…but my savings account does.

One of my all-time favorite reads, the lovely Heidi, has this weekly theme that I want to highlight. The genius blogger that she is, Heidi posts a list of things every week that are gorgeous shopping finds.

I’m going to admit that I’ve gone a little overboard these past few weeks, to a point where my nosy coworker raised her eyebrow when I came in with my new shoes last week. “And how much were those?” she questioned, obviously breaching the lines of our very thin relationship.

THE MADELINE DRESS – J.CREW

I’ve been obsessed with this dress for about three weeks now and drool every time I see it (which is just about every day, in the same frequency that I check their website). Actually, I jotted this purchase down to the fact that on Wednesday, I have to go from a work lunch, to work, to my high school reunion. Actually, I don’t want to go to the latter as much, but two of my three girls are flying in that very day and that’s where they’ll be. So of course I’m going to see them- I’ll just put on alcohol blinders and ignore the rest of them. And look gorgeous in this dress.

DOUBLE SERGE DRESS – J.CREW

 A few weeks ago I went out for a shopping trip with my girl Ella. We did the whole nine yards- jewelry, lingerie, and of course J. Crew, followed with a delicious dinner. The J. Crew trip was eventful- I bought way too much but lucked out with this skirt and the shoes and cardigan below. One of my new favorite work outfits is this skirt with my white button down tucked in and my gray menswear shoes. It has this old-fashioned look that got me the nickname of “Nancy Drew” in the office.

SALINA BALLET FLATS – J. CREW

Last week I was having a great talk with College Roomie about- what else?- men. She’s been complaining about the lack of guys in her life, and I came up with what I believed to be the best metaphor (I’d had two glasses of wine first- prepare yourselves). I guess the way I relate to relationships is that they’re accessories. I have the essential clothing, with a great job, classes, and a great group of family and friends. “Guys are like the really cute ballet flats or the perfect purse- they’re not essential, but they make everything else come together just a little bit more.” In my mind, the perfect guy would be just like these ballet flats- probably the best purchase I’ve made in years. They fit perfectly, can be worn to work, to school, to the bar. With a skirt or with jeans. They are so comfortable but still look so damn cute with everything. Holy crap, that metaphor was horrible.

CRYSTAL-BUTTON COLORBLOCK CARDIGAN – J. CREW

I’m so glad I bought this cardigan back when I did. My mother made some comment about how I’m starting to dress like my grandmother, but then the very next day our future First Lady wore it on t.v. with a full J. Crew ensemble. “Doesn’t she look great?” my mom asked. I did the daughter bit of rolling my eyes, not even trying to point out that it was the same cardigan I’d just gotten on sale. The cardigan is gorgeous too, a soft cashmere blend with crystal buttons. Another piece that can be dressed up for work or worn on a dinner date with the girls. Even better, I wore it to play poker the other night with the boys with a white tank top and dark wash jeans.

A quick listing of a few other purchases that have been ESSENTIAL in my past month?

-This book, by another of my all-time favorite bloggers. Ya’ll probably know of him at this point, but I still need to point out how freakin’ fantastic his novella is. And not just because the best character is named Caitlyn.

-Perle Rosee nail polish from Chanel. This stuff is addictive and looks gorgeous. I got a random compliment during a conference by my (male) boss.

-My new Blackberry. In pink. My friends will attest to the fact that I never, ever let it out of my sight. I used to laugh at the nickname “Crackberry”, but the claims make sense now. Have a random question? Look it up. Need to remind yourself of a conference call? Schedule it. I. Love. This. Thing.