The House Comes Along

Ok, so I don't deny that I'm moving at a sloth's pace when it comes to getting the house in order. By "order" I mean, "Up to my fantastical standards of fabulousness," bien sur. But slowly, the pieces of the puzzle are coming together. Thought I would share some of the happenings going on with getting our house ready for Housewarming next month. It's an uphill battle, for sure.

Here's a sort-of ghetto fabilis photo of our kitchen, thus far. Pretend you don't see the coffee press on the counter or the mac book air.

We decided to go with these pendant lights for over the kitchen island, three of them to be exact. They are by Roost, and were purchased at the Sundance Catalog. BTW, if you haven't gone to look at the home section at Sundance, you are missing out. They have some pretty terrific finds. Sundance calls these their Meridien pendant lamps, and Hubs installed them pretty quickly with some Edison bulbs to advantage of all that clear glass. They add such a great, clean touch to the room. Photos of course, to follow when the house is Dwell / Elle Decor ready.

Purchased a new console table from Hawaii store Pacific Home. Check it out, they carry great things and I love going in there to just glean ideas. I'm hoping that design ideas will just seep through my pores, osmosis-style, by my just being in their shop. They have a great, laid-back style that I'm trying to capture in my house. This piece is called the Parisian Console table by Carina Sherlock. It's supposed to be modern meets French Country, which is somehow working with my clean, beachside, Pacific vibe. Hubs had decided to install in-wall speakers, which has inadvertently made my Chinese plasma console unusable. Thanks. So now that bad boy is on Craigslist waiting for a new owner and I'm going to throw my TV on this baby. It seems random at first to put the TV on this table, but with baskets underneath in the living room, I think this is going to be a good fit.

Last random purchase while at Pacific Home last night, Roost's glass sea urchin vases. Peeps let me tell you they are so freaking adorable. At $12-$15 each they were an affordable indulgence and with candlelight in the background? Soooo pretty. One of my favorite purchases in a long time.

Alas, I have no J.Crew to share. It's a recurring theme of late. No fun fashion purchases. But hopefully you'll stay with me and be interested in the crazy things going on at the NoJcrewinJapan House!

Happy Chinese New Year and Year of the Rabbit to everyone and enjoy your February this week!

A Glimmer of Hope: J.Crew's Holiday Roll Out

*Sigh*

There may be hope yet, peeps, for J.Crew. I'm going to go on the record and say that Holiday 2010, though not 100% fabilis, is a standout compared to the rest of the year. I may just want to buy a few things full-price. I haven't said that for 11 months, so this is a day that may just be my turning point. It's like that scene from the first Sex in the City where Miranda and Steve have to meet on the bridge. She's hoping he's there, he's hoping she's there, and then... well, you know the rest. Let's hope there's a glimmer of that hope for the Crew et moi.

*Cue the Al Green music!

Dusted Sequin Shift Dress, $275

Perhaps I've been watching one too many episodes of Boardwalk Empire, but this dress is a fabilis, fabilis option for a Holiday Party. I find it tres speakeasy. With hair done in a loose, side-done chignon and red lips, this is something I would consider. I also believe it's Collection. Always an added plus for a J.Snob.

Starry Night Cardigan, $128

I know we've seen (and own) a plethora of sequined cardigans, but I like this one for the jacket effect, and the dreamy chiffon at the edges. I also like the three-quarter sleeves and the punk way the model's styled with just black moto pants and a grey tee. I would want to wear it with a white tee, those moto pants, and a pair of fab heels for a sit-down party, or slouchy and flat moto boots if I'm expected to stand all night.

This, peeps, is wearable. Finally.

Dusty Rose Spectator Pumps: You Finally Belong to Me!

I have to show off my Fall 2008 Spectator Pumps in Dusty Rose I got off of eBay for under $10, still new. Ladies, you have no idea how baaaadddddly I wanted these shoes when they first came out. & I stalked them on eBay season after season, thinking of their dusty pink perfection. You could almost call them neutral. Couldn't you? Or is that a stretch?

♥

The sequin cardigan from last fall, with some bling-eriffic necklaces.

Paired with a simple back skirt from Ann Taylor. Their tropical weight wool? Perfect.

Girls Night Out in Sequiny, Sparkly, Bling-Encrusted Shorts

It may just be me and my obsesh with J.Crew that has me seeing no issue with wearing sparkly, sequiny shorts to dinner and a movie with the girls. Either it's that, or the whole fashion world now tolerates the bling-bling while the sun is still out.

I have not problem with them. They are NOT J.Crew because though I thought the sequined bloomers were amongst the few and far between, cult-worthy items in the Fall roll-out so far, I missed the boat pretty quick on them. Talk about a quick sell-out! But instead, I made my way into the dark recesses of Charlotte Russe --- a place I swore off when I turned 30 last year. All the way in the back, on a random circular rack that the J.Snob in me thought you would never, ever see in J.Crew, I found a pair of black, sequined shorts for under $25. I am in fear of washing them.

But look at the sparkle, ladies!! Just look! It is a subtle sparkle on a relaxed short. I couldn't ask for more. & for under $25. Needless to say I wore them with a $3 Charlotte Russe tee, a $6 Charlotte Russe trendy owl necklace, and an old J.Crew cotton long cardi I've had for a while. The whole outfit may not last long, but that is the beauty of spending $34 on an outfit --- it's OK... but I hope the shorts last me just a hint longer than this season. I really do like them!

