Temperley for Less

One of my favorite things this year is the increasing popularity of designers partnering with affordable retailers offering great fashion at a low cost. I went crazy for the Gap Vogue white shirt line (I bought two of them), the Simply Vera Wang collection at Kohl's is beautiful, & I have followed the Target Go International since they debuted, and have loved almost every line so far. ( I have my favorites of course).
When Target announced the Alice Temperley collection would be hitting stores on September 16th,I knew I would be counting down the days. I have been pining over the different pieces for a month now and finally they are available. These are some of my favorites.

I want this entire outfit.

This jacket I actually saw in a magazine and quickly wrote it off as something I couldn't afford and would have to make. When I looked at the credits and saw it was Target, I squealed in delight!

How cute is this sweatery vest and blouse?

And the ruffles on this one? so cute.

I love gold buttons on pants, especially blue ones.

I really wish the Target by me wasn't a dump and these beautiful clothes wouldn't be all over the floor being run over by careless shopping carts. If only I lived in the suburbs.....and if I could somehow get Marc Jacobs and Phillip Lim to design a collection for Target how happy I would be.

Banana pudding and an awkward 5 minutes

Those of you that know me well know I am a big fan of these two things.

1. Any dessert that includes pudding or custard. I like it in almost all forms. Cream puffs, creme brulee, flan, custard filled wedge donuts (remember Sarah?), Boston Creme Pie, and my favorite, Banana Pudding.

I haven't made Banana Pudding since Christmas, mainly because I can't control myself when I am around it. As my friend Nick put it (he also gave me the recipe), you just don't get sick of the flavor. I couldn't agree more, nor can my stomach. Sunday night we invited the Riches and the Romneys for some. Even though they ate a good 1/2 of the pudding, I am pretty sure I ate the other half. I would have and could have eaten all of it, providing my stomach could handle it. I have been known to have a bottomless pit.

I have used the recipe off of the Vanilla Wafers box, but last year Nick gave me the recipe that I am pretty sure is the same one they use at a very famous bakery in the West Village. I am pretty sure you can find this recipe floating around, so I only hesitate a little in posting it. But really, everyone should enjoy it!

1
1/2 cups cold water

1
(14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

2/3
cup instant vanilla pudding powder

3
cups heavy cream

One
box Nilla wafers

3
to 4 medium bananas, sliced

On
the low speed of an electric mixer, blend the water, milk, and
pudding powder until thoroughly mixed, about 1 minute. Refrigerate
for at least 4 hours (or overnight) until firm.

In
a separate bowl, whip the heavy cream until soft peaks form. Gently
fold the pudding mixture into the whipped cream until well
incorporated.

In
a large bowl, starting with the wafers, make five to six layers with
Nilla wafers, sliced bananas, and then the pudding mixture, until all
of the pudding mixture is gone. End with pudding and decorate with
crushed wafers on top if desired. Refrigerate about 30 minutes before
serving, and refrigerate any leftovers.

2. And this actress.

Here is the condensed version of my obsession. Hopefully she never reads this.

I have seen her I think 4xs since I have lived here. A few times I forgot I didn't actually know her and smiled and said "hi". Of course my dreams came true when Nick called me and told me he had been invited to a dinner party at her house. This was my chance, my in. And yes, it just kept getting better. She then had a baby, I have a baby, she bought a brownstone just down the street from me, playdates, perfect! Nick also found clever ways of bringing me up over the last couple of years, so in my mind, she totally knows me. She has been anticipating our meeting, our future playdates at the playground, her loaning me or giving me her designer clothes, movie premiers, tabloid pics, etc.

So last week, Nick and I visited the Moma. He told me more stories of hanging in out in Martha's Vineyard with her and her family so naturally, I felt closer than once removed, I was in too. After he helped me down the subway stairs with Luke and caught his train, but who came bounding down the stairs in the exact skirt I was working on sewing? yep. I was so distracted by the skirt, I didn't even notice it was her. My heart started pounding, my palms started sweating, this was it, I could either take it, or perhaps regret it. Turns out, I still kinda regret it. Oh why couldn't Nick have still been there to introduce us? it would have been so natural. Instead I casually called out her name, she turned, my face turned bright red, and all of the words I had been rehearsing in my head over the last few seconds turned to gibberish. After she finally made the connection, I could have been a lot clearer, but I wasn't thinking clearly myself, we talked over the next few minutes about our kids, the neighborhood, and her skirt. As I am writing this I realize I am making it sound as though the conversation was filled with more talking and less awkward silences, but actually just the opposite. I finally had to end the 5 minutes of torture.

Of course, I still haven't lost all hope. She now knows who this crazy girl is Nick always brings up in random conversations, and she is moving down the street from me. So in my pathetic dreams, I will still be dreaming of playground dates and free designer clothes.

***A big thank you goes out to Nick, who made this entire post possible. Hope you don't mind!

Meet Carrie!

She is going to kill me for doing this, I did warn her though.

