To buy or not to buy, that is the question!

I've fallen head over heels in love, but my bank account is practically crying... What to do!

Ben Sherman Sophia Cable Knit Cardigan Sweater - Milk ($109)

I'm back, just in time for spring!

HAPPY SPRING EVERYONE!!

Wow! Life suddenly got ridiculously busy and I've barely had time for myself, let alone time to sit in front of my computer... which, in retrospect, is probably a good idea for my wallet. I really missed blogging! I kept seeing different things in stores to post about, and now that I have time to post I've forgotten 99% of them! But don't worry, this will still be chock full of goodies.

First off, hope everyone had a great St. Patty's day! Erin Go Bragh! I myself had quite a good time, perhaps not as much as this guy:

Moving on to shopping! First off, some finds from Dakota Martin:

I love her reversible scarf tops, and these two are my favorites ($154 each):


Love those colors for spring and summer. To give you an idea of how they look on:
Too cute! Also, I love the Patty Polo ($65) in Navy/Kelly Green w/Polka dots collar:
I could have sported that one for St. Pats, hmm. There are lots of other color combos as well. Check out the site, she has some really great stuff!

Now my wish list of finds from Pink Mascara:

Alexis Hudson Caesar Clutch in Brown ($275):
Kenneth Jay Lane White Flower Ring ($88).. So fresh and summery, I really might have to buy this one asap..
Rich and Skinny Leggy Jeans in Black ($176) The name of the brand cracks me up, plus I have been looking all over for a good pair of black jeans that aren't extreme low-rise.. I think this might be the one!
On the shoe front, found these cute Senora open flats for spring from Wanted ($40):

I saw another pair of great sandals from Wanted in a store downtown, but I don't know the name of the style and can't seem to find it anywhere online.. It had a Tory Burch-like embellished large buckle, and was a thong sandal, silver with a gold buckle and vice-versa.. was very cute!

And last but not least, the beach bag that I will be lusting after for the summer, the pink and green Couture Islands Bag with Towel ($165) from Juicy Couture:

I have a Juicy Couture towel from a couple of years ago, but nothing comes close to this adorable set...

Before I sign off, I need some advice from all the saavy fashionistas out there - I'm looking for jeans for my dear mater familiaris. She is in desperate need of a pair of high-waisted jeans (about a 9 1/2 inch rise) that still have a great cut, and aren't "old lady-ish". Anyone know of any brands/styles?

"Beware the ides of March"

EEK! No, that's not a modernistic sculpture of Julius Caesar, it's the "Ex" knife set from Perpetual Kid at $100 (comes in other colors at $60) and I think it's hilarious. Perpetual Kid is a fun little site where you can find all sorts of interesting little gadgets and gags, like the following:

Sewer Cover Rug, $24
And these adorable Flip Flop Coasters, perfect for a summer party! ($36):
It's a cute site, full of fun stuff.. check it out, especially if you're in the market for a funny/unique present for the person who has everything..

Onto some shopping bargains at Delia's and Wet Seal..

Maribel Skirt ($28.50)
Sailboat Sundress ($30) - would make such a cute beach coverup!
and from Wet Seal, this Thermal Screen Hoodie ($21.50) - love the bow!
*Update* on Smashbox O Glow that I posted about last time - I went into Sephora to try it.. Definitely does not work as promised. My cheeks turned fluorescent pink, and when I wiped it off with a tissue, hot pink stuff came off.. which means that it is not a perfectly clear solution, but has color in it... Or my cheeks are secreting hot pink goop, which I really hope is not the case...

One last funny shirt from Delia's to leave you with -
Not quite Shakespearean, but it gets the point across.

Making the switch to iced coffee today...

Hooray! It's warm out! Even if it's only going to last one week, I finally get to break out some of my new spring clothes. Granted, sometimes I go a little overboard, and end up freezing my tush off outside, but dammit I look cute doing it!

**ATTENTION all NYC girls** - Girlshop is having their one and only warehouse sale, March 15-18th at their boutique (819 Washington St. at Gansevoort, 212-255-4985)!! Thurs-Fri 10-8, Sat-Sun 11-6. You all know where I am going to be on Thursday......

FINALLY some Spring stuff from CKBradley's website! I love the Tulip dress in Green/Navy ($320):

The warm weather also inspired me to pop over to Snappy Turtle to see if they had any new preppy spring&summer stuff.. and indeed they did!

