OOTD 1.30.10: Cultural Center Outing

our Sunday morning view

Good Morning!

Yesterday we took a guided tour of the Polynesian Cultural Center on the North part of the island. A tour bus picked us up in the morning -- and after a full day of a guided tour, lunch, luau dinner and show, brought us back by about 10:30 pm. I don't know that I've ever done a guided tour before but this made it so easy and enjoyable with our three small children. They had a blast. They were engaged in the demonstrations and activities and all three were mesmerized by the amazing show in the evening.

I 've been taking loads of pics and will get more snapshots and reviews up probably in the week or so after we return. If anyone is heading out to Oahu soon, please feel free to email me questions - I just don't have time to put together any well thought out posts right now -- plus, working on my laptop takes me a little longer than my usual set up at home and pics are uploading rather slowly.

So anyway, here is what I wore:

J Crew Lisa dress in Navy, J Crew cotton cardi in Ivory, Tory Burch Miller sandals in Hibiscus Pink, gold hoops, Target yellow enamel flower ring

OPI's Flashbulb Fuschia is a near perfect match to Tory Burch's Hibiscus Pink patent

xoxo

Aloha!

We're here and the fun has begun! This is my second time to Oahu - last time was our honeymoon, many years and three kids ago. We've brought the girls along to Kauai and then all three to Maui after our little guy was born, but this is their first trip here - and I must say this is where I would bring them next time.

We have a beautiful two bedroom suite at the Grand Waikikian by Hilton (at the Hawaiian Village) and it is absolutely wonderful... the accomodations, the pool, the location. Everything. The little ones are having a blast.

Reviews and pics to come, and hopefully some OOTDs and shopping squeezed in too.

Happy Friday!

xoxo

On The Road Again!

map from www.bestplaceshawaii.com

We are off again today!

Seattle to Honolulu - Jan 2010 by sweetteainseattle featuring J Crew

Items in this set:
J.Crew - Ruffles and roses tissue tank
Women's Cotton Sweaters & Cardigans - J.Crew
Women's pants - cotton - Café capri - J.Crew
Tory Burch 'Reva' Metallic Leather Espadrille Flat
Vuitton is Neverfull! - Louis Vuitton Purses

I will have my camera, mac and BlackBerry along of course, so some tropical posts (or at the very least tweets) coming up soon!

xoxo

Gymboree + Target {dressing the Minis}

I recently stocked up on some of Gymboree's Santorini Sweetie for my little girls for an upcoming vacation (thank you Gymboree, for super fast shipping, and thank you super-helpful sales associate in-store). Maybe I'm just dreaming of the Mediterranean, but this is one of my favorite lines in a while.

The oversized blue sparkle ombre sunglasses are sheer fabulousness and the ruffle tankinis cute-as-can-be.

The scarf is sold out all over, unfortunately. My eight-year-old really wanted that scarf!

Gymboree's pics

I could totally go for this eyelet cover-up for myself:

Gymboree Flower Eyelet Swim Cover-up and Target Natausha Chop Out Ballet Flat Shoes

And look at these great girls' ballet flats from Target's Xhiliration line... the punched-out design also comes in silver and pink, and the snake print also in pink. My 6 year old loves how the designs on the cover-up and flats match. There was a shiny turquoise pair I recall too. Super cute. And only $9.99!

xoxo

OPI Flashbulb Fuchsia

pic from amazon.com

This is such a fun, bright color! Perfect for a holiday. I don't know if it's relatively new or rather old... I just held my flip flop up to the colors at the nail salon and picked one that kind of matched.

This fuschia is bright and has a shimmery silvery-blue iridescent-ness to it, if that makes sense. Very shiny and girly. It is from the OPI Brights collection and you can try it on, virtually speaking, at www.opi.com.

Happy Wednesday!

xoxo

OOTD 1.25.10 {+ I bought one more pair of pink shoes today}

How many pairs of pink Tory Burch shoes does one girl need?

Just one more, apparently.

