Tea Time at Special Teas

I wanted to take Jasmine to a English Tea place for a long time, but never did until today. I found this place in Northborough called Special Teas via a google search and saw a solid high ranking, so off we went this morning with high hopes. We got to the place around 11:45 am, and managed to be seated right away at a big table shared with a gentleman with his niece (for her birthday) at the other end of the table. They ran out of two seaters so if we wanted a table to ourselves, we had to wait for 45 minutes. It turned out to be not bad at all. The table was huge, we weren't bugging each other too much. The nice gentleman even offered to take a picture of us. As you can see in the picture, we were way too close to the lady behind us!!! 

Jasmine ordered a Smoked Turkey Scone and cleaned the plate in no time (I don't see her eat that fast very often, she's normally a nibbler.) I ordered a half chicken salad and half tomato soup. The salad was excellent, but I wasn't crazy about the tomato soup. We ordered half a pot of Green Chai and finished it all. I like the way they keep the tea hot.

The place is nice but not what I was looking for. The settings is too simple. My search continues for a true English Tea place with fancy china teapots and teacups. Any suggestions for the Boston Metro West area would be appreciated.  Also can we please have a cup of tea and a sandwich without waiting for 40 minutes?

My tea time outfit:

Cashmere Sweater from Macy's (old)

Tweed Skirt from Ann Taylor Factory Store (00P)

J.Crew Colletta coat (last season's, see review here)

Prada boots

Pearl necklace (gifted from sister)

Chanel M/L flap

Secret Santa and Thanks!

Blogging and joining the petite blogging community has been more than exciting in the past year. I have made so many friends and some have become so close that they feel like sisters that I never had.  Thanks Jessy of The Little Dust Princess for spending the time and effort to organize the second annual Secret Santa gift exchange. I missed out on the first one, so this is the first time I participated. The gift searching and receiving are both a lot of fun. See what I got for my recipient - Jess of Stylepint. 

My Secret Santa was Sydney of Petite Little Girl. When I opened her package, I was beyond ecstatic. She got almost EVERYTHING on my wish list.  Thank you soooo much, Sydney!

Two pairs of black tights, a belt ring hanger, a pair of big hoop earrings and a remote control for my camera. Now can you spot the 3 SS presents in this post now? (remote in the right hand, black tights, and hoop earrings.)

For this holiday season I also received a beautiful Ann Taylor cardigan from Annie of Really Petite. Love it! Thank you, Annie.

Now some of you already know that I don't have an H&M store near me. When Jean of Extra Petite heard that I was interested in the green and ivory tops that she showcased in her post, she picked them up for me in separate trips. (First time there was no ivory in sz 2.)  Thank you Jean for thinking of me ALL THE TIME.

When I received the package from her, I found this Ravish me Red Revlon lipsticks that I've been wanting to get for a while - you know, to get these bright red lips like J.Crew models have in their catalogs. 

Thank you, Jean!

Hope you are all enjoying the holidays and enjoying the presents you got. Don't forget to head over to The Little Dust Princess to see all of the Secret Santa reveals.

Ann Taylor Faux Fur Vest and Rebecca Minkoff Sweetie Clutch

Besides gingham shopping, I haven't been doing much lately. Tristan is sick, so I stayed at home with him while Daddy took Jasmine skiing - for the first time, and she was on the blue trail before lunch time. What a natural!  Even though I haven't accomplished anything, I feel tired. It comes with having to entertain a nine year old for a whole day. We are talking about board game after board game, and wii party. So excuse me for the lack of words, let's just see some pictures.

Outfit Details:

Loft cardi (old)

Ann Taylor Faux Fur Sweater Vest (xsp, buy here)

Gap Ponte Leggings (00R, last seen here)

Prada boots

Rebecca Minkoff Sweetie Clutch in Cameo (buy here, the color of the bag is off, the endless website color is more true to real color)

Merry Christmas!

Hope you are all enjoying your Christmas Day with your friends and families.

(The tall guy doesn't get to stand on the rock.)

My favorite Christmas present: A new bag from my kiddos!

