New year, new shoes!

A New Year's Eve party is always a great excuse to buy a new pair of shoes. You can justify any (well, almost any) purchase by telling yourself that you can wear the shoes on other occasions as well.

Steve Madden glitter pump, $130

Bebe Sequin Platform Mary Jane, Originally $150, Clearance $104.99

DSW also had a glitter pump for $59.95 but for some reason I had a hard time getting the picture to show. I will just put the link up. DSW also has free shipping with any purchase over $35 so you can save a little on shipping alone.

If you just want to do some shoe shopping, DSW also has $20.11 off your purchase of $99 online only through January 3, 2011. Remember, these discounts are for members only but you can easily sign up online or in a store.

Happy New Year!

Trench Coats

My sweet little sister dropped by my house yesterday out of the blue. She looked so cute in her trench coat that I just had to share!

Trench coats are perfect for dreary, cold days. They are a classic way to stay warm and look chic at the same time.

Old Navy trench - 49.50

Oldnavy.com has some for 49.50. It comes in color shown, an army green and black. They also come in petite and tall!

Gap.com also has one for 98.00 (above, right...the trench they have on sale is currently out of stock). It comes in color shown above and then a darker color called 'Eclipse.' It looks black to me...

If you are on a tight budget, the Old Navy trench is your best bet. Think of it as an investment piece. It is something you can wear forever and is sure to always be in style!

Cruise Outfits

So the number of outfits that actually made it on the cruise...2! I made two dresses and a pair of pajamas that I actually FORGOT to take! The first outfit below is the shirtdress. I was a little nervous about wearing it to dinner because I was afraid it would look homemade. Much to my delight, a girl actually stopped me and told me she loved it! That was definitely the confidence boost I needed!

The pajamas I neglected to bring:
The strapless dress. Originally I intended on adding structure to the skirt but the length was not working with what I wanted to do. This was my first time to sew a hidden zipper in a dress so it wasn't as perfect as I wanted it. (See black cardigan...hides any imperfections).

Winter Coats!

I never wear a coat if possible. I don't like walking into a building with a huge coat that I will burn up in as soon as I set foot inside. I also don't like to carry it around with me either. Sometimes, however, you just HAVE to have a coat.

Lucky for me, I found a fabulous coat at Ann Taylor Loft this week that I don't mind wearing at all!

I love this classic coat. It is a nice deep eggplant color that I will be able to wear with browns, nudes and blush color clothes.

The picture (left) shows how it looked when it was hanging in the store on the hanger. However, when I got home and looked at it a little closer, I was excited to see that when buttoned all the way up, it changes the tone from a classic coat to a coat with a military vibe.

I did get the last (regular) one in the Shreveport store...But, they can order them for you if you absolutely love it. I believe they did have a couple in their petite section for those of you that wear a petite.

Also, Ann Taylor has 40 % off everything in their store right now. If you open a Loft credit card, you can receive an extra 15% off of your total purchase. Happy shopping!

Cruise Wear Update 2

I FINALLY finished my first outfit. The black shirtdress is ready to go! There are some minor adjustments I could do but since I am crunched for time, I think I will just let them go for now. I noticed that the front is a hair longer than the back but maybe if I don't slouch it won't be so pronounced.

I am going to begin work on my cocktail dress today. Part of me thinks that it will be easy but I thought that about the shirtdress and it just about made me crazy.

As for my other outfits (time permitting) I am going to do a light blue linen sundress for Key West, a black silk top and gold lame skirt for dinner, a silk swimsuit dress cover up for Cozumel and teal jersey pajamas.

This is only 6 outfits. I was going to do a blue shirtdress just like the black one but AIN'T happening. I don't need anything else to make me crazy. I was also going to make a sequin dress for dinner but the sequin fabric was 25 $ a yard and that sort of freaked me out. Of course I would need more than one yard!

I have an idea for pants that would actually work with the black silk top listed above. They are actually just like a pair that I saw on Dancing With the Stars recently. It looks almost like a harem pant with the sides (outside of the thigh) completely cut out. It looks like there are shorts underneath. Since my silk top is going to be black, I would do these pants in white. They will require much thought so if I have time, they will be the last piece. Even if I can't get them done in time for the cruise, I still want to make them. They would be fabulous for going out!

