Cyber Monday

For those of us who like to shop online today has been dubbed Cyber Monday. There are many good deals out there and I have a few of them to share with you!

First is at Khols.com



Next is
Martinsville Emporium (yummy soaps, shower gels and candles!)

From now until December 4th, receive free shipping on your entire purchase
at Martinsville Emporium! Use the coupon code "cybermonday" at
checkout.

Tarte Cosmetics is having an awesome sale.



Shoes! Oh how I love Aldo.



Delias.com has free shipping on oreders over $25.00. Eh, its okay. They could have done better.



Kmart.com has a few sales on their site. The jewelry looks interesting.


Victoria's Secret is on Sale until 12/2 so you can be a slacker :) they have a lot of disclaimers with it though. I hate that.



Sephora.com has free shipping. Enter SHIP4FREE at checkout.


There are many other sites out there with cool sales. Tell me where you are getting deals!

Pel

Friday Finds Nov. 27th

This month has just whisked by so fast! I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving. We ate until we couldn't move and then went to sleep early so we could shop Black Friday. My poor head cold made this a rough shopping day for me, but I did it anyways. How else would Yule shopping get done?

Here are the lovely things I got online and at the stores this week. Forever21 did not fail me with many things at great prices. You will see more from them next week *grin*


Wine tie neck top $3.99 Forever21. A sweet retro style.




Navy cableknit turtleneck $3.99 Forever21. A fashion basic that I needed to fill a hole in my closet.



Bubble dress $5.99 Forever21. Yes, I am wearing a bubble hem dress. I am surprised too!




Grey sweater Take Three LLC on ebay $19.99. I wore this sweater for Thanksgiving.




Tan sweater Take Three LLC on ebay $24.99. Super cuddly and warm.




Red belt $6.50 Forever21. It goes with so many things!




Madden Girl shoes from Ross $11.99. These are so sexy.




Black belt $6.50 Forever21. Another great belt I will get lots of use out of.


I also bought those black leggings from Forever21 for $4.50 that I showed you in the article "Holes in My Wardrobe" I just didn't get a chance to take pics of them. I plan on wearing them with tunic sweaters and some of my dresses. Tomorrow I hope to get some sewing done and maybe a bit of dyeing. Hope you have a productive day as well!

Pel

Peppermint Stick Holiday Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

Peppermint Stick Holiday Frock GROSGRAIN GIVEAWAY!!!!

If you haven't visited this site yet, you will really love it! Great sewing projects and giveaways. Definitely an addiction like chocolate, but a lot easier on the hips!

Pel

Too Many Irons in the Fire

*Note, This was to be posted before Thanksgiving, but I came down with a nasty head cold and didn't finish writing it because the pies took precedence. So here it is now and Friday Finds will be tomorrow.

As usual I have overextended myself. I have agreed to make 6 bridesmaids dresses for a wedding in early January. My daughter Keirnath is one of those bridesmaids. I also have a dress and a skirt to make and I still have the rest of the contents of the bin that was in the garage to finish fixing up. A lot on my plate for the next few weeks.

This is a pic of the bridesmaids dresses. Sorry it is so small, the website it is from has flash (can't copy the flash) so I have linked to the bigger flash picture, just click to see it. I finally got the measurements of all the ladies this past week so now I can start making the patterns for them.

Silk Shantung Dress




Here is the dress for me that I have cut out, view B. I had planned on wearing it for Thanksgiving, but that is not going to happen now that I have come down with a nasty cold. I am hoping to just get all the pies baked now, sigh.



I really wanted this skirt on ebay, but it went too high so I got a crazy notion in my head that I could make one myself.



I bought this yarn to crochet a picot edge on the skirt. It is not the right weight or material, being wool and I wanted cotton. But it was all my local store had so I had to compromise. My luck it will felt up the first time I wash it.

Am I nuts? Probably. I had no business taking on a wedding so late in the game. If it wasn't for Keirnath, I would have said no.
I am going to go visit my daughter for a week in early December so I can do fittings for the girls and hopefully get most of the work done on the dresses. I will go back again a week or two before the wedding to finish them up. During that time I won't be posting much, but I will try to take pictures of the progress on the dresses so you all can see.

Wish me luck!

Pel

Straw into Gold- 80's Dress Slashed!

