Hunter.

I love these rain boots. They are so extremely comfy and they are great for when its wet outside and still warm or when its snowy/rainy and cold!

They come in all different types of colors. The Hunter Socks come in a variety as well for when you want to get some extra warmth. You don't necessarily have to buy their socks. Thats what leg-warmers are for!

They come in short or tall. They range in price.  It all depends where you go. I have found them cheaper on overstock.com and zappos.com. I would recommend going into a store and trying them on first.

This is another item, I would agree to invest in. Living in St. Louis, You will get much needed use out of them!

But, If that price is still too steep, Target, Urban Outfitters, Macys and etc..have some good rain boots for  under 100 dollars and even 50 bucks!

Have fun splish splashying around town!

Burr..It's Cold Outside.

Living in St. Louis, your never too sure about how the weather is going to be like.  One day it will be 70 and the next it will 30 degrees outside. Its great to have a variety of jackets and coats. If its not too cold out you can always pull out your favorite cardigan or sweatshirt.

I love my leather jacket for the not so cold days. It keeps me warm, but not to the point where I am sweating!

When looking for your winter coat, make sure its something you really want and not something that you will want to get rid of come next year. Make sure there is enough room for if you decide to wear a sweater or something chunky underneath. Of course, make sure its warm enough!

Happy Coat Shopping!

Sorry Mom, I’m Just Not So Holly and Jolly Right Now

Yeah that’s right.  We said it.  Us college kids (much like the two girls pictured above) are not exactly thrilled about this time of year.  At the moment there isn’t to much to celebrate.  We are bogged down with:

*wrapping up the semester

*studying for finals and preparing for final presentations

*getting one step closer to the real world they speak of

*maybe even preparing for graduation now or soon

All the while trying to keep a job schedule to make a minimal amount of money to hang out in your bank account until your real career comes along to fill it, we hope.  This all can get overwhelming, especially around the holidays.  Because holidays mean family time, which is… um… fun but also a little stressful, especially if you have a long list of relatives to shop for.  Well Gorloks, get ready to set free some of that anxiety you’ve been clinging onto because I have got a holiday family gift plan for you.

Gifts For Family

Remember when you were little and your mom liked it best when you made her gift?  Yep I said it. Hey, desperate times call for desperate measures right? You can make your mom, dad, aunt, uncle, sister, brother, etc a homemade gift they are sure to love.  And you know why?  Because you know them best.  Here’s how. 

For The Men

For the men in your family, baking is always a great solution.  Uncle bob loves your peppermint chocolate bars.  Grandpa Jack kicks it old school with the traditional yet delicious chocolate chip cookies.  And your brother likes those “little puffy yellow cloud cookie things” more commonly known as gooey butter cookies.  Baking a personalized homemade dessert tray filled with each family member’s favorites is thoughtful and something anyone will enjoy.  Trays can be found cheaply at your local dollar store, Walmart, Target, or Hobby Lobby.  You can add a touch of Christmas to any tray with a bag of red and green M&Ms sprinkled around the desserts. 

For the Women

For the women, try creating a favorite meal gift basket, which includes their favorite cooking ingredients.  For example, your Italian mother loves more than anything else to cook her famous pasta dish with red wine for everyone to share.  So you get the recipe (print it on Christmas card stock), buy the ingredients (food from Shop ‘N Save on coupon Thursdays and great wine selection at Friar Tucks), and put it in a cute basket (Hobby Lobby has half of baskets almost always).  Finish it off with a big bow and the ladies in your family will be touched that you put so much thought and effort into their homemade gift! 

Both the sweets for the men and the gift basket for the women are thoughtful gifts that won’t completely drain your bank account.  So let’s hear it Gorloks, what is it that this year that has you actually excited about the holiday break?  Find any awesome gift ideas for the fam that are actually affordable?  We want to hear about it!  And remember when thinking of gifts for friends, get togethers are a much better way to enjoy the holidays.  For more detailed information on this particular subject read the previous blog entry entitled, “Parties > Presents”.   Happy Holidays and try to put a holly and jolly back in your life.  I think we all deserve it after a long semester is coming to an end… finally.

