La Bella Figura- in 45 linear inches no less!!

First of all, it feels good to be back. I will now sing "I LOVE CLOTHES" from the mountain tops. See- this is what happens when I don't socialize with my fellow fashion loving friends in blog land- I get slap happy.



Onto the serious stuff- my family and I are headed to Italy to spend Christmas and New Years with good friends. We are spending the first week in Northern Italy (Parma) at our friends' house, and then both of our families are visiting Rome (4 nights/ 5 days) and Venice (2 nights/ 3 days including New Years Eve) for the second week. It is very much a family outing with 4 kids in tow. My girlfriend has already given me a gentle lecture about over packing (she's known me for 20+ years- what can I say???). We will be travelling by train the second week so we are trying to stay compact (like one overhead fitting bag compact- I get anxiety just typing that). They have a washer and dryer so I will be able to do laundry after the first week before we hit the road. Having said all this- I have been working on my packing list in polyvore and would LOVE any feedback. I would also love a gravity check on thinking all of this will fit in one little roller-bag; I swear, I'm not smoking anything. I just have my rosy colored glasses on. If I wear the heaviest things on the plane (blazer, jeans, boots etc..)- it just might fit. Here's the part where you tell me what to ditch and what to add!! Thank you in advance for any thoughts.

HELP- LA BELLA FIGURA by Woobie featuring a velvet blazer

Back on the streets USING

No news is good news? NOT QUITE. First of all- hats off to all you bloggers out there that stay committed and blog every day. Tax season TOOK ME OUT- I just couldn't keep my head above water and when times get stressful- I am afraid I turned to my vice for comfort. And boy- it was a slippery slope down. It all started off so innocently when my hubby mentioned that he wanted to replace his J Crew university coat. Oh just use my account. You know what- I'll order it for you, no problem...........and then it went from there (I can't remember exactly- it was sometime around late February/ early April). Soon Mickey was sending me those special cards and emails again. Feeling like a COMPLETE failure, I stayed away from this blog and all the others that I love to read (JCAs, DaniBP, FFM, Head to Toe with Heidi, Gigi's Gone Shopping, and the list goes on.......) I will say that I curtailed my shopping immensely during the last half of the year. For some reason the summer fashion cycle never does that much for me (perhaps it is because we only get three months in Chicago) so I didn't do much shopping this summer. Once my birthday hit- I celebrated with a month of Crewlade- the UPS man and I are reunited and it feels so good! And now I am trying to reel it all back-in. I don't know about everyone else, but the sale really does me in. Just because you get an extra 30% off doesn't mean that you need a rimini cardigan in every color!! Very difficult for me to grasp that. I continue to try to edit, purge, and follow the rule that I will not buy unless I am IN LOVE and it looks fantastic on me. Enough with the ramble- I just wanted to bring some closure to the year by checking-in. I have slowly started following my favorite blogs but have been too embarrassed to say hello. So there you go. I'm back- trying to stay clean! We are taking a family trip to Italy for Christmas to visit good friends, so I am already fretting over the packing and fighting the urge to buy an entire new wardrobe for the voyage. But that is another post...........

So I wrap it up with a thought from Mr. Ford
"Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently."Henry Ford

Sounds good to me Henry!

P.S. I started this post in April and finished it in November- not sure why it doesn't update the date- but it is showing up as April when in fact it is 11/28!

Another Close Call- 30% OFF AND free shipping?

