Tag Archives: shopping

Sandals

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sandals-005It’s almost 70 degrees here in Alabama this afternoon. Sun shining. Blue sky. Even though it’s deceptive and temporary, you do sort of feel that spring may be coming after all. Good thing I grabbed these sandals at TJ Maxx this past week, ’cause once the weather starts to warm up the cute sandals go fast. Summer ’08 was rough on my sandal collection — my most treasured black and my favorite brown pairs had to go. And it was time, I admit, but still sad. And scary, too, as in, “I wonder if I’ll be able to replace them?” Since I’m picky about sandals —  no flip-flopping sounds (I like only my flip-flops to flip-flop), no sounds of any kind and comfort, comfort, comfort (cuteness goes without saying) — it’s hard to find what I want. Luckily, TJ’s was there for me yet again, solving a fashion problem at a super price. Of course, sometimes shoes do turn on you and what you thought would be the perfect pair turn out not to be after all, but I have high hopes for these. We’ll see.

Baby Shoes

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baby-shoes-001Who knew that baby shoes could be so cute? Before my grandson baby-shoes-010Capt. Adorable was born, I thought the only cute shoes came in women’s size 8.5. Wrong! I already have raved about Robeez but there’s so much more in baby-shoe world. For instance, my friend Susan gave us this pair of red Goody Goody shoes. How precious are they? I can’t wait for him to wear these — maybe with a cute shortall and a little plaid shirt. And my friend Erika Rosenberg, who raises alpacas and angora rabbits and then sells beautiful items made from their fur, gave us this incredibly soft and cozy pair of baby booties. Check out her business, St. Florian Fiber Farm, at http://www.stflorianfiberfarm.com/.  I’m not sure how long Capt. Adorable will let his grandma buy him darling little shoes, but I’m going to enjoy it while I can!

Bottled Water

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dasani_strawberry2Am I the only person who cannot find Dasani flavored water in the non-lemon flavors anywhere lg_dasani_grape1anymore? All I can find anywhere — and I mean anywhere, any place, any time — are the plain and the lemon flavors. Not good. The grape, strawberry and raspberry Dasani flavors are favorites in my house. I know, I know. It’s all really local tap water. And plastic bottles are clogging up the earth. But my husband and I drink more water when we chug the Dasani — plain tap water tastes like blood to me ever since I had oral surgery and I only use the powdered flavor mixes as emergency backup because I’m not wild about them either — and we religiously recycle the bottles. So that makes us feel a little better.

But apparently I’m out of luck. My husband and I occasionally stumble across a rogue single bottle at a stop-and-rob but no local groceries have the six packs I buy four or five at a time. What’s the deal? Am I just constantly showing up behind other Dasani fans who beat me to it? Is there some sort of sinister Dasani shortage going on? Or am I imagining the whole thing? I abhor the taste of Nestle water, I’m suspicious that Propel has more than 25 calories a bottle and I don’t like water that tells me what to do: “Revive” “Energize.” “Focus.” Forget it. I like my water to remain quiet, thank you very much. That leaves me with Aquafina, which is only so-so.

Dasani, what’s up? Can you give us some strawberry love down here in Alabama? That would be very nice.

Perfume

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perfumeI am in love with this perfume. Why had I never heard of it before? Why have y’all been rich-hippiehiding this from me? I saw the name “Rich Hippie” in the window of a new boutique that recently opened in downtown Florence, Alabama, and was immediately, like, “That is so me, really,” although I was with my husband and he pointed out that I am neither rich nor a hippie and am, in fact, a middle-aged suburban grandma who watches secretly watches Oprah. Not groovy. So the next day I ditched him and made it in to the store, Grassroots, by myself. After sampling four or five different Rich Hippie scents, I settled on Bohemian Wedding: “Chic, romantic, earthy floral with notes of Sumatran Patchouli and Italian citrus.” Yes, indeedy. “Wow, you really are a hippie if that’s the one you like the best,” the store owner said, admiringly. Or maybe that was just respect in her voice for One So Old. Hard to tell. I didn’t tell her, however, that I missed out on the late 1960s-early 1970s Flower Child-era by a few years. I could have been a great hippie and I so wanted to be, but my parents made me go to bed by 8 p.m. — 9 p.m. when I got a little older. And by the time I got old enough to embrace hippie-dom, everyone had gone all corporate and instead of love-ins we went to discos. Sigh.

concertI just realized I bought this Rich Hippie perfume on the 40th anniversary of the Beatles’ rooftop “Let It Be” concert. In concert-crowdfact I bought it as I walked back from a recreated homage of that concert a group of local musicians performed on the rooftop of our downtown drugstore.  Most of us watched down below from an alley. Matt McKean, the photo editor at our local daily newspaper, the TimesDaily, took these pics. (Go to www.timesdaily.com to see more.) In the crowd shot, I’m in the lower right-hand corner — well, half of me is — in a light blue jacket just above a woman in a black jacket. It was cold but great fun, even though I wasn’t wearing my Rich Hippie then. But I think I will from now on. If you want to get in touch with your inner Rich Hippie, go to http://www.rich-hippie.com/.

