xoxo, gossip girl

I know I'm a little late, but I have a new found love...Gossip Girl! The reason for my new found love is because of another thing I'm late on...Netflix! I just got it and I am utterly in LOVE with Netflix and Gossip Girl. I'm only on the first season (remember I'm a college student, if I wasn't I'd be starting the 5th season by now) but I have never liked a TV show so much. I was looking at Gossip Girl pictures on instagram and found this adorable outfit that Blair is wearing, and it is totally trendy. Just like all the other Springs, baby blue and cute hats are really in this year as seen on "Blair" from Gossip Girl.  

Hats are in more than usual this spring and more people are jumping on the hat band wagon. Women are practically making events just to have a reason to buy the coveted Marley Lilly monogrammed derby hat as seen in the next two pictures, you can buy them here.

Gossip Girl, Netflix, and monogram lover, 

Savannah

high class, with a low budget

Anyone that knows me knows I like a good bargain. Actually no one knows I buy things at such cheap prices but that's the beauty of places like high end consignment and places like Marshalls (my personal fav) and TJMaxx. Raleigh, NC has amazing consignment shops, however, some mark their prices up too high. Prices in some consignment shops are almost as high as the item would be new. The best thing about buying high end clothing brands at a bargain is no one can tell, the only way to tell is if it looks out of style already or if people have the seasons of the brand memorized. The top brands that have a long life span is the classics, like lilly pulitzer, nautica, izod, lacoste, and other preppy brands. Anywho, I digress. I found a few great deals this weekend and would like to share them.

My mom bought me this cute and springy Michael Kors shirt for only $24.99 at Stein Mart compared to $59.50! The best thing about Michael Kors is his great style and you can usually find him at any discount store such as Stein Mart, Marshall's, TJMaxx, etc.

I got this neon orange shirt from Marshall's for only $12.99 compared to $18, it's made by Say What?, which is popular at Belk. The only reason I got it is because of its trendy spring color, and the front is made of like a summer sweater and the back and the bottom of the front is made of chiffon. This would be great paired with white jeans and nautical jewelry.

 the chiffon backing

 Sorry for the sideways pictures but I scored these three adorable skirts.

 The first is a vineyard vines patchwork skirt I got at a great store in Raleigh, NC, its name is "dress", I kid you not. It has different patches of typical vineyard vines fabric and it will never go out of style, it is very nostalgic and typical vineyard vines. The fabric pieces have things like sailboats, golfclubs, palm trees, and golf balls. I got this great skirt for only $28.00 compared to a similar looking skirt by vineyard vines at $128.00 seen here.

 Another great Marshall's find is another trendy look of coral, white, and tan which will be very popular this spring. It is very thin and not very hot, it has the summer sweater feel and would be great for cold summer nights. I got it for $14.99 compared to $22.00 and it is also by Say What?. (The picture does not do it justice, plus I've already worn it so its very wrinkled.)

 The second skirt I bought is from Marshall's as well and it is a soft cotton casual skirt that is perfect for an event such as a cookout. I got it for $19.99 compared to $49.50 as written on the Nautica tag.

I got this simple seersucker skirt made by SANDRO at Marshall's for $16.99 compared to $32.00.

 Also from Marshall's is this IZOD cotton polo to match all of the skirts I bought, plus the pants below. It was only $12.99 compared to the $36.00 price on the tag.

 Like I said before, Lilly Pulitzer items can never be out of date, they are classic that are in style every spring and summer. However, it is crucial that you try on the lilly item before buying regardless of what size it is. Because almost everything is close to 100% cotton they can shrink and I have tried on numerous lilly clothing and the previous owners had wash them too many times or put them in the dryer. I bought these adorable mom and baby monkey print (from what I got from ebay it is called "mommy and me") capri pants, the tag is an older lilly tag unlike the newer pink tags so this print is probably a few years old. I got them for $36.00 dollars compared to the normal price of lilly pants at $168.

 The biggest excitement of all the things I bought were these wonderful Jack Roger wedges. I own a black pair and silver pair of the typical jack roger classic navajo but I have never seen the heels until I ran into them at Dress. These heels were only $38.00 compared to the $188 pair on the Jack Roger website. They are made with the signature Jack Roger leather with detail and wooden heels.

 Because summer is coming I just had to get these starfish earrings at dress for $12.00.

And last I bought this gorgeous plate with the words "to believe is to have faith". 

from the bargain princess herself, 

Savannah

Flea market finds

Since it is my first week back to school I decided to stay at school over the weekend. To make my weekend worthwhile I stopped at the local fleamarket, which is only a few blocks away, this morning. 

At fleamarkets I only buy things that completely stop me in my tracks, things that I simply can not live without and this fleamarket always has good deals and antiques. Much to my surprise there really wasn't that much that caught my eye. I finally settled on buying these gorgeous salt shakers below because the man selling them saw me pick them up and gave me a deal I couldn't refuse. I have no idea what possessed me to buy them, I don't even have a kitchen, let alone a house! But anywho after I purchased them I sent a picture of them to my mom (http://ramblingssg.blogspot.com/) she immediately fell in love and commented that they would be a wonderful birthday present for her haha. 