But first, today's OOTD... since it was pouring -- pouring -- last night (and in the middle of the night I woke up to rain pounding the skylights) I thought it would be a good day for the kate spade Randis. Wouldn't you know, by mid-morning it's all sunny. I'm keeping them on anyway -- the ground is still wet.

Petit Bateau dress in black, black leggings, Target marl wrap sweater, kate spade Randi rainboots

Now for the shoes. I decided to go to Nordstrom Rack this morning for a quick scan of the goods. That place is so hit or miss for me and I don't go regularly but I have found some really nice scores there.

I've been in Spring/Summer shoe mode lately so I went to the little "designer" shoe area -- they will have kate spade, Burberry, Coach, Tory Burch, Taryn Rose, etc here... once I even found a pair of orange Jimmy Choo flats... should have bought those. No must-haves there for me today so I walked down the overwhelmingly stocked regular shoe section and wouldn't you know it...

...on a low shelf sat one little Tory Burch Kelsey Wedge Sandal in Arabian Pink in just my size, marked to $94.90 less 35% ($61.68) which is a very nice markdown from the original $250.00 last summer. And I did have my eye on these last summer.

So, I went to the shoe counter and the sales associate retrieved the match for me and I happily brought home my little score. I am pretty sure I can now keep myself from buying any more pink shoes this year. This is quite a different pink from my Millers and the flops anyway... these lean just a smidge toward coral, while those are more fruit punch and hot pink.

Tory Burch Kelsey Wedge Sandal in Arabian Pink croc print - no box but that's OK for $188.32 off

Hope everyone is having a great start to the week.

xoxo

Tory Burch Delivery Day!

Friday was Tory Burch Delivery Day, courtesy Nordstrom and UPS! Nordstrom is running a great sale on some Tory styles and I finally ordered some Sophies as well as Miller sandals and some flip-flops, both in bright pink. My upcoming winter vacation wardrobe is obviously going to be centered around pink shoes.

Friday was also my Boden pre-order delivery day -- more on that soon!

First, the flip-flops. These fit just like your basic casual thong sandal -- they come in whole sizes only so I went up to a 9. They are a little roomy but fit fine. The upper straps are a little stiff but for me, the happy, bright printed footbed and cute little gold logo on pink make up for it. These will be great for hotel room-to-pool treks as well as going for pedis, and I'm sure they'll get lots of use when Seattle heats up in August too.

Now, the Millers... oh my gracious I looooovvvve these! They are super comfy and I love the style. The upper fits just above my foot (not snug against it - it's a little stiff) so it doesn't bother and is high enough on the foot to keep these securely on, even without a back. The footbed is slightly padded and is just a smidge shorter than some of my other sandals in 8.5 I compared these to - like Steve Madden Seeri, and a Mia style... my toes and heels come close to the edge (just cover the stitching) but there is still just a bit of space. I contemplated going up to a 9 instead of my regular 8.5 but I'm comfortable in these -- I think I could go with either size. Now I want these in another, more neutral hue too. Gold or silver??

And... the Sophies! What a great wedge. I got these in coconut suede and I think they will work well with quite a lot of my wardrobe. It is a pretty dark brown. I have a similar style of shoe by Steve Madden and these feel more comfortable on my foot. In the SM's (also 8.5) I had to put in a little heel gripper but these fit exactly right. Can't wait to wear them.

xoxo

TB Reese Look-a-likes at Target

**update: thank you to mrs.anketell for letting me know they are the Mady Ballet Flat and are shown online here. They are available in the gold I've shown below, as well as pewter, black and red.**

They are missing the tassles, but otherwise -- wow -- these are quite a similar style to my gold Tory Burch Reese flats! I spotted them at Target on Friday. I don't see them online yet and can't recall the name but it started with an M -- Maya? Myra? Something like that... I'm heading to Target again today so I'll check and update later.

