Overwhelmed

I dont know how it is possible, but literally every time I get to the 8th or 9th of a new month I find myself with approximately $200.00 in my checking account that is supposed to last me until the 15th.  I mean.... how is this possible?  I recently told some of my girlfriends that I might need to try hypnotherapy to solve my little tiny itsy bitsy problem with shopping... I want to save now more than ever, especially because Mr. S and I would love to be able to buy a house at some point in the not-too-crazy-far-off-distant future, but for some reason it is virtually impossible for me to not shop at least a little!  I mean, almost everything I buy is a good deal... I utilize Gilt frequently, love the sale pages of shopbop and revolve, and always try to find a coupon code before clicking "purchase" for anything!  Alas... here I am, its the 8th of July, and I find myself with $202 in my checking account once again.  Rats.  This means that I am not going to be able to purchase these Kat boots by Loeffler Randall (which are totally summer boots and I can imagine 2934785 outfits they would go with perfectly, especially because it is FREEZING in Los Angeles in July, which makes no sense), this pleated flower dress by Halston Heritage (which would be amazing for one of the 4 weddings I will be attending in the next month since it is summery but not white, which everyone knows you are not supposed to wear to a wedding, and yet almost all the dresses that are perfect for a summer wedding seem to only be made in the color white latetly - annoying), this Marti Long Flap Wallet by See by Chloe (no discussion necessry.. so cute), this Paisley Maxi dress by Madewell (which, incidentally, would be amazing with the Loeffler boots that I also cannot purchase), this insanely pretty and elegant dress by Lela Rose (which, since it is white, would not be appropriate for a wedding, as mentioned above), or any of these scarves also by Madewell that would liven up any outfit. 

currently in my shopping cart: plaid and pyramids

I am TRYING to be responsible and grown-up (after all, I am one of the "marrieds" now...) and NOT shop very much and save money... which is why these items are in my shopping cart on shopbop.com and are not currently being shipped to my apartment :(  Mr. S - if you are reading this, I think you should be very proud of me (despite the recent purchase that we discussed last night that was ON SALE and will be used for one of the 923487 weddings we are going to this summer!! :)  Anyway, these earrings by Carol are so cute (my friend RT has the smooth version and they are adorable) and this plaid tank by Whitley Kros is also ON SALE and is a PERFECT match for a pair of shorts or mini skirt... or even jeans and a light sweater for a summer evening bbq or something... so cute. 

its summer, which means its time for..... ROMPERS!

My friend EB is already obsessed and completely hooked on the sassy summer get-up which is the romper, and I think she has a self-imposed ban when it comes to entering an Urban Outfitters store at this point... I totally understand the obsession and bought some cute rompers for my honeymoon before I left.  They really are awesome for the warm beach / pool days.  Here are some of my favorites:

By Tibi:

By Ever:

A La Urban Outfitters:

Hawks by Geren Ford:

Silence and Noise:

Lucca Couture:

Dolce Vita:

beads, lace and leger

what does one do when one cannot afford a beautiful dress but cannot stop thinking about it? well, that's easy, one uses her mouse to right-click, save, and download a photo of said dress to post on her blog so that she never looses track of it... such is the case with this beaded-lace cap-sleeve dress by Herve Leger... so pretty... and sooo.... expensive... haha.

love me some linen fringe

ahhhh net-a-porter... love this site.  the items featured on this site have just the right amount of variety while still showing valuable discernment on the part of the buyers.  for example, this fringe linen-blend mini skirt by Vanessa Bruno is definitely something that can be played up or down, for day or night, with heels or flats... and at the moment, can be purchased on sale for about half of its original price.  if you are looking for something in particular at any given moment, net-a-porter is definitely a good place to start.  

KNT by Kova and T

I dont know when exactly this started, but Urban Outfitters has some insanely cute items these days... they have also launched some lines by designers that I just love, like their line KNT by Kova and T.  This dress for Urban by KNT is so cute and looks perfect for summer... and its only $98!  What is not to love about that?!?

