Steals and Deals

THROW PILLOWS

Anyone who has a TV, magazine, computer, or any access to the outside world at all for that matter knows that decorative throw pillows are HUGE right now. They have always been big, but now they are like, for-reals huge.
And for good reason!
They are a simple way to completely dress up a room. They are easy to switch out, effortless to enjoy, and just look dang cute.
BUT…
They can be expensive.
I’m talking ex-pehn-sive, expensive.

The more I look around the more I notice that people settling with the “fact” that they simply “have to” pay a lot for cute, stylish, “quality pillows”. It’s been driving me nuts long enough, so I’m here to put the rumors to rest.
Everyone repeat after me…
You do not (I repeat DO NOT) have to pay a lot for throw pillows!

A philosophy of mine I live by is simple…
Just because you pay a lot for something, doesn’t make it a better product than a similar product that that costs less.
It’s a fact people, deal with it.

Case and point:

Can you tell which one cost $69.95 (Z Gallerie), and which one cost $25 (Target)?

Yea, me either.

And these?
Which one was on sale for $12 from TJ Maxx, and which one was $69.95 from Z Gallerie?

$68.40 from Amazon, $7 from Walmart.

Which one cost $4.50 from Walmart, which cost $64.95 from Bellacor?

Seriously! $4.50? I spend more than that at the Wendy’s drive through! I now have the $4.50 pillow in a happy new home on my couch.
It loves it’s new life, and I love it.

Which embroidered pillow cost $13 from Walmart, and which cost $79.50 from Pottery Barn?

Which is $7.99 from Ross and which is $94.49 from Linens and things?

And my personal favorite…

This one cracks me up…
BECAUSE THE PILLOWS ARE IDENTICAL!
They are the same pillow, people.
However, let us continue with our game…

Which one costs $90.95 from Bellacor, and which costs $10 ea from TJ Maxx?

Ok are you convinced yet?

Here’s my cheat-sheet guide for all of you to be in amazement over.

Look at all these fabulous, gorgeous pillows…and all for great prices! The most expensive? $25.
What’s the take-home message here?
Next time you want to decorate your room by adding some adorable throw pillows, please don’t accept the incorrect notion that in order to get stylish, quality pillows that you need to pay much.
At all.
Go to more affordable stores first…because you just might be surprised at what you find!

Ok next set of steals and deals:

Accessories

In the September issue of Better Homes and Gardens Heidi Klum said “If you had $100 to spend, spend it on jewelry.”
I was a bit shocked when I heard it at first…but it kind of makes sense.
It can update clothes you already have, you can mix and match it, constantly giving it a fresh new look, jewelry rarely goes 100% “out” of style, and – if you know how to shop right –
$100 can go a loooooong way.

Let me show you how:

These teardrop earrings are really hot right now.
Let us play our little game…

Can you tell which ones cost $1.50 from Forever 21, and which ones cost $395 from Nordstrom?

You really can’t tell? Really?
Hmm…me either.
And, frankly, if you can’t hardly tell from looking at a picture, I’d bet you that 100 bucks that you wouldn’t be able to tell on someone’s ear, either!
In my mind there is absolutely no reason to spend $400 on earrings, when you can buy gorgeous look-alikes for $1.50.
Life’s too short to be snooty about stuff, in my opinion!

Skinny belts are so hot right now. I, personally, LOVE THEM.
Can you tell which is $28 from Nordstrom, and which is $2.50 at Forever 21?

Note: This isn’t the exact photo of the current Forever 21 skinny belts that are $2.50, but it’s the closest I could get. They look just like the picture above, though.

The rest of this jewelry was all $5 each at Plato’s Closet. They have the cutest stuff!! Some were bought gently used, some they order brand new. Look at how similar it is to the expensive stuff:

Left necklace, $278 at Nordstrom, the right: $5

Left necklace: $198 from Anthropologie, Right: $5 ea

Left necklaces: $5 each, right: $148 and $478 at Anthropologie

The rings in the middle are all brand new from Plato’s Closet, $3 each. The others range from $25 to $550 at Nordstrom and Macy’s.

The point of these pictures is to show that if you really want to get the most bang for your buck, you don’t HAVE to pay a ton for fashion jewelry. By all means, please don’t skimp on something important like your wedding ring. But for fashion jewelry?
I’ll take the $1.50 earrings, please.

Also…
For TODAY ONLY (Oct 5, 2012) if you mention that you saw this Studio 5 segment you get 15% off your entire order at any Plato’s Closet in the state of Utah! YAAY!

Here is my jewelry cheat-sheet to show you where to find all this great stuff.

