Scotch and Soda Doubled Hooded Sweatshirt

About a year ago, I was eyeing the Scotch and Soda Home Alone sweater for a while and just before I pulled the trigger, it was sold out!  I had been looking for it ever since.  Here is what it looks like:

I really was kicking myself for not buying it - it wasn't even that expensive!  I think the retail price was $89.  I have no idea why I thought for so long.

So I've kind of given up hope that I'll ever find that particular sweater.  But I have been checking the Scotch and Soda site fairly regularly.  I found a close enough substitute for it!  It also happens to be on sale for only $41 on their site right now, with free shipping too!  So I bought this doubled hooded sweater.  Ignore the 1-star review on that link, I think that person is reviewing a totally different item!  They said the sweater is slick in person which is not true, it is a knit and is very soft.

The same exact sweater is also available at Nordstrom, and on sale too.  But it is $89 there and missing the smaller sizes.  Interestingly enough, this sweatshirt is called "layered sweater" on the Scotch and Soda site, but "Home Alone sweater" on the Nordstrom site.  Also, the brand is listed as Maison Scotch at Nordstrom, which matches what the tag says on the actual sweater.  So, I guess I don't really know if the brand is Scotch and Soda, or Maison Scotch.  But either way, the retail price has gone up to $135.

I actually got my order the day after I placed it, because they ship from LA - that's always a plus!  Their size range goes like this: P, 1, 2, 3, 4.  This is a Dutch brand, so the sizes are quite different.  But I ordered a size 1, which is equivalent to small I guess.  I definitely would not have wanted this sweater any smaller.  The cut is fitted, so I actually could size up to a 2 for a baggier look.  But I like the way the 1 fits and will definitely be keeping it!  I've actually been wearing it all night last night and tonight.  It's the coziest sweater ever!  I'm very glad to have gotten it for such a good price.

The most attractive part about this sweater is the double layered hood, I think.  

The side zipper does work as well, and this is how it looks unzipped:

There is also this logo on the lower left side:

The comfort level of this sweater seriously surpassed my expectations.  I think it really lives up to its name being the "Home Alone" sweater!  It just makes me feel so cozy without being too hot.  This kind of herringbone like print is also slightly more interesting than the marled gray color I had been wanting for so long.  So I'm very happy with it!

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Lululemon Reflective Inspire Crops!

I went to Lululemon on the weekend to return this neck warmer I bought.  I don't know why I bought a neck warmer, but it was during that week a while ago when it was super cold here lol.  Of course after it arrived, the temp had gotten back up so I came to my senses.  When I went to return it, I browsed the store for new items and I finally tried on the reflective Inspire crops.  I actually really liked them when I first saw them online a couple weeks ago.  But since I don't workout outside, I thought it was a waste of money to get reflective stuff.  Well, after I tried them on I knew I had to get them!  They were the only ones left in the store too, so it was meant to be!

I really love the black and white colorblocking, as well as the big mesh side pockets on these!  The material feels really nice too.  They feel like a thicker version of regular luxtreme material, with more compression.  I got them in my regular size 4.

I also really dig the fact that these look so much edgier than what Lululemon usually makes.  My bf couldn't believe that they were Lulu when I showed them to him!

I guess the only slight disappointment I have is that I thought the entire white colorblocking on the sides of the legs were reflective material.  But in fact the only reflective material on these pants are on the bottom of the legs, plus some stitchings made with reflective thread (like on the side pockets).  Boo!  I know I said I don't really need this feature at all, but now that I paid for it, I want it dammit!  

I took these photos in complete dark, with flash, so you can see which actually reflects and what doesn't:

Sooo I think if I was in complete dark outside with no camera flash, and a car drove by, they would only see those tiny stripes of reflectivity.  Oh well.  I still love how these look.

Here they are in the light!

The pockets are really nice and big!

Close up of the reflective stripe on the leg - there's mesh with dot design over them:

I actually already wore these to the gym yesterday!  I think they look so cool.  Gotta be careful with the white part though - I managed to get it dirty within like the first minute of being at the gym.  Not even sure how that's possible but it happened!  =P

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Sunday Funday!

Happy Sunday!  I just got back from seeing the 3rd Hobbit movie.  I had been meaning to go watch it since I watched the first 2 on DVD not too long ago.  This movie had what felt like a 2 hour long battle scene.  So over the top!  But I guess that's the kind of action most people want to see.  I did enjoy shots of The Shire though, since I went to New Zealand like 10 years ago and visited Hobbiton where they shot it.  It's very cute there!  But anyway, now I have to catch up on my homework!  I started taking some classes on Coursera a couple weeks ago.   If you haven't heard about Coursera, it's a website which offers just about any class you can think of, taught by professors from some of the world's best universities, for free.  The courses run for a few months, and for most of them you can get a certificate at the end.  I believe you do have to pay for the certificate for some of them though.  I don't really care for a certificate myself, but one of the classes I am taking currently is a Genetics class because that was always the most interesting part of biology to me.  So I thought I'd try to learn more about it.  There's weekly lectures and homework, and my homework is due every Monday morning!  I procrastinated on my lectures earlier this week, so tonight I have to play catch up!  After I blog, of course.  Lol.

