$4.06 for an Ann Taylor skirt? Let's talk about that for a minute...

Happy New Year, everyone! Let's get down to the important stuff, shall we?

Yes! It's true! I recently bought the prettiest skirt from Ann Taylor for only FOUR DOLLARS AND SIX CENTS. It was a glorious day, even though it was one of the coldest. Recently my boyfriend and I went to Kenosha, WI for the New Year and my friend Liz had an amazing idea -- to go to the outlet mall (she's brilliant, I tell you). Mere hours before I was scheduled to get on a plane to go home, we went. I can't tell you how happy I am that we did. Well, I'll try : )

We pull up, and I see a Rue 21. Now, I thought it was an extension of Forever 21 (as I'm sure most people do when they see it) because Forever 21 has about three or four different clothing lines. I thought it was one of the contemporary stores, but it did seem a bit more for teenagers when we walked in. Anyhoo -- we went to the back of the store and I found a gem of a sale! There was a rack of sweaters, mostly with snowflakes and other festive decorations, that were on sale for $5.00 each (from $20.00 a piece).

At first I was a bit let down, since the holiday season was drawing to a close, but I managed to find four plain sweaters. The colors are as follows: charcoal gray, dark purple, bright blue and pink with dark and light stripes. I paid $20.00 for all four! Can you believe it? I sure couldn't. It was like I stole three of them! They are a bit long, so I can wear them with leggings and they are SO warm and cozy (not the fuzzy, scratchy kind). What a great start to my first shopping day of the year : )

Then, we decide to go into the Aldo outlet store -- what a good idea that was! I had bought ankle boots from them about three weeks ago, so I wasn't really looking for boots. That doesn't mean we can't go in and look! They did have some good sales (not surprising in the least), but what really caught my eye were their bags! The sale was 30% off already marked down prices -- how do you say no? I immediately picked up this medium blue color bag; a small hobo with gold accents. It was cute, but I couldn't picture myself throwing it over my shoulder since the handles were so short. I really liked it, but didn't love it, so I put it back. I looked at a few other bags, but most of their selection was black. Nothing against black, but I love me some color : )

There was one other spot with bags on sale, so I went there and flew to Aldo Bag Sale Heaven. It's a real place, and it's lovely. This one was like porridge -- just right. It was the same blue as the first bag (you have to love that), the accents were silver and not gold (I prefer silver), and the strap was adjustable (ding! ding! ding! -- I believe we have a winner!). Oh, and did I mention it was bigger than the other bag and the same price? The total sale price was $20 and it was originally $40. I was so giddy walking out of the store; you should have seen me!

There were a few stores that were just paroozed, but then we got to Ann Taylor and this bring us to the $4.06 deal of a lifetime! There they were, just on the sale rack, waiting to make me happy. Everyone loves the sale section of a store (you know you do), but then to find the sale price brought down even more so -- that made my outlet trip! Everything was an extra 40%!!! The delightful people at Ann Taylor separate all sale items by size, which really does help. I ran right to my size and I found two wonderful skirts -- one light blue and one that is more of an aqua marine with a pattern. The first was on sale for $4.06 (where the title of this post is from, of course!) and the second was $8.77 (mind you, it was originally $59.00).

What luck! I have more to post about another sale that happened mere hours ago, so I am cutting this one off short.

It's a good one, I promise!

Penny : )

Cee Vee Ess!

Hiiii!

I know, I know -- I have to blog about my Black Friday / Cyber Monday deals, but I HAVE to share a lil' sale that's going on:

Buy one get one 50% off mascaras at CVS (at least in Brooklyn)!

I had recently bought a mascara I'd never tried before -- I figured, "Why not? It's 7x volume! What's not to like?" Apparently, a lot. It did almost nothing for me. Well, nothing good, that is. No volumizing -- just little clumps and not a lot of length. I don't mean to brag, but this salesgirl right here has some mega lashes to show off, so I can't just use anything. They are pretty light-colored without any mascara, so I need something that will show them off.

