Last night I was so blessed to be able to get a lesson with one of my best friends on her amazing intermediate event horse. I have been riding since January 2007, and I have had a few leases, but have mostly ridden school horses, or horses that belong to the barn for lessons. School horses have taught me sooooo much. They can be frustrating to work with because they will really make you work for everything, but I think they are very rewarding too.
My friend’s horse is an OTTB, or off-track thoroughbred. He wasn’t meant for the racetrack but he is a brilliant event horse, especially the cross country phase. We did a dressage lesson in the indoor arena, and it was so fun. His level of training is so much higher than the school horses, so I really just got to ride instead of spending the whole time trying to work through issues brought on by too many bouncy little kids 🙂 Riding him is kinda like leaving the 1988 Honda Civic to ride in a ferrari. He’s perfect. Someday when she retires him from competing, I know he will be the best eventing/dressage school master.
She took a few pics, they are blurry but I actually kinda like how the blurriness softens the pictures.
It was the kind of night when you drive home smiling the whole time, like nothing could bother you after that. That’s the good stuff. Happy Friday!
I am really just getting on board with the whole layering with vests for normal activities business. For as long as I can remember, down puffy vests were for xc skiing and quilted water repellent vests were for horseback riding. When I realized people wore these vests around just normally and even indoors I didn’t jump on this trend right away. I did have some fleece vests which are just so comfortable over a nice long sleeve in the cooler months, but anyways, back to the quilted vest…
I always thought that quilted vests were insulated, but not necessarily down, light and usually water repellent. Down vests are super warm but most lost their loft when they get wet. A lot of what you see at stores for people buying these vests just for everyday layering are vests that are just for fashion- they are not water repellent like a nice quilted vest and not super warm like a nice down vest.
So this is the quilted vest that I ride in, especially in the indoor in the winter for only $39.99- Riding Sport Quilted Vest. The tack stores that we buy our stuff from around here, Dover Saddlery & Smartpak have a bunch of different quilted & down vests for really great prices.
As far as what other stores are offering, LLBean has a bunch of vest options. Here is there basic quilted riding vest at $109- Quilted Vest
LLBean also has a waxed cotton down vest that I would really like to check out, a little more pricey at $149, but it looks nice- Upcountry Waxed Cotton Down Vest
Here is the very popular J. Crew take on the vest, it is quilted and insulated with down for $120 although there is a 25% off sale going on- Excursion quilted down vest This vest also comes in a gray flannel and buffalo check.
Eddie Bauer I feel is often overlooked for people shopping around for whatever the latest prep craze is. They have some nice looking quilted vests. This one is $99 and is a tweed sort of pattern Year-round Field Vest (might go on my Christmas list :)and then their other colors Year-round Field Vest in colors. These are actually really nice looking because they are insulated & water repellent.
Finally, this is the one I just recently purchased from J. Crew Factory in navy. It was on sale 35% off with free shipping which made it $63! Not too shabby! Its comfortable, warm but not too toasty and not water repellent- Quilted Puffer Vests There are other colors, some prints like the very popular herringbone, very nice for the price.
I tried the quilted vest from Old Navy thinking I was really getting a steal, but honestly, the material felt very cheap and it was a very boxy fit on me, so I spent a little more for the J. Crew Factory vest. Here’s the Old Navy one- Quilted Vest. Its $28…its the right look but just didn’t work on me.
My advice would be to look for sales on the J. Crew vests, they are really nice but I wouldn’t pay full price. Dare to be different though! Check out the quilted vests at Dover Saddlery and Eddie Bauer! Be the one girl in your group with a cheaper vest that looks unique, don’t be afraid to stand out AND save some dollars!
This morning my fiancé took our dalmatian, Mizpah, for a trail run at the town forest in Groton, MA. Old Northbridge Hounds were also there for a hunt! I guess all the hounds were ahead of the horses and swarmed Mizpah, she must have felt like the belle of the ball. They were called back to the master and the hunt went down a different path. In the past, my fiancé and Mizpah were actually on the same path as the hunt and little Mizpah walked right next to the horses like she was in the pack before coming back.
I am attaching a few pictures from my fiancé. He said there were probably ~20 horses today. Everyone is wearing their informal hunt attire, formal hunt attire doesn’t start until October. I know of 3 hunt clubs in Massachusetts- Old Northbridge is in Concord, Myopia is up on the north shore in Hamilton, and Norfolk Hunt Club is in Dover. They do hunts usually on Tues/Sat and also hunter paces that some people from my barn go to with their horses. All of them are drag hunting clubs. That means there is no fox, they drag the scent through the woods for the hounds to follow. There is usually some sort of reception afterwards like a tea or luncheon.
