number 138

finding the perfect dress is hard. especially when everyone and their mother wants the same one. i saw a dress on a blog post about 2 months ago and HUNTED IT DOWN directly after - only to get the runaround and 3 weeks after paying, told that it's going to be another month. "please cancel my order." bad customer service just doesn't fly with me. i digress. pinterest has created a monster when it comes to shopping for cute clothes. one adorable outfit gets pinned, and 2 weeks later, every sorority girl this side of memphis wants it. i've got a little strategy i want to share, and although it may not be the most efficient process, it ended up working for me...

1 | 2 | 3

above is the dress for the search. aside from hunting down every pin of the dress on pinterest - which inevitably will bring you to the same [sold out] boutique, i turn to google.

option 1: i come up with as many descriptives as possible and google image search them one after another - in this case: coral and teal maxi dress // chevron maxi dress // mint and orange maxi dress // robins egg maxi dress // turquoise and coral maxi dress // chevron mint maxi dress // colorblock mint and apricot maxi dress // colorblock chevron // mint and coral // ...the list goes on and on. if the image is the dress in question --> click it! if you're lucky, it's IN STOCK at a cute boutique that offers free shipping! double score!

option 2: another successful, little known fact, is the drag and drop option for google images. copy a photo of an item and save it to your desktop. open google and click on the image search tab.

click and drag the saved image from your desktop to the search bar. google will then upload your image and search based on a number of factors: the image itself, the filename, and other awesome stuff that google can do…. with any luck, your search results will look like this:

and go on and on with places you can buy/find the dress! THIS IS HOW I GOT LUCKY! i was able to find it in multiple places and get the best deal without breaking the bank. and because i'm so nice, i'm sharing a few places that (as of 10:30 am on wednesday, july, 12) still have the dress IN STOCK:

1  |  2  |  3  |  4

p.s. it's also no secret amongst my friends that i love to shop on eBay as well. some boutiques sell on eBay, and it's NEW clothing, so don't be afraid to try the keyword search route there!

do you have a method to finding those hard-to-find in-high-demand items? let me know your secret!

happy hunting!

number 137

it’s COMING! my favorite time of year! even rivaling any major holiday, because it actually happens twice a year: RESTAURANT WEEK! andrew and i took advantage of this back in the winter and it was WONDERFUL! if you know me in real life, you know i love to eat! in fact, when people ask me what we love about living in charlotte, i usually say "the food"! and even though there are and endless amount of restaurants popping up all over the qc, we find ourselves eating at the SAME ONES over and over again. (if it ain't broke...) this is a great opportunity to find a new favorite, or indulge in a higher tier restaurant with $30 price tag! i like that! the dates are

 friday, july 20 - sunday, july 29

click the link above to view all of the awesome restaurants in the area AND the menu they’ll be offering for restaurant week! one WONDERFUL tip: a lot of these places have online ordering: soooo if you're snooping around today while you’re at work, you can make your reservation, look like you're still doing work, and get away with slackin' on the job!

are there any places that you’ve been that i can’t miss? i GOTTA know!

number 136

oh hey! i've been a off the radar for a little while, so i apologize. i've been taking some time to unplug and get my mind right over that past week or so. we've been having a blast on the weekends with lots of visitors – too bad summer is FLYING by! this weekend is no exception, andrew and i are hitting the road up to richmond, virginia for the weekend to spend some much-needed quality time with some of our best buds. we'll be splitting up for the weekend - andrew with his college roomie and bf, andy, and me with my favorite gal pals from college as well. if it were up to me, i'd be there now!

richmond, virginia

as much as i love charlotte, this move hasn't been all roses for me. i've found it hard to settle into a good group of gals like i did in college, and i miss my girlfriends SO SO much.

i've very much looking forward to lots of of girl talk, gossip mags, wine, bachelorette talk, boy band playlists, hair and makeup, false eyelashes, panera brunch… the list goes on and on!

i hope everyone has a safe and very happy 4th of july holiday! we'll be watching the fireworks somewhere around uptown! if you know the perfect spot, let me know!

where’s this tuesday taking you?

number 135

i'm taking a break from my hectic week to send out an SOS...

my perfect shoes are on their last leg (no pun intended), and i'm in dire need of some new brown wedges. not just any shoe, but the perfect brown wedge:

pictured above is the steve madden quinne wedge in brown. i've had these wedges for about 2 or 3 years now, and i WILL cry when the strap finally gives. i can wear these gals days without getting a blister or sore soles. to say that i love them is an understatement. unfortunately SM doesn't make them anymore [[insert frantic sobs]]. since i've been lazy for the past 2+ years and not unbuckling them each time - just slipping them on, along with many late-night outings at my favorite watering hole(s), their condition just isn't appropriate for everyday wear anymore.

so...it's up to y'all to help! PLEASE! if you've seen these shoes, or if you do in the future, size 8 please!

am i the only one who gets THIS
attached to a pair of shoes?

number 134

i've got a semi-hectic couple of days coming up, so i'll be abandoning the blog for a bit. sorry y'all, life's gotta take priority sometimes! hope everyone's having a great week!

