Retail Therapy Thursday

It's time!

A few weeks ago the BF and I were out for the evening and we popped into a Borders that was going out of business. It was pretty picked over but while browsing I managed to snag a few books: two on fashion and one from Tracy Anderson:



This book has been out for awhile so you can get it pretty cheap!
{here}

I've been a fan of Tracy and her method for quite some time, in fact, one of the first posts I did shared a few videos from her. This woman is seriously amazing. I mean, look at that body! Girl. Crush. Anyway, this book is a guide (muscle training, dance cardio and diet) for a 30 day period. In edition to the print visuals, the book also includes a DVD which breaks down all the moves.

You'll often find many petites who are concerned about looking young or childlike because of our small stature. I'm sure I speak for most when I say being petite is pretty awesome. Yes, we have trouble finding clothes that fit, but that's nothing that a trip to the tailor can't fix. For me (and this is my personal opinion) the best way to combat looking like a child is to develop a bit of muscle and tone, which of course, most female kiddos don't have. Having some definition makes you look feminine, healthy and mature. Again, this is what I feel is best for me...I'm sure some of you disagree and that's just fine.

That being said, I've mentioned a time or two that I've been trying to work towards improving my figure. Yes, I'm slender, but for me this isn't enough. I want to look strong. There are a million way to go about getting this way but I'm particularly drawn to Tracy Anderson's method because she bases her workout on long, lean muscles. Extra important if you're petite!

I've been working out for the past five weeks with two fellow petite girlfriends in the AM before work (yes, that means geting up at 5:30...not fun at the beginning) doing weights and light cardio and I've already seen some improvements. I've a big believer in muscle confusion so I had planned on changing my routine after 6 weeks. When I discovered the Tracy Anderson book, I decided to move things ahead of schedule and start sooner. I talked it over with my workout buddies and they are all on board too. Officially, we will be starting the 30 day program tomorrow, April 1st and working out daily for 30 days. Tonight we will be taking our 'before' pictures and measurements.

In anticipation, I've finally bought some new athletic shoes. They are actually personally recommended by Tracy and the reviews are incredibly good.

Asics Gel Kayano 17
{here}

I searched for a long time to find some stylish gym shoes but as you can see, pretty much gave up. They had a few other color options but I thought the black would be the best for dirt and would help hide the less than stylish design.

We are all excited about the next 30 days! Hopefully I will have some great before and after pictures to show you!

Till next time pretties,

Window Shopping Wednesday

Thank you all for the lovely comments on last week's PFC #6. I didn't have access to internet due to random circumstances so not only did I not get to see your comments till I got home on Monday, I still have yet to look at all the entries (45??? Record?!) and make comments of my own. Soon pretties. Soon.

Moving on to this week's edition of WSW:

After reporting last Wednesday that I'm on the hunt for the perfect nude sandal, I popped into Aldo shortly after to see if I could get a glimpse of a few in person. They wouldn't have my size (Aldo rarely carries 5's in store) but I was looking to determine quality.

The ones I mentioned last week were very cute, but while there, I found a few more I liked:

Aldo Samella
{here}

Ok, so these aren't exactly sandals but they are a great compromise!

Aldo Santone
{here}

Happy Wednesday!

Window Shopping Wednesday

Just a quick post today for this week's edition of WSW!

I've been searching for the perfect pair of nude/brown sandals to bring me into spring. Here is what I have my eye on:



Aldo Stacks
{here}



Steve Madden Riddgge
{here}

 These Steve Madden ones are a 'sorta' steal at $99 when you take into consideration they are ripping off these from DVF, which come in at a cool $295.


DVF Opal Wedges
{here}

I really love the architectural detail in the DVF but not for $200 more when the SM one's are so close. If you really want an exact replica, you can try these



Gianni Bini Adrianna Sandals
$98.99
{here}

 I discovered these over a month ago and fell in love since they were dead on, but sadly, the smallest size they came in was a 5.5 and since they are exclusive to Dillards, there is no hope of any other retailer carrying a 5. Based on the websites remaining available sizes, I'm not the only one who noticed them.

