Tracy gets Twisted

While in college I worked at a swanky jewelry store. As employees, we got to wear anything we wanted on our shift....$5,000 cocktail rings, $1,000 strings of pearls, $10,000 chandelier earrings, tennis bracelets and Rolex watches. It was every girl's dream.
I hated it. 
You put "real" jewelry on me and I don't feel ritzy and chic, I feel like a nervous imposter. One day I left for an errand wearing those crazy chandelier earrings and nearly had a heart attack. Give me Target baubles any day. (But I did score a great employee discount on our wedding bands, so that was a bonus!)
Which brings me to my point. The other day I discovered Twisted Silver, a store full of beautiful, yet affordable, jewelry. Rarely do I click over to a site and love every single thing they have for sale, but that's the case here. Love love love! So, I decided to use them in a post (along with my cha cha shoes that I went back and bought at Burlington Coat Factory with a $10 off coupon!) Click on over to their site and let me know what your favorite thing is! (These are my favorite!)


The scoop:
Hepburn Earrings, Twisted Silver
Retro Bracelet, Twisted Silver
Metal Bead Skinny Belt, Forever 21
Paisley Floral Skirt, Forever 21
Slouchey Leatherette Tote, Forever 21
Thekkady Vest, Modcloth
Crochet Lace Trim Shirt, Old Navy
Wedges, Burlington Coat Factory

(And no, Twisted Silver did not sponsor me to do this post, I just love their stuff!)

Give me Liberty!

Head on over to Urban Darling  to check out how I recreated this outfit featuring Target's Liberty of London line worn by Naomi Watts, on the cheap. (And bonus nerd points if you can tell me the significance of "Give me Liberty!" on this day, March 23rd!)

Jenni's Blue Leather Jacket

Jenni's screen shot...she's serious about finding this jacket! 

The other day Jenni, my daughter's godmother, law student extraordinaire, stylish gal and wonderful friend said, "I think I remember you saying you watch the Good Wife, and I remember you did an outfit based on the show for your blog...well if you watched last week and need an idea sometime for Tracy on the Cheap, Kalinda was wearing this awsome deep blue leather jacket and I would love to find an affordable version of it!"
First off, I'm so honored that Jenni asked for my help. She is always dressed to the nines, and I often steal ideas from her to use on the blog (thanks Jen!). She sent me some screen shots of the jacket since I haven't stayed up past 10 pm in, oh, almost forever. Here's the options I found for the the blue leather jacket, both under $100. Hope you like them, Jenni! 

The scoop: 
Ruched Trim Crop Jacket, Arden B $68
Jolene Leatherette Jacket, Forever 21 $32.50

Guest Post on Urban Darling!

Remember back in the day when I'd take a designer outfit and make it over so us regular people could actually afford it? Click on over to Urban Darling to find out how I cheaped down this look from Dolce & Gabbana...for under $100!

Adventures in Bargain Shopping

Yesterday I tried on these shoes at the new Burlington Coat Factory in my town. (Which was surprisingly clean, well lit, and well stocked. At least when I went during the day. My brother and his girlfriend went later that evening and said it was a little sketchy...that's bargain shopping for you. Brings out the cheap and the scary.) 
Anywho, I fell in love with these shoes, but since I couldn't think of anywhere I could wear them this summer (balancing a baby on one hip in 4 inch wedges? I think not) I passed them up in favor of a coat. From the coat factory. So original. But it's a cute white faux leather coat, so I'm happy. (Plus I got to use a $10 off coupon. Whoop!)
Then today I heard that Charlotte Russe is taking 50% off sale stuff online. I clicked over and found the same shoes for $13.49.  Go check out the sale here! I have yet to buy them...I'm still debating. Should I?

Simple Saturday

It's Champagne Saturday at BonBon Rose, where bloggers share the outfit they're wearing and what they are drinking while enjoying their Saturday.
The outfit above is what I'm actually wearing today, right down to the Payless earrings. My big job of the day was grocery shopping at Trader Joe's for just six things, but instead I left with six  full grocery bags. Oops. Like my momma always says, don't grocery shop while you're hungry. I drank some fantastic tangerine juice on the way home, so that's my drink of the day.

The scoop:
BCBG Sunglasses, Ross (I know! 5 bucks!)
Old Navy Diva Jeans, Discovery Shop
Earrings, Payless
Purse, Payless
Flats, Target
Shirt, Old Navy clearance
Cardigan, Old Navy
Scarf, Old Navy

Double Dose of Modcloth!

I've been a bad blogger lately, so I'm doubling up on you today! Modcloth has these gals they call Modstylists, who basically act as online personal shopping assistants. Lately they've been going head to head, styling different looks with one common item. I thought, "I could do that, too!" So here's my attempt at being a Modstylist. Although they're not cheap (you don't even know how hard it was for me to type a number that started with a "3" after the dollar sign), they are fun. (My husband says the second one reminds him of Alice in Wonderland. Perhaps...)
So here's the question...which one do you like better, look 1, or look 2? 


