can a bra (or a phone) change your life?

Finding the perfect bra, especially for us larger chested girls, is often like finding a needle in a haystack.

For me it has always been a delicate balance of support, appearance, price and most important, comfort.  Over the past few years I have always bought all my bras at Kohl's because I like the selection and their prices.  I know a lot of people swear by Victoria's Secret, and I love their (her?) underwear, but the bras just never work for me.

Yesterday, my mom and I were in Kohl's so I decided to check out the "intimates" section and it was there that I came across this bra (the pictures of the girl with her hair down, not the one with the blue bra, look more realistic to how it looks on I think.)  Now I have never wanted to venture into buying "minimizers" because usually they look like something Xena warrior princess would wear into battle, but I thought this bra looked normal enough so I tried it on...

WOW...seriously this is the most comfortable and supportive bra I have EVER WORN!  Plus it actually looks like an attractive bra, not something a granny would wear.  I don't think it makes my boobs look smaller or anything, but it does make all of my shirts lay much better and there are no visible bra lines.

Another thing that I have noticed, is that I don't have to adjust it at all during the day.  Other bras usually would slip around, which was highly annoying.

Anyways...I got it in three colors.  Maybe it just works for me, but especially if you have bigger boobs...I recommending going somewhere and trying on this bra.



In other news...I GOT AN IPHONE YESTERDAY!  Bras and phones...it was a good day.

I am totally in love already!  Does anyone have any apps I should download?  I'm already a wee bit obsessed with taking pictures with Istagram, the effects/filters are amazing!

This isn't the best quality but you get the idea! I need to play around with it more.

happy earth day!

In honor of the Earth I wanted to share with you one of my favorite eco-friendly products...reusable bags from Mixed Bag Designs

My sister knows the owner of this company which is how I found out about them and now I am obsessed. Not only are they super cute, they are also durable and very roomy. I have the grocery store bags and they hold so much food! Plus every time I use them I get tons of compliments in the checkout line.

They are also pretty cheap...the grocery store bags are around $12.00 and they also have lots of other sizes and styles.

By the way...I didn't get paid or anything to do this! I just love these bags!

{all photos from Mixed Bag Designs}

to buy or not to buy...that is the question

Jack Rogers Navajo Sandals. What are your thoughts?

I don't consider myself to be very preppy or anything but I feel like I like the "dress them up or down, wear with anything quality" that they have. Specifically the platinum colored ones (seen above.)

I have a $50 amazon gift card left over from Christmas so I could buy them there for essentially half off. But, I'm not sure if even at half off they are worth it. I have been really not shopping recently and I think they last a long time, right? But would it be better to just use my gift card for something practical? And put my $45 towards my new computer? It's a dilemma.

Are they worth spending $45 bucks on? Are they too preppy?

(all this is also hinging on me trying them on somewhere and seeing how they look/fit too)

bra shopping

Does anyone else hate bra shopping? I do. See I have big boobs but I don't want to buy those giant sized bras that take up your entire chest (similar to this picture.) They all look like something a grandma would wear. I am 24, I don't want a bra the size of Texas just yet. And it's a bra, not a bullet proof vest. What I always end up doing is finding a couple I like and wear them until they get all stretched out. Then I have to go shopping again. I also do not like Victoria's Secret bras. Normally, I just go to Kohl's because they have a good selection with reasonable prices. That's were I found myself today (after about a month of adjusting myself more times a day than a 13 year old boy) and I probably tried on 100 different styles. I kept going in and out of the fitting room and praying that a bra fairy would arrive. Finally I did find a couple that I liked so hopefully they will last awhile...because, bra shopping is just no fun.

is it bad that I want to buy some of this?

