Best Dressed - Met Ball 2013

Well, last night was the "Oscars" of fashion, the annual Met Ball gala for the Costume Institute.  This year's exhibition is "PUNK: Chaos to Couture".  From the pictures I've seen of the exhibit, it looks pretty weak, I feel like we've seen this before with the McQueen and the Anglophile shows of years past.  Time to do something completely different next year, please.  The red carpet looks were pretty weak too, not many brought the punk and those who did seemed a bit forced and random.  Anyway, here are the looks I liked (punk or not punk):

Naomie Harris in Donna Karan Atelier with an Edie Parker clutch (obsessed with these clutches) - hands down my favorite look of the night.

Jessica Pare in Jason Wu (with Jason Wu)

Blake Lively in Gucci Premiere

Honorable mention for actually bringing a punk vibe (in a high fashion way) - Sarah Jessica Parker in custom Giles, Philip Treacy headpiece and custom Louboutin shoes

What do you think?  Did you have any favorites?

Images via Style.com

What I Bought - April 2013

Here are the goodies I brought home this month.  This is a pretty typical month for me.

1. Prabal Gurung for Target dress - $10.48 on clearance at my store

2. Merona basic tee from Target - $6 on sale

3. Covergirl nail polish in Forever Fawn - $5

4. Flower nail polish in Eye of the Tiger Lily - $5

Total out of pocket for April = $26.48

Go forth and shop responsibly!

Disclosure: This post contains an affiliate link

What I Bought - March 2013

Not much this month (this is way more typical than last month's gift card purchases):

1. Mossimo Falk Thong  - Target - $20

2. Prabal Gurung for Target flats - $30 (returned)

I wanted to like these flats but I just wasn't 100% so they went back. Still on the hunt for the perfect pointy toe, black flat.

Total out of pocket for March - $20

Go forth and shop responsibly!

See you tomorrow for April's purchases.

What I Bought - February 2013

I thought I would start rounding up my clothing purchases on the blog each month.  I love when other bloggers do this, so I thought I would jump in and do it too!  I'm going to hit you with three months over the next three days (and get caught up).  Now, first a little about the "B" word - Budget!  I don't have a set monthly budget for clothes specifically.  I have a very strict food/household goods budget that I stick to.  I'm so militant about staying within my means (nothing is worth the stress of consumer debt).  I don't work outside the home (I work part-time from my home and when I do have to go to the mill I have a company uniform I wear).  So really my needs are slim (meanwhile, my wants are out of control - ha!).  I like to keep things simple and basic and I can't stand a crammed closet.  I generally buy good quality items that I know will last a while.  Therefore, I rarely spend more than $100 a month on clothes/beauty items.  This month was an exception because I won a gift card to Coldwater Creek!  Here's what I got in February:

Top from R to L:

Printed jeans from Coldwater Creek - $37.16 (on sale)

Broken-in straight khakis from Gap - $40 (20% off promotion)

Slim ankle pants from Coldwater Creek - $41.96 (on sale)

Winter Wonderland cardigan from Coldwater Creek - $49.54 (on sale - no longer available)

Middle R to L:

Slim ankle pants from Coldwater Creek - $44.21 (on sale)

Indigo Dream ankle jeans from Coldwater Creek - $53.06 (on sale) - LOVE these, so soft!

Slim ankle pants from Coldwater Creek - $41.96 (on sale)

Bottom:

Castaway shell from Coldwater Creek - $41.96 (on sale - no longer available)

Necklace from Coldwater Creek - $27.99 (on sale - no longer available)

Total = $377.84

-$337.84 (Coldwater Creek gift card)

Grand total spent out of pocket = $40

Go forth and shop responsibly!  

See you tomorrow for March's purchases!

What I Wore Wednesday 5-1-2013

One outfit this week.  It's a bright and cheerful one though!

Tee - J.Crew outlet

Pants - Gap

Shoes - Max Studio

Bag - Momentum Textiles trade show swag

Here's a better look at the bag from a few contract trade shows ago.  I ran across it in my closet and thought it was perfect for this time of year.  And bonus, I didn't spend a dime on it! 

I'm linking up again with The Pleated Poppy for WIWW and Shanna for Random Wednesday today!

"Blog Inc." Review

 

I posted this picture on Instagram (@spryonthewall if you aren't already following) this past weekend and got some comments about a review/what I thought of the book.  So I thought I would do a post about my thoughts of Blog, Inc. by Joy Deangdeelert Cho.  First of all, it's a super quick read, I mean I zipped right through it.  I found some useful information but I would really say it was steered towards new bloggers.  Look, I've been plugging away at this blog for a little over 4 years - 4 years!?!  And I'm still baffled by a blogging, I've learned a lot by observing, trying and just trial and error.  I think she oversimplified a lot of it.  If you don't have a blog and you read this book, it makes it sound like you can start growing and cashing in lickety split (and lickety split for me is a year or two).  There are so many blogs out there it's just not that easy.  Maybe it's just me and my current level of blogging frustration* (I'm sure you all have been able to tell because I just haven't been posting) but I didn't get much out of this book at all.  Have any of you read it?  What do you think?  Am I just sour grapes?  :o)

 

*My frustration has come to a head the past few months because I just feel so overwhelmed and saturated with blogs.  It's like information overload and I feel like 90% is just noise and not much use.  I struggle with whether to continue on a daily basis.  I'm going to re-assess my part in the blogosphere after Bloggy Bootcamp next month.  That will be the make or break time for me.

Happy Weekend!

First up, head over to Elembee today and see what I love about my home state of North Carolina (as part of her outstanding "Across the USA" series)!

Meanwhile, we don't have any plans for the weekend other than to avoid all the traffic from The Masters.  It's been crazy, a lot of people rent their houses out that live around us and it's been party central every night.  Between that and the endless stream of jets in and out of the private airport near us at all hours of the day and night, I'm done.  My husband, on the other hand, loves it (he's headed over to Augusta National on Saturday).

I'm a Jackie Robinson fan and I am so excited about "42" which opens today:
 I'm hoping to sneak off and see it in the next few days.  I have a couple of books about Jackie that I would recommend if you are interested in more information about him:

Jackie Robinson: A Biography by Arnold Rampersand - a comprehensive and extremely informative book on his life. I loved reading this!

Teammates by Peter Golenbock - a kids book that is one of my all time favorites about a day in Cincinnati where Pee Wee Reese took a stand and put his arm around Jackie and declared him his teammate.  I bought this book before I was a mother and now it's one of my daughter's favorites.

Do you have any exciting plans for the weekend?  See you next week!