Fashion

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coat-dress-005Surprise! I found Michelle Obama lurking in my closet. Okay, not her, really, but coat-dress-006this pink wool coat-and-dress I’d bought two or three four or five years ago from a clearance rack at a local department store that since has been consumed by a larger department store. I don’t remember how much it was but I do remember thinking it was a great deal for two pieces. My two practically-grown daughters, however, were horrified that I’d even brought it home. After I looked at it more critically, I saw their point that maybe perhaps it was too Queen Mum in a scented-handkerchief grandmotherly sort of way. However, after the First Lady’s gorgeously stunning lemongrass wool-lace outfit on inaugural day, I’m thinking that maybe my somewhat sparkly pink version isn’t so bad. But would people think I was copying her if I wore it as is to church this morning? Maybe I should break the pieces up, say, by hearing the coat with a soft pink turtleneck and pants. I could also put a turtleneck under the sleeveless sheath dress, or maybe a white collared blouse, and belt the dress. Hmm … some exciting potential here … like anything is possible …

Fashion

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anthropolgie-2After yesterday’s inaugural, everyone seems ready for the new and sweaterthe fresh. And what place is more fun to start that in your closet? I know, I know — we’re still paying off winter’s bills and there’s plenty of cold and blustery weather to come, but at www.anthropologie.com, spring has sprung. I especially love the “Winter’s Building Blocks — From the Ground Up” feature at the Web site, which details several wear now/wear later outfits with a cute sort of architecture theme. This pretty cardigan paired with a luscious sherbert-colored blouse and neutral skirt looks very Michelle Obama to me.

Prom Dresses

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prom-dresses-007With the ceremonies out of the way in a couple hours, tonight we’ll prom-dresses-003be watching the inauguration balls and catching glimpses of Obama style, the formal version. The gold coat and dress Michelle Obama is wearing today is gorgeous and I can’t wait to see her gown. But at least here in the South, shopping for spring prom dresses as already started as moms and daughters hit the stores on these cold and dreary winter days — sharing dressing-room space with June brides and bridesmaids. With two dress-up-loving daughters, I’ve had many seasons of formal shopping — some more successful than other. My advice? Wear comfortable clothes, have water and aspirin with you and bring plenty of Kleenex. If this store window in downtown Florence, Alabama, in any indication, simple and elegant gowns in jewel tones are going to be popular this year — I love how the colors glowed in the night lighting. It’ll be interesting to see if any inaugural trends show up at prom. Stay tuned!

Baby Shoes

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photo-books-026I love little-boy clothes. When my now 20-something daughters were little, it robeezwas girl clothing that got all the attention — smocking and embroidery and ribbons and ruffles — but now I think that boy clothing has caught up, style-wise. And just in time, too, for our grandson to be one of the most fashionable little guys on the nursery circuit. Little-boy clothing departments are full of miniature cargo pants with tons of pockets, cozy hoodies, cute T-shirts and of course Robeez shoes. I’d never heard of Robeez until my daughter was expecting and she showed me these precious soft shoes with colorful and fun designs for babies and toddlers — a far cry from those stiff white lace-up shoes she had to wear. Our grandson (also known as Capt. Adorable) is wearing his dragon Robeez in the photo — they seem to among the few pairs of footwear he doesn’t/can’t kick off immediately. I think the “Busy Car” pair also is a must-have, and we’ve got a couple others on our shopping list. Now that he’s standing on his own and considering this thing called walking, shoes are becoming more important — he usually gets by with bare feet or just socks — and of course when it’s 20 degrees like it is today, shoes are a must. Thank goodness for Robeez — pulling those white leather shoes on and (attempting) to get them tied was exhausting! Check out the Web site, http://www.robeez.com.

Scarves

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scarfscarf-_square1My fondest dream — well, after becoming a bestselling novelist, owning my own tropical island and acquiring the ability to eat chocolate all day with impunity — is to learn how to wear a scarf like all those stylish celebrities. Or, like every other normal woman knows how to wear a scarf — except me.  I love scarves and collect as many as I can, but whenever I wear on I just end up looking silly. Sigh. Read more at my column in today’s TimesDaily, http://www.timesdaily.com/article/20090116/ARTICLES/901160302

Thrift Store Shopping

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carolyns-dress-003My younger daughter loves fashion and putting outfits together. She’s the best carolyns-dress-002thrift-store shopper I know. We go into a Salvation Army dig store and I’m done in  three minutes because there’s nothing there — I think — and she emerges with an armload of cute and stylish pieces. Of course, she’s young and cute and stylish herself, so that helps immensely! Most thrift-store finds would just look sort of sad on me but she wears them with flair. It’s all in the attitude, and she’s got it. The other secret to thrift-store shopping, I think, is combining high and low and new and found. When she was home for the holidays, she brought some of her latest discoveries and had fun putting looks carolyns-dress-0061together. In these pictures she was going to a Christmas party with her dad’s family and was trying to winterize a festive carolyns-dress-0052black sundress with pink embroidery she’d bought in a thrift store for about $4, I think. First she tried a black short-sleeved pullover top over the whole thing. Nice, but no pizazz, although it fit her well. So next she tried a black cardigan with black velvet trim and little black velvet bows on the pockets for an elegant yet casual touch. Adorable! I voted for this look, but I got outvoted — she ended up ditching the dress idea and instead headed to the party in her usual but very chic college-student look of jeans, boots, scarf and sweater. And here’s the thing: These two black tops are mine, and she looks great in them. However, if I wore this sundress, I would only look ridiculous. Why is that? My daughters borrow from me and look fantastic (better than I do in the same clothes, that’s for sure) but the reverse does not hold true at all. If somebody can figure this out and fix it, I’d be so grateful! In the meantime, I continue to be in awe of both my daughters’ creativity and style. I’m in constant hope that some of that gets passed up to me.