'Tis the Season

It's Holiday shopping time!

This Thanksgiving break sucked a ton of energy from me. It was nice to have 5 days off of work though. So I won't complain too much. I just don't understand why there has to be so much traffic on Thanksgiving, but I guess that's LA for you. I also did not participate in the madness of Black Friday. I refuse to trample an old lady to save $5 on a blender. I found out through some web surfing that the online deals were just as good, if not better, than what was in store; especially Amazon.com. Thanks to my handy investigative work I am halfway done with my Holiday shopping. Yay! I only have to live off water and crackers for the rest of the month.

Here are some of the sites where I scored great deals:

1. Amazon.com ... obviously! (bonus points for shopping here because my stepdad's company provides all of the shipping materials)
2. Overstock.com ( I didn't shop here but my friend did and she found a great deal on Diamond earrings for her mom)
3. GiftCardRescue ( I saw the owner pitch his business plan on Shark Tank and made sure to check it out for the holidays)
4. NineWest (50% off a huge selection of shoes for your shoe-loving BFF)
   
5. RachelRoy ( ok so I only threw this one in because I needed a New Years Eve outfit but then I stumbled upon the sale section and fell in love with the perfect dress)

Good luck with shopping this holiday season. Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah! I will leave you with a clip from my all-time FAVORITE xmas movie.



~ Jackie D.

YUM

Hellooooo Mr. V-Neck! (Photo courtesy of The Sartorialist)

I just love a well-dressed man. Especially if that man is tall and muscular. :)

Anyway, enough of the drooling. There is a very good sale going on at RueLaLa in menswear. The sale also includes women's clothing but that doesn't really pertain to this post.

Check out the sample sales on these well-known brands:

Calvin Klein - Men's

GANT - Men's

Hart Schaffner Marx - Men's

KEEN - Men's

Mitchell & Ness - Men's

Rock & Republic - Men's

Ted Baker London- Men's

Theory - Men's

Click this link for access to the site: www.ruelala.com/invite/bhunterboots


Happy Shopping!

~ Jackie D.

One-Stop Bargain Shop

I think my influence on my sisters tends to get a little out of hand at times. A couple weeks ago I went bargain-hunting with my sister, godmom, and aunt to look for some stylish coats. My godmom found a really nice Miss Sixty coat for a ridiculously good price @ Burlington Coat Factory. The only issue was my sister. I have a feeling that my insistence on buying very specific, unique items has rubbed off on her and thus created a monster. She wanted a short peacoat in a color but every peacoat we saw was just wrong, wrong , wrong. I don't know if she'll ever find exactly what she's looking for and will consequently have to settle for something different and then 2 months later she'll find the coat of her dreams but she'll have already spent the money on the mediocre coat. Story of my life! I mean her life.

Anyway, I told her I would make it a personal mission of mine to find the perfect peacoat and then I stumbled upon The Limited . I haven't been to this shop since I went on a work-wear shopping spree last year. I forgot how much i loved the clean lines and precise tailoring, and how good their sales were. What do you know, they have a whole range of short peacoats in fun colors. Search over! These are very cute, and now maybe she'll shut up about the coat. J/K I love my sisters. :)


While I'm there, I might as well load up a shopping cart with some of my favorite items:




Whoa! My promo code saved me $149.50 on my fake shopping cart. Well, as long as a I have the coupon I should actually buy something....need cocoon coat now!!! I know where I'm going this weekend.

Here's the coupon: Click this Link to redeem an in-store/online coupon for 25% off.


~ Jackie D.

Cuff Love

I'm back from my whirl-wind weekend of costumes, spider-taming, real-estate agent impersonating, and spontaneous New Year's Eve planning. FYI, I will be spending NYE in San Francisco with a few super-fun ladies at an event presented by CrawlSF. I'm so excited I could burst! My only concern is finding the perfect outfit which I will post about later because my brain is too scattered to focus in on one idea.

In the meantime, I've been pre-occupied with some newly-acquired shoes that I should be receiving any day now. They are a replica .::coughKnock-offcough::. of these fabulous Louboutins:

I am a member of the Shoedazzle club and, until recently, I was pretty disappointed with the selections but now they have redeemed themselves. I'll keep the membership for another month, I guess....