A really fun way to learn more about fox hunting is to read Rita Mae Brown’s fox hunting mysteries. I absolutely love them. It took me a little bit to get used to the fact that the animals all have dialogue in her books, but now I like it ha. Here is her website: Rita Mae Brown Books She also writes books about cats…..
If I had my own horse, I would definitely want to get involved in a hunt club. They are great social groups and its great exercise for all species involved 🙂 Maybe someday when I have extra money…soooo probably not until retirement!!!
Here is the older picture from last year of Mizpah, the blur between some horses. It must have been later in the fall because they are wearing formal attire!
Hope everyone had a fabulous Tuesday! I think this week’s Prep Craze is going to be quilted vests because I just got a really nice navy one from J. Crew Factory, 35% off- Free Shipping! Gotta find ways to get those fall essentials without ruining your budget right!? Stay tuned!
Years ago, I was looking for a waterproof jacket for the fall & spring. I have a rain jacket with a hood, its from Marmot and its fluorescent green…great for hiking/running, but I wanted something more muted for every day. I found Barbour! I love the waxed cotton, but I almost had a heart attack when I saw the price! J. Barbour & Sons opened in 1894 in England and made thornproof, water proof jackets, hats, & trousers. Waxed cotton came from the sailing/shipping industry. They waterproofed sails with oils, and used the same technique to make capes for the ship’s captain. Barbour originally marketed itself to fishermen and actually motorcyclists, then farmers & hunters & equestrians, and now to anyone who will pay >$300 for a jacket.
I do own a Barbour jacket. I got it at a closing sale at Fishing the Cape down in Harwich on Cape Cod. Barbour never goes on sale, ever. You can get 10% off if you buy it through Orvis.com or Tuckernuck.com if you sign up for their emails. My Barbour is an Argon, a men’s jacket, that has quilting instead of the tartan lining which makes it a little warmer than the Bedale/Beadnee/Beaufort. Now, if you look hard enough, there are MORE expensive waxed cotton jackets out there from Belstaff & Burberry, but here are some waxed cotton jackets in our beloved sage/navy that are more affordable than Barbour.
Here’s my Barbour, just got it this past summer.
Barbour Argon I got for 65% off 🙂
Here is my favorite from Jack Murphy on countryandstable.com for $130! Darina Waxed Jacket This website has a lot of awesome deals from British labels.
And finally, this company Cotopaxi which is definitely worth checking out because of their generosity has a great waxed canvas jacket, a little longer, maybe a little snowboaderish but clocks in <$300 at $279 Bengal Waxed Canvas Jacket
Here are pics of the jackets mentioned!
Jack Murphy Darina
J. Crew Downtown Field Jacket
J. Crew Hooded Downtown Field Jacket
H&M Waxed Cotton Parka
LLBean Town and Field Jacket
LLBean Upcountry Jacket
Bengal Waxed Canvas Parka
I don’t know guys, I just happened to get an amazing sale the weekend I was down the cape with my friend. If a waxed cotton jacket has been on your radar, consider some of these. Barbour clearly doesn’t have the market on waxed cotton cornered 😉 When we see bloggers and instagrammers sporting Barbours, it can be hard to imagine that there will ever be a better jacket…#barbouriseverything right? Don’t forget though, they often get those jackets for free, look for the little c/o at the bottom of their post. If nobody is sending you free Barbour jackets, and you want a waxed cotton jacket this fall, do it while saving those pennies!! We all want to look like we have a family estate in the English countryside right? But what if you saved your money to actually go to the English countryside!!!