Carrie and I have been friends for a long time. We met at Rick's college, roomed together at BYU, and have shared several great memories. Carrie has many talents, one of my favorites is her ability to make me and everyone else smile and laugh. She has an amazing wit and sense of humor, some of which I have been able to pick up and pass off as my own.

One of her new talents is quilt making and sewing. I am one of the lucky friends that have received one of both of these. For my birthday she made me this apron. I LOVE IT! The fabric and color combinations are perfect. I am almost afraid to use it, it might have to be for show on special
occasions!

And for Luke, she made this quilt. After I saw some of the quilts she had made, I mentioned under my breath that I wanted one, and before I knew it, I got it in the mail. Isn't it amazing?

My friend Ebay

I go in kicks. I actually stayed away from Ebay for almost 5 months, but when I needed to find a solution for my dress I became addicted, again. I watched and bid on several things from vintage fabric, mid-century furniture, to designer tops, but I only (good thing) won a few. These are the ones I lucked out on.

*Note, these photos are actually from the ebay auctions, I didn't have the energy to retake the pictures with me modeling them.

This is the slip I bought for my dress. I wanted to do something different than just a plain slip, this vintage accordion slip will hopefully look more intentional. This idea was a winning combination from Staci and Katie H.

The picture obviously doesn't do it justice. I will post the dress/slip combo once I am finished with it.

I have been loving high waisted wrap skirts lately. I just finished sewing one and am now moving on to my second. I found this one on ebay and fell in love with it, luckily I seemed to be the only one, it was pretty cheap.

These shoes I have been looking for on Ebay for over a year now. Since these shoes usually just appeal to little old ladies, I have only been able to find them in extra narrow, which my feet are not. I finally scored with a medium width and for a really great price!
Again, these are not my feet.

And lastly, I just can't help myself when I find a really cute vintage dress. 

A little story about a dress

One early spring afternoon, the sun was shining and Luke was sleeping in his stroller. I think I might have just made a purl patchwork run, and since things were going my way, I took my time strolling through the boutiques, some that haven't seen me for over a year. I usually stop in Mayle to check out the vintage inspired exquisite pieces I will never be able to afford. This particular stop, I fell in love with a dress. I in fact loved it so much, I interrupted the 2 clerks that were gushing about their previous night out just to tell them it might just be the most beautiful dress I had ever seen. They weren't impressed, or humored, but I was too blinded to care, I was in love.

A month or so later, I was walking by another favorite shop of mine, this one a bit closer to me, Bird. In the window I saw it again, the dress. It was as though time stopped. It was calling to me, and it continued to call me every time I stopped in, and I did just happen to make my way in as frequently as I could make an excuse to.

Then it happened. Bird went on sale. I planned my day around the first day of the sale. I yanked Luke out of bed a bit earlier than I would typically, and ran down to our car. To my disappointment, we were trapped in, it was street sweeping day and I was sandwiched in for another 15 minutes. We waited, and when I had just enough room to squeeze out, we sped down Prospect Park West. As I opened the doors I saw swarms of ladies all combing through the racks and waiting in line for the dressing rooms. I quickly made my way to the back and scanned each rack, no sign of the dress. I thought at least while I was there I might do some browsing, but nothing called to me. I decided to head out but as I was opening the door, I thought I should just ask. The clerk didn't know what dress I was describing, which I couldn't believe, but luckily the manager did. She wasn't sure how much it was marked down to, or if the other location might still have it, but she volunteered to call, and I didn't stop her. I couldn't believe my ears as she moved the phone from her chin and said those words I will never forget, "they have one, and it's 75% off". I screamed, and they agreed to hold it for me, just for a few minutes, just enough time for me to speed down to Smith Street.

I parked, three blocks away, afraid I wouldn't find anything closer and ran. There she was, hanging behind the counter, smiling at me, telling me she was so happy to see me, happy I was there to take her home. And I did just that, I took her right home, without trying her on, without even looking closely at her once more. I didn't want to change my mind, I didn't want to believe there would be any reason for me not to have her.

Turns out, there might have been a few reasons, significant ones in fact. The first being, she is a little big in the shoulders. And second, she is WAY too short.

Side note, at BR clothing and mannequins were either named or referred to as a pronoun. I just can't help myself when I have an attraction to a particular garment.

And this is how it would look if I did have the right legs, and could wear short dresses.

The good news is, I am still in love with it, and I don't regret the purchase. But I do need some help. I have already solicited help from some professionals, Kamilah recommended lengthening the hem by letting it out some and then wearing a black slip dress underneath, Katie at Blueprint, should be getting back to me soon, and my fashionista friend Nick is taking me to the garment district next week to give me some of his expert advice. But I am not stopping there, I ask you, my readers (all 12 of you), what do you think? How can I make this a wear now piece? instead of a "in my dreams when I have skinny legs", kind of piece.

Here is a closeup of the fabric. The hem does have about an inch and a half to be let down, but that unfortunately doesn't solve the issue, it still needs another inch or so. I am open to ideas, even if they are far out. I have been dying to wear this dress for months now and it is so within my reach I can feel it.
Please help make my dreams come true, and recommend a great tailor while you are at it!