Identity Stolen in Real Life Too! WTF!!!

Wow, I can't believe what bad luck I've had with this whole identity theft thing both online with the blog and in real life too! I finished my 2011 tax return and tried to efile it last night. Only to have it rejected saying a return has already been filed with my social security number!!! Unbelievable... Apparently there are criminals out there who steal people's social and try to get their refund, or apply for unemployment benefits with them! I mean think about it, if you get a few hundred numbers, you could potentially make millions while the government is too slow to react. I don't know how people do this or get away with it but it has been done with mine! It's really infuriating to think that there is not much you can do once your identity has been stolen. Sure you can file report with the FTC and with the police. And you can monitor your credit reports or put a freeze on it which I am doing. But if someone were to open an utility account or something that doesn't require a credit check, you will never know!! They could even be getting a job under your social and it will look like you did not claim all of your income! The thing that makes me really really mad is that I am pretty much 100% sure that my info was stolen when I was going through the mortgage loan process for my condo. Because when I first found out my info was compromised was a few months after I bought it (Directv called me saying I owed them close to $1000 for an address that was not mine), and I had not applied for anything else for a long time before or after that. So it had to be that time when it was stolen. And there was nothing I could have done to prevent that!

Anyway, so I called the CA tax franchise board today and found out that luckily they had not sent out a refund check to this fraudulent individual from Compton (yep, that's the address they provided). So now there is a hold on my account, I had to fax the tax board all kinds of documentation, and will have to mail in my tax return instead of efile. It will take way longer to process than normal, and my account will be flagged for the next 3 years so I will potentially have more issues. What a pain!!!

My federal tax return is ok though, thank god. It's painful enough to just deal with California. When I first found out my social has been stolen last year I had informed the IRS so they sent me a special number to file with my return every year.

Anyway, I am ranting, but it just makes me so mad! I am expecting a large refund from California, but I probably won't even get it till like March or April!

But hey, lesson learned, always file taxes early to beat any impostors! Lol how sad... Sigh... So this was what I spent all day doing today! I hope this never happens to any of you.

Sunday Funday!

Time has been going by so fast lately!  Blink and it's Sunday again.  We've had weird weather this week here as well.  Monday was pouring rain and cold.  Then it got up to over 80 degrees by Wednesday/Thursday.  Right now it's about a nice 75 degrees, and I just finished 2 workouts and am now taking a break from studying at Starbucks.  Fun stuff huh?  (Not really).

My workouts this week have been pretty consistent with the past few weeks.  I just finished week 4 of my weight training program, so I will be moving to stage 2 starting next week!  Finally!  4 weeks of alternating two sets of workouts is kind of a long time.  But I've been getting noticeably stronger so I guess it's a good thing!  I only lift 2-3 times a week anyway, mixing in interval training so I don't get bored.

Monday 1/23
What I did:  Back to weight session A of my stage 1 training program.  It consists of weighted squads to warm up - 3 sets of 8.  Then alternating sets of back row (I got up to 70 lbs!) and push-ups, 3 sets of 8.  Then alternating step ups and prone jackknife with the ball, also 3 sets of 8.  Being stage 1, these workouts only take like half an hour to complete, which significantly shortened the duration of my workouts which is nice.

What I wore:  This was the cold and rainy day.  So I wore my long sleeve swiftly top in haze, and passion crop in bright blue.  Complete with my Adidas Adizero Adios 2 shoes.

So since it was cold and rainy, I wore my Outward Bound jacket as to/from.  And my leopard print rain boots that I got from Venice, Italy.  I think I looked really funny!  But who cares, it kept me dry and warm!

Tuesday 1/24:  Rest day

Wednesday 1/25

What I did:  Back to the gym for workout B of the weight training program.  This one starts with deadlift which I used 60 lb bar, for 3 sets of 8.  And then alternating lat pull down (also got up to 70 lbs now!) and shoulder press (25 lb dumbbells), 3 sets of 8.  Ended with alternating weighted front lunges and ball sit ups, 3 sets of 8 as well.  