Girls Night Out was a lovely, Thai dinner followed by a movie - Eat, Pray Love. Can't get more girly than that. My gal pal said she loved the sequins and wished she knew I had dressed up. I wanted to tell her that Jenna Lyons practically wears this stuff to breakfast!

Ahi Summer Rolls

Tom Yum Khung Soup, sticky rice in a basket, and a glass of Pinot Noir.

To finish - Iced Thai Coffee. ♥

It doesn't get much more girly than this...

Ladies do you not hate it when you've gone and written an entire post and then your internet connectivity goes from warp speed to slow crawl right at the exact moment you're trying to hit Publish Post? The stars have to align for that to happen. It means the cosmos didn't like what I wrote and the heavens wanted a re-do.

Niiiiice.

Perhaps they didn't like this OOTD. Perhaps they found it too feminine. Perhaps they thought I should have scrapped the photos and just waited for a better styling opportunity to come my way. I wouldn't say this is the strongest OOTD I've ever posted, but it's certainly interesting.

The cosmos aren't getting the best of me today. I'm showing off the lace, the pearls and the sparkly-sparkly. & then I'm going to find an LBD, some serious black pumps and take my camera out. Perhaps they'll like that outfit a little better. :0P

Museum Worthy? The Curator Pant Rears Its Ugly Head

I actually had a PS stalk and find these pants for me. Then there was the drama over the size... PS could only find 1 size smaller, I wanted the usual size I always take on the bottom. Then PS found said perfect size. & then.... I got them. & my first thought was... WTF.

I mean, honestly, they are not all that when you first see them. They are capri pants that zip up the back (gag- 1990's central) and then are baggy around the thighs and tight around the leg. However, they aren't baggy enough around the leg for you to feel chic or edgy or anything in between. To be honest, you feel like you're in an MC Hammer video, wondering how come you can't dance like Cameron Diaz in the Charlie's Angels sequel. Hammer Time!

But if you hike the pants up around your calf (and you have to some calf to hike them up on, so this is where God was generous with me, I guess) - you will feel a semi-cool vibe starting. & I have to say, if you start wearing the rest of your Crew pieces, you find yourself in this alternate universe, where Downtown Kid-Meets-Prepster. & it's L♥ve, peeps. Or atleast I thought so this morning when I was getting dressed.

The Maya was worn... again. It offset everything in rainy day perfection.

Jewelry and shoes were all J.Crew.

Is there such a thing as too much bling?

Swag, meet my fellow bloggers. Fellow bloggers, meet my bling-alicious swag. It's possible I went off the deep end in the bejeweled-sequined-glittery-sparkliness category of crazy. Some may ask, Is there even such a place? & I'm here to say, Yup, I'm pretty sure... & I think I could draw the map to its exact location. While immersed in Christmas spirit, I may have gifted myself a little something here and there (Tries to withhold own giggles). & those little gifts - mostly tees and sweaters - seemed to have a common theme.

Shown (All J.Crew, of course):

Sequined Peakaboo cardigan, or, the one with the sequins going down the front of the placket

The Florentine (?) tee, or, the one that looked like a large bejeweled angel wing going down the front.

The Antler tee

The Starburst (?) tee, 2 colors, blush and ivory.

The sequined pocket long cardigan

The crushed glitter minaudiere in Copper

Somewhere along the path of staunch preppy-clothed-preferences, I have gotten a taste for the sparkly-sparkly. Like a full-on magpie. The funny part is, I arrived home from Europe to numerous -- and I do mean numerous -- J.Crew boxes. With the free shipping offered on top of the discounts, I seemed to have ordered numerous "little" orders. & when all the mini orders were opened, I had to laugh at how single-minded I had been.

Up-close of the sequined pocket cardigan. Like having little darling coin purses dangle from your cardi. I have to say the bling on this one is extra fantastic. The sequins are laid out rather randomly with no precise pattern, are a mercury-silver color and have a clear bead sewn on top of each. I love when the sequins are laid out all mish-mash like this.

Here's an up close of the peekaboo cardi. The color is more taupe than the slightest off pink I had thought I would have received but I wouldn't kick it out of bed. As Goldmember says from that Austin Powers movie, "It's a keeper!" The sequins as you can see are see through and in straight lines, which I think gives a nice lengthening effect. An illusion I don't mind given my short torso. Although I usually don't prefer the in-a-row sequin thing, I do like the subtlety. It's actually rather subdued bling.

& there is not one ounce of subdued anything in this minaudiere. It was a total sale item, $29.99 I believe with 20% off. A great deal for a little bit 'o swag. I was wondering how well the glitter would stay on this thing. I envisioned receiving this with glitter flakes everywhere but it is much sturdier than it looks.

I did remember this time to take a picture of the interior, which is lined in a fabric I will call, Not J.Crew Canvas. It's not silk but it's perky and dressed-up enough of an interior to match the bag's exterior.

Well, ladies. January better be a festive month, because I've gots me some bling to wear out and about. I will try my best to take IRLs of these when I style them or put outfits together. Let's just hope I've got the sparkly-sparkly out of my system!