Holiday shoppin'

Did you take advantage of any Memorial Day weekend sales? I was very good this weekend, meaning I didn't break the bank and justify it by saying, "but it was on sale"! Anyone who knows me knows that I am a shopaholic, but this past weekend I wasn't feeling it. Don't get me wrong, I did venture out to a mall or two but the sales weren't anything to write home about. Having said that, I only ended up with one thing - This long sleeved tee. I had to pick this up.... It's so girly with the rhinestones so I'll look extra cute when I tailgate this fall with the boys. So what did you purchase? Did you get a good deal?

Happy Memorial weekend

I am so looking forward to the this weekend. One because Monday is a holiday for us and I don't have to go into work (yea!) and two, a lot of people use this weekend to have pool parties, picnics, or cookouts. The weather is going to be relatively good this weekend around the country, so I will use this long weekend to catch up on my favorite blog sites and my magazine subscriptions (which just happens to be piling up) while sun-bathing at the pool. This is also a great weekend to go shopping. A lot of boutiques, department stores, and shops love to lure us in by "marking down" the prices on a lot of their products and calling it a Memorial Day sale. I for one don't need a reason to shop, but I just love a good deal. So get out and eat, shop, and tan not necessarily in that order. Have a get Memorial Day weekend!

Dressing your boy

Guess I've been kind of oblivious, but women's jeans aren't the only ones reporting a $100+ price tag. My boy Nate came to me wanting my expert fashion advice on some jeans he was contemplating purchasing. To my surprise they were designer jeans, but he is one of my male friends who is into that. Anyway he was looking at a pair of William Rast, True Religion, and Rock & Republic. Of course after he gave me the rundown I let him know to expect to pay a hefty price, but I wasn't prepared for this.... The William Rast pair he was interested in would run him a whopping $230! True Religion is selling a pair for $280 (not the pair he showed me). The Rock & Republic pair wouldn't be far off. I was shell-shocked. I asked him, "are you sure you want to spend this kind of money on jeans?!" Guess that's what I was for, to talk some sense into him! In all seriousness, I liked all of the styles he chose. They each had a little something different about them whether it was the wash, or the cut, or the pocket style. The jeans look pretty darn sexy on these male models, but I convinced my boy to wait a while and sleep on it before he went on a spending binge.

The Limited no more?

Last week Leslie Wexner, founder of Limited Brands, sold majority stake in Express Fashions to a firm in California. The reason: Wexner wants to focus on intimate apparel and beauty & personal care products i.e. Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works. He's been selling off apparel branches for years now starting with Lane Bryant then Lerner New York. Rumor has it that the Limited stores are next. Living in Ohio, where Wexner started his chain, the Limited brand has been very influential in my style. Express in particular. Express is a great place for me to purchase daytime wear and night life fashions. I can say that Express is one of the first brands that began selling pants and jeans in different lengths, recognizing that not every woman is 5'5" tall. I will admit though that I have not been fond of Express' rising price points. I can recall a couple of years ago my sister and I ventured there for holiday shopping and found sweaters being sold there for $200! We were shocked and had to look at the name on the building to make sure we were in the right place. This is Express right!? Not sure if they were trying to keep up with the Versaces of the world, but I had to take a small break from that place.

The break was a small one and their prices are still higher than expected, but the clothing and accessories are still really cute. I always receive compliments when wearing an Express piece. News stories report that distribution centers and headquarters will remain in Ohio, so consumers may not notice or feel the change in ownership. I'll keep my eye on this story.

Got my nails did

I went to the nail salon a few days ago for a little pampering. I usually take care of my nails myself, but thought it was time to have a professional touch them. I visited the local nail salon who take walk-ins and signed up for a basic manicure, and was pumped! As she started the manicure process a thought came to me. I remembered watching a TV program where an aesthetician informed people not to have your cuticles cut. That cutting your cuticles makes them grow back faster and thicker. Eww, who wants that right?! But as my manicurist was tending to my nails the cuticle trimmer came out, and I said nothing. I figured what the hay, I'm sure this isn't THAT damaging to my nails. So I happily accepted the manicure, chose a pretty nail enamel, paid her and went on my way. Much later I went to wash my hands in hot water (as I tend to do) and my hands, no my cuticle area was stinging! Then, dun dun dun, I saw BLOOD! Okay I'm being dramatic, but I know the next time I will have her keep her cuticle trimming tool in the drawer and simply have them pushed back. But if that's your thing don't let my story discourage you.

Slow music week

This Tuesday (as with every Tuesday) musicians drop their CDs for the world to purchase. There are a couple CDs which I am anticipating will be very good, partly from the band's history and partly from the released single.

1) Linkin Park - Minutes to Midnight
2) Tank - Sex, Love & Pain

I'm a pretty big Linkin Park fan, I have all of their CDs. Well the Collision Course CD featuring Jay-Z is my boy Hen's, but it's in my possession for now! Their new single What I've Done starts with a riff resembling the musical theme to horror flick 'Halloween', which immediately caught my attention since I'm a huge fan of that movie series. "Well trick or treat?!" Okay sorry for that, couldn't resist. Tank I'm not really a fan or a non-fan of, but I just love his new single Please Don't Go. I'm into sappy love songs so this one is right up my alley. This single has a great track, good lyrics, a really good voice. Other than those two, I'm not looking forward to any other releases this week.

Sunglasses Hunt

Now that we're well into spring and headed very quickly into summer I have been obsessed with finding the perfect pair of shades. I found a pair by JLo that I love for my South Beach trip, but for some reason I'm not satisfied - I want more! I think the main place this is coming from is while in Miami, of course everyone had on some designer trendy pair of shades, I spotted a pair on a random woman just passing by as I was basking in the sun. On this woman these sunglasses were so cute. Since she was passing by I couldn't see the designer (usually located on the side) but they looked so hot. A dark lens with the frame a gold metal - it just looked so luxurious. But I'm not into spending a ton of cash on sunglasses. Surprisingly, since I am a label whore, I plain just don't think it's worth it. Most sunglasses, if not all, being sold today are UVA/UVB protected so you end up paying for nothing more than the name on the frame, and in some cases the case that come with the pair.

These are Fendi and are super cute, but I cannot justify paying the $300 price tag. Yeah I'll just keep looking.