Fashion & Beauty | 4 Simple Pleasures

Wedge Wednesday giveaway

Fashion & Beauty, Fashion Fun No Responses »

Feb 032012

ring holder

Its not secret that I love shoes, they make me happy. I go into stores & the sales people know me, they welcome me back. Its also no secret that I do not like paying full retail for any of the shoes that I introduce to my closet. This is how my page was born, I decided that I would share my love of shoes & share the sales I find on the internet as well as in my local stores.

If you have been following my fan page, you know that every Wednesday I post wedges. I have decided to do a giveaway to celebrate Wedge Wednesday. I am asking my blog readers, fans of my page & my twitter followers to send me their pictures of them wearing wedges. Somewhere during the month, I will do a blog post featuring one of the photos (this won’t necessarily happen on a Wednesday). If the picture that is posted is of you, then you will receive a $25 gift certificate to 6pm.comand a gorgeous ring holder from Purse Bling.

Don’t think $25 can buy much? At the time of this post, this is a sampling of what you could get for under $30.

Circa Joan & David Was $120 Now $30

Calvin Klein Rajah Was $109 Now $27.25

Romantic Soles Was $45 Now $12.99

C Label Was $59.95 Now $19.99

BCBGeneration Jux Was $40 Now $20

Lumiani Caitrine Was $69 Now $20.70

Not Rated Dine & Dancing Was $44.99 Now $24.99

So now that you see there are some pretty nice shoes to be had for under $30, go ahead, send me your wedges and see if you will get one of these cutie pie ring holders.

ring holder pink stripes

ring holder black & white stripes

ring holder red swirls & teal swirls in the background

ring holder pink & black stripes

Thank you for your support

Community Outreach, Fashion & Beauty No Responses »

Jan 312012

Courtesy of Love Me Always

I have learned that doing something for others without asking for anything in return often will yield a return anyway. One of the things I enjoy more than shoes is supporting others in their endeavors and thanking those that have offered their support to me in mine. To that end, I have 2 people that I would like to thank. Rebecca Otero Lee Hansgen has been a fan of mine for well over a year. Every single day she visits me. How do I know? There is always at least one “like” of something that I post & sometimes she even comments. To some people this may not mean much but to me, it shows me that she appreciates the fact that I try to post something in spite of a busy schedule, being a single mom & having a career that is not even remotely related to shoes. For her support I want to say thank you.

The other person I would like to thank is Laurie Briner Sharps, she has not been with me as long as Rebecca but when you have a fan page, the one thing you want more than anything are followers. You spend a lot of time posting things that you hope others will like & voluntarily click the like button at the top of the page. On many of my posts that include pictures, I will ask for my fans to please share. I absolutely love that Facebook has made it so you can see exactly who actually does. Laurie consistently shares my information which means that the people who are following her or are her friends have the opportunity to see what I offer & may become fans. This gives me more reach and the more numbers I see as people who like this, the more I feel I’m on to something good. You may not realize it but people who have fan pages work hard at getting people to take interest in what they are doing. They have a passion because there are so many other things we could be doing but we post because we love the subject matter we are sharing. We are on the hunt for others who share our passion. So thank you Laurie for potentially bringing me more followers.

Lastly, I would like to thank Jerilyn Rush over at Purse Bling, she has been a supporter since the beginning of my business when I would bring an entire shoe store into your living room in the form of a shoe party. Now that I am all online, she again has offered her support of my passion for shoes. Stay tuned for a contest that will feature a give away from her vast array of FUNctional ways to add charm to your purse but more importantly, the gifts that I bear as my way of saying thank you to Laurie & Rebecca come from her shop.

For Rebecca, I have a key finder with the cutest shoe. If you are not familiar with a key finder, the way it works is you put your keys on it, it hooks over the top of your handbag. This way, you are never fishing inside your purse for your keys, they are easily available to you.

Key Finder

For Laurie, I have a purse hook. An old wives tale says that if you put your purse on the floor, you will forever be poor. Well we can’t have that now can we? I also happen to be a little paranoid about hanging my purse over the back of a chair when I’m at a restaurant or bar. So, this handy item holds your purse for you. They can also be used in the bathroom when the stall you choose doesn’t have a hook, just use it upside down! Clip to the edge of tables & keep your purse in plain view and off the floor. Who doesn’t love THAT idea? :-)

Purse hanger

So ladies, I appreciate you for your support & I hope that at the end of February, I am able to say thank you to 2 new recipients of something fun from Purse Bling.

