Manitobah Mukluks :)

We finally had a drop in weather here in LA, so I decided to get some Manitobah Mukluk boots!  I know I pretty much live in the tropics lol.  But I actually have been wanting to get a pair of these babies for years!  In fact, I bought a pair of wannabes from Sketchers years ago and wore them quite often.  I guess I just couldn't really justify spending $300 on a pair of boots I wouldn't wear most of the year.  Well... apparently they sell them on Amazon for a lot cheaper!  (I love Amazon.  I have been a Prime member for a long time and I buy a lot from them.  Can't beat the free 2 day shipping!)

Soooo... I couldn't decide what I wanted, and got 2 pairs!  Amazon offers free return on shoes so I figured I'd just try them on and return the pair I don't like as much.  The first pair I got are the Tall Mukluks in charcoal, which are only $105 on Amazon!  At least that's the price for my size.  You are supposed to size down a full size on boots like these, so I got size 5 in them and they fit me perfectly.  They are made of cowhide suede and rabbit fur, with Vibram sole.  They are 15 inches tall and made in Canada.  I'm pretty much decided on keeping these:

**Disclaimer:  Since I received a comment expressing concern with fur product, I felt I should add here that the fur used by Manitobah is NOT from fur farms or anywhere sourced just for fur.  They are by-products of the meat industry, same as genuine leather products.  I would never knowingly support a company or product that practices animal cruelty.  So I did do my research before making my purchase.  This is what I read on Manitobah's official fur and leather policy on the FAQ section:

"Manitobah Mukluks produces, designs, and sells traditional Aboriginal footwear. For thousands of years our people have been using leathers and furs to create beautiful and functional footwear and we are proud to carry on this tradition. The furs and leathers we use are by-products of the meat industry. We are essentially taking a material that is considered ‘waste’ and utilizing it to make our moccasins and mukluks like our ancestors have always done." ***

By the way, how cute is my new Young Threads Smarty Cat sweater??  I got it on ideeli!  It's size S and kinda baggy but I think it's ok for this style.  I love the cat with glasses!  It's a smarty cat, get it?  Lol.

The glasses are embellished with beads!

Anyway, back to my boots... they are super soft and cozy!  The 15 inch shaft height is perfect I think.  They go to a couple inches below the knee on me.  

The boot opening is actually quite wide.  So you can totally wear thick socks or leg warmers with them.  Not that I need them... I'd just wear them bare foot around here!  They actually don't feel "too warm" for LA.

Here's the tag on the inside stating that they are made in Canada:

So the other pair I got are the Nappa Leather Mukluks in white.  They are also 15 inches tall and I got them in size 5 as well.  They fit exactly the same as the charcoal pair.

However, I am disappointed to find that these are actually made in China.  But the description on Amazon clearly states made in Canada!  If you look on the Manitobah website, you can see that some styles are made in Canada (more expensive) and some are made in China.  I guess that's what a lot of brands do when they get to a certain popularity.  But I just feel like once they outsource, the quality goes out with it.  These are actually more expensive on Amazon as well, at $132.

After I received them, I did some more investigation.  There is another pair that Manitobah is selling on Amazon called Tall Nappa Vibram Mukluks.  They look exactly the same as the pair I bought, but the description states Vibram sole and made in China.  The ones I bought are supposed to have rubber sole, and made in Canada obviously.  So I think they sent me the wrong pair!  Funny thing is, these Nappa Vibram ones are $279 on Amazon!

Anyway, I have decided that it is too scary to have white boots with fur like these.  I will not be able to walk outside without fearing that they'd get dirty immediately.  So I'm not going to make a fuss about it, and will just return these.

I actually do love them though.  The nappa leather is super nice.  It's sturdier than suede so there's more structure to the boot and it stays up better without slouching.  It also feels warmer in the toes and I'd imagine a lot more wind resistant than suede.  Again, not an issue that really bothers me in my climate.  But just saying!

Another really nice thing about them is that the fur on the inside lining is longer/thicker and more luxurious than the suede pair.  It really feels divine on.  But I'd be afraid that they might wear out quicker, if the quality is not as good.  Who knows.

Oh yeah, here's where they hide the "designed in Canada, made in China" tag.... like half way down the boot where you can almost miss it completely:

I find it kind of funny too, that the made in China ones come with a nice certificate of authenticity, while the made in Canada ones do not.

Here are other close up shots of the white ones.  They are definitely pretty!

Aside from these made in China issues, the white is just not as practical as charcoal.  So I think it's a fairly easy decision for me to keep the charcoal ones.  Charcoal is a nice color and will go with pretty much everything too.  I'm super excited about them!  I've been wearing them around the house and they are very comfy!  :)

Newest Lorna Jane Purchases!

I went to Lorna Jane last week to look at their newest stuff, and also to spend this 40% off card I got from their blogger event that I attended a couple weeks ago.  40% off is a lot!  There is no limit either.  So I decided to somewhat take advantage of that.  I went mainly for this Arianna Excel Tank in jewel:

I looked at this tank online, and I loved the color combo of the rich teal and yellow mesh down the back.  I'm glad I went to the store to try it on, because I normally wear size S in close fitting LJ tanks like this one.  But this particular tank runs quite large.  Even XS is pretty roomy in the stomach area.  

The yellow mesh on the back is actually elastic too.  Not that that's really necessarily I suppose, but it's a good surprise.

Here's what the XS looks like on me - still long enough I think.

I haven't been the biggest fan of teal, but I think this color is growing on me.  I recently acquired the Splits59 Sabrina Razor tank in teal, so this one makes the second tank I now own in this color.

