Adrien: Anthro, why can't I quit you?

I had some stuff to return to Anthro so I decided to check out the latest sale room fodder, even though I knew it was a bad idea. Woo.

I was so happy to see the High Seas Dress on the sale rack in a size XS! I'd read that it ran big so I gave it a try. WOE. It technically fit, but it was puffy. Very puffy. No. Sadness:

Ah, the Climbing Cowlneck. I just can't seem to give up on this one. I was eventually able to order the XS (sizing down fixed the sleeve-falling-down issue) but it clung to my gut, which I hate more than anything. I was happy to see a size small the pink (a gorgeous pink) while in the store so I tried that on:

Um, now it falls down AND clings to my gut. I give up. No, really. I love this top but not on me. I'm wearing it with the Joe's Raw Hem Kicker jeans which I liked, but I'm not gonna spent $100 on jeans that someone else cut apart. I can cut my own jeans, thanks very much.

I tried on the Keep It Simple Tunic because it was breezy and pretty and I love the color:

Eh. Not so much me, but I can see it being cute on someone else. Finally, I succumbed to my lust and tried on the Two-Wheeler Shirtdress which I've been eyeing for a while. (It's not on sale, yo.) Disastrous:

Reading the reviews, I see I had the same issue with this that most had - it runs really freaking crazy big... except in the sleeves. I'm wearing a 6 in this photo and could easily have sized down to a 2. But, the sleeves in the 6 fit snugly, so maybe not. Disappointing.

So that's that. Another week with no temptation from the Anthro front. Oh! But I do have a little something to share:

LOOKY. I put hooks in and they're great! Totally solved the bag storage problem. Thanks for the suggestions, folks.

Adrien: Test pattern.

I don't actually have a ton of clothes, so you're going to see more repeats as the summer continues. The fun challenge for me is how to make a dress or skirt look different than the last time you saw me wear it. The dress I'm wearing today is a year-round favorite and I think it's already shown up a few times here, but today I'm belting it and doing a little double-pattern action which makes me nervous. (I know pattern mixing can be done successfully but I'm a wuss about such things.) I think the main trick is to have one pattern be fairly large and the other small, so I'm doing that correctly. But, my second pattern is my bag, so that's probably cheating. Is that cheating? Are there rules? AM I LOSING? (This is why I can't play board games. It's all too stressful.)  Anyway, woo:

Huh. I thought the gold belt looked fine this morning but now I think a skinny red patent belt (which I don't own) would look a lot better. What can you do.

dress: Banana Republic
sandals: FarylRobin
belt: Forever21
bag: Juicy Couture

Adrien: Shiny.

I'm back! Unfortunately Marianne has a crazy work schedule this week so you probably won't see her much. Sad face. I'll try to keep you entertained until she gets back. I hope everyone had a good holiday weekend and that you didn't all lose your minds over the insanely good sales that every store seemed to have? I only dabbled, but when I got home I told Kenny the stores were basically giving stuff away. I mean, hello, LOFT currently has an extra 50% off of sale prices! That is crazy. I got a few inexpensive tops, including the one I'm wearing today:

top: LOFT
pants: Banana Republic
bag: Juicy Couture
sandals: Ann Taylor

Adrien: Self-portrait

You know what's hard? Taking a photo with no tripod. Completely stupid. But, I went out to meet some friends for dinner the other night and wanted to take an outfit shot and my husband was not available. I tried a few different shots with ridiculous results, so I finally just plunked the camera down on my car, set the timer, sprinted out into the lawn and hoped for the best. Uh:

Well, yeah. Not great. But I like my outfit okay. It's my first foray into the jean legging thing and I don't think it's too horrifying? I hope not, because I went out in public wearing that.

jeans: James Jeans Twiggy 5 Pocket
top: so ancient I don't remember
cardigan: Old Navy
sandals: Ann Taylor
necklace: Keen Designs

Adrien: Sleep-dressing is an art.

Last night I had a riding lesson and I had to take a Benedryl because I'm allergic to horses. (Don't start. It's worth it.) This morning when my alarm clock woke me up it was like I was being pulled from the bottom of the ocean, so deeply asleep was I. This made getting dressed completely awesome, as you can only imagine. Sleep-dressing at it's finest! I knew I wanted to wear my new Old Navy necklace (which I bought because it reminds me of the gorgeous Anthro Double Torsade Necklace) so that was where I started.

So, coral-red necklace -> dress with red in the print -> neutral sandals -> eggplant bag (because I love red and purple together.)

Eh?

For a sleep-dressing morning, I think I did okay.

dress: Forever21
sandals: Ciao Bella
necklace: Old Navy
bag: Marc Jacobs

Adrien: Secret Shame Update!

After posting about my closet a few weeks ago, I spent some quality time last weekend organizing and moving stuff around. I haven't bought hooks for the back wall yet (unless you count the giant nails left by the former owner. Thanks, lady.) but I'm hoping to do that this weekend. I saw something like this at Target:

And thought it might do this trick. I did, however, buy a large over-the-door hook thingy for my belts:

It's working out nicely for belts but when I tried to hang a couple of my smaller bags it really didn't work - they swing around too much and get tangled up. Then I organized all my clothes by type:

And reordered my storage box things, using the one on the top shelf for my smaller bags:

Here's what the rest of that side looks like:

And I organized my shoes a bit better:

So, baby steps! I still need to root out some of the shoes I don't wear anymore and deal with the hidden tower of shoe boxes that live in the left hand corner that you can't see. I'd also like to get some under-bed storage for all my boots, since they don't earn their keep in the summer.

Sorry, this isn't the most exciting update, is it.

Marianne: Shifting Feathers Dress

Good morning, world. I've actually had this dress for over a month but realized this morning it hasn't made it to the blog! I bought the Shifting Feathers Dress from anthropologie with a birthday gift card, after coveting it for weeks.
This dress was shorter than I expected. I guess the other bloggers I've seen it on weren't as tall as I am. It also isn't the most flattering dress I own, especially in the hip area. Part of the blame, I think, lies in the pockets. Once again, pockets are handy but they add bunchy material right to the hip area. I used to have a seamstress roommate that took the pockets out of all of her pants and dresses, and it really makes a difference.

In spite of some issues I obviously have with it, I love this dress. What it lacks in flattery, it makes up for in comfort and quality. The dress is fully lined in a silky jersey, which means you don't have to wear a slip. And who wants to wear a slip when it's 90 degrees outside?

The pleats at the top are nicely done and add interest without foofiness. The cloth tie belt that it comes with is fine but I prefer a wider belt to try and give some definition to my waist. And yes, I'm wearing the too-tall Marc Jacobs shoes that I regret every single time. I'm a sucker.

dress: C. Keer (anthropologie)

shoes: Marc by Marc Jacobs

belt: Anne Taylor Loft