J Crew

J Crew has got to be one of my top places to shop. It’s adorable, yet can still be quirky and is incredibly fashion-forward.

But here’s the problem: it is insanely expensive.

Take their famous chino shorts for example, they are only 3″ (so definitely not “school appropriate” for high school kids and really not flattering on those thighs that need a little more gym time) and yet they are $45. Not to mention whatever the tax is.

J Crew does have their famous “warehouse” sales to look forward to… where everything from ballet flats to wedding gowns are thrown into this big empty building and sold for next to nothing (Last year’s awesome purchase: a white quarter-sleeve lace shirt for only $4). But these only happen maybe twice a year, if we’re lucky. Unless of course you live in Lynchburg, Virginia, the home of their largest warehouse and countless sale opportunities, we must rely on online shopping.

Well not just online shopping, although I do love it…

sign up for the emails J Crew sends out, as well as their factory website. They are always offering sale opportunities, and even if it is not the best sale, there is always another one around the corner that may not be advertised in the store itself. But with email it is written down and you can use paypal to pay via their online site!

Those chino shorts sure look a lot better in the 4″.. and when they are only $20…

 

Check out J Crew’s latest sale

 

Ebay- an online shopping addiction

Ebay is this magical thing that I can buy really nice things from for next to no money.

For example, I almost bought my sister a new with tags red longchamp le pliage bag, medium sized, for only $65. I say “only” (as if that wasn’t a paycheck and a half) merely because these bags normally sell upwards of $120. Not to mention the Lilly Pulitzer dress I got for nearly $25, give or take some for shipping costs. Regardless, ebay is a safe, reliable and wonderful way to get real brand name stuff for super cheap.

Now, a lot of the things on ebay are junk. Try sorting from “lowest to highest price” and you get a bunch of crap that isn’t even worth the 99 cents they want you to pay for it. But if you have some time and really search through (and get the app on your super fancy smartphone)  there are some spectacular deals that are almost too hard to pass up. Trust me, my paypal account can testify to that one. 

Ebay has been my best friend for finding designer, or look-alike designer, stuff for really cheap. It’s almost like going into Chinatown in the Big Apple only you can leave the heels in your closet and take the two step walk over to the computer. Not to mention it is much more cost efficient, the going rate for hotels rooms in NYC? More than I can afford, that’s for sure. 

It is the perfect way to find beautiful earrings, bags and, my favorite, dresses, for far less than you would ever pay in that cute little boutique across the way. Although the instant gratification of being handed a shopping bag with your latest purchase is taken away, you are instead given a competition.

There have been a multitude of times when I went over what I had limited myself to spend on an item just because I was trying to beat some other buyer too it. 

There is something just so overly satisfying about clicking that “Bid now” button, exhilaration even, and the reason why so many other ebay fanatics I know are quite literally addicted. Luckily for myself, and unluckily for my bank account, I have expanded my horizons to other online shopping venues such as amazon, etsy and the merchants own site. But ebay still has that mysterious allure of “I ordered this from some seller in China, I wonder when it will arrive” (The answer? – months later…)

It’s too bad I would have to pay ebay to list my items … it’s about time I begin to liquidate my assets before I head off to college – namely my massive closet full of clothes that aren’t exactly right for Florida weather….

Love for Lilly

I am literally in love with all things Lilly Pulitzer. As of today (my new Lilly sham covers just arrived!), I have 9 Lill Pulitzer items. Only 2 dresses.. but I’ve been saving to get some of the more expensive ones.

Anyways, I am obsessed. The prints this brand comes out with are absolutely adorable. Perfect for the summer time, but also offer just the right amount of summer in the winter. (Ya know, S’Winter).

My Lilly favorites: (Slash the things I actually own)

Item #1:

Agenda in You Gotta Regata Print

This has been my most useful purchase by far. It’s almost time to purchase one for the upcoming year, but I am having such a tough time letting go of this print! The sailboats are super cute without being too overwhelming… but alas, I soon must make the all important decision of my next agenda, a purchase which will be VITAL come college classes and due dates in the fall

This agenda is the size “large” and although at first I thought it might be too big, having been accustomed to smaller agendas, but I loved this size. It has a month calendar before every weekly breakup and, of course, had charming little drawings on every page. And it comes with stickers! Who doesn’t love stickers!?

Seriously. Best purchase ever

Item #2:

Calculator in May Flowers Print

So I can’t necessarily “review” this, since I haven’t used it yet. But it looks great sitting on my desk! I didn’t take a math class senior year, so there was really no need to get this calculator other than I’m saving it for college! Where I’m sure it will also looking great sitting on that desk! Math isn’t really my thing. And I have Siri.. she helps me a lot…

Item #3 & 4:

Lilly Pulitzer Pen in May Flowers

I actually have two of these in different prints, but I think this one is the prettiest! I love these pens and they write really well, the only problem is that they run out of ink very quickly.. or maybe it’s just because in school I write things down on paper all the time. (I am much less of a computer person) But I really do seem to remember things better if I write them down on paper. $20 is a little expensive for a pen to just look pretty in my backpack, although they do look very, very pretty

Item #5:

Briella Dress in Flutter Blue Lucky Charm (Fluorescent!)

