Shop-O-Rama

I am the anti-shopaholic. I absolutely LOOOVE *going* shopping, but I rarely pull the trigger. I'm one of the tightest people with money you've ever met in your life (except when it comes to food - eating out is my biggest vice in life. Seriously.) [Perhaps this is why grocery shopping is my favorite thing EVER: practical shopping that's not optional! :-D] I never buy fun stuff for myself, (it drives JB & my BFF Jackie crazy :-P) but whenever I *DO*, I am sooo excited about the items that were awesome enough for me to actually purchase that I feel like I have to share my finds with the world!!! :-D I also never usually purchase alone; I will almost always walk away. But with my mom or my girlfriends, esp. on a trip? I can get on a roll...which is what seems to have happened this week with my mommy. ;-)

I cannot tell you how happy I am to live in a place where it's technically possible to comfortably wear sandals almost any month of the year! I'm not a big shoe girl - I seem to buy one new pair every few years. (Same with purses.) I have cute denim wedges I got NINE years ago, my black Onesole slides with now-monogrammed tops, & brown/bronze sandals I got two years ago (to replace the worn-out brown ones I'd gotten three years before that; see how I roll? :-D Very utilitarian!) So when I see a pair that actually makes me do a double-take, this is a big deal. The Patricia II Crocs almost jumped off the display at me. Lots of people are anti-Crocs, and while I would never choose those holey clogs for an adult, you can't deny how comfortable they are. Acceptable sandals for me MUST be strappy, and I also almost NEVER wear flats. (I'm 5'5" - it's not a short thing. I just don't like the way I feel in flats. Wedges = fave.) So how cute are these?

A touch of fun green peeks out, the off-white has a tiny gleam of shimmer, they're strappy 2" wedges, easy to clean, & practical enough to wear to the ball field with jeans or Junior League with my Lilly Pulitzer pants. Yes, please!

So everyone knows how long my hair is, and it *is* a task to put it up quickly & securely in anything other than a pony. Enter Goody Spin Pins!

I first saw TiffanyD review these a few weeks ago, and I haven't been able to stop mulling them over since. I went for it at Ulta ($3.50 off $10 coupon!) ...and they REALLY WORK! I have sported a fabulously casual chignon for the last two days with no breakage or tangles (esp. from getting rubbed on my coat - NC is COLD!)

I love the ease & the chic look for a simple change!

Also at Ulta, (using 2 more coupons - 1 for each bottle) I "splurged" on the best shampoo & conditioner for my hair that I've ever regularly used: TIGI Bed Head Dumb Blonde.

Before we had kids, I'd get the liter bottles when they went on sale at Trade Secret, but (like so many things) I just seemed to let that little extra expense go, esp. after we moved up north. I saw the liter bottles - regularly $32 each (no freaking way!) - on super sale for $12.99; so with the coupons, I got each big bottle for $10. They'll last me well over half a year, and I think it makes my hair extra gorgeous & strong. (I am convinced using this stuff is what helped me keep it so healthy when I grew it out so long initially.)

Today at the mall, my mom & I fell into the Land's End winter clearance sale. There are two pieces for Annelise that we fell esp. hard for, (and these pics do NOT do an ounce of justice to how great they REALLY look! Ugh, Land's End - you need some MAJOR styling help!)

This navy sparkle knit dress

is so playful & dreamy! You can't tell here that it also has some beading in the with the sequins, and some of the sequins are rainbow iridescent = festive! And the knit is so soft!

Also this fantastically classic trench coat

makes her look like she just got off a plane in London to model or something. :-P It's a great weight, meticulously made, and that bubble hem makes it perfectly girly.

So, I blame this flood of *me* on the satisfied-red-lipstick-urge breaking the dam. ;-) (Even though the Land's End isn't exactly for me. :-D)