I know the title sounds a bit scary. And I admit that what I did was a bit scary. I took an old 80's dress that had been found in a bin in the garage and that I showed to you earlier in the article "Spinning Straw into Gold" and I cut it up! As it was, it was outdated and screamed old, fusty and maybe a little dicked in the knob (an old English phrase that means not quite right in the head!) So to remake this I had to go all slasher film and cut it in half. What I ended up with was a very nice blouse and a skirt.


Measuring from the shoulder to the hip to make my cutting line in chalk. This line is slightly curved due to the volume at the hip. I chose 23 inches as the length. Dress is carefully folded in half to make the marking and cutting easier.



The cut has been made! There is no turning back now. I evened up any unevenness in the edges and made the front a little more curved upward as a design element.

The finishing now is surprisingly easy. Just a simple shirttail hem for the top. Press the edge up 1/8 of an inch twice and stitch in place. Done! For the skirt I serged the top edge and then folded it over elastic I had stitched together. So easy and done in about 10 minutes.

I am thinking I may still add elastic to the sleeves of the blouse. I haven't decided on it for sure.


New blouse. I like it with my skinny jeans.


New skirt. It has lots of styling options. I think it looks great with my silk skirt worn under it as a petticoat.

I can think of many other ways to wear these two new additions to my wardrobe. And to think that I was going to give this dress to Goodwill!

Pel

Friday Finds Nov. 20th

I swear it is totally exhausting sitting up all night and day trolling ebay and Etsy for awesome bargains. I was so tuckered out from my exertions I slept all day Friday and then of course I had to shop on Saturday. That left today for writing :)

Fortunately, or unfortunately (depending upon your view) I did not win all the auctions that I had bid on this week. I am sure that Tom would have lost his mind if I HAD won them all! I did however win this sweet little dress that originally sold at Anthropologie. It is now mine *happy sigh*


Maeve Dress from iheartcinnamon on ebay. $37.84. I love how I can layer it for Fall and Winter and also wear it by itself for Spring and Summer.

Another ebay winner:


Cashmere Sweater from dertonr on ebay. $9.99. It looks perfect with my pencil skirt.

On to Etsy.


Navy Floral dress from Vintage Threadz. I cut the sleeves off and added elastic. I thought it made the dress more versatile. I plan on doing lots of different layering with this one.

From Anthropologie.com


Berry Bush tights. Such a pretty colour and pattern. I couldn't resist, though at $18.00 I will have to be very careful with these. I think they will look pretty with the Maeve dress, don't you think?

I won a couple other things (sweaters!) that did not come in the mail yet and Tom kindly let me shop at Ross and Forever21 so I will have a very robust Friday Finds for you next week, plus I have been sewing so look for an article on Monday detailing it and possibly Wed. if I can get the dress I am working on done. Wish me luck as Tarah is also sewing a dress and needs to have it done by Thanksgiving! Nothing like the two of us fighting over resources, LOL!

Pel

Dream A Little Dream

I was up late the other night and bored so I flipped through the channels on TV and a show caught my eye that said Shoes by Sam Edelman. Now I don't usually watch HSN since their clothes are not my style and the hosts just annoy me, but shoes. I would stand in the pouring down rain to see shoes. Most of the shoes were not my style but one pair of boots. Oh this one pair of absolutely, gloriously, smack down gorgeous boots came on. They were called Granny Boots and came in black or brown leather.


I fell in love with the brown. So in love that I dreamt about them. I even envisioned in my dream the outfits I would wear with those boots. Now I can not afford these boots. They are $349.00. So not in my shoestring budget. Le sigh.

I found a similar style at Clockwork Couture


They only come in black, not brown as I really want, but the price is an easy to swallow $39.95. I am going to keep looking. Somewhere out there is a similar boot in brown that wont break the bank.

Here is a look at an outfit I put together just like the one I dreamed about.


I wore a pair of high heeled platform boots I already had. They looked cute, but weren't the granny boots I wanted. Tom was appreciative of the look at least ;)

Pel

Friday Finds Nov. 13th

I hope you are all having a great Friday the 13th! I know I am. So far my husband is still working. The company has not locked the miners out and the Union has not gone on strike. I have not spent much money since my husband is very worried about his job right now, but I still managed to get some very nice things. Thank goodness for Goodwill! With only $23.00 I made out like a bandit! I also hit up Target for some warm tights among other things and found a little tip for those who are in the smaller sizes. Shop in the Children's section! The price is less than half the cost of Women's and they are super cute.