Happy Wednesday!

Window Shopping Wednesday

My dresses from Bluefly that I posted about here arrived this week and I am in love with one, but so so on the second. I'm planning on snapping a few pics (hopefully?) tonight for a little show and tell. That being said, as I mentioned on Monday, I'm curtailing spending (ok that's kind of a lie: I already bought some stuff from Victorias Secret, but it was a good deal so I couldn't resist! Will be posting those in tomorrow's RTT.) for the month but that doesn't stop me from window shopping!

 Here is what I wished for this week:

ATL 3/4 Sleeve Stripe Blouse
{here}

Love the nautical nod this shirt has: would look especially cute with white skinny jeans and a waist cinching cognac belt!

ATL Place Stripe Flyaway Cardigan
{here}

One word: pretty. Do you see a trend with the stripe loving action I've got going on today?

And last but not least, the love of my life that I'll never get to own because apparently the entire world is sold out in all but a pitiful handful of (not my) sizes...

Penny Loves Kenny Tetra Pumps in Ivory
{here}

Ummm GASP. Nude + soft pink + gold metallic studs + captoe = LOVE. Seriously.

Happy Hump Day Lovies!

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!

Alpha-Niner

When I was in high school and college, I used to have tons of Ninewest shoes. They were relatively cheap (given my school-days budget) and cute. About two years ago, my foot shrunk a half size bringing me to a size 5. Although I don't shop at Ninewest that much anymore, I do occasionally pop in to the outlet location we have just to browse. While they still have a relatively cute selection, 9 times out of 10 I can't fit into their size 5's; they're too big. Despite this statistic, I'm a dreamer, and when I randomly popped on their site this evening looking for flat boots, instead I found these two gorgeous shoes from their Boutique 9 line.

Boutique 9 Caurah Shoes - $190
{here}

Boutique 9 Derry Shoes - $160
{here}

I don't have any experience with this line but the price points seem pretty steep given the brand. I've always thought Ninewest was a little over priced for what it was but with most shoes in the 9 line hitting close to $200 I have to wonder if this increase is due to quality or typical (in my opinion) over pricing.

Any of you lovely ladies have experience with Boutique 9?

OTK Strikeout

As you might have already guessed, my OTK experience was sadly, not a positive one. You can see the exact boots I purchased in this post.

I've actually had these boots for a few weeks but the saga with taking my own pictures with my crappy camera finally overwhelmed me to the point of a temporary timeout. That is until I swung by Tarjey and picked myself up a handy 66" tripod. Let me tell you. Greatest invention ever.

Moving on, here are the pics. As a disclaimer, I actually took several pics of different items so there's not a whole lot of 'styling' going on here. For these pics, I only wore this wash of denim so you could see the boots, otherwise, they kinda disappeared.

Diba's on left, Guess on right.

Thoughts:

Both of these boots totally missed the mark. The Diba's had quite a bit of 'leather' on the shaft which added ablot of mass to my legs. Although I thought I'd like the looser fit of the split back, they ended up coming off as quite hookerish. The Guess ones were better but the shaft was pretty tight and it was very difficult to get my pants to actually stay down as I pulled them up my leg. Not only that, but coupled with pants, they were too tight for my legs and caused the slighted amount of 'bulging'. Ummm so not the look I was going for. Bare legged they fit great but come on, I'm not going to pull that look anytime soon unless something happens to my day job...

I think I've gotten rid of the OTK boot itch...which is probably a good thing since it's like 100 degrees here 90% of the year....

Happy Holidays!

OTK on the Way!

Like many of you fashion-savvy ladies, I have really loved the OTK boot that's come back this season. To spin off what the lovely Jen of Made by Girl recently said, these are not just Pretty Woman boots anymore! Admittedly OTKs can look a little, well trashy, but paired with some classics like dark skinny jeans and a neutral palate, they can look really sophisticated. I've seen several posts of great examples of this concept, most recently by Made by Girl. Here are a few pictures she included in her post:

All of these OTKs have something in common. These boots are not just over the knee, they are thigh highs. This is very important to me. As you know, I have stubby legs and anything that hits me right at the knee makes me look very squaty. There are many OTKs that are actually only knee high and for those who can pull them off, lucky you!

