I Will Be Back Real Soon

I won't be posting for the next few days as I will be traveling again. Of course once I return it will be BAU, blogging as usual. I hope to have some awesome pics to share of my home the beautiful island of Jamaica. I have a few product reviews as well as a new issue of Follicle Times. So until then, as we say in Jamaica, "walk good" which means, take care.

ELF Already At Target!!!

I read on the net that some Target stores were already carrying the Elf line. I was sort of bummed when I realized I would be traveling when the line was launching so I went into my local "tarjay" to see if they were at my store and lo and behold it was. It was an end shelf display and the prices ranged from, of course $1.00 to $10.00 for boxed sets.

Naturally most of the $1.00 items were already gone, dang folks work fast. It was mostly brushes based on the label. The packages were $3.00, $5.00 and $10.00 and in true Elf fashion, the price corresponds with the amount of items in the pack respectively.

One of the $10.00 packs included brushes applicators, false lashes, eyeshadow etc.

I didn't purchase anything on this trip to Target, but I will when I return next week.

Challenge Days 3 and 4

I had to re-create day 3's outfit after work today due to the camera issues I was having. The only thing I did to the romper was belt it with my fave belt. I didn't wear the flip flops or necklace i'm wearing in this pic on day 3. I wore the same sandals from New York and Company as I did on day 2.

Day 4 was my work outfit.

Cardigan from NY&Co. I forgot where I bought my pencil skirt and booties were purchased at Burlington Coat Factory.

Challenge so far

My camera is going nuts right now. The charger is not charging my battery so I'm unable to post pics of day 3 and 4 of the challenge. I asked the bestie to loan me her camera while I figure this stuff out. I'll re-create day 3's look and I'll take the pic of today’s look later on. Now on to the good stuff. You can refresh your memory, here's the inspiration post.
I chose this item for the challenge

This is a romper from Forever 21. I bought this on my last trip to Orlando 2 weeks ago. It was on sale for $6.99. I believe the original price was somewhere around $22 or so. I would've never picked this out on an ordinary, but I felt the need to do something different than what I have been doing. I will say I don't like rompers but this changed my mind. It was so diverse and the fabric was very light, this was very important when it came to washing. Because I wore this to the theme park in the hot sun everyday, I had to wash this daily. I hand washed it and dried it in a towel then hung it on a hanger. It was completely dry by the next morning.



DAY 1
Nothing extra special here

This was my 1st day at Disney. I wore the romper with shorts and a black belt, both from New York and Company. Flip flops is standard Florida attire for me. They are black from Old Navy. P.S. The Minnie ears were not an intentional part of the outfit..ha ha ha

DAY 2
I love the look I got on this day.

The sweater was a gift from my sister, shades from Roca Wear earrings and bracelet from Charlette Russe, belt and sandals from New York and Company. I actually got the sandals on sale for $2.99!

I'll post Day 3 and 4 tomorrow for you guys to see.

I'm Back!!

I missed you guys. I had THE BEST WEEKEND EVER!!!!!! I could bore you all with the details and maybe I will at some point. I am happy to report I completed the challenge. I wore the same item for all 3 days I was traveling and I'm motivated to keep it going. I'm wearing it to work tomorrow; I wonder how long I can keep it going. I just wanted to check in really quickly with everyone. I still haven't unpacked or uploaded my pics but I promise I'll have pics tomorrow.

What's the deal with E.L.F. ?

Eyes, Lips and Face otherwise known as ELF, have been on the scene since 2004. ELF offers make-up and make-up accessories for amazingly low prices. Most of their items are just a $1.00 each. I've been reading up on ELF for the last couple of weeks and I’m really curious. I'm always looking for quality products at a lower price than what I'm currently paying. The reviews are mixed when it comes to ELF. Mostly good things, but there are still some concerns such as shipping time frames and items that are missing in the orders. ELF has been featured in Allure, Cosmo, Essence and Glamour just to name a few. So this had me thinking, what’s the deal with ELF? I was too cheap to spring on the shipping charges and the aforementioned shipping issues held back my curiosity, but now my wait is over. ELF is coming to target on November 1. I'm pretty excited about this even though I've never used the product line before. Don't worry; I will be bringing the scoop when it hits the self. Anyone have any experience with the line?

