What else am I up to?

Edit: this idea has been nixed, everything is all in one place now, Huzzah!

I've looked at what it would take to run a broader topic blog the way I'd like and it basically involves writing my own code. I'm going to stick with Blogger for the time being so this is how I'm breaking it up instead...

I've started up a blog specifically for crafty and more lifestyley stuff:

Click image above to check out the new blog

So that whole plan of having one multi topic space? Completely abandoned for the moment. :(

Maybe someday I'll combine into one lifestyle blog, sadly today is not that day.

This page will continue pretty much as usual: hair, makeup, skin, clothing, accessories.
Other topic pages are linked on that navigation bar on the top of my page.

Lifestyles of The ItsyBitsy

I am a woman of many (many) interests and I'm finding this beauty specific space to be limiting, so I'm working on ways to shake things up.

Basically what I would like to do is set up a few separate topic pages here on The Itsy Bitsy so that I can post what I like when I like, and recast this as a broader lifestyle blog.

A weirder, craftier, fussier, Itsy-er, Bitsy-er, lifestyle blog.

My goal is to make it so that people who want to come look at the blog for a specific topic will be able to find it easily as it will all be archived by topic (beyond just by tagging, that is), but if they are interested in the other stuff I do they won't have to go far.

The beauty stuff will of course stay but I'm really trying to get back into fitness and crafting in a big way and I want to talk about those sides of me without having to maintain a whole passel of separate spaces.

I'll be playing around with page layouts in the coming days but I don't expect this to be terribly intrusive, more as I get things hammered out!

It's alive, it's alive!

I'm sorry, it's been pretty quiet around here as I continue to recover from the whirlwind of my wedding. 

I've been at an interesting point beauty-wise for the intervening couple of months which definitely deserves its own post, but for now I'll say I'm starting to feel like doing the pretty thing again.

It also occurred to me today that I really like talking about cheese, and I have this handy blog thing here that I neglect, so I should totally like... do something with that. I'm not an expert by any means but I am QUITE a fan and I have been trying some pretty fun stuff lately.

My actual fridge the day after Christmas.

TL:DR - You may occasionally see posts about cheese. 

Hopefully my random-person opinions on cheese (rather than the words of some fancy frommagier*) will pique your interest.  

(*I made that up).

So, on to the usual "the Itsy Bitsy" thing...

I actually did a BUNCH of beauty related retail therapy yesterday.

I've mentioned Fashion Project here before, they re-sell higher end donated clothing at problematically good prices with a significant (listed) portion of each sale benefiting the charity of the donator's choice. It's catch as catch can of course, but they have a fair amount of product on a BEAUTIFULLY navigable site so finding something good tends to be a bit TOO easy.

They have "Personal Invite Links" which give the original linker a $20 credit if a person ends up buying through that link.
I'm not saying you should definitely use my link, but it would be pretty cool if you did!

I ended up picking up a very frivolous pair of Brian Atwood "Consort" heels in pink yesterday which benefited Breast Intentions and a very functional Dooney and Bourke black pleated leather clutch which benefited Canine Assistants Inc. They pull the listing once the sale is made so I can't get to the pics to link them here, but I'll post pics once they arrive. I spent less than 30% of the list prices on the two items so I consider it good hunting rather than poor decision making.

I had a haircut after work (as always props to Fran at Cactus Salon in Holbrook) and I finally went for it and cut off the last of the hair I grew out for the wedding. I'm now back in my super short pixie happy place, though the sides are buzzed, as is the style of the time (if Instagram is to be believed anyway). I shied away from short sides for a while because it can be harsh, but I love what it does for my cheekbones so I'm playing with it.

From there I went to Ulta and got my eyebrows done at the Benefit Brow Bar at the Patchogue store. This is the fourth time I've gotten my brows done there and I've been quite happy every time.