Drafty Dresses

I am really liking the open back dresses lately... the one by Pringle 1815 that I posted below (and ended up wearing during the rehearsal for my wedding... love that dress :) and this one by Thayer are both SO cute and provide a nice breeze when the temperature heats up...

the perfect casual summer t-shirt dress by A.L.C.

I have a few upcoming trips to the more middle states (Texas (yee-haw!!!!) and Indiana) where anything but a t-shirt dress would probably be too much clothing... this dress by A.L.C. is a must-have for my summer adventures...

Death by Booties

ugh... DIE! I love these... totally impractical? yes. totally necessary? yes. Report Signature gets an A+ with this new bootie.

Fab Fedoras

If you wear hats you probably know about the genius that is Eugenia Kim... These are two of my favorite EK fedoras... one of them is safely on shopbop and not in my closet and the other, well lets just say that when my friend AN sent me to Arcade boutique on Melrose to find a dress for my rehearsal dinner, I did NOT find a dress but instead walked out with a Eugenia Kim Fedora that cost pretty much what the dress should have cost.... It was one of those moments when you say to yourself "shoot. shoot shoot shoot. I know I will not stop thinking about that darn hat once I leave here and I might as well just buy it.  shoot."  And then I bonded with the really cute sales girl by introducing her to the best wedding blogs (she had just gotten engaged and didnt even know about stylemepretty yet!).

Summer Shades

So far this summer my top pics for tinting my tips are:

Essie's Haute as Hello and Essie's Vermillionaire, both from Essie's Summer Collection
Essie's Boat House
and from OPI's Hong Kong Collection, Hot & Spicy and A Good Man-darin is Hard to Find (pictured in order).  Also - here is a pic of me wearing Essie's Haute as Hello on my fingers, though I did this manicure the inexpensive way (at home), and thus the lack of perfection must be excused ;)

To my friend AG (perhaps the only one who will ever read this?), which one are you going to try first??

xo

Marriage, honeymoon and nailpolish

Hello from Bora Bora!! I am now blogging as a married instead if an engaged and am actually on my honeymoon at the moment... Three days left til we return to reality...the perfect time to blog about nailpolish!! Essie has a few new summer colors out that are great, but the two I am obsessed with are Haute as Hello and Vermillionaire. If either of these were present in the spa at our hotel I would alreadybe testing them out, but I opted with a fun bright opi coral shade for the rest of our trip, which the spa dis have in stock (though I don't think they are used to guests choosing the more orange colors here -like in Portland according to LN - and the manicurist gave me a strange look when I picked it, though two coats unto my toes she examined it again and said "oh, it is nice" in her lovely french accent).

Pringle... not the potato chip

Wow I LOVE this dress... so feminine and a throw back to another decade.  I also just love the colors of this dress.  I dont own anything by Pringle 1815 YET, but this may be aquisition numero uno (if I can find my size...).

Wham, Bam, thank you ZAM (Zambos & Siega, that is)

So cute!! Such a great handbag and a pretty darn good price too ($130).  This bag by Zambos & Siega would be great for day or nighttime, and I think it would look especially good with a pair of chunky espadrilles, some Dita sunglasses and a mojito, or maybe a large glass of pinot grigio, or maybe a vodka soda with a splash of lemonade (which is what my pilates instructor instructed me to drink this weekend instead of anything with large amounts of sugar... good thinking Mark :)  Anyway, got a little off topic there for a minute... but in staying off topic, if you are going to palm springs for any reason you really should try staying at the Parker http://www.theparkerpalmsprings.com/index.php, I ABsolutely LOved it and wish I was still there.  Here is a photo of my vodka soda with a splash of lemonade and another of my "gams" as my friend AW put it when we were relaxing by the pool... SOO nice out that day.   Anyway, I wish I had this bag this weekend because it would have gone perefctly with my outfits and the surroundings, and, of course, the beverages :)

Twitsty Pumps

I would LOVE my bridesmaids to wear shoes like this... SO pretty and feminine and a little vintage-y... would be perfecto.  These ones by Elizabeth and James are a little pricier than what I am looking for though, dont the Olsen twins know that some of us are on a budget!?!

