Fab Finds – Where to get Lookalike Altuzarra Shoes

As a mom, you find that your shopping sprees revolve around your children, especially if you have a little princess (‘cuz who can resist tiny baby girl fashions?)  What used to be my shoe budget has gone towards toddler outfits and accessories too cute to pass up!  So when mommy (finally) does get to go shoe shopping, getting the look for less is top of mind.  So here are some examples of how you can update your shoe wardrobe on a budget. I’m going to focus my attention on Altuzarra shoes since that brand is my current obsession

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You may have noticed that revised gladiators are all the rage these days.  By that I mean,  instead of just seeing the up-the-calf, wind-up lace shoes, you’re seeing shorter revised versions where they lace up the front of the foot and/or just up the ankle.  I love this style for its edginess and wearability.  These are far more versatile than the traditional gladiators.  While I do love the designer high-end ones on the left by Atuazarra, the Forever Link shoes ‘black Ryann Ankle Strap flats are the same look  at Zulily for a fraction of the price.

shoe trends, altuzarra shoes

 

I have a weakness for heels.  My heart skipped a beat when I saw these stunning fringe Altuzarra sandals at Saks.  Aren’t these just so FUN?  I’d build an entire outfit based around these shoes. But who am I kidding?  I’m not about to fork over nearly $800 for a pair of red heels.

fringe trend, altuzarra red shoes

With a little bit of searching, I was able to find these Steve Madden lookalikes on one of my favorite online destinations, Asos.com!

Another festive Altuzarra shoe that caught my eye were these pom pom sandals.  The pom pom trend is HUGE.  It’s everywhere from hats to purses, to keychains and shoes.  I just couldn’t believe how similar this pair on Ebay was!pom pom comparison

Of course, if you wanted to get crafty, I imagine that this wouldn’t be too hard to DIY with a glue gun too…

So there you have it!  Fashionista fab finds!  What will you do with all your saved money?

 

6 Tips for Throwing a Fabulous Bunny Themed Party

Juliet’s only request when asked what kind of party she wanted was that there should be pink, cupcakes and lollipops.  So with that simple request this year, I delayed her celebration a bit to the week before Easter to throw her a Hoppy bunny birthday which was perfect ‘cuz this 3 year old just LOVES to jump around these days!    And of course, I made sure to include pink, cupcakes and lollipops!

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The invites were customized on Paperless Post, my go to online invitation source for stylish evites.  I love how they let you customize everything from the backgrounds to the stamps and wording!

bunny themed party invite

I’m not a poet but I came up with this original invite wording for the occasion.  “Some bunny is turning 3, so hop on over to celebrate me, dress to impress for pics w/Easter bunny, what’ll you find in the egg hunt, money?  Sweet treats and bunny bites too, but it’s not a party without YOU! xoxo, Juliet”  I feel the invite is super important for setting the tone and getting guests excited for the event.  I hoped this floral invite not only hinted at the springy, Easter theme but got them anticipating the dressy egg hunt too.

easter party ideas, easter party, bunny birthdayAfter having taken her Easter photos last year and having been challenged by my husband with the question of what I’m going to do with these print outs, I came up with the idea of putting them to use by displaying them at a future bunny themed birthday party! With that in mind, I immediately went shopping the day after Easter to snag all the party decor at 80-90%off.  (I have to work within a budget, ya know)!  From there, I scoured the web to find the perfect crafty, DIY, and fashion details buying everything at wholesale prices, and scoring amazing finds from the Target dollar bins.  After having waited months to see it all come together, you can imagine my excitement finally getting to set it all up!

bunny party, kids easter party ideas

It was so exciting to finally have all the details out of my head start to come alive during setup.

In any party space you may come across items that are not allowed to be removed.  Don’t fret.  Creatively cover them up!  There was a random framed photo of a strange man in this party space so I used wrapping paper to hide him and applied a cutout cardboard ‘3’ (also gift wrapped) and some wholesale bunny balloons.  The balloon arch was easy for me to make despite never having made one before – just used packing tape!

