CLE Shops: COTTON

This past weekend, I stopped into COTTON in Lakewood to pick up a Father's Day gift. Nothing like waiting until the last minute. I got my father-in-law and my dad the same gift, but since I haven't seen either of them yet, they haven't seen their gift, so I can't share it with you. That minor hiccup aside, what I CAN share with you is that COTTON is a really great store for gifts at all prices. They carry an assortment of gifts that range from under $20, well into the multiple hundreds.

The store itself is really nicely curated and styled-- I had a lovely time walking around, taking pictures, and picking up must-haves!

I'm not gonna lie, going to the store made me want to get on a boat, travel to an island for a lobster-bake and bonfire while curling up in a beautiful blanket. Doesn't that just sound like a lovely day?!

And All Good Things Come To An End

When it comes to jewelry, I have a few motto's:

Bigger is Better

More is More

That said, I can always appreciate the beauty of a delicate piece: of course there is the option to stack them, but sometimes a single piece of delicate jewelry can convey endless elegance.

The Atlas Pierced Bar Pendant in rose gold

P.S. Orchids don't smell like anything. I did not know that until I actually tried to sniff them.

Sipping on a margarita at Luxe while wearing Atlas Bar Bracelets in sterling silver and rose gold. 

A closer look at those Bar Bracelets. The rose gold version even has tiny diamonds in it!

And with that, as with all good things, my time with my Tiffany & Co. treasures has come to an end. 

A huge thank you to Tiffany & Co. and their PR representatives for allowing my this truly amazing opportunity. Also, a great big thank you to N and my dear friend Melissa for being my photographers. And last, but certainly not least, thank you to YOU, my readers, for joining me on this adventure. I had an absolute BLAST doing it, and I hope you enjoyed reading it!

We'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming next week!! 

XOXOXO

Disclosure: Tiffany & Co. lent me a number of pieces from their 2013 Atlas Collection and asked me to blog about how I would incorporate these pieces in my daily wardrobe. I have received no other compensation other than the ability to wear these pieces for the allocated time period. As always, all opinions are 100% my own.  

Wearing Tiffany To A County Fair

Each Labor Day Weekend, the Geauga County Fairgrounds host The Great Geauga County Fair. While a county fair is not typically my thing, we have a 3-year old nephew who really wanted to see barnyard animals, so off we went. I had two major concerns for the day: (1) What is the appropriate attire for a county fair, and (2) What sort of fried cheese would I want?

Knowing that it was going to be ridiculously hot and humid, and barnyard animals = barnyard animal poop, I decided to keep in casual and comfortable with shorts, a tee, ankle height boots, and of course, jewelry. While a county fair may not be the first place one might expect to see Tiffany jewelry, the beauty of the Tiffany silver jewelry pieces are that they are absolutely casual enough to wear anywhere, including The Great Geauga County Fair!!

The Tiffany Atlas bangle in medium and narrow

The bangles again, with the Atlas lariat in sterling silver

Tiffany would be perfect on a Harley too. 

A closer look at the bangles while I play tug with Clair

As far as the second question of the day: Fried swiss cheese on a stick was definitely the way to go!!

Disclosure: Tiffany & Co. lent me a number of pieces from their 2013 Atlas Collection and asked me to blog about how I would incorporate these pieces in my daily wardrobe. I have received no other compensation other than the ability to wear these pieces for the allocated time period. As always, all opinions are 100% my own. 

The Pinnacle of My Blogging Career

OMG! I HAVE REACHED THE PINNACLE OF MY BLOGGING CAREER!!!!

It is no secret that I'm a lover of sparkly things, particularly jewelry. So, you can only imagine my absolute JOY when I was contacted by representatives from Tiffany & Co. about a collaboration to celebrate the opening of their new store on Chagrin Boulevard. 

The collaboration is this: Tiffany has lent me pieces from their 2013 Atlas Collection to incorporate into my daily wardrobe. If you haven't seen it before, the Atlas Collection features classic Roman numerals, as shown below- 

So for this entire week, you will see posts of me wearing these incredible pieces of jewelry along with my normal wardrobe! CUE THE SQUEALING!!

Disclosure: Tiffany & Co. lent me a number of pieces from their 2013 Atlas Collection and asked me to blog about how I would incorporate these pieces in my daily wardrobe. I have received no other compensation other than the ability to wear these pieces for the allocated time period. As always, all opinions are 100% my own. 

