Serving pieces can make all the difference...

I have a little confession to make... I'm not the best cook. I get by ok in the kitchen and most of my meals are edible, however I am by no means a gourmet chef. However, I firmly believe that no matter what you're cooking, if you serve it on a nice platter or in a beautiful bowl, it makes the dish ten times more enjoyable! Presentation is everything, so even if you buy something ready made at the store, you can dress it up and serve it on one of your own platters, and everybody will believe you spent hours slaving over a hot stove to make it! I won't tell ;)

Two of my favorite serving piece designers are Arthur Court and Michael Aram. Both make pieces that are absolutely to die for, and are reasonably enough priced that you can buy lots of pieces to mix and match your table! What's even better is that both are featured frequently on online sample sale sites, making the deal even sweeter!

Arthur Court is on RueLaLa, one such site today! Check out some of the pieces I'm loving below...

This would be perfect for a tailgate at the Swamp! On RueLaLa right now, it's only $29!

In case you're a Noles fan, like Mr. C, you can pick up this napkin holder for tailgating at Doak!

How stinkin' cute are these little salt and pepper shakers for Halloween, which will be here before we know it?! 

This looks like such a useful piece, since the casserole dish comes out for baking. This is one of those pieces you can bake and serve in, making it super easy to have a beautiful presentation! It's only $49, too... I feel like you would definitely get your money's worth with this piece!

I could definitely keep going, since those are just a few of my favorites! If you're not already signed up for RueLaLa, you can click here to sign up! Every day they feature great designers at even better prices. In the past, I've bought Lilly dresses for $50 and our 10 piece Calphalon pots and pans set (retail of about $900!) for $200. 

Game Day Dresses!

We are one week away from one of the best times of year... college football season! I love college football, although UVA, my alma mater, is not exactly what you would call a football powerhouse. Let's put it this way - going into the 2010 season, we're ranked second.... worst team in the country! However, what us 'Hoos lack in football prowess we make up for in game day fashion. While this will sadly be my first football season away from Charlottesville, I am currently living in the middle of SEC territory so almost every shop I go in has dresses in school colors. Lucky for me, Auburn is not too far from us and they have the same colors as UVA (fun fact - the professor who started Auburn's football team was a Wahoo, which is why he suggested navy and orange for Auburn's colors!) so I have seen more than my fair share of adorable game day dresses perfect for tailgating on The Lawn. Most of these have been by a local company called Judith March. Below are some Judith March dresses I'm loving right now!

I love the orange seersucker bow on this navy blue dress!

While not school colors, this dress looks like the perfect weight for a crisp fall day!

We get a lot of Bama fans around here too, and I think this crimson dress is adorable. 

Check out the Judith March blog to check out more pictures of their great dresses! 

(Images courtesy of Judith March and the Sassy Britches Boutique Online Store!)

Redbox... for designer purses?

As most of you know, we're making the move to San Antonio at the end of the year. Being the type-A person that I am, I spend most of my free time researching anything and everything I can find about San Antonio and all it has to offer. In doing my research, I stumbled upon this new concept that will be making its way to San Antonio and other cities around the country soon.

Allow me to introduce the Chirp vending machine. Brought to you by the makers of Redbox, my favorite rental DVD vending machine company, it is a vending machine that will be placed at grocery stores to vend "affordable luxury goods at up to 75% off retail." Examples listed on the website include brands like Steve Madden and even Gucci! You literally stop with your chicken breasts and milk in hand, scroll through the items on the screen, select the luxury good of your choice, and voila... out it comes! I remember when I was younger, I always wanted to stop and play with the claw machines outside of stores in order to try and win that stuffed animal I absolutely had to have. I guess now I'll have to fight off the urge to stop and buy the latest designer bag?

I'm really not sure how I feel about a Gucci vending machine. What are your thoughts on it? Do you think it will catch on around the country or totally flop?

Loving Lilly (Online!) For Less

I love online shopping. There's just something fun about having anything you could ever possibly want to buy at your finger tips. One of the best parts of online shopping is that you can get practically anything you want in your size, and at the best price possible. I have a few tips that I always use whenever I buy anything online!

1. Always check for a coupon code!
If you're anything like me, you get a million e-mails a day from Victoria's Secret, J.Crew and just about every other store you've ever set foot in. I must admit that I hardly ever read these, but they can contain some great savings. Oftentimes, stores will put out coupon codes for great promotions like an additional percentage off or free shipping. What's even better is that there are websites like RetailMeNot and Coupon Cabin which compile all coupon codes available and put them in one easy to search place. Just search the store you're looking for, and you'll see if there's anything available!

