so like i said... (pt 3)

Whew! Finally. The last installment of this birthday haul...

You know how they say, "save the best for last"? I totally did!

I have some kind of crazy obsession about shoes. Maybe the fact that in most situations, your shoe size doesn't change. Shoes can be as fancy or as plain as you'd like, and the sizes are a little less discrimanatory than clothing.

Without further ado, I give you the last additions to round out my haul:

My new black boots that actually work with my enormous calves... They have this ribbed sock thing going on at the top that really bothered me at first, but then I realized you can easily tuck them into the boot and no one will even know.

Bamboo: $28

Cutest booties ever! They make me feel uber-stylish and the height increasing platform isn't too shabby either.

Bamboo: $22 (but, I got them for $13!)

Ruched rocker booties gifted by the BF. SOOO comfortable!

Dollhouse: $24 (I think.)

My "Bebe" heels that make me feel absolutely sexy. Of course the heel is not as high as the originals. I wanted to be able to walk in them, lol... Check out the real ones here. If only I looked as cool as Karen does... A girl can dream, right?

Bamboo: $16 (but I got mine for $10 with a coupon)

This was the second pair of shoes I got from Urban Original to push my order up for free shipping! I love the scallop detail and dove gray shade of the suede.

Fahrenheit: $20

Last, but not least, one more fun pair from Target... they're more likely to be worn in the spring, but the color and price sold me now!

I can totally imagine these with some cuffed, distressed bf jeans and a sweatshirt. Only $9!!!

So, that's gonna wrap it up! Thanks for stopping by to check out my haul. All in all, a great birthday...


What are some of the coolest things you've gotten for your birthday? ♥

so like i said... (pt 2)

Okay, I'm ready to continue with what it was that I started earlier! In this post I figured I would do a small clothing haul. I found some great stuff right before my b-day that I thought I would share. So, on to part two...

An adorable sweater dress I found for $5!!! (The scarf was a gift from my grandma.)

A silk top by Kenar that was on the clearance rack at Marshalls.

A closer look at the collar detail.

A $5 skirt from Target and a suede purple belt from Old Navy.

One more cool Target find... $15!

I found this cute brown bomber at Burlington Coat Factory for $20.

Lastly, this coat that I found at Walmart. Only $7!!! The cool part? It reverses to a matte side!

I gotta admit, with this recession going on, it's easy to feel guilty about spending large amounts of money on trendy things. Maybe that's one of the reasons why I make it my mission to find a deal. It think us self declared cheap-cesses have a right to be on trend and stylish too! Why break the bank for things that may be out next season? My advice: Take some time to peruse the 30% - 50% off racks, hit up places like Goodwill to find things that are one of kind, affordable or inexpensive to alter (they carry blazers for $6! I found one from the Gap.) and change things like buttons, or adding trim/studs/distressing to make things new or luxe! Also, for me, accessorizing is key! Scarves, shoes and hats are crucial for taking my clothes to the next level, yet, won't leave me scrounging for change...

...so tell me, what are some of the items you've found that didn't leave a hole in your pocket? ;)

so like I said... (pt 1)

I finally got my package in the mail on Thursday!!!! It contained two pairs of shoes from Urban Origanal that I had been waiting for to complete my round of birthday gifts. I wasn't completely thrilled with the length of shipping time, but the prices on the shoes are pretty sweet! If you don't mind waiting, check out their site by clicking the link above. These pairs were something that I was treating myself to, so I wanted to make sure it was all here before I got started...


...shall we begin?

Okay, first up we have the makeup stuff. I went to Ulta a few days before my birthday because my flyer came in the mail and I was too eager to just wait to use it! I ended up getting some nice deals though... If you purchased an Ulta item you got one free and for buying a $10 Ulta brand item, I got another one for free as a gift. I chose two Ulta mineral powder eyeshadows in Indigo and Moss, and Ulta's Showstopper Lashes mascara in Jet Black. Instead of paying $10 each, it was like I got three for the price of one!

