New clothes:

Got these in the mail today from J.Crew for our trip:

My secret to looking awesome? Packing light. Mixing and matching. Not even thinking about a hair dryer. 

Today we got to looking at St. Louis real estate and found some pretty awesome and affordable houses near Lafayette Square and Tower Grove Park. That's the dream -- a future in St. Louis. Just saying.

Happy Friday!

Thank God it's Friday. I feel like I almost didn't make it.

We've spent the evening eating brinner (breakfast for dinner), watching some of our favorites shows, and dreaming of the amazing new clothes in J.Crew's new fall line. I know it's a little early to be thinking of fall, but with the announcement of a new J.Crew opening in LR this summer, I'm already saving up for the pieces I want from the collection:

Oh and Happy April Fools Day! Hope none of you got pranked too badly. We made it out unscathed. 

Tucker for Target:

I'm sure I've declared my love for Target many many times. However, lately, we've sort of broken up with the bullseye. Not that they aren't amazing, because they are, we just have had less than stellar experiences with a few of their products -- namely shoes and clothes. As a result of this decision to see less of each other (more of a one-sided decision), we have been looking to other outfitters to fill this need in our lives with more expensive (!) but higher quality products (hello J.Crew & Piperlime). But one thing I can't seem to say no to is Target's Go International designer collaborations. Going on right now is their celebration of 5 years of Go International. For a limited time, they're bringing back the best-selling dresses from each collection (Tucker, Zac Posen, Proenza Schouler, Rodarte, etc.) and Sunday started the adventure of finding the Tucker Signature dress in my size -- an adventure that encompassed two days and three different stores (with Andrew's help -- best husband award). After all that, I finally just ordered a smaller size online. So until it arrives, I have just been imagining all the different ways I can wear it. I know I'm obsessive and weird, but I'm also a girl. And I love clothes. It's a terrible combination.

I think the dress will look better with a brown leather belt. And I've been after those shoes for a few weeks now. I want them desperately. But they won't be available to ship until April 19th. So I'll wait just a little longer to order them. And then I will wear the mess out of them. This Tucker for Target dress is only $39.99 and is pretty much the exact same dress as this one going for $325 on Piperlime:

That's a savings of $285.01. Pretty impressive, Target.

P.S. I love Tucker.

Spring wardrobe update

March is turning out the be a tricky month. The trees are saying that Spring has arrived. They're lying. And I'm angry. But rather than lash out, I've decided to channel my rage into something positive: shopping. I will shop with Spring in mind regardless of the temperature. Because it has to come sooner or later. And when it does, I'll be ready:

Apparently, J. Crew has been reading my mind. Because so far this year, they are dead on with exactly what I've been craving for my wardrobe: faded chambray shirt, white skinny jeans, cropped khakis, and gauzy shirt dresses (Madewell). And Piperlime, my go to for pretty much anything, has got it going on this season with their selection of wedges and sandals. My summer shoe motto is this: celebrate the fact that I am a girl by wearing shoes that a boy couldn't get away with wearing (with the exception of wearing flipflops in the shower at the gym, of course). And man do they make it so easy.

GO International collection

So, we've kind of broken up with Target. Not that I don't still enjoy wamdering aimlessly around their stores, I've just been feeling like I can't really trust the quality of their products anymore. I love that they have cute clothes for (mostly) insanely cheap prices, but recently I've just been wondering if it's really even worth it. We've had some bad experiences lately that have just kind of turned us off to them. And that makes me sad. I have always been a huge Target supporter. Now I pass by their clothes and shoes without even a second glance. We are over.

And then I was browsing their corporate site this morning and came upon a press release stating "This spring, Target® (NYSE:TGT) is celebrating the five-year anniversary of its fashion-forward, affordably-priced GO International program with a collection that features 34 dresses from 17 past GO International designers." Now this I can get behind. I love their designer collaborations. And this collection will include pieces from: Luella Bartley, Tara Jarmon, Paul & Joe (by Sophie Albou), Behnaz Sarafpour, Proenza Schouler (by Jack McCollough and Lazaro Hernandez), Libertine (by Johnson Hartig), Alice Temperley, Erin Fetherston, Jovovich-Hawk (by Milla Jovovich and Carmen Hawk), Rogan (by Rogan Gregory), Richard Chai, Jonathan Saunders, Thakoon (by Thakoon Panichgul), Tracy Feith, Rodarte (by Laura and Kate Mulleavy), Zac Posen and Tucker (by Gaby Basora).

It all goes down March 13th. Check out the press release here.



Spring 2011 picks

I realize I may have been pretty harsh about Valentine's Day. My feelings haven't changed, but I do apologize for expressing them so vehemently.

Now that this, the last major landmark of winter has passed, I feel like I can finally move on to more important (read: warmer) things. Spring is on its way. I can feel it on my arms and legs. I'm wearing a dress today, something I haven't been brave enough to do since the temperature got too chilly for my taste.

And with spring comes the end of winter sales. Oh yes, one of my favorite times to shop. Just yesterday I scored a pair of boots for me and a pair of CK chukkas for Andrew for seriously cheap on Piperlime.

As you may know, I am completely in love with Piperlime. You don't want to know how many hours a week I spend on their site. Before you judge, you should know that most of the time, I am just browsing for something that almost always eludes me. When there is an amazing sale (like right now), I will make a purchase like the shoes above. But mostly it's just me secretly wishing I had $500 to spend on a coat. Like the coat in this outfit, which I am in love with (the entire thing):

That's right. That Milly coat is $540. Le sigh.

