I promise (cross my heart) to re-start my blogging. But that's not why I've dashed to the computer today, y'all.
A small favor, please? If by chance any of my Followers read this (and I can't imagine why you would since I've sunk without a trace), please share a link to this post with others in the Crewniverse. And bless your little Follower hearts for hangin' in there with me.
So -- THE NEWS:
The TODAY show has brought back their wildly popular 24-hour holiday "Steals and Deals", and there are some crazy-good deals including Gemma Redux necklaces for $39 (they each retail for around $400), and a beautiful basic Ann Taylor merino v-neck cardigan for $24 (retail is $78). And there's more. Check it out here:
I'll be back soon with an update on life and fashion in the always-some-shade-of-blue household of JCAUNCMom and my wonderful hubby, UNCDad a/k/a "I Went to Duke So Why Did BOTH of My Sons Go to Carolina??". :-) Ciao!
I am, truly, the world's worst blogger. Every day I pinky-swear I'm gonna find time to write. And every day I also swear to myself that I'm gonna find a spot in my house where I can photograph myself in a mirror, so that you all can actually SEE me in a few of my outfits. (I say a few because I am self-aware enough to know that I -- unlike so many of you impressive JCAs -- will nevah, evah be disciplined enough, or find the time enough, to snap daily or even frequent pix of my lil' ensembles.)
But y'all can see how bad I am at honoring my own pinky-swears. :-) It sure is a good thing that I'm not making promises to myself about anything life-altering, don't ya think??
This afternoon I've found myself with a bit of extra time -- which I really ought to be using to get dinner started or to photograph some for-sale items for the weekly exchange. Hubby (known in these parts as FAH -- short for "Fun As Hell", which he most definitely is) will just have to deal with salad and leftovers. And you'll have to remain in suspense about what I've found in my closet to which you could say "Well, welcome to MY closet!!"
Because, IRL pic or not (and it's a not, again, sadly), I have a Polyvore, at least, of today's outfit, and a product review, even!
The product of the day here is the Medallion Foulard Skimmer Pant, now available only on popback but lately on sale, ridiculously, for $19.99. I say ridiculously because, glaydies, these pants are da bomb. Stalk them, girls. I'm tellin' ya.
I tried on the solid-colored Skimmer Pants earlier in the season at my B&M since, being a nicely obedient little J. Crew customer, I listened when The Crew told us the Skimmers were this year's answer to last year's wonderful summerweight cocktail capris and cafe capris. And they were, indeed, terrific -- they hug the derriere in a flattering way, with cute rear pockets that add a little sporty interest to yo' tushy, and they're a versatile 26" length. But I kinda pigged out on last year's similar styles, so I passed on buying any of the solid colors.
Then one day recently I was playing on Polyvore looking for ideas (instead of writing in my blog, yeah, I know, I know) and I ran across this classic white-shirt set from the fabulously fashionable itztru: Itztru's Medallion Foulard Skimmer Pant Classic White Shirt Look. I had never noticed these pants before, but I thought they were interesting and itztru mentioned that she'd bought them for $19.99! This, of course, piqued my interest even more, so I clicked on over to JC to read more about them -- and discovered them still on sale for that price, and not even FS. So naturally I added them to the always-growing pile in my shopping cart, and when we got the last EXTRA20 I bought them for $16 and change. Loooooooooooove it.
The fabric is what makes these Medallion Foulard Skimmers very special. I don't know what mill JC bought this luscious cotton from, but I'm betting it's one of the best. The cotton is silky and crisp at the same time, and has a lovely, subtle sateen finish. The foulard print's small and also subtle, and the scale and colors of the print work beautifully across a surprising array of my tee shirts and sweaters. And the fit, as I mentioned, is very nice. And TTS, by the way. Today I inaugurated them with a whole day of errand-running and they still look crisp and pretty fresh after all these hot, humid hours in and out of my car.
So here's the Polyvore of my OOTD, which, I must say, exactly reflects my personal style. This is the kind of look you'll see me in five days out of seven. The other two days I'll maybe throw in a smidge of ruffled-something-or-other. Because how can you be a true JCA and not wear a smidge of ruffled-something-or-other?? :-)
Hey y'all, I'm back from our safari trip to Africa and enjoying catching up on your blogs. I've put 150 trip pix on my Facebook page, so if any of you are on FB and would like to be my FB friend to look at pix (among other fine reasons :-)), please e-mail me at jcauncmom@gmail.com! Sneak peek:
The Mosela-sela Pride
18 lionesses and juveniles, Madikwe Game Reserve, May 2010
On to today's topic which has jolted me out of my post-vacation lurking laziness. Hope y'all will find this interesting and fun!
One of my new favorite bloggers, Sue from ReBloomer, has a really thought-provoking post today called Are You In a Color Rut? If I can paraphrase her, she's feeling pulled and tugged and a bit confused by the "colors du jour" in the fashion industry and especially by the invitingly-named colors at J. Crew.
We all want to look "fresh" and at least current, if not trendy or faddish. But we also want to look our best, right? So with the rag trade in general and our favorite "What recession??" retailer in particular trying to tell us what colors are fashionable, what colors should we all be buying?
Big ol' thanks to Sue for bringing this up, because this issue hits a bulls-eye with me.
Back in the day when I sold expensive clothes, my clients would walk into our showroom and be knocked flat by the display. We had 600-ish new pieces every season, and we arranged them beautifully, so it was just too much to take in, like some lavish buffet when you're hungry. Our clients didn't know where to start, and my job was to help them instantly screen out the things that weren't even going to be worth a look for them. We'd start by identifying pieces that weren't going to be flattering in proportion, shape or pattern.
Then we'd screen out the "wrong" colors, and of course to do that we had to zero in on the RIGHT colors. For new clients, here's how I'd help them do that.
(1) Find the color palettes that work on you the best. You'll have a primary and a secondary. Despite the fact that it was a worked-to-death concept fifteen years ago, the whole "seasonal colors" idea really is legitimate. There are four basic color palettes, and the "seasonal" labels of Fall, Winter, Spring and Summer work just fine for identifying them. Everyone has one primary palette, and a companion/secondary season (Fall with Spring, Winter with Summer) that will also look good, just not quite AS good.
