Gymboree Red Balloon Sale Haul!

Gymboree's Red Balloon Sale is going on in stores NOW and you can save up to 70% off the retail prices! All items from their winter lines from last year are being clearances out and some stores even have some great summer finds as well! This year's summer lines are marked down as well (although not as deeply discounted, they are around 30% off) - and there are a lot of great bargains to be found!

Here's our RBS haul from this year's sale:

Check it out at your local store now, each store has varying stock and once they run out of stock the sale is over... so the earlier you get there, the better the selection!

Reader Request: Accessorizing a Maxi Dress

Thanks to reader Brea Amour for another great blog request!

She recently purchased a maxi dress for summer and was wondering what kind of accessories to put with it! Maxi dresses are great, because they are light and airy, and can be appropriate for a variety of situations. They can be dressed up or down... and are comfortable as well!

The maxi dress she purchased was by 'Stem' from Nordstrom's:

Picture courtesy of reader Brea Amour

She also purchased a white pullover shirt to put over the dress for more casual occasions, which will also be great to keep the sun off!

Picture courtesy of reader Brea Amour

I love the idea of dressing up a maxi dress with adorable wedges and a cute clutch - or wearing it casually with a jeweled sandal and large sun hat. A statement piece of jewelry can also really work with a maxi dress, but I prefer one really great piece of jewelry with it versus alot of small pieces of jewelry. A long necklace or chunky, adorned bracelet can add interest.

Some of my favorite wedges to go with darker colored maxi dresses this season are bronze metallic:

www.nordstrom.com, KORS 'Wilshire' Sandal, $195

This wedge by Seychelles is also a great neutral color (Vachetta) that could work with a number of outfits:

www.nordstrom.com, Seychelles 'Purr' Wedge, $94.95

These flat sandals make a maxi dress more casual and I love the details on these:

www.zappos.com, Bernardo Mardi, $139

And what would a cute summer dress be, without a cute clutch to carry your personal items around in?

www.nordstrom.com, Tory Burch Rattan Flap Clutch, $275

And these statement pieces of jewelry could finish off the look:

www.nordstrom.com, Nordstrom Big & Bold Channel Cuff, $58

And this cuff is a bit more serious...

www.nordstrom.com, Argento Vivo 'Moonstruck' Cuff, $298

And just for good measure... a gorgeous pair of sunglasses to complete your outfit.

www.louisvuitton.com, Louis Vuitton Soupcon Oversize, $570

Florida Finds...

Well surprisingly I didn't really do much shopping while we were in Florida! (Shocking, I know!) I wasn't really in the mood, I was more looking forward to the theme parks with Cupcake... and the short time I was at shopping places I didn't really find much that called me to me and said "you must take me home!". So that was that!

I did go to the Premium Outlets one of the days I was there to also meet up with a friend for lunch. (Such a great time!) And enjoyed being able to walk around outside without a winter coat on! Although I looked in a number of stores, Dior... Coach... Juicy Couture... I just didn't really see anything of interest! Finally at the last store we went in, Banana Republic - I grabbed a couple of cute clothing items that I liked.

My two lone Florida purchases from the Banana Republic Outlet

I ended up getting a tan cardigan with twist edge details, and a orchid colored top with a cute ruching on the sleeves.

I think my loss of interest in the Orlando outlets might be because the area that we live in now has all of the same stores at an outlet mall close to my house, and all of the same stores at Mall at Millenia can be found at my local mall, Somerset Collection. So there really isn't any appeal of "new" stores to browse through, when I can pretty much get anything down there near home now. In any case, it's still fun to be walking outdoors amongst palm trees, instead of stuck indoors because there is snow on the ground!

Spring is upon us...

... well, not technically weather wise where I live - but with the time change and our upcoming trip to Florida, I've started thinking about warm weather clothing.

This one is my absolute fav-or-ite! I want this. I need this:

Anthropologie.com - Antilles Tank, $68

You probably remember from my shopping wishlist post, that I've also been coveting this adorable Banana Republic silk halter top. (This falls into the, "need this, want this" category as well.)

BananaRepublic.com - Silk print halter tank, $69.50

This blouse from Banana Republic is also fun and seems like it would be adorable to go under a (yes, you guess it) cardigan!

BananaRepublic.com - Heritage silk butterflies ruffle shell, $79.50

I never have any shortage finding adorable and unique tops at Anthropologie, and this one is no exception. It's an interesting color to look at and the wrap detail on the front seems like it would hug your curves in all of the right places:

Anthropologie.com - Gathering Blossoms Top, $118

And if I had somewhere to wear this (but I don't) - this would be a fun, but still casual party look:

Nordstrom.com - Michael Kors Sequin Racerback Tank, $120

Some "Mommy friendly" clothing looks I love!

So after I became a stay-at-home Mom, I did a fun thing in Polyvore where I put together some fun looks (with a generous helping of Louis Vuitton cameos) just to help think up some fresh ways to pair things already in my closet.

And while I wish that I could go out daily looking something like this:

This look, is probably a tad more realistic representation of what I actually look like:

(With a cardigan over this... I love my cardigans.)

 Maybe someday I can get to a point where I can primarily go out dressed like Outfit #1, but the shoes alone in the first outfit nix that as a realistic option for me. As hot as they are... I couldn't imagine schlepping a baby, diaper bag, purse, and staying upright while walking down my stairs in them. And in all honesty, at this point my main goal for my "when I go out in the world" daily attire is to always stay a step above the Juicy Couture velour sweat pants I wear around the house.

So for now, I'll have fun pairing mix & match basics like dark jeans from the Gap (I love their Curvy jeans, great for gals with hips!), blouses from Banana Republic, Anthropologie, and the Gap, put together with cardigans over them... and topped off by a cute ballerina flat or sandal.

And just for fun... because you know I couldn't put together some Polyvore looks without incorporating cupcakes somehow... here's some cupcake wear for you:

And yes I realize that I'm too old to go out looking that that, but it doesn't stop me from imagining what a cute cupcake outfit could look like, does it? 

(For full list of products used in the Polyvore looks, visit my Polyvore page HERE.)