LUSTING FOR ANTHROPOLOGIE

Who doesn't?!

Anthro Lusts:

 Silk Blooms Eternal Top (in Blue Motif)

$88

  Silk Blooms Eternal Top (in Sky)

$88

 Whispered Sortie Blouse (in Grey)

$128

 First Hints Blouse

$118

 Go For Baroque Peasant (in Light Red)

$78

Winged Blouson

$228

I am determined to own at least one of these tops--although ALL are ridiculously EXPENSIVE!
I'll have to wait for sales, or eBay to be my savior, but in some way, I plan on wearing something on this list of lusts of mine.

Anthropologie Furniture. Let's All Swoon Together.

The first thing on today's agenda is to make you all hate me by showing you gorgeous furniture that no mere mortal could ever afford to buy. Just remember that I'm a mere mortal, too (surprise!), and in all likelihood I shall never be so blessed as to have a random 5K kicking around with nothing better to be spent upon than a couch. So let's all get our tissues out and weep over what we cannot have, shall we?

COOTD THE "WORK" WEEK

I "work" now...
Did you hear?
I've got a "job,"
It's pretty super sweet.

Because my county court house can't pay me due to budget cuts,
I'm VOLUNTEERING my time out of the GOODNESS OF MY grande HEART.

How nice am I?
According to all of the individuals who WORK in the office that I "work" in I'm CRAZY, loco, Insane, BONKers, etc.
Work for free!
Girl you crazy!!

Secretly I'm just doing it so I can play dress up and wear big girl heels.
:)
I told you all that I'm easily amused.
I must be crazy.

Moving on...
Here are a few outfits from this week.
I haven't figured out what to wear tomorrow, but I've got a few ideas in mind...
specifically something that I can wear with my new shoes :)

What I wear to stay warm:

My new coat from GAP (link here):

$20 bucks--down from $168--YES, I said $20.

My GAP has the best post holiday sales... it's where I get all of my winter coats each year.

 Wednesday's Outfit:

Tucker for Target Blouse--NY&Co Pants (from years ago)--Van Eli Peep Toe Wedges (via eBay)

Thursday's (night job) Outfit:

H&M Striped Sweater Dress ($25)--Target Polka Dot Tights ($7)--Target Boots (seen here)  

Friday or Saturday (night job) Outfit:

(I haven't decided yet--but this is what the outfit will be)

 Anthropologie Primer Dress (no longer available online--only in store--$29.95)

Shoulder the Bag

Though I'm fairly certain not many of you noticed, I haven't posted any new blogs in a few weeks. I spent two weeks in France with my best friend for our senior trip and then the past week since I've been home I'm just been bumming around, not particularly motivated to do much of anything.

But I am back to work now, working on some new jewelry designs and putting together ideas for new blogs. Today's blog is about shoulder bags, simply because I like them and I think you should like them too.

In all honesty, though, shoulder bags are really quite handy. While there are some ridiculously cute handbags out there in the world, they just aren't as practical as shoulder bags are. Shoulder bags are hands-free, leaving both of your hands to do other, more important tasks, such as texting and waving at cute guys (neither of which I do on a regular basis, in case you are wondering...)

Also, shoulder bags are generally smaller than regular purses, forcing you to cut down on the amount of stuff you take out of the house with you. Nothing builds more character than having to decide if you really really need hand lotion and a back-up pair of sunglasses with you at all times. Try it sometime! You'll be amazed at how much stuff you carry with you normally that you end up leaving home when you are using your shoulder bag.

Some of my favorites:

Forever 21 has a wide variety of cute shoulder bags at the best prices you'll find anywhere. All of the shoulder bags I currently own except for one are from Forever 21 and I'm extremely pleased with all of them.

1) Classy Leatherette Should Bag, $26.80
2) Vintage Leatherette Bag in Green, $29.80
3) Leatherette Ruffle Purse, $22.80 (I saw this one in person once and it's really awesome!)
4) Quilted Shoulder Bag, $19.80
5) Claudette Shoulder Bag in Red, $25.80
6) Quilted Shoulder Bag in Lavender $22.80

---

ModCloth's shoulder bags are more expensive, but their style is arguably worth it. I don't own any of their bags, but I look forward to getting one someday to see if they really are as awesome as they look.