Made by Girl purchased these Charles David OTKs which I am super jealous of:

Love!
{here}

While not the most expensive boots, I didn't want to spend that much since I live in Florida and boot weather is pretty scarce. Enter in these two options:

Guess Parks OTK Boots | Diba Will Oh OTK Boots
{here} and {here}

I purchased both of these boots (Guess ones were on special for $70 (50% off!!!) and Diba's were $79) to give myself a few options. I'm torn between liking the two variations of shaft: slim fitting with some slouch capabilities or a little looser fit at the top with a split at the back.

Fingers crossed that one of these will be a winner!

Tip Top

Back in my early days of college I yearned for a pair of Sperry Top-Sider Bluefish like nothing else. That was eight years ago so you really didn't see too many of them on the likes of anyone but Popeye, Captain Jack and anyone else who fancied boating...but I loved them. Where I was in Texas, there was zero water so I'm not quite sure why I was all about the Sperry's. Regardless, for whatever reason, I never took the plunge (water joke anyone?) and have done without all these years. I think it might have had something to do with limited sizes or the fact that I spent all my money on beer and top ramen. The world will never know...

Now that I live in Florida and I'm super near the water, my obsession has only grown. I'm pleased to announce that after eight years, over the holiday weekend, that obsession became a reality. I was on Sperry's website innocently browsing (remember the old bank account lock down? Yea, it's still kinda in effect) and found a few pairs I liked. Namely these:

Sperry Top-Sider Bluefish-2 Eye Boat Shoes in Linen Mesh
{here}

Sperry Top-Sider Bluefish-2 Eye Boat Shoe in Grey Nubuck/Tattersall
{here}


I like to save a buck when I can so I headed over to Ebates and found that Sperry is NOT one of their retailers. GASP! The search did pull up a few retailers who carried Sperry so off I went on their websites. The first website was a bust and had only a few pairs of Sperry's period and I hated all the colors. The next website, Shoebuy.com had my shoes in Linen Mesh. I actually preferred the Grey Nubuck color because I love the Tattersall print so I decided to mull it over for a day or two. My answer came a day later when Ebates had their Double Cash Back promo for the holiday and Shoebuy.com shot up to 15%! After some further searching, I found a 10% off coupon for them too and I discovered they have free shipping. Looks like Linen Mesh it is. After it was all said and done with, the shoes were only $71 and if I really want to justify it, if I subtract my cashback of about $11, they were really only $60. Yea. Life is good. Now in hindsight, I think the mesh sides will be good for me...I get hot really easily sothe built in A/C will be a major plus.

They aren't here yet but I can't wait!

Slip into Something Comfy

Now that the Holiday season is upon us, I'm starting to get requests from the fam on ideas for prezzies for me...for the family who has a more conservative budget (shout out to T-Bunny!) I think slippers are a perfect gift. What girl doesn't like padding around in something soft on bare floors? Living in Florida we don't exactly get the full effect of fall and winter but let me tell you what. That tile floor gets cold just the same as it does anywhere else!

Here are a few cute options I wouldn't mind slipping my tiny toes in:



VS Satin Slippers in Snow Leopard
{here}




VS Moccasin Slippers in Heather Gray
{here}



VS Flannel Slippers in White Snow Leopard
{here}

Cheers!

Window Shopping

So as I've already shared, my bank account is on serious lock down this month due to my BF's upcoming birthday extravaganza. It's going to be A-Mazing! As a consequence, there is pretty much zero shopping allowed. I did 'splurge' and purchase the Bobbi Brown Corrector and Concealer kit since Sephora was having their Friends and Family promo. The products actually arrived yesterday so during this morning's beautification, I tried my hand at applying them. I've already shared the colors I chose to order but when I opened up the Concealer, my heart sank. The color I ordered looked very orange in the pot. I told myself that I was sure it had looked alright during the dry run and that it would be ok. I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say nothing is worse than ordering something online only to have it suck in person. Moving on, as I said, I tried both products on this morning and low and behold, success! The Corrector countered the blue in my under eye circles just fine and then I swept on a light application of the Concealer and the color looked great!

