shoe shopping...

remember that time that I bought five pairs of shoes in twenty-four hours and none of them were for me.

I mean... really? WHO AM I.

oh wait, that's right... I'm the mom of a WALKING toddler.

PJ is walking like a freaking champ and you know what that means -- baaaaaby shoes. 

want to see what I bought? of course you do...

first, yes... I bought three different pairs of TOMS...

 

these adorable little blue shoes, perfect for school... 

last but not least... this pair is named the "Penelope Sandal" -- I mean, I had to buy them...

...In my defense -- these five pairs span three different  sizes (we have a growing girl!), so I'm stocking up for awhile AND I only spent less than $70 on all five pairs (thank you Zulily!). 

AND... I'm scared for myself (and my checkbook) because PediPeds is on Zulily today... If anyone ever told me I'd have more fun buying P shoes than buying myself shoes I would have laughed, but now... 

1. I want to make sure I'm buying her good quality shoes because she's learning to walk/her feet are developing 
2. Let's get real her feet are WAY cuter than mine [her everything is way cuter than mine].

so... if you're in the market for adorable baby shoes head to Zulily before I do [please, buy all the cute shoes before I do]

also, someone please tell me I'm not the only one?!

[crickets....]

friday's fancies...

excited to be linking up with {av} again this week for Friday's Fancies, I was very excited when this week's theme was "rockin red" as I love me some red.  I took a more casual approach and daydreamed about what I would buy for this weekend if I had some extra money [which unfortunately, I don't...]. DJ and I are heading out on a double date with his brother Mike and his wife Julie tomorrow night so I put together a casual but [in my opinion] cute - date night outfit. I'm hoping to enjoy dinner/drinks on a patio to enjoy our good ole Georgia heat - what? I like it. so without further adieu, here are my fancies...

summer red by hitajblog featuring a summer shawl

1. a lovely pop of summer colors with a tropical floral gauze scarf
2. adorable silk racerback tank dress
3. beautiful murano glass pendant necklace
4. love this shade of red essie nail color - "fifth avenue"
5. crystal and smooth bangles
6. you can't go wrong with kate... kate spade royal plantation quinn
7. simple yet present carnelian post stud earrings
8. just a few more sparkles... MUSA crystal embellished metallic leather sandals

head over to {av}'s blog and check out the rest of this week's Friday's Fancies, and if you happen to "like" mine feel free to "like" it over there! [entry 30!]

yes please. seriously, PLEASE.

"my mind checkbook is telling me noooo, but my body longing for cute shoes, my body  longing for cute purses is telling me yes..."

[please tell me you got that rkelly reference.]

must. not. shop. 

must. not shop. 

must. not. shop.

this is what I keep repeating to myself but it's so damn difficult when I keep stumbling upon things that are just BEGGING me to buy them... for example.

I recently got rid of a pair of old espadrilles - they were dying and needed to go to the shoe heaven known as goodwill... and my shoe collection misses them. let's be honest, I usually wear flats but summer to me is a cute pair of espadrilles and shorts and/or summery skirts. I've been good about [not] replacing them. 

Enter Exhibit A:

$49.99 from DSW

seriously. it's a crime not to buy these shoes... however, I don't want to get divorced I feel like my husband would be disappointed in me if I bought them [after scrutinizing his every purchase]... so I'm resisting... for now.

and then there are purses... I mean, a girl can never have too many - especially cute babies like this...

Enter Exhibit B:

$149 - Kate Spade [Nordstroms]

seriously. could that bag be any cuter? I want to build it a nursery and call it my baby. btw - this bag has  an equally cute polka-dotted sister.  why did I decide to go into education again? seriously, I could be living the dream making six figures swimming in kate spade purses and adorable shoes.... but no, no, I had to make a difference and impact lives. damnit. oh well, save me a spot in martyr heaven - I'm going to be a humble state servant for life. 

someone please go buy those shoes and that purse and send me emails telling me how great they are and how I need to own them [so I can show DJ and make him guiltily tell me I should buy them, duh]. maybe oliver will buy them for me for mother's day? what? I'm a great puppy mom. OKAY. off my woe is me I need pretty new red things soapbox. 

in other news, the sliced apples I just attempted to eat as a snack were bad [slimy and soft] - GROSS. seriously. I'm going to give up on being healthy. cheeseburger anyone?

Target Tuesday [Link-up]

so DJ and I went to target last night to grab a few odds and ends and of course, I dragged him to the shoe department because I [desperately] need brown flats/sandals and low and behold I see this beautiful shoe begging me to try it on... [it looks nicer in person, the picture doesn't do it justice]

adorable, and only for $24.99

...so I try them on and I'm smitten and do you know what my impatient and cranky loving husband said - they're not brown, no. let's go. I tried the "they have brown in them angle" but he wasn't budging.  