1) Regal Tender Bag, $65.99
2) Never a Dull Moment Bag, $24.99
3) Marigold Marvel Bag, $27.99
4) On the Same Beige Bag, $63.99
5) The Grace of Grey Bag, $399.99 (Nope, not a typo. But isn't is so gorgeous?)

---

Urban Outfitters' bags are a little simpler but still have a nice vintage-but-modern look to them. Next time I order from them I'm considering treating myself to one.

1) Swedish Hasbeens Small Saddle Bag in Red, $265.00
2) Ecote Studded Suede Bag in Tan, $29.99
3) BDG Square Leather Cross-Body Bag in Blue, $68.00
4) Deux Lux Mid Grommet Cross-Body Pouch Purse in Berry, $48.00
5) Cooperative Saddle Bag in Navy/White, $38.00

---

Anthropologie is the store I am going to shop at when I am rich. So while it will be a long time before I can ever afford to buy one of these bags, I still enjoy looking and planning ahead.

1) Wandering Wisteria Bag, $288.00

2) Stone-and-Fronds Bag, $188
3) Malleable Bag, $148
4) Unbloomed Rose Bag, $305

And that concludes this blog.

MOVIE TRIP and an OUTFIT POST

Yesterday, I invited made Bonnie go to the movies with me. After three days of pleading and suffering through a Memorial Weekend rain storm, we were able to escape to the movie theaters for a little Sex and the City 2 break.

Of course an outing and Sex and the City 2 meant that I could FINALLY wear my new Banana Republic heels and my monthly eBay score (an Ark & Co. silk top from Anthropologie for $20--originally $124).

Top: Ark & Co (Anthropologie) Silk Fan Blouse [$124--via eBay $20]

Jeans: Banana Republic Destroyed Straight Leg jeans [Similar here $79.50--via eBay for $25]

Shoes: Banana Republic [SOLD OUT]

Can I just say that aside from the obvious fact that Sex and the City 2 featured absolutely AMAZING shoes, clothes and accessories, the COLORS in the movie were off the charts. The girls trip to Abu Dhabi just blew my mind. The architecture and colors used and featured throughout the entire Abu Dhabi portion of the movie just drove me insane! I loved it all!

Also loved were these two outfits from the movie:

Miranda's full length dress from the wedding scene was RIDICULOUS!

Her character looked absolutely amazing. I think one of the best looks for her throughout the entire series.

And, Charlotte's red dress from the Abu Dhabi/Camel scene... Sooo Gorgeous!

Oh, and the shoes from this scene... mmm I melt with envy.

Then there was this guy: Max Ryan.

Bonnie and I liked this guy.

He was pretty delicious.

If you've seen the movie, I'm pretty sure that you'll agree.

If you don't...

There is something SERIOUSLY wrong with your libido.

WISHFUL THINKING

Well it is that time again.

Yes, that time when I spend way too much time on the internet when I should be spending my time doing something else (i.e. packing).

This evening, after my well deserved 2.5 hour nap if the middle of the late afternoon/evening (sue me, I got up at 4AM--after 4 hours of sleep--and worked the breakfast shift AND my normal shift, until my boss took pity on me and sent me home early--granted I was falling asleep at the counter--it was dead, we had NO lunch time customers), I spent much of my free time watching a movie online (which might have given me a damn virus), blogging, reading blogs, and now blogging again, but this time about my need for a few of the glorious dresses that I found on Mod Cloth.

However, I would like to point out that Mod Cloth very much so pisses me off. The site is so unorganized. They NEVER have shoes in my size (size 11--FML). And they (the website) have this annoying tendency to show me pages and pages of items that are SOLD OUT. Why may I ask would I want to see items that I cannot buy? And also, for another matter, why do I want to see dresses in size XS or size 4? I am neither one of those sizes. You would think that they would give you/me an option for searching by size. It just annoys me to no end to stumble upon an article of clothing that I like, only to find that it is ONLY available in size 2. WTF!?

Now, back to my wishful thinking--because I made a promise to myself not to spend any money this month, and really for a while. I need to SAVE SAVE SAVE! And so far, I have only spent my wages from the past month on gasoline, some sushi during my last visit to Towson (shout out to San Sushi Too!--Love/Miss you guys!!), and a $6 Mexican dinner with the Hooker--thank Jesus for hanging onto my college ID--20% off! Hollar!