Ok, let’s move on to the next looks for less steals and deals…

Children’s Shoes

My oldest is 2.5, so I’m still new to the whole “cool kid’s clothes” thing. Frankly, my kids aren’t old enough to have opinions yet, so I dress them in yard sale clothes and call it good!

However…
I am increasingly aware that “cool” kid clothes are very, very important to toddlers who are old enough to have an opinion. Gotta look cool at school, right??

I am disgusted at how expensive children’s shoes can be, so I found some looks for less.

Sparkly Uggs
I’m telling you, I don’t think the Ugg kick will ever die. It just keeps coming back year after year!
Real Uggs are REAL expensive…but there are great looks for less out there.

Can you tell which ones are $14.99 at Ross, $29.99 at Target, or $120 (the REAL Uggs)?

This is a hard one, so don’t worry…the cheat sheet is below.

Cowboy Boots
Another trend I’m seeing EVERYWHERE is children’s cowboy boots.
The boots on the left cost $56.49 at Buy.com. And they aren’t even leather! The ones on the right range from $13.87 to $16.99.

For heaven’s sake, PLEASE don’t spend $60 on toddler shoes! They grow out of them in about 30 seconds, or draw on them with sharpie, or chew on them…
So please, practice good shopping sense. Thank you, you can leave your tips in the can.

Lastly,
Robeez
I know all too well that it can be hard to find GOOD, affordable shoes for babies who are learning to walk. My kids’ feet are so chubby, they actually can’t fit into shoes! So I used to double-up socks and call it good, until I discovered Robeez. They are expensive, and worth every penny…
Or so I thought.

And then I found these babies at Walmart:

Would you believe that the shoes in the center are the Walmart “Robeez” look for less?! Not joking here, people!
I bought a pair for my 1 year old (who is a maniac when it comes to walking/running/stumbling everywhere). She’s been wearing them every day for about 2 weeks now, and…
THESE. SHOES. ARE. AMAZING.

I can tell absolutely NO difference between them and the real Robeez.
The best part?
The real Robeez pictured above range between $24 and $31.
The Walmart version?
$5.97
I’ll wait for a moment while you pick yourself off the floor.

No, they weren’t on sale or on clearance…they were simply in the children’s shoe section (I couldn’t find them online, unfortunately…), tons of adorable options, $5.95 each! Now, talk about an amazing gift idea for someone.

I also found some adorable sandles at Target for less than $5 on clearance. Just a reminder that now is the time to stock up on Summer clearance for next year.
Here’s my cheat sheet for where to find all these looks for less for your kiddies!

And lastly…

Halloween Decor

When it comes to Holidays, we all want our house to look festive and cute, right? Well, let me tell you, there are definitely ways to get the look for less.

I went shopping at multiple places, but there was one store that overall caught my attention in terms of offering the best decor for the best deal…TARGET.
(Now, keep in mind, I always recommend WAITING until after the holiday to buy your decor, when it’s all on sale and clearance, and save it for the next year. So this is if you MUST buy mid-season, at peak price.)

Their normal Halloween section’s prices are only so-so. BUT…I made out like a bandit in their dollar bins! They had a great selection of small Thanksgiving, fall, and Halloween decor.

Some of it is great to put out as-is, and others are diamonds in the rough for you crafty folk out there.
For example…

The lantern on the left: $2.50 at Target,
The one on the right: $169.00 at Pottery Barn.

Talk about an expensive Halloween decoration! Sheesh, and it’s not even very big!

With a little imagination the left lantern could look a lot like the right one. Toss some spray paint on there, rough it up a bit, add some creepy votives, include fake spiders of course, and there you go! You just saved yourself $166.50 dollars.
I’m so proud of you.

Likewise,
Pumpkin on the left: $44.50 at Pottery Barn (and it’s a mini pumpkin!)
Pumpkin on the right: $2.50 at Target

Toss on a strand of battery-powered lights, and there you go! Nearly identical!

The lanterns on the left are at Pottery Barn for $31.
I picked up a few cute, small lanterns for $2.50 each at Target.

(The lanterns on the right are Target lanterns, but they aren’t the ones from the $2.50 bin. I couldn’t get a good picture of them, sorry!)

In conclusion…
Don’t feel like you need to look too far beyond the dollar bins to get adorable staple pieces for the Fall that you can reuse again and again.

Wheew! Do you feel inspired to start getting “the look” for less?
Since Halloween is fast approaching, I wanted to leave you all with one last fun steal/deal.

Between now and Halloween Tombstone is running a promotion where you can “trick or treet” on their Facebook page for coupons and prizes. You can get one prize per week, every week until Halloween!

Just be aware, when they’re gone, their gone – so keep an eye on it.