(2) Stick MOSTLY with your primary and secondary color palette when shopping, and this will build the most mix & match into your closet.
(3) Use colors outside your primary/secondary palettes ONLY for accessories or for a splash of color but keep those "outsider" colors away from your face!
There are several ways to go about figuring out which ones are your primary and secondary palettes, but I have always had great success using this simple method.
All you need to do is figure out is whether you have warm, yellow or peach undertones to your skin or cool, pink or blue undertones to your skin. Everyone has one or the other, even people who are quite pale or quite dark. And the only tools you need to determine which one you have are these: A sheet of white computer paper and your own forearm -- UNTANNED, please!
Go someplace where there is strong, natural light. Now flip your arm over so that your palm is facing upwards, and lay your arm onto the white paper. Look closely at your forearm and compare your skin to the paper. Do you see yellow or peach? Do you see pink or blue, or even violet? If you're not sure, ask one or two other people to look and tell you what they see.
Once you know whether you're yellow-peach-warm or pink-blue-violet-cool, identifying your color palettes become really easy.
Warm, peachy-yellow undertones to your skin equals Fall and Spring color palettes. They're all colors that look like they've had a bit of yellow added to them. So you're talking about a buttery yellow (versus a lemon yellow, which is Winter/Summer), a yellow-y, watermelon-y coral (versus a pinky coral), an orange-y red (versus a blue-red), a yellow-y eggplant purple (versus a cool blueberry-pie purple) etc. Fall colors (which include all of the October leaf season landscape colors) are stronger than Spring colors; you might say that Spring colors are Fall colors with a bit of baby powder added to soften them up.
Choosing which of these two palettes is your "primary" is subjective, and it will depend upon how strongly colored and dark your hair and eyes are, and how pale your skin is. Your primary and secondary can change from time to time, too, if you're prone (like me) to experimenting with your hair. Just to give you an example, I'm a natural auburn brunette with hazel eyes and naturally pale, freckly, definitely yellow-undertoned Irish skin. So the best colors in my closet are the ones in the Fall/Spring palettes. When I'm wearing my hair darker, I can carry off the Fall colors beautifully -- warm olive green, strong honey-glaze yellow, true orange, warm chocolate brown, blazing autumn red. But if I've blonded up my hair quite a bit (as I periodically do), then the Fall colors are too much -- they overwhelm my face and I look better in the Spring palette. Say, a peachy coral instead of a strong orange. As my "blonder self" I can still wear my Fall colors, but I need to keep them away from my face.
By contrast, if you have cool pink-blue-violet undertones to your skin, you're going to look better in the Winter-Summer palettes. The Winter colors are clear, strong and cool. Think gem-stone colors, like a blue-red the color of rubies (or American Beauty roses), or the icy royal blue of a sapphire.
And again, the Summer palette is the Winter color family with baby powder added to kind of "pastel" them out. If these are your two palettes, then, again, whether your "primary" is Winter or Summer will depend on the strength of your coloring.
Oh, and one other related thing. Fall/Spring gals generally look better in gold-toned jewelry (warmer). Winter/Summer gals look better in silver-toned jewelry (cooler).
The real beauty of finding your primary and secondary color palettes is discovering that you can wear some version of almost literally every color. If you've been told that you can't wear yellow, hogwash. Everyone has a yellow that she can wear -- the trick is just figuring out whether that's lemony or buttery. Every gal has a red -- some orange-red, some blue-red. Every woman can wear some version of blue.
You see this isn't rocket science, right? And the simple truth is that when I practice what I preach and stick to those Fall/Spring colors, I look better with far less effort. Period. But here's the wrinkle. I like many colors that I don't wear well at all, and lately I've been way too lazy about practicing what I preach about colors and I've made way too many purchasing mistakes. Why? Because I've been letting myself get wowed and wooed by the way items are styled in the J. Crew catalog. And I'll confess that I've been even more influenced by the way things look on other JCA's.
As dumb as this seems when I write it down and think about it, the fact is that when I see a wonderful outfit in colors that I like on someone with a build similar to mine, I think "Oh wow, I could definitely wear that!" I get all excited (especially if there's a sale going on) and I ignore the important "Yeah, but can I really wear those colors??" part of the equation and I order the outfit without trying it on. And I end up taking at least some of the outfit back to my B&M because the colors don't do a thing for me, even if the garment shape works just fine on my body shape.
If I had a nickel and a gallon of gas for every time I've returned something because the colors looked somewhere between "Meh" and "Yeegads" on me, I'd have enough gas to drive to New York and enough money to -- well, treat my son the MTV Intern to lunch in Manhattan.
Back to Basics: Revisiting Finding Your Best Colors
Very happy, totally recovered cyclist here reporting in!
Ovarian Cycle Saturday was an amazing experience. I've never done anything so exhausting and yet with such an emotional high. What a day!!
Registration at the host gym opened early and we were greeted with a terrific goodie bag with an awesome T-shirt, towel, a bike jersey (if you'd raised above a certain amount of $$), a lot of coupons and a fabulous "Hope and Promise" makeup kit from L'Oreal (the event's major sponsor and a huge supporter of ovarian cancer research). The event room was a huge, 2-story-high basketball court with an indoor track circling the ceiling level and six racquetball courts "ringing" the room at the floor level. There were almost 200 cyclists riding the whole 100 miles in our event, and the event staff had tied a balloon to each bike. Most teams had creatively decorated their bikes, too. Our team had attached bouquets of beautiful silk springtime flowers onto the front our bikes and we’d tied teal ribbon bows onto our handlebars. I can't tell you how festive and really thrilling that gigantic fleet of bikes looked!Everywhere there were floating teal, pink and white balloons, and banners with each team's "Honor Roll" lists, a giant Ovarian Cycle sign and huge silver stars on the walls symbolizing the fact that this event was helping women "reach for the stars" in the search for reliable early detection tests and cures for all gynecological cancers.
