My latest nail obsession

Chanel has a new line of nail colors out, the limited edition Robertson Boulevard collection. The colors are so fun (from left, L.A. Sunrise, L.A. Sunset, Melrose and Rodeo Drive). I have to have the pink and purple, they are adorable. The collection was created to celebrate the opening of the new Chanel store on Robertson Boulevard in L.A., and is available at the new store on May 31. The rest of us have to wait until July, and, I kid you not, there is a waiting list. Ridiculous? Yes. Do I love the ridiculousness? Again, yes. Is my name on the waiting list? If you have to ask, you don't know me at all. $25 each at Chanel.com.

Gap, Banana Republic and Old Navy United!

My friend Blair just pointed something pretty awesome out to me. Now, when you go to any of the websites for Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy or Piperlime, you can move between any of the sites by clicking on tabs for each store on the top of the site. Also, when you're shopping online, you can add different items from each store to the same cart, so you can checkout one time. AND you only pay $7 for shipping per order, regardless of the number of stores you're purchasing from! Such a smart idea!

Recycle Your Denim

Okay, this is cool: through June 1, if you take in any pair of jeans to Blue Elephant, you will get 20% off your purchase of a new pair of jeans. Your old jeans will be donated to a local women's shelter. I've blogged about Blue Elephant previously--it's a really cool local boutique with an incredible denim selection, including Hudson, Citizens of Humanity, 7 For All Mankind, Joe's Jeans, and Paige Premium Denim. So dig out your old denim and go trade it in!

Silver Gladiator Sandals

I really like these strappy flat gladiator sandals I've been seeing everywhere lately, like the Chanel pair worn by Sienna Miller above. Now, I doubt if this trend will be around more than a season or two, so I'm definitey not investing in Chanel gladiator sandals. But I found these cute silver gladiator sandals from Target this weekend for $24.99! They are so pretty, they're super shiny and I love the design. And you definitely cannot beat that price. They're pretty comfy too. Definitely a great buy!

Chipped Nail Polish As New Trend??

There's a horrifying article on the New York Times website reporting that chipped nail polish is now considered chic. Um...okay. Personally, I think it looks messy and sloppy, but apparently that's the point.

From the article:

“Before, when nail polish was chipped you absolutely had to run and get it fixed,” said Ji Baek, the owner of Rescue Beauty Lounge and a manicure doyenne who has noticed the Olsens and Lindsay Lohan with less-than-impeccable polish. Now, clients like hers are “wearing perfectly-tailored clothes, they have $5,000 bags and equally fabulous shoes, but their nails are chipped and they’re saying, ‘I don’t care.’ They don’t want to be too perfect.”

Huh. I guess this is a problem that I am lucky not to have. I have never looked in the mirror before going out and thought, "You know, I just look too perfect. I'm going to chip my nail polish and mess up my hair before I walk out the door." Maybe if I had a $5000 bag I could pull it off. Until I acquire one, I'm going to try and keep my nail polish unchipped.

Super 120's Pants On Sale at J.Crew

Okay people, I was raving about the Super 120's line of pants at J.Crew in a post last week. Now they're on sale, so seriously, snap up a pair of these. The wide leg (left) are on sale for $95 (from $135), and the cityfit are on sale for $90 (from $130).

If you need a suit, buy a jacket while you're at it: both the two button and three button jackets shown below are on sale for $160 (from $230).

Sweater Jacket

I love this cute navy and white striped cotton sweater jacket on sale at Banana Republic right now for $49.99. This is a perfect summer jacket for work.

Summer Body Wash

I am a sucker for tropical scents, especially this time of year when it is getting sooo hot outside. I was wandering around Bath and Body Works last week when I stumbled across this "Fresh Pineapple" scent. I don't know if it's new, but I had never seen it before. Um, it is delicious. I want to drink it. It smells like a perfectly ripe pineapple with a little coconut thrown in. It's the body wash equivalent of a pina colada. It's really fresh and light. It's pretty much the perfect summer scent, and I am loving it. $9.50 at Bath and Body Works.

