Short Report (plus a contentment challenge update)

Our Memorial Day weekend adventures included a stop at the J.Crew Factory store for a few much needed items for Mark. While the late spring weeks have been rough on my #contentmentchallenge -- read I fell off the wagon, but there is grace people, there is grace -- stepping into this store was particularly difficult. I spent the first four months of the year without shopping at all. As warmer temperatures began to creep up and we planned trips and a full wedding season, shopping slipped back into my routine. But with the support of my mom and a few friends, I reinvigorated my summer clothes. I have been actively streamlining my wardrobe. And while I will likely never adopt the "capsule wardrobe" in the purest form, having less had been liberating. Re-trying on my clothes and reminding myself of what I actually own has been both encouraging and somewhat therapeutic. I seem to have short term memory loss when it comes to the clothes I own, having to frequently remind myself that I am suitably outfitted.

But people, I have a weak spot for pants and shorts. I would gladly wear the same shirt every day if I could mix up my bottoms. So odd, right? For this reason, that store had me in a daze of pretty things. I was a walking heart eyed emoji. The graphic shorts! They are spot on this summer. We left without any purchases for me and were glad. I am officially back on track with my #contentmentchallenge But man, the shorts were lovely. If you are in the market for shorts, J.Crew Factory has got you covered, including all the pretties pictured above. Bonus, their denim short options aren't bad either!

Pssst...if I was shopping right now, I would also buy this bag, perfect for summer. If only there was a way to make money while amassing a collection of bags. 

Have you ever done a shopping freeze or contentment challenge?

If so, how did it go?

What are your summer-time staples? 

And do you also have a thing for pants and shorts? 

Disclaimer: compensated affiliate links may be used in this post.

What's in a shape?

As a teenager, I used to dread magazine articles which told me which sunglasses to buy or how to cut my hair. I always wanted advice, heck I needed advice. I had about as much fashion sense as a blind mule. So when I flipped the page of my InStyle, I should have been glad for direction. Instead, I would look at a chart like this and feel utterly and completely lost.

I am sort of a mishmash of the in between. I've even asked hair salons which have given me the gamut of answers.  But here's the thing, I need new glasses. My current glasses were purchased over 10 years ago, and I have not updated the prescription...which is why you never see pictures of me wearing them!

In the hunt for new frames, I have decided to go with Bon Look but I am stumped between two choices, the Hooverville and the Charlie: 

and if you promise you won't judge, 

here are two very early, poorly lit, tired-eyed, frizzy bed head ponytail webcam shots of me "wearing" my top two choices, that I can't believe I am actually sharing with the public. 

note: I am sure I did not properly sized these on my face as I just wanted the general idea, not the exact look.

What face shape would you say I am? And which glasses should I get? 

image one // image two 

San Francisco Bay Area | Napa & St. Helena

Vineyards are not very baby friendly.

They are especially unfriendly when you are already sleep deprived and under the weather. After the perfect storm of tears, runny noses, and a lost sneaker in Napa, we abandoned our hopes of touring the vineyards and headed North. Upon recommendation of our friend Kelsey, we drove to St. Helena, the town that saved our vacation. A few steps down the sidewalk and I was already swooning. The shops there are wonderfully currated. So much so, I joked that their buyers must have been expecting me.  Here are the items that would have made it home in my suitcase if there was room:

1. Animal Kisses Notecards // 2. Artiga Tote // 3. Morse Code Jewelry by Coatt // 

4. Paper + Cup Old School Ledger // 5. Haws Watering Can // 6. Stamps by Yellow Owl Workshop 

You see? 

St. Helena had me at hello. 

Highlights: Napa Valley Vintage Home, Acres Home and Garden, Muse, St. Helena Olive Oil Company (which deserves its own post...) and Gotts, which we didn't get to stop at, but hope to visit next time.

Obsessed with Green

All shades. Right now. Obsessed. Really. Truly. Almost called this post green with envy. I stopped short of envy.

glasses from anthro

kendra scott earrings

kate spade studs

essie "going incognito" polish

iPad case by juicy

fendi flats

top shop skirt

...and the to die for coat...

p.s. I promise that I would never actually wear all of this at once.

in case you were wondering.

