deal(s) of the day: sale shoes - designer edition

i was spending a little too much time over at notcouture last night, and found there a number of deals much too lovely to keep to myself.

juicy couture continues to surprise me. if they keep this up, i'm going to have to stop mocking them entirely.

these sandals ($101) are a great way to bring a little ombre to your summer...and on sale, too. i love the yellow, but if you're feeling extra girly, pink is the perfect choice. nab either at bergdorf goodman, where you'll also get out tax-free (unless you live in NYC).



for a more understated style, i love these t-strap beca sandals from gryson. yellow and grey IS definitely the hottest color combo du jour, and these little flats make it clear why. nab them for $225 at funky lala.


and last, but certainly not least, more sigerson morrison love. these beauties ($145) are absolutely everything i've been looking for in a casual black flat - love the modern mary jane styling, the intricate detail on the strap, and that thick elastic around the top is going to keep these comfy in any weather. they're lovely in black, but that fabulous bright gold would be oh-so-fun too. decisions, decisions.

deal of the day: san francisco sample sales!

ah, it's that time of year again for my bay area gals - appel & frank is tonight! for those who aren't already devoted fans, appel & frank is a very serious sample sale at which all manner of designers, both local and national, sell their wares at ridiculously low prices.

case in point: those rebecca ciccio bags i adore will be a crazy 50% off, if you don't mind a color from last season. even my beloved benefit cosmetics will be there...undoubtedly touting fabulous discounted wares as well.

so, snag tix online for you and a friend for $15, or at the door for $10 each (don't worry - it includes a cocktail!), and get there early - the first 300 people get a gift bag full of party favors. and who doesn't love swag?

if you can't juggle your busy social calendar that quickly, make up for it by hitting genart's shop SF event on saturday instead. tickets must be purchased in advance (tip: use code "Designer" for discounted tix). the list of participating designers is equally impressive, and you can rest easy knowing that proceeds from the event go to help people who really need it. check out the genart website for all of the details and ticket info.

ladies, these SF sample sales don't come along often - i strongly suggest taking advantage!

what i want today: fantastic art posters

every single one of these is better than the last. i don't think i can resist that toilet paper picture on the right for a bathroom i'm decorating. hard to read from here, but the scribble at the top says "always check". fitting that the site is called advice to sink in slowly.

some are funny, some are sweet, and some are just plain true. all are $10 - now that's taking "affordable art" to a whole new level!

deal of the day: loeffler randall dorritt sandal, 40% off

i admit - i wasn't in love with these loeffler randall sandals at first. but i recently saw them in person, and dear readers, they are fa-bu-lous. truly. that rose gold color is just the right blend of spark and sophistication. and the styling gives a deferential nod to the current gladiator trend, but these will be wearable long after those roman sandals have gone the way of caesar.

score them from our dear friends over at barefoot tess for 40% off their retail of $395, taking them down to less than $250 - just use code 40OFF. but this deal is only good through monday, so move fast!

(ps...if the loefflers aren't singing your song, it's also worth a look at their french sole selection...they're all 40% off too, with that same 40OFF code!)

deals of the day: shopbop, nordstrom sales

what are these retailers doing to me??

new markdowns from shopbop - a couple of my favorites:

this foley & corinna dressis just begging for holiday parties - $250 down from $500. or, check out the hot pink version, surprisingly chic even with the crazy color and sparkles. this one will see you through your summer parties too...if you can carry off the fabulous flapper-inspired styling.


talk about the perfect warm-weather jacket, this all-silk piece by alice+olivia even comes with a matching tote. i love the white with the yellow hood, but i could see the black being slightly more practical. either way, not bad for less than $250.

and, some old favorites are finally on sale over at nordstrom:

that juicy couture jacket i loved is now 50% off over at nordstrom.

and those stuart weitzman shoes i was (and still am) incredibly in love with are now down 40% to $170.

happy hunting!

deal of the day: TDO anniversary giveaway

why am i always disqualified from winning the very best giveaways?? okay, so normally you might think i'm a little biased, but seriously, the loot to be scored via the daily obsession's giveaway in honor of their two-year anniversary is pretty freaking amazing. i counted 89 products, including everything from beauty and fragrance, to handbags, clothes and underpinnings. total value is right around $3,200. happy birthday indeed!

to enter, just leave a comment about how fabulous this giveaway is, which shouldn't be hard. you can see all of the details here. good luck!!

deal of the day: 70% off designer sale at shopbop

shopbop just sent me a lovely pre-MLK day present: a 20% off code for everything marked down 50% or more in their designer boutique. normally i wouldn't be quite this excited, but there are many, many fabulous deals to be had. now, remember - this is the designer boutique, so you're not going to score any $10 bargains. but 70% off on a michael kors bag or a peter som dress is nothing to sneeze at.

to score the deal, just head over to the sale section in their designer boutique, pick out your favorites, and use code DESIGNERSALE at checkout.

a few of my picks, in case you need help spending your nest egg:

i love this erickson beamon necklace - it's completely unique (in fact, exclusive to shopbop), will work with a variety of styles, and is sure to be in your closet for decades. i loved it at full price ($785), and i love it even more now that it's $392, plus an additional 20% off, making it, what, about $315? not an unreasonable price at all for a really spectacular piece of jewelry.

