40th Birthday (Fantasy) Wishlist

In exactly one month I turn 40.  Deep breaths. I know it's just a number, but let me tell you youngsters out there, the older you get, the less you feel your age.  I mean I still feel 25.  I can't possibly be 40, that's old (well, not anymore)!  I keep asking myself, aren't I supposed to feel more "mature", more "together", be more "successful", I should have things figured out by now, right?  Nope!  Does anyone ever feel like they have it all figured out? Probably not, but the good news is, as you get older the less you care about having "it figured out" and the more you just want to be true to yourself and do what you enjoy.  You are better able to understand trade-offs and compromise.  I work from home part-time which doesn't mean I rake in the money, but it does allow me flexibility to be there for our daughter when she gets home from school and tagging along on field trips with her class.  A compromise that I'm totally okay with at this time in my life.  But that doesn't mean I still don't wish I could run out and buy some serious luxury items.  I've been doing a lot of online browsing and dreaming lately, so I decided to create a total fantasy 40th birthday wish list.  If I had unlimited funds I would snag any (or all) of these goodies!

1. Signed copy of "Decades: A Century of Fashion" by (my online friend) Cameron Silver / 2.Vince shoes / 3. Victoria Beckham tote / 4. Prada Marfa photograph by Kristin Kirkley  / 5.  3.1 Phillip Lim tote / 6.  3.1 Phillip Lim 31-hour bag

What about you? Any pie-in-the-sky items on your wish list?  Have a great weekend!

Happy Weekend + Labor Day Sales!

Gayle King's closet via Oprah.com photo by Jonny Valiant

To my U.S. readers, I hope you have a great Labor Day weekend!  We don't have any plans except I'm doing a MAJOR closet clean out for me and my girl (in preparation for the Kid's Consignment Sale next month). I'm going to be listing some of my items on Poshmark (I'm spryonthewall ).  Time to get the closet down to only the pieces I love!  

If you are interested in adding to your wardrobe, there are some really good sales going on for the Labor Day weekend.

Here's a quick roundup:

Ann Taylor - 40% off all sale and 30% of full priced merchandise (no code needed)
C.Wonder - 25% off full priced purchases
Revolve Clothing - 25% off with code PSWFALL25
Kendra Scott - 20% off everything with code LDW2013
Levenger - 20% off sitewide with code LABOR20
Lands' End - 30% off everything and free shipping with $50 orders
Old Navy - 30% off with code SPREE
J.Crew Factory - 40% - 50% off everything
J.Crew - 30% off all final sale items with code HELLO30 and free shipping on orders $100+
Gymboree -40% off previously reduced merchandise and 30% off regular priced merchandise
Sole Society - up to 50% off select styles (link will take you to the bag I'm loving)
Gap - up to 40% off select styles
Express - 40% off every single item (I've got my eye on this shirt)
Loft - 50% off select styles and 50% off sale items
BaubleBar - up to 35% off already reduced prices
Furbish Studio - 20% off storewide with code LABORDAY13

See you next week!

Disclosure:  This post contains affiliate links

Happy Weekend!

First up, head over to Elembee today and see what I love about my home state of North Carolina (as part of her outstanding "Across the USA" series)!

Meanwhile, we don't have any plans for the weekend other than to avoid all the traffic from The Masters.  It's been crazy, a lot of people rent their houses out that live around us and it's been party central every night.  Between that and the endless stream of jets in and out of the private airport near us at all hours of the day and night, I'm done.  My husband, on the other hand, loves it (he's headed over to Augusta National on Saturday).

I'm a Jackie Robinson fan and I am so excited about "42" which opens today:
 I'm hoping to sneak off and see it in the next few days.  I have a couple of books about Jackie that I would recommend if you are interested in more information about him:

Jackie Robinson: A Biography by Arnold Rampersand - a comprehensive and extremely informative book on his life. I loved reading this!

