It feels like it has been way too long since I did a home post, and I am over due on catching up on a few good home decor deals!

I recently have been in the market for a new lamp, and these are a few attractive and affordable options that caught my eye!

Enjoy!

I love this color! It also comes in orange, green, and red!

Wouldn't this owl lamp be great in a Library?

This white rattan lamp is from Crate and Barrel's children's store Land of Nod, but I think it would be great in  a beach house!

The perfect little lamp for any baby girl's room...and it's so affordable!

I'm on the fence about this one...what do you think?  I think it could be cute in a boy or girl's room!  And the educator in me thinks it's a great way to reinforce letter recognition for a young child!

This lamp is so versatile, but I think it would look great on two end tables in a bedroom or living room...and you can buy two of these lamps for less than $150!

Today's post was inspired by an email that I received this week from the shopping website Shopafrolic. 

If you are not familiar with Shopafrolic, I suggest you check it out!  Shopafrolic is a shopping website edited by two sisters with great taste: Liz Lange and Jane Wagman.  These fashionable sisters focus on fashion, beauty, and accessories, and usually have a few good deals thrown in the mix! 

In one of this week's emails the Shopafrolic ladies highlighted two pieces that I love....

First they featured this lovely dress from Trina Turk.  Don't you love this fun and flirty dress for spring?  Unfortunately it is a little high for my budget...but then I came across this similar eyelet dress at Old Navy that is almost 1/10 of the price!  I think this dress is a great affordable alternative to the Trina Turk number...

Isn't this dress cute?  And it's so versatile!  This dress could go from day to evening so easily with a quick change of shoes and jewelry.  I would love to see this dress paired with some bold jewelry and a high espadrille wedge.

The other item they featured that caught my eye is this gold cuff from Lilly Pulitzer...actually, wouldn't this cuff look great with the navy Old Navy Dress???

I'm a bit partial to this bracelet as I actually just bought it for myself this weekend before I even saw it featured online!  I love the unique look of this bracelet, and the combination of kelly green and gold.

And the good news is that I got it on sale for $38 at the Lilly Pulitzer store on Madison Avenue!

But if you can't make it to the Lilly Pulitzer store this weekend, you can also buy the bracelet online for 30% off here.

What's on your shopping list for the weekend?

Happy Shopping!

Today I am presenting a new edition of  "4 Items Under $50 and 1 Splurge Wish List!"  Today's guest host is one of my oldest and dearest friends: Amanda Reade Sturgeon! 

Amanda and I met in boarding school longer ago than I would like to admit, and since then we have stayed the closest of friends.  While I am happy to say that Amanda and I are now lucky to  live near one another in NYC, there were a few years when I lost her to the west coast, and she took up residence in St. Helena in Napa Valley.  During her time in St. Helena, Amanda interned at the French Laundry and later was a Sommelier at The Martini House where she met her handsome husband who just happens to be a culinary wizard in the kitchen!  Now that she lives in NYC, Amanda is the Wine Director at Dovetail Restaurant on the Upper West Side in Manhattan.  

Amanda is a dear friend of mine, but she also is an expert in food and wine, and just happens to have impeccable taste and style! 

I'm thrilled to have Amanda sharing her top "4 Items Under $50 and 1 Splurge Wish List" with us today!  Here is what she chose...

Amanda: We use ramekins like this for everything from eating soup, serving pot pies, to use when it's cocktail time and we put out snacks.  They are so practical, timeless, and last forever.  And for some reason it never seems like we have enough. 

Amanda: Sparkling Vouvray rocks.  When looking for sparkling wines at affordable prices, it is often beneficial to look outside of Champagne.  Made in France's Loire Valley with the Chenin Blanc grape, Vouvray is full of stone fruit notes and slightly floral tones.  This producer, Gaston Huet, is considered one of the top.  Pétillant is the style of sparkling wine, meaning that its bubbles are a little less aggressive than others, but they are still there- providing a bead (stream of bubbles that you see in your glass) that is tighter and smaller.

Amanda:I love salt.  We have an arsenal of different textured and flavored salts that are so great to use as a final touch to many foods: currently at home we have Kosher, Fleur de Sel, Sel Gris, Slovenian Sea Salt, and Celery Salt.  But we are out of Truffle Salt, which I love to add just a tiny amount to when I make popcorn.  This black truffle salt from Dean & Deluca is similar to the salt sold at Chelsea Market's Filling Station where their Black Truffle Salt sells for $18.95.

Amanda: Juliska glassware is beautiful.  My job revolves around wine, and even though at work I want to have varietal-appropriate stemware, at home I prefer to use small glass tumblers.  Primarily because it keeps my accident-prone husband far away from the fragile Riedels that we have, and because living in New York our storage space is limited, so I like to have glasses that can do double duty.  I have amassed a small collection of different vintage styles that I often like to mix-and-match.  This tumbler looks like the perfect size to use for my morning juice, water, or even a glass of wine or two! 

Amanda: Albert Boxler makes phenomenal wines from the Alsace region of France, which is in the northeast, bordering Germany.  It has the most amazing and rich texture to it, and super honeyed fruit.  Just a teeny bit off-dry (aka a little bit sweet), it works so well with so many different foods.  I would have it with roast chicken, anything with herbs and lemon, cheese, the list goes on.  The perfect winter white.

And Amanda's BIG SPLURGE...

Amanda: I grew up spending my summers on the water, sailing.  When we would visit my sister's godmother at her house on Nantucket every year, I always always would head into town and get a white rope Turk's Head bracelet, wearing it nonstop until school started, and then I would take it off and marvel at my tan line.  Now that I am older, I am crazy about this gold version from Maine jeweler AGA Correa & Son.  I would wear it for years to come.

Thank you Amanda! 

I am so happy that the boat shoe has made its way back in style!  In fact the original Sperry boat shoe became so popular last year that it was hard to go to anywhere without spotting a new variation of this preppy cult classic shoe. 

Last year when Sperry joined forces with J.Crew they even introduced a metallic version of the traditional boat shoe which soon made it's way to everyone's must have list for summer!

I know this shoe is slightly different from the original, but I think I might even like the more tailored version of the Old Navy shoe better!  And at $24.50 you can splurge and get two or three pairs of these preppy boat shoes for less than the cost of one pair of Sperrys!

Happy Shopping!

I apologize for the long absence, but I have had an extraordinarily busy winter!  But now that things are slowing down at work I am back on the hunt for both stylish and affordable bargains for both my closet and home, and I can't wait to share with you what I find!

Just tonight I was amazed to discover what Merona at Target has in store for this spring...these designs are classic, colorful, and perfectly tailored...and not to mention affordable.  Here is a "Totally Target" outfit with one of my favorite new dresses from Merona's new spring line...with prices this good you can splurge on the whole outfit!