If you’re a follower of the blog or a friend, you know I’m not a malicious or unfair person. That being said, my patience and emotions were severely tested by Brilliant Earth and I want to make sure no one ever has the same experience on their special day.

Here is my review from Yelp:

If you want to make sure your proposal day and your ring are special and perfect, this is not the company for you. We had the most awful experience with Brilliant Earth and while we were patient and willing to walk away or forgive for adequate compensation…they did neither!

My fiance communicated with Brilliant Earth about my custom ring with birthstones for months before the proposal date. Every time he checked in they assure him things were fine but 3 days before the proposal they called him and told him they wouldn’t be able to have it ready in time and they had been trying to get the birthstones to fit but couldn’t . THREE DAYS. They sent us a temporary ring that I couldn’t even wear because it was too large!

We were assured a quick turnaround and a gift to compensate. Lies.

They then proceeded to take forever to “fix” the ring and make it the correct size and we didn’t get it until WEEKS later. We had told them we were out of the country and that we wouldn’t get the ring before a certain date anyway but instead of taking their time and double-checking, Danielle sent my fiance an email saying “The ring is beautiful!” and shipped it. When we got home the ring had aquamarines where diamonds should have been! When we called Danielle she confessed that she had had them send it without looking at it because we were in such a rush to get it. We weren’t even in the country!!

Then we had a very wrong ring on our hands and offered to just return and let us go our separate ways. They wouldn’t let us do this because it wasn’t their typical policy. But they over and over told us that our experience wasn’t typical. They couldn’t have made an exception? Obviously not and we waited AGAIN for weeks before I got my correct ring.

I was ringless the first MONTH of my engagement.

The worst part was the “compensation”. We asked for the wedding bands for free or a discount/refund and the best they offered to do was upgrade the diamond .1 carat for $700. We refused because we didn’t want to give them any more money. So instead we choose the most expensive piece out of a “custom” catalog they sent us…which was basically ten pieces and some worth less than $100. The necklace we got (useless because we told them repeatedly that I don’t wear necklaces or earrings) was about $300…and we won’t even get that much when we sell it. $300 as compensation for screwing up a ring worth more than $4,000 three different times and ruining our proposal. That’s not even 10%!

They never got back to us when they said they would, lied to us, promised things they didn’t deliver and gave us a compensation less than what we would get at McDonald’s. Save yourself the heartache and money and purchase from one of the many other conflict-free providers.

Phew.

Now that that’s out there into the world I can move on and enjoy my engagement and weekend. Happy Friday!

My birthday is a couple days away and instead of presents (Bear wanted to get me an espresso machine to support my recent Starbucks addiction…thanks to my recent Gilmore Girls obsession. Thanks Andrea!) I asked for a morning of garage sales and thrifting. We found some amazing things including great clothes, a desk for Bear and children’s books. But my favorite was this beaded tunic (only $8 or so):

Then my parents gave me something in this pretty bag….

It was this pretty bag!

I am so incredibly spoiled. Speaking of beautiful things and being spoiled, here’s my engagement ring:

The sides aren’t diamonds – the four leaves are my birthstone (Aquamarine) and the ends are Bear’s birthstone (Alexandrite). The Alexandrite changes from light to dark green/red depending on the light…just like Bear’s personality. Damn Gemini.

My ring is gorgeous but I wouldn’t ever recommend Brilliant Earth to anyone. Stay tuned for my bitchfest on their horrible customer service and the awful experience we had.

But that’s for another entry. For now, let’s all just enjoy my birthday week.

Whee!

Last week I wore a lot of sweatpants. In fact, there were days when i didn’t even change out of my sweatpants. In my defense it was very cold and rainy. Between Bear and I we have like 16 pairs of sweatpants. OK, more like 5. And fine, they are his. But they are just the right amount of comfy and what are boyfriends good for if you can’t wear all their comfy clothes?

So when I finally got dressed I chose something bright and cheerful. And I painted my nails to match:

Old Navy Jacket – $1 – Thrift Store; Pearls – $12 – Boutique in Houston; Zara Sweater – stolen from boyfriend after it magically shrunk; Hat – $20? – vendor at Shecky’s Girls Night Out; Jeans – $30 – Levi’s Outlet; Boots – $70 – Piperlime

How gorgeous is this knot ring?? Many thanks to Elia and her boyfriend for such a beautiful piece – I love it! Oh and my nails are painted with one of those glitter colors from the OPI Burlesque collection.

Also spent my time indoors making more bath bombs since I got a whole lot of new supplies: glitter, dried peels and flowers, new essential oils, molds and new jojoba and almond oils. But the recipe isn’t perfected yet, so I’m still tweaking and will post it soon.

