I Heart The Dollar Store

I love cheap stores. Dollar Tree, Grocery Outlet, Big Lots, I love them all. But today I'm going to talk about what I buy at the Dollar Tree. Since there isn't a Dollar Tree close to me, I usually make a special trip to pick up these items:

Both Tai and I use these bath sponges. They tend go south after about a month. Even the fancy ones from Bath and Body Works don't last forever. I buy 10 at a time to make sure I don't need to make another Dollar Tree run or buy an expensive one from the grocery store.

I prefer to use fresh spices but I like to keep dried ones on hand. I don't taste any difference between the Dollar Tree spices and the stuff at the grocery store so I rather save my money for where I'll notice it.

Sometimes I'm really lucky and find the 1 lb box of kosher salt at the Dollar Tree. But again it's the same thing and often the same brand as your grocery store.
And while you are there check out their food selection. I've bought Top Ramen, juices, chips, candy, snacks at the Dollar Store. Just check out the sell by date which might be coming up and judge for yourself if you'll use it.

I also like to buy storage baskets. I buy them cheap especially ones that might go under the sink or in a closet. There I don't mind they are an odd color. But I've had great luck with their baskets and they have tons of sizes.
Dollar Tree is also fantastic for parties. I go there for plates, napkins, party decor, glasses. Plus you can order large quantities online so no schlepping home a dozen glasses!
What do you buy at the Dollar Store?

I realized that this seems like an ad for Dollar Tree. They didn't compensate me for this post. I honestly just love Dollar Tree.

Twlight Marketing Goes Too Far

A few months ago, I was disappointed to see Wuthering Heights (their publishers really) trying to capitalize on Twilight by releasing a new cover.

I don't remember Bella and Edward reading Wuthering Heights but my friend Abby tells me I'm mistaken. I believe her. I think she read Twilight a couple of times. If you are going to read Wuthering Heights read it because it's a school assignment or because you want to. Not because it's Edward and Bella's favorite book. Sheesh.
But what I saw over the weekend put Wuthering Heights to shame. May I present Bella's own coffee?

I found this while in line at Whole Foods. I had to take pictures. Not a fan of Bella? Prefer something darker? How about the Volturi Blend?

Or maybe The New Moon roast is more your speed?

Oh you don't like coffee? There's tea too.

New Moon Red for those long nights. Or perhaps a sampler pack.

 Strawberry Seduction, Cullen's English Breakfast, and New Moon Red.

At $11 each these treats stayed on the shelf. As much as I enjoyed the books the thought of buying Edward's favorite cereal or Jacob's favorite dog biscuits doesn't appeal to me. What about you? Would you buy a Twilight themed product?

Looking at Expensive Goodies at The Bravern

Last weekend, Janet, Kris and I went to walk around the Bravern (what kind of name is that for a mall?). Well really we went for cupcakes and to look at expensive clothes and shoes. What kind of expensive shops?

Oh, Louis Vuitton, Neiman Marcus, Hermes, Tory Burch, Jimmy Choo. All places where things cost more than my apartment :) We adored looking at all the expensive shoes (Hello, Manolo!) and pretty dresses.
We stopped at Trophy for cupcakes.

Here's the s'more cupcake that I chose. We saw a lot of people carrying Trophy bags around. I think Trophy will do very well here in Bellevue.



The Bravern is very nice. I liked the vibe and all the little touches like this sculptures:

I could see walking myself around and sipping coffee enjoying the scenery.  Actually buying anything, not til I wind the lottery ;)

Faith 21

I forgot that Forever 21 opened their plus size store, Faith 21, on Friday. Sadly the clothes aren't available in my local store, just online for me. About a dozen stores have the line in store. The line looks small, about 30 items or so. Hopefully they add more cause I like what I see.I'm really digging these ruffles. I can see this tunic over some skinny jeans. So sexy. I love showing off the cleavage!
A sweet little summer dress. Perfect for casual dinners.

