Give and Get

Last week I took advantage of Give and Get promotion and picked up a few fall essentials from GAP and Banana Republic. Here's a look at my loot -

Open-front Dolman Cardigan

Herringbone Blazer

Pima blend seamed v-neck sweater

Contrast Trim Henley

Ready for the Rain

I had some credit to Lands End burning a hole in my wallet so I decided to get this fabulous black wellies from their Canvas line. They are super cute and have a hit a patent which I love. They will be perfect for those rainy days.

Tiny Prints at One Kings Lane

I love Tiny Prints adorable personalized stationary and announcements. Right now on One Kings Lane they have a boutique with discounted gift certificates to be used for birth announcements, business cards, stationary and party invitations. They also have a few bundles of greeting cards. I wish there were gift certificates for Christmas Cards because I really want to order ours through them this year. Definitely check everything out.

One Kings Lane is by invitation discount site (like Rue La La) for home goods. If you'd like an invite leave me a comment with your email address or email me at christinasfavoritethings@gmail.com and I will send you an invite.

Rockville Wine Fest

This weekend Hubby and I will be heading to our town's wine festival. It's in walking distance to our house and we always have a good time. The weather is expected to be nice and sunny! If you live in the DC area you should definitely check out Un-Corked in Rockville, MD. It features local Maryland wineries, music and food demos.

Thrifty Thursday - GAP and Groupon!

I've mentioned Groupon before in a Thirfty Thursday post. Today's Groupon deal is awesome and relevant to almost everyone. For $25 you can get $50 worth of Gap merchandise. Unfortunately the deal only works in the stores, not online but it includes sale items and Baby Gap. It expires November 19th so you have plenty of time to use it.

Ready for Fall with LOFT

A few fall wardrobe purchases. I took advantage of the LOFT friends and family 30% discount a few weeks ago. Here's a look at a couple of my purchases - Ruffle Trim Scoopneck Tank with Short Sleeve Cardigan. I love these warm fall colors. I paired this with a pair of dark ankle jeans from J.Crew and my favorite flats - Tory Burch Revas.

Homemade Hush Puppies

This weekend Hubby celebrated his 33rd birthday. To celebrate we had the family over for a crab feast! As part of the crab feast I made homemade hush puppies. I found a great recipe from Paula Deen on FoodNetwork.com. They were really easy to make and soooo yummy. Instead of using a pot to fry them, I used a deep fryer. The recipe is below. Enjoy!

Ingredients

* 6 cups peanut oil

* 1 1/2 cups self-rising cornmeal

* 1/2 cup self-rising flour

* 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

* 1/2 teaspoon salt

* 1 small onion, chopped

* 1 cup buttermilk

* 1 egg, lightly beaten

Directions

Using a deep pot, preheat oil for frying to 350 degrees F.

Using a mixing bowl, stir together the cornmeal, flour, baking soda, and salt. Stir in the onion. In a small bowl, stir together the buttermilk and egg. Pour the buttermilk mixture into the dry ingredients and mix until blended. Drop the batter, 1 teaspoon at a time, into the oil. Dip the spoon in a glass of water after each hushpuppy is dropped in the oil. Fry until golden brown, turning the hushpuppies during the cooking process.

Closet Clean Part Two

Here's the second and final batch of my spring/summer closet clean out. There is another great selection of J.Crew goodies - tank tops, super cute white jacket, etc. I also reposted two things that didn't sell in the last batch at a much lower price. Check out the goodies here.

Thrifty Thursday - Ebates!!!

I know I've posted about Ebates before but I can tell you all how much I love it and how easy and worthwhile it is!! This is by far the easiest way to earn FREE money by shopping online. All you have to do is go to Ebates, log in, search for the store you plan on shopping at, click the link and voila you are taken there and all you have to do is shop! Each store has a corresponding percentage of cash back. For example when I ordered stuff from Nordstrom's Anniversary Sale I received $6.18 in cash back. And the money just adds up. Every quarter Ebates will send you a check and all you have to do is cash it. My next Ebates check will be for over $100! If you haven't already signed up, I definitely recommend that you do. You get $5 just for signing up! Click here to start getting free money!

Polka Dots

Picked up these super cute mugs from One Kings Lane yesterday. They are still available for $29. I probably won't use them all and I will save a few for gifts.

One Kings Lane is by invitation discount site (like Rue La La) for home goods. If you'd like an invite leave me a comment with your email address or email me at christinasfavoritethings@gmail.com and I will send you an invite. Right now anyone that I refer to One Kings Lane gets a $10 shopping credit. Email me soon because I can only give these out till tomorrow.

Another closet clean out!

Since summer is nearing to an end, it's time for me to clean out my closet of clothes I really don't wear anymore. I've posted the first round of stuff on ebay. This batch has a lot of great dresses from BCBG and J.Crew. Check it out here. Also, check out my friend Shannon's stuff too. Click here for her super cute stuff.

Favorite Thing #195 - Washington's Green Grocer

Recently Hubby and I have started getting our fruits and vegetables delivered from Washington's Green Grocer. It is a fruit and vegetable home delivery service that has been in operation for over 15 years. Each week they bring a selection of 12-14 organic/non-organic types of fruit and vegetables. It's a great, convenient service with fresh, quality produce. The process is pretty easy. There's no contract or obligation. You can have it delivered every week, every other or just try it once. Since its just Hubby and I, we have deliveries every other week. On Fridays you receive an email with the tentative list for the following week and Mondays you get the confirmed list. If there is anything on the list you don't like you can make change and customize the box how you like. There are different options for size of boxes purchased -

• Large/Mixed - $37.75
• Small/Mixed - $31.25 - this is the one Hubby and I get
• All Fruit/Mixed - $31.25
• Large/Organic - $44.25
• Small/Organic - $37.75
• All Fruit/Organic - $37.75

Currently they deliver to Maryland on Tuesdays, Virginia on Wednesdays and DC on Thursdays. Deliveries are made between 11am and 5pm. Check here to see if they deliver to your area. We've been using this service for the past couple of months and I'm really pleased with the quality of their product. I've found that the cost is pretty comparable to what I was spending on produce at Whole Foods. If you live in the DC area, I definitely recommend trying out Washington's Green Grocer.

Thrifty Thursday - Plum District

Thanks to fellow blogger, Rachel, for introducing me to plum district. Plum district is another daily deal website like Groupon or LivingSocial. Every day there is a deal that is significantly reduced. You can set up your account to correspond to your city. Today's D.C. deal is a half off gift certificate to Fandango. There is also a free iPhone app so you can get these great deals on the go. The one difference I've seen in plum district to other daily deal sites is that you get referral money. You get $10 in "Plum Dollars" for every friend you refer when they buy their first Plum deal. Definitely check it out!

Our New Bed!

Over the weekend Hubby and I finally put together our new bed. We purchased the Porto bed from Crate and Barrel after our bed frame cracked. The bed was very easy to put together and we actually ended up with a lot more space. Our previous bed was a sleigh bed and was much longer. Here's what it looked like before. I picked the Porto bed because I like the classic rod iron look and knew this piece would go with pretty much anything. So what do you think? Picture quality sucks since I took it on my blackberry.

Nordstrom Anniversary Purchase #4

I specifically picked up the NARS 'Hopelessly Devoted' Set because I wanted the bronzer blush duo for my purse. Big fan of the duo because it doesn't take up much room in my tiny purse makeup bag and its dual functioning. :) The lip glosses aren't that great. The darker one is a little too coppery for me and the lighter one is a little too nude. I'll try them over a few lipsticks and see if I can't make them work.