Say what you will about rompers, but I still love them. I just think they are dainty and cute and oh so feminine. This one also has my favorite element of polka dots added for good measure. I would like to pair this with a cute pair of wedges, black sunglasses and a french twist in my hair. I love SUMMMER!
So my lovely friends over at 24 Savvy know just how to make a gal on bedrest super happy–give her chocolate and fuzzy, comfy slippers!
The picture above is the position I assume for the greater part of each day to keep my little piggies from swelling into little piggy sausages! But when I do have to walk around the inside of these darn slippers are amazing. They are Dearfoams and they have this cushy, lovely sole that feels like you are walking on a tempur pedic mattress all day. I am in love.
And the chocolate…well, what can I say…my sweet tooth has not subsided. I alternate between chocolate (Dove and the new M&M Pretzel flavors are the current favorites) and then Nerds and Sweetarts. It’s a sad affair really, but at least I am off the cotton candy for a bit. The chocolate that the 24 Savvy gals sent, just happened to be Dove, but it was the new Peanut Butter flavor (well, new to me, anyway). The peanut butter has the perfect texture and the right salt ratio, too! I may or may not have finished it all on my own.
My goal is to get back in action this week and post a bit more, but I thought you would like to see that I am doing a bit better.
*Please note that the lovely items I received were a gift from the 24 Savvy team.
Well hello, my lovely readers. I bet you have been wondering where the heck I have been? I will say it has been a crazy couple of months recently with traveling for work and this growing belly. Sadly, little Budget Retro has taken the hit when it comes to attention. She doesn’t need to be fed or clothed and she doesn’t pay my bills so she is the first to get ignored. I am so sorry!!
But to give you a quick update, I have few back-logged posts from a trip to NYC and a lovely little shop in Brooklyn, not to mention a ton of shoes I have been dying to post. (my personal wardrobe has turned into very large cotton t-shirts and weird maternity capri pants!?!) I am just itching to cover some of Mod Cloth’s new stuff too!
I also just had a little run-in with the hospital, it seems little Madeline is trying to make her debut a little early. I got released yesterday and now I am trying to focus, slow down and take it easy. I am trying to prioritize our over-booked summer and and just relax (not an easy thing for me.) Hopefully this weekend I can get cuaght up on all that content that I think you will excited about.
In the meantime, please feel free to send me any super-cute stuff that you noticing for summer!
I have been having the most bizarre craving as of late. I have always liked sweet things, particularly along the lines of suckers, sweetarts and nerds, but lately in my fog of pregnancy, I have been craving cotton candy. Hmmm… could there be a reason for this? Am I destined to birth a sugar-addicted child? And more importantly, where does one find a stash of cotton candy all year round? Well, as any addict could tell you with the right amount of determination, any fix can be found. The mall back in Ohio (we’ve been going back a lot lately for the little man) seems to be the best source of the good, fresh stuff and the Easter season has brought an additional stash to my local CVS and Walgreens. When all else fails, Blockbuster has packaged cotton candy for year round enjoyment. Delicious!
So in honor of pretty, pink cotton candy, I thought a little taste of some lovely feminine (and pink) dresses would make you think of walking down a boardwalk in summer with a fun summer treat! As usual, click on the images to view or purchase.
Alright, I may possibly be the worst blogger, ever! It has been forever since my last post, and I feel so guilty. I promise I have had a lot of “stuff” going on, so I haven’t just been sitting on my sofa eating bon-bons! Not to mention work has been completely mad! I always seem to have crazy February’s at work, but managing them while preggo seems to be a little more exhausting!
Other fun news–we bought a new car! It was not in the budget or in the plans, but our sad little paid off car finally kicked the bucket. We got a Nissan Versa, and it is the perfect little city car. This is actually the first time my husband or I have purchased a new vehicle. The financing is daunting, but the new smell really is intoxicating. What the heck is that?
We also had our ultrasound on Friday and we found out it’s a girl! I am beyond thrilled and holding back everything to avoid purchasing a surplus of cute little polka dot dresses and mary janes.
So to celebrate all the news, I am posting a preggo photo of me. I haven’t even posted one to Facebook, because well…I can’t say that I feel the glowing beauty vibe that some women experience (just look at my hair–what is going on there?) I hope this helps you all feel special and forgive me for my tardiness.
Do you remember this post? The infamous “tights” post where I was fawning over Kate Spade dresses? Well guess what? Kate Spade is a little closer to the Budget Retro price range. Hip-hip hooray! Currently on the site you can log-in for the sample sale–which is about 75% of regular prices, making it worth the investment to me.
I don’t really want to buy a dress that I can’t wear right now, but I LOVE this sweater and red never goes out of style. Shipping is also discounted to $5. So hurry, hurry, hurry and go buy beautiful dresses ladies!
p.s. To the two beautiful Jen’s at work who are looking for wedding shoes–I saw some lovely ones on the sale page.
I must preface this post by saying that I love high design. I love thoughtful, functional and hand-crafted items. I appreciate quality things that are made to last and span lifetimes. I also realize that, against my best efforts, I am middle class. Being middle class, especially living in large cities, you have to learn to balance all of your luxury wants with practical needs. For instance I love gastro-pubs and fancy food, but my practical need is that I really just need to eat food. I really love expensive shoes that are made to perfectly fit your foot, but I just need shoes that won’t fall apart and look moderately presentable. This realization kinda of stinks, no?
Well, I had another funny realization this week as I basked in my middle class glory. I had been looking for a floor lamp for our living room for a few months. Our apt lighting is harsh and gross and not what I want in my face in the late evening/early morning (the only times I am usually home.) I tried to go vintage retro, but frankly the really lovely lamps were pretty pricey and the affordable ones needed to much TLC. A gal at the vintage store said she saw similar lamps at Target, so off I went. I got a small, stainless steel floor lamp with a modern, petite lamp shade. It’s cute, but really just “okay.” The lamp only cost $40 and isn’t even featured on the site. Last night I received our CB2 catalog and found a similar, but more expensive lamp which I thought was kind of funny. I mean CB2 is kind of the poor man’s designer choice (I hope that doesn’t offend anymore–I love CB2!), so it got me wondering where this lamp really got it’s start. Just for fun I found a similar style at Design Within Reach for $500+. That is right, I can’t even afford to purchase the knock-off, I have stooped to the knock-off of the knock-off. *sigh*
p.s. Yes, the shades are different, but my shade looks more like the first one.
My apologies for the creepy picture, but I thought this was better than posting a pic of a real person whom I don’t know. I am so excited to be able to tell people freely now and also to explain why my posts have been so sporadic and sub-par (not to mention that I have completely ignored the horrible google ads that have been on my page–what is the deal with that?!). I have definitely been hit pretty hard with the first trimester issues and I am trying my darndest to pull myself back up again. I think January is going to be a good month. So please do not fear that this blog will somehow be turned into a mommy blog or that my pregnancy is going to drown out all of my other interests (you should know me better than that!) but I can’t say that a little venting/celebrating will not slip through every now and again.
So my vacation may have been a little more extended than planned. I am sure you all missed me very much. My trip to NYC was lovely, I had the chance to spend time with almost all of my ladies. I ate lots of food, walked the city and of course had a little pampering. I am ashamed to say that I did not take one photo the entire trip! I actually didn’t even do much shopping, I had no idea how easy it would be to revert back to my old habits while there, but for a short bit it felt like I never left. Although that ended when I made the poor choice of going into the union square Forever 21 which was a mad house and the line to purchase was 50-deep. I had a small anxiety spasm and promptly left–then I realized how great Chicago is. ha!
So for the second time in a year, I bid farewell to NYC.
I just asked for the BabyCakes recipe book for my birthday, so I was doing a search on where it could be purchased online and I found this video of the author, Erin McKenna and her bakery staff ummm….frosting cupcakes? It is really hilarious. Make sure you have your speakers on to get the full effect. Happy Friday!