Shopping

It’s National Cocoa Day! I know, I know — there’s some kind of national something-or-other-day for all 365 days of the year…but it’s cold AF in Chicago right now and only getting colder, so it seemed like a good time. Also, I’m taking the lead of Kaleigh over at klghdaily and following along with her 12 days of Blogmas posts. Day 1’s topic is drinks, so this seems preeeeetty relevant.

I got a lil hot chocolate from Starbucks today. Lookin’ festive here with my USB Christmas tree.

I actually went to Starbucks today in celebration. There are two things I like at Starbucks: Hot chocolate and iced black tea/lemonade. Coffee is too bitter for me, and caffeine puts me to sleep. Seriously. I’m that weirdo. (It’s genetic, too, apparently — I did one of those genetic test things after getting my DNA test from Ancestry.com and it legit recommends right in the analysis that I should drink caffeine to combat anxiety.)

Anyhoo, seeing as it’s cold out and today is NCD (already giving this day abbreviations), I picked me up one of these little guys. I also got the opportunity to hear someone order a “grand-ay” sized drink and watch a dude eye his “green tea latte” suspiciously upon delivery for a full minute like it didn’t belong to him. Your name’s on it, dawg. All good. (I then crossed paths with him a second time near the elevators in the building, holding the cup up and looking at it in the same way. He ultimately decided to head back in the direction of Starbucks.)

As delicious as this hot chocky is, though, I wish I could get a little afternoon pick me up. I’m about ready to get one of these ostrich nap pillows right now (#giftguide?):

Ostrich pillow. (I’m an Amazon affiliate, so if you buy this, I might get a little cash money. Dolla dolla bills, anyone?)

Honestly, could anyone get away with this at work? Or is this some kind of home office? Actually that doesn’t make sense. If you were working from home you could just turn the damn lights out and nap in your bed. So set the scene — just flat out, face down, head and arms in a pillow on your desk. Post-it on the back of your head that says “I’M ON LUNCH”. Can someone get one of these and let me know how it goes over at the office, please? Thank you.

Back to National Cocoa Day. Let’s talk. Hot chocolate drinker? Mallows, or no? Coffee? What kind of insane Starbucks drink have you concocted for yourself with a non-fat flat steamed chocolate white latte cream foam? Also, have any of you tried those new flavored Starbucks hot chocolates? I saw they had a snickerdoodle one but chickened out when I got to the counter. Are they any good? Hit me up in the comments/on social media.

Let’s be honest — the majority of us do a ton of shopping online these days. You can buy pretty much anything you want online without ever having to leave the comfort of your best sweatpants. And to top it off, the mail carrier brings you a package you get to open, like a present to you from you. It’s kind of the best.

Being the coupon-obsessed person that I am, I’m constantly looking for ways to save money. And after years of perusing the web for the best money-saving techniques, I’ve put together a short list of the best and easiest to use. With just a few clicks of a button — you’ll be saving cash in no time!

Ebates

Ebates’ home page

Ebates is probably my favorite of all the sites listed here. I’ve used it the longest and made the most money from it. They give you cash back on purchases — all you have to do is click through Ebates’ link to get to the store you’d like to shop at. Clicking through their link opens up a “Shopping Trip” to that site. Once your purchase is complete, Ebates records it. Then, once a quarter, you’ll get a PayPal payment for the cash back that you earn. (You can also have a physical check mailed to your address if you prefer.)

As you can see in the photo above, they regularly have special deals of double cash back, so it’s always a good idea to check here first! They also often have a list of available coupon codes for the shopping site.

In addition, I highly recommend installing the browser extensions they offer. I use Google Chrome, but they also offer them for Firefox and Safari.

If you’re searching Google for a store, the browser extension will show if Ebates currently has a cash back offer available.

Or, if you head straight to a store’s site without going to Ebates first, you’ll get a little drop-down in the top right-hand corner of your window.

Oh, hai cash back!

All you have to do from here is hit the big red button. The little “E” icon for the extension will get a green box around it showing the Shopping Trip is opened, and you’re good to go!

