Want Need Want.

I love shopping - that's a given.
I'm convinced, though, that the only times that I really crave a good, old-fashioned shopping spree is when I'm as poor as the day is long. Ugh. Well, at least I can share some lovelies with you guys!!

I would like all of these, please-and-thank-you.

Forever 21


I'd love to cut the sleeves off of this, cut the neckline a bit lower, and pair it with a barely-peeking-out bikini top for the hot summer days.


I can just visualize this top paired over some shiny leggings with my slingback mules. Rawr.


I want this relaxed tank top in every color that they offer - and at only $6.50, that might very well be possible!


Cheesy? HELL yes, but words can't even convey how badly I want/need this shirt.


Oh god, yes.


I think I need to actually try these on next time I'm in the store. They look so CHEAP, both on the website and in person...but I've seen them in so many pictures from online fashion bloggers, and they look FANTASTIC in them. It's worth a shot.


I'm picturing these with a very "Sandy-from-Grease"-esque outfit.


Wet Seal


<3


I could deal without the little bow, but I love the rest of it.


I've been looking at these since the day they popped up on the site (literally). I might need them.


I think that's enough babbling for now.
So what items are you coveting right now?

Kickstart my Heart

Since November, the date "Saturday, March 14th, 2009" has been one that I've looked forward to. It turned out to be everything I could have hoped and more. I'm going to work fashion/beauty into this entry, but forgive me if my girlie chromosomes and glee take over at times. ;)

After spending a collective 6 hours waiting in line for it, I FINALLY got to meet my ultimate fashion idol - Kat Von D. She was doing a book signing for her new book, and I was ECSTATIC to meet her! She was even more stunning and rock n' roll in person, and I'm in awe.

Yes, I look a bit silly here, but you have NO clue how excited I was!

Kat and I! I have to admit that I got a little blushy when she shook my hand and exclaimed, "Girl, you look awesome!!"

From there, I was only back home for a mere few hours before it was time to go to the Motley Crue show. I donned an outfit that, for me, was extremely gutsy. I guarantee that many people looking at the outfit would think it was slutty, but screw it - I was happy. And for once in my life, I wanted to be a bit of a rock n' roll groupie chick (without the sex...haha).

I felt confident and awesome. I finally got to wear my new Lip Service vest and American Apparel bikini top. I also love this new necklace my hubband got me!

The concert itself was AMAZING!! Crue never fails to let me down. I was also super excited to see the opening band, The Last Vegas. If you haven't heard them yet and are a fan of dirty rock n' roll, do yourself a favor and listen now. I LOVE these guys!!


....and because I couldn't go without, I have to post a few of the Crue pictures I got!!!


The one, the only Tommy Lee.


Vince Neil.




Nikki...f**king...Sixx!!!

I'm blushing!!

I have a few things worth mentioning (for once). haha

First off, I was SO honored to be awarded this from the fabulous Mrs. Munster's Magnificent Life!


How sweet is she! Thank you so much, doll. :) So now, I'm paying it forward. Here are some blogs I think are worth checking out:

1) Waitin Round to be a Millionaire: Sara's blog is probably what made me want to start my own in the first place. Everything about her blog just screams "awesome". It's all very well-written and every picture is perfection. Queen of Photoshop!! :)
2) Scarlet Empress: Javy is a complete sweetheart! Her takes on beauty are fantastic and always well-written.
3) Sugar Rush: I've loved Ashley's blog from the beginning, but it has only gotten better! She'll leave you drooling over her outfits AND her baking.

So thank YOU, all, for keeping me entertained time and time again!!



Secondly, okay, I KNOW you're all tired of hearing me talk about this, but...
I figured maybe you Style Sleuths could help me out here. ;)

I’ve been searching for this pair of boots for a LONG time now:


They’re Colin Stuart booties from Victoria’s Secret. They’ve been sold out on the website for months now. Do you guys have ANY idea for places I could continue to look for these?? I’m already searching Ebay daily with little luck. When they do pop up, there’s someone trying to charge close to $300 for them when they retailed brand-new for $99.

OR…
Do you have any suggestions for dupes of these?? HIGH, high heel, ankle boot, studs, etc.??

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
xoxo
Linda

Cosmic!

Ah, the event I look forward to every March. My work throws a party called the Cosmic Cocktail Party. Basically, about 40 restaurants from all over Baltimore, MD come and showcase their food and drink.

I really just use the party as an excuse to eat my face off. Have I mentioned in this blog before how much I absolutely adore food?? Well, I do. All of it.

