Now you might wonder why a Frugal Diva would cross the threshold of an upscale department store. Here’s why - fantastic sale, coupons that give you $25 off for every $100 that you spend, and the need for a new dress for a very special occasion.  So at the Beverly Center Bloomies, I went to the 3rd floor ready to just walk in and walk out.  These clothes looked perfect if you were young, thin, and trendy. Luckily for me, I was helped by Pamela Ruday (if I misspelled your name, please email me and I will correct it).  Read the rest of this entry »

Your wedding day is a great opportunity to acknowledge that you are in love, starting out of a new path, and have the attention of everyone in the room.

First place to start, decide how many. Now there are two options, just the immediate family or 150 guests. How do I get to that equation? Everyone who has invited you to their wedding, your cousins, your neighbors, your family’s neighbors, and there are two of you-so unless one of you was found on the doorstep of an orphanage or raised by wolves-double all numbers. If you are going to stay with just parents, brothers and sisters, children, and grandparents you may stop reading here.

The rest of you suckers for that big day, let us move forward. Invitations - hand engraved on parchment by a professional calligrapher - no way!!  Printed on your ink jet using nice colored paper from the Paper Source or the envelopemall.com - yes way!! Get some transparent labels for the addresses - print two copies so you can use the second one for the Thank You notes.  Print your own return address labels for the RSVP envelopes and the outside envelopes.

We all love beautiful flowers. Here is the truth about flowers - they are very expensive and die in three to four days. This is not the kind of investment you want to make. Here are some great options. Living baby roses in a beautiful container. And here is a great tip from Sasha Taylor owner of Bodhi Babies - buy inexpensive glass bowl shaped vases, fill them with water, float a few candles and then add a few roses or another flower to glide prettily in the water.  Sasha also added color by buying two small ficus trees and strategically placing roses in the leaves. Later use them in your apartment or plant them in your garden. Remember a small spash of color makes a great impression.

You can learn how to make a bouquet from a DIY internet site. Another tradition that I just loved. As the bride walks down the aisle, her friends each handed her a flower that she placed in a embroidered cloth holder. Everyone got to participate and she had a beautiful spontaneous bouquet.

Stay tuned for your wedding day tips. First, second or third time around, this can be a fun day without the expense.

Yes, all Frugal Divas know about the 99 Cent Only Store  however they continue to amaze me. Jennifer Moss of babynames.com  just reminded me what a great resource they are for beauty products. How did that song go “99 bottles of shampoo on the wall.” Well, just about - along with Epson Salts for a spa bath, band aids for cuts, toothbrushes, scrunchies, manicure products, and the list goes on.

Dinner tonight? Spaghetti, tomato sauce, Parmesan cheese, french bread, and salad - all for under $5 and dinner for four.  Vegetarian, healthy, tasty, and bought in one store on the way home.  Check out the canned clams for an out of this world linguine and clams.  How about some salmon spread with canned salmon and cream cheese. Put it on top of a bagel and you have a great lunch sandwich. The combinations are endless. The 99 Cent Only Store has really gone out of their way to offer you more choices for cooking when times are tough.

Party supplies! Everything from paper plates, paper cups, table clothes, and all kinds of cute items to set your table with for the next special occasion. Why pay $3 to $4 dollars for a greeting card. Yes they have them here for 99 Cents.  When did gift bags become more expense then the gift?  Buy two for 99 Cents.

And bring your own shopping bags because the 99 Cent Only Stores are working to reuse and recycle. They are charging for plastic bags to encourage you to bring your own. This makes me like them all the more because the Frugal Diva knows that they are working to help the environment.