shopping fun... and lots of pics!

What to wear to an October wedding expecting 41-degree lows and rain. Hmmm...

Maybe it's because we never really get a reason to dress up anymore, but every special occasion-- wedding, important party, etc-- is an opportunity to go fancy stuff shopping! Earring shopping, bracelet and necklace shopping... maybe even dress(!) shopping!

And while it's fun, it's also a royal pain in the a$$ sometimes, because, yes, I literally spent my entire Friday night and Saturday morning running around accomplishing 'the look.'

Part of the fun is buying things KNOWING you'll return some, which is why I walked off with lots of earrings, bracelets, etc. Yet, with these cheapy Charlotte Russe accessories, they were 2 for $8, so what the heck. I'll wear them all eventually.

The dress was a half-length sleeve black sweater dress with cowl neck. It was cute. Again, after spending all Friday touring H&M, Ann Taylor, Banana Republic, Kohl's, and NY and Company, of COURSE Target came through for me... but a bit pricey at $44.95, though I justified it by knowing I can wear it to work with boots and tights in the winter. And also that it was half the price of anything i was looking at at a few aforementioned stores...

So, I treated myself to a coat! It's purple, beautiful, with the prettiest sleeves ever. It reminds me of something someone would wear to a gallery opening or down the Champs d'Elysees or something... It was the coat I received most compliments on, so it was a good purchase. A steal at $39.99, marked down from... um.. $362.00. And it was made in Paris. So win-win.

Jewel tones? Gold? What's a girl to do?

So in the end, I picked the lovely middle bracelet. The one of the left was beautiful, but at $24.99 and a low probability of being worn at work/everyday, it didn't make the cut. For earrings, I picked the jewel-toned and gold ones that matched the left bracelet, and will most definitely wear again. You can barely see them in this lovely self-pic, trying to capture the side bun I worked so hard to coif up, ala all the stars these days.