Shoesday Tuesday: They'll Always Haunt Me...

For months and months, I found myself stumbling across the same pair of ridiculous heels at Marshalls. It was like they just wouldn't leave me alone. They were by Steve Madden and they were so cool-60's-mod, that I knew they would work with plenty of outfits and dresses in my closet. Here's proof:

Just look at that heel!!! The color, the shape, everything about these shoes just screams my name. But guess what- I never bought them. Every time I saw them on the shelf, I put them on. I walked around the store. I showed my friends. I showed my other friends. I showed strangers. I just couldn't pull the trigger. You see, they were unbearably painful to wear. They are the kind of shoes you wear to sit down all day. Guess what I never do. That's right- sit down all day. (Unless you count my lazy days off spent in sweat pants on the couch.) I just couldn't justify them. I thought, "These shoes deserve to belong to someone who will not only love them, but who will WEAR them." That person just isn't me. 

I know what you're thinking, "What about wearing them out on a date?!?" I know- that thought crossed my mind. But my boyfriend lives in the mountains of North Carolina. Shoes like these just don't work in the mountains. I'd break an ankle just walking from the front door to the car. No joke. It would NOT be pretty. And isn't that the point of shoes like this? To look and feel pretty? 

I suppose they'll forever haunt me as "the ones that got away." At least I have them documented here and I can look at them any time I want. And now, so can you. You're welcome. 

Happy Shoesday Tuesday! 

Necklace Twinsies!

In June I took a trip down to North Carolina to visit my boyfriend and his awesome kids for a week. It was a great trip and I even managed to do a little shopping while I was there. In Boone, NC, there is an adorable little Main Street with even more adorable little shops including the kids' favorite- The Candy Barrel. My favorite was M.C. Adams Clothier. It was such an adorable, fashionable little shop right in the middle of the mountains. I couldn't believe my eyes. I found an amazing necklace there and when I got back from my trip, Juhree instantly tried to steal it. Fortunately, the owner of the store was super helpful and nice and helped me buy another version of the necklace for Juhree and even shipped it up to New Hampshire for me. And here we are in all our necklace-twinsie-glory:

We are a couple of babes, that's for sure. I'm sure you've seen this style necklace. After I bought it, they literally flooded the market. I've seen them on TV, all over the fashion magazines and everywhere on the internet. I'd like to think I led the charge in making these necklaces so popular. You're welcome. 

Today is the last day of my trip to North Carolina. Hopefully I can convince the Professor to let me hop over to M.C. Adams before I go and see if they have any other swoon-worthy goodies I can snatch up! 

More About the Professor and Me

Are you sick of hearing about me and the Professor yet? I know it's totally vomit-inducing at times. I have a few friends who want to barf all the time over the romantic things he and I do for each other. I am not typically a very cheesy person, but I have my moments of weakness, just like anyone else. 

This was one: 

How cute is that? I ordered it from Rar Rar Press on Etsy- the artist will stamp the postcard wherever you like! 

OK, enough about that, I want to tell you about a "dress" I saw while strolling through Copley with my BFF Beth back in September. I snapped the photo and then promptly forgot all about it:

What you are looking at is a photo of a dress made out of tree bark. How cool is that? There was a display in the mall at Copley with designs by students from one of the local fashion schools. As a blogging failure, you can understand why I didn't make sure to get any information about the school or this particular designer. I'm working on being better, I swear. 

Anyway, it was quite obviously the "unconventional materials challenge" from Project Runway, as there were dresses made of recycled water bottle labels, paper clips, and all sort of other random items. This dress was the clear stunner, though. It just looks so impressive and you have to give the designer credit for making something that actually looks wearable (whether it actually is or not). I think it's completely amazing- it's edgy, it's innovative, and it's tailored BARK! That's just incredible. 

So what do you think of it? I can't imagine someone ever wearing it, but who cares! This is the kind of piece that is truly art, not just fashion. Well done, nameless designer. You rocked that challenge! 

