For Rent: Runway Fashion

Through the beauty of the internet and friends, I have found my new obsession when it comes to fashion.

Are you ready?

I've long said if I were ever to get married I want to rent a couture dress that I couldn't otherwise afford. Seriously, what people spend on a dress they wear ONCE is absolutely absurd to me. I'd rather have a few pairs of Jimmy Choos, a Chanel and Prada bag that I can wear whenever the hell I want, rather than a $7,000 dress that I wore for 5 hours. Let's face it, if I have to wear a white, girly dress, you better believe it is going to be the hottest-closest-to-couture this body has ever seen.

Anyway, I was introduced to my new favorite site by Lauren at Cleveland Couture called Rent the Runway. Then, I was invited by a lovely friend of the Plum.

How often do you scour the fashion blogs and covet the latest runway collections? I flip through Lucky, Elle and Vogue just staring at the beautiful designs I would love to wear or at least try on. Just once. Can I afford Zac Posen, Proenza Schouler or Christian Siriano? Um no. Not even close. I'm still hoping the BF will buy me my damn Louis Vuitton for one of these birthdays.

Well, now I don't have to actually BUY the dresses. I can conveniently rent a dress from one of my favorite designers with the help of the girls at Rent the Runway, an invitation-only dress site.

You pick the dress and a back-up size and then send it back. Freaking genius, I tell ya! The dresses range from $50 to $200 for a range of occasions from weddings to black ties to cocktail parties.

After being giddy about it all week and picking out dresses for upcoming weddings, I told my mom about it tonight and she didn't understand the concept at first.

Mom: "What are you renting?"
Me: "You rent the runway."
Mom: "What? You rent the runway?"
Me: "Yes, mom. Instead of paying $1,000 for a dress, you can rent as many as you want for so cheap."
Mom: "Well why don't you get me one for mother's day for your cousin's wedding?"
Me: "You want me to rent a dress for you for Mother's Day? Are you SERIOUS?"
Mom: "Yes, pick one out and we will wear the runway at the wedding."

Helping my mom with today's fashion, one rented dress at a time....

Forever 21 (at least in my mind)

Who loves a weekend recap? I do!

My friends and I decided to celebrate a few January birthdays on Saturday night. Normally, I make a huge deal out of my birthday for about a whole week if I can get away with it.

Since my birthday week consisted of bidding on a house and a short trip to some of the southern states, I didn't have a chance to claim my birthday like I normally do so I was excited to go out with everyone this weekend.

We all met up at the Willoughby Brewing Company and so did the rest of the surrounding cities. It was freaking packed - who knew EVERYONE wanted to celebrate my birthday!

Yesterday might have been the most perfect Sunday with the exception of the wet weather. A few friends and I went shopping together, but it was a completely leisurely experience and we spent at least 2 hours in Forever 21.

Let's talk about Forever 21. Clearly, I'm not 21 anymore but the clothes are so ridiculously affordable, so it's hard not to at least browse the store for trends. However, I'm pretty confident that the people who are buying the clothes buy for stick thin girls who are no taller than 5'3".

It's almost comical for me to try on skirts. Actually, it is quite comical because my ass pretty much hangs out for all to see. And no amount of leggings will save the outfit either. I'm pretty sure the only thing from Forever 21 that is appropriate for me to purchase are shirts, jewelry and shoes. Any of the tank tops, t-shirts or other dressy shirts fit me pretty well. Jackets are hit or miss because of my linebacker shoulders. But, I love my broad shoulders so I'll keep those over a faux leather jacket any day.

Happy Monday to all!

Friday Fodder

I'm not a morning person. I try to become better at it, but I've been known to hit snooze more than two times before getting out of bed.

I also don't wake up to beeping. I like to wake up to the radio. Well, in Cleveland, you never know what kind of music you are going to get so I'm picking with my stations.

Judge me now, but I can't wake up to our pop radio stations because I will the songs stuck in my head, find myself hating Ne-Yo because it's the song that wakes me up.

I found this christian pop station (I know, all sorts of ironic) but I don't know any of the songs, therefore, I won't get annoyed by what's blaring me to get my ass out of bed.

Until. This. Morning

I seriously woke up to this blaring in my ears.



What the hell did I turn my Friday into?

Hair care woes

" Hi, I'm looking to order some of the Tresemme hair paste. I was unable to find it in CVS, Giant Eage, Walgreens or Target."

Silence.
"Oh, I see, they are no longer stocking the product."

More silence.
"Well I'd like to purchase 5 of them. Oh, free shipping over $25 orders? Then I'd like another paste please."

