Black Friday Haul 2013!

My Mom and I tackled the stores yesterday bright and early at 7 am! We were wimps compared to the hard core shoppers who started at 8 pm Thanksgiving night and didn't stop till sunset Friday night. Its funny, the US is really the only country that celebrates Black Friday and makes it such a big deal. I feel for the other countries who don't get to partake. It really is a great way to get your Christmas shopping done and all the while potentially saving you a boat load of money! 

I get that its not everyone's cup of tea to get up bright and early after stuffing yourself silly the day before. But my Mom and I love it, and make a tradition of doing it every year. I have no doubt we will continue our tradition until we are little old ladies. We may need wheel chairs by then, but that won't stop us from shopping till we drop {maybe literally}!

So here are all the fun things I found after a tiring 5 hours of shopping! I included links to the ones I could and gave the sale price, regular price, and store I purchased it at. 

Here we go!

1. Maybelline Baby Lips Balm// 2. Maybelline Baby Lips Balm// 3. Candy Store Brand Iphone Case

4. F21 Necklace// 5. F21 Necklace// 6. F21 Bracelet// 7. F21 Nail Polish// 8.Boyfriend Watch// 9. LC Bracelet// 10. Not on the website// 11. Not on target website// 12. Jewelry Organizer// 13. LC Jeans// 14. Eos// 15. Nivea Creme//

16. Not on Kohls website, similar: Beauty Sponge// 

-Details on all the items below-

The Beauty Finds

-The baby lips were buy one get one 1/2 half! ULTA {currently in stores/online, the deal is online not sure about if it apply's in stores}

-The Nivea creme was only 97 cents! TARGET {currently in stores/online and at that price}

-The blending sponge was only $5! KOHLS {I think it was just a Black Friday deal but I could be wrong}

-Eos lotion & lip balm duo $5! TARGET {currently in stores/online and at that price}

 The Jewelry Finds

-Forever 21 Chain Link Necklace $8! {currently in stores/online and at that price}

-Forever 21 Blue Necklace $6! {currently in stores/online and at that price}

-Forever 21 Dainty Gold Bracelet $2! {currently in stores/online and at that price}

- F21 Nude Polish $3! {currently in stores/online and at that price}

-Merona Boyfriend Watch {Which I'm obsessed with!} $20! TARGET {currently in stores/online and at that price}

-LC Bracelet $7! Reg. $14 KOHLS {currently in stores/online but not at sale price}

-Jewelry Holder {pictured above} $11! Reg. $30 KOHLS {currently in stores/online but not at sale price}

The Clothing Finds

-Xhilaration sweater with beaded shoulder (only) $10!! Reg. $23 TARGET {I would guess its still in stores, but I'm not positive. It's not online}

-Francesca's Dress $14!! Reg. $50 purchased at Plato's Closet {item not in stores or online}

-LC Lauren Conrad Jeggings $25!! Reg. $50 {item in stores and online, at an even better price online at $17!}

Isn't this the coolest case!! For one, it's tie-dye and it's soft and jelly feeling and it holds important things like ID's & Debit/Credit Cards! And it was only $5!!! That's alota good things about 1 case. You won't believe where I got it, ULTA! Yea the makeup store ULTA. I had no idea they sold cases, but hey what do I know! I couldn't find it on their website, but definitely check out the store if you have your heart set on having matching cases with me ;)

Most of these gifts will be wrapped up and placed under the tree, buts it's ok because only 25 days to go!!!

What great Black Friday deals did you score??

Pumpkin Bread Recipe

I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving and had 2.. 3...4 helpings of Thanksgiving dinner!
I don't want to be just a fashion blog, because that's not what I'm all about. I'm all about food, traveling, adventures, and so much more than just clothes. So in order for me to classify myself as a "lifestyle blog" I need to incorporate more lifestyley things.
And As fall comes to a close in no time at all. I thought I'd share one of my favorite fall recipes, homemade pumpkin bread. I thought it wouldn't be right if I let the last month of fall go by without sharing this delicious and easy recipe!
I always love having a loaf of this hangin' around so you can grab it for quick breakfast or an afternoon snack and also cause its the bomb.com.

Mmmmm, doesn't your stomach just growl looking at that loaf of deliciousness? 

Well you're in luck cause Chef Natalie is here to show you how to make it :-)

-Apron-

Ingredients:

• 4 large eggs
• 3 cups granulated white sugar
• 1 cup canola or vegetable oil 
• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups of pumpkin puree
• 2/3 cup water

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

Grease and flour 2 9x5 inch loaf pans.

In a medium bowl pour in the eggs, oil, and sugar.

Whisk, until you get this smooth yellow mixture. 

If you're like me and eat half the batter before you actually bake the thing. Then just trust me when I say that this mixture doesn't taste like much. Don't worry, I'll tell you when the batter will taste soooo good and when its actually worth eating.

Next, in a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients, flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt.

Mix together the ingredients.

Then, pour in the wet ingredients.

Mix together until you get a dough like substance.

Last, add in the pumpkin and water.

Mix the ingredients in.