Weekend Shopping Report

I went to Houston this weekend, and met up with my dad at the Galleria. It made me miss the Galleria in a big way--when I lived in Houston, I went there all the time, and that selection is pretty unbeatable. Anyway, I have the best dad in the world and everytime he sees me, he wants to buy me something (this is only one reason why he's the best dad in the world!). So we immediately set out to look for something for me.

Now, it is a time-tested rule of shopping that as soon as you have the opportunity to buy something, you will not be able to find anything that you want to buy. This kind of happened to me this weekend--I choked. We went to all my standard favorite stores, but I just didn't find anything I loved. And my new shopping rule for myself is don't buy anything you don't love. I also didn't want to pick out some crazily expensive thing for my dad to buy me. I found some gorgeous shoes in Cole Haan, but they were sooo expensive, so I passed on them. Then we went to Nordstrom and I found a cute Marc by Marc Jacobs top, but I think my dad was kind of shocked at the price (which, to be honest, he probably should have been, it was a tshirt for over $150--kind of ridiculous). He said I could get it, but I didn't want him to buy something he didn't think was worth the money. It was getting late. My husband called and was circling the Galleria to pick me up. I was getting desperate. I called a shopping hail mary and dragged my dad into Saks Fifth Avenue.

Normally, I don't even bother going into Saks. I love to look in there, but most things are too expensive for my budget. But in the hope of finding a sale, I made a last ditch effort. We made a beeline to the one area of Saks that I can (sort of) afford. Sure enough--HUGE SALE! I found two shirts by Theory and one Juicy Couture shirt that I loved! All majorly on sale. I settled on the Theory shirt above but I got it in black, on sale almost 50% off. I love it, it's so comfy and cute, and I can wear it to work or on weekends. I was happy, and my dad was happy that he got to buy me something that he felt was worth the money.

Moral of the story: Don't be intimidated by high end stores. Hit the sales racks and you may get lucky!

Shop Review: Shiki

Shiki is a really fun boutique located in the 2nd Street District. The atmosphere is laid back, and the clothes are super chic. The salespeople are extremely friendly and helpful, and very knowledgable about the merchandise and designers they carry.


This is not for bargain shoppers (except for the sales rack, which did have some amazing bargains)--most of the clothes are priced over $200. But they have really beautiful things, and they have a pretty wide selection for a small boutique.






Shiki carries everything from casual clothes to work wear to denim. I love this store because they carry clothes you won't find everywhere. I discovered a designer I'd never seen before, Malene Birger, a Danish designer whose clothes are really elegant and rich looking. Denim labels include William Rast (shown above), Justin Timberlake's clothing line. Other designers include Mint, Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, and T-bags, among many others. They had a really great selection of fun summer dresses when I was in last week. They also had some beautiful handbags, including the most gorgeous grass green Kooba bag, and shoes by Michael Kors.







Shiki also has a nice jewelry selection. My favorite pieces were lockets from Vintage Rehab, an Austin company. They take vintage lockets and rework them, and the results are the most special pieces. The lockets are fairly expensive, they ran from $250 to $400, but they would be the most amazing gifts.







Verdict: Beautiful, super stylish clothes in a really cool atmosphere.

White Watches

I've been seeing a lot of white watches around lately, and I'm growing a little obsessed with them. They just look like summer to me, and they really pop against tanned skin (self-tanned, of course!).


I LOVE this gorgeous white resin watch with Swarovski crystals by Michael Kors. Isn't this so pretty? $225.00 at Nordstrom.

This Tommy Hilfiger watch with a white silicone band is pretty cute too, at Macy's for $125.

Only SJP...

Huh. I'm not sure what to make of the butterfly garden/peacock graveyard perched atop her head, but I gotta give her credit for gumption. This kind of courage has not been shown since the Bjork swan dress incident of 2001.

People.com has the story on SJP's hat.

