Hello, boys....I'm BACK!

I needed a break from blogging for a while because all of a sudden, it was stressing me out. I was stressed that I wasn't posting regularly, that my readership was down, that I wasn't being creative enough...and I realized that's not why I wanted to blog in the first place. I wanted to blog because sometimes I have ideas and find things that I want to share that won't fit in a Facebook status. Sometimes, I like to have an outlet. I don't need to be creative, but if it happens, then it's nice to have an outlet. 

Also, frankly, I missed it. 

So, to start with! I was perusing Forever 21 the other day (for bags, what else?) and found that they had a number of really decent looking designer dupes. Thought I'd share! Because that's what the internet is for! 

So the original is a Lucky Brand purse, which at the moment is retailing on Ebay for around $140. The dupe is $24.80. It's not an identical dupe, but it's pretty stinking close.  

This is the very popular Philip Lim 3.1 Pashli bag, which retails new at $895. He did a designer collaboration with Target last summer, which was wildly successful, and his Target bags sell on Ebay for anywhere between $130 to over $200. Which BLOWS MY MIND because the fact remains that IT'S A TARGET BAG. Or, for $24.90, you can get one at F21 in four different colors, and it's an almost identical dupe to the Target edition. WINNING. 

This last one is not the best dupe ever, but hear me out.

The original is the Dolce & Gabbana Sara bag, which sells for well over $1000. The dupe is $29.90 from F21 and comes in black or brown. This one is not a great match, but it would still be absolutely suitable for anyone trying to steal Taylor Swift's bag swag: 

Credit

On a related note, I realized that I like the way Taylor Swift dresses and had this moment: 

Good to be back! 

Latest and greatest treasure find...

I'm just so excited about what I found at Goodwill today that I had to share. It's...

...this adorable bag! I'm kind of on a vintage bag kick right now. I just love the classy, lady-like vibe they give off, and they're usually more structured, which is both practical and really "in" right now. They make me feel like I need to wear actual pantyhose (does anyone actually wear these anymore?), and red lipstick, and just be generally more like Rita Hayworth, Hedy Lamarr, and Katharine Hepburn.

Center closed.

Okay, so it has an outside pocket (sunglasses and cell phone), two open outer pockets, and then an inner pocket which closes with a kisslock clasp. SO CUTE. And it's pretty roomy for a vintage purse, which is nice because we generally carry a lot more crap with us now than they did then.

Center open!

Bonus pic with Bixby.

Plus, the color is a big departure for me. I usually tend to favor blacks and camel brown in handbags just because they go with everything. When I do color, it's usually like, purples, blues, or leopard print (which I consider to be a neutral, so sue me). But this color is so pretty in person! It's like Burgundy and Carnelian had a love-child. Perfect for fall/winter! 

Best part? THE PRICE! I got it for $4!!! 

I found similar ones on Etsy, but they run about $25 plus shipping. So I think I got a pretty good deal. Just wanted to share, because I love good finds like that! 

(Aforementioned Etsy bags here and here.)

Green is the colour

I've been really inspired by hunter/forest/dark green lately. It's such an enchanting color. It reminds me of mystery, magic, the woods, and Slytherin (of course). 

Also, I'm looking for a purse in this shade, so if any of my shopping minions come across one for under $40, let me know. ;)

Minion love for my minions, GET IT??

Beautiful book haul!

If you couldn't tell by now, I love books (seriously, if you didn't know that, GET OUT). More than almost anything, except possibly animals. Almost certainly more than I love most people ("most" being the key word). 

Well, as every book lover knows, the quote by Erasmus is 100 million percent accurate: “When I have a little money, I buy books; and if I have any left, I buy food and clothes.”

I was browsing Etsy for some pretty, antique books to add to my collection (old books excite me more than they should), and I stumbled upon a couple of treasures from BittyBJoy. I tracked their shipping feverishly, but it was so expedient I only had to wait 3 DAYS! 

You can imagine my excitement when I came home to a package this afternoon. But then I opened it, and my elation was boundless. 

They came wrapped in these beautiful vintage handkerchiefs, with cheery orange ribbon! So pretty, and such a lovely surprise! Now I own HANKIES in addition to beautiful books!

