Black Fridy- the damage

No horror stories for me on Black Friday, my shopping adventures were pretty tame. I even had time to run into Whole Foods for some fruit and Joanna Gaines magazine.

I started late Thursday night when I hit up Sephora on line. I am not foolish enough to go to the Mall on Black Friday where the actual store is, and I know from years past, by the time I got there all the things I want on the deep discount sale would be gone.  Some of the things I wanted were still gone by the time I  hit the checkout button, but I still found plenty to do some damage.

I didn't find the crowds to be bad at all. It was a pretty pleasant afternoon. I hit Ulta, Talbots, Banana Republic, the Gap, Loft, Whole Foods, Michaels, TJ Maxx and a consignment shop.

I ended up with seven Christmas presents, two for my best friends (Kim and Pam), two for my secretaries at work (Kim and Ashley),  one for my oldest grandchild (by marriage) and one for the husband.

For myself, I bought three sweaters- all on sale for 50% off- from Banana Republic. I got one top from Loft - also on sale for 50% off.  I also got three tops from the consignment store. Not really on sale, but always cheap. I also got a few makeup items myself from Ulta. My favorite lipstick was on sale, so I picked one up as well as a few other things.  

Trader Joe's haul

I try to avoid Trader Joes on Sunday, but sometimes it just cant be helped. Sometimes you need/want something that only this little specialty store has and in the name of being prepared for your next work week means you are fighting the traffic and the crowds, and going to Trader Joes on Sunday.

I'm trying to avoid eating any flour products and I specifically went for the pasta. I ended up with black bean pasta, brown rice pasta and regular pasta (for the husband).  For the last few years I've had stomach issues.  The test from the doctors was inconclusive, only said my stomach has an "irritated spot". The nutritionist said flour products were irritating my stomach. Its not gluten because the gluten free bread will do the same thing. It is just something in the flour products that make me feel bad. I go back and forth with avoiding flour products (which is not easy, but makes a big difference). Thus the trip to get pasta from different things, and the pizza crust made from cauliflower. I got two different ones plus some pepperoni to add.

Also got a few snacks for both of us for the work week: bananas, Fuji apples, corn chips, and snack packs of salami and mozzarella cheese.

Got some veggies to cook for the week too. Organic zucchini was only $.99 a pound. I like to use the little spirilizer and fry it up in a skillet with garlic and oil. After work, it takes about 3.8 minutes and that's about all I have the time and patience to do after work. I also got some Brussel sprouts to cook in the oven. That is even easier- cut them in half and throw them in the oven and that's it.

One of the best things Trader Joes sells is cheap flowers. I can not leave the store with a bouquet or three. Today, I got regular white roses and a large bouquet of smaller spray yellow roses. It was about $11 for the whole thing and I got two bouquets for the week, one large one for the kitchen and one small one for beside my bed. 

One negative I have found is that Trader Joe's flowers, although  cheap, do not last as long or look as good as flowers from Whole Foods. Its a trade-off.

Michael's Haul

One of the reasons I wanted to elope, was because I wanted a very simple, inexpensive wedding. 

My plan is to find some cheap grocery store flowers, whatever happens to look pretty and fresh that day and voila! They will become my wedding flowers. I don't really feel like I am making a bouquet so much as I am just picking some flowers to carry.

Although I wont do anything elaborate, I watched a few youtube videos (this one  and this one and especially this one $20 bouquet! Sign me up!!) and then bought a few supplies I might need at Michaels.

The most expensive thing was the scissor snips for $9.99 but I had a 40% off coupon. I also picked up two different ribbons, for $4.99 each, to wrap around the stems, in case I want to get a little fancy. 

tj maxx

Why did I go into TJ Maxx Wednesday night after church?

 

um.... I cant recall....

 

It was suppose to be a quick trip but ended up being over an hour and spending over... well, never mind.  It was more than I planned to spend but I justify it by saying I literally lost everything on the first floor of my house, surely I am entitled to a little joy and can go to TJ Maxx and get a few things every now and again! Its not like I was running wild at Macys or Nordstrom's for crying out loud! 

 

The flood has been very convenient to blame things on, cant sleep?  Eating too much junk? Shopping like crazy? PTSD from the flood.... We all medicate differently. Mine happens to be shopping. I could have worse habits.