And because I have been browsing this site for the last hour, here is what I'm wishing for to round out my Spring wardrobe:

I desperately need a pair of nude pumps. And everything else.

Love it.

I love Ruche. Cute clothes. Reasonable prices. And even though my clothing allowance is spent (already!) for the month of January, these are the things I am loving right now:

Oh and I bought this lamp for my office today (half off @ Crate & Barrel!)

Closet wish list

This is a short week for me. I have tomorrow (Thursday) and Friday off from work for New Year's. And I plan to make the most of it. Tomorrow I plan to spend a good chunck of the day in my closet, playing dress up, trying stuff on, listening to good music, and purging. I used to be afraid to get rid of anything in my closet because I worried that the minute I would get rid of something would be the minute I desperately wanted to wear it. And so far, that has never happened. Besides, by getting rid of things, I am making room. And that means I get to go shopping. I'm on a mission to create a working closet -- one that is filled with fewer, quality, coordinating basics. And a few special surprises too. That way I can jump in there every morning and easily pick out an outfit without spending too much time or stressing out over it. The closet revamp begins now. And here are some things that I will be filling my closet with in the near future:

I have been wishing for these boots forever. But I can cross them off my list now because guess what is headed to my house this very afternoon? Happy Birthday to me.

I am having a moment with Piperlime. And partly because of this shirt. Would be so cute with a pair of cropped black pants or skinny jeans (both of which I already own) and booties.



Is there ever a time when I'm not thinking about J.Crew? It is my absolute fave and I want these wool minnie pants and grey matchstick cords from them so badly. And they're both on sale. Yes please.

I have been lusting over these cute heels from Urban Outfitters for a while now. I can't decide if I want them in the tomato red or the mustard yellow. I think yellow.

And finally, I am in desperate need of new black pumps (I still haven't replaced the ones I complained about in this post). And new booties. I need new lace up booties. I think these will do nicely.

Big hair news

I am now a redhead. Went to Kat's salon after work yesterday and she transformed me into the redheaded beauty I am today. No picture yet. My iPhone's camera does not have the capability to capture the radiance of it. But there will be pictures soon so look for them.

Also, someone at work sent this video to me in an email. It's cute. And I like to imagine that this is what Tillie would be like on Christmas if she had her own Snoopy style doghouse outside.

I love Zac Posen. I do. His clothes are beautiful. And I really love his Z Spoke Fall 2010 collection. It's at a slightly lower price point so normal people can actually afford it. It's still slightly out of my reach since I don't exactly have an extra $500 laying around to spend on a jacket, but I can dream. And drool.

30 for 30!

Starting tomorrow, I'm participating in 30 for 30 on Kendi Everyday. Here's how it works:

1. Pick out 30 items from your closet. Shoes are included in the count, coats and accessories (i.e. tights, jewelry, hats, gloves, and so on are not.) I won't use a coat yet here in Texas, but you might in say Chicago so I don't want to penalize you for Mother Nature's wily ways.


2. Remix the 30 items into 30 or more outfits.

And that's it! Ok -- not totally.

3. No (clothes) shopping for 30 days.

Originally shoes counted in the 30 for 30, but I'm not including them in my count. That way I can have more clothes and change my shoe options whenever I want. Plus I'm still in the market for new work shoes. And it can't wait 30 days.

So click here to check out my 30 for 30 clothing picks.

Happy Anthropologie Day!

Anthropologie is officially open in LR! Kat and I had plans to hit it up this evening but never actually made it over to the west side. We are going tomorrow afternoon though. And having a mini shopping spree.

Here are some of my very favorite things from Anthropologie this season:

Cardigans by Anthropologie
Pumps by Anthropologie

Now if we could just get a J.Crew (and Madewell) I'd be in heaven.

2 shirts in 1 DIY

I hate those 2-in-one shirts. You know, a collared shirt/vest combo that looks like two shirts but in reality its just sewn together to make one shirt. I have one of those and I hate it. So today I decided to take it apart and make it two different wearable pieces. This is what it looked like before I started:

So, to do this, its really easy. Just take the shirt and rip out the sections of the seams where the vest is attached to the shirt. Then remove the vest, pin the shirt seams back together, and sew.

Then just pin the seams on the vest back together and sew.

And then bam! You've doubled your wearable pieces.

Boden Fall 2010

It was 105 today. Insanely hot. Way too hot. After trying to brave the heat this afternoon (stupid, I know), I holed up in the air conditioning and dreamed of fall and colder temperatures. I think I have decided that I like fall/winter much more than summer. Since summer vacation is not something I am awarded anymore (except this summer, anyway) I am no longer a fan of it. I'm ready the cold weather and sweaters, hats, coats, and warm boots. And as if they could read my mind, the new Boden catalog showed up on this, the hottest day of summer.

I love Boden. Love it. And their fall catalog did not disappoint when it arrived in my mailbox this afternoon. I can't stop looking at it. So hop on over to Boden and join me in wishing for the days when it actually felt comfortable to wear clothes.

P.S. They have guy's clothing too.

We made finally made it!

Praise the Lord, it's the weekend. Finally. I didn't think I was going to make it.

I finally finished the inside of that cabinet I have been working on forever. I think it looks prety good. Definitely an improvement anyway.

I got to leave work early today. They let everyone go @ 3 because of Good Friday. So I went shopping with my mom. I got 3 shirts and a pair of trouser style jeans. They are cute. Yay for cute clothes.

I have a cut on the end of my finger. That might very well be the most inconvenient place to have a cut.

I have been digging the Black Eye Peas' new song "Boom Boom Pow" all day. You should check it out.

Happy Good Friday everyone.