Alejandro Ingelmo ~ So Sexy!

Fashion & Beauty, Shoes No Responses »

Jan 302012

I love a good conversation starter shoe. A shoe where you just enter the room & people make comments about it, ask you where you got them or who designed them. The best is when a man tells you how sexy a shoe is. Well, I think that Alejandro Ingelmo has a combination of the 3 elements of a conversation starter shoe in his collection.

I know many designers do but in my opinion, some designers make an average looking shoe but because they have a “signature style” they are automatic conversation starters. Check out these styles by Alejandro Ingelmo & tell me which pair would have you asking about them and why. I’ll share what would make me approach you & start a conversation.

You look at this shoe & at first glance you figure, neutral platform but the gold heel & platform make this one worthy of at least a comment about its sex appeal.

Come on, do I really have to tell you that this shoe would draw me all the way across a crowded room just to look at them? lol This mirrored gold with all the details would have me considering mugging the woman lucky enough to have these beauties on her feet. Seriously, this shoe is interesting as well as mad sexy.
Ok, I’ll be honest, this one might not make it into my closet but there is no denying that its interesting. It brings to mind the Sydney Opera house but I cannot say that they are not conversation starters.

What’s not to love about this wedge? Sky high, some patent leather, some shine. Yeah, loving this one, it would be perfect for Wedge Wednesday. What are your thoughts?

Admit it, that shoe makes you think of this.

Capelo’s Salon: Tampa

Fashion & Beauty, Fashion Fun, Personal Care, Tampa No Responses »

Jan 232012

Sometimes being a shoe fanatic in a warm weather state has some serious perks Women of course get to wear open toed shoes for much longer, here it is January and while much of the country is shoveling walkways, I’m deciding which nail polish I will wear on my toes because its in the upper 70′s low 80′s and there is no way I’m closing my toes in.

Me & My Happy Feet :-)

Capelo’s Salon here in Tampa extended to me, my readers & fans of my page that are local a Bags & Shoes Pedicure special. No way was I going to pass that up! $15 for a service that we all know costs much more. I enter & even though they don’t know me from a hole in the wall in person, I am greeted at the front desk by a friendly person and I tell them who I am and that I have come to take them up on their offer of the $15 pedicure. I’d called ahead & scheduled an appointment but many of us have been in a salon on a Friday afternoon. It’s almost like being at the doctors office,you’re going to wait because somewhere somehow, they have gotten off schedule. Nope, didn’t happen. I was taken in right away (love that!).

Capelo’s is a typical salon in that needless to say, the women all are chatty. Customers & stylists alike are friendly and conversational. I don’t know about you but for me this is important because I LOVE to talk & I’ve been in salons where if they don’t know you personally they don’t have much to say.

I am asked to choose my polish colors and complimented on the glittery look I walked in with done with real glitter all by myself Yep, I’m proud and I was told that they did these types of things there. Cheryl showed me a whole collection of glitter colors that left me feeling envious, these were used to create “Rock Star toes”. I’m feeling all kinds of fabulous now, I have Rock Star toes. I’m also told about Shellac, waxing, massages, color services & all manner of things they offer.

Capelo’s has been in the Tampa area for 11 years but in this current location for the last 4. It is on the corner of Sheldon Road & Patterson and was pretty easy to spot. So back to my experience there, as I mentioned, I walked in with Rockstar toes & I start telling this story about tin foil on my toes only to look down & see Cheryl with a handful of tins. Why I thought this would be new information to her is beyond me, the lady is on top of her game. Glitter, tin foil & nail art, I really should have known better. We go about getting to know one another & now its time for polish. I’m almost disappointed because I’m having such a wonderful time & its drawing to a close. Once my service is complete, I am not made to feel that I must leave so the next person can hop in the chair. I am treated like a person & not a number and this makes me a happy camper. Not only am I not tossed out of the chair but we started with one color & about 4 toes in, I changed my mind. I felt bad but was told, no worries & I traded my bright blue for matte purple toes. If you are in the area, I do hope you will go by and check out the wonderful service for yourself. While you’re there, ask for the Sexy Bags & Shoes Pedicure special, it’ll be $15 well spent.