Today I definitely had a case of the Mondays ha. I had an amazing weekend as a bridesmaid for one of my best friend’s weddings. She got married at her family’s horse farm. She came in to the ceremony next to the family’s beautiful antique farm house on a carriage pulled by a chestnut morgan with her father and met her groom under a trellis in front of a beautiful old oak tree. Her child, aka her horse, was in a paddock nearby for pics afterward, absolutely stunning. The reception was down in the cross country field under a tent. The decorations and lighting were magnificent. The food was delicious and we drank Veuve Cliquot out of the bottle and our favorite Barefoot chardonnay while we danced all night long. It was truly a magical night and I was so happy to be a part of it. Work this morning was a harsh reality after living in a fairytale all weekend 🙂
This morning I heard a great story about one of my favorite companies, LLBean. Leon Gorman passed away on September 3rd. I was actually up in Freeport that weekend! Leon was the grandson of the founder L.L. Bean and served as CEO from 1967-2001. He was on the board as chairman after that until 2013, and then served as chairman emeritus until he passed away at 80 years old. By all accounts, he was an amazing man and is credited with much of the success LLBean now has. The flagship store in Freeport is open 24 hours/day and closed on Sunday for 4 hours so that everyone could go to Leon Gorman’s memorial service. The doors don’t even have locks so they draped a rope through the handles of the doors. The flagship store only closed 2 other times, when JFK was assassinated, and when L.L. Bean himself passed away. I just thought it was so nice that the company realized that celebrating Leon’s life was more important than any sale they would make that morning. Truly, I have often thought I would love to work for LLBean when I retire, because its such a great company.
Veuve cliquot for the head table, so goodThe centerpieces were beautiful fresh flowers in horse show trophy cups. Metallic sandals were the bridesmaid shoe of choice- here are some of our Jack Rogers taking a break while we danced!My fiancé sent this as a snapchat, ha, too funny, but honestly, the tent was stunning.
It was truly a magical weekend with all my best friends from the barn, so nice to see so many of the riders dressed up and dancing together. I hope you all had lovely weekends too! Its starting to get cooler and darker earlier, we have to soak up whats left of the nice weather here in New England!
Today I splurged on a pair of Palm Beach Sandals for my wedding day. I bought the monogrammed Aubrey in white on white with my new monogram in platinum stitching. PBSandals is in the midst of their $25 off sale til the 12th though, so I think I made a good choice getting them now 🙂
What are Jack Rogers and Palm Beach Sandals you ask? Well, a long time ago, a very influential woman we all call Jackie O went to the island of Capri and bought herself some sandals. She liked them so much she came back to the US and brought them to her personal cobbler in Palm Beach, FL. I believe his name was Stephen Bonanno. Some people that really grew up wearing them called them Bonannos. From here the Palm Beach Sandal was born. I read somewhere that Jackie O and her friend Lilly Pulitzer only bought their sandals directly from the factory in Palm Beach.
PBSandals are the original, made in the US, made only of leather with a nice thick footbed. They come with either a small stacked heel OR a wedge. Jack Rogers makes a very similar version, some synthetic materials, made in China, and the footbed is thinner. They are of comparable price ($110-$150ish), BUT Jack Rogers are sold in Nordstroms, CountryClubPrep.com, Zappos.com, and they have branched out into other footwear styles as well. Jack Rogers is extremely popular among bloggers like KellyintheCity, Carly’s TheCollegePrep, and the crew from KJP (Kiel James Patrick). Vineyard Vines and Sail to Sable models also appear to be wearing them. The hashtags, #lovemyjacks (22k posts) and #jackrogers (51k posts) far outnumber #palmbeachsandals (2.5k posts) or #pbsandals (100 posts). Why? They are similar in price but Palm Beach Sandals are much nicer in my opinion.
There are alternatives to these- so many actually! Palm Beach certainly doesn’t have a monopoly on leather whipstitching.
Here is one for $39.99 from Nautica that can be found at Famous Footwear Nautica La Plata Sandals
Bottom line, if you see your favorite preppy instagrammers wearing Jack Rogers and you want to join in on the fun, know that there are options. Another world all together is Etsy. People hand paint these sandals in all prints, Lilly prints are very popular on them. Those are usually in the $50 range. Read reviews, some people with wider feet have struggled with this style of sandal. Some people don’t like the piece of leather with the three holes on the heel that the some of the Rogers and PB sandals have. It’s the end of summer so a lot of sandals are on sale, buy them now for your spring/summer occasions to get the savings!
Below is my little collection from over the years! I threw my Lilly McKims in because those are nice too for $88. I splurged for my wedding shoes, but trust, in the future I will checking out some of those more affordable options, got to save those pennies!
Clockwise: Jack Rogers Georgica Jellies, Jack Rogers Hamptons in silver, Lilly Pulitzer McKims, Palm Beach Sandals in navy with white, Palm Beach Sandals in platinum with gold
I have returned from beautiful Winslow Park in Freeport ME! The car is unpacked, I am on my third load of laundry, washing the campfire smoke and saltwater out of everything from this weekend. We had the best weather this year, I don’t want the summer to end!