Transformed by CHANEL

A few weeks ago, Suzanne invited me to join her (and Allison, Michelle, Molly and Jess) at a pampering session at Saks. Our evening began with a perfume sampling courtesy Bond No. 9. To be honest, I have mixed feelings about Bond No. 9- there are some scents that make me gag, but there are others that I'm completely obsessed with, particularly Chinatown, High Line, and Madison Square Park, but at $170+ for a small bottle, I'm going to have to be 100% sure that I absolutely LUUURVVEE the scent before I buy it.

After the sampling, we were invited to the Chanel counter to test out the Sublimage skin care system.

The skin care products are extremely luxurious, and while they did give us samples to take home, I haven't tested them out yet.  While there, they let us know of a makeup event with CHANEL National Makeup Artist Sterling Williams.

As someone who ABSOLUTELY ADORES makeovers, naturally, I signed up.

Saturday rolled around, and I walked into my CHANEL appointment looking like this (As you can tell, I have absolutely NO makeup up on).....

And walked out looking like this......

I cannot even tell you how much I LUUUUURRRVVVEEEEEEEE this look. I almost always do a smoky eye, so the bold lip was a big change for me. I felt so completely glamorous!!!

If you're curious, the products used on me were:
Vitalumiere Aqua Compact #50 --- I instantly fell in love with this product and bought it
Soleil Tan De Chanel Bronzing Powder in Desert Spice
Poudre Signee de Chanel Illuminating Powder
Joues Contraste Blush in Rose Bronze
Les 4 Ombres Quadra Eyeshadow in Spices
Stylo Yeux Eyeliner in Noir Intense
Le Volume de Chanel Mascara
and last, but certainly not least, the bold lip was achieved with Rouge Double Intesite in Ruby Lite-- obviously, as key to this look, I bought this one too.

With the man himself: Sterling Williams

I had such a FABULOUS time at my makeover which I carried into Girls Night with the Jenn's- AJP and JV!!

If you have the time, I highly recommend you take advantage of a makeover opportunity and try out a new look. Who knows, it may unlock an entirely new side of you!!! 

Product Testing: Clip in Hair Extensions

So around this time last year, I experimented with hair extensions. The extensions I used at that time were the Jessica Simpson wavy clip in extensions, and although they looked really pretty, there's pretty much NO WAY I could get them in unassisted. And, as much as I know N loves me, I also know with 100% certainty that there is NO WAY he's going to help me with this. In an effort to get more length, and the sort of luscious volume Hollywood promises (via extensions of course), I decided to take the plunge and go for the "real" thing. I did some research on bonded hair extensions- the kind that get glued to your hair- and quickly decided against it. For one, it really bothers me that there would be something stuck to my hair, and second, I've heard that the weight really damages your own hair. I've also been told they're a bit of a pain to take care of, in that you have to be very very careful when washing and styling your hair. All of this just sounded like too much hassle, and so I decided to investigate the next best thing- clip ins!

Now, you can go ahead and buy your own clip-in human hair extensions, but if you go this route, I recommend you have your stylist do your extensions for you. My fabulous stylist Michelle at J. Romer Salon created a set of 4 pieces just for me- they're even dyed to match my hair color. The pieces include one wide piece that is fastened with tiny clips in line with my ears, a second wide piece that goes under my real hair right around my crown, and then two thinner side pieces for volume. The first time I had them put in was Jump Back Ball, and Michelle put them in and styled my hair, which you can see here:

I absolutely loved the look, but the real test would be if I could put them in on my own at home. I gave it another try this past Friday, and although I don't have any pictures, I'm happy to say it was really easy to get them in!! Here are the tips that Michelle gave me that were really helpful:
1. Make sure your own hair is a little dirty (at least a day post-washing), and if not, make sure you use some mousse to help give it texture.
2. Make sure you tease your own hair right where your extensions need to go- it helps them stay secure
3. Take good care of your extensions. Since they're real human hair, you can style them just as you do your own, but be careful when washing (light gentle shampoo and conditioner) and let them air dry. I know its a little gross to have bits of hair hanging in your bathroom, but the hairdryer may cause flyways.

There you have it- an easy, no-commitment, relatively inexpensive (compared to the bonded extensions) way to change your hair up and give it some serious oomph factor!  And really, who doesn't love a little extra OOMPH!!!

A little sparkle for your wrist

Did you have a good Valentine's Day? N and I didn't exchange gifts or anything, but we spent a lovely low-key evening at home! I've been quite the whiz in the kitchen over the past few days: I've made homemade biscuits (from scratch) and gravy, a whole roast chicken, and last night's steak with peppercorn sauce with parmesan mashed potatoes and simply cooked asparagus! Its been a long time since I've actually ENJOYED cooking, so I'm going to make the most of this streak while it lasts!!