Party Skirt - lime/white ($240)
Kenneth Jay Lane Toggle Necklaces, in lots of colors.. White and Turquoise are my faves - I can't decide which one I like better! ($110 each)

And last, these Diamond "Kiss Me Knot" evening bags ($98).. The pattern reminds me of a CKBradley dress from a year or so ago.. but oh so cute!
I have a big soft spot for Keds. I was a child of the 80's, and that's all I ever wore. I only wish that back then, they had the cute patterns/shapes they have now. All I ever got were the plain white ones in canvas and leather. With slouch socks. But we won't go there.

Annnyywayyy - I have their distressed canvas ones from last year in white and navy, but I think I might have to pick up these Buttercup Skimmers ($40) next time I am at Macy's... I love the pink and the green one!

And, to get rid of our pale winter faces, I found this on Sephora - haven't tried it yet, but it's a good excuse to go there today..

Smashbox O-GLOW ($26) - it claims to be "the first intuitive blush, this clear gel reacts with your personal skin chemistry to turn cheeks the exact color you blush, naturally in just seconds! When applied, the skin's moisture activates the energizing Goji Berry-C Complex™. It creates a microcirculatory effect, producing a rosy flush that lasts all day."... HMMM.... I don't know if I buy it. I'll have to try it out and see - it would be nice if it works! But the whole "microcirculatory effect" thing makes me a little worried - what if my face just blows up and looks like a bloated tomato for 24 hours??

Say hi to Blimpy!

So I found these virtual pets and decided to get a little hamster for my blog. I was never allowed to have one as a child because they smelled so bad. But this little guy doesn't smell! You can feed him a strawberry and he runs around in his wheel. (I know, I'm a dork.)

On a random note - I'm now convinced that Starbucks puts drugs in their coffee. I can't stop drinking caramel machiattos. Can. not. stop. I need a Starbucks patch, or machiatto gum, or something!

I was very very bad today. Went to Bloomies and picked this one up (after all my posts about DvF, I get one I didn't even see!)

Jessica Wrap Dress:
I broke my green addiction! Yay!

Found some new cute bargains at Old Navy. Speaking of bargains - I still haven't taken pics of my H&M stuff, but I promise I will as soon as I can get my rechargeable battery to work on my camera, CTPrep!

Old Navy Long Belted Trench Coat ($34.49!!)
Always a classic.. I love anything that is double-breasted - so flattering.

Printed Babydoll Dress ($24): *WARNING* I tried these on today, and they definitely made me look preggers with the way they flared out. I think you have to have a certain frame to pull them off. I wish they looked good on me, sigh.

Here's some eyelet for Melissa at Perfectly Pink!

Strapless Eyelet Dress ($34.50)
This one didn't have the "maternity effect", but they didn't have one in my size.. I'm going to check another Old Navy tomorrow!

Now I realize that the Tory Burch fad is sweeping the nation, but since I like to be different, I recently found these Juicy Couture "Edith" flats ($225) that I think are a neat option for an embellished flat that isn't Tory Burch:
I didn't pick those up at Bloomies, I put my blinders on after buying the dress and ran away..

Can't forget another "Edith", though - I did peek out as I exited Bloomies at the new Chloe bags.. And I now crave their new "Edith 2" bag in black.. Here is an Edith 2 on sale for $1,020 at Bluefly in Green (but I want black)
Seriously yum.

Speaking of yum, I wonder if there is a 24 hour Starbucks somewhere in the city? That delivers? Hmm.

H&M alert!

Girls - if you can, high-tail it to H&M! I went last night and their new spring stuff is starting to trickle in, and it's adorable. Great pastel plaid buttondowns, heart print pleated skirts, lightweight argyle sweaters, seersucker pants and matching jacket - get there while this lasts! I could hardly find stuff in my size and they JUST got it all in! If I can get my camera to work I will take pictures of some of my purchases!

In other news, found this great Ashley Jacket at Abercrombie ($128) in pink - although it looks kinda Nantucket Red to me..
Also, I've been looking for a large red anchor necklace to go with this nautical red and white striped shirt I have. Sofar, no luck. But I did come across this Nautical Necklace from Fred Flare ($12) and have fallen in looove...

Talk about a perfect color + symbol combo!

Lastly, in keeping with the pink and green, these cute Flock flip flops from Miss Sixty ($56) at Zappos:

My silver Yellow Box flip flops arrived from Zappos today.. They are even cuter in person, but I'm a little worried about the size. The 8/5 fits perfectly - a little too perfectly, as in my heel is just about to fall off the back. So I grabbed up the last size 9 online just now. They're all out in the gold, waaah. I guess I will have to keep searching the net - Kitson has them, but they're more expensive, you pay for shipping, and they don't do refunds.. boo..

