Sweet or Spicy Whirligig?: Vote Now!

Dear Readers,

I need your help. After waiting patiently for Velvet's Whirligig Dress to move to the sale section at Anthropologie, last Tuesday my dreams came true! I quickly ordered the dress in dark pink and stalked its journey to my front porch with my tracking number. (Which proved to be annoying- the tracking window anticipated an 8/19 arrival but it came on 8/22). Before my package of joy arrived, I visited my friend Jessica in the Chicago suburbs and we found the orange version of my beloved dress in the Highland Park Anthro.

Orange?

I tried on the orange version and showed it to Jessica, who approved of the color and encouraged me to purchase the gown (she didn't need to twist my arm!), compare it to the dark pink color when it arrived, and return the least-winning garment.

Pink?

Here's the problem: I love both! But, as lovely as the Whirligig Dress is, I do not need two. Here are pictures of each dress taken in the fitting room. Which do you prefer? Both colors are versatile and mutli-seasonal, but I can only choose one.

Pink?

The pink is stunning. In real life, the color is closer to purple than pink, but stunning nonetheless. There is something very sweet about this version, but I wonder if the color is too sweet? I think it would look great with all of the navy blue and grey already in my wardrobe.

Orange?

This is the dark orange. In real life, it is a subtle-but-spicy sort of hue that may be just what I need to spice up my wardrobe (apparently I think this dress is spicy!!!) My major hesitation with this color is that it is so different than most of what I wear. My other hesitation is that my skin is so fair and orange isn't always so kind to my complexion.

So what do you think? Should I go with the sweet pink dress or the spicy orange one? Leave a comment below with your vote and any comments!!! Your input is much appreciated!!!

Thanks for reading!!!

Grounded, Not Tied Down

These people keep me grounded (my brother Sam, cousins Katie and Kim, and my Uncle Clark)

Hello Readers,

Tonight's post features something very dear to me.  More precious than riches or fame.  What could this be?  A hard to find dress to Anthropologie?  No!  A dream job? Nope!

That thing of which I speak is. . . FAMILY!  Over the past two weeks, I've been away from my family in St. Louis (last week) and Chicago (this week)- and in my time of absence from them I've become even more aware of their value in my life.  My mom's listening ear, my dad's advice, my brothers' antics, my grandparents' stories, the support of my aunts and uncles, and the friendship of my cousins. Warm memories, shared experiences, celebrations (accompanied with Aunt Shelly cake on my mom's side!)

The love and support of my family is what gives me confidence and keeps me going during times of joy, times of trial, and everytime in between.  They keep me grounded!

This week (it's only Tuesday- woah!), I was looking through photos of recent family events, and I thought that I could share it with you all (especially my family- SHOUT OUT!).

Photos from my cousin Bill's graduation party:

Bill is a graduate and a champ (I think he did well in this round of the tossing game)

My dad (the taller one) and my Uncle CJ

Photos from a graduation/Sunday evening gathering at my grandparents' house:

Surveying the damage to the RC truck

Swing Swing!

Dan the baseball man!

A blossoming photographer in the family! :)

Uncle John

Happy Graduation Kim!

Also, I've had my eye on the Maeve Tied Down dress from Anthropologie for quite a while, but gave up on my search after my store in St. Louis ran out and the dress became no longer available online.  Then the big sale of the year began at Anthro, and I thought I would never see the dress again- but the week that the store offered and additional 25% off, I found a dress at the store and bought it for almost 50% off the original price! I wore it to two parties in one weekend.  That is how much I love it- but, of course, not as much as I love my family!

A rural forest? Almost. . . 

Shaking hands with the trees?

There we go!