Christmas Cards (with family photo!)

I love sending and receiving Christmas cards with a photo on them. I take my family's picture in October and begin shopping sites for the best deals. I've typically found the best deals to the first week of November, althought this year they didn't blow me away and I've continued to search for online discounts. I always shop around (of course I do!) I always purchase from Shutterfly. They consistently have great promotions, high quality products, and their customer service is amazing (I've bought tons from them, more on that later) This will be the sixth year I've purchased my cards from Shutterfly.

So, without further ado, I'd like to share my top picks this year, although I've not decided which I'm choosing yet.



I think this card is fabulous! I love the black and white photo with traditional Christmas colors over it. It's elegant and simple but has a bit of flair. A black and white photo is great for hiding a multitude of photo sins, shade the background, or give a cohesive look to non-coordinating outfits (teenagers anyone?)



This card is totally adorable! I love the design with the traditional colors. I typically don't choose multi-photo cards but I have a unique I idea year. It's BargainistaTeen is a senior and we did great senior photos last summer. Also we also put BargainistaPooch in the pictures. Since neither of them care to be photographed or tend to be very cooperative I could use each of them in their own space (we do have other cute pics of BargainistaPooch) and a picture of Mr. Bargainista and I in the remaining space. Could be cute!



I looooooove this card too! The family session we had a few weeks ago did yield one good picture. We wore bright colors that coordinate fabulously with this card. A definite possibility!



Anyone who knows me and has ever visited my site knows I love monograms! This card is so fabulous because it has a monogram! Adorable! Plus I could use our family portrait, the senior picture, a picture of the husband and I, a picture of the pooch, and another fun shot of us at a sporting event this year!

In addition to Shutterfly's great 4x8 cards and 5x7 cards, I'm a huge fan of their photo books and have about a dozen from many different occasions. Shutterfly's site is extremely user friendly to make all of their products. If you purchase cards or anything else, link back and let me know what you got!

Disclaimer: Shutterfly gave me 50 free Christmas cards to write this post. The thoughts, opinions, and love for Shutterfly are all my own!

Ebates

Do many of you use Ebates? It's a great site that gives you money back for your purchases online. Nearly every website you can think of participates. You don't have to do anything but sign up with your email address and be sure to shop thru their site at your favorite retailers. The discounts and cash back on items you are purchasing anyway is fantastic!

Sign up thru my link and get an extra cash back on the spot! Then refer your friends as well. When they sign up the both of you get a little automatic cash back from ebates!

So what are you waiting for? Go! Go Now!

Summer Flops for the whole family

Our favorite outlet wearhouse had a great shipment of summer flops and we took advantage.

For Me:

Both J. Crew flip flops, one are gold beaded (shown left) and the other pink suede leather ( I could only find a picture in brown but the pink are oh so pretty!). Only $6.99 each.

J. Crew flip flops for Mr. Bargainista too. Only $6.99

For Bargainista Teen: Vans cotton vintage flip flops $6,99, Vans Pasticish flip flops $3.00, and Nike Sandals (ugh I hate these but whatever he likes, right?) $16.99.

BCBG Shoes

I found the above BCBG shoes in RED which are perfect for a cocktail dress for a party I'm attending. They were at a consignment store and were 70% off. My total price was only $6.90 plus tax.

What a deal! I have dozens of things I can wear them with in addition to the dress. When can you not wear red shoes?

Deals at Target for $4.98 each

I hit the mother load at Target recently. Over a the past several weeks I've found great deals on items that I'm using daily!

Sleepshirt: $4.98

Mine is pink striped and it just might get a monogram.

Robe: $4.98

I got the navy color shown and it has white polka dots on the inside! So cute! It of course is monogrammed. I definately didn't need another robe but mine are all terrycloth and rather thick and fluffy. This is thinner and in a super soft cotton. I wear it daily!

Hoodie: $4.98

I have the lavendar color shown, and also bought a pink one and white one that are fleece lined. The lavendar is a "springy" type hoodie and is just cotton. They're all the C9 by Champion and I love that brand of work out and casual/lounge clothing. All three have a little pocket built in to hold my ipod. Isn't that clever? You can't see it but it's in the seam above the hand pockets. They're all waiting to be monogrammed. The white one will look oh so ready for the beach with a nice khaki monogram.

