I headed over to my nearby Kohl’s after work last Friday to check out the newly released Derek Lam collab. I’d been looking forward to this collaboration for a while since I’ve always loved the clean lines and Americanness of Lam’s designs (you can see his Fall Ready to Wear collection here). While I still think the ongoing Simply Vera line is still Kohl’s strongest designer collab, I loved the colors and easy fits of the Derek Lam DesigNation collection.

I first tried on the striped drop-waist dress because I’m always on the hunt for machine washable, jersey dresses that look pulled together enough to wear to work. The fit was a little tight on the bottom half, but that’s probably more due to my shape than the cut – at least it looks more relaxed on the model online. If I had had more time, I would have tried a larger size. I might go back and try it out when the prices have even been cut down more.

I tried on two of the pants that were at the store, the pleated crepe crop pants and the crop pants in Nightshade. I loved the fit of the pleated crop pants and almost brought them home with me, but I only had enough money for one item. The colorful crop pants didn’t fit nearly as well and actually hit below my ankle (I’m 5’3″ on a good day) so they looked more like high-water pants than cropped pants.

What did I end up buying? This bubble-hem dress in St. Teresa Atlantic:

I love how comfortable this dress is. I’ll be able to wear it to work if I belt it and pair it with a blazer and pumps and I can dress it down in the summer with flat, strappy sandals. The main reason I decided on the dress instead of the crepe pants was because I’ll be able to wear it to the two weddings that I have to go to this spring (expect a future blog post on that).

A lot of the pieces that I wanted to try on, like this chambray jacket and this tank, weren’t at the store. If the prices drop even more, I might save up some money and purchase those items online even if I can’t try them on.

Have you checked out the line yet? What are your thoughts? I’ll be keeping an eye on the collection online since Kohl’s usually has great sales.

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Dearest Lar,

Too bad the Rhianna’s collaboration with River Island isn’t as cheap as the Kohl’s and Target collections! I know you said you weren’t crazy about the Rhianna line, but I bet you’d like the Derek Lam collaboration. There’s a mesh top and skirt in the collection online that I could totally see you wearing. Let me know if you want anything and I’ll ship it to you – something tells me Kohl’s doesn’t ship internationally.

I hope your week ends up being less stressful than you anticipate. Can’t wait to Skype you again next weekend!

xoxo, Cath

I just realized that almost all of my outfit shots for the past few months have included these cobalt jeans. I either:

a.) really like them
b.) haven’t bought a new pair of pants in months (maybe a year?)
c.) am stuck in a fashion rut
d.) all of the above

If you chose D, you’re right! Option C might be a bit of a stretch (they aren’t yoga pants after all), but they’re more comfortable than most jeans. So there you have it, I need new pants. At least my consistency has proven how versatile these ankle jeans are. I’ve paired them with navy and white stripes, leopard print and chambray. In the following photos, I’m wearing them with shades of blue and black and white accents:

J.Crew jacket • Club Monaco blouse • necklace from Shopbop a few years ago • Target belt • J.Crew Outlet jeans • Office loafers • Saddleback Leather bag

I wore this outfit at the Coco Rae Madewell event on Saturday. These photos were taken before the event, so my nails aren’t painted with the new AsianCajuns Double Mint polish (seen here).  Speaking of which, you can now order AsianCajuns Double Mint online! I purchased a few bottles this weekend to send to Lar so she can paint her finger nails a cheery, spring color (something that’s very much needed in a cold, gray location like Edinburgh).

Money is tight, so if I’m going to buy new pants it has to be on the cheap. Here are a couple feasible options:

• Ponte Knit Skinnies (in Cobalt of course) – $17.80
• Brightly colored skinny jeans – $22
• Easy Tuck Tapered Pants – $19.90
• Peg pants – $30.52
• Grey Snake Print Skinny Pants – $25.60

Do you know of any other cheap, online stores? If so, send them my way. I need to get out of my cobalt jean rut obsession!

* I realize that our British readers might have a little chuckle at this title. Just know that I’m talking about trousers – not pants! I don’t ever want to say never, but it’s pretty unlikely that I’ll ever have a blog post titled, “I Need New Underwear.”

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Dearest Lar,

I think it’s so funny that you’ve been living in the UK for over a year and already think “pants” means underwear. “Trousers” sound way too formal. What do you call yoga pants? Yoga trousers?

I’m putting together a package for you with mom and I’ll make sure to include a bottle of AsianCajuns Double Mint. Is there anything else that you would like me to include? Burt’s Bees lip balm? Corn tortillas? American mags? Just let me know!

