a story of some sunnies

This is the story of how I needed to buy a laundry hamper, but ended up purchasing some Prada sunglasses instead. Its what happens when your (undiagnosed) ADD gets the better of you whilst perusing various websites. One moment you're looking in the "for the home" section of the site, and next thing you know, you have the tortoise shell Prada baroque sunglasses in your cart. Honestly, I have no idea how it happened.

You see, these glasses and I were meant to be. From the moment I laid eyes on the swirly arms and obnoxiously large lenses I knew it was a match made in heaven. Two of my besties actually got these sunnies for Christmas and I have to be careful to not start drooling when they wear them in front of me. But not anymore! I have my own! I randomly found them on Overstock.com (while looking for that laundry hamper-- still don't have one, BTW) on sale, and immediately snatched them up. After stalking the US Postal Service tracking service for 4 days, they have arrived and I'm not certain I will be able to remove them from my face. Naturally, I'll be scanning Overstock more often!

the look for less: more shoes!

I love me a good deal. Not that I mind paying retail for something, but when you can get the look for less, why not? I showed you these sandals a few months ago, and I have found some more bargain shoes that look very similar to their high-end counterparts.

Recently I randomly popped into Payless. I don't typically go to that store, simply because I don't have good luck there. The shoes either just don't fit me properly, or I just don't care for them at all. Rarely do  I come across a Payless shoe that I like that isn't ill-fitting. Sunday, however, I went in on a whim and was delighted as I perused the shelves. I came away with two pairs of shoes that I cannot wait to wear.

 Brash Lunar Platform Wedge from Payless

I picked up these cute wedges today in this cobalt color (they also come in black, raspberry, neutral, and in a pattern). They look familiar, you say? Well that is because you have seen them at Steve Madden and Aldo. I paid a whopping $25 (actually, I had a coupon for $10 off, so they were only $15) for these babies...so essentially you could get one in each color of the Payless version for the same price as on pair of the Steve Madden/Aldo version.

 Steve Madden "Pammy" wedge

 Aldo "Terina" wedge

The other pair of kicks I got are not necessarily a "look for less" (but they do indeed look good for less $$) but I like them so much I had to share. They are by Christian Siriano for Payless, and at $50 are on the higher end of the Payless spectrum, but well worth it. Oh, and I had that coupon, remember?

Christian Siriano for Payless Raquel Side Zip Bootine

Have you spotted any looks for less lately? I'm always on the lookout for bargains and would love to see what you find!

facebook official!

Nothing is official until it is on Facebook, right? At least, that is how most things feel.

Are you in a relationship? Is it Facebook official?
She's pregnant? Let me research that on Facebook real fast....
Who's engaged?? Is there a photo of the ring on Facebook?

It only feels appropriate that A Blog About Everything also becomes Facebook official. Now you can keep up with posts via the website you already spend 12 hours a day perusing.

So hop on over to Facebook.com/aBlogAboutEverything and stay up to date on all of the happenings of this little bloggy. I can't wait to be friends!!

dainty necklace DIY

 

I have always had a thing for dainty necklaces. They are the perfect accessory to wear alone or pile on, depending on your mood. One of my favorite jewelry lines, Stella & Dot, carries tons of delicate necklaces. One in particular would catch my eye every single time i would come across it in the catalog. However, at nearly $90, i wasn't diggin' it quite that much. (note: it's now on sale for $71, but dang...that's still kind of pricy!)

(via)

I looked on Etsy for some similar designs, but never really found anything i was overly fond of. Then, a few months ago, Emily over at Cupcakes and Cashmere (I absolutely love her blog- it was the first one I really started reading religiously) did a delicate necklace DIY that was precisely what I had been looking for! Why didn't I think of that?! Nevertheless, today while I was in Hob Lob, I remembered the delicate little DIY and picked up some supplies to make my own. While I was inspired by Emily's version, I had to make a few adjustments due to what was available at the store. It literally took me 15 minutes, and that was with taking pictures, and various Dexter interruptions. I followed Emily's instructions, but I'll fill you in on what I changed up:

supplies: wire, beads, chain, wire cutters & needle nose pliers

 perhaps Dexter thought he was getting a flashy new collar, but he was super into this project!

 I wasn't able to get a spool of chain, so I purchased one with a clasp attached. I like this due to the fact that I can adjust it based on the neckline of whatever I am wearing.

 

In order to add the beads to the center, I snipped the middle link of the chain.

 

From here, I was able to follow the steps provided. 

 

 new necklace!

i hope you all are aware of how awkward it is to take a photo focusing on your cleavage.

I love the look of my new necklace! I think I will make more with varying colors and lengths of the beaded section. Be sure to tweet me with a photo if you decide to make your own! (@its_leslie)

printing instagram photos.

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I looooove instagram (mine's @its_leslie). Love. However, printing out those stupid square photos was proving to be a monumental task. Drugstore photo printers do not print in squares, which is obviously a problem when it comes to instagram. Why they don't have their own photo printing service, (like hipstamatic) I know not.

So I got to googling, and found the PostalPix app. It is a free download where you can instantly upload any photo that is already on your phone (instagram or not) and order it! You can pay with a credit card or via PayPal, and they mail the photos directly to your house. I recently ordered some photos and they had snappy delivery and proved to be good quality.

Now all you have to do is find a 4x4 frame. Hah! Good luck with that task....just FYI- in the future I'll get my prints in the 5x5 size, as I have found that frame size to be more prevalent (i looked at michaels, target, homegoods, and 2 tj maxx's before i finally found some decent 4x4 frames at the second tj maxx). I think these are such creative, inexpensive gifts, especially if you use instagram frequently. They are such a fun size and shape, and the filters make photos so much more unique.

Here are some screen shots of the super user-friendly app, as well as an example of the photo I ordered via PostalPix.

Here are how my photos turned out:

***disclaimer: i am not being sponsored/paid for this review. i seriously love this app, and thought it would be nice to spread the word! :)***

Switching gears

I returned today from Playa del Carmen, Mexico. It was a much needed break from life, but also required some mental readjusting. While I was glad to have the opportunity to get away, I found it difficult to go from celebrating a life which was cut short to celebrating a birthday milestone. I am, however, grateful for the ability to recharge and regroup in such a peaceful environment with some people that I love dearly.

The whole excuse to go on vacay stemmed from my cousin Sarah's 30th birthday. Literally, I laid out for about 72 hours straight and took breaks only to eat and sleep. I drank every frozen cocktail concoction under the sun, read 1.5 books, and caught up on life with some of my cousins.

While I'm sad my vacation is over (except not really, because I do not return to work for another week[!]) I am glad to be home, grabbing dinner with friends and snuggling on the couch with my pup.

Although I don't have all of my photos uploaded, I'll leave you with a little taste of my Mexi getaway...

Airport waiting.

Monika and me and our general ridiculousness. 

Margs on the beach.

 jumping off the spinnaker

 basically, where i have been since sunday.