MissAmy |

This is the silk top from the TJMaxx haul the other day:

I added even more oomph with my retina-searing orange ruffle front Adrienne Vittadini top.

Me Too flats, Nine West jeans, BCBG print top, Adrienne Vittadini orange top

My rendition of the Seventeen outfit suggestion:

Tahari flats, Target boyfriend jeans, Hanes tank, Diane Von Furstenburg button-down, scarf from swap party (thank you, Missi!), Target CZ hoop earrings

I am officially welcoming myself back to outfit posts.  Only when they’re worth it though!  I don’t want to punish your eyes!

I have GOT  to slow down with the shopping for a while!  I went to TJMaxx last Friday night & then on Sunday I ended up shopping at Lane Bryant & Marshalls.  I really need to stop spending as I have a couple fun things coming up I would LIKE to do – IF I can afford to.

Friday night was Game Night with the girls.  I wasted time at TJMaxx then hit Walmart for a snack to bring to the party.

Here is my plunder (all from clearance):

BCBG silky print top.  Wild colors & print! Extra bonis that it’s washable.  $10

Seven7 burnout tee in periwinkle.  I luuuurrrrv burnouts! $7

Calvin Klein tee – nice & lightweight.  I wore this out on Sunday & realized it’s almost too big – it kept slipping off my left shoulder.  $5

Honestly, it’s nothing too exciting.  I don’t have patience to try on pants lately.  Plus I don’t want to stay at the size I am so it would be pointless to buy more pants this size.  Also, shoes & bag clearance racks have been grim lately!  Anyone else notice this?  TJMaxx’s clearance bag wall almost totally bare.  I’m sure new markdowns are coming soon!

I love all ”week’s worth of outfit” articles.  Anything that provides a capsule wardrobe fascinates me.  Anything about packing for a week of travel.  I always wonder what 7 pieces would I buy if I had no clothes.

Here’s one from Seventeen (Yes, I subscribe.  And yes, I know, I’m not seventeen.)

Below are the ones I might try.  I’ll keep you posted!

I have all the pieces for this one.  The last one clicked into place when I scored a hot pink leopard print scarf at my swap party!

This one will take some creativity.  I have the boots, tights, belt & plaid shirt.  Just need a similar dress (which probably won’t be ruffled – curvy girls don’t need more bulk!) & an army jacket.  I’ve been wanting an olive green parka lately anyway – maybe I could find one at Target.

I squeezed in a visit to Marshalls the other night before I had coffee with the girls.  I’m finding that I’m a lot pickier about what I buy now that I’m more conscious of how disposable products had become to me (as well as of us as a society).  I am trying to be choosier about what I buy so that I won’t be getting rid of clothing after two or three wearings.  It’s the same thing with shoes: I want the fit to be meticulous.

I end up putting a lot of things back on the rack that in the past I would have bought without worry.

Here’s what I did end up with (all clearance):

Super yummy smelling pumpkin soap.  $3

A plum colored tee – I couldn’t resist the shaping at the neckline.  I’m wearing this tonight to game night with the girls. $7

I couldn’t not get this one.  I pictured it fitting really loose but it’s more of a normal fit.  Still, it’s whisper thin & ripe for layering! $10

So, ultimately I didn’t get much at all.  I am allowing a TJMaxx stop tonight.  Maybe I’ll find some goodies there too.  I’ll try to restrain myself though!

I am a magazine junkie.  I get most fashion magazines by subscription.  If I don’t subscribe I end up paying full price at the store.  Anyway, I learn random things with each one & here is this month’s installment from People StyleWatch:

I might try this version of the bob soon.  Slightly shorter in back.  Not fully decided though – I do like layers around my face.

I want to buy this.  I will honestly buy anything they say is good for oily skin.  I am such a sucker!

Not that I actually ever go anywhere I’ve never been, but if I ever do I’m gonna check out this site for non-touristy must-do’s!

Thirteen ladies showed up to my annual swap party & we had an excellent time!  There was plenty of good food, good drinks & good conversation, as well as some excellent shopping.  I’m pretty sure that everyone left with something that made them happy.  For myself it was LOTS of things

I had a LOT of fun prepping for & putting on the party.  Here are photos of the aftermath I took the next morning, since I forgot to take any during the night:

My husband also thought of a couple teenage girls that live with their Grandma (who he knows from work).  They got to come over Sunday morning & do some shopping too.  It was a great morning treat & I got to get out all the desserts from the night before & share those too.