Lately I've been really into gold-tone jewelry and I will be sharing some of purchases and obsessions with you over the next few weeks. My latest purchase has been this gorgeous pair of bracelets that I ordered on   Etsy from The Altered Chain

 

Aren't they just adorable?? So simple and delicate and perfect for everyday wear. I will say that the gold coating on the bar has started to fade, but that's my fault for not taking them off AT ALL since I received them a few weeks ago.  The packaging is really adorable too, and if you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, then you know I'm a total sucker for packaging! Add sparkles to that equation, and I'm a goner! LOL.

Do you have an everyday piece of jewelry that you never take off? Besides my engagement and wedding rings, and now these bracelets, I also have Maya Brenner initial pendant that I never take off!! 

The weekend I didn't know I needed

I LURVE my weekends! I usually schedule my weekends to the max, only leaving open time for a few naps. This weekend was completely different. About half way through last week, I decided I needed a break and some alone time. N had a poker game scheduled for Friday night, so I made plans of my own. My evening started with some Hot Yoga, which included me getting into my first ever headstand, and then promptly falling over. It was an incredibly difficult and sweaty yet strangely rewarding class, and I followed it with some spicy Indian takeout,  and some movies, during which I promptly fell asleep.

Saturday started with a nail appointment, a lovely chocolate-mint massage, a nice walk in the sunshine with the dogs, more yoga, and finally, a really great dinner at Light Bistro. We tried to get to Velvet Tango Room, but I was not about to wait 45 minutes for a drink, despite the amazingness of their Moscow Mules!

Sunday began with an awesome ride, and a run-in with Alexa (I love living in the same neighborhood as my friends) as we Wu'd together. 

My in-store Jason Wu for Target haul

 A little lunch and nap followed, and the day ended with a Superbowl Party (for which N made these yummy buffalo chicken balls, and I won the prop bet contest). Overall, it was a weekend filled with "me-time", and I didn't even realize how much I needed it!!

Do you ever take a time-out from your busy social schedule? What are your favorite ways to restore and recharge (besides vacation)?

We like to Party

If you've been reading my blog for a while now, then you know that I LUUUUURRRVVVEE a good party. And if you read my post on Jump Back Ball 20, then you know that Playhouse Square  knows how to throw one fine party. Why am I bringing all this up? Because this Saturday (March 19th), Playhouse Square and Lexus are coming together to host what promises to be one of the best parties of the year: Its called Dark Ride, and its the the official Cleveland launch of the all-new Lexus CT200H. Its a Lexus, its a hybrid, and its targeted at mid 20s-mid 30-year olds, so its affordable. Affordable luxury!!!!! YAY!!

Like the Lexus brand, the launch party is going to be one luxurious event. Starting at 8:30 pm, guests will be treated to fabulous cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, as DJs spin some very danceworthy music, and bubbles (of the drinkable variety) are passed around. At 10:00 pm, the party will move to the State Theater Stage, where DJ Flaco will warm up the crowd for opening act DEV, who will then be followed by the main event, Lupe Fiasco!!

I mentioned that the event is luxurious, but have I mentioned that its exclusive? So exclusive, in fact, that you CAN'T BUY a ticket. There's only a few ways to get a ticket:
1. Go to Metro Lexus (13600 Brook Park Road) from 5:00-6:00 pm on March 15th to win tickets
2. Win a ticket through 96.5 Kiss FM or Metromix Cleveland
3.  Follow Playhouse Square on Twitter or Facebook for a chance to win, and finally
4. Win one RIGHT HERE!!!

Here's what you have to do (you MUST be over 21 to enter):
- Leave a comment on this post with your email address for ONE ENTRY
- Follow me on Twitter and tweet:
I want to win @cleshopaholic's  #LexusDarkRide contest @playhousesquare
 for ONE ENTRY
- Follow me on Facebook for ONE ENTRY

Please leave me a comment for each entry!


The contest will end on St. Paddy's Day, and I will announce the winner on Friday! Here's the best part: I will be picking not one, but TWO WINNERS, each of whom will receive a pair of tickets!!! So get your dancing shoes ready, pick your most picture-worthy outfit, and good luck!!!!

Disclaimer: Playhouse Square gave me tickets to the event, as well as tickets to give away to you, my fabulous readers!