I suppose I could be considered a “bargain shopping blogger.” I believe that wearing high-quality clothing makes a person look better, especially when it comes to natural fabrics versus synthetics. And it always seems that when I want to find something basic but with interesting details, it is inevitably a designer label that achieves this. I want a wardrobe of beautiful pieces. But I want it at bargain basement prices. I get it from my mom—she taught me how to scour racks and when to wait patiently for something to be reduced even further. And to this day, when I find a great bargain, I get thrilled and want to share it with my mom.

Well, goddamn did I find a great bargain. On Saturday, Filene’s Basement had 75% off of clearance on designer pieces from Barney’s and Saks. I rifled through 6 or 7 racks stuffed with boring pants and slightly damaged dresses. And then I found a black velvet skirt. It was in excellent condition and seemed to be my size. And then I saw the tag. Lanvin. Yeah, that Lanvin. It was marked at $50. Before the 75% off. After ensuring that it was truly in great condition, I showed it to my mother and of course, we brought it home. For approximately $17. We’re still bickering over who gets to keep and if we should even keep it (the other option being selling or consigning it). But I couldn’t resist playing dress-up in it, just for a moment…

I don’t believe in owning clothes that sit in your closet and are admired but never see the light of day. Clothes are meant to be worn, especially beautiful clothes. But I cannot think of any event where I would wear this skirt. Despite that, I’m compelled to keep it. To admire the intricate closures on the side and touch the soft velvet. To maybe play dress up like this once in a while. What would you do: sell it for a few hundred bucks (hopefully) or keep it?

And just for fun, an outtake showing the athletic prowess of Calliope cat.

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As you can probably guess from my recent sporadic postings, I haven’t been in my usual schedule. Two weeks ago I was in Philly for my nephew’s sixth birthday and up until Tuesday I was on a stay-cation at home. It was hard to tear myself away from sleeping and reading to post or even read other blogs. Seriously, my bloglovin’ feed is at an obscene number right now.

While watching my nephew play with his friends and talk to his mother and occasionally get pouty and cry, I realized that I really don’t want to be a mother. This is something I’ve been saying since I was 16, but it rings even more true for me now. I like kids, and I sure do love my nephew (and young cousins). But I don’t think it’s in me to be a mother. Part of it may be selfishness or part of it may be fear of screwing up a kid and creating a serial killer or worse, a future cast member of Jersey Shore 2045: Jersey Shore on The Moon. As long as I’m being honest, watching my cousin die a few years at age 10 was so painful that I can’t even imagine being a mother and going through that. This shit is way too personal for a Thursday morning, right?

I also realized that my parents officially love the cats more than me. While I was away, Calliope got scared and ran up into a tree. My parents went into the attic, got our 10-foot ladder and my pops climbed up to rescue my poor kitty cat. Nevermind that she probably would have come down on her own eventually. That’s real love, man.

oh, and my laptop power cord caught on fire! That was less exciting than it sounds. Guess that’s what happens when your computer is nearly 8 years old, huh?

Here’s what I’ve worn since I’ve been back at work. I really like the color combo in the first outfit. My shirt in the second outfit is from Gilt, the online shopping site. I have to say, their shipping and customer service is really, really awesome. I’m a big fan!

Outfit 1
shirt- Calvin Klein
skirt- H&M
jewelry- old/vintage

Outfit 2
shirt- Nanette Lepore from Gilt
skirt- Filene’s Basement
shoes- Aldo

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Every day is a little warmer, a little sunnier, and a little longer. Which makes me a lot happier!

Please note Calliope photobombing me in a desperate attempt to get let out. Apparently yesterday she made a squirrel screech in fright when she chased it up a tree. I’m so proud of my little hunter!

cardigan- J.Crew
shirt- 3.1 Phillip Lim
pants- Gap
shoes- Anne Klein

Earlier this week, La Vie J’aime posted a picture of herself wearing red eyeliner and I had to follow suit. I used Nars Exhibit A blush mixed with some stuff I have that turns powder eyeshadow into liquid eyeliner. I love it, although my mom found it more amusing than flattering. What do you think? Like it enough to give it a try?

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Time for a proper Day of the Cat entry…

Ever since I moved into my parents home in the suburbs, the cats have been especially keen about getting outside. I guess birds and chipmunks are more appealing to them than hobos and rats. I’ve been taking my sweet time trying to figure out if it’s really safe for the cats, but Calliope decided to let me know this weekend she’s a big girl cat.

After spending a rainy Saturday chasing down Calliope every time she escaped, I gave up and let her stay outside. She returned, unmarked and obviously thrilled that she had gotten her way. So on Sunday, I let her and Chloe explore outside.
 

Calliope’s real interest in going outside? A new food source.

And after a long day exploring, they both collapsed on my bed looking as adorable as can be.

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A little while ago I mentioned that I got a great faux fur coat, and I finally got a chance to wear it and photograph it. I first saw it in October at a Boldfacer’s event and fell in love. I followed the shopping rule that everyone says you should- I walked away and gave it 24 hours to see if I still loved it. And 3 days later, I was still obsessing and went to Lit Boutique to get it. And I’m still obsessed with it!

