The Highs and Lows of Boots

Congratulations to Sharon for wining the Stephanie Johnson clutch giveaway from Designer Apparel. Stop by and visit her page, she's so sweet! Make sure you check out her Chanel Christmas tree..if that's not fabulous..I don't know what is!

I really want to thank everyone who participated in the contest, I know a few other blogs had similar giveaways going on from the same place, so I really appreciate all of those who entered. I also want to thank Designer Apparel for the great opportunity. They were very friendly, generous and helpful.

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Ah, the "highs and lows" of boots. Boots with high heels are tempting, covet worthy and addicting. Many, however are not very practical. I'm all about practical + stylish. Trust me, I drool over boots like these Max Studio Ina boots from Piperlime :

but they are just not practical (at least not in my everyday life, some of you lead much more glamours lives than I do) *sigh*. I can't wear a heel this high on a regular basis. So you can imagine my excitement when I come across super stylish boots with just the right heel height.

Some highs but lows for your viewing pleasure:

BP "Lovey" Stretch Boot Nordstrom & Charlotte Russe Cuffed Suede Boot

Hive and Honey Truffle Boots and Lovely People Piper from Piperlime

Mia Seductive at Piperlime

Enzo Angiolini Rachey at Piperlime and Charolette Russe Cuffed Slouch Boots

Forever 21 Tulip faux suede boots and Kenneth Cole Go Out boots

Yesstyle.com faux suede boots. Love the bow boots!

Christian Sirano Geneva Zip boot and Dexter for Payless

Shoes that will surely snap my neck:

Christian Louboutin Cut Out Circus boot

Gianni Barbato Boot

Dsquared Piping Leopard boots

Gian Marco Lorenzi

 highs or lows, let me know!

Fashion

Dina's Deals: Easy Holiday Hosting and Gifting

Your all around holiday guide:

Holiday Entertaining and Crashing

Food

If you're taking a dish to a holiday party/gathering, take advantage of pre made appetizers from wholesale clubs like Sams Club, Costco, GFS and BJ's.

Tastefully Simple makes easy to use products that make you look like a domestic goddess.

One of my favorites:  Kraft Foods .com,  known for easy appetizers and desserts. And by easy, I mean 5 ingredients or less easy. I got the recipe for the most delicious chocolate chip cheesecake last year. It was a hit.  They even have a budget page.

Both for snacking and decoration,  keep triscuits or crackers in decorative bowls around the house in addition to a round of Brie or Bleu Cheese. A bowl of olives, mixed nuts and Chex Mix are always great  munchies too. Nuts are also a great thing to bring to a party (unless, of course you if you know that the recipient is allergic)

 Fill a hurricane candle holder or large vase with colorful ornaments for your center piece. Fill small crystal bowls with holiday themed m and m's or silver and gold Reese cups.

 

DIY idea. What you need: Rubber backing from the craft store, old holiday cards and glue. Glue the old cards to the rubber backing to make homemade, festive place mats.  This is fun for kids too!

If you notice your Poinsettia's are starting to die, cut them and place them in a bowl of water. Floating Poinsettias!

Holiday Wrapping and Decorating

 

My favorite part! 

 

Solid wrapping paper and boxes will go a long way. Not only will the lucky recepient be able to reuse the box, but you can really get creative. I decided to go solid with everything this year (although it was very, very hard not to get the cute peppermint sliver and red wrapping paper)

Buy decorative ornaments for very cheap -I got mine for $1 a piece from Walmart in gold, silver and red. You can then super glue these on to gift boxes and wrapping paper. You can still get creative with printed wrapping paper too.

I love the idea of reusing last years holiday cards, or if you mess up on one like I did in this photo >>Tear the front off, use them as postcards or glue them on the front of your gift. It's a great alternative to ribbons or ornaments.

Do away with envelopes! If you're giving a card with your gift, stick the card on the package. It looks pretty and is good for the environment too!

Use a Santa hat instead of a stocking. I did this by accident, and it turned out great. I needed a stocking to throw my stocking stuffers in, I thought I saw one in my garage, but turns out I only had a Santa hat,  and decided to use that instead. This works best if you have things big enough to fill the hat to where it can sit up straight. A candle, bottles of lotion for example. I included a package of wet naps (don't ask) along with other small items, which made it sit up perfectly. It adds a great touch when displayed with the rest of the gifts.

Hope you got some new ideas this year!

Feel free to add anything you do that makes your holiday unique!

Dina's Deals: Safe and Stylish-City Slippers

Rain, rain, don't go away! My heels have come out to play!

Many of you have probably already heard of City Slippers. Myself, on the other hand, just found out. Today, my mom showed me a pair of some generic rubber high heel protectors that she bought from K-Mart back in the 80's and I about died laughing. Although I laughed, this is a genius idea. I can't tell you how many pairs of shoes I've ruined due to bad weather, and how many times I've slipped and fallen because of slippery, wet conditions.

Put your wellies and rain boots away ladies, because City Slippers from SWIMS are here to secure your steps.

[photos]

Simply slip them on your favorite shoes during bad weather. The rubber protects the shoes from water and all the other gross stuff that comes along with rain and snow. The traction on the bottom protects you from falling. Take them off once you reach your destination and store them in this bag.

I've got to admit, even though I laughed at my mom I think I would wear a pair.
Would you?

Fashion. Dina's Deals.

