Awesomeness All Around

Gothic Dragon and I headed to Art With Flowers at Tyson's Galleria on Sunday for the introduction of Pearl, Apothia's newest fragrance.  Ron Robinson is pictured above (left), showing Bill the store's owner and other attendees the magic that is Pearl.   The description from the Apothia.com site reads, "Pearl is a simple, precious, polished work of art with hints of shiso leaf, plum blossom, peony, orris and warm golden amber, parallel to the formation of the pearl - a natural quality gem - small, precious and perfectly polished by nature."  The end result is a complex citrus vs a more simple citrus like O Oui Lancome to give one example I know.  I was a devoted wearer of O, Aromatonique and other citrus scents but went off of them a few summers ago and couldn't really figure out why.  One sniff of Pearl and I knew why, the simpleness of the others has become boring to me.  Pearl on the other hand is so multi layered, it's much more interesting but still fresh.  The dry down was a just showered scent on me and I was intrigued when Ron has us sniff the dry down on his wrist because on him, it was completely different, alot more herbal.  So this is a winner for both men and women.

Thanks to Stevie in LA  for spreading the word about the event, and thanks too to Gothic Dragon for writing up such a great synopsis of the day and of Art With Flowers itself.  I can't say enough good things about this store and it is indeed so much more than fragrances, it's things for the home, eclectic books and CD's, chocolates, teas, skincare, haircare, gifts.  It transcends being a store and is truly an experience.

In other awesomeness, I am now on  Nautical by Nature's blogroll which is pretty cool given how infrequently I've been able to blog the past few weeks.  Thanks Kate!  I promise to live up to the honor.

Mike Signer For Virginia Lieutenant Governor

I haven't done a local politics post in ages so here's one. My Facebook friend and friend of my longtime friend Stevie in LA, Chris Abraham is celebrating St. Pat's day by attending Mike's straw poll. Maybe it's early in the game but even in the Democratic primary, the choices to me seem clear cut. I like what Brian Moran has to say in his run for Governor, and people I know and trust have endorsed him.

I don't know how many endorsements Mike Signer has at this point but after hearing what he has to say, I can say for what it's worth, he is the candidate for Virginia Lieutenant Governor who has mine. It's important to me to have someone in Virginia working hard for unions, and Mike Signer is doing just that.

Yes You Can

Still shop that is.

What inspired this post was an interview I heard with Michael Hirsch of Newsweek on WTOP radio this morning; that people have reduced their spending and that cutting back on all spending threatens any economic recovery. But if we want to help stimulate the economy, where do we draw the line? Mr. Hirsch said the key was cautious spending - OK, not a surprising response. But the anchorperson then speculated on whether he should buy a new camera right now. He sounded like someone who's into photography and going for top of the line. Still though, I couldn't help but think had he never heard of Ebay? Or Costco? Would it be possible for him to find either the exact camera or an acceptable substitute with all of the bells and whistles for a reduction of the retail price by utilizing a discounter or an online retailer or getting onto a mailing list for instore and online codes?

I applied this principle to clothing and accessories of the Preppy variety. No this isn't camera shopping but then again, the Preppy look can be quite pricey. After all inherent in it is the looking like you don't NEED to make money. But for those of us who do and are on a budget I found bargains at three different types of stores; the Cole Haan website, an online discounter, and our beloved Tarjay.

The Cole Haan handbag above is $229.95 on sale. You then get an additional 30% off that price at www.colehaan.com with code SPSALE09 and you get free shipping. This works out to a quality handbag from a quality company for less than $100. If you keep it another 15-20 or even 30 years and a good preppy silver buckle style will probably be around that long, you're looking at cost per wear of something like 1/100 of a penny. And no, this isn't a minibag - the bag measures 13.5 inches long, 6 inches high by 2 inches deep. Narrow yes, but has has length to it so no, it's not a mini.