Teammates by Peter Golenbock - a kids book that is one of my all time favorites about a day in Cincinnati where Pee Wee Reese took a stand and put his arm around Jackie and declared him his teammate.  I bought this book before I was a mother and now it's one of my daughter's favorites.

Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend?  See you next week!

Happy Weekend!

What a crazy past couple of weeks.  Here's a bit of what's been going on.

As everyone knows Google Reader is going bye-bye as of July 1st.  Thanks Google.  Really, I mean thanks for throwing a wrench in my blog reading/organization world.  Jerks.  Anyway, feel free to hop over and follow me on Bloglovin'.  They are making it super easy to import all your Reader info (it takes a minute, seriously).  I also signed up for Feedly to just have another RSS Reader option (they are making it easy to import your Reader info too).

I signed up for Bloggy Boot Camp in Charlotte!

I'm so excited!  I'm ready to reignite my blogging fire and learn a lot of useful information.  Because, duh, I've been a super slacker blogger lately.  Is anyone else going to be there?  Let me know!

This happened:

I tried a new at-home haircolor and it messed up my hair in the most epic way, I had no less than 4 different colors at random locations around my head.  In over 20 years of coloring my hair at home, nothing like this has ever happened.  And you can tell from the picture how silky smooth my hair was after coloring *ahem*.  I'm debating on doing a post about this, I don't want to be crazy mean to the company, but the issues with this product are multifold.  Would you be interested in reading about it?

And lastly, kudos for PopSugar for taking over Shopstyle and rendering the site virtually impossible to use.  That's why I  haven't been able to do any outfit stuff because I can't create a layout for love or money.  I have emailed, tweeted, DM'ed, screamed, used two computers, a tablet, 3 different browsers and still the site is basically useless to me.  To say I'm angry would be an understatement.  Is anyone else having issues with the site?  It can't just be me.

Boy, I'm all sour grapes today.  Well, it all can't be rainbows and unicorn farts.  On to a better week next week!  Have a great weekend!

Random Thoughts Friday

I ran across this video on the Our State website (Our State is one of my favorite magazines, so well done).  If you want a little peek inside a textile mill then hit play.  They are in the Cone Mills White Oak plant in my hometown of Greensboro, NC.  The denim woven there will be used for yet another North Carolina company - Raleigh Denim - who makes the jeans in Raleigh, NC.  Which is awesome! 


A couple of things, these are older dobby, shuttle looms (if any of my textile peeps are reading this, feel free to confirm or deny - the looms seem too close together for them to be rapier and too old to be anything else) so they run slower than the looms I deal with in my job.  And second, this lady is so like so many of the weavers that I know and have known and I must say that I LOVE weavers.  A good weaver is worth their weight in gold.  Trust me.

So that was a tiny peek into the American textile industry.

On an unrelated note, I ran across this sweater in one of my searches:

Jaime sweater - Club Monaco

Which made me immediately think of this song:



I'm not sure about why you would want a sweater with "1985" on it unless you really love Paul McCartney and Wings or maybe if that was the year of your birth.  The thing is Club Monaco was established in 1985, but who the heck cares about that? 

Anyhoo, hope you all have a fab weekend!  See you on the flip side!

Happy Weekend and a Thank You!

Sorry I've been M.I.A most of the week, I've been holed up in manufacturing facilities handling a project.  As a follow up to last Friday's post, I did end up checking out the Target + Neiman Marcus collaboration, well let me say I was disappointed.  The price points didn't match what I saw at all.  Just too much money for the quality, I was expecting a bit more polish for the price and it just wasn't there for me, so I walked out empty handed.  I mean the Oscar de la Renta tote that I wanted was $60, which in reality was a basic natural canvas tote with a print on it - NOT worth $60.  So thanks, but no thanks.  I'll wait for the clearance prices.  And I don't know about your Target, but nothing has sold at my Target - the shelves are overflowing with this stuff.  Enough of my rant, on to better shopping news...