So here is my haul *grin*



Pumpkin Spice coloured designer sweater from Goodwill in Victorville $2.37. I see this designer at Nordstrom and her stuff sells for a couple hundred bucks a piece. SCORE!



Deep Plum jacket from Goodwill. $4.62. Tarah hated this on the rack, but when I put it on she told me I had to buy it!



Tan silk skirt Goodwill $2.12. Black Cloche hat from Target $14.99. Jeweled belt from Target $14.99. This skirt was professionally handmade. It looks couture. The zipper is hand pricked! A quality garment that I was amazed to find and it is mine for a song *does happy dance* The cloche hat was a happy find for me since I have been wanting a nice cloche hat ever since I bought one for my daughter Keirnath. I have to admit the belt was an impulse buy. I saw it and bought it. I shouldn't have but I did it. It is totally cute though, isn't it?



Polka dotted tights from Target $4.99. I bought these in the Children's section along with a pair of cream coloured tights for $3.99. They fit fantastically and are a good value. If I put a hole in them I am not going to die like the $18.00 tights I bought at Anthropologie.



Teal wool handmade skirt from Goodwill $3.07. Teal stockings from Target $12.00. This skirt was made by someone who didn't really know what they were doing but all the mistakes were fixable. I put it on the sewing machine as soon as I got it home and now it is gorgeous! The stockings turned out to be an excellent match. These were from the Women's section and they had them in a wine colour as well, but were out of my size.



Black and ivory pin dot ruffled blouse from Goodwill $3.62. Cute classic style that goes with almost everything in my closet.



Navy and white polka dot pleated skirt $4.04. Tarah wanted this skirt so I bought it for her but it turned out to be a vintage size not a modern size so it did not fit her. Now it is mine and I will give it a good home.



I also bought this black and white houndstooth wool pencil skirt for her, but she didn't want to pose in it for all of you. It looks totally adorable on her. Only $2.12.


The last thing I bought at Goodwill was a white dress shirt for my nephew Ian, I don't remember how much it was but it couldn't have been more than a dollar.

So while I didn't spend much money I got a vast amount of clothes and accessories. I am pretty happy about that.

Pel

I See Red

After seeing quite a few fellow bloggers wearing lovely red lipstick and reading about the best ones to buy on Fedora Lounge I decided to dip my toes into the sea of temptation and buy a few red tubes of crimson decadence.

Unfortunately the offerings at my local Target were not large so I was only able to find one of the recommendations plus a couple others that caught my eye:



Cherries in The Snow Super Lustrous Lipstick by Revlon


This was a recommendation on Fedora Lounge. Many of the ladies swore by it. It is more pink on me than a true red but has decent staying power and looks good if I am wearing cool colors. It goes on nice and creamy and the formula isn't drying. Not too matte, but not really shiny. A good lipstick I give it 4 stars out of 5.

Are You Red-Dy ColorSensational Lipstick by Maybelline


This color is more of an orange-red. A very good retro color. Nice with warm colors. The lipstick is creamier that the Revlon one with a bit more shine, but that also means that it does not stay on my lips as well. I had to reapply it much more. It also "traveled" to other parts of my face. I found it on my chin after a meal and a dab on my cheek after a kiss with my hubby. 3.5 stars out of 5

Top Tomato ColorStay Ultimate Lipcolor by Revlon


I was enticed to buy this lipcolor by the display featuring actress Jeniffer Connally wearing the colour I purchased. On her it was beautifully glossy and shiny. It looked so luxe! Well that was very deceptive. This lipcolor is like paint in a tube. You have to be very careful how you apply it. It dries to a very matte finish that does not transfer and is hard to get off. It is also drying to the lips. Make sure you have exfoliated and moisturized well. The colour is a true red so it is really lovely but it does not have that nice shine the display promised.

