My Reading List: The Gospel According To Coco Chanel

Yesterday afternoon I was aimlessly wandering around the book store trying to kill time before class when I spotted the oh-so-conveniently-placed display table of fashion books. All of the sudden I felt like the gates of heaven had opened up and little rays of sunshine were beaming down onto the glossy book covers. I swear they created this table just for me because it had anything and everything that would catch my eye:

Fashion art books ✓
Female-oriented self-help books ✓
Books about shopping and fashion ✓✓

Of course I could not leave the book store without buying at least one of the lovely books on display so I purchased a copy of The Gospel According To Coco Chanel. Written by Karen Karbo, it is a look at Coco Chanel's life, interwoven with a crash course on style.



I read a couple pages last night and so far it is pretty good. I cannot wait to curl up in a chair with a cup of hot tea and read the rest of it later this weekend.

Have you stumbled across any great books lately?

J. Crew Look Book Item #s & Prices

My J. Crew Personal Shopper (PS) sent me an email letting me know that the new “HUGE” Spring Collection will arrive in their store next Tuesday. I find it comical that my PS always uses the word “Huge” to describe the rollout but when I go into the store it is literally 10 new items which is hardly “Huge” by any means.

She kindly attached a few photos from the latest and greatest Collection Look Book with a note that I should pre-order these “hot items” before they sell out. Even though many of you may have seen these images before I thought I would share them anyways since my PS listed the item numbers and prices {just in case you want to pre-order these "hot items"!}

Black Blossom Blazer, 22561, $118,
Selvedge Chambray Shirt, 15008, $98
Iris Embroidery Tank, 22835
Pixie Pant, 24529, $88
Fireball Cluster Necklace, 23678, $65
Crystal Cascade Ribbon, 25540, $68
Twisted treasure Necklace, 25535, $115
Metropolitan Leather Ankle Boots, 21188, $265

Bleeker Blazer, 23236, $148
Sequined Starland Tank, 22401, $138
Adore Me Wash Bermuda Short, 24662, $79.50
Sperry Topsider Original 2-Eye boat Shoes, 20503, $98
Suckered Gingham Perfect Shirt, 23310, 69.50
Dogwood Decadence Necklace, 24160, $135

Meron Dress, 22748, $128
Men’s Belstaff Large Shoulder Bag, 26702, $395
Studded Leather Belt, 22570, $68
Timex Military Watch, 10884, $150

I can't really say that I am drooling over anything. I just don't care for how the items are styled in the photos. Additionally, the prices for some these pieces are ridiculous IMO. $98 for a denim shirt??? I can't fathom paying more then $30 for a basic denim shirt. And don't get me started on the shorts and the Topsiders. You could easily find those items at TJ Maxx for a fraction of the price. Knowing J. Crew, I am sure that we will see some of these "hot items" in the Final Sale section in the up coming month or so ;)

I am hoping that when I visit my local store I will be more impressed with the new offerings. Has anyone seen any of the new items at their B&M? I would love to know what your must haves are and what you absolutely loath from the new Spring rollout.

New York, New York!

I absolutely adore New York and I am so excited that I am going to be visiting in March! I will officially be there for business but I have strategically {conveniently} planned my meetings so that I have plenty of time to for “extracurricular activities” aka dining and shopping.

As far as shopping goes, anyone who reads my blog regularly knows that I love J. Crew so it should come as no surprise that I would want to stop by the J. Crew Collection Store. I have read about the Collection Store on several blogs but I just have to see it in person. I also think a Lilly Townhouse visit is in order. I have a list of boutiques that I usually frequent when I am in New York but I would love to hear where everyone likes to shop.

Other then meetings and shopping I don’t have much of anything planned right now. One thing I want to do is view the collections at the Frick Museum and the Whitney. I always visit at least one museum when I am in New York and I hear that both of these museums are lovely and worth seeing. There is also a bakery that makes French macarons that I hope to try. I know it is silly to want to go to a bakery in New York when we have them in Dallas but it is nearly impossible to find decent macarons in Dallas. I also want to try out some new restaurants. I have dinner meetings at Eleven Madison Park and Le Bernardin but I don't have a clue where I am eating during the rest of my trip. I would love to hear any restaurant suggestions that you have so please share your favorite places to dine.

I still have over a month to figure out my agenda but I am sure that as it gets closer to March I will have a whole laundry list of things that I will want to do while I am in New York!

Addressing a nasty email that I received from a reader, oh and Happy New Year!

Is anyone still reading? If you are still reading, thank you for coming back!

It has been forever and a day since I last blogged. In all honesty I just have not been feeling "IT". I am sure many of you can probably relate to this feeling from time to time, I think it is referred to as “Blogger’s Block”. Well lately, I feel like it is a little more than just “Blogger’s Block” and more like a case of the “Blogger Blues.” It started in late October and has gotten to the point where I really don’t have much of a desire to blog anymore {insert sad face}. The whole story of this sad and tragic progression stems from a somewhat comical and very amusing email that I received a couple months ago.

