Month: July 2014

There and Back Again

J. Crew brown chino shorts; Gap Palm leaf print clutch
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I don’t know why I bother packing for these short road trips. Guaranteed that, on the second day, I’ll wear all my shopping spoils from day 1. I’m just that impatient. So, hey, check out my new shorts, belt and clutch.

J. Crew brown chino shorts; Gap Palm leaf print clutch; Gap hook belt
Holiday shopping spoils

Altogether, these set me back about $35, which is the chocolate sauce on top of this sundae of an outfit. (I’m trying to say that I really like how this outfit came together. Basic? Yes. Cute? I stand by it.)

pave X ring, Gap plam leaf clutch
Ring, Winners

I even splurged on some joolz; the ring cost more than all the other new pieces combined, but it was still under $50, so yay. More chocolate sauce. This is an awesome sundae.

J. Crew brown chino shorts; Gap Palm leaf print clutch
Windy, oooo-eeeee!

Half a Decade (Minus One)

Moschino floral dress; Minkoff Cerulean MAC
Dress, Moschino; shoes, Ivanka Trump; necklace, Hudson Bay; bag, Rebecca Minkoff

This is what I wore for an extra special date night with my husband in Calgary. The “extra” we were celebrating that night was our 4th wedding anniversary. Can you handle a throwback on a Tuesday?

Photo credit, Strictly Photonic
Photo credit, Strictly Photonic

I’d show you a photo of the both of us, but my husband is internet-shy. (Or so he claims; I think he just like to be mysterious.) Looking back over our wedding photos, reminiscing style, I was struck by how – before house renovations, and babies, and sleepless nights, and all the rest of the suburban dream come true – we looked like such kids. I still feel like we’re kids (playing house till the real parents show up), but we don’t look it anymore. So … yay?

So, yes, anniversary dinner. I went kinda all out. I get so few chances for even regular dressing up that I seized this opportunity with more gusto than a dinner at a steak joint would otherwise conjure up.

Moschino floral dress; Minkoff Cerulean MAC
Parking lot selfie like you mean it

Road Trippin’

Target Merona print maxi dress
Dress, Target; jacket, Tommy Hilfiger; necklace, RW&Co; belt, Holt Renfrew; shoes, Old Navy; bag, Mulberry

Road trips to Calgary are not normally something over which I’d lose my damn mind, except when they come with the following disclaimer: kids-free. Yeeeeee-hawww! Yep, we left the kids behind (with the grandparents and not, like, by the side of the road or anything) and blew out of town for 36 blissful hours of adults-only fun. Does my excitement appear rather unseemly? Eh, maybe. I’d probably go with “gleeful, leaning towards the obnoxious”.

(But, guys, here’s the thing I’m almost embarrassed to admit, but which other parents already know: there is no such thing as a kid-free weekend. Even if they’re not physically present, they’re still there. On your mind. Any time there’s a quiet moment. Kids (your own, to be precise) might be the ultimate can’t-live-with-them/can’t-live-without-them proposition.)

Target Merona print maxi dress
Vogue-ing

So, yes, as you might have surmised, this is what I wore on the trip down to C-town. Comfort, y’all – it’s where it’s at. I was going to go with one of my practical MbMJ bags – because this is a road trip after all – but then I got to thinking. A day without kids and their sticky messes? It might just be a road trip, but it’s also a great opportunity to bust out a “nice” handbag for once. I went back and forth for a while (because I have a few nice bags that have been collecting dust for a year), and eventually landed on the Bayswater. It’s just so damn nice and versatile. Over the top? Yes. But in Calgary, that’s kind of par for the course.

Target Merona print maxi dress; Mulberry Bayswater soft croc biscuit
The preciousssssss

There is a reason I don’t really do travel posts. Lots of reasons, actually, but one big one. We don’t really do exciting things when we travel. If we’re traveling with the kids (95% of the time), it’s basically all playgrounds, cheapie diners, aquariums and zoos, and mall trips (to visit the mannequins, natch). When it’s just us, it’s even less interesting. Our yearly road trips are all about 3 things: eating, sleeping, shopping. In peace and quiet. But just because we’re boring folks, I won’t assume you are too. So, no travel tips from Adina. Trust me, you’re happy about that.

Here’s a look at my mani-pedi combo – doesn’t it just scream summer road-trip?

Fossil Georgia tortoiseshell watch; Tory Burch brown wrap around bracelet
mmmmm, fluorescent!