Maritime Design

Jason Wu for Target is coming, in stores and online, February 5th! 

Long-Sleeved Pointelle Sweater in Red, $40. Pleated Cap-Sleeved Blouse in Red, $27. Pleated Skirt in Navy Floral, $30.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Poplin Dress in Navy, $40.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Long-Sleeve Sheer Blouse in White with Black Ribbon, $35. Pleated Canvas Skirt in Belize Blue, $30. Front-Flap Straw Bag in Cream, $40.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sleeveless Top with Sheer Panel in Navy Floral, $27. Pleated Skirt in Navy Floral, $30. Lace Clutch in Black, $30.

 

Flared Dress in Cream with Black Patent Belt, $60.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Canvas Tote with Blue Stripe, $40.

 

 

 

 

You can clearly see hints of the nautical trend still emerging for spring 2012.  Jason Wu's Target collection definitely reflects a 'sailor vibe' in some cases but there is also a lot of delicate, romantic silhouettes and fabrics.  Very feminine and girly, which is perfect for spring.  The prices are low for a Jason Wu piece as well...obviously.  I am going to go try on all of the pieces above, as long as I can get my hands on them in time.  Collections like these, following the history of Target's guest designers, usually FLY of the shelves (and end up on eBay).  Get there early for the best selection.  

 

 

View the look book here.

As of today's date there is a $5 off $50 with free shipping discount code on retailmenot.com for online Target purchases.  If you shop this collection online be sure to check retailmenot before you purchase anything.



All images via

Best of SAG

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Jayma Mays (of Glee)

Ahna O'Reilly
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Giuliana Rancic

Jane Krakowski

Kyra Sedgwick

Melissa McCarthy

Red and black seemed to be the theme of my favorites from last nights SAG awards.  The event oozed glamour and style. Giuliana Rancic was my 'best dressed' award for the night.  The detailing on her gown was unique, sparkly, and eye catching.

There were a lot of beautiful gowns on the red carpet.  My favorite part of watching these ladies in their gowns was seeing the array of shapes and sizes, all dressed to the nines.  I loved Melissa McCarthy in her black grecian dress, it suited her shape perfectly, and she was gorgeous.  Not even a glimmer of Marbles Harsgrove to be seen in her tonight. Proving you don't have to be a skeleton to be beautiful or glamorous on the red carpet.

All images (unless otherwise noted) via msn.com

Mossery

lush green moss

This week, and today in particular, have been kind of blah.  It has been terribly rainy here in Portland, with some areas on the verge of flooding.  I haven't been productive, haven't gotten much sleep, and have felt totally exhausted.  When the weather gets dark and grey, so does my mood.  I am feeling very uninspired.  This morning, in a rare burst of sunlight, I captured a picture of the moss that grows in abundance all over this city.  It is so easy to overlook but it is so lush and vibrant.  I would love to have a live topiary with this beautiful moss, but fear it would take a deadly downward spiral, like my most recent succulent garden. 

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Neon-ista

Old Navy - $17

Here is a steal of a deal for a bag much like I have seen on multiple blogs for WAY more ca$h.  I also saw a larger one, very similar to this at Target this weekend for around $20.




Neon is all the rage...still.  I am glad it is coming alive for spring and passing as a trend from 2011 into 2012.  I have been rocking the neon since the 80's and have never stopped loving it.  I want to break out my sweet, sweet plastic charm necklace and striped spandex shorts to really show these neon-istas what it is all about!  But be warned, you have to be very careful how you use wear these colors.  Neon is right on that edge of trend where you can easily tip right into crazy if you don't wear it right. 





Last fall I pinned this picture of a yellow/green neon wedge and leopard pants that I was dying over.

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Now my very own version of this combo is going to come alive. Because I purchased these pants...

ae - $44.50

...which I can wear with these wedges I snagged at a DSW sale about 6 months ago!

Steve Madden

This combo might be stepping over the line from cool into crazy town...but I am going to rock it!!

This outfit is really just the 'ganguro' girl coming out in me.  When I lived in Japan I loved seeing these girls on the street.  "too much" is just not a phrase I allow in my universe

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Ganguro girls are all about neon, overdoing it, and not caring what anyone thinks!  There REALLY are girls dressed up like this all over the place in the cities of Japan.  Wouldn't this be an amazing Halloween costume idea!?

January Birchbox

January Birchbox

Archipelago - Pomegranate body soap

Clark's Botanicals - Smoothing marine cream

Juicy Couture - Juicy Couture perfume

stila - Smudge Stick Waterproof Eye Liner in Blue Ribbon

Larabar - Mini Bar Pumpkin Pie

This month's Birchbox drew a big yawn from me this month.  The soap smelled amazing, but beyond that I haven't tried anything from that box.  Not immediately trying a new beauty sample is out of the norm for me, so this is the barometer of how underwhelmed I am.  After being disappointed by the selection, I have considered possibly cancelling my subscription.  Especially after considering that it is $120/yr, not just thinking about it in the $10/mo terms.  I think I will give it another month or two to just see how it goes.