Hmmm, I totally did not mean to go on and on about that. This post is really supposed to be about these:

Topshop Flats
{here}

These are so cute! I love that these are nude but you get a glimpse of shiny metallic through the cutouts. I've never ordered any shoes (or anything period) from Topshop so I'm not sure of their sizing. If it's anything like Aldo (I'm drawing a comparison since their sizing standard is UK) then they run small so a 5.5 (smallest) might fit.

A girl can dream...and spend imaginary money...

Super Sales

Is it just me or have there been some killer sales lately?

Case in point: I received an email this morning from Talbots about a shoe flash sale: 40% off any regularly priced shoes plus free shipping! I have been eyeing some serious foot candy over there and since I've never purchased any shoes from Talbots thought this might be a good time to do it.

It was a really tough choice readers with so many awesome picks like these, these and these. After much deliberation (and a quick check of the old bank account) I decided on these:


Suede Kiltie & Plaque Platforms in storm grey

We all know how I feel about a tassel and I've been on the hunt for a nice gray (grey?) shoe for work for a while. There are several other shoes on the site in this same color but they all read less blue than the color above. More of a seal gray? I guess I won't know until the they get here! These were $149 with 40% off so they came to about $94 total. Not too bad. They don't carry 5's or 5.5's in the store so I'm not sure which size I am but I went with a 5; here's hoping they fit!  

In other news:

Over the weekend I also bought these:

Ann Taylor Perfect Platform Pump

I've really needed some classic black pumps for work, etc. and honestly just haven't found any that fit right. Pumps are super hard for me because my feet are kind of in between sizes. If I had my choice I'd go for some Loubs but alas, I'm poor. These are already on sale down from $175 to $99. I wanted to take advantage of the 20% off $100 so I also threw in these to pump me up on the cheap:


Ann Taylor Addison Flip Flop

Can you believe these were actually $58 originally? WTH Ann Taylor!?!? Are you freaking crazy? Moving on. These were final sale at $9.88 and the only size left were 5's. Flip flops are very forgiving in the size category so I felt good about the ominous 'final sale' badge.

Those put me over, I took my 20%, threw in some Ebates and shazam.

I also won this off Ebay last night:

Ann Taylor Sparkling Necklace

I fell in love with this necklace online and went to my local store to see it in person. They only had one left and the back had a few sharp points where the metal didn't get melted properly. I would think for $68 this wouldn't be the case. Later I went back to hit up the massive 40% off everything on sale promo (which I totally scored on: reviews to come!) and it was no longer there. I checked out Ebay and there it was for $19.99. Yes, please and thank you.

 Happy Monday!

These Boots Were Made for Walkin'

Sorry readers (really just one, maybe two...umm a little help here; spread the news!) for my vacancy on the ol' blog. I've been out of town on business and while I returned home Tuesday, I just now got to functioning. Yesterday was a little foggy at work but my day was instantly brightened when I received not one, but TWO packages containing one of my favorite things in the whole wide world (www?): shoes! Three pairs of spat boots and two pairs of tennis shoes. Yes, it was a good day.

Now on to the reviews!

First up we have the Diba Trick Key Boot:

Pros:

• Shaft height of 13" hit at a great height.
• Shaft opening was cut nice for my calf size even when worn with bare legs.
• The cheapest of the three coming in at $49.

Cons:

• All man-made materials and looked obviously so.
• I'm not sure if it was the heal or the arch, but something made this shoe a little uncomfortable.
• The zipper is quite large, a standout silver and was on the outside of the leg (I never jumped on the zipper trend).

Verdict in Theory: Return

Next we have the Jones New York Florentina Boot in Taupe:

Pros:

• Really nice color and also comes in black.
• Very comfortable.
• Real leather and suede.
• Suede, spat and ankle buckle details are all on trend.
• Subtle zipper that's on the inside of the leg.

