I Knew It

shady.  The only way to make this right is with 95% off sale.

What the What?

 Alert: Isaac Mizrahi is currently selling plaid cheesecakes on QVC !  I thought I read that the Mizrahi Liz Claiborne line that was oh so cute in the print ads and oh so yucky in the stores- only because none of the department stores ever seemed to carry the cute things! was going away until later this year when it would re-appear on qvc, but I didn’t know he was selling a bunch of other adorable things over there now.  I never thought I needed to keep up with qvc.  Well egg on my face there is a plaid cheesecake from Juniors, an a bunch of other isaac approved things, all with available payment plans!

Pssst…Black Friday

I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving!  Here’s a rundown of all of the Black Friday coupon codes I’ve received so far…

Vivre “Bird in hand”, (shown above) free shipping and up to 75% off

Ann Taylor 40% off entire purchase in store and 40% off ONE item on-line

 Tory Burch free cheetah print tote (ooo, so cute) with a purchase of $100 or more, free shipping, complimentary gift wrap AND 30% off orders over $300 (promo code TURKEY30)

Exhale (Nov 30- Dec 3) you get a $50 gift card for each $100 gift card you purchase.

Vineyard Vines 20% off your order of $150 or more (promo code TURKEY)

Brooks Brothers 15% off your purchase

J.Crew 20% off holiday sale plus free shipping (promo code EXTRA20)

Gap 40% off kid’s sweaters, 30% off adult outerwear and men’s shirts

Horchow 10% off entire site plus free shipping (promo code THANKFUL)

Bluefly extra 15% off coats plus free shipping

West Elm 10% off furniture in store only

Ralph Lauren 25% off entire purchase plus free shiping (promo code HOL2009)

Coldwater Creek 25% off everything and free shipping when you spend $50 or more (promo code WKH7557)

Prescriptives Online free 4 piece gift and free shipping with any order of $35 or more (promo code TREAT9)

Ballard Designs free shipping and 15% off on all orders of $50 or more

Dancing Deer Bakery 25% off all orders (promo code SAVE 25)

Banana Republic 30% off all sweaters and outerwear olus free shipping on-line only

Paper Source free shipping on orders over $80 (promo code SHIP80)

Lekker 15% off your entire purchase (promocode ORANGE09)

Blogorrhea

My parents live at the ocean and there is a lot of beachy theme blue and white decorating in their neighborhood, I love this frilly shell sconce at Hudson, beachy but elegant, all the the little oystery shiny parts must be so pretty when the candle is lit.  Actually I think my mother has a similar mirror, christmas present!

Hey October 29th was International Wear a Dress Day!  Dress a Day has a good forthright argument for wearing dresses directed at those unfortunates who think they don’t want to wear dresses.  I used to think I didn’t want to eat olives but boy was I wrong.  I wholeheartedly agree that dresses are clearly the best thing to wear, and would like to add that I AM a corporate lawyer and also work in banking, and I still don’t wear pantyhose.  If it’s really cold I wear tights (not wooly or patterned, but still, tights).  I know some say tights aren’t ok for a conservative work environment, but to that opinion I give the big two handed W.  The adorable plaid shirt dress above is $225 at Shrimpton Couture

I saw this on Poppytalk handmade, Tugboat Printshop.  I might get this for Babymouse’s room, I am planning a vague nautical theme, mainly because his room is so tiny there is nothing to do but pretend it is in a boat.  Or a space pod.  Boats are cuter than space pods, in my opinion.

City’s post about the agate necklace reminded me I wanted to check out the Nate Berkus collection at HSN, I was really sad when the Linen’s N Things went under, this knit stripe throw pillow is $14.99 on clearance and looks like a nice fall sweater in pillow form.

Check out the powder room at Gracious home to be blinded by millions of adorable bathroom products.

Someone brought apple cider doughnuts to the office this week, which miraculously I have never had.  I consider myself to be a real expert on sugary starches (meaning I eat too may of them) so I really felt like something major has passed me by.  In any event I found a good apple cider recipe on Katy Elliott’s site.  I love this blog in general, every other post seems to be about cozy striped wool blankets, which is good for me because my every other thought is about cozy wool blankets.  Also I love her aesthetic and used to live on the North Shore and miss it.  Also this recipe mentions crying, and I love crying recipes.   Or drinking recipes. 