Yoga Pants: $4.98

I live in yoga pants and the C9 are my favorite. And believe me, I've tried plenty. These are the perfect fitted and flattering cut and I wear them all the time. This is my third pair of this type. I'm a bit nuts about them. I also bought the C9 brand in a yoga pant that are shiny and spandexy more than cotton. They were (gasp!) $7.98 but look cute with my new pink sneakers and polka dot laces. You know, the important things in life.

Missions Yard Sale

This past Saturday was the giant Missions Yard Sale at a local church where we used to attend. It, of course, was fabulous! I've pulled stock images of the loot we scored because I'm a bit lazy to take pictures and it's mostly been put away or is at the cleaners.

Without further adeiu:

Scout Bag

I've been coveting one of these fine little ditties. The regular price for the large "dean-o" bag is $45. I paid only $6 and it's NEW WITH TAGS! I love the color combo and I'm glad I found it at a sale because I'd have went with the pink and green in the same print. It forced me to branch out and I really enjoy it. I'm going to use this toting items in the trunk of my car and to put smaller reusable shopping bags in for carrying in one trip. It will also be a great pool/beach/lake bag come summer. I could even use it as an overnight or weekend bag.

Ralph Lauren Linen Skirt and it's PINK! So cute for summer. I'm going to wear it with a white shirt and pink kitten heels, or a brown tank top and flip flops. I also have a pink and black printed shirt to match it with black or pink strappy shoes. I think the orignal price is $49-$69. I paid $5. It appears to have never been worn or taken really good care of if it was.

Blue and black The North Face Denali fleece jacket. This jacket is currently retailing for $175 at Nordstrom and a few outdoors stores in town. I paid only $8. That's EIGHT DOLLARS! Whew I feel faint! It was a great find for Bargainista Teen. He loves it and we'll more than get our eight dollars out of it.

Cabela's Fly Tying Kit $2. Yes, two dollars. It retails in the catalog for $80. Mr. Bargainista admits that it may not get used quickly, or at all, but "it's so cool." You better believe I'm sending his bum fly fishing!

Other items include:

-a two piece black suit for Mr. Bargainista. It was $2. TWO DOLLARS! All suits were marked $2. Most were very old and very unstylish but this one was rather nice. If there is one thing Mr. Bargainista doesn't need it's a suit but for $2 we can have an extra black one in the closet. It's currently at the cleaners.

-Striped Polo shirt for Mr. Bargainista. Brand new with tags and was only $1. ONE DOLLAR! Mr . Bargainista has weeded through several polo shirts that have shown great wear so that he always looks his best for work, etc. so this was nearly a necessary purchase. Of course Polo shirts are normally $50-$75 so cha-ching for the $1 and being BRAND NEW WITH TAGS!

-Ann Taylor skirt for me. Oh my it's so cute! It's turquoise with a lime-ish design on it and little beads accenting the design and bottom hem. I'll dress it up and down. It's so flowy and cool for summer. I recall seeing it in The Loft for $59. I paid only $3! It was in fabulous condition with no signs of wear.

-White House Black Market strapless dress. It's way cute! White with a black flower motif and a black band around the empire waist as well as the top trim. It will be great for when I host bunco in June. Retail on these dresses is usually $70-$90 but this was ONLY $5. WOW!

All in all we spent less than $40 at the sale and that includes coffee.

The Bargainista Sale

(Note: This post is from March 10. I lost the card with all of my pictures of the sale and was dawdling hoping I'd find it. I've not yet but hopefully by posting this it will surely turn up. It's that how Murphy's Law works? Anyway I found stock photos for a few items but I know I can't remember them all. I was banking on the pictures to help me!)

My Ladies League has a large rummage sale every year. By large I mean in a 100,000 warehouse. That's large! I love working the event but I love shopping it even more! Oh the goodies I found!





New in package Stila Lipglosses $4. The were for sure brand new because Stila's are twist up and the product comes out the brush so it's visible when it's been used. So ahem!

Rachel Ray cookbook $2. I love RR cookbooks and I actually didn't have this one.

