Hai guise.

I hate summer.  It makes me lazy and unmotivated and useless.

At least that's the excuse that I'm going with as to why I couldn't be bothered to blog.

For real though, I hate the heat and the mugginess.  So for the entire month of August, I barely left my AC.

I don't do sweat.  Or giant foofy poodle hair.  Which is what happens to my head when the slightest amount of humidity shows up.

Anyway, I woke up this morning and felt all renewed and ready to blog and shit.  This just backs up my previous hypothesis.

Moving on.

Know what I love?  Recycle day.  Recycle day is awesome.

Why is it awesome?

Because books!  Just sitting on the sidewalk!  Waiting for meee!

Yes indeedy.  That is two giant bags of books!

Real books.  With pages and covers and the lovely book smell..

Thanks to money and space reasons, I had to switch over to an eReader.  But these are free!  Lovely free REAL books!

All in all, the count came out to 52 books, not counting the assorted magazines.

Among those 52 were the awesome..

The weird..

And the really fucking disturbing..

Seriously.  Who actually buys Philippa Gregory?

Serial killers and puppy kickers, that's who.

So, my plan is to sort out all the interesting looking books and then take the rest to the library across the street.

Then yesterday, after being inspired by the Century 21 bags that the books came in, I walked down to Century 21 to get myself some new sheets.

And walked out with 3 bags of things I didn't need but were way too pretty to pass up.

My favorite purchase, which had absolutely nothing to do with the binge-sesh I indulged in of Downton Abbey season 3 the day before, is my new little tea set!

I know, I know.. a bit of an odd purchase for a 29 year old 23 year old, modern day woman, but I couldn't help myself!

I plan to keep adding to it, which is why they're all different.  So in the end I'll end up with a full mismatched tea service.  The front 4 came as a set called Rose Chintz that I got for $19.97.  The teapot was a separate piece that I bought out of a set for $6.99.  And the two matching next to the teapot came together with that little blue and orange box which has 20 assorted teas.  That was purchased for $12.97.

First tea in my new set.  I feel so fancy!

I've also found other uses for my tea set.. Like breakfast! 

Supah fancy!

Those two photo frames were also new purchases ($5.97 and $6.97) along with some candles, which I used to decorate my "mantle".

Which is really my TV stand because I live in Brooklyn and am not a billionaire that can afford a fireplace with a real mantle on the Upper East Side and it's not fair and NO, I'M NOT JEALOUS AT ALL.

Anyway. 

Newly decorated with Century 21 awesomeness.

All the candles, besides the lit ones, are also new.

So, that's what I've been doing the past couple of days.  Helping clean the streets and doing my part for consumerism.  

What have y'all been up to since we last chatted?  

I missed you guise!
XOXO

27 Dresses.. And a couple shoes.

No, not the movie.. My shopping spree today.


And not 27 dresses, but 9.  Still tho, I was like "Srsly, wtf?"  But I couldn't help it..


It's my birthday so it was a birthday present to myself.  That's ok, right?


Right?!


Anyway.  I stopped at TJ Maxx today on 6th Ave with the intention of finding a birthday dress for tomorrow night and a graduation dress for my grad ceremony at the end of the month.


By the time I went to the fitting room I had 17 dresses.  


17.

I'm pretty sure the fitting room lady wanted to beat me with a hanger.


Once I started trying on the dresses I have to say, I was really pleasantly surprised.  I'm trying to branch out and integrate new patterns into my wardrobe so amidst my clawing thru the racks like a madwoman perfectly sane shopper, I made sure to grab some things that I normally never would.


I'm happy to say that I found some things that I really liked.  Take a look:


(Please excuse the beheaded look, I had zero makeup on and my hair in a bun.  Also, my legs are see-thru.  I like to sport the "Yeah, I'm homeless" look while shopping.)


This is a dress that I normally wouldn't have tried and I ended up loving the silhouette.

This is a dress that I normally would grab.  I loved the pop of turquoise.

Again, another pattern that I normally would have avoided but really glad I gave it a try.  I would love to pair this with a big floppy straw sun hat and maybe a splash of coral.

Again with one that I'm instantly drawn to.  I am in LOVE with the shape of this dress.  I also like the barely noticeable pockets and the almost painted on look of the flowers.  I think this is the one that I'll wear for my graduation.

This dress is again one that I normally like.  I almost didn't get it because it was just a tad too small in the hips and bust.. until I realized that I had grabbed this dress twice without realizing it and the second one was the right size.  

 Here is one that I almost didn't even bother trying on but again, I ended up loving it.  It just had such a sexy quality to it and I love the sheer halter.

Another pattern I tend to steer clear of and I put it on thinking the folds would add pounds to my frame but instead they gave me a nice hourglass shape.  And I liked the cleavage that showed a little but not too much.  Definitely a drinks and dancing dress.

My usual style.  Black and white with a splash of color.  I really liked the pink piping that edged the black.  This was a nice, light airy dress that will be perfect for sidewalk cafe lunches.  :)

This is a shape I almost never even look at.  I worry the loose fit will make me look bigger then I am.  In this case tho, the cut of the dress hit just right.  The print makes me feel like I should be on a cruise somewhere.  Another straw hat dress, yes?

I almost bought this dress but at the last minute decided against it.  Perhaps it's because I already bought a pink, black and white dress or perhaps I got tired of florals.  I'm not actually sure.  I also can't promise I won't go back and get it.  Seriously, almost all these dresses were $19.99.  That's really hard to resist.