A couple of weeks ago I won a sweet $200 gift card giveaway for MaxStudio over at Sandy a la Mode!  I mean, wow, right?!?  I wasted no time picking out some goodies, check 'em out:

 

Here they are in full (except the green/black check top - which I couldn't find online anymore)

 Scarf Print Tunic

Ballet Flat 

 

I love everything I picked out, just perfect!  So, a HUGE thank you to Sandy for hosting such an amazing giveaway!  She has a great blog so make sure you stop by and check it out!

 

I hope you all have a fabulous weekend!

Happy Weekend and the Target + Neiman Marcus Collection Debut!

First of all I want to thank all my new followers!  Wow, considered my mind blown, welcome!  I've had a crazy week full of sickness (my cold turned into a sinus infection and I got some meds yesterday so I'm feeling like a human again) and lots of work at my day job.  BTW, why is it always so darn crazed when you feel under the weather?  At least it seems that way.

What's on tap for your weekend?  I'm going to be ordering our Christmas cards (totally punting this year and using a really nice picture of my girl taken back in August by my brother with his iPhone and posted on his Instagram.  Yes, yes I am lazy.)  And I'm going to hit up Target to scope out the Target + Neiman Marcus Holiday Collection.  I've got my eye on the following items:

Oscar de la Renta tote - $60

Proenza Schouler sweatshirt - $30

Rodarte wrapping paper - $8

Rodarte ornament (I LOVE this) - $20

 

Are you excited about this?  Are you eyeballing anything from this collaboration too?

Stop trying to hide Karlie, we know it's you (and girl, you are everywhere)!

 

Have a wonderful weekend and don't forget to enter Jessica Who?'s November giveaway!

 

Images via Target.com

Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm sorry I've been a little M.I.A around here lately.  Between my girl being sick, me trying to get sick (I'm fighting it though), getting ready for Thanksgiving (I'm cooking!) and tons of work projects tugging at me night and day (that's what happens when you work with overseas facilities, night becomes day) - I'm beat.  I'm ready to eat and be merry this long weekend!  So Happy Thanksgiving to all my American readers.  Have a happy and safe holiday!  xoxo

Image

Some Jersey Love

What a week it has been, it's been hard to think about much else other than the devastation that hurricane Sandy left in it's wake.  The images are chilling and my thoughts and prayers are with every one affected.  I'm really heartbroken seeing the New Jersey shore pictures. 

Seaside Heights, NJ via MSN.com

I spent plenty of time on the Jersey shore growing up (we headed to Wildwood Crest when we weren't headed to the NC Outer Banks).  I have a fondness for New Jersey, because I know that the whole state isn't summed up in what you see on the reality shows.  I love the boardwalks, the beaches, Cape May, Atlantic City and stopping at a Wawa along the way.  I could go on and on.

Of course NJ isn't alone in the devastation, let's not forget everyone else in the region that are still without power, gas, food, heat, etc.  So hard to see.  If this had happened just 6 years ago when I lived in Westchester County, NY, I would have been affected.  And also don't forget the massive snowfall that happened up in the mountains of West Virginia and Maryland (my friend in that region had 30+ inches of snow and they are still without power).  So keep those affected in your thoughts and prayers and if you want to help please head over to the Red Cross and give whatever you can.

 

Have a great weekend!

Pantone's Spring 2013 Fashion Color Report

 

Pantone has released it's Spring 2013 Fashion color report and it features a palette of colors that is dubbed "The Balancing Act".  Anchored by Monaco Blue, the colors featured are a mix of brights and more subtle neutrals.  As I've mentioned before, I'm considered a "color expert" (though I have a hard time considering anyone an expert on something so subjective, although you can be an expert on the science behind color theory), but I do have thoughts about what this palette means.  I honestly expected a yellow to be the next "color of the year" - sort of like the "lemon zest" color above, but maybe leaning more towards egg yolk.  Though the blue has much merit, I want it to be a bit more of a cobalt and not so much a navy.  I want the purple to be a bit richer (more red) too and I would have liked to see a grey represented.  These palettes/forecasts are fun and certainly designers in every industry love to look at them, but they are by no means a "bible".  So take it in and then move on with your day. 