**On a side note, I'm only 6 fans away from 200 on the Facebook fan page, and 2 followers away from 50. If  you haven't joined yet, click over and make it happen! Thanks!**


The scoop for look 1:
Fabray Cardigan
Blooming Beauty Top
Photographer's Muse Skirt
In Stitches Heels
Wishing Well Bag
Edie Earrings in Muse
Necklace of Happiness
I Wove You Belt


The scoop for look 2

Nectar of the Gauze Tunic

The Style Solution Skirt

Morning Train Heel

Antoine Watcheau Necklace

Rose Around the Ring

Train Hopping Bag

SJP's Pearls

I have a confession to make...I've never understood the whole Sarah Jessica Parker thing. Perhaps it's because I've never really had cable, and can count the number of Sex in the City episodes I've seen on one hand. But the other night, I finally got it. On that new show "Who do you think you are?", SJP (now that I get it I can refer to her by an acronym) wore the same strand of pearls throughout the whole show. In New York. In Northern CA (hey, ya!). In Boston. In Salem. She was never over dressed...in fact, she dressed very casually, save the strand of pearls. That's my kind of fashion, wearing the same thing every day and still looking good! So I found some cheapo  fake pearls on Ebay and threw together a casual look for less than $100. (Also my kind of fashion...cheap.) 
What do you think? Does it work? Would SJP approve of TOTC?


The scoop:
Vintage Felt Hat, Forever 21
Skinny Jeans, Old Navy
Ballet Flats, Target
Scarf, Forever 21
Rose Dome Handbag, Tilly's
3/4 Sleeve Beaded Shoulder Tee, Forever 21
Skinny Faux Leather Belt, Forever 21
Faux Pearl Necklace, Ebay

Bon Bon Saturday Fun

Bon Bon Rose is a blog I'm totally digging lately, and they have a cool theme called Champagne Saturdays...basically, you share what you're wearing (and drinking!) on Saturday! 
The outfit above is what I'd be wearing if I weren't still in my pajama's. (It's not noon yet, so I still have some time to change before I'm really a lazy bum). And we have a fridge full of Guinness, so that's my drink of choice. (Really I'm drinking my third cup of coffee...but sipping a pint of Guinnessy goodness in that cute outfit above would make for a great Saturday afternoon!)


The scoop:
Sunglasses, Forever 21
Three Piece Metal Earring Set, Payless
Stella Gladiator Sandal, Payless
Origami Applique Cardigan, Old Navy
Distressed Bootcut Jeans, Old Navy
Epoxy and Rhinestone Bangles, Charlotte Russe
Whipstich Tassel Hobo, Charlotte Russe
Ring, Forever 21
Top, Forever 21

Guest Post on Urban Darling!

Click on over to Urban Darling to check out my latest guest post, which features an amazing deal that can't be missed! What you think blogland?

At the Opera

Have I ever been to the opera? No. Would I have any idea what to wear to the opera? No. Did I just want to use the word "opera" in a post? Yes. 
I've had an uninspired blogging week, and I'm sorry for my absence. Some weeks I can't wait to fire up Photoshop and throw outfits together...some weeks the ideas flow and the colors match and I'm inspired and creative. This was not that week. This week the baby was cranky and mommy was cranky, too. Funny how that works out. 
Today everything comes from Forever 21. Maybe someday Forever 21 will catch on to the free advertising I'm giving them by using their cheap clothes in fun ways. Hear that, F-21? Want to put an ad on my blog? That would be awesome. (That's probably not the way to go about getting advertisers, but hey, I'm not doing this for the money. If I was doing this for the money, this week would have gotten me fired.) 


The scoop: 
Metallic Bubble Dress
Ruffled Satin Shrug
Vivianne Jewel Earrings
Flower Burst Ring
Satin Bow Pumps
Embellished Satin Clutch

It's Summer in Australia!

Amiee said, "I'm attending a 'cocktail style' wedding here in Australia in a month and am a bit ashamed to say I'm not sure what the difference is to a 'normal' wedding (apart from obviously it's not a sit down dinner). Any help with suitable clothing would be appreciated! And we are coming to the end of a very hot Summer at the moment!"
An international request? How exciting! As I was looking through W magazine the other day (don't worry, I'm not going all high fashion on you. My mom started getting W sent to her for some unknown reason, and since giving my mother a fashion magazine is like sending Playboy to the Pope, it sits there, unread, until I visit.) I digress. W had a ton of pages that featured black and cream with hints of red and mint. So I did my best to be all trendy and make Amiee an outfit befitting an Australian cocktail style wedding. (Which I think must be a little less dressy than a regular wedding, perhaps?)
What do you think blogland? Does this work for a cocktail wedding? What is a cocktail style wedding, anyway? 

The scoop:
Tile Hoop Earrings, Nordstrom
Straw Hat, Kohls
Contrast Floral Linen Dress, Forever 21
Patent Leather Belt, Kohls
Peep Toe Pumps, Target
Flap Satchel, Target
Flower Disc Ring, Charlotte Russe