would LOVE your opinions

We are going to do another family photo shoot with Tara at AlaMODE and this time I thought we'd go for color. Which dress are you liking best? I may do a little more tweaking but wanted to pop in for some feedback! Oh, and the absence of shoes is strategic ;)

Help Please by modestlyme featuring cocktail party dresses

Family Photo Time, need your help!

It is about time for our annual family photos. Every year I get a little more obsessive about planning our outfits but this year I have a great excuse....it is the first time we can have Christopher in them....yay!! So now I have all of their outfits planned out but after today's excursion I have a new contender for my outfit. So what do you guys think....buffalo check that will match Jonas's button up (his is black and white too) and coordinate with Coopers sweater colors or Sunshine Peonies to be feminine with the yellow like in Jonas' undershirt and stripes like Cooper and Chase are wearing....decisions. decisions.

Family Photos by modestlyme featuring a graphic t shirt

Super Shifty

This weekend was super busy but full of fun. On Saturday I was teaching a paperbag scrapbook class at our church's Super Saturday and this is what I wore. These pants are so comfortable, probably the comfiest I have besides my yoga pants! Oh, and you are going to see this yellow cardi a lot. I can't get enough of it.

Marisa Slim Cargo pants: LOFT

V-Neck cardigan: LOFT

silk brulee tank-J Crew

Shoes: Bandolino

Necklace: handmade

This morning I had to run pick up some MRI slides for my hubby and then we all picked him up for lunch at Panera...yummy! Tonight is the preview day for the Friends & Family Sale so I am resting up now before the craziness begins! Don't you just love Cooper's pose?

slub cotton perfect shirt: J Crew

textured shift dress: Boden

crystal blossom drop earrings: J Crew

On Cooper: Boden tee, Merona shorts and Converse shoes

When I was uploading pictures from my camera today I came across about 20 like this:

As if there was any doubt it was the toddlers handiwork, I found this in the middle of all the pictures of their fingers over the lens proving who the culprits were:

 

Some More Oak Tweed and I need your Opinion

Are you sick of the Oak Tweed Pencil Skirt on me yet? Sunday was the first time I actually wore it (the other pics were just for the blog) and I decided to try out one other Polyvore I had made for it.

Here is the Polyvore, all items are accurate (except the hairdo):

Sepia Oak by modestlyme featuring J Crew

Featherweight cotton ruffle cardigan - J.Crew, $80

J. Crew - Shimmer crinkle shell (heather carbon), $45

J.Crew - Oak tweed pencil skirt, $110

Bandolino Ematite Gold Metalli Women's Shelley Shoe, $79

Women's Jewelry & Accessories: Moondrops necklace: delicate necklaces..., $40

Z Gallerie - Snow Lotus -Natural Set of 3, $30

Ponytail Hairstyles For Women

And here is my possible dud. My Boden shirtdress arrived today. I have been wanting a khaki shirtdress for awhile and once this baby went on sale for $39.99, I had to grab it. I think it was more flattering on my waistline IRL but maybe that is just wishful thinking. When I got this dress they only two colors left in my size (8 tall) so I ended up going with the taupe which isn't all that flattering on me. The cut is really well done and is right on with my measurements but this is my dilemma. It is really stiff. Like my collar kept closing back up like it was buttoned stiff .

And here is another beautiful (NOT) image. It moves with me and stays there. I lifed my arms and when I went to put them back down, it stays shifted up high on me. Which would be fine if I stood still all day but with four kids that just 'aint gonna happen. I am wondering if once I wash it it will relax and not do that but if I wash it, I can't return it. So what do you think? Keep or Return?

(notice Cooper doing a quick grab and dash with my iPhone...he is obsessed with it and steals it evey chance he gets)

Stencil Me In

I have been drinking the Crewlade lately and making purchases on items that I had vowed to pass on. This morning I am going to pick up the watercolor pastiche pencil skirt they have on hold for me (on sale in stores) that I swore I didn't need since I had the sunshine peonies skirt already. But, the trip is the perfect excuse to check out the new arrivals

For my shopping OOTD (really the first part of the day but OOTFPOTD seemed too long) I dusted off my Boden Textured Cotton Shift dress after seeing Dinagideon in hers. The colorway I purchased is really bright so I decided to mute it down a little with khaki.

