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awards and dress hunting

[1] I was given the "Brillante Weblog Premio 2008" award by two wonderful bloggers: Kara at Inspired Kara and Leah from Marital Bless. I'm not sure how this award originated or what it really means, but who am I to question an award? Props across the blogosphere are always a good thing in my book.

Part of the deal is nominating more blogs with links for you readers to explore. Since I am crazy and have almost 150 blogs on my Google Reader this is a perfect opportunity to share the wealth, no?

Jen from Maybe If You Just Relax-I promised myself I'd stop reading infertility blogs because it only fuels my irrational fear that this will happen to me, too. But this girl is too funny and one of the most clever writers out there. She's pretty hard core in that she blogs for actual websites and such, but with her fabulous sarcasm it's no wonder she is a hired woman. Bonus: she is a success story because she is now preggo!

Erin at This Is Life-not just another mommy blog, this one is freaking hilarious. A few of the Milwaukee girls read this blog [I think some may actually know her in real life] and they got me hooked. She just had a baby girl and reading about new motherhood is both terrifying and intriguing, all mixed together with some old fashioned humor. I enjoy the candid honesty Erin provides---just reading about a colicky baby stresses me out, but she has a knack for writing and I'm a sucker for her sarcasm.

Now I must admit: I lurk on these two blogs and I've never commented on either. Therefore, I feel that I should not have to comment now to let them know about the award. Maybe I'm just being lazy, but it makes sense to me.

[2] We will be attending three weddings in the next three months and mama needs a new dress [or two]. Yes, I have many perfectly fine dresses in my possession right now but want/need a new one because I'm nuts like that. Who wants to be photographed wearing the same dress from wedding to wedding? Not me, my friends.

Since I am feeling rather stingy lately [my inner tight wad is freaking out!] I feel that Ebay is my best option---after all, I have a little money in my J.Lorene fund and I might as well spend it on something fun like this, right? I had a lot of luck with Ebay for dresses last year for the honeymoon and showers, so I might as well saddle up again.

Let's review our choices:

A. J.Crew's Lydia dress: originally $250, on sale at J.Crew for $179, and up for grabs on
Ebay for $49.99 at the starting bid.

I watched a whole bunch of these beauties slip through my hands last week while I contemplated the purchase and now there is only ONE in my size listed right now. It is black, which would be okay since I need a nice LBD, but it's so hard for me to commit to boring old black. I know it's classic and all that but I'm a colorful girl and buying a black dress is no fun at all.

B. J.Crew's Janey: originally $275, on sale at the Crew for $189.99. No thanks, JC, I don't find that to be a deal at all. I found this baby on Ebay for $39.99 in chocolate and $89.99 in black.
Again, last week they had all kinds of pinks, reds, yellows, etc on Ebay....and now just the basics. But in reality, some of these weddings string into October and I'm sure black or brown would be more practical for that time of year.

C. J.Crew Claudine tank dress: originally $275, JC has it for $139.99 and my beloved Ebay is failing me right now on this one.

I watched this one sell last week and now I'm totally kicking myself for not acting on it. This is SUCH a me dress [well all of them are since they have straps. I don't look the best in strapless, I swear]. I suppose $140 from J.Crew isn't awful but I really wanted to spend less than $100. I'm stalking Ebay each day for a new listing.

4. BCBG's Mahogony silk taffeta dress: originally $240, starting bid on Ebay is $80, and Buy It Now is for $130.
Again, could there BE a dress more my style? I'm just not sure about taffeta--it makes me think of a bad 80's prom dress.

So what are your thoughts? Do you like one more than the other, or think one is a better bargain? I have a dress [from Ebay!] to wear this weekend at the first wedding so these potentials are for the September and October weddings. Such difficult decisions in life, you know?

17 comments:

  1. I vote for the Janey in chocolate. Chocolate is so cute to add some color to (blue or orange), and it'd be perfect for fall. Plus... $39.99??? Awesome!

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  2. My vote is for Janey also - you could accesorise with colour - I love mint green with brown.

    I love your blog!

