Shoe Envy

Are you seeing these shoes? Arghg! Shoe love! It would have been too easy to pair these with a LBD, so I tried to make them work-friendly. Would you wear them?
So I keep seeing that clip from the new Sex and  the City movie where Carrie is blown away by the concept of $20 shoes. Umm...I think Carrie and I might not be shopping buddies. I passed up a pair of $13 shoes yesterday because I was feeling cheap (these red flats).  Not that I wouldn't love a pair of really expensive shoes. I would. As long as someone else was paying.
Tell me blogland...what's the most you've ever spent on shoes? Was it worth it?

The scoop...all from that great place called Forever 21:
Heels
Jacket
Wooden Belt
Cami
Wire Cuff
Dome Ring
Ruffle Purse

Wedding Wear on the Cheap

As promised, here's how you outfit yourself and your spouse for a glamorous wedding, on the cheap:

Husband
Suit, Target: $50 on clearance
Shirt, Goodwill: $2.50
Tie, Target clearance: $12
Vintage Florsheim Shoes, Cancer store: $10
Total: $74.50

Me
Max and Chloe Dress, Ross: $40
Earrings, Walmart: $4
Jacket, Walmart, $4
Gold Wedges, Payless, $20
Total: $68


I'd like to think that it looks like we spent way more than that on our outfits than we really did. AND...I bought the dress with a gift card, so it hardly even counts. Score! My husband (isn't he a cutie?) is way proud of his $10 shoes. It's hard to find size 13's that aren't super ugly, so when they're quality and cheap, it's really a banner day.
Can I just add that my cut and color ran me only $35? Yeah, my hair lady is the bomb (even if I'm subjected to 45 minutes of conspiracy theories and town gossip, it's still worth it).

Well hello!

It's been quite a while since I fired up PhotoShop and put together an outfit. Doesn't it suck when real life gets in the way of your hobbies? Argh. Please forgive my mixed fonts in the image. This is the inaugural (holy cow that's a hard word to spell!) post on my new iMac. I've moved off my little laptop PC and onto a formidable 24" screen. I LOVE it. Why the move? Thanks to this little ol' blog here I've learned that I love design, working with colors, and creating things on my computer. Thus I've made the decision to launch a new career path very soon. Exciting stuff! My summer is devoted to learning everything I possibly can about the Adobe Creative Suite. Luckily I have a teacher husband home from school to provide child care and an office where I can sequester myself and study, study, study. When I emerge in August I hope to have a working knowledge of all things design. Bring it on, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, and InDesign. I love you PhotoShop, but I'm sure there's lots more to learn about you, too. Any advice as I widen my horizons and embark into this exciting new chapter?


The scoop: 
Nautical Earrings, Max & Chloe
Tank, Old Navy
Cardigan, Old Navy
Trouser Bermudas, Old Navy
Scarf, Old Navy
Sunglasses, Old Navy
Slingback Flats, Payless
Whale Tote, Etsy Via lalunedesigns

The Parental's

Those are my parent's. Aren't they cute? I have their permission to blog about them today (remember that Mom and Dad? Not sure if that was before or after the open bar). They were quite proud of their on the cheap wedding attire, so here's the scoop:
My dad got that tie either a. (mom's version) from an office supply store that was going out of business for 10 cents or b. (dad's version) he stole it from a box of them that a union was using to hang their signs. Either way, it's a pretty awesome tie, and he has a collection of them in other colors to boot. The mint green one is especially nice.
My mom's dress is vintage, and she bought it when I was seven, when it was over 30 years old. Doing the math makes it from the late 40's/early 50's. And knowing my mom she didn't pay more than $10. Her necklace was her mother's day present from yours truly, so I won't tell you how much it cost, suffice to say it was less than $10 and more than $5. Proud, Mom?
Some things I learned about my parents that night:
-Dad likes margaritas. A lot. He also likes to refresh his drink and chat up strangers when my mom decides it's time to go. He's a hoot.
-Mom hates nylons. She took them off and threw them in the trash. That's where I get my class. She also has a two beer limit. The volume of her voice is directly related to the number of beers she's consumed. That's what makes her fun.
Really though, my parents have been married for thirty years and are the most moral, upstanding, hard working people I know. They both have an amazing work ethic, and they truly enjoy each other. Without setting out to, they have taught my husband and I countless lessons on marriage and life. Love you guys.

Once upon a time I had this blog...

I made the image above for my friend Rebecca, who was married this past weekend in the most beautiful, loving, and fun-filled wedding I've ever been to. Becca, I hope it's ok I used your wedding images on my blog. And a side note: I totally jacked all those photos off Facebook and Flickr. So if you took them, please don't sue me. 


It's been a long month. Many times during the past 30 days I've considered ending the blog. No more. Kaput. But then, my dad (of all people) told me I shouldn't quit. Maybe, he said, just post once a week. (This was after I'd been introduced as "Tracy on the Cheap" to two different people at the aforementioned wedding...I guess there are people out there who read the blog after all!)
So, I'm back, and things are going to be different around here. I've got some new kettles on the stove to tend to, some exciting changes coming my way (and some other not so exciting ones), so there may be more snarky posting and less outfit putting together than in the past. Which reminds me, I'm sorry to all the people I promised outfits to. I'm fired. Seriously. I'm planning to get them out, slowly (although I understand that I totally dropped the ball on the events in May. Oops).
So there you have it. I'll post some more about the wedding later this week, including my parent's on the cheap wedding outfits and the dress I found at Ross that totally made my year.
And oh yes, I made a bet with my husband back at the beginning of April that I wouldn't buy any clothes until the end of August. I'll tell you all about that, too.