This Just In…

In an attempt to make up for my lack of post on Monday I now come to you with a late breaking news update.  Are you sitting down?  Women’s Wear Daily has announced that Jimmy Choo is teaming up with H&M on a line of shoes, handbags and clothing which will hit stores on November 14th.  Mark your calenders now!

And Away wEee Go

I am engaged to one of those ultra nerdy types who think its totally lame to buy a computer fully assembled from a store.  Instead, we each have these weird patched together machines which may or may not be made of toasters and hair dryers.  Actually, the computers he builds generally run quite well.  The problem is that when something goes wrong or needs to be upgraded I am stuck with a pile of parts for two weeks and no actual functioning computer.  My computing needs are pretty minimal.  I need to shop online and blog about shopping online.  So in order to maintain my sanity I’m going to pick up one of these purse sized laptops.  If you thought tiny technology was more expensive you are wrong!  This cute little computer called the Asus Eee is only $229.  No zeros have been omitted from that number.

Waste Not, Want Not

A few years ago I saw an episode of Oprah about a school librarian who had become a millionaire thanks to her thrifty ways.  This woman took thrify to levels that I had never before drempt of.  One of the many things she did to save money was to reuse all of her (generic brand) ziploc bags and aluminum foil.  The foil thing is going too far for my liking but that Summer I carried a ziploc bag full of almonds over and over and over again.  I reused it so often that CountryMouse mocked me for my thrify ways.  If only the Fresh Snack Pack had been around back then.  Thse little reusable baggies can be washed and reused over 100 times each.  The sandwich size is only $5.50.

5 Things to Love for Under $20

Oh glory be the recession, there are so many cute cheap spring accessories this year!  This plastic fantastic springy necklace from Forever 21 is $10.80! Wait, I am making a decision.  Decision made.

Ah, leather flip flops, a teeny bit more formal version of rubber flop flops.  These leather pom pom flip flops are $19.80 at Old Navy.

I love making this yearly purchase, because it means it is really and truly summer.  This will probably horrify some of you, but I  don’t wear sunscreen every day, maybe some 15 if I am blatantly going to be in the sun all day.   This means that sometimes I am unexpectedly stuck outside with no spf for a prolonged period, and I’m not totally crazy, I know that is not cool, so I like to carry this little Clinique stick with me to swipe my cheekbones, shoulders and other burny spots.  I have even covered babymouse’s arms and legs with this in a pinch.  It lasts a really long time, at least all summer.  In fact the spf always expires before I can get through it!  It is $17.50.

I thought I wasn’t a hat person, until recently I started wearing my floppy beach hat while gardening, and then suddenly I was wearing it out and about, to dinner (outside), and pretty much all over the place.  Now I think I might want to invest in other hats.  This little straw cloche seems like a good transition, and it is on sale for $19.90 at Banana!

 The OPI for Sephora line has some great colors.  I generally only have my toes done,  usually red, or Connecticut, which is what CityMouse and I call that light nudey pink color, you know, the cop out color.  I am a chip magnet, so on the rare occasions I do my hands I always go with Connecticut.   But on my toes I will go for color, and I love the “Lost Without My GPS,” which is described as a “bright vintage orange red.”  check and check!  It is 9$ for the bottle.  You could bring it to the pedicure place and home for touch ups.

Pssst

30% off new arivals at Banana Republic, Gap and Old Navy through tomorrow!

B.Y.O.L.

I love bringing my lunch to work.  Its both healthy and much cheaper than buying my lunch out.  I’ve been bringing my lunch for about two years and CountryMouse just recently started bringing her lunch.  Its like a parade of tupperware and dishes as we microwave and rinse the many many pieces of our respective lunches.  The one thing that makes bringing my lunch to work a huge pain in the rear (other than the whole cooking it the night before routine) is coming up with all of those pieces of tupperware and transporting them.  I have to carry a shopping bag or my gym bag almost everyday (and I never go to the gym).  So I was totally psyched to find this amazing lunch Contraption on Outblush.  The lunch box by Oots is $44.50 from Delight.com.  If you don’t cappy a personal water bottle the PWB strap is perfect for carrying.