So my sister got me this dress for graduation. Apparently she was agonizing over whether I would like it or not since it is “fluorescent” and the print looks like a Lilly, but at the same time it kind of doesn’t. Well her worrying was for nothing! Everything about this dress is adorable. It is seriously so flattering, even though I am a small this dress shape is literally flattering on all body types. Plus, it is long enough for someone that is tall (I’m almost 5’10”) but still short enough on those shorter girls out there. And not to mention the fabric makes it look sophisticated and on the more higher end of the scale, but it is seriously so, so comfortable. I haven’t officially debuted this dress in public, but I wore it around the house while breaking in my Toms wedges. Sophistication to the max.

Item #6:

Freja Dress Fiesta Pink Everything Nice Print

This dress is no longer being sold! I got it just the other day on a spring clearance! But you can always get it on other websites like amazon, ebay, and zappos (which is what this one links up to)! Anyways, this dress is really cute and has this twisty thing going on in the back which makes it the perfect dress to wear your hair up with! This is definitely more of a daytime summer dress then a special occasion, but it could be stretched with the right accessories of course. Regardless, I would still view this as a casual dress, but it is Lilly Pulitzer so at the same time it works for the slightly less casual par-tay that must be attended.

This cut is also fabulously flattering, or I’ve been going harder at the gym than I thought…

Item # 7 & 8:

Pillow shams in First Impression Hotty Pink Print

I was literally so sad to find that I could no longer purchase the Lilly duvet cover in this pattern, and I searched long and hard as I desperately wanted it for my dorm room. Alas, it was nowhere to be found and I was forced to settle for mere pillow shams. I say that like it’s a bad thing, but I’m actually super excited for them. This is another GREAT pattern and the colors in these pillows will be the colors for my dorm room (I’ve been planning this practically all year). But I could not be more excited. These arrived today and as soon as I post I am heading downstairs to open them up! They are going to make a lovely addition to my dorm room as well as letting everyone know, right when they walk in the door, I am a Lilly Pulitzer Princess.

Item #9:

The skin on my Lifeproof case. Although not officially Lilly, I customized the case with a print directly from the Lilly blog… so I believe it should count at least a little bit!

Obviously, I have a lot of Love for the Lilly brand. I am a tad obsessed and am always looking for new things to add to my collection. Oh clearance rack and sale section, how I love thee

My two favorite things…

Lilly Pulitzer and monograms.

Do try this at home

Yeah, that’s right. I have the ultimate prep phone case. Enjoy.

But really, what is better than Lilly and a monogram (other than a monogram done in a Lilly print, of course!). I was bored with the lifeproof case I had. Although it protected my iPhone 5 from many unfortunate falls from my hands to the cement, I missed the days when I had the real deal Lilly Pulitzer phone case. So I found a solution. A skin! SkinIt.com has a life-proof specific option which you get to customize! And it was around $20, not bad at all! I found a good .jpg at the Lilly Pulitzer blog of the latest print I am lusting over and sized it to fit my iPhone exactly. If I wanted to get all fancy I probably could have stuck the monogram right onto the customize page, but instead I went to another favorite site, etsy.com, and found the perfect silver sparkly monogram. I also went a little monogram crazy and did the home button as well… 

Vinyl stickers are hard enough to put on, certainly not meant for the dumb blonde that occasionally comes out just to baffle and amuse everyone else around me, but the glitter sticker was crazy hard to put on. As was the very small monogram home button. Those are individual letters, people. They do come with instruction sheets (at least the ones I always purchase), but they still require a lot of good old fashioned patience, a virtue I don’t think I ever really learned or received or however that works.

Regardless, I get countless compliments from the girls around town and all my friends are begging me to make them ones. But remember ladies, patience is a virtue.

College Shopping

Let’s just say I like things. Not that I’m materialistic, I just enjoy being surrounded by pretty things. So the dorm life is not exactly something I am looking forward to… Having an eternal sleepover with a complete stranger while simultaneously trying to shove all our earthly belongings into a room only slightly larger than a prison cell? Yeah, not for me. But regardless I am about to begin that challenge and as that date gets nearer and nearer the time for dorm shopping has begun.

Whenever I bring up anything dorm related my mother just rolls her eyes. Not that I can necessarily blame her. When this touchy subject is approached it is often to say something along the lines of “I found this really pretty thing that would look TOO perfect in my dorm” which actually means “I found this really small trinket on potterybarn.com that is way over budget but I think I’ll just go ahead and use the paypal account. That’s all.” So her dismay is understandable.

Anyways. Dorm shopping is something that must be done, for both creativity and practicality

I couldn’t find a good dorm list anywhere (you know besides the ones that big stores, like Target, give out which all claim you need far more stuff than you actually do), so I made my own super basic list for anyone out there who ever comes across this.

My College Shopping List

Desk

Lamp
lampshade

Big month calendar

Mirror

 

Bed

Comforter

Sheets

Pillows

Decorative Pillows

Clip-on light

 

Under-Bed

Fridge

3 drawer sections

Dust Ruffle

 

Closet

Hanging mirror

3 drawer sections

 

Walls

Curtains

Frames for records (2)

 

Floor

Rug

 

School Supplies

Stapler

Staples

Scissors

Looseleaf paper

Tape

Hangers

Highlighters

Pencils

Pens

Sticky notes

Command hooks

First aid kit

Extension cord

Power strip

 

Dishes

Cups

Plates

Silverware

 

See? Super basic, but super efficient.

So I went out and bought things, something I am super good at. 

Tip I have learned: find that really expensive, super comfy/cozy/adorable looking thing. save it. go to sleep. find it for way cheaper with lots of research the next day. spend the money saved money on a Lilly Pulitzer dress.

You’re Welcome