 

What did I end up getting?

 

A nightgown, an expensive Lucky brand one very similar to this in a pink and about half the price. It is so comfortable. I really like it. I might go back and see if they have more of the same brand, because why? I lost all my night clothes in the flood...

 

 

 

Chloe perfume. I admit. I need no perfume. But it was on clearance and I love Chloe and I love it when I find a gift set with perfume and lotion. It was literally too cheap to pass up. I've ben wearing it everyday.

Natural deodorant, lens wipes for purse, and honey lotion all for no other reason than I needed them and they looked like good ones to try.

The same can be said of the bath bombs and the gift bag.  It was a co-workers birthday, I needed a little gift and there it was.

Electric hair brush. I actually thought I was buying a hair dryer shaped like a hairbrush but when I got it home, it was just an electric hairbrush straighter.  I don't hate it, but I don't love it either. I don't hate it enough to take it back. It was $14. I feel I can give it a try.

Target Haul: or alternatively title: How I spent $90 in 20 minutes in Target

 

My biggest problem is Target.... ugh! I got to stay out of Target.

Black and Decker cordless power screwdriver
I bought some glass door knobs for the inside doors and I am dying to see how they look!  But they are just sitting there, waiting for the contractor, who has been ignoring them. I'm sure door knobs are not the very top of his priority list, and they probably shouldn't be on mine either. My plan was to help him by getting them in. Have I ever put in a door knob before? Ha.  Ha. Getting the electric screwdriver is my first step. This is obviously going to be a long multi-step process.

Extra fine point Sharpies
I want these at work and asked my Secretary to order extra fine  Sharpies, but she keeps handing me boxes of fine sharpies and finally said, if a finer one exists, she cant find it. I knew I could find the extra fine ones at Target, and here they are.

Essie Love, Color and Treat nail polish
This is new and I was sucked in. I haven't seen any reviews on it, just the advertisement in magazines which was enough to sway me.  They say you can tell a lot about a woman's emotional state by the way she takes care of her nails. Clearly I am fine. In color Laven-clearly.

Burt Bees Peppermint Body wash
My motto is  let me buy anything to make me excited to get up when the alarm rings and jump in the shower. So far, my plan of trying all the appealing body washes .... not working.  This is my latest attempt.

Juice
Pure juice is expensive, but living upstairs  I'm not eating many fresh veggies or healthy anything, and feeling like I need some help in the nutrition department. And I've been sick! This is where the fresh juice comes in. The ones with nothing but pureed fruit and veggies. This bottle has 3 1/2 apples and 22 blueberries, oranges and carrots pureed into it, among other things. So how can you not feel better when your consuming this?

Elf Flawless Foundation
This is another you-tube made me buy it product, (here) and I have to admit, its really good, and its $6, and because I'm just that shallow, the packaging (heavy glass bottle with a pump) makes me happy too.

Maybelline Fit Me Concealer
I am on the hunt. I cant find a really great concealer that I really love. This one is ok, but... the hunt will go on.

Target Haul

This haul starts like most hauls start for me.

It was late one evening and random things found their way into my buggy. This night was at Target, which everyone knows how Target sucks you in and forces you to buy unnecessary things, so I feel like its not my total fault. 

Of course, there are snacks for work, which I would argue is reasonable. And Nivea lotion. I haven't used this since I was a teenager, but remembered that at one time I had really been wild about it.  I'll try it again. Why not?  My verdict.... It does bring back good memories and, partially due to the memories, has taken second place in my lotion library. I feel that nothing can knock my number one lotion love out of first place, though, which is the cheap and old Cocoa Butter Palmers

I went down the makeup aisle looking for a brow pencil and found, here is where the totally unnecessary things start,  a new brow highlighter from Wet and Wild that I got home and instantly hated. It was chalky and the wrong color and returned. 

I got an eye shadow brush from Sonia Kesheck, for $5, and an eye shadow pallet from the same brand which was also returned after realizing it was almost $14! I can buy Estee Lauder for a few dollars more! I felt like I had been tricked. I expect drug store prices at the drug store.