 

Anyway, I hope you all have a lovely weekend (we have a Fall Festival at my daughter's school to attend and of course I have all the fun household chores to catch up with).  Have a great weekend!

Happy Weekend!

Well, I finished up dropping off, working at and shopping for my girl's Fall wardrobe at the local kid's consignment sale and I must say I scored some amazing stuff for her and had loads of fun helping organize the clothes on the sales floor.  For some reason that's like total zen for me.  I've been really scattered this week and haven't had the chance to look at all the NYFW shows, but let me tell you, the ones I've looked at have been really strong.  Like, get excited! strong.  I'll start sharing my picks next week, but in the meantime here are some looks that I love!

First up Oscar de la Renta's OUTSTANDING show - every look was perfection:

Source: Uploaded by user via Jenny on Pinterest

 

 

 

 

 

Source: Uploaded by user via Jenny on Pinterest
 

Chado Ralph Rucci - swoon

 

Source: style.com via Jenny on Pinterest

Tory Burch - grey and yellow pattern mixing goodness!

J.Crew - this dress/tunic is to die for!

Exciting right?  I've got so many shows to still look through, but so far so good!  Hope you have a wonderful weekend and see you Monday!

Happy Weekend and My Fall Bag Wishlist

Boy, let me tell you how happy I am that this week is over!  It was real and it was nice, but it wasn't real nice.  Here's to a better next week!  Now that September is knocking on our doors, I've been obsessing over getting a new handbag for Fall.  I'm kind of not feeling my trusty black bag, I want something a little different.  Here are the ones I'm leaning towards:

Top Left - L.A.M.B. $425

Bottom Left - Deux Lux duffle $102

Top Middle - Dooney & Bourke $298

Bottom Middle - Coach $398

Top Right - Coach $398

Bottom Right - Dooney & Bourke $278

 

Obviously I would love to have that L.A.M.B. houndstooth bag, but at $425 I'm not sure I can justify it.  I love the idea of a nice saddle brown bag (though I worry that since I have a LV Speedy monogram that it might be redundant to have another brown bag?).  I'm also digging a blue option.  What do you think?  Do you have any preferences?

 

I've got a fun series planned for next week!  See you Monday!

Happy Weekend!

Hope your week was positive and productive!  It's finally Friday and I know I'm ready for the weekend.  I've been totally wrapped up in the Olympics, I've been watching every single night, just riveted.  And so far I'm totally captivated/inspired/proud of these ladies:

Source: sportsillustrated.cnn.com via Jenny on Pinterest

Source: 25.media.tumblr.com via Jenny on Pinterest

 

Gabby Douglas

Source: google.com via Jenny on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Jenny on Pinterest

Missy Franklin

 

 

Source: homemadecosmetics.blogspot.ca via Jenny on Pinterest

Source: designingmyho.me via Jenny on Pinterest

Misty May Trainor and Kerri Walsh

(I love that even though they've won so many gold medals and been to so many Olympic games, they're not jaded and are excited to be there.  Love them!)

 

 

And I'm totally stoked to see these ladies start their competitions!

Source: bleacherreport.com via Jenny on Pinterest

Allyson Felix

Source: bleacherreport.com via Jenny on Pinterest

Lolo Jones

What can I say?  I'm crazy about the Olympics!  How about you all, are you tuning in?  Also, I should note that after watching all these athletes (male and female), I'm now on a quest for the return of my 6 pack abs that have been hidden for a few years now ;o) 

Have a great weekend!

Happy Weekend!

I LOL'ed when I saw this picture on Facebook - Absolutely Fabulous is one of my favorite shows ever!  Can you imagine Patsy and Edina at the Olympics?