Fall Colors

I love the transition to fall.

Crisp, cool air.

Warm apple pie.

Pumpkin lattes.

And new layers of clothing.

In my dream world, these are the key pieces I would pick up to update my summer wardrobe for the new season.

OPI Pamplona Purple nail polish

Dooney & Bourke Florentine Vacchetta Letter Carrier

Stella and Dot Gold Soiree Studs

*** only a few more days to enter the stella and dot giveaway ***

J.Crew Watercolor Floral Scarf

Marc by Marc Jacobs Leather Bangle

Michael Kors Tortoiseshell Watch

J.Crew Deseree Sandals

{update: Mark's brother saw these on my Saturday shoes and bought them for me! He's a keeper.}

Sadly, some of these items have been on my wish list forever, and they are no longer available.  But they are still pretty to look at right?

How about you?  What accessories are on your dream list?

Stella and Dot for Parkinsons, A Giveaway

Let me introduce you to Kate. She is a dear friend from college and my style icon. There are days I desperately wish she still lived in the dorm room next to me.  She is a world traveler, great listerner, and one of the most even keeled folks I know. 

Among her many talents and titles, she is a consultant for Stella and Dot.  This presents her the opportunity to be incredible generous with her time and her earnings.  From now until September 4th all proceedes from her sales will be donated to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research. 

So go on ladies (and guys!) head on over to Kate's Stella and Dot site and pick something out. Nothing beats shopping for a good cause right? Not only are the baubles gorgeous, they are also afordable.  Here are some of my absolute favorites:

Leona Pendant Necklace

La Coco Turquoise Beaded Necklace

Astor Five Strand Necklace

Amelia Drop Earrings

On top of all of that, she is teaming up with me to host a giveaway!  One of you will become the owner of these fabulous earrings:

Charlize Teardrop Earrings

How to enter:

leave one comment to let me know:

how you follow The Scribble Pad

and

which piece is your favorite from Kate's Stella and Dot site

Additional Entries:

{be sure to leave a separate comment for each}

follow me on twitter

tweet about this give away including @TheScribblePad

pin one of my favorite pieces on Pinterest

link to this giveaway on your facebook status

giveaway will be open through Sunday, September 4

Happy Shopping!

pssst...have you seen the newest addition to the blog? 

"Special Features" are now over there on the top right.  If you would like to be included and promoted in the special features, drop me a line!

shannon {dot} angelos {at} gmail

Gifts for College Students

There are the traditional gifts, comforters, posters, a hamper full of laundry and bath products.  Even money and gas cards are great.  With my sister beginning her freshman year of college, I have spend a lot of time thinking about good gifts.  She is the hardest person in the world to buy gifts for.  So here is what I would love if I were going back to school:

Belkin Conserve Power Strip - stops the flow of juice when electronics are not in use or charging.  Plus it looks a lot sleeker than the outdoor orange utility extension cord my dad sent me to college with!

Boon Stash - to keep your desk neat and organized.  You know how I love things to have their place.  This would have been perfect!

Jonathan Adler iPhone Case - because why wouldn't I sneak in a bit of fabulousness?  I wish the phone came with it.  I would take one of those too please.

Skull Candy Earbuds - the best of the best for listening to music and running.  The don't fall out!  Plus the great color would make them easy to spot at the bottom of my bag.

Travel Toiletry Bag - I love this one from ikea because it is huge.  It holds everything.  And again, the bright color is super cheery and makes it a breeze to spot.

Coffee Joilie - this fabulous "bean" promises to keep my coffee hot for up to 5 hours.  It is the little things in life right?  And coffee is very near to the top of my list.  Hot coffee even better.

Hmmm...maybe I should consider grad school, just for some swag.

