The $44 Zella Live-In Capris in black

Shorts and I, ugh. We have a complex relationship.

I like breathable, cooling clothes when I’m slogging through my daily miles, but shorts usually ride up in weird ways, or they’re so short that my booty hangs out; hence, my warm-weather preference for capri-length workout pants.

Zella’s $44 Live-In Capris are so comfy that I do, in fact, want to live in them.

And if I never, ever had to look responsible, I probably would (they’re the Pajama Jeans of my workout world). You’d need the Jaws of Life to peel them off of me.

I got my first pair about a year ago and promptly picked up two more.

The deets from Nordstrom’s site…

• These lean capri leggings, ideal for working out or wearing out, are cut from a stretchy moisture-wicking knit and sewn with flatlock seaming for a comfortable, chafe-free fit
• 17″ inseam; 10″ front rise; 13″ back rise (size Medium)
• Hidden waistband pocket stashes cash or a key
• Reflective trim enhances visibility in low light
• Zeltek Ultimate Stretch offers four-way stretch with compression, wicks moisture, and it’s brushed on one side, smooth on the other
• Intended for gym, yoga, running
• Polyester/spandex; machine wash

You know how some workout pants will stretch out and lose elasticity after a few wears, and then when you’re jogging/downward dogging/eating Cheetos on the couch/whatever, you have to stop every few feet to hike them up because they’ve lost their shape and keep scooting down your bum?

Yeah, these don’t do that.

I’ve had mine for more than a year, wash and tumble dry them on low all the time, and they’ve held up nicely. The elastic’s just as springy and snug as ever (so there’s no chance of accidental butt crack flashing).

Oh, and the fabric is thick enough to leave some things to imagination (read: conceal whatever you’ve got going on under your pants).

You’d think that all workout pants would take this into consideration, but they don’t. I can’t even begin to tell you how many times I’ve gone to a yoga class and wanted to tell the gal swan diving into a forward fold in front of me to put a sweatshirt around her bum because EVERYTHING IS ON DISPLAY.
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Turning heads is an easy feat for feet wearing these teal Franco Sarto Farley Wedges…

Do I really need another pair of shoes?

No.

But years from now when I look back on my life I want to be able to say that drag queens and David Lee Roth circa 1984 (the Jump era) would have approved of my footwear.

There will come a day when my arches will fall and I’ll only be able to comfortably wear lunch lady flats and sandals (sigh…), but until that day, as long as I can, I will always choose the funnest shoes for every occasion (well, most of the time).

Like these teal Franco Sarto Farley Wedges I picked up at DSW a while back.

Teal + gray skinny jeans = YES!

Welcome to my safe place…the shoe department

I couldn’t concentrate my way out of paper bag this afternoon, so I left Tabs a note and took the afternoon off!

I wrote the words, “fashion emergency,” but what I meant was, “I desperately need to look at shoes, and I need to look at them NOW.”

I don’t know. Footwear. It just soothes me.

I headed to the DSW about a half a mile away here in Novato. Since it’s finally warm enough to bust out the sandals and put away the boots, and because my current casual shoes all look like Tabs has been using them to test his claws (he hates anything that isn’t haute couture), I went with the goal of finding a cute, comfy pair of shoes for spring.

Soon as I got there (my safe place!), I tried on a pair of mint flats by Steve Madden.

Adorable! — but my toes were sweating within 30 seconds. Pass.

So cute! So sweaty! Mint patent flats by Steve Madden ($39.95)

Then I stumbled on these striped flats by Dr. Scholl’s…

These $49.95 striped cuties by Dr. Scholl’s are the comfiest flats I’ve ever worn!

Feelin’ extra short…

I loved the bright, cheerful stripes, and when I slipped them on, I felt like I was floating on a cloud…

Unfortunately, I wasn’t sure about the buckle, and that sort of put me on the fence about them, so I messaged my friend Jen for advice.

She liked ‘em, too, but there was that buckle… I mean, I just couldn’t get over the buckle. The more I looked at it, the more it looked like the Green Bay Packers logo to me.

So I passed.

Go Pack!

After I put the shoes back on the shelf, I wandered around some more and waited for inspiration to strike.
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Did I forget to tell you what I got my mom for her birthday last weekend? I actually ended up getting her a Galaxy hooded sweatshirt from Zella.

I know, BIG surprise.

Yes, I’m on a mission to get all of the ladies in my life Galaxy sweatshirt-ed out, and um…it was on sale, which is always a good thing.

I also got her this Zella Quilted Frame Clutch. It’s a lightweight, quilted fabric bag with a zipper. Hardly weighs a thing, too, and it’s super roomy.

Like the sweatshirt, it was marked down ($18 from $28). I filled it with a few things — a pair of birthday socks, a night cream and a serum that she likes — and tied a ribbon to the strap.

It turned out to be a cute, little present.

The bag itself is kinda like an all-purpose carryall (dimensions: 8″W x 5″H x 4″D). It would make a great, little makeup bag, or could maybe be something to store toiletries in a gym bag. You could even use it as a causal clutch.

My mom goes to the senior center a few times a week for group exercise classes (I know — so cute!). She takes yoga, Zumba and something called “Silver Sneakers,” which always cracks me up. It’s funny… All of her senior citizen friends call her “the baby” of the group, haha!

Anyway, she’s there a lot, and even though she’s not really into makeup, I figured that if she ever wanted to go out with The Golden Girls for a coffee date or to a juice bar afterwards, she could use this bag to store her toiletries, and freshen up at the senior center before going.

Now that I think about it…I might have to get one of these for myself! I love the little details, like the strap, the Zella quilting (look closely, and you can see the “Z” pattern in the stitching), and there are these buttons on the side that clamp down to reinforce the rectangular shape.

If you need the extra room, though, you can pop open the buttons to expand the bag to its full potential.

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A 15-minute drive south from where I live in Novato there’s a small park around the corner from the Village Mall in Corte Madera with a marsh and views of the San Francisco Bay and the East Bay hills (where my parents live).

I stopped by earlier today to get a look at the water because, as the saying goes ’round here, any day you see the Bay is a great day.

Or maybe that’s just a Karen thing.

Don’t tell Tabs, but while I was down there I made friends with a tiny dog…or perhaps it was an Ewok.

When the Ewok dog bid me farewell, I headed over to the nearby mall, where among other things, I visited the Kate Spade store and spotted some cute new spring bags and shoes.

Yeah, it’s hard to compete with the epic grandeur and sweeping vistas of the San Francisco Bay, but Kate Spade holds her own, and today she did it with comics! And bright colors! And shiny patent leather!

I’m pretty sure my eyes were bugging out TO HERE!

When I asked what was new for spring, the gals working at the store were nice enough to let me see a few items from a new collection that they hadn’t put out on the shelves yet. They said the new collection doesn’t “officially” debut in Kate Spade stores and on katespade.com until next Sunday, so this was like a sneak peek.

The release includes a full range of accessories, totes, clothes and shoes made to go with the playful, pop-arty comic theme.

Three of the smaller bags caught my eye right off the bat — the hot pink and white polka-dotted Daycation Pop Bag ($78), the Davie Daycation Comic KSNY zippered makeup bag ($60) and the Sunglass Coin Purse ($98).

Because I’m such a ho when it comes to shoes, it didn’t take much to convince me to try on this pair of jade green patent-leather Karolina heels ($328).

Solely (no pun intended) for “research purposes,” of course.

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