WOTS: I'm Tryna Put the BOOM in the Trunk!!

I want this...

Trunk Sale

No...I don't want the picture or any of the actual contents in the picture either.

I want to have my own little trunk sale!!!

When I go thrifting, I always find myself drifting towards the vintage section, remaining there for a very lengthy amount of time. When I'm not thrifting, I daydream about vintage pieces and how I can incorporate them into my modern wardrobe.

I'm becoming more obsessed with vintage by the day.

It's classic. Timeless. Beautiful. Delicate. And most times...it's worth a pretty penny!

This past weekend my Mother and I got up at the butt crack of dawn to go to a downtown 'garage sale' that she had mentioned to me a couple of weeks back. I was A-mazed when we arrived. There were vendors everywhere!  The city had literally rented out the EN-TIRE bottom floor of a parking garage and allowed as many vendors as it could fit to sell their goods. They called it an 'Outdoor Flea Market'! LOL!!

People were selling some of everything....

From old antiques:

Trunk Sale

To jewelry...

Trunk Sale

People even had tubs full of lotions, body washes, and baby diapers

Trunk Sale

We (my Mom and I) plan to set up shop next month. They only hold these sales on the first Saturday of each month so this gives me plenty of time to sort through my massive pile of vintage finds. I'm sooooo glad that I finally have a spot where I can possibly sell some of my beauties.

What do you think of trunk sales?

Have you ever attended one?  

Okay, so I'm going to forgo my movie review this week because after X number of weeks (it's alot of weeks) of doing this I've noticed that I haven't gotten any great feedback on it. So I will leave it up to tell me where I should go from here...

Do you enjoy the movie reviews each week?

 Yes/No...

(you don't have to leave a detailed response if you don't wanna)

Thanks for reading!

The Prom Queen...She Had It All Figured Out...

Do these look too costum-ey?

(definitely a made up word)

My 'Dorothy' Shoes-Thrifted
(I feel like the back of my heel and my ankle region are ashy-#dontjudgeme)

I found them on one of my thrifting escapades. At first glance I thought that they looked strikingly similar to the prom shoes that were worn in the early 90's-you know the fabric ones that could be dyed to your color of preference.

I thought, 'these will definitely turn some heads and create some controversy' as people quietly ask themselves why the hell I have prom shoes on!!!

Because I'm a Prom Queen, baby!!

Haha. These babies were purchased for all of $4.00 and I paired them with grey slacks and this shirt:

Thrifted Chaps

 I'm in love with stripes and button details so I was more than stoked when I found this beauty for 99 cents! I went to Goodwill today and found the exact same one in a wine color with the tags still on it...I didn't buy it but I did buy a shit ton of other stuff (to be shared in a later post)!

Button detailing

Here's the whole fit:

SIDENOTE: It's fairly simple (as are many of my 'fits) because my work environment isn't conducive to me walking around in 4" stilettos and poom poom skirts! Hopefully the summer will allow me a little more leniency with my wardrobe.

Have you purchased any 'shiny prom shoes' lately?

Do tell...

SIDE SIDENOTE: Hopefully my new camera will be arriving this week...I soooo appreciate you all for sticking with me throughout this horrible photography mess!

Thanks for reading!



Savin' Maven Monday: Playboy....I Am Your Girl, Right?

Good Monday!!

 I hope all of you had a terrific and productive weekend! I must say that mine was well rested and I'm soooo stoked about it because I needed SLEEEEP!!!

Being that it's Monday, I usually get straight into my 'Savin' Maven Monday' spiel (don't worry, it's coming) but today my first matter of BI is to thank all of you soooo much for commenting with your encouraging words in my time of need.



SOURCE

You don't know how much you all made my day. With that being said, I think I have just come up with a new segment for my blog. Stay tuned for more info.

Mailbox Monday

I'm particularly excited today because I received my first issue of Playboy in the mail this week. Yes, I said Playboy. My BF (boo love, boyfriend, lover--I have to do this because someone thought that I was talking about my best friend) is soooo gonna love me for this subscription. And he will only get them after I read them!!! And it's not that I'm being nosey or trying to monitor what he reads either-I find women beautiful too and I like reading mags. Is that wrong?

