Save me some money, honey!

So, I've had several requests to share some sites/ideas of how to LOOK like Anthropologie/JCrew but not cough up the dimes...

These are just some ideas I've gathered through personal research of online shops that have the same "feel":

-Shabby Apple has some CUTE dresses that are around half the price of Anthro (roughly $55-85) and great for work, church, dates, etc!

-Spool No. 72 is breathtakingly precious...delicious jackets, cutesy jewelry, and even a dress that seems to be the TWIN of Anthropologie's!

see..

-Janey Clothing's playfill skirts are to die for..

That should get you started...there's a blog that frequently mentions these and other shops, Modish. My cousin showed it to me :)

And regarding accessories, honestly, have you taken a look at Forever21's website?? Get your booty on over there because they have the cutest things! Yes, it's cheap and not just regarding cost, but it's a TREND!! It doesn't last forever..

Want more? I'll keep digging...

OH! Also, I keep the Anthropologie and JCrew magazines handy and flip through them for ideas on what to do with my OWN closet...I'm sure I could make a "How To" post on this so I'll save this for later..

Safari Update!

So, the pants mentioned in a previous post re: African Safari are on sale at Old Navy for $15!!! I'm going to scoop up a pair or two today...

Stay tuned: I'm going to attempt to share some Anthropologie/JCrew looking pieces that won't make such a dent in your credit card ;) (per request of Dipti and Diana :) )

Yellow, yellow.

Yellow is the richest color of fall. Let the sun keep shining through the blowing leaves and the whistling wind. Welcome it in with the offerings from the shops and the inspirations from fashion.

cute JCrew jacket..

yellow bike...yellow romance? ((c) The Sartorialist)

Vivianna in smashing yellow ((c) The Sartorialist)

"Just-as-lovely-in-person" dress..by Anthropologie..

ahh! ruffles! celebrate!

Shoes and more shoes.

Oh la la, shoes.. I love them.  The trend this fall? Slightly more menswear, definitely more oxford... 

Anthropologie has their oxfords:

Something about the white ones..

aren't these CRAZY!? 

Urban Outfitters is right in cue as well, though slightly more masculine...

Another Anna.

She is the fashion director of Vogue Japan.  She has two fabulously adorable assistants, Viviana and Aurora.  Sigh...

(c) The Sartorialist

Just take a look at what Garance and Scott say about her while I run off to work.

How to get yourself to sleep.

Sleep is a very precious thing to me.  I was going to blog more about packing, but what is most on my mind when I woke up today is the need for more sleep.  These are the things I do to help myself sleep---what do you do?

1) Relax in the evening before heading up to bed.  This consists of: watching TV, cleaning up my house (this is relaxing to me :)), doing or putting away laundry, talking to my roommate, or taking a walk.

2) Stop with the caffeine by 3 pm!  This is hard for me, sometimes I push it to 4.  The afternoon "nap time" hour is hard for me and sometimes I run for cover with caffeine in hand

3) Clean up your room.  This starts in the morning by making my bed.  In the evening I try to straighten up so a messy room is not on my mind (it happens!)

4) Lock doors, set alarm, etc (do your routine to put the house to "sleep")

5) Get ready for bed (I don't do night showers because it wakes me up)

6) Read something calm (me: Jane Austen's Mansfield Park)

7) Drink tea.  I usually have the Rest and Relax Sampler by Yogi on hand.  It has a mix of bedtime, calming, Kava stress relief, and other teas that promote relaxation.  My sister swears by the stress relief.

8) Un-clutter your mind and say goodnight.

And trust me, if this doesn't work, don't keep snoozing in the morning.  It doesn't help much, and it could make you late.  Instead, wake up and make yourself a good breakfast (me: omelet with carrots and onions) and get your booty moving anyways.

Again---tips from you??

Look who's coming to town...

I die.  My sister Virginia was at Barnes and Noble today and saw that Scott Schuman of The Sartorialist is coming this month!  I cannot tell you how much I admire this documenter of fashion in daily life.  He writes in his biography "there was a disconnect between what I was selling in the showroom and what I was seeing real people (really cool people) wearing in real life".

(c) The Sartorialist

I am waiting in anticipation for his book signing.  Maybe Garance will join him??

(c) The Sartorialist

Breathe in, Sip, long sighhhh...

I'm sitting here with my Mac-daddy enjoying some tea and breakfast wondering what today holds.  I'm also realizing I'm in desperate need of groceries since I used the last tomato this morning...

Does anyone miss Domino Magazine besides moi?  Some magical person put together the Domino Magazine Files on Flickr.  Merci, merci!

I love sitting here perusing the files, imagining what my next home renovation project will be. And while I prefer a tangible magazine to browse, the online files will have to do until some genius decides to create a magazine that actually replaces the hole in my heart for Blueprint and Domino.  I've used both of those magazines for design help (and I just might have every Blueprint issue on my shelf...shhhhh).

Happy Monday!