Every week I tell you all how much I love Fridays and I really do. Yesterday I spent half the day thinking it was Friday and was so ready to peace out at work at the end of the day only to be reminded at 4pm it was Thursday. I was a little crushed. I love Fridays and started doing Friday’s Fabulousness because I wanted to share a little something fantastic that you could shop for over the weekend or investigate more on your own. Well this Friday, the fabulousness is a bit on the local side (sorry non-DC folks) and there’s a trunkshow this weekend too!

This is what I call my bird’s nest necklace. It’s from Queen Bee Designs and the designer, Allison Priebe Brooks, is just as charming and whimsical as her creations. I met Allison at Shecky’s Night Out while she was trying on a cute ruffly pink dress (I suggested that she buy it) and her booth has always been one that I’ve wanted to check out but was always so crowded at every event I’ve seen her at. That’s a sign of a popular designer!

Well, I decided to hover around the outer edges of her large display and on the bottom shelf in the corner was this fabulous necklace, my bird’s nest, hiding out waiting for me to discover it. I took one look at it and new no matter what the price ($50, marked down from $85 – BARGAIN!) that it would be coming home with me. This is a DWJ kind of piece. A little bit colorful, bold, messy and fun all rolled into one. Every time I’ve worn it I’ve been stopped by multiple people on the street asking me where this fabulousness came from.

Well this weekend Queen Bee Designs is having a Trunk Show and sale and if you mention that you heard about it from the Art of Accessories, Allison said she’d give you a discount! Here are the details:

The Queen Bee Trunkshow & Sale
Saturday, April 24th 10am – 5pm
Sunday, April 25th 12pm – 5pm
For address and to register, click here

These are the kinds of pieces that make you feel special and that no one else has, they’re the perfect kind of accessory and this necklace is definitely a part of My 100!

Have a fabulous weekend everyone! See you on Monday!
xoxo,
dwj

Wednesday night I got excited because the Gap tweeted starting March 5th if you bring in a pair of jeans you’ll get 30% off a pair of their jeans. WOOHOO! I’m down to a single pair of jeans that fit right now (thank you Target for $24 jeans that fit fabulously) and I’d like to add another pair of nice jeans to my wardrobe. Seriously, my pants selection is getting pretty slim.

Since I had denim on the brain, I also decided that the Aldo Given Necklace was something that deserved a fabulousness shout out.

I don’t always live in sparkle filled statement jewelry, but I definitely love larger pieces of jewelry and this is such a fun and casual twist on the statement necklace. Plus, it’s a great twist on florals. When you think of floral you don’t always think of denim, right? So this is definitely something different but still fun and makes a great statement. I love when I stumble on great little pieces like this.

I’m off for the weekend, I hope you have a great one. See you back here on Monday!

xoxo,
dwj

This is my first Friday’s Fabulousness in 2010, happy new year and happy Friday! Speaking of new year, I’ve started a group on Flickr for anyone who wants to join me on my 2010 Beauty Challenge. Just push yourself to try something new and make an effort beauty wise every day and share your photos! I’d love to see what you come up with. I’ll do a wrap up of what I did this week on Monday. I had some fun this week and even tried a really cool hot pink lip.

So what’s the first fabulous I’m bringing you in 2010? I thought since the 2010 Pantone color of the year is turquoise, why not introduce this bold color through great statement jewelry.
I think the Anthology Graduated Teardrop Necklace makes a perfect statement, don’t you? It also comes in Onyx, Carnelian, or Coral but these gorgeous shades of turquoise really are my favorite.

You can wear it now with your sweaters and it won’t get lost in the bulkier fabric and it’ll be beautiful as we move into spring with light weight T-shirts and tank tops. Oh…I’m so ready for spring. After 20 inches of snow in the DC area last month I’m ready for sunshine and warmth NOW!

Ladies, have a fabulous weekend and I will do the same. See you back here on Monday!

xoxo,
dwj

Um…WOW. I want the Swarovski Glamour Mocca Necklace. This is opulence at it’s best.

Plus, it goes beautifully with the Pantone Color of the year: TURQUOISE! Totally swoon worthy.

After the crazy up and down weather of October I didn’t really feel like fall to me just yet, but I’m finally feeling the crisp air in the morning and giving in to a new season in DC. The nice folks at TJ Maxx/Marshalls (@Marshalls and @TJMaxx on Twitter) sent me a gift card and asked me to find a bargain for fall and share my discovery with my readers. So I thought about it long and hard before I went shopping so that I could pick up something worth my $25 gift card splurge (which I was willing to supplement a little with my own cash…but I had a budget). I have a fairly complete wardrobe of great colorful basics so I knew my search would be for accessories. I mean, this is The Art of Accessories (duh). I’m always on the hunt for new boots at a great price and boots are the only shoe I’ll pay over $100 for. But I love TJ Maxx and Marshalls because they usually have great boots for under $100 so I thought I’d start my search there.

I am a bargain shopping junkie! I was raised on the original Filene’s Basement in Boston so no sale or bargain search is too overwhelming for me. I decided to bypass the brand new Marshalls down the road from me and head on down to my fairly new TJ Maxx (did you know you could use your Marshalls gift cards at TJ Maxx? I didn’t but I figured I’d give it a try for this post and it worked) to begin my bargain hunt.

I hit gold folks! Pure gold!

A pair of Sam Edelman Bess Boot in taupe. A super cute slightly slouchy pull on flat boot. Perfection for wearing with skirts or leggings and they work casually or with a dressier option. Now on the link in this post I’ve found them online for $123 – that’s the cheapest I could find. So how much were they at TJ Maxx? $39!!!!! I couldn’t beat that. Of course I scooped them up immediately (I’m no fool – if you don’t buy it then someone else might get it when you turn around), but before I ran to the register I had to browse the jewelry counter. There are so many hidden gems that you never know what you’re going to find in the jewelry department, seriously. There were tons of cool bracelets and necklaces but buried in a pile of pearls was my beloved alternative to the super expensive Tom Binns pearl necklace I’ve been lusting over!!

I asked the young lady at the jewelry counter to pull it out for me and it was even more wonderful than I could imagine. For $40 this super long strand of colorful freshwater pearls by Lucoral was mine. I blew my budget by $29 (I was willing to match the $25 gift card and spend a total of $50) but I couldn’t walk away without this necklace AND the boots. I can triple loop the necklace, knot it, wear it super long…I love it, love it, love it! I’ve gotten tons of compliments on it and I can’t stop wearing it.

By far this was my best bargain hunting excursion in a while. My other favorite accessory to pick up during the fall and winter from Marshalls and TJ Maxx are tights. They usually have Betsey Johnson and Hue tights galore in great prints and colors and for around $6 a pair. I’m pretty sure I could’ve spent the entire day in the store, but I knew I needed to get out fast before another fantastic find hit my credit card.

So are you shopping at TJ Maxx or Marshalls? What is your best find? Tell me!

dwj