They also had a special going where if you bought two Essie polishes you got a top coat or their new 'Matte About You' mattifier for free. I got the mattifier because I've been wanting to try it with a navy polish I got a while ago. I'm not exactly partial to blue lacquer, but I thought the matte look might be a trend to check out! The Essie polishes were in Sugar Daddy (a sweet, dainty pink) and Over The Top (a tough, edgy gunmetal). They couldn't be more opposite (they are not pictured because I forgot. Tee hee!)! ;)

Finally, I grabbed two palettes. The first being a glitter cream palette by NYX in Paradise. I've been wanting to try glitter liners, but I thought this option made more sense. One glittery liner or 5 cream shadows for the same price??!
The other was POPbeauty's Pin Up Pop palette. It comes with 12 baked shadows in three groups of four, in order for you to be able to create your own spins on the classic 40s face. I will review this soon...

Walgreen's always has some cool Wet N Wild stuff, so I got one of their Idol Eyes cream shadow pencils in Envy. I didn't see much else, so I continued on.

Next stop was Meijer. Every so often I will go in there to see the clearance markdowns... I found a mosaic bronzer by Black Radiance (one of my favorite brands btw...) in Bronzing Shimmer. Guess what else??? My favorite cheapie gloss in Cherry Berry Kiss by Bonnebell!!! In one of my previous posts I mentioned that I broke mine, so 'yay' for finding another!

On my actual birthday, the BF took me shopping, (what girl doesn't love that???) and of course I ran to the mall to go into Sephora. I got a Nars blush (which he gifted, because I couldn't bring myself to splurge...), a new UDPP and my free birthday treat, courtesy of Sephora, a trio of their Super Shimmer Lip Glosses!

The next spot we hit was MAC.
Now, before y'all go crazy, reminding me that this blog is for us frugal recession-concious fashionistas, let me tell you that I just got brush cleanser! It was $11 for 8 fl oz. It's supposed to be disinfecting and quick drying, therefore being a pretty decent purchase. And guess what?! If you turn in three empty MAC containers (...of their affordable brush cleansers, right?) you get a free lipstick for recycling! Now you know I wasn't gonna steer you wrong as far as the wallet goes, right? Right!

Stay tuned for part two of my great, big birthday haul! ♥

as promised!

I can't believe it's December already! Some say "better late than never," right? What do you mean, "no"? Well... maybe that's just what I say!

I finally have a day off and and I am ready to blog! No need to beat around the bush... on to last month's collective hall!

Quite a bit of stuff, no?

Let me tell you what all I got...

St. Ives Invigorating Apricot Scrub ($3)
Brown Sugar tights in Coffee ($2)
Salon Perfect lashes in Black #110
NYX eyshadow in Rust
Nivea Creme
Bath & Body Works hand lotion in Dancing Waters (Free!)
Almay One Coat Nourishing Mascara in Black (only $2 with a $4 off coupon)
Essence of Beauty lip butters in Pomegranate Apple, Citrus Coconut and Strawberry Banana ($3.99 gift pack)
Nivea Kiss of Moisture Hydrating Lipcare stick w/ SPF 4
Wet N' Wild nail laquers in Shield and Inferno($1.99 each, but I got mine BOGO)
Wet N Wild Natural Wear Lip Shimmer in Tart ($1.99)
L'oreal Bare Natural Minereal Shadow in Bare Gold (down to $2 from $10!)
Boots Sensitive Gentle Refreshing Toner
Garnier Nutritioniste Detoxifying Wet Towelettes
Cosmetic Wedges ($1)
Gloves ($1.50)
Headband
Fingertip Sprayer
Sagittarius Charm Necklace

I'm sure you would like a closer look at that last one, so here ya go!

I fell in love with the little thing while perusing the aisles at Wally World. It's so dainty, but fun! I like the way it looks a little tarnished... it just seems to add to the charm. For two dollars, not a bad buy!

