It’s Okay Thursday

Today is Thursday… we’re almost at the end of the week and it’s been hectic around here. Lots of new things, and the process of getting settled into a new place is a little overwhelming at times. But it’s Thursday, which means that no matter what it is… it’s okay.

It’s okay that … Lilly got me up 4 times during the night to take her out. Her poor tummy doesn’t feel good. It’s also okay that I’m heartbroken over her not feeling great.

It’s okay… that I started out my day with a very large cup of coffee and called it breakfast.

… that I have no desire to change out of my PJs or even take a shower.

… that I would rather play with my Lilly bug then do anything else in the world.

It’s okay… that I’ve been dying to get these Loubatines, and have been trying to figure out how to justify the purchase when we need to get so many things for the house.

It’s okay… to miss my parents and friends in Colorado, but it’s also okay not to feel guilty about enjoying our lives out in Tucson.

It’s okay … to wear dresses and skirts every single day of the week even though the furthest and most exciting place I’m going to go is the grocery store.

It’s okay also okay to priorities getting landscaping over bedroom furniture… hey our dog’s needs outweigh ours

Finally… it’s okay to plan a meal around the bottle of wine we have sitting in the pantry.

Hope you all are having a great Thursday. Head on over and link up!

What I’m Loving Wednesday

 

It’s Wednesday, and that means that I’m link up with beautiful Jamie over at This Kind of Love.

I’m Loving that it only took $55.00 to fill up a full tank in the Camaro yesterday. Yup. I was paying that for a half tank about a month ago. While it might not seem like gas prices have dropped, I can see it reflect on how much I pay to fill my tank.

 

Honestly I was starting to feel like I’d have to give up my first born child as well, to try and get the car filled.

I am loving these beautiful Louboutins

I would do right about anything right now to get my hands on a pair of these babies. They would be perfect for an outfit I have in mind, and I am more than willing to pay the obnoxious price for them. Sadly, I cannot find anywhere where they are still available. Seems like I was late to the party, and missed out on these perfect pumps.

 

Here is another pair that I would love to own right now. This one, I cannot find in this color, however I did find it in a brown and black, which aren’t as flattering as this.

And these ones. These however, are on the CL online store at $900. I think they might have to wait until I have a real job that can afford to spend a paycheck on these beauties. I have to admit, while I hate spending extra cash when I can get things for half price, especially when it comes to clothes, shoes are not in this category. I LOVE getting deals, but am totally willing to spend extra on a pair of Loubies. This may be the only designer I am willing to spend extra on.

I’m also Loving these jeans:

 

I love the wide leg and cuff look, and really need to invest in a few nice jeans. Mine are getting a bit beat up, since I keep wearing the same three pairs.

And these boot-cuts. I personally just love the Flur-De-Lis on the butt!

I’m Loving these dresses:

Bebe Addiction

Cache Charmeuse Cocoon Dress

Side Ruched Dress

Jersey Goddess Dress

Finally I’m Loving these:

 

  

Swarovski Nova Ribbon Necklace and Nova Bracelet

 

I hope you all are having a better Wednesday than me. My car decided not to work this morning, and my face feels awful due to my sinus infection. However, it’s overall a pretty awesome day.

<3 Z

Tuesday Travels – Travel Essentials

 

I haven’t met anyone who didn’t love to travel. Whether it is for a long weekend road trip or a month long European tour, there are some things we simply cannot live without while traveling. For me, there are a few items that are musts when I travel, no matter where to.

My very first Tuesday Travels post was about my always packed overnight bag. I talked all about what I have packed and ready to go, if we decided to run out of the house and take a short or long trip last minute.

This post, is going to be about the few items that are on a list inside my little overnight bag as a reminded of what I need that do not fit into the overnight bag.

{ONE} – Wedges

Depending on what time of the year it is, I like to either take a closed wedge or an open toed, more summery wedge.