I love Maybelline's Define-a-Lash. It is amazing. I started out with the green one (which lengthens your lashes) and then tried the pink one (which volumizes). Both are wonderful products! They key thing about this mascara is its brush. It totally won me over. That is a very important part of mascara -- the liquid itself can be great, but if you have a bum brush, all can be lost -- and fast. It's a bendable brush, which I think makes all the difference. It separates each and every lash and lengthens them to the sky : )

This is the one I'm using now:

http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catalog/shop_product_detail.jsp?filterBy=&skuId=404869&productId=404869&navAction=jump&navCount=3

This is the one I've tried and think is just as great:

http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catalog/shop_product_detail.jsp?filterBy=&skuId=440524&productId=440524&navAction=jump&navCount=3

Because the sale is buy one get one 50% off, I just HAD to get Maybelline's Lash Stiletto. I tried it once before and loved it. It really works! Not to brag or anything, but LS enabled my lashes to touch past my eyebrows -- this is quite amazing stuff!

This is what I just bought:

http://www.cvs.com/CVSApp/catalog/shop_product_detail.jsp?filterBy=&skuId=693714&productId=693714&navAction=jump&navCount=3

I would recommend each of these mascaras -- they are great, easy-to-use (and most importantly) inexpensive products that you can pick up at any drugstore. Works for me!

Have any of you tried these mascaras? Do they work for you, too?

Enjoy your weekends!
Penny : )

5 More Days!

Hello there,

It's Penny! Sorry for the short hiatus : (

Can you believe the big day is almost upon us -- no, not Thanksgiving; Black Friday! I can smell the deals from here! This year, I'm looking for one hot item -- an iPod! I had one for about 2 good years, but alas, it has died on me. It even has an iPod on the screen with a sad face! It definitely made me frown, that's for sure.

At first, I thought I would spend a little more moola and get an iTouch. They seem quite cool and I love being able to see the album covers on that huge screen. One thing I know for sure is that I'd like to get a 16 GB instead of the 8 GB I had -- why not upgrade if there's a sale involved?

I've also seen the new iPod nano, as well as the generation before this one, and I think that's what I'm going to stick with. They have them in all sorts of colors, you can still see the album art ( which is displayed much larger than the nano I had) and it has this fun feature where if you shake the nano itself, it will shuffle the songs for you. How cool? Plus, it's what I'm used to. Everyone enjoys some comfort along with the comfort food we have on Thanksgiving!

Now to find some great sales! If I don't find anything worth it on Friday, there's always Cyber Monday! I have seen a few good deals at Target and Amazon -- the Apple Store's ads have not been confirmed yet, so we'll just have to see!

Is there anything you are looking to buy on Black Friday? Will you be out there with the other crazy shoppers at 5am? Feel free to share your plans with me!

Happy shopping and have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
Penny : )

Double Trouble!

Hi!!!

I am so excited to finally share not one, but two of my very own shopping acquisitions with you! One of the most exciting parts of them is that they both happened this week! Two in one week – that’s a rare treasure I call luck.

Here is sale snag number one:

Target (of course)! I love their sale section online. They’re big thing is free shipping for all orders over $50, depending on the department you’re shopping in. Who doesn’t like free shipping? To be honest, it’s quite easy for me to find enough items to be spending over $50 – the key is to start in the sale section! I know many of you might think the “S” word is frightening and the items are only in that scary section because they are cheap or are only in XXXL or XXXS – not true!

I also love to read the customer reviews – they really help me decide whether ordering an item online (or even checking it out in-store) is worth it. When you don’t have a car, public transportation is the primary way you get from point A to point B (or point T, for Target : ) – I want to know if it’s worth getting on the subway and / or bus to buy those pajama pants. Are they as fluffy and soft as they seem in the picture? No? Well, then – I’m staying home! In all seriousness, the reviews are a great tool when it comes to purchasing an item online. I love hearing what people who already have the product think about them – why bother buying something if 17 out of 20 people who left feedback think they are hideous or uncomfortable?

