BLACK FRIDAY Discovery Toys - Free Shipping Offer!

So, I rarely plug my home business in blogland, but I have to pass on an incredibly simple way to get a jumpstart on (or even finish up!) your Holiday shopping needs for all the little ones in your life! 

As a Discovery Toys Consultant and mom, I quickly realized why these products have been around for over 25 years ... and why parents and grandparents keep coming back year after year!

These products make excellent gifts that both parents and children will be happy to receive! Why??  Durable, educational, fun, and unique toys and products for your children and family ... with a 100% Lifetime Guarantee!  (seriously!)

Even better, most toys do not require batteries, grow with your children, and support and enhance their learning as they grow!  Our products are used in the home, but also preschools, elementary schools, church nurserys, hospitals, waiting rooms, and more!

Please check out my personal website:

 www.discoverytoyslouisville.com

to view our products and shop online!

**As a special deal for blog readers, I will waive shipping on orders between $50 and $150 from now until Monday, Nov 30th 2009.   Please contact me so I can place your order for you if you'd like free shipping!***

Wanna get it done fast??  Check out the Holiday Collections - bundles of toys at a 10-15% discount!  EASY!

Like everything you see?  Ask me about becoming a consultant yourself and start earning extra income for your family (or just your own shopping addiciton! ;)

Play with your children... it's the best investment you can make!

Ann Taylor and LOFT deals!!

Oh how I loveth Ann Taylor and the LOFT Friends and Family time of the year!  And, oh how I showed them my love by buying WAY too much stuff!  Here are the best pieces:

Ann Taylor, Wool Jersey Ruffle Neck Dress: $150 (30% off for F&F)

 

I love this dress because of the long sleeves since I always hate having to check my coat right at the door with a sleeveless dress on!  Also, it's form-fitting without being too clingy (aka: I can wear tights under it without TOO much of the dreaded tummy-roll showing)  Love love love the ruffle neckline and plan on wearing tights with this due to the short length.

 

 

 

Ann Taylor, Tiered Grossgrain and Chiffon Dress: $240 (on sale for $149 then 40% off that)

This is a super-sexy and very fun dress!  I cannot wait to wear this to my hubby's firms' Christmas party!  There are optional spaghetti straps, but I don't plan on using them.  This baby is sold out online.

Before the Friends and Family deals, I hit up the LOFT for their Buy1 Get 1 50% off sweater deal ..... plus I used a 20% coupon.... sweet!

                                

LOFT, Toggle Sweater Coat: $108 (Buy 1 Get 1 50% off, plus 20% off purchase!) - This sweater coat is so warm a cozy.  It's a bit more flattering than I expected considering the thickness of the sweater!  It covers the butt, too!  Love it!

LOFT, Rosette Cardigan: $89 - I honestly could not choose a color on this one.  I ended up going with this color because it was the color I originally saw in the look-book and fell in love with.  I think this will look great with black pants, and of course jeans!  I would NOT have paid full price for this,  but I love it for the price I got it at!

LOFT, Soft Red Sweater: $49

LOFT, Chunk Ribbed Sweater: $59 - First, I couldn't decide on a color in this cardi, then I ended up returning it.  I just couldn't get it to consitantly look flattering in the hip and waist area... end for about $25.... it was also a little tight in the rib cage area, even if I sized up.

PS: The jeans I have on in all these pics (b/c I was too lazy to change them!) are my new Paige Premium Denim Skinny Jeans in a light destruction wash.... had to give 'em a shout-out .... they are my new staple!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

J.Crew Reindeer Tee, Frances, and F21 Finds!!

Do I need another embellished tee? Are you kidding me? NO! But, when I saw this lovely lady online, I had to go ahead and order it .... mostly because I'm freakin' craving some Christmas right now, and also because I thought the color was nice and the beading was pretty striking.

As you can see from the photos below, I have several colors of cardigans that will compliment it nicely, plus the reindeer face doesn't get completely covered up! LOVE this shirt!!

Details: I got a size Small, my regular size (for JC tees!) The shirt fabric is substantial enough to hold the beading. I ordered this with free shipping when it was 20% off, so I'm pretty OK with paying $38.... regular price of $48 was a little steep for me! I LOVE that this shirt isn't black, white, or gray like ALL my other holiday tees!

As I mentioned in a previous post, my Silk Frances Cami in Deep Rose is probably my favorite piece from JC in recent roll-outs. I really really wanted the Autumn Sun (yellow) color and when it went on sale (or promo, or whatever the crap it was .... since it's now back to FP!?) I bit. I still love it, but not as much as I love it in the Deep Rose color! I'm not sure what I'm going to ultimately do about this top. I love it, but do I love it enough to keep it when my CC bill is so ugly?? Feel free to chime in.