Best Deep Conditioner

Okay, I'm not sure this is THE BEST deep conditioner, because I haven't tried that many, but I really love it, so I had to share it with y'all. Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask.

If you color your hair and don't use a deep conditioner, your hair hates you right now. Using a deep conditioner every now and then is a must for keeping your hair in good shape.

I have really thick hair that I completely abuse with color and heat styling. This stuff makes my hair really soft and smooth. I use it once a week in place of my regular conditioner, and it keeps my hair really healthy. I cut it like once every 6 months, and have no split ends. Also it smells great, and is only $6.99 at drugstore.com!

If you have really thin hair, this might weigh it down, I don't know. It's pretty heavy. But if you have thick hair and/or coarse hair, this should be perfect for you.

BCBG Tops On Sale

BCBG is one of my favorite brands, so I was so excited to see these cute BCBG tops on sale right now at Macy's! The blue sleeveless silk charmeuse blouse on the left is also available in pink. It's on sale for $77.70, off from $148. The pink blouse is a silk/cotton blend, and is $82.95, off from $158. Good deals at Macy's right now!

Black Pants--My Recommendations

So, everyone needs a great pair of black pants. I mentioned this in my tv spot last week--definitely buy the best quality you can in a really classic cut that won't go out of style, and you'll wear them forever. You may have to pay a little more upfront to buy a really quality pair in a style you like, but you'll get your money's worth. It's much better to have one pair of gorgeous black pants you love and wear all the time that you spent $200 on 3 years ago than to go through 4-5 pairs of pants over a three year period that you don't love to wear that you spent $50/pair on.

My favorite in this cateogory is Theory. Their pants are so well-made, comfortable, and cut perfectly. They have sort of a classic but modern style to them, so they look up to date, but won't ever look dated. I love these Theory "Max C - Tailor" pants--they're made of really lightweight, stretch wool, so they have some give to them, and I love the bootcut leg. Also, they're unlined, which I love--Texas is so hot, lined wool pants would be too much. You can wear these year round, and you will, for years. Yes, they're expensive--$235 at Nordstrom. But they are worth it, seriously. My Theory pants have held up incredibly well, I've had them for 3 years and they show no signs of wear at all.








If you don't want to shell out over $200, I would recommend any of the pants from the Super 120's line at J.Crew, shown here in City Fit (which has a lower rise and straight leg). I bought some pants from this line when I first started working about 5 years ago. I have worn them probably once a week for all 5 years, and am still wearing them, and they still look great. The wool again is very lightweight, so you can wear them all year, and they're unlined. And they're only $130, which for a pair of really well-made pants of a nice material is really good.

The Return of the Jumpsuit (Ugh)

Dark days are upon us, people. The jumpsuit is back for fall, as evidenced by the runway creations above from Alexander Wang, Jeremy Laing, and Yigal Azrouel (photo from http://www.nymag.com/), and by articles in pretty much every fashion magazine I've picked up lately. This is a look that I'm pretty sure does not look good on anybody. The last time I wore a jumpsuit, I was in 2nd grade, and I'm really not sure I pulled it off back then. I'm not even trying this time around. Why?? Why can't you just wear two pieces? Is it that much more convenient to wear one extremely ill-fitting, unattractive garment?

This only fuels my suspicion that designers get together each season at a secret compound and discuss what crazy get-ups they can get the public to wear this time around. I feel much the same way as when I read that skinny jeans were making a comeback. I shuddered, but then immediately comforted myself with the thought that no one would wear them given how completely unflattering they are on everyone but 18 year old Hollywood starlets and models. Oh, how I underestimated the influence of 18 year old Hollywood starlets and models. I can't wait to see what happens this fall. If they can get American women into jumpsuits, their takeover of popular culture will be complete.

DSW Online

I love shopping at DSW, a discount shoe shopper's paradise, so I'm really excited that you can now shop DSW online! Now, it's really not a substitute for going into the store, because they have different stuff than the website gets, but it's still pretty cool. As expected, the website has a lot of cute, inexpensive shoes. I found these Tommy Hilfiger fabric and leather wedges for $59.95.