Coupons for Etsy

Wow, have you heard of Hearsty?  It is like Groupon or LivingSocial, but for the handcrafted fabulousness available on etsy.  If you are a regular reader, you know I love a good deal.  And the deals get even sweeter when they are for adorable baby gear.  Zulily anyone?

So you can only imagine my excitement when I checked out Heartsy today and saw this awesome deal.  You can get a $33 credit to The Crafty Tortoise for only $13!  That translates into a hat for babe at over 50% off!  

Tons of other great deals.  Go ahead.  Sign up for Hearsty here.  

p.s. huge thanks to Christie over at Hoot and Dollar for sharing this via the fabulous Carly, a frequent guest blogger over at Calligraphy by Shannon.

Do you ...lala?

RueLaLa is having a sweet deal going right now.  

Anyone I invite gets a $20 credit!  

Feel free to take me up on this offer! 

{disclaimer, I get a $10 credit if you make a first purchase}

Click Here for $20

offer expires 4/25

credit expires 5/25

Lamp Hunting = Furniture Buying

Mark and I went hunting for lamps...and we came home with these:



Hunter Trunk = Coffee Table



Terrevida Table = Calligraphy Work Station/Dinning Room Table/Center of Our Living Space



Well, we didn't actually come home with them.  But they are on order and a delivery date will soon be scheduled.  If you have known us for long, you have heard of our 4 year search for a farm looking table and a storage trunk for a coffee table (that was tiny enough to fit in our apartment).  Crate and Barrell came through for us big time this week! 

Good thing we had time to wander through their showroom in Annapolis.  Or...the story line could read: "Bad Things Happen When you Have Too Much Time at the Mall."  Either way, we are excited with our finds and look forward to incorporating them into our living room!

Oh yeah...we purchased some lamps as well!

Very productive shopping expedition.

p.s.This may be considered nesting.

Our home is begining to feel more pulled together now that we are slowly replacing the college furniture that has served us for over 10 years!  Time to move on up...

Car Seat

I was able to narrow down the carseat to 4 choices. They all had the same key features and only varried in a few areas that we deemed less important. So....drumroll please....after debate since JUNE! I have finally registered for a carseat:

Britax Boulevard 70 CS Convertible Car Seat - Blueprint

You can view it on my baby at Babies R Us here!

shameless? yes!

Stroller Debate: Vista vs. Skate

We are torn between the UppaBaby Vista and the Peg Perego Skate.

Here are the categories by which we are comparing them:

Cost: Comprable $600+ (gasp...I know...but my research says the "heavy" duty strollers with extra nice wheels will be a life saver walking around DC)

Color: Both come in green, though we may consider all black if we go with the UppaBaby. I am not sue I like that "shade" of green. I love the color of the Peg Perego.

Functionality: Same handlebars, similar wheels, both are reversible and have bassinet features, and bassinet stands.

Additional Features: Both have add-ons for jumper seats for the second child. UppaBaby also has a step/stool for pushing three! children around.

Reviews: Both have great reviews from mommies and for their safety features.

What should I do?!!??

. . . or . . .

If you have any experience with either of these, please fill me in!

I want to hear all of your thoughts...

Spring Wardrobe Essentials

The basic tee: I love the Lux Tee from Banana Republic. It looks great under a suit or cardigan and transitions to the weekend without skipping a beat.

The basic tank: Does anything look familiar? I love the BR Lux tee so much, that I have also picked up the tank!

Classic White Jeans - with a Straight Leg you can't go wrong! I love my James Jeans. The have an easy fit, so work with everything. I dread skinny jeans in the humid city summers. An open leg allows enough movement, that I can muster a full length pant all summer long.

Summer Loafers - because you can't ALWAYS wear flip flops! Ditch you commuting shoes that took a beating all winter long for a bright new spring pair. I chose these Porto Loafers from J.Crew in Pale Oak. They were on sale in the store, significantly below the online price, so I couldn't resist!