Target Merona flats

Tory Burch Reese flats

ps - was just over at jcrew.com and noticed they have an extra 30% off of sale - code EXTRA30!

xoxo

Mini Boden Coming to Nordstrom {Hanna Too!}

So I was walking through Nordstrom today and noticed some Hanna Andersson play/day dress sets hanging on a fixture. Wait a minute. Hannas at Nordies?! I remarked to the sales associate how surprised I was to see Hanna in their store and she told me - yes - they would be carrying HA now... as well as...

MINI BODEN!!

Boden's pic

She told me it has been in a couple of Seattle stores and selling very well and -- I think -- that about 9 stores have it. She said they will have fewer pieces in the 7 & up range, but more of a collection for the 6 and under. They'll also have boys clothes! Yay!

When I got home, I googled "Mini Boden at Nordstrom" and found that, while news to me, this is not exactly hot off the presses. According to Earnshaw's Mini Boden is going to be in 55 Nordstroms this month. WWD reported on this back in August. Nordstrom has an exclusive US contract.

I am on the list to be called as soon as it hits the floor... I am interested to see if the pricing is any different as Boden runs frequent % off promos and how much of the lines they will carry.

xoxo

Cajun Chicken Pasta {super easy crockpot recipe}

This recipe is adapted from Sandra Lee's Semi-Homeade Slow Cooker Recipes (p. 108). It is sooo good so I thought I'd share:

You need everything pictured below plus some chicken (I like to get the already cut up stir fry pieces from the meat dept) and chicken broth. Sandra's recipe calls for 1 1/2 lbs of chicken -- this time I only used a little over 1/2 lb.

chicken

1 jar Alfredo sauce

1 can tomatoes w/ onion, celery and bell pepper - Sandra's recipe says diced which I can never find but I do like the sliced tomatoes in this anyway

1 can (or 14 oz) chicken broth

1 medium red bell pepper cut into strips

4 tsp Cajun seasoning (this does make it spicy -- I love it this way but you may want to reduce to taste... next time I'll probably only put in 2 tsp for the sake of the kids)

1 lb dried farfalle (bow tie) pasta

chopped fresh chives

In a slow cooker, mix together everything except the pasta and chives, and let it cook on HIGH for 3-4 hours.

When you are ready to eat, just cook the pasta in salted, boiling water for 9-10 minutes. Drain and cover with your sauce, then sprinkle on the chopped chives. These add such a nice color & give it that fresh, homemade look.

Cheers!

xoxo

OOTD 1.17.10: plum & cognac for being touristy

Here is what I wore for shopping and eating on Robson St, and then the Vancouver Aquarium and lunch in Stanley Park before heading back home on Sunday:

ATL blouse, ATL cardi, Vigoss jeans, Steve Madden Intyce, L ouis Vuitton Neverfull MM, Anthropologie bracelet, Anthropologie earrings

...and... just checked my UPS tracking and three new pairs of Tory Burch shoes should be arriving tomorrow! Reviews coming soon! (and time for a pedicure)

xoxo

24 hours in Vancouver, BC

lobby of the Sutton Place Hotel

Here are some snapshots from our quick weekend trip to Vancouver, BC. We did this last February (though I think we spent two nights then) and had so much fun so we decided to do it again this winter. My post on last year's trip is here. We stayed in the same hotel, The Sutton Place, which is perfect for us because you can get roomy 1 and 2 bedroom suites at a reasonable rate and they have an indoor pool (and spa). Being right down the street from Louis Vuitton and around the corner from all the great Robson St. shopping and restaurants doesn't hurt either!

view from our living room

So Saturday evening, after taking the kids to the swimming pool, we headed out to do a little bit of shopping and then for dinner at Moxie's. An easy walk and we really enjoyed it. The restaurant has a cool urban vibe up on the 2nd floor overlooking Robson - but is big and noisy and has a children's menu so we felt really comfortable there as a family of five.

raspberry kiwi crush (kiwi & raspberry purees, lime slush, smirnoff raspberry vodka (this is a double-sized) and avocado spring rolls

half portion (Hubs and I split one entree) of the coconut curry rice bowl - prawns w/apples, pineapple, ginger, coconut in a madras curry sauce on jasmine rice with curry-buttered naan - this was delish!