2. Ebates!
I've already professed my love of mail, but what I love even more is getting checks in the mail! If you sign up for this neat website called Ebates.com, you can get a certain percentage of your online purchases back via check. Anytime you want to shop somewhere, like Nordstrom.com, Priceline.com or even Ebay, you go to Ebates first, log in and then search for the site you want and click through to that site. You then shop as normal, and you'll get a certain percentage back. It's usually around 2-3%, but sometimes it's much higher. It also adds up if you're doing something like booking a hotel or buying textbooks online. I've received almost $50 back simply buying things I would already buy. Ebates is safe and secure, and has been featured by a lot of different media outlets. So what are you waiting for? Sign up by clicking here and you'll get $5 right off the bat just for signing up!

3. Shop online clearance!
We've all been there. You're at a store that's having a great clearance sale and you find the most adorable skirt. It's calling your name as you peruse the racks, and you realize that you need it. Then, you check the size... surely you can squeeze into it even if it's three sizes smaller than what you would normally wear, right? You grunt, you jump, you do some quick squats in the fitting room to get yourself down to a size zero, but finally you give up, feeling defeated and leaving your skirt hanging on the rack. How can you avoid this heartbreak? Shop online! There's usually a lot better selection online and the discount is often the same (or better if you're using coupon codes and Ebates!) and most stores will allow you to return things bought online to the brick and mortar retail store. What you can do is buy several items that look cute online and are your size, try them on and return what you don't want. You can save a lot of money and heartbreak going about clearance shopping this way!

Do you all have any great online shopping tips you want to share? I'd love to hear them!

Bzzzzzz....

Confession: I LOVE getting mail. Everyday, I make the trip to the mailbox and hope that there's something fun inside for me. Frankly, the days of pen-pals and handwritten letters have more or less gone by the wayside and been replaced with the likes of e-mail and Skype, which means that I've had to take matters into my own hands to ensure I'm not met with disappointment each trip to the mailbox. Sure, I love receiving and reading the five magazines I subscribe to (it would probably be more, but Mr. C saved me from myself on that one...) but what's even more fun is opening your mailbox to packages of free things! Would you also like to receive free gifts in your mailbox? Then read on, faithful reader, as I introduce you to the world of BzzAgent.

BzzAgent is a website where you sign up to participate in word of mouth marketing campaigns sponsored by companies that want to get their product out there and receive honest feedback in return.

Here's an example of a BzzCampaign I'm participating in:

Orbit Gum recently came out with a fun new package designs that consist of bright colors and patterns. They've been marketing through commercials, but they also really want to push for people to check out their new packages and buy them. Enter: me. I signed up to participate in the BzzCampaign, they mailed me five packages of Orbit Gum and a bunch of coupons and now it's my job to chew the gum, hand it and the coupons out to friends, and provide Orbit with feedback of how people like their gum. Not too shabby, eh?

The best part is that all sorts of companies are doing BzzCampaigns. Some of the cooler ones I've seen recently include a "BzzKit" that included hundreds of dollars of haircare products from Sebastian and Nioxin, one that offered a free year of LifeLock to protect your identity and one that offered a free $100 Sonicare Toothbrush!

Ready to sign up? Just go to http://www.bzzagent.com/ and enter your info. I must admit that it took me quite awhile to get into the swing of things and figure out what the buzz was all about. The biggest goal is to gain "honeycombs" and move up your status so you'll be invited to campaigns before everybody else. You get these by doing things like reviewing sponsored websites in the "Frogpond" and also adding reviews to different "BzzScapes," which are like fan pages. You should also hop onto the home page once in awhile to see if you have surveys to fill out, because these will increase your chances of getting matched to a campaign! BzzAgent will send you an email if you're invited to a campaign, but it never hurts to check and see if any are available on your homepage as well! If you hae any questions, please do let me know!

(image courtesy of BzzAgent!)

These are a few of my favorite things...

Mr. C and I were very blessed to receive a lot of wonderful gadgets as wedding gifts. I have to admit that I love all sorts of new gadgets and anything that makes life easier and improves my quality of life. I'm a complete sucker for all things new and shiny! Without further ado, I present some of my favorite gizmos and gadgets...

 

This little guy is probably my favorite and most used gadget right now. It's the Clarisonic Skin Care Brush and it will revolutionize the way you look at washing your face. It's from the makers of the Sonicare tooth brush, and it's basically just like the Sonicare, but for your face. It's incredibly refreshing and is proven to remove 6x more make up than washing your face manually. It also leaves your skin feeling super smooth and much cleaner. Mr. C has even been known to sneak a wash in before shaving because he says it makes his skin feel softer! They come in the grey, white and pink, and I promise you won't be disappointed if you invest the $200 and get one of these! 

