Window Shopping Wednesday

You know what time it is!

Here are this week's wants:

  

ModCloth Dive Right in Dress
{here}

This bird print of this dress was made famous by Mui Mui with their collection in 2010. Love the unabashedly girly cut; neck and arm ties? Yes Please!

Express Essential Stretch Logo Cuff Shirt
{here}

 I realize this is just your standard white button up by I totally need one of these. It's too classic of a staple not to have. Guess that's why they call it "Essential"...

Happy Wednesday pretties!

Petite Fashion Challenge #5

Well dear readers it's time for another Petite Fashion Challenge. Challenge #5 comes to us from the lovely and stylish 'CynthiaC' from the petite blog Shorty Stories. If you've never read her blog, be sure to check it out!

Here is the challenge this time:

It's winter in the northern hemisphere, and many of us leave the house for work when it's still pretty dark out and come home after the sun sets. Our work wardrobe is typically no different - blacks, greys, navy blues and maybe dark browns. So the challenge this month is to brighten your work wardrobe. What you need to do:

Create a sophisticated work appropriate look that has no more than one dark piece (it can be a skirt, pants, a blazer, sweater etc...) excluding shoes, accessories and hosiery.

I am guilty as charged when it comes to filling my wardrobe with shades of black, grays and browns. It's not that I like having a dreary wardrobe, it's just so easy to mix and match!

Unlike most of you, I could probably get away with wearing something 'springy' since I live in Florida and it's pretty nice all year long and no one pays attention to what season it is, but in the spirit of dressing season appropriate like most of you lovely ladies have to do, I decided to go with something I'd wear if I were anywhere else.

I posted this inspiration photo a while back praising the fun combo of pink and leopard.

And then, an outfit was born:

Details:
Dress: Express, Size XS
Blazer: Antonio Melani, Size 0
Tights: Target, Size SM/MD
Shoes: Ninewest, Size 5
Purse: Aldo
Leopard Belt: ASOS, Size Small

What's that you say? There's not enough leopard? Yea, that's what I thought!

Leopard Clutch: ASOS
 
Leopard, it's time for your closeup.

Really wish I'd had some turquoise jewelry to layer on but alas...when it was all said and done with, I think this outfit is a little safe, but that's what happens when you realize, CRAP, Challenge #5 is today?!?! Who's with me???
 
Can't wait to see what everyone comes up with!

Retail Therapy Thursday

On a personal note, this past week or so has kinda been stressful. TGIRTT! (Thank God it's Retail Therapy Thursday! I know, I'm lame...just humor me).

Ahhhhhh, let the healing begin:

Ann Taylor Loft Lace Sleeve Sweater Dress
{here}

I spotted this dress in my local ATL about three weeks ago while on a "returning spree" and literally ran to it. It wasn't available in petite and the smallest size they had was a small and it was pretty big. When I got home, I immediately got online to check the website and it wasn't there. I stalked the website for a week and a half before it finally popped up on the website and sizes started in regular XXS! I would have preferred a petite but figured I could make this work since I'm a bit curvier in a few areas than some of you ladies. At the time this appeared on the website, ATL was running a measly 15% off promo. I heavily debated getting it at that price and checked every day to make sure it was still available while I tried to make up my mind. Then, last week, magic happened. 40% PROMO, baby! I had that sucker in my shopping cart so fast it would have made your head spin. I was going to post this dress on last week's edition of WSW (Window Shopping Wednesday) but to be honest, I didn't want you fellow tinies running and buying it before I could. Of course today, all the tiny people sizes are sold out :( sad for you. Muahahaha. Ok, that's mean...but seriously, tee hee.

As mentioned in yesterday's post, I snagged a few goodies during my work (and sometimes play) trip to Texas:

ATL Multi-Ring Double Wrap Belt in Cognac
Sold out in every option online except in black XS
{here}

I've been looking for a wrap around belt for several months now and during my same visit to ATL in which I discovered my lace sleeve dress, I saw this belt. They had two in the entire store and this was a new item! I guess I'm not the only one who wants to rock this look. This belt is intended to go around your hips but I wanted to use it to cinch in my waste. Even the XS was not have worked I'm sure so I thought I'd get a little inventive. I thought if I got a big enough size, I could wrap this not twice, but three times around my waste and achieve the look I wanted. During my time in Texas, we hit up the Northpark mall in Dallas and the ATL there had both a medium and large. The large was perfect! This store barely had any either, in fact, I ended up stealing mine off a mannequin. It's cause I'm dedicated like that.