I made some ducks that were a sweet orange + ginger blend, with jojoba oil, orange peel and yellow glitter for the bills. Also made some lemongrass + sandalwood ones with lemon peel and a diamond glitter and some ylang ylang + myrrh truffle shaped ones with dried lavender and purple mica glitter. Oh and Bear helped.

Happy (finally sunshiney) Monday!

Happy 2011! Hope everyone had a relaxing and happy holiday season…we did lots of family time and movie watching ourselves. We didn’t do presents this year because we got ourselves bikes, then our parents paid for them. But I did get some fun new boots for myself and then a scarf from Mama and Papa Bear:

Sweater, $15, Gap Outlet; Necklace, $1, Estate Sale; Scarf – gift; Jacket, $1, Thrift Store; Jeans, $120, Citizens of Humanity from Dallas Boutique Epic; Boots, $70, Steve Madden on Piperlime; Ring – Unknown

We also attended our last wedding of the year…appropriately on New Year’s Eve. It was a simple and sweet, very personalized event and we had a great time. Congrats to my lovely friends, Kaley & Alan! (Sorry for the bad lighting!):

Dress, $30, Kenneth Cole Outlet; Bangle – Free – Clothing Swap; Rings – $3 – H&M; Shoes – $12 – Nine West

We ended out vacation with my current obsession: making bath bombs! Last night we made Lavender + Green Tea ones in random molds just to try them out:

The result was fragrant and luxurious and left my skin soft for hours. I just ordered a bunch more supplies so I have a feeling you’ll be seeing more of this obsession.

Oh!

This week we start our hunt for a house…with a real, live backyard! We’re buying it for the puppy. Seriously.

Hope this Monday is as painless as it can be! (I myself am battling an allergy attack…at least that’s what I hope it is.)

Yes, we decided on a name…for real this time! Pawsitive – Dog Training and Pet Care. The website will is www.pawsitiveaustin.com and I LOVE the site thanks to my fabulous, super-talented boyfriend.

Also, my generous friend Sarah Barnes of Hartshorne Photography offered to take pictures for the site for me. There’s a bunch on the website and a bunch more on the Facebook page here. I would love it if you’d go and “like” the page!

Other than getting everything up and running, we’ve spent some time doing some holiday mingling and eating, including the fabulous Armadillo Bazaar put on by my very talented friend Elia. Can’t wait to show you the jewelry her man is making me!

Very low-key Christmas and New Year’s this year – only a few decorations and no tree since we bought ourselves bikes earlier in November.

Been too busy to take pictures of really anything but my clothes in a hasty few minutes before running out.

Here are a couple outfits:

Shorts – free – Clothing Swap; Tights – $4 – Gap Outlet; Shoes – $20 – Aldo Outlet; Top – $5 – Gap; Bracelet – free – Clothing Swap; Ring – ?? – ??; Headband – $4 – H&M or F21

Dress – $15 – Windsor outlet; Tights – $4 – Gap Outlet; Boots – $?? – Nine West Outlet; Jacket – $30 – JCrew Outlet; Ring – $4 – F21; Bracelets – various

Decided it was too warm (darn Texas weather) and put on this red jacket ($20 or so; Old Navy) instead. Also, I painted my nails to match my festive toenails: Sephora for OPI’s Personal Shopper and then covered it with Only Gold For Me Glitter Topcoat.

Off for a night of wine and video games!

P.S. How cute is this email that Bear’s dad sent me? FYI, Beti means daughter and PB stands for Papa Bear which is what I call his dad. His mom is obviously Mama Bear.:

I debated with myself in the last post and going forward of whether or not I’d like to include the prices of things in my posts. I decided to do it not because I’m trying to be tacky but because I’m actually quite proud of most of my findings. Folks might find it annoying but I’m always excited at the deals I get. I want to show that being fashionable doesn’t mean $60 white tees or $300 shoes. So I’m going to continue to do it. You can ignore them if they bother you. Moving on…

Yesterday I went to a fun brunch with some of the Austin Fashion Bloggers. (Any local bloggers out there interested in joining us, we love new members! Grechen’s blog has all the info.) Never worn the pants ($1.99!) or top before, so I’m proud I’m still making my way through the piles.

I wore some fuchsia heels that can only be worn when sitting and walking short distances. Y’all know what I’m talking bout. In my defense they are really cute.

