A confession: yes, I did feel today’s magnitude 5.8 earthquake, but I was in such a state of Loehmann’s euphoria that it took me several seconds to wake up from my bargain-hunting daze to realize that the light fixtures over my head were fully swinging and the cash register looked like it was going to roll of the cash wrap desk. This was my first visit to the Los Angeles Loehmanns (and my first official earthquake) so a day of firsts all around. I will start by noting that Loehmanns here is terrific- smaller than the New York flagship on 7th Avenue, but terrific because it is not at all picked over and I found some amazing buys. On the 50% off rack I scored a gorgeous Jovovich Hawk sun dress that looks like a sweet little baby doll dress with the most adorable embroidery. This retails for around $600. Let’s just say I got it for around $100. Also, I picked up an absolutely fabulous Alice and Olivia sheer silk dress. It is super short, with these amazing sheer bell sleeves. It is the perfect dress for date night. In the shoe department, I found a pair of Scoop NYC quilted ballet flats for $65 (these retailed for around $200.) So, you can see why I had a hard time even noticing the earthquake. I was in retail heaven.

I have been known to work out to some pretty cheesy music. I like pretty much every kind of music, but for workouts, I like completely cheesy pump-up pop and/or hip hop songs that keep my workouts fast-paced and energized. So, I have to share some new songs that are burning up my ipod right now. I promise that, if nothing else, they will keep you motivated during workouts and maybe even make you smile too.

Leavin’-Jessie McCartney (so ridiculously bubble gum pop but also the prefect beat)

Hot N Cold- Katie Perry (a great new one)

Bust It Baby- Plies and Ne-Yo (satisfies my hip hop needs)

Starlight- Muse (an AWESOME workout song, quite possibly the perfect song)

Can’t Make You Love Me- Britney Spears (old school Brit Brit, gotta love it)

Sugar- Trick Daddy (a few years old but still a great song to run to)

These are just a few of my workout playlist. Guaranteed to make you sweat.

Just around three months ago, I passed through a yellow-turning-red stoplight in front of Target. Little did I know that the intersection had a red light camera that snapped my picture as I sort of ran the light, and several weeks later, I found a $400 ticket in my mailbox. The interesting thing is that in California, you can actually make sure you do not get points on your license by attending an approved traffic school and passing the school’s exam. You can go to an 8-hour class or take an approved study-from-home internet class. I chose the latter and spent much of my spare time this week trying to muscle through the lessons. The problem with the online class? It has to take you 8 hours, as mandated by the law in California, so the pages are timed. This means that while you may breeze through reading a lesson chapter, you cannot go to the next page until the timer is up. Each page takes about 2 minutes to read, but the timer is set for 15 minutes. So, for the next 13 minutes, you can sit and twiddle your thumbs or do what I did this entire week and shop online. I bought my daughter more colorful hair bows than she will ever need (even monogrammed bows) from lizzysloops.com. I also bought a headboard for the guest bedroom from my absolutely favorite home decor site ballarddesigns.com. I even searched for some new coffee table books to display on the built-ins in my den. I have to recommend Once Upon a Time by Slim Aarons (see above picture.) It is a gorgeous book of fabulous homes and people from the 1960’s. The perfect addition to my shelves!

I hate the word sexy. It is so fraught with terrible, cheesy imagery that I am squeamish to even include it in the title of my post. The problem is, however, that I just purchased the most amazing looking and, yes, even sexy jeans at Zara that literally make me look VERY teeny-tiny, thanks to strategically placed fades and seams and a very low rise. I wasn’t in the market for new jeans as I have really dedicated myself to my Sevens, but I saw these jeans on the rack and simply had to try them on. They are perfectly faded in that worn-out way I used to like my jeans to look in college. Yet the cut and fit is so amazing and modern, they literally look awesome on. (I got complements from fellow shoppers in the dressing room who not only thrilled at my jeans, but ran out in search of pairs for themselves to try on. This is a rarity.) They are Fall 2008 Traffic jeans, so they are not presently on the website. All I can say is beeline it in there for a truly great jean at a great price too- $59.

Believe it or not I have been somewhat avoiding the makeup counter over the past few weeks. Maybe it is because I have had a little residual tan that I am not overly interested in makeup. However, today marked a return to the old me as I felt compelled to purchase some new YSL Beauty products that are truly exciting. Let me preface this by noting that I am totally trying to hang on to said tan in the most natural way possible. The first fabulous new purchase is Voile de Soleil, the perfect shade of bronze that blends amazingly well on the skin. (I happened upon this product at Nordstrom a few weeks back and, finding that it was sold out, my desire for it grew exponentially.) The “voile” looks just perfect over YSL’s Matt Touch Foundation, my second purchase, the sheerest of sheer matte makeups that doesn’t cover my skin, it just perfects it. Right now it is all about looking summery and chic without trying too hard, and I feel these little treats will do the trick!

My mom is in town this week, and we got to share an entire shopping day together at The Grove here in LA. (Thank you nanny Elsa!) She is also a makeup junkie, so together we are a salesperson’s dream. We made our way through the Nordstrom makeup department and secured some great purchases. One that I just have to report on is a new color kit by Bobbi Brown that is simply the perfect combination for someone like me, who favors cool colors. It is a kit of natural mauves that is inspired by vintage hues but is actually totally modern and perfect for me because, while it is natural enough, it also actually shows up on my skin. (Some nudes just disappear on me.) Check out this palette here. In addition to the requsitie makeup purchase, I hit up the pre-anniversary sale and found an amazing tank from Karta. It is simply gorgeous. (See the pic above.) I found mine in black, and I will pair this with a pair of pants- it is a hair too short for me to wear as a dress. I also picked up some adorable t-shirts that are soft and perfect for knocking around.

I was in South Carolina for the week of July 4th and was pleased to find that our vacation house was conveniently located near a bright and shiny new Target store. (I did have to drive 25 minutes to get to the nearest Starbucks, which I admit is completely ridiculous, but I just had to make the trek everyday.) After many trips to Targ to buy sand pails, more sunscreen, towels and the like, I picked up a great Sonia Kashuk lipstick/plumping gloss that is just the most perfect sheer shade of red that looks really great with a light tan. It is called Sheer Lip Color in Paradise 01, and while it looks totally too bright in the package, it is really perfectly sheer. In addition, the little gloss pen on the reverse side of the lipstick package evens out and tones down the vibrancy for the perfect summer red/coral ever. Check it out here.

I truly hate to admit that I love being tan. I know that as someone “in the know” about skin care and beauty, I should be slathering myself in SPF 50 and sitting under a wide-brimmed hat and full body UV swimsuit, but I simply cannot do this in the beautiful heat of summer. I crave tan skin, and it is something I treat myself to during a beach vacation. I do wear SPF 15 so that I don’t burn, and my skin, after a week of beaching it up, generally ends up somewhere in the light brown family. For me, being tan means no makeup required. I have been relishing my easy, breezy tan look and celebrating the little reddish/gold highlights in my hair and taking a break from the makeup bag for this week or at least until my post-sun breakouts start….