What I wore:  Cool racerback in little boy blue, with bright blue Flow Y bra.  And bright blue passion crops again.  Haha... is there anything better than the passion crops??  I wore my NB Minimus Road shoes.  

Thursday 1/26:  Rest day

Friday 1/27

What I did:  Pilates class, but I ran to it which is about a mile away.  I was running really late, only had 10 minutes before class started so I had to kind of hustle.  I was sweating bullets for the first half of class because of it... the teacher must have thought I was some crazy sweat monster!  Haha!

What I wore:  Lululemon pearl luxtreme cool racerback in pigeon, with Energy bra under.  And I wore my power purple groove pants to match the bra even though nobody could see it, and black Method sock.  I can only wear this pearl luxtreme cool racerback to stuff like pilates when I don't have to worry about constantly pulling it down.  When I wear it running, it rides up like crazy!

Since I ran there and it was kind of chilly, I put on my Run Brisk pullover in bold blue.

Saturday 1/28

What I did:  I went to my husband's class as usual.  Had a hard interval workout.  Lots of weights and sprinting.

What I wore:  I diverged from Lululemon (rare occassion), and wore my Splits59 Chase top.  This top came with a very sad looking built in bra that would not hold anything.  So I cut it out and wore my Lulu Flow Y bra under.  I wore it with my Lululemon Astro Crop.  I do like the material of the Splits59 top, but it kept riding up and it was very very annoying!  I don't remember it riding up like this the last time I wore it with luxtreme bottoms.  So maybe it's the luon astro crops that made the difference.  

I don't know what this print is called on the Astro crop, but I like it:

As to/from, I wore my Lululemon Journey Jacket, which is one of my all time favorites.  

Sunday 1/29

What I did:  I got up early today to go to pilates class again.  I bought this deal from Livingsocial, and the class expires at the end of this month, so I made myself get up and go.  Ended up not being that great at all, so I will not be going back there.  After that, I went to my husband's circuit workout.  It was so good!  We did like 30 different stations and I really pushed myself.  Will be sore tomorrow!

What I wore:  Well, for my pilates workout, I wore my Dance Strap tank in army green, with my new Wunder Grooves.  I just love the army green color in lullure because it gives it a subtle sheen and it's so pretty!  

I wore my Journey Jacket as to/from again.

And outfit #2 of the day for the circuit workout, I wore my Lululemon swiftly tank in pink mist, with  very violet 50 Rep bra under.  And astro wunder unders in static black/dewberry.  I forgot how nice the swiftly tank is to workout with on a hot day.  I gotta get another one.

Then, I thought I didn't have enough pink mist, so I wore my Mind Over Matter pullover as well!

By the way, I like my hubby's trainer outfit yesterday.  He bought this whole outfit from Lulu all by himself a while ago.  He normally only goes into that store with me, so it was a big step lol.

I don't remember what this shirt is called.  It's from a while ago, with very subtle prints on the front consisting of really really small Lulu logo.  You can only see it if you are very up close.  And the white Run: Response Short which he has a few pairs of.

And that concludes this week's workouts and outfits!  Now I'm going to go back to studying.  =)  I hope everyone is having a great weekend!!

Dr. Brandt Pores No More Vacuum Cleaner

A couple months ago, I went to buy another tube of the Epionce lytic lotion without realizing that it is not sold in most beauty stores.  Only online or at aesthetician offices.  So since I was already in the store, I got talked into trying the Dr. Brandt Pore No More Vacuum Cleaner.  It's about 10 bucks cheaper than the Epionce lytic lotion, and it's supposed to do the same thing, i.e. minimize pores, blackheads, etc.  I started using the Epionce stuff a couple months before my wedding, and really noticed a difference in terms of how much it evened out my skin tone.  So I had high hopes for the Dr. Brandt product as well when it came highly recommended by the sales associate.

This is what I got

Same product now comes in a tube

So this product is a light, transparent gel that you put on your face and when it dries it turns blue to let you know it's ready.  You kind of just put it all over your face like a light mask.  It's nice that it turns blue because it allows you to see what area you've missed.  You leave it on your face for about 10 minutes or so, and then take it off with a warm towel.  

