Happy Veterans Day to all and a Very Special Vet.

I would like to wish a Happy Veterans Day to all those who have served, are currently serving, will soon be serving, and the strong families who support these men and women.

I would like to say a special Happy Veterans day to my best friend and boyfriend, who served twice in Iraq. BF joined the Marines right out of High School, he left for boot camp In August 2001 never thinking he'd actually see war. Just one month later on September 11, 2001 everything changed. BF was part of the very first troop that was sent to Iraq, at just 19 years old. All I ever think when I see these pictures is babies holding guns, he just looks so young to me to be doing something so dangerous. Luckily he returned after both deployments unharmed.

Tomorrow I will be heading back to NYC, with a detour to Atlantic City. The BF loves AC so that's where we will be starting our weekend full of veterans day celebrations. We are also planning on going ice skating at Rockefeller and seeing the Washington Capitals play the New Jersey Devils in NJ on Saturday night. Hopefully the BF likes his present too!

Daily Post plus TONS of new purchase pictures!

Today was yet again another drs appointment, that makes 3 total in the last few days. Tons of blood work and shots - HeidiG said it perfectly, I'm feeling like a human pin cushion. The good thing though is the more doctor appointments the closer we get to figuring it all out. On top of my Ulcerative Colitis I also have had chronic hives for the last 13 years. The more tests the more links they are finding between things, I could actually have another type of auto-immune disease that is causing everything. I'm ready for some answers!

What I wore today: (1st new purchase) JCrew cambridge cable v-neck in cinnamon spice. I am so happy I returned the henley tee and bought this instead. Paired with 7 jeans, white favorite fit tee, JCrew constellation necklace, heirloom flora earrings, TB leopard flats.

Here is a close up of the sweater, overall I say TTS and would definitely recommend.

After my doctors appointment I met up with my mom for dinner and shopping at IKEA. Why? No I do not need any new furniture right now BUT it's CHRISTMAS at IKEA. They always sell their Christmas goodies early in the holiday season and sell out quickly so we try to go as early as possible. Both my mom and my tree are always decked out in IKEA ornaments every year. I'm actually quite excited for December to roll around so I can share my tree with you all - it's not a normal tree AT ALL - think vintage but that's all I'm saying for now! I have to say I didn't love a lot of what they had to offer this year but I didn't walk away empty handed either!

So my mom is a hardcore knitter and growing up she always made me the cutest Fair Isle type sweaters to wear for skating and lately I've been searching for one to buy. I decided on the JCrew little boys handknit cowichan shawl cardigan. I ordered it in a size 12 and I think it fits quite nicely. It fits me good on the shoulders and also hits me at the hip around the same place some of the women's sweaters do.

I also ordered the JCrew little girls Fiona fur vest. I thought this would make a great bday present for a little girl I know but I was also interested in trying this for myself. This is an XL/XXL and well you can see it's not going to work on taller people. It is way to short and tight through the shoulders. It could definitely work for a petite woman though.

Back to women's: The JCrew ultra-knit pullover hoodie in deep slate. I bought this in an XS and love it. It's really comfortable and cozy, I'd buy the light gray color too but I think it's too similar to the Jaspe to justify it.

I also picked up these two cashmere crewneck sweaters that were in the sale section.

This one is sweet guava.

This one I believe is bright seaside. Both are XS and fit great, they were both WELL over half off. I love the bright seaside but I'm debating the guava still. It's very pretty but I'm not sure the color looks best on me. Oddly these are both XS but the seaside is actually cut a bit bigger.

This tee is from Madewell, I bought it a bit ago but thought I'd share. Its the sequin pocket tee. It's an XS and the fit is loose but I think it's supposed to be like that. The material is very soft. If I'm correct it came in 2 other colors, I believe purple and maybe white.

Close up of the sequins.

Lastly, I bought this plaid top from H&M. I really wanted something to follow the plaid trend and I had my eye on this red Juicy Couture plaid dress but didn't want to spend too much money on a trend. When strolling through H&M with a friend this caught my eye. I had wanted red because I just think plaid looks cutest in red but I really like this color combo.

Close up of the color and pattern.

Okay that was a lot to get through. And that will probably be the last of any new purchases I make for awhile. Christmas is approaching so it's time to start thinking about gifts. I also have three close friends that are due in December/January so it's time to focus on baby gifts!

Weekend Recap! More DC JCA fun! - Updated!

On Friday I had a doctors appointment and did some shopping - more like browsing - in Chevy Chase. I used to go down to Chevy Chase for shopping all the time, those who are not familiar the area is like a mini NYC 5th Avenue - there is a Tiffany's, Dior, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Barneys Co-op, Saks, Neiman Marcus, Jcrew and much more. I went down there with a few ideas in my head of some things I wanted to see in person but left empty handed, none of the stores had what I was looking for. They've added a lot of new stores since I was last down there, even though I didn't buy anything it was still fun exploring.

What I wore: JCrew asymmetrical zip cardigan, dark brown favorite fit tee, I wore a JCrew brown beaded necklace as a bracelet but I forgot the name, 7 jeans, and dark brown patent Tretorn shoes.

I really love this cardigan. I love that it's something new, nothing we've already seen this season.

