Savin' Maven: How To Save Money on Family Portraits

Happy Monday my loves. 

I hope each of you had a great weekend. 

Mine was pretty awesome. I spent Saturday shopping with my Mom and on Sunday my honey and I went on an outing with our little Peanut to get family photos taken. They came out great! I can't wait to pick up the finished product.

I'm such a picture fanatic however, I'm always surprised at just how costly professional photos are. Like what exactly are they charging you for? 

I've noticed some downright outrageous sitting fees since I began getting professional photos done for my lil man. Seriously though, must these companies charge a full fee for a child who hasn't even reached 2 months old.  Clearly this has to be against the law.

I've honestly seen families stray far away from the traditional family photos in the recent years all because they are way too expensive. A lot of people have even taken it upon themselves to create their own photo shoots. In a world where Instagram is so popular almost everyone has become a photographer. Once I feel more comfortable with the settings on my 'big girl' camera I will definitely experiment more with snapping my own portraits. However, for those of us who love the cheesy poses and backgrounds at our local studios, there must be a way to lower the cost of these portraits. 

How, you ask?

You guessed it.....

Coupons!!!

I literally used to toss these picture coupons right in the garbage until my lil man came along. These things are lifesavers! They're like paper gold!! One of these coupons lowered the cost our Christmas photos by 70%!

Who wouldn't want to save 70%.?

Another great thing to do would be to sign up or register on photo sites such as Tinyprints and/or Vistaprint. If you place frequent orders with any of the online sites you sign up on they will automatically send you special offers and discounts in the mail.

These coupons and discounts will allow me to get tons of portraits of my little one at a fraction of the cost. That means we will be in the studio at least once a month. Because every holiday is like a special event in my family-especially when there is a new baby involved! 

What are some things your family does to save money on portraits?

I can't wait to hear from you!

And remember, think about how much money you can save before tossing the next batch of picture coupons that appear in your mailbox!

Thanks for reading.

XOXOXOXO

Friday Favorites: Vol # 31

Hello and Happy Friday my loves.

 

Just a quick post to share some of my favorite things with you all. Lately, I've been reading lots of blog posts and editorials stating how you shouldn't bombard your blog readers with the exact same things that you post on your Instagram feed. With that being said, I assure you that with the exception of a very few of the things that I post here during my Friday Favorites segments, my Instagram feed is a totally different animal.

 

For instance, this Levi's clutch didn't make it to Instagram but I got it for FREE with a Levis.com that was gifted to me through an app on my phone called Wrapp. Yay for freebies!!

 

 

Packing and shipping purchased items from my shop, Miss Rockwells Racks, is always the highlight of my week.

 

Target has a really bad habit of clearancing their entire shoe section at one time. It gets on my nerves because it tempts me to spend money that I would rather keep in my wallet; but because I love shoes so much I end up spending it anyway. Ughhh!

 

This month's FREE mag swag!!! Make sure to 'like' my FB page as I post about all of the great deals and freebies there.

 

 

As a member of Old Navy's Style Council, I was sent coupons for myself and a girlfriend to try a pair of their new white denim jeans-absolutely FREE. I'm super excited about this opportunity.

 

My growing accessory obsession. I feel totally naked without some type of jewelry on when I leave the house.

 

OMG. I'm not a huge fast food conossieur, however, this new Jim Bean Bourbon Thickburger from Hardees is so heavenly. Lately, I've been dying for a really good burger and this one takes the cake. If you're a fan of Hardee's you should definitely give this baby a try. They even sent out BOGO FREE coupons for this very burger. Yummm!

 

I had the opportunity to attend one of very few fashion shows in my area and I had quite the experience learning about my city and how much talent I have floating around me in terms of style and fashion. More pics will be posted on my Instagram feed.

 

I've been wanting to try some type of makeup primer for a while now and I was finally able to make that happen using a Victoria's Secret gift card that I was given by my friends over at Wrapp. After the gift card, I only spent $4 for this lovely primer.

 

Last but not least I'm totally excited to be participating in my very first Trunk Show hosted by my lovely friends over at Yours/Mine Secondhand Thrift. The event will be located in DC next weekend and I'm so happy to finally be living out my dreams of having my own boutique. Here's more info about the show if you would like to attend. There will be lots of secondhand and vintage goodies there for the taking.

 

 



What were some of your favorite things this week?

 

I can't wait to hear from you!

 

Thanks for reading!

XOXOXOXO



Pastels, Prints, and a Pencil Skirt...

Happy Hump Day my loves.

I hope each of you are having a great day thus far. I'm so glad that we're halfway through the work week. I've been bombarded with meetings and paperwork so I'm ready for a nice, long weekend.

I haven't posted since some time last week but I promise I'm going to do better. I did however, get the chance to attend a local fashion show this past weekend so I will be posting pics of that on my Instagram feed soon.

Today's outfit is one that I styled for Easter Sunday. I find it to be amazing when you can so pefectly pair up pieces in your closet that were initially purchased as seperates. 

 

 

I loved the print of this cardi when I initially saw it in Target.

 

 

And though I love, love, loved it I absolutely had to wait until it was clearanced.

Needless to say that I was able to snag it for 7 bucks. I get so excited about red stickers and markdowns. It totally tickles my fancy. I mean I liiivvveee for a good sale.