Right after you take it off, your skin feels amazing!  It's super soft and supple, like a baby's bottom.  However, the effect does not last long.  By the morning, my skin feels the same as before I used it.  So basically I only get to show off my nice skin while I'm sleeping.  Lol.

After a few months of using it, I am disappointed to say that it does not have any lasting effect for me.  I don't really have any big pores or blackheads, but I expected somewhat of a difference.  Like a tighter, smoother look around my nose area where the pores are biggest.  But nada, after using it for months.  I'm pretty sure it won't start working for me any time soon.

The Epionce lytic I had actually lasted all the way until now, which was a lot longer than I thought.  That's about 6 months for one tube, so it makes the $56 price tag seem a lot more reasonable.  Even though the Dr. Brandt product is $10 cheaper, it takes a lot more product to cover your face.  So it definitely won't last as long.  

I will not be buying this product again.  But I kind of want to try their other product, the Pore Refiner, since it has pretty high reviews on Sephora.  It looks more like a makeup base you put on before leaving the house and it minimizes oil all day.  It could be useful for me, because I do tend to get kind of oily by the end of the day.  We'll see!  In the meantime though, I am sticking with the Epionce lytic.  Ordering another one now!

Carlson Labs Fish Oil - Lemon Flavor

I had always taken fish oil pills before, but have recently switched over to the actual oil.  I remember trying out some fish oil at Whole Foods years ago, but thought it was weird tasting, and a lot more expensive than the capsules version.  But recently I decided to revisit it, and I found that you actually get a lot more omega 3s per serving so the oil version turns out to be cheaper.  But not all brands are created equal, of course.  You really have to read the label to see how much it contains.

I always imagined taking oil a little gross, but when I found that they come in lemon flavor, I decided to try it out!  I got the Carlson Labs Very Finest Fish Oil, from iherb.com which is a great site I've been using for a while now that ships same day.  And if you live in So Cal, you get your order the very next day - Major Plus!

I've been taking this product pretty much everyday for almost 3 months now.  I formed a habit of taking a spoonful after dinner, even if I have fish for dinner I still take a little.  It tastes A LOT better than I imagined!  The lemon flavor really disguises the fishiness.  Though it still took me a while to get used to taking spoonfuls of oil.  But I treat it like taking a shot, just hold my breath and swallow all at once lol.  I keep it refrigerated so the coldness helps cover the fishy taste as well.  They say you can use it as a salad dressing, but I have not tried that.  I would imagine you would end up wasting a lot, unless you lick your plate clean...???

This fish oil contains lots of omega 3s DHA & EPA.  Apparently "normal" fish oil consists of 30% DHA & EPA, but "premium", or "phatmaceutical grade" fish oils contain more than 65%, which this Carlson Labs one does.  Here is the nutrition info:

Anyway, so if you are thinking of trying a new fish oil product, this one is pretty good!  It has about 600 reviews on iherb.com and the average is almost 5 stars.  The size I got is $34 for 16.8 fl oz.  I think I still got enough to last another few weeks, maybe a month.  So it's really not very expensive at all!

Sunday Funday!

Wow I've had such a hectic weekend!  My mom came in town this weekend since she had some appointments in the area, and just now left.  I always get nothing done when people are here even if I don't really need to entertain them.  So I didn't get around to blogging until now!

So without further ado, here we go!

Monday 1/16
What I did:  Pilates class

What I wore:  Lululemon Cool Racerback in black embossed manifesto, with caribe Not So Deep V bra underneath.  And coal Groove pants.  And aruba Method Sock (not pictured).

Tuesday 1/17 - Rest day

Wednesday 1/18

What I did:  Lift weights at the gym.  Same as the last couple weeks, I continued doing the stage 1 of my workout program, workout A.

What I wore:  Lululemon Power Y tank in Three Print, and black Groove pants, with my New Balance Minimus Road shoes.

Thursday 1/19

What I did:  Work B of my weights program.

What I wore:  Lululemon Light Up tank in pig pink, and black denim slub Astro Wunder Under crop.  I wore my New Balance shoes again.

