Mother's Day Gift Ideas

Good morning/noon lovelies! Since tomorrow is Mother's Day, I decided to do a post the day before to give you all some last minute gift ideas for that wonderful woman that brought you into the world. I know that all of us are on a budget, so on top of possible gifts, I'm also going to include some excellent recipes and tips in case you prefer the homemade gift-giving.

Free Gifts

One of the best gifts you can give someone is a clean house or a clean car. "Borrow" their keys while you're at their place, get a copy made, and then tomorrow while they're asleep or out of the house, clean their house and car and put a fresh vase of flowers inside [if they like flowers of course]. It's very easy and thoughtful, since who doesn't love a clean house or car? Especially the car; I love my baby when she sparkles! If they're not going out tomorrow, give them a reason to. Ask them to run an errand for you, a very long one. Hehehehehe.

Gift Ideas


$50 or Less

 

Fiona Mosaic Jewelry Box: $39.00

A beautiful box to put her beautiful jewelry in. Who wouldn't appreciate this housing their collection of beautiful baubles?

 

Juicy Couture Couture Cut Studs: $27.99

The perfect studs to put into her new jewelry box, as well as to compliment her outfit, no matter the occasion. These look more Tiffany's than Juicy Couture, which is why for this price, they're the perfect steal.

Ikebana Pin Frog Stoneware Vase: $22.00

Ikebanas are beautiful and always perfect since they are small vases that you can put a few flowers in. You can add color in your room without having to purchase a full bouquet, or worry about finding space for a huge vase. Put it on a windowsill or by the bed, it works, and you don't have to worry about spilling a gallon of water if it's accidentally knocked over.

 

Primula Tea Pot Set: $34.99

For those who don't know about this; I saw this on QVC a few months ago. These are the COOLEST things in the world of tea and drinks. What it is; it's a beautiful glass tea pot and you get these beautiful tea flower buds that when you put them into the pot bloom into these gorgeous flowers that also make tasty tea! Since it's clear, you can see the buds blooming into flowers. They're the perfect centerpiece for any party, and they make the most delicious teas. She will adore this and you for getting her the perfect party-time favor!

Calvin Klein Jeans Sun Rays Tee: $17.33

The prettiest tee that she'll love and you'll want to "borrow".

Recipes

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/cheddar-cauliflower-soup-recipe

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/quick-pepperpot-soup-recipe

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/carrot-salad-honey-lemon-dressing-recipe

http://www.delish.com/recipefinder/tropical-cucumber-salad-recipe-10065

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fettuccine-with-Sweet-Pepper-Cayenne-Sauce/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Baked-Salmon-Fillets-Dijon/Detail.aspx

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Chicken-Enchiladas-II/Detail.aspx

Wednesday Wednesday

Good evening lovelies! Due to a family birthday and preparing for midterms, I will not be able to do a full post this evening.

The Jewelry you never knew you craved

Hello lovelies! I hope you all had an amazing night watching the royal wedding! Well, night/morning since it was really morning their time, but that in-between stage in our time. Didn't Kate look amazing?!?!?!

Today I am going to talk about a few of the latest jewelry trends for 2011. We've been seeing a bit of an overlap from last year, and definitely a lot of expansion on those trends too.

Trends

Colors

          Honeysuckle

          Brown

          Sand

          Burnt orange

      Lavender

          Moss

          Sky blue

          Grey

          Pale pink

Prints

          Zebra

          Tribal

Metals

          Hammered silver/gold

          Mesh

          Rose gold

          Chains

Overall trends

  Vintage-inspired pieces

          Family heirlooms

          Cabachon

          Fringe

          Bold

          Architectural         

Contrasting materials

          Plastic

         Rose gold

Stones

          Rubies

          Sapphires

Jewelry following Trend

$50 or less

 

 Kenneth Jay Lane Gunmetal Plated Pyramid Ring: $50

 

Marbled Stone in Rectangle Case: $20.00

 

Floral Chain Dangling Earrings: $6.50

 

Braided Chain Necklace: $8.50

 

Smooth & Hammered Bangle Set: $4.00

 

Charm & Pearl Stretch Bracelet: $4.00

 

Mesh Metal Bow Ring: $4.00


See lovelies?? All so inexpensive and easy to acquire! This is how you dress for less!!


