It’s been a long, cold winter, but March and Spring Break are finally here! For those of you spending a week in a warm and sunny environment, here are some Spring-Break-I’m-going-to-paradise-and-I-need-to-look-cute-and-show-off-my-bangin-bod essentials for under $20.

And you know what that means: more margarita money.

Obviously, a bathing suit is the first thing on your list and Forever 21 has a great line of suits that are all $21 or less.  This is just one of my personal faves. The color will look great against your skin and you can pull off those straps easily to avoid an ugly tan line.

Chances are, if you’re anything like me, you’re white as a ghost and ready to look sun-kissed again.  But skip those harmful UV rays at the tanning beds and use this awesome spray tan from Vicky’s Secret.

And speaking of harmful UV rays, you’ll want to be sure to avoid those as much as possible if you don’t want to look like a raisin by the time you’re 25. So make it a point to slather on the sunscreen every morning before you hit the beach! Neutrogena’s sunscreen is consistently ranked at the top and the sheerness of it won’t leave you feeling sticky or icky, which means you can go from day to night easily and comfortably.

Cover-ups are great for those treks to the beach or pool and this one is cute enough that you can still feel sexy when you pop into bar for some beachside cocktails.

Flip flops are another beach necessity, so why not trade in those rubber ones for some that are stylish enough to wear for dinner or a night out on the town.  Once again, these make the transition from beach to party easy, and make the walk home from said party pain free.

You can’t go on vacay without some cute shades, but rather than spending oodles on the hottest designer look, grab some that cost under $10 so you don’t flip when they get scratched by sand, swiped by the pool or taken by the ocean. (And at under $6, you can grab up a couple pairs so you have back-ups.) I love the retro feel of this pair and the fact that the large frames will protect your hungover eyes from that bright sun is just an added bonus.

Keep those premature wrinkles away and look chic doing it with a chic, floppy sun hat.

You’ll want your clothes to do double duty on Spring Break (so you don’t have to pay extra when your suitcase doubles the weight allowance for the flight) so a  tailored pair of denim shorts is key. These are casual enough to wear with your bikini, but the dark wash and added details are nice enough to rock with a pair of wedges and a tight tank for a night on the town.

Each week I’ll be putting together a cute and affordable “going out” ensemble guide (that you can tweak to your own personal style and body type, of course) so that maybe that age-old question can be answered a little quicker than usual. And your friends aren’t waiting - for hours - for you to emerge from your room. Just consider me your own (free) personal Rachel Zoe. Only I weigh more than 88 pounds.]

It’s hard to believe we’ve already hit the middle of March (where DOES the time go?!?) and that before we know it, we’ll be complaining about the heat rather than the cold. But for now it’s time to enjoy the warmer days and the ability to wear cuter clothes without having to layer on the sweaters, jackets, scarves and ear muffs.

This spring promises to bring in loads of new and recycled trends and one of those is the Cleopatra-inspired look (which includes asymmetrical tops & dresses, harem pants, and jeweled necklines). Being that we’re all queens deep down, I thought I’d base this week’s Night Styler on this sassy trend. Don’t worry; there are no harem pants here. I’m not down with looking like MC Hammer either.

This adorable top really plays up the jeweled neckline with a beautiful and unique design, and the navy color and pleating mean it’ll also slim you down.

Skinny, boot leg and boyfriend jeans will all be making appearances this season, but you can never go wrong with a cute pair of straight leg jeans. These puppies look fantastic with heels.

A sexy pair of platform sandals will do the trick when it comes to shoes and I am loving these ones from Forever 21. Even more fabulous? The under-$25 price tag.

The beading on the neckline is an accessory in itself, so there’s no need to over-accessorize…a simple pair of gold hoops, a couple small bangles and a cute handbag’ll do the trick.

Now all you have to do is get out there and enjoy the warm(er) weather while lookin’ damn hot.

So it’s finally, finally Saturday. You probably started celebrating the fact that the week is over yesterday, admittedly. Still, even on the weekend, things can get a little rough. And what better way to lift your spirits than with a daily dose of cute?

I recently ran across a story on Five Blondes about something that sounds like it was written in the Old Testament. A mother tigress in a California zoo recently had a litter; however, since the little guys were premature, they didn’t make it. The mom was clearly depressed about the lack of little mewls, and started to decline in health. The zoo looked everywhere for cubs for the mom to take care of in her former cub’s stead, but no dice.

All they did manage to find was a bunch of piglets. But how to make a tiger thing that the little pink squealing things running around her are her cubs and not dinner? Easy; stick them in tiger skin.

While sniffing around on Google to find out more about this disgustingly adorable story, I stumbled on the truth; the pictures were real, but the story not so much. Turns out there’s a tiger zoo in Thailand that frequently has exhibits with different animals living together in unison. This was one of those exhibits.

Still, it turns out that the female tiger was infact nursed by a sow, and sees the species as family, not food. And no matter how you look at it, it’s still probably the cutest thing you’ll see all day.