Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Cheap Thrills

It's funny to me sometimes. You can buy a dress that costs you $400, a pair of shoes that cost you $200, jewels to line your neck and wrists, and a tiara to top it off. You can have yourself dripping in diamonds and expensive fabrics. Sometimes, though, it's not the most expensive or luxurious items that make you feel like a million bucks. Sometimes, it's that t-shirt you bought on a whim.

I snagged this t-shirt from Forever 21 online a few months ago. I was putting together an online order, and I needed to add one more item to throw my over order to the point where I would get free shipping. I threw a t-shirt into my shopping cart and went on my way. When I got all of my items, though, this shirt stuck out.

It fits me like a glove. The neckline flatters my "decolletage", if you will. The sleeve looseness & length sits perfectly on my upper arm. Not to mention the fact that the cotton the shirt is made of is the OMG SOFTEST THING EVER.

Basically, putting this shirt on makes me feel awesome. In it, I feel comfortable, fit, and...yes, just a bit sexy. (gasp!) It makes me feel like a badass...and all for only $12.






I suppose it also doesn't hurt to throw on some red lipstick and a fresh coating of red hair dye to make a gal feel firey.






So I ask you: What is your "item"? What seemingly ordinary item makes you feel like a million bucks the second you put it on?

Thursday, March 24, 2011

GIMMEH FREE STUFF!

Why hello my lovelies! Do you remember me? I haven't forgotten about you! I'm going to be starting this blog up again, as I've really missed it. It's nice to have a place where you can talk about things like fashion, makeup and savings, and all the while, you're talking about it with people who actually CARE. It's refreshing, yanno? ;)

Today, I wanted to give you guys a head's up on a certain topic.

HOW I GET FREE SHIT
Some people I know have called me the "Queen of Finding Deals"(tm) or something equally as amusing. While I don't claim royalty status, I will admit that I'm pretty damned good on getting the free/discounted stuff that the internet has to offer! Here are some tips of the trade I've learned over the years:

1) Look for online survey sites.
I've been doing online surveys for YEARS now. You take a few minutes out of your day, answer some questions online about what you bought/are planning to buy/think of a commercial and you earn points. After earning enough points, you trade them in to get rewards! Yes, it really is as simple as it sounds.

My favorite site for this is E-Rewards. They're pretty good about not making their surveys too long to take, and the rewards tend to add up really quickly. I just got my second $50 Target gift card in the mail today from them. It's completely legit and I love them! I also use E-Miles (to earn A+ credits with Air Tran Airways), and NPDOR. All awesome.


2. Save those soda caps
Coke (and all Coke products) have been running a program for years called My Coke Rewards. Every Coke product has a code on it. If you have a bottle, the code is on the cap. If you have a case of soda, you'll find it on the cardboard box. You put these codes into the website and save up your points! (And no, you don't have to save all of your caps. Once the code is in the system, you're good to go!)

This is another one that I've been doing for years. All of my co-workers and friends have even started saving the codes for me, so they add up quickly, too! I've gotten movie tickets, skins for my phone/camera, gift certificates, and a TON of magazine subscriptions. (Seriously, one year, I got all of my friends magazine subscriptions solely through using Coke points.)


3. "Like" your favorite companies on Facebook/Twitter

So many companies (including the one I work for) do special giveaways only to their Facebook/Twitter friends. If you keep an eye out, you can get some amazing deals. I've snagged free tickets to the drive-in movie theater, free bottles of Zoya nailpolish, a makeup bag stuffed with goodies from Target and a lot more.


Maybe a lot of people would be too proud to sign up for a lot of these things to be able to earn incentives, but hell - I'm not too proud! Very little gets me more high than snagging an amazing deal or something for free that I know is worth something.

What are your favorite sites/methods for snagging free stuff??


I look forward to chatting with you all again! I miss you guys! (Anyone still out there?)