Look What I've Found:

Have you ever used Bare Minerals by Bare Essentials? If you haven't you really should. I have been using the Bare Mineral powder as foundation and I am now a strict convert. No foundation hits my skin unless it's Bare Minerals. I could go on QVC and sell this stuff it's so great. I have EXTREMELY sensitive skin and it reacts to everything by breaking out. Oh yes, I get to feel like a puberty stricken teenager quite often. My favorite? When I go on vacation ANYWHERE, my skin reacts after about 4 days. It's frustrating and embarassing. I can barely look people in the eye when my face isn't looking ok. I guess my confidence in my apperance affects me more that I would like to admit. However, since I have been using Bare Minerals, not clogging my pores with a colored lotion that never did even my skin tone out very well, my skin has been pretty darn manageable. The best part? It even works with my freckles! I use the "Fair" and "Fairly Light" powder mixed together. Each of the larger containers runs about $25, but lasts forever! I buy no more than 4 per year (1 of each color twice a year.) That I can actually afford. The Bare Essentials store is great, as is the selection at Sephora. I have a punch card at the Bare Essentials store (every time you spend 20$ you get a punch) and over the past 2 years, I have received $10 off quite a few times. Gotta love a discount on stuff you're already going to buy anyway, right? At Sephora this week, this awesome set above is $39. It includes lots of goodies, pretty colors and all are great for the upcoming warm temperatures.

This set contains:
- 0.03 oz bareMinerals Glee Radiance All-Over Face Color infused with Happybelle

- 0.02 oz bareMinerals Euphoria Eyecolor infused with Happybelle
- 0.02 oz bareMinerals Happiness Eyecolor infused with Happybelle
- 0.01 oz bareMinerals Hallucinate Liner Shadow infused with Happybelle
- 0.33 oz bareMinerals Flawless Definition Mascara in Black
- 0.14 oz bareMinerals 100% Natural Lipgloss in Berry Rush
- bareMinerals Feather Light Brush in Limited-Edition Hot Pink
- bareMinerals Double-Ended Complete Tapered Shadow Brush in Limited-Edition Hot Pink
- Happy Clutch
What it is:

A nine-piece set featuring products infused with mood-boosting Happybelle, a complex containing a natural plant extract believed to mimic the effect of endorphins and induce a sense of happiness.

And who couldn't use a boost of happiness :)

While we're at it...Since I'm not shopping right now, I am trying to curb the addiction by "window" shopping. Unfortunately, I found these adorable wedge Wallies. They are so ugly, they're cute. Julie over at Orchid Grey wears some Matiko wedges similar to these that she totally rocks. I am looking at this style in a new light. They are pretty darned cute, with the right ensemble of course. And you know, I am a sucker for a closed toe shoe (all shoes really, it doesn't matter if a cover exists over the toes or not - I'm just being realistic here people.) I had a pair of desert shoes in junior high (similar to a wallie) and they were so comfy. Not necessarily fashion forward though, more"surfer chic" than anything. These with the wedge add a totally new dimension. I found 'em on amazon for next to nothing. I might have to beg the hubby to buy these for me, that's not cheating - is it? I think it might be. So then call me a cheater :) LOL I'm obsessed.

Steve Madden online is having their "friends and family" discount this weekend and I browsed and found these beauties:

Isn't that always the case, I find awesomeness I cannot own? All I can do is hope these go on sale at the exact time I have the moolah to make them mine. This is the sexiest copy of the Jeffrey Campbell wedges (and the copies) that I was trying to force myself to like...but I just didn't- the black I have been seeing this style in is just too stark for me. I don't think they work all that great. (Don't get me wrong, if you own it, you can wear anything but I have only seen about a handful of ladies successful at the black version of this shoe.) Now that I have spied these babies. I won't forget about them until they are in the back of my closet after many years of use :)

*sigh* i will have stylish dreams tonight :)

I Thought Today Would Never End...

Today was one of those days, a day where i just wanted it to be OVER. Or really, just not be at work all day. As I sat on my couch this morning before I left for the day, I let out a huge sigh and made a MASSIVE mistake... I sat back and got comfortable. That's one of the worst things I can do in the morning. I am so not a morning person and I need all energy I can muster to set up a caffeine drip I.V. line into my arm and drag my feet out to the car. Morning outfit shots? Never gonna happen. I barely get out of the house on time, much less take an extra 10 minutes to fiddle.