Okay.
The List.
Woo!

(p.s. I am only still looking at dresses, not because I like to torture myself with things that I cannot have, but because I did return that [fit me perfectly] Sun Dot Dress from Anthropologie last month, and I still need a dress for my Uncle Tony's outdoor wedding this summer.)

Now, back to the (important time wasting) list:

Dresses, a la Mod Cloth

 Grecian Green Dress

$89.99

 The Colleen Dress

$117.99

Windy City Dress

$64.99

Opera Box Dress

$67.99

I want, I like, I need them all?! But I am also trying to be more responsible with my money AND there is no way in hell I am paying full retail on anything... Are you crazy!? This gal waits for a sale--Especially for a possible sale on that Grecian Green Dress... Too Cute!

SPRING WISHLIST

(for AFTER the Big Move, of course)

While catching up with my mail the other afternoon I took an extra ten minutes to browse through my May copies of Lucky and Glamour.
I must say that I LOVE going through both magazines each month. After I spend 20 minutes tearing out all of the useless advertisements and pages that I have not interest in, I am left with (usually) under 50 pages of fashion, beauty, and other pieces of "need to pay attention to/possibly buy at a later point in time" information.
I especially love the outfit ideas and design ideas that I get from both magazines each month. Plus, both offer GREAT freebies (here and here) each month online--which I love to enter, and ONE day will eventually win!
So getting back to the purpose of this post... both magazines for the month of May perked me up so much! Both had SO MUCH stuff that I have been literally lusting over all day. One item in particular has even made it to the top of my "To Purchase" list for after the move and following my getting settled in in Georgia... like you didn't think I had one of those lists!
I do!
Ha!

So without further ado...

My Spring Wishlist

(also including a few items from the new Urban Outfitters catalog)

Calvin Klein Pleated Cotton Wrap Dress/Ruffle-Neck Dress

$118 at Nordstrom and Dillard's

The great thing about this dress is that I think I can work it into ALL facets of my wardrobe. I can dress it up or down for a night out or for a casual look, OR I can add accessories and wear it to work! I think Calvin Klein (and Michael Kors--he is another story) makes very versatile and timeless pieces. His pieces can be left and forgotten about in your closet for YEARS and you could pull it out later and it would still look great for whichever season you were in!

Timex T Series Chronograph Watch
$120 at Timex online

(BUT if you use the code LUCKYBRK you can get 35% off... I believe the total comes to $78)
AND this deal is good until the END OF MAY!!!!

You would think after the Michael Kors situation (i.e. splurging for the last time in a long time) I would be done with watches... BUT NO, I'm not. Now that I've got the golden lovely that I commonly refer to as "My Michael" when I ding him on the wall or counter at work, I feel as though I need to complete my wardrobe with a silver lovely (with the redish animal print band)... i.e. The Timex T Series Chronograph watch featured in this month's Lucky mag AND also seen on the model in the mag who just happens to be wearing the Calvin Klein dress that I have fallen in love with.

Estee Lauder Bronze Goddess Solid Perfume Pendant
$78 Estee Lauder and most likely ALL department stores!

I think this is really cute looking and the idea is great. The price tag however SUCKS and I have a feeling I wouldn't like the scent. I'll have to go out and smell this pretty piece first before I even think about searching for this on eBay--because YOU KNOW that I wouldn't pay FULL PRICE for this! (I have my limitations--I really do!)

Truly Madly Deeply 80's Sweatshirt
$38 Urban Outfitters

Apparently I'm last on the bandwagon for cutting your sweaters up and wearing them all sexy/stupid like (depending on your personal opinion on the subject of cutting the necks off of your sweaters then wearing them out...).

Well I saw this look in the recent UO catalog, and discovered that I kinda liked it. I discovered also that I liked it EVEN MORE when I discovered that I could recreate this look by taking my old hoodies that mess up my hair every time I pull them over my head, and cutting off the hood. I then discovered (apparently I discovered a lot during this past week lol) that my old hoodies with the necks cut off are really friggin' comfortable; they are roomy for working out, and comfy and airy enough for sleeping in as well.

