Luxe Lust

Do you like to look at expensive stuff even you know perfectly you cannot afford it?  Notherless, they are good to look at.  Actually as the moment I am browsing them, Hubby asked suspiciously that "You are not going to buy another trench are you?"

Did I mention I had a thing for polka dots?

This trench will be so great for spring.  Too bad it comes with a $1500 price tag.  Unless I have gone mad, there is no way I'd spend that much.  Actually I constantly wonder, other than the millionaires and princess of Arabian,  how many people really spend $1500 on a piece of clothing?  Hubby said it is a matter of perspective.  If we truly appreciate the cloth the way we appreciate a big TV or a piano, or feel it is necessary like the TV or a piano (neither of which is a necessity b.t.w, it just feels that way)  then we might save up to get one, but we don't.  I guess he's got a point.

I really love the way this Kate Spade Trench flares out. The bow in the back is a lovely addition.

Somehow the white and gold combination is super gorgeous.

This jewelry itself is probably be too over the top in real life, but I really love how this pair with the white blouse on the model.  It has a almost roman gothic look.

Back to reality, this is my OOTD. Now I look at the picture, I think this sweater makes me look fat.  Oh, well...

Top: Anthropologie flannel shirt (don't remember the name)

Sweater: Anthropologie Solstice Festival Cardigan

Skirt: JCREW chord pencil skirt in shadow

Boots: J-41

Where the lights are - OOTD inspired by Spiffy

I saw this outfit combination from spiffy's blog Where the lights are.  I Love Love the combination she came up with!

Top: Anthropologie Cabled Pathways Pullover
Bottom: Anthropologie Field Skirt
Shoes: J-41 boots

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On a different subject, my daughter's hair looks like the illustration from Stephanie's Pony Tail, one of my favorite children's book. She has to take a nap at school and her ballet bun was kind of loose.  I just couldn't help smiling every time I look at her hair.

New routine

In my recent trip to Seattle, I  had unexpectedly discover that I gained 10 lbs over the last couple of month.  My first reaction was that the scale was broken until my little girl step on the scale.  I blame this little misfortune on our smaller bathroom after last year's move.  The bathroom was so small that you cannot even open the door without bumping the person inside.  Without a scale, I have no conscience when I over eat and not exercise.

I pretty much had the luxury of not worrying about over weight for the past 30 some years of my life, so I shouldn't really complain.  I was underweight for the most part.  In college, I don't even qualify for blood donation because I fail the weight requirement.  My last weight hike is after I finish college and start working.  With regular meal and less all nighters and no walking around campus, I gain 10 lb in mere 6 month.  Funny that I thought the scale was broken too that time.   Having two children didn't effect on my weight.  I had such bad morning sickness, my weight always drop and then come back up to my normal range.   So the last 15+ years, I fluctuated between 110 and 118, but had never past that.

Well, I must be getting old.  The days of eating without consequences has gone.  So here is what I will do in my morning routine.

7:00 -- Get up, boil water for my tea.  Make breakfast for the family.
7:30 -- wake Evelyn up, while hubby will take Aaron. Help Evelyn with her hair.
7:45 -- Eat breakfast with kids.
8:00 -- Pack lunch for everyone. Pack Evelyn's school bag. Take out the meat to defrost. Write our nanny a note for the day
8:10 -- brush Evelyn's teeth
8:15 - kick Hubby and the kids out of the house.  clean up the table. vacuum the floor. clean up kid's bedroom. make the beds. open all the windows downstairs. take the robot vacuum out for a run.
8:30 - fast walk on treadmill for 20 minutes
8:50 - sit ups
9:00-9:15 shower
9:15-9:30 getting dressed. brush teeth, blow dry hair etc.
9:30 out of the door for work

Now this will get me to work about 10:00 everyday, which is a bit late. But consider A lot of my co-worker go workout in the afternoon, I think that should do for now.  Unless I want to get up at 6:30.  Then I can move 8:30-9:00 to 6:30-7:00.  Somehow getting up at 6:30 sounded very dreadful, especially when it comes to the fall. 6:30 is not even light out.

Do you have any tip for losing weight? Especially the guts?  I hate restraint eating.  I am so into food.  Maybe I will eat less Carb.  I must admit, I do eat more Carb more than I used to lately.

Here is an OOTD that I will submit to Cat on her weekly Anthro at work feature.

Top: Vanilla bean blouse I scored during my Chicago Trip
Bottom: Ann Taylor Loft Marisa Capri
Cardigan: AE aerie cardigan.
Shoes: J-41 slingback

Day 8: 1/3 down, going strong

I am actually liking this shopping ban now.  I can focus on the things I own more.  Also it forces me to plan ahead and try out the combination the night before instead of doing the last minute panic in the morning.  Also you have a limited set you can play with so the possibility for exploration is small.