Cons:

• Most expensive of the three at $119.
• Suede shaft caused a slouching effect (ok I guess, but not the look I'm going for).
• Shaft opening a bit too large for my legs
• While the details are on trend, it's a little trend overload for my taste. They seem like they might get 'old' after I've worn them for a season and since I rarely get to wear boots in Florida, I'd rather buy something with a little more staying power.

Verdict in Theory: Return

Last we have the Kelly and Katie Rose Boot in Dark Brown:

Pros:

• Very comfortable.
• Subtle zipper on the inside of the leg.
• More substantial heel than the others; might be easier to walk in/more comfortable when worn for long periods of time.
• Stiff shaft (giggle, ok I'm done) that stayed put.
• Good price point at $59.

Cons:

• Man made materials BUT not obvious (I made this a con only on principle. Boo man made).
• The insoles of this particular pair were not put in correctly; there was some weird bumpiness I could feel when these shoes were on.
• A little taller shaft than I would have liked.

Verdict in Theory: Exchange for pair that has better insoles

All Spats found on DSW's website.

For the tennis shoes, I purchased the same pair in two different colors and two different sizes. To save some time, I put one shoe on of each:


Disclaimer: Yes, I'm very pale despite living in Florida.
What can I say? No one makes wrinkles look sexy.

Also, these pictures are so crappy! I need a new camera...

I ordered these Nike Air Max Trainers in both the dark gray and the pink. The 5.5's were the winner here (because of socks maybe?) and while they weren't uncomfortable to walk around in, I didn't exactly feel like I was walking on air either...I like the style overall and the dark gray is really chic. But still, I'm not sure. I'm beginning to feel burned out searching for new tennies so I'll sleep on it.

Verdict in Theory: Unknown

I'm going to continue thinking this over for another week or so before I take any action so if you'd like to weigh in, please leave a comment and let me know your thoughts!

Airing my Dirty Laundry

My first review!

Several months ago I spotted these adorable d'orsay jelly flats from Chinese Laundry:

Chinese Laundry Sweet Caroline Flats

Oh, you had me at hello, you! After doing a routine search on Shopstyle, I discovered that this shoe didn't exist in a size 5. Bummer for me, as usual.

To add insult to injury much later, a girl friend of mine came padding in with these babies on pronouncing how cute they were. Umm hello, yea I know. I saw them 3 months ago, I thought. She scored them at Ross. I won't even go into what I think about Ross. Or her for shopping there (bygones!...).

Moving on to earlier this week. I was looking at shoes the other day when what do I spy with my little eye? These lovelies in a size 5 on Endless. AHHHHHHH (cue the celestial lights)! They were on sale, free 2 day shipping and I threw Ebates in there. I waited all morning for them and they finally arrived a few minutes ago.

BIGGEST. DISAPPOINTMENT. EVER.

While they were definitely as cute if not cuter in person, they had a trifecta of flaws:

1. The smell. Ohh the smell. Imagine if rubber were alive, and then it died and started to rot, yea, this would be the smell. 
2. They made an awful (ie embarrassing) sound when I walked. No, I have not had too many tacos, those are my shoes, thankyouverymuch. I think not.
3. I could have looked past all this (ok, well maybe not number 2. Pun intended. Hahah. I crack myself up) BUT these shoes were HUGE. See below (yes, that's correct, pictures! Of me! Well at least a part of me...):

Look at that toe space! Perhaps I should blame this on the fact that I'm not cursed with long 'fingery' toes. Or not.

If I moved my foot all the way forward, you can see just how big these are. I know I'm not smaller than a 5, so these shoes are just wrong. Wrong. Wrong. WRONG!

That's ok, I have 5 more potential candidates coming next week (3 boots and 2 gym shoes (technically the gym shoes are the same pair, just two diff. sizes in two different colors) which I've mentioned in older posts. MAYBE one of those won't be disappointing.

Is anyone else feeling sorry for me or is it just me?