Alright, I'm off to brave the 12 degree weather!

Here's a little ditty, about Shoes and Diane...

My happiness over this wonderful weather this weekend (including dragging spring shoes and clothes out of the back of my closet) has abruptly ended. No warm weather for me. Furry boots, back on. Boooo.

But, a girl can still dream, right? So onto my hunt for summer sandals. I desperately need a pair of gold and silver flip flops, to replace ones that I've had for 2 summers (from the Gap, no less!). I don't like plastic/rubber flip flops, the ones from the Gap had leather soles and plain triangle shaped front that was gold/silver. So last night I found these Yellow Box Fortune Sandals ($45) on Zappos - they're a little, well, bling, but I think they are different and cute:
They come in silver as well.. I think I might order them, hang onto them, and thanks to Zappos 365-day return policy, if I come across something better in the months ahead, I'll return them!

I found these Mystique Starfish Sandals on Kitson ($125)
I love love love them! I might wait a while on these until I've gotten all of my "summer necessities" out of the way...

These next ones aren't spring.. but I've seen them on tons of websites, and I think they are gross and remind me of Napoleon Dynamite.. They are the Snowjogger Boot from Kitson..
I think they're so ugly. BUT - this picture shows Lindsey Lohan wearing them, and they don't look terrible on! I'm so confused!
I even think, from that photo, that they look a little more flattering than Uggs... So, so confused...

Some new ballet flats from J. Crew, just arrived - the Lisette Ballet Flat ($118). These are my favorite prints (top: Pebble, bottom: Papaya Paisley):

Onto some new spring stuff from DvF.. notice that my weird subconcious addiction to green clothing is coming out once again..

Dagny Top in Giant Grass Kelly ($198):
Justin Cube Dress in Diamond Cube Orange/Pink ($325):
Now I realize that isn't green - BUT - the model on the website is wearing that dress in this print:

Jillianna Top in Diamond Cube Navy/Green ($210):
Which I like alot better. But I have better coloring for greens and navys than bright oranges and reds...

And lastly, I will leave you all with a very very funny Grey's Anatomy MadTV parody, to brighten your Monday...

Finally, some time to breathe..

Ever since I've gotten over the ebola virus or whatever was plaguing me, I've been slammed with playing catchup in all aspects of life.. Hopefully now things will calm down and I can keep up with blogging.

So I recently got very excited about a new men's cologne for the Boyfriend. The Boyfriend currently has switched from Acqua di Gio (which I liked) to Burberry Brit, which I despise, and he switched only because he liked the name. Flipping through my newest issue of Allure, I came across Lacoste Essential for men. SO YUMMY! Unfortunately the women's version, to me, smells like Play -Doh. Really does! So I don't recommend that at all. But this is definitely one of the best colognes I've ever smelled in a long time. Very fresh and summery - very clean smelling, which is always a plus (especially when they aren't). It's the first time I've ever gotten excited about a cologne, and can't wait until his birthday in a couple of months to happily rescue my nose..

Next up, a couple of finds from a strange website known as Alternative Outfitters. They carry "vegan" clothing (I didn't know such a thing existed, besides no leather of course) but actually found this whale tote for $34.99:
Would make such a great beach bag for the summer!

Also found these cute Satin Sheen Ballet Flats for those dressier occasions ($45):
I thought the tote and the shoes were very cute.. I'm not a vegetarian (in fact, I just went to dinner at PJ Clarke's last night for a very delish cheeseburger) but the website had some interesting things.. aside from the pleather stuff - I'll take the real thing, please!

I also found another website, Karma Loop. Poked around and found a few things:

Tretorn The Tournament Paninari Leather Sneaker ($85)
Sugar the Thread and Butter shoe ($32):
I also have to admit I have a secret weakness for funny tshirts. I own alot of them, including this one below from David and Goliath, one of my favorite tshirt designers:

(Deadly Weapon Tee, $15 at Yellow Rat Bastard NYC)

Another David and Goliath classic at YRB - "He hasn't called.." for $10:
I have a small collection of funny shirts, that I like to pull out for certain occasions.. Including a "Alex P. Keaton in 2008" shirt and one that says "I Have A Degree in Liberal Arts - would you like fries with that?"

Now I need some opinions... I recently bought this pair of "Aniyah" boots from Aldo. They are a take-off on the Sugar Shoes Graphic Boot, but I loved the fun print, and they look really cute with skinny jeans, or with a little jean skirt in the spring/summer. Now that I've bought it (still in the box) I've seen a million people wearing the same boot style (but not in the print I have). Do I keep it or return it?