In other news, the store and coupons deals weren't so great this week so this is all I got:

Savin' Maven (Rite Aid)

I only got these items because I had $10 in UP+ Rewards that I had to use before the expired on 6.5.11 so I am not too thrilled about this shopping trip. I talked about UP Rewards in my last Savin' Maven post. All of the travel size items were B1G1 50% off (so sad because generally coupons won't cover travel sized items). The HUGE bags of Twizzlers were B1G1 FREE and gasp....I've already gone through one whole bag of them. Twizzlers are my FAVE!!! The Club crackers were on special for $1.00 and I used them to eat with the yummy Crab salad that my Mom made for me. LOVES HER!!!

My total for this purchase was $29.31

My total out of pocket was $2.87

For a total savings of $26.44 (90% savings)

What do you think?

What kind of great deals did you find this past week?

Before you leave, here's

Couponing Tip #2

Use previously earned rewards (UP, Register Rewards, ECB's) to purchase products that will give you MORE rewards.

In other words, use your rewards like a revolving door. This will cut down on your out of pocket costs. You may use all of your rewards on a future purchase OR you may make several purchases/transactions in one day to receive the maximum amount of rewards. Lots of couponers like to use the 'several transaction' process but personally I think that's too time consuming and the people in line behind you begin to become irritated after about the 3rd transaction so I would suggest that  you plan your trip in such a way that you can save the greatest amount of dollars while getting the greatest amount of rewards ALL IN ONE TRIP.

That's all for now. Thanks for reading!

WOTS: No Other Way I Can Describe It...Insanely Beautiful

I want this...

Chambray and Orange

There's something mystical about Chambray that makes me want to wear it every single day!!! I love the versatility of it. How it's so universal (and unisex) and can be paired with literally ANYTHING and still manage to look like a million (and one) bucks!

I also consider the aspect family and friendship to be mystical. It's essence is insanely beautiful-there's no other way I can describe it. If you've been following you know that over the last week I've been dealing with the tragic and untimely death of a friend of mine. His homegoing was amazing and was celebrated on Memorial Day (so fitting for such a respectable man).

If this tragedy hasn't taught me anything else-I've learned to value family, friends, and life in general. You never know when you're going to take your last breath, say your last goodbye, or give your last hug. You never know just how much a simple phone call or a small word of wisdom can brighten someone else's day. Don't take life for granted. Live each day as if it were your last. And most importantly, make certain that those whom hold a special position in your life know exactly how much they mean to you-each and everyday!

How do you show love to friends and family? Please share..

I leave you with this:



Cardi...Kittens-Thrifted/Chambray...Slacks-NY & Co.

Love the patterned flower pin!!



How do you rock your chambray?

In other 'Word on the Street' news, I finally got the chance to see For Colored Girls.  I know I'm late but better late than never, right?  It was more than amazing and it can go without explanation or description. I would've never made it in the movie theater. I cried practically the whole entire movie-it was sooo touching and most of all it was relatable. Even if you aren't a colored girl, I encourage you to rent this expeditiously!!!

MY RATING-10/10

(I've never given a perfect score so that should tell you something)

What's your 'Word on the Street'?

 Any great ideas, movies, new trends, or events that you would like to share?

Post Title from Insanely Beautiful by Brittany Spears

Lately...I've Had The Strangest Feeling...

Today is a horribly somber day for me.  Just yesterday, I found myself reading a post by Bella of CitizenRosebud about how life is short, how we often take it for granted until death smacks us directly in the face.

I commented back to her telling her that oftentimes we get so caught up into our own 'mess' that we forget how important little things like phone calls and visits are. We don't say I love you enough, we don't keep in contact enough, we don't understand how valuable life truly is until we are stricken with grief.

Just last week, an old high school classmate of mine was taken away all too soon. Tons of people have been dying in area disasters. And the gas prices make me cry each time they inch closer to $4. 

Over the past couple of days (and weeks) there has been something very weird going on in the world...something very eerie...something...different.

Yesterday, I woke up and I felt so out of sorts. As if something were out of place. The weather was gorgeous, a normal May day if you will. All throughout the day though, something was nagging at me. I felt as if I was living outside of my own body.