My second find was from a site the wonderful Preppy Princess clued me in on, 6pm.com, zappos.com's sister site with the deeper discounts. Here are adorable Keds that are pink and preppy and $21.56 a pair:

Last but not least, this skirt is on Tarjay's website for $19.99 and there are also cute madras shorts at the brick and mortar store:

The blue madras says summer and can be worn with just about any Lilly-ish color. I also like that it's not a mini-mini but stops 2-3 inches above the knee. Very cute.

I haven't even begun to scratch the surface with the wonders of Ebay, where probably 40% of my eldest's wardrobe comes from. But my guess is if I can spend a few minutes and track these down, yes that camera could be had for less than retail too.

So in conclusion, Yes You Can

Um, that would be diverse sense of fashion to YOU

Because at this point in the game I think we know the Preppycrat's also a bit New Wave. Or would that be Old Wave at this point? Either way, part of me is stuck in the 80s.

And oh yea, I'm back from Disney World. I have some posts in mind but the pre-vacation craziness continues so I'll post them asap.

Your result for The Are You Preppy Test? Test...

The Aspiring Prep

Congratulations! You scored ###!

You're fully aware of the scene, and may even be a small part of it. Chances are your friends are really preppy but it isn't for you or you have a diverse sense of fashion. You float from scene to scene and never really fit in, but are never really rejected either. Try harder and maybe someday, I'll buy you a drink at the club ;)

Take The Are You Preppy Test? Test at HelloQuizzy

Zippidy Doo Dah....

Where I wish I were staying, Disney's Yacht and Beach club.....Disney prep heaven, and walking distance from my fave park Epcot.

Where I'm going to really be staying - here. Which has advantages; one, we can bring our little ole dog and two, you can actually see the Polo Outlet from there. Not that I need anything from the Polo Outlet but it's nice to see it across the highway and know that I COULD get into the car, drive 5 minutes and be surrounded by pink, green, turquoise, and racks and stacks of lovely preppy wearables.

Coach - ditto.

Will try to check in - if I'm lucky I'll post a pic from vacation, or for those of you who know me on Facebook watch for a mobile update :-).

Preppycrat Inspiration

Wow...a real live honest to g** post! I wanted to make sure I got one in before going to Disney so here it is, and inspired by something I saw on my lunch hour, Esquire magazine's Obama commemorative issue. It's hard to walk past any rendition of the now iconic Shepard Fairey image of Obama and this was no exception. Ok...I'm racing against the clock and needing to get back to work before the catty clatch notices I'm back late from lunch. But magazine still in hand, I flip open the little opening on the cover, an opening within an opening and there it is, a quote from Joe the Vice President, "this is the worst of times to come into office . But the flip side of that is, if you're ever going to do this job, this is the time to do it." p. 78.

And there it is, an article about the man himself, his now familiar rides on Amtrak to DC and interactions with other commuters. But then about nine paragraphs in, the author begins a riff on The Shirt. That Joe Likes the Shirt. The shirt in question is a sportshirt with blue vertical stripes on the body, horizontal stripes on the placket, and red stripes inside the collar. A shirt one could see on any Nantucket denizen.

Having West Virginia roots, I have to respect a man who can go into Castleberry Virginia, deep into coal country and bond with coal miners. But growing up in Northern Virginia, in an area where Lilly and Vera are available in numerous places within 20 minutes of my house I also appreciate that this same man can just as convincingly fold a pocket square or don a snazzy nautically inspired shirt worthy of any smart Preppy man.

It still seems like a dream -Barack Obama is the President, Michele Obama is first lady, Dr Jill Biden and Vice President Joe Biden reside at Observatory Circle. But they have style, smarts and decency enough to fill all of DC and then some.

I haven't had a chance to read the article yet or track down a pic of The Shirt but will find it as soon as possible. I'm sure he wore it well.

Why I Haven't Posted in Awhile

Substitute brown hair for blonde, and this is me - oh and throw in 2 little girls, 2 cats and one little ole dog and an equally frazzled husbin' and there you have it. Work is crazy, home is crazy and yes, we're going on vacation in 3 weeks so we're getting ready for that too. Gah.

I have some great posts in mind so stay tuned, I'll blog again asap!