The perfect boots

I love wearing tall boots during the fall and winter but have trouble finding pairs that are a good fit. I'm to a point where I don't even worry about cost all that much, I'm just looking for something that is cute, classic and comfortable. Oh, and did I mention that I have a 9 narrow foot, a fairly skinny ankle and a larger calf? Yeah, makes it real easy to find boots. ::eyeroll::

I have a couple pairs of heeled tall boots that are okay, but for the past two years I've been obsessed with finding tall, flat boots that I would rock at both work and play with girly skirts and dresses. My initial preference was something that was totally flat with no embellishments, but after a year of searching high and low and coming up empty-handed, I realized that was unrealistic. I then revised my search to find a classic pair of flat riding boots with minimal embellishment. Since I have such a hard time finding boots in general, I wanted to make sure it was classic enough to last for several seasons. Earlier this month, I found something that I liked, but as with most shoes, until I try them on, it's a crapshoot. Oh, but I hit the Holy Grail with this one! Have a look:
They're narrow through the foot, fitted through the ankle and then widen enough at the calf that they zip up easily and cause no skin spillage over the top. And they are sooooo comfy!! They are pretty much my dream boots that I thought I'd never find. And you all are going to cry when you hear where they're from - freaking Talbots of all places! I realize they're not the trendiest store out there, but they consistently carry narrow widths and they tend to fit me well. Obviously, this is no exception.

I have the Whiskey and Black ones living in my closet and I have a feeling the Mahogany ones will be there soon enough. Sure, I'd love to be able to buy different varieties of this style of boot instead of 3 of the exact same one, but seeing as how it took me 2 years to find this boot, I'm not holding my breath for finding others that fit this well and meet all of my style requirements any time soon.

I know so many people have trouble finding tall boots that will fit calves that are larger than a toothpick, so this is definitely a store to keep in mind. I also wanted to post about these pretties as they'll be making lots of appearances in future sewing posts. Almost all of my fall/winter sewing projects are skirts and dresses that are intended to be worn with boots or booties as I plan on living in them for the rest this year and into the next. I'm behind on posting my sewing stuff (will catch up this weekend), but I'm rocking the Whiskey boots today with a short knit dress I just finshed up last night and I feel damn cute and my feet are so very happy! :)

Odds and ends

I'm sure you will all be shocked to hear that we're still dealing with house stuff. :P Lots of packing and cleaning have been going on in the apartment. We also went in this morning to sign the loan papers, which is one step closer to closing. We're still on target to close on the 8th and at this point it can't come soon enough! We're ready to move already!!

I'm too mentally exhausted to write paragraphs that flow into one another, so I'll do the rest of this bullet-point style:

* Pictures of the new place are coming... just not for awhile. The listing with pictures is still easily found online and while it sounds crazy, I just don't want anyone in the internet world to put two and two together and figure out where we're living. If I know you IRL, I'll be sending you an email with pics soon. Promise!

* We spent HOURS looking at and measuring patio furniture this weekend. Frankly, I'm sick of it. However, I think we found something that will fit in the miniscule area around the pool, will be bright and summery enough to cheer up the current "concrete jungle" look of the backyard and won't put us into the poor house.

* As if looking at patio furntiure wasn't thrilling enough, we also starting looking at paint for the bedrooms, bathroom and basement. They are currently lovely shades like deep lilac, light orange, yellow and, my personal favorite, chartruse. Blah! Jim and I obviously see colors a bit differently, because even though we are in agreement that the rooms should be painted neutral colors, we still had issues deciding on the right shades of "white." :/ This one was too yellow, this one was too green, this one was just too... ew. Good times folks, good times.

* Our DVR at the apt has died. :( Although, I guess this is excellent timing seeing as how a) it's summer and there isn't all that much on tv and b) we're moving in 2 weeks. Although, it also means that I'm chained to the tv Wednesday nights from 8-10 and Thursday nights from 9-10 so I don't miss any SYTYCD. It's the one show I'm completely obsessed with this summer and they don't rerun the episodes or have them online.

* Speaking of SYTYCD, how great are the guys this season?!? I'm loving Josh, Will, Twitch and Mark so much! I'm also loving Chelsea, Kaytee and Carrington, however, I worry that I only love these gals so much because their partners are so amazing. Oh, and that lyrical hip hop routine that Chelsea and Mark did last week... I got goosebumps and almost started crying. Granted, the subject matter hit home, but still. So great. [I truly could go on and on about some of the amazing performances already from this season, but I'll save that for another post]

* I've had my eye out for a simple empire waist jersey dress for casual weekends for months. However, everything I try on is either too clingy, too short, makes me look pregnant, etc. I was passing by NY & Co. last week before dinner with my inlaws and remembered R saying she sometimes finds work clothes there. I popped in for a minute and while I didn't find anything for work, I did find the perfect (for me) summer dress and it was on sale! Sleeveless, flattering v-neck, can wear it with a regular bra, hits right above the knee, heavy enough fabric that it doesn't cling, straight enough cut that I don't look pregnant ... see, basically perfection! I picked it up in brown in the store and then proceeded to order 2 more online in bright summery colors. I kid you not, I'm totally living in this thing this summer. :)

So yeah, I guess the last couple of weeks haven't been all that exciting. I'm looking forward to getting all this house stuff settled and getting back to a routine of some sort. One more week, one more week....

