Gap Parka & Striped Sweater

A trip to Memorial Mall and look what I found? A parka! What surprised me was it looked almost like Wendy’s Lookbook Split Tail Parka she had photographed last month. Yes, I had to pose like Wendy with the top on.

The Gap parka is so nice, priced at $168 and has a removable sherpa lining. Right now at gap.com, it is marked down to $99.00! However it only comes in Medium size as of right. In stores, there were many sizes. In this picture, I’m wearing a size Small.

Hopefully there will be some coupon codes soon and I might pick this parka up.

The sweater has the nautical stripes that are still popular this year. The material isn’t as soft as I thought it would be. So I passed and hopefully something better will come around.

Metallic Mini Skirt + Animal Print Cardigan

Top: J. Crew Print Cardigan
Botton: Ann Taylor Metallic Jacquard Skirt
Shoes: Naturalizer Bates Booties
Belt: Faux Leather Wrap Belt (old)

I rarely wear skirts. I normally wear jeans, pants/leggings, then dresses with leggings and finally skirts. I had this discussion with a friend. Skirts are not “Mom friendly.” Many skirts do not have pockets so I can stick tissue for those runny noses or whatever hair clips, rubber bands, or random “artifact” the kids pick up.

That being said, this pocketless outfit was inspired from a random perusal of my closet. I wanted to put together an outfit beyond my normal comfort level. I still don’t know if I like the skirt. I love the material. The glittery metallic fabric is very different from plain jane office looks. I also like that it’s a good length for me. Not too short, not too long.

The problem is would I wear it more often?

Cold Winter Cape & Tie Bow Blouse

Top: Tie Blouse by Canna (buy)
Bottom: Ann Taylor Loft Slim Leg Cords
Cape: Calvin Klein
Shoes: Seychelles boots

I ♥ this cape! Great color, nice material with satin lining and the belted look gives it a classic ladylike look. I finally had a chance to wear it when Houston got colder earlier this week. The weather has been deliriously crazy! One day it’s raining cats and dogs, the next it’s humid, and right after that it’s freezing! Today, as I’m writing this, it’s happily 72° F outside. Yes, that’s right. We have really no seasons here.

What’s your go to winter wear item this year?

Review: Hot Pink Scala Pumps from ASOS

ASOS SCALA Court Shoe

I noticed these pumps a while back when I was trying to find a cheaper version of J.Crew’s Mona Suede Pumps in a similar Berry color. At $45.45 and free shipping, these ASOS Scala Pumps were a steal! I was pretty excited to get them.

My excitement waned when I looked at the shoes. Very poorly made. As you see in the inset picture above, one of the heels are not aligned with the base. Upon further examination, the shoes looked like they were made out of cardboard. It felt like cardboard too. At a heel height of 4″, I was afraid these shoes might not support my weight.

This shoe will be returned.

Style Me In: Asos Metallic Purple Body Conscious Dress

Metallic – what can I say? I’m obsessed with Metallics especially in Purple! But this is such a Girls Night Out dress which unfortunately I do not have time to hang out with my girls that often. I decided to showcase how my experimenting turned out.

This is the body hugging dress. I think it fits me really well without discomfort. However there is that tummy issue that no matter how much exercise and dieting I do, will not go away completely.

This is my favorite style. Very simple with a wild leopard cardigan. I could wear this to work – granted the length of this dress will make me really self conscious. I might have to tights to this outfit to really pull it off at work.

High Tea anyone? Or even a meeting at an upscale restaurant? I do believe that the ultimate lady like piece is the tweed jacket. I am enamored with this particular jacket. It’s cropped length easily layers on top of the cardigan. The different textures and lengths all combines into a pretty stylish outfit.

Without the cardigan, the tweed stands alone and can hold outfit together. I just think the outfit is too sparkly – the tweed has strands of glittered frays and the dress is metallic. This could be a Date Night outfit with my husband.

Dress: ASOS Metallic Body-Conscious Dress
Cardigan: J. Crew Leopard Print Cardigan
Jacket: Stylekelly Tweed Cropped Jacket
Shoes: ASOS SCALA Court Shoe

I really like that this dress could work in 4 different styles.

Teal We Meet Again

Top: Forever21 turtleneck, Ann Taylor Loft Striped Cardigan
Bottom: Ann Taylor Loft Skinny Jeans sz 6
Coat: Express Peacoat
Shoes: Steve Madden Candence Boots

This outfit is one of my favorite outfits to wear. I love casual wear because it’s just easy! There’s nothing hard about putting one layer over another. One is a neutral and one is a basic print. I need to master the art of layering but sometimes it’s just easy to dress how you normally dress. I dress for comfort and ease. I think as a mom, I have to resort to basics rather than mastering with leather jackets or midi skirts with pleated blouses. Ahhh, too confusing but doesn’t I won’t try.

What trend/style are you looking forward to try this year?

Forever 21 Shopping Trip

While out and about, I stopped by Forever21 to check to see if there are any great finds. There is no H&M yet in Houston so we Houstonians make do with Forever21. I remember while living in New Orleans, Forever21 was known as great deals, and great clothes. Most people in New Orleans rarely even hear about H&M.