I tend to go for a nude, light brown and sometimes a pinkish tinted wedge that will go with a tote that I’ll be using on the trip. The wedge has to be comfortable for a day on my feet, exploring and sight seeing. A wedge is a must because it is so easy to dress down and up all at once. This cuts out on the need to have a pair of shoes to go with every outfit.

For example the nude Christian Louboutin’s (second on the top) are perfect for both a day on the town with a pair of jean shorts and a night out with a flirty dress. The added comfort of having a wedge instead of a heel is also perfect.

{TWO} – Bikini

I tend to go for a basic and always classy bikini when packing just one. I love Victoria Secret bikinis and think that 90% of what I own are from there. I recently got this number for under $40, from there, and love the color. The pastels always make you look tanner than you are! So I pack a solid color bikini. In the summer I tend to go for a black or a bright color, in the winter for pastels or white.

{THREE} – Jeans

Packing your favorite pair of jeans is a must. Pick a pair that makes your butt look awesome, your legs long and would work perfect with the wedges you are taking.

I’ve recently started to love the Miss Me brand jeans, which fit perfectly on me. I also love the distressed/destroyed look. Not too much of it, but just enough to make the jeans look worn and comfortable. I love bootcut, because it fits perfectly over heels and wedges, and I’m one of those girls that likes the jean to either sit at the ankle (skinny) or cover the shoe all the way. I hate that mid-shoe, high water sort of look. BAH. 

{FOUR} Two or three tanks or t-shirts

I love simple tanks and t-shirts when traveling. They are very versatile. You can wear them with jeans, shirts, shorts, and so on. Dress them up with a long necklace and VOLA! Perfect outfit for a day out or a night on the town.

{FIVE} – Cross body bag or Tote

I am obsessed with Coach bags. I have a few from different places, but the majority of my bags are from Coach, and honestly I love the quality. Granted I never pay full price for a single one! I’m lucky enough to have a Coach Factory Outlet only about an hour away and usually get an additional 30% OFF of the already 50% OFF prices. I prefer to have a cross body bag for when I’m traveling, small enough to handle an ID, a credit card, some cash, my camera, a pair of sunglasses and chap stick. However, I like to actually get on a plain with a tote, so that I can bring a book, snacks and so on with me. So I tend to take a cross body, and a tote with me.

{SIX} A Dress

I’ll usually just grab one or two dresses. Depending on what the occasion of the travel and where we are going, and what time of the year. I tend to grab either a black dress that I can dress up or down, or a shirt dress that is more casual.

{SEVEN} – Cardigan

 

Finally, a cardigan to cover up on a cool evening, or to dress up an outfit. I love cardigans, simple because they are the perfect companion to any outfit. They are not as casual as hoodies but just as comfortable.

 

What do you pack as a must in your travel bag?!

Outfit – Summer Date Night

 

If I had unlimited money, and unlimited closet space this is an outfit that would find it’s way into my infinite closet!

This would be the perfect summer date night outfit. It’s so simple yet the heels dress it right up. I can see some red nails and possibly red lip stick with this one.

I’d add some Megan Fox curls to the outfit and some dark lashes! So easy, and so perfect. I might have to go digging in my closet to try and recreate this outfit.

What is your go to summer date night outfit?!

Shoe’s Always Fit #2

 

So here are these weeks finds!

1. Alexander Birman – $495.00 (Find here)
2. Christian Louboutin – $595.00 (Find here)
3. Valentino – $885.00 (Find here)
4. Aldo’s – $70.00 (Find here)
5. Guess – $90.00 (Find here)
6. Paris Hilton – $63.00 On Sale Originally $89.00 (Find here)

While I will one day buy a pair of the Louboutin pumps, I can say that the Carrie’s from Guess are my go to. I have several different colors of this style and they are the most comfortable pumps to spend a day in. When I worked in retail and banking these are the only shoes I wore for a 12 hour day on my feet. I’ve gone through at least 3 pairs of black Carries and I always buy more. They are perfect!

