a dolltastic dream day.

today i made five-year-old's dreams come true...in the dream house. a five-year-old who is now 28, anyway. and in barbie: the dreamhouse experience, to be exact.

think pink. lots of it. plus 20 pounds of glitter, fluffy friends, long blonde hair and many mini shoes.

the trip to the giant pinktacular mansion was a girls' day out with my friend julie and her amazingly "awesome" daughter (as her shirt appropriately stated), plus their equally cool friends to sawgrass mills mall. i may have been flying solo without a little one by my side, but this kid at heart did not mind.

because with a closet that could be the size of my house, how could i not be in love? here's my peek at some of my favorite spots in barbie's world...

mattel barbie is so smart. the gift shop is practically the first thing little kids see when they walk in...either putting moms and dads (plenty of them, too!) in a place to purchase toys right then and there, or getting kids excited and ramped up to pick out their favorite on the way out. this would have been my pick...a mini replica of barbie's "glitterizer" closet.

rock n' roll barbie and little miss neon barbie "playing" the shimmering and sparkling piano.

 i want a jewelry box this size...with the gemstones too.

so there are dolls everywhere, which may have given me new ideas on what to do with my 100+ barbies sitting in my parents' garage (alex...you should be very nervous). while i'm a big fan of the vintage versions, my favorite single barbie of the house was this mermaid. doesn't hurt that she has rad dark hair with pink streaks, either.

 the "endless" closet - a.k.a. glitterizer. a mirror trick that actually works. this is just the beginning... 

now this is a barbie i can get on the same level with. if you didn't know this was a closeup taken of miniature pieces, you might think this was the real thing. the louboutins have the classic red soles and even come with an adorable shoebox and dust bag. barbie had plenty of big girl shoes around the closet too, but it's way more fun to photograph their teensy twins.

 

again, had to get a snapshot of these "dolltastic" dresses and shoes.

following a trip through barbie's closet and "private jet" the day ends with a megastar moment complete with a makeover and fashion show. blue eye shadow seems to be the hot color, as shown here on maddy.

 isa patiently awaiting her turn.

here is the big moment!

one of my favorite parts of the day came when the actual tour was over. there is a fun hands-on area where visitors can color, do barbie's hair and put together a kids' take on "project runway."

and here's a peek at what i wore behind the scenes. we made a point to all wear "barbie pink," but of course i had to put my own edgy skull spin on the look. i picked up this top from a thrift shop and the neon shorts and cut-out ballet flats are from gap.

 
all in all, it was a fabulous, fashion-filled day. if i were in charge, i'd add after-hours experiences for bachelorette parties and other big girls' nights out too...complete with cosmos. 

now that i've gotten this childhood dream out of the way, what's next up? well the american girl place at the falls in miami, of course. (and yes, i still own a felicity doll.)

red sole special.

about three or four years i ago mistakenly/regretfully/shamefully - however you want to put it - missed the opportunity of a lifetime to by picking up a pair of $245, size 7, neon yellow christian louboutins off the metal sale rack at saks fifth avenue at the gardens mall...and then setting.them.down.

i have no idea what i was thinking...that $245 was too much? that would have been the purchase of a lifetime. i went back right away the next day, but it was too late. well i may have gotten a second chance today. ok, not exactly. or even close to exactly, but i was able to find a similar pair...without the red soles. 

it was the first time since that day that i've seen a pair of neon yellow pumps for less than $600 since then (or the first pair that did not look like they should sold by a discount bikini and t-shirt vendor on the jersey shore, anyway). while browsing the buy one, get one 50 percent off promotion at nine west today i spotted the love fury heels in neon yellow patent leather (they also come in neon pink and orange)! 

i've held on to the $100 gift card i received for my birthday for quite a while now, and felt that it was finally time to cash it in. i got these and another pair from the sale section to total just a little more than my gift card. 

only problem...they don't ship until july 16. i just hope the neon look isn't out by then.

fashion line of the day #1

sometimes you need a few kind words to get through the day. some of us have uplifting tear-off calendars, my mom's boss e-mails her teachers inspirational quotes each day, and i think jason from the wild morning show reads off silly thoughts of the day.

me? i need a contstant stream of fashion, which is why i thought i'd combine the two for you by unveiling my "fashion lines." i'll bring you quotes by renowned designers, one-line tips from fashion mags, notes from the red carpet and other general style sayings to add a little glamour to your day.

so here it is, and today's line comes from a sweet gift our fabulous intern bought me:

"i can deal with anything if i have the right shoes."

christian louboutin's lady page velvet-bow pumps in oxblood from bergdorf's
because if i had these shoes, i could rule the world.