Target Clearance Finds

As you all know, Target is my "happy place". I'm embarrassed to admit how many times a week I pass through their doors and I always without fail walk out with more than what I intended to upon walking in. However, I combine several ways to save and am amazed at some of the deals I score in that red light haven.


New artwork to go above H's dresser in the master bedroom $10.98 down from $14.99 + I got another 15% off on Cartwheel

Goes perfectly with our color scheme of grey and lavender




Beautiful picture frame for only $3.98 down from $12.99 + I got another 15% off with Cartwheel and as always another 5% off with my Target debit card.



I used it to frame the picture taken after the maid of honor and best man speeches at our wedding. It was as if this frame was made for this picture.




I picked up Olay Regenerist to combat the wrinkles I'm developing around my eyes when I smile. Yep, I'm officially old. I was pleasantly surprised to find it at such a good price.



I love bright colored tights, so I was happy to find this color at half price. Can't wait to pair them with a black skirt for a pop of color.




Picked up this cute sign for the laundry room which was $9.98 down from $14.99 plus an additional 15% off with Cartwheel.




Definitely my biggest savings so far, this vase looks great in the corner of our living room.



These weren't on clearance, but I was excited to try both of these new sprays out at a fraction of the cost of what I'd get them from the local supermarket or drugstore. My fine hair can always use a little lift and smoothing out.

What deals have you found at Target?

Tell me about it... Stud

Another great find from the F21 sale was my Studded Raglan Top. I loved the color and the details and of course the amazing price.






Top - F21 | Gap skinnies | Heels - VS | Kate Spade bangles | Necklace - gift





Such a comfy and cute top that is nice and light weight for warmer days. 

Chili Eating & Olympics Filled Weekend

How can so much happen in a weekend, yet it seems to go by in the blink of an eye?


Roxy had to go to the vet last week, and got to come with me to the office for a bit and didn't stop panting the entire time. But everyone kept saying how much of a happy doggy she was, and she sure is...my princess and her cushy-lifestyle. Pampered pooch! 

Friday, I was honored to have one of my looks featured On the Daily Express along with some other amazing looks from Express. That night, we enjoyed some drinks on our patio before calling NCL to book our Mediterranean Cruise. I am still on cloud nine... I can't believe I'm finally "crossing the pond". Any recommendations on must sees/dos in Barcelona before we set sail?



Saturday, we went to a chili cook-off which was a lot of fun. It just was yucky weather, but sometimes I feel that the rain makes things more fun. I mean look at all our photo opps with our umbrellas? Afterwards, we went to a near-by bar that was having $1.50-$2 domestics specials, so we pulled out our new koozies from the chili cook-off and cheers-ed to another great day with great friends. The end of the day brought on bad decisions involving a round of jello shots which led to more bad decisions at home which I am aware of every time I walk into the garage as I can still see the pizza box in the recycle bin. Everyone needs some cheese, bacon, and a stuffed crust in their life after day drinking in the rain right? Mmmmm bacon *in my best Homer Simpson voice*.






Sunday, was a house cleaning and laundry day and then I retired to the couch for an Olympics marathon (I DVR it all so I don't miss anything and can skip commercials). Who else is mesmerized by ski jumping? I can't get enough!







You can never have enough candles

There have been a lot of great deals floating around lately and I just couldn't resist some of them...


I had received an email regarding a fantastic deal B&BW was having and forgot about it until Emily posted about it and it reminded me I wanted to take advantage of it. A free 3-wick candle with a $20 purchase and free shipping with a $25 purchase. I could not say no! Their 3-wick candles are my absolute favorite, and I have a ton of them, but you can never have enough candles. So, I chose 2 candles and a hand cream to get me to the $25 minimum purchase for free shipping. The hand cream ended up being sold out, but B&BW still honored the free shipping *awesomeness* and threw in a free kitchen soap from their new soap line.



It smells great and is different from their other soaps. It's much more gentle and leaves your hands super soft.



Last summer, I ordered a fabulous pair of Marc Jacobs sunglasses from the Nordstrom Anniversary Sale and was so happy with my purchase at such a great price. However, on the last day of our Bahamas cruise as I was walking back onto the boat, one of my lenses just all of a sudden fell out and onto the ground. Turns out, one of my screws was loose and fell out causing the lens to also fall out. I was a super slacker and never called Nordstrom about it until last week and I can't say enough amazing things about their customer service. They were so nice and helpful and I was impressed that not only would they exchange my sunglasses for a brand new pair, but it was free to ship back the old ones and get the new ones. Can't beat that! I'm so happy with my new pair, and still can't believe that 7 months later they replaced them no questions asked.



We have finally been decorating our master bedroom, but have kept everything pretty neutral when it comes to color which mean gray walls, black furniture, a taupe tufted headboard, and white bedding. As pretty and clean as it is, I needed a pop of color. In come the pillows... I ordered 2 lavender pillows from Kohls which were buy 1 get 1 for 50% off and picked up a sequined oblong toss pillow from Bed Bath & Beyond that was on sale and I used a 20% off coupon.

Have you found any good home decor deals lately?

And last but certainly not least... don't forget to enter the $200 Stella & Dot giveaway that I'm co-hosting with Bella. Today's the last day!

Staying in for V-Day

I've never been a big fan of Valentines Day and sometimes don't even celebrate it at all. I guess I'm much more of a "flowers just because" girl than a cliche overpriced V-Day bouquet. However, I do love an excuse to have a nice dinner and bottle or two of champagne *champs is always a good idea*. Instead of going out to overcrowded restaurants with pre-fixed menus, H and I have always stayed in and I'll make fondue and a yummy dessert.

This year, I plan on making....