No sooner than I had gotten off of work and pulled in my driveway, the sky had turned pitch black. Then all of a sudden...heavy winds, huge balls of hail, and massive rain. Now I've been living in the Hampton Roads area for the majority of my life and I've never seen anything quite like this. Never have I witnessed a storm that made me feel this way. The feeling was indescribable. Maybe because this storm was so unexpected. Ya know usually you hear weather reports or even warnings about storms, tornado's, or hurricanes...but I heard absolutely NOTHING this time and  I could feel that something bad was bound to happen within its aftermath.

When I walked outside, I saw a huge trampoline that was blown into the middle of the street directly in front of my house.  Whole trees were broken in half.  Power lines had exploded and traffic lights were totally out of order. Imagine the chaos that caused in an area where people already drive as if they got their licence out of the Lucky Charms box. Seriously, I was a hair's length away from being a witness (if not a victim) in a terribly fatal accident.

My heart hurt.

At about 7 ish I received a phone call from my BF. The usually preliminary conversation-how was your day, what are we doing tonight, yadda yadda yadda-until he told me he would call me back. He's told me that he would call me back plenty of times before but this time the tone of his voice sent a chill through my body.

My phone rang approximately 10 minutes later..."Baby," he cried frantically. He proceeded to ask me if I knew 'so and so'.  Usually my answer is no because he has a habit of asking me about the most random people in the world. On this occasion though my answer was yes. I did know 'so and so'.  "He was killed during the storm". I couldn't speak. Our mutual friend, his fraternity brother had been pinned between two buildings on his job site when the heavy winds of the storm pushed a portal crane into one of the buildings.

I felt defeated.

I'm still confused. I'm still shaking my head in disbelief. I'm still hoping that I'm dreaming, hoping that the news anchors will say that they made a mistake and the person who was killed wasn't our friend.

Walter Amos, 30 years old.
He was one of those guys that everyone loved. So very outspoken, with such a viral personality. Always smiling, joking, and hopping around with his fraternity brothers with his shirt off. Aggressive by nature but wouldn't hurt a fly.  He touched the hearts of so many. And I know that you're not supposed to question God but I find myself wanting to ask why. Why take away such a good person and leave the criminals here to tear our world apart?

I'm angry and not dealing with this very well at all because I can't understand it.

Have any of you ever felt this way before?

How do you deal with things that you don't understand?

People have spoken about a rapture that is to come and deface the earth. Grandmothers and grandfathers continue to say that the end is near. There has been so much devastation throughout the world-ie-natural disasters, increased criminal activity, economic recession-that I can't help but to believe some of this to be true.  

I said all of this to say that though I will still visit you ladies and remain (somewhat) active with commenting on your fabulous blogs, I will not be posting on a regular basis because I just need to get myself together. I don't want to obligate myself to this and not deliver so with that being said...I hope that you all will still  continue to come through and visit every now and again. And I hope that you won't hold this against me.

Until next time...

Savin' Maven Monday: Rich Folks Do Not Want Me Around...

Good Monday to all. I hope all of you enjoyed yet another great weekend. Mine was busy-full of work and packing, moving, and studying. However, with all that chaos being thrown in the mix, last week still proved to be an awesome couponing week for me.

For those of you who are new to visiting or following my blog, each Monday is

Savin' Maven Monday

I'm still fairly new-I've been actively couponing now for about 2 months-and I thought it would be neat to share my weekly savings with you all. So on Monday, I round up all of my purchases from the previous week and give totals and share how I saved on the listed items.

Since alot of my readers have been asking me exactly how I do this, I will start listing a specific 'couponing' tip each week. I will admit that I am no expert at this (yet) but I have gotten a helluva lot better since beginning in March. Couponing can sometimes be tedious so you have to stay tuned so as not to miss anything.

This week I shopped at 4 stores:

Savin' Maven (Walgreens)

 If you have been keeping up with me, you know that I despise Walgreens but there's something that just pulls me back each and every week. Their customer service sucks, the associates are rude, and they hardly ever have advertised items in stock. I lucked up on this trip though because I went in on a Sunday evening while no one was shopping. I spent a total of $12.90 here. The blood glucose monitor was the highest priced item but I received $10 worth of Register Rewards for purchasing it so split my transactions up and I used that  $10 reward to purchase the remainder of the items pictured. The Old Spice body washes were B1G1 50% and the candies were B1G1 FREE-all of which I had coupons for. The Pepsi was FREE with the purchase of chips and salsa and the Dole fruit crisp was also FREE after I used my coupon.

Next...CVS

Savin' Maven (CVS)

 I had $10 worth of Extra Care Bucks that I needed to use by 5/17 so the rainchecks came in handy for these items that were out of stock on the previous week. Combined with the coupons that I had and the already looowww prices of these in-ad items, I spent a total of $.52-ALL TAX- for the stuff pictured above. What a steal!!

On to...Rite Aid

Savin' Maven (Rite Aid)

My next step was Rite Aid. I always have great shopping trips at the 'Aid'. Annnnddd they always have killer sales! This past week I went in with $10 UP+ Rewards that I had earned from a previous purchase and a shit ton of coupons. The Sally Hansen and Rimmel cosmetics items were all B1G1 50% off. The detergent was $1.97 and the toothpaste was marked down to $1.09 for which I had 2 ($1 off 1) coupons so that made the toothpaste a whopping $.09. After coupons and discounts, I spent $1.59 here-ALL TAX!!

Lastly...Harris Teeter

Savin' Maven (Harris Teeter-Triple Coupon Day)

                        I don't normally do HT because their prices are SKY HIGH! Even if I were wealthy, I wouldn't shop here because it's just ridiculous! (I swear the rich people seethe with anger when they see my frugalicious self walk in the door). The only time that I do shop HT is when they are doing a double, or in this case, a triple coupon event. Usually they do these types of events once a month and since I am a family of 1 (I do sometimes feed the BF though) I am usually able to stock up on groceries and make this one trip last until the next 'grocery run'. During this coupon event at HT, they tripled all coupons up to $.98. You can only use 20 coupons per shopping trip per eVIC card. I spent $33.17 on this trip-the 5 12packs of soda that I purchased are not pictured because I didn't feel like taking them out of the car and hauling them up stairs but they were on an awesome special-B2G3 FREE.

Overall this week, my totals were $214.56       

My total out of pocket was $48.18

For a total savings of $166.38 (78% savings)

What do you think?

Did you find any great deals this past week?

Wait...wait...wait...before you leave, let me give you

 Couponing Tip #1:

Sign up for Company Reward or Loyalty Cards for each store that you frequent.

 These cards are usually free and most times stores only offer sale prices to cardholders. You may sign up for these cards in store or on the specific company's website.  Some of these cards work on the point system-for instance for every dollar you spend,  you will earn a point-once you reach a certain number of points, they will send  you a store coupon. Also, most of the loyalty cards (for pharmacy chains such as Rite Aid, Walgreens, and CVS) offer rewards that can be used just like money. All you have to do is purchase the advertised item and your receipt will print out with the stated reward amount that is good for you to use on your next purchase. 

       

I know you're thinking damn it's already alot to tote around a bunch of coupons so where am I gonna put all of these loyalty cards. I assure you that they are easy to store-most of them can be attached to your key ring and along with advanced technology comes the KeyRing app where you can store all of your cards on  your Smartphone for easy access.

Source

Source

Each Monday I will post a new tip. I will try to cover all that I can but please remember that I am no expert. If you have a specific question or topic that you want covered please leave it in the comments or shoot me a personal email. Thanks for reading!

Post Title from How We Do by 50 Cent feat The Game

BDIB and FBFF: Dressed Smart Like A London Bloke...

Today is just the day that I've been waiting for...

Today is 'Bel Air' day. Teehee. Kristina from PrettyShinySparkly is the absolute greatest. She has sponsored yet another Bloggers Do It Better Challenge and this time we are to channel our inner Hillary Banks and find something preppy in our wardrobe.

Cords..Oxford..Belt-Thrifted/Cardi-NY&Co

She (Kristina) suggested neckties and button downs but I went a little more casual since we are having a pep rally at my job today. Blue oxfords, Cords, and Cardigans all seem so preppy to me.

You can go to PrettyShinySparkly to see all of the other preppy 'fits today.

What's your idea of a 'preppy' outfit?

Not only am I suuuppper happy that is it Friday....it's the Friday that I get to bitch and moan about my pet peeves as a blogger (special thanks go out to Katy from ModlyChic for deciding on this topic for this weeks' FBFF). 