I did find a brow pencil too, from Revlon. I really seem to go through these things and haven't found one I really love but  I like this one. A lot of mine get chewed up in the pencil sharpener thing, but this one has a retractable pencil so it doesn't get sharpened, which will probably prolong its life expectancy with me.

Walgreens Haul

 

 

 

 

Late night shopping at Walgreens produced a small haul:  

 

Olay gift pack, but its really for me. It was $10 for full size body wash, full size moisturizer and travel size deodorant.  It was just too good of a deal to pass up. I'll probably by more this year for gifts  for me.

 

Essie Gel Polish in a gift pack, but, again, its really for me. I've been looking to try this new polish and I could not find it anywhere! At $18, I thought it was too expensive but threw it in the buggy anyway. Turns out, that is the price for this gift pack everywhere.  I haven't painted my nails since the flood in August, but I'm looking forward to getting back into my normal groove. I think better and act better with pretty polish on my nails.

Palmers Cocoa Butter Moisturizer
I just love this stuff, and I've had a long time love affair with it. It was $7.99 and worth every penny. It smells divine and is so thick and creamy. I am almost never without it.

L'Oreal self tanner
Honestly, this would not have been my first choice (I love this one), but at Walgreens in the middle of the night, I had to take what I could find. Because, of course, self tanner is important in flood recovery mode. I am trying to disguise the bug bites and bruises on my legs.  It was $12.79

Extra Large Sharpie
First, I thought it was a real bargain, $2.99, and I wore out my smaller sharpies by writing Bible verses on the exposed 2x4s. I really need/want something to write on the concrete floor before flooring is installed. Years ago, before the brick floor went in, I wrote Bible verses on the concrete in the living room and kitchen. Now, Ill do the same in the bedroom. 

Makeup Haul

Imagine you lost all your makeup, perfume and brushes, in a flood and your entire makeup bag is only the few things you brought on vacation with you to the beach (Estee Lauder doublewear light foundation and doublewear concealer, a beauty blender, a mini Tarte mascara, a rollerball size of perfume (this one), one black eyeliner and the three lipsticks in your purse...  plus two bottles of sunscreen, two bathing suits and a monogrammed beach towel... but that's a different story...

What is the first thing you miss? For me it was an eyebrow pencil.

What would you immediately buy to start replacing your makeup?
These are the first things I bought to restock. (this is where keeping a list on my phone of products I want to try comes in handy)

Covergirl Trunaked Nudes $9.99
I heard nothing but good things about this and everyone says they are a dupe for the Urban Decay Nudes and about $40 cheaper. I had been wanting to try these and here is my chance! I'm thinking I will go back and buy the rose gold one also. Emily Noel's youtube review here (starts at 1:02) and Tati's youtube review here (starts at 1:19)

elf eye shadow brush $6
I didn't specifically go to buy this brush. I just needed one and it was cheap. Its been working great.

 

 

 

Milini eyeshadow primer $6.49
I had actually been looking for this for some time, and could never find it. I finally went to a large enough drug store and found it.
Youtube review here (starts at 9:57)

Loreal Magic Lumi Highlighter Pen $12.99
I don't think this was on my list of things to try, but my energy was getting low and I was in need of a highlighter and this one looked like a good one. I had originally planned to re-purchase the magic lumi primer, which I already know I love, but the store was out....

Milani baked blush in Luminoso $7.49
This is another one I had on my list and was planning on trying out. Everyone raves about it and I already like it a lot. It has a built in highlighter. Youtube recommendation here  (starts at 7:02) and here (starts at 2:22)

Maybelline Brow Perfect pencil $6.95
This is what I originally went to the drugstore to get, but another particular brand that was not on my list, but looked like a good one to try. I did see a review of it here (starts at 5:20). My only complaint thus far, is the pencil wears down really quick and I don't have a sharpener (yet!)

On another note... all my nailpolish was saved! The organizer was high enough to stay dry (just barely).

Im linked here

$20 payday pretty

The concept:
Take $20 (or so...) once a payday and get something just because it makes you feel pretty. 

The results:
Latest payday pretty haul from TJ Maxx:

 

 

 

 

The goods: 

 

Formula X: My favorite nail polish. $2.