Saturday I spent time with family but forgot to take outfit pictures.

Sunday I met up with some fabulous DC JCA's at the Pentagon City Mall for shopping and brunch at Lebanese Taverna. I will post pictures of my purchases soon! I know I always say this but I love these stylish ladies and they are so much fun to spend time with. It was a perfect day and the weather couldn't have been nicer out.

Everyone looked absolutely beautiful, just like always! I'm already looking forward to the next time we all get together.

I also have a very funny picture of Dina styled in the dressing room - with her permission I will add it to this post. With her permission, here it is (styled by Dina & HeidiG, inspired by Jenna Lyons):

I apologize the pictures are a bit blurry, I really need to invest in a new and better camera.

The Cashmere Henley goes to dinner.

After all your positive feedback on the JCrew cashmere henley I decided to wear it out last night to a shopping/dinner date with one of my best friends. I have to say after wearing it all night I love it even more and want it in every color, if only I had no budget!

What I Wore: 7 jeans, JCrew dog tee, cashmere henley, TB leopard flats, Dior green and off-white scarf. This scarf is seriously my favorite, I have it in a green, black, and blue. I also paired it with my JCrew safari bracelet.

Close up of the shoes.

My friend dragged me into White House Black Market. I had never bought anything from this store before but she convinced me to try some things on. I fell in love with this top. You can find it online here if you'd like to see a better picture. I'm not sure how their sizing runs so I don't know if it's TTS but I took an XXS in this. I officially made my first purchase!
I did make it over to JCrew to do my jumbo sack of returns - I bet the SA's hated me, she acted like she wasn't too happy thats for sure. It's not my fault I order things online and when they arrive I am disappointed with the quality/fit.

Here is my plea to JCrew I love love all your minis but they are too mini for us tall girls. How about making these in tall so we can enjoy them too. I can't even show you the back, too risque. Even with black tights I would still feel way to exposed. I tried sizing up but no luck with that either. I'll work on getting my new arrival purchases up soon but from what I've seen it's nothing people haven't already blogged about. I did buy the cropped sequined sweater but I'm debating keep it, I just don't think I'll wear it enough. I would have preferred it not be cropped, plus I'm not sure I love how the neckline in the back sticks up because the sequins rub against my skin.

After shopping my friend and I drove over to downtown Annapolis to Joss Cafe - it's her favorite sushi place and since I missed her bday dinner I made it up to her by going. I usually eat their cooked food, like teriyaki it is delicious. The sushi is excellent and I usually eat my friends leftovers, I just don't love sushi enough to order it only.
We also have a tradition of taking pictures with the statue that sits right by the harbor. So after dinner, with ice cream in hand, we headed down to take a picture. I seriously had the best ice cream, it was pumpkin pie flavor and had real chunks of pie crust and all in it - amazingly delicious. I went back after to buy a pint to take home but they had just closed.
I'll try to get some reviews of the new arrivals up soon. Tomorrow is a busy day of early morning doctors appointments. It looks like I'll be in MD for longer now too - maybe until next Thursday. I had another doctors appointment scheduled for this week but my doctor decided to randomly take the day off and so I had to reschedule - seriously?! I have to go in to get all the scratch testing done for allergies... has anyone had a bad experience with them? I get chronic hives so I am worried I'm going to have a bad reaction.

Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Review - JCrew Cashmere v-neck henley

Out of everything this is probably my favorite! This is the cashmere v-neck henley in jalapeno. I wanted one of these sweaters last year but I was always waiting for them to go on sale but instead the colors I wanted sold out. I used the 20% off and free shipping promo on this so it came down to a price I could live with. I am addicted now and want it in more colors. Since the ribbed henley didn't work out in cinnamon spice I am thinking of buying this in that color. I would love to own this in the gray and black because I think they would be great layering pieces. I bought this in an XS and I say TTS. The fit of this is just perfect in my opinion, it looks fitted but it is also very comfortable and not tight.

Hoping to get to a B&M tomorrow - so maybe I'll have more reviews later in the week!

Charlotte Russe tiered top (JCrew inspired)

I'd be lying if I said I didn't stalk the website every hour for an entire month to get this top, yes seriously. I put the page in my bookmarks and constantly refreshed it. Finally after a long long time they did a restock and I was able to buy one. This is a size small, I think it was the smallest size it came in. It definitely isn't as luxurious as the JCrew tiered lace cami but I wasn't paying $795 for it - this one was perfect for around $21! It doesn't come with the black tie but I had one laying around from another sweater. This version is a bit see through but the layers help hide it. I love the way it looks under the blazer.
Now I need to find somewhere to wear this and fast!

Review - JCrew Bowery messenger bag

Yes this is mens but I have always wanted one of these messenger bags, but never wanted to pay full price. During the 20% sale I noticed the black color was on sale so I snatched it up for an amazing price. I just looked at the site and it appears the black is back to full price, weird. I am really loving this bag, I just love how rustic the waxed canvas is.
I plan on using it as a travel bag because my laptop will easily fit inside, even in it's protective case. I would probably buy the brown too if it goes on sale. I always like the look of the store displays when they have the mannequins dressed in fancy clothes carrying this bag.