Of course while sitting contemplating the day, that little nagging feeling, that pops up every time I open my eyes from sleep -"Do I have to go anywhere? Can't I just stay home and play?", came out in full force.

Then I looked down at my dogs and cats and really wanted to stay home with their precious faces even more...But alas, I have responsibilities. Darn it, to being an adult and not independently wealthy.

The outcome for today? I made it to work, all 8 hours. Yay me.

I know, not much of an accomplishment, since I do it daily, but shoot, I feel like giving my self props today. Hope your days weren't as long as mine :)

So that was LOST, huh? Hmmmm....

May one main comment about the "LOST" series finale... Lame. I haven't ever really been a fervent LOST fan, my hubby, however totally digs it. So that means, we've been watching it for 6 years and I have been lost (no pun intended) for the majority. I knew they weren't going to tie up all the ends because, come on, some of that stuff was totally unreal. But I guess the ending was supposed to loosely explain that. (Not really, though.)

I don't have much to say, but isn't this a fun dress?It's such a pretty eyelet. I couldn't believe my luck, I was super thankful for the person who got rid of it so it could become my little treasure. It's kinda like a short mu mu. It's one of those dresses I can wear when I am feeling on the larger side. AND it has pockets! Yay.

The one downside is, the thread of the eyelet has some large stitches. That pretty pattern is easy to catch. I had to fix about 5 of them so far. I am willing and able to do it for the life of dress. Especially since it was on the more "expensive" side, a whole $6.80 at the S.Army many weeks ago.

The Inspired Skirt

   
When I saw this skirt in Target, I took a sharp left off my attempted "direct" path to get necessities. It was like a tractor beam pulling me in. It came in a bunch of different prints, some cute, some just totally 90s and the fit was great. But I had only come into Target to get some shoe inserts and a baby gift and I made myself a strict budget on my way in. I left the store without the adorable skirt that looked like Easter on hallucinogens.
I went a whole week without it, but I was putting outfits together in my head with it. I didn't even own it yet, so I had to make it so. Then I had to justify the purchase so that's where these pictures came from. My hubby thinks I'm nuts, but he married me, he should already know this.

I think my favorite look is the skirt as a top. The colors are just so great, they had to get closer to my face :) I normally don't do strapless, but ever since the clear bra straps have come out, I have been ownin' the looks sans straps. Thanks Victoria's Secret - you charge an arm and a leg, but I have finally found a great "strapless" bra.

I totally dig the dark turquoise-ish skirt against the corals, pinks and periwinkles. It adds a bit of an edge with the black tights too. Now where to go in this get-up? I might wear it out on date night this weekend maybe, I don't know. I'm so lucky I have so much to chose from. I've been feeling quite inspired lately. I think it's the turning weather, even though it has been so strangely unpredictable.

Seriously though, I found the turquoisey skirt at Urban Outfitters - $10! Darn it, I love those sales!

 My husband got tired of me being outside not involving him, so he decided to start cleaning the gutters. Um, what?! He's so funny. That was his way of hanging out with me while doing this picture stuff. He was up on the roof cracking jokes and being an overall goof-ball. We're both the youngest in our families, so we're totally relentless in getting each other's attention. You know, since we've been doing it our whole lives with our respective older siblings. lol What can I say? We're made for each other :)

For real, I need to buy stock in Target. I buy so much from there. These socks are Target awesomeness too. I completely adore design, they look like they are quilted. They are super soft and comfy. I wish they came in other colors - black, slate, navy? Hello! That would be the BEST! *sigh* Anyone know where I can get those colors for $10? I'm on the lookout. 