Jacket-Banana Republic

Dress-Boden

Double Wrap Studded belt-Loft

Shoes-Bandolino

And here is the Polyvore:

Shifty by modestlyme featuring J Crew jackets

Tonight is my first official work shift at the Loft, and I have a fun outfit in mind that I will share tomorrow....wish me luck!!

Seeing Spots

It is almost Friday.....yay! This morning I headed out to Old Navy to take advantage of the Fundamentals Sale and stock up on some things for the boys. If I do say so myself, I showed incredible restraint and was able to walk through the womens section without grabbing anything but a casual cardigan for lounging. I am saving my shopping for a well deserved trip to J Crew for my birthday coming up next month.

Quick Note: The Weekend Jeans were well stocked in our local store and are $19.99 this week. Here is what I wore today:

Layered Ruffle Tank (on sale now): J Crew

Favourite Crewneck Cardigan: Boden

Denim Pants: The Loft via eBay

Juliet Shoes: J Crew via eBay

And here is what I wore later for date night. The strange thing about the weather in San Diego is that it may be warm enough for skirts and dresses but my legs sure aren't tan enough.

Jackie Cardigan-J Crew

Scattered Petals Tank-J Crew

Skirt-Kohls

Belt-J Crew

Shoes-Kohls

Speaking of shopping at J Crew, have you taken advantage of the 20% off knits and tees sale? I have a long wishlist but behaved and picked up just two things:

Tuxedo Ruffle Painter Henley 

and I finally caved in and got the Evie Ruffled Top in Ivory while it was marked down to $19.99, for that price how could I resist. See it on Gigi here.

My (not so) Triumphant Return

Sorry for the unexplained absence- we had a bad stomach flu in the house that started with me and worked slowly through three out of four of the kids and ended (hopefully) with my hubby. Needless to say, I have not been on the computer checking my favorite blogs and you would not have wanted to be exposed to my outfits of the day which consisted of yoga pants and my husband's t-shirts with a messy ponytail.

I am finally getting to leave the house a little now that everyone is on the mend. I don't have anything fabulous to share with you (sorry) but here are two OOTD so I don't say "hello again" with nothing to offer.

Cardigan-Boden

tank-J Crew

Jeans-Banana Republic

Cardigan, Tee and Jeans-the Loft

Shoes-J. Crew

I am looking forward to catching up on all your blogs and even though I didn't have the energy to respond to all the great comments, I have been able to read and appreciate them ALL!!!

Boden Maxi Dress-Hmmmm....need your help

I was pleasantly suprised to see my boden package in the mail this morning already. I know we have all been anxious to see the Maxi Jersey Dress in real life. This dress is much brighter then the pictures reflect although it is a great color combo and the dress itself is very well made and the jersey fabric is thick enough to not be see through in the light (at least I don't think it will).Well, here it is layered with a white tee and ummmm, I am not sure. First mistake, I ordered this in a regular length instead of long. I did this because Maxi Dresses are usually so long already and I didn't want to trip over it. Obviously, I did not have to worry about that. I also sized down on this one  (UK 10, US 6) so it is a little bit tight around my chest but since I am FAR from busty, that is not that big of a deal.

So what do you think? I am not sure it all that flattering on me. Am being to hard on myself and it is it great as is, should I exchange it for a longer size, or should I return it altogether since there is no shortage of Boden items on my wishlist? Keep in mind this is a $98 dress.

p.s. I have no idea why my feet look mangled here, really I have very normal feet

Here Comes the Sun...do dah do dah....

Saturday we finally saw the sun again! I realize that I did not take any big color risks here and I feel a little like a soccer mom in this but I loved it all the same. I think it looked better IRL because some of the details and coloring are harder to capture in a photo.  I wanted to pair this cardigan with a bright color (like Papaya) but my new whisper pink suede Juliet's arrived in the mail that morning (I found on eBay for $29.99) so I switched to the rolling ruffles tank instead.

