Thursday, August 18, 2011

Transitioning My Wardrobe

As much as I try to ignore it, summer is almost over.  While I love the fall; fall fashion, college football, Keeneland, boots, leaves, pumpkin spice lattes, etc. I absolutely dread and despise what comes next.  Winter.  Ugh. *Shudder*

Soon it will be time to pack away all the fun summer dresses and shoes and make room in my closet for boots and sweaters.  Lately I've been on the lookout for cute dresses I can wear during the "transition" period.  You know, the time of year where it's technically fall but it's hotter than all blazes outside and you know seersucker or a summery pattern would look silly.  Believe it or not, the Keeneland fall meet is usually hotter than the Keeneland spring meet.  I've been trying to find some cute dresses to wear throughout this stage that don't scream "I'm at the beach on a beautiful summer afternoon" and I've actually had quite a bit of luck (especially on the clearance racks!).  :) 

First, I stumbled upon a gorgeous Nanette Lepore dress at a local boutique, which was perfect because I had a gift certificate that was burning a hole in my pocket.  The Violetta dress is my favorite recent purchase because it is a pretty cream color and can be worn year round.  It will look great with cute heels now, boots in the fall, and tights and heels in the winter. 

Nanette Lepore - Violetta.

At the same boutique, I found this lovely orange Tory Burch dress for a fraction of the retail price.  Perfect for summer and fall - even better for game day!  GO GATORS!  (I can't seem to own enough orange and blue apparel.)

Tory Burch - Verbena.

The last time RueLaLa was featuring Lilly Pulitzer I took full advantage of the discounted price when I saw the silk Mallory dress in the Big Bang pattern.  I love the colors, pattern and sleeves.  (btw, if you aren't already a member you definitely need to sign up for RueLaLa.  Mr. D and I have had wonderful luck with their site over the last 3 years.  If you're not already taking advantage of RueLaLa, sign up now or you're missing out.)
Lilly Pulitzer - Mallory.

And for the perfect transitional shoe, how about this black wedge espadrille pump by (my personal favorite) Kate Spade.  I bought these ages ago when Kate Spade had their seasonal sample sale and I love them.  A perfect shoe at a perfect price.  It doesn't get much better than that. 
Kate Spade - Wish.
  

It's taken me all summer to collect these pieces, but I must say, I'm pretty pumped about them (and surprised by my own patience to find the perfect pieces for me). 

Have y'all found any great items for the upcoming summer to fall transition time?  Please fill me in and don't forget to check those clearance racks!  Happy Shopping, y'all!
(Please tell me I'm not the only one hoping summer weather never ends.)

xoxo,
Mrs. D

 


Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Do You EBate?

Please tell me y'all are already taking advantage of the fabulous site EBates!  If not, do yourself a favor and sign up now!  You will not regret it!  EBates is a site that's kinda like a mail in rebate, except it's for online shopping and your money comes in 4 different checks throughout the year.  Oh, and it's free!  What's better than free money!?!?


If you do a lot of online shopping, and I certainly do, go the EBates site at www.ebates.com and look for the site where you're doing your online shopping.  The majority of websites can be found on EBates (seriously, they even have the site where I buy my Christmas cards) and you will earn a percentage of "cash back" for your shopping.  You will receive your EBates reward checks 4 times throughout the year.  Lucky for me, Kate Spade is one of the EBates approved sites and I can earn 3% cash back on all my Kate Spade purchases.

The only sites I've tried to use that don't participate in EBates at this time are Williams-Sonoma and Neiman Marcus.  Pretty much everything else is there.  Happy shopping friends!  Go sign up for EBates and earn that cash back!!!

I promise this is for real and not a joke.  I also promise you will not regret signing up for EBates.  I've been a member for a year now and I'm loving getting these "big fat checks" in the mail!  :)  So, go sign up for EBates and don't forget to click on your free EBates account before making any online purchases.

xoxo,
Mrs. D

A Fab Lazy Weekend & Crazy Stupid Love


In case you haven't noticed, I've kinda been on a movie kick lately.  I love going to the movies!  Or maybe it's the popcorn and peanut m&m's I love?  Either way, I always have a great time.  This past Friday night was no exception.  Nancy and I decided to have a girls date for dinner (tex-mex, yum!) and a movie.  We went to see Crazy Stupid Love and loved it!  I expected I would enjoy the movie, but I ended up loving it (minus the annoying girls sitting right next to me talking the entire way through...even after I "Shhhhhhhh!-ed" them.  Seriously, who pays $9 a person to talk the entire way through a movie?).


Emma Stone is ridiculously adorable!  I want to be friends with her.  :)  And Ryan Gosling?  Oh my hotness!  He hasn't been this crush-worthy since The Notebook (which is still one of my favorites).  The story line is cute too.  I'm not the biggest Steve Carell fan but I really liked him in this movie.  I always love Julianne Moore and even though you're kinda angry with her character she's still likable in this movie.  I won't give anything away, but it's definitely one to see at the theatres.  Have any of y'all seen it? 
Mrs. D gives it two thumbs up and suggests you check it out in the theatres.  With popcorn and peanut m&m's of course!  (But I hope those annoying girls aren't sitting next to you talking when you see it.)

The rest of the weekend was just as fun and relaxing.  I went to support the local Delta chapter and cheer on my lil cousin, Olivia, as she was gearing up for her first ever in-house recruitment week.  It was so exciting to see all the cute Delta's running around and buzzing with excitement.  It made me remember my own days like that way back when. 

My lil Delta.  :)

UK Delta House Recruitment Banner:
Go Baby, GO Greek!
(Gotta capitalize on Keeneland & our racing state when we can.)

Saturday night was double date night with Katherine and Ben.  We even survived the awful storms that came through Lexington from the Harry's patio.  Even bad weather can't ruin a fun night with friends!  Too bad we came home to find our power out...and it didn't come back on for nearly twelve hours.  The house was so hot and stuffy I couldn't sleep at all.  It was fun lighting candles and playing with the flashlight for the first hour, but after a bit it was just a big inconvenience.  Makes you realize the little things you take for granted.  Like the use of your cell phone charger, Internet, TV, lights and refrigerator...just to name a few.  We are lucky to be living in the United States and to be able afford such luxuries. 

Mr. D having fun with the flashlight during the power outage. 

I spent quite a few hours poolside on Sunday with Mr. D and some friends.  It was glorious!  We really haven't spent much time at the pool since the beginning of summer and it was nice to get out there and enjoy a few hours.  A perfect Sunday Funday!  We may or may not have found ourselves back on the Harry's Patio for dinner Sunday night.  :) 

How did y'all spend your weekend?  Are any of you dreading the end of summer as much as I am?  Can you believe it's already mid-August?  Where did the year go?

xoxo,
Mrs. D