My Leopard Addiction

I want to start off by saying that I’ve always loved the leopard print.  I have a scarf that I bought in 1988 at Banana Republic (before Gap bought it and they used to have the coolest catalogues describing adventures far, far away) to prove it.  But animal prints, especially leopard, are all over the place now.  So, of course, I picked up a few leopard pieces since the summer and now my husband thinks I’m Snookie.

a reversible belt (the other side is black patent!)

a dressy trench

smoking flats

Echo scarves in 2 color schemes (no longer available)

Tory Burch clutch (no longer available, I bought this about 5 years ago?)

I like how this animal print goes with pretty much any color and it pops.  Of course, I wear only one leopard piece at a time.  Or I’d get grief from my husband, which I don’t understand since we’re both from Jersey.

Do you like leopard?  If so, how did you incorporate it into your wardrobe?

Thank you to the 2 new blog followers!  I still can’t see or identify any of you guys, sorry!  I googled how to fix this but no luck.  If you know how, or just want to say hi, please leave a comment.  🙂

On the road again

I recently tagged along on a couple of my husband’s business trips.  Nothing exotic, just Atlantic City and New York City.  Lots of fun and a little shopping in both cities.  Here’s my new purchases:

AG Stilt Jeans in Wine

I already have a pair of AG Stilt jeans and they are my favorite pair of jeans since they are so soft (the fabric feels like pajamas) and I find the fit to be flattering .  When I spied the Wine colored Stilts, I was taken by the rich color which is perfect for fall and winter.  Then I touched the fabric, and it’s called sateen.  Very lush to the touch like velvet or a very fine corduroy wale, but without the ridges.

The costume jewelry from BCBG was for fun and I got 2 of the same bracelets so I could wear them together.  The dome ring is a great cocktail ring and it’s very comfortable to wear.

I got my Steve Madden order last week and I love both pairs of the Madee smoking/tuxedo flats.  They were true to size (I can wear a 7.5 or 8, but I picked a size 8 for both).  They are pretty comfortable and they make my outfit dressy without trying.  The Flankk moto boots were cute, but they are too big for me so I will be returning them to the store.  I ordered a size 8, a 7.5 would fit better for sure (my heels move around too much) but the soles are heavy.  Heavy soles wreak havoc on my knees.

I canceled the order for Steve Madden Pembrook boots because it was backordered until the end of October.  I don’t want to wait that long.  But, I found another dupe for the Isabel Marant Dicker bootie:

Report Marks bootie

They’re cheaper than the Steve Madden Pembrook, about $20.  They also come in a brown color too:

I also found a cheaper dupe for another designer pair of boots on the Report Footware website–woo hoo!  Lanvin’s hidden wedge heel knee boot goes for about $1,000, price is dependant on the color and whether the boot is suede or leather.

Report again comes to the budgetary rescue with its Waldron boot for $100.

Anyone have a favorite purchase to help ring in the cooler temps?  I’d love to hear about it!

p.s.  Thanks to my 3 blog followers, yay!  I am so dumb with this blogger dashboard, I can’t see who they are.  But I really appreciate it nonetheless.  🙂

Win Win

I’m going to switch it up for the weekend.  That’s when my husband and I get caught up on watching our favorite TV shows and new movies together.  We really enjoyed Win Win (we ordered on demand but Netflix has the DVD available now).

I love Paul Giamatti, he can do no acting wrong in my eyes.  He did an amazing job in his role as Mike Flaherty, a stressed out attorney who needs to get out of financial troubles–fast.  The rest of the cast was amazing, I’m a big fan of Amy Ryan (The Wire, Gone Baby Gone) and Jeffrey Tambor (Arrested Development).  But I was impressed with Alex Shaffer, who plays Kyle Timmons.  His delivery is deadpan and realistic for a (troubled) teenager.  Rent this movie, it’s a good and positive story.

Here’s my other movie pick you should check out for an inspirational and true story:

My husband and I are anxiously awaiting the Sons of Anarchy–Season 3 DVD’s from Netflix.  We watched the first 2 seasons within record time and waited for the recent Season 3 DVD release.  I’m recording Season 4 (currently on FX) on the DVR, but we want to watch Season 3 first.

Man, we love this show.

Hopefully, you are experiencing some nice fall weather.  But if it’s cold and grey outside, curl up on the couch and be entertained.

It was a Steve Madden kinda night…

I just bought 4 pairs of shoes.  At least my blog is aptly named, right?  It started off innocently enough, I swear.  I’ve been lusting after the Isabel Marant Dicker bootie (as seen on since Kate Bosworth, other celebs and many a blogger) for forever.

Thankfully for my wallet, they are sold out and/or no longer available so I won’t be blowing $600+ on a pair of booties.  Also thankfully, a couple of bloggers led me to Steve Madden’s Pembrook bootie for a cheaper dupe.  Got mine in the taupe suede.  I got a 10% off discount code for signing up on their website and it was good for about 24 hours.  I saw this as as opportunity to stock up on flat shoes and boots for this fall and winter.  I’m trying to be kind to my feet and give them a break from high heels and pinched toe boxes.

So, these are the others that I’ve ordered:  the Flankk motorcycle bootie in black leather and 2 pairs of the Madee smoking or tuxedo flats in leopard calf hair and taupe suede.  Oh, and to further satiate my leopard print addiction, a calf hair belt.  I picked the Madees as an alternative to ballet flats for when it gets cold.  The tops of my feet get chilly, even with my tights or socks on.  I figured it will be better coverage to keep the cold out.  It’s funny, I had a pair of these smoking flats back in high school, in the 80’s.  Mine were black suede and they looked so grown up with my black leggings.  I was into lots of black clothing back then, a new wave chick.  Was I ahead of my time or is every fashion item on a loop that gets replayed every 20 years?

The Flankk moto boots were inspired by this Chanel Spring/Summer 2011 ad campaign image:

Love the tough juxtaposed with the ultra feminine.  I *heart* Chanel.

Is this thing on?

Welcome to my new blog!  I have no idea how to set this up but I hope I’m a quick study.  We shall see.

I plan on discussing my love of shoes, purses, clothes, food, wine, films, etc. on this blog and show you stuff that catches my eye.  Warning: I have expensive taste, but I am also frugal.  Frugality usually wins (kinda, sorta), but I look to the high-end stuff first for inspiration.  I’ll start with a few things I’ve been lusting after lately.

I have wanted this Tom Ford motorcycle zip bag ever since I’ve seen the recent paparazzi photos of Jen Aniston.  The bad news:  I’ve read online that it costs approximately $4,000.  Uh, that’s a smidge out there in price for me.  But I can still appreciate the luxe leather and tough zipper details of the bag.  Jen’s been dressing less Cali and a little more downtown NYC lately and I like it.  She wears it well.

Okay, I need to show you my shoe crush from afar.  This baby is from the Alexander Wang Fall 2011 collection and it’s called the Luisa.  This is the coolest shoe I’ve seen in awhile.  I can see these with opaque tights and rocking an all black / monochromatic outfit.  The silver is unexpected on the shoe.  I am loving the other shoes from this collection but I could totally see myself wearing these shoes.  I’ll have to sleep on it to consider purchasing since they are $550.  If you like them too and want to purchase, click here.  Oh, if you do, I’m jealous but happy for you.