Now that we are finally getting resettled into Saratoga, my mind has turned again to shopping and fashion (big surprise). I have found myself already visiting the shops of downtown Saratoga and visiting a couple of the local malls all the while building up a 'must buy' list in my head. (I know that I'm not the only married woman to do this, pick stuff out and then spring it on her husband in his moment of weaknesss so that he has no choice but to say yes!) I have tried to reign it in, especially now that I am now reunited with my beloved shoes, sweaters, jackets and Chloe bag (oh and the bestie too), but I can't seem to stop myself from having to have everything a few more things.

A couple of my picks from last week were a new pair of boots (obviously!), a new bag and new gloves. So here we go!

I picked up this sweet girl at H&M after going to B&BW to pick up the 50% off Fall Clearance Candles and Wallflowers. She was all alone, the only one of her kind in the store, and I knew I had to have her. I noticed some imperfections on her and as she was the last bag, I asked the cashier if they will take anything off the price. Of course she said yes (H&M rocks for customer service) and the bag went from almost $40 to $21.30-something with tax. I was like SCORE!! So, I pulled money out of my grocery saved for frivolous things fund and paid for it. I couldn't even wait until I got home to dump my stuff into it. It actually was quite difficult to that since I was in the Jeep (getting new transmission on my Lexus) and there definitely isn't as much room in there. LOL

What I love about this bag is the size and the shape. I have recently taken on new clients for my job and I have been finding myself going out and about more often. I need more room for a spare sweater or cardigan, some treats (stupid blood sugar) and usually my notebooks, phone and netbook. It's been a godsend since I don't really have to carry my laptop case since its so heavy on it's own without the stuff in it. The shape of the bag is classic and makes me feel so grown up. Plus, it matches my shoes (which you will see next). Overall, I am so happy with this bag and especially happy that it was the last one so that I was able to get it at such a steal!

These darlings I picked up at JC Penney for $39.99! These are really the boots to beat all boots AND they were a fraction of the cost! I went to the mall last week with the bestie especially to search for shoes along these lines. I had a pair in mind (duh) but when I got to the mall and tried them on, I just couldn't justify the $150 price tag no matter how much I loved them. I know you all will think I'm crazy and that $150 isn't a lot for a pair of shoes, especially considering what I have spent before, but just let me explain.

Every fall and winter I buy on average 4 pairs of boots and I wear them each maybe a handfull of times during the season since I really do rely on my Uggs to keep my feet warm and toasty on most days. Now, I replace my Uggs every other year out of necessity and thats almost 200+ gone already. Then, I buy my three or four pair of 'trendy' boots that I absolutely must have. I will generally spend up to $100 (sometimes more) a pair on boots since they are important to keep your feet protected.

Since we just got up here, it's pretty much a fact that I will shop to my little hearts content so I decided to forgo the $100+ price tag and opt for a similar (identical) style for a fraction of the price.

Steve Madden Intyce $148

I'm so happy that I opted for the less expensive shoes. The are the exact shape I wanted, the perfect click when you walk and the prettiest color that matches my bag beautifully. They were such a great deal and I can already tell that I will get a lot of wear out of them.

My last buy was these cute little gloves that I also purchased at H&M for $6. I loved the cute print on them. It reminded me of Aspen and snow and Dumb and Dumber (lol). I had to have them and at such a steal it was a great buy!

Have any of you bought any cool stuff lately? Any great buys at H&M? Let me know! You can comment below or visit my Facebook page to connect with me! Happy Shopping!!!

As you all know, I've recently redived into the Twitter pool again after having taken a nice long break from blogging over the summer. I've been meeting some other really great bloggers and designers and really making some new friends. You know though, it's amazing just how much you think you know about a topic, but then when you get around a ton of other people that know about same said topic, you realize that, 'huh, maybe I didn't know everything' but it's still cool. Yeah, that's a bit how I've been feeling. Having been out of blogging fashion and beauty, I had almost forgotten some of the things that I love about fashion, ahem, Fashion Night Out, launch parties... lol.

Anyway, I'm off topic again (no surprise, huh?). As I said, I've been drinking the Tweet kolaid and I happened across some really awesome custom jewelry designers. I checked out their etsy page and fell off my butt. I love leather (not in the whips and chains kind of way) in my jewelry and low and behold, what is one of their main tools in their designs? You got it!!! Leather. So, of course, me being me, I sent off a lovely little email extolling my amazing blog and telling them how much I loved the looks of their products.

It didn't take long for one of the sisters to email me back, Yolanda and she plumped up my ego and somehow I got lucky and they sent me some really awesome jewelry.

So, before we get into the jewelry, let's talk a bit about how Furthermore Desings came to be.

The Cuff

The Earrings

I can't say just how much I am in love with these products. They are so well made and so chic. Furthermore Designs really listens to what you want and they deliver on it! When I told them what I was looking for I wasn't expecting the pieces to be exactly what I wanted, but they were. The leather on the earrings is so buttery soft and they look amazing with my favorite black trousers and blue wrap top. (I think they will look awesome with my turqoise scarf too) And the cuff (my favorite piece) looks amazing with almost everything. I honestly couldn't be happier with Furthermore Designs. The entire process was just so fun.

If you are looking for a special gift for someone or just looking to pick up something for yourself, I wholeheartedly recommend that you check out Furthermore Designs for custom crafted jewelry. You definitely won't be sorry!! Ciao for now!!