Now is the time to taste the batter, but be careful cause you won't be able to stop.

Pour it into the loaf pans and place in the oven. Bake for 1 hour and 15 min.

Once baked, check with a toothpick to make sure its cooked through.

Enjoy!

When The Office Depot Guy Saved The Day

Have A Laptop Or Computer? READ THIS.

My computers been acting out the last few days, ever since I downloaded what was suppose to be a new font for me to use on the blog. Yea yea yea I know it's a big computer no-no to download things you're not really sure about. But I really wanted the super cute font!!! Mistake #1, when I downloaded the thing that was suppose to get me the font I wanted it downloaded some "downloads organizer", I didn't sign up for.

Mistake #2, going back to Google and downloading {what I thought was} the font I wanted but from a different website. And guess what happened. Another freakin' download organizer appeared. And still the new font was no where to be found.

Long story short, after 2 days of my computer acting weird I finally started to consider I had done something wrong {imagine that} and was starting to fear the worse, that my poor baby {aka my laptop} had a virus. So I researched places that could maybe help me out and as a bonus not cost me an arm and a leg to get my computer back to normal.

Surprisingly, Staples and Office Depot popped up as places that could help me out in this desperate time. So I called a couple locations to see how busy it was, how long it would take, the cost, etc. I concluded I needed a "PC Tune Up". Both Staples and Office Depot offer the tune ups, so then I just had to choose one...

My findings:
                                              

Time based on diagnosis: 1-5 DAYS {ha, that's a joke}                         1-3 HOURS
Cost: $10                                                                                                      FREE
Location: 15 - 20 min. away                                                                         10 min.

In case it isn't obvious enough, I picked office depot. Btw, who the heck is gonna give their laptop up for days and days? No one, is the correct answer. Come on Staples.
Anyway, I have to say I was SO happy with everything the Office Depot people did and I had an overall super experience. My hero, Ronnie {the tech guy} checked over my computer, and diagnosed it with having a minor bug, due to the stupid font things I downloaded. He said he would fix it no problem, but that he would have to run a program to clear it out which would take a couple hours. So I left him to it, and then came back a few hours later {after having him work on my computer for almost 3 hours} and my computer was magically fixed and back to its old self.
He told me he had cleared out unnecessary files I didn't need that were probably slowing down my computers performance a bit, he had also exterminated the bug {hahahah get it} in my computer, and had installed the office depot PC Support System that will now automatically clean out my computer {like he had to do} weekly so that all bugs and unneeded items are cleared out so that my computer can always be in tip-top shape.
Ronnie had made my day, I even felt the urge to hug him, but he seemed like kind of a shy dude so I didn't want to freak him out. If you've ever had your computer all of a sudden stop working correctly and you've gone into panic mode fearing your bundle of joy could be infected with a virus and that it can't be fixed, and then you have a nightmare that you'll lose all your pictures and documents and happy memories that are saved on your device and to top off the unbearable thought, you may end up having to spend hundreds of dollars in order to get a new computer that's virus free.

Your heart just sped up a little, didn't it?

Well the good news is, Office Depot is there to save the day if your computer starts acting up.
Which is the whole point of this very wordy post. To spread the word about Office Depots incredible tech team that can help you with any computer problem you may have!

 OH! and I almost forgot!! My whole excursion at Office Depot, with wonderful Ronnie working on my computer for hours {which ended up not being just a "tune up"} and installing the Office Depot PC Support Program, all turned out to be FREEEE! That's right, it didn't even cost me one dolla! and Ronnie wouldn't even take a tip! {or a hug for that matter!} BOOOYAHHH!

And along with fixing my computer, Ronnie also gave me a few helpful tips.

Tips From Ronnie:

1. Try not to ever use Internet Explorer. Use either Google Chrome or Firefox. Internet Explorer has been out a lot longer than the other 2 programs so it's more prone to having viruses and bugs that are dangerous for your computer.
2. You should clean out your computer every couple of weeks or at least once a month. A lot of unwanted junk/clutter can build up in your computer that will end up slowing it down, and no one likes a slow computer. You can clean it out yourself or visit your local Office Depot and have them install the "Office Depot PC Support Agent" where you can set it to automatically clean out your PC.
3. Always have an antivirus program on your computer. Mine expired about a month ago, so I'm up for renewal! Ronnie recommend the McAfee antivirus software.

I hope this post helped you and offered some valuable info on how to keep your computer healthy and virus free!

To Do List

Most kids on their Thanksgiving Break sit around, watch tv constantly, eat food, and waste this week we get off from school on stupid stuff. Don't get me wrong, I will definitely be eating more than my fair share and probably more than I should  on Turkey Day. But there's just something in me that drives me to be productive on my days off. I've always been a person who just has to be doing something. For example, I almost feel restless or guilty when I watch a movie and don't have my laptop in front of me working away at something. Granted, I'd probably get very little done, and I'm usually way more interested in the movie than what I'm working on, but its just that fulfillment of at least trying to work on a task.

So with that said, I have created a to do list  for things I want to complete on my time off.

