Jason Wu for Target

I have never really shopped for clothes at Target but instantly fell in love with all the pieces featured in the commercial for Jason Wu's new line.

My fav looks from Jason Wu's line for Target.

Jason Wu is a high end fashion designer who shot to stardom when he was tapped to design the dress Michelle Obama wore to the Presidential inaugural ball.

Since I was due for my weekly trip there I thought I'd swing by the apparel department and check it out.

They only had one dress from the commercial at the Target I was at. While I loved the design and shape of it I was surprised at how cheap feeling and looking the fabric was. I know that this is a line in Target and that you "get what you pay for" but you could definitely find a similar dress at a better price (and possibly better fabric) at Forever 21 or H&M. Or for the same price or a little more you could find something similar at Macy's (my all time favorite shopping spot nowadays). Jason Wu for Target dresses range from $30 to $60 with separates running from $20 to $40. Perhaps that one particular dress was a dud, the other pieces could be better?

Oddly enough, I found this pic of Michelle Obama sporting this exact dress from the Target collection! How funny! Looks great on her. Like how she paired a red belt with it and put it over the cardigan. (I know, she looks crazy in this pic. It's actually a screen grab from a video that someone then put along side the Target dress/info.)

Even though my Jason Wu experience was a bust, all was not lost... I found some really cute dresses right next to the Jason Wu stuff by Mossimo, Merona and Xhiliration (regular Target brands). These dresses were all around $20 I think and felt and looked much better than the one Jason Wu dress that I saw.

Check these out. Super cute for Spring and Summer!

Spring fling

click on photo to view larger

Last year was a total fashion bust for me. I thought I was going to be one of those people who totally dressed their bump and rocked super cute outfits. But I just never got into it. Most of the time I just threw on a sun dress or my trusty pregnancy jean shorts and called it a day.

Recently I've been able to get out and about with the baby a little more and have been checking out all the amazing and fun Spring lines that are out. I've been re-invigorated and inspired to shop. shop. shop!

Here's my little Look Board for the Spring courtesy of one of my fave websites Polyvore. It's like Pinterest but I think it's better because instead of just pinning stuff to a board you get to arrange the items on a board (make them bigger, small, edit them), use templates or different backgrounds and add text! It automatically posts to your website, social media site or blog AND it lists every piece you used along with a link and price.

So fun but a total time suck! Just one more thing that sucks you in and spits you out hours later.

Click here for last year's Spring looks. I'm getting fancier... this time I added text. ;)  There's some really cool stuff you can do so that your boards look like they're straight outta a fashion mag! I'll get there...

Spring fling by janyclaire featuring jimmy choo heels

Oasis belted dress
$75 - oasis-stores.com

Twist dress
$30 - shoptaintedkiss.com

Jo No Fui keyhole shirt
£179 - farfetch.com

Striped top
€30 - monki.com

Red Or Dead jumper shirt
£25 - bankfashion.co.uk

TIBI light weight jeans
$285 - net-a-porter.com

Short cargo shorts
$80 - witchery.com.au

Chloé platform wedge
$288 - theoutnet.com

Jimmy choo heels
€430 - montaignemarket.com

Serafini leather shoes
$105 - yoox.com

Nine west sandals
$30 - dsw.com

Diane von Fürstenberg double wrap belt
£173 - matchesfashion.com

Wedding inspiration board- Art Deco & Peacock Feathers

The very first place I considered having my wedding at was Casa Del Mar located right on the beach in Santa Monica. (Read the post about my wedding location search here!) Built in the 1920's the hotel has been fully restored to its full Art Deco glory! It is truly a gorgeous venue and lends itself perfectly to a Art Deco/Peacock/Art Nouveau type wedding.

I thought it was THE place for sure. That is until I found out that the food and beverage minimum, regardless of the size of your party, is $30,000 for a Friday or Saturday night. Um... no thank you. But of course the day after I saw it and before I had a chance to price it out I had already in my mind and on my laptop started dreaming up an inspiration board for it.

Here's the board I started before my dream was abruptly interrupted... $30K yikes!

So funny!

This just cracks me up! Looks like William, Kate, Eugenie and Beatrice perfectly fit the bill for Disney's Cinderella characters. Guess their lives are storybook perfect after all! ;)

Of course the Disney images were Photoshopped to match their real life counterparts. Here is what the original Disney Cinderella characters look like.

Dreaming of Summer

I'm over Spring. Over it. It's raining, there are still no leaves on the trees and I've finally realized that Spring is never coming. So I've moved on to Dreaming of Summer. Here's a style inspiration board I put together for myself. I made it on Polyvore which is an amazing website where you can put together the coolest fashion boards. Best of all the photos are linked directly to the website where you can purchase the items, making it easy for you and your readers to find your inspirations!

I did a very basic board my first time around but there are all sorts of backgrounds and templates to choose from that enable you to make your boards look like they're straight from a fashion magazine. So fun you gotta try it!

I used to rock a dress just like the striped turquoise/white one except it was awesomely 80's styled. Wish I could find a picture of it to upload. I think I rocked it with white pumps and giant 80's permed hair. Ha! My favorite combo is the orange dress with the clutch- so cute and affordable! The dress is from TopShop (one of my favorite stores!) and is only $40!

