Tag Archives: affordable

Molly’s Last-Minute, Affordable Gift Guide 2012!

I’m gonna be totally honest with you guys. I have been a wee frustrated by most of the gift guides I’ve seen in blog land this year. No, I’m not making a hasty generalization and saying ALL of the gift guides – some of y’all are speaking my language – but the majority of the gift guides I’ve seen are all “under $100″ or sometimes, OVER $100.

Now, “under $100″ sounds fine and dandy, but when you are like me and no longer put anything on a credit card and only spend what you make, $100 is basically half, if not MOST of my / your entire Christmas gift budget for family and friends.

Sure! A $75 Kate Spade bangle sounds fine and dandy, but that’s a heck of a lot of money to spend on one small gift.

So, while these types of posts are not usually ones I do, I thought, why not? Instead of complaining about the expensive gift guides out there, why not make my own?

Also, I realize this is totally last minute, but per usual, life has gotten in the way and all of a sudden it’s December 13th and I’ve still got quite a bit of Christmas shopping to do. Woops.

So, here are a few cheapo gifts I’ve found for the lady in your life (mom, sister, girlfriends, etc.)

[Glow Kouture Onyx Mini Pouch - $16.50 | Glow Kouture Mustard Mini Pouch - $16.50]
(Used code MOLLY30 for 30% off until December 15th!)

[Vintage Black Leather Purse - $15.00 | Vintage Faux Leather Crossbody Handbag - $25.00]
(use code MOLLY15 for 15% off!)

still being molly: affordable, last minute gift guide 2012!

[Believes in Angels Tee or Believes in Love Tee - $35.00]

still being molly: affordable, last minute gift guide 2012! [Argyle Infinity Scarf - $12.00 | Fair Isle Reindeer Infinity Scarf - $14.99]

still being molly: affordable, last minute gift guide 2012!

[Emerald Scarf - $7.48 | Emerald Lace Top - $17.99]

still being molly: affordable, last minute gift guide 2012!

[Flannel PJs - $15.00 | Boyfriend Watch in Burgundy - $14.99]

still being molly: affordable, last minute gift guide 2012!

So, there are a few ideas for you. And yes, I will go ahead and say that some of these choices are from small businesses that happen to also be sponsors and/or just good friends of mine.

They didn’t pay me to put them in this little post, I chose their stuff because I genuinely love their products, they’re affordable, and I’d much rather support a small business than a corporate giant. Not that I have anything against a corporate giant… which is why I also picked a few items from my favorite corporate giant: TARGET!

I’m just being real with you. I’m working on trying to come up with a similar list of items for the male in your life, but man, men are HARD to shop for. I don’t care who you are. Seriously. My husband, my dad, my brother-in-law, father-in-law… they are TOUGH to shop for! Am I right, ladies? Why can’t men get on Pinterest and just create a Pinterest wish list board with stuff they want… life would be so much easier.

Anyway. Now I’m rambling.

What are some great, affordable gift guides you’ve seen so far this year? I’d loveeee for you to leave some examples or suggestions in the comments! I’m ALWAYS on the lookout for ideas!

My Attempt(s) At Fashion: A Week of Attempts

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Did you have a good weekend? I had a great weekend. Productive weekend. Fun weekend. Relaxing weekend. I love weekends.

For realsies. Okay, enough small talk. Let’s get to it.

There’s a part of me that is somewhat embarrassed that I’m continuing to share these fashion attempts with you guys. But then there’s a part of me that doesn’t give a rip. It seems like you guys like sharing in my learning experiences and risk taking, so for now, I’m gonna continue to post these. K? K.

I’d really love to hear your thoughts, ideas, suggestions. I have a feeling that you guys (the collective of you guys) are much better at this than I am.

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How sweet is this truck? There was an old car show going on outside the BBQ place where Hubs and I had dinner last week.

Shirt – Goodwill
Blazer – Belk
Necklace & Bracelet – JCrew Warehouse Sale
Jeans – Seven for All Mankind (got ‘em on eBay!)
Shoes – TOMS

I’m kind of obsessed with this $5 shirt I got from Old Navy. It’s neon. It’s comfy. And it was $5. WOOT.

Shirt – Old Navy – $5 (Similar)
Jeans – Seven For All Mankind (really old)
Shoes – Converse All Star (really old)
Necklace – I made it, yo

Shirt – Target – $3 (clearance! …a long time ago)
Skirt – JCrew (old)
Shoes – Rack Room Shoes (old)
Belt – Target ($5)
Necklace and Earrings - Kazuri Beads

I just thought it was hilarious that my dog was judging my clothes picture taking.