Katlin

we're learning about zappo's

Well, it definitely feels like a Monday. And it's cold and rainy. And it's the first day back from the Thanksgiving mini-break. Sigh. And I'm stuck in a looong night class (sorry Travis). The break was pretty good though. We did the Thanksgiving thing with the fam. Got stuck working Black Friday at good ol' Home Depot. It wasn't all that crazy compared to the big stores like Target, Walmart and Best Buy. We had a few good buys, well, that is, if you needed a 12gal ShopVac or 13' Extension Ladder. Right.

I cannot seriously think of one thing (not even that ShopVac) that would make me get up at the ass crack of dawn to go wait outside a store with a bunch of other retards, some of which may or may not be prone to random acts of violence. But I guess if you're willing to risk it, you can find some pretty good stuff for a pretty good price and certainly take care of a few people for Christmas.

This year my family decided to do a Secret Santa gift exchange instead of the normal buy-presents-for-everyone thing. I mean, I like getting presents, but I suppose I'm getting a little too old to be running around opening stacks upon stacks of gifts shouting happily. Damn. Anyway, sooo, Secret Santa. We drew names over Thanksgiving and assigned a $30 price tag that we decided was more than reasonable. I got my Aunt Tracy. She's requested a Kohl's or Walmart gift card. I hate Walmart so I'm not gonna lie, it's probably gonna be Kohl's. I hope she's surprised.

I like Christmas with Shawn's family because we've started playing Rob Your Neighbor. It's usually like 20 bucks worth of gift and we all start with one and then when it's your turn, you take whoever's gift that seems more interesting. Or pretty. Or less like a box of crap. Last year I almost got stuck with a butterfly windmill. Definitely a close call. I immediately dropped to my knees and thanked Jesus. Ended up with a plant. It's dead now. No, I didn't kill it. It was an annual. They die. Geez.

With all of that, we're pumped to go Christmas shopping, which usually means we'll end up going last minute and regretting it. We already bought pretty wrapping paper on sale from Target though. Oh yeah, and bows. Shiny ones.

briana :)

Parties > Presents

Thanksgiving has just barely finished and Christmas is barreling towards us with full force.  For most, this means a healthy serving of joy with an abundance of stress on the side.  Christmas has become a holiday focused on gift giving.  And if you are a broke college student like us, that can be terrifying (A.K.A. expensive).  There is a solution to spending a lot of money on all your friends during the holidays.  That solution is a party. 

The Party Plan

You may be thinking throwing a party is expensive.  Why would I throw a party, which cost money, and buy present for everyone?  Well, the key here is to be in charge of the party plan with a few your closest friends. 

*Send invites through facebook to the whole guest list, which cuts back on invitation fees.

*Tell all of your guests to bring their beverage of choice and a $5 gift, a funny gift they don’t want anymore, a re-gift, etc.  Be creative with it!

*Decorate your place with holiday decorations, which you already do so that’s no extra cost.

*Create a music playlist, filled with your favorite holiday songs. 

*Each friend planning the party should buy finger foods, which are quick and easy.  This way people don’t expect a sit down dinner and with the food split up it saves on cost for one person.

Prep Work

Once all of your friends have been invited and know of the $5 gift and beverage plan, you can start decorating and purchasing the food.  The decorations will be essential to creating the right holiday mood.  Have the party at the party planning friend’s place with the best space and best decorations.  Make sure to help out with decorating, even if it’s not at your place (it makes the job more fun and finish quickly).  Have one person in charge of music (whoever has the biggest holiday song selection and a keen ear for crowd  favorites).  Make a list of everyone’s favorite finger foods and divide them up equally, price-wise.  Remember, you can find some extremely economic snacks at your local dollar store. 

Paaaaartay

Once the date of your party has arrived you can do just that… party.  Having a team effort on throwing this festive event helps out a great deal with stress levels and cost.  Also, you can rest assured your friends will never think you forgot about them when it’s Christmas gift time.  I mean who doesn’t love a good party, good friends, and a hilarious gift exchange? 

Have any tips for throwing a holiday party of your own or saving money on gifts for friends?  Let us hear all about it.  We welcome all suggestions that will save us money and make the holidays a little more joyful and a little less stressful. 