I’m telling ya, this event was planned out to “T” and “I” perfection. Those volunteers really took care of us and were ready to do anything they could to make the ride more fun and comfortable for the cyclists. Throughout the day, they walked among the bikes while we were riding, bringing us fresh towels, picking up our trash and recyclables, and offering us water, Gatorade, PowerAde, orange slices, bananas, peanut butter sandwiches, crackers, power gels and energy bars. And one of the adjacent racquetball courts was filled with tables of water, drinks and food, too --- available not only to riders but also to family and friends who came to watch and cheer, so in addition to the performance food that the cyclists would prefer to grab there were brownies, pizza, chocolate chip cookies and all sorts of other treat foods. While I wouldn't ever plan on doing an all-day ride this way, you could theoretically have shown up with your clothes and shoes and been A-okay on food and hydration. The provisions were THAT generous.
Along the back wall there were also silent auction tables -- lots of very cool stuff -- and there was a masseuse doing complimentary 10-minute neck and shoulder massages. Ahhhhhhhh!
We started our ride at 9:00 sharp, and the day was basically formatted like 6 hours of spin class. We had a different instructor each hour, and 5-minute breaks once an hour to dash to the potty, change clothes, eat, fill water bottles, stretch, etc. Almost all of the music rocked, the instructors were great, and there was a lot of variety in the ride -- even if the scenery didn't change much. :-) We did seated and standing sprints, jumps, seated climbs, standing climbs, etc. Just about the only thing we didn't do that's a "regular" item in spin class was anything really slow and heavy, and I’m sure that's because to hit our mileage goal we needed to be riding pretty fast all day. Each instructor set the pace for us, and if you kept up, I think you'd have been pedaling at an average of around 15 to 18 mph, with sprints thrown in here and there.
The day ended with Eminem's "Lose Yourself" -- what a great cycling song — and that last couple of minutes was unbelievably emotional. My sweet hubby and DS #1 a/k/a Journey Boy came for the last 30 minutes and stood with a lot of other riders' family and friends on the sidelines, cheering us on. Looking around me, I could see that every single rider in the room had found one last ounce of legs and wind for that last song, and we were all standing out of the saddle, hill-climbing on cadence with that thumpin' bass beat at a pretty hefty resistance -- heaviest of the day for me! -- and singing at the top of our lungs. As the song ended we were all whooping and high-fiving. Then they played “We Are the Champions” and we shouted out that chorus together while we cooled down. The lump in my throat was the size of a baseball.
All day long there were photographers snapping shots of the ride, so I will post some pictures when they become available. (The picture shown here is from the 2009 event held in the same facility, just to give you a "flavor".) But trust me, you do NOT want to see pictures (nor do I want to show pictures!) from the last hour or two — all of us were soaked through and looking bedraggled by then, and I had lost count of the number of bandannas I’d gone thru. I don’t think I’ve ever been so ready for a hot shower, y’all. I scrubbed and shampooed and held my face under that wonderful spray until the hot water ran completely out!
I am so, so proud to have been part of this awesome event. I raised more than $3,200 for ovarian cancer research -- can you believe it?? -- and finished the biggest athletic challenge of my life feeling strong and like I could have kept going. Unbelievable for this little middle-aged mama!
Thank you all again so much for everything you did to encourage and support me. It means more to me than I can express, and I’m incredibly grateful. I'll definitely do this Ovarian Cycle ride again next year, and if OC’s doing a ride anywhere near your city I encourage you to give it a try. You can write to me and I’ll walk you through a training and nutrition schedule. And I promise you will thank me!!! :-)
The View from the Saddle: Ovarian Cycle 100-Mile Ride!
I am leaving as soon as I hit "PUBLISH POST" to hit the gym for one more short but intense training ride, dear readers, and then I'm done with my training -- just tomorrow, a rest and fuel-up day, and then Saturday morning it's finally time for the Atlanta 2010 RIDE TO CHANGE THE FUTURE™!
My thanks again to the wonderful Gigi of Gigi's Gone Shopping, who surprised me earlier this week by thoughtfully including a shout-out to me and to this cycling event (which benefits ovarian cancer research) in her daily blog post. I've been really delighted and moved to find donations from JCA's at my Ovarian Cycle home page. You are all, truly, a lovely crowd of fine, strong women. Thank you so much for including me in your midst, and for supporting my "century" ride!
And, of course, you are also fashionable women, so what kind of JCA would I be if I didn't make at least SOME effort to be well-dressed for my 100-mile ride?
Thus, my Polyvore set of what will be going in my gym bag. :-)
It's not too late to donate to Ovarian Cycle, by the way, so if you're of a mind to chip in a few dollars towards the search for a reliable early-detection test for ovarian cancer, just go here and look for the "Make A Donation" box on the left column. I'll appreciate every dollar!
See y'all on Sunday, when I'll tell you, I'm sure, what an amazing Saturday I had!
As bloggers go, I'm a Model T auto. I sputter along, occasionally I pick up a little cantering, not-quite-galloping speed for brief intervals, but then I conk out and have to be re-cranked. I do so admire you sleek, Maserati-style bloggers whose words of wit, wisdom and fashion advice appear freshly and dependably on my Dashboard every day. And this post, sadly, will do nothing to enhance my reputation in the universe of great, fun fashion bloggers. Fashion's not on my mind today. (Well, not much -- I'm sure I'll do some ritualistic J. Crew Weekly Exchange and Spring Sale Section browsing later.)
Nope, what's got me cranked and cantering happily today has to do with August 1, 1981. And MTV. Stick with me here, I promise I'll connect the dots.
It turns out that August 1, 1981 (8-1-81 -- this had to mean something in the world of numerology, right?) was an auspicious day in the unfolding life plan of one young Atlanta lawyer who would grow up to be JCAUNCMom. I didn't know that, of course, and I don't remember the day at all, truthfully. (Heck, I don't remember last MONTH, truthfully. Menopause sucks.)
But I'm sure that it was hot as blazes, that you could cut the air with a knife, and that I had arrived at work sometime around 7:45 a.m. faithfully dressed in my earnest little John T. Molloy Dress for Success uniform: a stiff, starchy, button-up-the-back cotton blouse, a string of pearls, a navy/gray/black conservative suit (pencil skirt just above the knee, no pants -- not allowed for young lady lawyers for a loooooong time), L'Eggs suntan-colored pantyhose and Etienne Aigner closed-toe pumps in black, navy or burgundy. I was one year out of UVa Law School and had been a junior trial law associate at a giant downtown law firm for almost one year to the day. I had just turned 26 years old.