Above is a sample of the conversation I laughed my ass to last night when the bf was on the phone with some drug store distributor. The bf made me go to all those stores with him, looking for this special tresemme hair paste.

After he hung up, he turned around to see me almost in tears typing away.

"Don't you dare tweet that!"

Oops, too late for that.

another year older and wiser (or so they say)

For this weekend, the BF and I decided to keep things pretty calm and so did most of our friends. We have a core group of 10 friends we hang out with on a weekend basis. Sometimes we drink wine and play board games or go out on Saturday nights to our favorite bars. In the summer, we all seem to spend all weekend together, grilling outside and having a hungover afternoon together on Sunday. It's a perfect way to end a weekend filled with one too many beers and cornhole games.

Sunday was a big day for us because we went looking at more houses and our parents came up to go out for my birthday brunch. Last year, we went to Lucky's Cafe in Tremont and we tried Heather's other joint in Shaker Square called Vine & Bean Cafe. We were able to grab our favorite brunch items, but I noticed Vine & Bean served alcohol and also holds wine tastings and I don't remember Lucky's offering that.

The cafe is set in an old house complete amazing woodwork and interesting chandeliers - I always notice anything sparkly.

After brunch, we took the parents to see the house that is our favorite so far for a look over. We gave them a guided tour and the guys spent time crawling in the attic and other crawl spaces to look for potential issues. My realtor/friend and I stood on the porch, guessing the ages of our potential neighbors and laughing at the fact that the neighbors were probably staring right back at us.

We looked at four more houses and liked one of them, but it's still a far second behind the first one.

But enough house drama, let's talk about today, January 18. Twenty-seven years ago, my mom was rushed to the hospital to deliver her first and only daughter with my dad by her side in Lorain, Ohio. It was a snowy day and they brought home this tiny little girl (who seriously was not an attractive baby with stick-up hair). Although she didn't talk other than the word "I" until she was almost three, she has definitely made up for her lack of communication later in life. She also made up for the lack of looks as a baby and turned into a pretty young woman with a full head of thick hair, which she may or may not twirl constantly.

Wishing everyone a happy birthday who celebrates their birthday on Martin Luther King Jr. day!

Giving Back - Cleveland style

One of the things I love about the blogging community is how we rally around causes, injustice or crazy, clever excuses for a get-together.

In Cleveland, we have an active group of bloggers all over the city who are interested in everything from food to fashion to sharing their crazy 20-something nightly outings with friends.

It's no surprise that every one of us is passionate about Cleveland in some way. Spreading the positive and not the negative and cheering on our city, even if we do mock the weather every once in awhile.

If you are a betting (wo)man and have an $5 in your pocket to donate to a charity, hop on over to Cleveland Foodie for more information about an amazing contest she pulled together with the help of several local chefs to benefit a struggling program in Cleveland Metro School District. You have the opportunity to win up to $1,200 worth of gift cards to our top restaurants with a simple $5 donation to Veggie U, a national program that promotes the well-being of children through a healthy lifestyle with a focus on making wise food choices, combating adolescent and juvenile disease, and attaining an understanding of sustainable agriculture.

From Michelle V.'s post:

"If you donate $5 to Veggie U, you will automatically be entered to win more than $1,500 worth of gift cards to all your favorite eateries and shops. Want to increase your odds? Donate $10, $25, $50 or more (I promise you won’t miss $25). For every $5 you donate, you will earn another entry into the drawing. The more you donate, the greater your chance of winning. You have until February 13 to donate and be entered. It’s easy – just call 419.499.7500 ext 119; you must reference Cleveland Foodie (a winner will be picked using random.org)."

You have until February 13 to make a donation. I made my donation today and you actually don't need to dial extension 119. When I reached the person, I asked for extension 119 and he responded, "You must be calling in regards to Cleveland Foodie." I said, "Why yes I am."

The Monster Ball

After driving two hours to see her and braving the Jersey Shore wannabes in the venue, we made it back in one piece from singing and dancing our asses off to Lady Gaga in Detroit last night.

Highlights from the show:
She played for almost two hours
Sang and danced her butt off, and yelling at the crowd to jump with her
Wore some interesting costumes with lights, red leather, Cleopatra-like helmets, a feather coat, sunglasses, fishnets and sang inside a moving disco ball.

Maureen and me with a look-alike


On stage


Screen shot between songs


Rocking the bones costume with a headdress she took off






Ending the show with Bad Romance


Finale with her sequined sparkle outfit and disco ball in the background