The books I ordered were Essays of Elia and Last Essays by Charles Lamb, and Under the Sign of Jupiter by Susan Sontag. 

The one I was really excited about was the Charles Lamb book, which I'll admit I've wanted to read since I read about it in my beloved The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society. I ordered the other one, honestly, because I liked the cover art (I feel a bit shallow admitting this, but I REGRET NOTHING).

It's so pretty! I love the vintage cover art. It's an ex-library book, so I love that it's been held in so many hands before mine. It has all the quaint library stamps, too. And it's small enough that it can easily be toted around with me for when I get bored, or stuck in a line, etc!

Love, love, LOVE this book! So excited to add it to my collection!

And can we all just take a minute to examine the purely freaking majestic artwork of this book?

Not only is it royal purple, but it's a gentleman who appears to be observing a giant pocketwatch (or time itself?) slip into the ocean...all beneath the watch of SATURN. It's a book of essays on film criticism, which I'm afraid is a topic I know very little about, but I'm going to attempt to read it. If the inside does nothing for me, I'll either keep it just to look at or pass it along to someone who'd appreciate the content and not just the cover. 

I just had  to share my treasures with you. If you're into pretty, unique, or antique books, check  BittyBJoy out! It's an awesome and delightful shop, and it was such a pleasure to do business with them. 

Leaves become most beautiful when they're about to die.

I am a terrible blogger. No lie. Like, the worst.

It's been A WEEK since I posted. This is sad. Remember the good ol' days when I'd post like THREE or even FOUR times a week??

Apparently, being busy means there's less time for a) writing and b) observing things to write about.

Here's my life in a nutshell:
-I have 5 more "official" days of class, then finals, and then BOOM! I'm done! WHAAAT? This semester FLEW. I'm going to need to go have a library day so I can say goodbye, since that's the only thing I'll miss about UCF. (Can alums still use the library?? I must find out!)

-I got what might be considered a "promotion" at work. Hooray! I'm now an officially certified buyer and a key holder. Which makes me like a shift manager. Whee! That's exciting.
What's most exciting though is this awesome Plato's Closet Certified Buyer lanyard I get/have to wear. And lanyards mean flair. LET ME SHOW YOU MY FLAIR (mwhaha like you have a choice):

I got it all from this nifty Etsy shop. She has a great deal where you can pick any 6 pins for $5, which is a heck of a lot cheaper than you'd pay at Hot Topic or whatever. Plus, you couldn't get pins about reading, pugs, unicorns, and Star Wars ALL at Hot Topic. Oh, internet, how do I love thee? Anyway, check it out...they'd make cute stocking stuffers!

-I've been so tardy in posting these, but whatever, better now than at Christmas (click to enlarge!).

We tried to put Bixby in the bat costume (so we'd match) but he kept wriggling his way out of it and flopping his ears off. So since Millie is basically a piece of toast in a dog's costume, we put it on her and let Bixby be a bumble-bee again. I don't know what Chichi is supposed to be...my Mom has a whole wardrobe for her, so she just put her in her "posh frock."

Oh my God, I need a life.

-Dracula is such a quality book. If you've never read it, you seriously need to. It's "baller," as the kids say.

-I'm done with my Christmas shopping! This pleases me. The Christmas season, however, does not. So go away, all you with your overplayed Christmas songs and movies.
This is where I'd like to sequester myself until, like, February.


-However, Christmas means present wrapping, and I LOVE wrapping presents. So, I guess that's good. I guess.



OMG GUYS, WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH MY LIFE ONCE I GRADUATE??? EEP!

(Even though we all know the answer is 42.)

Maj preesh.

Here are 3 things that I like/appreciate right now.

1. Deals

Can we all just take a minute to appreciate bargain shopping? That sweet moment when you realize that thing you wanted is now SIGNIFICANTLY cheaper than it was originally? Awesomesauce.

2. Dry Shampoo

I love this one from Suave because a) it's only like $3, and b) it doesn't spray out like liquid flour into your hair. It's not actually powdery at all, really. So I'm not sure how it works but I LOVE it because it adds volume to the roots. And for whatever reason, since exiting puberty (ahh, that lovely time of one's life), my hair's gotten pretty straight and flat. Just on its own. I have NO idea what happened (maybe cutting it short defeated its spirit. Sad day). Either way, this stuff is awesome, especially if you backcomb/tease the roots after spraying it on. SUPER VOLUME! It's epic.

3. This image:



That is all. :)

Just thought I'd bullet out a few things.


-Mom and I are going to Vero Beach tomorrow for like 2-3 days. I'm pretty excited...haven't really gone anywhere else all summer. So this will be nice. Also, girl time. Which inevitably means SHOPPING. Also, there's a PIRATE TREASURE museum. Whee!
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-The other day my dad was talking about rappers, and he goes, "Well, there's only ONE real white rapper." My mind automatically goes:
He says, "M&M? What is that? I'm talking about Vanilla Ice!"

Omg, my parents.
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-I was at Target yesterday looking at school supplies (not like I need erasers or markers, but I have fun looking anyway. Also, to the brand that makes pocket folders with every breed of puppy on them except for pugs? WAIT UNTIL MY FATHER HEARS ABOUT THIS.). So while I didn't get any school supplies, I had a rather fortuitous moment out in the parking lot. I FOUND a pair of Betsey Johnson sunglasses! They were alone. And ownerless. So I kept them. Does that make me a horrible person? They were in the PARKING LOT. I'd like to think this is karma working in my favor for all the times I've lost stuff. I secretly hope they belonged to the bitch who stole my wallet like 7 years ago (I WILL NEVER FORGET).

They're super cute. WINNING.
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-This is such a quality movie. Even the opening credits are awesome. Even though I had a friend in elementary school who told me I'd to to hell for watching it because Angela Lansbury plays a witch. Whatevs.

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-I've started my reading for the Archaeology of Caribbean Pirates class. I am SO excited for this class! Unfortunately, the text I started with is Archaeology of the Caribbean. Luckily, I have an interest in archaeology and ancient civilization. That being said, it's pretty boring. I only care so much for hypotheses formed from trash heaps found in Jamaica about people who lived there 8000 years ago. Like, you really deduced that these people had complex burial rituals and ate extinct giant sloths FROM A SHELL you found in a dump??? REALLY?? I want the pirates to come in and pillage the author of this book, like that scene in Monty Python and the Holy Grail (don't ask why it's in Spanish...).

I haven't started my Gothic Lit class yet, namely because my books haven't arrived yet. But I'm pretty stoked about that, too. :)))
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That's all that's new with me as of right now. I'm so excited for school to start that it's pretty sad. I should make a promise to myself to never let my life reach that point of boredom again.
The key word there being "should."

Those of you who know me know I love to shop. So how could I do a whole Harry Potter feature without doing a highlight on merchandise??
My humble collection of HP stuff (which is mostly bookish in nature): Quidditch Though the Ages and Fantastical Beasts and Where to Find Them; my Ravenclaw scarf; Hogwarts crest pin; house cups (which were a great buy, btw, because I actually USE them); and my collection of HP lit crit books.

Here are some things I want/thought were cool and wanted to share. Click the pics to go to their respective places of purchasing.
I would literally prostitute myself for these books. No, I'm just kidding. I wouldn't even come close to prostituting myself for them. I wouldn't even go on a date for them. But they are pretty awesome, right??


I love this artwork. It's really detailed and just cool.



^^Lol.







Or you can get one with the Golden Trio (plus Ginny) here!


Check out Etsy (obviously), Hot Topic, and the WWOHP online store (overpriced though I believe it to be) for more! Or if you're poor like me, you can laugh at/snark/envy other people's stuff at this Potter merch Tumblr.

Do you have something HP-related that you love, or something that's on your wish list? Feel free to leave a comment!

"To the winner goes the spoils."

I was absolutely not intending to do a post this weekend. But then I had an amazing shopping win and couldn't help it.

I got these earrings at Plato's for $8, which is admittedly steep for USED earrings. But they had absolutely no wear, and I like this kind of clasp best (it's the most comfortable) and the crowns were too cute to pass up. So I snapped them up.

Then, I was in Dillards and saw them and realized two very important things:
1. They are Betsey Johnson.
2. They retail at FORTY DOLLARS.

Suddenly, $8 is a great deal, right? :DDDD


WIN!



PS: I soaked them in alcohol. Just in case.