Luxe for Less - DVF Opal

Today's "Luxe for Less" features the Opal wedge by Diane Von Furstenberg. This wedge features a wooden heel with crossed straps and a zippered back. The camel color is great for coordinating with countless outfits and makes your legs seem longer (which is great for my 5'3" self!). It also comes in black and a natural burlap and retails for $295.

A much more affordable version was found by Steve Madden! The Riddgge wedge looks pretty close to the DVF Opal and has the same features. This one comes in blush and black and retails for just $40, currently on sale at Piperlime! Unfortunately only two sizes are available, but I did purchase mine from a Victoria's Secret catalog not too long ago...fingers crossed you can find it there too!

Recap

Rain, rain and more rain.

That is all we have seen this weekend. While most states are enjoying the changing of leaves on trees and dropping temps, South Florida is still dealing with 80 degree weather and the rain from hurricanes off in the distance. Because of the rain, we have been cooped up inside but we did manage to sneak out a few times whenever the skies cleared up.

Friday night we headed out to a local Cuban restaurant for a traditional pig roast. While restaurant cooking will never be better than my Cuban grandmother's dishes, Padrino's is a nice alternative when home cooking isn't available. The Hubs and I double dated with my parents and for $20 each, we had all the food we could eat along with dessert and mojitos.

Taking it back to my roots!

Dinner. Poor piggy.

Cigar rollin'

Saturday morning involved some pampering courtesy of my lovely hair guru, Andrea. I have been a client of hers for well over 10 years now and I don't trust my tresses to anyone else. She is just the best! M Salon was completely decked out in Halloween decorations and the employees were in full out costume. It was pretty festive!

My hippie hairstylist

My new do! Red and flippy!

We drove around to see if we could find a pumpkin for a last minute carving, but every last one left at the patch was just yuck. We did find some chickens though!

Sunday brings church and football. While the hubs gets lost in the football games, I plan to get lost in the stack of fashion magazines that have been neglected. Time for catch up!

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Little Miss Audrey

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Is she not the cutest?!

I love her dress, her jumbo sunnies and her cute little bun complete with tiara!

Hope this little lady brought a smile to your Saturday :)

Friday's Five

My five favorites this week -

#1 - A lesson I am currently learning applies to me & others in my life...

(via)

#2 - Chevron pumpkins...right in season & right in style

(via)

#3 - Light shows are synonymous with Christmas, but this house brings it to Halloween!

(Check out their 2010 production!)

#4 - Jimmy Choo. Peacock feathers. Purple. Obsessed.

(Not obsessed with the price tag. Grr.)

#5 - West Side Story is coming back to the big screen to celebrate their 50th anniversary! This is one of my absolute favorite musicals; we saw it on Broadway when we visited NYC in September 2010! Check to see if it's coming your way on November 9!

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Celebrity Costumes

Being that Halloween is a few days away, I am sure many people already have their costumes ready to go. The hubs and I usually stay home and pass out candy to all the little kids in our neighborhood that come looking for sweets, so there isn't really a need to dress up. But while I was surfing the 'net, I came across some pics of the rich and famous and was really impressed with some of their costumes! Some of them keep it pretty easy and low key with looks you could probably put together with things you already have in your closet! Others really go all out and come up with some elaborate looks!

Here are some of my favorites!

Lauren Conrad dressed as a flapper

Stacy Kiebler (and friends) dressed as a mariachi band

Kim K as Snow White

Audrina Patridge dressed as a peacock

Melissa Rycroft (with hubby Ty Strickland) as Snooki & Pauly D

Heidi Klum as Betty Boop

Agree with my picks? Which celeb costume looks have been your faves?

Our Not so Spooky Casa

I thought I would share some of the Halloween decorations that we have set up at home. Like I mentioned before, I'm not really into things that are scary and dark, so my decor approach is pretty simplistic - jack o' lanterns, spiderwebs and all things pumpkin!

Enjoy!

(lighting up our hallway at night)

(these lanterns were originally purchased to be outside our front door last but I brought them in this year & added them to our kitchen bar counter)

(the other side of the kitchen bar counter)

(end table in living room)

(second end table in living room)

(cute little face on the bookshelf)

(coffee table lights)

All items were purchased from Target, Bath & Body Works and Partylite.