Do you have a to do list you're working on at the moment?

Natalie's Style

{Outfit Of The Day}

Sweater: Old, bought from a deal-of-the day website like ideeli or hautelook

Jeans: AE Outfitters {they're on sale!}

Boots: F21

27 Dresses {Garage Sale Haul!}

Does anyone remember that fun chick flick movie with my gurrrl Katherine Heigl and the hottie Mc. Hot Stuff

James Marsden.

Jeez, just look into those eyes.

Oh, hi James.

I'm Natalie.

I have needs, I need you.

Hmmm, I guess he didn't hear me... Ok back to my point, if you haven't seen 27 Dresses it's a movie about a girl who has {yep you guessed it} 27 Dresses! They're bridesmaid dresses from all the weddings she's been apart of, that she just can't part with.



Ok, no I don't have a closet somewhere filled with olds bridesmaids dresses.

And I may have stretched the truth a wee bit in the title of this post, but I just thought 27 dresses was the cutest title for this dress extravaganza of mine, you'll see why...

I bought 12 dresses this past weekend, all on the same day, at the same place, each for the exact same price...

Lets rewind for a sec, so my Mom and I have a sort of secret passion and hobby that we love to do every weekend we get the chance. GARAGE SALING! My Grandmother would drag my Mom and Aunt out the door every weekend when they were little. My mom hated it then, but she learned to love it. Eventually she picked up on my Grandmothers tactics and when I was old enough to go, I became the one she was dragging out of the house. I admit, it took me a while to get the hang of and actually like this hobby of ours {I'm talkin' 10 years people}.
But now I'm hooked.

Most Saturdays now, Mom and I our out of the house by 8:30 a.m.,we swing by Starbucks to get Coffees and then check out our favorite streets and neighborhoods to track down those to-die-for sales.
This past Saturday we did our normal routine, except we started at 11, later than normal for us {so if you're not an early bird, this post proves that you can still find GREAT sales at later times of the day}. We went to our first neighborhood of the day, right around the corner from us and BAAMMM 2 garage sale signs! We find it, park, scope it out and determines it looks half decent. So we stroll up, say hi to the lady and look around. My eyes were immediately drawn to a cute dress hanging on a clothing rack. I pulled it out, held it up to myself, and concluded it would fit great, then I found another dress, and another, and 9 more after that...
Just to clarify, I'm not talkin' cheapo dresses here, the brands I bought included Gap, Anthropologie, Target, American Rag, Love Fire and more!
I came across a gold mine of dresses!!
I was ecstatic.



I picked out all the ones I liked and then some, then told the lady I'd take em all. I bought 12 dresses for $3 each + an athropologie top for a dolla {plus tax, why she charged tax I still don't know} all for a grand total of $40 {aka A STEAL!}
Granted, that may sound like a ridiculous amount for a garage sale and It did kind of shock me because I've never shelled out that much money at one garage sale but sometimes you just hit the jackpot and have to go for it!

And all the stuff I got was worth every penny.

And of course I had to model all of the dresses for you! I started off with my favorites and then the rest go in no particular order.

My absolute favorite dress of all! Comfy, colorful, flattering, and has a back cutout = perfection.
Brand: Online Boutique love, FiRE
Estimated Retail Price: $48



My second favorite! Again, so comfy, fun colorful print, and has sleeve cutouts.
Brand: love, FiRE
Estimated Retail Price: $48

Cream classic vintage dress with pearl neck detailing.

Brand: Trixxi

Estimated Retail Price: $30

Pink salmon colored dress with unique straps.
Brand: Soul Harmony Energy
Estimated Retail Price: $15 

Black high low dress with v-cut back.

Brand: Target Merona

Estimated Retail Price: $30

Fall colored T-shirt dress
Brand: American Rag
Estimated Retail Price: $50
 

Peach colored summer dress
Brand: Gap
Estimated Retail Price: $40

Red and blue nautical dress with buttons

Brand: Xhilaration

Estimated Retail Price: $15

 

 Green and dark blue striped beach cover up dress

Brand: Merona

Estimated Retail Price: $15

 

Unique tie-dye beachy maxi dress

Brand: Yoyo 5

Estimated Retail Price: $30

Red, white, and blue striped flowy dress

Brand: Jack.

Estimated Retail Price: $40

Black and white patterned halter dress with cutout.

Brand: Maiya

Estimated Retail Price: $20

Grand Total Of Estimated Retail Prices: $381

Saved: $341!!!!!

So for anyone who thought you couldn't find good stuff at garage sales, you've been proven wrong my friend.

 This is what people don't understand, garage sales aren't all creepy and filled with disgusting loads of crap. Yes, we run into a bad sale once in a while, but the majority of them have treasures you would not believe! And not ONE of the dresses I bought had stains, holes, or marks. All looked brand new. There are treasure out there to be found!
And If you think buying pre-owned clothes is weird you're annoying then you've obviously never shopped at Plato's Closet or Thread Up.
Mmmhmmm.

If you're a fellow garage saler, tell me one of your best garage sale finds! Or if you're not, tell me which dress you liked the best!!