And last but not least, I saved the best for last:

JCrew Cece Flats
{here}
No, I didn't buy all three. Just the black. I previously posted about these back in October here.

I have seriously wanted these captoe flats for about six months. Why didn't I just buy them? Because they are $128 and that is obsurd for JCrew flats. Sorry. If you check the link, you can see that they are still $128, so why did I buy these, you may ask? Well dearest readers, because I'm the luckiest girl in the world. True story: I failed to mention that I was with my mom at Northpark (she lives near Dallas so we got to link up) and I dragged her into JCrew to show here these flats in person. Sadly, they were nowhere to be found on the store floor. A very nice sales girl noticed my looking (sadly?) at the shoes and asked if she could help me find anything. I explained that I had dropped in to show my mom a certain shoe and described it to her. She told me to wait a minute so she could check the back. She popped back out with two pairs both of which were ginormous sizes (I'm talking like 10's here) and asked what size I was. I told her I'd tried on a 6 in store and it was very close so I would need a 5. That saint of a girl then told me my shoes were on sale in store for $69 because of a 40% off promo and that she could order them for me through corporate and they would honor the store price. While $70 was still a bit more than I wanted to spend on flats I knew these shoes would never be cheaper on the website with my size in stock and since I'd been lusting for them for so long, I should go for it. I got on the phone with corporate to give them my payment info and at the very end, made an amazing discovery. I had misunderstood the sales girl when she told me the shoes were $69 because of the 40%. The shoes were on sale for $69 PLUS 40% off. ARE YOU EFFING KIDDING ME??? $42 dollars, people. FOURTY-TWO FREAKING DOLLARS. Ok, I'm done...

And that dear ladies, is a fairy tale ending to this week's RTT!

Window Shopping Wednesday

Hi there dear readers! Sorry for my brief absence the first of this week; I've been out of town on business and didn't have access to a "blogger friendly" computer. I feel like I just did last week's post (and I actually kinda did if you look at number of posts between...), but nevertheless, here is this week's edition of Window Shopping Wednesday!

This week's wants include:

ModCloth Luxury Cruise Gown
{here}

I've never purchased anything from ModCloth because the reviews are so varied I just don't trust the sizing, but if I was ever going to take the plunge, I'd make this my first purchase. Side note, why the hell is this so expensive?

Banana Republic Tiered Ruffle Back Jacket
{here}

 I shared the front of this beyond amazing jacket about a week ago and I seriously cannot get over how gorgeous it is. The $175 price tag, not so gorgeous.

Hmm I'm seeing a trend. My taste = expensive. Let me clarify, expensive for what it is. For some, $200 might not seem like that much money but helllloooo these prices are so inappropriate for Banana and ModCloth. Um hello, what retailer died and made you something special? Tangent...
During my work trip, I did manage to squeeze in a little shopping (of course) and I can't wait to share so stay tuned for tomorrow's edition of Retail Therapy Thursday!

Get the Look

I recently spotted this photo on Design Darlings blog and fell in love:

Alledgedly found {here}

To me it just screams preppy Palm Springs which works perfectly for Florida . I love the combo of the crisp white with the bright pop of the jacket. Speaking of that jacket - LOVE the color! Sort of a soft pink/coral/red...I tried to track down info about the pieces but couldn't even locate the photo on the photographers website. I guess if you want something done you have to do it yourself!

Here are the pieces to get this look:

Preppy Palm Springs by SistersSincere featuring double breasted jackets

Retail Therapy Thursday

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, my Retail Therapy Thursday series is getting an attitude adjustment and I will now be sharing any purchases made during the last week.