It's regularly $10.50 at Sephora, so I grabbed it fast when I saw it. there was only two bottles. Its a metallic grey/purple. I may not have bought this color at the regular price, but  I like it and have already got compliments on it.

 

 

DW Home Candles:  Can you believe I am out of end of the year stockpile of bath and body work candles?! They are one of my favorites. but I also love the DW brand. But I find their candles are kind of hit and miss.... Got a birthday cake scent (flavor?) for $7.99 and a Vanilla Bean slightly smaller for $6.99. But, so far, the birthday cake is a miss.... not my favorite. Its a very faint scent.

 

Soap:  I always buy the scented soap from TJ Maxx. They have a nice selection and you don't see the same kind/scent all the time. I got a very large bath bar in shea butter for $3.99.



TJ Maxx haul and Walmart haul

Finally!

 

The ladder has been put away and the bathroom is ready for some of the fun things.  A little lunchtime shopping trip:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TJ Maxx

 

White fuzzy rug $12.99

Its already in position in my makeup area so my cold morning feet will have a soft and furry spot to rest a minute. However, I am constantly fighting the dog for this spot. 

 

sugar dish $2.99.

A little something not for the bathroom sneak in my cart. I don't use sugar in my coffee  so when guests ask for it, I have to hand them the bag.  This is much cuter.  and it was irresistible at only $2.99.

 

 

WalMart

 

Grey trash can $4.99

On second thought, I probably could have found this at a yard sale.... in any event, it will house the toilet brush. 

 

 

moth balls $2.77

This weekend, I found a black runner admiring the rose bed. I hear moth balls will keep the snakes out of it. I'm also scattering them in the garage. 

 

4 cork tiles $5.78

Similar to whats in the inside the kitchen cabinet doors, the inside of a bathroom cabinet will get a little cork board for notes, pictures, verses and lists.

 

Coat hook $1.98

I went with a coat hook as it looked like a sturdier option than the usual towel hooks.







$27.25

 

 

The damage from one church craft fair and yard sale. I spent a little more than I usually would, but it was for charity and I couldn't ask for a discount. Plus my cousin was in charge of organizing the event and I wanted it to be a successful event. So....

Stained glass butterfly: $2

2 mini muffin tins with 24 muffins each $4

2 ice cube trays $1

2 soaps. $1 for a big one ($4.99 at TJ Maxx)  and $.25 for the little square one that is  $7 from l'occitane

A little silver lamp with a fuzzy cream shade for my kitchen $5. I had plans of spray painting the lamp a bronze color, but the silver is growing on me.

A handmade plaque with a cross made from barb-wire $10. My original thought was it was going in the upstairs guest bathroom, but it is currently in my dining room.

2 tall and very heavy iron candle sticks $4

a very little black friday shopping

The outcome of too much food/wine at an office Thanksgiving party on Wednesday and an entire day of feeling rotten and sleeping a lot on Thursday combined with so many online with free shipping sales and accepting a date for Friday made Black Friday shopping rather slim this year.  

Typically, Black Friday is an important day in my life. This year it was not. It was very low key. I just did not feeeeeeeeellll  like going out to the Outlet Mall or the regular Mall or anywhere else really. It was a slow day, and not a typical Black Friday for me.

I did get a few things at the Sephora $10 sale. A few of the items I snagged (or thought I snagged) disappeared from my online cart before I could check out, which I thought as really rude.  I ended up with the things below: A set of three Sephora Masks, a set of three Living Proof hair care items and Tarte blush and illuminizer. I had about three other items that apparently sold out before I could complete my order. The three items I did manage to get, I absolutely love all of them. I made good choices.

I tried to shop on line at ULTA but the things I wanted were already gone.

I also ended up at TJ Maxx to finally buy this little Coach pouch for my purse. I've been eyeing it for weeks and told myself if it was still there, I was going to buy it. It was $24, which I think is really expensive, but it is a real Coach (my ONLY Coach product) and I rationalized it by telling myself it would costs three times that much if it weren't at TJ Maxx and I'd probably have it for the next 20 years.  Both of which are true.

I also had a leisurely stroll through Lowes with a guy, getting some needed small house project type things, that had nothing to do with Black Friday, then had an equally slow lunch and Starbucks trip with the same guy, both not Black Friday related, but none the less, was my Black Friday activities. 