Mr. C and I use our Keurig Platinum Brewer nearly every morning. It's wonderful because it allows us to each enjoy our own hot beverage without any mess or having to brew a whole pot of coffee. I drink my English Breakfast Tea almost religiously, and Mr. C is more of a coffee drinker. You just put the individual "K-Cup," shut the lid and hit brew, and within seconds you have a piping hot, delicious drink! They make literally hundreds of K-Cups from tons of different brands, and best of all you can buy them pretty much wherever normal tea and coffee is sold! 

Prior to the wedding, whenever I asked married friends what Mr. C & I should definitely register for, they almost all immediately told me I should register for the KitchenAid Stand Mixer. At first I didn't know what the big deal was, but now I certainly do. Apart from looking beautiful on my counter (Mr. C doesn't quite grasp its beauty, I must admit...) it just makes baking so much easier. It's wonderful to toss some ingredients in, turn it on and let it go while I tidy up or get the next step of my recipe ready to go. 

I know, I know... it has one of the cheesiest infomercials ever, but I just LOVE my Magic Bullet blender. I was very hesitant at first to buy one, but my mother got me one as a Christmas gift after discovering how wonderful it was from a friend of hers. I am a huge fan of smoothies, and this little guy makes smoothie-making so much easier! Before I had the Magic Bullet, I hardly ever made smoothies because it was such a pain to make one little smoothie in the blender and then have to clean it all up. With the Magic Bullet, you put all of your ingredients in the cup you drink out of, screw on the blade and blend! When all is said and done, you just wash the blade quickly and stick the cup in the dishwasher. I can make a delicious, fresh smoothie in about a minute! It also is great for frozen drinks, mousse, sauces, and so many other things! 

(all images courtesy of the ever wonderful Google Image Search!)

What a view!

How blessed am I? This is the view from our balcony! Look - no oil in sight! Our beaches are still as beautiful and clean as ever. If you're considering a weekend getaway before summer is gone (which will be before we know it!) do consider the Gulf Coast. I'd be happy to give some recommendations if you need them!
 

Treasure Hunting!

What would you say if I told you that all of the items pictured above (worth over $1000 brand new!) were purchased for less than $100 total and are all 100% authentic? Well, it's true! One of my favorite ways to feed my love of fashion while sticking to our budget is to shop at consignment stores. I find it so fun to hunt for treasure and you never know what you'll come across during the process. A lot of things I've bought while consignment shopping have been brand new (like the adorable pair of Jack Rogers Dressy Navajo sandals pictured above!) or only gently used before their original owner either outgrew them or was cleaning out their closet. Their loss is your gain... you won't believe some of the bargains I've found!

Here are some of my best finds and their prices:

Small Gucci handbag (about $500 new!) - $40
Jack Rogers ($120 new) - $10
Burberry polo ($100 new) - $12
Milly top (about $200 new) - $6
BCBG top with the tags still on it ($168 new) - $5
Trina Turk skirt (about $150 new) - $20
Manolo pumps (about $600 new) - $30

Now, you have to have the right frame of mind when you're tackling a consignment shop. Sometimes you have to pick through lots of hideous items to find a gem, but believe me when I say it's thrilling to walk away with an awesome buy. It's definitely not like shopping at the mall, but if you have an afternoon to spare, you'd be amazed at what you can find and how much money you can save if you're patient. No matter what kind of budget you're on or what your style is, it's worth it to check out some consignment shops in your area. Who knows? Those Louboutins you've been lusting after at Neimans could be waiting for you!

My first blog entry!

Recently, I've discovered how awesome blogs can be. I've found some great blogs that gave me great ideas for my wedding, some amazing money saving tips, and are just plain fun to read. After reading blogs for almost a year now, I think I'm going to try my hand at blogging!

First, a little introduction. I'm a twenty-something newlywed living in Pensacola, FL while my husband is in training here with the Navy. I graduated last year from the University of Virginia with a degree in Foreign Affairs (go Hoos!) and am currently not working while we're here in Pensacola. We'll be moving to San Antonio soon, so we'll see what life brings our way as we go into 2011! I love classic styles from designers like Lilly Pulitzer, Ralph Lauren, Vineyard Vines and so many more. Since we're currently living on one income, I've had to get creative in how I can feed my addiction to designer clothes, shoes and handbags while not sending us into bankruptcy! How I've done that is one thing I plan to focus on in this blog. Follow me as I show you how you can save money on the little things in life, and still treat yourself to life's little indulgences!