Late nights are not my friend these days and last night was no exception. I fell asleep early with my kids, say 9pm, then I woke up at midnight and I could not get back to sleep. So I get up, flip on the tv and set my laptop on my lap of course. I was flipping between What Not to Wear (TLC) and International House Hunters (HGTV- sigh, dare to dream that I too will one day have a house in Cognac France) when I thought, oh let's see what's going on with my old friend JCrew- just looking of course. I arrive to 30% off- and the adrenaline started rising. I quickly scurried through the sale section, giddy as I filled my basket. I headed to checkout with $1,000 of merchandise. Then I pruned it down to $220 of "essential" items and started the process. I got to that final final screen where with free shipping and extra 30% off I was at $159 when I stopped the madness and asked myself a few questions. Will the asymmetrical bow sweater in fawn make me a better person? Will the black wool twill cropped pants change my life? Do I really want to blow it at this point? The answer was NO on all counts so I red X'd out of the screen and shut-down my computer.........phew. It was a quick gravity check that when I think that I am doing well with the no shopping, that my shopping demons are right around the corner. I think my next step is getting a handle on what I have- I have been so busy with work and life, my wardrobe is still in chaos (think multiple closets, rooms, piles- several NWT, never been worn). The ironic thing is I have been wearing the same jeans, fleece and Ugg boots in the bitter cold winter, especially on my three days that I work at home- not a stylish outfit in sight.

Winter Uniform by Woobie featuring J Crew

So my next step from here is to try the New Year purge/ inventory and really figure out what I have. That will help me manage in the future what I really NEED. GigiofCA and Fabulous Florida Mom have both recently discussed their shopping rules on their blogs, which I think is something that I really need to implement in my life. So that's where I am gang- I am in a place where I need to dig deep and focus inward literally and mentally and look at what I have instead of outward at what could be. Any ideas and/or encouragement are greatly appreciated.

Let me tell you how it will be; there's one for you, 19 for me

cause I'm the tax woMAN, YEAH, I'm the tax woMAN. (sung at the top of my lungs like the good Beatles fan that I am). Sorry gang- this is what happens to tax accountants that program software this time of year when the 60+ work week sets in- we get SILLY. Happy New Year- I have fallen so far off the radar, I thought I would try a quick post among the madness- I am missing all of you in blog land. Here's a quick update on my end. Santa was very good to me- both hubby and my brother had J Crew booty under the tree for me- too much in fact. My mother-in-law got me a gift card to Antrho- I am saving it for the thaw, which is MONTHS away at this point. When the time comes- I will need to be accompanied by a chaperon (that's you Hermie) as per the rules, I can only spend the card amount. The great part of this business is that I have not had time to think about shopping. The downside would be the 5+ pounds that I have packed on since this shopping hiatus has started. A few of my dear friends even suggested that I am subconsciously gaining weight so that I can't fit in my clothes and need to buy new clothes- GASP- I SHOULD HOPE NOT. All theories aside, in a complete panic I joined weight watchers at work and I ordered a meal delivery service until I get things under control (1200 calorie low-fat vegetarian- it's pretty good). I'm trying not to beat myself up- I don't have enough time for the gym or cooking right now- so I am doing the best that I can. On the bright side- the no shopping has allowed me to plan a long weekend to Disney world with my mom and kids- all for less than a monthly bill from jcrew. That my friends feels REALLY GREAT (especially with the subzero temps and mounds of snow around the Chicago area). I'm certainly not "cured"- I have leafed through the January catalog more than once, enjoying the pretty pictures. OH- I almost forgot- Mickey sent me a 2010 planner- a nice little surprise. I guess that he hasn't been following my blog- I am grateful nonetheless. I also must confess that I broke a rule- the Daddy/daughter dance is coming up and my 5yo has sensory issues with clothes. Basically she only wears knits/ extra soft cotton/silk. I would say a majority of her clothes are crewcuts. I did a quick search for a dress- couldn't find anything so I defaulted and ordered a crewcut dress that was knit AND looked special occasionish. (the ruffles are over the knit body)

But the shopping Gods were watching. She tried it on and it runs very TIGHT- not to my sensory girl's liking, so it will go back. The irony, she dug around her closet and pulled out the silk polka dot crewcut dress that she wore to the dance last year. Works for me and I will try not to slip again. So I guess that is enough brain dump for now. I hope all is well. My parting question for everyone- while I am trying to manage chaos/ achieve more balance in 2010- what are your tips and tricks? I'm liking this meal delivery service- but it is cost prohibitive on a long-term basis. What's everyone doing out there to make life easier?