For those who watched the royal wedding early Friday morning, you saw Kate and her sister Pippa both look beautiful beyond words. I really loved Pippa's dresses that didn't outdo her sister, but made her look just as stunning in her own right. Her green dress was just the perfect color for her! Tonight, I'm bringing you 3 different ways to wear a green dress. One of the options will be over $50, but as an investment, this dress will be worth it.

Pippa's Green Dress

Green Dresses

 

Green Broderie Sundress: $52.50

 

 Rhinestone Pin Satin Halter Gown Holiday Formal Bridesmaid Prom Dress: $49.99

Foreplay Arnis Tube Dress: $45.95



And there you have it lovelies! 3 different ways to wear green dresses for day and night! This coming Wednesday I'll bring you all some amazing Mother's Day gifts you can't miss!

Pills Please

Good evening lovelies! After a week and a half of a serious illness, I am back in action.

For those that are like me, I take my vitamins every single day, and I take more than one. I used to take 11 daily, but now I'm down to 6. Even though I've cut back on some [not by choice, but by financials], it still makes me feel weird that I take all these vitamins out of a plastic bag. I've been using a plastic bag for a few months now simply because of the cost: free. To be honest though, for the past week that I've had to take several medicines on top of my usual vitamins, I was starting to look like I had hit a pill problem as I was toting around about 10-12 pills & vitamins at any given time.

The easiest, and of course cutest way to hide said pills would have been to have invested in a pill box or organizer. Since I'm done with my medicine, I'm back down to 6, but it's definitely an investment I'm planning on making. For those like me who take many vitamins, I'm noticing that I waste a lot of plastic bags by either accidentally loosing them or destroying them somehow.

For those who wish to save plastic and look awesome at the same time:

Pill Box

$50 or Less

 

Victorian Surreal Octopus Woman: $7.50

Funky and fun, and can easily fit at least 6-9 pills.

 

Victorian Steampunk THE OCTOPUS: $17.50

 Freakin' GORGEOUS! How awesome would you look if you pulled this out of your purse?? Exactly, everyone would want to start taking vitamins just to look as cool as you.

This one has 3 separate sections to fit at least 12-15 different pills.

 

Bad Attitude Bad Gilr Pinup: $7.50

 This is how I feel almost every day. All of us feel this way at some point. Just whip it out when you feel that way; the other person will get the hint, and want your vitamin box at the same time.

This one also has 3 separate sections to put between 9-12 pills in.

 

Float Away With Me - Box: $11.00

This is a bit of a tall one, so this will fit easily 9-12 pills all in one section. Adorable, and totally worth every penny.

 

Steampunk Pill Box Case Gothic OWL: $35.00

 This has 2 large separate sections in it that can easily fit 12-15 different pills. This is adorable and looks so damn cool. Owls are always in still and adorable. Yes please!

 

Pill Organizer-4-dose Brown Fern Fossil Rock: $8.00

This has 4 separate sections that can fit about 8 pills in it. It's adorable the way it opens, and looks so damn cool. This looks so expensive, like you have a real large rock on top of it.


And of course, with the royal wedding only 2 days away, we need to prepare for the big event. You know what this means: HATS!

The English are known for their amazing headpieces and very fun hats. I adore them, and so I have found some very affordable ways for you to look posh and smashing for the big event!


Head Case


$50 or Less

 

Tangerine Bow Headband: $15.00

The perfect color for spring and the perfect addition to any summer dress!

 

Sweet Spirited Black and White Hair piece: $13.99

Adorable and classic. This is one your grandkids will wear!

UO Corsage Headband: $24.00

Another perfect piece in time for spring, as well as the wedding.

 

Grace Hats Cummin Hat: $36.00

This has a very "Miss Pettigrew lives for a day" feel which is absolutely lovely.

And on Sunday I will be talking about the latest jewelry trends for the spring and the best ways to wear them for $50 or less.

Happy Trails

Good evening lovelies. Due to extreme illness, I will not be able to post until this coming Sunday. I hope you all had an amazing time at Coachella and are looking forward to the Royal Wedding!!!

<3

Buffalo Loco

Good evening lovelies! I hope you all have had an amazing week so far! Between the event with Jeans 4 Justice and different sales going on with the season, there are all kinds of amazing deals going on right now for great causes.