Cruise Wear Update

I have a little over a month before the cruise and I am just now finishing up my first outfit. So now I am wondering why this whole thing sounded like a good idea....Of course, if I had come up with this challenge, say, earlier this summer then it wouldn't be so stressful.

I have had a few roadblocks in the past few weeks. First of all, the only time I get to sew is when my son is down for a nap. That gives me a grand total of an hour and a half each day. I spent half of his nap one morning trying to decide the best way to attach the sleeves to my shirtdress. I tried several different things and eventually just blindly sewed it on and hoped for the best.

Secondly, it took me awhile to receive fabric swatches for some of the outfits that I had ordered. Of course when I went to order them, one of the fabrics was no longer available so I had to order the closest thing.

I am planning on finishing the shirtdress on Friday NO MATTER WHAT. On Saturday I plan to work on the cocktail dress that I am not in love with. I shall post pictures of the shirtdress after it is finished!

I am not sure how much I will be able to do in the next month but I will try my hardest to get the outfits done. Tim always tells me to "Make it work!" And that would be my husband, not Tim Gunn.

Cruise outfit number 1

I began work this morning on my first outfit for the cruise - a black shirtdress. I am not necessarily going to wear it first. I just happened to have black thread on my serger so that is what is getting made first!

The picture posted shows the dress in its early stages. Right now my dress form just looks like a big bat. Tomorrow I will focus on getting the arm holes right and sewing the side seams. If I have time, I am going to get out my sewing manual and see if I can figure out how to do button holes on my machine. I have never done it before so it may take some practice.

I still need to finish the collar, put in the button holes and add buttons, make and add sleeves (long), add a drawstring waist and put in the hem. Quite a few things to do and I want to have it done by the weekend. Not too sure if that will happen!

More outfits and posts to come!

Cruise Wear

In two months I will be (finally) taking a much needed vacation with my husband. We decided to go on a 3 day cruise to Key West and then Cozumel. I will miss my son more than anything, but I am still excited to get away for a few days with my husband.

Being the planner that I am, I decided to start planning my outfits. I started looking through my closet and thought, "Nope, nothing worthy of a cruise in here!" So a brilliant idea came to me...Why not just make my clothes? I am not talking about just a dress and maybe a skirt....I am talking about every single piece that I will take on the cruise. Sounds like a lofty challenge, doesn't it?

I have two months to prepare at least 9 garments. That gives me two looks for each day (a day look and an evening look), the day of travel to the cruise, and a pair of pajamas. I will exclude undergarments and swimsuits for this challenge. I think I have enough to think about!

I already have the concept for a cocktail dress that I will wear on a more "dressy" evening. (See wild printed dress above). The fabric is just pinned into place for now...the dress will be longer and the hemline will be straighter.

I also have an idea for a pair of pajamas in mind, as well as a black shirtdress for dinner one evening. I am still thinking about the other looks I want to do.

I will keep you posted and put up pictures whenever I get a garment finished. I am excited about this challenge. I think it will be exciting to see these outfits come to life. At least my husband will probably be happy that I decided not to go out and buy 9 new outfits....

Wrinkles be gone!

I know it has been over a month since my last post. I have been incredibly busy the past few weeks, sewing skirt after skirt for a show. I was very excited about it but then quickly became frightened when a man approached me asking if I had a skirt to fit him...Well this post will not be about that. I am merely giving an excuse for my absence.

I was in Ulta (of course, where else?) and was trying to quickly grab some items I needed. I had long since been out of a wrinkle cream that I was convinced worked. So I grabbed what I thought was a wrinkle treating cream. (Olay filling & sealing wrinkle treatment).

That night I was getting ready to use my new cream when I realized it was a product to go on before you put your make-up on in the morning. I was a little annoyed but decided to try it the next morning.

After slathering on my moisturizer the next morning, I applied the cream to my face and was impressed. If I had paid more attention to what I was buying, I would have realized that the title (filling & sealing) would have told me what the product did. It actually covered up the fine lines on my forehead that are starting to appear. Not only did it fill in the lines, it gave my face a matte finish.

You can purchase the product at Ulta for around $17. (I believe it normally sells for around $20 but Ulta has it on sale). I know I am not old, but as someone recently pointed out, the crows feet are starting to make their presence known. I don't want Botox...needles do not belong in my face! This product by Olay will work just fine for me!

