Mapping D'armee OOTD

D'armee dress from Anthro

Cartography cardi from Anthro

Spanx heather brown tights

Gucci wedges

Gifted beaded necklace

Chris was kind enough to order me the khaki colored version of the D'armee dress. I coveted it for both nerdy reasons and for aesthetic reasons. It made an excellent birthday gift and I wore it to campus the next day with the cartography cardigan. Its multiple hues of green were emphasized by the olivey khaki of my dress and the forest leather of my shoes.

Quick and inexpensive jewelry storage

Since Consume or Consumed is approaching its fourth blogiversary, I've been revisiting some past posts and flickr outfit sets to see how my style has/hasn't changed. I noticed that one of the things I did with more regularity in the past was rotate from a wider swath of jewelry. After contemplating why I was so set in the ways of my recent accessories rotation, I determined that if I can't easily access or see it, I forget about it.

Roxy from Effortless Anthropologie inspired me to correct the matter with some transparent/translucent and stacking/vertical storage options. We have no Container Stores in Pittsburgh so I went to Michael's. While there, I found divided tackle box type bins for beads on sale for just $1. I bought a few along with the stackable twist offs and started organizing. Above are my favorite vintage brooches. Hopefully it will help to have them organized this way instead of tucked underneath necklaces and bracelets in my jewelry boxes!

Kate Spade Friends and Family Haulage

How nice of the folks at Kate Spade to time their Friends and Family event so closely to my birthday, when I have spare gift funds and an urge to indulge! Thanks to Roxy from Effortless Anthropologie, I was given a heads up for this event in advance of the email. I picked out what I wanted before the 25% off coupon code, FFSPR11 went active and snagged both items.

I had long coveted the Journal Bon Shopper tote bag, with its newspaper classified ads print. I study the history of media and although print has become something of an embattled industry, I am an avid newspaper reader, receiving home delivery of the New York Times and the Pittsburgh Post Gazette. When I saw this tote, I immediately wanted it. As much as I love the book clutches, a tote bag fits my 'carry everything' lifestyle. To paraphrase Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club, you never know when you may have to jam! The best part is that my tote was already on sale so I got 25% off the sale price!

I also snagged the Calista floral print shirt dress on sale. As much as I coveted the Violetta, (blogged here) the color combo and shape evoked a formal version of my Two Wheeler shirt dress. And its discount was not as steep as I need, even with 25% off. The Calista is unlike anything I own, with its all over carnation flower print. I haven't met a flower I didn't like but I really love carnations. To celebrate holidays when I was a kid, my dad would always give me carnations. My mom would get roses and I would get carnations. Although this flower can be controversial, I've always loved that memory. Can't wait to see these pieces in person!

For guys Jack Spade friends and family is on too. Use code JACK25. But you have to move fast because these codes expire tonight at 11:59 PST. Are you buying anything?