frugal FRIDAY!

Ditto what Shift said about posting...these are weird, crazy times in the working world, and blogging while in the office just isn't as easy as it used to be. But anyway - on to the bargains!

I love the print on this maxi dress - definitely looks more expensive than its $25 price tag. Wonder if I could pull it off with blond hair, or if it would look better on a brunette like Shift? Side note: I got a solid colored maxi dress at Old Navy last weekend for the same price - good stuff there lately!

This dress is a great basic - as a beach/pool coverup or just to throw on to run errands on a hot day. Any dress you can wear a regular bra with (like this one) is a winner in my book. It also comes in a pretty emerald green color that looks way better on Shift than it does on me...I'm just sayin.

Gap: who knew?

I stopped in the Gap today over lunch to pick up a birthday present for the fiance's niece's first birthday (the Baby Gap and Gap store are connected). I hadn't been in a Gap store in awhile, and boy, was I pleasantly surprised! Lots of cute spring stuff, and prices reasonable enough that I (almost) would pay full price for it!

Like this silk blend ruffle top (also in coral, which is cute but requires a tan...)

This open-front cardigan -- I've been hunting for one since last summer - perfect for layering!

And these super-cute sandals -- with a price tag that lets you wear them to and from work without worrying about ruining them.All of the above officially added to my spring wish list!

Brr!

This winter has been especially bad in New York City. Our winters here are usually pretty mild -- it snows maybe once, and it only gets cold enough for me to break out the Uggs maybe once or twice. This year? It's snowed twice in the past week, and I wear my Uggs so much that I'm actually thinking about buying a new pair. WTF?

So I figured maybe I could find some cold-weather bargains since all the stores have in their spring stuff now (which is great when the wind chill is 5 degrees like it is today). What's on my list? One of those furry trapper hats. Don't laugh -- I have a friend who has one that she got at a vintage store, and she swears she is never cold. I'm jealous.

I like this one (ignore the cheesy Bloomingdale's photo) since it's black and would go with all of my coats. Only problem? Even though it's on sale, it's still $225!After googling "fur trapper hat," I found this one at Fur Hat World (don't ask). It's real fur and $150 on sale, which isn't totally horrible.

Finally, if real fur isn't your thing, this hat from Urban Outfitters is cute and cheap at $35. It's not available online anymore, but I bet you could still find it in a store!

forever frugal fridays

This one is easy - when Shift was here last weekend, we hit the big Forever 21 store in Soho on Friday morning before it got crazy and crowded. I got this sweater and, while I initally was a little iffy about spending $30 on a sweater from Forever, I sucked it up and got it. Now, I want it in every color! It's long enough to wear with skinny jeans, not too baggy that you can't wear it over a cute top to go out, but not too tight either. It's just about...perfect.

Let's make a deal

If you have $300 extra in your bank account, this Marc Jacobs bag on sale at Barneys is just about as good as it gets. Original price? $1,175. Sale price? $289. That is just INSANE!
Sadly, I think the fiance is finished with his Christmas and birthday shopping for me. Boo.

If I had a million dollars, part two.

I'd get the fiance portraits of our dog for by the super-talented Erin Vey for Christmas. What better way to document man's best friend, when man loves his dog almost as much as he loves his fiancee? This (taking dog portraits) just might also be my dream job, other than owning a store with Shift...

If I had a million dollars...

Shift normally doesn't like me to post about weddings...but hear me out.

If I had a million dollars, I'd get married in New York City, fly my family in from Indiana and pay for their hotel rooms. I've lived in NYC for four years now, and I love the idea of a New York wedding in a gorgeous loft space, with incredible food and entertainment. And you can't ask for a better backdrop for wedding photos than New York! Taxis, Times Square, the Brooklyn Bridge, the skyline... Since nobody lives in NYC forever (well, nobody I know, anyway), it would be such a great way to document your time here and to show your kids that once upon a time, mommy and daddy lived in the greatest city in the world.

A friend of mine just got married in "the city," as we call it, and her wedding was nothing short of fabulous. She has fantastic taste and it looked like everyone just had so much fun. Here are a few photos from her wedding, courtesy of her awesome photographer Robert Sukrachand.

What a weekend.

