What makes me happy

Red Dress: Ann Taylor LOFT.  Sparkle Shoes: Nine West.

 

   

This is another date night pic from our lovely stay-cation and the man actually allowed me to post a picture of him too!!  Isn’t he dashing?  (gush)  :)

This red dress was a labor of love.  I spied on it and tried it on 4 times before purchasing.  Initially it was about $170, then it was on sale for $90 range, then $50 when I actually purchased it (if I remember correctly it was only $50 b/c I got a coupon via advertising).  While I love holding out and getting items on sale, often that luck doesn’t happen. 

If you know you have to have something – then I say spend the $$ – but if you can afford to give or take, then hold out and you may find a fabulous deal!  Another tip to finding deals is to know the store.  Is it a store that often has sales or coupons?  Is it a store that only holds a few sizes of each item in stock and easily gets picked over?  etc… this will ensure you shop (and save!) wisely.

Nine West shoes found on discount @ TJ Maxx.

If you couldn’t tell, sales (& my man!) make me happy  :)

Over the knee boots

Boots: Roxana.  Jeans: Banana Republic.  Top: Forever XXI.  Jacket: Worthington.  Necklace: Ann Taylor LOFT.  Purse: Jessica Simpson.

 

I actually had a week off work last week, and while I spent a lot of time in my pajamas (we took a stay-cation), there were a few nights that were spent out on the town with my man.

I’ve been loving over the knee boots for quite some time, but hadn’t found any that fit my legs (seriously – do they think normal women have thighs the size of toothpicks?!?).  I found these boots and they were not only a perfect fit, but had the shape, style, and ruffle detailing that fit me to a tee!

 

Anniversary Day

It’s anniversary day!  Over the weekend, my boyfriend and I celebrated his grandparents’ 54th year wedding anniversary (how fabulous is that?!?), and this week is my boyfriend and my 5 year anniversary.  No it’s not a wedding anniversary…, but I think we’re doing pretty damn good – ring or no ring.  I’m a very lucky woman, and he is definitely a very lucky man  ;)

As for the clothes – I wanted to wear something that was special, but not too dressy or “notice me”.  I love this silk dress and it feels like a nightgown, so all I had to do was add a few accessories to finish the look and I was ready to go.

A little leopard

Dress: Tahari.  Necklace: Charming Charlie.  Shoes: Steve Madden.  Belt: Macys.  Bag: Betsy Johnson.

I love this dress, but don’t wear it that often because it’s just a bit more dressy than what everyday wear calls for.  Actually, the last time I wore it was to a work awards ceremony last January!  Well, today wasn’t anything special, but I decided to pull out the dress anyway.  I figured I could always put on a little cardigan if I needed to “casual” things up a bit.

2 things I did a bit differently this time was to add a pop of color with a fun bold necklace (even though this top has a tie) and to add waist definition with a thick belt.  The flower on the belt is really supposed to go in the front, but it just looked funny and was distracting, so I simply turned it to the back! 

Wardrobe Weekend

Dress: Susana Moraco.  Necklace: Ann Taylor Loft.  Shoes: BCBG. 

 

After much drama of shoe matching and dress fitting / not fitting (I had to lay off the pastries for a week!), I finally got to wear my weekend-wedding dress.  The wedding venue was lovely, the bride gorgeous, the company fabulous, and the man dashing.  What more could a girl ask for?

The rest of my weekend was spent shopping with my mom, organizing my closet (fall cleaning!), and cooking.  Seriously, I’ve often thought my calling is to be a personal shopper.  If my man turns into a sugar daddy some day and I no longer have to work – then I’ll definitely have to make it happen  :)  either that or I would just stay home, cook and eat all day long watching Frasier, Grey’s Anatomy, and FoodNetwork…

Anywhoo… my mom is a great candidate for trying out my personal shopping skills because I know what her style and lifestyle is, and she trusts me enough to try on everything I pick for her.  Overall – we made out like bandits!  Tons of great sales were going on and it was definitely wardrobe makeover time.

Although the majority of shopping was for my mom, I did find a few items myself including these fabulous Guess heels.  Aren’t they gorgeous?!  I’m in love.

The shopping time inspired me to do some fall cleaning of my closet, so I did my normal semi-annual clean out and ended up with several piles – one clothing pile to give to friends, one for goodwill, one for plato’s closet consignment, and one for alterations.  In addition, I labeled all my shoe boxes with shoe pics so it’s super easy to find what I’m looking for at any time.  How scary is it that I find this activity so much fun?!?

Update

While viewing votes and comments from my shoe dilemma post, I remembered these amazing shoes from Newport News!  They remind me of Paris Hilton Spelled Evening pumps, and I think they could potentially be perfect with my dress -- and wouldn’t cost me an arm and a leg (less than $50!!).

I’m going for it.  Wish me luck – pictures coming weekend of Sept 4th.

If they don’t work out, I’ll probably go with the black and hope the crystals cut some of the otherwise heaviness that the black would carry.

Shoe Dilemma

I’ve decided to wear this dress to an upcoming wedding.  It will be my first time wearing it and I am having a little difficulty determining what shoes I want to wear with it.  Do I try to match the blue or purple?  Do I accent the black?

I’ve dug through my closet and through all my favorite shoe sites, and below are my top picks.  The Badgley Mischka shoes are my ultimate favorite, but I’m not sure I’m willing to pay the price since they would only be a special occasion shoe… Maybe just stick with the shoes I already have… See my dilemma! 

What would you choose?  VOTE HERE!