Now all the rest of the goods are folded & ready to go to a charity.  We would love to donate to Haiti but we’ve gotten mixed messages about donating clothes.  I still have to do some research (but quickly!) to determine where these goodies will go.

Here is the one dish I made from scratch:

Choco-Nut Triangles – so so yummy (and pretty)!

I suppose I’ll share what I ended up with but I feel very greedy!  I ended up with a whole new wardrobe plus a ton of new makeup (thank you Chrissy!).  Two of the ladies had just dropped weight & it just so happened that they used to be my size.  Almost everything from them fit perfectly!  Amazing!  Anyway, here’s what I got:

From the bright pink leopard print scarf all the way over to the grey bottoms on the right!

Loads of new makeup!  I’ve already tried the blush/highlighter combo (love it!) and the Revlon Age Defying foundation (very nice!).

Again, thank you Chrissy for bringing all the brand new makeup.  It was a major treat!

This is a really fun way to shop without spending money!  I highly recommend it as a great way to get people together & have a fun time.  It’s really easy to have a party like this.  The food doesn’t have to be extensive, just have everyone bring a small dish.

A couple things I learned this time around:

• Have a full length mirror in a main area or in the bathroom/fitting room.  I had to send people into my master bedroom & my mirror is only for a very short person (me!) so I hope it wasn’t too difficult for them to see themselves in it.
• Also, next time I will organize by size.  I had signs for “Clothing”, “Accessories”, “Housewares”, etc… but the clothing was pretty much a heap since I wasn’t more organized with it.

One word: yum!

A friend of mine just hit her goal weight & she decided we would go to Simply Cupcakes of Naples to celebrate with one cupcake each.  We were very restrained, good girls too!  She had 1/2 of a Chunky Monkey & 1/2 of Key Lime Pie.

I tried the Neapolitan – soon to be the official cupcake of Naples!  My review is that mine was delicious.  The texture was a very heavy, dense, satisfying kind of cake in chocolate & vanilla plus the icing was a divine pink strawberry.  Honestly, it would have been hard to have another since it was so rich!

I highly recommend that if you are ever in the area you take a little trip to Simply Cupcakes of Naples & try the flavors.  They have so many yummy ones: Black Tie, Peanut Butter, Red Velvet, Cookies & Cream & Mint among others.

The rest of the dozen went to her lucky husband.

I got the tip off that CVS is having their yearly makeup clearance sale – thank you Budget Chic! – and hustled my behind right over there!  I went on Tuesday night plus again on Wednesday morning to another location. I love makeup & I love clearance makeup even more!

Having all those great deals made me wish I was a makeup artist so I had the excuse to buy one of each in every color.  Instead I was restrained & tried to only buy things I will truly use no matter how tempting all of it was.

I really would love to be a makeup artist, maybe on nights &/or weekends.  What a fun way to earn money!  Makeup is one of the things I’ve always loved doing & it had a major part in my Paris plan.  Alas, love stole me away to Naples where I’ve been living happily ever since, my fancies for the future on hold indefinitely. (Hey, I’ll take it!)

Anyway, here are the splurges.  I paid a total of $30 for both hauls which means I got $120 worth of makeup.  The lady that checked me out yesterday said that they clearance off colors/products that aren’t selling & won’t be carrying again.  Fine by me – I never actually run out of any of my makeup since I have so much & I don’t wear it often since I have sleepy/lazy-in-the-morning-itis.

We attended the 2nd birthday party for our friends’ dear, dear daughter over the last weekend.

It was a fun day despite the cold temperatures here in Florida.  We got to catch up with friends we don’t see often.  Plus there were hot dogs & cake & loads of other goodies!

Plus these things always provide lots of entertainment of the people-watching variety!

Anyway, here is some of the pretty that I grabbed from the day:

The theme of the party was Tinkerbell – way cute!

I know it’s weird to buy a 2-yr-old a gift certificate but it’s never too early for them to enjoy shopping!

Also, found the really cute Princess & the Frog necklace for mommy.  I just thought it was too cute not to give to my frog loving friend!

Such a great photo.  It reminds me of very simple drawing you might see in a children’s book.  All those pastel colors & simple shapes.  I see rectangles, triangles, circles, an octozoid (I just made that one up), etc…

How perfect is this photo?

Is this the cutest cake, or what?  See Tinkerbell flying over the big flower?  LOL

There were actually 2 more cakes plus cupcakes too:

Lucky girl!  I’m not sure which was my favorite.