I'm really sad because I don't have my own car or debit card to go back and get them when I'm alone.... 

oh wait... 

I DO. 

yeah buster, I'm going back for those shoes AND some brown flats/sandals. [hope you enjoyed that little glimpse into my marriage...] 

anyways, back to target... here are some other things I am loving on this glorious Target Tuesday...

this adorable smocked bodice dress, $24.99

quartz grey maxi dress, $20.00

bff, best boyfriend

if my husband doesn't start being nicer to me...

I just might buy them all... happy shopping puppies!

[juust kidding, DJ - I love you and our bank account, I won't buy everything.. just the shoes!] 

join in the fun and link-up with Tara @ fabulous but evil!

Target Tuesday [Link-up]

happy [target]tuesday - the weather has been beautiful in Georgia the past few days [minus the monsoon we got last night].  so my mind has clearly been on all things summer - here are some of the magical summery offerings that are making me smile at Target this week...

how adorable are these little floral shorts... 

sand tropez... yes please.

okay, I'll take fun in the gondola too... 

grey dot cardigan.... summery and sweet!

Mossimo Lenora Canvas Espadrille - can't beat these for $14.99!

what girl doesn't need pewter flats?!

head over to Fabulous but Evil and link-up and check out everyone else's fun Target picks!

birthday boy...

DJ's birthday is rapidly approaching and what does he want for his birthday? well I've asked time and time again and he only wants two things [other than a new laptop] - sunglasses and some brown new balance sneakers... oh yes and we're going to Medieval Times...

I already know what sunglasses he's getting... considering we've already bought them once before.. that's right the polarized rayban wayfarers that got stolen sometime last year at work...

...and he wants brown "new balance sneakers" - now the hunt begins.. here are some of the ones I've found....

New Balance - 574 - $49.49

New Balance - 574 - $59.95

New Balance - ML574AG - $59.00

New Balance - MD574 - $56.00

what do you think? any winners?

[DJ that includes you]

here's to a brown birthday...

two days left to enter my giveaway, don't forget!

Target Tuesday...mmmm SHOES [Link-up]

last night after feeling very slightly annoyed at my cranky amazing husband I decided to go to Target and spend lots of our money take a breather [just kidding DJ... I had a gift card, duh] but seriously, I needed to get out of the house and unlike the 'shire where I had to drive 45 minutes to get to a Target [gasp, I know it was insane] I am now only 7 miles away from my mecca... which is AMAZING slightly dangerous!

I was good last night [self-restraint, who knew?!] - I didn't  come home with any shoes, BUT I was drooling over quite a few of their adorable choices [under $30 too?!] - here are some of my favs...

Dolce Vita Cork Wedge Sandals - $29.99

Merona Emeline Braided Flat Sandals $15.00

Mossimo Peita Flat Thong Sandals - $22.99

Xhilaration Tallis Espadrille Black - $24.99

Xhilaration Tashi Beaded Flat Sandals - $19.99

Mossimo Supply Co. Wilona Sandals - $19.99

aren't they adorable? which are your favorites?

all I know is next time, DJ won't be so lucky, one [or two or five] of these suckers are coming home with me!

head over to Fabulous but Evil and link-up with your Target favs too!

spending spree...

so we had a little cash coming our way and I had stashed and saved some mula thinking that DJ and I both would be out of work for awhile when we moved to Georgia... no seriously. I had planned on being unemployed for at LEAST two months... but the employment Gods smiled upon me and blessed with an amazing job - my first week in Georgia... so we have INCOME coming our way very soon... [hooray!!] so I treated myself [and my love] to a little spending... I needed some new clothes [bye bye Berkshire plaid and bulky sweaters - hello SPRING!], here are some of my favorite recent purchases....


I went into Old Navy to buy some cheap jeans [they do the trick and I plan on losing the massive amount of winter hibernating weight that I've gained soon and I refuse to spend money on jeans that will NOT fit me in a month... no really, they won't - I've decided] and found these super cute and flirty tops... I might have bought three...

Old Navy $22.50 [20% off right now with the code ONREG20]

I just wish they had the purple one in my size, I love that color!

Ann Taylor Loft = my shopping downfall. Especially for work clothes, I got a great deal on these because some were already marked down/on special AND my mother-in-law had a 20% off coupon so I saved an extra $70 on my total, score!


I got a super cute lightweight sweater, an adorable girly cardigan, cute camis, and an amazing pair of denim trousers!  Of course, I can't get the pictures off the internet and I'm at work so you'll have to make do with the links [oh technology]....