Note: If you’re a tab shopper like me (i.e., you tab out items that you want to look at), you’ll want to be certain when you do check out that the tab you’re on is active for cash back (this is another place where the extension comes in handy). Also — if for some reason your Shopping Trip doesn’t show up in your account on the site within a few days, you can send a request to Ebates. Just go to the site and click the big green “Help” button in the bottom right. Then choose the “Where’s my cash back?” link. From there, find your open shopping session, and they’ll have you paste the contents of your purchase confirmation email. Then Ebates will add your cash in right away, no questions asked.

Sign up for Ebates here!

Honey

Honey’s home page.

Honey is a bit newer onto the scene. As you can see, Honey is dominated by coupon codes. If you’re like me, you’ve probably spent a ton of time Googling “(insert store name here) coupon codes” when shopping just to make sure you’re not missing anything. Honey will do that for you.

To use Honey, you can either search their site, or install their browser extension (do this). Check out this video — it explains the concept far more simply than I could!

With just one click of a button, Honey runs on its own once you get ready to check out. You don’t have to do anything other than click the button, and it scans all available coupon codes for a site. A lot of these are user entered, so if you have one, share it with the community!

This takes so little effort and really does work. And of course, you can use this in combination with Ebates. Set up your cash back through Ebates first, then once you’re at the checkout page, hit your Honey extension and let it get to work.

Sign up for Honey here!

Paribus

Paribus works a bit differently than the other two sites — it relies on your credit cards’ price protection agreements. You have to register for Paribus through your email address, and then Paribus scans your email for purchase receipts. It doesn’t work for every single retailer, but does work for a lot of major ones — and they’re continuing to expand. (These are mine — shoes for my Eleven costume, a book I’m checking out, a new dog bed for Honey and a good ol’ probiotic. Gut health FTW, y’all.)

 In order for Paribus to make sure that your cards offer price protection, you have to log your cards in through the site. It’s secure, though. All good. Then, as you can see on the right hand side — Paribus tracks prices for 30 days (the length of most price protection programs) to see if the price goes up or down. (Check out those Chucks on Amazon!) If the price goes down, Paribus (no work needed by you) will reach out to your credit card company to get a reimbursement for you. Then, the money goes straight back to your card.

 Basically, once you’ve signed up, there’s nothing further to do here. All you need to do is make sure you keep your credit cards and email address updated. Then, just sit back and wait for the dough to roll in.

Sign up for Paribus here!

These are my three favorite ways to save money when shopping online. They all require very little action on your part — if you install the browser extensions for Ebates and Honey, they’ll prompt you when savings are available. And Paribus just works in the background. So you can shop like normal, but save tons of money.

 So…since I helped you find these — when you get your Scrooge McDuck-style vault of gold coins set up, can I go for a swim?

Picture this: We’re only 12 days away from Halloween, and you haven’t got a costume yet. You’ve got a huge party to attend and everyone is going to be there. What’s a girl to do? Well, I’ll tell you — grab the sexiest costume you can find and you get your ass to that party!

There are plenty of sites out there showing you all the sexy costumes available, but I’d like to submit a few alternate suggestions for the feminists out there.

As a quick note, this post contains affiliate links. That means if you buy some of the items I’ve linked here, I might get a small commission from your purchase. Thanks in advance for supporting my lifelong dream of someday wearing a pair of sweatpants until they physically disintegrate.

• Sexy CEO

What’s sexier than a powerful woman who has worked incredibly hard to advance her career?

There’s a few parts to this costume: first up, a nice pantsuit from Nordstrom’s. Mostly covered, with a fun hint of ankle peeking out from the bottom of your trousers to show everyone you have a playful side. Next, a comfortable pair of Dr. Scholl’s loafers. You can walk up and down the halls of your office as much as you need, and still go to a PTA meeting (that is, if you chose to have a family, which you can absolutely do…or not). An iPhone, so you can answer emails at any time of the day or night. And one both free and invisible costume item: Impostor Syndrome. You’re qualified for this job…right?

• Sexy Scientist

What’s sexier than an intelligent woman who spends her days with da real MVP, science?

This costume is relatively simple. Either grab some of these sweet scrubs from Amazon or wear something comfy. Next up, cover those clothes up with a lab coat. Then, fill your pockets with some test tubes and get ready to correct anyone who thinks you’re a doctor by making sure they know you’re a scientist, but you’ve also got a PhD. You’ll also want to add a touch of Impostor Syndrome — and for some couples fun, ask your partner to check your math because you just don’t trust yourself with these calculations on your own!