 There's lots going on this week. At work, our new primetime line-up came out, which hopefully will go over well with viewers. My coworkers and I are all looking forward  about new stuff to talk about/make fun of. Yay, I'm excited about all of our favorite upcoming shows to come back on. However, for now, my t.v. has been practically hijacked by video game playing. The game Red Dead Redemption came out Tuesday and my hubby has been looking forward to it for a couple months now. It's a pretty crazy game and kinda disturbing -in a couple different ways. 1.) It's so crazy how far games have come from the old days. Of course you can tell it's a video game, but they've made them look so real. I remember when Atari was THE game system to have. Holy Mackerel I feel old. 2.) It's a Western cowboy style game where you have to get points doing gross stuff - like killing and skinning animals for their pelts (so unnecessary, really!) and other various terribly icky activities of the old west that I won't bore you with. It's just ewww. 3.) It's like a mini train wreck, you don't' want to watch it, but you can't help it (except the gross stuff). I marvel at the technology and at some points, the story itself. The games with a good plot are always mildly enjoyable to watch. 

So anyhoo, there's a wordy post with a plethora of pics.

and here is the series of shots in succession of my reaction to my hubby making a joke from the roof as I was taking these outfit shots. I like 'em so I thought I would share...

*All said purchases in above post were purchased over three weeks ago.  I have not gone against my new lil' edict of $10 a paycheck to goodies. Just thought you should know, I AM actually trying :)

White Jeans

I bought these suckers about a decade ago. I honestly can't believe I've kept these for this long. I couldn't possibly get rid of them, I just love the fit. In college I lived in Goleta, a little college suburb in Santa Barbara. I went to the UC there and I had an Express credit card. I liked the styles, but the cut of the clothes never quite fit right. All the tops were about 2 to 3 inches too short on my torso, not a great look for me in retrospect, but I had no true thifting outlet. The thrift stores in downtown Santa Barbara are totally overpriced and over picked, at least they were back in the day. Remember, I did the college thing more years ago than I can believe really. But shoot, I digress. The one thing that did fit me well were the pants at Express. I love it when I have the option of getting pants in LONG! yay! Pant length is always an issue with my size. I feel like 5'9" isn't really that tall, but when it comes to pants, it must be.

White pants are notoriously enlarging, but I think at my present size, they are OK. My only true main concern when wearing them is STAINS! I just know if I wear them to work I'll have a healthy sized coffee stain by the end of the day, possibly even ink from a clandestinely leaking pen, I surprise myself sometimes. I come home with the strangest ink stains on my hands. I guess I really push my writing implements to the max. Der....

Wanna know what else I dig? This belt! I perforations are just so pretty through the red leather. I need to find other goods to wear it with. When I bought it, I thought it was going to be easy to style, but it's actually proving to be a bit difficult. You'll see it again, I'm determined to make it work with other goodies.

This weekend was fairly uneventful. I prepped for an upcoming mural project and we went for a drive to explore a place here and there. Other than that, we didn't do much. My hubby and I did enjoy each other's company however. :) I love weekends! Now I just have to bide my time until the next one. 4 more days - go!

A Hat and Scarf

Clearance time at Target, means more fun for me. I found some fun accessories on sale, the scarf vividly reminds me of one my mom put in our dress-up drawer as kids when she cycled it out of her wardrobe rotation, so yet again, I couldn't resist. I say that waaaaay too much. But I've made a recent resolve. One item, under $10 per paycheck. That is going to be difficult some days, but I am going to try it for a month and a half. That's 3 paychecks which doesn't seem so bad, but the time frame, 6 weeks - yikes. No more little trips to the thrift store to say, "I couldn't resist" and pull out a $20. It should be quite helpful for the family fund, too (as well as curbing a shopping addiction.) We found some perfect bedroom furniture and we need to start doing some serious saving. We found this family owned furniture store with great stuff. The prices were what we liked the best. It was beautiful furniture, some great fabrics and a wide selection. Strangely, it wasn't a warehouse store, for the quantity, so it felt kinda homey and they were so nice. We were walking around for an hour "oooo-ing" and "ahhhh-ing" and they didn't bother us a bunch or do a hard sell, which we hate. We weren't going to buy anything that day anyway so - good read. Oh yeah, they have Lay-away! Who still has lay-away for goodness sake. Crazy! but awesome.

These Steve Madden's totally called my name from the store. I looked in the window when I was passing and I got sucked in - tractor beam. I saw another pair of wooden heeled platforms that I liked, but I wasn't totally sold on the overall look, but these babies were perfect. A bit high for me, but hey, I'm not going to go for a hike in them. I wanted a pair that looked totally 70s, dark tops, wooden or jute bottoms, wedge or heel and BAM! here these were on the sale shelf. $29.99.

