glimmy glam glam

lulu's gilt-y pleasure grey top, $71

while perusing new arrivals at lulu's the other day i also came across this little gem. a bit pricey for lulu's but it seems the glimmy glam glam detail would make up for it. cute with skinny jeans and some stacked heel or over the knee boots, no?

bought for hawaii: equator pink shorts

lulu's equator pink shorts, $29

love. perfect for casual dinners or beachside breakfast in hawaii. paid an arm and a leg for 3-day shipping so they get here in time but the $29 price tag for the shorts makes me feel better about exorbitant shipping costs. will likely pair them with wedges and a silky top for dinner.

prepping for hawaii: dreaming of dvf

nick and i are soon heading to maui for our annual labor day week of vacation. while i'm in very limited clothes shopping mode, i have been keeping my eye out for hawaii must-haves. after seeing diane von furstenburg's ethyl dress on blair of atlantic-pacific, i knew it had to be mine. i rarely splurge on clothes more than $150 so this took a lot of nail biting and obsessing before i bit the bullet.

but there was a problem. since it was from the spring 2011 line and popular with people way richer than me (here and here), it was nowhere to be found. after fruitless trolling of dvf.com, ebay, craigslist and multiple blogs, i finally gave the dvf 800 number a call. halleluja, the very last one in dvf's posession was in desert hills, ca and it was in MY SIZE. meant to be? YES.

i'm waiting with baited breath for this beauty to arrive so i can tuck it away for a good dinner out with nick in maui. it better be worth every one of those 4,000 pennies.

check out atlantic-pacific for some amazing shots of the dress in action.

reader question: what to wear with the tiered skirt

i had a reader write yesterday asking if i could suggest some tops/jackets/cardis to go with the banana republic tiered ruffle skirt in wednesday's post. here are just some of the options i came up with after a few clicks around the world wide web (admittedly, i found a lot of keepers at zara). any of these strike your fancy? i can keep looking...it really depends on how work-appropriate you'd like to be...and really, any top could be paired with any jacket.

to be honest, my go-to top would probably be a white wifebeater and I'd take a summer scarf along in case there's a chill. easy and simple.

combo #1: lulu's superfine lace white tank top, $41 paired with zara's buttoned blazer, $69.90 on sale for $49.99

combo #2: urban outfitters' ecote embroidered cami (love the back!), $59 paired with zara's short/vintage retro jacket (has awesome zipper cuff details), $129 on sale for $99.99

combo #3: zara's pintuck blouse, $39.90 on sale for $29.99 paired with zara's blazer with lapel, $159 on sale for $99.99

combo #4 (and the one i'd choose): victoria's secret's silk button-front henley, $68 on sale for $58.50 paired with victoria's secret's quilted leather moto jacket, $129 (don't forget to use an offer code!)

pink parade at zara

zara's store right now is filled with all of the essentials required for a kick-ass colorblocked outfit. i went with two specific pieces in mind (pink shorts and a red blazer) and while i did come out with none of the above, i instead came out with all of the below.

below: loose white blouse, $39.50. will be perfect weekend wear with some jean cutoffs (which are now on my shopping list - a DIY version did not make the cut - pun intended). sorry for the wrinkles.

below: pink blazer, $79.50. love!!!

below: pink and white striped top, $15.50. perhaps paired with a white, green or yellow skirt?

stocking up at asos

i had the pleasure of spending last weekend in vegas with my bff katie and her hubs warren. katie wore the cutest dress ever from asos and reminded me how much i like asos' selection. i decided to order up a few to see if any make the cut and find a home in my closet. here's what i'm expecting from the mailman in the next two weeks...

below: pleated long sleeve shift dress, $71.72 on sale for $35.86

below: frill sleeve swing dress, $53.79

below: antique style beaded embellished layered dress, $75.31

below: armor swing dress, $98.62

like going home again...in vegas

now living in a place where h&m doesn't exist, any time i go anywhere where there IS an h&m, i make it a point to make a visit. nick and i spent last weekend in vegas and my last trip was quite a fruitful one -- not only did we win big playing craps but i'm also psyched by the goodies i brought home from h&m. i've already thrown away all of the tags so the prices are ballparks...

below: orange and white striped beach bag, $25

below: tiered maxi dress, $60

below: black romper, $40

below: scallop edge sheer cream blazer, $60

outfit in action: gaga for peter pan shorts

last night i pretended to be a little monster and went to see lady gaga with my friend andrea. while i can't call myself a huge fan, this was one of the most entertaining shows i've seen in a long time. maybe it was because we were able to sneak down to the floor for the encore, or maybe it was because i have a secret love for "bad romance." either way, i was psyched to wear my new peter pan shorts (as nick calls them) for the day at work, dinner and drinks at local restaurant vivo, and to the frank erwin center for lady gaga. i was definitely the most conservatively dressed in the joint. i guess that's what happens when you go from the office to gaga - and you're 31 years old. oh, i also bought these shorts in white. love. and you get to see these shoes in action!

below: she was born this way, bitches.

below: proof of me being under dressed. or over dressed. no, she's not peeing. she's resting.

below: gaga and the fame monster