We had a great Thanksgiving weekend with the fiance's family. There was lots of food, lots of good wine, football, napping, and laughs. But then Lucy, our 9-month-old French Bulldog puppy, woke us up at 3am on Saturday morning, shaking and coughing so hard she threw up. The fiance thought maybe she had eaten something bad and wasn't concerned. I was afraid she had eaten something really bad and was bleeding internally or something (I'm a worrier, what can I say). She wasn't any better later that morning, so we left early and took her to an animal hospital by where the fiance's dad lives. Long story short, Lucy has pneumonia - since when do dogs get pneumonia? The good news is that we brought her in before it got really bad, so they were able to treat her. The bad news is that she was in the hospital all weekend (that's her above, in her little isolation unit with an IV of drugs in her little paw) and it cost about a bajillion dollars. But at least she's on the mend, sleeping it off at home. Needless to say, after my slightly stressful weekend, I was almost happy to head back to work this morning! Almost.

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!

You know it's the holidays when...

Yesterday, heading to the subway after work, I noticed that Bloomingdale's already has their holiday lights up. Today, I saw people walking around with red holiday Starbucks cups. Kind of weird that it's only four days into November and it's already Christmas madness...Start your shopping!

hello, lover.

how amazing would these blue satin louboutins be for my "something blue" for the wedding? love love love.

I love a good sale section.

Shopping at J.Crew is tricky. On one hand, you know that if you wait long enough, everything will go on sale. On the other hand, by the time it goes on sale your size might be long gone (as is often the case for me). So once you know something is on sale, you have to either run to a store asap, or call the store to ask them to put things on hold for you (I highly recommend the latter!). All the sale stuff today was an extra 20% off, so it was extra hard to say no!I love this cardigan and would buy it in every color if I could. The ruffles just make it so girly. It was $55 marked down from $88!
It's always hard to find a good sweater dress that isn't too clingy in the hip area, and this one isn't -- but it runs ridiculously large. I need to find an XS, so maybe that will be a project for the weekend...it's worth it, since it's now $80 marked down from $150! And then no more shopping. At least until Chicago :)

worthy cause + shopping = everyone wins!

I just read that Banana Republic is doing a promotion October 16-26 that gives you 30% any regular priced item if you bring in a gently used sweater or coat to donate to Goodwill. I know I definitely have a few sweaters in my closet I don't wear anymore, and maybe the discount will motivate me to get rid of a few of them. Banana Republic has some great, Mad Men-inspired ladylike dresses that are on my wish list for fall...

This last one isn't retro-inspired, but would be so cute with a wide black belt, black tights and black patent-leather pumps. Love!

Another reason why Indiana is the best...

There's a great Indiana-based stationery designer named Jane Boatman Geller who makes gorgeous classic-with-a-preppy-twist paper goods for her company, Boatman Geller, that are just to die for. I have a set of monogrammed toile notecards from her that I got for Christmas one year, and I rationed them out since I loved them so much! So when I read my daily email from DailyCandy, I was not at all surprised to see that this adorable new stationery line, carrie and tuck, was from the folks at Boatman Geller! How cute is this:
Love love love. Mom: one word for you. CHRISTMAS! :)

need it. now.

I love monograms, and I love organizing. So naturally, these monogrammed file folders are calling my name. They just happen to be ridiculously expensive. But how cute are they?!

Dang those indecisive genes.

While in Charleston, we hit King Street and did some shopping. We usually have lots of luck in J.Crew, and this trip was no different -- only that I hesitated on buying a $98 cotton skirt and am now totally kicking myself for it since the skirt is now sold out online and in pretty much all the stores. Oh, paintbrush floral Belle skirt, where are you?

It's not even online at all anymore. I would wear it with flats, pumps and boots and tights once it gets cold out. Might have to see if my little personal shopper friend at the SoHo store can track it down for me. It's worth the price if it haunts you, right? Right?

Can I register for it?

That's been my question lately for everything I need but don't want to buy. Can I register for a vacuum? Our dustbuster just can't keep up with the dog hair anymore. What about towels? I'd love to not have to do laundry so much. Or my current favorite -- luggage. We've been doing lots of traveling this summer, and my luggage (which dates back to my freshman year of college, I do believe) has seen better days. It's still hanging on -- gotta love Samsonite -- but I'd love a new set. Here are some of my favorites:

I don't know much about luggage, but Tumi is supposed to be one of the best kinds out there. This kind is molded so you know your stuff will never get squished -- and the yellow would be hard to miss on the baggage carousel!
This blue one from Victorinox is pretty too -- and expandable, which is very important if you plan on doing shopping wherever you're going (which is almost always true for me).

Who knew that Diane Von Furstenburg made luggage? Ack. Diane, I expected more from you. Maybe you should stick to wrap dresses, those are much cuter.

But I seriously might need this:

Yes, a hand-held luggage scale! Not that I ever have problems with overweight luggage. Right.