New Weekly Feature: Keep on Running

This blog is supposed to be about Queen, fashion/shopping, and running.

I've got the fashion/shopping part covered. Between my daily What I Wore posts, Anthropologie Fitting Room Reviews, Fashion Challenges, and Outfit Polls, I think a good 75% of my non-working/sleeping day is spent shopping, thinking about shopping, or writing about shopping.

The Queen part, I've been pretty good about too. I've stuck to my plan of highlighting a Queen Song of the Week every Friday, detailed meeting Dr. May, wished the boys birthday wishes, and occasionally ranted about various business decisions.

The running part?

Eh - not so much. Sure, I ran some posts called "Running Essentials" but running is a pretty straightforward sport. Once you have a couple of things, you're pretty much good to go. I have a few more that I can write, but that's not enough to properly feature the third component of my blog.

I've also been slagging off a bit in my training. This summer has been the most hot and humid that I can ever remember. The temperature hasn't dipped below 70 degrees (nights included) in weeks and the humidity is frequently about 75%. In the winter, my treadmill is a viable option, but in the summer, it's a recipe for heat stroke: there's no air conditioning in that room and no matter how many fans I set up, I cannot generate enough air circulation to make me not want to die.

This is a bit of a problem, however, since my fellow princesses have convinced me to run my fourth half marathon in October.

Hence, my new weekly feature "Keep on Running", loosely based on Designer Me's Monday Training Posts (click here) and named after a song originally by the Spencer Davis Group that Roger Taylor recorded (and didn't release) during his 1984 Strange Frontier sessions.


Basically I'm going to post my half marathon training plan every week and then I'll say which workouts I successfully completed. If I have a good week and follow the training plan, you will all congratulate me and I'll be happy. If I have a bad week and slag off, you will all yell at me and I'll be publicly embarrassed.

See? Fun for everyone!

To generate my workouts, I use the SmartCoach training program on the Runners World website. You have to be a member of Runners World to use SmartCoach, but membership is free. I plugged in my recent 10K time of 1:05:00, selected a 10 week training program, that I typically run 15-20 miles a week, and that I wanted a moderately hard program.

I'm also going to try to work in yoga at least twice a week. Occasionally, I'll combine shorter runs (like the 2 milers this week) into one longer run.

Now, here comes the fun part: did I stick to my workout schedule for Week 1?

Sunday:          Yoga
Monday:         2 mile easy run
Wednesday:    5 mile tempo run
Thursday:       Yoga
Friday:            2 mile easy run
Saturday:        7 mile long run

What this week has taught me is that not running in the hot/humid weather makes running much more difficult that a tough run in hot/humid weather. Typically your pace slows in the summer, but when you combine that with basically being lazy for an entire month, your pace ends up essentially a crawl. The best thing I can say about my runs this week is that I got through them.

I will say this though: already this feature is having an impact on my training. At about 3 miles in today, I really really wanted to call Husband and make him come get me, but then I thought to myself, "Geesh - I can't run the silly feature for the first time and not have completely made it through all the runs," so I sucked it up and got through 4 more miles. Hopefully this shame will carry me through the next nine weeks until the Diva Half Marathon.

So Week 1 of my Half Marathon Training Program was a success. You can now commence the obligatory congratulatory comments!

I'm off to the Red Sox game now. I'll be back tomorrow with the wrap-up and final outfit in my 18 for 18 Challenge.

Happy Running!

And GO Red Sox!

Good Times Are Now: What I Wore

Thanks to everyone who commented or emailed after my post yesterday. I'm feeling so much better and really am appreciative of every single one of my readers, even the quiet, non-following ones! I've come to the conclusion that one of two things happened yesterday regarding the "follower who got away":

1) As I posted in a comment, the same person who unfollowed Ashley's blog (click here to visit) must have decided to renounce all material possessions and live the rest of her life as a Quaker. In preparation for her new lifestyle, she unfollowed all her blogs. This makes sense to me because why on earth would anybody ever unfollow Ashley? She's adorable!

2) Something was wrong with blogger yesterday. In the morning, I lost a follower. Then I gained two. Then I lost another one. I've decided it's much more likely that blogger was eating followers than it was that I was simultaneous charming and infuriating people to the point of following or unfollowing me, respectively.

So thanks again - I'm slowly working through all the comments and emails I received. I'll definitely get to everyone's but it might take me a little while! But rest assured, I read everything and am so so grateful and appreciative of all your kind words!

Good Times Are Now was written by RT and appeared on his 1981 solo CD Fun in Space. I purchased three of RT's four solo CDs at the same time. For some reason (I really can't remember why), I held out on buying Fun in Space. When I finally did, I wasn't anticipating loving it. This album is a real departure for RT from the Queen sound. He's always been one to experiment in the studio and this album is a great example of that. RT acknowledged that his first solo album might not be to everyone's liking and wrote in the liner notes, "All influences - conscious, subconscious and unconscious. P.S. Hello listeners. I hope you enjoy and have fun with this, my very own album. I like it. If you don't, sod you! P.P.S. 157 synthesizers."

My first impression of Fun in Space was rather lukewarm, but since this is often the case with RT's work, I gave it a second listen. That's when this song jumped out at me and now it's one of my favorites (recently being included on my newly burned "Best of Roger Taylor/The Cross" CD as one of the three songs from Fun in Space: the others being No Violins and My Country I & II).


This morning was the nicest day to run in weeks. My run was still tough because sadly this humidity has got me rather out of shape, but it was so nice to not be sweating buckets three minutes into it. I even wore a shirt with sleeves rather than a tank top because there was a bit of chill in the air! Husband claims that the weather report is forecasting similar conditions for tomorrow morning. I'm hoping that's true because I'm supposed to attempt my first long run of my training program and my first long run in...eeek, well before vacation at least!

So tomorrow is the last day of Kendi's Challenge. I'm so excited to be done. In retrospect, I kind of wish I had done 30 for 30 because I feel like I would have had more fun remixing more pieces. I'm still really proud of myself for sticking with it, although we did have our second rule infraction this morning.