We did a sport shooting LLBean discovery course on Sunday. I have the bruise to prove that I did use a 20 gauge shotgun for the first time! There’s really nothing they can tell you to prepare for what it feels like to actively try to hold on to something that punches you in the should when you go to use it. I wouldn’t say I am ready to buy my own, but killing that clay pigeon was more fun than I thought it would be! 🙂
When we got out of the course we did check out some of the outlets, and I am proud to report that my only purchases were some amazing Ben and Jerry’s ice cream & $15 bright yellow LLBean shorts for hiking. My favorite things about this weekend were of course priceless. Waking up to the most amazing view of Casco Bay, cycling the crazy hills of Freeport with my fiancé, and kayaking in Casco Bay with friends were worth more than any deals I could have found in the outlets.
I hope you all enjoyed your Labor Day weekends with your friends and families!
View from my campsite @ Winslow ParkSun setting over Casco Bay
For the second year in a row, we are camping in Winslow Park in Freeport, ME, right on Casco Bay for Labor Day weekend. It’s an amazing spot- waking up to see the ocean is a gift that I got more often 🙂 Freeport is the home of really great shopping, which will be packed for Labor Day sales and back to school shoppers.
Last year we did a stand up paddle boarding discovery course through LLBean. The courses are very affordable, around $25, and they provide everything you need. This year we are doing sport clay shooting!
I am writing this post to remind myself as well as anyone else out there, just because its on sale and has your favorite brand on the tag doesn’t mean you need it. It will be tough, there’s a J Crew, Patagonia, Vineyard Vines, and of course LLBean in Freeport. We usually hit up the shopping on the same day we do the course at LLBean. A trip to the Ben and Jerry’s there is usually part of the deal too! 😉
Only buy things you NEED and will love and will not go out of style next year, try to get it on sale, and hopefully we won’t feel that buyer’s remorse looking at our bank accounts on Tuesday. Many times, I walk up to the register, and then decide to put a couple things back, and its usually for the best! I am also looking forward to biking, sitting around the fire, catching up with friends, maybe doing some swimming….and those things fit very comfortably in my budget, more than that mint VV shep shirt I have been eyeing!
What’s everyone else up to? Happy Labor Day weekend!!
When I showed my fiancé my first post and my about section, he said, “wow, are you sure you aren’t going to ruffle some feathers?”. The reason being that my best friends DO own horses and DO have money from their families. I love them like sisters, they are so down to Earth and generous, I sometimes forget that. My post wasn’t about shaming them though for what they have or what they were born with. Plus, lets be honest, no matter what you have, we are all tempted by what we don’t have.
My post, and really the reason why I am writing this blog is because I need to remind myself, and maybe some of you out there, that NOT having things that you want right now is ok…..maybe even better than ok! Spending money that we should be saving because we alone will be making that downpayment on our first homes in order to look like we inherited Jackie O’s closet does not bring us any closer to having that house in Newport, or boat on the cape. Paying off debts is what makes us free to maybe use some money for something fun like a new Lilly shift or J Crew tweed skirt.
With instagram, tumblr, Facebook, and blogs, it can be easy to think, “I have a job, a good job, I deserve a new Vineyard Vines dress, I work hard”. Admiring #jcreweverything and #buymelilly posts from our friends, can make us feel like we should have those things too. What we actually deserve though is to save our hard earned money to do real things for us, like pay off our cars or pay off student loans. I am writing this blog to constantly remind myself that being smart with my time and money and being with my friends/family is what makes me happy.
Thoughts shared free of charge, sponsored by no one,
I am a New England girl that has a taste for the finer things that has grown frustrated with the price of marked up “preppy” wares and SOME of the blogs that promote those “preppy” wares. I grew up in a suburb in Massachusetts, am from a middle class family. I never wanted for anything but I went to public school, no old family money, and I probably won’t be able to afford a horse until retirement…and while I like classic, timeless apparel, beaches, horseback riding, and a good glass of chards, bills and savings goals should come first. I did crew in hs and college, but have no vintage rowing blazer. I am more J. Crew Factory than J. Crew, and I sell my Lilly dresses on Ebay. I do ride horses, but have paid for every lesson and ride with my own money while living on my own. I love to hike, but own very little Patagonia/The North Face…..because its expensive and I get the same stuff at EMS or LLBean. I spent years now going along with what my favorite instagrammers told me. That dress really is everything! Well…no it isn’t. It’s just one thing that you probably didn’t even pay for 😉 I’m here with you on the quest to have it all, finding the balance between wearing rags to save for that Newport house and buying the entire Vineyard Vines catalog to have collectors come after your credit card debt.
New England Classic Beauty 