If you are a fan of glitter polish, then you know how tough it can be to remove, when you add additional glitter, it only gets worse Here is how I remove my glitter polish & was happy to learn that Cheryl over at Capelo’s uses this method as well.

tin for removing glitter polish (doesn't have to be this pretty, as long as its big enough to wrap your little piggies)

wet cotton pieces in remover & lay on polish, then wrap with foil

Make sure to wrap your toes so the cotton is snug to your nailbed

Not the greatest picture of my Rock Star toes but there was plenty of glitter :-)

When foil is removed, most if not all the glitter is gone. You don't have to wait a long period, once you have all the toes wrapped, go back and start with the first toe & start removing the foil. The cotton stays in the foil making for less mess in the end.

The finished result, I chose a matte purple polish

A word about matte polish, if you've never used it before this advice is for you. Do not put a top coat on matte polish or you will create a shine. There are topcoats made specifically for matte polish but if you don't plan to make this your main type of polish, I say forego the topcoat.

Follow Capelo’s on Facebook

Weekend deals & steals on designer shoes

Fashion & Beauty No Responses »

Jan 202012

There is always something going on around the web & I have to share with you what’s on sale this weekend.

Love Gwen Stefani? What about her shoes & handbags? L.A.M.B. shoes are beyond sexy! They are offered this weekend and many styles are over 50% off. HauteLook is offering her items until tomorrow 8 a.m. Pacific time. Word to the wise, the Barrel boot is not for a person with a wide calf, these things are good to know when you are purchasing online. Nothing like getting excited to get your new item & it doesn’t fit.

There are some retailers that have so many designers that you just can’t list them all but one thing I can tell you is when they give you a choice of everything because they take a % off of your purchase, I’m all over that because I’m not just relegated to what they have decided to put on sale. DJ Premium is offering 35% Off Minimum $150 with code WKND35 and its going to be easy to spend $150 there.

Want to get a jump start on Valentine’s Day? Last Call by Neiman Marcus is offering cold weather items at prices up to 70% off & everything else is 60% off. Last Call has tons of designer finds, do be sure to visit & see what you can get for next to nothing.

How about up to 75% off of Jessica Simpson and up to 80% off of Born & Nine West? Yeah, I like it too This sale ends on the 23rd.

Ok, just in case thats not enough, I have one more….well I say one more but there a quite a few brands on sale within this “one more”, Taryn Rose, Gabriela Rocha and if you need wide width or a larger size, this is your weekend! These sales end the 23rd as well.

That’s all there is, there ain’t no more! lol

Hopefully this is enough to keep you busy.

Happy Shopping

What’s new & on sale in the womens shoe department

Fashion & Beauty, Shoes No Responses »

Jan 192012

As the weekend approaches, all kinds of great sales are starting. Heels has a new brand that they have just taken on and they are squeal worthy for sure! Its called Shoe Republic LA and if you use coupon code BETATEST when you check out, you will save an additional 20%.

In my opinion, the best time to buy warm weather shoes is when its cold out. The retailers need to clear them out so they can have room for warmer shoes not to mention that many of the summer shoes are from last season but will still look great next season, so grab them while you can. Sleek sandals are on sale so check out Marc Jacobs, Guess & many more sandals that can bolster your closet & reduce the inventory over at Endless.

While you’re over there, be sure to check out Stylescape Friday. A one day deal will be presented, so don’t miss out!

I know, I know, many of you still want to get shoes & boots that will keep your tootsies nice & warm (who wants cold feet?) Save 30% and get free shipping on cold weather styles over at Nine West.

I don’t know about you, but I think Jessica Simpson offers some of the most comfortable heels ever! If you feel the same way then you won’t want to miss out on getting her styles for up to 75% off! Don’t sit on this one, its for today only!

Happy Shopping!