Traveling Style

As you know, this weekend I'm in North Carolina visiting the Professor. I keep coming back to the feeling of amazement that we've been doing this long-distance-dating thing for over a year now! It really flew by! The whole situation has me reflecting on the first time I flew down there to meet face-to-face. I was careful to put together three perfect outfits for the trip- one for our romantic first dinner date, one for a casual day hanging out and one "airport" or "traveling" outfit. For the "airport" outfit I wanted something comfortable as I was going to be traveling for several hours that day, but I also wanted something pretty, feminine and that showed my personal style. This was going to be the first time he saw me in person, so I needed it to be just right. I wanted casual, but eye-catching, and of course effortless- I didn't want to look like I was trying too hard, of course. (Oh, the silly games we play.) I put together an outfit that ended up being perfect.

Travel Outfit by rtboo featuring a denim jacket

The picture above isn't the exact outfit I wore, but it has all the essential elements. I chose a casual, jersey dress, but the color was key- it was a rich shade of red that was perfect as my "eye-catching" element. What better color for romance than red, right? I wanted to keep the look casual, so I opted for my favorite denim jacket and then I kept the accessories simple- brown belt, tan boots and earrings.

The Professor was actually surprised when I said I was planning to change for dinner into something a little nicer. He's a mountain man who doesn't really dress up all that often. He's always been very supportive of my fashion obsession- an important quality in a boyfriend.

Do you remember the outfit you were wearing when you met your better half? Leave a comment and tell me all about it!

Jet Set Love

Tonight I'm flying out to North Carolina to visit the Professor- I can hardly believe we've been dating for over a year now. Last year on a Friday in the beginning of November, I flew down there to meet him for the first time. It was a quick, but awesome trip.

A little back story: While shopping with my gals from work one summer day, I found an amazing dress on sale at Ann Taylor. I tried it on and it fit like a glove. They convinced me to buy it, of course, but I insisted that this was a "date dress" and that if I bought it, we all had to commit to making sure I wore it on a date before the end of the year.

Fast forward to Labor Day weekend and again, I'm hanging out with the gals from work. We're out to brunch the Sunday of Labor Day weekend at the Friendly Toast in Portsmouth. At this point, I still have not worn "the date dress." Sadie and Juhree were trying to convince me to join match.com, and was flatly refusing. I'd done it before and hated it, I argued. Finally, Sadie said, "Renee, I'm a BRIDAL consultant. Do you know that at least once a week I ask a bride how she met her fiance and she says it was online?" I finally agreed to sign up again and the conversation moved on to what type of guy I'd be interested in dating. After listing a few qualities like sense-of-humor, kind-hearted, etc. maybe a teacher or someone with a similar background and education to me. At that point, Sadie practically shouted, "The Professor! That's his nickname! He has to be able to wear a bow tie. He's probably an English teacher at UNH or something. And that is what we'll call him. The Professor."

Well, the rest is history. I went home after brunch and re-activated my match.com account. I updated my profile a bit and within an hour, I had a message from him. He's an elementary school music teacher- the Professor. We chatted over match.com and email for about a week and then he asked for my number. We had our first phone date less than a week after we'd "met."

We continued to date via phone and email for about another week until he convinced me to get a webcam for my laptop so we could Skype. After about three weeks, we both admitted to turning off our match.com accounts and about a week later, we we talking about one of us flying to visit the other. I was nervous to fly 1,000 miles to meet someone from the internet, and I can still remember the butterflies and goosebumps I had in the days leading up to that trip.

The night before I flew down, he and I were texting back and forth about where we would be going for dinner on our first date. He suggested we go out for hot wings, since I'd mentioned my love for them on my match.com profile. I was horrified. I tried to let him know that in a gentle way, by saying that I wanted to feel at least a little "starry-eyed" on our first official date. (Also, I had "the date dress" that I just HAD to wear!) He took the hint and booked a reservation at a really nice restaurant in downtown Charlotte. I wish I'd taken more pictures from that trip- it was a whirlwind and it still gives me butterflies and goosebumps when I think about it. The Professor took one photo on his phone that night, but it was a good one- the view from the restaurant at dinner:

And yes, I wore the "date dress" to dinner. I guess if it weren't for my love of fashion, the Professor and I might never have met.

A fabulous new bag....

I mentioned a few days ago that I haven't done much shopping lately, or rather much buying. I've been so content with the contents of my closet that I just haven't found much of anything that I just can't walk away from.

Until about a month ago....