Cardigan-Boden

Tank-J Crew

Distressed Boyfriend Khakis-Old Navy

Shoes-J Crew

Sunday I had planned on finally wearing my pleated lawn skirt from J Crew but I ended up being pressed for time so I threw on my new Boden dress and a necklace and I was done. I love items that make a statement on their own without having to worry about accessories....perfect for my crazy life!

Dress-Boden

Necklace-?

Shoes-J Crew

Johnnie Boden, I think I love you.......

About 30 minutes ago, there was a knock on the door and guess what the FedEx man brought me??? My Boden order (well, the first one... since I ordered more last week). As most of you know, I have been a wee bit excited/anxious about this package. In fact, these are all items I pre-ordered back in November. I have never ordered from Boden before so I was worried about the sizing and (of course) the typical "I have built this up in my head too much what if I don't like it" probelm.  So I had to try on and photograph everything immediatly which is why I have a messy ponytail, the necklace on I wore today and zero lipstick on. While you are at it, try to picture me tan.

**Boden runs a lot of percentage specials so if you are thinking about placing an order, register for a catalogue and see what they email you for discounts, I got this order at 20% off with free shipping and my second order was 15% off with free shipping as well**

Smart Knitted Dress in green-$138 UK Size 12 Long, US Size 8L

This dress is amazing on. It is so comfortable and it is beautifully made . You aren't just paying for the design, the quality is great. It is a light sweater knit and comes with an attached sweater knit slip to make sure there is no sheerness in the light. The cut is very slimming and doesn't hug the bad spots.

I consider myself a size 8 in anything that hugs my hips. I found this dress to be very true to size. I also ordered it long since I am 5'9" and prefer dresses to hit at or below my knee whenever I can.

Rose Cardigan in Light Blue Melange -$88 UK Size 10, US Size 6 and

the Embellished Jersey Vest in Navy Batik- $58 Size 10, US Size 6

This tank screams vacation to me and it is really light, flowy and easy to wear. The embellished neckline makes it even more special and even though it is a looser cut, it does have shape at the sides of the waist/hip which is a rarity.

The cardigan is such a pretty spring/summer color and it will go well with jeans or a dressed up with a skirt. It is vey feminine and the embellishments are done very well. It is a light Merino Wool and I can see it getting a lot of use in my wardrobe!

Textured Cotton Shift in watermelon stencil-$118 UK Size 12L US Size 8L

This particular colorway is not for the timid, and I see it looking great with a denim jacket but for quick photo I just threw on a basic white cardi. Don't ask me what I was thinking with the pose. Boden really does a shift well. It was tight going on but once it was in it's place, the fit was perfect. I sometimes run into problems with shift dresses not fitting my figure and adding bulk to my waist and hips. It may be partially due to the fact that this is a "long size" so it hit my waist in a better spot, but whatever it was, I likey.

Again, I went with my true size when a dress is fitted on the hip, an 8. There are some great, more subtle prints in this dress as well. I also really liked the neckline on this dress, very femine and the material has a very nice weight.

Favourite Crew Neck Cardigan in Sealion Leopard-$74 UK Size 10, US Size 6

I had missed out on the J Crew ocelot cardigan and had been looking for a great "leopardish" print that wasn't a typical animal print and this fit the bill perfectly. I am kind of a snob when it comes to the quality of my cardigans. It is not like I need them to be cashmere (in fact I prefer my every day cardigans not to be) but I like the material to be soft and keep a shape. Sounds simple enough but I find a lot of the inexpensive ones that I like with cute designs are stiff after the first washing. Where was I going with this thought? This cardigan has both, a cute print and a great quality.

I love the playful design of this cardigan. The extra large print and the knotted ribbon on the buttons keep me from feeling like I am trying to look like some type of sexy cougar. This is just an issue I have with animal prints and my age. It is a fitted cardigan but the material and cut keep it from bunching and giving rolls where I sure don't need them. The buttons are a little tough to button but I doubt I'd button it all the way up normally, I just didn't have a shirt on underneath so I kinda had to.

Hopefully, these reviews help all you other Boden newbies out there. I couldn't be happier with the quality and sizing of their items. So what is still on the way? This beautiful maxi dress which I grabbed at 15% off + free shipping before it went on backorder: