pack your summer travel bags - a shabby apple give-away

For years, my best friend Cassie and I have called packing for a vacation Paper Dolling (that's what I named my fashion board on Pinterest, too!). Half the fun of anticipating a trip for me is deciding who I want to be when I'm escaping my reality of daily commutes, deadlines, and what's-for-dinnering. Clothes can set the tone for a glamorous getaway. 

Just in time for summer travel,  Shabby Apple is offering one I Do Declare reader a $50 gift card to shop its online vintage boutique. Let's get to packing....

A Long Weekend with Girlfriends:
Right now, I'm on a long weekend with a mix of friends from high school, college, and D.C.  We'll be seeing a concert, touring a winery, relaxing at a day spa, and dining at our resort. I will regret not putting this Lemon Drop skirt in my suitcase. With flats by day, it's perfect for shopping or lunch. At night, it's easily glammed up with jewelry, heels, and a clutch.

Fourth of July at the Beach:
I spend most Independence Days in Virginia Beach. No matter where you are on the 4th of July, you'll be the star in this striped Catalina one-piece.  It's made in the U.S.A, so Lee Greenwood approves!

Destination Wedding:
How nice of you to plan your vacation around your friend's special day. The fact that cake comes with sand and sun can hardly be beat! One of my all-time favorite destination weddings was to Maine to see our friends Megan + Eric say I Do. In this pretty Tie the Knot frock you'll stop just short of upstaging the bride. 

You can buy one of these dresses, the swimsuit, or choose from so many more styles (Shabby Apple offers maternity and children's clothing, too) with the $50 gift card you can win by: 

1. Giving Shabby Apple a thumbs-up on Facebook if you don't already "Like" them
2. Leaving a comment below telling me what Shabby Apple dress is your favorite

I will name a winner on Friday, June 7. Good luck!

Shabby Apple Winner!

 How 'bout them apples......hee! 

The winner (chosen randomly - picture proof!) of the $50 Shabby Apple gift card is Katie from Team Skelley Blog.  Katie,  you'll be hearing directly from Shabby Apple soon!


Thanks to everyone who entered, and thanks to Shabby Apple! I loved hosting this giveaway because I think the clothes at Shabby Apple are SO cute - and when I see Shabby Apple give-aways around the blogland, I ALWAYS enter. Now if I could just win won myself....


 Also, don't forget, you can still get a 10-percent discount from Shabby Apple for the next month with the code: idodeclare10off

Bright Lights, Big City: Christmas in NYC

This is what the weekend before Christmas looks like in the suburbs:

Mass chaos in the streets outside the Target/Old Navy/TJ Maxx/Toys R Us strip mall. Not that that kind of hustle and bustle isn't an amusing part of the Season - even holiday traffic is fun to me (for like 5 minutes), but....to embrace a little more holly jolly, Dan + I escaped for a day this weekend to New York City.

I'd never been to New York at Christmas-time....

so in the day that we spent there, we hit all the highpoints and did everything a tourist should do in December.

Macy's at Herald Square, {window} shopping on and around 5th Avenue. Look at this wreath made entirely of gold heels...

...and a break for cupcakes.

I hope I don't frost anyone the wrong way when I say this about the famed Magnolia Bakery, but: OVER-RATED.  I much prefer D.C.'s Hello Cupcakes to this Carrie Bradshaw favorite.  

After the Rockettes Red Velvet indulgence we ventured into St. Patrick's Cathedral, where I lit a candle and offered a special prayer for the new year. My photos don't do the inside justice, but here's a peak from the outside in the courtyard of The Palace Hotel......

The decor inside The Palace was some of the most beautiful in the entire city (there were also characters dressed as Nutcrackers and Sugar Plum Fairies handing out cookies). I loved the chandeliers flanked with "sticks", as described by Dan....

(Some really clever Pinterst-type needs to figure out how to recreate this!)

From Midtown, we chugged it down to Central Park for a carriage ride, and because we're not afraid of being cheesey tourists, we also grabbed hot chocolate and roasted nuts from the street vendors.

After, we quickly dropped the cheese and went all too-cool with a late brunch in SoHo at Balthazar, where I'd make a reservation weeks ago, because the last time I was in New York I waited too long to call and couldn't get in the door. Dan declared the sour cream hazelnut waffles he ate the best of his life, and since that man does not waffle when it comes to any kind of dough-based entree, I believed him...especially after stealing about five bites!

Since it was right next door, I popped into C. Wonder, the new store owned by Tory Burch's ex-husband Chris. The store has been getting tons of hype.

It's whimsical inside, very preppy and hip, and indeed more affordable than his first wife's line, but as another shopper (think Anthony from SATC) suggested aloud to everyone while we all rummaged through expensive (but bright and colorful) plastic bangles - $60 for Made in China - The world is coming to an end.  I didn't buy anything at C. Wonder, but I get some gifts in other cute SoHo shops, and then we wondered in and out of art galleries (where we didn't buy the sweetest basset hound painting but really wanted it) and around the neighborhoods, peaking into everyone's windows and pretending we were locals.  That was actually my favorite part of our day.

Because he'd been such a trooper playing Big to my Carrie, Dan earned a time out in an Irish pub to watch some football. There, we warmed up from a perfectly festive but still very chilly day....

...and then caught ourselves living out our Christmas card.

When we left out on the train, I asked Dan....Do you have the Sex and the City theme song in you head?  No, he assured me, but maybe The Sopranos. Amtracking back to the 'burbs, I cound't help but wonder (hee!), will there ever be a time when I visit New York and don't think in SATC references?

For Eyes - Glasses USA

Oddly, I was always that child who wanted braces and wanted glasses.  Kids of the '80s - we had different image issues compared to today's youth. Clearly.

photo credit here

My crooked teeth delivered the heavy mouth metal as a teenager, and though I didn't really need them,
after college, when I had my first vision insurance plan, I bought a pair of  eyeglasses that I sometimes wore while working as a TV reporter when I wanted to look smarter....and be just like Ashleigh Banfield.  Remember her?

The prescription was so light, mostly just to magnify, but the price for my lenses and frame....so expensive!  As a 20-something, I hadn't quite figured out that there's a BIG difference between looking smart and living smart! Despite my natty glasses, I didn't see it coming, but my days (and Ashleigh's for that mattered) on TV were numbered....

Still for years I sported my fashion frames, until one day the frames just broke.  Since my vision truly was fine without glasses, at that stage in life I could see the difference between want and need, so I was wise enough  not to spend money on new specs. 

These days, I still sometimes wish for fashion frames - especially sassy tortoise shell ones that look great on everyone - but the only glasses purchased in our house are for Dan (who, as you can imagine thinks my need to accessorize with rims is....redic. )

Like most husbands, his only request when picking out new eyes: he wants cheap eyeglasses! Like most wives, I want them to look striking - and as with any kind of shopping, I want the purchase process to be fun!

To find that balance, we'll be shopping for Dan at GlassesUSA.com, an online eyeglass retailer.

There are so many frames from which to choose, and to take the guesswork out of buying glasses online  the GlassesUSA.com guys created a "Try It On" Mirror where you can upload your photo and see for yourself how you (or the husband who lets you shop for him!) will look.

Prices are reasonable. Options are fashionable. And...GlassesUSA.com is giving I Do Declare readers a 10-percent discount on prescription glasses (CODE: Blog10). You'll find other deals at GlassesUSA.com and on Facebook.


With prices this low, and shopping this easy...It might finally make sense for me to blur the line between want and need and score a pair of glasses for myself!

*Disclaimer: This was a sponsored post, and though all thoughts + opinions are mine, I was paid to blog  for GlassesUSA.com. Please support companies who support bloggers!