Sequin Shirt – Express (but purchased at Plato’s Closet for $7!)
Black Sweater – Express (purchased at Plato’s Closet)
Necklace – Kohl’s Jewelry (clearance section)
Jeans – Citizens For Humanity (old)
Shoes – Target (old)
Dog – Her name is Audrey Hepburn

Shirt – Ralph Lauren Polo (got it at the outlet – it’s really old though)
Cardigan – JCrew Factory
Necklaces – Wal-Mart clearance
Jeans – Seven for All Mankind
Shoes – TOMS

What do you guys think? Yay? Nay? What’s your favorite? What do you do when you’re trying to reinvent your wardrobe without buying new stuff? Cause that’s what I’m trying to do…

Happy Monday!

xoxo, All for now.

My Attempt at Fashion: It’s Okay To Mix Animal Prints? What?!

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You guys! Whoaly moly. It was an awesome weekend. Fo’ sho.

Got some housekeeping things to get out of the way first.

[The fashion attempts are coming, don't fret.]

I got like, so much blogging material this week just from the weekend’s festivities.

Let’s see… there was Good Friday on, well, Friday.
There was a productive Saturday complete with Easter basket exchange between the hubs and me, dinner at a FAB restaurant for 52 in 52 (review coming Friday), and the LORETTA LYNN concert. Oh man. Gotta write about that this week.
Then there was EASTER. You know, He is risen! A lot of napping on Sunday and my first baking disaster turned semi-baking disaster turned “Hey, that’s not half bad!” You know I’m gonna be sharing that one.

Anywho.

So, if you’re reading this, you know by now that the blog has gotten an overhaul in content, structure, and frequency in the last couple weeks. Mainly cause I just missed writing about what was fun. I missed writing for the sheer joy of writing. I missed blogging about what I want to blog about.

And you know now that I’m all married and stuff, I’m learning to be this better version of an already awesome self. So, I decided it might be fun to take you guys on a ride with me.

I’m learning to cook and bake. I’m NO professional, at all… so my successes are your successes and my failures are your failures. I will share them all.

We’re on a tight budget and I wish I could be fashionable – so… I’m trying to expand my wardrobe and try new stuff with limited dollars and a little bit of know-how. Again, I’m NO professional. Not a professional. Nope. Not even close. So, it might be fun to see what works and what doesn’t.

I want to be a better person. Just in general. I mean, I don’t think I’m a bad person… I just want to be an even better person. My husband challenges me every day – without even knowing it – to be a better person. I want to tell people I love them, I want to serve other people, I want to make people smile. You know, fluffy happy stuff.

And whatnot. There’s a whole lot of whatnot.

I just want to write in a way that people can relate to. I figure I’m probably not the only one doing a lot of this stuff… so maybe, just maybe, there’s someone else out there who can relate to what I’m doing. No? Yes?

So as I shift and grow and change – I hope you’ll come along with me.

I also have a new “brand” I’m trying out – “still being [Molly]”

Get it? My new name is Molly Stillman. So I’m STILL being Molly? Get it? No? Bueller? Oh well. Anyway. I have a new Facebook page. So if you “like” me… you can “like” my Facebook page. If you want. No pressure.

OKAY. Housekeeping over with.

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Onto this week’s attempt at Fashion.

So, I heard that it’s “in” to mix animal prints. WHAT? That’s cray cray. That was never in when I did it. I got made fun of when I was a kid for doing that. And now it’s cool. Go figure.

Well, I decided this week to get dangerous and give it a shot. Do you think it worked?

I do know that I need to work on a less awkward self-portrait. I am SO awkward at these. I mean, you can see the roll of TP in my bathroom. Way to be classy, ~~Buckley~~. Stillman. My name is Stillman.

GAH. I’ll get it one day.

Or! Better yet! I need to find someone who will take pictures for me.

The Outfit Deets:

Cardigan – Target ($23 – old)
Shirt – Old Navy ($10 – recent) The sale was a $5, $10, $15 thing they had going on… so, sadly, I don’t think the shirt is $10 anymore…
Belt – Target ($5 – old)
Jeans – Old Navy ($20 – oldish)
Necklace – Target ($4.08 – on sale! recent)
Shoes – Rack Room Shoes ($3 on clearance, baby!… a long time ago, sadly)

What do you think? Is it a win? Fail? Have you tried this? Please tell me I’m not nuts and that this looks okay. One of my love languages is Words of Affirmation… so you know, help me.

How was your weekend?

xoxo, all for now.