Tassel Tale

You know what I love? A good tassel. It reminds me of the days when penny loafers were cool (as in past tense you hear me designers? Stop trying to bring them back in their original incarnation.) and junior high was awkward. Ahhhh the good ol' days.

I'd like to add a little tassel in my life and below are the perfect pretties to make it happen:

TopShop Tassel Flats in Red

Love the tomato red combined with the gold hardware. The perfect mix of yuppie chic. These also come in black but sadly they're sold out in my size. Boo.

Cap Tassel Ballet Flats in Oatmeal

Ok so in love with these. I'd buy these in 2.5 seconds except someone (named Gap) has not made the connection that we aren't all giants with huge feet and some of us actually wear 5/5.5's. Way to be there for me Gap.

Gap Tassel Flats in Deep Indigo

Another love of my life from the Gap. Yet AGAIN no luck on my size. You know, seriously. WTF. I thought I might be able to heff it up and fill out a 6 but the reviews all report these shoes fitting loose. Gee. Surprise. Freakin. Surprise.

Asos Tassel Belt...blah blah long name

This faux suede tassely goodness needs to be mine. The gray. The tassel. The faux. Ok maybe not the faux. With Asos running a 15% off promo right now PLUS free shipping and returns, don't mind if I do.

French Connection Moroccan Handbag in Pink

Oh that is soooo pretty. This bag is suede so you know it's going to fit nice and snuggly under your arm. That substantial tassel had me at hello. And look. I spy with my little eye...studs! You know I how I feel about some studs.

Tory Burch Clutch in Yellow

So technically this clutch doesn't have a tassel but that fringe does give it a very tassel-esque appearance, no? Yes, the answer is definitely yes. I also love the yellow; nothing like a little pop of yellow to say "look at me. I'm a freakin ray of sunshine. Bask in my aura."

Happy weekend pretties!

Make a Statement

I was perusing ShopStyle the other day looking for a chunky statement necklace a la J.Crew that wouldn't break the budget when I stumbled upon this lovely hot mess:

Gemma Redux Liz Necklace

Love the cluster f* of chains and that beautiful aqua agate *whistles*, yea I'd like to take you home. How much you say? $424.00?! Um, not just no, but hell no. After the pity party, my ADD kicked in and I think I started looking at shoes...

A few days later I was checking out Charlotte Russe (more like shamelessly stalking for the Scalloped Lace Top I wrote about a few days ago) when I saw this necklace and it got me thinking...wonder if I could get my DIY on and make myself a spin off...

Special Note: Ever think about the fact that DIY is just a clever (and legal) way to say "rip off someone else's idea"???

Now, a jeweler I am not, but I do happen to have a friend that dabbles and would have all the necessary tools so...I think it's a go. After a little more hunting around online (what the hell would we ever do without the internet????) I pretty much found everything I'd need to get really damn close.

Feast your eyes on the possibilities (it helps if you squint):

+

+

= One Pretty Damn Good DIY

Hell, I'ma gonna start my own business if this genius keeps up.

Stay tuned for the results!

Case of the Mondays

Living in Florida is not all sunshine and beaches. No, occasionally it's all torrential downpours and hurricanes. All day Sunday it rained and today is shaping up the same way. As if heading back into work wasn't bad enough.

Below are some pretties I'm looking to make mine to help ease today's dreary mood:

Maryn Boots in Cognac by Steve Madden

The tone-on-tone wedge and ankle cuff makes these a great alternative to equestrian-esque riding boots for those who can't or won't do flat boots. And by 'those' I mean me.

ASOS Digital Gemstone Dress

It seems like every one's getting married these days and this would be the perfect wedding guest dress. Pardon the obvious spring/summer look; I'm thinking (way) in advance for a 2011 wedding I'll be attending).

Express (minus the) Leather Moto Jacket in Ivory

I've been dying to get my hands on a light neutral leather jacket. I'm not partial to real vs. fake as long as it feels supple and buttery. I've felt this one in store and even though its fake, it passes the grope test.

I hope this helps pass any cases of Mondays going around!

