Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Holy Shizzle!

Or should I say, ShoeDazzle?

Anyways, it's sort of like Netflix for shoes. Except that they're not used and you get to keep them. Ok, so they're actually more like an assumed grocery delivery service/CSA program. Essentially, every month they send you personalized picks based on your style profile and then you pick a pair you actually want to own and it's shipped to you for $39.95 -- with free shipping. (And what they call "easy exchanges", but I can't speak for that... yet.)

The only catch is that you have to "skip" if you don't want the recurring charge (so from a revenue perspective they're probably banking on you just forgetting to do so within the 1st and 5th of the month), but for shoes... I feel like I could make this a regular thing. Or end up with a pair of shoes. Win-win? Yes, yes!

Today's recommendations based on my style quiz results (first below) that I would so say "yes" to:

your style is







The only thing that doesn't work on me is buying 12 new pairs of shoes in a year, potentially. As much as I love shoes, I actually don't buy THAT many a year. Again, I could make this work and not end up with 12 pairs of shoes... or maybe some great gifts for my fellow Size 8 ladies? (Actually, I think you can select which size you want for each order. So the gift idea would certainly work!)

So, what do you readers think? Sold? If I take the plunge and commit to the first pair, you can bet I'll be following up this post with a few pictures of the newly arrived shoe goodness and a review of the quality and ShoeDazzle experience!

If you want to give it a try, I would certainly love for you to use my referral link (http://www.shoedazzle.com/invite/3kczidfyp) because naturally, referrals rock.

Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Party Perfect Dresses!



I awoke to an email from my gal pal Kristin this morning sharing the LuLu's site with me... thank you, Kristin!

The site features dresses, shoes, tops, bottoms, denim, accessories, and jewelry, but I was totally sold on the dresses. There were over 500 on the site (500!) and I have yet to see one over $100.00. (Woohoo!) While targeting juniors, there are SEVERAL dresses that I myself would totally wear for a night out. Most are tiny dresses, so with fall approaching, lots of these would look great with tights or leggings.

A few of my favorites:


$43.00 Also love it in red!
http://www.lulus.com/products/fire-and-ice-teal-one-shoulder-dress/28642.html


$38.00 Pair with dark gray tights.... love!
http://www.lulus.com/products/hot-for-hieroglyphs-black-dress/28634.html


$79.00 Never too late for a little summer fun! (Hello fall/winter warm vacation destination!)
http://www.lulus.com/products/islands-are-forever-silk-party-dress/28511.html


$38.00 Party perfect or great for work with a cardigan!
http://www.lulus.com/products/haute-bouquet-party-dress/28488.html


$79.00 Sold out... bummer. This was by far one of my FAVORITES!
http://www.lulus.com/products/global-dj-gold-sequin-dress/28149.html


I may be a *tad* bit early, but it never hurts to look for New Year's Eve party dresses! ;-)

PS - The retail genius who decided to put a wish list and "to be notified when this item is back in stock" on LuLu's.... VERY SMART!

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Oscar for the Home

Oscar de la Renta is one of my high-end favorites, so it was no surprise when I loved the back cover ad of this month's Traditional Home magazine (actually, it's technically the October 2010 issue)... it's a Lee Jofa home textiles collection inspired by De la Renta's fashion.



On page 34 of the magazine, there was an inset that read:
Ball skirts made with De la Renta's fabrics for Lee Jofa will be auctioned off to benefit Casa del Nino, a child assistance program the designer co-founded in his native Dominican Republic. For additional details visit LeeJofa.com.
How cool!

Wednesday, August 25, 2010

Overstock.com Joins the Private Sale Bandwagon

Thanks to FurnitureToday.com's article on the dot com discount retailer launching its own private sale website, I now have yet another daily/weekly email list that will be filling up my commercial email inbox - and judging by the first look I just took at Eziba.com... I'm totally cool with that.



Chi flat irons, home textiles, and kitchen counter-top appliances. I think they just rolled all of my budget vices into one private sale. Eek!

Monday, August 23, 2010

5 Ways to Add Elegance to Dresses

You will laugh at this for one of two reasons:

1 - You may have studied fashion, apparel, or textiles at some point
2 - You have five fingers

(Or both of the reasons above.)



