Today I decided to write about online shopping deals! It’s been a weird and emotional week for me and some things that always cheers me up are food and shopping. Since I can't go sink my teeth into a nice greasy cheeseburger, shopping will have to suffice in filling me with joy : ) We are currently living in a world malls are becoming more and more unnecessary (thank the Lord) because of the internet (Thank Al Gore...t h), so I figured I’d share a few online sites. Before I get started I would like to ask that whoever reads this today, please keep the Havran family in your prayers.
Thanks to Jenna from Kidd Kraddick in the Morning, I have just become a member of Just Fabulous. It’s most similar to Rue La La, minus the 48 hour window of purchase and it’s just shoes and handbags shoes. You fill out a style profile based on celebrities, colors and your favorite styles of shoes, and they match you with shoes they think you’ll like. There is no monthly membership, sign up is free, shipping is free, and each pair of shoes is only $39.95! AND you get 50% your first order when you sign up. I am SUPER excited about this, because as most of you know, me likey shoes : ) www.justfab.com It takes less than 5 minutes to fill out your profile and you can immediately begin shopping. The shoes switch out every month I believe, but if for nothing else, use this sight to find out with you like and don’t like and then just go to DSW with the $20 coupon we all get in the mail once a month and find shoes there!
Here are a few more websites that I follow right now. I love them and I have purchases items from all of them!
http://www.livingsocial.com/ – The Breakdown: Each day they send you one deeply discounted deal to use at a local business. You can sign up for a number of different locations at once, but that’s really only good if you travel or have intention of traveling. You just click to buy and they send you the coupon to use and/or store it on your account. You can share the deal with others, and if three people you shared with buy it, yours becomes free! They also share destination deals, under the “escapes” tab, for hotels, all-inclusives and weekend getaways. It’s amazing.
www.ruelala.com – The Breakdown: Designer Brands, Private Sale Pricing. You have to be a member to view, but it’s free. They have designer collections for clothing, jewelry, home apparel, and now they are starting to sell destination deals as well. Each “boutique” is only open for two days, and the best things sell out quick. They will send you an email with the day’s boutiques, as well as future ones.
http://www.groupon.com/ – The Breakdown: Extremely similar to Living Social. You check your email for daily deals on cool local businesses, buy deals that you like with a click of the mouse, and share them with your friends. They have really cools deals on groupons pretty consistently. If you had an iPhone, you can download the app for free and it will alert you when new deals are up.
www.renttherunway.com – The Breakdown: It’s just how it sounds. Its alike a Netflix for clothes. You can take a profile test to determine your style, which is never ending fashion questions and picture (it’s fun, but long), or you can just shop around yourself. You shop by color, size, style, occasion, etc. Then, you pick a delivery date close to when you need to wear the dress, and then ship it to you with a free backup size of the exact outfit for use for 4 or 8 days. Then, you just put the outfit back in a prepaid package and drop it in the mail. They even take care of the dry cleaning. Prices vary accordingly to designer, but it’s a really cool website if you have an event you are going to but you just don’t have the money to buy the designer dress you really want.
Since you now have easy access to online shopping for clothes, shoes, and vacations, I figure I should post some super healthy recipes so we can all fit into our fabulous dresses and barely-there bikinis (HA! I have always wanted to use that phrase…Don’t worry dad, my bikini will be VERY-there).
Salad with Warm Goat Cheese
Ingredients
3 or 4 fresh small goat cheeses
8 slices country white bread
EVOO
Salad greens for 4 salads
Green Salad Vinaigrette (recipe below)
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Preparation
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Cut each goat cheese round horizontally into 2 or 3 half-inch slices. Place bread on a baking sheet, brush lightly with olive oil, and place a slice of goat cheese on each piece. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes, until bread is toasted and cheese is warm.
Meanwhile, place salad greens in a large bowl and toss with enough Green Salad Vinaigrette to moisten. Divide the salad among 4 lunch plates. Place 2 slices of toasted bread on each salad, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and serve. Makes 4 salads.
Green Salad Vinaigrette: In a small bowl, whisk together the 3 tablespoons champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar, 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard, 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh garlic, 1 extra-large egg yolk, at room temperature, 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt and 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper. While whisking, slowly add the 1/2 cup good olive oil until the vinaigrette is emulsified.
*Note*Egg Swap: Ina makes her Green Salad Vinaigrette with a fresh raw egg yolk for a wonderfully creamy dressing. If you are concerned about the safety of using a raw egg yolk, use 2 tablespoons refrigerated or frozen egg product, thawed, in place of the yolk. The yolk can be omitted altogether, but the dressing will be less rich and creamy.
*Nutrition Facts*
Servings Per 6 oz, Calories -141, Fat – 11g, Sat Fat – 2g, Cholesterol – 19mg, Sodium – 249mg, Carbs – 7g, Fiber – 0.5g, Protein – 3g, Vit C – 2%, Ca – 5%, Fe – 4%
Black Bean Cakes with Salsa
Ingredients
1.5 C prepared salsa
1 jalapeño pepper
2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 8.5 oz pkg. Corn muffin mix
2 1/2 tsp Chili powder
2 Tbsp Olive oil
1/2 C sour cream
1/2 tsp Chili powder
Preparation
In colander, drain 1/2 cup of the salsa. Seed and finely chop half of the jalapeño; thinly slice remaining half. In large bowl mash beans with vegetable masher or fork. Stir in muffin mix, drained salsa, 2-1/2 teaspoons chili powder, and chopped jalapeño.
In 12-inch skillet heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add flour, 1/2-cup mounds bean mixture to skillet. Flatten mounds with spatula to 3-1/2-inch-round cakes. Cook 3 minutes each side until browned. Remove from skillet. Repeat with remaining oil and bean mixture.
In bowl, combine sour cream and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder. Top cakes with remaining salsa, sliced jalapeño, and seasoned sour cream. Makes 4 (2-cake) servings.
*Nutrition Facts*
Servings Per 2 cake servings , Calories – 129, Fat – 5g, Sat Fat – 1g, Mono Fat – 1.5g, Poly Fat – 0g, Cholesterol – 3mg, Sodium – 338mg, Carb – 20g, Fiber – 3g, Protein – 5g, Vit C -2%, Ca – 3%, Fe – 6%
*You will feel fullfilled when you do the impossible for someone else*
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