the waitress poured water on the dry ice under the kids' ice cream bowls so they "smoked" - they loved it!

my plate from the chocolate buffet at Fleuri - yum

The next morning, we headed out to Cafe Crepe for a late breakfast before more swimming at the hotel pool:

Louis Vuitton on Burrard window display - I love the Damier Azur and Monogram Vernis Bleu Nuit together

After swimming and checking out of the hotel, it was off to the Vancouver Aquarium where we got a great spot for the dolphin show and watched the 4D movie.

Mommy's helper

And finally, before we headed back home, we had lunch (and tea) at the Tea House in Stanley Park. This place is absolutely wonderful -- great food and gorgeous surroundings. So picturesque - even in the gray weather!

xoxo

OOTN 1.16.10: The Dusty Blossom Chimera

I brought along my J Crew Dusty Blossom Wool Pleated-Silk Chimera Jacket (which Hubs gave me for Christmas, thanks Hubs!) to Vancouver to wear out to dinner on Saturday night. After a little shopping, we went to Moxie's which was great and just around the corner from our hotel -- and then went back to the hotel (Sutton Place) for the chocolate buffet at Fleuri. We enjoyed it last year on our 2009 Vancouver winter weekend getaway and the kids were really looking forward to it again. I'll put up some pics soon on a non-fashion-vacation-photos post.

J Crew Chimera jacket in Dusty Blossom, ON ls tee in Navy, Vigoss jeans, Steve Madden Intyce in Cognac, Anthropologie Bauble Bath bracelet

xoxo

OOTD 1.16.10: Blooming Phlox in Yellow

On Saturday we drove up to Vancouver, BC for a little weekend getaway so I went super comfy (ok, actually I go super comfy most everyday) with my new happy yellow Blooming Phlox tank from Anthropologie, jeans, cardi and ballet flats. I really reeeaaallly wanted to put a charcoal gray cardi with this but I don't have one. I have medium gray, lt. gray, pewter... but not charcoal. I put this yellow next to a pullover cowlneck in charcoal and it looked so great but a pullover cowlneck just wouldn't work. So I went with this brown which I do also like (still - am currently on the hunt for a charcoal cardigan):

Anthropologie Blooming Phlox Tank in yellow, Target pointelle wrap cardi in Brown, Paige Premium Denim, Anthropologie Bauble Bath bracelet, Anthropologie Sweetest Hive earrings, La Scarpa suede ballerina flats in brown (bought this past summer in Paris)

Anthropologie's tank, Anthropologie's pic

I have a couple more vacation outfits and a few Vancouver pics to post too -- coming up!

xoxo

turkey and roasted red pepper meatloaf

This is the only meatloaf I make; I love it. I found the recipe in Real Simple magazine. If you want to see the original, it is on page 274 of the March 2008 issue. (Judging from their pic, they chop and dice much finer than I do.)

You need:

a package of turkey (about 1 1/2 lb), plus:

1 small yellow onion, chopped

1 egg, beaten

1/2 c bread crumbs

1 c grated Parmesan

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1 c flat leaf parsley (I used curly this time because that's what I had and it was fine)

1 7 oz jar of roasted red peppers, cut into small pieces

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Put it all in a big bowl:

At this point, I had to hand it over to my very eager helper to stir while I chopped peppers:

Shape it into a loaf and put it in a pan. A tip from Real Simple is to not use a loaf pan, but use a larger one that allows heat to circulate and cook the meat evenly. So that's what I do:

Here it is all done (Bake about 45 min in an oven preheated to 400. - the internal temp should be 165). Just let it rest 15 min after that before you slice it. Great served with mashed potatoes and salad.

I probably could have chopped up those peppers a little smaller but I do like it with chunkier pieces of pepper and onions. If you want smaller vegetable pieces, I would imagine you could even use a food processor on them.

Happy Weekend!

xoxo