"Dear Mommy, We could not afford a Chanel. Hope this will do! :) Jasmine & Tristan"

Merry Christmas!!!

OOTD: Leopard Booties

These booties are probably the shoes that got the most stares and comments at work this year. I love them, and they are super comfy - Nike Air n all. No break-in period, I could go to the mall with these.

Gap shirt (last worn here, buy here)

Ann Taylor Boiled Merino Wool Jacket (last worn here)

Gap legging jeans ($35 with 30% off here)

Cole Haan "Air Talia" Calf Hair Booties (find on Ruelala. Invite here)

Rebecca Minkoff MAC

Alex Woo "Little Signs" Sterling Silver Lion (Leo) Pendant (LOVE!, but here)

I love the 3-D effect and the diamond-cut ball chain (lovely beady chain) of these Alex Woo pendants. I'm a Leo, so I got this little lion pendant. I also love love love this Bee Pendant, Single Note Pendant, and OMG this Gold Pineapple Pendant! Too many to choose from.

What is your opinion on leopard footwear? Is it too wild? Why is is so much more noticeable and loud than a leopard print scarf?

Sale Alert: Ann Taylor Faux Fur Styles 70% off

Warmer weather this winter has brought us fantastic cold weather item sales. First it was the ridiculously priced J.Crew coats, now Ann Taylor has slashed all its faux fur items by 70% (with coupon).

Surprisingly I haven't picked up any faux fur clothing or accessories this year (until today) even though they were literally at every corner you turn. I love the look, but I haven't found the perfect one for me (nicely made, not too cheap looking, reasonably priced).  I tried this Luxe Faux Fur Sweater Vest in the store once and loved it! But the price tag ($168) made me put it down. Now with the 70% off, the vest is about $50, a little more digestible. The color is very pretty in person, and I like that it's not all around fur, so the back view looks very shapely.

This deal is in-store only and only lasts till Friday. The store near me didn't have petite sizes for this vest, so I used the style finder to place an order to have it shipped to me from a different store. If you have an Ann Taylor card, the shipping on this item is waived.

Will you be taking advantage of this sale?

Sale Alert: J.Crew Coats at $56

I'll make it short and sweet.  This is your chance to score a beautiful (or two) J.Crew coats for an incredible low price. Use code SNOWMAN to get 30% off + Free Shipping on $100+.

Update (@ 9:41AM EST) Too good of a deal to last. Plaza Coat at this price is completely sold out, Lady Day has some tall sizes left.

Double-Cloth Lady Day Coat with Thinsulate ($56 after discount)

Plaza Coat ($54.23 after discount)

There were a lot of petite 00 and petite 0 sizes left when I wrote this post. But hurry. This won't last long though. Thank you Sydney and SewPetiteGal for tweeting!

Don't forget to get 4% back by using ebates.com. For invites, click here.

Cold Weather Essentials: Chunky Wool Sweaters and Cashmere Scarves

First of all, thank you so much for the emails and comments regarding how to evict the squirrels in the attic. I placed an order for an ultrasonic device to see if they'd be driven away first before I use a trap. Wish me luck.

What would you put on in the morning when you wake up with an outdoor temperature below 15? Fahrenheit that is. I chose this thick, chunky, hand knit wool sweater I purchased during my New York trip a couple of years ago at J.Crew. Back then with a decent sale, this sweater ran about $40. Now? $225 original price on a sweater like this. Clothing prices have gone up more than food prices in the past 5 years. I layered a long sleeve shirt underneath because this type of sweaters usually are not tightly knit.  I reached for this cashmere scarf that I got as a Christmas present from my Mom last year. It's soft, cozy, and warm. Guys, this is plenty warm in my house but I decided to get these pictures taken outside because the lighting is just so much better. Not too bad for 5 minutes, but that's how long I lasted outside. :)

When I get too cold, I get silly.

J.Crew handknit cable wool sweater (xs, similar here, fair asle version here)

Ann Taylor Denim Zipper Leggings (00P, Enchanted wash, buy here, see knit version reviewed by Michelle.)

