Shopping, London, Shopping in London!

So I booked my ticket to London in April on Monday night. It's official, and I'm so excited!!

And now I have to deal with the vacation connundrum that every woman paying off massive amounts of student debt has to deal with... shop for the trip before hand so you can have fabulous new clothes or save as much as possible so you can shop while on the trip?!?!

Decisions, decisions.

Then Rue La La became the bane of my existance when I saw the DVF Outlet on sale today. I saw this:

... and fell in love! After looking at the DVF site: http://www.dvf.com/dvf/browse/productDetailWithPicker.jsp?productId=D7405004N8 I'm now back at Rue La La contemplating my options.

Love this dress! I need to own it! But it's too cold in London in April to wear it. Sometimes fashion hurts. =)

Have a great day everyone!

Universal remotes anyone???

Recently Wired News updated their Gadget Reviews section with a review of their fave Universal Remote. See it here http://www.wired.com/reviews/product/universal_R50.






I'm going to follow their lead and review MY fave - the Logitech Harmony Advanced Universal Remote for the XBOX 360 (my video game platform of choice).



The good: Better shape than previous Harmony remotes; strong backlight; choice between device or activity usage; intuitive, Web-based programming.

Setting up this is shockingly easy, if you're comfortable with your computer and a USB cable. You can personalize the screens, rearrange orders of items, and set up as many 'activities' as any one could possibly need. It easily recognized all of my components and was ready to go in about twenty minutes.


The bad: No rechargeable battery option; numeric keypad buttons are too small for people with bigger hands than I, which is most of the population; Web interface might intimidate nontechie users.

I can't say many negative comments. I *heart* this remote. I've had it for 3 years, and just purchased a replacement for the last one. 3 years for $99 - can't beat it!

The bottom line: A sleek design, an impressive feature set, and a manageable price point (~$99) make this an excellent (and long lasting!) choice for Xbox 360 owners who don't like to have 16 remotes to turn on / off recievers, TV's XBOX's, CD changers, etc etc etc

Valentines Day Fashion!!

For this week I thought I'd do a quick piece on my favorite lingerie shop - and they're online (cause we love Tech!).

Agent Provocateur (from the Witches collection on right) is one of the most innovative and provocative lingerie lines out there right now. Imagined and created by Joseph Corré and Serena Rees in December 1994. they had an amazing response and it's morphed into a 10+ year ride that's still going strong.

Rees and Corré pulled their inspiration from avoiding the standard prudery that comes from day to day British life, labeling anything to do with sex as sleazy or smutty. At the heart of their line is an incredible array of artistic photo shoots that show case the lingerie in emotion provoking ways. One of my favorite things about surfing this site is just seeing the new galleries of photos. They really are breathtaking, some very dark, some very light hearted, but all beautiful and fantastical. Go by and check it out...maybe pick up something for your sweetie (or you!) for this weekend! http://www.agentprovocateur.com/

Other designer lines of note (that I love!)

• Faire Frou Frou http://www.fairefroufrou.com/


• La Perla http://www.laperla.com/


• Laura Fiorini http://www.laurafiorini.com/appointment-only.html

Enjoy shopping!! Happy Valentine's Day!

My second Bag, Borrow or Steal experience

So, I'm sure you've heard of Bag, Borrow, or Steal (BBS) by now, and if you haven't, well, you're probably not reading this right now. What you might not know is that they don't just have great bags, they also have jewelry and sunglasses! Some of the stuff is really unbelieveable. The parent company, @avelle also has a really great twitter account about fasion and their escapades.

I have been browsing the BBS website for a few months now, finally renting my first item (left) the A.B.S. by Allen Schwartz Baguette Ombre Necklace & Earrings. I was mostly drawn in to renting this because BBS was offering a special: rent something from the Purple Passion collection and recieve a $50 credit for the upcoming outlet sale. I thought - awesome necklace and earrings for my brithday, christmas, AND New Years, PLUS $50?!?! So I was all over it. The necklace and earrings were about $40 for the week. I think I wore them 4 times.

A few weeks later the outlet sale was announced and I surfed on over. The fourth bag I saw was the Elliott Lucca 'Adele' Tote (right). It was $45.98 + $5 for shipping... so with my $50 credit this bag cost me $0.98!!!! (I still can't believe that.) It's such a great winter bag, white and gold and HUGE! Carrying this bag is like carrying around my room in stylish case.

Needless to say, I have had great experiences with BBS with one tiny exception. There is definately a need for a better business department there - mostly the shipping and billing end. They don't have very quick turnaround, you have to know you're going to want / need something and plan accordingly. Secondly, if UPS screws up and doesn't get the package back immediately, they will charge you again. BBS' customer service department, on the other hand, is awesome. Every time I've called in a VERY nice lady has helped me with a smile and usually some great fasion banter!

So, overall - great products - unbelieveable website (WHO is their webmaster - they are phenomenal) and great customer service. Be prepared for a wait.

Enjoy!!!

Free People Clothing Boutique

Just stumbled across my new favorite clothing line - brought to you by the same people who are in charge of Urban Outfitters, Anthropologie, Ecote, and many more. Billed as the clothing line designed to reach ME ("a 26 year-old girl, smart, creative, confident and comfortable in all aspects of her being, free and adventurous, sweet to tough to tomboy to romantic ... and can't resist petting any dog that passes her by on the street"), and full of fabulous items like deep v neck tops, great skirts and dresses, and cami - panty sets, I definitely feel the need to pass this along and go shopping!

http://www.freepeople.com/index.cfm/nodeID/18f9a332-0f37-4413-a238-0499fe5912ee/fuseaction/content.page

Enjoy - Laura, Jen, Hayley, Nicole - I can see you all loving this clothing line!