Friday will  be tough because of Nordstrom's aniversary sale.  I normally buy a lot of my Christmas gift during this sale.  We have a lot of gifts to give these days with the therapists changing like a Chinese running lantern.  Accessories  are usually the easiest, and I am a big fan of different beautiful scarfs.  I guess buying for others shouldn't be including in the shopping ban.  As long as it is not for the others, it is OK, right?

Bought my mom a pair of Born shoes before the shopping ban and it finally arrived.  She is very happy.  According to her, "It is the kind of shoes I always wanted".   She had wanted something that would lift her height as she is very petite, on the other hand, she doesn't know how to wear heels.  She also have a very small feet so some of the more sophisticated shoes just doesn't exist in her size.  The patent leather provides a more refine look, but not too over the top so that she gets self-conscious. The other problem is that she can't wear the shoes that you have to hold on between your toes like my J-41 sandal, which was a gift from her from my birthday 2 years ago. As you can see, this pair fulfill all her requirements. I am so happy she likes it.  I don't know how many sweaters I get for her got returned or just sitting in her closet because they are too "Young" or dressy looking so she has no occasion that she will wear them.

In case you like them, they are still available for $59.90 at nordstrom. You can buy them here.  Note that the size run small.  My mom is size 5.5 and I am size 6. We both can wear it but I felt it is a little tight and fill up the shoes completely, for her it is the perfect fit.  Nordstrom has a very relax return policy and customer service is superb.  Returning only take a minute, they scan it, you sign it, end of story.  You don't even need to hand over your credit card.

Here is the OOTD:

Top: Anthro Language Embroidered tiered tank

Bottom: LOFT white jean capri  

Cardigan: JCREW Jackie Cardigan 

Necklace:  kate spade 'mother's day' seahorse pendant necklace 

Shoes: J-41

On the note of necklace, I really love this whole ocean themed Kate Spade custom jewelry.  My favorite is the coral reef bracelet, however, the $195 is too hefty.

 The slight different version is call the monterey, nordstrom has it for 33% off now, I am waiting for it to go down to 50% off

4/21: casual friday

How casual can a Friday be at work? I am tempted to wear my destructed jeans but finally decided it might not be appropriate even with the casual environment we had. But I do want to dress comfortably as I have a dental appointment.

Top: Anthropologie Buds and Bunches tank

Bottom: J Crew Embroidered Zafrina skirt 

Cardigan: Banana republic beach cardigan

Belt: J Crew 

The dental appointment turned out to be a disaster.  I was stuck on 880 so I was late for 15 minutes.  I had a filling fall out and needs to be refilled.  Dr Peng, who has a 4 star review on yelp could't find the right place to numb me.  So after 3 shots, she asked, is it more numb on your right side? She pinch me really hard on both sides, and the supposed to be numbing right side hurts more.   "Your teeth is very difficult, have you had this problem happened before?"  No.  You are the first one.

I started to regret my visit.  "Should we wait for another time?" This is my lame attempt to bail. "but same thing is going to happen next time. We can have at most 15 shots and we are only at 3 right now, don't worry. " She reassure me, although doesn't sound very comforting to me. I couldnt really tell her I want to try with a different doctor next time, so 't we end up with the fourth shot.  She had to change the needle as it lose its sharpness after the previous three.  The pain still there when she clean up the old filling but somewhat bearable, although I have to stop her a few times.  

Then I got  home, I was more numb than ever.  It completely destroyed my taste buds.  My tongue cannot taste sweetness even till Saturday night, but my gum hurts.  

Time to switch dentist and pay my previous dentist big bucks.  You only see his value after some torture.  I had only seen Dr Peng twice, but both time my teeth hurts more after visiting her.  Not sure that is the norm, but it hasn't happen before.  

Day 3/21: I feel fat

I had read somewhere that when you take a photo, if you feel beautiful, the photo will come out beautiful. Well, I felt fat, so the photo come out fat. Or is it the white jeans?

top: Anthropologie circled adornment 

bottom: LOFT white capri jeans

shoes: J-41 

cardigan: J CREW Jackie cardigan

J CREW has some colors of the Jackie cardigan for $39.99 right now.  If I am not in a shopping ban, I'd be tempted to stock with a few colors.   This is one of the most versatile cotton cardigan and very good quality.  One thing I like about J Crew is their rich color palette and they don't fate easily after wash, the navy still is a navy after all these years.  The weave is very fine and they don't sack like some of the cotton sweaters.  Old navy had made some look alike, but their blue fades out to a really old color.

At this point, the breakfasting dress in XS is gone.... *sob *sob but on the bright side, there is no more temptation.