this peter som dress is also completely fabulous. still a splurge, certainly, at about $600, but considering it was $1,500 initially, this is a pretty amazing opportunity to pick up a designer piece. you know, if you happen to be a size 2 and have $600 lying around.

this michael kors satchel is gorgeous and classic, both in vanilla (perfect for spring/summer) and in black (a stunning every day bag). and his high-end bags are really divine. the michael by michael kors line is lovely too, don't get me wrong - but it's nothing compared to this. and you can pick up this beauty for not much more than you'd pay for the budget version - about $450.

i'd suggest more, but i have to run before my shopping cart expires and that zac posen clutch and anya hindmarch flats i've somehow snapped up get sniped by some other shopper!

shoppingsmycardio gifts: on the cheap

much as we all love to ooh and aah over the fabulously expensive and extravagant gift options out there, the sad truth is that i'm pretty well broke by the middle of december. so, for those of you who are still struggling to come up with the perfect gift with your less-than-perfect budget, here's a list of ideas that won't set you back more than $30. don't say i never gave you anything good.

for your fashion forward friend, i love this gorgeous scarf by alena hennessy. made of super-soft knit jersey, it's thin enough to layer, but still sure to keep her warm all winter and into the spring. pick it up for $28 from hennessy's website.

if she's more into jewels than jersey, i just can't get enough of this darling little hedgehog necklace from the curiosity shoppe - he's $20, and is sure to make any girl smile.

if she's a paper freak like i am, she'll love this gorgeous set of stationery by british designer cath kidson.
kidson is known for her over-the-top designs that manage somehow to make country into chic. the set includes 30 sheets of paper, mix-and-match envelopes, and a gorgeous gift box...all for $15.

or, if your paper freak friend likes things a little more refined, this letterpress calendar by decoy lab is one of the prettiest i've seen. buy it for $28 at their website, which is definitely worth checking over.

for the right-brained artist in your life, i just adore this little notebook by little otsu. it's divided into three sections: the first is designed for to-do lists, but each has an origami pattern printed on the back, so she has incentive to check off those errands. the second section is made of blank pages waiting for her random sketches...but each page is pre-printed with a frame, so her impromptu artwork has a proper setting. and the third section has a mix of all sorts of different note-taking pages, so she'll never get bored with the same old straight lines. nab it for $14, and shipping's free!

if she's a tea drinker, she'll love this tea-for-one mug from urban outfitters - the two pieces match up to make a gorgeous peacock, and you can nab it for $24. or, if she's more of an afternoon "coffee and snacks" person, i love this cafemug by shinzi katoh. it that comes with a little mini dish that's perfect for packing with your afternoon ration of m&ms. there are a few different designs, but i love the birdcage best - how can you resist something with the word "gazouillement" (chirping, in french) printed on the side? grab it for $18 at three potato four.

good things come in small packages. i think just about every girl out there can use another mini purse to organize her life - i know i could. my favorites these days are vintage-style frame purses, and the best i've found are over at etsy. for well under that $30 mark, you can pick up some really gorgeous options from sellers like oktak, absoluut (who makes hers using vintage fabrics - so cool!), and takae. throw in an accessory, like a cute lip gloss (i love these cocktail lip glosses by not soap, radio) or a mirror, and you have a gift you know will keep on giving all year long. just remember, these are all handmade, one-of-a-kind items...so shop early, and allow a little extra time for shipping from these crafters.

and if none of these ideas work for you, shopbop has a lovely "under $100" list up right now. sure, it's not as good as "under $30," but we can't all be rock stars.

ooh, and please, feel free to comment with any other ideas...i know this time of year i'm always scrambling for fabulous gift options, so share and share alike! after all, it's better to give than to receive. (wait...that's so not the motto we live by here at shoppingsmycardio...)

what i want today: cheap thrills

red heels are one of those things i always want, but can never bring myself to splurge on. so when, on one one of my recent wanders through target, i came across these yummy red patent peep toes, i had to share. $25, a gorgeous shade of cherry red, and a very walk-to-work-friendly 2.5" heel. that's really about all a girl can ask, don't you think? i pranced around the store in these babies for several minutes, and they're actually surprisingly comfy.

styling options are pretty endless, i think. go classic with a black skirt and black opaque tights, or go completely crazy and pair them with something unexpected, like this darling yellow minidress (i love the styling on both models, and would happily steal the look!).

what i want today: beauty bargains

this is part two of our quest to find you fabulous products at fabulous prices (if you missed the fashion edition of frugal finds, check it out here). we upped the ante a bit on this one: we didn’t consider any products over $25, and we really worked to find products that really were a cut above your average drugstore find (while a few drugstore products did make it onto the list, they all impressed us just as much as their high-priced counterparts). here’s what made the cut:

(head on over to TDO to read the second "frugal finds" installment!)

what i want today: great fashion on the cheap!

we've all been there - after a month of looking through all of the fall fashion magazines and seeing thousands of fabulous looks that cost, well, thousands of dollars, you just want to throw your hands up and forget the whole thing. we feel your pain. so, for the last month, we've been scouring the web and every store we could visit (tough work, i know) to find the best bargains under the sun. today, we'll be talking fashion finds, but next week, we'll bring you a list of beauty products. the only rules we gave ourselves were that the pieces had to be fabulous, fashionable, and under $75 (or $25 in the case of the beauty products). so, without further adieu...

(head on over & check out my post at TDO for loads of great fashion buys for under $75...finally, i'm blogging things i can actually afford!!)