Here's this week's Therapy:

Aldo Cyphert Bag in Midnight Black
{here}

On one of my many blog hops, I stumbled across this adorable bag. I've expressed my love of tassels many a time so add that to the classic black and gold combo and we had a winner! I watched this bag online for about a week without making a move. I called my local Aldo and they only had it in the color "Rust" which based on the website, I didn't care for but I figured I could judge the quality in person and then order it from the website through the store since you get free shipping that way. On the day I planned on going down there, I checked the website and the black was sold out. :( I thought I  might like the "Beige" so I went anyway. In person this purse is SO cute. It's a little on the small side (good for petites) but overall it looks a lot higher end than it really it. The only thing I could say that was a con was the interior fabric. It's nothing special, just some basic black (assuming the other colors have matching monochromatic interiors) canvas. I wished it was something a little more substantial but no one is going to see that anyways so who really cares. I haven't worn it yet but I'm looking forward to making the purse switch soon. Does anyone else find purse switching a daunting task???

A few things to make me pretty:

Stila E! Red Carpet Series: Breathtaking Beauty Palette
{here}

This was actually a gift from one of my besties for my birthday a few weeks ago. The colors in this palette are beyond gorgeous and the eye shadows are super pigmented!



MAC Viva Glam in Gaga (as in "Lady Gaga!)
Sold out online - check your local counter!

 I cannot say enough about how gorgeous this lipstick is. I typically don't wear lipstick because they dry my lips out a bit but this hasn't. The color is the most beautiful shade of light, hot pink. You can dab it on for a subtle flush of color like I do, or go full blown for a Gaga inspired look. Either way, you will be super hot!

I've got several purchases coming my way so stay tuned for next week's Retail Therapy Thursday!

Window Shopping Wednesday

A while back I debuted a weekly series called Retail Therapy Thursday which showcased what I was currently lusting after that week. That series has now moved to Wednesday and will be called, drum roll please...Window Shopping Wednesday! You probably guessed that from my title so the surprise was a little less than awesome, wasn't it? Oh well...What's happening to Retail Therapy Thursday, you ask (or at least the crickets chirping in the background wondered to themselves...)? It's staying but instead, I will be sharing any purchases made in the last week! Because really, retail therapy actually has to involve money...

So without further ado, here are this week's wants:



Express Columnist Denim Pants
{here}

Express Columnist Pant in True White
{here}

I own several pairs of the Express Editors but the Columnist is the newest edition and they are great! Very fitted in all the right places for a petite!

Happy window shopping ladies!

New Blog Header!

While I liked my original header , it was my first attempt and let's face it, the first is not usually the best! I know everyone out there uses the 'honey script' font so I'm not exactly being original here, but HEY, it's freakin' adorable so get over it. I also tweaked the magenta color to a brighter fuchsia because I'm obsessed right now. At some point I'm sure I'll want to change it again but until then, enjoy!

Old:








New!

Any thoughts?

I Just Got Naked!

No dear readers, not that kind of naked.

This kind:

Urban Decay Nakey Eye Palette

I've been lusting after this palette for months, much like some of you I'm sure, and after waiting and waiting for it to come back in stock, the miracle happened! Apparently the UD, Ulta and Sephora websites all got this back in stock and as of right now (ok really Friday night at 6:06 PM), Ulta was the only one left.

Score!

Banana Republic New Arrivals

While perusing through the new arrivals at Banana Republic last night, I was so pleased to see the soothing color palette of cool navys and grays coupled with the warm pops of soft orange and barely there pink. What a seamless transition from winter to spring!

Here's what I'm currently loving:

OTD: Gray Area

Wow, it's already the 4th of January and I've yet to do a post. So much for kicking off the new year blogger style! Really it's just been crazy busy with the holidays...Christmas of course, the 29th was my birthday and then New Year's.

Super good news as it relates to my bday: the BF got me a new digital camera! Here she is:

Canon PowerShot SX210 is

He did a lot of research to find one that would be good for blogging. Isn't he just the sweetest? Yes, yes he is! This means no more griping about my (now old) crappy camera and more pics for the blog! It's a win win for all.

Moving on, here is my OTD taken with my new BFF:

Sweater Dress: Express, XS
Belt: Express, XS
Liquid Leggings: G by Guess, XS
Pumps: Ann Taylor, 5