a99kitten's Musings

My inner prepster is screaming buy this entire outfit…

Brooks Brothers

…except pair it with some way cooler shoes. Also be tanner and less blonde so look hotter in it ;)

I got them Tuesday but finally just tried them on last night – HOT! LOVE them! They are very much keepers!!!!!

Now I want the gray pair :) But I don’t need them. But if they had them in chocolate brown (or, let’s face it, pink) they would be mine too!

I used my 25% Friends and Family coupon PLUS I got 7.5% back going through ebates.com so not a bad price for hot shoes at all!

I haven’t bought (non-exercise) shoes in a long time….hmmm…..

And a bargain! Well…relative to their original price or a pair of Louboutins anyway.

4:00pm update: went ahead and pushed BUY. We’ll see how they fit :)

This weekend I bought myself some new sneakers and workout pants. Well, workout meaning dog walking. I have exercise gear for doing my stepper indoors. But I need a whole different set of clothes for dog walks/hikes. They need to be warm (but then not too warm for the not-as-cold or bright sunny days), able to get rained or misty-fogged on, able to deal with wind, pockets for dog treats and poo bags would be exceptional although I’ve given up on pants having these. I use a zippered pocket in my jacket for my phone nowadays. After sacrificing a couple old phones to the Pacific that were held in non-zippered pants pockets…I’ve finally learned. Also I must thank Verizon’s insurance/replacement program…AT&T is not so grand that way so I am way more careful.

I have some pants from Lululemon. Yes…the overpriced yoga pants. Mind you, I don’t do yoga. There is not one chance in hell I have the patience for that. I tried it once. Pretty much bored out of mind and hated it. Also – stinky. Blech. I’m just not meant to be that Zen I guess. I wanted to like it, but meh. I’ll take outside with the dogs any day. But I do like LULU’s magic ass pants. I can see why they charge so much for them. They make you look great! No kidding! Not so much that I’d buy the stock since I don’t believe there are THAT many women who will fork over that kind of dough for exercise pants (although they have basically replaced the Juicy outfit as the Mom-out-and-about outfit) and have to think they have just about hit their full reach, plus have Athleta to contend with now, but what do I know. I said that when they were at 40. I just refuse to buy the stock at the price they are at now. I’ve read how they are expanding and will possibly offer their stuff in large department stores and that will help sell more but still, I think, expanding the $100 magic ass pant market might not be as easy as they think. Crocs got really big too….although let’s be clear – these pants are WAY cuter. So I say no to the stock for my portfolio but I will still buy the magic ass pants. Hmm…I could buy more than 1 share of stock for every pair…but I’ll get more value from the pants. Of this I am certain :)

Because they were $100 magic ass pants, I do not wear them on dog walks. Why? That’s a damn good question actually. When you think about it, I wear my dog walking clothes every single day. Every day for the past 10 years. But I look for cheap bargains on the clothes. Why? I’ll spend hundreds of dollars on shoes and sweaters and even more on bags that I wear just a few times. But something I wear every damn say, I chintz on? That’s dumb! I am going to start wearing them.

So this weekend, I bought a new pair of (hopefully just as) magic ass pants from Athleta. That’s The Gap’s new(ish) foray into the magic ass pant business. The problem I found with their site is that it looks like a lot of the pants have momma rise. YUCK! WTH? The 2 pairs that specifically said low-rise were sold out in most sizes. Why? Because girls like low-rise!!! So make more!! I have this same problem with snowboard pants and husky walk rain gear and even regular pants. STOP with the high-rise momma pants!!! YUCK!!! Double-YUCK!!

Anyway, I paid the full price for a black pair, since the sale color (which was an awesome chocolate brown dammit) was all sold out in every size but XL (which shouldn’t actually be made in yoga pants but that’s another story.) These are supposed to be the “winter” version. They are lined so you can do outdoor activities and be warm. We’ll see. They show a girl snow-shoeing in them. Ummm…yeah. Have you been out in the snow? But I assume they should work for doggie walks here?! Crossing fingers and paws. And if so, I might just buy a couple more pair. Yes…spend the money on the activity I do (and enjoy!) every day.