I was down in Boston visiting Beth for the day- we went to a make-up workshop and then we hit the consignment shops on Newbury Street. When I got dressed that morning, I put my outfit together, looked in the mirror and said to myself, "If only I had a nice, brown handbag." I didn't mean just any old handbag, but a high-quality one. A nice leather that looks rich and luxurious. I have a classy black leather Coach bag, an awesome leopard print Betsey Johnson, a gorgeous green Michael Kors,  and this amazing Kate Spade bag that Juhree got me for my birthday last year:

I know it seems like I'm dropping a lot of names, but the truth is that these bags have (and will) last me a long time because they are well-made and classic pieces, not because of the name printed on them. Judge me all you like.

Anyway, back to my story. So, I'm looking in the mirror thinking about how much better my outfit would be if only I had a nice, brown handbag. But unfortunately, I did NOT have one, so I had to make do with a less awesome yellow one. After the make-up class, Beth and I were in Second Time Around on Newbury Street just doing a little browsing. From across the room, I saw it and I just had to get a closer look. It was an absolutely gorgeous brown leather bag- a little slouchy, but with enough structure that it wasn't completely boho-looking. It just stood out from all the other bags on the shelf. I knew this was going to be a great find. Turns out it was another Kate Spade. The condition was flawless and the price was perfect- $189. I debated for a while, then decided to go for it. When we left the store, Beth admitted to me, "If you didn't get it, I probably would have, just to keep it in the family." No joke. It's funny how things work out sometimes- I needed a gorgeous brown handbag and the perfect one just fell in my lap mere hours after I came to that conclusion. Amazing. So, do you want to see it? I thought so...

And here I am in Chicago posing like a lunatic in front of the "Bean" with my gorgeous Kate: 

She's really perfect. I hope to have her for many years to come. Have you found any amazing handbag deals lately? Or just amazing handbags? I love a good bag almost as much as I love a good shoe. Almost.

Comment below, kids. I need the affirmation.

Beauty Product Review: Sephora Waterproof Eye Make-Up Remover

I've been getting more and more into make-up and beauty products over the last year or so, particularly eye make-up. One of my favorite things to do as part of my morning routine is my eye make-up. I tend to stick with fairly neutral palettes, but sometimes I get a little crazy. I've tried about a million different mascaras and eye liners over the last year, not to mention all the different shadow and primer options. It's a fun way to start the day and since I've always thought my eyes were my best feature, it's fun to highlight them each day.

I've never been great about make-up removal and I'm notoriously bad when it comes to washing my face at night. I just don't do it. There, I said it. I just don't. I sleep in my make-up 90% of the time. It's shameful, I know, but it's the truth. Lately, I've been using more waterproof eye make-up products including Stila's Smudge Pot and Urban Decay's liquid liner. I've also tried a few waterproof mascaras. I used to depend on my morning shower to get my face nice and clean for the day, but with all those waterproof products, I was having trouble getting all that make-up completely off.

I was given a couple of sample bottles of eye make-up remover from a friend and decided to try them out. The first was by Clinique:

Sephora, $18

Let's just say I was NOT a fan. It claims to be a "sting-free" formula. Lies. It not only stung, it didn't really work all that well. I was left with clumps of mascara and eye liner all over my eye. Gross. I still have 90% of the bottle remaining. I'm glad it was a gift. 

Next, I tried the Lancome BI-FACIL remover. This was a much better experience. 

Sephora, $27

This product activates when you shake it up. The ingredients separate, much like oil and water would and in order to be effective, you need to shake them together. This product works like a dream and easily and effectively removes all traces of even the toughest water-proof eye make-up. I used the entire bottle up in about 2 weeks time- about 2 ounces of remover. I hopped online to replenish my supply and was horrified at the price. $27 for a mere 4.2 ounces! I guess you get what you pay for, but at that rate, I would be spending between $30 and $60 per month to take off my eye make-up! Arrgh!!!

I decided to shop around. That is when I discovered Sephora's own version of the Lancome remover. For the same amount of product, I only spent $9.50! 

Sephora, $9.50

Much like the Lancome, this product has to be shaken in order for it to be effective. A few drops on a cotton ball are all I need to completely remove my eye make-up. It's a much more affordable option, and it is also available in a smaller version which is great for travel. (I do NOT want the TSA confiscating my beauty products because they are 1.2 ounces over the legal limit.) It does the job, quickly and cleanly and I highly recommend it. It's also safe for contact-lens-wearers (like me). Bonus! 

What is your go-to make-up remover? What do you love about it? Leave a comment and tell me!