Sometimes, a woman will buy a dress or a piece of jewelry or nice lingerie and then, she’ll sock it away for “a special occasion.”  However, I like to think that clothing has a transformative effect on the every day.  If you buy something special, find somewhere to wear it or just wear it to inject something beautiful into an otherwise mediocre day.

Speaking of something beautiful, you must see these gorgeous photos of where the Namib Desert meets the Atlantic Ocean.  

Gold Cup is this weekend, and while I did not find time for my usual “what to wear to Gold Cup” post, you can check out  last year’s post, here, and see the outfit from last year, here.  You can also find the recipe for the vodka and water spray, which will help keep you body-odor free while you pop bottles on the lawn in the hot afternoon sun.

I fell into the chasm that is Net-a-Porter and I can’t get out.  I adore this Roland Mouret blouse (Just look at that drama in the back!),  and these Calvin Klein PJs look unfathomably comfortable.   Perhaps, chic pajamas are a must have?  Hmmm.

The hair tutorials on The Small Things Blog are the best.  So I was really excited to see her thoughts on Wen hair care products.  Like every woman with cable, I’ve seen the infomercial a dozen or more times, and always wondered if the no shampoo styling system really works.  You can read Kate’s review, here.

I hope to be this fierce and fabulous when I’m 63-years-old.

BB Creams were originally developed, in part, so that Asian women could lighten their skin.  Even now, most companies only sell creams in a handful of fair-skin shades.  In this Jezebel post, we get a black woman’s perspective on how infuriating it is when the entire beauty industry is raving about a product and you’re left out because no one has gotten around to making your shade.  It is pretty sad when my Caucasian, olive-y skin is the darkest one on a product’s shade chart.

Miss M and I do not have the same taste in clothes, but we are both obsessed with this season’s bags from Rachel Zoe.  This beige satchel is anything but boring, and the signature tote is also fabulous.

I’ve been spent the first part of 2013 getting my financial house in order.  One question that has always perplexed me is how much money I should be putting away each month for my retirement?  I contribute the maximum employer-match, but is it enough?  So I used this calculator to figure out how much I need to retire, and then used this handy Excel calculation (yes, that Excel) to figure how much to put away.

Years ago, a friend introduced to me to the glories of chilaquiles.  Now, Pinterest has brought me chilaquiles with a fried egg on top.  Genius.

When I was young, we spent a lot of time in Seattle. I was convinced it was the coolest place on Earth, and I was going to move there when I grew up.  Then, I figured out that a woman who needs good hair days like others need oxygen cannot live in a place where it rains 200 days per year.  But it doesn’t keep me from loving the city, so this Space Needle coffee mug and this Space Needle tote, both from Nordstrom, really caught my eye.