I don't know about y'all, but I'm LOVING this ongoing advertising campaign from Zappos (official Zappos site). Hi-larious!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

Window Shopping: ZGallerie Summer Sale

ZGallerie.com (with a great sale going on right now!) is one of my favorites to "window shop" online for modern accessories and style inspiration (and they have someone super helpful running their @ZGallerie twitter account, too - they got me taken care of in less than a day when I couldn't join the email list)!


SUPER cute laptop bag - $12.39
http://www.zgallerie.com/p-9144-everglades-laptop-bag-black.aspx
(And it's faux croc - which means I can purchase it with a clean conscience!)


Cute cupcake tray! - $9.99
A fun and super affordable accessory for the entertaining gal.


Round lacquer trays - $12.39
One in each color, please!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Sunday, August 8, 2010

mark. Goes Fair Trade

I am SUPER excited about this!



If you've been reading for some time, you know that I'm all about "voting with my consumer dollars" and that mark. is my choice for beauty products because they were one of the first to have a strong position against animal testing.

Launching a line of fair trade products? Just as cool!

Can't wait to get my hands on these. I hear the "Do the Right Thing" Smoothing Body Lotion with SPF 15 is going to be my new favorite because it's so much like the "For Goodness Face" lightweight moisturizer with SPF built-in.

If you want to check out this line, visit my mark page and search "fair trade" (I'd link it for you, but mark doesn't have the best options for deep-linking directly to products.)

Sunday, July 11, 2010

Geekin' Out: Wine Bottle USB Flash Drive

I would NEVER spend $50 on a flash drive (especially when they often come free these days as merchandise add-ons and promo items), but darn if it don't want this thing!



PS - If I was a wine rep and was calling on restaurants, bars, and retailers daily to sell bottles of vino, I'd make my company buy me one of these... and put their logo on the bottle's label of course! :-)

{Credits: Image via http://www.engadget.com/2007/11/06/wine-bottle-flash-drive-too-sweet-for-our-tastes/, official site for this usb flash drive at http://www.bewineconnected.com/en/content/bewineusb.aspx, but I'm pretty sure I stumbled upon this find at trendhunter.com.}

Monday, July 5, 2010

Giveaway!

Just a quick note to let you fab readers know that I'm hosting TWO giveaways this evening over on the facebook page for I Heart Retail (my new project I told y'all about back at the end of last year).



The gettin' is good... so make sure you come check it out!

Saturday, June 12, 2010

Laugh Out Loud... Seriously



TBMF-style. That is all.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Hems & Hers Shoutout

This Tennessee-rooted Carolina girl is a force to be reckoned with... look out Lilly P.!

Caroline and I had the pleasure of attending NCSU together and wearing the same letters and now that she's back in Charlotte, NC, she has been a busy girl crafting this "little" business of hers (of course, not to mention holding down a day job in the crazy world of advertising).

I've been watching her grow this brand for some time now and just could not wait another day to finally give her a shout out here. So without further delay, here are some of my faves from her collection:
LOVE the lines of these yellow skirts


This print... must have it!


I'll take the dress, too!


Made for younger girls, however I'm formally requesting a grown up version, Caroline!


And this is one of my favorite pieces of hers... MOST favorite!
Official Website: http://hemsandhers.com/
Blog: http://hemsandhers.blogspot.com/

Check her out, buy a garment (or two), and enjoy the feeling you'll get telling your friends it was made by a 20-something Carolina girl just for you!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

More "O" Finds...

...this time for the home! Let's play house makeover pretend, shall we?


Chrome and Black 6-light Crystal Chandelier
Price: $149.99



Celeste Crystal 6-light Chandelier
Price: $209.99



Black Shade Chrome 3-light Crystal Chandelier
Price: $125.99



Linear 45-inch 7-light Bar Pendant Crystal Chandelier
Price: $322.99



Iron and Crystal 5-light Chandelier
Price: $185.99



Coventry Large Antique Black Media Stand
Price: $299.99



Zebra Print Oval Back Chair
Price: $159.99


(PS: LOVE the $2.95 shipping on furniture!)


All on warehouse clearance, minus the media console! (Of course, not that I have any business going around buying lots of chandeliers right now... but a girl can always window shop!)

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Darn You Overstock.com Emails...

...always pointing out good deals on things I didn't even know I wanted until now!