Gift Ideas Under $30

Every year we have a gift exchange with some of our friends. It's like a white elephant, but most of the gifts are gifts you'd want. We have to start looking for what we are going to give this year. I'd like to keep it with a ecological twist. I plan to use recyclable bags as the wrapping. I know these Sigg bottles are the rage. So this is a maybe. I like this design. Very cool.Or how about this statuette. She's hand carved by teens in Hanoi to keep them off the streets. I like her cool meditative pose.
Or how about an LED flashlight? At work we keep talking about emergency preparedness. It's always good to have a couple of flashlights around in case of a power outage.
Or a sushi kit? We have a couple of people who have multiple food allergies. It makes it difficult for them to get out to restaurants where they can eat safely.
Whatever we wind up getting we're going to make sure we get something we want too. Just in case ;)

I <3 Forever 21

I really do love Forever 21. I can't fit into any of their clothes, but I love their accessories. It's the prefect place to go and find the latest thing without blowing a lot of money. Marta and I recently went to the Forever 21 near us and found a plethora of wonderful accessories:

Forver 21 jewlery by honeylin
None of these pieces is over $10. I love buying one or two cute things and using them for a season or two. The right necklace or bracelet can enliven last season's sweater. It really helps me change up my wardrobe for cheap!

Hangers

I stopped at Linens & Things since they are going out of business. The store was almost picked clean and the discount wasn't that good yet (30%-50%). I don't get excited til it's closer to 50%-75% off. But I wanted to see what they had in case there was something I needed. Nothing I needed but I did pick up these Joy Mangano Huggable Hangers.
I have a few deep V-necked shirts that do not seem to want to stay on the hangers. I have some of those padded hangers for them but I had too many and needed more. These seemed like a more affordable option. The 10 pack was marked down to $6. The package also claims that it will double your closet space. I don't know if it will and I don't think I'll buy enough to see if that claim is true. But if I do go Linens & Things again I might pick up another pack.

Vegas Recap

Man, it was hot in Vegas. It was in the 90's the entire time we were there. I got a little sunburned on Saturday. But mostly I forgot how far everything is. My legs were killing me Saturday. I thought my poor feet were going to fall off! So I bought these:Cole Haan Nike Sandals. I swear these made my feet feel so much better. Definitely worth the price-$100- at the outlet mall.
If your Vegas dollars are for shopping rather than gambling I recommend heading out the outlet mall in Pimm. There are shuttles that leave the strip and head out to the mall so you don't need a car. If you go here you can get a $3 off coupon for the shuttle. Other than the shoes, I bought some tops at Old Navy and underwear at the Maidenform outlet. We did enjoy looking at shoes and purses at Neiman Marcus' Last Call, Burberry, Kate Spade, and Tod's (no, I did not buy another pair of Tod's).
My other favorite thing to do in Vegas is eat! I love buffets and Seattle is sadly lacking in buffets. So hitting my favorite buffets and trying a couple of new ones were high on my list. But actually I didn't get to my favorites (the Bellagio and the Paris) but we did try the Spice Market in Planet Hollywood and The Buffet at the MGM Grand.
I had heard a lot of good things about the Spice Market. But sadly neither Marta or I thought it was very good. Other than the crab legs there was nothing I was wanting to go back for. In fairness we did get there at the end of the night. The food was fresh but nothing was terribly yummy. I wouldn't go back.
We hit the Buffet at the MGM on Saturday for brunch. The selection was good. I liked the roast beef. They had a bloody mary bar but I think they were virgin. It was a good buffet and I would go back to that one.
Saturday night we went to Lucky Strike (at the Rio) for bowling. If you are looking for something fun, but not crazy, Lucky Strike is good bet. You can take the free shuttle from the Paris to the Rio which leaves every 1/2 hour.
I'm glad to be home. I missed Tai and our pillows! I am planning our next Vegas vacation though. I think this time we'll go for longer than a couple of days. I'd love to take in a show (like Love or O).
Oh, and it's June. Do you know I'm getting married next month? How crazy is that?