I also pulled out my favorite coat – a thick wool, creamy white one I bought years ago. I wear this infrequently as well – again in situations where I know there’s no chance of me getting anything on it. I’m loved the jewel-toned outfit that ensued:

Gap pants – $1.99 – Thrift Store; Top – $8 – Gap Outlet; Necklaces – $1/2 each – Flea Market and Garage Sale; Shoes – $14 – Kenneth Cole Outlet; Bracelets – $4 – Le Tigre Outlet; Coat – $250 – United Colors of Benetton

From left to right: Grechen, Joyce, Andrea & Cathy

On an unrelated note, here is a picture of Bear from the Bleet-Up a week or two ago:

Here is a picture of his new BFF (seriously they spend a LOT of time together), Andrea’s lovely husband from this weekend:

Utter coincidence.

You may be wondering what happened to my Shopping Ban. Or not. I’m gonna tell you anyway. I did awesome. Told y’all I have amazing willpower. Ok, I’ll admit, having a new puppy helped. But I did even better than one month, it was more like no shopping for 2-3 months!

But, alsas, a recent clothing swap with the Austin Fashion Bloggers, Black Friday, and a thrifting trip or two has left me overwhelmed.

I have a huge pile of clothes, shoes and accessories not worn….as well as tons of books to read, furniture to refurbish, nailpolishes to try, groupons to use, and vintage items we’ve been hoarding to sell on etsy. In short, we are stocked.

Starting a business isn’t cheap or easy so that helps…and I don’t really have anything I’m really itching to buy and there is absolutely nothing I need. So I ain’t shopping for awhile. And I’m gonna make my way through the mounds of STUFF we have already…and do a lot more reading.

In the meantime, here are some recent outfits making use of the aforementioned piles:

(Sorry for the crappy lighting/locations – winter makes it hard to get pictures when I’m only really getting dressed in the evenings.)

Coat -$300 – United Colors of Benetton; Long vest – $10 – Express; Silk tank top – $3 – Old Navy; Shorts – $? – Old Navy; Tights – $4 – Target; Booties – $3 – Target; Necklace – $1 – Estate Sale; Ring – $4 – F21

Top – $? – ?; AG Jeans – $120 – Hem; Necklace – $3 – Estate Sale; Shoes – $4 – Thrift Store; Bracelets – gift; Rings – $5 – H&M; Jacket – $20 – Express

Blazer – $5? – Thrift Store; Tank – $5 – H&M; Elephant Bracelet – free! – Clothing Swap; Ring – $4 – Random store in NOLA

Jacket – $20 – H&M; AG Jeans – $120 - Hem; Top – $? – Banana Republic; Shoes – $3 – Thrift Store; Watch – $60 – Citizen

Skirt – $1.99 – Thrift Store; Shirt – $3 – Gap Outlet; Belt – $1 – Garage Sale; Tights – $4 – Gap Outlet; Socks – $? came in a pack! – Target; Boots – $60 or so – DSW

Shirt – $3 – Gap Outlet; Skirt – $11 – Kenneth Cole Outlet; Tights – $4 – Target; Socks – $? came in a pack! – Target; Shoes – $60 or so? -Franco Sarto from Nordstrom Rack; Bracelet – $? – Florence, Italy’s Leather Market; Ladybug Brooch – Gift from the Lovely Andrea <3!; Rings – various but include a Chintatown NY Tiffany’s knockoff and custom made ‘Live Wide’ ring from jewelry stand in Napa; Essie Chinchilly Nailpolish

AG Jeans – $120 - Hem; Coat -$300 – United Colors of Benetton; Necklace – $? – ?; Chambray Shirt – $10 – Old Navy; Sweater – $15 – Gap Outlet, Watch – $60 – Citizen; Ring – $15 – Thrift Store in Baltimore

Dress – $1.99 – French Connection from Thrift Store; Leggings – $? – Old navy; Boots – $? – Nine West; Bracelets – gift; Rings – $4 – H&M; Mouse Brooch – $1 – Garage Sale (the glasses move up and down!); Jacket – $20 – H&M

Blazer – $3 – Laundry by Shelli Segal at Garage Sale; Tights -$10 – Random Boutiuqe; Shorts – $? – Old Navy; Shoes (Michael Kors – they are so awesome, the bottom is a metallic gold too!) and Top for $30 – Nordstrom Rack with Groupon; Bracelets – free! – Clothing Swap

Whew, that took forever. And I still have more piles. Perhaps I should try to post more often so it doesn’t take hours to get it all up here. Hmm.

Oh and here’s a couple bonus shots -

Some of the nominees for the Austin Bloggers Awards at the Bleet-Up (we didn’t win but had so much fun, thanks for those that voted!):

My outfit: Sweater – $15 – Gap Outlet; Gold Sequined Skirt – $10 – Michael Kors Outlet; Purse – $10 – H&M

(I’m also wearing awesome new tights and shoes you can’t see but that just means I’ll have to wear them again.)

Left to Right: Amy, me, Kathryn, Joanna, Amelia, Indiana

Our bookshelves:

Happy Friday!