Sales and Bargains and Deals, Oh My!

I love a good sale. I mean, I really REALLY love a bargain. It's one of my defining characteristics. Some people don't get it, some people knock it, but for me - I love the thrill of the chase. I'm one of the crazies who wakes up at 4am on Black Friday. I shop through all kinds of weather. It's almost a disease and it might even be genetic.

Growing up, my dad had something like 150 pairs of shoes. And at least 75% of them cost under $10. He hardly wore most of them, but they were like trophies from the "who got the most amazing deal" competition. Or how about the time he came home with a zillion boxes of icicle christmas lights? They were on sale for $.25 a box! Except we don't celebrate christmas. Or put up lights for any other occasion. "It's like they're paying me to buy them!" he used to say. It makes my mom nuts, but she secretly loves the thrill, too.

For my wedding, my mom and I made an appointment with a Personal Shopper at the Downtown Dayton's (now Macys, but we still prefer the original moniker) and were prepared to pay nearly any sum for the perfect mother-of the bride ensemble. This is a big deal because my mom rarely spends money on herself, so I wanted to make a big splurge - she deserves it. We tried on every designer and had it narrowed down to two - something Marc Jacobs and another fancy designer. We were looking at $1,000-ish. And then our shopper popped in with a Carmen Marc Valvo gorgeous peacock colored two piece outfit...with the elusive yellow 80% off tags. Not only did that outfit look amazing on her, but I think we paid under $250 for the entire thing. Including tax. (Mom, if you're reading, chime in with the real numbers!) It's one of my greatest sale victories - and she looked stunning:

Don't you love how much my mom loves Sam in this pic?!

Photo by the amazing Sally Butler of La Vie.

I've taught my husband the joy of sale shopping, and now he's in on it, too. He even found stocking-stuffer-sized versions of my new perfume (perfect for carrying in my purse) buried in the 50% off bins at Target the day after Christmas. (That's right - my new perfume comes from Target. It can also be purchased at your local Rite Aid or CVS. Judge me, if you want.) We also stocked up on Sour Patch Kids - Sam's pick for movie theatre treats - for only $.49 a box vs. the $5 we'd pay at the theatre. And I'm all prepped and ready for holiday gift wrapping in 2011. Phew! Glad I got that out of the way a year in advance.

For the most part - aside from the superfluous rolls of wrapping paper and movie theatre treats taking up my storage space - I've graduated from buying things that are unnecessary and cheap just because they're on sale, to buying nicer (sometimes pricier) things that I want/need/will absolutely wear AND are on sale. I'm trying to fill my wardrobe with pieces that are made well, fit well, look great on me, and will last until the end of time - all with a modest and meager spending limit. I apply a similar set of rules when decorating my home, but that's all on hiatus for now while we're shacking up with the Mom-in-Law. So, for now, my bargain finds are limited to those that can live in my closet. Here are my two most recent steals:

Exhibit A: Cole Haan Air Lainey Wedge

Original Price: $398.00

1st Markdown: $274.98

50% off Sale at Bloomies: $137.49

Total with Tax: $150.90

Total Savings: $260.51 or 65% off

Credit (from returning some holiday gifts): -$136.53

Grand Total: $14.37!

Exhibit B: Nanette Lapore Amore Mio Lace Sheath

Original Price: $398.00

1st Markdown: $117.00

40% Off Sale at Macy's: $83.58

15% off for using Macy's card (which we didn't even use!): $71.04

Total Savings: $326.96 or 82% off

Total with tax: $77.97 - paid completely with gift cards and credit!

Grand Total: $0!

Exhibit C: Photo of me wearing Exhibits A & B on NYE with my Badger Girls:

(sorry you can't see the boots in this shot - but I'm wearing them, I swear!)

Not too shabby, huh?! Nice, well made, comfortable, cute - these items check out in my book! I'm pretty proud, I must say - and that Nike Air technology in the boots is no joke. My feet don't hurt one bit even after hours in those babies.

