forever frugal fridays

i'm thankful for forever 21...fashion (and knock offs) on a budget. Here are my picks for the week...

(looks just like the $250 bcbg clutch...)

eyes over africa

these photos, from eyes over africa, feature aerial shots taken from a south to north helicopter trip over the country...amazing!





by michael poliza (via elle deco)

lamp love

this paro lamp is oh. so. pretty...


i figured this gray day needed a little light.

Beyonce does it again!

This is my new favorite song! Beyonce killed it at the American Music Awards last night with her new song "Single Ladies" -- tell me this doesn't get stuck in your head!

I still can't figure out how to embed a video (Shift, help a girl out), so here's the link - worth clicking on!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MmJ9dccBv-Y

Forever frugal Fridays.

Better late than never, right?

I remember back in the day, before there was a Forever 21 in Indianapolis, half of the things I would get Shift for Christmas would come from Forever. We were both in college and poor, and Forever would save the day with cute bags and jewelry. Ah, the good old days. Since statement necklaces are big this year in the fashion world, these would make great gifts:

forever frugal

i'm out and about today so here are my quick picks for forever frugal fridays...

these cardiology cards are bright, simple and straight to the point...


their tag is "heartfelt correspondence"...how cute is that?

headband love

i'm going through a big headband phase right now...and luckily that's a trendy phase to have. check out these adorable headbands from jennifer behr

bring the outside in...

with the cold weather, holidays and snow looming ahead, a great way to beat the gray is bring some green into your apartment...i'm a huge fan of forcing bulbs. it's a virtually fool proof way to grow flowers in your apartment...
click here for a martha "how to" lesson on forcing bulbs

Baby it's cold outside.

I hate cold weather. Lucy hates cold weather. But Lucy also hates her winter coat that we got her. When we put it on her, she acts like a little kid in a snowsuit that can't move her arms. So we're thinking she might need a sweater. Preferably one that doesn't cost as much as a sweater for me.

I like this cable-knit sweater (in a different color). It has sort of a weird turtleneck thing going on, but it might hide her neck rolls, so maybe that's a good thing.

I also like this fairisle sweater from JCrew's Crewmutts. But I do wish they had a photo of it on a dog, it's hard to tell what it looks like on. It says to size up for "stout" dogs - bad sign.

This one might be a winner! It's Polo (yes, as in Ralph Lauren, don't laugh), but it's on sale. And it comes in lots of colors. It also happens to be cashmere (do dogs even like cashmere?). I'll take it!

Christmastime is here...in November.

Out of nowhere, it feels like winter in New York City. Nevermind that it was 66 degrees over the weekend, we had snow flurries this morning and I had to break out the gloves and fully-lined work pants. But I digress.In New York City, it's fall, then you blink and it's full-blown holiday season. The Rockefeller Center Christmas tree arrived last week (although it's not lit up yet). All the stores have their holiday windows up. As I was leaving for work this morning the maintenance guys were putting up the Christmas trees in our lobby. Yes, it's still mid-November and Thanksgiving is next week. But even though it's cold and crowded with tourists, I still love New York City at Christmastime.

It's romantic and nostalgic and I can't wait to bake cookies and decorate our apartment. And get a tree - even though the fiance doesn't know it yet. :)

cheap chic

when (and if) i ever get married, i love how simple a baby's breath bouquet looks. understated and beautiful...

the next two are farmers market ideas from real simple. pretty bundles of flowers that you could easily use to make your own budget friendly bouquets...


(link via cup-a-jo:)

forever frugal fridays

we finally made it to the end of the week...which of course means it's time for forever frugal fridays!

my classy pics for the week...



yes barclay, the shoes are intense BUT i think they are fun:)

ray lamontagne

my new music favorite...ray lamontagne.

"Some singer/songwriters (think Paul Westerberg and Elliott Smith) develop their world-weariness through the unforgiving trials of passing years and the heart-breaking grind of the music business. Others (Van Morrison, Neil Young) seem to have sprung from out of nowhere with the fully formed soul of a life well-lived. Ray LaMontagne belongs with the latter...

