Fall Shopping with the Caribbean Shopping Channel

If you've been reading me for awhile, you know I love to brag about being born beautiful Caribbean island of Barbados. Mount Gay, Rhianna and me - the Island's best exports. ;-) (JUST KIDDING) So imagine my excitement when I found the Caribbean Shopping Channel, a televised and online curated shopping network.  They have some amazing stuff which they ship to the US (woohoo!), Canada and the Caribbean. 

Now that it’s fall I love to go out and scour fall trends, and if you’re anything like me I can go nuts buying a whole new wardrobe, so I find tactics on how to restrain myself. 

My best trick is finding that season’s color palette and sticking to items that revolve around that palette – that way I know the various pieces I purchase will go together well, and also compliment the season. Not to mention that living in San Diego, I still do need to "fake" a good sun kissed glow all year round. 

Check out my favorite fashion finds from the Caribbean Shopping Channel all based on a fall palette:      

 

Clockwise from top left:  Avon Glow Bronzing Pearls, Dome Ring, Mark Gimme Boots in Latte, Gold Filigree Bangle Bracelet  

I also use this same technique when feeding my other obsession, home décor.  I found a more subtle fall color palette which I’ve used to base my home picks from the site: 

From left:  30 oz Belmont Blue Pitcher, Blue Victoria Candlestick Set, Essentials Canister, Essentials Orange Wall Mirror  

While that's not the shade of blue I 'normally' go for in home decor, I'm kinda obsessed with it for clothes at the moment. In fact, blue, gray and army greens are ruling my closet at the moment. 

And just as an FYI, the holidays are coming and you know what that means... RUM PUNCH :)

Ingredient:
3oz. MOUNT GAY Dark Rum (the website lists another rum. IMO there is NO OTHER RUM other than Mount Gay!)
1oz. fresh lime juice
4oz. water
2 oz. Tortuga plain syrup or simple syrup
Dash of bitters
Grated nutmeg

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except nutmeg in a shaker with cracked ice. Shake well & serve immediately. Sprinkle fresh grated nutmeg over the top of each glass & garnish with fresh pineapple, mango or lime wedge.

 

Fashion Friday! Getting Ready For Spring With Gold Wedge Flip Flops from Lindsay Phillips

YES. I've been obsessing about warmer weather and long days spent at the pool/beach with the soft sun warming my shoulders. I went to see Safe Harbor and through the whole movie I just kept thinking of how jealous I was of everyone's sun kissed noses and tan legs... sigh...

Spring is my favorite fashion time of the year. In San Diego we don't get a proper Fall, but Spring can be glorious. My Spring fashion look is more Bo-Ho, with jeans and flowing shirts and light weight scarves. Which is why when the ladies of Lindsay Phillips emailed me asking if I wanted to check out their Gwen gold wedge flip-flops and Miramar scarf, I jumped at the offer. 

While I love the look of a heel, I just can't wear them comfortably these days. My solution for the past few years has been a mini-wedge. You get a little height, a little leg elongation while still being able to walk and chase after a kid dashing into a parking lot unattended, if needed. 

The Gwen Wedge is only $39.95 and features a 1-inch wedge heel and an interchangeable embellishment on the strap.  Since the embellishments on the top of the shoe are interchangeable and inexpensive ($12-15), you can mix it up from fun floral theme to a festive gem cluster to match your mood or outfit. 

I also got the Miramar Scarf ($25) in a PERFECT coral color. I'm envisioning wearing my light-wash boot cut jeans, the gold sandals with a white top and the scarf out to many dinners or casual events this Spring and Summer. 

While the prices are good to begin with I also have a special 15% off promo code for HipMamaB readers!

Thru the end of the month, use the discount code: Lindsay15Off and get yourself ready for Spring and Summer. 

Happy Shopping!

Check out other #FashionFriday posts from around the web!

I bought a shirt off the back of a van, and I'll do it again. Mobile Shopping with It's a Luv Thing

Imagine having the cutest boutique in the universe 1 mile from your house. 

Imagine what it would be like if one of your girlfriends owned this hot pink palace packed full of fun tops, comfy pants and locally made jewelry at affordable prices. It would be a dream. A dangerous dream.

When I first stumbled upon Kamie and It's a Luv Thing 6 years ago in Leucadia, I thought I had died and gone to shopping heaven. The cutest, sweetest woman owning and running a store packed full of everything I want to wear. Her store became my second closet.

When I was 5 months pregnant and needed a cute outfit to wear to Jason's birthday dinner, they styled me up in a Pucci-print maxi and red sandals. If I needed a top to wear on a girls night, a dress to wear to a baby shower, a present for my sister-in-law or just a new pair of the most perfect leggings ever, all I needed to do was hop down the street. As my dream turned into an addiction, I even traded social media/marketing services with her for clothes. At one point over half my closet was from Kamie's store. 