Just when you thought Twilight mania couldn't get any more crazy...Twilight Beauty. For all your undead makeover needs. It's available in both Volturi and New Moon theme "Luna: styles.
Enrapture Lip Gloss in Arsenic($12.00)

Gleam Metallic Mascara in Panther ($22.00)


Labyrinth Loose Eyeshadow in Frost ($9.00)

Bella Color Palette ($28.00)

First Light Body Glow ($34.00)

They also have lip "venom" which seems to be the same as the DuWop lip venom lip plumper. I have used that before (in it's non-Twilight incarnation) and it actually works really well.

So would you buy Twilight themed makeup?

Pandora and Weekend Plans

Why is it that whenever I go shopping with my mom I end up spending WAY more money then I plan? Case in point...last night a local jeweler was having a Pandora event with a wine tasting and a "deal" where if you spent $150 on Pandora you got a set of adorable wine glass charms (you know those things you put on a wine glass to identify which one is yours.) My mom, sister and I all have Pandora charm bracelets so we thought we would at least drink free wine check it out....and let's just say several glasses of wine later we each walked out with our own set of wine glass charms. Great idea Mom, my wallet thanks you for making it lighter. All joking aside, it was a lot of fun and my bracelet looks great. I wear it everyday, so new charms are good investment ;)

With all the shopping last night I didn't have time to pack yet. I getting together with a couple of my best friends for a fun filled weekend that might include some of these...

Or possibly them...

And naturally a lot of this...

Any ideas as to what I will be doing and where I am going? Or what I should pack...since I am a slacker and haven't done that yet?

I hope you have a Happy Friday and a fab weekend!

I Love Kohl's!

While hanging out with Mom on Friday night we decided to stop by Kohl's, and with all the great deals I went crazy! I got a couple of candles, a wooden "C" and a "K" to hang somewhere in our apartment, 2 pairs of shoes, and (finally) a maxi dress! Literally everything I got was on sale.

I got these in dark brown for only $29.99! I think they were around 60 originally, they are Simply Vera Wang for Kohl's. Pretty comfortable and I could also wear them to work in the summer.

This in not a great picture of these shoes but they are also Simply Vera and were $36.99. I needed new summery black heels so they were a good purchase.

And here is the maxi dress! Again not a great picture, but it is purple and brown Ikat print and actually has enough room in the chest. Finding this dress and loving it has inspired me to try and find some other maxi dresses. Oh and it was on sale for $34.99!

Trench Update

I know I said I would be scarce for a few days, and I am still gathering my thoughts for a longer post about what has been going on...but I had to share. I went to the mall with K this evening and stopped into Gap... then I saw the trenches I had in my Fashion Friday post! I got the light blue one for only $41! It it so versatile and comes with two different belt options. Now, I am not much of a Gap girl usually but I am so excited about my new trench, especially with tomorrow being the first day of Spring. Isn't it awesome how getting a good deal on something cute can really cheer you up?

Burgers and Old Navy

Ok, so I had to interrupt my lazy weekend for a quick post. First of all, last night K and I grabbed dinner at Five Guys. One just opened up near us and we have been wanting to try it. The burgers are super. There is a very simple menu (basically burgers, fries and hot dogs) and you can get any topping for free. K got the regular bacon cheeseburger (the regular is a double burger) and I got a little cheeseburger (which is plenty) and we shared the regular (huge) fries. If you are ever in the mood for a good burger, cheap and fast I would recommend Fives Guys.

Today I went over to my parents to use their Turbo Tax (yay! my taxes are done, I didn't owe anything and I am getting a pretty big return!) then Mom and I went over to Kohl's and Old Navy.

There are so many cute things at Old Navy right now! I will definitely be making a trip back soon. I got some floral print ballet flats and a striped hoodie-type shirt (I couldn't find pics online) that was on sale for 10 bucks. They also have these adorable summer-weight sweaters. I got this blue, it looks very cute and spring-y especially with the flats. I am so excited for warm weather!