I think I wear these shoes during the week mostly because of how light they are even though they are not very good for weight lifting (no support). Since I carry my workout gear with me (in my LV bag) to work, I like to keep it as light as possible!

So I really like these textured tights from Lulu, since they look pretty decent with boots.  Not like workout wear at all.  I thought I'd take a pic of what they look like with boots over:

Here I am wearing my Michael Kors Fleur boots and a peacoat, and my free scarf from Victoria's Secret that I love.  It was below 60s, so very cold for me!

Friday 1/20 - Rest day

Saturday 1/21

What I did:  Interval workout with my husband.  I sprinted so hard on the treadmill, that I was wiped out after like 30 minutes!

What I wore:  Lululemon Cool Racerback in static very violet, with bright blue Flow Y bra under.  And heathered black / dewberry astro wunder under crops.  I wore my Nike Frees in blue glow, to tie in the bra!

I love wearing bright colors to workout.  I just can't bring myself to wear black and gray tops that often.  In fact, I sold all my black workout tops recently, even my Deep Breath tank that has tinted canvas print on it because I just don't wear black enough.

I wore my plum Turn Around LS and Seychelles True Story boots as to/from (I had to go run errands afterwards).  Yep yep, always using my LV bag as a purse/gym bag nowadays, it's great!

Sunday 1/22

What I did:  Circuit workout with my husband, we did like 15 different workout stations with lots of sprints and hills on the treadmill.  I had to workout hard to counteract the yummy food my mom made all weekend.

What I wore:  Lululemon Cool Racerback in aruba, with Chirp Flow Y bra under.  On the bottom I wore my coal/chirp Team Spirit crop.  And I wore my Adidas Adizero Adios 2 shoes that I love.  These shoes are really lightweight, but the support is amazing so I like to wear them when I know I'll be doing stuff like squads and lunges.

See, colorful again.  Lol.  Hey, I was born in the 80s!

As to/from, I wore my snorkel blue Ambition Pullover, and my Bear Paw boots.  The pull strings of this pullover is a lighter blue, kind of similar to aruba so I like wearing them together!

Alright, so that's about it for this week!  I have been happy with my workout routine lately, but I keep thinking to myself that I need to do yoga again.  The way my schedule works now I do not have time to take yoga classes.  It's such a shame because I can totally feel the difference in my body!  I am definitely tighter now.  Grrrrr... maybe I need to workout 6 days a week instead.

Professional Garment Steamer from Sharper Image

I got this Professional Garment Steamer from Sharper Image as one of my wedding gifts.  It had been sitting in the corner of my room unopened for months!  But I finally decided to take it out and try it on the Calvin Klein dress I just bought.

First reaction was how easy it was to assemble it!  It came in many parts out of the box, but very very easy to put together.  There's also a colorful pictorial instruction so you really can't mess it up.  The part that holds water is really big, so you can fill it up and it's supposed to last over an hour!

I've never owned a garment steamer before and for some reason didn't have high expectations for it.  But I was amazed at how fast the hot steam started coming out (maybe like 10 seconds?) and it pretty much took the wrinkles out of my dress right away!  It was almost like magic.  Wow, where have you been all my life???  Everybody needs to own one of these!

I should have taken a before and after picture of my dress.  It took all the wrinkles out!  This thing is a dream for people who order online a lot.  I was so excited that I started steaming everything that needed steaming.  It worked really well on thinner material like silk and thin cotton.  But took longer on thicker material, which I would expect even with an iron.  So I think this steamer will replace an iron like 95% of the time.  But it's so much easier and more fun to use!  I hate breaking out ironing boards.  So I almost never do it.  But the steamer is so easy because all you have to do is plug it in and press the "on" button. 

It's also very easy to break down and store.  The pole thingy is collapsible.  And the hanger folds into itself.  So you can tuck it in any corner of the closet.  Since I've never had another steamer before, I cannot compare it to anything else.  All I know is that it works very well for my needs, and I wish I had got it (or at least opened the damn box) earlier!

