Additional 50% off at Children's Place

Winter/Spring clearance season is upon us again....

Head to Children's Place to find great prices on clothing for your child.

Click on the image to find your nearest store.

Tips:

• Find additional clearance online.
• If you get invited to lots of baby showers, this is a good opportunity to stock up on baby gifts. My mom taught me to buy baby clothing gifts a little bigger (18 mo to 3T). New moms tend to receive plenty of newborn clothes, but not much else.

Additional 40% off at Ann Taylor Loft

My little sister used to work at Ann Taylor, so I got a lot of discounts and hand-me-"ups". She got me hooked on Ann Taylor for dressy fashion and Ann Taylor Loft for more casual fashion. Even though she doesn't work there anymore, I still love to hit their clearance sales like this one.

My picks:

• Tulip Wash Boot Leg Jeans
• Twist Neck Pullover
• Empire V-Neck Knit Dress
• Purple Stone Stretch Bracelet

Tips:

• Take 40% off the lowest listed price. That will be your final price.
• Check your local Loft location, where they might have a bigger selection and even deeper discounts.
• I am willing to pay a little more for Ann Taylor/Loft clothing, because they are good quality. My sis started working there about 15 years ago. I have some classic Ann Taylor items in my closet from around that time that I still wear, and they still look great.

Urban Outfitters $5 Sale

Urban Outfitters has a bunch of stuff on clearance for $5 or less--mostly accessories, but worth checking out.

Here are my faves:

Kiss Me I'm Irish Tee (this one's for you, Heather)

Bird House Charm Necklace

Snatch Sunglasses

Tips:

• The sale is online only. To make it worth the shipping, get a lot, or share an order with a buddy.
• Even though this sale is advertised as online only, my guess is that the store has a lot of great clearance, too!
  
  

Travelocity Top Secret Hotels

Travelocity just added a new service: Top Secret Hotels. It works just like Hotwire.com. That is, you see the price, the general location, and the hotel rating, but not the name, before booking the hotel. After you pay, then you find out the exact hotel. I generally book hotels this way. Never have I experienced disappointment in the value. More often, I have been pleasantly surprised (once to the utmost) at the level of luxury for the amount of money.


Also, I have taken advantage of Travelocity from the start (years before my husband began working for its parent company). My experience with their customer service has been fabulous and they consistently have competitive rates.


The combination of Travelocity with my favorite hotel booking method fashions my perfect universe.


Even better, right now they have a promotion for a 2+ night hotel stay. Here are the details:



"Team:

If you haven’t seen the exciting news already, Travelocity is pleased to announce its brand-new product: Travelocity Top Secret Hotels. It's the new, easy way for our customers to get unpublished discounted prices (up to 45% off) on 3- and 4- star hotels. We also let customers know the price upfront, so there's no guesswork when they book and no hassle of bidding (like some of those “other” guys).

In fact, a recent customer paid only $101 for a 4-star hotel in Chicago that normally would have cost $207. And a customer headed to San Francisco paid just $112 for a 3-star hotel which normally cost $202. Impressive indeed! And now we’re going to fill you in on a little secret on how to save even more.

Want an answer to “Can you get me a discount on travel?”

Yes! First encourage your friends and family to visit our site and book a Top Secret Hotel with their American Express card and enjoy $20 off a two+ night Top Secret Hotel stay when they enter the promo code AMXSECRET20. Don’t have an American Express card handy and need to use a different card? We’ve also created a “secret” introductory Friends and Family promo code, SECRET 20 they can use for a limited time as well.

Happy travels!

The Travelocity Team"



Tips:

• The hotel booking is non-refundable. So be certain of your travel plans before paying.
• You can either use the link above to visit the Travelocity Top Secret Hotel website, or you can simply start your hotel search on the Travelocity home page. The results will include a Top Secret Hotel option at the top of the hotel list.
  
  

Kirkland Stainless Steel Cookware

Goodbye, old friends. You have been with me for many years, through thick (stews) and thin (crepes). Alas, it is time to move on. Farewell.

I have been eyeing Costco's Kirkland Signature 13-piece Stainless Steel Cookware set for a little while now. When I walk by the kitchen goods aisle at my local Costco, the cookware set shimmers beautifully, beckoning me to take it home.

Fortunately, it's almost my birthday, so my parents and my in-laws were happy to oblige me. Now the Kirkland Signature 13-piece Stainless Steel Cookware set (broccoflower, yellow bell peppers, and greens not included) resides in my kitchen. So far, I have used the larger skillet, the dutch oven, and the larger saucepan. I'm anxious to try the steamer.

The dutch oven is my favorite so far. Look how shiny and pretty:

I like this cookware, because...

• It heats up quickly (about twice as fast as my old pans).
• It cooks evenly.
• It washes easily.
• It's dishwasher safe.
• It includes an 8-qt dutch oven (see picture above). I had planned on buying just a nice larger dutch oven (my old one was 5 quarts--not large enough to feed a family with hollow-legged teenagers), but found that a nice stainless steel one would run at least $60. I thought it a good deal to pay $100 more for a whole new set!

Check out some others' perspectives:

Chowhound.com

Epinions.com

Tips

• Use lower heat settings. These pans retain heat well, so low to medium heat should cover most, if not all, your cooking needs. My mom and I made a vanilla sauce and overcooked it a little, because the pan got too hot.


• Cancel your gym membership. These babies are heavy. I thought I'd show off a little and carry the box to the checkout, then proceed to carry it out to the car. I barely made it to the checkout. I feel reassured, though, of their durability.

Back from San Marcos: Part 1

We arrived in San Marcos Friday night.... Isn't it beautiful? It should be named one of the 7 wonders of the world.

We shopped Friday night, stayed at La Quinta in San Marcos (not impressed...I don't recommend it), then arrived back at the Outlet Malls by 9am. We shopped amongst other Spring Breakers, including travellers from Mexico, all day Saturday and arrived home by 10 pm. It was a busy place, but not overcrowded.

Evidence of a happy trip:

Full trunk (see above)

Empty wallet (see below)

Here are a few of my favorite purchases:

Original outlet price: $80.

Original price for the sweater: $99

Shorts: originally $69

Dress: originally $78

Roxy hats for bad hair days: originally $22 each.

Tips:

• Avoid traffic. We left at the wrong time, hitting Austin just before rush hour, which added an extra 2 hours to our trip.
• Bring snacks. Dining options are slim at the outlet malls.

This is only part 1, because in May I'm headed back for a birthday/Mother's Day trip with friends. Wanna come?

Headed to San Marcos Outlet...

The outlets in San Marcos, TX were named the "third best place to shop in the world" by ABC's the View. It is the biggest outlet destination in Texas, and the 3rd biggest in the world. Find more info in this post.

Thesaurus.com:

"Main Entry: heavenPart of Speech: nounDefinition: place where God lives; wonderful feelingSynonyms: Arcadia, Canaan, Elysium, Shangri-la, Utopia, Zion, afterworld, atmosphere, azure*, beyond, bliss, dreamland, ecstasy, empyrean, enchantment, eternal home, eternal rest, eternity, fairyland, felicity, firmament, glory, great unknown, happiness, happy hunting ground, harmony, heights, hereafter, immortality, kingdom, kingdom come, life everlasting, life to come, next world, nirvana, paradise, pearly gates, promised land, rapture, sky*, the blue, transport, upstairs, wonderland "

This is where I'll be, what I'll be experiencing this weekend.

This is what my husband calls it:

"Antonyms: hell" (from Thesaurus.com)

I'll report back in a few days...

Try to have a weekend as fun as mine!