As soon as I saw these I knew I had to start formulating some outfits to pair with the fab booties. Light Bulb Moment!: I've become infatuated with cuffing my skinny jeans lately. This was a direct result of my laziness to get them hemmed, and the five-pairs-of-jeans outcome of my endless search for blue-jean alternatives. So what does a girl do with five pairs of cuffed jeans?...Show off my boots, of course. There is no better way to display your cute boots and shoes than pairing them with short pants. I've also incorporated some cuffed suit trousers that I had stuffed in my closet from last year. It's like my wardrobe has been re-invented and I couldn't be happier.

Here are some budget-friendly cuffed-pant options that I've come across, Enjoy!:

~ Jackie D.

BRRRR

It is cold today. It may not be cold by East Coast standards, but I'm a California girl that has only seen snow a handful of times in her life. So like I said, it's cold today at 55 degrees. The mornings are getting tougher because my nice, warm down (alternative) comforter masks all signs of temperature changes until I lift it off and the cold shock hits me in the face. It also doesn't help that my windows are older than my Grandma and are made of glass shutters that do nothing to block the elements. Anyway, enough venting. I'm feeling very festive about the upcoming Halloween festivities and also looking forward to the layers of coats and scarves I will be piling on this "winter." Check out some of my Shopstyle finds that will have me singing in the rain, or sleeping on my couch while it rains outside...something like that.




Hey Miss Bea Heyvin, I love your Shopstyle:

BargainHunterBoots, rainy-day style:

~ Jackie D.

Hair

I need a new Hair Style. Right now I'm really diggin' the cuts on the simpler side of the spectrum. More specifically, I want to have Leigh's hair. Straight, dark, and cool. DONE! I'm going to a salon opening party on Friday so I'll ask my stylist to go crazy there. If you're interested. The party is at Saints and Sinners in Downey, CA. The stylists are awesome and my friend Mandi is the coolest one there. ;)

Here are some of the photos I will be using for inspiration when I sit myself down in the hair chair.

Her name is Leigh Lezark and she is featured on my favorite photo blogs quite frequently. She is 1/3 of a DJ Trio that is also kind of awesome. Take a listen if you wish.

House of Holland Mix- The Misshapes

Publish Post

~ Jackie D.

Gold Rush

Step 1: Admit you have a problem.

I have a problem. Everyday, for the past month, I pay a visit to Garance's website to stare at the photos of Anna Dello Russo during Paris Fashion week from September. It's not what you think though. It has nothing to do with her fabulous clothes or her even more fabulous accessories. It's her damn near impossible to find gold nail polish. Now, I'm sure I wouldn't have noticed it if it weren't for her gorgeous shoes but the color literally made me stop in my tracks.

(Anna and her team) (Anna and the perfect gold polish)

I thought it would be as easy as going to the nail salon for a pedicure and picking out the gold shade. NOPE! There is literally a nail salon on every block here in Westwood, yet not ONE of them carries this particular gold. WHY!?!? Time for Plan B. I'll just buy my own gold polish and bring it to the salon. Why does every CVS/Rite Aid in the area carry only 5 shades of nail polish? Why does Sephora carry every shade besides matte gold? Why is the sky blue?

Anyway, I've turned to the web in my search for the "damn near impossible to find gold nail polish." These are some of my options. Right now I'm leaning towards Amazon.com because I know they're reliable and I can always return the polish if it's not perfect. Wish me luck!




(Nubar 24K) (Essie 667) (Mirage 24K Gold 3)



~ Jackie D.

This Just In

(Spring 2010 Ready-to-Wear
Lanvin - Runway)

Hey Guys, guess what? Ankle bracelets are back in style. Hold on a sec, I'm not talking about the beaded ones we made at camp, and especially not the leather ones with pendants hanging off the sides. Don't get me wrong, if that's your thing then go right on ahead.
The ones I'm referring to re-emerged in Paris at the Lanvin Spring 2010 fashion show this month on the ankles of the models. The new generation of ankle bling consists of chunky gold and silver chains with some splashes of diamonds (or CZs for us budget shoppers) mixed in.

I think The Glamouri did a fantastic job of interpreting the trend, as always. You can also check out the Lanvin Runway photos for yourself over here.

If you're as into this as I am, check out some of the options I found online. They range from high to low so I can dream about the high and go for the low. Enjoy!



~ Jackie D.

Cirque de Britney!

Celebrate! I finally have a costume idea for Halloween. I'm taking some inspiration from my girl Britney Spears and will be dressing as a circus ringmaster. I'm excited. This one will be cheap and easy because I already own most of the essentials.

