Recent Purchases - Fashion, Fitness, and Organization

Lately, I've been really trying to keep my purchases to a minimum.  All of our extra money is going toward the wedding and saving for our upcoming Honeymoon.  I've limited my fashion purchases to items that have been on my must have list.  I'm also working on accomplishing some of my goals for organization and expanding my exercise routine. Then of course there is the wedding. I'm carefully curating my purchases to meet these goals and not to break my budget.

Two things that have been on my must have list for some time are a foil print sweater and low heel pumps.  I found this fantastic foil print sweater at Kohl's for only $34!  That's a far cry from the over $100 sweater I originally fell in love with.  I know it will be in heavy rotation until warm weather arrives.  I love heels but my Rheumatoid Arthritis makes it hard for me to wear high heels every day.  I've found myself gravitating toward all of my kitten heels (about 2" high).  They satisfy my urge for heels but are low enough for me to wear all day without pain in my feet and ankles. These adorable red bow pumps from Talbots were a steal at only $26.

I've set a few goals for myself this year.  An important one was decluttering our home and making it more organized.  I've been slowly cleaning out drawers and cabinets and organizing the remaining items with storage boxes and bins.  I've purchased some from Target and quiet a few from the dollar store.  Another big goal of mine was to take up some new forms of exercise.  I've never been a runner but decided to sign up for a 5K. It's not the first choice from someone with joint issues but I am never one to shy away from a challenge.  The Color Run is a fun way to do a 5K.  I'll be making a tutu to run in and running with some friends.  I needed some cold weather friendly running gear for training, like this jacket.  I grabbed it on the sale rack at Target.  I also needed a new pair of running shoes. These are ASICS, my favorite brand.  I'm using an iPhone app to get ready for the September run.  It's called C25K.  It's a free app. There are quite a few out there but this is the one I'm using. You start out with a combo of running and walking. The app synchs with your music and beeps when you change from walking to running and then back.  It's great.

There are also quite a few things on my wedding list.  Things like additional makeup items I need and items to wear.  I sprung for a really expensive bra a couple weeks ago. I've also been searching for a pair of fancy flats to wear, in case my heels become too much.  I found these gold sparkly flats and love them. Even better they are on sale at Talbots.com for only $20.99.  I've read great reviews of Urban Decay Primer Potion.  People swear by it as a way to make sure your eyeshadow doesn't fade.  Even long wearing eye shadow fades on my oily eyelids.  I really hope it lives up to the hype. I will keep you posted. 

Have you made any great purchases recently?

I'm Obsessed Thank You Very Much - Sam Edelman

I have a few pairs of Sam Edelman shoes and I love them!  When I saw the new shoes for this fall, I swooned. The creative minds at SE have outdone themselves.  There are so many fantastic shoes, boots and heels.  I'm especially in love with the studded shoes, the lady-like heels with studs and the boots.  Here are my favorite obsessions.  I can see that my clothing budget will be going to these beauties. You can find them all on the Sam Edelman website but to purchase these great shoes, you can go to lots of online retailers as well as brick and mortar stores. You can search by zip code for the store closest to you.

Adena

Alvin







Lorissa



Pax

Renzo

Zoe

Fix It or Forget It!!

Yesterday, while walking around during and after work I saw a total of four women with broken or missing heel taps on their stilettos. For those of you who don't know, a heel tap is that little piece of rubber at the end of your heel that protects the shoe from wear and tear. When it's missing there is usually a little piece of metal sticking out and it makes a distinct clicking sound when you walk.

After watching girl number four almost bite it in the marble lobby of my office building, I knew I had to speak up. For goodness sake girls, FIX YOUR SHOES! This practice is not only dangerous, it's unsightly and you are ruining your shoes because you are too lazy to get them repaired.

A broken heel tap usually looks like this:



It's a very simple and inexpensive repair at your local shoe shop. If you like your shoes, then please spend the time and money to repair them. If your shoes aren't worth spending approximately $20 for the repair, you can attempt to do the job yourself. FabSugar, one of my favorite blogs, posted a great do it yourself piece about this very topic a few months ago. Check out "Fix It: Broken Heels!"

Now ladies, if both of these choices, sound too expensive, time consuming, or difficult, then your shoes aren't that important to you. Get rid of them and go shopping for a new pair. But please, don't walk in front of me. I don't want to have to pick you up off of the floor.