Calvin Klein Scoop Neck Dress

Ahhh... I finally bought a dress I love from Hautelook!  I just bought it last Friday too, and it already got delivered today.  I love it when I get stuff the day after they ship it out!  I used to get that with Lululemon and it definitely encouraged me to shop more online.

I got this super cute Calvin Klein Scoop Neck Dress:

Hautelook had lots of Calvin Klein dresses during that sale, and most dresses look like stuff that you'd wear to work or some type of professional event.  But this one caught my eye because it's more casual and fun.  I love dresses like this for the summer time that I can dress up or down by wearing different shoes.  The color is pretty true to the pictures, and the length on me is about the same as the model.  I also got the same size the model is wearing - 4.  It fits loosely, but still gives nice shape.  I really like it!

There are two layers to this dress, and the outer shell is made of cupro.  I have never heard of this material before and have no idea what it is.  It feels kind of like silk but thicker and heavier.  But this dress did arrive with wrinkles everywhere, so I hope this material is not prone to wrinkling.  Hautelook really should start figuring out better ways to ship their stuff, like using boxes instead of bags.

Regardless, I still think it's $55 (off of $138) well spent on this dress!  Too bad it's been super cold here lately, so I won't be able to wear it for a while!

My New Kindle Touch Cover

I've been really loving my Kindle Touch since I got it for Christmas.  I'm glad I finally converted from real books, because it is much easier to carry a little tablet than a thick book!  And I can carry an entire library with me at all times which is great.  Though it really puts a damper into my studying plans.  For example, when I should be studying, I am reading the latest Sookie Stackhouse book instead and thinking about my vampire crush - the dreamy Viking, Eric Northman.  It's dangerous!!

So I decided to get a cover for my Kindle Touch to protect it from getting scratched up.  I found a bunch on ebay for pretty cheap.  But I ended up getting this set of cover, LED reading light, and screen protector, all for $17 with free shipping!

It arrived like 2 days after I ordered it too.  It's a nice blue color and very soft.  They have lots of other colors too.  I was momentarily tempted by the pink one, but decided to not be so girly.  It's not made of real leather of course, for the price.  But it feels pretty nice and looks good, and it does exactly what it's supposed to do.  My Kindle Touch fits in it nice and tight.  The screen protector was very easy to apply and it works perfectly for the touch screen.  The LED light even comes with a battery.  Lol.  So I think it was a really good deal!  I just can't bring it anywhere with me as long as I'm supposed to be studying!

Sunday Funday! Got New Wunder Grooves Today!

Thanks to your advice, I decided to take my damaged Wunder Grooves back to the Lululemon store to see if they could do anything.  They said they'd never seen anything like it, and immediately swapped them out for a new pair!  That was so cool, and good timing since they don't always carry the Wunder Grooves but happened to have them today.  I actually like the waistband of the new ones better anyway.  It's the new quilting from the current colors.  I love the monochromatic look as it will match anything.  It's also reversible, of course.  This side has the logo on the leg and the reverse side is all black with the logo on the waistband.

I also saw the reversible Wunder Unders with the pig pink waistband which is currently online as well. It's really cute, but I like the fit of the Wunder Grooves better.  I only have one pair of Wunder Unders, and they sometimes dig in on the sides and slide down.  My Wunder Grooves never do that.

I was so excited I forgot to get them hemmed.  I'm a shortie so Lulu crops almost look like pants on me!  

Anyways, now onto my workouts of this week.  I continued doing the weight training that I started last week.  So now when I go lift, instead of warming up on the treadmill for 20-30 minutes, I completely skip cardio.  It cuts my workout time to half!  I lift as heavy as I can though, so it's all about the intensity of the workout rather than the duration.  Then on the weekend I go to workout with my husband and that is the only time I will do any type of cardio, usually sprint intervals.  The interesting thing I've noticed from focusing on heavy weight training with minimal cardio is that I've been getting stronger fast, so now when I do run my intervals, I can run much faster!  I used to sprint at 8.5 mph or maybe 9 mph.  This weekend I started at 8.5 mph and that felt pretty easy so I kept upping it till I eventually ended at 10 mph!  I think it's because I built more leg muscles.  It's only been 2 weeks too and the difference is already noticeable.  I love my new training program!  

