Black Friday's Bounty

Good evening lovelies! Due to the travel back down to San Diego only to come in to find the internet not working, I was unable to post.

Of course, Black Friday happened. It has come, it has gone, and yes, I shopped. I walked the block to the Urban Outfitters and spent a great deal on dresses, skirts, shoes and of course, an awesome weekend travel bag. My most favorite find though from this weekend actually came at full-price in a tiny little story up the block.

Even when I was living back in New Hampshire, I didn't have a cute coat. I had a durable, plain black one that was 2 sizes too large, but it kept me warm and it worked. I have never owned a cute heavy winter jacket.

Finding the perfect jacket can be one of the hardest things in the world; I would know, I searched for years. This past weekend I walked into the tiny store called "La Monde" and found the perfect peacoat. It only cost $40.00. To some, but finding the perfect jacket; that's priceless. This is wonderful price because this jacket will take me winter to winter. It's tough, waiting, searching, finding nothing, and waiting some more until you feel as though you will never find that perfect jacket. You'll give up hope, like I did, and then walk into a tiny store and find the perfect jacket staring at you. I normally don't drop $40+ on an article of clothing. My range is usually $20-$30. When you walk in to a place and find that perfect jacket staring at you, it doesn't matter what the price tag reads. It could be $10, and it could be $50. When you see it, you will need it because it be your every occasion jacket. It will go with everything in your wardrobe and it will  make you feel awesome and warm and chic all at the same time.

There will be others, but sometimes, it's best to strike while the iron is hot instead of waiting until it cools down. While it is usually smart to think about things before buying, the perfect jacket needs no contemplation, only wearing out the door as your shove your old one in a bag.

My Winter Jacket

I'm also noticing a few trends that seem to be popping up all over the place: leopard-print shoes and cape jackets. I have a few wears to wear these wonderful trends for less than $50 of course

Leopard-Print Shoes

$50 or Less

 

Woorisin Bootie: $50.00

 

Aleksandra Bootie: $39.90

 

Leopard Pointed Toe Shoes: $35.00

Cape Jackets

$50 or Less

 

Cat World Crochet Trim Hooded Cape: $25.00

 

Hue It Girl Hooded Cape: $45.00

Fringed Plaid Hooded Cape: $25.00

ShopRuche.com Sale

Happy Thanksgiving

Good evening lovelies! I hope you all had the best Thanksgiving filled with lots of love and delicious food!

Happy deal hunting tomorrow!

Remember, Urban Outfitters opens at 7am and is having sales until 10am!

Contest winner + Special Deals right now

Good evening lovelies! The week of stuffing ourselves silly with turkey, stuffing and pumpkin is upon us! For those of us lucky to get two Thanksgivings, expect your pants to feel snug for a few days or so after the feasting.

As promised, tonight I am announcing the winner of my contest. Comically enough, one of my coworkers I had to remind about 25 times to enter my contest, and he finally did the last night it was open, and he said "I'm going to win. You should just give me the prizes now." I of course said "Easy there ego, I'll let you know the winner when I choose it."

Of course, he's the name I pulled out of the hat. Congratulations to Robby Stewart!!!

Robby Stewart's Favorite Winter Accessory

"Winter means a lot of different things to people. Having recently moved from from the east coast where there are four seasons to souther California where there are no seasons, my perception of winter is changing.  In the past few weeks, I found myself missing the cool weather. I don't miss the cold, the frigidness and frost I had grown accustomed to, but the times when all I need is a hoodie.  I almost love my hoodie and I actually forced myself to wear it a few times.  It is functional (and I almost exclusively choose function over fashion...perhaps that is my fashion, but that is another topic all together)

Although I haven't had the same hoodie over the past 12 years, when the teeth of the zipper combine, when the sound and the motion come together, a myriad of memories come flooding back. Great times. Great people.

I want it to get colder so I can relive those times more often. Me and my hoodie, my dearest inanimate friend."

 

 

 

 

 

Special Deals 

Overstock.com

Free shipping - NO minimum

Urban Outfitters

50% off sale until 10am Black Friday

Ideeli.com

Pay $50 and get $100 worth of clothing from CandCCalifornia.com

The not-so-common accessories: $50 or Less

Good evening lovelies! Just to let you all know; tonight is the last night for my contest! Sunday I will announce the winner and let the world know what winter accessory they said they couldn't live without!

Tonight, I want to bring to light something everyone might not really think on a day-to-day basis: The OTHER accessories. I know Sunday I talked about piercings as other accessories, and yes, yes they are, but tonight I'm talking about the random accessories that you REALLY might not think about: electronics.