Versace for H&M

Here we go with another designer collaboration!

Although I was pretty excited to hear the new of the Jason Wu/Target collab, I am really truly over the moon stoked about the announcement of Versace coming to H&M!

I have been a fan of H&M for several years now - my first shopping experience in New York City while visiting family, then finding them in Orlando while visiting family (hmm, I see a pattern here...family visits = H&M shopping trips!) and then the retailer made it's way to South Florida (although it's still an hour drive to get there).

Versace, on the other hand, has never been in my grasp. It's just not in my budget. Well come November 17th, the Italian fashion house will be joining forces with H&M combining fabulous style with a much more affordable price tag. 

Here are some peeks at some of my favorite looks from the collection. Hopefully it doesn't wipe out as quickly as other collabs (I'm talking about you Missoni!)

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The line also consists of a few handbags, jewelry and other accessories as well as a men's collection. I can't imagine that I could get my husband into their clothing (it isn't really his style, psh) but then maybe that means more money for me to spend??

Fingers crossed, I may find myself being able to say "Oh that thing? It's Versace."

Are you excited to see Versace at H&M??

Black & Gold

I absolutely adore the mix of black and gold.

My own earrings and bracelet from Mimi's the Look for Less


It presents such a dressy, glammed up look even on a simplistic, casual outfit. It kinda also says "money" regardless of how much it cost. It's pretty timeless too. 
Accessories with this mix look great against bright colors, prints and even solid black.

Check out some of my black and gold finds...

Marc Jacobs - $150

H&M - $15

Zara - $90

Forever 21 - $8

ASOS - $32

Is the combination of black and gold something you like?

Recap via Instagram

I thought I would share my weekend recap through some photos I posted on Instagram...

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Did you hear of the tornado that hit South Florida? It was a bit of a surprise.

Hurricanes, yes. Tornadoes, not so much.

Sushi lunch date with the hubs

Weekend accessories -

Zara clutch, Guess watch, JewelMint bracelets,

BaubleBar necklace, JustFabulous "Parker" heels

 

Now I have to get myself ready for the Pittsburgh Steeler's game!

Hope you have had a wonderful weekend! What did you do?

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Winning

I wouldn't ever say that I have a winning streak. I'll sign up for a million contests and giveaways till the end of time but 9 times out of 10, I won't ever win the prize.

Well maybe things are starting to turn around because this time I WON :)

Back in mid September, Sarah from Raving Fashionista held a giveaway on her site for a bundle of goodies from Jessica Simpson Collection. All we had to do was pack our dream suitcase with items from the JSC site. So I signed myself up, made my little suitcase and then I shrugged it off because I just do not have that winning streak.
What do I know??

(a sweet scent & a sweet note)

My bundle of goodies included: bootcut jeans, ivory lace camisole, faux leather shorts, cinnamon v-neck blouse & a super plush knitted poncho

I took these photos pretty quickly with my iPhone because I was so excited to get my prize!

And because my camera was M.I.A.

I have to get a few of the items altered to fit but I hope to put them to use soon!

Thank you Raving Fashionista for the awesome giveaway!


*Also check out my post on the other win this week - a blogger award!

Friday's Five

My five favorite DIY's for this week -

#1 - Lauren Conrad's post on ten creative pumpkins that you can DIY this season. I love this alternative to carving! I actually made pumpkins similar to the ones below for my fall tablescape (a future post!)...so easy & so pretty!

#2 - Got some sneakers that could use a touch of sparkle? Check out this DIY post from Stripes & Sequins and see how Grace took a plain pair of sneaks and made them super pretty with some paint, glue and sequins!

#3 - This super chic tray from P.S. - I Made This involved the simplest materials and it would look amazing on a dresser or coffee table!

#4 - These neon satchels bags from the Cambridge Satchel Company have been all over the web, but their $150+ price tag may not be so affordable. No worries! Glitter 'N Glue shows us how to make your own using spray paint!

#5 - Another DIY from Lauren Conrad's site, this peacock costume might be the prettiest one that I have seen for Halloween! I am a huge fan of peacocks and this is just a WOW costume! Here is a sneak peek...

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