And here I thought the discount Absolut was the best part of my Costco membership...

Chanel at Costco? STFU.

I thought the only thing of value they had there was the 40-pack of Trojans for a mere $10. Who knew that between the 80 rolls of Angel Soft toilet paper and the caskets, a myriad of designer brand names could be found at your local Costco warehouse?

New York City residents celebrated the opening of its first Costco by rushing the doors and buying out their stock of Louis Vuitton and Chanel handbags. Oh, did I forget to mention they had Burberry and Coach available for purchase as well? Shock me, shock me, shock me, Costco, with your fabulous merchandise. As if the Costco brand wasn’t designer enough already.

And it doesn’t stop there. 7 For All Mankind jeans? You got it. Michele watches?  No big deal. Paris Hilton’s latest perfume… well I’ll pass on that, but if I ever get the urge to smell like a Can Can dancer, I’ll know where to go.

Costco people are a special brand of human. We live life large. Extra large, if possible. Our carts are always filled to the brim with giant boxes of whatever we can get our hands on. And just when we thought life couldn’t get any better, Costco delivers us the crème de la crème of a shopper’s paradise.

These goodies aren’t available at all Costco’s nationwide (…yet), but I’m just happy to live in a world where it’s OK to purchase a discount case of hot dogs and a Chanel purse at the same time.

The hardest part of graduating from college for me personally was learning how to manage my money. I was always able to be frugal with my own savings account in college, because my parents were still footing the bill for most of my expenses. That meant that all the big and important stuff was being taken care of and I was only responsible to cover the things that I liked. Like bags. And shoes. And shots of vodka.

But when my dean handed me my diploma, my parents took away the checkbook and I was on my own. For everything.

I didn’t know much about saving, but I knew that I wanted to spend as little as possible on the big stuff so I could have more money for the things I wanted. Like shoes. And bags. And shots of vodka.

But I learned the hard way (by purchasing a broken TV from Craigslist) that while being frugal is a great idea (especially now when saving is even more important) there are a few things that are worth splurging on as you embark on your new life as an adult.  It may be hard to part with the big bucks, but I promise you these 5 items are worth every. last. penny. Read More »

So it’s no secret that I love makeup, especially quality brand-name makeup. What I don’t love is the high-end prices (duh, who does?). While I’m not trying to cheat on my bffl Sephora, I’ve made a couple of discoveries of places where you can get the same brand names…for less! A lot less.

Want your Lancome Juicy tube for half the price? How about a Stilla liner on the cheap? Check out these discount stores and you might just get lucky! Read More »

Usually, we try to have some kind of theme to our Wednesday Night series, but when we went digging through the Casual Encounters this week, we spent so much time being supremely grossed out that it was all we could do to keep ourselves from falling on the floor and pouring printer ink into our eyes. I mean, there was some gross sh*t on the internet this week. For realz.

Below are just a bunch of people we really hope we never meet. Read More »

The other day, I was tricked into going to Costco with my Mom. I just really wanted an excuse to wear my SWEET new rain galoshes, so I agreed to go on what I knew would be a torturously long errand. I soon found myself wandering the massive aisles, bored out of my mind, considering buying 600 plastic forks, just so I could use one to poke out my eyes. Maybe then I could go home?

I figured this was a bad idea, so I meandered over to health and beauty, where I knew I could find something to occupy myself with. And then I saw it– a Smashbox Picture Perfect Kit with eyeshadow quad, mini lip gloss trio (with pink leather mirrored case!), mascara, and face highlighter– for $19.99!! The kit came with detailed instructions on how to apply the makeup, much like other cosmetics brands that are now taking the guesswork out of makeup application . I snatched it, threw it inconspicuously into Mom’s cart and tore it open as soon as we were in the car.

Opening up the new makeup kit felt exactly the same way it did that very first time. My Grandma (against my mother’s desperate pleas not to) bought me a GIANT pink and purple kit full of awful pink lipsticks, hooker-blue eye shadow, fake mascara, fucshia blush and glitter, glitter, sweet glitter when I was three. It was then that I fell in love with makeup. I put on all of my face decorations, just like mommy did, every day before I left my house. I sometimes had loaded my face so full of makeup that it couldn’t take anymore, and, consequently, I applied some to my helpless baby brother.

Which brings me to my point. Read More »

Um. Why didn’t anyone tell me Mother’s Day was right around the corner? I thought I had at least a month to find something cute, thoughtful and cheap for my mom. Now I find out I have a few short days. Days. Uh oh?

Flowers used to be enough for Mama’s Day, but giving her something that will most definitely die (and cause her the pain of having to clean yet another vase) just isn’t right. My mother is the most generous and caring person around, so she deserves the best. She washed my laundry every time I came home from school to visit…even that going-out shirt I puked on the night before. She picks me up toilet paper at Costco when I am on my last roll and am this close to using newspaper. She sends me home with enough food for a month every time I stop by her house. And then she offers to come over and help me cook it.

I’m pretty sure your moms are the same.

Even though they may call too early on a Saturday morning, or say some ridiculous things via email, our moms really do deserve major appreciation. And if we can’t give it to them every other day of the year, then it is our duty to make Mother’s Day special. So, even though we are down to the wire on time, here are a few unique and special gift ideas for yo momma: Read More »