Boots for Fall

I have been on a quest to find fantastic boots for the upcoming fall and winter season. So far, no luck in the Shreveport-Bossier area. My go-to place for shoes, DSW, did not have anything fabulous. What they did have were many pairs of slouchy boots. I have never liked the slouchy boot look and never will, so DSW was out.

I ordered a great pair of boots last year from Amazon.com. They are Emu Australia boots. For some reason, Emu did not sell them on their website (their website has only been made shopping-friendly in the past year), but luckily I found them on Amazon.com.

I love the Kings Cross boot (right). They go with skinny jeans, shorts and dresses. I have worn them in the winter and summer. You have to love a versatile boot. This boot also comes in a dark chocolate brown and I am itching to get it (much to my husband's displeasure).

Fortunately, I did find another source for great boots: Piperlime.com. They have a lot of great riding boots, lace up boots and booties and over the knee boots. They do have a few slouchy boots but thankfully only a few.

White Polish - A New Trend in Nails

I am completely over nail polish that is so dark it almost looks black. It is time to move on to a new trend in nail color. White is an unexpected color for nails, however, it is completely appropriate for summer.

My favorite brand of nail polish is Essie. I have tried several brands and Essie nail polish seems to dry the quickest and, after several coats, it lasts a solid week. If you like the white nail polish trend then try Essie's Blanc.

If white is not your thing, you could try Essie's Waltz. From the outside, the bottle looks like a bright white polish but once it is on your nails it has a very pretty light pink tint to it.

With fall around the corner, you can still do a dark nail color but try a dark earth tone like Essie's Mink Muffs. This chocolate color will coordinate well with fall colors like camel, gold and olive green.

Dry Shampoo - What did I do without it?

I used to be envious of those girls who could go every other day without washing their hair. Let's face it - most of us are too lazy to wash our hair every single day! But there was no way I could get away with skipping a wash. I suppose it isn't always a bad thing, but my hair was always soft and limp. It would not stay up in a ponytail, and my side bangs always hung annoyingly in my eyes. Fortunately, I discovered what hair products can do for your hair!

As of recently, I have been using a mousse, a root lifter and of course hair spray once my do is done. I can't imagine fixing my hair without any of them. They actually help to keep my hair from becoming too greasy the next day. But the best discovery for me has been dry shampoo. I bought Rockaholic Dirty Secret Dry Shampoo the other day at Ulta in Shreveport. It comes in an aerosol can, and you just shake and spray at the roots. It does a great job of absorbing oil and preventing oil from forming on your roots later in the day. It is also great for those days when your hair is too soft to stay put in a ponytail or any other updo.

So if you wake up feeling slightly lazy, then give this dry shampoo a try. I definitely feel better knowing I can spend extra time on something other than washing and fixing my hair!

Prints, prints, prints!

Animal prints can be fun, but sometimes the same cheetah, leopard and zebra prints can get repetitive and old. If you are tired of the same prints but refuse to wear solids only, opt for clothes and accessories with geometric prints.

I recently bought a pair of leggings with this interesting blue and black geometric print from Victoria's Secret. Leggings are a great way to stay comfortable and this fun pattern adds visual interest.

Try pairing them with a black tunic and flat sandals for summer. These leggings can also easily transition into winter by throwing a cropped black blazer over the same tunic and trading in the sandals for some black booties.

Leggings $29.50 at http://www.victoriassecret.com/

Amazing Foundation

Summer is here, which means eternal heat and misery. Oh yeah, and runny make-up! It seems pointless to apply make-up knowing that as soon as you set foot outside it will disappear.

A few weeks ago I discovered a product that helps to keep make-up in place...even in 95 degree weather. L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base is a cream that you apply after you have moisturized. It gives the face a matte finish so you can either apply and go, or add your normal foundation/powder on top. It acts as a primer and gives your make-up something to cling to. It also fills in pores and lines in the face. (A plus for any woman).

I had to go without this base one day while I was on vacation and I couldn't believe the difference. I really cannot live without this product!

The product retails for around $12.99 and you can find it at Ulta or Target. I have also noticed coupons periodically in the paper as well. It lasts for several weeks so it is completely worth trying!