Sole-Searching: Blue Suede Shoes

Between the vibrant-color-hold-over from summer and the color-blocking trend that has been prominently featured in magazine fall trend previews (though are they really previews at this point? Isn't it already fall?), cobalt blue currently has a big place in color real estate of the fashion world. I was just browsing through the shoe section of the Accessories archive on style.com (don't go there unless you want to inexplicably lose 3 hrs of your day!) for fall wardrobe inspiration and couldn't help but be drawn to the bold color on so many styles of shoes. Here are a few of my favorites:

Pierre Hardy. I feel like I see this heel everywhere and yet I can't help but notice something new about it every time I see it! It's like the shoe of a chic superhero!

 

Christian Louboutin. The man of the red sole can do no wrong. I love that it is nonchalantly super-stylish and my ankles thank him for the generous cut-out...well, they would if I could buy these ;) 

 

Pollini. The emphasized stitches, over-sized tassel (love!) and brick-of-a-heel make this an unforgettable shoe even if the color was boring instead of this bright hue. I spotted this in last month's Harper's Bazaar and stared for a while, which sparked the search.

Don't want to take out a second mortgage to satisfy your cobalt craving? No worries-- I found this adorable cut-out shootie at Payless! That's right, $59 for this Lela Rose for Payless pair of adorableness!

Will you be wearing cobalt kicks this fall? Or will you be wearing bright blue in your clothing or saving it for smaller accessories instead?

Solange Azagury-Partridge Helps Me Procrastinate....

My days off from work are usually dictated by a to-do list that never seems to get any closer to being done, (do you know how much new rugs shed?! I could stuff a pillow with all the fluff I am vacuuming!), and by long-term projects that always involve more effort than I anticipate, (like the antique door I am refinishing to make into the top of my office work table...there are approximately 7,349 layers of paint to get through and only 24 hrs in a day!). So sue me if I want to take a break from menial labor and sit on my lazy bum with a mug of chai and look at awesome things on the internet. A few minutes of playtime (or an hour, but an hour is comprised of minutes, so there) keeps my brain from going into zombie-mode and gives me great ideas for new projects...which is where refinishing that door to become a desk idea came from... which has created more work for me...wait, this pattern is not good!

Anyway, today's procrastination is scoping out the new website launch for Solange Azagury-Partridge jewelry. The website is dandy and all that, but let's cut to the jewels: SAP does not design adornments for the faint of heart, which, since I am in a statement-necklace-and-cocktail-ring phase, is just fine with me. Some of her pieces are a bit too late 80's/early 90's for my taste, but she has such a variety of styles, (14 collections on the website!), that the phrase "something for everyone" comes to mind....

Here are a few of my fav's:

All SAP images from her website

 

I also liked this SAP "Triangle" necklace (left) and then realized how similar it looks to this Elizabeth and James "Wishbone" necklace (right):
 

Which one is your favorite? And I can't be the only lazy procrastinator out there, right?

Sharks in Velour Tracksuits: Missoni (for Target) Madness

For all of your west-coasters, if you want anything from the Missoni for Target collection please:
A) line-up before the store opening and
B)- bring your roller-derby team to help defend your cart.

I am joking, but that is actually the best advice I can give you.

After dropping off my friend at the airport early this morning, (miss you already, Alexis!!), I went to Target with the intention of picking up a throw blanket. I know, it's not that exciting, but since I love chevron designs right now and the blanket has neutral and turquoise tones that would blend seamlessly with my current bedroom decor while adding a little pizzazz, it seemed like a good idea. I rolled up to my local Target at 8:15am and the parking lot contained a bunch of minivans and Landrovers, so that should have been my clue to hit the road, but it was early and my brain wasn't working. Inside, there were dozens of suburbanite moms racing around with shopping carts full of Missoni products, yelling to one another about sizes and prices and trying to zoom past the other moms for the last pair of striped galoshes.

Think: the Indy 500 meets a shark feeding-frenzy sprinkled with velour tracksuits.

Not surprisingly, I did not get my throw blanket. It looks like this:


But the shelf it was supposed to be on looked like this:

 
(Empty). I would have taken other photos of the empty racks of clothes, but there were women loitering about like inmates in a prison yard waiting for employees to put back the rejected items from previous shoppers. I was afraid of getting shanked, so I backed away slowly...

I did, however, get a consolation prize: bobby pins! They are pretty cheap, but the chevron pattern made it a no-brainer and I am growing out my bangs, so I told myself that I need them. Those babies and the new Elle Decor magazine and I was in the check-out line.

The lady in front of me in line to check out spent over $1,200 on her cart-o-Missoni, which is great for her, but I think people need to remind themselves that it is not "real" Missoni. It's a fun collection, but polyester is not worth dying for, people!

Targets opens in my area at 8am, so everything happened in the 15 minutes before I got there! Anyone who missed out on their wishlist should check out eBay, as that is where one mom was talking about posting the stuff she didn't when she got home...yup, sharks in velour tracksuits.

Etsy Finds!

Sometimes I need to close the laptop and walk away. I could probably spend days on end browsing Pinterest and Etsy if given time off work and a bag of giant marshmallows for sustenance...not saying this specific scenario happened -ahem- recently; it was more of a hypothetical situation....

Yeah, let's just look at a few of my finds:
1. I love organization that is as attractive as it is useful, so this box of drawers is awesome.
2. Twig Branch Bobby Pins are so cute and so perfect for fall!
3. I have already mentioned how much I love onegarnetgirl's creations--look at these raw diamond studs and tell me you don't love her, too!4. Hand dyed scarf in a bright, cheery hue? Yes, please!

Does anyone else loose countless hours on Etsy? What items do you love to search for?