The Go-To Bling Of Spring

March 31, 2014.Reading time 3 minutes.

As you may or may not be aware, I have a serious costume jewelry addiction. If any of you follow me on Instagram, you probably saw the contraption I bought at Home Goods yesterday in an effort to keep all of my necklaces organized and no longer in a jumbled pile. Turns out that contraption made me re-connect with a lot of bling I had neglected over the years … and is overall genius. I suggest any fellow costume jewelry-hoarders to invest in this. See above.

Listen, I’m not the Cartier ride-or-die kind of gal. I mean, sure I wouldn’t turn down a Love bracelet, I’m not a fool … but there is something about costume jewelry that makes my heart flutter … like Julia Roberts getting her hand bit by a jewelry box fluttered. It is fun, and most importantly, inexpensive so you can play around with different styles as much as you want. Throw on a pair of jeans, a random t-shirt and a statement necklace … and THAT, my friends, is what it is all about. THAT is magic.

A lot of people don’t get down with costume jewelry because of how fast it falls apart … and to that I say, that is straight up lazy person talk. It is all about how you take care for it. If you don’t polish silver, it tarnishes, right? And if you don’t care for your costume jewelry in a delicate manner, it will fall apart. I own several necklaces from Forever 21 that I’ve had for years. Why? Because I care for them. I don’t sleep in them, I don’t leave them on my floor to get stepped on, I don’t throw them in my purse … I treat them probably better than I treat most things … and people.

With that being said … my newest obsession is tribal-inspired jewels. It all started when I stole my mother’s tribal necklace she got in Mexico in the 70’s years back. It’s current state is … well … hmmm … fragile … and slightly falling apart … aaaaaaand I need to get it fixed. So I scoured the Interwebs for new tribal additions to my collection. I was beyond jazzed about what I found … my back account? Meh … not so much.

So yeah … I’m designating tribal-inspired jewels the bling of spring. Whether you are rocking a simple look and need a pop of color, or want to make a look more dynamic with mixing patterns and textures … this is this where its at, my friends. A

And now … let’s indulge in some of my faves, shall we?

Flats on Flats on Flats

March 13, 2014.Reading time 3 minutes.

I hate winter. Die Polar Vortex. Down with the chill. Etc. Etc. Blah, blah, I’m cold.

I’m over talking about winter. Really, I am. But you know what I’m NOT over talking about? Spring and my soon-to-be established spring wardrobe. I literally broke out in a sweat when I heard it was going to be 60 degrees this week because I’ve been existing in bulky sweaters. Hell, I’ve been so layered I almost forgot I had taas.

Starting a new seasonal wardrobe is not only intimidating, it’s overwhelming. I need skirts, and tops, and oh my Gawd are they really going to make me wear crop tops this season?! And so on and so forth. So I like to keep it simple and fun when starting this process. Lucky for me this week while on a hunt on the interwebs to find something that would make me happy, I found flat mecca, also known as the ModCloth shoe section.

If I could only use one website, besides Gmail, Twitter and Facebook (I feel like they don’t count), I would absolutely take ShopStyle.com and run. If you’ve never used it, I’m about to ba-low ya mind. So say you are in the market for purple polka dotted tights (I have no idea where this example came from), and you didn’t feel like visiting a million and five websites to find said tights. Well, my friends, you hop to ShopStyle, type in “purple polka dotted tights,” and boom! There ya have it. Millions of options. The only thing that bums me out when I use this tool is when I forget to set my price limits and the first thing that pops up is like this to-die-for Celine handbag that I THINK I can afford, but alas, can’t. This girl lives in the $1-$100 range on ShopStyle. Whomp. Whomp.

Anywho, I realized my black flats needed to be retired (I mean I was coloring them in with a black Sharpie … it was time to go), so I went to ShopStyle and typed in “black flats” and henceforth found shoe mecca on ModCloth. Not only are these styles affordable, they are different and not in a hipster, trendy, “I’m too cool for oxygen” kind of way. I literally was salivating and had to stop myself from buying 10 pairs. Why not heels you ask? Because I work in the city, and unfortunately had to give up my four-inch heel obsession for a bit, as my tootsies couldn’t handle it. Anyways we are talking flats here, duh!

So in an effort to ignite spring wardrobes all over the country, I give you my favorite pairs of flats from ModCloth. All affordable … and all will be mine … one day. Don’t they make you just want to frolic?