So, don't spend $38 on the above mentioned item... go do it yourself. OR comment me back and tell me that I'm slow and you've already done this/knew about it (about 5 years ago--or 30ish years ago--in the 80's!). And then comment about how sorry you are that you didn't let me in on this little secret YEARs ago! Thanks jerks! :)

Canvas Pumps // BDG Suede Pumps

$48 Urban Outfitters

I've had a serious shoe hard on for these pumps for the past few months. I have no clue why. I think the Canvas Pumps (in that color) would look GREAT with a fitted pencil skirt and a flow-y blouse, with some sort of floral print in that outfit (that I'm imagining in my head). But I'm just imagining, a bit too much, since I no longer have a pencil skirt--that fits me--in my possession, nor do I own the flow-y blouse. Oh poop. Maybe when I get a nice paycheck, settle down after my move, ohyeah and GET A REAL JOB!

Alrighty, that's enough dreaming for now...

I've got a few more post ideas coming up, that I've been preparing for in between packing and working... 

More to come later. 

What should you expect?

Oh well how about:

SEXY boots (on sale of course), sexy/cute/frilly/somewhat practical aprons, a DIY project--that I think MANY of you will LOVE!!, some Anthropologie picks, and a few ETSY picks as well!

I'M A WINNER

Hey Yo!

I'm officially a winner of a blog giveaway (FOR THE FIRST TIME EVER! I might add)!

Thank you Maria from Infinite Whimsy for the cute necklace!

I can't wait for it to arrive!!

And everyone, be sure to check out Maria's blog for future giveaways, great outfit posts (she used to work for Anthropologie--you know how I heart that place--i.e. Sun Dot Dress, HELLO! It's from Anthro!), and very helpful dressing room reviews!!

TODAY's ARRIVALS!

It has arrived! My last purchase of the month, and last purchase other that gasoline for my LOLA (that's what I call my little blue Ford Escort ZX2 // Mr.A calls her the Blue Electric and OJB calls her the Blue Blazer... what Mr.A and my good friend OJB need to realize is that her name is LOLA and she is a Showgirl. The End.) and necessary food purchases of course.

Ta-Da:

 The Michael Kors Watch!

(link to the blog post with the discount codes!)

Yay!!

I've got to get it sized for my wrist because it is WAY TOO BIG, so unfortunately no wearing it for now. But as soon as I get that done, it's on my wrist this will go!



Also arriving today, besides the watch (and the Banana Republic skinny distressed jeans mentioned in the previous post), is the Anthropologie Sun Dot Dress (pictured below).

This dress has received HORRIBLE reviews from bloggers all over the place (Effortless Anthropologie, VJ in LA, etc.). Most of the negative reviews were talking about awkward bunching in the back and annoying/unnecessary movement of the dress in the upward direction when you walked around. Many also complained about the top and bottom not sizing right, and about how most had to go up a size to fit their ta-tas in.
I admit when it arrived this morning I did the "Please God fit me, PLEASE LET IT LOOK GOOD" chant over and over again as I opened the package and tried the dress on.

THANK GOODNESS! It wasn't weird! It definitely needs to be dry cleaned, but otherwise it works for me. I guess it's a good thing I plan on wearing a cardigan over top of the dress for the most part of its wearing, but even if I didn't the bunch in the back isn't that bad. I mean I get it's annoying-ness and how unflattering it is, BUT HELLO! Go get it tailored! That is what they are there for! DUH! And thank goodness, AND THIS IS THE ONLY TIME I WILL EVER SAY THIS, for my awkward and absolutely shitty weightless of my lady-friends. I used to be a health 38C, and yesterday I tried on a 38B and cried a tear. Yay for losing weight, the healthy way, but BOO for losing most in just my upper body... but hey, the dress looks good, and doesn't fit me weird like it fit everyone else. I'm a size 12 in dresses and this one fit true to size.
I most definitely recommend it!

Here are a few crap-tastic camera phone pics: 

Like I said earlier, I plan on pairing the dress with a cardigan, so the weird bunching in the back won't be seen. I tried one on with it, and the dress/cardigan combo looked fine. I'm not worried. If it does bug me, I'll definitely take the dress to the tailor.


That's all for now people; still waiting on the shoes to arrive... some day soon!