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splurge or save

Published on February 1, 2017February 2, 2017 by blonde rosie2 Comments

For this weeks Wear It Wednesday, I wanted to do something a little different. Today I am sharing some of my secrets to get name brand cosmetics for cheap! I am known for giving presents and finding a good bargain. Today for my blog followers I am sharing my secrets, but feel free to tell all of your friends because it is too good not to share!

I love Sephora like any other girl, but it pains me to spend $30 on mascara. However, when I spend $30 and buy the expensive mascara, it is impossible to go back to drug store brand. One of my favorite places to shop is TJ Maxx. If it is your birthday or it is gift giving holiday, there is a 98% chance I purchased your present at TJ Maxx. The other day I was bored and wanted to get out of the house, so of course I drove to TJ Maxx just to browse. Yeah, browsing did not last long especially when I went over to the cosmetics section. Today I am going to share a post about splurging and saving.

Here are the products I picked up on my last TJ Maxx trip. I know, right!?!?

This Too Faced Sugar Pop eyeshadow pallet is usually $36, but I found it for $10 at TJ Maxx. The packaging was too cute even though I knew I didn’t need another eyeshadow pallet. I love Too Faced eyeshadows because of the high pigment colors and they last all day, I cannot wait to try it out!

I know that the Too Faced Melted Metal lipsticks were very popular during Christmas. I was thrilled to find them at TJ Maxx for only $7 because they sell for $21 at Sephora. Score! Lately, Too Faced is started to promote a matte version of the Melted Metal lipsticks, so expect to see a lot of the original on clearance to make room for the new products.

This was something I did not need…but had to have because it was only $6 at TJ Maxx. Right now I think these are no longer on the market because I could not find them anywhere to find out how much they sell for. But good for us because we can buy up the old product stock for super cheap! I know Kat Von D products are very popular at Sephora and when I used the blush I really did notice a big difference from my usual blush.

My biggest secret is where I get my Essie nail polish. I actually own a lot of Essie nail polish…but I have never paid full price for it. In my opinion, Essie is the best nail polish out there. I used OPI for years, but found it would chip after day two. For me, Essie nail polish will stay on for an entire week, so I need Essie in my life. I purchase my Essie at TJ Maxx for usually $3 or $4. That is like more than 50% off! Only downfall is that you can’t control the colors they are selling. There are times I come home and I have already purchased the color because they get very few colors.

I hope you enjoyed this weeks post and take advantage of my shopping secrets!
I will definitely let you guys know if I find any more good products at TJ Maxx and let you know on the blog.

winter & pastels

Published on January 19, 2017January 19, 2017 by blonde rosieLeave a comment

wear-it-wednesday

Here’s a look I wore back when we had snow in Jersey! It was the day my family and I were going to Ikea to buy me a new dresser. Before leaving the house I threw on my Lululemon leggings, a black long sleeve shirt and Uggs, an outfit I have been wearing literally every day lately! After I looked in the mirror I told myself I needed to make more of an effort before leaving the house! In the winter months, I feel like all I wear is the color black, I literally live in my Lululemon leggings and Uggs.I have been making more of an effort to wear color during these cold, winter months.

I finally had an excuse to wear some of my birthday and Christmas presents! This sweater is from Banana Republic and while I cannot find the exact one, I did link a similar one below. It is so cozy and perfect for the winter months. I find myself buying boring black sweaters, so I love that I finally had a colorful sweater in my wardrobe. I am blessed with friends who spoil me because also I got a Tory Burch bag for my birthday that has been on my wishlist for a while. It was the perfect addition to this outfit for our little outing. I scored Tory Burch boots when they were on major sale during Cyber Monday. If you are going to invest in new boots, I suggest investing in Tory. Just wait for a sale and it makes the purchase a bit easier!

Click HERE to get my outfit details!

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sharing my love for swedish organization

Published on January 16, 2017January 17, 2017 by blonde rosieLeave a comment

I went to Sweden!

Okay, just kidding… I went to Ikea!

Ikea’s philosophy is when you make room for organization, you make room for a better start to your day. In 2017, I think we can all make room for better days.