This is what I wanted to wear today.

Free Flow Tank, Anthropologie

White Pants, Banana Republic
Sofft Janeys

Artist's Palette Necklace, Anthropologie (available here)

Earrings, Kohls

Grand Slam Bracelet, Anthropologie

Ah, but what's that slung over my shoulder? It's my Blue Gingham Jacket from Ann Taylor Loft.  I said at the beginning of this challenge, that if I needed to wear something court appropriate, I was allowed to go outside of my 18 pieces (click here). Well, late yesterday afternoon, I took a new case. I totally could have just thrown over my Beribboned Buds Cardi and this outfit would have been fine, but that cardi was already on the dry cleaning pile. Now, for me, the dry cleaning pile is non-negotiable: once something is in that pile, it is not to be worn until it comes back from the cleaners on a wire hanger and in a plastic bag. So what was a girl to do? I threw on my Blue Gingham Jacket, wore it to court, and removed it as soon as I got back to my office (which I would have done anyway since it's still about 80 degrees here!)

Tomorrow we're going to a Red Sox game and then on Sunday I'm going shopping with a fellow princess! I'm so excited for the weekend!

Happy Friday!

Queen Song of the Week: New Dark Ages

Since Dr. May got a special Queen Song of the Week in honor of his birthday on July 19 (click here and here), I thought it was only fair that RT got one this week in honor of his birthday on July 26 (click here).

RT's birthday coincidentally falls at the same time as I am finally gathering together all of the CDs by The Cross, his side band. I received Shove It, the band's 1988 release, for my birthday, I won Blue Rock from 1991 in a $15 ebay experiment, and am currently hunting for their 1990 release Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know.

Blue Rock is frequently the topic of hot conversation amongst Queen fans. It's widely praised as the best CD released by The Cross (which honestly isn't saying much as Shove It and Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know are rather dreadful in places) and for many fans, it's one of Roger's best, if not the best, "solo" CD. Here's where the controversy enters: RT didn't write most of the songs on Blue Rock. In 1991, he was dedicating most of his time to Queen and his family (his third child was born that year).

That said, is it fair to consider Blue Rock a RT CD? Without him, The Cross wouldn't exist and his songwriting on Shove It/Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know certainly set the tone for the band's songs. On the other hand, is it really fair to give RT credit when it was his band mates who penned the majority of these songs which are so good?

Then again, there's debate as to whether this album can even be considered a great album. Is the only reason anybody even knows it exists because of RT's affiliation? Would it be great when held up against other great albums? Or is it only great because an album like Shove It, for example, is in comparison so bad.

I'm of the mind that without RT, there is no band called The Cross. And honestly, though he didn't write many of the songs on the album, the band, either consciously or subconsciously, have very similar songwriting styles to his. On a few occasions I had to check the liner notes to see who had written a song and was surprised to find that certain songs were or were not written by RT.

I also don't think the album's low sales have anything to do with whether it's a good album. Blue Rock didn't sell well because it wasn't promoted. The Cross was already frustrated with their record label for failure to promote Mad Bad and Dangerous to Know. Then just as they were determining how to proceed with this release, Freddie Mercury died and RT pulled the album and its single resulting in the extremely limited release that the album had.

Regardless of how one feels about the album as a whole, it's generally accepted that New Dark Ages, the second track on the album, is one of the strongest songs that RT has ever wrote. So in honor of RT's 61st birthday, New Dark Ages is this week's Queen Song of the Week.


New Dark Ages was written by Roger Taylor. It was released as a single only in Germany in 1991 and did not chart.

The story goes that RT originally proposed the song to Queen during the Innuendo sessions in 1991. Upon reading the lyrics, bassist John Deacon basically threatened to quit the band if Freddie were made to sing the song. The lyrics are available here - I don't think I need to elaborate on why they may have upset John. Rather than press the issue, RT took the track to his band mates in The Cross and they recorded the song.

Not having ever spoke to RT or John personally, I obviously can't say whether this story is totally true. But I will say that it is a rumor that has floated around for some time and was confirmed by someone who I consider a very reliable source (who wouldn't have said something unless he felt convinced of it's accuracy). On his Soapbox, however, Dr. May has stated that he doesn't recall RT bringing this song to the band. I'm not aware of RT ever making a public comment about it so we'll likely never have the full story on the song's origins.

The song itself is great and treads the fine line between being a regular commercially popular song and a "Roger" song. I consider a "Roger" song one that no one else on the planet could have gotten away with writing - whether due to the lyrics or some studio sound effects or, in some cases, a combination of both. Sometimes, the song turns out to be a disaster and sometimes it's comes together beautifully. In this case, it's the latter. And frankly, I can't say I'm sorry that Queen didn't record it because RT's voice really adds a lot to the song.

Happy Listening!

And Happy Birthday RT!

Is It Me?: What I Wore

Finding a song that corresponds with what I'm going to write about each day is hard. Finding a Roger Taylor song that corresponds with what I'm going to write about each day is downright impossible. RT, dear, I love you and I hope you had an absolutely smashing 61st birthday, but I can't say I won't be thrilled when your birthday week is over!

Is It Me? also appeared on RT's 1998 solo album Electric Fire. Of course, as soon as I settled on using this song title, I realized that there is not a single version of it available on Youtube. Are you kidding me? This is a great song! Nobody's thought to make a video out of it? (You can listen to a snippet at the above Amazon link though).

Fine, listen to Love on a Tightrope (Like an Animal), a 1988 song by The Cross, instead. Perhaps it's ridiculousness will cheer me up! I laughed hysterically the first time I heard this song, then the next morning at breakfast, it was running through my head. Don't say I didn't warn you!

Usually I start writing about whatever and then think of a song title that is in line with the topic of the day. This week, I've been looking at all of the songs RT has written and trying to come up with something to write about. It is exceedingly difficult and I feel like my posts this week have suffered.