Always thinking of you,

Cath
xoxo

Happy belated St. Patrick’s Day! Did you celebrate? Troy played at a local pub and then we stuffed ourselves with corned beef and cabbage. Instead of showing you pics of me wearing green and slobbering over corned beef, I figured I’d blog about some things that I’m loving at the moment:

1.) I got these Crate and Barrel bookends at the Atlanta Hospital Hospitality House Bargainanza on Saturday for $6.

2.) A few beauty items I’ve been using nonstop: Eos lip balm in Sweet Mint (it’s 95% organic and paraben-free), Revlon Lip Butter in Peach Parfait, and L’Oreal BB Cream – it works just as well as more expensive primers.

3.) If you follow AsianCajuns on Facebook, you would know that I was debating about getting this pouch on Mikkat Market. Troy surprised me the other day by ordering it for me 🙂

4.) At $28, this BKR bottle was a big splurge for me, but I use it everyday and love it. It’s glass – so there’s no worries about BPAs and it’s diswasher safe. Also, it says, “It’d be really great if you had your shit together a little more” right next to a giant heart. What’s not to love?

5.) I bought this wooden try from the same charity sale as the Crate and Barrel bookends – it was only $2! I’ve placed it by my front door so I can drop my phone and keys (and AsianCajuns name necklace) in there as soon as I walk inside.

So there you have it, some consumerism on the cheap!

I hope you all are having a great Monday!

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Dearest Lar,

I never thought to ask you yesterday while we were skyping, but I assume St. Patrick’s Day isn’t celebrated in Scotland. Is that right? Do the local pubs have a run on Guinness?  Probably not!

I was at a restaurant on Saturday and there was a woman wearing an Edinburgh Castle shirt at the table near us. I wanted to run up to her and say, “My sister lives very close to the castle!” But I thought better of it, which is probably for the best.

Have fun in Munich. I can’t wait to hear all about it!

xoxo, Cath

Thrifted top (from Lar) • J.Crew Outlet jeans • Kate Spade bag • new! BC wedges

One of my main new year’s resolutions is to stick to a strict budget so I can save up enough money to see Lar again as soon as possible. For the past couple of months, that’s meant buying very little apart from necessities. I’m not going to lie, it’s been hard. I never thought I was a huge clotheshorse to begin with – especially compared to all the other amazingly prolific fashion bloggers out there – but now I realize I use to spend a fair share of my budget on clothes and accessories. So for the past few months, I’ve only purchased one dress(Prabal Gurung for Target dress) and a handful of jewelry from Forever 21. . . until last week, that is. Sq/Ft, one of my favorite local boutiques, was not only having a sale, they were also offering a deal on Scoutmob!

My inner non-saving, clotheshorse got the best of me and I purchased these black BC wedges. I was in luck though because they were marked down from $80 to $36. Not bad, right? They’re very comfortable and like a spring version of this winter’s ubiquitous wedge sneaker. I’d add a link to them online, but I can’t find them on the BC website. If you live locally and you want to purchase them, Sq/Ft still had quite a few pairs left.

Update: My cousin found the shoes on Amazon.com here. They’re around $70 and there are four colors to choose from. I think the mint version is gorgeous. Thanks for the link, Kelly!

The weather this weekend was gorgeous and definitely warm enough for me to try out my new kicks. Troy and I walked the dogs to the local market and it was marvelous. If I didn’t have so much school work, I would have wanted to go on a picnic and stuffed myself with wine and cheese.

Wheatie would have preferred a picnic too.

Hope you all are having a good Monday!

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Dearest Lar,

I wish you could have flown home for this weekend so you could have enjoyed the warm weather! I can’t believe I was frolicking about in 60 degree weather and you had snow this morning in Edinburgh. At least it was the start of daylight savings today so now we’re only four hours apart – woohoo!

Love, Cath

I’ve had a special place in my heart for Skip N’ Whistle ever since they sent me my tacky Christmas sweater t-shirt. They have the most cheeky t-shirt prints and the company is based out of New Orleans (yay Cajuns!). So even though Lar and I don’t usually post on Thursdays, I wanted to let you lovelies know about the Skip N’ Whistle sale going on over at Fab.com for the next two days.

These are just four of the options on sale. I think the pup is my favorite, but the bear one has the perfect mix of sweetness, weirdness and awesomeness rolled into one. Then that cat just looks damn cool and the unicorn shirt randomly reminds me of this Macklemore song. Which one should I get?! Ugh, I don’t know! First world problems abound!

You can see all of Skip ‘N Whistles sweatshirts here. Happy sales shopping!