In search of a perfect mattress

Finally we have decided it is time for a mattress upgrade. After careful consideration and endless trips to mattress stores and constant tryouts, we have narrowed down our selections to top 3 mattresses:

1) Sleeping Beauty Kristen Luxury Pillowtop - $$$




2) Sleep Options Cool Gel 13 inch Ultra Plush - $$




3) Sleep Number P5 - $$$




I must say, it was a tough choice since all 3 had their advantages and all 3 were heavenly comfortable. The downside for the Sleep Number was many bad reviews and complaints about finding mold on the inside after about 2 years of use. So far I am yet to find complaints about the first two choices so we took Sleep Number off the list, besides, both of us prefer roughly the same firmness so no need for adjustment offered by Sleep Number.

Another thing was that Sleepy's offered free old mattress removal and free delivery, in addition to a frame bed which took weight of our shoulders and a need to get mattress springs.

We finally chose the Sleeping Beauty which is exclusive to Sleepy's, and has better side support than the Sleep Options one.

The mattress was delivered this Saturday and it is indeed heavenly! I would highly recommend both the Sleeping Beauty as well as Cool Sleep Options, definitley the best ones outhere. Worth every penny!

On a Burberry trench quest

So I finally decided to get myself a Burberry trench. I did my research and spent many hours trying on different trenches to find The One.

I wanted the classic cut, mid-length, light khaki in color - Burberry calls this color the trench. Most coats I liked would come in 3 colors: black, honey, and trench. In reality I'd like one in every color but my budged does not allow that, so I've decided to go with my first choice.

Here are some photos of my Burberry trench journey:
















I even tried on the packable trench, hoping it would be perfect for travel but didn't like the material, plus size 2 was way too small.



Other trenches in size 2 were perfect but left little room for a thicker sweater which saleslady graciously provided. So, considering that I need to drive plus chase my 3-year-old, I have decided to go with Marystow in size 4.


This way I can wear it with a sweater and even add a lining if I choose to wear it during winter. Anyways, I am very happy with my new trench and it is going to be perfect addition to my wardrobe for the upcoming trip to Paris this September.

Cimarron jeans and sizing

I saw online and fell in love with Cimarron jeans. They do not seem to be popular anywhere in North America and it is nearly impossible to find them anywhere and no less possible to get any information on sizing.





So normally i am between sizes 26 and 27, 27 fits a bit loose on me, so I figured I should get Cimarrons in size 27. I waited for July sales in Paris (those jeans are a bit pricey when you pay full price plus shipping) and got myself a pair in size 26 in Burgundy. I am crazy about burgundy and lately have been using it as one of my basic colors. Then, a few days later I read somewhere that Cimarron jeans run small, so I e-mailed the store and asked them to change my order to size up the jeans. They never replied and I was afraid they didn't understand my rather limited French but luckily the pair that arrived was in size 27. Yay!

It took them forever to get here, I started to think it would be a better idea to ask either my sister, who was in Paris at the time, or my father, who was going there later, to pick them up from a store but I felt it was too much to ask since they were there for only shirt periods of time.




The jeans were more like stretchy pants and the color was not as vivid as it was on the website. The burgundy looked more like raspberry to me. In fact, you can see how similar the color is to the color of my raspberry heels on the picture. As for the sizing, Cimarron jeans should be ordered a size up, and if you are between the sizes, go 1.5 sizes up. I usually wear 26 but size 27 Cimarrons fit like a second skin.

New finds: Green dress

Dress - Laundry
Shoes - Enzo Angiolini




Saw this on a mannequin in Neiman Marcus and fell in love with the pockets. On the rack there were only sizes 6 and 8, so I checked the mannequin and voila! size 0. So I had to get an unhappy saleslady to get it off the mannequin so I could try that on. Cannot wait to wear it this summer!

More on Prabal Gurung collaboration

I will begin with saying that this collaboration for the most part the best in quality compared to Jason Wu and other Target and Macy's collaborations from last year. There were some polyester things but at least not all the collection; most pieces are made of decent cotton and are pleasant to the touch.

Now here is my review of each and every one of my pre-selected pieces:





The cardigan above was available in all the stores in all sizes but I have decided against buying it since this type of blue is not really my color plus the quality was average and I figurd it will only collect dust in my closet.



The shirtdress was not available in the nearby stores and I tried looking it up online, saw that it was polyester and at first decided against it. Then I found out a store next to my mom carried it so I packed up my son and got in the car. When I got to the store there were 3 shirt dresses left in XS, M, and XL. Xl was snatched by another woman while I was grabbing XS. Thought of grabbing M as well, just in case XS is too small but didn't.