I also bought a new pair of Reebok Easytones. I was just thinking it was about time to get a new pair of walking shoes and then the huskies made it easy for me….they took me down a very gloppy muddy hill this weekend. Gloppy muddy like my entire foot sank in. Nice. We were running down the hill so no time to worry about the mud. It is just mud :) We all sank in but they could just run into the ocean afterwards and clean off – little boogers! BUT…it did push me over into the “time to get new shoes” camp. Bummer is I just let a 20% off ‘come back to us’ coupon from Endless. Oh well. The color I wanted was on sale so that worked out. I got the light gray…with a little pink stripe :) Gray should hide the first few layers of sand and dirt!

I do love Endless.com. I ordered them Sunday and they shipped today. I will have them tomorrow or Wednesday. And that fast shipping is free. As is return shipping if I don’t love them. Awe+some. Yes – same as Zappo’s BUT they will actually put their stuff on a real sale, unlike Zappo’s. Not to say I don’t like Zappo’s – I do. And now that AMZN owns them, they can offer the stuff at full retail and people can pay. And some of us will find 80% of the same stuff on endless for less :) And if not, then buy it at Zappo’s. As an AMZN shareholder, all good to me.

Now I just need a new pair of rain pants that aren’t too bulky and big. And then I think I’m set for awhile. I found a pair on Backcountry.com tonight and the first reviewer complained how low-rise they were – PERFECT!!! SOLD!!!

It’s important to be functional AND cute :)

Love the color! A splash of bright candy :)

70% off retail! I’m supposed to turn that down?!?

I finally watched Inception over my Christmas vacation. A good movie. Very cool concept/story, well acted and super coolio effects. Not to spoil the end for anyone who hasn’t seen it, but I like to think: real.

But I think the thing I noticed and appreciated the most was that everyone was so well-dressed. I have to say, men look very nice when they are well-dressed. Suits, ties, vests, suspenders, french cuffs (BIG fan), etc. Yeah…I have to say it is my favorite look for men. I’m not saying they have to dress like Gordon Gekko all the time but it sure does look nice when they do :)

More people should simply dress better. And burn their pants with Juicy or Pink written on their butts, or even worse, with Ed Hardy designs all over them. Hate the slovenly look that is so prevalent now. That’s fine when you are at home, or exercising or a quick run to the grocery store. But not fine for out and about. Tacky. Pajama bottoms, a wife-beater and UGGs? I wear that at home. Comfy for sure. But come on. Out in public? It seems people just don’t care how they look anymore. Which I’d prefer to think over the idea that they actually think they look good when dressed in clothes that belong at home in bed, hang off their ass, squeeze their fat like a sausage casing or in some garish outfit one could only assume they picked up at the flea market as a joke.

I’m not saying you have to dress UP all the time. You can dress casually while still looking put together and presentable. And please, dressing for your age doesn’t mean you are old. It simply means you are not trying to desperately hang on to your youth via dressing from Forever 21. You will not be forever 21 physically (and hopefully mentally.) Get over it. 21 year-olds are generally kind of dumb anyway. Think back…you know it’s true.

Look at the pictures of some famous people – Sandra Bullock, Kate Winslet, Jennifer Aniston, Cate Blanchett, Taylor Swift, Reese Witherspoon. Different age brackets but they all dress well whether dressy or casual. But then look at Dina or Lindsay Lohan. Or Hulk Hogan’s ex-wife or daughter. Or *cringe* Paris Hilton or the cast from Jersey Shore. Money can’t buy class, but it should be able to buy decent clothes for crying out loud.

