What I want now (but won't get because I'm on a shopping sabbatical imposed by my husband)

I've fallen off the edge. I was so good for two months, but clothes are my crack. I'll write later about my most recent buys (all at fabulous deals)- but until then... these are the items that I covet.

Dace Martin Dress- $232

Etsy's SavannahSoapKitchen's Sweet Pomegranate Goat's Milk Blueberry Seed Soap- $10.00

DVF "Uday" Silk Chiffon Top- $245

Abercrombie and Fitch Lindsey- $140

Abercrombie and Fitch Evie- $49.50

Anthropologie Endless Pleats Cardigan- $98.00

Citizens of Humanity Wimbledon Kelly Bootcut in Alcatraz- $184

I have a new system. I put pieces that I fall in love with in a folder within my bookmarks tab. I come back to them a week later and am just as in love- I purchase. I find that generally I don't feel strongly about items after a week. It takes a lot of the fun out of it, but I only buy the things I really love and will love for years to come. It's not quantity it's quality.

Women's Wadrobe Staples

So I sorted through my closet... ok my clothes rack (I'll write a post about our current living situation someday...) Anyway, I was sorting my clothing racks figuring out what needed to go, and what was going to stay. While I looked through my clothes I started thinking about what the staples of every woman's wardrobe should be. I hopped online and this is what I found:

Tim Gunn's Wardrobe Staples:

1. Black suit in a seasonless fabric
2. Great jeans
3. Black heeled boots
4. Black leather pumps
5. LBD
6. Neutral sweater
7.Pencil Skirt
8. Signature colored sweater
9. Dark dressy jeans
10. Signature accessory
11. Great fitting winter coat
12. t-shirts
13. Great Foundation garments
14. occasion top

After looking at this list I'm missing three pieces... Seasonless black suit (which I will buy from J. Crew someday..), Signature accessory (I have no idea what my signature is), and black heeled leather boots.

Are you missing any of Tim Gunn's essentials?

Please Ginger, let me dress you. I'll dress you good.

For those of you who don't remember, Ginger, is my Ho Ho's [my younger sister's] boy toy. Legally, his name many not be Ginger, but it might as well be.


Ol' Ho's isn't happy about Ginger's style. Ginger is an old tee shirt and carhart jean kinda guy. He's super tall, so I think he settles with whatever he can find that fits. While's there's nothing wrong with that, sometimes, you need to dress a little nicer.


So here it is, my favorite basics for my little Ginger Snap:

Jeans- Banana Republic Boot Cut Faded Dark Wash Jean- $79.50

Dress em' up, dress em' down.

Banana Republic Cotton/Cashmere Crewneck- $59.50
Going somewhere nice? Pair it with a pair of chinos, nice shoes, and belt (if you want to go the extra mile- a white dress shirt and a tie). Spending a casual email with the family? Put a t-shirt under it and some jeans. Perfecto!

Banana Republic Military Inspired Cotton Sweater- $69.50

Who doesn't like a military man? Perhaps I'm partial.

Banana Republic Tipped Cardigan- 79.50

This is a great style for men. It's tailored, and like everything else, can be dressed up or down. Pair with a simple t-shirt or for something a little more Va Va VOOM- a dress shirt.

J. Crew Broken In Pocket Crew Neck T-shirt- $14.99 ON SALE

Adam owns one of these in almost every color. They are comfortable, easy, and durable. An important style note for the gentlemen: Don't wear clothing that display's labels. You are not being paid to look like a walking bill board.

J. Crew Tall Broken in Pocket Polo- $24.99

This is another of Adam's staples. Paired with a pair of shorts or pants, is perfect for almost any occassion. Comfortable, classic, and masculine.

J. Crew Classic Fit Essential Chino- $59.50

A perfect dress up pant.

J. Crew Tall British Millerain Oil Cloth Field Jacket- $218.00

Great. That's all I have to say.

Tailored White Jcrew Shirt- $58.00

A must have.

J. Crew Tall Merino Men's Sweater- $64.50

Comes in an array of colors, and J. Crew has a great Merino knit.

Finally went through all the wedding photos...

After procrastinating for over 9 months, I finally through our wedding CD's. Our photographer claimed she posted all the negatives on her site- LIE. The website has 700 pictures, these little CD's have well over 1500 pictures. 1-5-0-0!!!!!

Ugh. It took me hours (and surprisingly, most the pictures were pretty fantastic).

I made my parents a wedding album using Blurb as soon as the photos went up online. Since the photos were copied from the internet the photos in the book are a bit 'pixely' (yes, I made that word up), and some just down right blurry. So, yeah, I'm re-doing the wedding albums- even though I really don't want to (I'm whining like a toddler).

Here are a few pictures I found I really like:

Signing the marriage certificate:

I thought we requested that macarena not be played?

Fetching my bouquet like a good lil' bride for the photographer:

I'm so awkward, but isn't Adam handsome? Yes he is.:

Adam's college tennis pal's

My two maids of honor (because my sister was too busy to hang out with me) and me. Oh, those two ridiculously good looking people are my younger brother, Ralph- and his girlfriend, Amy.

My sister in law, Laura, with my niece (her daughter), Annabelle (she's beautiful).

Best man and brother in law, Mike:

Pretty flowers:

Good News! Today is a very lucky day...