I haven't been as funny as usual.

I haven't been as adorable as usual.

And then in the midst of my feelings of inferiority, I noticed this morning that I lost a follower!

Yes, I pay attention to my number of followers. I squeal with delight every time I get even one new follower and I panic every time I lose one (it's happened before). What did I do wrong? Did they get sick of me? Did they not like an outfit I put together? Are they annoyed by my Queen ramblings?

I don't mean to single anyone out (and honestly I have no idea who today's "follower who got away" was), but this unfollowing just comes at a time of rather low blogging self-esteem for me.

This is compounded by my knowledge that on at least one occasion, Dr. May, himself, has laid eyes on my blog. And now I'm worried that I can't be clever and witty anymore because of being indirectly starstruck. I'll be better, Dr. May. I promise I won't let you down!

Am I rambling?

Husband would say I'm whining. No, I'm just being introspective and insightful. I can't help it if I'm too deep for you, Husband.

Macrame Tee, Ann Taylor Loft

Neapolitan Cardigan, J.Crew

Skirt, Old Navy

Perfect Exotic Pumps, Ann Taylor

Necklace, Ann Taylor Loft

Earrings, QVC (available here)

Grand Slam Bracelet, Anthropologie

Inch of Gold Bracelets, Cruise ship purchases

I think once Kendi's Challenge (click here) is over, I'm going to forbid myself from wearing my 18 selected items for a few weeks! And despite not officially forcing myself to participate in the no shopping aspect of the challenge, I've done rather well the past three weeks, if I do say so myself. My only purchases were when my mom came to visit (click here) and for the fabled book signing with Dr. May (click here)...oh and to replace a black skirt that ripped, but that really doesn't count.

Just in time for the pseudo-shopping ban to be lifted, there are some brand new lovelies at my favorite stores:

The Grasby Gardens Dress makes me want to cry it's so pretty. Then it makes me want to cry because it's so expensive and I know it will never be mine! And this one's expensive even for Anthropologie - $348? That's insane! Even at 50% markdown (which I had to use a calculator to determine - it's $174), it's pricey! Anthropologie giveth and then taketh away!

Luckily other new arrivals are more within my price range. These Leonie Embellished Glitter Suede Flats from Ann Taylor are so adorable! I need them immediately (I actually saw them in a photo montage on the website a few days ago and was livid when they weren't listed in the New Arrivals section yet). They remind me of my new Me Too Precious Flats from the Nordstrom Anniversary sale (click here), but they're gold!!

And Jacquelyn first drew my attention to the pretty pretty Silk Polka Dot Blouse from White House Black Market (click here). This blouse reminds me of a similar blouse at J.Crew that I loved, but that cost entirely too much for a sleeveless blouse. It's got ruffles and polka dots - and just think how adorable it would look with a pencil skirt...or under a cardigan...or with my pajamas! *sighs* I'm so in love!

Well just talking (er...writing) about shopping has me feeling slightly better!

Happy Thursday!

Anthropologie Fitting Room Reviews (Lost Time Skirt, Cinereous Sweater Skirt, Gifted Skirt, Acting Out Skirt, Steamer Trunk Skirt, Luminous Graphite Skirt)

I was a little disappointed at the selection of skirts at the Rockefeller Center Anthropologie, but luckily the 16th Street store had tons of pretty skirts in my size! As I tried them on, I reflected on the fact that I don't think I really know how a skirt is supposed to fit. I'm so used to sizing up and pulling the skirt down to my hips to get some extra length. So many of Anthropologie's skirts are high waisted though so that doesn't work. I think I just need to take the plunge and get a skirt because once I actually wear it for longer than the two minutes I'm in the fitting room, I bet I'll be surprised at how comfortable it is!

Lost Time Skirt, size 12 ($118)

The coveted Lost Time Skirt is first. I liked this skirt when I started seeing other bloggers try it on too, but it wasn't total love for me. The lack of pockets was a turn-off. As was the pattern not matching at the seam. And the idea of black crinoline in this oppressive summer heat kind of made me want to die. The skirt is really cute and quirky though. As I look at the pictures, I kind of like how it looks on me. It fit on my high waist (like a skirt is apparently supposed to) and was more than long enough to be work appropriate. I can't imagine it will still be around some sale time, but if it is, I'd definitely considering picking it up.

Cinereous Sweater Skirt, size Large ($98)

There are a few sweater skirts on Anthropologie's website right now and this is one of them. The color is a charcoal grey which I liked - I get so sick of black all the time! The Large fit fine, but the sweater knit wasn't doing my figure any favors. There is a woman I work with who only owns clothes in this material. Supposedly she used to be rather lovely, but now she's gained some weight and every single lump and bump is visible under her clothes! I couldn't stop thinking about her as I tried this skirt on and it made me rather self conscious. If the skirt had a bit of an A-line to it, I imagine I might have been a fan, but this trumpet style just was not working on me.

Gifted Skirt, size 12 ($78)

This is a basic khaki A-line khaki skirt and I'm rather in love with it. I've been looking all summer for a khaki skirt to replace my Banana Republic one (which I bought one size too big and wear on my hips and now just twists around all funny whenever I wear it.) Yet pencil skirts are all the rage this summer and I've been unsuccessful. This skirt, however, is perfect! The waist was just a little snug (which doesn't surprise me since I usually have to size up in Odille, but the length was great and it had pockets! Perfection! My only complaint is the stupid ugly belt, but that can easily be replaced with a much more professional skinny leather belt. I intend to order this skirt in a 14 before the free shipping promo ends!

Acting Out Skirt, size 12 ($88)

I've been the Acting Out Skirt in grey's biggest fan so when I saw the sapphire version, I had to try it on for comparison's sake! The material is definitely different in the sapphire - heavier and crisper than the grey version which is a bit slinkier. My one mini-complaint about the grey version is that the fabric can pull easily (although fixing it is easy), but that's likely not the case in this color. The sapphire didn't photograph very well, but it is a very pretty green in real life. This skirt fits true to size if not a bit big - I was shocked when the 12 looked nice on me because I always need a 14 in a pencil skirt due to my thighs. If anyone missed out on the grey version, I recommend picking either the sapphire or charcoal version up the second time around. It is such a figure flattering skirt - I can't say enough good things about it!