I like the fur vest but like most fur vests, it makes me look bulky. I wore a chiffon blouse with a tie neck bow. The print is polka dots! I do like the contrast the fur vest and the polka print. It compliments each other in a weird and amazing way!

Next I tried on these faux leather shorts. These are tie ups instead of a zippered front. It looks more rustic that way I guess. The leather is very soft and not scratchy at all. I am not a leather or faux leather person so I didn’t know what to expect when trying on this pair of shorts.

Ah, here are more polka dots. The shirt is so comfy, slim fitting, and has beautiful ruching sleeves. It does have a zipper in the back that I think gives the shirt a not typical look from the backside.

So this shirt is a keeper. I am still looking for a leather skirt, leather jacket and maybe a leather pair of shorts.

Did anyone find anything good lately?

Cheesecake Bistro on St. Charles in New Orleans

Whenever I visit my in laws, I have to take a trip to New Orleans. I have to say that I miss New Orleans’ cuisine more than anything. My favorite place to dine is Cheesecake Bistro. I miss it’s Spinach and Artichoke dip. I have not found another restaurant that is comparable to Cheesecake Bistro in regards to food or the size of it’s menu. Massive selection, I tell you.

Cheesecake Bistro was originally called Straya’s. I went to my Prom dinner with a group of 20 at Straya’s. Very memorable evening in my life. A bit more info on this place: it’s late owner is Al Copeland, the restaurateur who created Popeyes Chicken franchise.

My husband had the Crawfish Ravioli.

My usual: Stacked Eggplant Napoleon.

If any one is in the New Orleans area, give this restaurant a try. They also recently started a Sunday Brunch Buffet deal with live music. I haven’t had time to experience this yet but hopefully one day.

Biloxi, MS Trip Recap

Home for the holidays. To our family home is between Lousiana and Mississippi. My husband’s family resides in Biloxi, MS, also known as the Vegas of the South. I really do like Biloxi. It’s a small town with close knit ties. The atmosphere is very relaxing and calm. Unlike New Orleans, the views are gorgeous hillside trees and spacious expanse of skies so blue.

After Hurricane Katrina, unfortunately many places closed down. The big hotels all renovated, upping the luxe and the charm. Biloxi was hit hard and many of its streets are bare. Majority like my husband’s family moved more inland towards the city of D’Iberville. Along the Sangani Blvd, a whole new community was born. Sprawling with restaurants, shops, and new homes, everything is within 1 mile. It’s amazing how this area became the epic center of live in southern Mississippi.

And what trip would this be without a shopping excursion to the outlet mall.

Banana Republic
What amazes me is the vast differences in clothing from one store to another. Look at what I found:

The classic trench that I tried on in Houston was black. I found the exact same one in a tan color. It was alot cheaper than Houston. Houston was $99 unfortunately with no other sale. In Biloxi, it was $99 + 40% off. I still debated whether a black would suit me better. However my husband and my sister in law thought a tan colored trench is more classic and adds a different color to my wardrobe.

J. Crew is another store that I did not purchase anything from while in Houston. But in Biloxi, the deals just were too good to pass up. There was a 40% off on most items + an additional 20% when checking out. I grabbed that field jacket that gave my outfit an edge in my earlier post. I also picked up this:

Striped sweater – I probably have many striped sweaters but the color blocked sleeves caught my eye. The shoulders are like capped sleeves but continued with a color block ribbing down the arms. It’s different than any sweater I have.

I love the color purple. This satiny purple invitation clutch would have been a steal but I talked myself out of purchasing it. I had already purchased way too many purses this holiday season. But I am going to put this on my radar when I have the need for it. Lovely clutch…

After an eventful shopping day, we gorged ourselves on sushi! It has been a LOOOOOOOONNNNNNG time since I had good sushi. In Houston, you have to go towards downtown for GOOD sushi or the one in Richmond, TX which is about 20 minutes drive. However, I would be the only one making that drive since my husband and kids don’t like sushi. My husband will eat the Hibachi rice or anything terriyaki but no sushi.

Good thing my SIL loves sushi!

I got the Cowboy Roll (bottom) which is snow crab, steamed asparagus & cream cheese rolled inside, topped with thinly sliced seared, fresh filet mignon and red flying fish roe, served with samurai style medium spicy bbq eel sauce.

My SIL got the Pink Lady which contains fresh salmon, snow crab, smelt roe, avocado, tuna and cream cheese in a roll wrapped with scarce pink soybean sheet, served with house mustard creamy sauce.

What is different about Samurai is that each table gets a selection of dipping sauces from wasabi sauce, spicy mayo, bbq eel, etc. Ahhhh, craving for the Cowboy Roll as of right now.

Definitely an enjoyable trip.

Target Shopping Review- Finding Flannel

I was looking for a chambray shirt from Target but during my search I came across several flannel shirts. What I love about flannel is that it comes across as outdoorsy and comfortable. With the right outfit I think it could be styled into sexy, chic and contemporary. I didn’t pick up any flannels but it is on my wish list. I actually like the bigger checkered print more.