Nocreative title here, just some reviews

Hi all, it's been awhile, hasn't it? I'm sorry. I blame Anthro. Instead of wandering in to the store to try all on my loves and snap pics of them, I end up walking around finding nothing that I really like and have to grab things deliberately to try on. That said, I have bought some Anthro lately. Everyone help me pray for a big sale/second cuts next week, since they gypped us today at the end of free ship. (I just picked up a De Chelly dress deliberately hoping for a second cut. Since I have done so, I can now guarantee you that there will not be a second cut before the end of my PA adjustment range.) I also picked up a few rare gems on ebay, but my bank account is not so delighted. I guess it's a good thing then that Anthro's latest offerings have been a bit stale.

What I also picked up was The Land of the Painted Caves, book six in the Earth's Children trilogy by Jean Auel. (Just out today!) Yessssss. I have a blissful evening ahead of me with lots of Stone Age historical fiction. The reviews seem weak, but I'm hoping I'll still like it. I don't necessarily need a lot of action and I like reading long boring historical descriptions of how to cook food or make clothes (which is what a lot of people seem to be knacking on the book for), so fingers crossed!

What else is new? I guess since I've posted about my riding exploits here in the past, I'll also share with you that I had my first fall last week! (I have been seriously going around talking about this to everyone I know. I don't know why I'm bragging about it. It's not that great a thing to be proud of. But I feel this is something vitally important that everyone must know.) It's actually not that exciting to speak of - one of the things I've had the most problems with right now is proper pacing into the jumps, and I generally epic fail at slowing down Remy over combinations. I screwed up and slewed him into the line at way too steep of an angle, which had me off balance over the first fence. He eyed the second fence and took off as usual - which threw me even more off balance - and then after we landed, I found myself hanging off the left side of the horse. I tried, but it wasn't quite saveable, and hanging off the side of the horse while he careened happily around the arena wasn't very appealing, so ..... ooomph and ploofmph! No harm, just had the wind knocked out of me and was sore for days afterwards. And I found sand in the oddest places afterwards. (in my nostrils?!?) At least I was triply inspired to go watch more videos after that. (Nope, sorry, no videos of my fall. I almost wish I had one. There are people on youtube that take great pleasure in making fall montages. I want to be cool like that!) What I have concluded after watching my old crap videos, and videos of grand prix riders, is that I think I throw myself too far forward at the two point and stay down in it too long. I need to try opening up on the downside of the jump. We'll see if I can remember that tomorrow in my next lesson.

Okay, Anthro reviews, which is much more exciting (and safer!)

Gathered Hemlock Dress ($148)

I tried the very similar Softly Structured dress on before and didn't care for it much on me, but I loved the bright sunny print of this dress. And .... still a no go. Shame. As I mentioned before, I love the print, and the dress is so comfortable and soft. I believe I took an xs and it fit just fine. I lay all blame on the top. I love the wrap style of the bottom, but the top seems too plain. If I put a hand over the bottom of the dress to just look at the top, it looks like a t-shirt. Maybe it's the wider neckline (which really isn't that wide and I've bought other shirts with wide necklines that look fine.) Maybe it's the short straight sleeves. But something just doesn't feel right to me.

Summer-Grown Dress ($138)

Oh my this dress is a mess. This is by Zehavale. I still do kind of wish I bought their Chocolate Chip dress last year. I remember taking a 0 in the CC Dress, but this looked weensy on the hanger, so I sized up to a 2. Well, it looks weensy on the hanger, because it is weensy in person. The material feels cheap and is not lined very well. (I think there is a weensy lining on this dress, but I don't remember for sure.) It's static-y and clings in the wrong places. The neckline is bizzare. The chiffon over the shoulders drops down, suggesting a (very weensy and tiny) vneck, but the print comes upwards, and it clashes to my eye. I just don't like it.

Hydrangea Petals Maxi Dress ($228)

This is for Nina, who has a strong fascination with maxi dresses. (Okay, really just the Leifsdottir Python Maxi Dress. And only so she can make fun of it.) This is by Moulinette Souers and I took my usual 2 in MS. Apologies for the (usual) yellow picture but the print is really lovely in person. The catalog shot is pretty approximate. It is very comfortable. It flows really well (unlike above review) and actually, for a maxi dress, is not too long! I'm 5'4 and it hit right at ankle length or a little below. I can walk in it without tripping, at least. I actually liked it quite a bit. Then I tried to figure out where to wear it. Grocery store? Nah. Library? Nah. Beach? Yes! Work? Nah. Backyard? Nah. Weekend shopping? Nah. Beach? Yes! .... except I live in landlocked Illinois, so no go on the dress. But if you're going on vacation to someplace tropical, I would recommend this!

Perennial Awakening Blouse ($138.00)

I had my doubts about this, but Jenni tried it on and it looked really great on her - although she plans to turn it into a dress. I thought I'd try it anyways, as I have developed a newfound fascination with silk. And ... I'm not quite sold on it for me. Yoana Baraschi has run big on me before, so I was pleased to find the xs fit me well. This seemed to cling really oddly to me too. Looking at the picture - what IS that bulge at the bottom of the shirt? Is that my jean line? Is it just poking out there for no reason at all? I don't think I can pull off the shirt-as-dress that Jenni wants to do. It works well for her since she's so small, but I think it'd look weird on me. And, I couldn't resist the next photo:

I has wings!!!!!!!