Five For Friday

My Five Favorite Turquoise Jewelry Finds

(all from Forever 21)

  

Faux Stone Earrings

At $2.80, these earrings are a great bargain! They're big (2.5" x 1"), so you can get a dramatic look for less.

Beaded Coil Bracelet

LOVE this. I'd wear one on each arm with a red or fuchsia dress.

Elasticized Stone Ring

There's nothing like a big statement ring!

Gothic Large Shield Necklace

I would wear this with a plain tunic dress or white tee and jeans.

Smooth Stone Stretch Bracelet

This bracelet looks a lot more expensive than the $10.80 price tag.

Have a great weekend!

Five For Friday

As a busy mom, I really struggle with living in yoga pants & t-shirts vs. looking like I tried too hard.

I’m trying to find a few chic, but casual outfits that I can wear to drop the kids off at school or to run errands around town. I would like to have basic neutrals so that I can mix and match pieces quickly in the morning. 

For these outfits, the number one criteria is comfort, and secondly, I want the outfits to look “effortless”.

On my quest…I found five casual outfit inspirations:

photo source: Kelly Stuart

I really like the gray sweater above and found a similar one at Victoria’s Secret.

photo source: Stockholm Street Style

photo source: Vanessa Jackman

 

photo source: Kelly Stuart

photo source: Stockholm Street Style

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!

 

 

Five For Friday

My five favorite things that money can’t buy.

1. Watching my daughters show their love for one another.  Don’t get me wrong, these two can fight like boxing champions.  But there’s no doubt that they love one another and are best friends. When Bookworm was around 3 and Sassypants was about a year old, I was driving and noticed they were both really quiet. I looked back in the rearview mirror, thinking maybe they had fallen asleep. To my surprise, they had reached out from their car seats and were holding hands. It was such a sweet moment that I will cherish the rest of my life.
2. My husband’s sense of humor.  I don’t always let my true sense of humor show on my blog, because….quite frankly, it might scare you. I have a twisted sense of humor that only those closest to me get to see. My husband is the same way. We constantly crack each other up with the craziness that comes out of our mouths. He’s the only guy I ever dated that appreciates my humor and often trumps me in one-line zingers.
3. Fall. I absolutely LOVE fall. I love when you start to feel that little chill in the air and need a light jacket. I love seeing the trees when they start to turn shades of red and orange. I love the first time I can wear boots and a sweater.  Even though I love how carefree summer is, I really like fall’s ability to get us settled back into our routines.
4. Phone calls with friends.  As much as I like communicating with friends via blogs, Twitter, Facebook, and email, I still love taking the time to make a phone call to my best friends. There’s something special about hearing their voice and giggling with them. Even if it’s only 5 minutes, I love catching up and hearing what’s going on in my friends’ lives.
5. Having occasional alone time.  If you’re a mom, you’re probably nodding  your head in agreement. As moms, we’re always taking care of our families, the house, and everything in between. My mind is often scattered between what I’m doing and what I need to do next.  For my sanity, I need quiet moments.  It may be taking a bath, flipping through  a magazine, or taking a walk down my street. I need those moments to regroup and calm myself.  However----if I am alone for more than a few hours, I want to see my babies and husband. HA!

Hope you all have a WONDERFUL weekend!

Five For Friday

It's been a while since I've done "Five For Friday", so here it is my shmookums.

My Five Favorite Ways to Save Money When Shopping Online

1. It's no secret, I love Ebates. If you haven't heard of it, it's a free website where you register and get money back for your purchases. Here's the trick.....you have to go to the Ebates website FIRST, click on the store from which you want to purchase, and it will then send you directly to that site. This creates a "tracking ticket", so that Ebates can keep a record of your purchase. You will then get a rebates check quarterly. If you shop a lot online, this really is a great idea. Bloomingdales, Old Navy, Gap, Sephora, and hundreds other retailers are all on there. Even Ebay (buy it now) has a percentage back plan.
2. I ALWAYS do a Google search for "promotion codes" "coupons" for each particular store before I buy. Here's an example.....I google "Banana Republic promotion code coupons". Sites like Coupon Cabin, Retailmenot, and a handful of other sites will pop up. There may be coupon codes for free shipping or percentages off. Sometimes there's nothing, zilch. I don't spend a long time looking for the coupons. If there's one out there, you'll be able to find it rather quickly. If there's a code, I write it down, but first I go through Ebates to my desired site. When I check out, that's when I plug in the coupon code. So you may save on shipping or get a discount.....and then also get a percentage back from Ebates. It's that easy.
3. I sign up for promotional emails from the stores from which I regularly make purchases. I hate getting a ton of extra emails, but usually those emails are the ones that will garner the biggest discounts. I buy my kids' school uniforms from Lands' End and with the email discounts I get from them, I save a ton of money. You will also get "exclusive" sales like "Friends and Family" sales from Gap, Old Navy, Ann Taylor, Ann Taylor Loft, Bloomingdales, and many others. Another tip: know the stores' return policies. Do they offer free return shipping? Do they charge restocking fees? Is there a time limit on returns?
4. Here's a trick that doesn't always work, but is worth a try. If there's an item that you know isn't in danger of being sold out or you aren't quite sure about it, put it in the "cart" on your store's website, but don't go through with the checkout just yet. Let that joker just brew in there a day or two. Don't clear the cookies on your computer during this time. If you've signed up for email notices for that particular store, there's a good chance they will have tracked those items in your online cart and then you will get a "mysterious" email with a discount. This has happened NUMEROUS times to me, especially with Gap and Lands' End.
5. Subscribe to blogs that feature the clothing/accessories from stores you love. I find a lot of coupons and discounts on those blogs. You know us women....we like to talk, share, and compare. I find I save money by seeing how some of the pieces look IRL vs. on a 98 lb. model in a catalog. I've seen items that looked horrible online, but after seeing them look fabulous on my lovely blogger friends.....I've gone out and made a purchase. On the flip side, I once had my mind set on buying a particularly popular jacket, but then changed my mind based on blog reviews. Bloggers give an honest perspective on the quality and sizing of clothing that the catalogs and websites just can't offer. It's nice to hear if an item fits "true to size" vs. running bigger or smaller. This, in turn, can later save on shipping and restocking fees associated with returns.

Do you have any money saving tips, websites, or blogs that help you save money? Please share!

5 For Friday

I always love getting ideas or reviews from friends and other blogs about what products they like. Here are this Friday's 5 Favorites:

1) Diet Pepsi- drink way too many of them. It's my morning coffee.

2) Latisse- LOVE it. It's been almost a month since I started using it, and my lashes have quadrupled in length and thickness

3) Quaker Fiber & Omega-3 - Dark Chocolate Chunk Granola Bars- They're yummy and satisfy my 'crack-like' addiction to chocolate.

4)Lancome Hynose Mascara- you might can tell--I have a slight obsession with lashes.

5) Dermaquest ZinClear SPF 30-The only facial sunscreen that doesn't break me out and doesn't look chalky or greasy. I has such a light texture, that I wear it every single day of the year.

So that's it. What are some of your favorites or 'must haves'?