I got these bad boys for only $12!

                                                             They are Neco sliver plated

As I got ready to leave and give up I saw this precious little teacup with out a saucer sitting on the shelf in a little old woman's booth. I knew it was going to be a little pricey because her booth was inside unlike the cheaper booths that are outside, but a teacup without a saucer is usually marked down. As I picked it up to examine it closer the woman said she would negotiate prices because it was already the afternoon and she was ready to get her stuff gone. I looked at the price tag and asked if she would take $8 instead of her $12 listing price and she agreed.

I collect teacups but usually only if they have saucers. However, this cup is my ultimate favorite teacup I've found so far. From the side view it looks like a plain jane white teacup with a gold stripe. But if you take a look inside it has bright blue/teal background with a little scene of a man and woman.

"Just another Manic Monday..."

Mondays are definitely manic enough but before Christmas is even worse! Christmas Eve is usually so busy until the night because people are rushing to get last minute things for their Christmas Eve evening dinner or santa. To add christmas cheer I thought I'd share this...The other day I got a manicure and these were too cute not to share. A little chinese man did this cute nail art on both hands on the third finger. He started with a window, then put a snowman behind it, then added a present in the bottom left corner, a christmas tree, and finally a star on the top. It's the cutest little thing I've ever seen.

Tacky Christmas Party...for two!

My bestfriend from high school is a senior this year so I hardly ever get to see her while I'm in college. Therefore, everytime I'm home we get together. Since I was in 9th grade and she was in 7th we've always had tacky christmas parties. However, the next year she invited all of our friends again and none of them showed up but me. They all had legitimate reasons for their absence and instead of being discouraged we actually had the time of our lives, just us two. I'm not really sure where or when our friendship started  but I think it was this particular party that made us inseparable. From then on we had our normal tacky christmas parties, but just for us two while we sang Shania Twain's "Party for Two" (below).

How funny is it that they swing on a chandelier, one day I want to attempt that same stunt. Anywho, fast forward four years later and we're older, more mature, and wiser...but we are doing the same exact thing. We bought (separably) some new (just kidding...thrift store) tacky sweaters and got together to fix a Hello Kitty holiday cookie house. 

Because we were alone we couldn't take a picture together so we settled for two picture put together thanks to picstitch.

My ugly sweater actually came from the back of my mom's closet, she hasn't worn it for years. I paired it with leggings, some santa socks (hidden by my shoes), and brown boots. I didn't add jewelry, I thought the sweater was loud enough haha.

Kinda wish I had done this funny sweater instead, I found it on pinterest and thought it was just the funniest thing I've ever seen. 

 Our cute Hello Kitty holiday cookie house turned out soooo cute. FYI- it's called a holiday cookie house because it's made from sugar cookie, not gingerbread. I'm guessing because they wanted it pink?

My life is made now that I found these straw glasses at Wal-Mart! I can't take them seriously I've nearly spilled my drink on me every time I've used them because they're so funny! In the first picture I made my best friend, Tess, try them. In the second is the actual glasses in the packaging, how cute is that little boy on the cover!?

Happy Holla Days!

25 days of christmas: decorate cookies

One of our activities for our 25 days of christmas was to decorate cookies. My brother didn't like this idea and my boyfriend was surfing the web so I did them myself. Before anyone feels bad for me just a little bit, don't be, I was pretty excited to be able to make cookies by myself. I say this because boys don't usually make or decorate cookies cute so I could do whatever I wanted.

My supplies: sugar cookie mix, condiment bottles, andes mints (for another post), vanilla icing, chocolate morsels, and candy sprinkles.

I got these cute cookie cutters at a local flea market for a dollar and I was thrilled. They are just too adorable; there is a santa holding a bag, christmas tree, star, bell, and gingerbread man.

Making a mess! I forgot that flour helps everything not stick to the dough so I had a time until I figured it out.

I love baking so much, however I can NOT work a icing bag at all. It always comes out the wrong end, or the icing won't go in the bag at all, or I just can't find all the parts to start with. I obviously needed a solution. On pinterest I saw this cool idea, why not put icing in a condiment bottle so it makes a perfect line!? Also, another plus is it doesn't make such a mess. The bottles are really cheap at Walmart maybe 90 cents give or take.

getting started!

End Results: people, santas, trees, bells, stars, and one candy cane.

Hello MTV, and welcome to my crib...

Remember when MTV actually had decent shows like cribs and pimp my ride, or maybe I just thought they were cool when I was in middle school. Any who, our little gingerbread house for our 25 days of christmas activities turned out precious. We decided to get the "Rudolf the Rednosed Reindeer" (the classic Christmas movie) kit from BigLots for $10 and put it together. However, coming from someone who likes to have lots of candy to choose from when decorating; it didn't have but two candy selections: sugar balls and gumdrops, gummy characters, and two teeny candy canes. I wouldn't recommend it for someone who has kids that are really into going crazy with different candy selections. Although the gummy characters were cool, they were just too heavy and fell every two seconds. But besides the lack of candy, it turned out cute!