Truth be told, I don't shop much at Macy's. (I grew up in Chicago, a loyal Marshall Field's shopper. Can't make the mental switch.) But last week I paid a visit to the department store to exchange a Christmas present, and took it upon myself to browse the Bar III department, which has grown substantially at my local store. Bar III is the contemporary line that Macy's launched back in 2011, and it's one of their strongest collections in my opinion, offering the latest trends at good prices. The new January offerings included lots of light colors, contrasted with a graphic dose of black (reminded me of BCBG). Think day to night dresses, oversized sweaters, and feminine tops with laser cut outs and rhinestone embellishment. With many of these pieces on serious sale online, Bar III is worth a serious look, whether you need new pieces for the office (like this faux-leather midi skirt), a cute Valentine's dress or semi-casual pieces for the weekend (like this sweatshirt).

Check out these photos - see anything you love? Are you a Bar III shopper?

Happy Sunday everyone! Welcome to the 4th edition of a new series we're dubbing the "Sunday Funday Bloghop & Linkup." Join me and my fellow hostesses Jennifer of Fab Fatale and Kristin of Bon Bon Rose Girls every Sunday morning at 8 a.m. for fun giveaways, good friends and inspiration to "try something new today"!

Bloggers, please share your "best of the week" post in the linkup HERE so that we can all see what you've been up to. Our fav linkup each week will be featured at Fab Fatale, Bon Bon Rose Girls, and The Budget Babe blogs in next week's Sunday Funday edition! Readers, please join in the fun by checking out all of the linkups, hosted this week at Fab Fatale!

We've also got a fun new giveaway. The prize: A $100 Kohl's gift card! Enter below...and good luck!

Follow our Sunday Funday Bloghop & Linkup Pinterest board! We'll be pinning our "Sunday Funday - Best Of The Week", as well as each hostesses' top 5 fav linkups every week!

The little man and I have reached our stride shopping-wise. I let him explore, he lets me shop. The timing couldn't have been better because yesterday I made it to JCPenney to check out the January clearance sales and the prices on Joe Fresh were so low, it was awkward. I bought the 13 pieces shown above for $86.11, with a total savings of $344.03. And actually it would have been lower had I remembered to use my 15% off coupon (there were signs everywhere reminding shoppers but, you know, mommy brain is real). Is it just me or when you forget to use a coupon or something do you dwell on what you could have saved instead of what you actually scored? I think the cashier should have reminded me, but oh well. Now my complaining over $12.14 is getting awkward...

Target announced its newest clothing line - AVA & VIV - a plus-size collection that will be designed in-house launching February 22 in stores and online. Tonight the brand is celebrating the launch with a party in NYC (follow @TargetStyle and the hashtag #AVAandVIV to see pics!)

Looking ahead to spring...Tory Burch's peach suede D'Orsay pumps are $275 at Neimanmarcus.com.



Get the look for less with the Sole Society "Jenn," which gets rave reviews from customers, and sells for $69.95 at Solesociety.com. Available in 10 colors!



Question for regular readers: Do you guys prefer the "Look for Less" (like this post) or the "Splurge vs. Steal" (images side by side) format? They're basically the same thing, just different ways of presenting the information. Let me know if you care either way, I'm all ears. Thanks!