Double Vision

I was running some errands this weekend and had to walk instead of drive. It's a good thing too, as I got to enjoy the neighborhood around my house and get some fresh air.

And what did I happen upon just around the corner from my house?

Squee! Someone has TWO Vespas in the exact same color, and had them parked so sweetly outside their house. I wondered if some twins would show up for a Doublemint Gum photo shoot. ;)

xoxo
Ms. Mer

Happy and New

twinkling Christmas lights in downtown Copenhagen

A belated Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year, friends! This year we went to visit my husband's family in Denmark for the holidays. I caught a cold a couple of days before we left, which threw a wrench into my shopping and blogging plans. Ah, well. My health didn't get much worse due to travel, but it took me a lot longer than usual to feel better.

I will fill you all in with a mini-photo tour of our Christmas in Copenhagen, through the lense of Instagram. I downloaded the App a couple of weeks before the holidays and am completely obsessed.

a sweet little cottage in Dyrehavn

you all know I'm obsessed with antlers. this was inside Peter Liep's Hus

mossy tree in Dyrehavn

the in-law's cat being silly

we drank lots of "god rødvin" (good red wine)

the King's New Square in central Copenhagen

back in SF on New Year's Day for a champagne lunch at  Cafe Des Amis

I hope everyone is having a lovely start to 2012. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Party Frock Resolution

I took the day off today (glorious!) to visit my Dermatologist. So here I am blogging, too. Ironing can always wait until later. First, here is my holiday wreath.

It's a little bit Charlie-Brown in its crookedness this year but we still enjoy it. I bought a plain pine wreath from Trader Joe's and added the decorations myself. Next year I'll work on making it more symmetrical, and get my husband hang it up. ;) I just love the smell of cloved oranges with the pine needles.

Ok, on to the fun stuff: party dresses! I had to find a replacement for my gold one, so I went to the huge BCBG store on Union Square. First, I'll start with what I wanted to buy.

This was incredibly expensive. It was part of their "Runway" collection, which the cynic in me thought was just an excuse to charge three times as much as their other inventory. Just because it was real silk instead of synthetic material, it was Made in China like all the rest. That said, this photo really doesn't do it justice. The strips of silk hanging down from the waistline moved beautifully and it was quite a stunning cocktail dress. But reason prevailed, I decided to save my money.

So I ended up with this one. It had been marked down and was nearly the same price as my gold one so I could make an even exchange. The silhouette has a real classic/retro feel to me. I thought it was fun, classic, and I don't have anything in my closet like it. Once again, this photo doesn't really do the dress justice.

Here is a photo from the website to give a better idea of what it looks like. It has tiny tiers of chiffon layered one over the other, with four hombre-like gradations. You can view the product page here.

I wore it with these earrings.

I could definitely swap out this sash it came with and wear some other kind of belt, and in fact I would have if I'd had time. I think a black sash with grey rhinestones that ties in the back could be fantastic - or even a wider, brightly colored one to stand out against the grey. I also think that if I got tired of the mesh at the top, I could have it altered to turn it into a strapless dress.

What are you fashionistas up to? Do you have any more holiday parties to dress yourselves for before New Year's Eve?

Party Frock Paranoia

I bought a dress last weekend from BCBG for my husband's holiday party. BCBG is my place to go for  holiday dresses. They generally fit my frame well and I like many of their styles, which makes it an easy dress source for to rely on, as I always wait until the last minute. The party is this Saturday.

I am tired of black frocks, so this year the theme is Gold. This interesting number (and its semi-decent price point) won out over the rest of the inventory in their small store on Union Street.

I really like how the color is very festive, and a simple classic silhouette, and I've never owned a lacey anything really, so why not, right? But now that I have it at home the paranoia set in: does it look too much like lingerie? Is it too close to the color of my skin?

I'm going Black for my clutch and shoe accessories, mainly because that's what I already have in my closet. My Kate Spade clutch has gold-colored details so it's a nice match to the gold of the dress. My shoes are black patent, which matches the patent trim of the clutch. I will probably buy a black shawl for my shoulders. I plan to wear my hair in a low, curled ponytail.

