gonzales

Technically, I haven't purchased a new handbag in over a year. (The last bag I got was a gift from HB - a deliciously soft Halston hobo.) And according to my homegirl Serena, I'm due for a new (self-purchased) bag!

My latest obsession is the Louis Vuitton Epi Speedy 30 in Cassis. I love. love, LOVE the purple color. Going on vacation in a couple days will make the purchase even more justifiable - it's a souvenir!

Thinking about it now.

Mommy had a monogram Speedy back in the day, but she apparently threw it away because she didn't want it any more.

(I'll give you a moment to digest what I just wrote...)

Since then, she's learned her lesson - Louis Vuitton is never to be thrown away. EVER.

Speaking of Mommy, she mentioned that she's already over the bag she bought barely six months ago!

I think I need to borrow it. forever. muaahahahahah....

just looking..

It's been about two months since I was laid off and I've had to curb my spending. A lot. I used to work in the middle of downtown, just blocks away from Nordstrom and Nordstrom Rack so it was easy for me to shop all the time. And for the first couple weeks of being unemployed, I still made a point to head down there just because I had nothing better to do. And when there's nothing for a girl to do, the girl goes shopping!

Am I the only one?

Now with the wedding less than two months away (eep), and with me not really looking for a full time job, I've had to really look at my finances and decide what I need and don't need - there are going to be a lot of things to pay for soon. Did I tell you I picked up my wedding dress? (double eep)

So here I am avoiding the mall and Target (because every time I go there I buy so much stuff!) And when I shop online, I only put things in the cart - never checking out. Blah. It's lame. I don't even remember the last time I went to Forever 21! See? I do have some restraint.

But when I went through my mail last week, I found a $50 gift card to the Neiman Marcus that is opening on Sept. 11! No strings attached. No "$50 off if you spend blah blah." Just $50. Plain and simple. A few of my friends also received one. (I wonder if they poached one of the mailing lists from Nordstrom...)


To be honest, while I'm very excited to have a Neimans in town, I'm more excited for the future Last Call sales!

I'll be at the opening tomorrow with a friend of mine and I'll be pretending to be a fashionista on a mission to find the most fabulous outfit for a most fabulous event.

Or maybe I'll just stop the cosmetics department and spend my $50 on a little something.

Retail therapy on someone else's dime. Count me in.

smoke and mirrors

This is what happens when Hunny Bunny leaves me at home alone to watch QVC.


Once again, they were doing another Smashbox presentation and I got sucked in. I can't help it! I looooove infomercials in general.. Who doesn't love the Sham-Wow guy? *swoon*

Anysuckerformakeup, I bought the black plum shadow liner with brush. Holly Mordini did such a gorgeous and perfect smokey eye with one quick swish of the wrist. I had to have it!

And the fact that it's only available on QVC meant that I had to call in! Exclusivity is one of my many, many downfalls.

Can't wait to get it!

fashion funk

Maybe it's the weather.. Maybe it's because *ahem* Martha is in town. Or maybe it's because HB and I had our first wedding planning disagreement and I'm still not over it.

I just haven't felt like myself lately. Just blah. Flats and leggings. Boots and leggings.. And god forbid, just wearing my work out clothes. For shame! I'm desperately trying to get out of my fashion rut - without breaking the bank. Must be a good little recessionista.

Unfortch, shopping in my own closet with fresh eyes is not one of my specialties but Diabolina inspired me as she styled the already delicious Sable Crow with his own wardrobe.

It can be done.

And then I came across the Stylish Girl iPhone app. It's like having my own pocket-sized Diabolina! Well, not really, but it's a nice idea. All you have to do is take pictures of everything in your closet and you end up with a delightful little database categorizing everything you already have! Mix and match and save your outfits for future use. There's even a Wish List category!

This could be a very good thing.

I love my iPhone. My precious...

damage control

Yes. I did some damage this weekend because obviously I have zero control over my wallet. In my defense though, it was 60% off!

So here it is! The Balenciaga lamb cutout bag! I love that I can wear it three different ways! It's like I got three bags for the price of one! Or as I like to say, I got two bags for free!

I'd be eyeing for several months now, but I had a feeling that since it wasn't one of the it bags, it would go on sale. Besides, I'm in no position to drop $2K on a bag.

When it was 40% off, I was really tempted to pick it up then, but decided to wait it out. Leave it up to fate, if you will.

Good thing I did!