Lace Haste

There are a few big ticket items (sadly I'm not talking about anything to do with decor or fashion) that I'm saving up for in the next year. This means the budget for all 'extracurricular' spending is on the light side starting this month. So when I spied this lace top from Charlotte Russe on another blog about a month ago, I told myself I didn't need it even though it was SO cute. I've been on the hunt for the perfect lace top. Not just any one would do because they can come off as rather childish or tacky, I think. But after seeing how the one from Forever 21 one on Cupcakes and Cashmere could look so classic and glamorous, I knew it was possible. As you all know the Forever 21 one sold out in seconds like all the really awesome stuff at Forever 21 tends to do. Fast forward and I've now started seeing the Charlotte Russe (which several bloggers have reported as being the exact same shirt) pop up on several blogs like Chloe's. Well last week I was toying with the idea of biting the bullet (ok, it was a really small bullet at $20 plus there was a promo code available, but hey, a budget is a budget so I was on the fence). At work on Friday I checked online and they had XS and S (and all other sizes) available but I wasn't sure which size I was since you never know with brands that target the teen market (see Delias post below). On Sunday I headed to my local Charlotte Russe to try on the shirt but the smallest size they had was a S. It was way too big...if the shoulder seam hadn't been so obviously wide I could have pulled it off in the torso, but alas, I'm a stickler for fit. I was going to have to order this lovely online. Our Internet at the house was down all weekend because we were switching providers so I was waiting till Monday to order it at the office. Now here is the really sad part. I went to the website that morning and XS and S were both sold out. NOOOOOOOOO! Oh the devastation. I told myself that it wasn't a complete loss and that is was very possible that stores in neighboring cities might have it and a little drive would be no big deal. All three stores I called said they didn't even get the shirt in. I called my local store hoping that an XS was floating around and hadn't been put back on the rack while I was there Sunday but no luck. To make matters worse, the girl told me that they only received one XS in the order! ARE. YOU. FREAKING. KIDDING. ME? I will save you the #%$%^&@, but seriously, WTF. It's like the world is purposely trying to keep me from this shirt. At this point, I began to mourn my loss. I happened to check back on the comments section of Chloe's post and pretty much everyone who posted said they bought the shirt. Now I know who you are you thieves!!! Hmm, bitter much?

I've been checking back this week everyday thinking that the shirt would magically reappear online in an XS. Yea, right. But dreamers can dream. Thursday I checked the website AND HOLY SMOKES BATMAN THEY HAD XS LISTED. I think I sprinted the 2 yards to my wallet, dropped that bad boy into my cart (along with this other lace top I'd been eyeing online but wasn't available in the store) and am crossing my fingers that there wasn't some inventory error. Watch, I probably just jinxed myself. Damn. Oh well. I'll do an OOTD once it's here in all it's amazing glory.

Update:
Shortly after writing this little post, my excitement was taken down a few notches when I received an email of death from Charlotte Russe stating that my lovely lace top was on backorder! Why? Seriously, conspiracy. I'm really hoping this shirt truely is on backorder and there wasn't some inventory error. I've had this same instance happen to me in the past from ModCloth where I ordered something and then a few days later I got an email reporting an inventory error. I hope Charlotte Russe doesn't say 'backorder' and really mean 'inventory error'. I just don't think my little fragile heart could take it. Oh what an emotional rollercoaster this has been.

Update to the Update:
Yesterday I received half of my order from Charlotte Russe containing the black lace top.
Although I tossed this into my shopping cart since they were having a buy one get one 50% off deal, it is pretty cute, although I wish it was longer (it's a cropped length). I'm actually wearing it today at work and even my boss commented on it. Now on to the sad part. Today I received notice from Charlotte Russe that the remainder of my order (ie the scalloped lace top I NEEDED) has been canceled. Awesome. Freaking. Awesome. Cue the tears and pity party. If anyone wanders in to their Charlotte Russe and sees this top in XS, PLEASE BUY IT FOR ME and I will totally buy it from you using paypal or etsy. *sniff*

Update to the Update to...oh you get the idea:
I actually ran back to my local store after all this heartbreak and ended up caving and buying the Small. It's "okay" and I'll get over it since it was only $20.

I Like my Accessories Like I Like my Drinks. Spiked.

This season spikes and studs have swept through just about every inch of fashion, most noticibly in my opinion, accessories. Shoes, purses, belts, jewelry. You name it, it's been spike-tified. I personally am pretty much obsessed with this trend and hope that I do not grow tired of it too soon as I want to buy everything I see.

Before I get to the review of what I do have, let me tell you a sob story. Several months ago I was visiting my sister in Texas. We of course went shopping during my stay and stopped into TJMaxx. While there I found the most amazing white purse with gold studs along the bottom. You've seen this same style I'm sure several times over in both high and low. I'm very picky when it comes to purses only carrying two in the last 5 years (my Fendi Spy and a Burberry whose name I've forgotten but is from the Shimmer line that makes its appearance in the Fall). It was leather (unlike most fake crap they carry) and was the perfect blend of trendy and classic. It was by a designer I wasn't familiar with and was only $150.00. I passed it by telling myself that I'd just bought like 5 pairs of shoes and the bleeding had to stop somewhere. Once I got back to Florida, I thought about that damn purse for 2 weeks, even going so far as to go to all three TJMaxxs here and doing a search online only to come up empty handed, and brought it up to my sister almost every time we spoke. I finally decided that budget be damned, I had to have this purse and called my sister to tell her to get it for me. Well wouldn't you know my sister knows me all too well and had already picked it up on my behalf knowing I would be devastated if it was purchased by someone else. She mailed the bag and.....I never got it. It's been about 2 1/2 months now and nothing. It. Is. So. Sad. We don't know where it is (she sent it in the regular mail!!!! No tracking, whyyyyyy?????) so it's pretty much untraceable. We are grasping to an ever-fleeting possibility that it is in limbo and on it's way being returned to her...just go ahead and cry now for my loss...

