Fashion Inspiration

FASHIONABLY FRUGAL: WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING

Just to set things straight I am not getting married! But my best friend of 18 years is! I remember as 6 year olds cutting out pics from mum’s Vogue of our ideal wedding dresses and grooms! Well my Bestie’s big day is fast approaching and as a student saving for her (and her future husband’s) first home money is tight. Like most brides B wants things things to be perfect and her wedding dress is no exception BUT $4,000 for a dream dress sadly isn’t feasible. After a chat with our recently newlywed friend we decided to search for cheap wedding dresses online. Ebay was the first place we searched, but I guess a lot of other soon to be brides had the same idea as bidding got pretty intense and she keep getting out bid. That’s when we decided to search online and discovered that some online stores have gorgeous wedding dresses for under $200 and with a bit of altering the these dresses are a budget friendly way of finding the perfect dress. Here are the two she is tossing up between, both astonishingly under $150!

Dress 1. Dress 2.

Do you have any budget friendly Wedding tips? I’d love to hear them! Becky xo

Tags: Fashionable Frugal, Sponsored, Wedding

Comments 33 Comments
Categories Fashionably Frugal

Fashion Inspiration

14 May

STYLE ICON: ANNIKA FROM THE PINENEEDLE COLLECTIVE

Today’s style icon is Annika from The Pineneedle Collective. Annika blogs about 3 of my favourite things; fashion, DIY and Science. Yep you read that right; Science. As a former science major I find Annika’s science posts and experiments fascinating and in a way they bring back a sense of nostalgia. Annika answers questions like; How does hair dye work and How is Fairy Floss possible in a light hearted yet informative manner which is often accompanied by a cute outfit. If you haven’t read The Pineneedle Collective before I assure you it’s worth the click. I am always left feeling inspired after visiting!

Are there any Bloggers whose style you find particularly inspiring? Becky xo

Tags: Fashion, Fashion inspiration, Style Icon

Comments 12 Comments
Categories Fashion, Style Icons

Sweet Treats

6 May

MICROWAVE JAFFA MUG CAKES

These littles cakes were originally created by my sweet tooth father after he was craving something chocolately and the oven was broken. I have been playing around with this recipe for a while and have created my own Jaffa (Chocolate and Orange) version made using (microwave safe) soup mugs. Enjoy!

What you will need:
8 tablespoons butter
1 cup caster sugar
1 teaspoon orange essence
1/4 cup orange juice
2 cups of self raising flour
1/2 cup Dutch cocoa
2 eggs
Chocolate Drizzle;
1 cup icing sugar
200 grams milk chocolate melted
1/2 cup orange juice

What to do:
In a large bowl beat together 6 tablespoons of butter with 1 cup of caster sugar. Add in the orange essence, orange juice and eggs, Continue to beat. Sift in the flour and cocoa and beat until a smooth batter forms. Grease your mugs with a little butter and pour in the batter. about 2/3 full. Cook for around 2 minutes. Turn your cakes out into a bowl and drizzle with the chocolate orange glaze. To make the glaze simply whisk together the melted chocolate, sifted icing sugar and orange juice. Makes around 4 mug cakes.

Tags: recipes, sweets

Comments 16 Comments
Categories Recipes, Sweets, Vegetarian

A guide to saving money shopping online

6 May

FASHIONABLY FRUGAL: ONLINE SHOPPING

Most people will agree, shopping is fun. It’s always great to find something that love, but better yet when it’s 80% off. I love Bargain hunting. I find it an exhilarating challenge of sort. Most people are unaware that bargain hunting and finding a great deal needn’t be restricted to instore shopping. There are a heap of ways to find and snap up a great bargain online. Today I am going to share with you some of my tips and tricks that will help save you a pretty penny or two when it comes to shopping online.

Subscribe to Newsletters
If you love a store subscribe to their Newsletter. Subscribing to a store’s newsletter will give you a heads up in regards to upcoming sales and often contain special discount codes. If like myself you love a heap of stores you may find your inbox flooded with emails and your usual content buried. This is where a throwaway email address comes in handy. You can easily sign up for a free email at yahoo or hotmail. Be aware that checking such email address usual results in hours of procrastination browsing stores and sales racks. Also be sure to include your date of birth when signing up. A lot of companies will send you a little gift or discount code to help you celebrate.

Coupon Code Websites
There are many websites which feature coupons codes from across the web. I like to check these prior to making a purchase. I find that more then half the time the coupon codes are expired prior to me finding them but on the off chance you will find an active one and score yourself 25% or free shipping. I don’t have any specific websites to share but usually a quick google search for coupon/discount codes for your chosen store bring up a heap of results.

UNIdays
If you are a University student’s it’s worth while signing up to UNIdays. Signing up will give you regular discounts to major online shopping retailers as well the occasional special offer or coupon code.

Combine orders with friends to save on shipping
If the store you love ships from a country other than the one you live in chances are postage costs are going to be elevated. This is when shopping with a friend/s comes in handy. Most online stores have a set shipping fee, so no matter how many items you purchase or their weight you purchase will ship for the one price. When making an internationally purchase (sometimes even local) I like to give my friends/family a quick text and see if they want anything from such store. A $45 shipping fee is far less expensive when divided amongst a friend or two.

Online Outlet Stores
Online Outlet stores are a great way to find items drastically reduced. My favourite is Ultimate Outlet. Ultimate Outlet stock designer pieces, some up to 90% off. Plus they have a Today’s Sales section which features items starting at just $5 each! Online outlets are a great way to pick up quality pieces that may be the last of their kind or from a previous season’s line at drastically low prices.

Comparison Websites
If you are after something particular it’s always a good idea to shop around and compare prices. Having said this manually checking out each online retailer can be time consuming and fustrating. This is when comparison websites like ShopBot.com.au and Getprice.com.au come in handy. You simply type in the details of the item you are after and a up pops a list of suppliers and their retail price. Be sure to take into account shipping costs to your country in the total item price.

So there you have it a few simple ways to save money shopping online. If you have any of your own feel free to comment with them below. Becky xo

Tags: Freshly Frugal, Money Saving Ideas, Outlet Shopping

Comments 39 Comments
Categories Bargains online, Fashionably Frugal, Saving money tips

Fashion Inspiration

4 May

STYLE ICON: RACHEL-MARIE

Introducing Rachel-Marie Iwanyszyn; New Yorker, Model, Fashion Blogger and my latest Style Icon. Rachel blogs over at Jag Lever and has an amazing sense of style. Rachel-Marie manages to combine vintage inspired pieces with quirky accessories and to look so effortlessly chic. Not to mention her AMAZING collection of platforms! Scrolling through the Jag Lever leaves me with major shoe envy. Below are a few of my favourite outfit combinations. You can find many more on Rachel-Marie’s LookBook. It’s must certainly worth a peek.