Leading By Bad Example.

***FYI: Lovely MBMJ tote in the shop! Price drop on fancy shoes!***

  A: Lili! Your mission: Read this whole thing without rolling your eyes out of your head.

L: I got exactly this far, "4:45 Wake up and have a bowl of quinoa cereal. I do an hour or so of 3rd or 4th series ashtanga yoga."

A: Oh, it gets so much better/worse.

L: Adrien, I like women. I would choose to spend time with vast majority of them over any man, pretty much any day. If I keep reading past the second woman who awakes with a prayer of thanks, I fear I'll hate all of us. Forever.

A: Actually, a couple of them seem normal and likeable and have to ask their kids to get up more than once. But you're right about this crap: "6:30 Wake up and express in prayer how thankful I am to have woken up that day because someone went to sleep that night and didn’t wake up."

L: OK, I went back in. And I was all, "OK, so this lady doesn't use her snooze button like crack like I do, but there's more than one way to skin a cat!" Then I read this and I rolled my eyes so hard they got stuck. "6:50 Make coffee (fair trade); microwave Zen Bakery muffin (vegan) First breakfast."  So I'm currently typing this blind.

A: WHY DID SHE NEED TO QUALIFY. If she'd just said coffee and a muffin you'd still be able to see. What is wrong with people.

L: Only person on this list that I could be friends with is Audrey Puente. I think she might be a real human being.

A: I liked her. Most of them? Robots.

L: Maybe they are just telling them what they think WE want to hear so that we avoid judging them. Which....didn't work out.

A: Yeah, I'm judging this: "6:43 Alarm goes off. No snooze. Pull on John Eshaya sweatpants and clogs."

L: I just had to google those sweatpants. They look like normal sweats with words on them. Am I not cool enough to even know why one would name drop those? I guess her clogs are just generic!

A: Why did she name drop her (vegan) muffin? Why is the sky blue?

L: Can we share our morning "routines"?

A: Oh, wait! The sweatpants are expensive. That's why. And yes, by all means.

Lili: 

6:32 - Alarms goes off so I can give myself the false sense of sleeping in when I snooze it til 7:36.
7:37 - Struggle to put pants, socks and shoes on other people.
7:48 - Pour (General Mills, non-organic) Cheerios into Ikea bowls. Encourage eating. Loudly.
8:11 - Start yelling, "Why does no one do anything without me telling them to? PUT. YOUR. COAT. ON."
8:12 - Shove children out door. Luxuriate in 2 minutes of tooth brushing alone time.
8:15 - Clean kitchen chaos. Make just regular coffee
8:16-9:16 Lose all time - don't know where it goes. Now I am late.

Adrien:

6:30 - Alarm goes off
6:35 - Alarm goes off
6:40 - Alarm goes off
6:45 - Lay in bed and check email on phone. Moan quietly.
6:50 - Make regular coffee and non-vegan breakfast.
7:00 - Eat and watch the news until the weather report at 7:20.
7:20 - Forget to leave the couch, drink more coffee.
7:30 - Shower.
7:45 - Hair, clothes, not those clothes, different clothes, hair, makeup, make lunch.
8:25 - Where are my keys?
8:30 - Leave for work (which starts at 8:30.)

A: Really, I have no idea why they didn't interview us. We're leaders, right? Blog leaders.

L: True American heroes.

Adrien: My Secret Weapon.

My dream it to have an entire wardrobe that looks like street clothes but feel like pajamas. Comfort and style! My secret weapon! So, when Kate found me this Sundry sweatshirt dress at Rosemont 310's sale last weekend it was true love. It's basically a sweatshirt... that's a dress. Soft, comfortable, striped, an extra 50% off, all good things. I wasn't familiar with Sundry but they make all kinds of secret weapon dresses.

It's so soft! I wasn't sure about the band at the bottom but it helps to give the dress a little shape and isn't binding at all. I am all over this dress and can see myself wearing it well into spring. 

I'm wearing it with my old Gap tuxedo jacket so I don't perish in the cold. It's a knit so it's only a jacket in theory, which I highly recommend.  This one looks like a really good comfy-yet-tailored option and this cute Gap ponte blazer totally fits the bill if tuxedo isn't your thing.

And for my birthday, Nina gave me this amazing Vince Camuto pave gold spike necklace that could easily double as a shiv:

spike-y

A not-so-secret weapon. Hey, it's important to look stylish and also be able to defend yourself, is all I'm saying.  There are matching earrings too!

And of course, I'm wearing my long-time favorite Loeffler Randall boots and carrying my vintage LV epi speedy. (Do you have an awesome red satchel yet? Get on that.)

BUY THIS (So We Don't Have To): Barney's Warehouse Clearance.

