Marc Jacobs bags rock my world

A yeah, like the cheese reader forwarded me a link to this divine Marc by Marc Jacobs bag! The color is perfect for spring and summer and the adjustable strap lets you change your look quickly and easily. You can get this bag, and many other gorgeous Marc bags, at luxury department stores, think Neiman Marcus, Barney's and Saks, or Marc Jacobs retail stores.

P.S. Keep the links and fashion suggestions coming!

Jersey and music and shopping, oh my!

This week has been full of events we just couldn’t seem to say “No” to.

Let’s start with Saturday…
Hoboken’s official St. Patty’s Day parade and bar crawl. We met up with a couple of Jackie’s high school friends and roamed around the streets of Hoboken before deciding to pay the ridiculous $20 cover charge for Hennessy’s Public House, an Irish bar near the PATH train station. We danced around for about an hour, bought a $6 Bud Light (in a green bottle, of course), and caught a free t-shirt some ancient bartender threw into the crowd. When you do the calculation, we really each paid $26 for ONE beer. Yea, I know, it’s pretty silly—but we had to experience a Hoboken bar during the city’s annual St. Patrick’s Day celebration.

After finishing our overpriced beer, we went a few parties along Washington Street, Hoboken’s main drag. At one party, where we met up with Brie’s friend from grad school, we hung out on the balcony that overlooked Washington, hooted and hollered at some bag pipers and got them to serenade us with their Irish tunes. Not only did they put on an impromptu performance for those of us on the balcony and 800 block of Washington, but, per our request, they entered the party (at which we only knew two people, who didn’t even live there), formed a circle in the living room and played for the entire party!

Furthermore, we were probably the only two people in all of Hoboken who stayed sober that day. We walked around, enjoyed the 60 degree weather, had lunch at Pita Grill (which we highly recommend) did a little shopping, and ate some delicious Tasti D-lite (with rainbow sprinkles of course!). Yes, we were berated by some of our friends for not pounding down the lager, but it was worth it to remain in a sober state.

Because of the drunk antics of 99.9% of Hoboken’s crowd this “St. Patty’s Day,” next year’s parade/festivities might be cancelled. Supposedly, a girl and a guy were having sex in a window as the parade went by and some jerk spit in a fireman’s face! That’s classy Hobokenites. However, we had quite the time experiencing Hoboken sober and chatting about the ridiculousness which occurred all around us.

And Sunday:
David (the Geek Whisperer) and the two of us spent a lovely Sunday afternoon wandering around Midtown and planning for our upcoming trip to Costa Rica. We munched on fruit and David sipped on a chocolate shake from the Shake Shack, while spreading out our Costa information in Madison Square Park and chatting about our possible itinerary. That evening, the three of us met up with Dan, someone Jackie knows from high school, for a diner dinner before heading to a Southside Johnny concert at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill.
The show was ABSOLUTELY AMAZING. David said that it was the most fun at a concert he ever had and we might have to agree! The two of us are used to being the only peeps rocking out and dancing around during live musical performances, but this wasn’t the case at B.B. Kings. The dance floor was filled with Southside Johnny lovers, all of them dancing and singing along to his awesome tunes. We were, by far, the youngest people there (most of the other concert goers were old enough to be our parents and grandparents), but we didn’t feel like we stood out at all.

The performance was killer, but the encore was even better! Steven Van Zandt (Little Steven) of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band (and founding member of the Asbury Jukes in the mid-70’s) joined Johnny on stage and the two had an impromptu jam sesh. Johnny has an amazing stage presence and really engages the audience, often taking requests and chatting with fans in between songs.

We should also mention that B.B. King Blues Club & Grill is a superb venue. It’s small and intimate with great acoustics and a rad line-up of performances, including a weekly Saturday “Beatles Brunch” which we are dying to attend!

Can’t forget about Wednesday’s Girls Night Out:
On Wednesday night, we left our (non-existent) boys at home to attend Shecky’s Girls Night Out, a giant sample sale with nearly 100 vendors! It was heaven. The tickets are free to www.sheckys.com visitors, or you can pay $30 and get a goodie bag filled with $100 worth of swag. Needless to say, we obviously had to get the goodie bag!

We spent nearly four hours wandering around Terminal Shops, visiting vendors, sipping on free cocktails, snacking on chocolate fondue, and rummaging through unique jewelry and clothes. We spent a bit of money (we are two girls who love fashion), but we got some killer jewelry, dresses (never anything we can wear to work—we are also two girls who love to play!), and unique Indian tunics (incredibly beautiful!). Below are pictures of some of the amazing things we purchased and links to the websites.
Get this dress, and many others, at www.vfishdesigns.com.
More Indian tunics for sale at www.lishkarausa.com. They will fit each piece to your body, and, if you are in the NYC-area, will hand deliver to your home.