Ok, now that that's over, onto what I did get my little hands on. For those of you who aren't familiar with nOir Jewelry, get over to their website pronto and look at all the pretties. With that, let me present to you the reason that I can go on living after the purse fiasco:This beauty just makes the world better. The review for this ring is sadly mixed. It looks just as impressive in person as it does in the picture, but it runs small. I ordered a 6 and it fits like a 5. The gold piece is gold-plated with a bronze base. A little chinzy. It's already turned my finger green a few times and the tips have rubbed off exposing the bronze underneath. It's not that noticable but still the fact that exists bums me out. I'm thinking of having it redipped or if I don't get tired of it, having a ring modeled after it using not crappy metal. Regardless, I can't be too upset, the ring set only sells for $60, but I didn't even pay that! It was on Gilt for $25. Score!

The main con with this set of rings was the size. Like I said above, the ring runs a full size smaller. I had purchased this ring specifically for my left hand, middle finger, as my right hand, ring finger already has this lovely and sweet number from Tiffany's given to me by my BF for Christmas last year:

Unfortunately, the only finger on my left hand that the spike ring will fit on is my wedding ring finger. I'm not super hungup on tradition so I began wearing the spikes on the wedding finger and I just got too many comments of "what the hell is that". Soooo since I don't like repeating myself over and over, I had to make a compromise. The gold spike is almost the exact width of the Tiffany's ring. So I just put the two together for a little 'tough and tender' look. The BF calls it 'naughty and nice.' Whatever it is, I'm in love.

What do you think?

White Out

I've really been dying for a pair of skinny white pants, be it jeans or more of a thicker legging. This trend isn't' new but it is making a repeat appearance this year and while several of the upscale (read pricey) brands like J Brand and Rich and Skinny have contributed, I've found very few cheaper options from the likes of Forever 21, etc. Of those stores offering white skinnies at a more economical price point, theirs flew off the shelves and have now left me with little to choose from. Procrastination causes me to crash and burn yet again. To add even more to the frustration, I have to deal with my height (I'm 5'3" with most of my so called height taking place in my torso) so finding pants with an inseam that fits can be tough. There is always the option of getting them tailored, but why if I can avoid the time and cost?

I use ShopStyle religiously but have to admit that while the number of brands they represent is impressive, there is still a treasure trove of online retailers that they don't cover, making searching for that perfect piece a bit of a hunt. Enough griping. Moving forward, I have finally hit as close to the jackpot as I can get.

In the jean category, we have these Taylor skinnies from Delias. This particular color is only available online but they do carry the Taylor cut at my local Delias so I headed in there this past weekend to try them on for size and inseam. Let me just say that there's nothing like going in to a store that targets the teen bracket to really make you feel like a fatass. While I'm normally a 0, I found myself sizing all the way up to a 3! Now I'm not saying that a 3 is fat, far from it, but its easy to get hung up on the size on the tag. However, I'm a firm believer that any size that doesn't give the dreaded muffin top is a good choice so I'll just get over my ego and go with it.


Pros:

• They are white (obviously).
• They come in several inseam options for my stubbies.
• They had a decent amount of stretch.
• The butt pockets were at a good height, not too high, not too low. Low butt pockets that give you saggy ass syndrome are the worst! If you are guilty of this, step away from the pants.
• All jeans are buy 1 get 1 50% off.

Cons:

• Only available online. I like instant gratification.
• The leg opening at the foot is just a little shy of what I would consider a true skinny.

In the legging category, we have these babies from Express. Is it just me or has Express finally stepped up their game this year? I've already hit up my local store to try these on and they are a really nice weight and have this killer seam on the back. The length is a tad too long but nothing a quick trip to tailor won't fix. I'd actually like these in both white and the nude. I'm picturing the nude with some yummy cognac boots that I have my eye on (if I bite the bullet, I'll do a review!)

Pros:

• Color options are all classics.
• The weight is thick enough to hide any discrepancies I might or might not have.
• That seam in the back is freakin awesome.
• They are buy 1 get 1 50% off.

Cons:

• Length, but again I can get them hemmed rather cheaply.
• The waist sits a little high but I'm planning on wearing long and flowy shirts with it. Skinnies + tight/short shirts = tacky people. Do the math.
• As usual, all the cute stuff goes in my size in about 2.5 seconds. The Express I went to only had one 0 which I used to try on in size so I'll probably be ordering these online.

Stay tuned to find out if I take the plunge!