So the past 6 months have been really rough on the husband and I. We've been trying to get into the military for over a year. My husband graduated college before me, so he started the process first. We were interested in applying for commissions to the Air Force, well, a year later the Air Force sort of screwed us. Our recruiter forgot (note: the recruiter called us home early from our honey moon to file the age waiver, and we followed up with him twice to make sure it was turned in) to file(his bad) my husband's age waiver and he was discharged a few weeks before his leave date. It was heartbreaking, and we had several other problems with the air force which prolonged our experience.
After Adam was discharged, he decided to look into the Navy. He was told almost immediately he would not be picked up as an officer, so he submitted a dual application (enlisted and applied for a commission) for the fun of it. Well, the ol' Air Force had to slow down this process as well. Adam had not yet been "officially" discharged from the Air Force- so we had to wait a few weeks for them to actually discharge him.
Many phone calls later, Adam was allowed to go to MEPS to swear in as an enlisted soldier and wait for a leave date/officer decision. While he was swearing in he was told about this nuclear power program which is for enlistees. Adam got really excited and wanted this to be his military career path- he had to take a test to get in. See, the nuclear power program is a really intensive program. The military offers a 40,000 dollar sign on bonus if you enlist for eight years, and since Adam already has a bachelor's degree- it was possible after training he could apply to be an officer in this field (which would set him up for a great job once we return to civilian life). Anyway, this test can only be administered by one guy who travels all around Michigan. For two months we tried getting a hold of this guy. Finally, Adam was able to take the test. He did very well, according to the recruiter. We were super excited at this point- only to find out the cut off age for this program is 24- Adam is 28. He has to file another age waiver... We wait (and are still waiting).
Today, while driving back to my job from a pick up he calls me. I see the phone ringing and am thinking: What happened to the car, did it break? Was there an accident? Ughhh.... I hear Adam's voice: Guess what?
Me: Ugh...
Him: I got officer
Me: You got in an accident?
Him: I'm so happy
Me: In the navy
Him: Yep

Amazing. Finally. Something decent is happening, after all the red tape and all the crap- here we are. Finally.

I was so happy I cried. I'm married to a Naval Officer, that's kind of hot- right?

Calypso

I just thought that I would share these items I love from Calypso (all images from http://www.calypso-celle.com/)

I think when the skirt goes on sale, I may have to add it to my collection :)

The Nerve (and a coupon code)!

I've learned something new tonight. I'm in love with Diane Von Furstenberg's line. I mean, she is so freaking A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. Amazing design and quality generally comes with a price tag though :(

That's why I shop DVF's sale!

While browsing online I found the Ezmeralda top (photo from www.nordstrom.com)
The fabulous Diane Von Furstenberg website sets the sale price is 178.00, nordstrom- 198.00!!!!

What did we learn?

Shop around. Check the designers website, and compare sale prices to store prices.

I also visited Nicole Miller's website today- she's offering an EXTRA 20 percent off sale items if you purchase two items from the final sale!

Happy shopping!

Daily Obsession: Pink Mascara 48 hour Sale

So I vowed not to purchase ANYTHING for the next few months... today Pink Mascara sends me this email: http://www.pinkmascara.com/site/Campaigns/4thjulysale.htm

30 percent off all sale items, including final sale + free shipping on orders of $150 and more. Use codes EXTRA30 and SHIPPM.

Damn recession.

If I had a million dollars... I'd spend it on a really expensive belt that does not cost a million dollars (and maybe a headband)

Jennifer Behr is an amazing accessories designer. Predominantly, she designs hair accessories- but she has a few belts available that are amazing (see second photo, it's gorgeous, but around $600 dollars breaking my budget and my heart into itsy bitsy pieces).

All photos come from www.jenniferbehr.com:


Someday... Someday... I hope.

A perfect wedding dress...

If I could have things my way, I'd get married every few years (much like Heidi Klum and Seal) Since the wedding, I've really tried to stop focusing on wedding stuff, I can't seem to help myself sometimes. Every so often I find a dress that screams, "You should have worn me you buffoon!!!!"

I'd like to introduce Elsa, the eco-goddess dress ($1,100):

http://www.shopflick.com/stores/mr-larkin/Elsa-Dress

I am utterly and completely in love with Elsa. However, if I were to wear her (since my father hates too much cleavage) I'd probably have a seamstress add a little more neckline with some sheer fabric and wear the dress so it was wider (by pulling the shoulder straps more away from my body, securing them with double sided table).

Grrr@ Elsa only comes in sizes 0-6. Size 8, 10, 12 and +'s should be able to look fabulous too Mr. Larkin!

Review: J. Crew Piqué pavilion shift

Piqué pavilion shift:

www.jcrew.com

First, I have to say this was a bit of an impulse buy. I saw the pavilion shift dress when it first came out, loved it, but didn't love it enough to pay full price for it. A few weeks ago it hit the final sale and is currently discounted to $39.99 from $68.00 (I also used the extra 20 percent off promotion :) I ordered a size medium in navy blue. When the dress arrived I was slightly disappointed. It was not flattering, and the cotton material was REALLY thin. It reminded me of polo shirt fabric. Since the pique dresses arrival it's sat in my closet for about a month now, waiting for me to give it a second chance. This morning, I threw it on without thinking and secured a belt around my waist. It made all the difference! I love the dress now, and feel good in it. I'm still not fond of the material (I feel j.crew's quality has been slipping a bit), and the neckline is a bit low- but for the price and after a little tweaking I would recommend this dress.

My rating: 3/5 stars. The reason I took off two stars was the fabric and overall quality (not sure if this piece will last until next summer, and that bothers me. I own j.crew pieces from five years ago I wear on a regular basis and are still in great condition! Certain items I've purchased in the last year don't measure up to previous seasons. What happened j.crew? If it takes raising prices to keep overall quality- DO IT!)

::OBSESSION:: d a c e Clothing

Dace is a Canadian clothing brand- it's simple, modern, and the quality is outstanding. I love the website, and am totally obsessed with this line. My rant: A lot of sizes are currently sold out. :( It's still awesome though!

All images come from www.dace.ca:



So.. what do you think?