Katlin 

  

It's That Time Of Year...

For Holiday Parties!

This is going to be geared more towards females, sorry fellas!
Finding the perfect dress and accessories is even more stressful then going to the actual event.

Some key things to keep in mind!
- Don't buy a dress or accessories that you will never wear again!
- Buy a dress that is perfect for your body type; just because you see it on someone else; doesn't always mean it's going to work for you!
- Please No Ugg boots! I don't care how cold it is! (I've seen it been done before)

Dresses Under $50.
- H&M
- Forever 21
- Charlotte Russe
- Nordstrom BP
- American Eagle

You don't necessarily have to go with a dress.

There is always a skirt and top.

-The top can be as simple as a tshirt tucked into the skirt.

-Pants and Blazar or Jacket of some sort.

-Embellished,Sequined, Plain.

I'm really loving the leather leggings as an alternative.

They are much dressier then a simple legging. 

Accessories are a great way to add oomph to any outfit!
Back to the tshirt into a skirt outfit choice...
- A great statement necklace can liven up the shirt.
Bracelets, rings, earrings!
-Just make sure they don't clash! Layering neckalaces and bracelets are another way.
Don't wear a bunch of necklaces and bracelets, so while you walk you don't jingle and somebody thinks you're SANTA!

I also love headbands. If your dress, shirt, blazar already has some type of embellishment on it, then this is a great way to add something but not be too overpowering. Forever 21 has a fantastic selection for under 7 bucks!

Lastly , what are you going to put all your stuff in?

A clutch , oversized, tiny or medium!

A chain linked bag!  

Remember- You can always mix colors and prints.

Those color clutch makeup bags, that sometimes come in gift sets are great!

Don't overfill your bag. It's not your everyday purse.

Keep:

-Lipstick /Chapstick/Gloss

-Powder

-CellPhone

-Femine Product (If Necessary)

-Camera

That is just some core basics that would be kept.

If you need medicine or something else, go ahead and throw that in. 

Finding & Decorating Your New Pad.

When you're a junior or senior you start looking for a new pad. Freshly moved out of the dorms and you're starting that "real" world experience.

Some sites that I found helpful to look for a new place are Padmapper.com. Its quite cool, just type in the location of where you are thinking and it will show all apartments posted on different sites. Of course, craigslist.

Once you find your heavenly new pad, it's time to Decorate!

Flea Markets and Garage Sales are the cheapest most inexpensive way to decorate. The key is digging and searching. Remember, just lots of patience! At these, you can find some cool vintage finds.

Craigslist, just has about everything. There are bedroom sets, couches and more on this site. All of it for relatively cheap. Since most of the time, you need to go to someone's house to look at it or pick it up, don't go by yourself. (I know, common sense).

Target is another great place. They have everything possible you can think of. Their sales are great too. I found a sheet set for 10 bucks! They also have this really cute dinning set with four different colored and simple chairs.

There are also different boutiques in the area that sell furniture. One store in particular is Pizazz in the loop. Granted, they don't have beds, but futons! They are a great cheaper alternative to couches. Plus, if somebody crashes at your pad, it turns into a bed!

Some somewhat expensive stores with great sales are Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie. Granted when you hear those names, especially Anthropologie, you're like what!? I was in there the other day and they had these really neat doorknobs on sale for 2 dollars.

Dishes, Dishes and more dishes. Again, Target! The dollar store and TJ Maxx have great dishes for a lower price. Some are simple and some have a design.

Remember, people aren't going to come to your house and be like eww..dollar store. How would they know anyways?!

Here are a couple of tricks that I mentioned a little bit before:
- Futons for Couches
- Chairs - can be those butterfly chairs, even really neat cushions!
- Dining room set - A simple table with different type of chairs. You don't need a full out dining table just yet.

To add spunk to your walls:
- Etsy is a GREAT place to find different types of wall art or decorations.
- As a student, if you have something you made and are proud of; hang it up on the wall!
- Music and movie posters are also a cool way to add something.
- Target and Walmart!

I hoped this blog helped a little bit. Finding your new pad and being on your own is quite frantic at first. Soon, that franticness will become fun!