• Sexy Pilot

What’s sexier than a woman who can control a hulking metal machine at 550 mph?

For this costume, you’ll need a white button down top and some blue trousers. Then, just pick up something like this Pilot Costume Accessory Set from Amazon (yeah, there’s only a picture of a man wearing it) to put a few finishing touches onto the costume. You can also scrounge up a pilot’s hat to make it fully clear that you are a pilot and not a flight attendant simply because you are a woman. And as always, good ol’ Impostor Syndrome. Sure, Sully saved all those people by gliding to safety on the Hudson. But could you?

• Sexy President of the United States of America

What’s sexier than being the leader of the free world?

Start this one off with a nice black blazer, but toss a bit of design in there. Throw it over a nice dress that comes down to at least your knees. No free shows here, Putin. You’ll also want some fancy gold pens you can use to sign bills in to law. Optional costume piece: a Blackberry. You’re the President now, so you can use whatever cell phone you want. For a fun couples idea, have your significant other dress up like a Secret Service member and follow you around whispering into their sleeve all night. And last but not least, Impostor Syndrome. Maybe it would have been better if your husband were President. Have you made a huge mistake?

Hope these costumes help you come up with an idea! What sexy feminist costumes have you created? Is it just you, in your every day clothes? 10 points to Gryffindor.

We’re smack dab in the middle of the month — just 16 days away from the SPOOPIEST day of the year, Halloween! TBH, Halloween is actually my least favorite holiday of the year. Mostly because I don’t like being scared. I have plenty of memories of getting the bejeezus scared out of me when I was just a wee little geek gal in my batman costume (read: pajamas with cape), strolling down the street with my cousin who was wearing witch hat and a glued-on witch chin. Ah, the 90’s.

For some reason, this year I’m actually excited for the holiday. It’s probably because I have the best costume of my life in the works (I’m going as Eleven from Stranger Things — I linked to it here on Netflix, because if you haven’t watched it yet, literally drop everything and spend the next 8 hours doing so).

MFW I win the costume contest at work

I’ve gotten everything in so far except the dress, which I chose to have custom made from FrenchieYork on Etsy. She says it’ll make it here in time, so here’s hoping it shows up next week!

The rest of the costume I put together from Etsy and Amazon — the jacket, the wig (which is fantastic, by the way), the shoes, and the socks I had left over from a costume Damon and I wore a few years ago when I was a cheerleader and he wore a wrestling singlet. (We scrounged up the outfits at Belmont Army.)

Couple o’ knuckleheads

That was still one of my favorite couples costumes ever. As it turned out, it was a good thing I had the ol’ American Apparel socks laying around, because they’re sold out EVERYWHERE. I’ll be sharing pics of the completed costume on social media, so check back on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram in a couple weeks!

I’m so excited for Halloween this year that I actually decorated. My Halloween decor consists of themed Beanie Babies & Beanie Buddies I’ve had for ages. Look at these cuties! It’s a Pumkin Beanie Buddy and the matching Pumkin Beanie Baby.

Yeah, these are from my ~*personal collection*~. Sorry fellas, I’m taken.

I also have the matching set of Batty and Spinner Beanie Baby & Buddy. I’ve had these things for years, since back when I was an insane Beanie collector back in the late junior high. Of course, I’ve sold off most of them now but I kept the decorative ones and a couple of my favorites. (Would have been a great college fund if I hadn’t sold them off in the late 2000s, when no one cared about them any more…and I’d already graduated college. Ha.)

This afternoon I’m shopping for more Halloween goodies from Modcloth while I watch Cutthroat Kitchen’s and Guy’s Grocery Games’ Halloween Specials. Just look at these lovelies:

Spell It Like It Is Jacket

Give ‘Em Pumpkin to Talk About Socks

Overall Winner Jumper in Black

 Ugh. I’M OBSESSED. They’re about to wrap up a sale over there too, for 25% off $100. And I’m gonna be honest, it’s taking everything I have right now not to get at least that jacket. Alas, we have a wedding to pay for, so…maybe just the jumper and socks.

 Anyhoo…I’m off to pin all my ModCloth loves on Pinterest (Come hang!) and eat my skull & bone Halloween SweeTarts under the orange and dark purple Hue lights (we LOVE these things — I’ll discuss them more later in another post) in my spoopified apartment. BOO!