Shoe Shopping!

So, since I'm officially all pregnant and whatnot (Thank you guys so much for all of the sweet thoughts and congratulations, by the way!!), this means that even when I do get the urge to lift my shopping ban for something fun like the Memorial Day sales at the outlet mall, there's not much I can buy at this point in time.

But, do you know what fits, even as my stomach gets bigger?

Shoes!

Especially $14.99 clearance rack shoes at the Nine West outlet...













(Ok, that last pair wasn't on the clearance rack. But I love them anyway. Plus, at $70 for three pairs of shoes, I'm not going to argue with that...)

Hope you all are enjoying this lovely holiday weekend with your families and friends!

PS: Don't forget to enter my eShakti giveaway by 5/31!

Support for a Friend

Some of you are probably pretty familiar with Kimberly and her blog, but for those of you who aren't, she's trying to raise some support for a family friend and police officer, who was injured in the line of duty.

Please head over to read the story of Officer James Winslow, and if you can, keep him and his family in your thoughts and prayers as he recovers from his injuries.

Want to hear what EXACTLY has been going on with me, lately?

Then, might I suggest you head over to my family blog right now, to see today's big announcement?

(Hint: It's probably just what you think it is...)

Eshakti Giveaway Announcement!

A few months ago, I was contacted by the fantastic people at eShakti to review an item from their collection, which I posted about here. That skirt was, is, and probably will be for a very long time, one of my favorite pieces in my closet because the silhouette is so flattering, and flowers will never, ever stop making me happy.

So, you know, it's hard to top something like that.

For those of you that aren't familiar with the company, they are an online shop that offers a wide range of items in both standard and custom sizes, meaning if you have trouble fitting into standard sizes (like I do,sometimes, because of my short *ahem5'2ahem* stature), you can submit your measurements for a dress made to your specifications. And even if a standard size does work for you, you still have the option of choosing the length that best suits you, all for a $7.50 customization fee.

Anyway, eShakti has recently updated their website, with a new range of styles and items that they wanted to share, including these new favorites of mine:

(Ok, ok...I have a lot of favorites. This is just the tip of the iceberg, my friends.)

And the best part of this springtime renovation is that not only do they want to share these styles with you fabulous people, but for a very lucky one of you? They want to go ahead and give you your choice of item, too, with choices that include the custom-sized/custom-styled options. Really, how can you beat that?

The rules of the giveaway are simple:
1) Go to eShakti, and let me know which item you would pick, if you won.

2) Follow eShakti on Facebook and Pinterest.

and

3) Leave me a comment on this post when you've done 1 and 2.

That's it! That's all you have to do...

For an additional chance to win (please leave a separate comment for this one):


1) Tweet a link to the contest (and follow me, if you'd like, although that part isn't really mandatory...just make sure you include your Twitter handle in the comment so I can check it out!).

The contest is open to all residents of US and Canada, from 5/21to 5/31, and I will be picking a random winner on 6/1.

Good luck to all!!

Bright Side

You know what I hate? When real life (the boring, stressful, adult side of real life, not the fun, 'let's go to the park and eat ice cream!' side of real life) prevents me from playing on the Internet as much as I want. I haven't written anything good on my blog(s) for weeks (or even followed a consistent schedule), I haven't been reading or commenting on other blogs, and I've been the WORST email corresponder in the history of email corresponders.

And when I have had time, like my home-alone weekend that just passed? I've been too drained to do much more with myself beyond lying on the couch, watching terribly cheesy movies and Gilmore Girls on DVD.

(I wish I could properly convey to you the struggle I had with myself on Sunday over whether I should actually get up to go to the basement to get the DVDs or just remain content with whatever crappy television was available to me by remote...but I fear you would lose whatever slight respect you might have for me at this moment.)

(The trip to the basement won out, though, so...that counts for something, right?)

I'm not in a funk, necessarily. I don't feel down at all. In fact, I'd actually say I'm in a pretty good mood. I just feel tired and scattered. And uninspired. And unmotivated.

I'm going to have to work on this...

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And I'll start with the things that are making me happy today:

1) Brigid and Steve come home today! Even though Brigid told me last night she didn't want to come home because she doesn't like me, I am still pretty excited to see her. The brat.

2) I worked on Monday (my normal day off) because Steve and Brigid were out of town, so I'm taking this Friday off, instead. FOUR DAY WEEKEND, Y'ALL!!

3) I think I have the chance to make some people happy at work this week. And that's always a good thing.

4) Kate Spade is having a surprise sale today, on some select items, and I may have been enticed by the prices to pick up a couple of things. But, I bought some gifts, too, so I'm making EVERYBODY happy!

5) The Bachelorette started on Monday. I...yeah, I've got nothing to justify this one. I'm just a big fan of terrible tv...

Friday Round-Up

Happy Friday, everyone! The sun is shining, the temperature is not of the sweltering variety, and I treated myself to a little bit of caffeine at lunch.

It's a good day all around, is what I'm saying.

I hope your Friday is treating you just as wonderfully sweet as mine is...

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And now, for the things I've enjoyed around the Internet this week...

I want the last pair of shoes in this post. I would almost go so far as to say I NEED the last pair of shoes in this post, but I'm sure, given the price, my husband would vehemently disagree. And I'm trying to stay on his good side, since he's giving me a few days of rest and recovery to myself this weekend, while he handles toddler duty at the beach. But still...pretty, pretty, PRETTY shoes.

Jen is a packing genius. Seriously. GENIUS.

How do we feel about this yellow floral dress (the last one in the post)? Because I'm torn between absolutely adoring the heck out of it and thinking it's too stepford-ish for my taste. But with those coral accessories? I kind of want it all. I don't know. I"M SO CONFUSED!

This just makes me smile. It's an outlook on life we should all have, I think...

Then there's this, which is kind of all about poop. But it makes me smile, too, because, well, LIFE. It's just what happens, you know?

And finally, surviving IKEA. Because it's a lesson we could all use at one point or another.

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And then, of course, you should check out my latest Style Lush post, if you have the time. And maybe weigh in on the large wooden mustache, if you're interested? Because I think it's awesome, and I need to find somewhere to put it, so I have an excuse to go buy it.

(I totally hooked you with 'wooden mustache', didn't I?)

Birchbox, for the win!

I have to say, I was a little worried about my Birchbox subscription when I first signed up for it. I'd heard such good things for such a long time, when I received my first box, I was a little disappointed. But, then I started hearing from people that my first month had been a disappointment across the board, with very few people happy with what they'd received.

So, I decided to reserve judgment until the second month. And I was rewarded for my patience with a dry shampoo sample that excited me more than anything of that sort should excite me. This was followed, in the next couple of months, with samples of tea, perfume, nail polish, eye shadow, and facial cleanser/moisturizer that absolutely made my subscription worth it.

Then this month rolled around. And I am officially in love.




 

You see that unassuming, shiny pink tube in the second picture? 

That is Fresh's sugar rose tinted lip treatment, and I am obsessed with it. I haven't stopped putting it on my lips every five seconds since it showed up on my doorstep, and I have no intention of ever doing so. It's tinted. It has SPF included. It smells so lovely.

It's a keeper.