Oh man, I'm so happy it's Friday I can't even tell you.  I've been a bit M.I.A. because life has been completely insane over the past two weeks.  My girl fell down and gashed her head open resulting in three stitches in the forehead, I've had two business trips and a muscle spasm in my neck that made me immobile for a day and I'm still sore - talk about a pain in the neck - ba dum dum.  Anyway, I'm hoping for a little R&R this weekend and watching lots of Olympic action!  I'll be watching non-stop, I love it that much.  How about you, are you planning on tuning in?  Have a great weekend and see you next week!

Images via random Facebook postings - though I did get the Patsy and Edina picture via George Takei's FB page.  He's so funny!

Friend Friday - Blogging Community

I'm joining up with Katy over at Modly Chic for another FBFF linkup.  Today's questions are all about Blogging Communities, so let's get going!

Source: theglamourai.com via Jenny on Pinterest

1.  What blogging communities do you belong to?

Let's see I'm a member of Bloglovin', IFB, the FBFF group (duh) and I'm a Rosebud.  I think those are considered "blogging communities".  I'm interested to see what everyone else says.  I'm sure I'm missing some.

2.  What do you think the roll of community is in blogging?

I think it's there for information, support, sharing and interaction.  This blogging thing can make you feel like a lone wolf in the woods sometimes (or is that just me?).  It's not like everyone you meet knows and can chat about blogging.  It's nice to have places you can go and get advice and ask questions.

3.  Blog comments, twitter interactions and meaningful Facebook threads have decreased in the last several months.  What are your thoughts on why that is?

I'm not sure what the cause of this is.  Maybe it's Pinterest?  Maybe it's just too much information/too many blogs?  I know I've been struggling with information overload and just wanting to unplug more.  I also get tired of the endless stream of seemingly perfect images and lives that bloggers put out there (myself included).  I really loved the "Things I'm Afraid To Tell You" movement that popped up a few weeks ago from Jess  then Ez really got the ball rolling.  That was refreshing (but I didn't do my own, maybe I should?)

4.  How do you cultivate community around your blog?

I'm not sure I do.  Maybe I need to work on that.  I always wanted to do a series with guest bloggers, maybe that should be on my "to do" list.  I do know that I'm endlessly grateful for all my regular readers/commenters.  They really make my day.  I'm a small blog, but I have a great bunch of followers!  You know who you are xoxo

5.  If you could make one resolution to be a better community member what would it be?

To interact more.  To ask questions, visit more blogs, comment more. 


Make sure you pop over to Modly Chic and see what everyone else has to say!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Weekend!

I hope everyone has a happy Memorial Day weekend!

Be sure to take some time to remember and honor the men and women in our armed forces who have served and who are serving our country all over the world.

Enjoy the three day weekend and I'll see you on Tuesday!

*Picture taken by me at the USS Arizona Memorial in Honolulu.  This weekend marks the 50th anniversary of the memorial.  It's one of the most moving places I've ever been.  The USS Arizona still leaks fuel to this day, so those little oil patches you see on the surface are haunting.  Pearl Harbor survivors call those oil droplets "Black Tears". 

Weekend Recap!

I'm tired.  Super tired after this past weekend of cleaning.  And to top it off my girl got bitten by some sort of creepy crawly on the top of the foot Monday and it swelled up big time.  I kept her home from preschool yesterday so needless to say I got nothing accomplished.  We ran to the doctor just to make sure it wasn't something worse than it was and she asked the doctor for a cast.  That's how she rolls - dramatic to say the least. ;o)

Since I headed out early Friday I didn't have a chance to mention that I shared my favorite Children's clothing tip over on 11 Gray last Friday!  11 Gray is Jessica's (formerly of Lavender and Lilies) great new blog covering all things design, baby, cooking, etc.  Make sure you stop by and say hello!