It's Friday! New Challenge!

I'm super excited and sad all at the same time this weekend. Tomorrow would have been my significant other's 25th birthday. Unfortunately he's no longer here to celebrate with me. On a happier note, I'm traveling back to Orlando this weekend to see one of my all time favorite group perform, BOYZ II MEN!!!
Shawn, Wanya and Nathan will be gracing Orlando Florida with their musical talents. I've been waiting a whole year for this and I'm so happy it's finally here. This is the silver lining of my very dark cloud this weekend and I am so grateful. I barely unpacked from my last trip to Orlando and now I have to do it all over again. Ladies I am not a light packer at all. I always seem to over pack, even when I make a conscious effort not to. Keyword “effort”. By the time my shoes and jeans go in, I’m already full. But this time I want to challenge myself. Can I pull off 1 item in 3 ways? Ok this is very ambitious of me but why not give it a try? Sure it’s not as monumental as pulling it off 31 ways, but I’m new at this give me a break!

Get It For Less

If you have an extra $760 laying around, you can get this gorgeous YSL pump sandal.

If you're on a more modest budget, give Alloy a try and get their version of the shoe for only $14.99

Yves Saint Laurent Imperiale Pumps

So as I was doing my usual browsing of The YBF to get my gossip fix, I stumbled upon a post about the 2009 Black Girl Rocks Awards. I've never heard of this before but I love what it's all about. African American artist are sometimes overlooked in the grand scheme of things in the industry while other who have the notoriety and do shameful things to draw unnecessary attention, I digress. Anyway Tracee Ellis Ross was the host this year and she looked flawless. I mean seriously chick’s body is AH-MAZING!!! Let's forget for a minute that her dress is banging and go a little south to check out her foot work. She is rocking the Yves Saint Laurent Imperiale Pumps! These shoes are beautiful. I love the feminine shape of the shoe. It retails at $795 at Saks if your wallet can afford the hit, but you guys know mine can't.

Saks Fifth Avenue

Items For Sale

The diva over at Budget Chic has some nice items on sale for the fall. She has coats, dresses and shoes that I wish my size 9 feet could squeeze into. Unfortunately nature will not allow such an ambitious task. Go over and check it out. Her page will have order instructions.

Emails from Readers

Yayyy. I received my very 1st email question. I'm so very excited. I'm so happy that folks are reading and I welcome all question comments and suggestion. Ok so here we go:

Hey Jan I love your blog so far. You put items that you buy but how do you put your clothes together? Can you post some of you outfits?
Thanks, Hailey

Well first thanks for the love Hailey. I appreciate you tuning in. I'm not really in the habit of taking pics of my outfits daily. But I will definitely try to post more of my ensembles along with the individual items. Thank you again for reading.
Jan-nini

One Item, 31 Different Ways

I'm still using the shopping smarter premise behind the items that I pick up. I was so inspired today by an article on USA Today that ran about a month ago. It's about Valerie Elizabeth, a stylist that decided to wear 1 item, a little black dress, for 31 days. She went through items that she already had and created 31 different looks. I was impressed by the way she presented the pieces in ways I wouldn't think of. I picked some of her looks that I really liked
You can check out the article here , the blog entry here and visit her blog here.

Blog Changes Coming Soon

Frugal Chic Depot will be undergoing some cosmetic changes within the next few weeks. I'm actively looking for ways to make the blog aesthetically appealing. So please excuse the dust while I figure everything out and get things to where I would like them to be. I'll be adding some helpful links to the right of the page as well as blogs that I frequent. I'm dipping my feet into the video part of things and will be testing that shortly as well. As always your helpful insight and comments are appreciated and can be emailed to jtatehill@gmail.com .