Dot number one. (Huge dot.) On August 1, 1981, my husband-to-be came to work in the same department at my firm. I could tell you that bells rang, birds chirped and choirs sang when we met each other, but that would be taking just a smidge of artistic license. The truth is that I don't remember the day we met. I can tell you that I thought he was adorable and that within weeks we were buddies -- we had lunch together a lot and compared dating tales of woe, and by late November we'd tiptoed sideways into our first date, both of us petrified that this would ruin our friendship. But see how wrong we were? And the rest, as they say, is history.
Dot number two. At 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981 on one lone Northern New Jersey cable system, a brand new television channel rather quietly made its broadcast debut. It was MTV -- Music Television. What you see above is the original, iconic MTV logo, which changed colors often but otherwise stayed much the same for nearly 30 years. (*** See footnote. Seriously, I wrote one, lawyer-style.) Another weird my-life coincidence: Among the few thousand lucky cable customers who could see MTV that first midnight was my future brother-in-law, then a night-owl and music aficionado college student. I'd betcha $20 that he actually saw Music Television go live. Remind me to ask him.
Check out this link on YouTube, dear readers. It's the debut of MTV and the very first-ever music video broadcast ("Video Killed the Radio Star" by the Buggles -- save that one for trivia night for sure). For those of you who are anywhere near my age (shout out, Meno-'Mazing Girls!), I'm sure that watching this will jar loose a visceral memory of the original MTV logo (man stepping onto the moon), the fantastic original MTV guitar-riff theme music, and those six simple words that would forever change music for us all, from an audio-only event to an audio-visual event:
"Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll."
The guy who posted this on YouTube also posted many other links to hours and hours of that first day of MTV. You will not, will NOT, believe these archaic videos. Laughable now, but to us -- my gosh, BANDS SINGING THEIR SONGS ON TV!! I highly recommend spending a little time with a cup of coffee browsing and smiling and watching history unfold.
Because it really was history, on a scale much grander than the my-husband-to-be-entered-my-small-world kind. For you youngsters out there who only know MTV as it is today -- mostly non-music programming filled with reality TV shows -- I can only tell you that the original MTV truly was revolutionary stuff on an order of magnitude of, say, "I Love Lucy". It was modeled after broadcast radio, so the format was simple: 24/7 music videos, a few commercials, and, anchoring it all, a team of young, hip, oh-so-cool "veejays" (and yeah, MTV coined that term) who introduced the videos. To those of us who were young adults in the early 80's, the original MTV VJ's were rock stars in their own right. Who, amongst my age group, doesn't remember Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, J.J. Jackson and Martha Quinn??
Today, MTV is just one of a veritable battalion of "child" and "sister/brother" channels owned by Viacom, including MTV2, MTV Hits, MTVu (aimed squarely at college students), MTVTr3's (in Spanish -- as in 'uno, dos, tres', get it?), VH1, Comedy Central, Palladia, Nickelodeon -- the list is long. To watch music videos in the old-school MTV wall-to-wall style, you have to be lucky enough either to get MTV Hits on your cable/satellite system or to tune in to one of the other sibling channels during a "block" of music videos. And even then, there's no J.J., no Martha, no Mark, no Alan, no Nina freakin' Blackwood. Oh sure, there's good stuff to watch, but today's sophisticated videos cannot remotely compare to the original MTV programming in plain old sheer titanic value -- it's like comparing the pebble-sized impact of today's fine "Saturday Night Live" cast with the asteroid-sized impact of the original SNL Not Ready For Prime Time Players.
Yes, 8-1-81 was a very cool day indeed. And who knew.
Now you're thinking "Fascinating little history lesson, honey, and so glad you were an MTV fan, but, um, today's not August 1st so whazzup with this post?"
Glad you asked, since that gives me the opportunity to connect the dots for you, and grin, and brag.
My darling boy with his cousin (visiting from U-Delaware, go Blue Hens) in Chapel Hill last fall.
Dot number three. (Also huge.) I am thrilled to share breaking news: My DS#2, a/k/a Blues Boy, child who owns half my mama heart, distinguished UNC-Chapel Hill Communications Studies/Media Production/Electronic Journalism/Creative Writing student and all-round fabulous fellow, is going to be...
...interning this summer for the Production Department at MTV Networks in New York City.
!!!!!!!!! I know, right???? We are so excited for him!!! He will be one of the busy go-to, go-fer guys assisting the squadron of ridiculously young MTV staffers who write, plan, produce, edit and air the content -- including original music videos -- for several of the MTV family of channels. He'll be living in the NYU dorms, he'll be riding the subway to work like a real-live New Yorker, and he will be having, I know, the time of his life. And making contacts that will be invaluable in launching his own young career. Who knows -- maybe we're witnessing the "birth" of a future J.J. or Mark or Alan. Or Chevy Chase or Dan Aykroyd. Or Jon Stewart.
Dot number four. I love this one. Guess when Blues Boy will have his last Friday at work, his last weekend hurrah with his new friends and colleagues, and move out of his dorm to come home? You guessed it. It's the weekend of Friday, July 30th... Saturday, July 31st... and Sunday, August 1st.
Now you tell me that's not cosmic dot-connecting. :-)
*** Footnote, lawyer-style:
In February, 2010, in recognition of how much the content of its flagship channel had changed, MTV retired the words "Music Television" from its logo. This news created barely a ripple in the media. But speaking on behalf of my generation, I say let's have a moment of silence. In honor of Music Television, and those cheesy videos, and that kickin' theme music, and J.J., Alan, Mark, Martha, and Nina freakin' Blackwood. Rock on.
I popped by my neighborhood B&M this week to return something and was stopped in my tracks by the slim, beautiful new Jaipur Perfect Shirt.