M.I.A Ruby Red Tights

While flipping through Women's Day Magazine in the lunch room at work, I spotted these adorable DKNY opaque tights in Ruby Red. The small picture I found online does not even begin to do these tights justice. They are so much cuter in the picture I saw in the magazine. 

I can't find these tights anywhere! Not on the DKNY website, Nordstrom's, Bare Necessities..nothing! If you ever spot these rubies, let me know!

As I was desperately searching for my Ruby Red's, I was very impressed with the rest of the DKNY tight collection:

Menswear Tweed

and

Croco Tight

Nouveau knit tight

Rib knit tight and Sweater Lace

Fashion

Discuss with Dina: What are Your Fashion Goals?

 I teach financial and budgeting/money management workshops to low income families at my job and one of the first things I mention when I start the class is how important it is to set goals to get on the right track, both in the financial and general sense. Whether we get to achieve them or not, we all have set goals in our lives at some point: Finish school, pay off debt, have a child, lose weight, the list goes on and on.

But what about Fashion Goals?

Often times, we find our comfort zone when it comes to fashion and styles and stay there-and that's what makes us all unique in our own styles. But then there are times, no matter how much you may like a certain item, style, fashion or fad, it can be hard to break away and try something new.

Why not set Fashion Goals? Take my sister for example.(she inspired me to write this post, thanks sis!) she loves the look of a sweater dress with leggings/tights but never tried this look and is actually honestly a little afraid to branch out to explore her options. I can't tell you how many times I've just adored the look of a certain style, assumed it would never look right on me, therefore never even bothering to try it on. Several times. Heck, it happens all the time while reading some of my favorite blogs.

I think it would be fun to set a personal fashion goal(s). It could be wearing less of something you already wear or branching out into something new. My goal would be to explore the world of skirts. If I'm not wearing slacks at the office, I'm in jeans outside of the workplace. I did cross over into the dress world-but I tend to stick with that only during the summer time. I absolutely love the look of skirts and dresses with tights/leggings in the fall and winter, but rarely seem to go that route.

The goals don't have to be restricted to just clothing. It could be anything from hair styles, accessories to nail color!  The tips I have for you are simple: Try it on. Not just once, but at least a couple times. Give it a chance. You might be surprised :)

Do you have a fashion goal you would like to set?

Make sure you enter my giveaway..tell a friend!

Fashion

DIY: Magnetic Poetry

This was a fun and easy project. I've had a double sided white picture frame for months. I found it at a cheap place like Big Lots. Maybe it was Big Lots. I really can't remember. I also found a pack of Words & Crafts self adhesive"friendship" words from Magnetic Poetry at a local closeout store for $.99. The pack included 48 words related to friendship.

I started to stick the words on the frame and forming sentences when my sister suggested that I paint the frame. Great idea. I used the rest of the red paint I used when I turned the spool holders into jewelry organizers.

I'm so glad that I painted it. It looks so much better in red. The nice thing about the self adhesive words is that if you decide to switch up your collage, or mess up they are very easy to peel off, leaving no residue. If the adhesive eventually wears off over time, you can always super glue them on.

Since there are so many words per pack, you can mix and match to whatever you want it to say. This was a friendship set, but I kept it neutral. This can go for any loved one. Friend, significant other, family or even pet!

I adore homemade gifts. Although I am keeping this for myself (I'm still going through over 200 pictures of my nephew trying to decide which one I should use for this frame) you can always make something like this for someone for any occasion. It's cheap, easy, thoughtful and fun to make.

Are you making any gifts this holiday season?

check out my giveaway!

Dressing for the Holidays- Move Over Party Dress

Like most, the majority of my holiday festivities include visiting friends and family, over eating, cleaning and lounging around. Rarely do I have an event where I need to get dressed up in a beautiful cocktail dress with trendy accessories to match. (Although I wish I were that important) Even my office holiday party is pretty casual and laid back.

Besides spending time with family this holiday season, my friends and I decided to get together for a "holiday dinner." Me, being the planning Nazi that I am set the rules: wear something festive, but leave the holiday sweater at home. "What does that even mean?!" One friend asked. My answer: Check Dina's Days tomorrow and you will find out.

I was looking for items that are versatile. Outfits where you still look nice, maybe even a little dressed up. But not necessarily a party dress that you will probably never wear again. (Story of my life)These looks can be interchangeable for the different events you have going on. I know a lot of people don't wear leggings or skirts, so feel free to substitute, or mix and match.

The Office Party: Break up the monotony of your office wear (or really, in this case my monotonous wardrobe) This isn't too dressy but still classy and put together. If you don't feel comfortable in skirts, or if the setting just isn't skirt friendly, substitute with your favorite slacks or clean cut jeans.

Visiting Family: You want to look nice and feel comfortable.The high boots will cover most of the red tights or leggings giving your outfit just enough pop- that way, it's not so loud and grandma and grandpa aren't blinded by your bright tights. Wear a fitted black long sleeve tee underneath. How bleeping adorable are these printed tights? An outfit almost identical to this just might end up being my Christmas ensemble.

The Girlfriend Holiday Outing (out with your friends to coffee, tea, lunch or dinner!) The jeans keep it casual, while the sequins give it that seasonal charm.

Festive Traveling: The long lines at the airport stress you out-I know. But you still want to look and feel festive and warm (both in the literal and the warm and fuzzy meaning) Surprise those picking you up with your airport holiday gear:

What's on your holiday To Wear list?

Make sure you enter my giveaway!

Fashion