Fashion. Music. Family. Life.
If you are in California and want to get a good price Rebecca Minkoff items, there are 2 sample sales happening on June 3rd, 4th & 5th, in Los Angeles and San Francisco (click the banner to be directed to the Minkette blog). Oh you know I’ll be there to get good deals on some of my favorites like the Morning After Clutch and Morning After Bag (I’m going to the LA one on Saturday). Happy shopping!
(Image courtesy of Minkette)
Oh, I think these are sexiest mary jane pumps ever. This is my first purchase from Gilt Groupe since joining it last year. Aren’t they lovely? I mentioned these in a previous Friend Friday entry, and they will no doubt appear in more than one upcoming outfit post.
It was beautiful this past Sunday, but you wouldn’t have known because it started off with a heavy rain in the morning. We were supposed to go to the Wild Animal Park, but ended up going to Seaport Village to do a little kite flying. Well, it ended up being a bit of an ironic day because Dominic accidentally let his Batman kite go and off my husband (and a few other helpful citizens) went to retrieve it! We then decided that the tree had won the battle of kite possession and went window shopping. We then saw the sign inside a store called Kite Flite, which just made us all laugh a bit. Hope you had a great Memorial Day weekend!
Runaway Kite!
Rogelio Ancheta Grospe, Chief Petty Officer, United States Navy, Purple Heart Recipient
1940-2004
The weather makes me want to wear things that are less body conscious. Wearing wide-legged or palazzo pants and flowing sheer shirts are the way I incorporate this fluidity in my wardrobe. I also have been really loving capes, mostly because of the large sleeves that allow room for kimono-style shirts and dresses. This one is nice because it’s almost like a little jacket rather than a large poncho. I think this outfit is quite wonderfully breezy, making it quite cool for this fantastic warm day. I also like the stripes in the lining against the polka-dots!
Outfit – H&M cape jacket & pants; Cotton On blouse; Jeffrey Campbell shoes; Michael Kors watch; Juicy Couture ring; Coach sunglasses
Wow. I recently watched a 2 hour concert called “80’s Rewind Festival” on Classic VH1 and I actually felt my mind get blown. We don’t have anything like this here in the states: All 80’s groups in a festival setting like Coachella. If you’ve been reading my blog lately, I’m having to do my own 80’s tour by going to all of my favorite former artists, but one at a time. In the last 5 years, I’ve seen artists like Duran Duran, Billy Idol, Depeche Mode/Alan Wilder, George Michael, and OMD.
The name of the actual event is called “Rewind Festival“, and began back in 2009 and took place at Temple Island Meadows, Remenham, Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire, England. From what I read, this festival was put together because of the success of a few one-off 80’s retro shows. Check out these line ups (2009 and 2010 lists are from Wikipedia):
2009
| Saturday | Sunday |
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2010
| Saturday | Sunday |
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There are 2 festivals for 2011, each scheduled for three days. One is at Scone Palace, Perth in Scotland and the other is again at Henley-on-Thames, England. Click on the image above to take you to the site to find out information on how you can attend these fantastic festivals. I’m hoping that next year’s line up is as good as these past ones because my best friend, Janice, and I are planning on attending. I’m totally looking forward to it!
2011 (Scotland)
| Saturday (July 30, 2011) | Sunday (July 31, 2011) |
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2011 (Henley)
| Saturday (August 20, 2011) | Sunday (August 21, 2011) |
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(Image courtesy of Rewind Festival)
My best friend Janice bought this awesome little purse for my birthday from an H&M during her last trip to NYC. The anchor on the side reminded her of my anchor tattoo that I got in honor of my father when he passed back in 2004. I just love the Boston bag/satchel shape and the cross-body strap (in case I have to carry Dominic). Like many of my purses and shoes, I’m always inclined to build an outfit around an accessory and this time was no different. I will have to say that this was definitely a bit more color than I am used to in an outfit, but I kind of liked it!
Outfit – Cotton On sweater & belt; Liberty for Target shirt; H&M jeans & purse; Gap shoes; Juicy Couture necklace and ring; Coach sunglasses
When I saw the news about Nordie’s Rack hitting our local mall, I thought, “My husband won’t be happy to hear that!” When I told him, he had the exact reaction that I thought he would: he just gasped. But of course this fashionista on a budget was elated to see that Westfield’s Plaza Bonita Mall is growing and expanding, which means that I don’t need to go too far to seek out the fantastic deals that my friends always seem to think I have a knack on finding.
Here is an example of why I love going to places like Nordstrom Rack, Last Call, Off 5th, and other “off-price” retail divisions: it gives consumers a chance to get deals on brands that may not otherwise get affordable prices for. I wore this Anna Sui jacket in the “So Newly Charming Post” last December. I bought this jacket at the Nordstrom Rack in the Mission Valley Mall over 15 years ago. This jacket was originally $750. I got about 90% off, because I only paid $75! I wear this jacket all the time, because of its classic double-breasted pea-coat style and sharp pin stripes, which makes it extremely versatile. Where else would I have an opportunity to get such a fantastic price on a great brand?