I Get By with a Little Help from my Friends (Family)

I thought I would take a minute to share an email that I received from my darling only sibling:

My dearest sister. As I recall, you have gone over 13 days of lying to yourself about your true nature. To this end, we can perpetuate the fantasy that you are not Imelda Isis Woobie of the xxxxxxx Woobies. Please to forward me a link to an item of no importance to you that represents your former life. In this way, we can all move forward with your inevitable relapse. The 13th step is the best. Love your brother.

I got quite a chuckle over this one- and you can bet that I sent him a few links. Have a fabulous day everyone.

I'm Having Impure Thoughts (EXTRA25 AND FREE SHIPPING??? come on)

I know that I have been absent for awhile, and I chalk it up to BUSY, BUSY, BUSY. But here I am, in the wee hours of the night having what is officially to date my weakest moment!! I just had my cart full, entered the EXTRA25 promo and had the summary screen in front of me with the only thing left to do- hit "SUBMIT". I didn't do it- but IT WAS CLOSE. I had rationalized it as, this will be for Christmas from hubby- I will wrap it when it arrives and put it under the tree. But my conscience was screaming in the background and I just couldn't do it; I have narrowly escaped a failure I want to avoid. (For those curious, my basket contained the wool cropped pants in black, jalapeno boat neck cashmere sweater, and the annalise ruffle cami in cinnamon- cute but not worth falling off the wagon for don't you agree?)

On a more positive note, here is the OOTD, and what a nice day it was. Office white elephant exchange/potluck. There are winners and losers- and I walked away with Barney puzzles so you can do the math yourself as to which category I fell in- fun nonetheless. And this evening was my 5yo's holiday program- adorable.


OOTD 12/17/09 by Woobie featuring J Crew

Let's talk about this holiday shopping- while I am laying the confessions out there- I have REALLY been enjoying being back out there as I have shopped for others gifts. I was a bit annoyed when I wanted to get my son's teacher an antrho gift card for holiday gift, but I settled with one of those Nordstrom gift cards that you buy at the grocery store- I think that I squeaked by on that one. No shopping at Nordstroms- nothing in the rules about the grocery store (it is amazing what you can buy in the grocery store these days). As far as my Christmas list- I will admit, it feels like a bit of veiled shopping. I sent hubby an email with links of things that I wanted. But in my defense- that is how we have always done things in the past- I love him dearly, but if I don't spell it out, there would be nothing under that tree. I wish I could say that I am so beyond the material goods at this point, but me likee a present or two. I am curious as to what everyone thinks- my support group here on the ground thought it was ok to put Crew items on the list, but it didn't feel right, so I stuck with non- Jcrew, Anthro, and Nordy items. Instead, I scoured stores that make things that LOOK like they came from Crew, Anthro, and Nordies.........I tried to be frugal/ reasonable in my requests ($20 jeans from lands end, cashmere sweater from lands end that really looks like they are studying the crew catalog these days, and some Tory Burch shirts that were 1/2 price on her website with free shipping). We'll see what he comes up with- given the ban, I am going to be just as excited as my Santa believing cuties this year.

I'll wrap this up with one request as follows: PLEASE SEND ME SOME WORDS OF ENCOURAGEMENT DURING THIS TIME OF WEAKNESS.
I hope that everyone is having a fabulous holiday season!

Face down in a pile of tissue tees?

No- I think not. No relapse here in case you are wondering where I've been- it has NOT been my B&M. It has been a crazy few weeks between work heating-up, my son's 9th birthday, and a funeral out of town to support a good friend who lost her brother way before his time. I can't make sense of it, and no J Crew seems so trivial. As we head into Thanksgiving I am feeling very grateful for my wonderful family and friends. I will be breaking out a very old pair of JC shoes for turkey day- they are grey flannel with square buckles and hubby calls them my pilgrim shoes (I will try to snap an IRL pic on Thursday because they make me laugh).
Here is OOTD:



OOTD by Woobie featuring GAP

I really must be making some progress here and I toot my horn of abstinence for this reason: the JC December catalog arrived last week and I have yet to open it. It feels like I have freed up more time in my day than I care to admit which is a great thing. We'll see how I do as we head into that shop shoppiest time of the year. So what's everyone wearing for Thanksgiving? Any other pilgrim shoes out there?