This next tank I got, I have actually been eyeing it for a while too.  But the price tag of $85.99 made me steer clear of it.  Welllll... 40% off makes it about $52, which is not the cheapest but much more acceptable.  It is the Demi Tank/Bra combo, the color is freeze/neon sherbet.  I basically put it on in the fitting room and immediately knew it was coming home with me.  I love the fit.  I'm glad I didn't try it on before I got this discount card, because I would have been in big trouble lol.

I got this tank in size S, which I think is the perfect fit.  I love the flowy-ness of it, and I think the color combo is pretty nice as well.  The back is quite pretty:

I think the web photos make this tank look less saturated than it really looks in person.  The bra is definitely more of a bright coral color in person rather than orange as it appears on (at least on my) screen.

Not sure if you can tell, but the material in this tank is quite silky and unlike any of my other LJ tanks.

 

On both sides of the tank where the outer layer meets the bra, they are actually sewn together so the outer layer stays in place.

So I think that was my "splurge" of the day.  Not bad.

The next top I got is also something I've been eyeing for a while.  The Motivate Excel L/S top in grey marl stripe / neon mellon.  Lol, can you see a trend here?

It must have been meant to be, because it's an older top and when I was at a different store a couple weeks ago, they had sold out of it in sizes smaller than M.  The store I went to last week had it in size S which I tried on and it was a little baggy and boxy looking.  So I was totally going to pass on it, but the sales girl was opening new boxes they just got, and they received another one in XS!  She gave it to me to try on not knowing that the S was too big on me.  I didn't have much hope for a XS but it surprised me!  I like the fit much better!

 

I love baseball style shirts, and love gray and pink combo.  So naturally I love this top!  It's actually $10 cheaper than the Demi tank lol.  Here's a close up of the cute shoulder mesh detail:

Lastly, I got the Radah Tank, in both colors it comes in!  They are made of a lighter material, which is space dye jersey.  The colors are fern green marl, and hot flamingo marl.  I love both colors, and since this tank is cheaper to begin with ($49.99), I figured I'd just pick up both.  They are very easy styles to wear, even outside of the gym.

I got these tanks in XS.  They are very loose fitting.  Here's the fern green marl:

Close up of the space dye:

 Hot flamingo marl:

That's all!  I think these should last me a while and motivate me to recover faster from this stupid cold and get back to the gym in full force!  :)

Sunday Funday - A Short One

Well, this has been an awful week for me since I got sick on Monday night... and I'm still sick!  Whatever this bug is that I caught is persistent.  I rarely get sick.  It's been years since I've been sick for more than a day or so.  This was like payback time or something.  I got the whole works... fevers, cough, sore throat, headaches, etc.  So needless to say, I skipped the gym pretty much the whole week, which makes me very angry lol.  I've also lost my appetite since I can barely taste/smell.  So I've eaten like 2 meals a day and lost about 5 pounds this week.  Isn't that crazy?  I really hate to think that I've lost muscle, so let's call it water loss lol.

I am at about 70% better now, just very congested mostly.  So I actually went to the gym yesterday and today.  Took it easy though.  Like instead of doing 4 sets of my circuit, I did 3 sets, followed by 20 minutes of cardio instead of the normal 30.  I was surprised that I wasn't noticeably weaker than usual.  I always feel iffy going to the gym while sick.  I hate the idea of me spreading my germs around, and I also don't want to push my body too hard and get worse.  But I think on day 5 of being sick, I am no longer contagious.  But mostly just couldn't stay home anymore!  I did feel that the workouts made me tired quicker, but I've been fine afterwards so yay!  I think I'll go back to my normal workout schedule next week.

I only went to work on Monday and Friday, and I wore Splits59 to work on Monday!  I love the Ion wrap I got, so I wore it with white Splits59 Ashby tank under.  My old Express pencil skirt (this thing must be more than 10 years old!) and Michael Kors Fleur tall boot.  The temperature here dropped a lot this week.  So we're at like mid 60s now!  Burrrr!  Hehehe.

The Ion wrap gets the honorable mention, because I can wear it for any occasion.  Here it is again as a weekend brunch outfit - worn over the Express crochet trim tee, and with Express black camo leggings.  And, of course my beloved Balanciaga city bag.  

As for my two workouts of the week, yesterday I did circuit 1 and 20 minutes of cardio afterwards.  I wore the Lorna Jane Sunrise tank and Elisabetta Rogiani Sport Band 3/4 Leggings in gray that I got for working at her LA FitExpo booth last weekend (pretty positive that's where I picked up this terrible bug!), with black Nike Free Bionics.  These leggings are size S, but they fit tighter than the black ones in the same exact style in size XS.  Maybe sizing is inconsistent among different colors.  But these did not slip down during my workout like I thought they would (they are lower rise than my other tights).  I actually didn't have to worry about them at all during both weight session and cardio.    

I wore the Lululemon Inspire pullover in lolo purple as to/from, and also because I thought I might wear it during my workout to keep my sick self extra warm.  But I just couldn't do it lol.  It's way too hot to wear for working out indoors.

Today I did circuit 2, and then 20 minutes of cardio.  I wore the Splits59 Ashby Courage tank (over the white Ashby tank), and Lululemon Wunder Under crops in bordeaux drama with New Balance Minimus road shoes.

Lululemon Swiftly 1/2 Zip in ultra violet as to and from... one of my favorite Lulu tops!

So, unfortunately that's all I got this week!  I was able to stop by the Lorna Jane store when I was sick though (lol... I was soooo bored of staying home all day feeling miserable!) and bought some new tops I can't wait to try out!  Will post more about that next week.

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend and a fun Super Bowl Sunday!  I am not that into sports, but I did watch most of it - not a very exciting game.  I thought Bruno Mars was awesome at the halftime show though!