What's your best sale find, dear reader? I know you're out there reading, but I don't know who you are. Share a sale story if you have one and let's get to know one another a bit better...

Riley's 4th Birthday Party

I worked on a lot of really great events this year and I want to share them with you. Here is one of my first and favorites from 2010:

This event, along with many others that I worked on in 2010, was through my work with Bash Events. Her plate was full when this event came in, so she passed the torch to me - and I am so glad! This party was so much fun and I got to start from scratch with it.

Riley was in a major Tinkerbell phase at the time so his mom had hired Tink and Cinderella to come do face painting. We decided to use the lime green from Tink's costume and the turquoise blue from Cinderella's as our theme colors, and threw a little yellow into the mix, too. They wanted their home to feel warm, welcoming, and put together for the party, but they didn't want anything too outrageous or overdone. So, we kept things simple and sweet with sunflower arrangements I made myself, yummy organic food from Large Marge, and amazing cupcakes lined with crystal sprinkles - just like fairy dust. There were lots of activities to keep the kids busy, too: music, storytelling, games, face painting, and the bounce house was a HUGE hit with all the little ones!

And, of course, no kids party is complete without an awesome party favor. I found these cute green and blue pails in the dollar section at Target and filled them with mini-Sunflower planters (also $1 each from Target), Yummy Earth lollipops, Disney Princess stickers (another $1 find), and a rubber bouncy ball - a special request from the Birthday Boy. I made the gift tags myself using all organic and recycled papers and ink.

It turned out to be a beautiful day and the party went off without a hitch. Here are some snapshots for you to enjoy!

We weren't quick enough to get a shot of the cutie cupcakes before they were devoured by the kids - but clearly you can tell by this picture that they were delicious!

Coordination, flowers, party favors: me

Catering: Large Marge Sustainables

Cupcakes: Frosted Cupckaery

Photography: Sam Lembeck

Bounce House: Magic Jump Rentals

So Many Blogs...

...and nothing but time to explore!

I'm on hiatus right now with no real work until early February (!), so I'm soaking up the downtime with long, leisurely days spent scooping up amazing deals at the post-Christmas sales, daydreaming about my future first-house, and exploring the vast array of blogs out there in the world.

Until now, I've had a steady stream of about 10 or so blogs that I read on a daily-basis, many of them are basically journals of friends who live far away. I'm on a mini-vacay at my in-laws Malibu beach house and, with no pressing matters at hand, I started clicking around to see what else is out there. I'm super pleased with my findings! Here's some fun stuff I discovered from my newly bookmarked blog buddies:

Valentina Design via Effortless Style

Jaime Beck via Elements of Style

By Misty Bliss, via Naturally Nina via A Cup of Jo

via I Suwannee

Who knew there were so many interesting happenings out there in the world?! I'm late to the party, but at least I made it!

Wedding Envy

I loved planning my wedding and I am prone to bouts of nostalgia and painful jealousy when I encounter others who are still in the thick of it. If I could do it again, I wouldn't change a thing. But if in some miraculous alternate universe, I could have another one, there are so many more fun and crafty and exciting and colorful things I would do the second time around. Right now, I'm loving this wedding. How amazing is that bouquet?!

Christmas Cheer on the Cheap

I know you hear the same story all the time about how those of us who grow up to be professional event planners have loved throwing parties since we were wee little tots. And I am no exception. My instinct is always to play hostess and very little can stand in the way of my doing so. Case in point:

I don't celebrate Christmas. But I do embrace the spirit of the holiday season - and I relish any chance to entertain, of course. So when my dear friend Leif, who loves the holiday and had us at his fully decked out home last year on Christmas Eve, found out that he was going to be moving and unable to have the gathering this year, I didn't even blink an eye before volunteering to host.