I rarely shop at Barneys Warehouse but every now and then they have a sale that's worth taking notice. Right this second they're taking an extra 70% off clearance items! (No code, they just automatically take it off an item when you put it in your cart, so subtract 70% from the prices below!)

Don’t forget  2.5% cash back with eBates (my affiliate link.) This is CRAZY BALLS. All sales are final, so please keep that in mind.

Review: Bumble & bumble Repair Blow Dry and All Style Blow Dry

Oh Bumble & bumble. Every time I think I'm out you manage to pull me back in. I've been using BB products on and off for a long time. When I had really short hair I swore by their Styling Creme and Sumotech. When I grew my hair out I tried the Styling Lotion (too sticky) and Grooming Creme (too heavy) but never really found anything I loved.

I did really like the Straight Blow Dry balm but the smell didn't thrill me and it was expensive for what it was. Nice, but not a perfect product and maybe a little drying. I get my hair colored and last year when I grew it to my shoulders the ends got super-fried. (I'm not saying this product dried my hair out, it just didn't help protect it from further damage.) I needed something better.

And then, they made it. Something better! With my last Sephora order I got nice-sized sample tubes of the new Bumble & bumble styling products:

All-Style Blow Dry

I tried the All-Style Blow Dry first and it was...fine. It has "microfine oil-absorbing powders" in it to extend the life of your blow dry which is great and all, but I am not one of those people who can make my blow dry last more than a day. My hair is short-ish and fine and every morning I wake up with stupendous bedhead. This product actually contributes to that.

Not to say it doesn't work. It works fine - gives some hold and protects against heat damage - but it didn't really do anything amazing for me and I don't generally need microfine oil-absorbing powders in my hair stuff since I have to blow dry daily. I think this might be wonderful for the long-hairs who don't shampoo every day so please take this review with a short-hair grain of salt.

Repair Blow Dry

Ah...but the Repair Blow Dry. NOW WE ARE TALKING. This stuff is fucking great. It's GREAT. It's described as a "serum-in-creme elixir for dry or damaged hair" and I use it from my roots down, layered under Phomollient (just on my roots for some lift.) It gives my hair smoothness and swing and protects from humidity and static like a boss without weighing my hair down at all. I've been using it for the past week and I will be so sad when my tiny sample tube is empty. This is definitely one I'd consider spending money on. Between this and my awesome fancy hair dryer my hair has been looking a lot healthier than it ever has before.

Have you tried the Repair Blow Dry or All-Style Blow Dry? What did you think?

Weekend Window Shopping: Handbags on Sale.

Who doesn't love a bargain? Especially on something kinda fancy? Right now Last Call is offering an extra 30% off of handbags plus 2.5% cash back with eBates (my referral link.) They have some really nice bags, y'all:

Friday #GoHugo

Alright alright alright. Marianne and I both agree that there is nothing in the world more delightful than Matthew McConaughey. Just nothing.

I mean, are you kidding me?

More UGG Talk.

A: You bought UGGs. I bought UGGs. Let's talk about UGGs.

L: I got gifted a pair for Christmas which my daughter picked out. I will let you guess what they looked like before I show you what I exchanged them for.

A: Oooh, were they glittery??

L: THEY WERE! And also blue leopard print! Please note: never let the 7 year old pick out your UGGs. These are clearly the ones she wanted so she got them for me:

Heeeee.

A: Wow. I mean, I like shiny things and I like leopard print but those are A Lot.

L: That's a lot of things! Thank GOD they were a half size too small. And when I went to the store they "didn't have those anymore." So I got these with a zipper. Because I am lazy.

UGG Sumner

A: Ooh, fancy zipper UGGs! Mine are just the classic tall and they're like wearing bunnies on my feet. In a good way.

L: In the best possible way. I am perpetually cold-footed and these babies are like MAGIC.

A: It's actually a good thing that I can't wear them to work because I'd never wear anything else. Ever.

L: I have worn them a couple times to work because of the weather. And then forgot to change out of them into the shoes in my bag.

A: Oops. Well, that happens. I just love it when something is popular because of comfort rather than visual appeal. Except for Crocs. Those are just hideous always.

L: I admit I was a hater. But now I'm a convert because I love them the most. Have tried the slippers? I know you're budgeting now, but the slippers!!

A: I want the slippers real bad. REAL BAD.

L: They were the one thing I asked for for Christmas. And bless my mother-in-law for completing my cozy-footed desires. Not to undermine your financial goals, but they do last forever

A: I've got my eye on a pair on 6pm but I'm biding my time.

L: Oooh which ones?

A: The Scuffette. 

L: They are so good. That was the pair I had for almost 10  years. It's a durable, smart, cozy choice.

A: Enabler.

L: The worst kind.

A: Related: My feet are cold.

L: I think you might need to make a medical exception case for work [wiggles toes in sheepskin].

A: Mean.