Happy Blogoversary To Me !

Ok so maybe not a full year but definitely a milestone I feel is worthy of mention. I've been blogging for 1 month officially. It may not be a big deal to some seasoned veterans out there but this is important to me. I'm notorious for starting projects and just getting bored with them and sort of just stopping. I quite honestly didn't expect that I would keep up with this thing but the bottom line is, I love It. I've been through a very difficult time recently with the passing of my husband, the love my life, the father of my child and so much more I can't begin to describe everything he was to me. It has been and still is extremely difficult to deal with. Blogging has enabled me to have an outlet and keep me busy. It gives me a reason to do things I already love to do and share my opinions with others who care to read it.

So to commemorate this occasion, I figured I'll do an intro of myself and formally present me to my readers. I'm a 24 yr old student and migrated from Jamaica and currently reside in South Florida. I'm majoring in Business Administration and hope to be completed by fall of next year. I have an almost 3yr old daughter that keeps me very busy and active. I've recently over the past few years started getting an interest in fashion. Not so much high fashion, but fashion looks that can be acquired easily and at the least cost. I also love make-up and the same cost rules apply there. I don't wear it everyday however when I do, I enjoy creating something new. I'm always looking for ways to improve on things I already like to do. I love music and R&B is definitely my favorite genre. I love old school and semi new R&B as well. I like to attend concerts and shows and try to go as often as possible. So that’s a little about me and hopefully that helps to know me a little better. If you have any questions or suggestions on how I can improve this blog, please email me at jtatehill@gmail.com or you can just comment on any post.

Follicle Times

So since my last or first Follicle Times update, I've since then did a mini chop on my hair. As I discussed before my hair was dry and my ends were badly damaged. I was so very reluctant to do this but the minute the inches were cut off, my hair immediately had movement. No seriously, my hair was no longer limp and dead. It actually looks fuller and do I dare say, healthier. I got so very excited; I wanted to take more off. I was swinging it and swaying it, almost like a Herbal Essences commercial. I had to exercise some serious self control with the scissors. Cutting my hair was one of the best things I could've done for my strands.
Before

After
Point of Note: I don't know what's going on within the red circle. It seems that my hair just disappeared here. I'm going to try the Jamaican Castor Oil in this area and see if there is a difference.

Discount Code: Alloy.com

Take 15% off your complete order at alloy.com. Use coupon code OCT15A at checkout. Offer good till October 27, 2009.

Fashion Inspired

No doubt this dress makes a bold statement. You may like it, you may not but inspiration can be found in anything, even if it isn't exactly your style. I personally wouldn't wear this dress. I can't possible think of an occasion I could attend where this would be ok. However I love the colors, the peacock feathers and let’s check out the foot work for minute, OUCH, they're hot. They're like Herve Leger for the feet. If you can appreciate the peacock look, you can try this muted twist on the peacock dress which is much more appropriate for everyday wear.

You can also add a belt to this dress to really create a nice silhouette of your body.

Dress: Forever 21 $19.80

Beauty Reveiw: Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask

I've read rave reviews from several blogs and hair forums about this Deep Conditioner. The Neutrogena Triple Moisture Deep Recovery Hair Mask is said to "rehabilitates extra dry or over-processed hair with intense moisturization." I've used this mask several times and I'm comfortable enough with the results to review it.


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
This stuff smells delicious. Seriously it does. It has like a citrus smell to it that I really like. The texture is very thick so you really don't need tons of it for a decent coverage. This product made my hair a tangled mess. The last time I used it, I did a 2 minute reconstructor right before applying this. I felt like it undid everything my reconstructor had done. This is very interesting because my hair likes this stuff when I have a fresh relaxer. My hair hasn't had a relaxer in about 12 weeks now so it’s very coarse and dry. I am unable to give an approved rating for this because of the different results I get depending on the status of my hair. I will keep it around and only use it within 6 weeks of a relaxer.