I am feeling very bridal

I have less than 2 months til the big day and for some reason I am SO drawn to white dresses lately... I already have THE white dress, but there are so many great ones out there that are WAY less formal and so cute.  I want something fabulous to wear when we go to the airport the day after the wedding to go on our honeymoon (tahiti... so excited; probably wont come back...).  Maybe this white dress by Twelfth St. by Cynthia Vincent would do the trick?

White Hot

Here is a dress that the bride could wear to her own shower... or maybe for a night on the town at the bachelorette party?  I mean, Rebecca Minkoff did call this The White Hot Dress... maybe I can justify this one to wear out one night at my bachelorette party (it is coming up pretty soon here and is in cabo san lucas, mexic... SO excited for margaritas!)... so cute.

Its Wedding Season... Who DOESNT Need A Bridal Shower Dress?

Two of my mother's dearest friends hosted a bridal shower for me earlier this month, it was just lovely and I could not have asked for a more wonderful day.  One of my mom's friends hosted the event at her beautiful home outdoors on their patio with a great view.  Which got me thinking, there really are certain dresses that are just perfect for outdoor or garden bridal showers... like this yellow one by Marc by Marc Jacobs.  Its the perfect weight, length, and lets face it, that yellow is gorgeous and perfect for a bridal shower.

In The Nude

Wow this is gorgeous.  I LOVE the open back and the detail on the top... they are out of my size, which is definitely a good thing right now (boooo).  This little nude number is by Porter Gray.  Who knew nude could look so nice?

Straps... and no straps

Summer is right around the corner, and that means STRAPPY SANDALS!  YAY!  I remember the first pair of cognac leather strappy heels that my mother bought me when I was in college... they were Anne Kline and they had braided criss cross straps on the toes and then the same wrapped around my ankle... I just found them in my closet the other day and they are completely worn out... which means it must be time for a new pair, right??  Anyway, these gorgeous strappys by Sergio Rossi and Giuseppe Zanotti are some of my favorites I have seen recently...

And then of course there are some very spring time pumps that caught my eye too... also by Mr. Rossi....

T minus 2.5 months...

I have now gotten to the point that when people ask me "when are you getting married?" and I respond "May 22," without fail, the asker's eyes widen and the immediately say "wow, that is coming up SOON!" or something else along those lines, but that definitely includes the word "SOON!"  As if I need to be reminded!! haha.  I am very excited about the big day, dont get me wrong, but I have so much I still need to do, between the little details (gifts for the wedding party) and the slightly larger details (furniture rentals... I REALLY want to rent items from Fete Accompli http://www.feteaccomplievents.com/index.html... but alas, the budget is already stretched pretty much to its breaking point...), and with still needing to do real work for my real job...and anyway - this is just a long excuse for not blogging (though I am not sure if anyone really reads this blog anyway? haha oh well). 

I was prompted to write today because I had a chance run in with a jacket that stole my heart.  I was popping into Barneys Co-Op at the Grove on saturday during the 35 minutes I had between pilates and my appointment with the woman who is doing my wedding makeup to try to find something cute to wear during Mr. S's and my engagement photo shoot that was on Sunday, and, after finding two adorable skirts:

The first by Opening Ceremony:

And the second by Ever:

Then I ran into this jacket by Helmut Lang:

On me the sleeves are normal length haha... and frankly, this photo does not do it justice...I told the lovely sales person that I had an unhealthy obsession with the jacket and he said he completely understood.  Honestly, WHY does it have to cost $500!?!?! grrrr.  but, I still love it and I am just going to have to lust after it... the credit card is still frozen. arg.