Really, really hard.


Because I had gone shopping in my flipflops I swung by the shoe department and grabbed a pair of black mesh open toe wedges.  


I believe if you're shopping for something that you will wear with heels, then you should try it on with heels.  The way you stand in heels changes your body and posture, so it's the best way to see how you'll look in the piece.


You can see the wedges best in the second pic.  I actually planned on buying them, but after dress number 17 they had started to rub the back of my heel wrong.  So I passed.


A couple other shoes I fell in love with but passed on:


These gorgeous Steve Madden Girl satin-y nude heels.  They had every size but 8.  I was pretty bummed, they were on clearance too.

Really adorable flats, right?

They actually weren't that hard to say no to.  C'mon, TJ.. This one pair of flats cost more than my entire haul.  And honestly, I'm sure these are probably a great deal for Dolce & Gabbana (my personal fave high end designer).. But I just can't imagine that the average TJ Maxx shopper is going to want to drop $300 on some flats.. 

I thought the pattern on these were just too cute but they were plastic.  You can't really see the shine of them in the pic, but it really took away from the overall look of the shoes.  If they had been fabric they woulda been in my overflowing cart in a New York second.

The shoe browsing wasn't a total waste tho.  I did pick up these two:


A cute pair of Skechers with a rhinestone toe.

And these glittered gold open toe heels.  I don't know what drew me to these exactly except they are just so fun.  They look silver in the pic but they're really a pale gold.  The heel is the same shiny material as the toe.

Fun, right?


Anyway, that was how I spent my day (and my money).  


Anyone have any gorgeous summer dresses they're dying to show off?

Right after I published my last post my doorbell rang and it was the wonderful delivery man!


Don't you just love when stuff is delivered?  Even if you ordered it yourself it's still like getting a present.


Anyway, a week ago I looked thru my closet and discovered I was sorely lacking in any cute, new spring clothes.  Buuuuutt.. My budget likes to torture me by not allowing me to buy everything I desperately need want.


This makes living a few blocks from 5th Ave VERY depressing.


Thankfully, Charlotte Russe's online store came to the rescue.  If you've never heard of Charlotte Russe just think Wet Seal mixed with Forever 21.  Cheap, cute items that follow all the latest trends.  Definitely no staple items here, but I think all trend items should be bought on the cheap.


The only hard part about shopping in these stores is spending the time going thru all the clothes made for the tweenies and finding age appropriate items.  


Not that I'm a granny or anything but I still don't need my midriff hanging out for all to see.


Anyhoo.. They arrived today and I was so excited about the shoes and accessories that I had to take some pics.  I haven't yet tried on the clothes (about 6 tops and a pair of shorts), so it's just these pics so far.


Aren't they just adorable?  Sigh..

I've been looking for a great pair of nude heels for a couple months now.

Leaf ring..

And leaf inspired cuff bracelet.

Triple chain necklace with removable feather accessory.

I seriously love shopping.

How did we get here already?

Seriously.. It's March 3.  How is that possible?  I still feel like I'm shaking the bubbles out of my head from the New Year's Eve party.. At least with the start of March comes thoughts of Spring..


And Spring is starting to poke it's sunny head in between the buildings here in NYC.  Of course, while it make look beautiful and sunny outside it is still very much balls-in-your-throat freezing.  30 degrees without the windchill.


Brr.


Another thing that comes to mind is... SPRING CLEANING!  


There are some bloggers out there whose hearts start pitter-pattering all happy-like at the mention of spring cleaning, whereas my heart starts beating in fear.


Time for a little confession:




I may be teeny tiny bit.. messy. :/




Phew.  That felt good to get off my chest.  Still, I get terrified about having to deep clean.  Tho since I've moved from a house in the suburbs to an apartment in the city, the space that I have to clean has definitely shrunk.  Which thankfully makes my job easier.


One thing I do love with the spring cleaning is the spring shopping!  


I woke up early the other morning and discovered that I had an insatiable desire for a new bedding set.  I woke up the Mr. Man and he graciously (read: was forced) agreed to help me pick out something.


We got dressed and headed off to the Bed Bath & Beyond building.  Now, I love me some BB&B but damn.  They can be expensive to the family on a budget.  Thankfully our BB&B also has a TJ Maxx and a newly opened Marshalls.


After some browsing in all 3 stores we settled on this set:

The pic is hard to really make out but its a darker brown border, inner champagne border with a silvery blue center.


The set came with 1 comforter, 1 bedskirt, 2 Regular Shams, 2 Euro Shams and 2 decorative pillows.  All for $59.99.  Not too lousy.  Especially when I pair it with some new $29.99 300 thread count Egyptian cotton sheets, also from Marshalls.


Here is a closer look at the pillows:

I threw on the dark brown and white leaf pillow and the bear to break up the matchy-ness of the set.


After getting that all taken care of I knew that I had to do something else to bring in the start of Spring.  I pulled out my baking utensils and slaved away in a hot kitchen for hours defrosted a Trader Joe's Wild Blueberry Tart in the oven.  Took 10 mins and came out delish looking.

Not bad for $5.99.


And here is where I leave you with a pretty little Springtime quote.


Buttercups and daisies, 
Oh, the pretty flowers; 
Coming ere the Springtime,
To tell of sunny hours.
--Mary Howitt