I stopped by Kohl's the other day to check out the early fall offerings from the LC Lauren Conrad collection after loving the Fall lookbook photos. I saw a bunch of summer items on clearance, lots of flower embellished tees, and a few solid fall pieces including a pleather motorcycle jacket, gray jersey blazer and black slim-fit pants. My sister bought a gray t-shirt with a parrot tulip design. I didn't buy anything on this trip but I'll be back for the bomber, it's cute but not the most practical piece as I doubt it provides any real warmth. For your reference, keep scrolling to see how the size 4 blazer fit me (reg. $60, it was on sale for $41.99) as well as the size S bomber (reg. $72, sale $49.99). Have you purchased any fall clothes yet?

Whenever I shop with my mom and sister we inevitably end up at Bloomingdale's, an upscale department store that's not cheap by any means and yet, as my dear family has proven time and time again, deals can be found anywhere if you've got skills. During this trip my sister led me to the clearance racks where I found a Michael Stars striped tee marked down from $70ish to $20; my mom then presented me with a coupon for an additional 20% off. Go Mom. With my prize in hand, I then proceeded to scope out all the fall trends for inspiration: Key pieces include cargo pants, utility jackets, leopard print, chunky knits, faux fur, combat boots, leggings, booties, and stripes. Suddenly, the arrival of fall doesn't seem like such a bad thing…

Lots more pics after the jump.

This morning I popped into my local Marshalls Shoe Megashop to look for some wedges for an outdoor wedding and got totally distracted by all the fabulous, totally impractical heels instead. Highly sought-after designers like Sam Edelmen, Kelsi Dagger, BCBGeneration, and Boutique 9 all caught my eye. I stuck to my mission but was seriously tempted to buy embellished gladiator flat sandals by Sam Edelmen, red tag clearance price of just $44, and some cool Dolce Vita t-strap sandals, just $29. That's less than DV for Target! Now's the time to buy summer shoes on clearance and save them for next season. I have enough sandals so I resisted but I'll be back for Fall boots and flats. Keep scrolling for more eye candy!

I was so inspired by J. Crew's Fall 2010 Lookbook that I paid a visit to my nearest store this weekend to see what was on the racks. Window display signage read "Utility chic" and that pretty much sums it up: A casual-meets-charming late-summer mix of lightweight button downs, embellished tees and tanks, denim shirts, cargo pants, plaid and more, all meant to be mixed together and layered for that effortlessly put-together vibe J. Crew does so well. I loved all the subtle contrasts, blouses with pleated necklines paired with tailored blazers, studded belts with tweed skirts, bow-tie Italian leather flats, essie nail polish colors like jazz and mucho dinero, and the texture and shine of chunky chain-ribbon-pearl necklaces. A few things on the sale rack caught my eye but I've seen better deals online. Most items are out of reach full price ($70 for a lightweight cotton cardigan, $130 for the ballet flats) but that doesn't mean I can't look, draw inspiration and save up for a piece or two down the road. More eye candy after the jump!

Forget the official August 10th launch date: Target's latest limited-edition collab, Poketo for Target, is in stores now. The collection includes wallets, laptop bags, totes, umbrellas, luggage tags and other accessories featuring original artwork priced from $4.99 to $29.99. I snapped a photo of the display and uploaded it to Twitter using my Motorola Backflip. Moments later, @Poketo tweeted me back: "@Poketo @budgetbabe Awesome. Can't wait to see what you buy. Please model them and post them on http://bit.ly/6jP0et Thanks!" Snaps for the social media tie-in! Granted, I didn't buy anything on this trip (nothing shouted "buy me!"), but now we know you can upload your Poketo for Target photos to the Poketo Facebook page to win cool stuff. Click through to see more close-up photos of the collection. Did you buy anything yet?