Today, we've got a huge post for you. I shopped yesterday (like a mad woman) and picked up a bunch of stuff that I'm just so excited about. We've got some jewelry, some color, some house stuff... even a tip or two.

So, to start, I picked up this really cool necklace at Burlington Coat Factory for $2.98!!! I've been wanting something soft and delicate, but still enough of a statement so as not to be bleh.

Isn't it so pretty? I love it!! I wore it today and am in total love!! I even got a compliment when I was at Starbucks picking up my morning addiction coffee. It was such a great price, less than three bucks and I know it will last as I treated it with some clear polish.
 

Not too bad for Burlington. I'm actually starting to really enjoy shopping there for little things like accessories and belts. Sometimes the clothes aren't too bad either as they on occassions have Michael Kors and J Crew.

So, onto the next and here is where we deviate from clothes, fashion and beauty stuff.

I have company coming in this week (so excited) so my house has got to be spotless. I was at a friends house a couple of months ago and she had the coolest hand soap ever. I quickly went out to Target and bought it. Well, as I was in Target yesterday, I saw that they had the dish soap in the same brand and as I was out (shocking) I picked it up.

Mmmm, kay. Now, what the bottle says - "Uncomplicated products for a clean and happy home. Mrs. Meyer's Clean Day. Aromatherapeutic Household Cleaners. Mrs. Meyer's clean day provides hard-working, naturally occurring ingredients and essential oils that are tough on dirt and grime,  yet gentle on your home and the earth. The basil herb has a cool, crisp scent that is said to revive the senses, clear the head and calm the nerves."

What Crystal says - awesome products, leaves dishes clean, smells great, in a pretty gorgeous bottle with a cute vintage label. I'm sold. Order me a pallet full.

Really, I like this product. My hands don't feel nasty after I wash the dishes. The smell is amazing and so different that it has me excited to do the dishes. It does work. I noticed that it really did cut through the grease and general icky-ness that accompanies dishes. I think that they also have this in laundry detergent. I will probably have to check it out.

The price is a little higher than normal dish soap ($3.99 for Mrs. Meyer's vs $2 for Dawn) but I think it's worth it.

Another product I picked up was at Bath and Body Works. It's getting closer to fall and since we aren't in NY, I wanted to recreate the smell of our house in Saratoga here in Sarasota. Usually in the fall I buy the Creamy Nutmeg room spray and wallflowers. This year they apparently don't have them when I want them yet. So, I picked up three sampler candles to see if I can find one that is semi close in scent.

All three candles smell great in their containers, so we will see how they smell when they are burning. I'm hoping (maybe foolishly) that the three smells combined will be close to what I like. They were 3 for $5, so that was a pretty great deal. If the smells are close I will be going back on Wednesday and picking up the scents in the wallflowers (6 for $24 or 4 for $20). I will also probably pick up Kitchen Spice in the large 3 wick candle.

Ok, back to the fashion and beauty. I also picked up these earrings at Forever 21 to replace my favorite flower earrings.

I love, love these earrings. The look was just what I was going for - simple, neutral, with just a dash of glamour. They were only $3.50 (deal!!) and match just about everything I have. They are great earrings for everyday and.... if I lose one (doubtful) I won't be depressed because they were less than 5 bucks. Don't you just love F21 jewelry and accessories? I do!!!

To close it out, I've been obsessed about this one color of green. I'm dying for a pair of shoes in the exact shade of green as this bottle. Oh and a cardigan too.

So, if you happen to see either one of those items in Extra Dry Tradizione Autentico Vermouth, let me know!!! Happy Shopping, ladies!

So, if any of you follow my blog posts you will know that we just added a new member to our family, Bridgette, my new car!!

I can't even say how excited I am. It's not just because it's a Lexus (I did get an amazing deal - super shopper that I am), it's about me paying for it myself and doing something just for me. I haven't worked in about 7 years due to staying home to help raise my husband's daughter and then our own daughter after she was born. I've missed having some of the independece that comes with working, not to mention that it's a lot easier to shop when I don't have my husband's voice ringing in my ears about what I'm spending.

I took a job a couple weeks ago as a Social Media/PR manager and I'm loving every minute of it. I enjoy getting out of the house and pretty much being a person (not just a mom) and having adult conversation. I love actually putting some of my knowledge to use and teaching others what I know. It's also wonderful to finally have a place that I can wear my favorite clothes that's not the grocery store. Plus, I'm working for a skin care line and we all know how much I love beauty products!!

I guess I hadn't realized just how monotinous things had become in my day to day life and going back to work and getting a new car has really energized me and filled a part of me that I didn't realize was missing. I'm finding myself excited to do things like cleaning the house and doing the laundry. Even cooking dinner (which I totally don't like to do) has been so much more fun since I'm not home all day. I feel almost euphoric when I come home and I know that I did something successful at work and then I know that my family is appreciating me more as well (not that they didn't before, lol, it just didn't always feel that way).

Bridgette has quickly come into her own personality as a car and I'm really enjoying learning new things about her (pollen filters, no keys, air filtery type oil filters?!?) and how she works. It also doesn't hurt that I get a total ego boost when I pull up at Starbucks on my way to work and step out of the car that I'm paying for (not the hubbans) in a pair of stillies that I also paid for by myself!!

The point of this post, isn't to brag, it's to show that sometimes you have to do things for yourself to be the best Mom, friend, sister or wife that you can be. Have any of you recently made any changes to your life that has paid off to make you a happier person and more content?

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