The weekend in purchases

Strawberries
Hubs was at the farmer's market on Friday afternoon and picked up a huge package of fresh strawberries. Mmmm! And what to do with those lovely little berries? Make ice cream, of course.
Wrap Sweater
After seeing how adorable Miss Diabolina looks in them on a weekly basis, I finally went back to Image and gave them another try. I originally didn't think they worked on me because they were so long in the front, but I figured I could have a tailor chop off the bottom. However, a salesgirl came running over when I tried it on, wrapped it up all pretty on me and well, I think it looks pretty cute! I bought one in off-white and am planning on going back next week to see if I could find one in a teal or pink. Later that night, we went out for drinks with Mr. Metro. I paired the sweater with a black slim fitting tank, dark jeans and lots of silver accessories. I felt totally on trend, but still like me. I have a feeling it's going to get a lot of use this summer and fall.

Food Processor
After weeks of looking at different models online, I finally decided on one that would match the rest of our appliances and was reasonably priced. Williams-Sonoma seemed to be the best price and I was just waiting for a free shipping coupon code and I then I was going to order it. On a spur of the moment run to Costco, I thought I'd just double check their appliances to see if they had one for a good deal. In fact, not only did they have one for $50 less than I was planning to pay, but it was the exact same model I originally wanted! I couldn't believe it!

Then, I turned around and saw the immersion blender I'd been eyeing for months for a steal. So, I scooped that up, too. Both pretty stainless steel appliances for less than the original price of the food processor. So awesome.
And to christen the new food processor? A reduced-fat cheesecake recipe from America's Test Kitchen. It looks pretty, but we'll see how it tastes tomorrow.
A HOUSE!
Seriously, we're still in shock. There is a lot more to this story, but the short version is we put an offer in on a house on Friday night and they accepted on Saturday. We opened escrow today and if all goes well, we close on July 8th. So exciting and crazy and scary and fun! Like most houses, there are some things that we're going to have to work on, but the thing I'm most excited about? The kitchen is much larger than what I'm used to, newly remodeled with a ton of cabinet and counter space and an island. !!! Words can't describe how happy this makes me! :D

Whole lotta ugly

This is one of my mom's favorite expressions for describing a day at the mall where everything is just crap. And it perfectly sums up my feelings towards clothes shopping over the past several months -- just a whole lotta ugly out there. :/

I am far from a fashionista, but I still like to dress cute and somewhat contemporary. My style is fairly tailored and maybe a little bit preppy with lots of neutrals and the occasional splash of color thrown in for good measure. Since my style translates well to the office I don't really keep a separate wardrobe for after-hours and weekend fun -- most of what I own easily transitions from work to play. However, I'm in dire need of new summery tops and cardigans for the office and I can't.find.a.darn.thing.

All my usual haunts are failing me - BR, J. Crew, AT, etc. For some reason, everyone is featuring the babydoll and empire waist silhouttes that I am so over. For a pear-shaped girl, that whole volume look is just awful. Terrible. Hideous. It hides everything I like (chest, waist, torso) while drawing massive attention to the parts I'd rather forget about (hips, bum, upper thighs). And yet, there aren't a lot of alternatives in the stores. Sure, I've found a few things here and there, but overall it's slim pickings. I had this same problem last spring, too, but figured I could make due until the following year, when the stores were bound to stock better styles. Um, wrong.

I've even tried to branch out and give stores that I usually breeze right by a chance. I know Miss Diabolina loves it (and lord knows I love the clothes on her), but Forever 21 just isn't doing it for me. I'm not nearly trendy enough for the store. H&M was a similar bust.

I mentioned the trouble I've been having to several co-workers and they echoed my dismay at what the stores are currently offering. While we share a smiliar style, these girls are not only a different body shape than me, but are also considerably thinner, so I feel like we aren't the problem here. Granted, the bouts of cool weather are helping things a bit, but at some point in the near future we're going to be back in the 80s and 90s and my fall/winter sweater collection just isn't going to cut it. Blah!

So dear readers, where do you get your cute and interesting work clothes? Is there some store out there that I'm missing? Or am I going to be forced to learn how to sew to ensure I actually have something to wear to the office this summer? Help!