Some OOTDs, Sale Shopping and Eating Out

I'm making lots of lists these days, checking off to-dos and trying to get a handle on time management. I don't quite have it yet. I did snap some quick OOTD pics this week:

Diane von Furstenberg New Jeanne wrap dress, Target opaque tights, J Crew Brewster boots (couple years ago), Kendra Scott Rena Linear Pod earrings in green

my polish is OPI Windy City Pretty

Gap jacket (last year), J Crew lace top (last year), Joe's Jeans (few years ago), L.K. Bennett Maddox Shoe in Pink Dusk suede

I like this feminine lace paired with herringbone. I'd really like the LKB Maddox in every color available.

I made a quick run through Ann Taylor Loft with the 40% off promo. Picked up some cozy cables and stripes:

I've already worn most of it. Here's one outfit:

Loft Cabled Elbow Sleeve Open Cardigan in Dark Grey Melange, Loft Stripe Boatneck Tee in Eggplant, ON corduroys in gray (2-3 yrs ago), Banana Republic Sophie Braided Bootie in Cedar Wood

We dined out recently at some places we hadn't tried before because of Restaurant Week . Tried some great things, including:

a beet salad at june

chocolate terrine with caramelized popcorn and Mexican hot chocolate at Mistral Kitchen

These have inspired me to figure out some ways to serve beets at home and also look up that popcorn cake recipe I used to make all the time. I'll let you know how it goes.

Hope everyone had a nice weekend!

xoxo

L.K. Bennett London {in Atlanta}

There's been so much attention paid to the Duchess of Cambridge's clothing choices in blogs, tweets, and magazines. I really like most of what I've been seeing. Ladylike, wearable, and not altogether out-of-reach or exclusive. I've been introduced to some companies I hadn't heard of before all this media coverage and am happy I've found them. One of the brands I was most interested to check out in person was L.K. Bennett. I got the chance this past summer when we were in Atlanta. It was a really great shopping day (I also found a fab DvF wrap dress on supersale at Saks).

The shop was set up beautifully and the sales associates were very helpful.

And just look at this wall of markdowns:

The shipping charges on the website are really expensive - 45 GBP (currently over $71.00!) for the first item, 7.50 GBP for each additional, to the US (and Canada, Australia, Japan, etc.). I had run out of room in my luggage, so had my three pairs of shoes shipped from the Atlanta store to my house and I believe it was around $12 - $15. I would recommend calling one of the US stores to see if they have the stock you are looking for and can ship if you are not near a store. John Lewis has quite a bit of L.K. Bennett on their website and now ships to the U.S. for 15 GBP per order (currently about $24.00)

The three pairs I ended up with are the Maddox in Dusk suede (which I posted on earlier), the Isadora in Navy suede, and the Alessia in Tan. I found the Maddox and Isadora TTS and took a 39 but had to go up to a 40 in the Alessia.

I know I haven't been posting many OOTDs lately (currently I'm wearing ON yoga pants, Uggs and one of my husband's old sweatshirts, circa the mid-90's, as it is cold, rainy, and I just need to pick up this house and do laundry)... but here's an outfit from the ATL trip:

Zara Snakeskin Print Blouse, 7 FAM white denim, orange suede sandals made in Positano, Prada handbag

Polyvore with the Zara blouse, similar everything else, + Guerlain Aqua Allegoria Herba Fresca and Dior Addict gloss

So I've taken on another volunteer opportunity... and added on to everything else my days are feeling a little crazy and I'm trying to get organized and stay calm. I'll still be posting and visiting blogs, but there may be some long stretches in between. I hope everyone is having a great weekend and staying warm if your weather has turned like ours has!

xoxo

Pink & Navy OOTD + Pasta w/ Prawns copied from Ristorante Nettuno

My pink coat is getting lots of wear I'm happy to report. This color really can work well with so many other colors. I recently wore it over navy + gray:

Lands' End Cashmere Tie Neck Sweater in True Navy, Old Navy corduroys in gray (couple years ago), BR Sophie Braided Bootie in Cedar Wood, pearls, citrine necklace, Tulle Alexa Coat in Fuchsia from Nordstrom

bow detail on sweater

After looking at my last post, I decided I had to try to re-create some version of that pasta dish from Ristorante Nettuno in Paestum at home. It was easy and turned out great.

This is what I used:

Pasta

Mezzetta Pitted Bistro Blend Olives

Bella Sun Luci Sun Dried Tomato Halves with Italian Herbs

Shrimp

Lots of fresh basil

I sauteed the shrimp, tomatoes and olives in a little olive oil, poured over the cooked pasta and topped with lots of chopped fresh basil. The only thing missing was the view. Oh, and capers... I looked at the menu again and it mentioned capers. I'll add those next time.

Happy Sunday!

xoxo

Wordless Wednesday {Paestum, July 2011}

xoxo

In Which We Make Our Way Out from Being Stuck in an Alley in Italy

For our Italian holiday this summer we had a rental car. It worked well for us, traveling with three children, and for spontaneity purposes (like an unplanned visit to Rainbow Magic Land outside Rome and impromptu shopping stops... more on that later)... but driving in a different country does present its challenges.

We made great use of our tomtom gps system. Truly such a tremendous help. In most cases.

We eventually learned to pick and choose the times we'd follow instructions explicitly, after being led up a couple impossible alleys. (Of course we made mistakes, just trying to deal with it all.) Here is a video I shot of one such case, somewhere between Pompeii and Mt. Vesuvius. We made our way up an ever narrowing path to a brick wall, and got the car just about turned around... here is the journey out (at the very end that's someone beeping at us to go faster!).

p.s. I recommend the full, extra, super coverage insurance. We used it.

p.p.s. Sorry about the high pitched tone at the beginning... that was tomtom complaining. It ends at 0:40.

xoxo

Today's Target Find {if you missed it last year}

Last year I bought this cardigan at Target and the price per wear has got to be closing in on pennies. By the time I realized how much I liked it, the other colorway was gone (tan/cream). Well... it's back! And I brought one home today. The sizing appears to be the same - I bought Smalls. There is no gray/black this year (that I've seen yet) but there is a nice blue/black version.

I don't see these online, only this, which is out of stock and says Oatmeal/Cream while the tag on mine says Cream/Tan -- so I don't know if it is last year's or the current one just not available online yet.

I'm actually wearing last year's today:

Happy Friday!

xoxo

OOTD 10.3.11 {featuring the BR Sophie Bootie}

These boots arrived last week and they are great. I found them true-to-size and they are comfortable for the height. The color is called Cedar Wood but I would call it the perfect Caramel for Fall. If you are thinking of buying, watch for one of Banana's 30% off flash sales. The 40% seem to usually exclude shoes but I have bought a couple pairs on a 30% off. There is currently a code out: "48HOURS" - which I haven't tried - but the fine print does not show shoes as one of the BR exclusions. It expires tonight at 11:59 pm ET.

Old Navy Women's Boot-Cut Cords in Jurassic Green, J Crew cardigan (couple years ago), ON tank, Banana Republic Sophie Braided Bootie in Cedar Wood, custom citrine jewelry

The weather around here has turned cool and a rather rainy. I've been finding a little time in the evenings to watch Poirot movies under a cozy throw (and I'm excited to start Downton Abbey, Season 1 soon!), have been making things like chili and vegetable soup in the crockpot, and have been drinking lots of Laduree tea out of pretty English tea cups. I feel like I'm getting into the groove of our our crazy Fall school/activities/volunteer/work schedule and am going to finally get working on some of the posts I've been intending to do since Summer.

Happy Tuesday!

xoxo