?

So I interrupt your regularly-scheduled programming because I accidentally ended up with a cute outfit today.

No, really, that's why.

That and I am completely unmotivated about the actual work I have to get done.

I really don't like summer clothes, so by August I've inevitably slipped into the very bad habit of just reaching into the closet (or the clean pile of laundry) and pulling out a pair of pants (occassionally a skirt) and then a top of some sort. Usually they go together. I don't often have to interact with people face-to-face at my job so if they happen not to go together so much it really doesn't matter. I will receive disapproving looks from the coffee house barista - but really, that's going to happen no matter what I wear...

Anyway... It's raining out and I finally unearthed my favorite umbrella from the boxes of stuff in my house and I'm accidentally feeling a tiny bit Charlotte York-ish today so I thought I'd share:

Black wrap top from the Gap that looks like this, but actually has a tiny ruffle along the edge (gasp).


Plain, go-to, wide-leg, khaki chinos. Flat-front, of course. From Eddie Bauer. I know, Charlotte would probably never be caught dead in a pair of chinos. Or anything from Eddie Bauer. Or the Gap, for that matter. Let's pretend.

Black wedge-heel sandals. Nine West.
Very cool, tan, suede cross-body bag that my mother bought for me in Italy. It has a red lining and smells delicious. And I loooove it. It's slightly different than in this picture, and a much lighter tan, but this is close enough...

And last, but not least. My burberry plaid umbrella.

Not the brand, Burberry, with a capital B because - holy hell - do you have any idea how much that would cost?!? It is Bauer with a capital B, as in Eddie. Again, like the chinos, Charlotte would probably be appalled. I did take a gander at a real Burberry umbrella once at Bloomingdale's in New York, just to compare. I nearly fainted. Mine is still really cute though. I'm one of those weirdos that likes rainy days. This makes them even better.

That is all. As you were.

Week in Review / Top Five: The Sleepy Edition

No Rest for the Wicked: Having a bout of insomnia this week. Maybe it's because of the economy. Maybe it's because I finally started the refinancing on my house - because in addition to worrying about things when they are going poorly, I also worry about things when they are going well. I don't know. Last night I fell asleep on the couch sometime during ER with the light on and the dog door open in the mud room. I woke up at 2:00 am completely freaked out because I couldn't figure out at first what time it was, a bad storm was coming so it was all lightning and thundery outside (which scares the beejeezus out of me on a good day), there was an infomercial playing on TV with that guy who shouts, and one of my dogs was out in the yard barking at the thunder. Outstanding. I was so rattled that I didn't go back to sleep until 4:00.

from www.idiomsbykids.com

Lenten Update: The insomnia has left me some time to sort out the bin of photos. They are now in chronologically-ordered stacks. Progress. The plastic thing is going OK. The good news is that two good friends / coworkers have decided to join me in the no-plastic pledge. AND at the Ash Wednesday service I picked up a nifty little mite box from Episcopal Relief and Development to collect money during Lent. So I brought one back to work and put it in my office so that way if we do end up using a plastic container, we put money in the box.

After-work mixer at web designer's office + plastic cup of beer = two quarters in the mite box

Just how dumb do they think I am?: I mentioned in my last recap/top five list that I recently aced an Oscar dress quiz on People magazine's website. Well, I also aced a follow-up quiz this week about the jewelry worn by Sunday's Oscar attendees. But wait. Before you get all impressed with my useless knowledge, let me show you just how easy this quiz was. Test takers were shown an image of a torso featuring the jewelry in question but not showing the celebrity's face. Then you were given several names to choose from. If you even half paid attention to the Oscar's you could have gotten most of them right by identifying the dresses in the pictures. But no...

This was one of the photos:


The first option on the multiple choice:

QUEEN LATIFAH

No, I'm not kidding. I'll admit that this photo was the most challenging in the quiz. It's Madonna. She wasn't nominated, didn't present and I don't really even remember seeing her on any of the pre-shows, but the biceps would have helped to narrow it down even if I hadn't been given Queen Frickin Latifah to help me cull the field. Now, I know that People Magazine isn't exactly the New Yorker of weekly celebrity-centric magazines. Hell, it isn't even the Entertainment Weekly of weekly celebrity-centric magazines. But really. I think they might be underestimating their readers a bit.


Speaking of fashion (Part A): Can't forget the rest of the Oscars, can we? I think this was one of the best years ever. Everything had such a nice 1920's / Great Gatsby look to it - from the stage to the gowns. It was as though the producers sent out a memo to all the attendees letting them know what the set was going to look like so that they could plan their outfits.

My favorite:

She just looked great all the way around - hair, makeup, jewelry, and I loved the red bag (and I love that her name is Taraji P. Henson - because otherwise we might confuse her with the many other Taraji Hensons). I saw her shoes on TV and they looked fabulous too. Not that I'm any example of fashion (Gert's outfit today: trainers, Gap kahkis, long-sleeved white Old Navy layering tee under short-sleeved blue polo from Eddie Bauer. No makeup. No earrings. My purse is cool though...) but I did spot this as a Roberto Cavali dress - he loves those ragged unfinished edges. This same dress in the hands of a lot of other designers and she would have looked like a fancy mummy.

Other likes: Anne Hathaway, Tina Fey, Queen Latifah, Marisa Tomei, and Penelope Cruz. My Robert Pattinson looked rather dashing and fit the look of the 20's with the narrow-cut bow tie, lapels and pants of his Dolce & Gabbana tuxedo. It was so kind of the Academy to seat him so that he would be in the shot every time the camera was on Mickey Rourke. I considered sending them a thank you card.

Disappointing: Sarah Jessica Parker and Reese Witherspoon. They weren't the worst dressed by any means, but I just expect so much from them. Especially SJP. I adore her. I may not have on makeup or earrings today, but you can be damn sure I'm wearing her perfume.

Speaking of Fashion (Part B): LOOK who's on the cover of Vogue!

I actually gasped when I saw this. I can't wait to buy it and see the other pictures inside. It's going in my permanent collection along with this:

Is that five? I hope so. I'm going to take a nap. Happy Friday.

$7 Pants Update

My new brown cords (see below) were just worn for six straight hours and no hives! Old Navy may have redeemed itself.

PLUS - part of my six hours were spent at Target where I found the following:

White ceramic spoon rest - $1.29!

Queen flannel sheet set - $13.69!

DVD of Sense & Sensibility (the Kate Winslet / Emma Thompson / Hugh Grant version) - $4.49!

Of course, it's me, so now I fully expect Dick Cheney and/or Kenny Chesney to be parachuting onto my roof at any moment.