The Paris Hilton imitations of the Valentino, I bought completely randomly not even realizing that they were a copy of the designer until after they were delivered. When they first came out about a two years ago, I bought the Paris Hilton black patient leather pumps. They aren’t the most comfortable thing in the world, and I wouldn’t suggest wearing them for a day on your feet, but they look amazing and are perfect for a cocktail party.

As far as purchasing cost, it would cost $1975.00 to purchase the designer shoes, and only $223.00 to get the “lesser designers.” So for 11% of the designer cost you can have 3 pairs of very similar and equally gorgeous shoes!

Hope you all are having a great Tuesday! I’ve got a small treat for you in an hour or so, so check back!  

The Shoe Always Fits …

 

So as I was looking for the perfect pair of shoes to wear for this weekend for my maybe graduation but official walk, I came across a pair at Aldo’s that looked very similar to a pair of $365.00 pair of Stuart Weitzman’s. Then, upon further search I found that it wasn’t just one pair of shoes that was similar in style to a high end designer shoe but I could find several.

Lately, I’ve been craving some amazing designer looks, however, being the broke and unemployed student that I am, I can’t spend $800 on a pair of Louboutins, as much as I would want to… I cannot spend more then my car payment on a pair of shoes… that would seem a bit silly for this time in age.

While eventually, I am sure I will splurge on a pair of high end designers, if not a few, but this will come when and if I am actually making more then $1000 a month. So for now, I have a new project. Each week, I’m going to pick out three designer shoes and try and find similar models for under a $100.00… you know the reasonable amount a penniless college student can pay.  

For this week, I bring you the above beauties! I’ve been drooling over the Stuart Weitzman for a while, as well as the Rupert Sanderson and the Christian Louboutin. Oh, how I would love to have the kind of money that it would require to have these shoes.

The top, are the actual designer shoes the bottom are the comparable Aldo versions. I am not going to say that Aldo will always be my choice for picking “replicas” however I love the shoe they make. I have not had a single shoe from Aldos that I did not love… and to date I have more then 20 pairs from their, including 5 pairs of boots.

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So lets meet the shoes:

1. Stuart Weitzman “Alex” – $365.00 
2. Rupert Sanderson “Donegal” – $855.00
3. Christian Louboutin “Banana” – $795.00
4. Aldo “Connally” – $35.00 (on sale)
5. Aldo “Fornili” – $45.00 (on sale)
6. Aldo “Romanelli” – $75.00

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If I was to go and buy all three of those beauties, because you always need a nude pump, a summer sandal and a close-toed oxford, it would cost me $2015.00 plus tax (I’d hope the shipping would be free at that sort of price). Now, the Aldo’s versions of these shoes would cost a grand total of $155.00 plus tax and no shipping. Plus there is usually a 10% to 15% off code that can be found online, or if you do one of the surveys. I can do $155.00 for three pairs of shoes, and it is only 7.7% of the total cost of the designer brand.

Don’t get me wrong gals and boys, I would much, much rather have the designer shoes because not only are they made by some of the most famous shoemakers of our time, but they are also classy, come with a reputation and are of much higher quality … however going back to the broke college student realty, I’d rather have the look right now, then drool over the shoes until someday I MIGHT be able to afford them.

Question time:

1. Would you wear an Aldo’s or other “lower” brand designer shoe that was similar to the one you wanted?
2. Do you think it’s reasonable to spend $365 on a pair of cloth sandals?
3. What do you think of this new addition to the blog?
4. Do you have a pair of shoes you’ve been dying to find at a lower price? Send them my way!!

Graduation – Dress to Impress

 

Print dress, 425 GBP Christian louboutin shoes, $610 Gionni vintage jewelry, 20 GBP Ben Amun pearl jewelry, $170 Flower hair accessory, $4.99

If money was not an issue, this would be the outfit I would be wearing next Saturday under the ugly cap and gown.

I have a similar dress, and jewelry. I might have to find shoes and the headband though. The colors will be red, black and white though. 

Hope y’all are having a great Saturday… I’m spending my day studying. BOO!