So what do you guys think? Considering that I didn't go out on Black Friday, I found some really great deals!

Did everyone have a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday? ;)

the five dollar discount.

Went to Kohls yesterday and got lucky! As usual, they had a lot of stuff marked down... but I went in there looking for something specific. I wanted the limited edition Flirt! Eyes Rock Dreamy Eyes Palette. I acutally fell in love with this brand a while ago, but hadn't purchased much from it (Side note: For those still living under a rock, Flirt! Cosmetics is an Estee Lauder brand which also houses MAC! I dunno... just saying... if you're looking for a dupe at half the price...). Anyways, the palette retails for $16, but due to holiday season markdown, it was $12. Pretty sweet, I think. There were three to choose from, mine being in Poppin Peach. See below...

I can't wait to try these out!

Now, I'm sure you are wondering why I said I got lucky, right? Because, right next to the cosmetics is jewelry! Yeah, you know it was on sale! Look what I found...

Cute, no? Simple, yet sweet. I'm a sucker for rings, but I usually go for something a little bigger (read: gaudy). This was too cute to pass on though. The best part? It was $5!!!! Some of the sterling silver was marked down by 65 - 70%! I also found a cute set of pearl earrings by Croft and Barrow for $5 (three pair in different sizes) and some comfy shelf bra tank tops that were marked down from $12 to guess... Go on, guess! Yep. $5!!! (I totally bought 3.) All in all, one successful day of surprising finds. Which leads me to wonder... do I find deals or do deals find me???


What 'steals' have you found in your local Kohls? ♥

'hard candy' gets a new look and dollar madness!

4 words:
Went to Walmart today.

Enough said.

But, I'll elaborate...

Like just about everyone else, I cannot set foot into this store and not buy ANYTHING! I don't know why, and would rather not take the time to find out either. Before I knew it, I was walking out with all this...

...except for the little slippers. (Those were a $1.48 find at Target!)

Do you see what "walking around" will get you?! Sometimes, I think the strategic placing of items far away from each other was meant just for me...
I'm telling you that I was truly looking for something before I came across the new 'Hard Candy' display! The problem is that I can't recall what I needed after the fact. Lol. I was caught completely off guard! I had just given one of their mini palettes to my sister a few days before. It was like the stars had aligned and commanded that I make room for their new products! Now, how could I let fate down and not follow through with this prophecy? I very well couldn't, right?? So, here's what I bought:

I fell in love with their baked eyeshadows! The one pictured above is in 'ab fab' (the blush, also baked, is called 'bombshell'). Based on appearance alone, the eyeshadow reminds me of a few other brands. They're like, 'HIP duos go Sugar Cosmetics in Urban Decay packaging'... Another cool thing? The price, of course! The eyeshadows retail for $6 (a little cheaper than HIP, btw.) and the blush was $7. I haven't cracked them open yet, but I'm thinking they're going to be pretty sweet!

The other stuff in the photo? A Dr. Miracles deep conditioning packet, the November issues of Glamour and InStyle magazines, my Target slippers, a Dove deodorant/body spray duo ($5!), a cute striped tote and my favorite lipstick of the moment...

It's called Shiny Choco-latta and you can find it where they keep CoverGirl's Queen Collection Vibrant Hue sheer lipsticks.
This stuff is awesome! I had some once before and LOST IT!!! 'Twas a sad, sad day for me. Since I couldn't find it, I finally broke down and bought a new one today. I love how sheer it is while not skimping on the color payoff. It's like a gloss in stick form; creamy and shiny, but not sticky. What's not to love?

As far as the "dollar madness" goes, that would be in reference to the tote bag. That's right, y'all! I got that bag for $1! It's not the only item I purchased for $1. There were also some clothes that were marked down, so I picked up two simple t-shirts. Nothing special, thus they aren't pictured. I'll post about the makeup soon; I feel a FOTD coming up!

Hope everyone is having a lovely Thursday...
♥