It's always fun to find a print that you can immediately envision with quite a few things already in your closet, and this one was calling out to everything that was caramel, khaki, pecan, papaya, plum, guava, berry and denim blue. So then, of course I had to grab it and float thru the store creating mental outfits (this is called Advanced Rationalizing), and oh, how pretty it is with this spring's soft terracotta and ginger pieces!
As if to seal the deal, there was one -- just one -- lovely, lightweight merino ethereal ruffle v-neck cardigan hanging on the sale rack, marked to $39.99, and lo and behold it was (a) my size and (b) light berry. LUSCIOUS with this shirt and the new terracotta Scout chinos!
So I said "Welcome to my closet!" and the sweater and the chinos (along with a totally necessary, way cute little braided belt in salmon) came home with me. It won't bother me one little bit if you wanna welcome these pieces to your closets, too. :-)
Here's the Polyvore of my new fave ensemble. My sweater's different, as I mentioned, but I do love the one pictured in my set.
Be forewarned: This post is NOT fashion-related in any way, because it has to do with the use of chamois-padded cycling shorts which, I think we can all agree, are not a fashion item anywhere in this galaxy. :-)
You may have noticed that once again I've been AWOL from blogging. But I've got a REALLY good reason. I've been quietly investing increasing amounts of time to training for the biggest athletic challenge I've ever set out for myself, and I'm ready to tell y'all about it.
I’m going to take part in a really exciting and important event, glaydies. And I'm asking (hat in hand) for your encouragement and, if you can do it, your monetary support.
On Saturday, April 24, 2010, I’m going to be indoor-cycling 100 miles in this year's Atlanta RIDE TO CHANGE THE FUTURE™ benefiting Ovarian Cycle, a wonderful 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to raising awareness of and funds for the fight against ovarian cancer.
Since 2004 Ovarian Cycle’s indoor cycling events like this one have raised $645,500 for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, the Ovarian Cancer Institute and the Norma Livingston Foundation, all of which are working on the development of a reliable, early-detection screening test for ovarian cancer. This is critically important work. Ovarian cancer remains a deadly threat to women in large part because only 25% of cases are diagnosed in the early stages when treatment is most effective. This year more than 20,000 women in the U.S. will be diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and the statistics tell us that 15,000 of these women likely will lose their lives to this disease.
I'll be riding my "century" (100 miles) with some good friends from my weekly spinning classes. We call ourselves “Team Pedal Pushers" and we are riding together because, sadly, we've all watched friends or family battle ovarian cancer or a related cancer. Many of you, I'm sure, have had the same awful experience.
I'm going to cycle in honor and celebration of my beautiful Texan friend Virginia Tate, who I get to see every summer at a fitness weekend I attend. Last summer she wasn’t able to attend our annual event because she was battling fallopian tube cancer, a rare and frightening malignancy that's very closely related to ovarian cancer. Thankfully, she’s had a complete recovery. I'll be thinking of her radiant face all day long as I'm pedaling through a "virtual" Georgia!
My goal is to raise $2,500 to support Ovarian Cycle's important mission, to honor Virginia's courage and the miracle of her recovery, and to honor all of the countless women we all know and adore who have fought so bravely against terrifying gynecological cancers. I always hate asking for money, and in these tough economic times I know that I’ve set an especially ambitious target for my fundraising. But I also know that every dollar will help bring us one step closer to important breakthroughs in the detection and successful treatment of the family of ovarian-related cancers, and that means more happy endings like the one my friend Virginia is living today.
So I'm asking for help from everyone I know, and it occurred to me that I should include you, darling JCA's. You are intelligent, joyful, generously-spirited women, and I'd be so pleased to have your support for my ride. I will deeply appreciate any donation you can make, big or small. Your donations are fully tax-deductible, and if you prefer to keep your IRL name private, you may donate anonymously.
And if you're not in a position to donate right now, then just cheer me on, and please keep Ovarian Cycle in mind for future support when you're feeling able to contribute.
Please click on this link to go to my Ovarian Cycle home page, where you can find more information about Ovarian Cycle and can make a contribution if you like:
One more important thing: Whether or not you’re able to donate money, please be sure to write to me at jcauncmom@gmail.com if you’d like to tell me the name of any woman you know who has faced an ovarian-related cancer. It would be my privilege to ride in celebration of your loved ones, and I’d like to add their names to Team Pedal Pushers’ Honor Roll of the courageous women for whom we’ll be cycling.
And could I ask this of you? If you're a Follower here (and there aren't many of you, but bless your little hearts for hangin' in there with me), please pass along a link to this post to anyone you know who might be interested in supporting Ovarian Cycle's vital work.
Thank you so much, everyone!! Now, off to meet the team for a 2.5 hour afternoon training ride -- huff puff!!! :-)
JCAs, I'm cycling 100 miles and would love to have your support
Belated Happy Saint Patrick's Day from this 99.9999% Irish JCA! Hope yours was green and fun, as was mine!!
Puh-leez accept my apologies for being inexcusably AWOL lately. I have been reading and lurking occasionally, but obviously not posting. The past couple of weeks I've been Willie Nelsoning a bit, including a visit to my MIL at her Snowbird perch in Florida where it was seriously NOT WARM (?????), and then almost as soon as I got home, our very adorable Tar Heel DS#2 was home for spring break. Of course, I spent his whole visit just eatin' him up with a spoon. One thing is very clear to me: There is no girl good enough. Period. I'm just sayin'.
So I have Tales to Tell, but not today. Today I'm on the fly, and am just buzzing by quickly to impart Secret Important Money Saving Advice. (My mom, who never "went" anywhere in her life, would have loved that description of my day. Here's how she'd have described what I've been up to: "Well honey, (she'd begin) I've have to stand up to weewee today for sure. I had to dash to the grocery store and then zip by the dry cleaner's, and then I made a mad dash by the alteration place and just sprinted real quick thru Target on the way home." Boy, do I miss ya, Mama. In your honor later I'm gonna scoot to my spin class. :-)
But back to my quick point, right? Today's Secret Important Money Saving Advice applies to Ann Taylor. And the Advice is: Call Ann Taylor's very friendly customer service people (who, I learned, are in Utah where it's also NOT WARM) before you place an online order. They will flippin' volunteer to do good things for your wallet.