Handbag Event

Fashion & Beauty, Purses No Responses »

Jan 162012

I love shoes & purses but I will be honest, I have far more shoes than I do purses. The main reason for this is price. You can get a great pair of designer shoes on sale for less than $100 in many cases but its pretty difficult to find a great designer handbag for less than that. So, I have more shoes but when I find a great Handbag Event, it is an awesome time to grab one or two new ones even if they are prices a little higher.

I have no idea yet what the prices will be for the Handbag Event that is scheduled for January 16 – January 23 over at the EBay Fashion Vault but I can tell you I plan to check it out and see what’s there for the taking.

The promise is that these handbags will be offered at up to 80% off! That’s a perfect number in my mind Names like Betsey Johnson (I like her, she’s quirky & usually has some great conversation starters), BCBG, Junior Drake & more. I’m looking forward to seeing what others will be on the list.

eBay Fashion Vault Handbag Event

Happy Shopping

Designer shoes for under $30

Fashion & Beauty No Responses »

Jan 102012

I started my morning off sharing on my fan page where my friend Liane got Gucci Shoes for $22.48 and that made me think of another place where you can find designer shoes for less than $30. The site where she made her purchase has authenticated used luxury items but there are places right in your own backyard where you can find some pretty stellar steals.

Thrift stores are where I find a great deal of my designer clothes. I decided to peruse the shoe section on a couple of my visits figuring if they had designer clothes, then shoes had to be represented as well. I was pleased with my findings.

I typically venture over to my local Goodwill located at:

2390 Willow Oak Dr
Wesley Chapel, FL 33544

Guess who designed this shoe? Don’t know, find out here

Designer shoes for under $30

Happy Shopping!

This gallery contains 13 photos

Bringing on the Bling ~ Sequins

Fashion & Beauty, Fashion Fun 2 Responses »

Jan 082012

I am not the traditional style blogger in the sense that many of these fabulous fashionistas put on their flare & then photograph themselves showing off the look. I of course am in love with my shoes & rarely share my photo on my blog. However, I love to be a part of something fun so when I discovered that Kristina over at Pretty Shiny Sparkly was doing an activity called Bloggers Do It Better….well, hello! I had to jump on board & of course, I was the late comer (aren’t you supposed to be fashionably late to parties)

I thought I’d missed it but she let me know there was still time to join the fun. So, without further ado, here is me in my sequins.

Glad I got to be a part of the fun.

What I’m wearing: Sequined see through tank from Forever XXI (got it off the clearance rack). Hello Skinny Jeans (got those on sale too at Kits Well Heeled & Well Dressed) and Sam Edelman Quebec shoes (got them on sale too of course)

Sequined see through tank, Hello Skinny Jeans & Sam Edelman shoes

sequins

Sam Edelman Quebec

The look above is more for the evening, before I realized she was doing this challenge, I was sporting one of my favorite hats….which happens to be sequined. So I’m adding that to show you that you can be blinged out even during the work day.

Loving my sequined animal print hat

The first wedge Wednesday of 2012

Fashion & Beauty, Fashion Fun, Shoes 4 Responses »

Jan 042012

Almost every Wednesday, I post wedges. I have declared it Wedge Wednesday. Why you ask? Why not? Heels are fun, they are sexy and after a while, they need a break & so do your feet. Wearing wedges gives you the lift but also provides a bit more support. Who said wedges aren’t sexy? Are you kidding me? Not only are they sexy but the colors & various designs make me happy. Check these out and if you still think wedges can’t be sexy, well then we’ll just relegate you to the flip flop section

Giving an entirely new meaning to BINGO! These strappy wedges by Fergie are welcomed in my closet. That heel is almost 6″, baby if that’s not bringing you to new heights, I don’t know what will! On sale….even better! They are 15% off

Carlos Santana is making music with this pair. Loving the cork heel, in my opinion because cork has that springy feel, this equals added comfort. The heel is 4.5″ and these can be worn with a multitude of things because the colors are neutral.

I always tease & tell people that I can run a marathon in shoes by Jessica Simpson. I have yet to put on a pair of pumps or wedges that are not comfy. Its like she used my foot as her mold. This cutie pie is pretty in pink & believe it or not, what really caught my eye is the little cutout of color on the back. Its got a 5 3/4″ heel but the platform is 2″. See? Built in comfort.