Alas, one wakes up from dreams. I moved, she moved...but we never broke up completely. 

The past few years have been rough on retail businesses of all sizes, but the smaller stores in my area have been hit hardest. High rents in coastal San Diego mixed with people pinching pennies have forced many businesses in my area to shut their doors. Also, the competition is stiff. National retailers such as H&M, Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie have moved into the area - not only taking away dollars from locally owned stores, but also offering similar clothing at drasticly reduced sale prices. The small boutique, no matter how many loyal shoppers it has, has not been able to survive...without a little creativity, that is.

Kamie started her career as a Nordstrom buyer. From there she went on to build out the Juniors label at Rusty. She has an eye for trends and the best damn t-shirts you can find. She wasn't going to close up and walk away - she was going to take it with her. Enter the Luv Bus.

These days you can get a gourmet meal off the back of truck, so why not some great clothes? Kamie's Luv Bus is an bright red 1971 VW Bus with a custom hot pink fur interior - inside, it's stocked with adorable t-shirts, jeans, jewlery and dresses. She does local farmer's markets, street fairs, and pulls up in front of friends' spas and exercise studios. Having a fashion emergency? She's even been known to meet ladies to hand-deliver a new pair of skinnies or sparkly sweater. She carries favorite labels such as Gypsy '05, Wildfox and Chaser LA, and being that she's small and personal, she always has new clothes you can wear today - not when the season changes. 

Growing up in LA, my mom always joked "You know its a good day when you spot Angelyne's pink corvette!" Honestly, these days that's how I feel when I spot Kamie's Luv Bus rounding a corner or stopped at a light. Walking out to pull the car around after Jason's knee surgery, Kamie just happened to be passing by; stopping momentarily to give me a hug and a chocolate kiss, she made my day. 

So if you are driving through Encinitas and see her red bus - honk and wave. Celebrate the small businesses doing something unique. Celebrate those of us who are doing what they can to live their dreams. Or better yet - just stop and pick up a really cute top for dinner tonight. 

Find out where Kamie is! Like her on Facebook, Follow her on Twitter, or shop online at: http://itsaluvthing.myshopify.com/

Disclosure: This is not a sponsored post. This post was just written out of luv. :)

Help Make ME A Style Setter for Fashion Valley Mall!

You know I'm a mall rat, right?

Maybe it's the OG 1980's/1990's Valley Girl in me, but I think I may have spent a good quarter of my life inside various malls. Between working at malls in High School and College to working across from them and working-out in them, I seem to always be going to or coming from one mall or another. And now it may finally pay off!

Yesterday I was notified that I'm a finalist for Simon Mall's Style Setter of the Fashion Valley Mall. If you know San Diego, you know that this is THE mall of the city. All the top stores from Tiffany and Co. to Louis Vuitton to Bloomingdales, Nordstrom, Macys AND Nieman's calls this mall their home. If you are looking for premiere shopping in San Diego - this is your heaven. And I may be the blogger chosen to get special perks, previews and inside information on all things shopping and style. 

{{SQUEAL}}

Yes, opportunities like this make me giddy. 

While it's not the final decision, they are asking for some voting love from my adoring fans... (ahem). So here is where I ask oh so politely if you would please mosey over to the Fashion Valley Mall Facebook Page and vote for me. 

You can vote as many times as you would like (hint, hint) voting ends May 31st. 

Wish me luck! 

Team Cyber Monday!

I have to say that I was astonished by the amount of people I knew that got themselves out of the house and to the stores by 4 AM the day after Thanksgiving. I'm a shopper, I'm a deal hunter, but SLEEP takes precedent over it all. Also, I'm not so much interested in risking my life to save $5 on a Barbie doll. 

I take gift giving very seriously. While the old adage states that it's the "thought that counts," that is only true IF there really is thought put into the gift. We are in a recession, everyone has pulled back and budgeted and is thinking about how much they are spending - but are they actually thinking of WHAT they are spending money on? To me, a good present is one that matches a person perfectly - from personality to color to likes. When you see it, you know that present was meant for that person. Can that really be accomplished at 3 AM when you are bum-rushing a Wal-Mart and trying not to get trampled in the process?

To me shopping is an art. It takes time, patience and you need to know where to go and what to look for. But I guess that doesn't matter when you have kids and all they care about is the Fashion Fairy Tale Barbie and a Fushigi ball.  But I too love a good deal, and that's why I'm planning on hitting up the Internets tomorrow in search of some deals.  

That is, after my TV appearance...

Theresa from RockOnMommies and I are going to be on San Diego Fox 5 sometime between 8:30-9:00 AM talking about where we'll be shopping online tomorrow. Lauren from Buy With Me set it up, and just a hint, if you are looking for the PERFECT gift for me anyone who loves pampering, check out BWM tomorrow for their steal of the day. 

Now, I need to figure out what I'm going to wear.