I know this because I have been eyeing a couple of AT pieces that have now gone on sale, and during my dashes, zips and flits today I was positively, pitifully seized with the notion that my sale items were going to sell out while I was driving around. So instead of eating lunch I went online (yeah, I know, but again I'm SAYIN') to place my lil' order but before hitting SEND I called AT CS to ask a sizing question. As CS Gal is looking up my sizing info I casually ask "So, have ya got any good promos you can help me out with? I haven't been able to find anything that would apply to sale stuff." To which she says, "Well, you're right, all of our current codes apply to full-price stuff, but I'm sure I could find something good for you...." And she proceeded to take $30 off my order, which pre-discount was only a little over $100. This was way better than what I'd have earned in Ebates dollars.
So call, shuggas. There are many adorable things left on sale. Don't trust the AT online search engine by size, by the way -- things go missing. Just scroll thru the categories and you'll find goodies.
And if you do order online don't forget to order thru Ebates. Here are a few Ann Taylor codes that are currently working for full-price items. Enjoy!
30% off $100 coupon -- Use code: 30CABIN
Click link, enter code & you'll receive 30% off your online order of $100 or more (excludes sale.)
This coupon expires April 7, 2010.
40% off coupon -- Use code: 40CABIN
Click link, enter code & you'll receive 40% off your online order of three or more full-priced items.
This coupon expires March 24, 2010.
30% off $100 coupon -- Use code: 30MORE
Click link, enter code & you'll receive 30% off your online order of $100 or more (excludes sale.)
This coupon expires April 7, 2010.
40% off coupon -- Use code: ANN STYLE
Click link, enter code & you'll receive 40% off your online order of three or more full-priced items).
This coupon expires March 24, 2010.
Buzzing out of here, now that I've fully enabled your AT shopping! Be back soon with Tales to Tell!!!
It's been a quiet weekend around Casa JCAUNCMom (I am going to HAVE to shorten my screen name) with just me and my pooch -- DH is out of town and Journey Boy's been out and about with friends, and working at his new part-time restaurant/bakery job. (More on that another time!)
Today I want to follow up with more thoughts on the what's-old-is-new-again return of the classic Penny Loafer. Ever since I saw the Bass Weejun in the February JC catalog and Kathy's follow up post over at her blog, I've been musing about buying a pair. And if you're like me, boy, do you have some good options. What's old really is new again! Let me share a few finds with you.
The Penny Loafer (mine were Bass) and the Sperry A/O Two-Eye Topsider (also on-trend this spring -- go figure) were truly the shoes of my teens and college years, girls. (Yeah, I know how olllllllllld that makes me. ;-)) Bass Weejuns were a staple in my high school wardrobe, and we wore them pretty much as you see them being styled by J. Crew -- with everything, with and without socks. I had two pairs, and my favorite was in a color that reminded me of my mother's distressed walnut dining room chairs -- sort of a warm chestnut brown. Lo and behold, they looked exactly like these beauties:
Just a quick Google search and I found this same shoe quite widely available, with prices are almost all right around Zappos' price. Here's an example: Shoes and Boots Now.com, where this shoe is $80 and shipping's free for anything over $79, but you'll wait longer than with Zappos' amazing free overnight shipping and free return shipping. By the way, if you're not already signed up to be a "VIP" Zappos customer at VIP Zappos.com, hurry on over. Just being a customer there guarantees you the best in all of Zappos' deals on shipping and pricing.
In case this shoe floats your boat, I'll tell you that Bass Wayfarers famously, always and still run 1/2 size big on most people. I know Kathy has gotten a pair or two and she felt they were running big (although I think she kept her usual size to allow for a little extra width -- they do run narrow, so do what Kathy did if your tootsies are wide.)
Compare this to the nearly-if-not-identical G. H. Bass Penny Loafer being sold at JC for a defiantly whopping $120:
Now check this out:
This one's a Sebago Plaza in a very similar color just called "Brown" (wow, who stayed up all night thinking of that one), also available at Zappos for $89, and preferred by many Zappos customers for style (a little different tongue, a bit higher on the foot all around and a stitch-reinforced heel) and fit. These seem to fit narrower feet even better.
But wait, Loafer Lovers. There's more. My second pair of high school Penny Loafers was in a menswear color that guys call "cordovan" -- a gorgeous burgundy that looked sooooo good year-round with blacks and greys and cooler colors and even khakis. Presto, here they are:
If you like this, you'll find it at Zappos, or anyplace else the classic Wayfarer/Weejun is sold. The color's called "Burgundy Box".
But let's say cordovan/burgundy's not your thing, and you'd prefer a richer, darker brown? With maybe a touch of shine for spring? How d'ya like these? Gorgeous, huh?
Another view of the same shoe:
This one's made, believe it or not, by Sperry, and it's called the Authentic Original (or A/O) Capetown. This color is called "Dark Brown Patent Croc", and it also comes in black patent which is wicked pretty. You'll find this shoe at both Zappos ($85 in limited sizes) and Onlineshoes.com ($74 in more sizes). Word is that it runs TTS.
So you're saying "Kath, love that glammed-up brown, but a Penny Loafer's not my thing." How about a fantastically comfortable driving moc style in a bronzed brown metallic? This ought to take you from winter into a very fashionable spring:
This is the Cole Haan Air Penny Driver Moccasin" in Brown Metallic, on sale for a fantastically great $99 (40% off) at Nordstrom.
I lucked into this shoe just a week or so ago at TJ Maxx in a crinkled black patent, and honest to goodness, it puts my JC driving mocs to shame. Look for it if you're near a Teej. It runs TTS, it's got that Nike Air insole for cushiness, glove-soft leather and heavy-duty treads on the soles for traction and comfort. If there's no Teej near you carrying them, you can find this shoe at Nordstrom in a smooth black patent, as well as in black calf and brown calf. We're talking the ultimate in driving moc comfort and style. No offense, J. Crew, 'cause you know I love me my Lizzies.
