Singing at the Copley Square Tree lighting!

Copley Square Trinity Church

Just a quick post! Every now and again, I'm grateful that I am able to do some pretty cool fun stuff and get paid to do it. Last night, I sang Christmas Carols at the Copley Square Tree Lighting in Back Bay with Copley Singers and it was pretty fun and festive. This was the main event that made it okay for it to officially be the holiday season. Being outside at night in December meant I had to dress pretty warm, so I broke out my wool under layers so I could sport my Karelia Coat on top! If you have this coat from Anthropologie, you know that it's awesome, but it's NOT warm at all. (Also, for the record, there have been TWO products called Karelia Coat).

Here's a lame mirror photo of me at Nordstrom Rack, LOL.

While I was there, I spotted a bunch of Nars Foreplay Blush Palettes! Thinking about picking one up!

Copley Square with the Library and Old South Church in the Background

I also picked up two of the new L'Oreal Infallible Eyeshadow Pencils at Walgreens on my way home! I will post a few review when I try them!

Can't wait to try these!

Pah-ty on the Hah-bah!

Last night, I went to the Party on the Harbor at the Institute of Contemporary Art. I don't regularly go to fancy cocktail, fundraisers at art museums, but I've got a hook up, so we were able to get a discounted ticket. It was great! There were fabulous fashions everywhere, cocktails, fun appetizers, amazing music, a great photo booth and fun exhibits all around. The record/vinyl exhibit was pretty interesting, although we didn't really "get" all of it. I am a teeny bit old-fashioned and I much prefer to look at Monets at the MFA, and listen to Bach instead of John Cage, but I have a place in my heart for ALL art, no matter the form. It was so fun to take in all the neat ideas and concepts with old vinyl records. The Taiyo Kimura pieces were my favorite. I love a good sense of humor in art and he's totally wacky. Maybe that's why we stood there for 10 minutes watching the videos and looking at his sketches.

The ladies at the party were looking FABULOUS! We stood at the door waiting for my best friend and his girlfriend because they had our tickets, but it was like a red carpet show! All I needed was Joan Rivers and I had myself a show! There were plenty of high heels and sexy little dresses...3 Anthro Dresses total (and I had a good look). I saw one lady sporting the Traced Twirls Dress (original, B&W colorway, sans halter strap) and I saw the photog sporting the Study of Shapes Dress. Me? I jumped on the Mompos Train after waiting for it to hit my local store FOR.EVER. It really is a fab dress...it fits like a glove and it's impeccable quality. I normally do not buy dresses for the non-sale price and especially at a pricepoint above $200, but I made an exception for this dress. I missed out on the Spinning Lace Dress and I didn't want that to happen to me again. The fit is similar to the Spinning Lace dress, if not a little more roomy in the bodice. It fits a little better if you fill out the chest a little more than when I tried it on. If you are small on top, you may want to wear a padded undergarment to fill it out a bit more.

Dress: Anthropologie Mompos Dress (Tracy Reese), Shoes: Seychelles Kiss at Midnight Pump

This is a total Quinn Fabray look, isn't it? I totally had that "I'm on Glee" feeling. I actually had not watched ONE Glee episode since the pilot aired a few years ago until a week ago. I saw that it was available streaming on Netflix and I was hooked! I am still in the first season, but I'm totally obsessed!

I'm also obsessed with Seychelles. I can wear these comfortably without feeling like I'm going to topple over. Frankly, I was worried about these because of my ankle trouble lately, but I'm not feeling too sore this morning and I may try to make it to the gym later.

There aren't many cool spring nights left, so any chance I have to work the Karelia Coat, I take!

Coat: Anthropologie Karelia Coat (winter 2010)

I'm contemporary art?

So...in other news, I joined Kim's Shopping Ban. I honestly don't know if I'll be able to hold out, but I DO need to make some investments in some recording equipment. It's the 7th, so we'll see how well I do. Anyone else ALREADY struggling?!

Tuesday Night at the Opera: OOTD

Today was totally awesome. I started out the day with a HUGE cup of coffee from Dunkin Donuts. I don't normally buy coffee (my coffee maker gets a LOT of work. It's MUCH cheaper), but I was out this morning and it was my day off so I decided to treat myself. I played Rune Factory Frontier all day and then decided since it was the closing night of Cardillac at Opera Boston...I would treat myself to that as well! My hubby teaches a college course on Tuesday nights, so I was home alone anyway.

It was SO EXCELLENT! It was a three-act opera by Paul Hindemith and there were no intermissions, but none were needed - it was riveting. Check out the libretto, as you can see it's a very dark-themed story. I was so happy I randomly decided to take my lazy butt down to the Theater District!

The Karelia Coat was screaming; "You're going to the opera?! You have to wear me!". So, I did. It's 31º tonight and I was surprisingly not freezing in this as my coat. I wore elbow length gloves and a scarf underneath since I had to walk a half a mile to train. I was pretty comfortable and feeling sassy.

Coat: Anthropologie Karelia Coat

Dress: Anthropologie Peggy Sue Dress

Cardi: Anthropologie Moth Cardi (thrifted)

Shoes: Anthropologie Glad Rags T-Staps

Scarf: J Crew (2008)

It's a color bonanza!!!! I felt fab in this dress! It's the first time I have worn both of these pieces and the shoes. I walked a half a mile in those shoes! It wasn't bad (although, it wasn't great either).

I also got a love note from Anthropologie saying they had gotten a lot of new pieces in for spring and to come in and make an appointment with the personal shopper. I thought this was a really nice touch for such a big store since it was a handwritten note. I feel bad though, because I really don't have the cash to spend on full price stuff right now because I'm spending most of my money on lessons and coachings. We'll see how solid my resolve is when markdowns happen this week! I am getting a few good gigs, so I'll have a little extra cash soon :)

Good night ladies!