I am sure you can imagine my surprise when I checked the email account that is associated with this blog and found that an anonymous person had sent an email to let me know that they had read my blog and absolutely loved hated it. According to this person, my blog is a mess and they just don’t get it. My “writing style and grammar are atrocious.” And just in case any of the prior was not insulting enough, the title of my blog “does not have anything to do with what I write about and what I do write about is materialistic and self-centered.” Oh and I do not want to forgot the cherry on top of the sundae, my photography skills “suck”, actually my whole blog “sucks”. I think that pretty much sums up the email from top to bottom. I just get so warm and fuzzy inside re-reading it all as I type this up.

At first, I was confused and had to re-read the email again just to make sure that this person had actually written what I just read. I thought, is this person serious? Who takes the time out of their day to create a phony email address and then write up a rather lengthy email about how much they hate my blog. I mean we are talking serious devotion of time and effort here. Are there not more important things in life, like achieving world peace, to devote time to? Since this anonymous person was so clearly distraught over my blog, I could not help but address the issue at hand immediately with the following thoughtful response:

Dearest anonymous,
I am glad you are such an avid fan of my blog. I want to thank you for your glowing review of Champagne and Cupcakes. It really means the world to me that you would take time out of your busy day to write me an email. It is, after all, the little people like you who make me who I am today. I understand that you have some serious concerns about the content of my blog. I would like to address this by extending an invitation to you to become the full time Editor of Champagne and Cupcakes. In this capacity you will be able to approve, or, shall I say, disapprove all of my posts. In addition to this job duty, you will be able to critique my carefully finessed writing style so that it is no longer unique or personal to me. Oh and I did not mention the best part of this job, you get the sole responsibility of editing my atrocious grammar. I can’t promise that this job will be glamorous and between you and me, it does not pay too well. Okay let’s not beat around the bush, it pays nothing. But, being that you are not materialistic or self-centered, I don’t expect you to care about that little detail.

XOXO,
Emily

P.S. I am also looking for a photographer, preferably one that does not “suck” and who will also work for free.

And that was that. I never received a response back. Maybe I was a bit too harsh with my email??? In all seriousness, I really could use an editor and photographer… Anyways, at the time I decided I was not going to indulge this person’s behavior any further by addressing the situation on my blog. I had already wasted my time crafting a response so there was no need to waste any more of my precious time or drain my energy and creativity into writing a full blown post about it. But alas, here we are today discussing it. So to you, Mr./Mrs./Ms./Miss/person/it/thing/whatever you are, congratulations on succeeding in making me feel like poopie {I would like to use another word but it’s not very lady like} and discouraging me from blogging. I quite blogging for a month+. I threw myself on the floor of my office {cringe} and cried like a two yr old and then promptly bought myself some overpriced pretty shoes. I know, I know, I am soooo materialistic. You win. The end. I am officially over it.

There you have it, Part I of why I have the “Blogger Blues”. Part II involves having my head under a rock and missing my final exam {it all ended up being okay, actually it turned out great}, plus two months of daily migraines {thank goodness they stopped about a week ago}, and a sabbatical from buying any J. Crew {my credit card thanks me}. I’ll spare you the full details of Part II since they are nowhere near as exciting as Part I.

A new year brings a new start. Hopefully, I will be blogging more in the upcoming year. Just like that annoying Black Eyed Peas song “I gotta feeling”, I got a feeling that 2010 is going to be a good year! Happy New Year!

Ebates?

I am contemplating signing up for an Ebates account and I am wondering if any of you lovely readers out there have signed up. Lately it seems that I have been doing a considerable amount of online shopping and I am thinking that maybe it is time to take the Ebates plunge and start getting some cash back for my online purchases. After reading all the mumbo jumbo on the Ebates site, it just seems too easy or shall I say too good to be true. I am wondering if there are any drawbacks that I should be aware. Chime in with your love or hate for Ebates.

Ann Taylor/ Loft Friends & Family Promo

I received an email from Ann Taylor for their Friends & Family event which runs Tuesday, November 17 -Sunday, November 22. It's good for 30% off you entire purchase and free shipping on online orders of $100 or more at Ann Taylor and Ann Taylor Loft. It can also be used at the factory/ outlet stores for 15% off.

Here is a link where you can print a coupon: Ann Taylor Friends & Family

Are you planning on taking advantage of this promotion? Happy Shopping!

Veterans Day: Thank You

We sleep soundly in our beds because rough men stand ready in the night to visit violence on those who would do us harm." - Winston Churchill

Today is Veterans Day. Why today? Because the fighting in World War I ended, according to the terms of the armistice of 1918, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month. Today is the day that is set aside to commemorate our veterans who serve honorably in the military - in wartime or peacetime.

I want to thank all of the veterans who have served or are currently serving our Nation today. Specifically, I would like to honor my father, currently serving in Iraq.