So even though I was not 100% on getting it, after trying it on I fell in love with it and wanted to get another one for my sister. Even though it is 100% polyester and the solar is made of fake leather, the print is very slimming and elongating and the dress is so elegant and comfortable, you don't want to take it off. By the time I got to the racks, medium was gone:(( I had to go to another store that carried it and managed to grab it in medium. Allelujah!







The black and white dress was all I expected - 98% cotton and 2% elastane, a bit stretchy, just like it should be, waist accentuating, pleasant to the touch, comfortable.







The skirt was adorable as well and fit me perfectly in both size 2 and 4.







This dress was a huge disappointment - the waist sits a bit high, plus the material is rather unpleasant and not for the summer - viscose with polyester lining. The color was the only thing that matched my expectations. Pass...







Both blouses were poor quality. The first one - just unpleasant, harsh to the touch material on the upper part (forgot the name), and peplum top felt rock hard and scratched my skin (not kidding)











The shoes, unfortunately, were not available online, so based on my experiences with other pieces, I have decided not to buy without knowing for sure whether r not they will be up to my standards.







My last pick - the jewelry were considerably larger than looked on the picture and the design of it is such that it needs to be dainty and not chunky.







So, to sum it up, I ended up getting 4 pieces: The black and white skirt and dress, nolita print shirtdress, and one piece I did't pick out originally - flowery shorts. Based on the info on the web site, the shorts were out of stock in my area, but I found them unexpectedly in the same store as the shirtdress. They only had sizes 8 and up left but I managed to find size 6 in returned items bin and got that one. I wish I could get size 2 or at least 4, but maybe it's better that way.



So here are my picks. There is some extensive bruising on my legs - a result of shopping with a toddler. Even though he slept in his stroller most of the time, he managed to throw a small (but vicious) tantrum at the beginning of our trip.

Prabal Gurung Collaboration for Target

The new collaboration launches next Sunday, February 10th. I am all ready to go, holding on to my Target credit card. Below are my 9 favorite pieces.

This color block cardigan







An amazing shirtdress







Black and white dress







and black and white skirt







One more dress


I really think they should not have paired it up with blue heels, a pair of neutrals would be much more suitable, like flesh-colored sandals for instance







And a couple of blouses











Then those fabulous shoes:







My last pick:

Neiman Marcus for Target

Yesterday I finally went to Target to check out Neiman Marcus collection. On the web it looked a lot better than up close and personal. The only thing I liked (very unexpectedly) was Carolina Herrera's travel cases. I really liked the bigger one (not so much two smaller ones), it reminded me of M.C. Escher's style. Everything else looked cheap and poorly made.






I actually went to check out two things in particular - Diane Von Furstenberg's yoga mat for my sister (who teaches yoga on the side) and cute on the photo, but not so much in reality, Proenza Schouler's iPad case sleeve for my mother-in-law (she loves her iPad).

I was a bit disappointed since I was really counting on this collection in terms of Christmas presents.

Sunny day

Spent a wonderful day shopping and hanging out with my family



Top - French Connection
Skirt - ASOS
Belt - Nine West
Shoes - Marc Fisher
Watch - Geneva
Purse - Donna Karen

H&M conscious collection for kids

Time to start building summer wardrobe for my little one and this year I have chosen H & M as my main source. We need tons of t-shirts, 5-6 pairs of shorts, 2 pairs of long pants, preferably linen or linen and cotton blend, and at least 2 pairs of jeans.

My first purchase was wildly unsuccessful since H & M kids sizing is way off and my son is on a smaller side - he is 23 months and wears 18 months clothes. So when buying shorts from H & M, I decided to get 12-18 months size since I had to get them without having the luxury of trying it on him. Turns out size 12-18 months was enormous and there is no way he could wear them, even if i buckle them up on the smallest setting. So, with tears in my eyes I had to return two gorgeous pairs of shorts in neutral colors.



I had more luck with the two t-shirts I got in size 12-18 months

Next time I had to take Alejandro with me so i could at least put the clothes against him to see whether it's a good fit. We ended up getting shorts in size 2-4 months (???), 4-6, and 6-9 months, and some t-shirts in sizes 6-9 and 9-12 months. I was shocked to find out that size 2-4 shorts from H & M is equivalent to at least 12 months in US baby sizes. Wow!









I got a whole bunch of neutral onesies, two pairs of shorts, and a pair of long shorts with suspenders. Too cute! I also picked up a t-shirt with AC/DC on it, which ought to make my husband happy:)