One of my favorite that is coming up on Saturday at Buffalo Exchange. Buffalo Exchange is having a "Save Wildlife Habitat" sale. All the sale items at every store will be on sale for $1. All profits from the sale will go to the Save Wildlife Habitat Fund.

All store locations are participating. I recommend getting there early because what they do is; they take all the sale items outside of the store and put them into boxes and place them right by the entrance. You can't take them inside to try them on, so you should dress for trying on things in the street. You have to sort through the boxes, but it's absolutely worth it! I have a Lilly Pulitzer jacket from last year's sale that only cost me $1, and an H&M bubble skirt for only $1. I found many other items there for $1, and you help save wildlife while you're shopping.

 

"The Humane Society Wildlife Land Trust works with private landowners to protect wildlife by creating permanent sanctuaries. These sanctuaries serve as “Shelters Without Walls®” for free-roaming wild animals. Ranging in size from several to more than two thousand acres, each of these sanctuaries provides safe and natural habitat for countless species, from migratory song birds and waterfowl to charismatic carnivores like the grizzly bear or wolverine. To date, the Trust has participated in the protection of more than 1.8 million acres of wildlife habitat in 38 states, and eight foreign countries." - www.humanesociety.org

Jeans 4 Justice + Unusual Finds

Good evening lovelies! I hope you all have had an amazing week so far! Due to my involvement with the Jeans 4 Justice organization and trying to find a new place to live, I was unable to post this past week. Going forward I will hopefully not hit any more snags with my schedule.

For those of you that have never heard of Jeans 4 Justice, it is an organization that was started by Jessica Johnson in 2005 when she heard about a rape case that happened in Italy, where the conviction was overturned because the woman was wearing jeans as was told "It takes 2 people to take jeans off" so there's no way the man raped her, it cause Jessica to spur into action to create the organization.

Over the past 6 years, they have put on many different events such as marathons and shows throughout San Diego county to help raise money and awareness. This event they are putting on now goes throughout the entire month of April.

What J4J has done is have different boutiques in San Diego donate jeans to local artists. The local artists have painted their own interpretation of a sexual abuse survivor's story on the jeans. Different boutiques throughout San Diego county are hosting the jeans in their boutique for the entire month where people may bid on them in a silent auction. At the end of the month, all the money raised goes to different organizations that help sexual abuse victims. It is an event that is absolutely worth checking out at: www.jeans4justice.org

Participating Boutiques:

The Fresh Yard
Hunt & Gather
Material
Ragz
Virtu
Detour Salon
Mog and Rue
Azzaria Denim Lounge
Mimi & Red
Art N Soul
FeeLit Boutique




The Vagina Monologues is being put on tomorrow evening in North Park at the Birch North Park Theatre and a portion of the ticket sales will go to the cause. Please make sure to check out and spread the word about the event.

Ticket Prices:
Student - $15
General - $35
VIP - $80

www.jeans4justice.org

Unusual Finds

 One thing that anyone who has spent a somewhat considerable amount of time with me knows is that I am a cupcake fiend. I <3 them, severely. I own cupcake pajamas, cupcake jewelry, a cupcake maker, a cupcake measuring tape, etc. I also <3 beer. Not quite on the same scale that I wear beer pjs to bed, but I do quite enjoy it. Combing two things I enjoy together is genius, because if I feel like a beer, I can have a beer, while satisfying my sweet tooth. YAAAAY!!!

Pubcakes has it's store location on El Cajon Blvd, and is also sold through the Tipsy Crow in downtown San Diego. It was started by Misty Birchall when she took a semester off from school and decided to mess around in the kitchen attempting to combine her two favorites: beer and cupcakes. And it worked!!! She now owns a successful business.

Lovelies, I beg of you, please do not underestimate the value of a website loyalty program. Most of them are free, and you can get the most amazing things if you just pay attention to what you are getting for each purchase from a website. At Novica.com, i purchased a ring over a year ago. From the purchase, they gave me $5 towards my next purchase. I waited for a long time until 2 weeks ago, when they were having a super sale and free shipping in celebration of a holiday overseas.

I got these lovely earrings:

Gold-plated natural orchid button earrings: $20.99

They went on sale, then the free shipping kicked in, then Novica, also in celebration of the holiday, gave me $7 instead of $5 towards my purchase. The total cost for these beauties? $10, on an order that would've cost in the range of $30. Sometimes you have to wait to find gold, but it is always worth it.