Feet Defeat No More - Tall Boots for Wide Calves

At long, long last I have purchased some tall boots and jeggings. It's as if I've finally arrived on the fashion scene......for 2008.

It is not, Fashionistas, for a lack of trying that I haven't been among the riding boots set, it's just....I have really big calves. I'd have been willing to risk the slowing or even stopping of blood flow from lower-leg to foot in the name of stylish trends, but even finding a boot that would pull or zip over my legs has taken years. YE-ARS!

I've finally found a pair, and I'll tell any other supra-ankle enlarged shoe angler who is interested where if you'll hop on over to DC Ladies where I am blogging today about my boot battles...

Happy Friday!

Target vs. Banana Republic

**Hi and Happy Monday! Thanks for all the sweet comments and emails about The Anniverary Challenge. I'll blog how it played out later this week, but per Dan's request, I'm letting y'all know in advance how, hands down, he planned the best day and has been declared the winner! Lucky him....lucky me!**

Recently I got this yellow t-shirt at Banana Republic. It was on sale for $34, which is actually more than I would usually pay for just a t-shirt, but I bought it after work, in a latenight shopping spree, so we'll call it a weak moment. It's just a simple t-shirt, striped (you can't tell from the photo) with a little frill on the sleeves. I figured for fall I could layer it under a purple sweater to cheer for the Ravens, or under navy or gray cardigans to wear casually with jeans. I didn't just adore it, but I'm kind of in a striped phase and I had a gift card, so I went for it......

You can imagine how thrilled I was when I saw THE SAME shirt at Target for just $10.

I am not a big shopper, and I pick up a lot of caridgans for cheap at places like Target and TJ Maxx. So, while I didnt lose my mind Missoni-style, I'm a general fan of Target for basics. I just had no idea that Target had THE SAME things as other retail clothing stores...probably because I don't shop in them often enough to take note. So...this may not be news to you, but...it was news to me. And, I thought I'd share. Buyer beware....

Pearls of Wisdom on Election Day

If you live or work on Capitol Hill in Washington, you may have heard about the one week during the end of each year when, direct from Beijing, the infamous Pearl Lady sets up shop to showcase all her beautiful baubles - earrings, necklaces, pendants, bracelets - at very discounted prices.

A row house is filled with pearl jewelry (all rough-on-your-teeth real!) and the women who've been lucky enough to find out the address. The event isn't advertised...you just have to be in the know.

DC ladies think The Pearl Lady is a real gem!

Women pillage through the pearls, pushing and prodding. Even if you've no plans to purchase, sometimes like politics, it's just a fun show to watch.

So, because it's Election Day, and I feel like it's my civic duty...I'll spare you a big yard sign, an automated call or a debate on what I think you should do when you go behind the curtain today....

and give you the details about how you can shop with the Pearl Lady this month if you live in the DC area. 

Because no matter what your politics are, I think we can all agree that pearls make everyone look prettier....and smarter.

The Pearl Show

446 New Jersey Ave., SE - Washignton, DC

Thursday, November 11, noon to 6 p.m.

Friday, November 12, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Saturday, November 13, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Sunday, November 14, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Monday, November 15, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Tuesday, November 16, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Cash or American Express, Visa and MasterCard only

 Photo ID, business card, and e-mail address required for credit card sales.

Happy Shopping!

Baubles for a Bargain!

I have a magnet on my fridge, with a likeness of the Queen Mother Dolly Parton, that reads, "The smaller the town, the bigger the hair."

Since I was born + raised in a small town, I would like to add also....the bigger the earrings. 

Even in the 'burbs, I sort of have a thing for big ole' baubles.

I have tried being understated in small studs or tiny pearls like so many of my refined, preppy friends.

At the end of the day, I'm just far more Ashlee Simpson than Laura Ashley.

photocredit: celebritydesk.com

I don't know if it's because as a little girl my mother forbade the wearing of over-sized, adult accessories, despite my being 10 going on 21, but when it comes to earrings....size matters to me.