PLUS! I actually had two drinks last night, which is a big deal for me. I VERY rarely drink, so after two of these little cocktail thingies, I was pleasantly buzzed. What can I say? I’m a cheap date. ;)

I was super excited to wear my new Forever 21 faux leather miniskirt, but WOW, is this ever MINI. I had to be careful when doing things like going up and down stairs or, yanno, WALKING. I love it, but maybe it wasn't the best choice for a work event. I might just wear this to the Crue show next weekend, though.

Black Faux Leather Skirt: Forever 21, $19.80

Joan Jett t-shirt:: Lucky Brand, $45 (eek! A HUGE splurge for me. Huge.)

Black platform shoes: Aldo, $80

Random Blathering

1) In my never-ending search for white leather fingerless gloves, I decided to take a chance on these, just to hold me over. Well, I got them in the mail today, and oh my god, they are pieces of pure shite. I can't really leave negative feedback since I got what I paid for...namely, $7 vinyl gloves from a Halloween store. Nonetheless, I don't know what to do with these. I suppose they could still hold me over, if only they didn't reek. The vinyl/plastic smell has warped into a gasoline smell.

Blarg. I don't know why these should be so hard to find! I FOUND the perfect pair on Polyvore:



2) Wet Seal isn't usually a store I frequent. Nonetheless, I'll still find things in there once in a while that are cool. They just got in some new stuff that is surprisingly drool-worthy!

a) SUPER cute ankle boots!
b) Buckled booties
c) ...shuddup. I think it's hot.
d) Skirt with huge railroad zippers?? Sign me up!

3) Do you ever get tired of every.single.item in your wardrobe?? The weather here in Baltimore has been so up-and-down lately. One day (like today, for example), it'll be 62 degrees. The next day (like tomorrow, for example), it'll snow. Because of that, I find myself wanting to live in nothing but skinny jeans and boots. I'm really considering hitting up a few Goodwill, Salvation Army and other thrify shops in my area one day and refreshing my WHOLE wardrobe.


I'm so sorry for the lack of outfit-y posts lately, lovelies. I have some big events coming up (like MOTLEY FUCKIN' CRUE!!!) that I'm going to want to get all gussied up for, so expect some posts then. ;)

SO excited!

Happy belated Valentine's Day to all of my lovely readers!!

My husband and I are personally not huge fans of V-Day. I don't want to sound like a Scrooge here, but I personally think it's a bit of a Hallmark holiday, and I choose not to celebrate it. My husband feels the same way.

However...

On Saturday (V-Day), we were out enjoying a super-greasy breakfast at Denny's when he let out a secret.

"This is NOT for Valentine's Day, but you have something coming in the mail to you." He told me that he got me the Lip Service pleather vest I've been eying for months!! I can't WAIT to receive it!

Now I'm just having fun putting together imaginary outfits with this vest in my head.

Rock n' Roll Leather - by cruxgothgirlie on Polyvore.com

This vest is a bit edgy, so I'm a little intimidated by it. What would you pair it with!

Finally appropriate

Tell me if this has ever happened to you: You spot an item of clothing in a store. You fall madly in love with it and take it home immediately. Then, for the next few weeks, you take out that item every day and try it on. You layer it. You wear it on its own. You accessorize it. No matter what, though, it just never seems right.

That was the way this vest was for me. I knew it was love at first sight, yet day after day, it went unworn in my closet. I've probably had this vest for a good month and a half now, and today, I finally took off the tags. Hoorah! I was actually quite pleased with this layered look. I was less pleased, however, with the pictures that I got of the outfit. haha





And here's a close-up of my favorite part of the vest:

The zipper-pulls are little Flying-V guitars!!! LOVE them!


Here's a shot of my new ring! It's handmade by a local artist and I'm in love with it!

Vest: Abbey Dawn line from Kohl's - $31
Pants: Forever 21 zip-ankle jeans - $16
T-Shirt: H&M - $13
Shoes: Baker's - $65

HUGE sale.

I have to give a little shout-out to a huge & cheap sale I'm having in my Live Journal. Time to clean house, kids! Here's a peek at some things I'm selling:




Please check out the sale here!! Makeup, clothes, all of it cheap.

What a steal!: Jessica Simpson

I'm sorry for the lack of face/outfit posts, kiddos! I have a nasty sinus infection an haven't been feeling altogether too attractive from it. Boo!