Back to this past weekend at my Mom's.  We cleaned and sorted and donated and still there's so much more to do. But we got a great start and I found some pretty cool things that I thought I would share (if you're following me on Instagram @Spryonthewall then you've seen a couple of these already).  Check out the treasures:

Vintage Playboy Club ashtray in orange.

A handmade quilt from the '70s that my Great-Aunt made me.  You can't totally tell from the picture but that green is neon and so pretty.  The darn thing looks brand new!  Score!  My daughter has already claimed it as her own.

Vintage Liberty of London silk scarf - I've hung it up to help the wrinkles fall out and to air it out (garage storage = funky smell)

Pretty cool, right?  Have a great Wednesday!

Happy (Early) Weekend!

I'm checking out early this week, I am off to help my Mom do some MAJOR decluttering.  This will involve lots of sorting, heavy lifting and trips down memory lane.  My main job will be to keep her on task and to tell her it's okay to get rid of stuff that was in my bedroom when I was like 10 - lol!  Hope you all have a great weekend!

(here's hoping her garage looks like this when we are finished - ha!)

Source: bhg.com via Jenny on Pinterest

Friend Friday - Outfit Planning

Linking up again with Katy over at Modly Chic for another set of FBFF questions.  This week is all about outfit planning, away we go:

1. How do you go about picking your outfit for the day?
True story - when I was little I used to have the worst time picking out what I was going to wear each morning, I just could not make a decision in the mornings under that time crunch.  The process always made me run late, drove my Mother nuts and usually ended in tears.  Every. Single. Morning.  Until my Mother put her foot down.  Each night if I didn't lay out what I was going to wear the next day my Mom would charge me 25 cents (hey, it was the 80's, that was a lot of cheddar for moi).  I think I forgot to lay out my outfit like 3 times before I decided I would like to keep my money (and sanity).  Therefore laying out my clothes the night before became a habit, one I didn't break until I became a stay-at-home Mom (that's because days with a newborn with acid reflux are quite organic - and messy - lol!).  Since I work from home I'm not as good about planning outfits as I once was when I had to be in an office 9-to-5, but I still plan my outfits the night before if I have to travel or be in meetings the next day.  It's a good habit to have especially if you aren't a morning person - two thumbs pointing at this gal!

2. Do you try stuff on and then take pics to see how it looks, like Cher in Clueless?
Nope, though when I used to do more outfit posts, I would see what outfits look like and make note to not wear that combo again after seeing the pictures.

3. And are you consistent in your planning or lack thereof, or is your planning limited to special events?
See the last part of question #1

4. Do you have a way of keeping track of which outfits you wore when?
Nope, but hats off to those who do!

5. How do you come up with new clothing combinations?
Usually I just dive in the closet and start pulling combos to see what works.  I like to refer to my actual inspiration board both in my closet and on Pinterest to help my brain think outside of my usual box if I feel uninspired.

Don't forget to head over to Modly Chic and see how everyone else handles outfit planning!

Have a great weekend!

Happy Weekend!

Can I just tell you all how freaking happy I am today is Friday?  This week stunk up the place.  I mean the weather has been gloomy, I've been feeling low and I'm having tech issues - fun.  Here's hoping for a relaxing, fun (we may be going strawberry picking - weather permitting), recharging weekend!  The one bright part of this week was that I won a $100 Shopbop gift card from the lovely Maria Fe over at Layers of Meaning!  Totally awesome!  After much deliberation I decided on the following items:

Bop Basics Thick Knit Cable Infinity Scarf

American Vintage Noil Silk Knit Top

As usual, the items arrived super quick (I swear Shopbop is so great at shipping) and I LOVED each one.  The top is a bit more boxy than it appears, but it's a great look and will be perfect to throw on over a tank.  The scarf is so soft and chunky, I can't wait to wear it this fall with my new blue coat.

Thanks Maria Fe for hosting such a great giveaway!

Hope you have a fabulous weekend!