My sister was gifted a 3 month subscription and loved the excitement of unwrapping that pink box.  She went to sign up for a full year, after her subscription ran out, but currently the website is reading that they are 'out of stock'.  Apparently there is a wait list to join!?  To help my sister recover from not getting her monthly beauty treat, I sent her a secret Sephora package that should arrive on her doorstep sometime today.  She is a lucky girl!

If you need a quick beauty fix without waiting for a tiny pink box, I found out that every Saturday at Nordstroms they give out a deluxe sample of a beauty product.  Last weekend it was Estee Lauder advanced night repair, which is an amazing product!



A necessary evil...

Old Navy - $29.94

Lime Ricki - $50

Lime Ricki - $14.95 top + $8.95 bottoms

Mod Cloth - $89.99

Teal or Red?

Always for me - $89

I totally loathe this.  I HATE shopping for bathing suits.  Sadly for me, I have worn my favorite Calvin Klein tankini far beyond it's better years and now I am left to do the despicable chore of shopping for a new swimsuit.  I need a new suit before we set sail for our cruise in March.   I am hoping to find one soon so I can have something cute to wear to the pool and beach.  Hopefully something that doesn't make me look beached on a lounge chair. 

I am turning to online shopping because in the dead of winter, with the exception of Target, no one has bathing suits out in Portland, Oregon.  I refuse to wear a bikini, for more reasons than I can name here, thus I am searching for a tankini or a one piece.  I found some suitable looking candidates.  Mid-section coverage and large rump coverage a must.  What do you guys think??  I need help!!!

Or...there is always these....?

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My precious...

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I have always loved the look of a bevy of rings clustered onto the hand of a fashionable female.  (Read: I have yet to see a man with several rings on pull off this look)  For those of you who were lucky enough to know me in high school, you will remember that I wore a ring on literally almost every finger, almost every day of sophomore and junior year.  There is most definitely a right way and a wrong way to wear this many rings.  I think the images above are most certainly the right way.  I need to play around with my collection a little more (see below) to come up with the perfect combo but I am going to be rocking the rings in 2012.  It is just the right mix of gypsy and overdoing something that is perfectly suited for my tastes.

part of my collection of costume jewelry rings
I assure you it is not a problem.... it is BEYOND a problem now :)

* That HUGE butterfly ring is still on the sales card for a reason - I only wear it while I am watching Jerseylicious.  Don't judge.

S'More Bars!!!

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I made these S'Mores Cookie Bars this week and they were ah-mazing!!  The recipe is super easy, a good portion of the ingredients most of us have on hand, and they were so good.  When these babies come right out of the oven and they are all gooey, they are super gluttonous.  They are also equally amazing cooled with a glass of milk.  Prep time for the cookie bars is 10 minutes or less, depending on your baking skills. 



Smore's Cookie  Bars

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (approximately 7 full graham crackers)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king sized Milk Chocolate Bars (Or if you are feeling extra chocolatey 2 FAMILY size bars ;)

1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.

In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined. Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. Two 5 oz. Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread marshmallow fluff evenly over the chocolate layer.

Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff. This is most easily done by putting the second half of the dough in a gallon size freezer bag. Use your palms to flatten it out, and then use scissors to cut down both long sides of the bag, so it will open up book-style. Open it up carefully, and the dough will stick on one side of the bag. Then place the bag, dough side down, on the other three layers. From there peel the bag up ad spread the dough where it is uneven.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars

Makes 16 cookie bars.



Obilation

 Ribbon Rack

Unique single sheet wrapping paper

12 month card calendar

Each card has a different month and calendar, so cute

Vintage maps

Printing presses

 Printing press reception cards

Last weekend I had the chance to sneak into one of my favorite Pearl District spots - Obilation Papers & Press.  This is THE place to go for unique gift cards, wrapping paper, invitations, calendars, book labels, virtually anything you can think of that surrounds paper.  Whilst this may not be exciting to some people, special and unique products really rock my socks. 

My friend spotted the vintage maps printed as wrapping paper.  She has been wanting to frame some maps to decorate her master, and these were perfect for her.  Images of old Great Britain and France, beautifully printed, and for sale at $4 a pop.  She snatched up a few for framing and I can't wait to see the end product. 

At Obilation I was quickly reminded how cute specialty wrapping paper can be, not just for presents, but also when framed.  Not limited to wrapping paper, even beautiful little cards, wallpaper, or even the calendar cards above, can be the perfect additions to a wall.  Now I just need to get some inspiration to redecorate my master bedroom and find the perfect print for myself.  Some crafty and inspirational ideas below.

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