I nearly had a meltdown though because the Lanvin suede hobo that I'd been coveting as well went down to 60% off too! But for practical and financial reasons, I chose the Balenciaga.

I still love that bag and if anyone wants to splurge (read: HB) on my Christmas present, I would be absolutely thrilled.

Again, my apologies for my ghetto photos. I'm such a lazy blogger!

I spy: For those of you with a keen eye, you may have noticed that I'm wearing a certain pair of grey Prada peeptoes in one of the photos. More on that later!

comfy and cute?? unheard of.

I normally think that Söfft shoes are kinda homely looking. But I'm seriously in lust with the Frederica booties.

They're super cute, right?

And they're crazy cushiony. Like walking on three inch clouds.

And they're only $144. I should just buy them. Ugh. I have no idea why I have such a hard time buying "cheap" shoes for $150 but don't even think about it when I find a pair of sale Pradas for $300. Somehow, knowing that I'm saving $200 makes me feel better.

I've been looking at these for practically a month now and I keep going back the store to try them on. What's wrong with me?

HB loves me because I'm neurotic. Well, maybe not. But at least he accepts it. That's good enough for me!

of course

Of course as soon as I say I may have found the perfect winter coat, I go and find another one to adore that costs nearly twice as much..

I mean this Manoush coat from Anthropologie isn't crazy expensive, but still. It's just Murphy's Shopping Law that I always like the more expensive one.

I suppose the Soia Kyo coat is more of an every day coat, whereas this one is a little dressier. I just love the ruffles. Besides, I've been totally in love with everything Manoush ever since Mango and I shopped at the boutique in Le Marais in Paris.

I love the bracelet sleeves. And it's not too long. It's a good 4-5 inches above my knees. Anything longer and I wouldn't even consider it.

What's a girl to do? It would be sooooo bad if I had both. At the very least, one of them should be black!

don't buy it

I've been coveting this little Chanel enamel flower ring for the longest time. I absolutely adore how humongous it is on my finger! I've tried it on a billion times.
(The blue clutch in the back isn't too shabby either!)

But I've been really bad lately - not keeping in my budget... Balenciaga shoes.. Boots from Urban Outfitters (they arrive later today so I'll decide if they're worth keeping then!)..

Basically, I'm not allowed to buy it. It's not super expensive, in fact it seems almost cheap! For Chanel any way. But I mustn't. I can't. Don't pressure me.

My bday is coming up in a couple months. Maybe then. A little present to myself.

i want to try this

But daaayaaam! Givenchy's Phenomen'Eyes mascara is $27!

You there! Reading the blog. Yeah you! Buy it for me. Thanks!

I've read some good reviews and am rather curious about that little knobby wand. But do I want to drop that much cheddah on mascara? Heck no. Will I buy it? Probably. I'll just wait until I have a bad day and need a pick-me-up.

recessionista indeed

On a tip from my new friend Style-ish (thanks TamPham!), I rushed over to my neighborhood Rack to rummage through their new shipment of designer shoes. Style-ish was right.

Cute shoes everywhere! A pair of fun, patent Alaias reminscent of those saltwater sandals I wore back in the day, a sky-high pair of snakeskin Nina Riccis, bright blue Balenciagas, silvery, braided Stella McCartneys (actually would have bought these if one of the straps wasn't missing!) The list goes on and on!

Alas, I chose to save my pennies. I liked, but didn't love. Mango was with me and had a very good point - yes, they were all very cute but still at $200+.. Might as well pay the extra couple hundred and get the Lanvins from the other day, if I'm gonna bite the bullet. (I still remember when you could get a pair of Pradas or Missonis for $99 at the Rack! Oh the good ol' days!)

No bullets will be bitten today.

watch out

Did you watch Project Runway last night? I love that show!


Anyway, when they were doing some of the bios, I was really intrigued by some of Leanne Marshall's clothing line, Leanimal.

I kinda love her dresses.

And that coat! It looks so stylish but at the same time, not overly trendy. Hmm. I may have to try to find some of her clothes before she blows up all over the place and stops selling to the little people.

She's from Portland, OR. And I'm planning to spend the day there sometime in October. Why October you ask? Because I can't really, really shop until then.

SPOILER ALERT!

Can I just say that I was kinda disappointed/ashamed that the Chinese guy got sent home first?! He had the talk but not the walk. Sad!

i confess

Okay, so I didn't merely look at the Jimmy Choo Malena bag during the pre-sale at Nordstrom.. I actually bought it. There you have it. I've laid it out on the table.