Now, last but by no means least in my book, there's the always-hard-to-resist colorful loafer option. Y'all know by now what a sucker I am for colorful shoes, especially since I often tend to dress in a "column of color" (like, say, black or navy or grey or cream) and I don't wear many prints unless they're kind of subtle. A pop of color in my shoes is one of my "personal style" looks -- ya know, something that my friends often see on me and seem to enjoy. I get especially woozy when I see a good looking pair of red shoes. Whaddaya know, I can be on-trend with Penny Loafers AND wear red shoes! Whatcha think of these babies?
These are the same Bass Wayfarers from Zappos, in Red Patent.
Cute as a ladybug, if you ask me. But coming in neck-and-neck, and possibly winning because of that awesome Air Nike insole, is the equally fetching Cole Haan "Air Penny Moccasin" in Lacquer Red patent:
This one's currently on sale at the marked-down price of $120 at Nordstrom.
There you have it -- a few of the wonderful choices out there if you're interested in trying a classic Penny Loafer. Or are in the market for a fab pair of driving mocs to add to your collection. :-) I'd love to hear what you think of these, glaydies.
Stay warm, and to my Mid-Atlantic pals, be careful in all that snow but enjoy it!
Another quickie from me today, girls. I am wearing my Redwood Schoolboy Blazer today (look number three below) and thought I'd Polyvore up a few options for Gigi. Keep that jacket, girlfriend.
This is fast becoming one of my favorite jackets, and right now it's still available in a wide array of sizes. Marked down from $198 to $99.99 plus today's EXTRA30 -- at that price, I think it's a deal and a half, girls. It runs TTS for this type of classic, fitted blazer, which, for me, translates as the larger of my 2 JC jacket sizes.
Enjoy the day, everybody! It's so pretty here and I'm about to go and enjoy some errand-running and a little bit of cranked-up Beatles in my car! :-)
The tissue turtleneck is worn under the doggie tee, but is also optional -- if the day is warmer just wear the tee.
Another shoe option for this look would be the Cadogan ankle boot (without the argyles, of course). Wicked cute with the jeans rolled tightly to about an inch above the boots.
And for an fun alternate belt look, try using TWO skinny leather belts. Sometimes I criss cross them and buckle each one into the other one's buckle.
For this look, I'd use these two faves -- the hazelnut and the neon orange classic leather belt.
For Gigi -- The Redwood Schoolboy Blazer, Three Ways
Hi everyone! Quick little post (I know, uncharacteristic) with an equally quick Polyvore for you of a simple and comfy outfit that I wore last night. It was raw, chilly and raining cats and dogs, but DH and I ventured out to have all-you-can-eat sushi & dim sum with some good friends. Given the weather it seemed appropriate to incorporate the much-love doggie tee!
And by the way, this outfit would have been cute, too, with the Schoolboy blazer in Redwood and the same glass cylinder necklace in dusty blossom (or both necklaces). I know Gigi has pondered keeping that Redwood blazer, here, and FWIW, I'm finding that it's a very workable neutral.
Hey gals and the occasional guy! Busy day around Casa di Tar Heels. Journey Boy's having a few extra friends over for dinner. JB's college buddy/housemate and housemate's girlfriend are coming later today to spend the night with us en route to driving out to Colorado where they'll be living for two years and working, I think, with Americorps. (Could be Teach America or the Peace Corps -- I'm not 100% sure which organization, but you get the idea.)
But of course, even in the midst of a busy day I have to make time for a cup of coffee and pop by my Blogger Dashboard. Something always catches my eye amongst your wonderful writings. Today's eye-catcher was the chatter over at the mothership about Sperry Topsiders.
What a jolt of nostalgia THIS product reappearance has given me! I lived in Topsiders for four years of college, honest to goodness. At both of my colleges (I switched mid-sophomore year), Topsiders were a part of the unisex uniform, and life simply could not go on if yours wore out. We all had plain old brown ones with cream-colored soles and caramel rawhide laces, just like these:
I don't think Sperry even made this shoe in another color, and if they did, my crowd didn't buy 'em. In downtown Athens, Georgia (home of my beloved UGA -- go Dawgs!) there was a fantastic clothing and shoe store called Heery's Clothes Closet that had student-priced stuff AND chic mom-and-dad-priced stuff. Heery's is still there and still fabulous, and boy, back in the day it was THE place to shop. They did a brisk lil' biz in Topsiders -- I'll bet I bought 5 or 6 identical pair in my 2.5 years at UGA. I wore them with Army green fatigues or canvas painter's pants from the Army/Navy store, plus an Izod shirt and a clear vinyl belt. Voila, uniform completed.
So I will mos' def get myself some Topsiders for this spring, and I'll grin every time I put them on, I'm sure. Which ones to get, though? The color and fabric choices now are mind-boggling.
Here are a few of my favorites from Zappos, in the Topsider classic "A/O 2 Eye" style and in a sister style called the "Bluefish 2 Eye". Be forewarned, kids -- I am a sucker for brightly colored shoes. If you prefer neutrals, click on the Zappos links because lots of cute neutral combos are available.
Here's the A/O 2 Eye in Raspberry. Cute as a pink bug, and available for you to invite into your closet RIGHT HERE. I'm picturing cropped pants or shorts, a fun tee with ruffles or a graphic, and a Jackie in a contrasting bright color.
Meet Miss Orange, the cheerful sistuh of Miss Raspberry.
Oh please, STOP it. How can anybody NOT love Topsiders in navy denim with navy patent accents?? What could I NOT wear these with, from my khaki/grey/army green/honey glaze/rosy pink basic palette? Welcome to my closet, cuties. Heidi, are ya seeing these? ;-)
These are the "Bluefish" style (which also is available in a couple of colors with a shearling lining -- oh SNAP!) Check them out along with FIFTEEN other color combos RIGHT HERE. This color is so luscious in the suede, and although it's hard to see here, there's patent on the accents here, too.
Same shoe. Had to show you this rich forest green.
Last one of the "Bluefish" for ya. I love this combination of a creamy vanilla, springtime-y base color with the fun plaid accents. Come to Mama.
So whatcha think, glaydies?