The thing is - we don't have our own place right now. We moved out of our (adorable) apartment about two months ago and have been living with my Mother-in-Law while we save up to hopefully buy our own digs in 2011. Not having our own space means we don't have any of our own stuff; everything I would normally rely on to create a pretty party - platters, decor, serveware, glassware, etc - is all in storage. And even if we did have all of our partyware within arms length, we still wouldn't have anything appropriate for a festive Christmas Eve dinner. Hanukkah, maybe. But Christmas - not so much.

I adore Leif, and I wanted to create a holiday experience worthy of his approval (and mine, of course)- but with a few strikes against me (see paragraph above) and little disposable income available while we beef up our savings, I found myself in a bit of a pickle. So, I devised a little challenge for myself: create a festive dinner setting for under $50.

I had little direction or inspiration when I headed out into the world only a few days before Christmas looking for holiday decor bargains. I set out for the 99 cent Store, but I passed a Sears on my way so I decided to pop-in and found a delightful surprise: all of their Christmas decor was marked 50% off! Since Sears and Kmart are the same company, I popped over there, too, and was giddy to find the same sale in full effect. In fact, I found that every major retailer I went to that day had their Christmas inventory marked half off - except for Target, and I have to admit I was a little ashamed of my hometown favorite for not being part of the club.

At any rate, though I'm not usually a fan of sparkle, I started with two glittery faux-branches that I found at Sears and my color scheme grew from there. After scooping up some super cheap goodies at a couple of stores, here's what I came up with:

I started by creating the centerpiece using two plastic trays I bought on clearance at Z Gallerie and a round vase that Barbara (my mother-in-law) had at her house. I filled the bowl with green and gold ornaments from K-Mart and some gold tulle ribbon from Sears. Once the vase was centered on the gold tray, I adorned it with more gold tulle and the two branches that were the inspiration for the whole scheme.

For the place settings, almost everything I used already existed in Barbara's house - the table cloth, napkins, silver, plates and glasses. I have loved those antique pink stemmed wine glasses since the first time I laid eyes on them, and I had them in mind from the beginning of this little project. Luckily, the blush pink tone of the wine glass stems and of her dinner plates coordinated so nicely with the gold and green from the centerpiece. And the best surprise of all was the gold rimmed salad plates with leaves and fruit designs on them - just like in the branches! I had no idea she had those plates, but was delighted to discover them, since they were the perfect accent to the setting. I purchased the gold chargers at the 99 Cent Store and dressed the napkins with green ribbon and delicious-smelling cinnamon sticks.

I spent a little bit on candles and various candle holders, to round out the table design. We're a candle-lighting household, so I figure that's money well-spent, since most of the candles still have a lot of life left in them after their one use. Ironically, the tall mirrored candlesticks were an engagement gift from Leif a few years ago - they were the perfect finishing touch for the Christmas table we put together for him! Here's one final shot of the entire spread:

And here's the breakdown of my expenses:

Tray & charger from Z Gallerie: $6.01

Gold scarfing and branches from Sears: $10.39

Ornaments, green votives and cinnamon sticks from kmart: $13.97

Candles and votives from Big Lots: $8.78

Chargers from 99Cent Store: $5.49

Ribbon from Jo-Ann Fabric: $3.83

Candles from Target: $6.57

GRAND TOTAL: $55.04!

Not too shabby, huh? I'm super pleased with how it all turned out. And when Leif and his friend David walked in and took a look at the table the first thing they said was, "It looks like Anthropologie in here!" Doesn't get too much better than that, does it?

With the pretty table setting and the delicious feast made by Barbara, Leif and David, a wonderful Christmas was had by all...with only a very small dent to our bank accounts!

Unfolding

Growing up, my family lived by the motto: "the universe is unfolding as it should."

It's from the beautiful poem Desiderata by Max Ehrmann. And when I say we lived by those words, I really mean it. In some form or fashion, you can find that phrase in nearly every room of my parent's house - even the bathrooms. Especially in the bathrooms. You just never know when or where you're going to need a gentle reminder that everything is happening exactly as it's meant to happen - the bathroom is no exception. In troubled times - and trust me, we've had more than our fair share - those words brought us light, and calm, and hope.