Philosophy Margarita 3 in 1 wash. I LOVE philosophy products. This was a full 20 oz. container and margarita scent is so refreshing. It clings to my hair pretty well. I can catch little sniffs of it all day.

White Pottery Barn Shelf $6. Only $6 can you believe that? So cute!

Banana Republic Sweater (Bargainista Teens is in brown but exact same style) $5.

Striped Polo (Ralph Lauren) shirts $3. BT got a few of these.

White hemstitch linen napkins $3 for set of six.

Two wrough iron nesting patio tables $10 for both. They match our patio furniture and are great side tables to set a beer or your s'mores goodies.

Two urn style vase planters $1 each.

Loads of Closet Maid shelves $12. We are giving BT a new organizing system in his closet and finding these was pure gold! We have far more than we need so now I'm plotting what other closets may needs a little more of something-something. But Shh...don't tell Mr. B.

Game Set in a cherry wood box $3. It includes two decks of cards, three types of dice, and poker chips. It looks SO elegant and classy. It will be great to set out at our next dinner party for a little game.

Balderdash (game) $1.

Wooden Letters $2 each. These are large custom painted letters. I got a few for the house and a few for gifts.

Clark's Wallaby Shoes for BT. Only $8. They were dirty on the bottom but otherwise no signs of use.

BT also got a few random t-shirts he thougth were "cool" for about $1 each.

I know there were more items but they're currently lost on me. Surely the memory card will turn up now that I've posted. I certainly hope so because I had several other pictures on there I needed as well.

Deals from the Outlet

I hit a couple of great oulets last week. It was none other than my own personal Mecca(s) of The Pottery Barn and Williams Sonoma!


In addtion to everything being outlet priced it was all on sale for an additional discount (30-75%) and I had a 40% off total order coupon.


SCORE!


First Up: Williams Sonoma


Fresh springy pink and green towels


Towels: $8 for four pack


Washclothes: $6 for four pack








Potholders: $4






Oven Mitts (it actually matches potholder above): $4





Apron: $12 (can't wait to monogram this!)










Cuisineart Rice Cooker: $22











Mini muffin pan: $8






In addtion to the above I also got:




Over the sink mesh collander with cutting board side: $9




(It's the neatest thing! It spreads out to stablize over the sink, a cutting board is clipped on half so I can cut and chop, then slide and rinse. HOW did I live without this?)




Lemon Meyer room spray: $2




Lemon Meyer dish detergent: $2/box (4 boxes!)




Hamburger Seasoning: $3




Magic Dust Meat Seasoning $4




Natural PB: $2/jar (4 jars!)




Assortment of wisks and silicone spatulas: $2-$5 (I bought a handful of these)









I THINK that was it.









Next: Pottery Barn

Remember my dishes? I purchased two complete sets and an extra bowl and mug for around $13. They were a super deal! They are clearancing out the selection so I had to strike while I could!

Colby Watchbox and Charging Station: $13 and $18 respectively. These are for Mr. Bargainista. He has the monogrammed colby valet already and these look nice on the dresser. He loves leather.










Toile Panels: $18/ea (2 of these in lavender)

Lavendar polka dot reversible duvet: $22 (twin sized)

Lavender ric rac pillow cases: $8

Matine Toile Bedskirt and Shams: $24 and $25/set of two. Both in Ink Blue.

Varsity backpack in orange: $8

Fairfax lunchbox in pink: $5

And this is the kicker!

Architect sconce wall lamp. Original price: $179. After all of the mark downs I paid (drum roll please......) $9. Nine dollars!

I also helped my friend Reese score a great 9x12 area rug for a bargain. The original price was $1200. She paid only $278! We finangled it into her little sports car and set it all up to see if her husband noticed when he got home.

Safe to say he did! :)

Basketball Goal

Bargainista Teen needed a basketball goal. We have to have the portable type here because of the way our driveway is made. The normal price is around $300. Mr. Bargainista got to work on craigslist and we brought this home for only $40!

Amazon Gift Card with Magazine Subscription

Get a $5 or $10 gift certificate to amazon.com for an eligible magazine purchase. Go here to choose your magazine. They have great prices in addtion to the gift certificate. I'm getting Self for me, Smart Money for Mr. Bargainista, and Sports Illustrated for Bargainista Teen.