number 133

if you're like me, you probably tossed your little keurig instruction manual the day you got it and haven't thought about it since! untilll...you noticed that your coffee cup just isn't as full as it was that first day. hmph. i've been procrastinating cleaning my keurig for the past 2 weeks, just opting to refill with the large mug icon 2 (sometimes 3) times a morning. yeah, i'm that lazy. last night, i did it. i cleaned the keurig, and it's SO easy.
lemme break it down for you in a few easy steps:

1. make sure the water reserve is empty
2. pop out the k-cup holder - YES! you can! poke it from the bottom, and then rinse it off in the sink
3. fill the reserve up with distilled vinegar ALL THE WAY!
4. run the large cup brew (no KCUP!) 3 times
5. let the vinegar sit in the reserve at least 4 hours (i did mine overnight)
6. empty the vinegar, and refill completely with water
7. run it til it's empty

VOILA! a full cup of coffee *finally!*

number 132

happy friday! this week has blown by – don’t you love that?! although, with friends coming in today, our weekend is sure to do the same thing. oh well! let’s celebrate! it’s friday!

alex hosts her friday five every week, and this week her theme is sunless tanning. would you believe that i’ve NEVER gotten a spray tan? i'm not a big tanner anyway because my skin doesn't get pasty white if i don't lay out, but i do enjoy the occasional trip to the tanning bed. *gasp* i know. so really, i wouldn't have too much input to give you for friday five: sunless tanning. BUT what i will give you are a few things i'm excited about this weekend:1  |  our good good friends marc and lori beth are coming to play this weekend! we're planning on eating at the cowfish tonight (lb's fave), and i'm realllly looking forward to it! this has been one of mine and andrews favorite restaurants since we moved to charlotte. their menu has a great selection of burgers and sushi and the decor has a fun modern pop-art twist to it. a must try - if you haven't already.

2  |  saturday, while the boys are playing golf, the girls plan on doing a little shopping. i believe some new wedges are in order. shoes, not golf clubs. via piperlime

3  |  weekend breakfast! i stocked up on pancake mix, turkey sausage, fruit, eggs, and juice. i'm definitely a breakfast gal, and on the weekends andrew usually takes it upon himself to go all out - i don't hate it! maybe we’ll try this recipe.

4  |  i get off at 2:30 today; what's not exciting about that?

5  |  and finally, this dress that's en route to me right now. i can't wait to get it on my body! i think i’ll belt it, and then pair it with some of my new wedges, yes?

so that’s it for this week! as always, i'm linking up with my favorite, alex and sweet lauren today for their own “friday five” and “high five for friday”.

happy weekend!

number 131

could your fashion addiction be toxic? a recent study that hit the news stands yesterday says, "YES!" a few well known designer brands were found to have large (and illegal!) amounts of lead in their purses. one shocking fact for you: my favorite of them all, tory burch, is majorly in the spotlight today. according to this article from ABC news, at the top of the list "the lab results showed the tory burch purse contained nearly 200 times more lead than the limit permitted..." see tory's statement here. other brands whose products were found to contain high levels of lead include nine west, house of harlowe, guess, and charlotte russe. 


yikes! maybe tory will give me a brand new, lead-free bag as a consolation prize before this is all said and done! for now, i'll be toting one that's a little less hazardous.

number 130

today is the first day of summer and i'm SO excited! the weather has been gorgeous this week and it's totally inspired me! i've been really proud of myself for sticking with the blog for the past few months. there's a great community out there, and i'm happy to be a part of it! in celebration of summer, and just because i'm feeling thankful, i'd love to offer everyone FREE advertising for the summer! there are a limited number of spots available, so head on over to the sponsor page and reserve your spot (1 month at a time!). be sure to use my promo code (QUEENCITY) at the checkout in order to get it FO FREE! not even a dime!

FREE advertising! promo code: QUEEN CITY

number 129

happy tuesday! we're almost at the halfway point! i'm still recovering from my long weekend, luckily monday didn't give me too much trouble. i'm already looking forward to this weekend - we've got some friends coming into town, and i can't wait to try out some new spots while they're here!

<a href="http://andrewandlauraleigh.blogspot.com/"><imgborder="0" src="http://i637.photobucket.com/albums/uu98/lauraleigh925/take-me-there-tuesday.jpg" /></a>

i've been hearing a lot of buzz about a new restaurant in the cotswold area, called leroy fox. its home-cooked soul food options like chicken fried chicken and one of my all-time faves, shrimp and grits, definitely look promising. i especially love that a few of their signature drinks have charlotte street names [selwyn ave, sharon road, providence road]. i can definitely see andrew channeling his inner don draper, sippin' on a "king of foxes" - their own version of an old fashioned. leroy fox has live music on the weekends, so i've put it on the agenda friday night. it's been open for a little while now, so hopefully all the long waiting hype has passed.

have you been there? loved it? hated it? tell me about it... or just link up!

where’s this tuesday taking you?