Maybe she's born with it

On Sunday I attempted to paint my toes purple. But apparently nail polish expires. It was a bust. I decided to toss it and use the non-clumpy pink I also had on hand. And I decided I needed to invest in some new shades.

Last night I walked to the Smith's on 12th and Harrison and discovered, to my delight, that all Maybelline products were "buy one, get one free." Perfect timing.

I became the new, proud owner of Maybelline's Express Finish polish in Racey Red and Plum Intense.

It really did dry in about a minute and the color really did go on smooth and even. For the first time in my life I have red fingernails. It's spicy and I like it.

Pour some sugar on me

When my sister visited a couple of months ago, we went to the Newgate Mall and enjoyed the "buy 3 get 3 free" sale at Bath & Body Works. We also cashed in a coupon and got a fourth lotion for free. SWEET.

Anyway, at the time I was in love with the Wild Honeysuckle lotion. It was very light and refreshing. I have a hard time with over-powering lotions. I usually lather on unscented Suave body lotion in the mornings.

But I'm glad I gave Honeysuckle a try. I have a couple of bottles of lotion stocked up as well as a body wash. I thought I had found my new favorite flavor.




And then I found Butterfly Flower. It's one of the newest scents from B&BW and holy cow.


I kid you not, when I put this lotion on I feel like I'm laying in a field of wildflowers. It is so delicious. On my drive home from work I pass over a river and a large field. There is lots of lush vegetation and when I have the windows down, I honest-to-goodness smell the exact fragrance that has been infused into this lotion. It is amazing.

I'm sorry to say that the semi-annual sale at B&BW is probably over. So keep your eyes peeled for their next big event and snag yourself this airy, springy lotions ASAP.

Being poor can't squash the shoe lover inside of me.

It just stops me from buying shoes.

Nine West Barbe (red or purple) $69.00 at Piperlime.com (which offers free shipping!).

Other varieties of the Barb (spelled without the "e" here) are available at Zappos.com (also with free shipping!).

Nine West Barb (blue multi-fabric) $68.95.

Nine West Barb (medium blue multi) $68.95.

Nine West Barb (purple-same as above from Piperlime ) $68.95.

I'm sorry, but I just don't spend that much on shoes. Ok, well, maybe I spend that much on shoes in a couple of months' time, but please remember that I am the girl who finds Nine West shoes for $19 at DSW. Or I hold out and buy shoes on sale at the Nine West outlet in Freeport (there's one in Park City too and I am so proud that I didn't even go inside).

It looks like I'll be holding out until these show up at DSW or I make it to an outlet to check out the deals. I love being a bargain shoe shopper. Why? Because then there is absolutely no guilt when I look at my collection and see the same shoe in four different colors. I know in my shoe-loving heart that the amount I spent on three of those four pairs is equivalent to the retail cost of one.

I'm smart like that.

On the Nine West site, the Barbe is listed at $79.oo, but it says to take 25% off which means they are selling limited styles of the Barbe (mostly faux crocodile) for $59.25 with complimentary shipping right now. Woo! Much like DSW, you can also earn points for purchases and use those towards discounts in the future.

Fantastic IKEA Finds

Please may I just have the entire Hemnes collection in my home? The look of these pieces is so appealing to me! I already have a 3-drawer Hemnes dresser and 2 Hemnes bedside tables. Then there's these:

It's the storage bench and linen cupboard that IKEA revealed this year. Of course, I'd prefer the linen cupboard if it came in... red. Not that red is my favorite color or anything. I just have a lot of red stuff. I'm wearing a red shirt right now. I wore a red shirt last night. I have a red dresser, fan, night-table, shoes, dresses, fan, couch, rug... Let's stop there.

Anyway, I have another item from the new year of IKEA to share with you:

I need to have children for the sole purpose of having a twin-sized bed with this comforter set. It is so stinking cute. Kimba, if you continue with an animal/Noah's Arc theme for your little boy, this comforter is the one you must buy when he's 2 and sleeps in a big-boy bed. It's adorable. I love it. However, I find it somewhat unfortunate though that the background is white. That's just asking for trouble.

Sophia and I went to IKEA today and I picked up three Lack side tables for the price of one. That's right folks. They were on sale for half off, but the limit was two per customer. So I bought two, then gave Sophia my coupon for 3% off and she bought my third table for $3.97. I am especially pleased with myself. I also got storage for cereal, curtain rods (hallelujah!!), bathroom towel racks, a toilet paper holder and little puppy dog bottoms with tails that serve as hooks.

I intend to go back in a few paychecks and finally purchase my 5X5 Expedit shelving unit. I need to get rid of all the little shelves in the living room and consolidate the media storage. It looks so big in the store, but I know that it will fit so well in the living room and make me feel less crazy when I go in there. It's actually coming along since I worked on it Saturday. I can now navigate around the couch, and sit in both the chairs!!

Overall, I'm just glad Sophia and I survived. It was the busiest day to be at IKEA. Since it rained all weekend everyone decided to go shopping for Labor Day. Sophia and I were super skilled though and managed to maneuver TWO shopping carts (one with my tables and one with my odds-and-ends) through masses of clueless, ignorant families with screaming children.

Another satisfactory IKEA trip. As if it would ever be otherwise! I'll be sure to share the bathroom updates shortly. Hopefully this week Kev can help me install the towel racks (and by help I mean just do it for me) and get those doggy bottoms on the back of the door for the robes. One little piece at a time.

Where Have You Been All My Life?

Yeah, hi, Forever21? Where the heck have you been? Maybe it would be better to ask where the heck I've been. Apparently they have some amazing dresses at Forever21, and I was completely unaware. I've been spending hours sorting through completely random stuff at ROSS, hoping to find something in my size that isn't made of polyester... and all the while Forever21 has had screaming deals.

Duh.

For example:

Luna Knee-Length dress for $19.80.

V-Neck Knit dress for $13.80, available in coral or orange.

Glenny's Floral dress for $22.80.

Looks like I need to suck it up and fight the mall crowd the next time I need an addition to my work wardrobe. Thrifty stores like ROSS are great when I have the time to sort through the racks, but Forever21 is looking like a much quicker fix at a comparable price.

PS after writing this post, I actually dreampt about getting the two-tone Luna dress posted above. I think it's a sign.