a99kitten's Musings

J Crew sends me emails all the time (we won’t even talk about the catalogs they send via mail.) They are like my virtual crack dealer….

Usually I just delete them so I don’t get sucked into the world of cute preppie clothing that I simply must own and pair with the cutest jewelry and shoes and bags and scarves and…well, you see how it goes…

But their latest email this week had THE cutest dress and necklace combo that I WILL own as I watch the sale code emails!!

JCrew Garden dress in shell

This is in the color shell. The email ad had a white one but white and I are never really meant to be. There will be a spill, or at the every least, a dog nose or paw print on it :)

It’s $68 retail but they MUST be gearing up for another 20% coupon soon…waiting patiently(ish) as white and navy are sold out in my size :( Hopefully shell isn’t soon too…

This bag might serve as a replacement to the coveted but too-$$ Jimmy Choo Ramona that I drool over…It’s the L.A.M.B. Covey Carry-All and it should be coming out on/around 7/25.  Allegedly $475 at Saks. Wondering when on sale…

L.A.M.B. Covey Carry-All

I would happily accept it :) This particular one is on HonestForum.com. I’m not even sure you can buy this retail anymore! But it fits the basic criteria for the bag I am looking for. It would probably be close to perfect if it was a chocolately brown but I LOVE the distressed texture of the leather.

http://www.honestforum.com/womens-shoes-handbags-etc/175504-kooba-farrah-large-hobo-euc.html

Kooba Farrah Large Hobo EUC

Description

Beautiful Kooba Farrah. Large Hobo. Incredible thick, really special and unique leather. Has a slight irridescent sheen. No flaws with the exception of minor wear on the zipper pull. Original Tags $625.

Asking $235.

More

I only buy and sell authentic clothing. I have no patience for fakes.

How completely cute are these?? jeans, capris, skirts, dresses…..unlimited options and in MY FAVORITE COLOR EVER! :)

So my birthday is next week. It used to be my tradition to buy myself a really cool birthday gift..something kinda pricey (for me) or totally not something I would normally buy myself. Years ago, at my old job, my boss or his  investors/friends (he was a hedge fund manager) would give me money or gift certificates for my birthday (yeah, banking and hedge fund money is quite nice) and I would use that to buy myself a nice gift.

Then I got married. And decisions became not all about what I wanted. And then we bought a house. And I love my house. But having to buy furniture, or dishes or towels or paint walls or new garbage cans and NOT buy cashmere or a cool bag! WTF? Who signed me up for that??? And this was with no kids….just imagine…eeks! (of course once we got the dogs, a lot of my money went and continues to go happily in their direction.)

Anyway, this year I went back to buying myself a gift. I work a lot…all the time, whether at the office or at home, so I wanted a cool prize just for me. What I really want is a very nice, soft, chocolate brown bag but the image I have in my head of this perfect bag might never be found (or at least affordable…I did find it…for $2100..here it is…sigh….drool…the Jimmy Choo “Ramona’ in this cool crushed leather:

Jimmy Choo Ramona

I “tried it on” at Nordstrom…it is exquisite…and I fell in love…but moving right along….

But I’ve also wanted a cool red bag for a couple years now. I don’t wear red so I thought a striking red bag would add a cool splash of color to any number of outfits I could be wearing. But the problem is, even with really fancy, expensive bags, the red leather looks cheap. So I kept looking to no avail for 2 years. Then Kate Spade had their Friends & Family sale….I immediately looked for a cool brown bag. No luck – not a single, solitary brown bag on sale! DOH! But then I found my red bag..the New Canaan Rudy. And it was 50% off from retail!

Now, I haven’t bought myself a really pricey item retail in a very long time. I have nice things. But I have found them on deep discount, or eBay, or any number of shopping forums – a lot of them pre-owned (doesn’t that sound SOOO much better than used?! I think Certified Pre-Owned even!)

So anyway, when I was pulling the trigger on this purchase I could hear my husband’s head veins popping (well, how they would when I told him) but I did it anyway :)  And then had to wait for it to arrive. I am going out of town tomorrow for 9 days so I was hoping it would arrive before I left. And it did – today!