Lou Lou Womens Contemporary Tie-back Dress
Orange, white, and yellow
$39.99

The orange looks more like salmon to me, but I'd take this dress in every color!



Lou Lou Womens Contemporary Tie-back Dress
Blue, black, and brown
$25.99

I'm not sure why the second set of colors are cheaper (unless they have less stock), but I'd take the blue in a heartbeat! I need more blue in my wardrobe... especially at that price point!

As far as the reviews go, there is one really negative on the blue and one really positive on the orange set... so take your pick. The negative review on the blue talks it being about a cheap dress, which at $26, it clearly is. So it might be a gamble, because of Overstock.com's awkward no-return policy on this item ("Non-Returnable Item Policy: This item is not returnable unless the problem you experience is the result of our error."), which is what I think upset the shopper more than anything... and she's totally justified in that.

Back to the dresses though... how cute are they for summer? Put them with a cute pair of flip flops (I'm not a fan of platform or tall heels with short dresses) and you've got yourself a winning summer outfit!

Thursday, May 6, 2010

Got Plans Tonight?

If those plans include sitting at home holding down the couch... I've got a better suggestion!

Tre Bella Inc. & North Carolina Museum of Art Hosts
“Altar Ego…An Event All About You” Fashion Show

See the new Museum of Art, some great summer fashions (featuring the latest styles in daywear, resortwear, eveningwear, and bridal fashion), and stunning wedding gowns - while raising money for one of my favorites, Dress for Success Triangle NC!

Tickets to the event are $25.00, $5.00 which goes to Dress for Success AND enters you into the raffle for the items below. For tickets and more info, please visit the Altar Ego website.

Raffle Items
· Manuel Motto $2,000 wedding gown
· “Dining the Triangle” – dinner at Herons, the Fairview & Il Palio
· Dinner in Durham and tickets to The Color Purple
· Mirandolina Amoré package at The O’Henry Hotel plus $50 gift certificate

Durham-based Tre Bella Bridal, known for exceptional quality bridal gowns, is hosting the fashion show from 6:30-10:00 p.m., May 6, 2010 (tonight). The event will take place at the newly remodeled North Carolina Museum of Art in Raleigh.

Pat Nathan, founder of the local Dress for Success Triangle N.C. affiliate, will emcee the event. The not-for-profit organization, which has suited over 700 clients since June 2008, promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, and the career development tools to help them thrive in work and in life.

“With the growing demand for our services, we look forward to spreading the word about how we are helping women in the Triangle area,” said Nathan. “It will be a good opportunity to learn more about how you and your company can help women in the Triangle while seeing current fashion trends and having fun.”


The event will feature wedding event ideas, hors d’oeuvres, a signature drink, amazing raffles, and culminate in a fashion show at 8:00 p.m. Couture bridal gowns by Melissa Sweet, Priscilla of Boston, Angel Sanchez, Junko Yoshioka, Lela Rose, and Manuel Moto will be modeled. Triangle boutiques will feature ready-to-wear clothing including daywear, cocktail and resort clothing.

Attendees will receive swag bags that feature a signature Tre Bella necklace and other goodies from participating sponsors. There will be raffle tickets available, as well as a separate $5 raffle for a change to win a Manuel Mota Wedding Gown. Tickets will not be sold on site, but can be purchased online for $25 at http://www.trebellabridal.com/altarego.htm. They can also be purchased at Magpie (in Durham) and Hadley Emerson (in Chapel Hill). Sponsors include Carolina Wedding Connect by Fox 50; CE Rental; DJ Joe Bunn; Get It Lit; Table of Content; Wavelength Salon; and Platinum Beauty.

PS - Carol Hannah Whitfield of Project Runway fame will be attending the event to do a designer meet & greet and showcase her new bridal line that will be carried by Tre Bella!


Helpful Links:
NewRaleigh.com feature on this event - http://www.newraleigh.com/articles/archive/altar-egoan-event-all-about-you-fashion-show-on-thursday/

Dress for Success Triangle NC affiliate page - http://dressforsuccess.org/affiliate.aspx?sisid=133&pageid=1

Altar Ego event page - http://www.trebellabridal.com/altarego.htm

Tre Bella bridal - http://trebellabridal.com/

Tre Bella florist & gifts - http://www.trebellaflorist.com/