Steamer Trunk Skirt, size 12 ($98)

I was so excited to see this skirt in the store since I've got a bit of a crush on the neutral patterned version available on the website. I figured I'd try on the black for sizing purposes and then order the color I wanted when I got home. Sadly, the skirt did not cooperate with my plans. This is another trumpet style sweater skirt. It looks even worse because there are two anti-theft tags on the right side of my body (one from the tank and one from the skirt). It looks like I have little golf ball sized tumors all over my hips. Nice. I wish the skirt wasn't totally sweater material and maybe had a bit more stiffness to the fabric - that would probably make it a bit more flattering, but in this material, it's just hugging my curves in all the wrong ways! 

Luminous Graphite Skirt, size 12 ($118)

This skirt is one that I fell in love with when I saw on the website. I suspected it wouldn't fit since it's a pencil skirt and the largest size available was a 12. I grabbed it anyway and crossed my fingers. This skirt felt so good as I pulled it on. The material is amazing, the color (a grey tweed) is perfect for fall/winter, and the ruffle makes it interesting. I was actually a little shocked when I turned to zip the skirt and realized that there was no way on Earth, this skirt was zipping up! I was so sad, but even unzipped, I love the way it looked and wanted a picture for posterity! I'd say this one runs small because I doubt even a 14 would have given me the inches I needed. If anyone does buy it, please post a picture so I can live vicariously through you!

I still have a ton more than I tried on last weekend (had to do something to keep from turning into a bundle of nerves!) Watch out for the rest in the next few days!

Tonight: What I Wore

Tonight is a farewell party for my big big big boss. It's two hours away and I think I've only met him three or four times so I decided not to go. It was also pretty expensive for a ticket (and a girl's gotta shop) - I asked around and not everyone else from my office is going so I think I'm fine. I also have worked with the new big big big boss on a few different projects already and will see him at our company picnic in a few weeks so I'm already kind of "in" with him.

Am I rationalizing now? Probably. I really just don't want to drive to Boston this afternoon.

Today's Roger Taylor song was an easy one: Tonight appeared on RT's 1998 solo album Electric Fire. It was released as the B side to the album's first single Pressure On, which I consider the best song that Roger has ever written. Listen to it here. Sadly, Pressure On did not chart.

Tonight is one of the best slower and more melodic songs off RT's most recent solo album. The albums two singles, Pressure On and Surrender, are a bit more rocking. Most people consider Electric Fire to be RT's best solo album and I think the balance of the tracks has a lot to do with that. Happiness? is very introspective and thoughtful hence lots of slower ballads. Strange Frontier chronicles RT trying to find his musical voice so while he ends up imitating some then-popular styles (i.e. Bruce Springsteen and David Bowie). Finally, his debut solo album Fun in Space is just totally experimental. Someone listening to it for the first time would never believe that the artist who recorded it had anything to do with Queen (especially Queen of the 1970s. In fact, Fun in Space actually ended up being the direction in which Queen ultimately moved to during the 1980s). Electric Fire has strong ballads and rockers that could win over any listener - if you have any inclination of checking out RT's solo material, I recommend starting here.

Onto my outfit, I wasn't supposed to have Court today, but yesterday something got continued. That meant shuffling the rest of my outfits for the week so I had something Court-appropriate. Once thing I have realized from Kendi's Challenge (click here) is how much I absolutely love the Secret Treasure Dress! I could seriously wear this once a week and be totally fine with that! And I've convinced other people to share my love too: after her Anthropologie splurges while visiting a few weeks ago, my mom went home and ordered the Secret Treasure Dress in navy for herself! Yay!

Secret Treasure Dress, Anthropologie (available here)

Ambrosial Cardigan, Anthropologie (available here)

Belt, Kohls

Shoes, Naturalizer Slingbacks

Necklace, Honora for QVC

Bracelets, Kohls

Earrings, Kohls

Last night Husband and I watched World's Greatest Dad with Robin Williams. In the interest of full disclosure, I am not a Robin Williams fan. In fact, more often than not, I can't stand him. However, Husband had been badgering me about seeing the movie so last night in a moment of weakness, I agreed. (Actually, I'm pretty sure I dozed off and when I woke up, it was on! Sneaky, Husband! Sneaky!)

The movie was...interesting. Very dark - kind of the dysfunctional family aspect of Little Miss Sunshine meets the teenage school angst of Heathers. Robin Williams' character is a high school poetry teacher and at one point, a student reads the lyrics to Under Pressure, claiming it to be his poem. That amused me because, of course, I immediately picked up on the joke and started laughing. It took Husband a bit longer, but he eventually figured it out. Then at the end, in a last ditch effort to win me over, the actual song Under Pressure was played in its entirety during the dramatic climax of the movie! Talk about pandering to me so I'll like a movie! Husband joked afterwards that they must have blown the movie's entire budget on Robin Williams and Under Pressure because we didn't know any of the other actors or songs used!

I got up to run this morning and it was pretty dreadful. I distinctly remember at least three times, thinking, "I want to die right now." Not a lot of humidity (well compared to the past few weeks, I guess), but still hot and my first tempo run in...oh goodness, I don't even remember my last tempo run. I got through it, but it wasn't pretty! And now I'm afraid I'm a bit dehydrated because I'm feeling rather rotten.

I hope everyone is having a great week! I'll try to post my second batch of Anthropologie fitting room reviews tomorrow morning! It was so nice to shop at NYC Anthropologies - it will be hard to go back to my boring old local store this weekend!

Happy Wednesday!

