Striking Gold on Valentine's Day

This year for Valentine's Day Husband and I got to have a little weekend getaway. Hubs had a company party in The City on Saturday night so we left the crazies with the rents in Chicken Town and booked a hotel.

We stayed at The Colcord in the heart of downtown and within walking distance to our party. But we didn't have a weekend of leisure in our sights. No sir-ee. We had plans. Lots of them.

And they started with getting to the hotel as close to check-in time as possible and taking a nap.

Not kidding. But that was because we knew that Sunday was gonna be busy and we needed to be rested up. And because I love naps.

And the whole loving naps thing isn't something I grew into upon becoming an adult or mother. Nope. The story goes that when I was little I would actually ask if I could take a nap. I was brilliant even then.

But back on point. I was on the hunt for some transition tops. You know, the kind that can work layered in winter and alone in spring. But I had a few guidelines they must pass. Like: not form fitting. They could skim the body but not hug it. Also: nicer than t-shirts. Must be able to dress down with jeans and up with slacks. And finally: must be cheap.

I started out at Banana Republic. Love that store. I always head for the sale rack first. Cute stuff, but none cheap enough or exactly what I was looking for.

Then I headed to Ann Taylor. When we lived in Montgomery, TX the mall had an Ann Taylor Loft which was much less expensive. But my only options on this day was good ole Ann Taylor. I was not expecting much.

But surprise-surprise! I hit the jackpot! Not only did they have a HUGE clearance rack (the only thing I even looked at) but EVERYTHING in the store was an extra 30% off! I didn't realize this till I was at checkout because I assumed that they surely wouldn't take an extra 30% off their clearance stuff. You know what assuming does, right? Well, nothing really in this instance other than delaying my sheer excitement when I realized I was going to be practically stealing these tops!

I tried on 13 different tops and settled on five. I'm only showing you the three that were the biggest steal because it takes a long time to put photos on the blog and I'm lazy.
This top is so cute. It's a creamy white with slightly pink undertones.

And I got 30% off the $29.88!!!

If you don't trust me and want to see the tag for yourself you can click on the picture to make it bigger. What I'm trying to show you is that the top layer of this shirt is 100% silk. I love silk. Especially on my curtains, but also on my body. I'm loving all the ruffles this year. And the length of the sleeve is perfection. I have long limbs so this is something I have to be aware of.

Why in the world would a gray top that could possibly look like a sweatshirt with ruffles be $155? That Ann Taylor is either full of herself or... ...it's 100% cashmere!!!!!! If it wasn't dry clean only I would likely wear it everyday. No, this doesn't actually meet the guidelines I established earlier. But you should know that I am usually cold ALL. DAY. LONG. And therefore, tend to cover up with a lovely fleece pullover. I thought this beautiful creamy sweater would look much nicer than the pullover when I'm wearing all my cute tops. And I was right, btw. Don't you just love the rhinestone clasp? Another steal. I practically floated out of the store on a cloud.

I haven't struck gold like this in a couple of years. It felt good.

Bridget