Merry Christmas to Me!

Finding gifts for family and friends is always hard.  This holiday season I wanted to get everyone something they loved, but that's easier said than done.  I ended up finding a lot of things that I loved and getting confused about what I should buy for others.  My giving spirit brought me my favorite find- a new pair of Sperry's.  I first came across them while shopping for some candles at Ross.    

My selfish indulgence has gotten me multiple compliments and kept my feet warm and cozy!

Snagged these babies for 14.99!

Nordstroms has these for 88.95

Good to Ask

The other day I was shopping around at Lucky Brand.  A bucket of shoes caught my eye.  They were brightly colored flats similar to the popular Tom's.  When my sister went up to purchase a new pair of jeans I picked up the shoes and asked about the missing price tag.  To my surprise the employee told me that they were on sale for 89 cents!  Yeah, that's right 89 cents!  They were originally ticketed at 49.00.  Now that is a mark down that I could not resist. 

Check 'em out :)

Have you had good results from missing price tags?

A Bedroom on a Budget

I was bummed that summer was coming to an end and the constant nuisance of homework and midterms was lurking, but one thing was keeping me in a cheery mood- shopping!  I couldn't wait to get my hands on some new accessories for my room at school.  Moving out of the dorms and to a place that I could really call home can be summed up into one word: AMAZING.  I could decorate with whatever my heart desired.  After weeks of working and my birthday, I had some extra money saved up.

It all started on a sunny day at Urban Outfitters.  I had seen some fantastic curtains a few weeks before so I thought I would stop in and see what they had to offer.  And I came across this fantastic duvet cover with my favorite animal of all time, GIRAFFES.  It was missing a price tag, but I was so in love with it that I didn't care how much it cost.  I brought it up to the register and I told the man that it was the only one left and there was no price.  He looked at it and told me simply 19.99.  I died and went to heaven.  I'd like to think it was my sweet charm and dashing good looks that got me this deal, but perhaps it was just luck.  And there I had my inspiration for my new room!


My shopping continued at Marshalls.  Where I came across this fantastic desk chair.  It screamed safari chic.  One leg was missing a few chips of paint.  So, I asked a manager if I could be compensated for the damage.  The 124.99 dollar chair was marked down to 110.00.  I simply fixed the problem at home with a Sharpie marker.  I had already picked up a desk, bookshelf, and side table at a garage sale in my town I found on Craigslist.  The furniture was from Crate and Barrel and Ikea.  I also picked up a sofa-sleeper couch, a picture frame, and a new trashcan.  The seller was recently divorced and wanted to get rid of all his stuff and I was sure glad to take it!  Then, it was on to accessorizing.  

•   Picture Frame Shadow Box:  Ikea, free from Garage Sale

•   Keep Calm and Carry on Poster:  Marshalls 24.99 (compare at 79.99 at Z Gallerie)

•   Bucket:  Marshalls 5.00 (I use it for my textbooks!)

•   Pillows:  Marshalls 16.99 each (Splurge!)

•  Glass Vases:  4.99 and 6.99 Marshalls

•  Grasses:  3.00 Marshalls

• Curtains:  14.99 Marshalls

• Plate: 1.00 Marshalls

• Potpourri: 3.00 Marshalls

• Giraffe Bank:  20.00 Local Artist

• Key Holder: 12.99 Marshalls

• Tissue Box Holder: 7.99 Ross

• Lamp: 29.99 Marshalls

• Vase: 5.99 TJ Maxx
• Tea Cup:  2.99 Urban Outfitters(compare at 14.00)
• Jewelery Box: 24.99 Marshalls
• Wall Art: 34.99 TJ Maxx

And ta-da!  A bedroom for a little over 500 dollars!  How do you decorate on a budget?

The Waiting Game

Going off to college means leaving friends and family behind.  With Skype and ichat it has become extremely easy to stay in touch.  To be respectful of my roommate, I always used headphones.  So, when these stylish accessories became popular I couldn't wait to get my hands on them...until I realized they were around 80 bucks.  I went to Urban Outfitters and about a month later new styles and colors had come in and a few were on sale for 40 dollars.  I got really excited about the mark downs until I realized that I could feed myself for a month on forty dollars... so, I waited a little bit less than a year to get the headphones I wanted.  Final purchase price, 19.99.  SCORE!

So, a few months have passed since I bought my funky headphones. The other day on my way home from class, I stopped in to check out the new stuff at Urban to find my headphones were back on the shelves.  For how much?  88 dollars...  I guess playing the waiting game is a risk you take for a good deal.

 

So all in all, I scored big time and my little cousin thinks so too!