Mother's Day Gifting: Inspirations and Ideas

Cookware Sets by Le Creuset
Totes by Kate Spade

Because Mother's Day creeps up quickly, I figured I would assemble an inspiration gifting board. 

I am fortunate to have many women to celebrate on Mother's Day, annually. Although my grandmothers have since passed, I have a number of strong women who have been maternal figures in my life. My mother and Chris's mother and step-mother support, love, and advise me regularly and demonstrate to me their wisdom. We also have many aunts who have shown us love and support. And we know a number of moms with whom we are dear friends. 

Although my budget is constrained because of the wedding, I have been thinking carefully about how to honor our three immediate figures of maternity in addition to the cards I plan to send to aunts. On Mother's Day morning, I will be participating in the Pittsburgh chapter of the Komen Foundation's Annual Race and Walk benefiting the fight against breast cancer with Chris and his mom. After that I will spend the afternoon with my mom. And the evening we will spend with Jane. The time we spend together making memories is of course far more valuable than anything material. But for better or worse, most occasions of celebration include the presentation of some type of memento or good. I don't yet know what I will gift to them, but I am excited to come up with some things that are hopefully thoughtful and personal to each of them.

Dressing Room Reviews: Saks and OOTD

This Marc by Marc Jacobs dress in an ethnic diamond print was so cute in person that even though it was full price I had to try it on. They were out of the 8 so I grabbed the 6 and it was plenty roomy. This style runs large. And I can't seem to find the above anywhere online. I've found a few similar ones in the same lovely print.

Next I tried on a few Marc by Marc Jacobs cardigans.

This Sofi Belted sweater reminded me of the western/Aztec inspired prints I would admire at long-closed Century III Mall chain stores (I *think* it was called Capezio like the dance shoe company but my memory is fuzzy). I tried on a size medium. And although it was true to size, it was sort of a nightmare on me. Regardless, the quality of the weaving and the saturated colors were very striking in person. It is available here and here.

The Tracy Pointelle Sweater comes in both ivory and black. Ivory was on the sale rack and really lovely. This is a size medium. See it in black here.

What I wore that day. Two Paths Trench from Anthropologie, See by Chloe paisley print shift dress.

Recent outfits: Nanette Lepore, Theory, Mike and Chris, Burberry

I wore this to teach on Monday. It was chilly!
Floral pixel print dress from Nanette Lepore (similar here)
Black ruffle trim v-neck cardigan by Aqua (similar here)
Hue tights
Chloé flats (similar here)
Swatch Irony watch
Detail:

I wore this to teach last Friday:

It was not this wrinkly when I put it on. I am going to have to steam this before I wear it again, for sure! It was a day when I only seemed to grab black and gray garments so without a forecast of rain, I decided to grab the teal suede ebay score Chloé flats to brighten up the palette.
Black tie waist dress by Theory (similar here, here, and here)
White House Black Market short sleeve sweater cardigan (similar here)
Hue tights
Chloé double strap mary jane flats in teal green suede (similar here, here, and here)
Vintage cameo necklace and Swatch watch

This dress would likely photograph poorly even if I took better photos than those produced through iphone and mirror. But I promise its details are really cool. I wore this out on a rainy night to a few bars/clubs. I left my jacket in the car so the combo of silk dress and suede shoes was not a bright one.
Green silk dress by Mike and Chris (similar here)
Hue Tights
Marc by Marc Jacobs captoe mary jane pumps in teal suede with burgundy leather trim. (similar here and here)
Marc Jacobs Stam hobo in mouse gray (similar here and here)
Swatch watch and shell bracelet

The rainy forecast of April showers gave me the chance to throw my black patent Burberry trench coat with a hood over most of the above.

I got this jacket at an outlet mall in Florida last Labor Day weekend, when I vacationed in Ft. Lauderdale. I need to have it tailored a bit up top and I have to cinch the waist tighter than shown. But I am happy to be able to wear this again.

Similar here, here, and here.

I still have to wrap my reviews up but am busy with grading. So I should be able to finish on Thursday.

Blogiversary Contest Winner Drawn!

The method:
Random.org's number generator. I had 26 comments with an additional number added for one entrant's tweet (they didn't comment twice but did twitter the contest). So 1-27. The first eligible number drawn was 17 which corresponds with Brianna's comment. 

Congratulations, Brianna!

Thank you so much to everyone who entered and thank you for reading my humble blog!

2 Year Blogiversary Giveaway of a set of Baggu Bags!

On April 21st, 2008 (aka two years ago last Wednesday) I published my first entry on this silly little blog. And although I have posted off and on, I am grateful for my intimate group of readers and commenters. To that end, I decided to throw a blog giveaway to thank you all! What better prize than Baggus to hold all the objects you might wish to consume?!

Last week also marked Earth Day so the contest merges these two events. Making simple changes to our mundane patterns of consumption can make a difference (although there is certainly plenty to be done beyond that)! Hopefully switching to ecototes will help you resolve to eliminate/minimize plastic bags from consumer excursions. I began this blog to track my shopping habits and examine (sometimes critically, sometimes not) why I consume as much as I do. Perhaps Earth Day was in the back of my mind? Perhaps the theme is counterintuitive to it. But regardless, the two year anniversary is here!