Zara suede messenger bag, worn as a clutch (sold out online, still in store. comes in 3 different colors)

Ann Taylor platform perfect pumps (sz 6, buy here)

Swarovski snake ring

Kenneth Cole stone necklace

Hope you have a great weekend!!!

Uninvited Guests in the Attic

For the longest time, kids complained about noise upstairs. We thought they were just being kids - finding excuse not to shower upstairs, because "It's scary." at night. Then this morning, I heard this continuous scurrying in the closet. I knew it wasn't the wind, so I asked Bryan to check it out. A few minutes later, he announced that we had squirrels in our attic. Don't get my wrong, I love those little creatures in our backyard. But in the attic? NO!!!! Anyone have any ideas how to get rid of them?

Have you guys ordered this Chambray shirt from Coldwater Creek yet? If not, you should consider. See Jean's post for details. I ordered both black and sour cherry colors. I have not received them yet, but I am totally looking forward to it. Update: Received them. They are HUGE. No go. Fail. Waiting to see if it'll fit my Mom. I ordered it when it was at $11.89 which I thought was a ridiculously great price. Then two days later, it went on further sale for $10.19. I went on the live chat and they price adjusted for me on CHAT.  Amazing customer service! I wear my Ann Taylor Chambray almost every week. It looks great on its own and fantastic as a layering piece. Since it's in the wash still, I used the gingham one instead today for layering. To add a little interest and show more of the gingham pattern, I decided to leave the sweater unzipped and used a leopard print belt to tie the look together.

Ralph Lauren gingham shirt (pxs, buy similar here)

Banana Republic Factory zip up cardigan (xs)

Zara shorts (current, fits great, similar here)

Ann Taylor belt (similar here)

Swarovski Alice In Wonderland Necklace

Christmas is Stressing Me Out

Hello, everyone. Long time no see! I have been MIA for the past week, or was it more than that? I have a good excuse though. "Christmas is Stressing Me Out".  Last Sunday morning, I woke up and realized that I hadn't ordered my Christmas picture cards yet, outdoor Christmas decorations were still in the basement, I still had many many presents to buy, the house was a mess, five baskets of laundry to do, the fridge was empty, my son was having a cold, AND showstopper bugs waiting for me to look at for work. It literally freaked me out. Thankfully, when I announced "I'M STRESSING OUT." Everyone in the family heard it. Kids helped out straightening the rooms, husband went out and put up the Christmas decorations, while I furiously vacuumed. We picked out the picture of the family together to be on our Christmas card this year and the cards are now on their way to our house. I'm still stressed, but well enough to write up this post. 

I didn't take any outfit pictures last week, and I am so bummed out about it. I have worn my Ann Taylor Factory tweed skirt twice to work already and neither time I got a chance to snap a shot.

Did anyone else pick up this skirt?

BUT, I forgot that while I was playing with my secret santa's present, this outfit was captured. This was one of my favorite outfits, I hope you enjoy it too.

Loft pleated skirt (00P) (on Annie here)

Ann Taylor belt (old)

Loft blouse (xxsp, on Annie here)

Ann Taylor scarf (last season)

I just noticed 3 items (2 shown, 1 in my right hand, not shown) from my Secret Santa. Can you figure out what they are? I know I'm spoiling the reveal, but I couldn't wait to put them in use right away. I love my Secret Santa.

Forever 21 Cropped Tweed Jacket

Being sick is no fun. Being sick and overloaded at work is a super bad combination. My lesson learned this week - you are more productive and have better influence to others when you are not a disgruntled b*tch.
I also learned this week that for the longest time I thought I had problems with my night vision, it turns out that I just needed to clean my windshield. Yes, the inside of my windshield.

Outfit Details:

F21 Cropped Tweed Jacket

Express studded dress

Chanel m/l flap

Pearl necklaces from auction

Pearl earrings (gifted from MIL)

Skagen watch
Lauren Conrad Leaf Ring from Kohl's (Love!!!)

Zippered sleeves

Skagen watch - simple, modern, clean lined, mesh strap. LOVE! $60 from Nordstrom's Half-yearly sale.

Have a great weekend!