My brows are pretty sparse so I usually have a terrible time getting someone to do them so that it comes out evenly. Sadly I'm terrible with names and I can't find the card I got, but I'm pretty sure the woman I've seen every time is named Tanya, and I like how decisive she is. I went for a higher arch than usual this time and I'm not sure if I want to stick with that, but it does look quite nice.

While I was there I also picked up some Freeman face masques as I have become rather enamored of cleansing my face with anything but soap.  I picked up the Charcoal & Black Sugar Facial Polishing Mask and the Pineapple Facial Enzyme Mask because both seemed pretty straightforward in the ingredients and low on the eye stabbing perfume.

On the nail front I got two discounted China Glaze Pop Top sets for $10 each.
Full size China Glaze for $2.50 a bottle? Yeeeeeaaaaaah, couldn't resist that. So I got those in "Glisten Up" (the four colours on the left) and "Feeling Sparkly"(the four right).

I feel a bit indecisive about what to do with my nails next but I've had naked nails for two days now so I'll probably get on that soon. I keep thinking about going for a professional pedicure and then... not. Mostly because I've spent so many afternoons at the vet lately, but that's a whole other story.

I still have approximately 1/4 of the pedicure from my wedding remaining! Sexy!

Holy cow! Talk about fast service!

I put my order through at Fashion Project at 11:44 am yesterday morning and it was in my hands by 10:30am today.

Boston to southern NY in less than 24 hours with no rush or expedited shipping charge.

Wow.

I haven't tried anything on yet but it all looks awesome. My only complaint is that it would have been nice if the 4" stilettos were wrapped separately from the light coloured dress, but in this case it did not seem to cause a problem.

A fantastic budget fashion find

I tripped over a REALLY PROMISING site today and it solved a small dilemma. I really needed to pick up a nice outfit for some pre-wedding functions but it's hard to feel good dropping any kind of real money on YET ANOTHER wedding related thing at this point. 

I noticed a pretty dress while poking around on my Pinterest and followed the link to the original posting page. What I found was Fashion Project.

click on the above image to reach the website via my Invite link

It initially reminded me of Tradesy in the layout and in that both have listings for pre-owned items, but I quickly realized that this site was both considerably better organized and charity oriented.

Fashionproject is basically a charity thrift shop website. They re-sell donated fashion items at fantastic prices and then donate 55% of the net of each sale to charity. The charity differs from item to item and is noted on the search page. The amount of the charity contribution is shown on the listing. There is free shipping on all donations and orders over $100 and there are even coupon codes available if you dig around online!

The pictures of the items are professional and well lit from multiple angles, and the sizes are searchable and listed in the title. There are listings for clothing, bags, shoes and accessories.

I picked up a couple of things I really needed anyway for way less than I expected to pay AND supported a couple of charities in the process. I paid in the early afternoon and had a tracking number by the end of business hours!

They have "Personal Invite Links" which give the original linker a $20 credit if a person ends up buying through that link. *

I'm not saying you should definitely use my link, but it would be pretty cool if you did!

The dress I got is by Pins and Needles for Urban Outfitters (without actually giving any money to Urban Outfitters, which I feel completely sweetens the deal) and the other item was a pair of satin and leather pumps by BCBGMaxazria for a total of $54 with shipping (after a 20% off code which I found via Retailmenot). I've since found an Ebay listing for the same dress new with tags going for as much as I spent for the entire purchase.

The donation from my shoes went to NEADS/Dogs for Deaf and Disabled Americans, and the one from the dress went to Suited for Change. Based on what they listed 33% of the gross went to the charities. The site is run out of Boston so many of the charities are Boston local charities.

After I posted the link in my personal Facebook one of my friends found a *gorgeous* Sue Wong dress for literally 1/5 of what that label tends to go for. I will definitely update with my impression once I receive the items and with pictures once I wear them.



*The owner of this blog is not compensated to provide opinion on products, services, websites and various other topics. The "Personal Invite Links" for this particular page is standard to all users. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are purely that of the blog owner.