Things were a bit slow going in the beginning of the year when I first started this blog. It was really hard to find the time to post as regularly as I wanted to. Now I have finally started to get a handle on things and am looking forward to sharing my sartorial adventures with you all in 2013. Here is a look at some of my outfits posts as well as favorite moments from the past year. 

Today I'm linking up with:

I bought this sweater dress a few months back and finally decided to wear it out to dinner with DH. I wore this with a trench and I was HOT. Why didn't anyone warn me that Angora is sooo hot. I guess it will be a great piece to wear now that the temperatures are starting to drop. 

Dress: Victoria Secret Similar Here
Shoes: Christian Louboutin: Similar Here and Here
Earrings: No Brand: Similar Here and Here

Today I am linking up with:

It's one of my favorite times of year. It is sale time. I love after holiday sales. It is a great time to stock up on all the stuff that you have been lusting after but didn't get. Earlier this year I posted some of my shopping rules and decided it would be a good time to share them again. 

(1) Shop often but buy sparingly.I will go on shopping binges where I buy buy buy only to discover that I have (a) overpaid (b) already have the item or (c) don't even really like the item. By shopping often you become familiar with trends, how they work with your body, and what things are worth.  Just because something has a 50% off sign on it doesn't mean it is a good value. Also just because something is "trendy" doesn't mean it is going to work with your body type and/or lifestyle


(2) Shop your closet first. Trends are tricky. You see everyone wearing colored jeans and you run out and buy the first pair that fit. Meanwhile in the back of your closet are a pair of awesome purple jeans you bought on a whim a few years ago but  have only worn once (true story). This happened to me. Luckily because I did not obey my first rule I was able to uncover a lot of awesome gems in my closet. Purple jeans and yellow corduroys just to name a few. I was happy and so was my bank account. 

(3) Make a list and stick to it. During my shopping diet I kept a list of all the things I wanted. During the first week I spent most of my day adding items to the list. By the last week of lent I realized that half the items on the list were things I was no longer interested in or things I already owned (refer to rule 2). That being said armed with list in hand I have been able to focus my shopping on things that I REALLY REALLY want instead of just buying random things that spark my interest. Not only is my account looking good for it but it is helping me stay more organized which is in turn making it easier to put together new outfits. 

(4) Know how much to spend. We all want to be seen walking down the street in our red soles but it is really necessary to spend that much money on a pair of shoes?  (If you ask me I will say yes but I am a bit unrealistic at times). The key is to know an item's worth. A pair of black Louboutin pumps that you will wear every single day may be totally worth it. A pair of feather and studded  7 inch heels that you will NEVER wear probably not so much.Even if they were on clearance for 99% off they still would not be worth it.  Do the math. If you spend 600 bucks on a pair of shoes that you are going to wear at least 3 times a week for a year you just paid $3.85 a wear for those shoes. Even if you spend $10 on the aforementioned 7 inch heel and only wear them once you will have paid $10 a wear which is almost 250% more than the $600 pair. I say put the $10 towards something you will actually enjoy. 

(5) Shop alone. I kinda hate this rule but I do best when shopping alone. It is fun to have brunch with the girls (or guys) and then go shopping afterwards. It is fun to try on things that you will never wear and laugh until you are in tears because of how ridiculous you look or try on those extremely expensive shoes that you will never buy just cause. But what happens when your friends "ooohing" and "aaahing" result in you reaching into your purse to purchase those extremely expensive  (and unreasonably high) shoes that are (1) way over your budget and (b) unlikely to ever be worn comfortably in public. When you shop alone you tend to be more focused and realistic. There is no pressure to "impress". If you like something and it works and fulfills all of the above requirements then you buy it and move on. Yeah it doesn't sound like fun but neither does having your credit card denied. 

(6) Follow these rules within reason. If you really really want that $4,000 Chanel bag (and you can afford it) then get it. If you have a pair of red jeans but REALLY want another pair then get them. If you fall in love with a gorgeous ring that is not on your list but you know you can put to good use then buy it. Rules were made to be broken and these rules are meant to be a guide for making better shopping decisions.Using these rules as a guide I am  on my way to being able to afford that $4,000 Chanel bag. 

Merry Christmas. Last night we celebrated with lots of food and drinks so today I am spending the day laying around in bed and doing a whole lot of nothing. Oh and playing with my newly acquired goodies. I will be sharing them on the blog in the coming weeks. In the meantime I am going to go back to napping and doing absolutely nothing for the rest of the day. Ciao. 

It's Christmas Eve and although I will spending most of the day cooking and I am excited that it is finally here. This past week has been spent preparing.  We were finally able to take a break this weekend. We spent Friday night having beers with the fam and playing Dance Central (great game). On Sunday I did some damage at Woodbury Common. I may or may not have bought 3 pairs of shoes but I will post about my haul later this week. I did find some amazing deals. 

Time to get back to cooking before I burn something. Happy Holidays. 

I went to college in Tampa, Florida which meant that there was a lot of time spent down in Ybor City. Most of it involved lots of dancing and drinking (not for me but everyone else since I barely touched alcohol all through college). 

Coming back for a visit a couple years later (*wink) and boy has it changed. Not only is it 10 times cleaner but its seems a good number of dive bars have been replaced with fairly decent looking restaurants. I am wondering if they were there all along and I just never noticed. 

What has not changed are the cobble stone streets which nearly killed me when I was hobbling along in my 4 inch heels (5 inch heels didn't really exist back then). I opted for flat sandals this time around in order to avoid major injury. Also there are still a handful of vintage shops which have amazing finds although the prices are a bit too steep even for New York standards. 

It was great to visit and take a stroll down memory lane. Maybe I will take a chance and visit at night next time I'm in Tampa. I am just not sure I have enough courage to brave the craziness that goes on there at night. 

Asos has been my go to recently for trendy dresses. I am usually able to find pieces at a reasonable price point and the sizes work out really well for me. (Better than most retailers out there where even the kids sizes are too big for me). 

In preparation for my birthday vacation I took advantage of the 30% off promotion Asos was offering for Cyber Monday (really Cyber week) and picked up some last minute items for my birthday getaway. They definitely came in handy. Here is what I purchased. Stay tuned for some outfit posts featuring some of the asos pieces below. What kind of deals did you get for Cyber "Week"?

With all the back to back holiday parties I am getting a bit tired of the usual LBD or sequins anything. I decided to change things up a bit by bringing out the otherwise summery Little White Dress and making it a bit more season appropriate with a black blazer and some jewels. By the way you will never guess how much I paid for that necklace. I will be sure to share the details of my jewelry haul later this week. 

What do you normally wear to holiday parties? 

IM BACK!!!! After spending the week down in Mexico for my birthday (and DH's birthday) I have returned back home to cold brutal New York City. I want to go back NOW!!!! It was such an amazing week. We stayed at Paradisus La Perla which is located in Playa del Carmen. This place is amazing. I definitely am looking forward to going back. There was a whole lot of eating, sleeping and sipping of course. I probably ate about 5 times a day (in between naps of course) and drank my share of cocktails.  Unfortunately I did not take many pictures. We were too busy sleeping, eating and drinking. I did manage to sneak in some shots with my ipad and phone.

This week will be light on posting because I'm spending the week down in Mexico with DH to celebrate my birthday (his too but he doesn't count) and so far it has been amazing.

Here are some pics of our vacay so far. I've been spending most of my time sleeping, eating and reading. There have also been the usual Ramsey antics. For example DH fighting with the inflatable surf board. Haha.

I have to say the resort we are staying at is my favorite to date. (Paradisus La Perla). The service is amazing. The food is excellent and there is always something to do.

Well I'll be getting back to my napping. By the way what do you think of my beach bag? Hehe.