More Shoes!

Dad and I stopped at the mall to pick up Mom's birthday cards and presents. While we were there I noticed that Aerosoles had some cute new white shoes. White shoes really aren't my thing but I know some brides out there are looking for cute white shoes, so I came home to look at their selection online (I was pushing Dad's time limit on the mall trip anyway).
Amusement Park $79Far Out $89.Trap Door $79.Wholesome $59.
So other than having some of the worst named shoes I've ever seen, they are cute and totally affordable. I might go back and try these on:

Vanilla Bean $69. I could wear those to work!

If I had a million dollars...

And I was single I would shop at Anthropologie all the time. I can't fit into their clothes nor afford them at this time, but I love their home stuff. For example:But this is certainly what kinds of things I would want in my home if I could shop at Anthropologie and if Tai didn't care about what we had in the house. Now those white latte bowls in the center are on our registry because I actually saw them at the store. They are so adorable! Although I'm more likely to use them for cereal and soup than for lattes. I also think I could get away with those plates on the bottom right. Tai does like that color, but I was really leaning toward white plates. I figure with white plates if they break or stain we can easily replace one or two.
But sadly I don't have a million dollars so I can't afford these beautiful things from Anthropologie and Tai really wouldn't be happy with that blue couch on the bottom left. It looks more uncomfortable than the couch we currently have. We are much more Target people:In fact I could see us buying these things and I could actually see them in our apartment. Honestly we don't own a thing from this picture. I don't know about those couches though. I'm not sure if they are comfortable. I want couches like Pat and Jen have. I don't know where they got them but they are so cozy. They have a microfiber cover. I want microfiber fabric! Our couch certainly isn't cozy! I think some of these lovely things from Target or perhaps some of things from Anthropologie will wind up on our registry.

How the Hell Did I Get So Old?

Mrs W is having another baby. M and I decided that we would buy the new baby a gift and something for the W's 3 year old daughter. M was in charge of the baby gift and I was in charge of the 3 year old's gift. Little W just started preschool so we thought she might like a little purse or backpack since she's grown up girl off to school. I figured they'd have a good selection of little girl stuff at Libby Lu.
Libby Lu is the type of store that I would have loved as a little girl. All those glittery lip balms, Hello Kitty, and smelly lotions. Hell, I still like that shit. (Yes, I feel it imperative to swear in a post about children.)
Upon entering Libby Lu I saw a display full of small purses and backpacks. I grabbed one, glad to find something so quickly. But this one had a little blond girl on it. Who the hell is Hanna Montana? Who the hell would name their child Hannah Montana?? I don't know if the little W like this little blond girl or not. Is Hannah Montana an appropriate role model for a 3 year old? Not wanting to risk either of the W women's wrath, I left the Hannah Montana display.
I found more backpacks, adorned with the cast of High School Musical. I think HSM is a little old for the Little W. My friend's 14 year old likes it so I passed on those as well.
Now the entire time I'm in the store, I have 2 salesgirls following me around asking me if I'm finding everything ok. I'm reluctant to ask for help because I chose this store because I kind of wanted to look around but now I feel like I'm coming off as a thief or potential child snatcher. It's the middle of the day and I'm wandering the mall. I'm clearly not a stay at home mom, retired, or out for a leisurely mall trip.
I've settled on a small messenger bag that says Rockstar on it. I passed on Diva and Princess. I don't want to give the kid a complex. As I'm paying for it, the girl asks me if I want a bag. Ok, sure. She pulls out a box with a handle on it, stuff the box with tissue paper and shoves the bag into the box, and tapes the handle together. I'm thinking, I said bag, lady. But I take the box and disassembled the whole deal once I leave the store.
I hope Little W likes it. I hope Mr & Mrs W don't hate it. Trying to pick out a gift for a child when you have no clue what they want sucks!