I've got sunshine, on a snowy day.

After a snowy, slushy walk home from work tonight, I curled up to read my new issue of Real Simple magazine. I didn't make it past the first page, when I was smacked in the face by a Target ad featuring this "frugalista find"... a cute white & yellow striped springtime trench.

Merona® Women's Striped Long Trench Coat - $39.99

Immediately to my online shopping cart it went!

I got sidetracked from my magazine at that point, and started snooping around and found these bright, shiny rainboots. My trouble trying to fit into those pricey Hunter boots has been well-documented over the last year (here, here, here and here), but none fit. So for almost 1/6 of the price, I think I'll try to fit these cute little boots over my calves.

Women's Zetta Solid Rainboots - $19.99

And while I'm on my yellow kick...

This summer vacation will be spent with Dave's family at the lake, so I'll need a modest yet flattering swimsuit to wear around the in-laws. It might look a little matronly at first, but I like the throw-back vibe.

Merona® Women's Bandeau Shirred One-Piece Yellow - $34.99

Plus, I think the model is missing a few of the necessary curves, or outright thickness needed to make this style look right. No worries here though ;-)

So there you have it! My impulse dashes of yellow I will soon be adding to my wardrobe courtesy of Target and inspired by Real Simple. And all for under $100!

Hurry-up spring, I'm ready for you!

Tall Boots for Big Gams

Call them "Athletic", "Wide" or just plain "Large" but my calves do not fit in to just any pair of mid-calf or knee-high boots. You might remember my trials and tribulations just trying to find rain boots last year and I finally just gave up on new boots all together last season.

This was so especially upsetting because once you realize you have big calves and subject yourself to a limited search for "Wide Shaft" or "Wide Calf" boots you get stuck with just a few options of unstylish, frumpy looking boots that are as wide at the ankle as they are at the top.

HELLO! I didn't say I had cankles, too! Just what I would like to consider well developed calves from years of playing soccer and volleyball. Thank you very much. And even if I do have "larger than average" gams, they deserve to look stylish and trendy too.

Well, after a little more education and actually measuring my calf circumference, I set out again this season on the search for tall boots that fit my legs AND maybe would even allow me to tuck in some jeans for the first time ever.

The good news is that I have had success now that Zappos.com, endless.com and a few other online retailers have caught on to my dilemma and began adding shaft circumference to their product details! Zappos' search function is much more robust in this area, so I had luck finding many great options simply by typing in "16.50" circumference", etc.

So now I search for boots that have at least a 15.50" circumference and above. Through trial and error I found that going 1"-1.5" larger than that allows some additional room for knee socks or a pant leg and 15.50" exactly will leave room only for my calf and a pair of tights to wear with skirts & dresses.

So my first stylish pair to reveal are the Jessica Simpson Grella boots in Mud Brown:

The shaft facts: 15.50" circumference. 15.50" shaft height.

Jessica must be getting sensitive to fellow ladies with curves ;-) Being that these are a pull on style, with no zipper or elastic venting at the top, this will be one of those "fits like a glove" pairs that I will wear with skirt & dresses, and probably tights. The leather is soft and the color is rich, giving much more variance and dimension than this photo shows. I am excited to wear these soon! Also, my co-worker told me that she has a cobbler that actually adds in an elastic vent to some of her boots, who knew you could do that?! So if I really wanted to try it, I could see what a shoe guy could make happen, but I think I'm happy with the way they are now. Why mess with close to perfection?

Next, is a surprising find, Naturalizer Brommsly Wide Shaft boots in Black Leather:

The shaft facts: 17.00" circumference. 15.50" shaft height.

WOW! This pair of boots is perfect. Comfort. Style. AND I wore them already and was able to fit my calf, my knee sock and my skinny jeans into them without looking like a stuffed sausage! SUCCESS! Plus, they are skinny at the ankle, so they look tailored as opposed to frumpy. The ankle detailing is also very cute. I wore these puppies from 7:30am on Friday until 11pm that night, and can say with certainty that the Naturalizer comfort factor is still upheld in these boots. They actually inspired me to write my first ever Zappos review!

Lastly, with my new found knowledge of circumference and recent boot luck, I'm debating giving Hunter Wellies one last try.

You see, before I was only ordering the women's wellies style which only have a 15.00" circumference:

But now I realize that the Men's version is actually unisex and has a 17.00" circumference, which could be perfect!:

Look just about the same, right? Of course, the unisex ones have much fewer color choices but I do think that classic green is still a nice option. I think I will order them and see what happens!

I surrender!

Ok, Hunter. I'm waiving my white flag. Your boots just don't want to fit my legs correctly and I give-up, I will stop ordering your pricey pairs of wellies and stop trying to make them like me.

Hunter Original, your were pretty, but a bit too tight around my calf...

Hunter Huntress, you were too big and wide around my foot and ankles (and the shade was not my fave green color anyway)...

Thank goodness for Zappos AWESOME free, fast shipping AND returns. So now I'm on the hunt for a non-Hunter brand wellie. Any suggestions?

Not a Hunter, but maybe a Huntress?

So, I posted last month about the wonderful Hunter Wellies I bought off of Zappos. They were pretty. And purple. And did not fit my calves :-(

I did fit into them (a minor accomplishment), but they came up so high (almost to the knee) that my calf could not even wiggle in it, none-the-less have any hope of fitting a pant leg in the shaft as well. So I sat on them (not literally). And sat on them. And just decided to print my Zappos return label tonight to return them.

BUT I may be in luck. No, they do not come in pretty purple, BUT Hunter has considered us bigger calved ladies and made a slightly shorter and wider style, called Hunter Huntress. Now these only come in black, green and navy, but since green is the original Hunter boot (and my fave color) I went ahead and ordered them tonight to give them a try instead.

I'll be happy to report how they fit as soon as I get them. What do you think?

Well, I got wellies!

So I totally splurged on an early b-day present for myself today and purchased a pair of Hunter boots/wellies, from Zappos.

I usually would go right for the green pair, but ironically I thought the green Hunter's were too "hunter" green.

Next, I considered the orange pair, but wasn't sure if they said "bright and cheery" or "construction worker":

So I decided on the aubergine color instead, which I thought were dark enough to be somewhat neutral, while still being purple enough to say "cute & fun"! 

I just hope they fit over my calves, because I am very excited about them and it would be a shame if I had to return them! I should know soon though with Zappos super-fast free shipping.