I am giving away a useful, adorable, and brightly colored 3-Pack Shopping Kit of Baggu Ecototes! Make sure you read below for instructions. Incomplete contest entries will be automatically disqualified.

Here's how you enter the Consume or Consumed Blogiversary Giveaway!:

1. Follow my blog by clicking on the "Follow" button to the right (underneath the "About Me" section)! (Thank you to those of you already following!) ETA: If your name is drawn and you did not follow this step, you will be disqualified from the contest!

2. Leave a comment on this post, and either leave your email or make sure it is easy to contact you through your profile/blog.

Optional 3. Once you have done the above, you can enter a second time by following me on Twitter and tweeting about this giveaway. "Win a set of three Baggu Bags from @Jesspgh by entering the http://consumerconsumed.blogspot.com/ contest." would make an appropriate twitter entry that you can copy and paste. Be sure to leave another comment on Consume or Consumed, confirming your twitter entry and username.

The contest begins now and will close at 11:59pm, est on Tuesday, 04/27/10. A winner will be chosen through random.org's random number generator.

Domestic (US) entries only, sorry International readers!

*Consume or Consumed is not affiliated in any way with Baggu. This contest is being held privately/independently and is not sponsored by the company.

Fitting Room Reviews: Anthropologie and Saks

Don't forget to enter the Consume or Consumed Blogiversary Giveaway! 

First up are three Anthropologie items. The Aniseed Skirt was very cute on the rack but I was pretty sure it would be no good on me. Although it looks poofy, and adds girth to my bottom half, I kind of like the silliness of it. This is a size 8 and fit true to size. The skirt itself is very nicely made for the retail price. I plan to be practical and not buy this even after it goes on sale because it is not flattering.

The Abstract Greenery skirt is now sold out online but you can run an in store search for it. It went on sale last week. It was unlined and kind of unsubstantial but the print is nice and the green is a lovely saturated hue. The buttons are functional and made me worry about gappage while sitting or something. I passed.

The Lattice Cardigan in navy is so pretty.  This is a medium. I have seen it all over the blogosphere and although I don't know if it will last long enough, I might try to grab it once it hits the sale section.

Next up is Saks:
Everything I liked was full price or still too expensive to buy. I went for Friends and Family but ended up leaving empty handed. The extra 20% off didn't make a larger enough dent.

This cobalt blue rosette trimmed Tibi dress was beautiful in person. Still too pricey even though I found it on the sale rack... This is a large. It was a bit big on me but I sort of liked that because it made the dress a little more slouchy. You can buy it in black here.

This gray Marc by Marc Jacobs Willis Dress had nice, thick stretch cotton, a cinch buttoning belt, and pockets. The size medium was a bit bulky so I would say this style runs large. For sale in black here.

I loved this Trompe Loeil Ramsey cardigan from Marc by Marc Jacobs. All the buttons, pockets, and the peter pan collar were knitted faux details. It closed with snaps. The medium was sold out so this is the large. It runs true to size for MBMJ, which is to say, on the larger side of things. Very similar one here.

More fitting room reviews to come later today. That's all for now!

Springtime Organization and a Giveaway Reminder!

Don't forget to enter the Consume or Consumed Blogiversary Giveaway! 

Spring is about renewal and for me, it is also about sorting, weeding, and storing my stuff. It has become painfully clear to this particular coat addict that I can safely put away the heavier cold weather gear until fall. In order to execute this task smartly, I gathered up my garment storage bags.

I managed to build a starter collection of these thanks to my friend Jess, who gave me some of her spares a while back. But since then, whenever I've purchased coats, jackets, or dressier dresses from the fancier department stores, I've requested the items be placed in garment bags in lieu of disposable shopping bags. I have yet to be refused this request, even when purchasing items on sale. But another place to find these would be a dry cleaner or on ebay. I store about three coats per bag, depending on thickness. I pulled all the coats I wanted to store out of my closet and checked/emptied the pockets.

Then I buttoned them up neatly. I laid out a garment bag then placed each coat on top of it for lint rolling. I de-fuzzed and de-Specked them with lint rollers so they will be ready to wear next cold weather season. 

I decided to store them loosely by category. For example, full skirted coats went together. And some were stored by brand. Others were stored by color. It was sort of random. But it made sense to me at the time.

Lastly, I tuck three coats into each garment bag (as soon as they were defuzzed) and put them into lesser used storage space in my attic. One of the constraints of my older home is that the closets do not reflect modern volumes of consumption. It helps to stock my closet seasonally out of practicality.

Another fun organizational project was to get my costume jewelry in order. I found this jewelry stand at Marshall's.

They had many to choose from but I liked the tiny coat rack the most. This way I will be able to see my heavier rotation jewelry rather than have it tucked into boxes. Are you doing any spring cleaning/organizing to get ready for warm weather?