A little sephora haul

 
 
 
 



Its ridiculous. Picking a new Sephora Formula X nail polish takes me an incredible amount of time and it feels like I'm making a major investment.  Its my favorite polish, its $10.50 and Sephora is not convenient for me to just pop in.... its still ridiculous. But, I feel like I committed to Push the Limits .

Josie Maran Argan Oil. heavy sigh. its expensive too. But I love it, and I only buy the smallest bottle, $16. Its the best thing I've ever found to use on my fingernails and cuticles. I mix a little with foot lotion at night and use some around my eyes before bed.  Whether true or not, I feel hydration is the enemy of wrinkles. I really love this stuff.

This is another you-tube (this one) made me buy it situation. The Sephora mask in rose.  It was $6. Its suppose to be... surprise... hydrating. I think it was and it smelled divine.  I like it so much I'll pick up another one when I'm there.  

Bath and Body Works Semi-Annual Sale

I am very disappointed.

The Bath and Body Works 75% off sale is typically where I  really stock up on my favorite candles. This year, the sale was dismal.

The highlight of the sale is my favorite candle, the 3 wick candle that is usually $22, is on clearance for $6.  But, this year there was a very small selection of three wick candles in fragrances I didn't want.  I have never seen one of their clearance sales with so few candles.   I know... I'm such a sad sack about this....

I ended up with 8 of the smaller ones (I already gave 2 away), usually $10 but on clearance for $2.50. And I also got a handful of the refills for plug ins, for half price, $3.50.  I have really gotten into lavender and Lilac fragrance lately and burn those candles in my bedroom a lot.  They say the fragrance is restful and relaxing. I don't know if its true or its just the power of suggestion. But in any event, my bedroom seems peaceful.

Now I'll start planning to stock up at the next BBW sale, a week or so before Christmas the 3 wick candles will be about $8 and even cheaper with a coupon.

Walmart Haul

 

NYC Cityproof 24 hour eye primer

I've heard several people on You-Tube rave about this eye primer (here is one). It was $2.77. I like that its in a stick form and its certainly cheap enough to give it a try.

 

Pantene All in One Styling Cream

I've made the decision to stop buying the salon products and go back to drug store brands (hopefully, this will be a painless way to save some money). This was my first purchase. I use to love Pantene and had a $2 off coupon for this.

 

Simple Cleansing Micellar Water

This was one of my favorite things in April  and its my second bottle of this, so clearly I like it. Its only $5.97 at Walmart, plus I had a $2 off coupon!

 

Ensure Active protein shake

This is a great protein shake to grab and go when I don't want to make one myself, and the chocolate flavor tastes pretty good, (but I don't care for the vanilla) But... its $8.97 for 4 small bottles.  Not cheap. I did find a $3 off coupon for signing up at the website here .

 

Vitafusion brand Vitamin D gummies

I have a serious vitamin D deficiency and my doctor just told me to double up on my vitamins D.  I've mentioned before I take the gummy vitamins and pretend their candy.  So now, after lunch, I'll be having 8 gummy bears.... I mean.... vitamins..... (double dose of D (4), vitamin C (2) and B complex (1) and multivitamin (1))



tj maxx haul

I originally went for the little notebook. They always have a good selection at a good price. It was $3.99.  I make my own planner (because I just dont want to pay the prices for a "designer" planner even though these are on sale for 40% off), so I want one with a sturdy cover and I'm always looking for the right size. A post on this is coming. This is one area TJ really knocks it out of the park. 

The Opi nail polish was a two pack for $7.99 which is $2 cheaper than one bottle costs at Ulta. I like both the colors, so it didn't take long to throw that in the buggy.

I had been looking for a lamp for my kitchen buffet, and the one I have my eye on at Tuesday morning is $79.00, I am watching it and hoping for a drastic cut in price, but in the meanwhile, the search continued.  I was already thinking about this $24.99 lamp at TJ, but could not make up my mind. I found it on clearance for $10 and the decision was suddenly made. Its my new buffet lamp. I'm still not sure its going to be permanent, but I like how the whole shade glows and unless the other one at Tuesday Morning is drastically price cut, the plan is that this one is settling into its new home on top of the buffet and staying for quite a while.