 

Or.....a great thrift find...like this classic Jones of New York pussybow blouse I found for 99 cents.

 

 

I wasn't too fond of the shirt by itself because it fit a little large on me but the great thing about layering is that you can kinda mask a particular garment's actual appearance if you don't like it's inital fit.

 

 

This magenta colored high waisted pencil skirt is absolutely one of my faves. I love the fact that it came with a skinny belt and the color is awesome. I purchased it a few years ago from one of my all time favorite stores, New York & Company-all of their pieces are so classic and can easily be worn as work or casual pieces.

 

This skirt really accentuates the little bit of curves that I do have...

 

 

Too bad that it fit a little to tight for my liking. Hence the reason I recently posted it for sale in my shop, Miss Rockwells Racks. So ladies if any of you want it, it's up for grabs!

 

Overall, I rather enjoyed this 'fit. I got tons of compliments on the pretty colors too. Not to mention, the honey snapped these photos of me and he didn't do such a bad job. I may have to hire him full time!!!!

 

 

 

What's your favorite color combination?

 

I can't wait to hear from you!

 

Thank You so much for reading!

XOXOXOXOXOXO

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Friday Favorites: Vol #30

Hellooooooo and Happy Friday my loves.

I know I haven't been here in over a week but I really just wanted to take some time off to enjoy my   Spring Break without the stress of remembering to post and whatnot.

Had I planned my break correctly I would've had some guest bloggers or even scheduled my posts ahead of time. But....I'm human and obviously not that well organized so here I am-somewhat refreshed and renewed.

And here are my Friday Favorites!

I've been coveting this whole ear cuff trend since it first surfaced so in my true 'thrifty and shameless' fashion, I was able to find them in The Icing on a $2 accessory rack. I absolutely love this store and most times it's the only store I will purchase accessories from-especially when they have their $2 specials.

FREE paint samples from Ace Hardware. They offer these freebies a couple of times a year and each time I'm the first in line. I've been able to acquire 4 quarts to date-that's enough to get started on the DIY Chevron accent wall that I've been dying to complete since I moved into my home.

The Prabal Gurung line that all the fashionistas went crazy over when it made its debut at Target in February. Well, it's finally being clearanced. Annnd, there's still a ton of items left. I'm patiently waiting for the items to go to 70% off.

I did purchase these babies at 50% off though. I absolutely had to have these. I have so many great styling ideas for them.

Celebrating my big sister's birthday in style. I love this woman so much. She's so smart, beautiful, and hilarious too!

I took a mini roadtrip with my family a couple of days ago and this is the plate that I was presented for lunch. Note that I said 'for lunch'. I believe the name of the eatery was Mayflower. All of this for only 9 bucks. I'm sure this can't be healthy but it was soooo delish!! 

While visiting the mall during our roadtrip, I decided to visit Sephora to take advantage of the FREE $5 giftcard that I was given for being a user of the Wrapp app. 

Wrapp is a fun and easy way to give free and paid gift cards to your Facebook friends. Download Wrapp's smartphone app or visit www.wrapp.com to start giving!

This month's magazine swag. 

I was asked by my friends over at Crowdtap to hunt for the new DOT by Marc Jacobs fragrance bottle while I was on my roadtrip. I love the packaging of this bottle-the presentation alone entices me to pull out my wallet and buy!

The search for the above fragrance inspired me to rock dots during my roadtrip.

Last but not least, I've added new items to my shop, Miss Rockwells Racks. You can visit here or you can visit and follow my shop on Instagram to get first dibs on all the new items that are added.

That's it for today. What were some of you favorite things this week?

I can't wait to hear from you!

Thanks so much for being faithful readers-even when I take a week off without notice! You guys are more than amazing!!

XOXOXOXOXO

Savin' Maven Monday: DIY Valentine's Day Inspired Sneakers

Happy Monday my loves!

I hope everyone has had a fabulous weekend!

Mine was very productive. I got new items for my shop, began promoting the February 'Lover's Lane' Blog Hop that I will be hosting here (more info on the home page of the blog), and I got started on my Valentine's Day projects.

The first of which is a pair of V-Day inspired sneakers. I'm not sure how much I will actually wear these but I felt like it would be a fun and festive project to attempt so why not. The sneakers were only $3.50 from the clearance rack at Target so I figured even if I messed them up, I wouldn't be losing out on tons of money.

 Here's what you will need:

*plain white sneakers (hurry and get yours from Target-mine still had tons left)

*painters tape

*various shades of pink/red acrylic paint

*small foam brush

That's it! You're ready to begin.

Step 1: Use the painter's tape to section off the portions that you want painted. I chose to do a semi-chevron type design.

Step 2: Begin painting with your choice of acrylic paint. Allow 1-2 hours for paint to dry.

Although I have about 5 colors shown at the beginning of my post, I only used 3 colors (red, pink rose, and a coral shade)

Step 3: After the paint has dried, remove the painter's tape. Use a cottonball soaked in rubbing alcohol to remove any excess paint that may be on the sides and/or soles of the shoe.

Step 4: Put the shoelaces back into the shoes and viola, here you have a brand new pair of shoes for Valentine's Day.

As I stated before, I'm not exactly sure how often I will wear these but the thought was fun.



What types of crafts are you creating for Valentine's Day?

I can't wait to hear from you.

Thanks a bunch for reading.

XOXOXOXO

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