Loeffler Randall Matilde Boots: Worth The Wait!!

I have been wanting Loeffler Randall's Matilde Boots for forever.  However, the price tag of $695 was a little too steep for me.  So I have been hunting and waiting and hunting and waiting for a pair to go on sale.  I'm not talking about 15% off or even 20% off.  I wanted at least 30% off!  And I wasn't finding it.  These lovelies rarely go on sale and are often sold out.  But I was persistent and would obsessively check the sale sections of numerous shoes sites.

Finally, I hit jackpot on Nordstrom's website while on the train home for Thanksgiving (thank you 3G iPad)!  I found a pair of black Matilde boots in size 6.5 for 40% OFF!!

That meant $414.90 with free shipping.  Being the sale hunter that I am, the question that popped into my head was, "Could I do a little better?"  The answer was, "Yes!!"

Ebates was offering 5% cash back on purchases via Nordstrom.  That translated into an additional $20.75 off which means I was able to get these lovely, city-walking friendly boots for a discounted price of $394.15.  Okay...not the cheapest boots but a great deal for these boots!!

If you're looking for comfy chic boots, these are it!  Now that I have them, my advice is that if you find them on sale for 25% off, grab them.  Lots of promotion codes are floating around so don't stop checking around and don't forget that if you get a nice sales rep, they may price match even if the size or color isn't the same.  And don't forget about Ebates...you may be able to get some cash back.

UPDATE:  CUSP.com is having a 20% off regular priced boots promotion (no code needed).  This boots promotion expires on 12/15/10.  I know I said 25% off, but they are pretty well stocked in sizes and color!  Plus, this sale INCLUDES HUNTER AND UGG!!!

Conair Infiniti Pro - Mighty Hair Dryer For A Tiny Price!!

There are certain things that I am SUPER frugal about and one of those things (for some unknown and illogical) reason is hair dryers.  I find it hard to plunk down $100+ for a hair dryer despite it being a personal appliance that I use EVERY DAY!!  It makes no sense, I know.  The most I think I would spend on a hair dryer is probably $40.

Hair dryers under $40 basically leaves me with the choice of either Conair or Revlon.  I went with Conair's Infiniti Pro because it was purple and boy did I get a huge surprise!

It didn't just cut my hair drying time in half...it now takes only one-third of the time!! This is the BEST hair dryer for the price.  I got it for $24.99 at Ulta.  It was on sale for $29.99 and I then used a $5 off coupon.  It's still on sale at Ulta.com for $29.99 (but only in the orange version) and if you use the code "54609", it's an additional 20% off!

If there's an Ulta store near you, you can use the following coupon: Ulta 20% Off Personal Care Item.

Note:  Both code and coupon expires on 12/4/10.

Benzaclin + Cerave = Cement Mixer

When it comes to benzaclin, I don't play around. I use it every morning. I am not a fan of adult acne.

Recently, I switched from Kiehl's Ultra Facial Moisturizer with SPF 15 to Cerave AM with SPF 30. It was not one of my brighter ideas. Something in Cerave AM was reacting with the benzaclin so that not only did it not get absorbed, it got pasty and dry. It reminded me of the cement mixer shot: Bailey's + Lemon Juice + a Swirl In Your Mouth = Curdling. A no-no.

At first I thought maybe it was something in Cerave AM, but then I tried using the regular Cerave cream and I got the same weird reaction. My face was streaked with curdled Cerave/Benzaclin. It's not something you want to deal with the first thing the morning. I've since switched back to Kiehl's.

I am happy to report that Cerave does NOT react with tazorac. Hence my love affair with Cerave PM lotion. However, Cerave PM is not cutting it for winter. I'm currently using the regular Cerave cream as my night cream. I'm hoping they will come out with a Cerave PM cream...

Update On Life...

I've been rather remiss on postings and video reviews lately but I do have a good reason!!  I've been busy moving back to NYC!!  Packing was time consuming enough but the unpacking, finding/purchasing of furniture (not to mention building of furniture), and cleaning has been overwhelming. 

Plus, being the anal person that I am, I want the apartment ready now.  Actually, I wanted the apartment ready the day I moved-in.  Not the most realistic (as Sunshine has been continuously been pointing out), but there you have it.  I tried to get my new 1 bedroom apartment ready in the span of 1 week.  Obviously, that didn't happen.  I'm now shooting for 2 weeks.  The one piece of furniture that I really need (not just want), is my new bed.  And unfortunately, that's not getting delivered until later this coming week.  Sleeping on the sofa was okay for 1 night, but after 1 week, it's getting kinda old.

Out of all of this, I learned one very important lesson: unless you're building a single Billy Bookshelf from Ikea, pay for the Ikea assembly service and get your Ikea furniture built by someone else.  Building Ikea furniture sounds much easier than it actually is.  Being the sale seeker that I am, sometimes you gotta splurge.  It will save you not hours, but days!!  And if you bargain a little, you can knock down the price a little.