1) I am on WAY too many email lists from stores. Lately, because of the hard times, I've been getting email after email proclaiming, "FREE SHIPPING!", "90% off!!", "Buy one, get one free!!", etc. I'll admit - I click on every single one of them. Truthfully, I never BUY anything from them, though...until yesterday.

I got an email from Jessica Simpson shoes telling about a sale of "Take an additional 50% off all sale shoes!" A little peek won't hurt, right?

RIGHT! It didn't hurt at all. Why didn't it hurt? Well, there's a pair of shoes I've been slightly lusting over since August. They were $90, and while I liked them, I didn't $90 like them. LoL Yesterday, though, I *did* $19.99 like them!!!



Purrrrrrrr. I can't wait til they get here! If you want to get the sale yourself, it's on until FEB. 10 and the code is JANFW50.

2) I think I have some hair gurus that read this. Is there anyone who could help me with advice/tips on making my own clip-in hair extensions? I don't want streaks - I want the real thing.

WTF: Forever 21

This will be brief, but so it goes.

I was doing my normal daily browsing of the Forever 21 website. (Yes, I said daily browsing. When a good item pops up on that site, I've seen it sell out in one day! Gotta be on top of your game, man!) That's when I came across a new bracelet they're selling:



I have to admit that I had a complete "wtf??" moment when I saw this! Maybe I'm dating myself here, but back when I was in elementary school, the cool thing to do was to make these bracelets for your friends. You'd go to Michael's, spend $2.00 and leave with 10 different colors of braided string. They're STILL that cheap, too. I'm not sure how I learned to make these bracelets, but we all knew how to do it - some more elaborate than others.

Now, do we really need to buy these off of the Internet?? Please - go here and learn to make them yourselves. It's so much fun! Hell, I'm even going to re-learn this and make a gaggle of them for my friends.

One Look: Plaid Scarf

Ages ago, a friend linked me to Stuff White People Like and I think I nearly fell over laughing my ass off. One thing stuck out to me:
Scarves
I am guilty.as.charged.

I pretty much have an arsenal of scarves in every color. Yes, I have a ton that are there to keep my neck warm when it's snowing, but most of them are there for fashion. I've noticed that some days when I'm feeling lazy, I can throw on a black t-shirt, jeans and a colorful scarf and feel instantly put-together. Do you have any accessories that do that for you??

The other day, Timm (my husband) surprised me with a new baby for my collection...and oh, I love her!



And something made me super happy the other day...
SNOW!!!!!!!!! It was snowing big, fluffy, gorgeous flakes for a while. Of course, being that I'm in Baltimore, this quickly turned into a big, fluffy mess. I was scraping 1/2" of ice off of my car this morning. Oh, Los Angeles...how I miss you!

Star Style

I've noticed that over the years, I tend to look towards "stars" for fashion inspiration. I'm not so much enamored by red-carpet attire, like most are. Rather, I get completely enchanted by seeing stars in their every-day wardrobes. Sure, I'll find a star here or there who catches my eye at a premiere of some big movie, but more or less, it's that paparazzi shot of some model holding her Starbucks latte that really gets me.

On a similar note, I tend to fall in love (lust?) with the styles of some fictional characters. Wow, that sounds silly typing that out, but so be it!

Here are a few of my current favorites:


1) Rihanna: How can you NOT love Rihanna's style?? She has a sort of fashionista-meets-bad girl style that I always love. Mix some chic leather or faux leather pieces (in black, of course) with red lipstick and a fierce hairstyle, and you can try to cop her look.

2) Kat Von D: Okay, so Kat has made some fashion choices that I don't necessarily love, but for the most part, I am 150% on board with her style. I LOVE the arsenal of vests that she has (and I'm currently searching for my perfect rock n' roll vest), and the guts she has to mix sky-high platforms with leather pants and such. I'm looking into getting some key items into my wardrobe, and this lady is a huge inspiration for me.

3 & 5) The Olsen Twins: I think you'd be hard-pressed nowadays to find a fashion list without these two beauties on it. Of course, I still have a bit of trouble seeing these ladies as grown-up as I can't stop picturing them as toddlers, thumbs in the air saying, "You got it, dude!" But I digress. RARELY are these two seen out in public wearing something less than an outfit most would kill for. I love how they're not afraid to take fashion risks.