Last week I started a new series on the blog called “#goals”. We all create resolutions in the new year and create goals for ourselves, but do we actually keep them after February? Every week I want to update you all One of my biggest goals that I have every year is to clean my house and declutter my life. Last week I started a Home Organization Challenge on Facebook and started with the kitchen.

Last week my family and I went to Ikea for a day trip. I love Ikea because everything in the store is made to create an organized home. If you know me at all, you will know that I love everything in my life to be organized. Now that doesn’t mean everything in my life is always organized either (currently staring at a chair in my room covered in clean laundry that still has to be put away). I was walking through the store and I kept gasping with things I *needed*. My mom kept saying I was having an “O O” or an Organization Orgasm LOL GUYS, I just really like to have a clean and organized home. While I was there I picked up a few things to help me in my Home Organization Challenge. You can’t have an organized home without the right tools and a plan.

You can have a big kitchen or a little kitchen, but if you don’t have a proper organization system, your kitchen will always be a mess. When I was at Ikea we picked up some drawer organizers and I immediately rushed home to organize the drawers. Everything has a place in the kitchen. Doesn’t this drawer look so much more organized? Even the junk drawer is organized (ish).

I swear one of my favorite hobbies is cleaning my kitchen. I usually spend two to three hours cleaning it. Yes, I am that crazy! But now that I spent all last week cleaning, organizing and purging my kitchen, my weekly clean up will be a lot easier. Everything has its own place in the kitchen. If it didn’t fit, I donated it or moved it to another place.

While I was cleaning and taking every thing out of the cabinets, I also collected Christmas and summer kitchen items and put them in their proper boxes downstairs in the basement. It’s something that always happens every year as the holidays go by and we forget to put away kitchen items, but once I put everything in its proper place I found a lot more room in the cabinets. Who knew under the kitchen storage could look so organized?? This organizer came from the dollar store, so if you can’t get to an Ikea you should go to the dollar store to pick up some storage containers.

This week I am continuing the Home Organization Challenge and working on my pantry. I just cleaned and organized it in September, so I am sure this will be an easy week. The pantry in our kitchen is big and it is where everything just gets thrown in when we want to clean the house quickly. But after I created a new organization system in the pantry last fall, it is very easy to tidy it up a bit every few weeks.

Let me know if you are joining me in the home organization challenge and know how your progress is going in the comments!

Spending the day with Chip & Joanna at Magnolia Market

Published on April 21, 2016April 21, 2016 by blonde rosie1 Comment

On a Saturday a few months ago I woke up really sick and was confined to the couch all day with a box of tissues. I put on HGTV and started an all day binge watch of the HGTV show Fixer Upper. After just one episode I fell in love with the show. When our family trip to Texas was getting closer I started planning the sites to see and things to do. Texas is a very large state. I mean like it is a few hour drive or a plane ride to get to another city large! In New Jersey, in an hour you can be in NYC or Philadelphia! We had to be strategic and smart with our sightseeing while in Texas. But then I remembered that Fixer Upper was filmed in Waco, Texas. I started to do some research and learned it was only a two hour drive from where we were staying.

On a rainy and chilly Wednesday we got in the car and started our drive to Waco, Texas. More specifically, we were on our way to Magnolia Market, the shop that the Fixer Upper co-stars own and work at on the show.

While I was there I “checked in” on Facebook and a lot of friends were intrigued and jealous! I thought I would share some photos of Magnolia Market with you along with what I purchased and some items on my wishlist! Continue reading “Spending the day with Chip & Joanna at Magnolia Market” →

Spring Break Essentials

Published on March 10, 2016August 27, 2016 by blonde rosie1 Comment

The only thing worse than having to go to class in nice weather, is having to work all day in nice weather! Since in the real world there is no spring break, I am day dreaming about being on an island somewhere and not at my desk. I am also sharing some spring break essentials in case you are lucky enough to be going somewhere. Hope everyone is enjoying this nice warm weather while it lasts!

Continue reading “Spring Break Essentials” →

life is about learning to dance in the rain

Published on February 23, 2016February 24, 2016 by blonde rosieLeave a comment

Lilly_Pulizer_at_Preppy_Princess

Rainy days are no fun and this week it looks like the rain will not go away!

I have put together some of my rainy day essentials. I wish I was at home on the couch curled up reading a book but instead I am stuck in this gloomy office today!