Here I have used a Vitamin E lip balm to give it a bit of gloss. I will have to buy a clear, shiny lip gloss to get the effect I really want. If it wasn't for the drying effects of the formula and the deceiving advertising I would have given this 5 out of 5, but it will have to be 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Fire Line & Define Lip Pencil by Boots No7

To line my lips and keep the lip colour from bleeding I looked for a nice red lip pencil. The only one I found with a great red colour was from Boots No7. It went well with all the red lipsticks I bought and defined my lips perfectly. It is of the no-sharpening variety which is lovely in my book. I always lose my sharpener as it is!


So now I have three shades of red. That is probably enough, but I do want to hear what is your favourite red. Especially since not one of these was deemed perfect!

Pel

Ebay.... How Do I Love Thee!

A while back I was in need of an entire, new wardrobe fast! Where did I turn to? Ebay of course! I was able to buy clothes in lots at a fraction of the cost of even thrift store clothes. I am talking nice things from The Gap, Express, J. Crew and so on.

For those of us who love fashion, but are having a bit of a cash crunch, Ebay can be a god send. It just takes a few tips to get the the most out of this bargain site.

1. Check out the feedback of the seller you are going to buy from. I stay away from anyone with less than stellar feedback.

2. Know what you are looking for. It helps to have a game plan when you start. I was looking for size 2 pants. I put that in the search box and added the word "lot" as a search term. I was able then to find incredible bargains from people selling pants in sets. I got a set of 5 pants in one of my lots for $15.00 and I paid for a flat rate box to ship them in. My favourite pair from this lot is:

White Velvet Jeans from Express.

3. Form a relationship with the seller. That way you may be notified when she/he gets new items in. The soft green cashmere turtleneck sweater in this picture I got after the one in the Ebay listing sold. The seller let me know she had another one, along with MANY other items that I purchased for a reduced price.


4. Watch out for shipping! Make sure to always check out a seller's shipping policies before bidding. That adorable item may not be such a deal if you have to factor in exorbitant shipping costs. I have seen designer jeans listed at $5.00 with $50.00 shipping. Look for sellers who combines shipping.

5. Don't get "caught up" in the bidding. You can get really carried away when you are in the throes of a bidding war. Did you really mean to spend $100.00 for that dress? No, I didn't think so. Set yourself a price that you would not go over and stick to it. I let this beautiful skirt get away from me last night because I was not willing to pay $70.00 plus once tax and shipping were factored in.

Gorgeous! But I am just going to try and make a replica instead.

6. Be aware of scams. There is a lot of fraud on Ebay. Make sure that you are protected. Only pay by Paypal or a credit card. Do not use a wire transfer ever! Pay for insurance if possible and if you do not receive your item make a claim with Paypal, your credit card company and Ebay. Do not delay and do not listen to any sob stories a seller may have. Time is of the essence for a claim.

I hope that these tips will help make your time with Ebay a bit easier and more fun. I know I wish I had know some of these when I started!

Pel

Friday Finds Nov. 6th

Today's finds are actually last weeks but with all the craziness going on I never got to post them. Hopefully I will be able to keep purchasing yummy items. I have my eye on cashmere right now on ebay. Oh how I want new sweaters, as you all know!

Here are my first items:

A lovely brown and white dress from myhools.etsy I love the baby doll styling of it. Brown confetti tights from Anthropologie. They are so warm! I got two colors as you can see next.


Cream Confetti tights. It is hard to see in the photos, but there are multi-coloured flecks in the tights just like the little sprinkles you put on ice cream or cake frosting. Dang, now I want cake!




Another gorgeous pair of tights from Anthropologie. This time is a floral print. I just can't resist tights right now! Don't be surprised if you see more tights next week *grin*



This black velvet hobble skirt from Ravenrose is so retro. I felt like I should be living in another time.


New headbands! Costplus World Market has an amazing assortment and I went nuts. I think I want even more. You will be seeing these on me in the upcoming months as I think they go awesomely with my new haircut.

Oh, did I forget to mention that? Yep, I got my hair cut. I am now sporting bangs. It is all the fault of The Ghost Whisperer. It is on The SyFy channel on Mondays and I have been watching it religiously. Now I do not really believe in that stuff. But, I love a good love story and you have to admit the clothes that the main character wears are totally adorable. And her hair, I just love her hair! I now have a version of her hair. Not exactly the same, just inspired by it. This style really takes well to embellishments and I am going hog wild!
Expect more of them :)

Pel