You can imagine, then, my delight (now that I'm 33 and still shopping at Forever 21) when I found these....

...each costing less than $7.

Yes, $7!  Cheap enough for even a child to afford, but yet, so mammoth only the most mature lobes can hold them.

Your ears heard it from me - fun + CHEAP earrings are hanging at Forever 21...(and they don't card you, even if you look well past the legal drinking age).

eBaBy! {Baby Gift Ideas}

I'm in the business of all things mommy and baby these days.


No, not for why you may think. I've just got lots of mommy friends!


My mommy friends have made me a full-blown auntie and we all know aunties have to give good gifts and I've found some super affordable ones to share with  you!


I just made a trip to meet Baby Ellis and  I wanted to take a few happies, ones that were personalized. Baby E's mom kept his name top secret while he was warming so mucho monogramming and personalizing time has been lost.


I got Ellis this little onesie with his name on it...and as you can tell, he loves it, especially because he's already earned the nickname E (not unlike his aunt who often answers to simply, P).

I got him a burbing cloth like the one below (only with a monogram) because even at a mere 3 months old, Ellis needs to be a gentleman when he gushes...and a sweet little bib that looked like this, only with an "E".

Let me tell you a little secret....I got this stuff all off ebay, and  if Ellis' mom wasn't such a bargain shopper herself, I'd be embarassed to admit that each item was less than $20.  (I used Monkey Bug Monograms for the burp cloth and bib; I can't recall who made the onesie).


I know that Etsy is the new black and all, and I do heart it....I'm just saying....don't forget about ebay!

Spanx Swimsuits

How did I not know this by now? I thought I was America's Number 1 Spanx buyer?

Spanx has a swimsuit line.  And, the suits are pretty cute (even if showcased on women who cleary don't even need power panties)!

I have a real love-hate with the Spanx.

I hate that I so often need them. I love the magic those skintight little monsters work.

Though the weather is warm and I'm a mere days away from heading to Hawaii, I'm in NO way ready to be sporting a swim suit. Not even close, y'all....

So here's hoping some extra tightening from a magic bathing suit can undo a winter full of carb-loading.....

credit all photos: www.spanx.com

The Easter Dress

I know that a new dress is not what Easter is all about. I know this for many reasons, especially because I was baptized on Easter just a few years ago. Still, that does not change the fact that shopping for an Easter dress is such a fun thing to do....

This year, Mr. W and I are trying a new church. We're going with friends who have a new baby girl. Baby girls in Easter dresses = adorable!

33-year olds in Easter dresses? Well, we're nothing special, but I will spend Saturday searching for something pretty. I have my eyes on.....

1. This pink number from Ann Taylor Loft

photo credit: www.kaboodle.com

2. This melon colored wrap hanging at Macy's...

photo credit: amazon.com

And I will of course hit up the Suburban Trifecta - TJMaxx, Ross and Marshalls!  

Free Stationery!

It's Buy One Get One Free time at The Stationery Studio! 

I'm a big, big fan of The Stationery Studio. I wait to purchase stationery when TSS runs this fun promotion a few times a year. Though they offer pricey papers, like Crane, even their less expensive cardstock is nice and thick. What I love most is TSS sales large note and foldover cards - ideal if you have big, curvy, convoluted handwriting....like I do.

If like many Southerners you have more than just three names...maybe even five (like my friend Virginia Grace Estelle Goodin Potashnick) TSS can make a card that fits every name...not even the DMV will do that!

What a perfect time to order gifts for a newborn or expactant baby (if you know already it's name or monogram...um, no pressure there, Cas...) or for brides who will be getting a new name this year. My friends love getting stationery as gifts!

Virginia Grace Estelle Goodin Potashnick and ASC with their personalized papers from The Stationery Studio

The Buy One Get One free sale on a bulk of TSS merchandise lasts until Valentine's Day!

Disclaimer: TSS did not pay me to write this blogvertisement - it came from the heart!