monday must-haves

so it's monday, and i've had to have my finger pricked today, which on any normal day would make me cranky - but i lost just a little weight over the weekend. i'll take what i can get.

here's my must-have for this could-have-been-bad-but-is-actually-good monday:

kate spade maryanne bag, on sale for $187

until i can afford chanel, this shall fill my quota for one gorgeous quilted bag. oh who am i kidding? this is BETTER than chanel. look at that color. shocking pink actually does go with everything - just don't wear more than one piece of it at a time. this is the kind of accessory i would wear to dress up jeans and a button down (with bright yellow flats, of course!) or an LBD out to dinner. i love everything about this bag, especially the price.

rock the casbah

j. crew dropped prices on a few more sale items over the weekend, and i couldn't resist two sweaters i've been eying - this classic wrap everly cardigan (that reminds me of something kate middleton wore a few years ago - bonus!) and the merino confetti sweater that i've watched since it debuted at a whooping $148 and finally went on sale last week.

and now the waiting begins for the other pieces i'm oogling. spring colors are usually pretty muted until april at j. crew - i'm so glad we're over that hump of grays and pale lilacs and barely-yellows and on to the fun bright summer prints they're known for. i'm obsessing about one in particular - anything and everything in their bright green casbah print:

look at the colors! i'm practically squealing. perfect with jeans as shown, or dressed up with a pencil skirt.

love. love love love. this would go great with tanks or a blouse. fancy scarves like this one are perfect to dress up a tee for work.

the blouse sells for $88; the scarf is priced at $55. both are out of my price range right now, and i predict the blouse will sell out before it goes on sale, but i'm holding on hope for the scarf.

damn you, tiny bedroom

as i try to distract myself from the fact that my roots are in desperate need of a touch up and my hair appointment is still a day away, i'll ponder the other obsession in my life: new furniture for my house. i love my house. love it. i love the archways, the built-ins, the tiny kitchen nook and most of all the wonderful warm feeling it gives me at night when i go to sleep.

but what i don't like are the tiny, tiny bedrooms.

it's a sacrifice you have to make peace with if you want a 1940s starter home. the rooms are small. deal.

never mind the fact that i have ONE CLOSET. that is bad enough.

they don't make houses like mine anymore. everyone has more bathrooms than they do bedrooms (srsly, what's up with that?), massive amounts of counter space, and vaulted-ceiling bedrooms. so most of the furniture being made doesn't fit with my bedroom size either. i'm still jamming my undies and sweats into the same tower dresser i used when i was 10. the night stand is literally breaking with the weight of clothes. knobs have fallen off, the bottoms of the drawers are caving in. do i have too much clothing? never. but i do need new furniture that doesn't cost as much as a mortgage payment.

i should mention that i'm an obsessive cheapskate when it comes to thinks that i actually need. t and i have been surviving on a box spring made for a full mattress (when we have a queen) and propping up the broken frame with 2x4s. that's how we roll.

anyone have any luck with furniture that will fit in tiny bedrooms?

how much is an amazing scarf really worth?

say, $395?

yeah, i know i'm years behind, but it's freaking mcqueen, mkay? let's be honest, there is no price that tops the late alexander mcqueen's genius - and this is his signature item.

i may have found my next i-really-can't-afford-this purchase.

scarf, alexander mcqueen, $395

finding the elusive perfect tuxedo jacket

1. it has to be lightweight
2. it has to be semi-shiny (or feature a shiny lapel)
3. it has to be price-friendly*

*or not

this one by j. crew is pretty damn close. but the price - oh, the price! but i love it! but it costs almost two cable bills! but i love it! but i need a new sink and medicine cabinet! but i love it!

damn you, j. crew.

i can make this

the best part about being a knitter?
i see something for sale, like this super-cute snood (what is it with the snood lately?) from j. crew - on sale for $49.50 - and think to myself, i can make that.

victory!

jewelry lust: the tiffany key

when tiffanys introduced the key necklace, i thought they were a little crazy. a key? really? as it usually is with me, after giving the idea a chance - and seeing it around the neck of a very fashionable friend, i've decided i love it.

i'm not a huge jewelry person. i prefer more simple, longer pieces, since i'm so ticklish, so i probably would have to substitute the 16" chain this comes with for something longer. bigger charms like this should be on a longer chain anyway. i love the simplicity of this piece and the tiny heart on top of the key - just a little detail that makes it unique.

i will get these shoes for fall

shoe boots, nine west

shoe boots are gloriously amazing in that almost-too-trendy kind of way. these i really love, particularly with the soft fold on the front - like they're heels you snuggle up in (and by snuggling, i of course mean wear with tights and a lbd).


fringe boots, minnetonka for j. crew

i have been lusting for fringe minnetonkas ever since i was a nine-year-old vacationing in petosky, michigan, and picked out a pair that my mom immediately denied me. lesson #1: unless it's a. too expensive or b. too impractical, i will never deny my children their right to fashion. lesson #2: now that i'm my own independent person, i will immediately buy myself these and enjoy the hell out of them. can't you just see these paired with leggings and a long sweater on a cool-ish october saturday? almost makes me miss college.

perfect leopard pump, ann taylor

my third must-have pair of shoes is from ann taylor - a leopard print version of their perfect pumps, which are perfect. i have a pair of in black. i had to run six blocks in chicago on michigan avenue, practically knocking over christmas shoppers to get them, never mind the swine flu i came down with later, but they are WORTH IT. srsly.

almost

do you know what i almost called this blog?

"where to buy shit in indiana"

shopping is heroin to me, and when it goes well - in indiana - it's amazing, the highest high. because there isn't a lot here, people, and it kills me. i love this place, and it chokes me sometimes with anger. my town has one tiny mom-and-pop bookstore that, while totally cute and adorable, has the most pitiful section on romance. seriously, i do my book shopping at target.

what was the point of this post? i don't remember. only that i started reading "a homemade life" and it's making me wish i was a better cook. her blog is amazing, too.

first look: zac posen for target

my obsession with target just got worse.


behold zac posen's line for target. gorgeous, colorful dresses with posen's trademark twist. my favorite pieces include a strapless blue dress with a gorgeous ruffle skirt and a dress with snaps on it that allows for custom bustling and draping. here's hoping to god/allah/zeus/baby jesus my nearest target gets some of these pieces - and that they don't sell out before i get there myself!