Here are my top 6 ideas for throwing a bunny or Easter themed party.

  1.  Get Pun-ny, Bunny.  For a kids party I say it’s OK to get a little cheesy with the puns.  Phrases like, “hoppy birthday,” “thanks for hopping on by,”  You’re Egg-stra special,”  We’re so egg-cited to see you soon,” are handy for invitations and thank you notes.  I also plastered such sayings onto the birthday banner, around the water bottles and Reeses Pieces bunny tubes (which I found at a local drug store for a little over a dollar each).  They have the same decorative effect as cake pops for a fraction of the price!bunny party ideashoppy birthday, easter party, kids party ideas, kids party styling, yellow and white party2.  Post Easter or bunny themed photos of the guest of honor.  We all like to marvel how much kids have grown during a birthday party so why not post pictures within the party’s theme?  Last year for Juliet’s party animal themed party, I posted photos of Juliet holding various stuffed animals and labeled them each with a matching decorative title (‘lamb’, ‘puppy’ or whatever she was holding in the pic).  This year, I posted photos from her past Easter shoot, 1 year earlier.easter party, easter, easter egg hunt3.  Bunny cut outs.  There are so many ways to incorporate a decorative bunny as part of the party’s decor.  I used enlarged bunny felts, bunny shaped-sandwiches, and bunny footprints leading up to the party’s entrance.  For more ideas, check out my Pinterest board!1394.  Offer bunny – themed entertainment for the kids.  There was a coloring and sticker station, bunny book reading area, bunny game, a bunny and easter egg decorating area, bunny stuffed animals to play with and an Easter bunny to take pictures with at our party for instance.   All were toddler-friendly activities that parents could help out with or not! (Note how easily a borrowed Bugs Bunny costume can easily be converted into an Easter bunny with a simple felt add-on)?easter party ideas, easter party, kids easter partybunny party ideas, easter party ideas, easter party for kids5.  Encourage Easter animal adoption!  A fun way for me to greet each guest at the door was to welcome them with the opportunity to adopt a pet of their choice.  Cabbage Patch Kid Style, they were given a certificate of adoption after getting to name their new pet.

bunny birthday,, easter party for kidseaster party ideas, easter egg hunt ideas, how to throw an easter party, bunny birthday ideas6.  Host an Easter egg hunt!  Juliet helped me fill a whopping 200 Easter eggs.  (Child labor laws don’t apply in my home)! And the kids really seemed to have fun with this.  I loved it as a parent because the public Easter egg hunts in NYC are always overcrowded which means long lines, toddlers getting trampled, and the big kids getting to the eggs before the little ones have a fair chance at finding them.  Our private rooftop park gave them the exclusive opportunity to enjoy a leisurely hunt (ehem during a light drizzly snow day the day before Spring)!

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easter egg hunt ideas for kids, easter party ideas, kids' easter party ideasThe Easter eggs were filled with everything from egg-shaped chocolates to toys to coins and googly-eyed bunny stickers!kids easter party, easter egg hunt

The lucky kids who found a golden egg or super-sized egg were prized with one of the bunny-shaped balloons to take home from the party!

easter party ideas ,easter party planning, bunny birthday, bunny themed partyI think I smiled ear to ear the whole time being surrounded by all these cuties!

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kids' easter party, easter party for kids, easter outfits for kidsI liken planning this party to giving birth.  It took 10 months of research, planning, buying, and preparing, and then intense laboring culminating in estatic celebration with post-op type recovery and bed rest in the end. Phew!  I don’t think I’ve ever worked so hard on any one event, simply because I’m a one-mom production company. But come load-in and setup, I did have a little help from friends!  Thanks Roniescia, Janell, Stacie and even John and Juliet!  Read on about my tips for setting up a stylish kids’ Easter table (not pictured here) and follow me @stylishlystella on Instagram and Twitter for all the preview pics and recap videos!  That’s a wrap folks!  ‘Til next year!!

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Please leave a comment and share what you liked most about this party so far and Happy Easter to you all!

Photos are a mix from Image Ready, Gotham Love and friends’.

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