Monday 1/9

What I did:  Workout A from Stage 1 of my training program.

What I wore:  Lululemon Swiftly shirt in lavender, and heathered black/dewberry Astro Wunder Unders.

Tuesday 1/10

What I did:  Pilates reformer class

What I wore:  Lululemon No Limit Tank in Aruba, with coal Groove pants, and aruba Method Sock.

Wednesday 1/11:  Rest

Thursday 1/12

What I did:  Workout B from my workout training.

What I wore:  Lululemon Push Ur Limits tank in lolo purple / power purple, with matchy matchy Lululemon Groove pants in lolo purple / power purple.

Friday 1/13:  Rest.  Except ate like crap, like hot cheetos, pizza for lunch and happy hour drinks and all kinds of fried stuff for dinner.  Sigh.  I need to be eating less on rest days, not more.  And definitely not junk.

Saturday 1/14

What I did:  A very hard interval training class.  I worked my butt off to try to burn off the junk I ate on Friday!

What I wore:  Lululemon Let It Loose tank in pink mist, and black Team Spirit crop.

I also wore my Lululemon Lift Your Spirits jacket as to/from.  I love this jacket.

Sunday 1/15

What I did:  Another hard workout of different circuit stations with sprints in between.

What I wore:  Lululemon Inner Strength tank, with Denim Slub Astro Wunder Under crops.

I wore my Turn Around LS as to/from:

Today was a cold day, so I actually layered my Romeo and Juliet Couture sweater over!  I love this sweater too.

That's all for this week.  I hope everyone has had a good weekend!

Two New Voom Dresses

A couple years ago I bought a really really cute Voom dress - the Magazine Print Mini dress.  I wore it to a wedding once but other than that I have not wore it again, because the print is kind of not something that you could wear a lot.  But I think when summer comes I am going to try to wear it more, because I do really like it.  Here's what it looks like:

So last week when Voom was on Hautelook again, I decided to get 2 more dresses.  This time they were not as cheap though.  I know I got the dress above for either $19 or $29.  But this time the sale ranged from $55 to $70ish.  Still not bad for cute silk dresses!  And they are all made in the USA.

My order arrived yesterday - one thing I love about ordering from Hautelook is that they ship from southern California, so I receive my package the next day!  Though that also means I have to pay CA sales taxes on top of shipping costs, which could add up at almost 10%.

I got the Barbara Sleeveless Dress for $60:

The photos are pretty true to what this dress looks like in person.  It's a different look, with the navy blue viscose layer underneath, and the paisley printed silk layer on top.  I bought it in a size S, and it fits me about the same as how it fits the model but hits me around my knees.  Though they claimed the model also wore a size S and she looks much slimmer and taller than me so I don't see how it could fit the same on her.  I think they must have pinned the back or something when they took her photo!  But anyway, although I like this dress fine, it doesn't really have that wow factor like I hoped.  So I'm not sure about it.  I am thinking about sticking to my New Year's resolution of spending less money (or spend money on only things I love) and return this dress.

I also got this English Rose Sleeveless Dress, for $55:

So this is where I think they definitely pinned the dress back while taking the model's pictures!  It said that the model wore a size S, which is also the size I got.  But it is so freaking huge I am swimming in it.  There is a nude inner layer that fits well.  But the outer silk layer is way way way big.  And not in a flattering way.  I look huge in it.  When I bought this dress I was worried this may be the case, since pictures can be deceiving to say the least.  The model's picture of the back of the dress is especially worrisome.  That is kind of how it looks on me from the front.  But bigger.  So even though I really like this print and the scoop neck, I am going to have to return it.  Dang... if they cut this dress like 5 inches narrower, it would have been so cute!

Too bad, it looks like I may not be keeping either of these dresses.  I was really excited about them too!  

OT - Finally Got A Facebook Page!