Foreign Sand: What I Wore

I'm tired today. I've been sitting here for a while trying to come up with a good Roger Taylor song to use as a post title and I'm completely drawing a blank. Usually my jumping off point is what I plan on writing about for the day, but I can't even think of something interesting to say!

Finally, I decided the heck with it. I'm picking a song that I like and if someone can somehow extrapolate some meaning behind it, then great. If not, then blah I don't care!

Foreign Sand was written by RT and Yoshiki, a Japanese musician. The song appears on RT's 1994 album Happiness? and was released as a single in the U.K. and in Japan. It did not chart.

The song is straight-up RT political literal lyrics, but since Yoshiki is a brilliant composer and is mostly responsible for the music, the song is a lot more *warning non-musical term ahead* soaring than most of RT's other stuff. RT's an amazing drummer, no one would ever suggest otherwise, but on piano, he's good, but not great. He typically plays all the instruments on his own compositions so his musical abilities limit how he can structure his songs. Here, Yoshiki is a classically trained pianist and other musicians were brought in and that alone really gives this song a lovely feel not present in much of RT's other work.

Alright, on to my outfit. There was a slight accident last week with one of my 18 pieces of clothing in Kendi's Challenge (click here). The slit of my black pencil skirt split! I hadn't noticed it until I was on my way to lunch with my boss walking behind me. "Um, Kathleen," she said, "That slit's a bit high." I rushed to the bathroom to investigate and the entire back of the skirt was frayed! Totally ripped and totally unsalvagable. I guess the skirt did me well for the 2+ years that I owned it (I mean I wore it at least a few times every month), but I've always really liked it so I was sad to see it retire.

I did know, however, that I needed to replace it. When I ducked into Banana Republic due to the pouring down rain on Friday in NYC (click here), I figured I'd replace a black Banana Republic pencil skirt with a black Banana Republic pencil skirt..so voila!

Ruched Blouse, The Limited

Pencil Skirt, Banana Republic

Sash from Optimist Dress, Anthropologie

Shoes, Naturalizer Slingbacks

Artist's Pallette Necklace, Anthropologie (available here)

Earrings, Kohls

Bracelets, Kohls

I knew if I didn't wear my Artist's Palette Necklace to work immediately, I'd chicken out and never wear it. The most fashionable lady in my office (well, besides me, I mean) said that she liked it so I've officially made a successful jewelry purchase! This is the second time that I've worn the Optimist Dress sash as a belt. I really like the colors on it and I like having a pretty fabric belt option other than my Swirling Villages, Surplice Dress belt.

Only four more days of Kendi's Challenge to go and I'm just about ready for the end! There are so many other pretty things in my wardrobe that I want to wear! I read about the (crazy) people who did a 6 for 30 challenge (click here and here)...as in 6 items of clothing for 30 days! At the end, they were all yammering on about how they could do this forever. Um, I think not.

I have become more appreciative of the pieces I do have. Perhaps I'll be slower to declare that I have nothing to wear and go on a shopping spree without taking a good hard look of what's in my closet.

Or maybe I won't! But Sunday cannot come soon enough!

Happy Tuesday!

Anthropologie Fitting Room Reviews (Turbine Dress, Compeer Dress, Manor Gates Dress, Marine Mural Dress)

On Friday, I hit up two of the NYC Anthropologies. I started out my morning at Rockefeller Plaza where I tried on a ton before finally buying the Artist's Palette Necklace and Bright Bulb Posts. Then I hoofed it downtown to Union Square for my second Anthropologie of the day. At that store, I tried on even more and purchased the Double Torsade Necklace (due to freaking out and thinking maybe I wouldn't like the Artist's Palette Necklace with my Ann Taylor Loft Silk Dress with Ruffle V-Neck). I'm likely going to return the second necklace (although I'll wait two weeks in case it gets marked down!)

My goal for the fitting room reviews was to not try on anything that I'd seen at my local store, which is obviously smaller than anything NYC has to offer. This was not a difficult task and nearly every time I turned around, I spotted something I'd never seen before. I was also able to try on some of Anthropologie's more expensive options, two of which I've reviewed below.

Let's get to it!

Turbine Dress, size Large ($118)

This dress is online in navy, but the Rockefeller Plaza store also had it in grey. I sized up to a Large because the hips were rather slim fitting and the material reminded me of the Perilla Dress, which still gives me nightmares! I was wise to size up and the Large ended up fitting me just right without the dreaded Perilla side effects (doesn't that sound like some sort of infectious illness? It should - the Perilla Dress looked that bad on me, click here to see for yourself!)

Anthropologie is currently styling this dress online as a jumper which as you probably realize is my new favorite idea! The material is a rather heavy weight. That combined with the color choices (navy or grey) makes this more of a fall/winter than spring/summer dress. I can imagine this dress looking nice with a cardigan and being either dressy or casual depending on shoes. There were pockets and the detailing along the bust was interesting. The dress is pretty and fit well, but it was nothing special. I can think of many other things to spend my pennies on!

Compeer Dress, size Large ($248)

Oooh la la - this is the first of the "expensive" items I tried on last Friday. I've been in love with the color since I tried on the Everywhere Dress (click here for my review) and since I saw this actual dress on Anjali over at goldenmeans (click here).  I had hoped that this dress could fulfill my desire to have a dress this color without also looking like I had wandered out of the house wearing a bathrobe. The dress is a lace overlay with a silk liner built into it. I initially thought I'd have to put the liner on first but then realized that it's sewn right in, wrap style. I liked that a lot. My biggest complaint about this dress was the buttons - while they were lovely, they were rather circular. That combined with large button holds made me nervous that the buttons would come undone during the day. There was also a rogue eyelet hook at the waist, but I couldn't find a hoop to attach it to. For $248, I expect a hoop! I also didn't realize until I got to the fitting room, but the belt of my dress wasn't attached. As I look at Anjali's review, I realize that the belt is just a strip of fabric anyway, but the belt loops are pretty pronounced so it looks silly that I'm not wearing one! This dress was nice, but I'd never dream of paying $248 for it. I wouldn't even consider it at a 50% markdown.  Perhaps I'm expecting too much since it's so expensive, but although it is very pretty, I wasn't impressed.

Manor Gates Dress, size 14 ($188)

I saw roxy try on this dress here and thought it looked amazing on her. My expectations were not high, however, because she had to size up for the dress to fit around her thighs. With this in mind, I grabbed a 14 and assumed that the bottom would fit and the top would be enormous...such is my life. *sigh* I love the pattern on this dress, but the cut is just not going to work on me without major alterations. The shoulders of this dress are a sheer mesh, reminiscent of the Drifting by Dress, although here the color is a lovely cornflower blue. The empire waist hits at the perfect spot and the pattern on the skirt is vibrant and bright. If this was a fuller skirt, I seriously suspect that it would be in my closet as I type this. Too bad.

Marine Mural Dress, size 10 ($248)

Finally, we have another pricey dress - online the rose is the only color available, but in the store I had the choice of pink or blue. Then again, perhaps the blue dress was the Pigment & Canvas Dress and I didn't look closely enough at it. The first thing I noticed about this dress was the smocked back. Now, don't get me wrong, I love a smocked back, but on a $248 dress? Hm. I think I've reached my threshold for clothing. I can pay any amount up to $200 and not bat an eyelash, but once I'm over $200, I start expecting clothing to make me breakfast and do my taxes before I'm willing to take the plunge! This dress is really pretty and it fit nicely and if it was cheaper, I'd wish list it, but I just can't wrap my head around this much money for a dress that only looks nice on me (as opposed to "knock your socks off amazing") Since this is my first foray into the most expensive pieces at Anthro, I can only assume that I'll get past this hang-up eventually (remember it was only six months ago that I bought the Beribboned Buds Cardi at full price, $88, and didn't sleep for a week!), but in the meantime, I doubt I'll be making any pricey purchases soon!

Alright that's my first batch of reviews. I'm trying to put them in groups that make sense so these were the only dresses I tried on. Everything else was skirts and tops. I'll post those later in the week!

Happy Shopping!

Beautiful Dreams: What I Wore

Since Roger's birthday is today (click here), I had gotten it into my head that I wanted to use titles of his songs as my blog posts all week. Unfortunately, I can tell already that this is going to be more difficult than it sounded when I came up with the idea over the weekend.

RT wrote and recorded Beautiful Dreams for his 1984 solo album Strange Frontier. It was released as a single in Portugal, but did not chart.

It's a pretty song, not one of my favorites though as it's a rather slow and sleepy tempo. I guess that makes sense in the context of what the song is about. It does definitely showcase RT's voice though and is worth a listen for that reason alone.

My reasoning for using Beautiful Dreams is twofold today: first, of course, on Friday, I had the opportunity meet Dr. May (click here) and the experience was absolutely amazing and second, my Dr. May meeting excitement unexpectedly continued over the weekend and is currently still in progress. I'm reluctant to go into details about what's going on, but I'm so excited that I can barely stand it! Both situations are absolutely a dream come true for me: the kind of thing that I wouldn't have even allowed myself to imagine beforehand because I wouldn't have wanted to get my hopes up! As soon as I have more details, I'll let everyone know, and then again, there's always the possibility that the whole thing turns out to be a bust, but I'm really just beside myself with excitement today!

This weekend, I put together all my outfits for the rest of the week. I really was worried about drawing a fashion blank in the mornings before work if I put off creating outfit combinations until then. I also really wanted Husband to take photos of me (sans iPhone) so that when I create a photo montage at the end of my 18 for 18 Challenge (click here), the outfit will be the focal point and not me holding the camera 18 times!

But even though this photo wasn't taken today, I was really diligent about recreating the entire look as pictured. The only differences are that I have makeup on and I'm wearing my hair differently - isn't it funny how I'm willing to post a picture of myself without makeup on the Internet for potentially the world to see, but the thought of going to court bare faced makes me freak out! I am a silly silly girl!

Creative Outlet Tank, Anthropologie (available here)

Beribboned Buds Cardi, Anthropologie

Acting Out Skirt, Anthropologie (available here in new colors)

Perfect Exotic Pumps, Ann Taylor

Earrings, Kohls

Necklace, Kohls

Bracelet, Pandora

I'm going to a graduation this afternoon for one of my clients. I suspect it might be outside and if it is, rest assured that I'll be removing my Beribboned Buds Cardi for the occasion! And in the interest of full disclosure, I brought my Dr. Scholl's Bliss Sandals (click here for review) because I have a blister from walking on Friday night which was hurting like nobody's business whenever I had on my heels. I wore the shoes for the ten minutes that I was in Court this morning, but now I'm done. I'll suffer for fashion but I won't bleed for fashion!

The weatherman went on and on last night about how Monday and Tuesday were going to be so beautiful with no humidity (hm - I guess that's a third reason why today's post title is appropriate!). I had my doubts, but I got up early this morning to run. Husband's temperature tracker on the computer said that it was 78 degrees at 6:30 a.m. "Hm," I thought, "So no humidity, but scorchingly hot." Indeed, I was right. The sun was so bright today - it was just beating down on me and I had forgotten my sunglasses. Luckily today is Day 1 of my half marathon training program (more on that at the end of the week!) and I was only supposed to run 2 miles. Lovely! I'll definitely need to locate my running sunglasses for tomorrow though because a 5 mile tempo run is on the docket!

I hope everyone had an amazing weekend, like I did! I actually didn't mind coming to work today so I could tell more people that I met Dr. May! We'll see how long that excitement lasts!

Happy Monday!

Happy Birthday Roger Taylor!

Today is Roger Taylor's 61st Birthday! Happy Birthday, Roger!

I'm pretty sure that everyone knows that RT is my favorite member of Queen (although after Friday night, Dr. May has certainly upped the ante and is giving RT a run for his money!). RT is the reason why I'm a Queen fan and since branching out to his solo stuff I've really come to appreciate that as well.

Husband always says that it looks like RT takes himself so seriously because he doesn't smile on any of his album photos. I've tried telling Husband that RT is, in fact, a bit of a goof, but he doesn't believe me. So in celebration of RT's birthday (and to prove Husband wrong), here are some pictures of RT being goofy!

This one was published in Mick Rock's book and is from the early to mid-1970s

The writing on this photo says its from 1993, but that doesn't seem right to me. I'd say this is from the mid-1980s. In any event, is this a photo that RT should have used as an album cover, Husband?

Or perhaps this photo, taken during the video shoot for I'm Going Slightly Mad.

And who can forget this one from I Want to Break Free?

Or here (RT's on the right) with Freddie Mercury (center) on the set of Freddie's solo song The Great Pretender.

Should we be concerned that our boy likes dressing in drag so much (and for that matter that he looks so darn good as a woman)? Here's another more recent one:

Supposedly this is RT on the right. I truly don't see it, but a very reliable source claims it to be true. I do always say that RT went through a rather dodgy looking period in the mid-90s when this picture was taken.

Sometimes his costume is slightly less elaborate though:

But our boy just doesn't have fun on video shoots and at costume parties, I'm not quite sure what he's doing here, but Dr. May certainly seems amused.

 And RT is an animal lover too - I wonder what Dr. May would have to say about this one?

I tried to avoid photographs when RT was obviously intoxicated, but this one is just too funny to not post:

Happy Birthday Roger! Don't celebrate too much!

Sunday Morning: What I Wore

So I cheated on Friday. I wore my Silk Dress with Ruffle V-Neck which was not one of my 18 items in Kendi's challenge (click here). However, if you recall, I stated outright when I began the challenge that I refused to be constrained on what I was allowed to wear to meet Dr. May. And I can report that despite my wearing a different pair of shoes than the three I included in the challenge, my feet are still killing me from standing and walking! I walked from Rockefeller Plaza (50th Street) all the way down to Union Square (14th Street)!

I guess this means that my challenge is going to be a 18 for 17 Challenge (18 pieces in 17 days).

I can't believe I haven't worn this outfit yet. The heat has been unbearable recently so my general goal has been as little clothing as possible while still managing to be covered up! As much as I love these shorts, I'm regretting putting them in the challenge. They are just too unique. In retrospect, I wish I had included a more neutral casual bottom that would give my outfits a bit more variety. With these, I throw on a top and there's really nothing else I can do, is there? I really am enjoying this challenge and this is just one of the lessons I've learned for next time!

Creative Outlet Tank, Anthropologie (available here)

Heat Wave Shorts, Anthropologie

Sofft Janeys

Necklace, Kohls

Bright Bulb Posts, Anthropologie (available here)

Because I was so boring with my outfit on Saturday, I decided to try something a little wild on Sunday. My dress as jumper experiment was so successful when I dressed as Belle during Ashley's Dress Like a Princess Week (click here), I had wondered if the same thing would work with my Swirling Villages, Surplice Dress. I also thought that wearing this dress would be a nice reminder of the book signing on Friday night (which I still can't believe happened! The picture turned out so great, it almost doesn't look real!) I tucked the cap sleeves under so the dress is sleeveless and I think it looks pretty nice!

Macrame Tee, Ann Taylor Loft

Swirling Villages, Surplice Dress, Anthropologie

Sofft Janeys

Earrings, Honora for QVC

Necklace, Alaskan Jade pendant

Bracelets, stretch pearls

Is everyone as in love with my new blog header as I am? My sister did an absolutely amazing job! She's so artsy: always designing her own note cards and jewelry holders and websites! She even hand painted her own wedding invitations! Crazy! I, on the other hand, couldn't even coherently explain to her what I wanted in my blog header and was so pleased with myself when I managed to copy and paste one photograph on top of another in Microsoft Paint (see here).

I hope everyone is having a great weekend!

Happy Sunday!

Meeting Dr. Brian May

I could sit here and try to think of a catchy title for this post, but no matter what I come up with, it won't convey the absolute amazingness that was last evening: I met Dr. Brian May!

Husband and I got up early. I took the day off, but he had work to do so we drove into NYC at 7am so he could work out of his firm's Times Square office. I dropped my stuff off and ventured out to Rockefeller Plaza for my first Anthropologie visit of the day. While there, I spotted two lovelies that I thought would be just perfect to wear that evening: the Artist's Pallette Necklace and the Bright Bulb Posts.

In my What to Wear to Meet Brian May poll, Jenny from notjustaprettyface suggested a big statement necklace to make a conservative dress more "rock star meeting" appropriate. I thought that was a great idea and these two pieces definitely fit the bill!

While out shopping, I got caught in the rain...twice. Oh my gosh - I was so worried about my bangs! I brought make-up and a new outfit to change into, but my hair had been given the task of looking adorable all by itself all day without any performance enhancing substances! Luckily the heavy rain started right as I was outside Banana Republic so I ducked inside. The second time I was a block away from my second Anthropologie of the day. Phew! Crisis averted!

Soon it was time to get ready at Husband's office. What dress won the poll?

Well it was a close race between the Swirling Villages, Surplice Dress from Anthropologie and the Silk Dress with Ruffle V-Neck from Ann Taylor Loft. In the end, two things made the decision for me: first, that the skirt on this dress is much fuller and I knew that I'd need to squat down to take a photo with a seated Dr. May and second, once I realized that the Swirling Villages, Surplice Dress had actually villages on it (and the book signing was for A Village Lost & Found), it made me a little self-conscious so I was much more comfortable in this dress!

We got to the Metropolitan Museum of Art early. I had been so worried about not getting a cab and it's a good thing too: between the rain and the fact that people uptown can apparently afford cabs (as opposed to the students from my old stomping ground at NYU!), it took us a while! Forgive me for not smiling in the above picture - I was seriously trying to get a cab!

Once at the Met, we located the lecture hall and then wandered around a bit. I knew that just sitting there would make me nervous so I tried to distract myself.

Practicing my "posing" one last time in the Egyptian room.
 Would you like a piece of my pecan pie? PE-can pie!

Dear Anthro,

Please make the pattern of this chair into a skirt. That is all.

Love, Kathleen

Then, at last, it was time. If we didn't go in, we were in danger of missing the presentation. We got special 3D glasses which kept me amused for the final few minutes. Husband and I took a picture together but he won't let me post it!


The lecture was really amazing. I've seen stereoscopic photographs before, but I've never been able to properly see the 3D image. In order for us to understand what they were talking about, they showed the photographs on a large screen using a projector. Since the photographs are of a village, several times I felt like I wanted to just crawl into the picture and lay down in the grass!

Dr. May was a great speaker and really made an effort to include Ms. Vidal in the lecture. On one occasion, an audience question was whether the time period in which the photos were taken (1850s) has some profound affect on him since many Queen songs have a bit of that old-fashioned sound to them. Dr. May gave a short answer and then said, "What do you think, Elena?" as if she had any grand insight into what he had written his songs about! It was rather funny to watch her reaction!

After audience questions, it was time to filter into the Museum Store for the signing. By the time we got in line, it wrapped around the store. Dr. May had said at the start of the lecture that both his daughter Emily and Queen's longtime manager Jim Beach were in attendance so we tried to find them while we were waiting. We found Emily (more on that later), but not Jim Beach. Too bad because a picture with him would have been an unexpected surprise!

The line moved rather quickly. I had thought we'd be there all night, but the Museum staff was taking over duties like handing him the book and telling him the person's name. Husband kept walking to the front to do surveillance and figure out what would be appropriate (I was still worried that I wouldn't get the picture that I wanted!) Dr. May was spending a fair amount of time with everyone though so that was encouraging and then finally about twenty minutes in, Husband reported that a middle aged gentleman had practically crawled into Dr. May's lap for a photo. "Great," I announced, "I'm a young girl. He definitely won't mind if I do that!"

While we waited, I chatted with the girl ahead of me and the man behind me. Both had only found out about the signing in the past few days! The girl had driven down from Buffalo and said that she had brought a Queen CD with her in case he would sign that. I told her that I, too, had a CD: Back to the Light. I didn't know if he was signing memorabilia though. The man behind us told us that he had seen Queen in concert during the News of the World tour in 1977. He was 11 years old and it was his first concert. I was glad for the company in line. Husband was there and was a tremendously good sport about the whole thing, but it was nice to have other big Queen fans there to keep me from completely freaking out!

Then we got closer. At one point, a few people in front of us stepped to the side and THERE HE WAS! The girl in front of us and I both squealed simultaneously at the sight of him. Luckily, that was my first and only fan girl squeal of the night. We both pulled out our CDs and asked the Museum staff if he was signing other things. "You can ask him," she told us, "He's been very nice about signing things."

At this point, Emily May, who had been sitting behind Dr. May the entire time, realized that the girl in front of us was alone. She walked around the table and offered to take the picture. So I'm standing there, collecting my nerves, telling the Museum staff my name for the autograph, and trying not to throw up and all of a sudden I look over and there's Husband chatting up Emily May! I suspected that he might chat with Ms. Vidal, but his daughter? Husband, let the record reflect that if you want to divorce me and marry Emily May so we can kind of jointly both be Dr. May's son-in-law, I'm totally on board with that!

I was next. At this point, I'm a little perturbed. I appreciated the staff lady taking my book and telling him my name (because otherwise, who knows what name I would have blurted out), but she kept insisting that after the photo, you go around behind Ms. Vidal back to the front of the table to chat. Well after my photo was taken, I felt like she was trying to move me around and if I had gone around the back, she would have brought in the next person...so I stayed put...right next to Dr. May. I feel so bad because I didn't even look at Ms. Vidal, but I wasn't going to mess up this opportunity.

As he was signing my book, he said, "Nice to meet you, Kathleen." He looked up and smiled and I said, "I want to get a picture too." So I squatted down and we kind of fumbled over who was going to put their arm over the other persons. We both looked at each other and giggled a bit. I swear - he giggled. It was a total moment. And then the picture was taken. Husband had figured out a way to set the camera on a speed setting so we got FIVE pictures! The fourth is the best: we're both smiling and his eyes look so warm! This is right before the last picture in which he has pursed lips as he's asking, "Did you get it?"

Then the Museum staff made her salary for the night: she reminded me that I had brought Back to the Light for him to sign and HE DID! Then I handed him my card. I had wanted to give him a belated birthday card, but also a card to write all the things that I would have said if I had unlimited time and wasn't a bundle of nerves. Here I am explaining that to him. Look at how attentively he's listening to me! And he's holding my card! When I told him I was nervous, he went, "Oh no," and reached up to touch my elbow. That's when I died!

Afterwards, we went to dinner at our favorite NYC restaurant, Becco's. I was so pleased with the evening: an interesting lecture, two signed items, and six great pictures! Dr. May has a reputation for being one of the nicest celebrities ever and I totally understand why. Even Husband said a few times afterwards how impressed he was with him. He was genuinely interested in what people had to say and took time to speak with every single person!

Here are my signed book and CD. I told Husband that if RT wants to continue being my favorite member of Queen, he needs to write a book and get over to the U.S. pronto because as of last night, I am officially a little in love with Brian May!

Thanks to everyone who humored me over the past few weeks. To say I was excited is certainly an understatement. I'm thrilled to death that I've met a member of my favorite band! I started to tear up after we left the Museum Store just because in my wildest dreams, I couldn't have imagined him being as nice as he was. He really is a wonderful and talented man.

As I mentioned I hit up two Anthropologies during the day on Friday so to make up for all the Queen talk recently, I'll post a bunch of fitting room reviews next week!

All I can say now is: 1 member of Queen down, 2 to go!

That means you, RT!