I wore this Thursday night to the Pretty. Eventful. charity fashion show, which was a blast because 1) the outfits (from Turtle in the South End) were great, 2) the model’s bouffants have me now trying everything possible to make my hair MASSIVE, 3) I got to meet some more boston-based bloggers who were very cool, and 4) I won a very generous gift card to Union Bar and Grille! My first thought was “I’m going to take a date out on the most awesome dinner date ever, and he’ll have to put out.” Then I thought that it’d be nice to get my parents out of the ‘burbs to enjoy a nice night out. Yep, I’m a good daughter.

Please notice the new table, which the cats have decided is their new lookout post. I love it. Love it!

So all the plants have been transferred to the other side of the wall. I feel like I need to redecorate so the rest of my apartment matches my cool new table.

 
UPDATE: It seems I’m not the only one who thinks a snakeskin silver side table is a great idea! For those who asked, I got the table at Homegoods in Braintree, MA. It was the only one in the store and didn’t have a label or brand name, unfortunately. However, Homegoods is a great place to find oneoff’s like the table so I highly recommend checking out your local one.

 
coat- Lit Boutique
shirt- Helmut Lang via TJ Maxx
pants- Gap
shoes- Enzo Angiolini

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I realized something this weekend. I am Chloe Cat’s booty call. See, before Calliope joined the household, Chloe was perfectly happy having all my attention. She’d be sitting on the couch waiting for me when I got home from work. She’d sleep next to me (or at least on the bed) all night. Now that she has to share me with Calliope, she’s gotten into a very unique method of getting my attention. During the day, she doesn’t care at all about me. I get home from work, she barely deigns to lift her head off of the bed. But when it’s 2 or 3am, I hear the most pathetic little meow and she jumps on my chest and purrs and snuggles and manages to get loads of affection from my half-asleep form. But when I wake up, she’s long gone. Now, is that not the perfect description of a classic booty call? I feel so used.
 

I wore this outfit on Saturday, walking around and window shopping with a friend. She was properly dressed for the weather (windy and cold) but I pulled the shirt out of my closet and was immediately inspired to try a Cherry Blossom Girl-esque outfit. I skipped heels, which would have been very Cherry Blossom Girl. After all, window shopping is an athletic endeavor. I have to say, I did feel very chic and sexy, despite wearing loose clothing. I had to include this picture of Calliope trying to give me a kiss. She’s a real gentlemen…lady…non-booty caller!
 
jacket- Old Navy
scarf- vintage (from my mother)
shirt- J.Crew
pants- H&M (menswear) via Swapaholics
belt- J.Crew
shoes- Gap

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Rocking some jeans I got from last Thursday’s swapaholics clothing swap. Even though it was total (controlled) chaos, I left with some pretty cool pieces. Please forgive my brevity. Lots on my mind. Including Calliope’s ever-expanding waistline!

 
jacket- Old Navy
sweater- American Apparel
jeans- J.Crew
belt- Vintage
boots- Steve Madden

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It’s really not a new obsession. Hot pink has always been one of my favorite colors. So any new acquisition in this shade makes me giddy.

Case in point: dolce vita’s pela wedges.

They come in damn near every neutral under the sun-black, brown, grey, silver. What color did I have to have? PINK!

I love them so much, I wore them two days in a row. And I might be wearing them again today. That’s the same hairdo both days, by the way. Works great for those days when you wake up late, stare at your blow-dryer and hair products and just think “fuck it.”

And a bonus Calliope picture because… well, look at her!

 
Outfit 1
shirt- vintage aka my mother’s closet
pants- Theory
belt- J.Crew
shoes- Dolce Vita
 
Outfit 2
dress- vintage from The Habardash
shoes- Dolce Vita
 
Listening to… “Pink” by Aerosmith

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It’s so hard to find the simplest things. In this case, the simplest thing is a knee-length, fitted black tank dress. I probably could have found the Calvin Klein or Narciso Rodriguez version fairly quickly, but then I’d have to doing unsavory things to afford said dress. And then, it shows up at H&M, stuffed in a rack of ugly black jumpsuits. It’s not perfect-it’s 100% cotton and stretches out way too easily. But for $30? I’ll take it!

Calliope cat is in the second photo, threatening my black outfit with her soft white fur. It’s been a little while since los gatos malos have been photographed.

dress- H&M
shoes- Cynthia Vincent for Target
necklace- “borrowed” from my mother

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These photos are from Sunday. Bet you couldn’t figure that out! I spent most of Saturday moping and when I woke up to the sun shining on Sunday, I was filled with energy. I hit SoWa market again, and even though I had less luck finding goodies I did score an italian ice, so the whole endeavor was a success. Afterwards, I bought a cute small umbrella from the Marc Jacobs store. Considering all the rain we’ve seen and my aptitude for getting caught in said rain without any sort of protection… this was the second best purchase of the weekend. The first? A handheld vacuum. Seriously, I live with two cats and a white rug. I could buy a private jet made of gold tomorrow and I’d still consider the handvac to be my best purchase of the year.

On to the fashion. Part of my moping on Saturday stemmed for trying on a bajillion pairs of shorts and deeming them all tiny pieces of masochistic hell. So on Sunday I pulled out my no-fail shorts- loose, with a longer inseam and flared leg and I felt good again.

The goods from the SoWa market?
A brooch. Or pin, if you’re under 50.

Basil, Rosemary, and Thyme

Calliope checking out the goods

 
shorts- The Limited
shirt- H&M
shoes- Nine West

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