Fresh Picks to Follow: The Schoolboy Blazer

I’m so sad that my week at home has ended. Even though it’s only Friday, I’m already dreading Monday morning.  I really have to make the best of the weekend.  I’m sure there is a ton of work waiting for me in the office along with hundreds of emails.  I don’t have much planned this weekend.  I’m running tomorrow morning in the local Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K.  Do you have any plans to run or walk your local Susan G. Komen Race?  If you have questions on how to get involved, I’ve posted some links to some great organizations dedicated to breast cancer research.  Check out my previous post here for more information.

I went into J. Crew on Wednesday and I was pretty impressed with some of the items in the store.  I always loved J. Crew, but I hadn’t visited the store in a while.  I grabbed the November 2011 catalog and I want everything…especially the Schoolboy Blazer and the Hacking Jacket.  I love these jackets because I can still wear them to work.  You can pair this blazer with jeans and boots for a casual look or wear over a neutral colored dress for work.  Combine this blazer with a button down top or a shirt for a look that is both trendy and timeless.  How do you wear your blazers?  Here are my top 10 schoolboy blazers for this week’s Fresh Picks to Follow.  Let me know what you think!

1. Anthropologie - Mainstay Blazer…$498.00

2. Banana Republic - Knit Herringbone Jacket…$150.00

3. Talbots - Kate Fit Velveteen Jacket…$129.00

4. Bird by Juicy Couture - Striped Blazer...$208.60

5. Ann Taylor - Country Check Jacket…$179.99

6. J. Crew - Hacking Jacket…$298.00

7. Rag & Bone - Merino Wool Knit Jacket…$450.00

8. Maison Scotch - Herring Blazer…$220.00

9. Smythe - Plaid Blazer…$695.00

10. J. Crew - Schoolboy Blazer in Velvet…$168.00

xoxo Natasha

Fitting Room Reviews: Falling for Dresses

I tried on a few dresses at Anthro the other day and I wanted to share some of my reviews with all of you.  I plan to go back to the store to try on a few other things that have caught my eye.   Do you have any suggestions or requests?  Have any of you tried on these dresses yet?  Let me know!

Anthropologie – Veiled Alder Dress…$298.00

Isn’t this dress stunning?  I love everything about it – the cut, the lace, and the fit.  I tried on the dress in the dark grey color, but to me it looks more like a light taupe color.  This dress comes in black too, but I haven’t seen it in the store yet.  I bet that one would be lovely too.  I tried on a size (4) and it fit true to size.  There is a light adjustable liner under the dress that compliments the dress.  I have nothing negative to say about this dress except that the price is a little high.  I would love for this dress to go home with me today, but I will have to wait until this one goes on sale.  I just hope that Anthro has plenty of these in stock.  Whenever I wait for an item, I usually miss out.  This dress gets a thumbs up. 

Anthropologie – Unconditional Osier Dress…$168.00

This dress was a perfect fit and it’s very comfortable.   I tried this dress on in the brown motif.  I didn’t see it in the blue in my store yet.  I tried on a size (4) and the fit was true to size.  The sheer floral design is just lovely.  This dress would look cute with a skinny belt and some boots.   This dress is also gets a thumbs up, but I will probably pass on this dress. 

Anthropologie – Test Pattern Sweater Dress…$148.00

I love this dress too.  I tried this dress on in a small and thought it was very flattering.  I also think that the dress complimented my hourglass figure. The color, the pattern and the weight of the sweater dress was perfect.  I would pair this dress with some tights, boots and a long sleeve t-shirt.  I plan on getting this dress too.  This dress also gets a thumbs up. 

Anthropologie – Glinting Persica Sweater Dress…$188.00

This dress is very romantic and beautiful.  The color of the dress includes a soft pink/peach color and light brown. The colors really compliment each other. The wool dress has gold metallic thread that shimmers all over.  I didn’t find that this dress was itchy, but I usually don’t have a problem with wool.  If you have sensitive skin this dress may bother you because there is no liner.  My favorite part of the dress is the cut out detail in the back of the dress.  It just adds a little something funky to a feminine dress.  This dress also gets a thumbs up.

xoxo Natasha

Moody Girl Eats: Soy-Dijon Flounder

I haven’t been cooking lately, because I have just been so busy with work and training for my half marathon.  Now that I’m on vacation, I was finally able to cook last night.  I didn’t look up any recipes because I wanted to be creative.  I wanted to use the ingredients that I had on hand.  My two main ingredients included Dijon mustard and soy sauce.  After I looked in my spice cabinet, I pulled brown sugar to sweeten the mixture and rice wine vinegar.  I really didn’t know how this was going to turn out, but I was pleasantly surprised.  I used the mixture on a package of frozen founder.  I served the fish with jasmine rice and green beans.  I was pretty proud of myself…it turned out really good.  I tried to create a recipe below , if you want to try to make it at home.  I would adjust the ingredients to match your personal taste.  Bon Appétit!

Soy-Dijon Marinade

1/4 teaspoon of black pepper

3 tablespoons of brown sugar

3 tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce

4 teaspoons Dijon mustard

4 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

1 tablespoon of minced garlic

2 tablespoons of cooking white wine

2-3 dashes of hot sauce (optional)

Whisk all of the ingredients together and adjust to taste.  Use as a glaze or bake the fish in the entire mixture.