Fondue

*last year's fondue*


Heart Shaped Cake

*thank you yet again Pinterest*


Almond Champagne


aka the best champagne ever





And we'll enjoy dessert and drinks on the patio by the fire pit. Perfect end to the evening.



How do you like to celebrate? 




Meet my Little!

Today, I'd like to introduce you to my "Lil" from the Big & Littles blogging network Carolina. I've enjoyed getting to know her and hope that I've been able to give her some good bloggy advice. Make sure you go on over and check her out!



***************************************************


Hi! I'm Carolina also known as the girl behind SoCal Mermaid. My blog tends to be mostly about college, but I also write about fashion, boys, being 21, diys, and other girly things! I do try to be serious sometimes, those are the posts where I'll mention my struggles with anxiety or I'll metaphorically write about my feelings.


If I'm not working at a fashion show (as a dresser) or writing yet another posts about my college days, I'm either working, reading, hanging out with my family or friends, wrestling with my dogs, or flaunting my single girl swag

Sometimes I'll post about my outings as a college girl - which isn't often. In high school I hung out a lot with my friends and hookah lounges were the place to be. Now, I like love dive bars. What can I say? I'm a laid-back Cali girl at heart.

One of my favorite bars to go to is Sand Bar, it's right on the beach and all of my coworkers go every Monday night for karaoke night. I still haven't had the guts to get up and sing in front of everyone, I should've done it the night this picture was taken. It was a going away party and pretty much everyone (but me and maybe two other guys) were hammered. It was a good night none the less.

 

And now that I've given you that overload of links to get to know me a little better here's a few more things that you should know about me:

College:

1. I'm currently in junior college and hate it, I go to school in San Diego where I was born and raised!

2. I'm supposed to transfer fall of this year, but I only applied to three schools *fingers crossed*

3. Cal State Long Beach is my number one school, but they've released an article stating out of 83,000 applicants they've only chosen..wait for it...8 freaking thousand. Let's keep those fingers crossed until I get my acceptance letter?

4. I'm majoring in Fashion Merchandising but I have no idea what I want to do career wise. I just got an internship with ABIDE Fashion, and I would love it if you could click the link and like their FB page! (That's my first job, get them more FB likes and Instagram followers)



Life:

1. I'm a huge advocate for breast cancer awareness. My aunt is a survivor of breast cancer, and come every October I'll be posting about it like crazy, and my blog theme tends to get a little pink.

2. Snapchat. Good ole snapchat. I post the most obnoxious stories and if we're really good friends I'll send you the randomest stuff.

3. I love holidays, what blogger doesn't? But Christmas cookies are probably my favorite dessert of all time.

4. Here's a couple pictures to help you understand my life a little more.

a snapchat of my love of Panera Halloween cookies...
this years San Diego Susan G Komen for the Cure walk with my mom

and lastly, a rack of beautiful clothes at one of the many fashion shows I've worked at
Posts:

Now this whole post was just an overload of links (#sorrynotsorry) and an over load of me, I'd apologize but hey that's what guest posts are for right? Here's some posts I'd recommend you read if you actually liked having me here for the day!

1.  Dear Future Boyfriend

2. It's all in the Weave

3. The Glory of Being Friendzoned

Rose Gold Accessories

Some of my favorite outfits are ones that are complimented well by rose gold accessories. It's just such a pretty color and I can't get enough of it.

Top - VS | Jeans - Express | Boots - Target | Scarf - ON | Watch - Michael Kors | Bracelet - Express













What are your favorite rose gold accessories?

Essie Resort Collection

Essie has been one of my favorite nail polish lines for a while now, and they never disappoint me (as OPI sometimes does.. let's not forget their Holland collection). When I heard about their 2014 Resort Collection I was excited to check out the new colors and of course loved them all.





I love how the names even make you feel like you're on vacation, I could sure go for some cocktails and coconuts on this blase Tuesday. 






Cocktails & Coconuts is my favorite... the light shimmer is beautiful



Find Me an Oasis



Resort Fling



Under the Twilight



Which shade is your favorite?


**Don't forget to enter the Stella & Dot giveaway going on right now**

Weekend Update and Stella & Dot Giveaway

Am I the only one who thinks today should be a national holiday? Either that or move the Super Bowl to a Saturday please and thank you. Excuse me while I take a nap at my desk today, I feel like I've been on the go since I left the office on Friday and now Monday is back to haunt us.


Friday, I went to get a much needed pedicure after work and came home to H making dinner and drinks including a shot of fireball and rum chata waiting for me. My little suzy-homemaker!

Saturday, I went to get my hair done and decided to go darker this time around. She added low lights to darken up my hair a bit without doing a drastic change and it came out great.

Later on, we went out to celebrate a friends b-day at Downtown Disney. We went to a tequila bar and had dinner and celebratory shots all around. Then we made our way down to the House of Blues and enjoyed sitting outside on the patio. Sitting outside on February 1st enjoying drinks = priceless and will never get old.


Sunday, we went to a friend's house for the Super Bowl. What more do you need than good food and good friends? I almost walked away a little richer, but Emily narrowly beat me out of the 1st half pool and took home the big prize. It was fixed I tell ya! :-P






***************************************

I'm also very excited to announce that I am teaming up with these lovely ladies to give away a $200 gift card to Stella & Dot just in time for Valentines Day.





a Rafflecopter giveaway

 
TERMS AND CONDITIONS:
 
1. Winner will be notified on February 8th.
2. Winner will be verified. If the winner cannot be verified, a new one will be selected.
3. The winner has 48 hours to claim their prize after the notifying email has been sent out.
If they do not respond to the email within the 48 hours a new winner will be selected.