Some Quickie Reviews and an unexpected Exchange

After trying on my Easy Keeper Skirt for a third time, I decided the waistband was way too big and that it just didn't work...as much as I actually liked it. I just didn't like it enough to put the investment into having alterations done. I also had to convince myself that the Delancey Boots were actually too tall. Everytime I tried them on with a skirt, they made me look stubby since most of my skirts and dresses hit me at the knee. I tearfully packed both of these items up and took them back to Anthro after work. I also tried on a few new arrivals for your amusement :)

D'Armee Dress (new colorways) $138 Parameter

This is my second time trying on this dress (previous review here). I actually really like it...it's VERY comfortable and well-made. The material is very soft and the zipper front is superb. I love the military look and the new colors are awesome! I cannot convince myself fully that I should ever own this dress, however. I already own a Mary Shirtdress and even though I like the navy, it reminds me too much of the Refined Cord that I also already own. We'll see how reasonable I am come sale time. I recommend the dress, highly!

Garden Party Dress $168 Isabella Sinclair

Hm.*** Okay. This is not something I would normally be drawn to, but it is cute. The silk is very soft and the pattern is all kinds of gorgeous. I can't see myself personally ever wearing this as it takes away any hint of shape I may have. Being such a little gal, it doesn't help if I look like I'm wearing a potato sack - even it's a super gorgeous, soft, flowy potato sack. It's very pretty, just not for me. Pass.

Emerging Leaves Dress $138 Weston Wear

I feel like Weston Wear has been hitting it out of the park lately. This dress called to me on the hanger and it's just adorable on! If you are a small-chested girl, you will love this dress. It is, however, very snug on the top. The girls were very pressed in and I'm a 34B. How cute it is, overrides how I feel about the bodice. You may want to also line this with a tank or a chemise, because not only is the bodice tight, it's VERY low cut.  My husband would enjoy this feature, but maybe not so much for the office. Having said all that, I really like this dress. I can see myself wearing it to death in summertime and with a cardi and boots in fall. It's not the kind of dress I *need* (which is a dumb thing to say, b/c I don't really *need* ANY more dresses), but I would pick it up if I had extra funds on me come sale time. Wishlisted, hard!

So...I also ended up trying on a few more sale items, but I took home one very special item with most of my merchandise credit...wait for it...

SCORE. Most impractical, non-warm, stunning coat ever. I can't figure out for the life of me, WHY this coat is not warm at all. I mean, would it be a stretch to line it with some down or something? Especially at this price point...but it's so stunning, I took it home anyway. I won't be able to wear it anytime soon (I'm thinking there's a 40º minimum on this baby), but the Karelia "Coat" is in the house!!

I have about $60 left on my credit, which I am saving toward the sale price of the Laced With Grace Dress when it goes on sale. I am OBSESSED with owning this pretty...come on, sale!!!!

Happy Saturday, Ladies! I'm off to work!

Grey Day Reviews and OOTD

Good afternoon, Anthro fans! Today is very gray here in Boston, but I had the day off from work so I didn't mind the grayness. I headed to my penultimate Physical Therapy Session late morning and then headed to Anthro to try on some things. I have some reviews for you!

First off is the Walk With Me Dress $148 Edme & Estyllte

 This is the 0, but the zipper was broken. I didn't ask to try a non-broken 0, so I just clasped the hook and eye and did the belt. It's actually a cute little dress. All of the dresses were displayed with the hem buttoned to the waistband like this. It's a cute way to wear it. This dress is a little bit country, which is cute. The belt seems quite cheap and I would definitely choose another belt to go with it. I un-did the hem and it hangs like this:

 As you can see, it's very long for a short girl, so if you really love this and you are little order the petite size. I think it fit TTS. It's not really something I need, but I recommend it if you love it!


Next up, I grabbed the Silken Sketches Dress $168 Maple

 This has been out a while, but I have never seen a 0 in store until today, so I grabbed it and tried it. It's a really nice silk, with cotton dress that you can step into. The bodice is stretchy and it has no zipper or anything. It's comfortable. No pockets. My verdict? "Meh." Nothing special, in my opinion. It's not worth full price either, wait for the sale on this one.

The I grabbed the Karelia Coat $248 Elevenses

 

Oh MY. I don't know why I waited so long to try on this coat, but it's totally stunning. It's a total "ME" coat. I can totally imagine rocking this on a night out. It KILLS me that this beauty is $248 because I MUST have this. It is not a warm coat, no...but it sure is adorable! The quality is nice and I like the fact that it zips up. I would order a 0P right now if I won the lottery. *sigh* WHY does Anthro do this to me!?

I also noticed in the store that there was a new colorway for the Flower Vendor Top, which is a burgundy. That's bad news for me because I have been waiting for it to go on sale forever and new colors usually mean no sale :(

Anyway, this is what I came in wearing:

Top: Anthropologie, Past and Present Tank (not "available", but still available in every size as of today through the catalog link)

Cardigan: J.Crew Jackie Cardigan

Jeans: Gap Kids (makes me LOL every time I type this)

Shoes: Dansko (old)

I adore the Past and Present Tank and was very pleased to discover it's available again! Snag it! I also received my Stretching Sprigs Cardigan in the mail yesterday. I never tried it on in the store but I always adored it and snatched it up when it popped back online a few days ago in my size. It's SO BEAUTIFUL and it fits like a dream! I totally did the right thing jumping on that puppy! Yay for ordering the last one in stock! 

Hope everyone's having a great Tuesday!