Sip Tea for Massey

Cuppa Tea Company is hosting a special tea to benefit the Massey Cancer Center. Here are the details:

"Tea Time for Massey
Join us for a relaxing, traditonal English afternoon tea to benefit the VCU Massey Cancer Center.

A portion of the proceeds benefit the life saving cancer research being conducted at VCU Massey Cancer Center.

What a wonderful way to spend an afternoon for a good cause!



Our Price: $ 30.00
Date: July 24, 2008
Time: 3:00 PM - 4:30 PM
RSVP: (804) 254 - 8322"

DSW Shoe Sale Time

I usually try to keep myself out of DSW. The store is so big and everything's so cute. It's hard to get out without buying something. I recently got an email about new markdowns, though, and since I was near Chesterfield on Friday, I decided to stop in. I love the location across from Chesterfield Towne Center because it's big and new and nice. Well, as I expected, the sale racks in back were two thick and packed with great shoes. I ended up taking home one pair of Michael Kors peep-toe wedges for 40 percent off of $79.94. The shoe is black patent leather with a black-and-white-striped foam wedge. I had been ogling the fresh take on a classic preppy style all summer at Dillard's. I'm also planning to try and hit the West End store this week to look for these adorable patent leather topsiders that weren't available there in my size.

Other great styles I left behind: a super high pair of tan leather platforms by Jessica Simpson (oh Jessica, I hate that I love your shoes) that would make anyone's legs look long enough to make others jealous; a pair of ombre round-toe pumps by Moda that faded from white to black, super trendy; and an array of shoes by designers like Tahari and Coach. I had to tear myself out because I knew I was heading to Potomac Mills, the discount shopping mecca the next day. More on that trip to come.

If you haven't, get thee to DSW!

Intermix Online

Here in Richmond, we are not lucky enough to have an Intermix. This high-end shop stocks an amazing selection of designer duds and accessories that are completely to die for. Even if we can't have one here, it's worth signing up for the emails. First of all, they send out a weekly email with the amazingly drool-worthy high-end goods. Second of all, you get emails when they have sales.

And so we move on to my next splurgey purchase. For the entire season, I have by dying for the Diane Von Furstenberg "Comfy Chic" sandals, but at a retail price of $255, they are sadly outside the price range of a budget-conscious fashionista. I had been envisioning the gold version on my feet pairing adorably with nearly every sundress I own when I got an email alert from www.shopstyle.com (the amazing-ness of that site is a whole other post) that they'd gone on sale. Sadly, the gold were out of stock in my size. I debated back and forth on the other color, black with an ethnic print on top and gold soles, but decided not to make the leap. They were still $155 after all. I recently got another email that they'd dipped below $100 and I decided it was fate. I took the plunge and bought them.

They arrived in the mail next week and they are everything I'd dreamed of. While the new color tone won't pair perfectly with as many outfits, they are perfect for making a statement without going overboard. They are super high, but the flat level of the wedge means they'll be pretty comfy. I'll still be keeping my eye out for a discount pair in platinum or gold, though (the gold is back up to $159 on Intermix and they're out of my color). I adore the way the fabric wraps around to the ground.

Haute Look

So, for some reason I’ve been in a money-spending mood lately. With all the economic stuff going on, you'd think I'd be sensible and save, but it's just not happening. It all started about a month and a half ago with some addictive visits to my favorite sample-sale-style web site, www.hautelook.com. If you haven’t, you MUST visit the web site and register to receive emails when their sales start. In fact, this web site falls under the category of being so good, I almost just re-thunk my post and took it away because it will mean more people have access to the great deals I crave.

The thing about Haute Look is that you must sign on to the web site right when the sale starts to have your pick of all the great deals. Signing in even an hour late can cause you to miss out on some amazing buys. My two most recent purchases were a Diane Von Furstenberg spaghetti-strap dress for more than half off and an amazing Foley & Corinna metallic copper leather city clutch, also for more than half off. Both are fab buys that are severely depleting my bank balance.

This Weekend at Total Wine in the West End

Head out and taste Chardonnay along with summer brews. Here are the details:

Total Wine (Westland Shopping Center on West Broad with the big cactus)
12 to 6 p.m.
Free admission
More than 15 Chars to taste
Appetizers
Summer beers to taste.

Heck yeah!

Crab-Stuffed Piquillo Peppers from Bin 22

After a walk through the way-too-crowded Greek Festival with lines so long we couldn't even tell what they were for, my boyfriend and I walked to Bin 22 on Friday evening. I have to say the patio at Bin 22 is one of my absolute favorite ways to spend an evening in the RIC. Along with a wine flight and two paninis, for the first time we deviated from the cheese-and-meat plate and tried the crab-stuffed piquillo peppers ($9). When a plate with field greens and three tiny red peppers on it appeared at our table we feared we'd made a mistake. Then we each took a pepper and bit into it. It was bliss. Creamy, cheesy crab-y filling was perfectly complemented with the ripe flavor of the roasted red Spanish peppers. My boyfriend proclaimed this one of the best dishes he'd eaten in Richmond in a long time. We managed not to fight over the last one and split it down the middle. While not an ideal dish if you've got a large group, these tasty bites of bliss are definitely worth it. They'll be on our regular list from now on.

Get Ready to Druel

Check out this article on the hot accessories for fall and your tongue will definitely be wagging on the ground. While I wasn't head over heels for some of the solid-toned leather bags, there was plenty to make me excited about cool breezes and boot season. On the top of my wish list is the Louis Vuitton Embossed Leather Speedy Bag and the Givenchy Lace-Up Wedge Boot. Mmmmm...