I tried posting the images or the order down here, but I can't seem to figure it out. So, for the time being, they're at the top. Looks good, right? I’m very excited for my packages to arrive so I can try everything on! Oh, one more thing about Target that I love: Their return policy. I can’t stress that enough. I have never, ever had a problem returning something. Even five minutes after buying it, they will take it back; even if I’ve opened it. All they ask is if there’s anything wrong with the item – nothing else. It’s wonderful! It’s simple to create a return sheet online so you can bring the items back to the store, too! I heart Target : )

Here is sale snag number two:

Old Navy! I recently took the leap and got a Gap Card – it's essentially a credit card that you can use for The Gap, Old Navy, Athleta, Banana Republic and Piperlime (in-store and online, except for Piperlime because they are only available online). That’s one thing I have to give them major props for – I love that you can buy items from any of those five stores on one website – it makes things so simple and easy, and who doesn’t like that? Also, usually if you purchase something from Piperlime, you get free shipping! Okay, okay – back to the card. It’s great because they send me e-mails about sales and most of the time there’s a free shipping option if you use your card. So, this week I found out that they were taking off an extra 30% of all clearance items – I was in Salesgirl heaven!

Check out the order above. I know; I can’t believe it either. That first total would have been the total BEFORE the 30% -- which I would have been okay with – but an extra 30% PLUS free shipping? Someone pinch me! Wake me up from this shopping dream! No, don’t – it’s too delicious : )

I hope this post has been as much of a delight to read as it was for me to write! If you get the chance to purchase any items from Target or Old Navy this weekend, let me know!

Penny : )

It's that time again: BOGO time!

If you're a FSS (frequent shoe shopper) like I am, I don't need to tell you what BOGO stands for (nor do I need to explain the happiness and excitment that comes with hearing those lovely letters). However, I'll explain it anyway: BOGO stands for Buy One Get One 1/2 off at all Payless stores! It pops up when you least expect it, but when it does, it's like magic!

This weekend I found a pair of shoes at the Herald Square Payless that I liked so much, I got them in two different colors! It's a first for me, because even though they are maryjanes, they aren't flats! They're 1.5 inch wedge heels! I know -- it's quite exciting. I am usually a BIG flats girl -- athletic, ballet, you name it. So, this wasn't just any other BOGO purchase for the FSM (frequent shopping miles) books. I even got to try them out that very evening at The Met and they were great! The tights I were wearing them with were a bit on the thick side, so I'm definitely looking forward to wearing them with thinner tights.

Here's the link to the shoes I bought (in both black and brown):

http://www.payless.com/store/product/detail.jsp?skuId=074000050&productId=66384&subCatId=cat10284&catId=cat10088&lotId=074000&category=&catdisplayName=Womens+

How cute?!

Hope you enjoy the BOGO fun!
Penny : )

Happy Friday Everyone!

I have Friday news to dish, but it's not for this Friday -- it's for Black Friday! That joyeous day that comes after that little holiday we call Thanksgiving where stores drop their prices and our hearts fly sky high (at least mine does). I have gotten a few great items on Black Friday, including my ever-so-pink Dell laptop for only $500! So, what's my news, you ask?

I have the first leaked ad for Black Friday!!! Woohoo! Here it is:

http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/10/22/black-friday-2009-officemax-is-the-first-leaked-ad/?icid=mainhtmlws-maindl1link5http%3A%2F%2Fwww.walletpop.com%2Fblog%2F2009%2F10%2F22%2Fblack-friday-2009-officemax-is-the-first-leaked-ad%2F

There is a link to the actual ad, but I'll put it here for easy viewing:
http://www.blackfriday.info/sales/officemax-black-friday-ad.html (just click on "Ad Scan")

How exciting!!!
Enjoy, my fellow shopaholics -- and have a great weekend!

Penny : )

Nine West Friends and Family Event!!!

Hello there!

My good friend Jahna has recently placed a rather big diamond of a deal in my e-lap: Nine West is having a Friends and Family Event! That's right -- time for some major %. Here is a screen shot of the event (and here is the direct link:

http://www.ninewest.com/Shoes/5,default,sc.html?ep_tag=EMOCT15AD1)

Please note that the dates are as follows: Today, Thursday, October 15th - Sunday, October 18th.

The discounts are: 30% off regular price merchandise and 20% off sale merchandise. In order to get the savings, you need to use the following coupon code: NWFRND6.

If you click on the 'sale' section of the site, you will see that not only shoes are on sale, but so are accesories and apparel! What a happy day! (Here's the direct link: http://www.ninewest.com/Sale/4,default,sc.html)

I think I might get these (how cute?!): http://www.ninewest.com/Strahan/3262203,default,pd.html?cgid=526934&itemNum=12&variantColor=SILVELE&variantSizeClass=

Did you see one that was made just for you? If so, please share!

Happy shopping!
Penny : )