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  3. Girlfriend, There is NOTHING wrong with adding another dress to your collection. I, myself, have a whole closet full of these goodies [in the bonus room, nonetheless...hey, there IS a use for that room ;)]

    I like the pink one best. Have you looked at JCrew's website? Alot of them are on sale now. If you looked at Kelly's blog yesterday, I just bought that pink dress for $29.99 [regularly $98]. I didn't look further because I would buy anything and everything in my sight but I'm sure they have tons of cuties on sale now.

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  4. congrats on your award! :) hee hee

    i vote for the j.crew halter. the first picture. i have that dress in yellow and i LOVE it! my tailor even built in boobie cups so i don't have to wear a bra or worry about not filling up the dress.

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  5. I LOVE those cotton cady dresses. my vote is one of those for sure. black and brown may be boring, but they are classic...you can jazz them up with fun shoes and jewelry!

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  6. I definitely vote Janey! My pale skin doesn't like that much brown, but the cut is beautiful. And I had no idea you could buy dresses on Ebay. If it weren't for you having good luck, I would be a little creeped out by the idea. Hmm, I see some shopping in my future, as I have 2 weddings in the next 2 months!

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  7. I love the first one, but not so much cause of the cut, more cause of the color. I'm obsessed with jewel tones right now and that blue is divine. But if you can only get it in black, I agree that it is kinda boring. Based on cut alone, I love the second one, but that's just because that's the kind of cut that works well on me. V-necks, especially deep v-necks, are always my top pick. Not at all a fan of the third. I generally don't find scoop necks flattering. The fourth is ok...not a big fan of all the material around the waist.

    So, the point being...the first two are my top picks, and if I were you, I'd hold out for a couple of weeks while you keep your eye out for some fun colors to pop up on Ebay!

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  8. I love LOVE that fuschia one. LOVE!! The style reminds me of my "THE BLUE DRESS" that I bought a few weeks ago. And that makes me love it even more. I bet it would look so cute on you, and I say you could wear it year round. You don't have to wear a dark, neutral color to a fall wedding! Live it up! You can wear brown and black when you're 50.

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  9. I absolutely loooove B in chocolate and think the price is a steal!

    Oh and also 4.

    You do realize you "numbered" a, b, c, 4, right? :)

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  10. It's time for me to come clean and admit that I am a lurker on your blog. But I love reading! : ) And today for some reason you inspired me to comment!

    I personally love the Claudine tank dress! But what dress from J Crew isn't cute these days!?

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  11. Congratulations on your web log award!!!

    As for the dresses, B & 4 are my favorites. You really can't go wrong with any of the dresses, though.

    I like to get new dresses for events too. I had to have a new dress for each wedding shower and for the rehearsal dinner. Yay for dress shopping!

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  12. I think you should have went to the Lake outlets during your vacation home. The Lake now has BOTH J.Crew and BCBG outlets!! I know, try to breathe, it's too much to handle all at once.
    Does MWK have some outlet shoppes? As you can tell, I'm all about the outlet bargains.

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  13. I love the chocolate brown, too.

    Thanks for the mention! I love e-meeting my "lurkers" -- and I'm glad to hear I don't come across as completely crazy ... always a fear of mine.

    Congrats on the award, too!

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  14. Oh, Hi, Erin! I'm glad you don't think I'm the crazy one lurking on your blog and then giving you an award:)

    Leah~I totally didn't read over this post before publishing, obviously. Just goes to show how my brain works so well at night:)

    Katherine~I can think of at least 4 dresses I own from Ebay. I saved mucho dinero and love them all. You just might want to try on the real deal in a store first to figure out sizing issues, but I didn't even do that for all of them.

    Thanks ladies! I'm leaning towards the Janey in chocolate and then stalking Ebay from now until October for a more 'fun' dress at that time.

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  15. OMG I just read the excerpt about Motherhood Maternity on the "Maybe if you Just Relax" blog and I do not think I have laughed that hard in years. I have tears streaming down my face. Thanks, I needed that!

    I definitely vote for a new dress...and if it were me, and I looked as good as you, I would choose the Janey one.

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  16. J.Crew Claudine tank dress - i love this one, even talked about it in my blog. cute blog!

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