Tried Something New and I Loved IT!

I posted Closet Wants about a week ago and so far I've been keeping the items on the list in mind when I do my shopping. This weekend I had the great pleasure of seeing Eric Benet perform. I had no idea what I was going to wear. I threw some wardrobe elements together and I must say I loved the way it turned out. This was the very first time I've worn tights this way. I decided to channel my inner Sheila over at Ephemera with the tights and fdiary at Budget Chic with my belt and this was the end result.

Shoes: Bakers (Eloise)
Tights & Bangle: Charlotte Russe
Dress: New York and Company
Belt: Forever 21

Style Jacking

I usually like to draw inspiration from looks that others have created, however every now and then I will just take the lazy way out and just steal the complete look. I featured Janet Jackson in this post and the items you can purchase to create this style. The only thing I bought extra to create this for me was the belt. How did I do?

Affordable Leather Jacket Options

Leather jackets and the basic punk rock look seem to be all the rage right now. Luckily for frugal divas such as us there are more affordable ones on the market. Obviously they aren't genuine leather however these faux ones are excellent. Each of these jackets was found at Marshalls and the best part is the price. Each one is $29.99. The pics seem to be a little dull but these jackets are definitely worth it.




 
 
 
 
 

My Eye's On It!

Ok seriously. Holy mother of God. These shoes are pure hotness. I mean nothing but perfection. Leopard print and lace, together in one shoe, my heart cannot take this. This is the Christian Louboutin Bridget. It retails at Barneys for $1795.00.  What the little frugal diva inside of me is going to do, is wait for Steve Madden or Bakers to make a more affordable option and I just may splurge on it.

Here is another version of the shoe retailing at $3325. It's called Bridget Strass. I prefer the Leopard print tho.

Here it is on a few feet:

Keep in mind this shoe makes a huge statement by itself. The outfit worn with this should not be too busy at all. Too many prints may be overwhelming but the right combination will be heart stopping.

Money Matters: Sticking to a Shopping Budget

I'm going out of town this weekend with my bestie and I can't wait. It has truly been an extremely difficult time for both us and we need this break desperately. We're going to Orlando this week for some much needed "us" time and also to see Eric Benet perform. I usually visit Orlando 4-6 times annually. My mom and I absolutely love Disney and I’m trying to get my daughter addicted as well..lol Anyway Orlando has ample amounts of outlet shopping available. I haven't discussed my obsession with Coach and Dooney and Bourke purses before but let's just say it's unhealthy. When I see these purses deeply discounted, I lose all common money sense. Just thinking of all the temptation I am about to encounter, inspired me to do a post about budgeting.

The easiest way for me to stay on budget while shopping is using good ole cash. This has worked best for me in the past. I have not had a debit card in over 2 years because I found I spent more money on day to day expenses with my debit card. The cash or envelope system is simple. Pick a budget point and only carry that cash on you. Once you're out of cash then all shopping stops. This forces me to be more selective with the items that I do buy and not overspend beyond my means.

Save on Lunch: Day 2 and 3

Don't worry, I have been keeping up with not buying lunch daily. Yesterday (day 2), I brought my turkey left overs from day 1. Today (day 3) I made oxtails and rice and peas. Day 2 and Day 3 total saved was $21.74 combined. Not bad.

New York and Company Mini Haul

Today I visited NY&Co to see if I can take advantage of the new up to 70% off sale and also to use my coupon discussed in this post. I was more impressed with the sale items this time around. Beutiful 50% off signs were all over and I loved every second of it. I bought 10 items in total today and my total was $43.90. Between the store markdowns and my coupon i saved....... wait for it.................. $195.72
Here a few of the items I got:

BTW: I did get a new city cash coupon good from Nov 11- Nov 15 for $15 off of a $30 purchase.