Boot Search 09

I have been really wanting to get some low-heel/flat light brown "riding" type boots all winter. However, I am not sure it is a very practical purchase since they are not very "work-y" and I don't know how much use I would get out of them...oh if I didn't have to work I would have the cutest clothes and shoes, she says wistfully... Anyways, I was looking at Piperlime and found some I love but they all seem to only be left in size 6 and I am little apprehensive to buy fitted boots without trying them on. I guess I will just have to keep searching and weighing my options. I am open to suggestions!

Frye Bonnie Tall Riding Boot ($249.99) I think I might prefer something with a rounder toe.

Markon Sando Wide Shaft ($99.99) Love these and the price.

Corso Como Sandra ($159.99) I like the two-tone.

Steve Madden Buck ($114.99) These ones are my fav color I think.

The Bag That Almost Was...and may be again

K's grandparents gave us each Land's End gift cards for Christmas this year which included a free shipping offer if you ordered before January 30th. I had taken some time looking on the website and picking out what I wanted (gloves...I am in desperate need) but K hadn't. Since the 30th is fast approaching last night we went on the website to place our orders. Just my luck, the gloves were no longer there so I had to look for other options and found this:

So cute right? Especially with the navy monogram I was going to add for just $6. I was so excited about this bag and the joy were would share together this summer at the pool and the beach. Plus I had enough left on my gift card for a pair of slipper-socks...to hold me over until the beach.

I proceeded to the checkout happily...then began the attempt of redeeming the gift cards. 20 minutes later and no luck...I decided to chat with the "live help."

Me: I am trying to redeem a gift card and it isn't working!

Sally: Good Evening Ms. Cee, is this a L.L. Bean gift card?

Me: Yes, of course it is!

Of course I pay no attention to the fact that "Sally" just said L.L. Bean...until K looks over my shoulder and pointed out that our gift cards were in fact Land's End...why I hadn't realized this while I was shopping and checking out OR why I went to L.L. Bean in the first place I do not know. It does explain why the gloves I had picked out were not there. I quickly told "Sally" nevermind and closed out of the site and headed over to the far inferior Land's End.

I ended up with two pairs of gloves, which was what I originally wanted and needed, but after discovering the beach bag the gloves just didn't do it for me anymore. Who cares about warm hands when you have a new beach bag.

And now I am deliberating on if I should go back and buy it...some how I find it hard to justify spending money on a beach bag when there was a quarter of an inch of ice on my car this morning. Oh well, maybe it will go on sale.

"She's a Nutjob"

I'll admit it. I am a HUGE "Real Housewives" fan. Yes, of course, all of these vapid women get on my nerves at times, but the new one...Lynne...has bothered me from her first appearance on the "silver screen." Last night she just pushed me over the edge. I am not even going to touch her parenting and her completely illogical behavior regarding Gretchen asking Jeff about his estate plans...because I could rant for hours about that. I think Vicki summarized it nicely: "She's a Nutjob." Amen Vicki, amen.

That all being said, what really sparked my interest was Lynne's business venture..."Cuff Love" (hmm ironic that sounds a lot like what her children need...oh wait not going there today.) Now I am all for creativity and if you feel good whipping out the hot glue, pleather and beads and making some bracelets more power to you. But when I saw the price of $275-$375 I thought it was a joke! Would..and do... people actually spend that much on a cuff bracelet that Lynne threw together at her kitchen table? Would you?

I decided to do some research this morning and found out yes, Lynne's business is real, and so are the hefty price tags.

Then I popped over to her website to see her 2009 collection. Ok--- so some of of the cuffs are semi-cute, or at least would be if paired with the right outfit. But I just can't see spending that much for them, especially in this economic climate.

This cute cuff is only $34.00 here.

This one by Dolce & Gabbana ( a slightly more well known name then Lynne) is $99.99 at Overstock.com

Finally, we have several options like this one, from Urban Outfitters, all for only $20.

At these prices you can have your cuff and use the money you save to contribute to an IRA...or buy multiple cuffs...whatever cause you deem worthy. Happy Cuffing!