And yes...I missing my cable tv and my broadband internet service.  3G is great for your phone and iPad, but exasperatingly slow for you laptop.

Oh and before I forget: when measuring a room for furniture, don't forget to take into account the depth of your baseboard.  It can make or break you room arrangement.  (Yes, I learned it the hard way.  I couldn't fit a bookshelf into a nook thanks to the baseboard.  I was short 3/4".)

Bed, Bath & Beyond: Using the Right 20% Coupon

Ever since Linen-N-Things went out of business (I'm disregarding the "new" LNT website because the prices aren't that great), it's a scramble to get a 20% off coupon from Bed, Bath & Beyond.  LNT used to freely offer 20% off printable coupons that you could bring to BBB.  BBB would honor it without question.  Sigh.  It was an easy life back then.

These days, you have to either wait for a 20% off flyer in the mail or a click-through e-mail for a 20% off printable coupon.  And it's a long wait.  If I find a BBB coupon, it's usually a $5 off $15 coupon, if anything.  So it was a big surprise to me this weekend when I received one 20% off flyer AND one 20% off printable coupon.

Let me say this: 20% off BBB coupons are not created equal. 

There are two fantastic brands that are excluded from the 20% printable coupon but are NOT excluded from the 20% off flyer:

• All-Clad
• Tempur-Pedic

If you're in possession of both coupons and are looking to make an All-Clad or Tempur-Pedic purchase, get 20% off by using the right coupon: the 20% off flyer coupon!!

If I Owned This Sheet Set, I Would Never Leave My Bed...

I was in Home Goods the other day and I found this microplush sheet set:

What a brilliant idea!!  I am a HUGE fan of plushy material.  My collection of plushy items includes a plushy robe, a plushy comforter, a plushy pajamas set and a plushy throw.  I was very tempted to buy this sheet set but I would never leave my bed if I owned it.  So I passed.   :(   It was soooo tempting but I can't live in my bed...can I?

Maybe it could be my weekend sheet set.  Just think: plushy sheet set and breakfast in bed!  That sounds like a winning combo in my book.  :)

Rebecca Minkoff: MAB vs MAB-Mini

Like many of you, I was kinda stumped when it came to sizing for Rebecca Minkoff's Morning After Bag (aka MAB) and Morning After Bag Mini (aka MAB-Mini).  The dimension of the bags are similar...so how does that effect overall size?  I've been to numerous websites and I've yet to see a clear-cut side-by-side size comparison of the MAB and the MAB-Mini.  I've found plenty of pictures of models wearing the bags, but I'm smaller than average (5'3" on a good day!) and most models are taller than average.  How do those model shots help me?  They don't...not really.

I finally got my hands on both the MAB and the MAB-Mini simultaneously (thanks to Stefanibags.com)!  Here are side-by-side pictures of the MAB (on the right) and the MAB-Mini (on the left):

• Front View:

• Top View:

• Side View:

• Me With Both Bags - Front View:

• Me With Both Bags - Side View:

Hope this helped ladies!  IMO, the MAB is a great work-size bag and the MAB-Mini is great weekend-size bag.

Here's my video review of the MAB-Mini: Video Review: Rebecca Minkoff's MAB-Mini

My video review of the MAB is coming soon!!

How I Get My Daily Dose of Multivitamins and Minerals

Getting your daily dose of mutivitamins and minerals is important (per my primary physician).  I've honestly tried the whole horse pill route.  I have a collection of women's multivitamins and minerals bottles from GNC, BJ's, Up&Up (Target), etc.  And each bottle is basically new because I have a problem swallowing such large pills. I even purchased a pill splitter but that gets messy (the pills crumble) and the blades in the pill splitters are not travel friendly (TSA anyone?).

This past Monday, I explained my good intentions to my doctor but all she heard was, "excuses, excuses, excuses."  She told the following:  Flintstones Complete (the chewable multivitamins and minerals tablet for children) works just as well!!  The only caveat: since I'm iron deficient, I have to take additional iron supplements.  This was fine by me because I'm already taking additional iron supplements.

I went to Target and purchased Up&Up's Children's Multivitamin Dietary Supplement (the Target house brand version of Flintstones Complete).  A quick comparison of BJ's Women's Daily Multivitamins and Minerals and Up&Up Children's Multivitamin Dietary Supplement shows that while the vitamin/mineral breakdown is not exactly the same, it is indeed comparable for the most part.  (For those of you who need more calcium, you will need to take a calcium supplement.)

I now take a children's multivitamin dietary supplement tablet and a iron supplement tablet daily.  I'm feeling good about being more pro-active in maintaining my health...and I'm hoping that it translates directly into more energy!

For those of you who are like me and have a hard time swallowing large multivitamins and minerals pills, grab the children's chewable multivitamins tablets!!

Note:  I was tempted to buy the multivitamins gummy bears.  However, after a comparison of the labels, the multivitamins gummy bears fall short on what you need.  Skip it.