 

I also got two more pair of reading glasses. They are two for $9.99, which is the price of one pair at Walmart, and I feel these are sturdier, not to mention, more fashionable. Where do these glasses get off to? They go missing at an alarming rate. I think they must be with the one missing sock and the bobby pins.

 

 

The rose gold mirrored box was totally an impulse buy. OK... so what here wasn't an impulse buy? Pretty much everything but the notebook.  The gold box is suppose to be a little jewelry box, I think.  But I am going to use it on my nightstand and attempt to corral items into it to keep the nightstand more together. It was $8.99, and matches the cream and gold tones in the bedroom really well.   But *update* the little box is not keeping things as neat at bedside as I hoped and it is being reassigned to another location.

 

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Tuesday Morning haul

Puttered around Tuesday Morning on a rainy Saturday afternoon. I know I was in there for about 2 hours, slowing browsing every aisle.  Tuesday Morning haul:

three little flower pots for this kitchen herb garden, $6.99 each.
the gift bags, bath salts, bath mitts, and candy were two gifts for two women at church
new pillow for me that I ended up disliking and putting on the guest bed, $11
iron plate holder, $3.99
Two cooking magazines (they were more like soft covered cookbooks), $1.99 each

Ulta: a mini haul

the original reason for going to ulta was to get this one specific polish from Opi,  "I'm not really a waitress". And since I was there, I thought I should go all out and get the Opi top coat and the base coat. Then the two little travel/trial sizes lured me in by the cash register. The mascara, I love, but not impressed with the concealor/eye brighter.

Sephora and Ulta haul (including birthday gifts!)

Sephora and Ulta both had birthday gifts for me waiting at their store, so this weekend I swung on by to collect my presents.

At Sephora, the gift is two Nars lipstick pencils, and I also picked up another Formula X Nail Polish System color and a sample size of the Glamglow mask in hydrating which I can report works really well and is one of my favorite things this month. However, I can only see myself buying the sample sizes as the regular size is quite pricy. It looks like I'll get 4 uses from the sample, and I am quite generous when applying it.

At Ulta, the gift was a five piece eye shadow of my choice, and I also picked up my birthday present to myself, the Lorac Pro Pallet eye shadow set (tutorial here and discussion here and here) that I've been thinking of and wanting and waiting for it to go on sale. (News flash, It NEVER goes on sale and the best you can hope for is the once a year 20% off coupon at Ulta).  I also got the cheaper verison of blue nail polish, that I've already taken for a spin and gave my thoughts on here .

TJ Maxx part two (and how I've used a few things)

Last week when I happened into TJ Maxx and found some things, I liked the hand masks so much that  I took myself to a different TJ Maxx specifically looking for more (I have three TJs in my immediate area). 

The gloves were $3.99 each. One I kept for myself and one went to a different friend with some nail polish as a birthday present. Which I thought was a really clever birthday present..... nail polish and hand gloves?! 

 

One of my 2015 goals is more focus on my home, and I knew I wanted/needed fresh shower curtains but didn't know I would be buying it on this trip, but why not. That is part of the magic of TJ Maxx. There it was and the liner was cheap, $2.99, and the fabric curtain was a Cynthia Rowley brand for $14.99, which is about $30 cheaper than anywhere else you can find it (one of the benefits of knowing brand names, you'll recognize a deal fast).  Now that the shower curtain is up, I am not in love with it and I'm going to ~ eventually ~ look for a different one, but I'll keep it for a while and the price tag makes it possible to toss it in the yard sale pile, recoup $5 from it and just move on.
 

Also unplanned (is any purchase really planned in TJ Maxx.... no) and sitting in the bath section was the gold patterned mirror tray for $12.99 that is currently sitting on my bathroom counter. I had wanted a tray and was unsuccessful at finding the right size. This was close enough in size and I like gold accents better than silver I see everywhere else and could not beat the price. I couldn't pass it up. Ideally, I would like it a little bigger, but was a very good purchase.


On a non-TJ Maxx related note.... how cute is the hummingbird dressed in a suit holding the clock? It was $20 at Lancaster House,  a store only open to the public once a month, and found when spending a bad day turned into a good day of eating, drinking coffee, and shopping with a girlfriend.

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