I will admit that after reading several entries of the FBFF topic-Pet Peeves, I started to become really self conscious about my blog-am I doing this right, am I not doing that right. However, I did see this as a great means of constructive criticism as well as a chance to alter some things on my blog so that it will be more appealing to my readers and followers. Without further ado, here are my peeves:

1. NOT COMMENTING BACK-Though all comments do not merit a detailed response, I think it's just common courtesy to contact your readers (by either emailing or commenting on one of their posts) just to let them know that their visits are in fact appreciated.

2. FOLLOW ME, I'LL FOLLOW YOU BACK-I hates this honey. I personally would rather you not even say anything at all versus saying that crap. When I follow someone, it is not a matter of favor. I follow people because they are fly and have awesome content that I enjoy reading, not solely because they are following me.

3. OFFENSIVE CONTENT-About two weeks ago, I was visiting a blog that I visit on the regular and one particular post was very offensive, disrespectful, and racist. I commented expressing my distaste and waited for an apology. Well....I never got an apology but I did go back to visit that blog to find that several others had left comments stating that they too were offended. The blogger never even had the decency to post an apology or reply back to any of our comments. Needless to say, I stopped following immediately. Though you can't please everyone, just be mindful of your readers' feelings.

4. TOO MANY PICS-I don't need to see a GAZILLION pics of you in the same 'fit doing different poses. You're doing too much!!

5. TROUBLE LEAVING COMMENTS-I've noticed on several blogs that I read that it will say 'Post A Comment' at the bottom of your post but when I go to click in the space, nothing happens. Maybe some of you have it set to where only followers can comment or maybe it may even be the computer that I'm using. Whatever it is, it's annoying. Hence the reason I subscribed to an outside commenting system (ie-Disqus, CommentLuv, IntenseDebate). You should try it too.

6. INCONSIDERATE BLOGGERS-I've contacted a plenty of bloggers about doing features of them on my blog. They say that they would love to be featured so I go through the trouble of emailing interview questions and then---NOTHING. Maybe she lost interest (she should've said that), maybe she doesn't have time (she should've never said she wanted to do it), or maybe she's just inconsiderate. Bloggers don't take on more than you can handle, be mindful of the things that you commit yourselves to, especially when it's at someone else's expense.

I'm sooooo excited to see what everyone else has to say. You can link up your peeves or just stop by to visit by clicking here.

What are some of your blogging peeves?

Post Title from American Boy by Estelle

Awkward and Awesome: I Encourage You To Try It....

 AWKWARD

-I got to the bottom of my Capt. Crunch ceral box today....so I added Apple Jacks to it to make a full bowl! YUMMM!!!

-Why is it that some of the more popular bloggers don't participate in community -blog- events and challenges (ie-Bloggers Do It Better, Everybody Everywear)? Do they think that they are better than us or do they just not have the time to devote to networking with other bloggers!? I mean I'm curious as hell.  Maybe when I reach 'superblog' status, I will comprehend that one a little better.

-I wore black with brown today and, well....let's just say that I won't do it again. I hates it honey! Have you ever rocked these two colors together? How did it turn out?

-I mentioned before how much I despise communal restrooms. But what I hate even more is the people who outright refuse to knock on the bathroom door before they pull on the door handle. Granted, I always lock the door behind me but just what if I forget one day....and then here comes one of those people who don't knock. I wonder if they will rethink their decision to knock after they walk in on someone mid-wipe!!

AWESOME

-If you're an avid Redboxer like me, they are offering some sweet deals for the next 7 days. Just text 'DEALS' to 727272. On Monday, they offered a FREE rental and Tuesday was half off . Today they are offering 50% off a one night rental. TEXT NOW!!

Redbox Deals 

-If you're a follower, you know how much I looooveee thrifting. Weeellllll, I was featured on ColorBlind a couple of weeks ago as the 'Thrifters Anonymous Thrifter of the Week'. Shana hosts this segment once a week for all of us thrifters to share our finds. She's also super fly and frugalicious and I'm hoping to feature her for an upcoming 'Word on the Street Wednesday' segment. You can read my feature and visit Shana here.

You can participate too!