On Sale Right Now: New York and Company

A couple of things are taking place with NY&Co as of today.
1. The previous clearance items are now up to 70% off. I browsed online and noticed that a few of the items I featured and purchased in this post and this post, has been marked down even further.
2. The discount threshold has changed. Before it was "Take $30 OFF $75 purchase or $50 OFF $125" now it's "Take $20 OFF $60 purchase or  $40 OFF $120 purchase. It's only a $5 difference for the lowest amount but with better markdowns on the items you should be able to get more bang for your buck.

The last time I visited NY&Co, I was given 2 city cash passes. They usually give out 1 but I had a little "tiff" and got a second one for my issue. Anyway, not sure if they'll be giving them out again but I'll report tomorrow if they do.

Save on Lunch: Day 1

My work week actually starts on Tuesday so this is my day 1 for lunch. I'm Jamaican so many of my choices this week will directly reflect my culture and the types of food that we eat. I'm also taking this opportunity to cook more. I realized that I can actually cook Jamaican food very well, better than I actually thought. I do have some work to do but with more practice, I'll be dangerous. Anyway today I made quick rice and peas, turkey necks and cabbage medley. This is not an actual pic of my meal just something I found online. I would've spent $8.21 on lunch today. Did anyone else save today?

Awesome find at Charlotte Russe

On my previous post I discussed some items I would like to add to my wardrobe. One of those items was dresses. Most of my dresses are not even close to casual and I felt it was necessary to expand on the casual dress look. I was doing my usual mall browsing and stopped into Charlotte Russe. They had a $10 dress rack and of course I just glided my way over to it. I walked out of there with a winner today.

Ok. This picture does absolutely nothing for the dress. It's gorgeous. The colors are so vibrant and the fabric feels so rich. This dress was a little big I will admit, but I loved the dress so much I don't really care. It was only a little loose in the breast area, nothing a good bra can't fix.

Closet Wants

I realized after looking at some inspirations blogs today that I don't need to shop more, just smarter. I've seen several fellow bloggers wear dresses as tops or as a skirt etc. I'm also realizing that leggings are a good thing. It can be worn without looking cheesy or cheap. I've picked out a few items that I would like to incorporate with my existing pieces.

1. Belts varying in size and colors
2. Leggings that vary in colors and styles
3. Scarves, ok I live in FL but I could work it out
4. Dresses
5. More flats including sandals. I love my heels but every occasion does not call for heels unfortunately.

Challange: Save on Lunch . Who's with me?

I love eating out. I like trying new restaurants and trying my favorite foods prepared differently. I cook every once in a blue moon when I get the urge or if it's requested of me. Going out to eat everyday for lunch is becoming quite costly and becoming an unnecessary expense at this point. So this week "Save Challenge" is going to be on takeout. No more Chinese or Pollo Tropical etc. I probably spend about $40 or more weekly on lunch. That $120 per month!! That's insane. I could be saving that money to take maybe a mini vacation or just plain saving it. So for this week starting on Monday, in addition to normal posting I'll be posting about what I cooked and how much I've saved by not eating out. At the end of the week I'll deposit that amount into my savings account. Feel free to join in and share your savings as well.

Babies have style too!

I have a beautiful 3 year old toddler who I just love to dress up. It may be hard to believe but I shop more for her than I do for me. Her shoe game is crazy right now for one reason only, it's cheaper. Seriously I can get most of her shoes for usually between $2.99 and $10.00 quite easily with the right sale. .Clothes is also fairly inexpensive as well. I try not to spend over $15 on any single item unless it's a designer brand. Every now and then I will feature some buys that I get for her for all my readers who are moms as well.

This one is an order from Target. Total order amount was $60.70. Total Savings was approximately $81.30 plus an additional $18.84 in free shipping.

This order was from Children's Place. Total order amount was $15.25. Total savings was approximately $49.51.