4) Wanda Woodward (played by Traci Lords) in Cry Baby: Being that I live in Baltimore, Cry Baby (and any John Waters movie, for that matter) is on my list of favorite movies. Wanda Woodward is a tough gal from the 50s who spends equal amounts of time mouthing off as she does perfecting her hair. Her wardrobe is a mix of naughty secretary classics (pencil skirts, sweaters) as it is bad-girl biker chick (leather jackets, red lips). She is the epitome of naughty-meets-nice.

6) Miley Cyrus: I'll admit it - I don't know ONE Miley Cyrus song. I've never seen an episode of Hannah Montana. Hell, the most I know about her is that she is Billy Ray "Achey Breaky Heart" Cyrus' daughter. Nonetheless, whoever is the stylist for this teen is AMAZING. I love the rocker clothes that she's constantly out performing in. Hell, I've even seen her wearing Lip Service, a punk/goth line from back in my teenaged days.

7) Kayla in Airheads: No, Airheads wasn't an award-winning movie. It is, however, one of those movies that every.single.time it's on cable, I can't turn it off. Kayla was always my favorite character in the movie. Looking like something straight out of a Whitesnake video, Kayla spends most of her time on the Sunset Strip and dresses for it. She has a look that constantly says "I'm with the band", and god, I love it.


So tell me - what stars inspire YOU?? Do you gravitate more towards red-carpet styles, characters, etc?

Headliner!

I have a few outfit/makeup posts coming within the next few days, but in the meantime...

Is there any generous soul out there that might be able to help me make a new header for this blog? I'm really tired of the one I have, and I just don't feel like it suits me. Any help would be appreciated!!

xoxo Linda

Accessory of the day: Lit up

I have to admit - I feel like a bit of a poseur. That's a word I haven't used since sometime around 1997, but it still holds true. Why do I feel like a poseur, you ask?

So glad you asked. ;)

I am NOT a fan of Avril Lavigne. That song, "Skater Boy" makes me want to scratch my eyeballs out and shove them into my ears. Graphic image? Yes. All too true? You bet.

Trust me - I tried to resist when I saw her clothing line, Abbey Dawn popping up in Kohl's stores. When I received a ton of gift cards to Kohl's for Christmas this year, though, I couldn't resist any longer. I finally snagged an awesome vest (with Flying-V guitars for the zipper pulls!?!) and some hot earrings and a necklace.


Dammit, why couldn't these have been made by Nikki Sixx's clothing line?? Maybe I wouldn't feel so dirty. ;)

Treat yourself!!

Sometimes you just have to be bad...and it feels so good.


The minute I saw this, I knew I couldn't pass it up. I saved up, sold clothes I didn't need, and treated myself tonight. I.am.in.love.


So did you treat yourself to anything this holiday season??

Santa Baby..

Please Santa baby. I've been oh-so-good this year. Can you bring me....



(What is it with all of these cheap retailers teasing me with their inexpensive hotness?? Here's hoping for gift cards this holiday. ;D There are just far too many studded things out there for me not to go a little crazy right now.)

1) Abbey Dawn Plaid-Lined Vest: Kohl's, $24.00

2) Studded Patent Clutch: Forever 21, $19.80

3) Strappy Jewel Disc Bootie: Go Jane, $22.10

4) Abbey Dawn Skinny Twill Pants: Kohl's, $28.80

5) Studded Glossy Tote: Forever 21, $34.80

6) Faceted Ring: Forever 21, $3.80

7) Colin Stuart Studded Bootie: Victoria's Secret, $49.99

8) Liquid Mini Skirt: Forever 21, $12.80

9) Thick Multi Band Heel: Go Jane, $23.99

10) Light Burst Zip Ankle Leggings:
Forever 21, $14.80

11) Studded Velvet Fringe Boots: Forever 21, $36.80

12)
Tiered Leopard Dress: Forever 21, $22.80

Layering Virgin

Since I've been old enough to read fashion magazines, I have been addicted to them. When I was in my early teens, I was all over Seventeen magazine. When I actually turned 17, I couldn't stop reading Vogue. In all of my years of reading these magazines, I feel as if there was one "trend", if you will that came up over and over again. I would try this trend, and then retreat, defeated. I could just never get it right! This trend was layering.

I would either put on not enough clothing to constitute "layers", or SO many layers that I wound up looking like Randy from A Christmas Story.

Well, I'm not sure what happened earlier this week, but I FINALLY felt a bit closer to getting it right. Hell, it only took me 28 years, right? ;)




Oh, and while it may not be "fashion-oriented", I LOVE our Christmas tree this year!!



If I don't post again soon, I hope everyone has a wonderful and oh-so-fashionable holiday!