you don't have to break the bank!

let's get this straight, i may live in Orange County...but i'm not that girl.  you know the kind...high maintenance, prissy, have to have high dollar things...nope, not me.  well, there are things i do pay good money for...i do buy namebrand things {such as food, for some reason i just cannot eat the Nutty-O's when Cheerio's taste soooooo much better!}, i buy namebrand diapers {Huggies} just because if i were to go cheap on those i'd have much more laundry to do with the way this kid goes through his clothes.  ;)  photography equipment...yup, all Canon {namebrand}. 

i am mainly speaking of clothes here...on ocassion other household items though.  and shoes. 

i think it comes from my upbringing though, quite possibly.  my Mom took us to garage sales practically every weekend, i LOOOVED it.  mainly because she would give me a few bucks and tell me to 'go crazy'.  i stretched those dollars too!  for me it has always been quantity, not quality...although now that i'm older i'm appreciating quality a lot more because honestly if you put quantity over quality you will be paying a lot more in the end.  Mom took us to consignment stores and antique stores and all kinds of cool things.  and yes, she was even one of the "embarrassing" Moms who would see something marked "FREE" on the side of the road and snatch it up.  but she's clean it and paint it, fix it up and she made me really realize that just because someone else throws it out doesn't always mean it's trash.  to me, this is amazing!  i'm not talking about dumpster diving...{to each their own though}...i'm just saying, you can get some pretty sweet deals if you just take the time to search!

ok, i love NEW clothes.  i love having a good variety of clothes.  and if i'm shopping for a special outfit i will more than likely go to Macy*s or Nordstrom {Rack} or H&M for my outfits.  i still love finding good deals at all of those places too.  ;)  but, when i got pregnant with Aiden i still had to dress nice for work {business casual}, but i knew i wouldn't stay in those sizes for long, so i did not want to pay big money for something so temporary.  even after i had him and had to go back to work, i just cannot see myself spending big money on fancy clothes that i am just going to not fit into in a few more months {hopefully that is}.  i found this AWESOME {to me} gently recycled clothing store...they claim to be a boutique, called Portobello Road.  it's very nice because all proceeds from that store go to the Laura's House, which is a house for battered women & children.  they have mostly namebrand clothes there and every week they are getting new items.

for instance the other day i went and purchased:

- a black button up blouse by Limited
- a black/white crinkle blouse with cute sash/tie belt thing
- a top from White House/Black Market
- a teal top from Chadwick's
- grey work slacks from Newport Bay Club
- black pinstripe work slacks from Ann Taylor Loft

i paid a whopping total of $27 for all of these items!  everything looks brand new, only one shirt has the tiniest of tiny stains and it's a pattered shirt so you cannot even see it {i went around asking everyone if they could find it...the only person who found it was Haylee, ha ha!  she's an eagle eye}.

today i took my co-worker friends, because they were truly amazed at my thriftiness {wink wink} and i found a NICE suit jacket blazer in black for only $7!  couldn't believe it.  how exciting is that.  it looks brand spanking new, perfect for work. 

i get so excited when i get deals like that.  it's just like going to Target, Old Navy or Macy*s when there's a certain price you already think is a steal and it rings up even cheaper!  it's like a silver lining!!  i know i'm getting carried away.  just so happy for these deals i get.  it makes me feel better about spending so much darn money to live in sunny California.  ;)  i dress nice, but my pocketbook doesn't take a huge hit.  i love it!  just thought i would share some of my fav links to saving some extra bucks too....maybe other people {moms!} might be interesting in my findings...

Totally Target

Hip 2 Save

Coupon Mom

did you know that you can also go online to the namebrands you use, like Proctor & Gamble products, and sign up for their mailings?  i get coupons for Tide, Bounce & Downy all of the time because i signed up.  i also get Huggies coupons for wipes & diapers in the mail because i went to the Huggies website.  Walmart.com has a free sample section too. 

ok - i'll stop!  don't get me wrong, i'm not "cheap"...i still pay big bucks on other things...but i just loooooove getting a good deal.  you don't always have the break the bank!