I must state for the record, I am not a techie. I do not drool over the newest accessories that come out, I don't have to have them either. I am someone Who chooses very carefully the electronics that I decide to own purely because I don't have the disposable income for all the electronics in the world, but also, I want the few pieces that I own to not just be electronics, i want them to be MY electronics.

Unusual Electronic Accessories

$50 or Less

 

 Ornate USB Cartouche Steampunk USB: $46:00

Yes, this is a real, working usb, and it ROCKS!

 

 Marc Jacobs USB Hub: $15.00

These are only sold in stores. The great thing is that you can call up the store and have one sent to you. I did that Monday, and I received this beautiful USB hub today. It only cost $5 for shipping. $20 for a Marc Jacobs USB hub. That's all I'm saying.

 

USB Strawberry Mouse $15.00

Adorable. Need I say more?

Computer Decals

Mac

Yoshi for Macbook: $8.50

"Yoshi, which is Japanese for...the Yoshi"

Snoopy Missing Macbook: $4.99

SNOOPY!!!!!!!

City Decal: $13.00

I hear "Empire state of mind" playing as I type furiously on a computer with this decal.

PC

Birds & Branches: $8.50

I own a PC, so this is absolutely perfect for mwah, and all others who have not become Mac enthusiasts just yet.

 

 Damask Laptop Notebook Sticker: $10.00

Preeeeeeeeeetty.

Dandelion Laptop Notebook Sticker: $10.00

I love what they can create with technology nowadays. How sweet and perfectly serene is this?

Permanent Accessories

Good evening lovelies! I hope you all have had an amazing weekend thus far.I still my contest going on; don't forget to enter it!


Tonight, I want to talk about something not many people give a lot of thought to as accessories. I'm talking about piercings & tattoos. These are our permanent accessories. When we first get something done, it is an obvious accessory; we are conciously aware of it every moment of every day because it is something fresh and new that still catches our eye whenever we look in the mirror. After a little while though, they become part of our skin (Ar ar ar), something that is part of us, something that is without second thought. I know that my tattoos and piercings are my skin, and I'd feel quite naked without them.

Naturally though, when it comes to permanent accessories, it's the quality that counts more than the quantity. That is why tonight, I'm going to talk to you about piercings.

Piercings

Yesterday, I got 2 dermal piercings on my wrists. I don't have pictures yet, but i woke up this morning and looked at them and felt like they should've been there all my life; they're now part of my identity and part of my skin. I've wanted dermal piercings for almost a year now, and I waited to see if it was something i was still going to want, and of course, it was.

A lot of people see a piercing on someone else, make an appointment at any random shop, or have a friend offer to do it, and then it's done. What most people don't realize is that if you're not careful with who does this type of accessory, it be the deadliest and most costly accessory you can get. The guy I go to is at the Body Art Salon here in San Diego, and he is a licensed nurse. He understands the body and what is best for each type of piercing and where it will go. He explains everything that he is doing while he is doing it and why he is doing it. He also did my Tragus piercings last year. What I've come to discover is that it's important that when you find a piercer you like, you stick with them, but you need to make sure your piercer knows what they're doing first.

The best way to do this is go in and see the shop and talk to the piercer before sitting down to get something done.

Anyone can pick up a gun and some jewelry and start piercing. I've heard horror stories about people who went to someone's garage and it got infected and they had to go to the hospital, as well as people who went into stores and they used cheap jewelry and guns and had no idea what they were doing, and it had the same outcome. You don't need to go to school or get a license to become a piercer, which is why it's difficult to find a good one.

Once you find a hair dresser you like, you stick with them because they know what they're doing, they're safe and they're clean. Once you find a tattoo artist you like, you go back to them because they're safe, they're clean, they also use new packaging and new gloves and ink. Same thing goes for a piercer. When you find a piercer you like, one that's safe, always uses new packages, new gloves, etc, you stay with him.

Remember though, when it comes to piercing, it's also about the type of jewelry that they use. Anyone can use the cheap crap that costs you $10. Then you wonder why your piercing gets infected. While it may cost more to get the stainless steel, high-quality jewelry, in the long-run, it's better for you. Yes, it may cost $30 or $40 for a nose ring alone, but you know that it's not a cheap piece of metal that will break in two or make your skin itch.


Moral of the story is, will everyone have a bad reaction to the cheap jewelry? No, but will it last long and look good after a while? No. It's better to have a piercer that knows what they're doing and pay a little more up front, then pay a little less to someone who doesn't know what they're doing, and then pay more later when you have an infection and have to get it re-pierced because you had to let the hole close up to heal.