Damn it Steve! You make it a practical necessity that I purchase them. But I am a happy little camper :)

*I think I already know what I am going to look for with my $10 next paycheck - sunless tanning lotion for the legs. Pasty is not a great look for me.

A Picnic Weekend

And finally a day I could wear my favorite romper. We didn't know what else to do Sunday a couple of weeks ago, so we decided to go for a drive. We grabbed some goodies from the grocery store and made our way up to a lookout at the top of the valley. There's a pretty view of the valley, the mountains and the ocean. On a poor air quality day - yuck, you see all the smog and haze just sitting above the world below. So that's what all the traffic I sit in everyday does...Lame. I hate that I contribute, but the public transpo around here sucks. 

We had a nice time together goofing around. He tried to take some pictures of me to post, but um, none really worked. So here I am in my traditional setting, blah.

I can't get enough of this print. This pinks and purples on the green remind me of the calicoes I loved as a kid. Whenever my mom took me to the fabric store I hung around all the bolts of cotton fabric just imagining all the things I could make. This romper however, I did not make. I spent way too much on it, but I had to have it. The other prints this came in were wild. And not really in the best way. The first time I saw it in the catalogue, I bought it right away. Normally I wait for the stuff I find in the Victoria's Secret catalogue to go on sale, but I knew it this would sell out. And guess what? I was right. This print didn't even make the next catalogue I received. (Which happened to be the next week, their frequency on those things are crazy. I get a different one every other day. I've decided not to even read 'em anymore. Really, it's pretty much all of the same stuff it has been for years. Actually, I've been getting the catalogue for over a decade and some of the same items still exist and I can't imagine how. lol)

I love rompers and am so happy this style has come back. Their so retro and just plain adorable. Thanks Katy Perry. You wore them at practically every appearance last year and now they've caught on. But really, that chick can wear the heck out of a romper. Her "Thinking of You" video is like style crack for me.The hair, the dresses, the shoes - so great. I like the song, but the video sells it. Don't tell anyone I said so, OK?

Let's Go Shopping

Sure, just tell me where!

Well, my favorite boutique (Salvation Army) was my first stop. This shopping ensemble for last weekend was comfortable at the begining of the trip, but as the day wore on, shorts would have been more appropriate. Boy, it's starting to get warm. I'm not complaining though (yet - serious rants to begin when the thermometer reaches 110 on a daily basis. Thank goodness for rompers coming back into style!!!). This is the first year that I have lived in the L.A. valley (out of 7.5 years) that I don't curse each hot day starting in mid April. I really dig it. The weather is - dare I say "normal", falling between 60 and 80 and sometimes even overcast! Whaaaaa?!!! I love FOG!! It reminds me of living really close to the water, which I haven't done since college.

I know my weather rants fall on deaf ears considering I live on the southern california coast, but when I'm sweating most of the day outside, I can't possibly look all cute and put together when I feel like wearing a swimsuit would even be too much fabric. I'm a big ol' baby! I always say to my friends "I don't mind the heat, I just prefer to be prepared for the inevitable sweating." I'm a big sweater unfortunately for me and my fashion interests. (TMI? lol) I would wear a sport bra and a tank top eveyday, but blasphemy! that's not cute or 'put together'. That's just sporty.

Isn't the purse cute? It was a little banged up in certain areas, but I loved the style so much  I had to grab it. I made my way over to Michaels and purchased some iron on appliques to glue over the damaged bits. They don't cover everything, but they take focus off the mars of the vinyl. Yay! Another material for me to craft! I felt very Martha - "It's a good thing..."

I can't believe it, but this is the first appearance of my saddles on this blog. I wear them at least once a week - somehow they just never made their way into the picture. They are the most comfortable shoes ever! They are my little black and white slippers :) They are perfectly formed to my tootsie and I haven't regretted a day that I spent $60 on 'em (I was going to get the ones on Payless $29.99 online, but I wanted a more durable pair.) I just knew I was going to wear the heck out of them and so I have. Since I started this blog, however, I have tried to push myself to integrate new ideas into my wardrobe, my saddles have been gone for a bit, but not forgotten. They are my weekend "go to" shoe.