Along with coordinating heels I also selected a pair of flat sandals for each outfit. Everyone knows I love the super high heels but I always make sure I have a pair of flat shoes in my bag in the off chance that I need them. I always say that I could run a mile in my heels and I really think that I could but it's always nice to have a coordinating and comfy pair of shoes if need be. My favorite flat sandals on this board are the nude ones. They go with anything and they have little skulls on the top of the them!

Dreaming of Summer by janyclaire 

Bustier dress
70 GBP - warehouse.co.uk

Dorothy Perkins chiffon cocktail dress
24 GBP - topshop.com

Silk dress
$368 - aliceandolivia.com

Forever21 strappy wedge
$26 - forever21.com

Carvela stiletto high heels
$233 - asos.com

Alexander McQueen leather high heels
420 EUR - montaignemarket.com

Espadrilles wedge
$27 - tillys.com

Gucci platform high heels
$995 - bergdorfgoodman.com

TopShop toe loop sandal
$75 - topshop.com

Leather gladiator sandal
buyvip.com

Burberry leather tote
$1,395 - burberry.com

Turquoise handbag
$40 - mimiboutique.com

Linea pelle handbag
$165 - lpcollection.com

I wear my sunglasses at night

so I can, so I can, see the light that's right before my eyes...

I'm looking for a new pair of fab sunglasses. Tom Ford seems to be the front runner right now. Here are a few styles that have caught my eye.

 

Yves Saint Laurent YSL 6238/S

 

Hayden Panettiere in YSL 6238

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Tom Ford- Angelica

Halle Berry in Tom Ford- Angelica

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Tom Ford- Callae 0165

Kim Kardashian in Tom Ford- Callae

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Tom Ford Simone 0074

Britney Spears in Tom Ford- Simone


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Oliver Peoples Sabina

Padma Lakshmi in Oliver Peoples- Sabina

They're all pretty much the same shape and size. My two favorites are the Tom Ford Angelica and Simone styles. I like the gold metal detail of the Angelica and love the bamboo look of the Simone. Guess now I just gotta track them down at a retail shop so I can try them on and see how they look.

 

Oscars 2011 Red Carpet Roundup

I'm back! I totally had blogger burn out last week and only posted once! That combined with the fact that I was sick lead to a week of just veggin' out wrapped up in my favorite blanket. Anyhoo, I think I've regenerated and am ready to get back in the bloggin' saddle. And what better way than to talk about the Oscars! Let's talk!

I saw Ryan Seacrest interview Gwyneth Paltrow on the red carpet and was surprised when I heard her say she hadn't slept in a week because she was so nervous for her performance that night. You could just really see in her face that she was very, very nervous. Poor thing. I must say though, it was nice to see that even a seasoned performer such as her still gets nerves. I so totally can relate to those nerves!

Here's her performance from last night, I think she did okay. You could tell she was nervous. I don't care for the song (love her song Country Strong) but I do think she has a great voice.

And now for the dresses...

TO DIE FOR

Amy Adams

 L'Wren Scott and those amazing Cartier jewels

 I loved this dress! It was simple in cut but blinged out with the sequins and fit her body perfectly. Loved the gorgeous emerald Cartier jewels worth $1.3 million!

SHE LOOKED GOOD FOR HER

 Reese Witherspoon 

Georgio Armani Prive

When I first saw her I didn't recognize her! She always pretty much looks the same on the red carpet, nice but nothing amazing. This look is still very simple but I just love that she did something totally different. And her hair! Love the hair. I heard Erin Andrews on Good Morning America this morning say she looked like vintage Barbie- so true, she so does!

Celine Dion

Giorgio Armani Prive

I thought Celine looked gorgeous and loved this dress. She usually picks weird, quirky pieces (like the backwards tuxedo she wore in 1999) so it was nice to see her in something so simple, sleek and elegant. And to think that she just had twins a couple months ago!

UGH

Marisa Tomei

Charles James

Can somebody please help Marisa Tomei? She is such a wreck. The poor woman just can not get it right. The top on this dress sat too high on her chest making the sides ride high up into her armpits. The bottom is too poufy, weird and unflattering with its asymmetrical line. I actually saw her kicking it out from underfoot every time she walked.

NICE TRY BUT UH, NOT SO MUCH

Jennifer Hudson

Atelier Versace

I think this dress is very pretty and love the color against her skin BUT I just don't think this dress found its rightful owner. Mainly because of her boobs. Sorry but they just looked so smushed, flapjack pancake-y. And I know she just lost a ton of weight and good for her and all that stuff but this dress just did not work with those boobs. This dress definitely calls for a small breasted woman.

BEST INTERPRETATION OF A 

CARTOON/SCI-FI CHARACTER

Cate Blanchett

Givenchy Haute Couture

This is Givenchy Haute Couture so maybe it's just that I'm not sophisticated enough to "get it" but I just couldn't look away from those jarring cap sleeves. I think if the dress was strapless with a halter-like top it would have, for me, worked better. I thought the top part of the dress looked like a Star Trek uniform. My husband said he thought she looked like a Teletubbie.