Dermal Piercing Examples

Dermals are quickly becoming the most popular type of piercing around because they're very fast and easy to do, and they have a very fast heal time.

 

This is pretty much what mine looks like, except a smaller stud.

Winter Wonderland Giveaway

Good evening lovelies! I hope you all have had the most amazing week so far. It's hard to believe it's almost Thanksgiving already! Only however many shopping days left until Christmas, which is why I've decided to help you all do some last-minute shopping for those loved ones in your life. No need to wait until the night before when it's 10pm and you're thanking whoever you pray to that the stores stay open until midnight.

Never fear, lovelies, my fantastically easy and fun contest is here.

Winter Wonderland Contest

For this contest, all you need to do is tell me about your favorite winter accessory that you just can't live without. Women and men of the fabulous fashion world, tell me what you love and won't be living without this winter. It's as simple as that.

The winner will be chosen at random from the entries that I receive.

Prizes

 

 

 

 

Whoever wins gets to choose one duffle bag and one laptop case to be shipped to them. It can be any combination; pink & pink, pink & black, black & black.

These lovely prizes are from the wonderful CSN.com, which has 200+ websites that carry everything from beautiful shoes to kids backpacks.

Rules:

 - Submissions are email only to : confessionsofachocoholic@yahoo.com

- All submissions are due in a week by next Wednesday, November 17th

- All submissions must include: Name,address, what winter product you can't live without

- Pictures may be included if desired

- There is no word minimum or maximum

The winner will have next Sunday's post be devoted to their product.

Good luck lovelies!!!

Team Pride for $50 or Less + Red is the new black

Good evening lovelies! I hope you all have had an amazing week thus far. Tonight, I am feeling a great deal of homesickness/pride (it might have something to do with having just seen "The Town" with Ben Affleck). Either way, lately all I want to do is deck myself out in Sox gear like Jimmy Fallon in "Fever Pitch". I want to have so much pride it's coming out of my ears. Of course, so much pride is not possible when one holds an office job and lives with Chargers & Padres fans.

So, tonight, I am bringing to you pride, in the most comfortable and cool way possible. Now, below I'm going to be showing my favorite teams. Not to worry, you too can own awesome gear to show your pride, all you have to do is look.

Some great sites:

chowdaheadz.com
amazon.com

Pride

$50 or Less

 

New England Sweatshirt/tshirt: $14.99

Make no mistake, this is the coolest shirt I've found other than the one that said "Kiss me I'm Jewish". I'm getting this one next paycheck. No joke. 

\

New York Gold Spun Women's Knit Cap: $23.99

This is absolutely adorable and would look amazing with the t-shirt above. It's adorable, warm, and the color goes with everything. And of course, it has the beloved Mets. 

Boston Red Sox MLB Snuggie: $19.16

For anyone who happens to know me at all, I detest snuggies. I think they're the bane of our existence. And then I realized that I would actually own one, ONLY if it was a Red Sox one. Then one was brought to my attention. Now my neighbors will see me wearing my pride and being warm at the same time. [Also, snuggie + t-shirt + hat = AWESOME]

Red Lipstick as a girl's best friend and easiest accessory

And that's how I show MY pride for my favorite teams, but for those who may not be interested in sports, but still want to be comfortable, try red lipstick.

That seems silly, as it did to me just a little while ago. I'm an all-natural kind of a girl. I enjoy nice eyeliner every now and again, but I love a pretty clear gloss, a touch of blush and a faint pink eyeshadow for a bit of pop. That's my routine. I had tried red lipsticks before, but the colors had always made me feel like bozo the clown or elvira, or just plain washed out and trying to play dress-up.

Finding the correct shade of red lipstick can be difficult, but one of the main things I've found that helps is knowing your skin tone and what works best. Pink, no matter the shade, always looks best on me, which is why my lipstick has a bright pink undertone. It's red, but it's pink-red, and definitely not for the faint of heart.

Why red lipstick might you ask?

Red lipstick is a very classic and powerful, yet still comfortable way of accessorizing your outfit and adding that extra pop. For someone like me who had never worn it before, I felt out of my element and odd for the first 10 minutes. But, if you wear it around your house for a while before going outside, you forget you have it on, and it just becomes your gloss.

I recommend everyone own at least one good tube of lipstick, It will go with everything, and at times it will be the only makeup you will need.

 

Avon: $9.00

This is almost exactly the color that I own, save mine is a touch more red. I recommend experimenting with different colors to find the best one for you, but I promise, the moment you find the right one, you'll wear it more often than you thought you ever would. I wear mine almost every week, and I love it.