(FYI - I took this picture without steaming the cami first... it would look better steamed, I'm sure!)

With F21 silky shorts - see below

I rarely make it into Forever 21 by myself (aka: without a little helper in a stroller) so I took advantage of my last trip by trying lots of stuff on and having a little fun. Above are some navy satin shorts I picked up. I plan on wearing them with tights (duh) but I was too lazy to put them on for just a picture. I ended up sizing up to a medium so that they were long enough to cover what I assume shorts are meant to cover ;)

Can you say: perfect holiday tank top? Just enough sparkle without going overboard. I sized up to a Medium in this tank since it's white. I would have gone with a small in any other darker color. (and they had this tank in several colors)

This tank has a lot more bling-factor, plus it is a lacy racer-back. I will be wearing a cardi over this I'm sure, but something about the gold and black really made me fall in love with this tank. This is a size small, they were out of the medium.

I already own this exact dress in black from a few years back and end up grabbing it as a go-to fun dress at least once or twice a year (especially if we're going to Vegas) because it's just so cute and easy to wear. When I saw it in this red/berry color, I didn't think twice about grabbing it up! I went with the small because I will ALWAYS wear tights or leggings under a dress this short! Love it!

*I'd like to give a little shout-out to my local F21 for having great employees who are knowledgeable and helpful. There was a gentleman working the front of the store the day I visited who was more than happy to help find sizes, colors, and give advice. At a store like F21, who caters to younger folks I'm afraid, it's nice to be treated like a valued customer. From what I've heard, sometimes the seasoned employees at the JC Collection Store can't even muster up a smile. Way to go, F21!

Ten Of My Favorite Things: Beauty Edition

In this time of giving thanks (Thanksgiving of course!) I thought I would share with you the 10 beauty products I am most thankful for discovering! Enjoy!

10. OPI Rapiddry Top Coat: Drys your nail polish in 5 minutes... and when you have a two-year-old to wrangle, sometimes 5-minutes is all you've got!

9. Gigi Wax Warmer and Honee Wax: I was sick of paying $100+ for a simple bikini line and leg wax. So, compliments of the Internet, I found 8ty8beauty.com where I could purchase all the supplies I needed to do it myself at home. It doesn't hurt anymore than paying to have it done, and just takes a little practice and patience.

8. Benefit's Georgia Peach finishing powder: I've been using this powder for years. Very versatile, smells great, and easy and quick to use! Compliments my complexion through the winter and summer!

7. No.4 Reconstructive Conditioner: My hairdresser only recently introduced me to this relatively new brand. It's amazing... expensive, but amazing!!

6. Bio-Oil: So, I know that science says there is no way to topically erase stretch marks, but this stuff is amazing!! So amazing, in fact, that I checked my old-school, had-them-since-high-school stretchmarks in the mirror before heading to the dermatologist the other day (because I was going to ask for a Rx treatment of something) and to my delight, after two years of religiously using Bio-Oil, I could hardly see them anymore!! I'm actually comfortable with the way they look now... miracle!

5. Jergens Natural Glow Moisturizing Lotion: Takes that winter-white glow off your skin and replaces it with a nice soft sun-glow. The scent was updated a couple of years ago and is much less offputting now. ... however I think the price has gone up, so I'm thinking of switching to one of the store off-brands. Anyway, love it! (PS - Also good for helping blend pesky tan-lines in the summer!)

4. Arbonne's No Sun Intended Compact Powder Bronzer: Great as an all-over bronzer and for accentuation cheekbones, etc... Comes with a huge mirror and is a great brown color, not orange!

3. BareEscentuals Eye Glimmers in Bare Skin: This is THE BEST eyeshadow color ever. I use it everyday - everyday. I can dress it up with other shades, or wear it alone. It's always out of stock in this shade around my house so I have to order it online from Sephora. Seriously, everyone needs this color and a fluffy eyeshadow brush in their makeup drawer!

2. Phytodefrisant Botanical Hair Relaxing Balm by Phyto: Wonderful, everyday use hair product. I use this humidity-blocking balm on my hair after every wash, whether I'm letting it dry naturally curly, or blow-drying straight!

1. GHD Professional Straightener: I used to think CHI was the holy-grail of hair straighteners, but as it turns out, they just spend a lot of money on advertising! What brand is used more by those in-the-know? GHD. Check them out! Hard-core, simple and easy, hair straightening power. It'll cost ya, but it's worth it!

Fundraiser Dress and Best Bra Ever!