I hope you all enjoy this exciting news as much as I do. Happy shopping!
(Top image courtesy of Westfield.com. Click on it for the article on the new Nordstrom Rack at Plaza Bonita.)
It’s no secret on how much I love bacon, going so far as to try the chocolate covered bacon at the San Diego Fair last year. I’m sure many of you out there have seen the Denny’s commercials for their “Baconalia: A Celebration of Bacon” campaign. After my sister described her experience with the Maple Bacon Sundae, I just had to try it. So last weekend, we took some time out of our Saturday to venture out to Denny’s. Coincidentally, my sister wore her “Bacon is meat candy” shirt, and the manager at Denny’s could not stop complimenting her on it, stating that they should be wearing that for their campaign.
The sundae was everything I hoped it would be and more. The saltiness and crunch of the bacon beautifully offset the sweetness of the syrup and ice cream. I highly recommend it. For more bacon fun like clothing, food products and novelties, check out this site called Bacon Freak (the “Baconista” shirt is cute). Hope you had a great weekend!
I didn’t get a chance to participate in the May 6 Friend Friday post about shoes because I committed to participating in the Full Time Fabulous blog event. But I just couldn’t pass up the chance to talk about one of my favorite fashion subjects, other than purses. I’m also combining it with this week’s topic, which is based on Beautifully Invisible’s “10 Things About Your Blog That Drive Me Crazy “. I’ll start with the peeves, then I’ll move on to my pets.
Five Things That Drive Me Crazy About Your Blog
1. Not being able to comment
I just feel that if you have a blog out there, you want people to read it. Don’t you want to encourage discussion?
2. Comment sections that make it difficult to leave a comment
There have been times where I can see that people are leaving comments, so why am I the only lame one who can’t? I think leaving a comment should be an easy task, not a frustrating one. Previously, I had the settings on my blog set higher to block unwanted content, but that meant a lot more moderation on my part. Wordpress is good about detecting spam, so now I’ve relaxed the comment moderation to allow more people to leave comments that can be seen instantaneously.
3. Grammar gaffes
I think this is on everyone’s list, and it should be. Lack of spell-check and good grammar really gets under my skin. I will mull over a post for a while before I put anything out there in the open. I recently attended a writing class at work that opened my eyes to my grammar mistakes. I even had the instructor look at my blog to let me know how I can make improvements. I write my posts as if I’m writing for a major website or publication. I hope that it comes across that way.
4. Lackluster headlines
In the writing class I spoke about above, we also learned about how to write efficient emails. This included writing subject headings that accurately describe what will be discussed in the attached email. I think that the headline/title to a blog post should do the same, but with a twist. I love clever headlines, even if they are only one word. In this time of Twitter where we try to be as eloquent as possible in 140 characters, why can’t you do the same with your headline?
5. Make it personal
I love blogs that interject a little bit about the writer’s personality, without revealing more than is necessary. It allows us to see that we can all relate in some way, and that the person on the other end of the computer is just like me.
Shoes, glorious shoes!
1. What is your go-to pair of shoes?
Rather than a go-to pair, I have a go-to color: Black. I have more than enough pairs of black shoes, but I just can’t seem to stop getting them. In fact, I just bought another pair of black mary-jane pumps from Gilt called “Sinful” by Gunmetal.
2. What goes into your shoe buying decisions?
Versatility and uniqueness. I need to wear them with several different wardrobe pieces, and I want them to be show-stoppers. I may have over 10 pairs of black shoes, but none of them are the same and each has a unique shape or are a different take on a basic shoe design.
3. The majority of the shoes in your closet are what color?
Black!
4. When it comes to design shoes what are your favorite brands and why?
Right now, I’m in love with Jeffrey Campbell shoes. I love that most are platform and are a bit unusual in design. I also really enjoy Poetic Licence shoes. They are so very pretty, girly and whimsical.
5. If price wasn’t an issue, you’d own which shoe?
Several pairs of Manolo Blahniks because they are simply just beautiful shoes. Ever since that episode of “Sex and the City” called “A Woman’s Right to Shoes”, I have wanted the Sedaraby Open Toe d’Orsay pump in silver, just like Carrie’s (pictured above). If you are not familiar with the episode, it’s the one where Carrie wears them to a baby shower, only to have them stolen. Then the hostess refuses to replace them and Carrie does a creative thing to get them back. After then seeing the first SATC movie, I fell in love with the jeweled pump called “Something Blue” that Carrie wore to her civil wedding to Big (pictured below in grey satin). I confess that I do own a couple, but they were purchased from eBay and not the ones pictured in this post. I would love to walk into Bloomingdale’s or Neiman Marcus and buy the one’s pictured here outright. *sigh*
(Images courtesy of Zappos.com here; Lori’s Shoes from my post here; and Nordstrom.com here & here)
Fashion Beauty Friend Friday is a Google group for bloggers to converse on a given topic each week. Katy from ModlyChic sends the questions, bloggers post their responses and then add their post to the list of people sharing their thoughts on the subject matter. To get started, check out this great tutorial on Grit & Glamour here.