{Style} San Francisco: Snow-free style

The Chemist and I are going to San Francisco next week, and while it may not be as sunny and mildly warm as it usually is this time of year, it is hands-down better than the never-ending winter we're still experiencing here in Minnesota. We still have snow in our lawn and, given that we have only lived here since January, we're not yet entirely convinced that there is a yard under all that snow at all.

But I digress. One of the things I am most looking forward to in SF is the opportunity to wear some more seasonable clothing that I just can't yet wear here. Here are some spring outfit ideas, mixable and ideal for packing.

1) J. Crew: Weekend Dress in Dark Navy. One thing

I'm digging the most this season is the combination of navy and taupe. It's a mix of neutrals that manages to feel more fresh than navy and white. I finally purchased the navy weekend dress fro

m J. Crew I was obsessing over, and quickly took to styling it with some taupe pieces.

2) Lands End Canvas:

Heritage cardigan in Maplewood. It's a classic, to be sure, but a nice departure from some of the more embellished pieces out there. I plan on wearing jewelry with this outfit, so it's best to

keep the cardigan simple.

3) Target: Kachiri Leather Americana Boots in Taupe; Myka Suede Wedge in Taupe (stores only). These are two comfortable options to pair with this dress, very walkable yet more stylish than most "travel-friendly" shoes.

4) Gap: Long and Lean Jeans in Dark Wash. Call me a traditionalist, but I cannot, will not get behind skinny jeans, jeggings or other abominations of fabric. The fact is, I have hips, I have a waist, and I am short. Not one of the those features is amenable to those kinds of jeans, so a simple dark wash with a straight or boot opening is the most flattering. End of rant.

5) J. Crew Factory: Papillon Waterfloral Pastiche Blouse (left). I love this overtly feminine blouse, particularly under a blazer, but since it's not quite in my price range, I went for the much more affordable cap-sleeved blouse in the same fabric (cotton candy), just with more simple lines.

6) J. Crew: Velvet Eden Blazer in Soft Blossom (left). I bought this on eBay as a nice alternative to the jean jacket for avoiding a spring chill*. It's not as versatile as a jean jacket, but it does work well with the blush/blossom/cream color palette I'm assembling for spring.

7) Old Navy: Ruffled Dress in White (below). The title of this is a bit misleading, as it's actually a light, warm floral on a white background. I just ordered this yesterday and haven't seen it in person yet, so the jury is still out. But I'm hopeful, as I would love to pair it with the Eden blazer.

8) Old Navy: Tiered Chiffon Tank in Cream (color not available online; left). I bought this late last summer, and while it struck me as too long initially, it shrunk after a few washes and fits better now. Again, this looks great with the Heritage cardigan or Eden blazer above, with a flash of shine with the Mesh Scarf necklace.

9) J. Crew: Mesh Scarf Necklace (both images). It's sold out online, but I recently found this for a steal at my local J. Crew retail store. I have it in both the gunmetal and antique gold finishes, and they're a nice accent that elongates what might otherwise be a short line in a scoopneck shirt.

I could go on . . . and probably will later (also up: embellishing your own t-shirt to stylish---and cheap!---effect). But the touch of spring in these ideas is enough to tide me over until we fly to California next week.

Signed,

Majin, MD

*That is, if it EVER gets spring-like around here.

{Home} Shalom, New Home. There are cupcakes.

We had an open house yesterday, and about 30 people came. It was a nice time, but the job of the hostess is always a busy one, so it was difficult to actually having meaningful conversations with anyone.

Opening our house to people who have never seen it before always reveals new things I hadn't considered. We got high praise on our decor and furniture, but the best thing was probably that we could fit that many people in our house without it feeling uncomfortable . . . and without people sitting on the floor.

The other takeaway? People love cupcakes. Duh. But they particularly loved the decoration on the cupcakes. I made a few dozen cupcakes in two flavors---chocolate and yellow cake---and they were all eaten by our guests. The chocolate cupcakes had chocolate frosting piped on with a ribbed tip in straight, vertical lines, with one horizontal line at the top and bottom, to resemble a section of fence. I then placed flower-shaped candy pieces on the lower part of the fence, and piped green frosting in to create a garden effect. And viola: flowers-on-a-fence cupcakes.

I also made yellow cupcakes with vanilla frosting colored green. I used a multi-opening tip with a thick vanilla frosting (the very-easy Martha Stewart recipe worked well) to create grass on the top of each cupcake; it was important the that frosting was thick enough to stand on its own, as a thinner icing or frosting would have just turned to mush. I then used the same flower-shaped candies to create a flat flower bed on each cupcake. They're simple ideas, but create just enough interest to match my spring theme for the party. They vaguely resembled the cupcakes above, with flowers instead of ladybugs.

If only I had the foresight to take pictures of my creations.

Oh well, next time. And "next time" will be for the child's birthday party I'm planning in April. And there WILL be pictures of that event.

Signed,

Majin, MD

{Style} In the Navy

One of my greatest obsessions that has nothing to do with medicine is online shopping. During medical school, I didn't have time (or money) to actually go to the stores of my heart's desires, so I would peruse the online offerings of my favorite retailers. Now that I have a *tiny* bit of disposable income, the obsession has grown.

However, there are still some items out of my immediate reach, so for now I'm still relegated to lusting after them*. Currently, I'm not-so-secretly in love with the "Weekend Dress" from J. Crew. I've been on the lookout for a navy dress for some time, as a nice alternative to the seemingly endless stream of black and gray in my closet. What I like about this one are the texture and that it's similar to a shirtdress without being too deliberate (like having an exaggerated full skirt).

I'm also in love with taupe as a nice accent to navy. There's a pair of wedge heels from Target, Myka in Taupe, that would work nicely with this for everyday wear (but isn't yet available online, only in stores). For something a little more lofty, I also love the suede heels from Land's End Canvas in Maplewood.

I tend to keep accessories minimal, but since spring is a LONG way off where I live, a cardigan is a foregone conclusion. I have a great square scarf that would be a nice accent to a dress like this, but sometimes a dress just calls for jewelry. In this case, I plan on pairing a neutral cardigan with a longer necklace, to better elongate this dress. I love--and own--the Mesh Scarf Necklace in from J. Crew, and I recently bought a pair of similarly-finished drop earrings from Target to accompany it.

I still can't decide if it needs a real belt (the thin drawstring just isn't doing it for me), but I can't decide the type: skinny? Nah. Wide? Too deliberate. Multi-buckle? Hmm . . .

Okay, end of dream sequence.

Signed,

Majin, MD

*I am pleased to report that The Chemist has given me a J. Crew gift card for this very purchase for International Women's Day (so he says). It's things like this that make me appreciate the fact that he works for Russians, who love them some secular holidays. As you were.