I really love the simplicity of these cork slides from Unisa, but they have little gold flecks in them, which makes them a little different. These would be a perfect neutral summer work shoe, for $49.95.

They have some higher end brands too. I like these Isaac Mizrahi reptile slingbacks for $195.95...

and these great leather slingbacks from Cole Haan (which also come in black) for $179.95.

They have really cool men's shoes too. I love these Cole Haan sneakers, on clearance for $99.94.

They have a LOT of shoes, this is only a small sampling. My favorite feature is the clearance item search, where you can search by size. And if you're not already a rewards member, definitely sign up--DSW has a great rewards program. It's free to join, and you'll get coupons and special savings.

White Jeans Syndrome (WJS)

I'd like to bring your attention to an affliction that millions (I'm guessing) of women in this country are currently suffering from: White Jeans Syndrome (or "WJS"). It flares up in the spring and summer, and is characterized by an obsessive desire for white jeans, accompanied by a paralyzing reluctance to buy said jeans. You may not have heard of WJS. In fact, I'm fairly certain you have not, because my friend Jenny just coined the term in an email exchange we had earlier today, after J finally tracked down some white 7 For All Mankind jeans she had been obsessing over:

J: Alright, they had them. And there were also a pair of white Citizens that started complicating things. I ended up with no white jeans. Both because I couldn't decide between the 2 and because I got cold feet. $170 on a pair of jeans that are only seasonal...I don't know. Also, they just started scaring me - they are so bright and my bottom half is not my best half so maybe I don't want that to be so bright! I can see this will be the kind of thing I go back and forth on for a month before I decide.

K: You just summarized my own internal debate for the past 2 years about expensive white jeans! I have been wanting some for a really long time, but had those exact same concerns. Especially about the whole bright white bottom half, as that is my largest area. But then I started seeing them on others, and I decided that I think they look great on almost everyone. Also, please, you don't need to worry about that. The expensive part was more concerning to me, cause, yeah, it's not like you're going to wear them all year round. But I justified it by telling myself, I'll probably wear them once per week all summer long, and I'll have them forever and will never have to buy another pair of white jeans. I don't know, it's a dilemma. In the end, my obsession with them completely took over any rational part of my brain anyway--I had to have them.

J: Whew! I am glad I am not the only one that has gone through the White Jeans Syndrome (WJS)! You make some great points. I will wait til the weekend, try them on again, repeat this process for another 2 weeks and then finally buy them.

***

WJS will not subside until you have actually purchased white jeans. It can last for years, usually subsiding for a brief period in the fall and winter. If you are suffering from WJS, you are not alone. As treatment, I recommend the pairs shown above: from the left, 7 For All Mankind "Ginger", $178 and Joe's Jeans "Honey" Curvy Fit, $158. Hang in there.

Best Eye Makeup Remover Ever

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a woman in possession of a good mascara must be in want of a great eye makeup remover (sorry, I'm re-reading Pride and Prejudice for the thousandth time).

Anyway, given my intense love for mascara, you must have anticipated my reliance on eye makeup remover. After trying out a lot of brands, both more and less expensive, from drugstores and department stores, I say there's none better than Almay Oil-Free Eye Makeup Remover Pads (make sure you're buying the oil-free kind--very important, or you will end up looking and feeling as though you have smeared vaseline around your eyes). These pads remove all traces of end-of-day raccoon eyes, and are so gentle. They're made with aloe and green tea, and are really soothing on your eyes. Highly recommended, and only $4.99 at www.drugstore.com.

Appearance on Good Day Austin

Thanks to everyone who watched me this morning sharing tips for bargain shopping on Good Day Austin on Fox 7 News.  Here's the link to the interview.  I had a great time, and all the Good Day Austin people were wonderful.  Katherine Kisiel is adorable, I loved talking with her--I sense she has some serious bargain shopping skills.  I also got to talk to Joe Bickett a little before my segment, and he was so nice.  Hope you enjoyed watching it!