-I finally finished visiting the participants from the Bloggers Do It Better-White Out challenge hosted by Kristina of PrettyShinySparkly. I found 3 more new divas to add to my list of favorites:



Woah White Out!



 Rocquelle from ConsiderMeLovely,  Gab from FashionBeautyInsight, and BJones. You should visit them too! They're all gorg!!

-Ok, so I am waaayyyyy late on this Savin' Maven Monday roundup ...sorry to those of you who look forward to seeing my deals each week. Here are the awesome deals that I found last week.

Savin' Maven (Food Lion)

Food Lion was offering those huge bottles of salad dressing for $.99 and the Kellogg's cereals and Lays chips were all B1G1 FREE! Theeennn, Food Lion was giving out $5 off $25 coupons so I spent

 $7.59 here.

Savin' Maven (Rite Aid #1)

This was the GREATEST trip ever!!! Rite Aid had awesome deals last week. The lotions, soaps, and deodorants were all B1G1 50% off. The cosmetics were B1G1 FREE and the pads and Tylenol Precise cream were all FREE after I used my coupons. I spent a total of

$15.16 on the 40 items pictured. That's
an average of $.38/item.

Savin' Maven (Rite Aid #2)

Rite Aid sales were so great that I made a second trip. This time I spent $4.96 (the 2 Reese cups are not pictured-I think I must've eaten them-ooops)! I also received $13 worth of Register Rewards to use towards my next Rite Aid trip. YAY!!

Savin' Maven (Target)

Target had lots of things on clearance last week-including some of their leftover spring gift bags and tissue papers. If you're lucky enough to have a decent Target in your area, you may be able to find some good markdowns. Here, I spent $5.65. Most of the items cost little or nothing after I used my coupons.

Savin' Maven (CVS)

My last stop was at CVS. I only stopped here because CoverGirl was offering a $3 extra care reward with the purchase of $10 worth of product. I spent $3.35 here after coupons.

So altogether last week, my items totaled $229.26
I spent $36.71 out of pocket (after coupons, discounts, and sales)

For a total savings of $192.55 (84% savings)

What can I say....shopping....(and couponing in particular) is addictive! I encourage you to try it!!!

What kind of awesome.....or awkward things did you experience this week?

Post Title from Money to Blow by Drake

WOTS: Flowers and Posin'....

I know I've been rather MIA for a while and I truly do apologize-between moving and starting summer classes I haven't exactly had a bunch of time to dedicate to posting...but I'm baaaacccckkkk!!!

And I want this....

Flower Detailed Cardigan

First off, I loves me some cardigans. If I don't wear them (or some type of sweater, jacket, shawl covering, etc.) I feel utterly incomplete. Thus I have become completely obsessed with them.

Cardigan-NY & Co

There really is no right or wrong way to rock a cardi but I can admit that I was a little torn when it came to styling this NY & Co jewel. The flower detailing, regardless it's quiet color, is bold enough to speak for itself (I have it in army green as well). So as to not overpower the flowers, I added a solid, bold colored shirt. I figured patterns would have clashed too much and a light colored shirt just wouldn't have done the cardi justice.

The cream and brown statement necklace tied into the overall theme of the 'fit so I figured 'what the hell'!? When paired with brown slim flared NY & Co khakis and a pair of bronze Steve Madden kitten heels (my 'go to' shoe) I ended up with this:

How do you rock your cardi's?

In other 'Word on the Street Wednesday' news, my movie pick for the past week was Black Swan starring Nicole Kidman. I must admit that I was shamefully confused during alot of this movie. Maybe if I were to read the movie description and watch it over again I would better understand and appreciate the storyline.

A ballet dancer wins the lead in "Swan Lake" and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan - Princess Odette - but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odile, the Black Swan.

I had heard such great raves about it so I wanted to see for myself and I personally wouldn't give it a 10. I will, however, say that 'ole Natalie did a bangup job playing the part and I can definitely understand why she was awarded the infamous gold man....no wait...is it a man or is it a lady? It's name is Oscar, it has to be a man, right?  Whomever IT is, it was very well deserved.

MY RATING-8.5/10

What's your 'Word on the Street'? Feel free to share any cool books, events, movies, or fashions.

Post Title from Roses by Mary J Blige