I would appreciate your opinions - should I get a gold-colored bracelet/cuff or gold earrings? Or do you think it looks fine as-is? Or should I just exchange the dang thing for something else? Please help!

MUSTHAVE hits and misses

I'll start with a bright bit, litterally: I got a pair of JCrew's cute Glitterati ballet flats in-store the day before Thanksgiving when they had their 25% off $150+ promo, so they were a good price. I read on someone's blog that JCrew has gotten much better in the comfort department with their flats, and they speak the truth! These are indeed very comfortable, and I wore them most of the day on Thanksgiving with my feet feeling happy and festive. These ones are fabric, so they're very flexible which seems to minimize rubbing/pinching. I look forward to working these twinkle-toes into outfits for the Holiday season, and adding more ballet flats to my collection from the Crew in the future.

My sweater quest was all misses, unfortunately. Welcome to the Cardi Party foul zone!

Kendor cardigan
OK. I knew this would be slouchy, but it ended up being much more boxy and oversized in the body than I expected. The gaping pockets and long-but-not-long-enough sleeves just added to the awkwardness of this poor thing. The only thing I liked about this is the color. Also, does anyone else get a kind of early 90's vibe from this? Just give me some shoulder pads and I'm there, people.

Colorblock Cardigan

This just wasn't what I expected at all. So sad! You had such potential, little cardi. And it was very itchy. :( Online, the brown looked like a warm chestnut color, but in real life it was darker and murky looking. 

The material didn't seem like good quality. If I hadn't looked at the tag, I would have said it was 100% acrylic by the way it looked and felt to the touch.

The only thing I'm keeping are these Minnie pants in coal. They're a great nice staple to add to my black Minnies, that are getting a little worn out from so much use.

oh heyyy minnies, you look good with some sparkle!

In a way, I'm glad I can return these cardigans and get my money back, as we haven't even started holiday shopping yet. I'm a bit mentally worn out from all the JCrew promos and have only made a couple of purchases. Not that I wouldn't turn down another one if the discount was right. ;)

Until next time, JCrew cardi party. Do you have any favorite JCrew sweaters that are out now?

Looking forward to...

This Amaryllis blooming, among many other things, now that the holidays are in full swing. I can't wait to see it in its full, glorious red bloom. I picked it up from Trader Joe's before we left to visit my family last week, and during our absence, it grew about eight inches, and even produced a little bonus bud which is a nice surprise.

I hope everyone had a nice Thanksgiving! I'll share my favorite Apple Pie recipe with you all shortly...

MUSTHAVE promo, sweater edition

Oops, I totally bit on the MUSTHAVE promo. Nom nom nom! Hmm, tastes like wool... I haven't bought anything from the Crew since Labor Day, can you believe it? I know, I can't either. The Crewlade tastes so good!

I just got back from a trip to Asia, and have been laid-up on the couch recovering from a nasty case of food poisoning. I will spare you the details here. Combine that with jetlag, cold, rainy weather over the weekend in SF, an online promo, and I may have fallen under the influence of... the Sweater Madness:

Exhibit A: the Colorblock Cardigan:

I love the color combination on this - unusual, but very pretty and classic. I hope the white doesn't look weird against a fair complexion. I think it will pair nicely with dark-wash bluejeans (like those wonderful stretch toothpick jeans recommended by Gigi) and a dress shirt for a preppy-casual work feel. Also, I luvs me a shawl-collar. They're so cozy without feeling constricting.

Exhibit B: The Kendor Cardigan:

Not really sure about this guy. It could be a big ol' oversized sloppy hot mess, or some cozy loveliness. It was still a bit pricey after the promo so it will have to be pretty great in order for me to keep it. I really like this color, and think it would be versatile with either neutral or more colorful tops underneath, and maybe some cute black minnies on the bottom. I've found that I wear my neutral-colored sweaters much more than my brighter colors, so am focusing on getting a few more of those into my wardrobe rotation right now.

Exhibit C: Hellooo, Cashmere:

OK, this is actually something I put on my Christmas gift list. :)

I also noticed that, even though it wasn't advertised, shipping was free. Is this a new thing on JCrew's website?

Has anyone bought or tried on any of these sweaters? What are your favorite JC sweaters right now?