The Blonde Diaries

I am just amazed by the people who contribute to the Etsy marketplace. If you’ve never stopped by, Etsy is similar to Ebay but everything is homemade/handmade and it is more of an ordering process rather than an auction site. I have found some gorgeous headbands and hair clips in my visits over there. I am anxiously awaiting the arrival of my sorority t-shirt blanket that a fabulous Etsy seller (KristaLawhon) put together for me for under $200! Talk about awesome.

I am green with envy. I so wish I had an aptitude to create items. Every time I stop by Hobby Lobby to pick up new scrapbook supplies I usually pass by the fabric section and the beading supplies to imagine what could be made – puppy clothes, earrings, bracelets, endless possibilities. All you need is that creative spark that just didn’t flow my way. But luckily I have the ladies at Etsy to take advantage of all the supplies and create beautiful accessories for my daily use. I hoping to find a few fascinators a la Kate Middleton to play with this summer. I think it would be fun if fascinators and hats came into fashion here in the States.

Playing around with my closet today and decided to do a board inspired by Kate Middleton’s famous blue Issa engagement dress. I have to swap my copy for a smaller size but I think this is going to be an outfit I wear to the two weddings I am attending later this month.

Night on the Town by blondediaries featuring platform shoes

Ooh I’m excited. I just discovered the fashion fun that is called Polyvore! Polyvore is a site that allows you to use any photo online and create a fashion board of coordinating clothing pieces and accessories.  I am in the mood to do a little summer shopping soon so I’ve decided to start putting together some boards to see what items I must pick up from Forever21 when I go in a few weeks.  This is my first board -> Everything I need for a day by the pool or out at the beach.  It is also going to be a great packing tool. I can’t wait to see how this goes.

Sail Away by blondediaries featuring thong sandals

So for the past two weeks I have been obsessed with Jimmy Choo shoes. I know it might sound a little random but I finished the Kindle book, Baby Needs a New Pair of Shoes, where the heroine starts gambling as a hobby so she can win the Famous Jimmy Choo “Ghost” sandals of 2005. I would take up gambling to buy a pair of those. They are just the perfect shoe for me: metallic, strappy, and covered with rhinestones and sapphires.

Lucky for me they are 6 years old so I don’t have to worry about running up my credit card just to buy them.

This morning, I opened my inbox to a beautiful email from Saks announcing the arrival of Spring 2011 shoes. I immediately clicked the link so I could browse through the new shoes and the trend this year seems to be color block shoes. I immediately fell in love with a pair of Choo’s.   Meet my new love the “Vivienne Mixed Media Platform” sandals. Leather, color block, pink, strappy, AND studded. Love at first sight. Then I looked down at the price tag and cried. $800 I might spring for these but not at $1700. That would be my entire paycheck (after taxes, benefits, 401K and savings of $400). So unfortunately these will not find a home in my closet.

I also found a similar Miu Miu pair on Saks – the “Tri-Color Double-Buckle Mary Jane” sandals. Still pink, black, and white color blocking. Strappy, zipper & buckle hardware, and just plain fabulous. At $850 they are a tad better but still a little over my threshold. It does make me want to redirect my bathroom remodel fund towards these shoes and I might just do it since I replaced the mirror and the bathroom looks much better. I’m just not sure yet. Decisions, Decisions.

The two-wheeler shirtdress from Porridges, sold by Anthropologie – summer 2010, quickly became a favorite dress of mine. I almost lost out on it while waiting for a sale but luckily grabbed one after it was returned and restocked on the website.  The dress is super comfortable and goes with just about anything – red shoes, yellow shoes, navy shoes, brown belts, black belts, ivory belts, red belts, you get the picture.  I have to say that I like this dress so much that I actually stalk for other dresses that are similar.

So far I had not found any that were similar and that I liked as much. That is until I found the Acorn-acopia dress over at Modcloth! Talk about a total score as it is on final sale and only $37.99. The best thing about it is that it is the same designer, style, and colors as the shirt-wheeler dress.  Now I know you are probably thinking why I bought this and well, it is so I can rotate this one and the two-wheeler dress more often without wearing the same darn thing week in and week out. Plus for $37 how could I pass it up.  Right now ModCloth has all sizes in stock except size 4s so get over there quickly.

Not sure what size you need? Well here is my experience -> Jersey Knit dresses I am usually a size Medium or 10 (Ali Ro), shirt dresses I tend to be between a 12-14. This dress I ordered my normal size 12 and found it to be huge so I returned for a size 10 which is perfect.   I haven’t measured myself in a long time but I’m around a 32GG and a 41 inch hip I think.  The arms are a little tight so I wear the sleeves unbuttoned and that doesn’t distract from the dress overall.  So I’d suggest sizing down 1 size if you want to gamble or getting your normal size and going to a tailor to cut it down where needed if you don’t want to gamble. I’m planning on taking both in to a tailor once I get my treadmill up and running.