A Sturdy Umbrella

{Photo from here}

Living in DC, I typically commute by foot. Walking in the rain doesn't ever seem to slow me down. But commuting in the wind and rain each Spring does a number on my umbrellas. Each year, I inevitably go through a few umbrellas. No matter how happy I start the wet weather season, my umbrellas end up, well, a bit like this:

{Photo from here}

So I am on the hunt for a good umbrella. I really have my heart set on a big one with a curved handle. What do you think? Any suggestions?

Oh yeah, and for the days I still really want to bike (even in the rain) I am thinking of trying something new.

{Photo from here}

Would you still be my friend if I rode to work like this?

It's Raining...

...but I am prepared. Here is my wet weather gear:

I love my North Face rain jacket in a bright, happy green. I bought it in January of either 2004 or 2005...right before a trip to Guatemala. My friend Amanda told me that if I was going to buy something that expensive it better be worth it! Well, at least ten years later. Whoops! My math was a bit off there! About five years later, I still live in this jacket year round. Whenever it is the slightest bit damp, it is my trusty friend.

My most recent wet weather purchase:

Bean Boots!

I have been thinking, hunting, debating the purchase of L.L. Bean boots. I finally buckled down and decided to protect my feet. I wore them 4 straight days this week and my toes couldn't be happier! They have been warm and dry.

I am set! These two things help keep me ready for outdoor adventure in the rain...on weekends. Keeping dry during the work week is "a whole 'nother" story!

Love Etsy

I really do, I love Etsy. Recently, my heart has been a pitter patter for "different" necklaces. You know, something other than my typical pearls or beads. Then I found this:

I wanted it.

It went on sale.

I bought it.

Wahoo! I cannot wait until it arrives in the mail!

Check out more just like it get your own at Love Stitched

Valentine's Day

The Movie:

Oh man, it was good. Mark and I went to see this movie. We PAID to see this movie. This is big people. We are cheap! We don't pay to see things. (True Story: Since we have been married 3.5 years we have not paid for a single movie or sporting event - we only go if it is free, we are given tickets, or someone we go with pays for us!) It was Mark's special Valentine's Day thing for me. It was good. Did I already say that? I really liked it.

Cheesey? - Yes

Chick Flick? - Yes

Predictable? - eh...depends on how well you predict

Funny? - Hillarious!

Do I want to see it again? - Absolutely!

But while watching the movie, I couldn't get over a picture in the background of Aston Kutcher's apartment (you see it as he goes down the stairs in the morning). You could only partially see it, but it was a poster, of a dog, that said fetch...of course, the first thing I did when I got home was look for it...

And I found it!

Now, should I buy it?

A Hand Hewn Kitchen Table

When we lived in Essex, we used to take bike rides to explore the parts of the North Shore we never saw as college students. One day we stumbled upon a gem, right near our apartment, Walker Creek Furniture. It is a fantastic old barn full of the most beautiful furniture we have ever seen.

Everything about it is quintessential small town New England and very much "us."

Now that we are a bit more settled, we have begun to hunt for a kitchen table. As we go about our search, we are continually brought back to Walker Creek and their amazing furniture. As you can see from the photos above, there are some beautiful pieces at Walker Creek! And, we basically like them all!

Despite our obvious attraction to these tables, we also have convinced ourselves that we will find THE table here in the DC area.

So, we have scoured stores and continually check CraigsList...until we found: Our table!

Or so we thought. We love the top. They are beautful, old, hand hewn boards with plenty of character. The bottom is a bit rustic, and though it is sturdy, it is not very well made. But unfortunately, the table is well...just a bit short. You can't exactly pull a chair up to it and fit your legs underneath. But it was a steel for the wood on top so we have developed to alternate game plans:

Option # 1: We can take the legs off and get new ones (that look old) to bring it to the correct hight.

Pro: we will have a kitchen table

Con: it is still rather small and we will ultimately want something to seat more people

Option # 2: We cut down the existing legs to make it a coffee table. We would also paint them a dark muted brown to blend in/disappear so the top is the focal point.

Pro: the cheaper of the two options, and we also need a coffee table

Con: this would make the perfect size coffee table for a suburban home, but might be a bit large for our urban small spaces

Which option should we choose?