Everything's comin' up roses!

This is the second consecutive year that I'll be spending Mother's day with my mom. (We live on different continents). This particular mother's day is also special because it's my first. This has inspired me to put together a list of fun gift ideas for all moms.

What I am in love with this season is the abundance of floral details in accessories. Whether floral prints or pins flowers are a sure crowd pleaser. With this is mind I've curated these items as my favorites gifts to give and to get this mother's day. I love handmade objects. There is something so special about them, so you'll see a lot of my finds come from my favorite site- etsy.com.

For the mom who loves baubles I love the glitzy flower bib necklace from Icing by Claire. If you think your mom deserves some spa like R & R surprise her with handmade carnation soaps $8 and the chryanthemum bath sponge also $8, put them together in the spa cosmetic pouch with the adorable flower pin and ribbon detail for $15. The Chrysanthemum sponge comes from the store Francesca's collection. I discovered this store while on vacation in Dallas, Texas. They have a variety of adorable clothing and accessories- all unique and one of a kind. Their website is equally promising and that is where I discovered this gorgeous bath sponge which is almost too good to use in a bath!

If your mom is an earth mother, how about the farmer's market tote from Sandbox studio on etsy.com? It's durable fabric, soft shape and gorgeous appliqued roses will let mom tote her earth friendly finds in style. Also for the eco-conscious, the fun and flamboyant pin from Tootsnap treasures on Etsy.com. It is made with repurposed vintage fabrics and pins and can be used as a hair accessory, brooch or to glam up  last seasons handbags.

You can charm mom with the handmade peach flower charm handmade by glassbeadtresures on etsy.com for her favorite charm bracelet. Priced at just $6, you can actually get a few adorable ones or throw in a vintage charm bracelet to really round out the gift. Since pins and brooches are back in style this spring , Beedeebabee's felt rose pin fits the bill. With it's classic rose appearance and rich creamy color, it may just be the perfect addition to mom's accessory drawer or the touch of spring her dresses need this season. 

And finally, the super cute Kisslock purse from Icing by Claire with it's multi color rose appliques is perfect for mom to bring to all the graduation parties, weddings and showers she may be invited to this summer.

So skip the bouquet of flowers and try one of these rose embellished beauties instead for a gift that will last for a long time!

(St)ripe for pickin'

When I saw nautical stripes on Spring 2010 runways, I thought "no way". I associate nautical stripes or sailor stripes with a slightly grown up audience. Besides, aren't they usually a part of resort collections from all and sundry, typically emerging in stores around december? However, these runway images from Rebecca Taylor changed my mind about these crisp, clean and classic wardrobe staples. Inspired by these two looks, I set about to create budget versions of the same.

What is new about the nautical stripes, is not the stripe or the silhoutte itself, but the pairing with soft, feminine skirts and girly accessories. The key to pulling off this look is keeping it simple. Here are my versions of the two looks.

For the casual look, I love the soft tee in a classic blue & white, paired with the smock waist skirt from Old Navy. I added the denim wedges, which are casual yet chic and pull together the fun and flirty look. Shoulder bags are back and so very appropriate in this girly look. In lieu of the flower pin in the runway look, I chose this songbird pendant necklace from Forever 21.

For the chic but sophisticated look, I love this faux wrap skirt from J.C. Penney in charcoal with a red and white stripe striped sweater. I chose cobalt as the accent color in this simple peep toe platform from Target. I have to admit, the hardest thing to find for this look was a floral printed clutch. But I found several lovely ones on etsy.com, my favorite handmade goodies site. The soft, punchy floral print of the clutch keeps this look from being too sophisticated. I added a simple yet sweet multistrand necklace that picks up the gold and blue tones of the clutch print. I love the floral espadrille in the runway shot. There were several super- cute from Roxy and Kensie girl at zappos.com, Macy's and piperlime.com but they were all fairly expensive and would have cost me most of my $100 allowance.

Add one of these classic, stripe tops to your wardrobe now and wear it for the rest of the year. Whether a flirty skirt or denim shorts or even your white jeans for high summer and with darker jeans and boots in the fall/winter this trend is bound to become your favorite for this season.

Life, LIBERTY and the pursuit of spring dresses!

What is it about that first spring day, when the mercury hits 70F (that warrants a dress in the North East), life suddenly seems so much better that you must have a pretty dress and perhaps some open-toed footwear to match? While last spring/summer was all about the maxi this year, the hemlines are rising. And while one may wear a maxi (I surely will wear the ones from last year) the possibilities are endless this spring. To reinfuse my wardrobe, my quest for the perfect spring dress began in earnest.

While dresses of all shapes and lengths are important this spring what makes this year exciting is the variety of floral prints. To me, florals are synonymous with LIBERTY prints; just the way COLGATE is synonymous with toothpaste or ESCALATOR is synonymous with a moving staircase. Imagine my delight when I saw a television commercial announcing that LIBERTY of LONDON was doing a collection of their famous prints for TARGET! I love TARGET! Now here is a store that clearly understands the needs of a Fashionista + Frugalista. Clearly, a 5 minute drive to get a Liberty print anything seems more economical than a Trans-Atlantic flight. So, you see, that is money saved already!

Sure enough, Miss M and I headed over dutifully to our "Tarjay" and right there on the main pad, in all their colorful glory were the LIBERTY print dresses. Now, I've always known Liberty-like prints to be small, tightly packed colorful floral. Some may refer to these as Ditsy prints. I was quite intrigued to see, darker ground colors as well as different scales of florals and whimisical prints (a.k.a conversational prints). In just a couple of basic silhouettes and two lengths (midi and a maxi) the designers at Liberty let the prints speak for themselves. Neutral ground florals and dark ground whimsicals were the stars of this capsule collection. The dress I picked out for myself - a peacock feather print, black ground print, smocked bodice with ruffled tiers. The Isis print dress is modestly priced at $29.99 I thought it was worth it for the print.

This great dress, can be dressed up or dressed down. Paired with a few basics and a few spring must haves, this dress is very versatile. Few basics that I thought would go great with this pretty dress- a cardi, a jean jacket, metallic sandals (flats or wedges), a peep toe shoe or a ballet flat in a fun color. As for jewellry and othr accessories, with a print that speaks volumes, it is perhaps best to keep them simple and minimal. I particularly like the wisp earrings at Forever 21 which pick up the feathery detail of the print, as well as thin metallic bracelets stacked on one wrist. Both of these items, of course to be worn seperately and not together. I love adding a pop of color with a clutch for a night out or a date and a satchel or shoulder bag for work, shopping or day time. I realise, my outfit choices topped $100 but some of you may have these basics in your wardrobe already, in which case just add the dress and enjoy!

As for me, my pursuit of the sundress continues. I much prefer a splash of Liberty on my accessories such as a wallet or a soft scarf. How has your pursuit of a spring wardrobe worked out? I'd love to know!