That's it for me for now -- off to make lasagna for a crowd. For which, by the way, I'll post the recipe later if you like. This variation is vegetarian (in honor of JB's vegetarian buddy/housemate) and uses roasted veggies of all sorts, black beans and a spicy sauce. Yum-O!
A view of Atlanta's downtown skyline ... with a rare addition to the ground cover!
Good morning, everyone, from freeeeeeezing (16 degrees) and ice-glazed, snow-dusted Atlanta, where we are so not used to dealing with this!!! BRRRR!!!
As always, a cup of coffee and a visit to some of my favorite blogs started me off on the right foot -- I should say the right fashionably-clad, fit and well-fed foot. My blogroll is chock full of JCA's, but in the wake of Julie & Julia and the holiday season I've been adding a few cooking and baking blogs, and of course I follow my most beloved fitness instructors' blogs as well. To be a proper online guest, I really should sit down at my computer dressed in a fetching workout ensemble accessorized with great J. Crew jewelry, with one perfectly-brewed serving of coffee in a bone china cup on the rim of which is perched one perfectly-made gourmet breakfast scone.
Hold onto that image, friends. Naturally, that is exactly what I usually look like sitting here. Do not picture me, hair thrown up on my head like Pebbles Flintstone, sprawled in my comfy leather office chair this late in the morning in a UNC sweatshirt over candy-cane-decorated thermal jammies and fuzzy red 'n white Victoria's Secret snowflake slippers (yeah, I'm slow putting away the holiday garb, I know.) I plead total inertia and I blame it on ice and cold and snowy dust, which in the ATL equals immobilized city.
So, you got the right pic of me in your minds, right? Super, because yours truly was given the prized Beautiful Blogger award by one of my blog heroes, the always-wonderful Fabulous Florida Mommy! Thank you so much, FFM! It's a wonderful award, and especially nice to receive it from you!
To accept this award I need to tell you 7 random things about me, and then nominate 7 of my favorite bloggers to receive the same award. Cool. Here ya go, inquiring minds!
My parents nicknamed me "Kathy" when I was born (short for Kathryn), but I don't remember a single time in my entire life that either of them called me Kathy. They had other pet names for me. My dad's favorite was Kas -- pronounced like "Cass" -- and my mom's fave was Katie. Even my sister never called me Kathy (she did, and does, call me "Sister".) Being the good girl that I was, for years I only introduced myself as "Kathy", as instructed. Imagine how confusing this was to new friends who visited me at home! As an adult I still introduce myself as Kathy, but sometimes I share this oddball naming tidbit from my past with my friends, and as a result one whole group of friends has chosen to call me "Kas." Another group has made up a whole new nickname of their own and only call me "Kath." By the way, my DH calls me Kathryn or Kath -- NEVER Kathy. I'll answer to anything if you're holding movie theater popcorn for me.
I'm a seriously addicted fan of everything Star Trek and own the entire 7-year box set of ST: The Next Generation. You could strand me with Patrick Stewart and I'd be a happy castaway.
I have watched and adored Days of Our Lives since I was in college. Of course I missed a few years pre-VCR/pre-TiVO, when I was a full-time working mother of two busy boys. But in the soap opera universe time is a weirdly fluid kinda thing, so when I was able to start taping the show I caught up in no time. Now I TiVo the whole week and on the weekend I cruise through all five episodes in about 45 minutes. A real guilty pleasure.
If Journey Boy (DS #1) had been a girl, we were going to name him Caroline. His girlfriend of almost four years is named Caroline. I consider this cosmic.
If I'd been a boy, my parents were going to name me Kevin. I wanted to name Blues Boy (DS #2) Kevin. For months DH said no (and it was always more like "HELL NO", actually), but he was strangely dodgey about telling me why, so I kept trying to persuade him. Finally he confessed that the only wrestling match he lost in his stellar high school career was to a guy named Kevin. 'Nuff said. I didn't entirely lose the war, though; hearing me tell the story of why NOT "Kevin", my paralegal said to me "Well, why don't you name him 'Evan'?" Eureka. We did. Close enough.
I looooove spinning and take a class on Tuesday and Thursday nights at 6:00. One of my secret (except to you ;-)) 2010 goals is to become certified to teach spinning myself.
My taste in music is kinda all over the map. I love 70's and 80's music (you could also strand me with Jon Bon Jovi, actually -- I'd never wanna be rescued.) But I also like me a little country (Carrie Underwood, Martina McBride, Sugarland, a little bit of Brad Paisley and Willie Nelson, and I highly recommend you check out Billy Currington's "People are Crazy" for a classically country hoot 'n a holler.) And I'm a big fan of Usher and Kanye.
Okay, fangirls, that does it for my mini-autobiography. Now I'd like to pass along this award to seven terrific bloggers, some of whom y'all might not know. Not in any particular order...
The Brownie Project -- An awesome, awesome blog devoted to one of my favorite food groups.
Mid-Century Mom -- The nom de plume of the beautiful DinaGideon, who in my book would give June Cleaver a serious run for the money as Most Elegant, Effortless & Ethereally Pretty Homemaker.
Jillian, Inc. -- A recently-discovered new favorite; an Atlanta JCA gal like me who is gorgeous, well-dressed, devoted to her equally gorgeous family and very, very witty.
Smells Like Home -- Another foodie blog that I really love, devoted mostly if not entirely to Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa) recipes -- and I always love Ina's food! Beautiful pictures that you just wanna take a bite out of. Great stuff.
My Favorite Things -- Love this blog, love this gal. Read about what she accomplished in 2009. And she's a big fan of LOST -- me too, girl, me too. :-)
Tracey's Blog -- The blog home of my friend Tracey Staehle, who is a truly wonderful gal. She's a fitness instructor who has been producing fitness videos for a few years (see her website, Fit by Tracey) and she's the proud new mommy of the beautiful Scarlett Olivia Staehle. If you own a treadmill, you MUST buy Tracey's "Walking Strong" DVD and you MUST preorder her just-filmed "Walking Stronger." She makes walking on a treadmill hard, productive and fun. A party in a package.
Happy Friday, everybody! Stay warm and have a nice weekend. Blues Boy leaves to go back to college on Sunday morning so we'll be doing Fun Things With the Family for the next two days. See you soon!