When I got it home, I opened it up and hoped I would love it as much as I thought I would. And when I unwrapped it…and unwrapped it some more  (new stuff from cool stores always comes all wrapped in many layers of fancy tissue – helps justify the cost I think)  I LOVED it!

Now I just had to show husband…sigh… So when he came home, I said “So I bought myself a birthday gift. You know I wanted a red bag. I found this one for 50% off retail and that’s that.” (strike quickly without allowing your opponent time to think!)  He came over, looked at it, said “wow – soft. How much? Holy crap, that’s 50% off retail?? ok…” And that was that.  (always present the awesome deal you got..note to self: need to try that with Tiffany’s)

So now I am styling with my new kate Spade New Canaan Rudy in red for this 4th of July :) And Happy Birthday to me :)  YAY!!!

My new Kate Spade bag!

\”I’m in Love with a Fictional Character\’\’ Twilight/Edward Cullen bracelet

Bought 2 new pairs of shoes at the big Nordstrom sale! Best part is I had a gift certificate from my birthday last year so one of them was practically free!!

First pair is Marc by Marc Jacobs – dark chocolate brown. I have been looking for a pair of chocolate brown pumps forever! Now I just need the elusive chocolate brown bag!!

And then I found some SUPER soft black leather peep-toe pumps by Guess. The leather is ridiculously soft & comfy.

Both pairs cost me $100!! Successful shopping trip…bringing me to 3 new pairs of shoes on this trip (although the the latter 2 cannot compare to the first one!!) Sales are great! :)

After shopping we were starved so we showered & got dressed to go to our favorite Vegas restaurant – Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak house. I love this place!! The ribeye is sooooo good. And the 3 cheese macaroni & cheese is sinful.

Did not have room for dessert this time but did have 2 glasses of Moet White Star – this is a great bubbly. Served at our wedding reception. Moderately priced but very, very tasty.

Now time for bed like the Vegas party animal that I am :) Miss my doggies terribly and am excited to be going home tomorrow and see them!!!

I saw an ad for these shoes weeks ago. I am not normally a super pricey shoe person. Mostly because I pretty much end up taking my dogs with me everywhere (and outside) in every outfit I own (why I find cookies & poo bags in every pocket of every jacket, coat or pair of pants that I own!) Plus I feel I am going tospend a lot of money on a single item, it should be something I will wear a LOT (I really should have crazily expensive hiking shoes & dog-walking gear!)

But these shoes…I have to admit I have been wanting a pair of Louboutins more than any other brand. There are just so many cute ones! And I LOVE pink. I know – so stereotypically girlie – but I do love pink. Looks on my skintone in pretty much any shade.

I even told husband about these shoes earlier in the day (a sign!) because I was so in love with them. Of course, when I told him they were probably $800-$900 he was very happy that I added “but I wouldn’t spend so much on a pair of shoes.”

Husband & I were walking through the Palazzo Shops after dinner and we walked by Barney’s and their shoe section is right up front…and I saw them…and walked right in and picked them up and I loved them!

The price tag was on the bottom…I had been dead-on in my guess earlier. They were $865. There was simply no way I could justify that..ever. But I wanted to try them on anyway!! We were here and the salesman was more than happy to help us :)

As soon as I put them on I knew I was in trouble…helped that I was in a dress and had just spent the day in the sun so was tan. The pink just worked so well. Plus a fresh pedi! :)

Then the salesman said the magic words…”they are going on sale on Tuesday and I can give you that price now…”. Wha??????

Husband loves a deal. Husband loves when I wear high heels. Husband was in a strangely good mood (proof he might need to relax a bit more as we did today.) But again…husband loves a good deal and these were now 40% off!!

He asked me if I loved them. I said I did. Salesman agreed they were hot on me (hey – I’ll take the compliment even if it was in his best interests!) Husband gave up his American Express card – whoa!!!

I can definitely say they are the single most expensive item in my closet. But I absolutely love them!!! And now I need to buy a couple dresses to go with them!! (preferably on a really good sale!)

This pic was taken last night. The pink is a more vibrant pink IRL I think but you can see them in their awesomeness :)