XOXOXO,
Jackie and Brie

The Michael Kors bag that saved my life

Isn't this Rebecca Minkoff oversized clutch just about the most beautiful thing you have ever seen? And it has a chain strap which you can use if you're tired of clutching the clutch. I'm in love.

Also, I am seriously beginning to think that I need to:
a) Win the lottery
b) Get a higher paid job
c) Move to a borough where the rents are cheaper
d) Marry/Find a rich man to subsidize my serious addiction to expensive handbags. Did you see that in my previous post I did not include a handbag in my bargain look? That's because I'm a handbag snob. I rarely buy cheap bags, it's just my thing. Cheap shoes...bring them on! Inexpensive jewelry...I don't even want a natural diamond engagment ring, bring on the lab-created rock. Bargain accessories...that's what street vendors are for. But cheap handbags...well, they make me so sad.

Let me tell you a little story...

Last year, around this time, I was broke. I was attending graduate school full-time and was paid a living stipend, which, frankly, was not nearly enough to keep me outfitted in that year's trends. With some strict budgeting, I was just about able to keep myself from drowning in debt. Near the end of the winter, I saw this beautiful Michael Kors bag in Marshalls. I wanted that bag more than anything in the entire world. I couldn't sleep at night because I spent hours trying to find a way to buy this bag.

I told my dearest mother about the new love of my life and we visited it one day. I picked it off the shelf and just carried it around the store for hours until I had to place it back in its temporary home. The next day, my mother called me and said she had a surprise. I just knew it was that bag, I just knew it! But it wasn't. It was some ugly, black, functional, fake-leather bag that was a fraction of the cost. I cried non-stop all weekend. My boyfriend at the time (who I lived with) and my work friends thought I was crazy, but, you see, it wasn't just about not having that bag. It was what that bag represented. The ugly, black, functional, fake-leather bag was about settling for something less than ideal, something I didn't really want. I carried the ugly, black, functional, fake-leather bag for a week. It was the worst week of my life. I felt defeated and ugly, just like that stupid bag. My mood was the bleakest it had ever been, and I seriously contemplated lying down on the NJ Transit train tracks, or at least throwing the bag in front of a moving train.

My lovely mother picked up on my dwindling will to live and bought me the Michael Kors tote a few weeks later. I had never been so happy in my entire life.

Fashion and Wal-Mart do mix

If you read any popular newspapers (or their corresponding websites) I'm sure you know by now that retail sales are sliding for stores across the country, everywhere but at Wal-Mart. I have been boycotting Wal-Mart for the best few years, mostly because I hate the retail giant for being awful to its employees and the world community in general. However, just because I'm not a Wal-Mart shopper, doesn't mean I can't do some research to benefit those of you in search for inexpensive, yet stylish clothes and accessories. Yes, Wal-Mart does have some pretty decent options for the budget-consious fashionistas out there. I mean, if it's good enough for Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen (who have a children's clothing and accessories line here), the it's good enough for all of you! Here's a look I threw together quickly, to illustrate Wal-Mart's possibilities.



Cute, right? And you can get all this for less than $100! Just because we are all anxious about the economy, doesn't mean our style has to suffer. Just be on the lookout for deals elsewhere and be creative with what shoes you pair with what dress. Now's the time to take some chances and mix it up.

Newest obsession

These Jeffrey Campbell 'Dakota' boots in whiskey might just be my newest obsession. They are short enough to not be a problem for my big calves (the result of years of dancing) and the perfect color for spring.

Our sexy night at Bubble Lounge

Hayley Anne spent last weekend with me in the Big Apple. Our itinerary included dinner at Prohibition, an inexpensive yet tasty brunch with my sorority sisters at Zucchero e Pomodori on Second Avenue and 75th Street, a run in Central Park, shopping in Union Square and drinks with Jackie at Bubble Lounge in Tribeca. Look how cute we are (although I still kind of look like a sick person, as I was sick all week with the flu):
Anyway, we spent a few sexy hours in Bubble Lounge, the chic and trendy champagne bar in Tribeca. Unsurprisingly, drinks were expensive, but worth it. Jackie and I ordered a glass of the Phillipe Prié Brut for $15 and Hayley had a glass of white wine. Jackie left early as our little social butterfly had another party to attend, but Hayley and I ordered another round of drinks, the complicated kind this time, and a panini*, which was absolutely delish. After munching on our sandwich and downing our complicated drinks, a London Fog for Hayley and Raspberry Caipirinha for me, we headed out into the cold New York night in search of some good dance music (Britney, of course). If you're in the need for a sexy GNO (girls' night out) and don't mind spending some hard-earned cash, Bubble Lounge is a good option. Just be prepared to have a minor heart attack when scanning the champagne menu, as there is a $4,000 bottle listed, the Ruinart "L'Exclusive" Christophle 2000.

*I think we were the only women in the entire bar who ate something. "Normal" Manhattan women seem to exist only on wine and black coffee.