LaMontagne has crafted a handful of quietly devastating meditations on life and love--and delivered them with a raspy vocal all his own. The simple, mournful lyrics of "Burn," "Shelter" and the title track recall a Hank Williams ballad, and the reserved production by alt-country/americana genius Ethan Johns (the Jayhawks, Ryan Adams, Kings of Leon) make this a great disc for smoky Saturday nights, and rainy Sunday mornings." (amazon review)

for the televisions lovers...

while i was home over the weekend, my dad introduced me to hulu, an internet site where you can watch television and movies for free. it takes all the tv you love (the office, greys, family guy, the daily show) and organizes them by genre, recent posts, favorites, etc.

it's way easier than surfing the internet and much better quality than youtube...

love!

Darn you, Oprah, and your influential show.

Any hopes I had of posting this week were ruined by one person: Oprah. Our product was on the Oprah show on Tuesday, and it's been mass hysteria ever since. Now it's meetings about Oprah, conference calls about Oprah, meetings about conference calls about Oprah. Thank goodness I took tomorrow off before the Oprah craziness happened. Now I just have to make it through today...

i love these gold prints from the keep calm gallery...



the first one has become my mantra...

Sometimes you just gotta love Indiana.

From CBS.com, via Jezebel:

"Indiana state police said that after a mother was arrested for drunken driving, the three relatives who came to pick up her 1-year-old son also had all been drinking. A state trooper stopped a minivan for speeding early Saturday on U.S. 30 in Schererville in northwestern Indiana. He arrested the 24-year-old woman on drunken driving charges. The boy's father arrived later to pick him up, but officers determined he was intoxicated and also arrested him on a drunken driving charge. Police said the boy's grandparents then arrived. Both of them also had been drinking, state police said, but the grandmother who was driving was not over the legal limit, so officers escorted them home with the child."

Thank goodness at least grandma was sober! And the article headline? "A Family That Drinks Together...Gets DUIs" :)

Autumn in New York...

The Billie Holliday song? Anyone? Anyway, fall in New York City is one of my favorite times of year. It's crisp and cool and perfect for wandering the streets with a coffee or hot chocolate to keep your hands warm. So this past Sunday the fiance and I took Lucy for her first trip to Central Park to see the fall colors before they disappear. It was a gorgeous, perfect fall day, and Lucy loved every minute of it. Especially the leaves.
When we finally got home later that day, she slept for probably four hours straight. All that running around and jumping in leaves is exhausting!

tartan

all this cold weather has me bundling up...in tartan to be exact. i'm in love with this hot trend and seeing it everywhere...

skinny burberry "muffler" scarf ...

tartan dress from Vivienne Westwood

mini skirt from gap

tartan pillows from william sonoma home

I'm here, I'm here.

But don't hold your breath. I'm going to disappear again. I spent the weekend cleaning furiously in preparation for a crazy week. My dad is in town (yay!) Wednesday through Friday for work, the fiance's cousin is crashing on our couch on Thursday, and his entire family takes over NYC Friday through Sunday for his stepfather's 70th birthday party. It will be lots of fun, lots of good food and catching up. I'm lucky that the fiance's family is really great -- all of them. But I'm tired just thinking about it!

If only my mom was coming too...there's a Lela Rose sample sale later this week that's calling her name! :)

forever frugal fridays...

(i know it's saturday but it still counts)

holiday parties and news years eve are right around the corner...get your fancy on with these dresses from forever

This one's for Shift.

Hang in there, sister! Loves!

President Obama.

Has a nice ring to it, no? Everyone is a bit groggy here today from staying up late to watch election results and speeches...and while the East Coast is genarally pretty hardcore Democratic, people here are no less excited about Obama's victory. I couldn't stay awake to watch Obama's speech (and am so jealous that Shift got to see it in person -- that's the kind of thing she'll tell her kids about someday), but got teary-eyed this morning when I saw parts of it on TV.

I walked by probably six different places to try to find a copy of the NYTimes (below) to send my mom so she could see the coverage, but it was sold out everywhere. Good thing I could snag a copy from the office. :)

i still have chills

i stood in line for an hour yesterday to vote...it seemed only fair that i stand outside for four hours to watch everything...everything...change.

i still have chills.

we waited in lines, climbed trees, sat on shoulders, took pictures, laughed with strangers and chanted. we held our breaths and 10 pm, we screamed. we cried. we hugged.

the most unreal part of it all was watching a crowd of hundreds of thousands of people hold their breath as obama talked...you could have heard a pin drop.



(watching the city shut down was also amazing...every street was closed with wall to wall people)