1. Badgely Mischka $200
2. Nina $70
3. rsvp $70
4. rsvp $90
5. Steven by Steve Madden (free! already in my closet)

Peekaboo Blue

Dress: Bisou Bisou.  Belt: NY & Co.  Watch: Guess.  Bracelet: ?  Shoes: Michael Kors.

Last time I wore this dress, I wore it with blue.  This time I was still feeling the blue accent vibe, but decided to go much simpler with it.  I stuck with neutral accessories (belt & shoes) and just added just a couple peekaboo blue items with the jewelry.

  

Birthday Girl

It’s my birthday today.  I wish I could say that it has been a wonderful weekend, but unfortunately I can’t…  A huge “snafu” happened at work late on Friday and it was my fault and my responsibility.  Blame it on work-load overload, stress, attention to detail – whatever – it sucks and is very upsetting and frustrating.  Personally, I blame it on the birthday curse.  From a broken engagement, a dog dying, a boyfriend in a motorcycle accident, and my car broken into – my birthdays have not brought me much luck the last few years. 

That said, I’ve decided to release the birthday curse and manifest good things for my birthdays from here on out.

I’ll start the good vibes by remembering all the wonderful blessings I am so thankful for: supportive amazing friends, a crazy little family that loves me, a man that I can’t imagine my life without and who makes me laugh every single day, faith that holds me when my world seems to be crumbling, a hunger for food and a passion for life.  The list goes on.  Take that birthday curse!

I did try to enjoy my birthday on Saturday even though the work stress was still on my mind.  I visited with a fabulous friend of mine and did a bit of walking and shopping.  For our leisurely outing I wore a simple cotton dress from Forever XXI w/ a lovely white flower pin.  For dinner out with the man later that evening, I got dolled up in a flowy floral thrifted dress & my Stuart Weitzman heels (pic @ top).

In keeping with today’s flower theme…

My very non-foodie boyfriend actually made a "Top Tier" Devil's Food Cake with Sour Cream-Fudge Frosting for my birthday.  Oh my goodness – it was so amazing!  I was very impressed.

Dress it up!

This dress has a great sweetheart neckline with ruffle detailing and an empire waist, but I always think it needs a belt!  This pink belt is one of my favorites and I think it added the perfect touch.  I continued the color with blue jeweled necklace, ring, and earrings.

 

Dress: Tiana B. Shoes: Nine West. Belt & Jewelry: gifted.

The Limited – Giveaway Update & Event Reminder!

Don’t Forget – Upcoming The Limited Event!

Who: The Limited and Designer Jodi Arnold
What: Invite you to an exclusive fashion presentation and cocktail party, including 40% discounts, giveaways and gift bags (while supplies last)
Where: The Limited,  7875 Montgomery Road, Cincinnati, OH
When: August 18, 6-9pm
Why: Celebrate the spirit of the modern woman and discover your own freedom of expression. Jodi will be on-hand to answer your questions about fashion and to share with you her latest looks of the season, designed exclusively for The Limited.
Please RSVP by August 17 to www.thelimited.com/jodi-arnold/rsvp

Giveaway Winner

Rhonda from Hepburn and Houndstooth

from rhonda’s blog...

“I love my family, hobbies, friends, martinis, houndstooth, and Audrey Hepburn. My kids are my world but I'm trying to figure out who I am besides a mother. This should be interesting...”

Congrats!

Cincinnati Swapping

 

Dress: XXI.  Necklace: Macy’s.  Shoes: Steve Madden.

After ages of letting my hair grow, I finally got it trimmed (and darkened).  Unfortunately, this coiffed picture did not last long… – within about 30 minutes I was a sweaty mess. Yuck. 

What did I do that was so strenuous? I went to a Cincinnati based clothing swap of course!  You may wonder what happened at a clothing swap that would cause this amount of “damage” … thankfully – it was only the heat.  Zero fights over ruffled clothing items materialized, but much perspiration and heat exhaustion transpired in the small unventilated unairconditioned room during a high humidity mid 90’s Cincinnati summer day.  God willing, I made it out alive.

 

 

 

All in all, it was a great event.  You were allowed to bring up to 10 items and you could leave with as many items as you brought.  All clothing items were displayed and swappers could grab at will.  Any items not swapped would be donated.

Pros: no time restrictions, no worrying if people will take your clothes or not, support of charity fundraising ($5 donation required), on the spot alterations (by The Brush Company), and a group a fabulous swappers.

Cons: heat, heat, heat…, limitation of items you can bring, with the open start time there was no way to see all clothing options unless you stayed the full 3 hours, and finally, as it was a “drop your stuff” kind of swap you could really lose your shirt (literally!) if you brought a lot of really nice quality clothing and others brought things you didn’t like.

I ended up with 3 of Kasmira’s items and she ended up with 1 of mine!  Next time we’ll have to just try a friend to friend swap (with air conditioning please).

Here are a few of the goodies I came home with:

Chicago Weekend

I spent a wonderful long 4th of July weekend in Chicago.  I shopped (of course) in some fabulous boutiques (vintage, new, and 2nd hand alike), ate delicious food, and spent time with some amazing women.

Ah so many lovely things in Chicago…

Shoe Shopping at Lori’s.

  

Finding mustaches…

Vegan organic bakery loving…

 

Second City comedy watching… (hmmm – do I look like a giant or is that just me?)

  

Cigar and pipe shopping (not for me though!…)

Oh so yummy flatbread breakfast!

Out of the city DeKalb shopping.

 

Tapas restaurant fabulousness… Oh so good!

 

The best Greek yogurt, honey, fruit, and granola breakfast ever.

So long Chicago.  I’ll be back again soon!