A few months ago I posted about some of my absolute most fabulous fashion pieces I own... one of them is a gorgeous, hand beaded Sue Wong dress I purchased to wear for our wedding rehearsal dinner 3 years ago. I never thought I would be able to wear it again (comfortably) after having Connor. But... yea... miracles do happen!!

After lots of running and hours in the gym, I decided to give this dress one more night on the dance floor!!

On a related topic, wearing a backless dress can be daunting for a, A-Cup gal like me and boy-oh-boy did I happen upon an amazing product!!! A self-adhesive (no tape, glue, sticky mess, etc...) gel bra!! This product is so so great I couldn't wait to post about it here! The gel is thick and adds at least a cup size. There is a hook in the middle to create more cleavage. AND, the cups really stay on with no problem, and come off with no pain when you are ready!! I wore them for about 8 hours last night under that dress and they performed great! Woo hoo!! Even more surprising, I bought them at WALMART!! Yeah.... click HERE to see them online ... plus they are on clearance right now! Cannot say enough about this product!!

New J.Crew Cotton Tank and Sale Cardi + Outfit of the Day

Please excuse the lack of details, but I wanted to go ahead and get this posted. I picked up a couple of items last weekend that just so happened to get great together! I've already worn the combo twice, plus it looks great with my Minnie's! I cannot even tell you how much I fall head-over-heels for any cute tank or shirt that is hand washable and mommy-friendly!

Love these new pieces (well, the cardi is new to me, but not a new item) - Plus, I was also rocking my new ATL jewelry and JC Minnie pants in the gray color.

Closer look

One of my favorite pieces of the last couple of roll-outs is the Silk Frances Cami in Deep Rose. I've found it very easy to pair with cardis of many colors! Love Love Love it! I really really want it in the Autumn Sun color.... but I've got to wait until it goes on sale!! I've got it in my shopping cart .... come ON J. Crew!!

Girl's Night Out (Black Leggings: INC; Jewelry: ATL and JC; Cardi: J.Crew)

Outfit for my sister's White Coat ceremony: She's in Pharm. School!! So proud ;)

Pants: Ann Taylor

Belt: J.Crew

Jewelry: The Limited

Cadri and Cami: J.Crew

J. Crew Coat *Bust* + Banana Republic *Find*

I went to great lengths to purchase the Ruffle Front Coat in Camel. I worked 2 Saturday night weddings in a row for a local catering company just to get the money to make myself feel less guilty about purchasing a coat that I so obviously do not need!

The dang thing was even wait-listed for over a month, so I've had plenty on time to drool over and anticipate the arrival of this coat.

HOWEVER, I must confess a huge disappointment!! My boyfriend-in-brown (UPS) brought it today and from the first peer into the half-opened box, I wasn't totally thrilled.

For one, the camel color was much darker than what I had anticipated. Not a bad camel, just darker than what I had pictured in my mind. Second, the ruffles seemed cheap and flimsy, not like they did in the black color (the one I had been trying on in the store). Third, I'm just not diggin' on the buttons ... not sure why, just not loving them. Fourth, the coat seriously looks like it was made of felt .... like from a craft store. Finally, the fit wasn't perfect... maybe a bit too roomy? I ordered this in my regular size 2, but the sleeves seemed a bit long and the coat wasn't super comfy (although, none of my "cute" coats really are, so....). A size 0 would definitely be too snug through the shoulder and back to wear a thin sweater/ layers.

J. Crew Ruffle Front Coat - $268 Regular Price

See how the ruffles look flimsy? Kind-of like they were an accident! (pretty pink lining, though!)

What DID I like? Still love the length and the little belt detail on the back. The fabric is soft and not too heavy, but still good enough to get me through winter.

I like the detail on the back, but the rest of the coat looks a little big

Bottom Line: Not thrilled. I did get it for 20% off during the private sale thingy, but that's not cheap enough to make me keep this. It's going back. In black (which I still love) I would probably pay about $150 for this, so I'll keep my eyes out online and in my local B&M.

** On a happier note, I found a great coat at Banana while they were having 25% off any purchase when using your Banana card! I hesitated a lot (and for good reason) to even try this coat on because I am a coat addict and did not need it! Plus, I was with my mom and was supposed to be helping HER pick out a black coat and suit, so....

Anyway, this coat ended up being only $150 and it's a great color! I personally consider this a fall and early winter coat since it's a lighter weight wool, but I believe it's being sold as a winter coat. I purchased an XS, as it comes in XS-S-M-L-XL. This style also comes in additional colors and in Petite. My mom purchased the coat in black in a Petite Small.

Banana Coat - $198 Regular Price

Waist-flattering details on back (BR does this a lot - lovey)

With my new brown and cream zebra scarf from The Limited

Have you found any great coats this year that you want to share with a fellow coat-addict? Please let us know!