Stalking ebay

There are items I hunt for on ebay constantly; mostly a list of things I passed by in a store without buying only to regret not purchasing, and a few things I definitely could not buy new. These things include a navy D&B "Emma" handbag (which I once passed up at an amazing price, *facepalm*), Tory Burch flats, a J.Crew black argyle sweater dress, and a particular BCBG strapless dress.

I've been trying to hunt down this striped Merona trench, from Target, for at least two years now. It's been an obsession. Obsession, as in, I go to ebay every morning and type in "stripe trench", "striped trench", and "Merona trench". I've found, and bid on, this trench in the wrong size more than once. I just have been able to bring myself to buy a too-large coat for more than $35, and the bidding usually heads north of $40 (note to Target: maybe bring this back?). Today I went on and voila! A size small trench with a Buy It Now option at $18. Even with shipping, I scored this for $24, well below what I'd be willing to pay.

I cannot express how excited I am to find this trench. I can finally stop looking after two years! I hate how when I have something in my head I just HAVE to have it. I'm infinitely excited to have this for fall when the weather turns cold and rainy.

Wedding to-dos

I received an invitation to a wedding last week, and it got me thinking about what is and is not appropriate to wear to a wedding.

I work in a place that doubles as a wedding reception facility, so I see lots of wedding guests on a regular basis. Here are some of my pet peeves about female wedding dressing:

Sundresses. They are appropriate for an outdoor afternoon wedding, but don't belong at a formal, indoor wedding. When you've got a bridal party in tuxes and floor-length gowns, there's nothing appropriate about a cotton sundress. I see this all.the.time.

Shoes that don't reflect the dress. If you're wearing a fitted modern dress, why ruin the look with a pair of silver satin shoes you wore to homecoming in 1996? Or 6" hooker heels you can't walk in?

White. You'd think it doesn't need to be said, but it does. I've seen weddings where the mother of the groom was in floor-length white chiffon. There are a billion other colors you can wear. Invest in something non-white.

Office wear. If your skirt, button-down shirt and cardigan scream Pam from The Office, you might want to step it up a notch.

Too much skin. Mini-dresses with lots of boobage and lots of thigh just scream for attention. Everyone who knows you knows you're going home with a random groomsman, but you don't have to advertise that to grandma.

Sale Alert

Do you ever see items on sale and think, "how is that not sold out already?" Well, I do.

Lands' End Canvas is running an additional 20% off sale items if you use the pin 8265. Some of the highlights are:
The boatneck sailor tee
The cashmere striped cardigan
The seersucker jacket
The lightweight mini shorts
The madras mini shorts
The plaid wool skirt (which I own)
The striped t-shirt dress

Also having some great deals today is 6pm.com, who has a number of their North Face jackets on sale. It's worth a look if you're into North Face. It's also worth a look if you a shoe addict, since 6pm is the clearing house for a couple of the major online shoe stores.

Purse Overhaul

I follow some random blogs on Google Reader; blogs found through occasional searches or linked on other blogs. One of them, Love at First Shop, did a post this week about what she keeps in her purse. It has inspired me to clean out my purse.

I really need to upgrade the crap I'm carrying around - last year's calendar, a broken compact, goopy Clinique lip gloss that came as a free gift, and about 8 million receipts. Hopefully once I get it cleaned out and up-graded I can create a blog post about my lovely purse contents like her, with picture. So here is my inspiration: Rosa's bag contents post.

A Review of Goals

I started this blog over a year ago and here were the goals I set down, in a condensed version:

1. Find a job that I love.
2. Get involved in the local arts community.
3. Join a group.
4. Exercise once a week.
5. Create a plan for decorating my house and execute it.
6. Clean up my social life.
7. Foster the friends I have.
8. Keep reading.
9. Stay positive.
10. Blog regularly.

So how did I do?

1. I did, indeed, find a job that I'm totally in love with. Seriously - I'm a party planner, I work independently, I have lots of fun, and I can be social and frenetic without anyone having a problem with it.
2. I failed at getting involved with the arts. My new job involves lots of evenings and weekends, so at this point it would be almost irresponsible to get involved in something that I couldn't commit to.
3. Well, I didn't join a group, but my job has made me a part of a lot of groups. I'm in a group with other people who do my job, I sit as a non-voting member of a local industry group's board, and I work with committees on a daily basis.
4. Ha! FAIL. I'm terrible at exercising. I should set up my home computer to only operate if I've worked out, and then it'd actually happen.
5. To some extent, I have a plan for decorating my house. I just haven't executed it.
6. This has definitely happened. I've managed to let some friendships go into dormancy in order to free myself from the drama they fostered.
7. Fostering friends has been a win, mostly, as well. I now I have friends I truly love that I know will be there for me when I need them.
8. I joined a book club, and while it's kept me reading I still have a stack of unfinished books on my bedside table. I blame it on the Food Network.
9. Nope, not at all. I'm still not positive. I just don't think some people are wired to be happy all the time, and I'm one of them.
10. I feel like I got the blogging regularity mostly right. I'm still here!

Ten Worst Fashion Trends of the Year

I realize msn.com and other sites are doing lists of best and worst trends, but frankly I think they got some of them wrong, and totally missed mentioning really awful stuff. So here are my top ten worst trends of the year:

10. Saggy, droopy, unfasten-able cardigans. The length makes people look shorter, it adds bulk, and plain and simple there's nothing chic about it.

9. Jeggings. Yikes. They make basically everyone on the planet other than Nicole Richie look bulgy and terrible, they make feet look huge, and they don't fool anyone into thinking they're really jeans. If you want something to tuck into your equestrian boots try real jeans in a slim, straight, or skinny fit.

8. Harem, parachute or pleated pants. Anyone should instinctively know that these are a bad idea. Harem pants make hips look wider, butts look saggier, and make women look shorter. I'd like to slap whomever brought this look back to life. It may have been Donna Karan.

7. Lindsay Lohan's legging collection. Seriously, these are stretchy pants. If they cost more than $15, you're doing something wrong. This goes for all "high-end" leggings.

6. The return of cargo pants. Want to know how to make your thighs appear larger? Here's your answer.

5. Slouch boots. Wide, sloppy boots as fashion? I say no. Unless you like the look of cankles with your distressed cargo pants, this one is worth avoiding.

4. Socks with pumps. Dear J.Crew, this look sucks. It's weird. It's silly. It's childish. And worst of all, it stretches out your shoes. Stop styling your models like this.

3. Over-the-knee boots. Guess what? You look like a hooker.

2. Studded everything. Not every item of clothing should be studded or bedazzled. I'm looking at you, Kardashian sisters. Studded sweaters and dresses just make the wearer look like she's trying too hard to look tough.

1. The jumpsuit. Occasionally it looks 1970s fabulous, but for the most part it just looks like a blob of ill-fitting slovenliness.

A Rant on Wood

I hate the color of the wood trim and cabinets in my house. HATE. That's a really strong word, but that's how I feel. The problem is that the house is only a few years old, and I feel guilty painting over or re-staining wood that is in perfectly good condition.

I still want to understand why the original owners of the house did this. Who says "Can we make this color a little more golden, you know, more 1990s...more Zack Morris's house"? Why couldn't they have gone with a traditional white? A deep cherry? A rich walnut? A modern dove gray? Anything but this color of honey oak that belongs in a kitchen with floral wallpaper borders.

I partially blame the builders for offering such a color. It's like department stores still selling ugly holiday sweaters - if they'd stop selling this shit, people would stop buying it. No one wants to see grandma in ANOTHER candy cane turtleneck, and no one needs a new house with dated woodwork.