I'm less than a week into this blog and I already feel the need to apologize for my lack of posting. I have good reason for being absent but, unfortunately it's not good news. I usually sway towards being the over-sharing type, but in this case, the incidents causing me to be an absent blogger aren't really mine to share. So, for now - I'll just tell you this:

I found out yesterday that someone I love is going through a hard time, and is in trouble. This news was unwelcome, to say the least, and made all the more dramatic by the background of the unending rainstorm that was still pouring down on Los Angeles yesterday. I spent the day in a daze, not really sure what to do with myself. I tried to distract myself by wandering through Target and Costco, which usually brings me so much joy (more on that in a later post), but the weather was really getting me down and my eyes were tired from tears. I decided to give in and go back to bed.

I closed my eyes and rested my head on the pillow. The window was open a bit so I could hear the sound of the rain falling - a favorite from my many years as a camper. Even with my eyes closed, I could feel the light shift in the room, so I woke up and looked outside. Here's what I saw:

A double rainbow. An insanely vibrant, bright and vivid rainbow - times two.

I know that the majority of my posts have had some sort of weather-related theme, and I swear and solemnly promise that this will not become standard operating procedure on this blog. But, come on...a double rainbow? Light shining through the dark? On my dark, sad day with seemingly no happiness in sight?

Coincidence? Perhaps. But, cliche as it may be, I choose to take that rainbow as a little note from the universe that everything is unfolding as it should.

And it brings me light, and calm, and hope.

Sunny Days Ahead

Artwork found here

Another rainy day in LA, and I have to say that I find this weather strangely blissful. The truth is, there is so much joy to be had on this rainy day - I'm in bed, eating popcorn and watching You've Got Mail with my precious Bella curled up in my lap. Maybe it's just me, but I am able to find quite a lot of sunshine in this day....

And speaking of sunshine -

You know that invigorating feeling you get when you open your window and discover that it's a Sunny Day outside? You smile a little brighter, breathe a little deeper, feel a little shinier, and you have an extra bounce in your step and that extra zest you need to take your day from good to great. That's the feeling I get from producing an expertly executed event, organizing a home, checking things off my to do list, and tending to all of the details that make life a little bit richer and a little more joyful. Every time the ducks line up, the pieces fit, and things go off without a hitch, I get that Sunny Day feeling all over again. I realize that most people dread the kind of work that I do - but I really love it. It's part of what makes me, me.

That's where Sunny Day Strategies was born: out of my desire to lighten your load, brighten your day, and to bring a little more sunshine into the world - one project, one event, one detail at a time.

If you need help with an event or organizing project, I hope you'll think of me. In the meantime, come back here and visit often for a look at the things that make my life a little more sunny. I look forward to sharing them with you!

Bella

There's so much about me that I want to share with you, but right now, the very most important thing that you need to know about me can be summed up in one word: Bella.

I have the most precious dog on the planet and, before I tell you one even detail about me, I want you to meet her. Thanks to a project I've been working on lately, I happen to have compiled some of Bella's best shots. Here are a few, for your viewing pleasure:

As I type this, Bella is sleeping at my feet, snoring loudly in the most un-ladylike fashion. If it was Sam, I might be totally annoyed. With Bella, I somehow love her more.

Expect to have lots more Bella in your life from this moment on!

Rainy Days

It's a rare rainy day in Los Angeles, which gives me the perfect excuse to still be in my pj's in the early hours of the evening. With stew a-cookin' in the crock pot, my (canine) daughter curled up on the couch (where I spent the majority of this relaxing, luxurious, lazy day), and my hubby bringing home the bacon, I figured there's no time like the present to create an outlet for the thoughts that have been bouncing around in my head as of late.

As I try to figure out my next and every move in life, I'll use this blog as a tool to showcase my projects, share my daydreams, keep connected with dear ones near and far, and maybe even make a few new friends along the way.