I know, I know... I am really behind.  But for the longest time, I couldn't figure out how to create a facebook page, then link to my account, then link to my blog.  Lol.  But I got it now after many trials and errors.  The weirdest problem I encountered was that every time I used my facebook comment box, my own comments would only be visible to myself while I was logged into facebook!  As soon as I logged out, my comments would "disappear".  Very strange.  I don't even know how exactly I fixed it!  Anyway, I think they stick now so I can actually make use of my facebook comment box and reply to people!

Of course, the blogger comment box still works just like before.  Although I did change it from a pop up to embedded within the post.  Because Blogger just came out with a new comment thing that allows replies to specific comments.  But it does not work on pop ups.  We'll see how this goes.  I'd appreciate any feedback!

Anyway, so I also finally figured out how to add a facebook like box on the right hand side of the blog.  So please feel free to "Like" me!  =)

Baby Blue Multi Striped Cardigan

Wow, I finally bought something I like from Beyond the Rack .  I don't really like this site, because every time I order something, shipping is so so so slow.  I'm talking at least a month.  But a couple months ago I ordered this sweater dress that was pretty cheap, thinking I could wait a month or so for it to show up.  But months went by and then one day they just canceled my order saying they didn't have it anymore!  I paid for it with partial credit, so then I had to find something else to spend my credit on.  So I picked this Baby Blue Multi Striped Cardigan that I figured I could wear to work, and it was only $19:

I don't know what brand Baby Blue is, but it says the original price of this sweater was $78.  I had my doubts about that, but it's actually a really nice sweater!  The material is very soft, pleasant against the skin and it's a really cute fit!  I wore it to work today with a skirt and boots, but I also tried it on with pants and it looks pretty good as well!  I'm really surprised since I didn't really expect to like it too much.  This is 20 bucks well spent for sure!

Calvin Klein Black & Cream Belted Skirt Suit

I bought this new Calvin Klein skirt suit for work from Ruelala about a month ago and totally forgot about it from all the holiday craziness.  But today I spotted it in my closet and decided to wear it to work, since we had visitors in today and had to wear business professional attire instead of business casual.  Actually we have been having more and more "suit" days, which is really annoying for me.  But it gave me a chance to try out my new jacket today!

I like this suit because it is not traditional.  And I like the 2-toned look so I can mismatch the jacket and the skirt with other things.  Like today I decided to wear the jacket with black slacks instead of the skirt it came with.  And tomorrow I might just wear the skirt with something else!

I got a really good deal for this, I only spent about $55 since I had some Ruelala return credits (still my money I know, but it makes me feel better).  That's a really good deal for a whole suit, especially from Calvin Klein!  I think Ruelala was selling it for $79, which is still pretty good for a suit.  The tag on the suit says its $375.  But I think it probably went on sale for cheaper before it went to Ruelala.  One thing I noticed is that Calvin Klein suits (for men) are always on sale, usually from $400-500 to about $200-300.  There is a Calvin Klein store in Glendale I like to go to sometimes, because I do think they have a lot of classic looking stuff.  I also really like their men's selection for my husband.  I have a good friend who works for Calvin Klein so whenever we go to any Calvin Klein owned stores, he can get 40% off!  That's definitely an incentive to shop.

I find Calvin Klein's casual stuff to run really really big in size.  Sometimes even a size XS is too big for me.  But their suits run a lot smaller.  I have one suit jacket from there that I absolutely love and wear both to work and to go out on the town sometimes.  I know that one I have in a size 4.  It fits a little loose but still gives flattering shape which is perfect, as I don't like tight fitting suits (they tend to look cheap/ghetto to me).  And who would want a baggy/no shape suit?  So I went for a size 4 in this skirt suit as well.  It was kind of a gamble because you never know with sizes when shopping online, but I'm glad it worked out since it fits pretty much identical to the other one.  Though the skirt could be a little bit tighter in the hips, but it still looks fine.  I'll have to give it a try tomorrow.

I like the textured look of this jacket, and I'm glad to have a suit jacket that isn't black, or dark gray.  But somewhere in between lol.  The belt goes around and gives a slimming look.  Overall I'm pretty happy with this purchase!

Here are some detailed shots of the jacket: