It's Complicated

On Saturday I went to see It's Complicated starring Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin. I was drawn to this movie because of the trailer, Oscar winning cast and the movie title. "It's Complicated" turned out to be the theme of my life in 2009. But back to the movie......it was funny and a lot better than the B- critics reviews on Yahoo.

You know me, I'm looking at the fashion and I was excited to see Meryl Streep's character wearing one of the most iconic handbags ever created, The Knot clutch by Bottega Veneta.

With so many colors, materials and embellishments, it's difficult to select a favorite Knot handbag. But the Nero Galuchat Knot Clutch in black and mineral is at the top of my list. The bag is covered in Galuchat, the skin from a stingray and has 280 faceted studs. This is a purse that you place in your china cabinet!

Contact Bottega Veneta (877.362.1715) to inquire.

Leighton Meester carried this purse in mineral to the VMA's and paired it with a Christian Cota sequin petal sleeve shift dress from the F/W 2009 collection and Giuseppe Zanotti heels.

Pretty Girls

I know this song came out a while ago but I love "Pretty Girls" by Wale featuring Gucci Mane and Weensey from the legendary go-go band Backyard Band! It has that DC feel that gets you ready to dance!

Amerie Keeps It High.......

In thigh high boots that is! Amerie's new video for "More Than Love" featuring Fabulous premiered recently. The song is catchy and her fashion is hot. She's wearing an over sized fur vest and Rodarte Thigh High Boots from the Fall 09 Collection in collaboration with Nicholas Kirkwood. The boots sale for around $3500 and have graced the legs of Cassie and Miley Cyrus. Check out photos of celebs in their Rodarte boots and video below!

Merry Christmas!!!!

My first blogger Christmas (tear shed). Hope everyone has a safe and Merry Christmas!

My present to you- " Sex and the City 2" trailer. While it doesn't give insight into the plot, it will get you excited for the fashion!

12 Days of Christmas Finale

Santa came early and delivered my new MacBook yesterday!!!!! So instead of posting the remaining 12 Gifts of Christmas, I played around with my new laptop. I like to finish things I've started, so here are my top 4 gifts.....

I decided it was appropriate to pay homage to the great Yves Saint Laurent who said- "Fashions fade, style is eternal." So there are a few classic items that will make A-mazing (in Rachel Zoe's voice) Christmas gift for any chic woman (Although I'll take them anytime of the year).

Gift #4- Burberry Trench Coat

Burberry $995

Gift #3- Christian Louboutin Decollette Patent Pumps

Net-a-Porter $595

Gift#2- Chanel Classic Black Quilted 2.5 Flap Bag

Chanel (800) 550-0005

#1 ....the gift of giving! Cost: priceless

Being greedy is so passé! There are so many charities in need of donations that I think it's worth passing on another pair of shoes or dress and invest in improving someones life. So if you are searching for a last minute gift idea, giving a donation to charity in a friend or family members name is perfect!

I've supported the United Way of the Greater Triangle for the last four years. Their mission is to improve lives by mobilizing the caring power of communities.

A donation of $2 per week provides:

17 hours of supported living coaching to assist adults with developmental disabilities to live more independent lives.

A family with up to five respite care opportunities, which are vital support for the successful nurturing of parents and their children.

Visit United Way of the Greater Triangle to learn more about giving.

Stylish Star! Kourtney Kardashian

Kourtney Kardashian did not let her pregnancy stop her from being fashionable. What is her best look?

A. Red Carpet Look

B. A white form fitting dress

C. A black outfit night out on the town

Stylish Stars!

Solange Knowles wore this to her 90s inspired party!

This is a great and festive look and she truly embodied the theme of the party! Go ahead Solange!

Fifth Day of Gifts

I've been so busy with work, Christmas shopping and nursing a sick computer, that I've been delayed in posting the remaining 12 Gifts of Christmas. But here we go.......

On the fifth day of Christmas my true love gave to me, JAD jewelry!

My friend Chloe always wears beautiful unique jewelry. I was thrilled to learn that the jewelry is designed by an artist from Raleigh, Jaclyn Anthony.

So what makes JAD jewelry so awesome? Jaclyn combines mechanical inspirations and a lust for nature through forged metals and hints of natural shapes and forms. Some of the pieces include: organically cut, pounded metal earrings; forged gold leaf and pewter twig necklaces with swarovski crystals; and large agate pendants hanging from chain, beads, and pounded metal.

There are so many pieces under $50 and Jaclyn really designs something for every chic fashionistas taste! Below are a few of my favorite items and please visit JAD's website for purchase details and to view more jewelry.


Brass Double Leaf Earrings $32

Forged Brass Necklace $42

Agate Cuff $48

Aluminum and Agate Necklace $48


Hook Earrings $28


Agate Chain Necklace $38


Brass and Gunmetal Key and Ring Necklace $45

Sixth Day of Gifts

On the sixth day of gifts my true love gave to me, Tory Burch Reva Flats!

Don't get me wrong, I love my 4 inch Louboutins. But there are days when I need to be comfortable and chic! On those days I turn to my Tory Burch Reva flats for refugee! At first I wasn't excited about paying $195 for a pair of flats. But after 2years of owning them, I can confirm they are a fashion must have and you will find yourself wearing the soles off of them!

Santa, I really need silver but will be happy with any color you place under the tree!


Available at toryburch.com

Seventh Day of Gifts

On the seventh day of gifts my true love gave to me, coffee table books!

While Kindles are gaining popularity, I am not willing to forgo coffee table books. Here are a few books any fashionista would be happy to receive for Christmas.....


You Know You Want It by Eric Daman - Costume Designer for Gossip Girl, Amazon.com $19.79


Valentino: Themes and Variations by Pamela Golbin, Amazon.com $47.25


Ailey Ascending: A Portrait in Motion by Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, Amazon.com $31.50


Chane: Collections and Creations by Daniele Bott, Amazon.com $26.40


The Sartorialist by Scott Schuman, Amazon.com $14.62

Eighth Day of Gifts

On the eighth day of gifts my true love gave to me, DVDs box sets!!!

My DVR is at 30% capacity which means it's basically empty! So I definitely need some new DVDs to past time away.

Here are a few of my fave TV shows that you might request the man in the red suit (who we confirmed yesterday is Santa not Bishop Dan Juan) to place under the tree.......


Sex and The City complete series available at Walmart.com for $119.86 (I have this box set and highly recommend it to SATC fans!!!)


Golden Girls complete series available at Amazon.com for $189.11


The Cosby Show complete series available at Tower.com for $158.99


Mad Men seasons 1,2, & 3 avaiable at Amazon.com for $72.99



The Wire complete series available at Amazon.com for $99.99

Ninth Day of Gifts

On the ninth day of gifts my true love gave to me, a new laptop.......

This gift was not on my original 12 Gifts of Christmas list. But for the last day or so, my computer has been acting up like those bad kids I saw in Target!

My co-worker Kate and I would like to treat ourselves to MacBooks. Of course I'll take mine in gold with a blinged out apple logo (yes Lauren, we are aware you have 10 MacBooks). Because a new computer is not in my budget right now, this is definitely something that the man in the red suit needs to get me. FYI, man in the red suit is Santa not Bishop Don Juan.

Tenth Day of Gifts

On the tenth day of gifts my true love gave to me, a Demy Recipe Reader!

My co-workers consider me the connoisseur of frozen dinners because I rarely bring in lunch that was prepared in my kitchen. In 2010, this must change!

So my kitchen needs the Demy Recipe Reader from Key Ingredients! It holds up to 2500 recipes and comes preloaded with 250. The device syncs up to your keyingredient.com account where you can build your free personal recipe collection by typing in, copying and pasting, import from other sites, or select from over 100,000 tested recipes. This is perfect for sharing recipes with friends!

It is pricey, $299.95 at Amazon.com. DISCLAIMER: If this is a gift you request from your true love, he probably will expect you to cook. So request with caution.....

Eleventh Day of Gifts

On the eleventh day of gifts my true love gave to me, a Clarisonic Skin Care Brush!

I tried a similar skin care brush a few years ago but the brush didn't clean my face that well. So I was really excited to read the reviews of The Clarisonic Skin Care Brush and learn people are raving about how great their skin looks. The brush moves back and forth at more than 300 times per second, thoroughly clearing pores and skin surface. Some of the benefits:

- Removes makeup six times better than traditional methods.
- Clears pores and reduces the appearance of pore size.
- Cleanses so thoroughly that skincare products absorb better.
- Creates noticeably healthier looking skin.

It is pricey, $195 at Sephora, but think about it as a facial in your bathroom anytime you like! And as someone whose second home was the dermatologist, it's priceless to have clear skin. To learn more about Clarisonic and to see 'before & after' photos, visit clarisonic.com

Twelfth Day of Gifts

Since we are only 12 days away from Christmas, I thought it would be fun to count down with 12 days of gifts-items any chic woman would want under her tree or in her stocking. DISCLAIMER: I am aware that the official Twelve days of Christmas start Dec 26- Jan 5. But since it's my blog, here we go......

On the twelfth day of gifts my true love gave to me, a leopard print Snuggie....SIKE!!!
On the twelfth day of gifts my true love gave to me, a camera!!!

Why be fabulous without documentation? My Sony Cyber-shot camera circa 2006 needs to upgraded asap! I don't even bother bringing it to parties or holiday gatherings anymore because it barely works. I'm not an expert in cameras but I've found 2 that I really like..

Polaroid PoGo™ Instant Digital Camera- It's a perfect replacement of the Polaroid we all grew up with and would be a fun camera to bring to a party and document what really went down!

Available at Walmart.com $179.88

For a more practical option, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-TX1. It's really thin, 10.2 megapixels and has a 3" touch LCD.

Available at Walmart.com $244.88

Sleepover!

My BFF Lisa is having a Christmas Sleepover party tonight and I'm super excited! There is one main difference from the sleepovers I experienced in the 80's and early 90's and this one-drinks will be served and I'm not referring to hot chocolate or Kool-aid. But one thing hasn't changed and it's kinda sad-we probably will still be chatting about silly boys although we are nearly 30!

Anyway, I called ahead to confirm if my footie PJ's from Target were appropriate attire (I want to kick it old school style). Hopefully I won't have to run any errands on Sat AM. If so, you might see me in these.....



Nick & Nora Footie PJ's $20 (sale)

Here are a few of my favorite holiday PJ's from Target....

Xhilaration Flannel PJ's $14.99 (sale)


Nick & Nora Reindogs PJ's $20 (sale)


Nick & Nora Green Village Santa PJ's $20 (sale)


Nick & Nora Blue Fishing Duck PJ's $20 (sale)

Feel Like Robin Hood

My friend Heather shared a link with me from the NY Times about over the knee Robin Hood boots replacing shoes on the sidewalks of NYC.

I gave up on my quest for over the knee boots because I could not find any I loved under $350. But watching this video encouraged me to fire up another search. I learned the rule to finding boots in my price range is avoiding window shopping at Saks and on Net-a-Porter.com. So I visited Piperlime and was able to find a couple of pair under $200 that I can wear with a ton of outfits.

Guess Rumala boots $199


Kelsi Dagger boots $169


Restricted Vamp boots $110


Two Lips Voodoo boots $109

Here are a few celebs in their Robin Hood boots.....

Rachel Zoe



Khloe Kardashian


Rihanna


Kate Hudson