I can't lie to you. And I'm sorry for trying. I swear I was going to tell you as soon as I got home from Mexico! I just needed to clear my head and make sure I was doing the right thing! I'm still in denial about the whole thing.

Oh who am I kidding?? The bag is flippin' gorgeous.

During the pre-sale, while I was admiring the bag, this British woman said I had to buy the bag because I would totally regret not snapping it up. But the next day, when I went to pick it up, the sales gal told me that as soon as I left, that woman asked if I bought the bag! She wanted to steal it from me! What a scavenger.

Apparently while I was distracted by JC (and I don't mean Chasez or Jesus), the woman was totally scoping out what other people were looking at. Whenever someone picked something up, she would swoop in and try to steal it from them! Tsk tsk. Obviously she does not know the rules of shopping.

And I'm not sure if the sales gal was just trying to butter me up into keeping the bag, but she said that tons of people were calling about the Malena because it was still in their "system". Too late!

self-control

I deserve a round of applause. *clap clap clap*

One of my fave boutiques started their Spring/Summer sale yesterday and they had two racks of clothes marked down to $50 - pretty much 90-95% off! That's crazy right?

I tried on a few dresses and a leopard print blazer (I know, I know. Leopard? It was so cheap, I had to at least try it on!) In the end, I didn't buy anything. I would've been buying it soley because it was cheap and not because I was crazy about it.

Gawd, when did I become so rational? Probably because I still haven't bought the silver-y cream 3.1 Phillip Lim dress that I've been drooling over.

not my fault

Everytime my friend comes home (she works in Japan) for a visit, she makes me want to shop and buy fancy things that I can't afford. It's not her fault. It's all me. I covet everything she has! I told her that if she ever has a garage sale, to please put me at the top of her list.

Since she's not having a blowout sale anytime soon, I decided to do a little online window shopping. I really love the color of that 3.1 Phillip Lim dress.. And I do love the Jimmy Choo Mahala bag. They're both on sale.. I'm waiting for them to get marked down once more. *wink*

But you'll be so proud to know that I did not buy the Zac Posen dress I found at the Rack yesterday. It's gorgeous, but do I need it? No. Even though it was orig. $1675, marked down to $449 with an additional 40% off! Wait a minute. Maybe I should get it! Dammit. I may have just talked myself into it.

*spank*

Bad.

I think I'll hold out for the Phillip Lim dress. It's more my style. hohum...

wish me luck and patience

I've been craving this Jimmy Choo Mia bag in all black - not that weird burnt color. It's on sale at Nordstrom right now for $975, originally $1625.

I totally can't buy another bag this year, especially with my Lanvin and Chloe barely out of their dust bags... But oh how I covet this Jimmy Choo! I'm hoping that no one else likes it and that it will be marked down to 60% off.

I really shouldn't be blogging about it thus advertising it as a drool worthy bag. I shouldn't be giving you ballers out there a chance to buy it from right under my nose. Maybe I'm unconciously trying to sabotage myself and secretly wishing that someone else buys it so I don't have any further temptation.

Oh who am I kidding? I want it. And if I find out that you bought it, I'm gonna cut you. "Gimme my bag!"

The internal battle rages on.

captain caveman

I've been having some issues with my ankle on and off for the past several months, though it's been mostly on for the last couple weeks. Basically, I haven't able to run at all and sometimes I have to limp. It kinda sucks because I don't like being gimpy. My doc said to give it a few more weeks and if it doesn't get better then he'll xray it and send me to some pedicurist or whatever those foot doctors are called. (I'm joking about the pedicurist. Sheesh! I'm not that airheaded, all the time..)

My yoga instructor thinks my arches are falling. All I know is that I can't wear shoes that are super flat - and that means that a lot sandals out there are out of the question. I need more support, which leads me to these 3.1 Phillip Lim for Tatami on
eLuxury.



I know I've sworn up and down about never buying Birkentstocks (just because I'm from Seattle does not make me a tree huggin' granola - although I'm a huge recycler!) but these are so cute! Not to mention Phillip Lim! Doesn't that excuse everything about Birks? (FYI-Tatami are the Banana Republic of Birkenstock!)

Got any other ideas? At $180, they're not obscenely expensive..

no no no

For some reason, I really like this Loeffler Randal bag.. Not that I'm even thinking about getting it because I love my Chloe!

I think it's the color.



Maybe when it goes on sale at eluxury.