...AND today at Loft you can get 25% off cardigans! 

I might have also gotten three pairs of shoes from DSW [oops!]...these adorable Enzo Angiolini peeptoe heels...

these super cute flats in pink... (I just might already have them in black...)

and some adorable roxy casual flats for weekend wear...

then we did a little online shopping and from UrbanOutfitters I got a [what looks] super soft grey hoodie for me... and of course a grey hoodie for DJ... [don't worry they're not exactly the same, we're not that bad come on]

and for my love we also bought...

Old Navy $5

we stocked up on a few of these, they were super soft!

other than that I got a few of the simple v-necks from target for me and two gator [barf] shirts for my love and a new UCF shirt for me... super excited for those to come in as well as our other online purchases... and lets be real, I'm so excited be near actual stores again and to not HAVE to shop online [i.e. like in the berkshires]... I live near a sephora - this is amazing, I don't have to justify spending $50 everytime I need a little thing just to get free shipping... I can actually GO to the store. 

but, alas, I think that we have reached our shopping quota for awhile [at least until I lose a little weight, my reward for losing 10 lbs will be new jeans, exciting!].  now onto saving for a new macbook... time to pinch those pennies! :)

borrrowed, blue, old & new... [bridal details]

I put a fair amount of thought into my something borrowed, blue, old and new - and then a little bit of it was just happenstance. These pictures are some of my favorites of the wedding because it highlights some items that are very important to me and that I wanted to be a part of our wedding.

Something Blue:
Well, my undies were my original something blue (lovely pair of unmentionables from two of my besties and bridesmaids Kelly and Lindsey) and also my shoes played a more "visible" role of my something blue.  Here are my shoes ($12 from Target), that I fancied up with shoe clips ($22.50 from Absolutely Audrey). Along with my bouquet that my bridesmaids, mom and I made ourselves!

Something Borrowed:
The majority of my jewelry was my something borrowed. I borrowed a beautiful pearl bracelet from my mother-in-law and earrings from one of my best friends and bridesmaids Lindsey (that she wore in her wedding). I opted not to wear a necklace to just keep the simple look that I was going for and to not detract from the detail of my dress.

Something Old
I wanted to have honor both my mom and dad on my wedding day and instead of buying a new purse I used one of my mom's vintage purses, which was just beautiful and perfect. Also, the idea of my wedding without my father was definitely a difficult one so I knew he had to be a part of it in many ways. One of the ways that I carried him with me was I carried his pocketknife [that he always had with him] in my pocket through the duration of the wedding. Not something super visible, but something close to my heart and special to me.

Something New:
So originally my something new was going to be my wedding dress but on the day before the wedding DJ surprised me with a beautiful diamond ring. I never had an engagement ring as we eloped and just exchanged wedding bands. When his mom was moving his grandmother from NJ to GA she found a diamond ring that belonged to DJ's Great Aunt and called DJ to see if he wanted to make a ring for me. They had been planning this for months and his mom had a beautiful ring made just for me and I can't even explain how touched I was by DJ and his family and their love and generosity. It was one of the most special moments of the wedding and I was genuinely surprised and still can't stop looking and my beautiful ring(s)....

So there they are my beautiful something borrowed, something blue, something old and something new! Now because I'm a picture junkie here are some of my other favorite "bridal detail" pictures - enjoy! :)

Hey Ladies... [my bridal party]

I can't even begin to explain how amazing my bridal party was... they're five of my favorite ladies in the world and the best part is that they all loved each other too. I loved getting to spend time with them that week, they all came in two nights before the wedding and we had a massive slumber party at our house Wednesday night, they helped with massive amounts of wedding prep on Thursday and then Friday was the wedding day. They were so helpful, loving and supportive - having them stand up with me and the time with them definitely were one of the best parts of the wedding!

When it came to "dressing the ladies" we went with simple strapless black dresses from White House Black Market (on sale for like $50, you can't beat that). The tops were pleated and they had POCKETS just like my dress, hooray! During our ladies weekend I gave them the colors that I wanted the bridesmaids shoes to be and they picked their colors and we went from there. I gave them their jewelry and bright colored Victoria's Secret PINK sweatpants as their bridal party gift and they looked absolutely amazing and beautiful if I do say so myself... here are some of my favorite bridal party pics - enjoy!

some of the bridesmaids bouquets (that they made themselves)

bridesmaid's shoes!

my loves!

yeah, it was just a little cold that day...

these are some of my favorite pictures of the day....

yay POCKETS!

aren't they the cutest??