Checklist:

1. Black Blazer with coattails. I already own one of these thanks to the crazy/amazing Elizabeth and James sample sale last year. (it was only $10!!!)
2. Black Opaque tights. Every girl should own at least one pair, unless you're like me and own 6.
3. Black Patent Leather Ankle Boots. They have a super high heel and are nothing short of fierce. Do you remember the Christian Siriano for Payless boots that I posted about earlier here?
   

What I need to buy to complete the outfit:

1. Gold hot shorts. I can always rely on good ol' American Apparel for these.
2. Sequin Bra. I think I might go DIY for this one.
   
3. Top hat, whistle, whip. The only things I'll be buying from the ridiculously crowded costume store.

I hope this all works out. It's like a weight has been lifted off my shoulders.

~ Jackie D.

MMM-Missoni

Yesterday, at around 10:30am I had an epiphany. I need new sheets and they have to be from Missoni Home. I think the events leading up to this epiphany might have had something to do with it. First, my friend was browsing the web endlessly looking for hawaiian-themed bed sheets which led me to daydream about the gorgeous bedsheets from the Rachel Zoe Project; so soft, so warm. I looked straight past the lady laying on the bed.

"I have to get new bed sheets!" I told myself. So now I will start my bed sheet savings account to support my frivolous obsession with Missoni Home, and while I'm at it, I might as well throw in a new duvet cover and some throw pillows, just to jazz it up. Don't judge me, I can't control my urges.

These are my options. I can't decide on Gray or Black/White for the duvet cover. What do you think?

~ Jackie D.

The Look For Less

This weekend I spent some time with my sister at the mall because she wanted to find some riding boots. It was her reward for placing Top 10 in a cross country meet. Congrats Monique!
Anyway, we visited Aldo and I completely fell in love with several shoes in the store that were completely unnecessary and overpriced. But that doesn't matter because I want them and I will stalk the store for the next month until they go on sale.

Lucky for me, Aldo has a cool website that offers 10% off so soon enough I will be the proud owner of these nifty Nicholas Kirwood look-alikes. My favorite part of the shoe is the royal blue sole.

The Look: Around $1,000



For Less: $84.98



~ Jackie D.

Emerald City

There is rarely a time when a store never fails to deliver on its merchandise. Did that make sense? Anyway, I feel the need to share my love of a jewelry store that is small, unique, and a treasure in my hometown.

Cocoon, Gifts for the Mind & Heart is my absolute favorite spot to buy serious jewelry at ridiculously good prices. It also helps that the store owner will offer a story on the place of origin for every single item in the store. Ok so he doesn't only sell jewelry, he actually has any sort of exotic artifact you could think of. I will definitely be decorating my future home with some of his Frida Kahlo pieces. LOVES IT! This is what the shop looks like from the outside. It's conveniently located between a LaundryMat and a Mexican Restaurant....Oh Downey, when will you stop with the Mexican restaurants?



This past Saturday I went a little crazy and got myself:
1. Earrings from India
2. A jewel-encrusted Owl ring from Amsterdam
3. a real gold-dipped leaf on a gold chain
4. black stone and pearl bangles (unknown place of origin, lol)

I LOVE every single piece and I will definitely be returning this weekend to get some cool stuff for my ladies at work. So make sure to visit this place at least ONCE in the near future, I can assure you that you will not regret it.

~ Jackie D.

The Sandlot

One of my all-time favorite movies is the Sandlot. This is mostly based on my undying love for Benny "The Jet" Rodriguez. So when I saw this sale for PF Flyers, I was taken back to my 12 year old self, sitting in front of the TV, watching the Sandlot on repeat so I could see Benny jump over the wall to get away from Hercules. It always made my heart skip a beat. Memories......





If you're also feeling the warmth of nostalgia, check out the PF Flyers sample sale on Gilt.com today. Feel free to ask me for an invitation code if you're not a member.


~ Jackie D.

New Obsession

I think my current obsessive phase belongs to the Sartorialist. I don't mind it so much because his photos are beautiful. While I was browsing through some things on TopShop I discovered this little editorial from Mr. Scott Schuman (The Sartorialist). It was inspired by his new book, which I just happened to purchase very recently. I love the book and his stylish picks.







~ Jackie D.

Pictorial

Tim Burton was recently given the chance to create a pictorial that included images from his past films.
All I can say is that it turned out STUNNING.










~Jackie D.