Go watch Inception and then maybe throw in Clueless to help get a clue. As Cher (in Clueless, not the frightening and garishly dressed singer) said…”So, OK. I don’t want to be a traitor to my generation and all, but I don’t get how guys dress today. I mean, c’mon, it looks like they just fell out of bed and put on some baggy pants, and take their greasy hair, Ew! And cover it up with a backwards cap and like, we’re expected to swoon? I don’t think so!”

Oh J Crew…I really should just own some of your stock…

Wore these today. Loving them. I have always hated the idea of the “bootie” but have to admit that these are good for cold days when boots are good but your pants don’t allow for tall boots. Plus they are a fantastic shade of distressed brown.

I really want these, and now they are on sale….but when will I wear them…really? Wear with pants and you don’t see the coolness of them. But I cannot imagine choosing to wear them with skirts over my various other tall black boots due to their height (mid-calf?). But maybe? With cool tights? Hmmm…

I bought these but sadly had to return them. They looked so perfect in the catalog and could imagine them with a cool pencil skirt and crisp blouse. A bit Emma Peel-ish I thought :) They were gorgeous and the leather was awesome (plus they have a KITTEN heel) but the leather was so soft, they slouched at the ankle – boo. Great style, but needed to be a bit tighter around calf/ankle. Too bad – very cute boots. Anyone with bigger calves could probably make them work.

I would still love a pair of high heeled tall boots in a rich, cognac color. But I haven’t found any that I love that aren’t made in China. I love that J Crew has their shoes/boots made in Italy and NOT China.

So instead of a fantastic pair of cognac boots, I have been investing my money in my stock account. Silly rabbit….although I was up 26% on the year in my stock account (with NO retail stocks…well…not counting TIF) so I think still a fairly decent decision going forward. But maybe a little bit on the boots if I find the right pair :)

Decided I needed some more warm, thick sweaters for Tahoe. But they needed to be run-outside-in-the-snow-with-the-huskies as well as run to Safeway, go to dinner and hang out at home-worthy. Most of my Tahoe stuff is snowboard label and North Face. So I checked a few sites I thought would have comfy but cute sweaters – American Eagle being one of them. Found this one:

I bought it on Cyber Monday so it was 25% off plus free shipping. Just arrived today and tried it on tonight. Holy hell the softest comfiest sweater!! PERFECT for cold Tahoe!!! So I just went to ae.com and they were buy one get the other 50% off and free shipping today. Plus I found a coupon code for 25% my entire order. So I bought the other 2 colors! YAY!

Seriously….softer than most of my cashmere!! And so cheap I won’t care about diving in the snow with the huskies :) Merry comfy Christmas to me!

Squeeeeee!! My shoes are on sale!!!! And they have just been purchased! Fingers crossed that they fit as there are no reviews to see how they really run. SQUEEE!!!

On Friday I saw the email coupon in my inbox…and on Friday night I added a few things to my cart but didn’t buy. Then on Sunday I removed an item or 2 but then added another…and then my fantasy football team was losing so bad and I was grumpy and it was rainy and gloomy out and I was tired from staying up late the night before so I pressed buy. Oops?

30% off plus free shipping?? Come on – how long could I be expected to hold out??

Not too bad though..

Silk Allegra in black - can you really ever enough black dresses?

Silk Juliet in clover (I LOVE this color green and have NO dresses in it)

Then I moved onto sweaters…and while this won’t be THE chocolate brown cashmere cardigan I am searching for, it will be cute..

Cashmere Cody in brown (heatherstone)

and then…

Lumiere Ruffle in Sandstone

and then last..

Glitz Stud Cami - but I will look waaay cuter in it though ;)

With the 30% off on top of the sale prices AND free shipping, it was actually pretty darn cheap. I had put myself on a shopping ban last month since I decided that I will buy my pink Chanel bag when I find it (I WILL find it!)  But I kinda fail at self-imposed shopping bans….dammit…

Just got the email confirming my order just shipped – yay! If I can’t sleep I might as well be looking at my booty (think pirates people….not Kardashians.)