Everybody have a great weekend!

Everybody have a great weekend and get those contest entries in!!   - Sweater – Rue21 - Green Flounce Skirt – Sears - Satin Belt – Thirfted - Colbalt Suede Pumps – Steve Madden   In My Ear:  Jesse Powell – “All I Need”

Handbag Heaven Give-Away!

Enter to win a Fabulous bag from Handbag heaven.

Visit Handbag Heaven and let me know in the comment section below which handbag you would choose if you are the winner (make sure you enter an email address I can contact you at). Winners will be drawn randomly.  Contest open to U.S. and Canadian residents only. Contest ends November 30, 2009 at 11pm.

You can have additional entries by:

• Tweeting this giveaway
• Follow Handbag Heaven on Facebook
• Follow Handbag Heaven on Twitter
• Purchase from Handbag Heaven

Please let me know in the comment section if you are following via twitter or facebook so I can count your additional entries. Have fun ladies!

SATURDAY, NOV 14TH

NIGHT In my Ear: loving me 4 me – Christina Aguilera   - LBD – Steve Madden - Suede Teardrop Platforms – Jessica Simpson - Cinch Silver/Blk Belt – Wet Seal

DAY In my Ear: You Are my Sunshine – Steph Jones   - Plaid Belted Cape – DOTS - Jeans – Old Navy - Boots – Gianni Bini - Grey Suede/Patent Belt – Gianni Bini

Affordable Print and Multi-Colored Handbags

I really don’t like to spend a lot of money on handbags, but I also don’t like those pleather bags with that ugly, plastic garbage bag look to them (you know the kind that Target sells). I try my best to find a happy medium: An affordable bag that looks good and has nice detailing to it. That’s a serious challenge if you trying to stay under $65 dollars. I purchase bags to change out with different outfits so I hardly ever carry the same handbag or clutch more then once a week.
I like to switch my bags up to match my oufits, so I need a lot “fashionable handbags” to go with certain shoes in different colors, patterns etc. That’s where it would be impractical to purchase handbags priced in the hundreds of dollars. I do have about 7 or 8 really good coach and perlina bags in my arsenal that are large totes, briefcase, laptop kind of bags when I need durability for work or travelling purposes…..
But the bulk of my bags would be more fashion/outfit related. Bags with a lot of personality that can add some “pop” to my outfit or be used as an accent color if my belt and shoes are neutral. I found two great bags at Handbag Heaven. I need to add more print and a few multi-colored bags to my collection. I have too many solid colored bags and I wanted to mix-up a little bit. Each bag was under $48 dollars. They have some great quality bags at budget-friendly prices and their having a sale right now on all their bags (15% off).
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Love, love, love this bag. It’s a canvas metallic thread giraffe print. Detailing, hardware and weight on this bag is so exceptional! Looks more expensive then it’s price tag.	I like the funky-ness of this bag. I needed a big, boho, slouchy kind of woven bag to carry around when I’m wearing jean, a poncho, cords, etc. on the weekends. I plan to replace the existing handle with thick chain links just to give it more of an edgier feel.

Definitely Not a Shoe Snob….but

I’m definitely not a shoe snob but I don’t want a closet full of PVC shoes either. A co-worker of mine asked me yesterday how many shoes I owned. I told her around 75 pairs (excluding boots and flats) and that I rotate them out so it’s never more then 70 to 75 pairs at one time. She told me that she owned 200 pairs of shoes. Now I’ve seen the type of shoes she wears and the majority of them are PVC brands like Anne Michelle, Delicious, Wild Diva, etc.

Though, there is nothing wrong with these brands because they are very affordable (most under $25), they do keep up with the latest trends and some are decent dupes of designer offerings. My personal issue with these brands most of the time is fabrication. That makes me reluctant to have a lot of these kind of shoes in my closet.

A few pair here and there is fine, no biggie as a have like five pairs from F21 and they buy from shoe manufacturers like Qupid, Wild Diva, Anne Michelle, Michael Antonio and just stick their logo on it.

However, at some point I need to be able to resell my shoes. I have better luck if it’s a mid-price brand (Nine West, Guess) that most women are familiar with in terms of quality, sizing, etc. Plus, I have been able to find mid-priced shoes on sale or clearance at the same or a few dollars over the price of the PVC ones at stores like Ross for Less, the clearance rack at T.J. Maxx, Amazon, and some department stores as well. I’m all about saving money but if I can pick up a pair of Guess shoes for $28 dollars vs. a PVC shoe at $24, I mean that’s a no-brainer, go for the better made shoes for the extra $4 bucks. If you’re a good bargain shopper you can find these deals and you won’t have to resort to stocking your entire shoe rack with non-leather shoes.

Fergie Ravish Pumps

I’ve tried these shoes on two weeks ago at Belk and loved the color, but decided to wait on a sale. I called Belk after I got a $10 coupon via email to see if they had reduced the shoes for their Veteran’s Day sale. They did mark these down to $49.99 from $89 and with the $10 coupon final price was $44.

NYX Eyeshadow Base

I went on cherry-culture.com the other day since they send me a 20% promo code and found this new product from NYX. They are now making an eyeshadow base. The price is $6. I went ahead and ordered it because I’ve been using Urban Decay Eyeshadow Primer Potion (purchase at Sephora for $17) and I’ve been trying to find a more affordable alternative. I just think $17 is too much money to pay for a freaking eye shadow primer.   In looking for a more affordable primer I tried L’oreal De-Crease Eyeshadow Base (which sells for about $7 to $8) and it was absolutely horrible – FAIL! It’s just very drying on my lids and made my powdered eyeshadow very hard to blend. So am going to try NYX eyeshadow base and I seriously hope that I have good results with it, because even though the UDPP works well, am just not happy with the price for the amount of product you get. I plan to wear the UDPP on one lid and the NYX Base on the other and see how long it keeps my eyeshadow from ceasing and fading vs the UDPP. I will let you guys know the good, bad and the ugly.

Channeling Joan Clayton from Girlfriends

- Purple Bat Sleeve Top – CATOs - Pencil Skirt – NY&Co - Metallic Belt – Nobo - Snakeskin Peep-toes – Michael Shannon

One of my favorite TV shows before stupid ass CW cancelled the show was Girlfriends. It’s now in syndication on WETV. I absolutely love this show, it ran for 8 years and it was in my opinion, a great sitcom that a lot of African American women enjoyed. A lot of people were pissed when CW just gave it the axe without a proper finale to the show.One of the things I loved about the show was Joan Clayton’s wardrobe. She worn a lot nice pieces that I would’ve loved to have in my wardrobe and she had a clutch collection to die for. I’m channeling some of her vibe in this outfit.

To The Max Knit Dress

I had a little time to kill waiting to get some new tires and decided to pick up a few things at Walmart next to tire shop. I came across this grey knit To The Max dress marked down to $15. Ran into the dressing room real quick just to see if this was a “go”. Absolutely love it! I thought this would go perfectly with these Carlos Santana knee length boots I just brought from Burlington, but I wanted to try it with my favorite ankle boots first. Really feeling this look. Not sure if I need to add a necklace or what since the neckline is unusual enough as it is.   ——————————————————————————– Grey Knit Dress – To The Max Tan Leather Belt – Thrifted Black Suede Booties – F21 Various Bracelets – Jr. Stores