Oh yeah, in other news, I got a new phone finally!  I got a white iPhone 6!  I'm so much happier now.  My old iPhone 5 was one of the ones that had a battery recall (I pre-ordered it when it first came out and got the first batch).  But because I have a tiny, almost imperceptible dent on one of the front corners, Apple wouldn't replace the battery for me.  They said if they took out the face, that little dent would prevent them from putting it back exactly where it should go and then my touch screen would be all messed up.  So annoying!  I lived with that shitty battery for so long, partially because I was afraid to be one of the first people to get the iphone 6 and have to deal with an equally annoying issue later down the road.  My battery life on my old phone was so bad that I literally had to charge my phone 4-5 times a day.  I'd get up in the morning with 100% battery.  A couple hours later, I'd be at work with 15% battery left.  That is, if I was lucky.  Sometimes it would die at 50% lol.  My new phone, on the other hand, hasn't been charged in 2 days and it's still going!  I'm so happy that I don't have to take my charger everywhere with me anymore.  It is truly life-changing.

So this week, I completed week 3 of my month 3 workouts from Get Glutes.  I have one more week left, but I got a preview of month 4 workouts - they seem to be kicked up a notch!  So I guess I'll have that to look forward to later.

Monday 1/12 - Rest

Tuesday 1/13
What I did:  Strength 1 workout.

What I wore:  Lululemon Water Bound singlet in bleached coral and Lululemon Wunder Under crop in animal swirl - I really loved these!  Nike Free 5.0 TR Fit 4 shoes in hyper cobalt/bright mango.

Splits59 Vail Cutout pullover in marianna blue as to and from:

Wednesday 1/14 - Slept in and skipped the gym.  I went to bed too late.  This is something I'm trying to get better at.  I need more sleep!  I really only sleep like 6 hours a night, and I'd like it to be at least 7.  I think it's true that rest is just as important as the workout.  So I'm trying to "listen to my body".  Though I'm not sure yet how I can distinguish between really needing rest, or just being lazy.  I nearly always feel like sleeping in so if I really listened to that, I'd never make it to the gym.  =P

Thursday 1/15

What I did:  I did strength #2.

What I wore:  Lole Spiral tank with Lululemon free to be bra in white under it.  Lululemon wunder under crop in diamond jacquard flaming tomato, and Nike Free 3.0s.

Lululemon white swiftly LS as to/from:

Friday 1/16

What I did:  Conditioning work for about 40 minutes.  Then I did 20 minutes interval on the gauntlet.

What I wore:  Lululemon No Limit tank in flash with Lululemon Inspire crop in savasana camo fatigue green.  Same Nike Free 3.0s as the day before.

First day taking pics with the new phone!  It's supposed to have a better camera.  I think the details do show up better.

Armani Exchange faux fur jacket as to/from:

Saturday 1/17

What I did:  3rd Strength session, plus 15 minutes on the gauntlet afterwards.

What I wore:  Lorna Jane Kayla tank with Lorna Jane Lola bra in sparkle gray under.  Beyond Yoga Hyper Stripe long legging and HKNB 420 sneakers.  

Ever since I tried these sneakers out last week for a workout, I actually liked them so I'll be adding them to the rotation!  I would not wear them to run or jump around too much, but for weights and the gauntlet, they are actually pretty good!

Alo Yoga Cinder LS in spectrum as to and from:

Since I completed all my workouts and extra cardio this week, I decided to take today off and not push it too hard.  I guess I'm trying to workout less when everyone else is trying to workout more lol.  

Now off to do my homework!  I hope you are all having a great weekend!  I'm so happy that tomorrow is the MLK holiday so this is a 3 day weekend for me!

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Lululemon Inspire Crop in Heathered Textured Lotus Camo Oil Slick Blue/Inkwell

I thought my desire to own every single piece of camo item had died, but apparently not so!  I couldn't help my itchy fingers on Tuesday night when the weekly upload happened, and ordered the Inspire Crop in heathered textured lotus camo oil slick blue/inkwell.  It's camo, and it's blue!  What's not to love...

Well, I actually don't love the full on luxtreme material.  I don't dislike it, per se.  It's thicker, slicker and not as stretchy.  I just prefer regular luxtreme over it.  But if a pattern I like only comes in full on luxtreme, it's not a deal breaker.  However, I do not like the $96 price tag.  

I did end up returning the snake sequined ones I got before Christmas though, so I'm glad I did that now.  I would much rather have these for the same price!  So, even though the price is pretty hefty, the fact that I wear my fatigue camo Inspires all the time makes me think that I will get my money's worth in the oil slick camo too.  =P

As usual, I got my size 4:

So as you can see, they are a pretty dark blue with lighter stitching.  I am not usually a fan of light stitching, but don't mind it on these for some reason.

I love the color and print!  These will go with many many things in my closet.

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