20 Things Under $25 I Love... Part I

Part I: Food 

Dalmatia Fig Spread Original

The Dalmatia Fig Spread makes a great little appetizer and it is a real crowd pleaser. Plus, it's quick and elegant! Best thing for a busy host. Buy crackers or bread-- rosemary bread is a good choice.  Pick up some chevre or a chunk of blue cheese at your local market.

Add a dab of cheese to your bread or cracker. Then, spread on some of the delicious Fig Spread with hand picked  figs from the Dalmatian coast of Coratia. Voila! Your guests can do all the work. And might I recommend a little Veuvre Cliquot to go with that. Cheers!


Dalmatia Fig Spread: The Fresh Market/$5.49

Aleia’s Almond Horn Gluten-free Cookies

I don’t follow a gluten-free diet. I picked up Aleia's Almond Horn cookies at Stop and Shop because they are all natural. Here are the total list of ingredients: almond paste, organic pure cane sugar, almonds and egg whites. And then, I admit it. I became quite addicted. These are just lovely cookies and they taste homemade. 

Aleia's also makes other gluten free cookies: chocolate chip, ginger snap, coconut macaroon, peanut butter, snickerdoodle, pignoli nut and chocolate coconut macaroon.

Aleia's Almond Horn Gluten free Cookies: Stop and Shop/$6.99

Ines Rosales Sweet Olive Oil Tortas 

Each package of Ines Rosales tortas contains 6 sweet and salty olive oil tortas. These delicate tortas are individually wrapped in waxed tissue paper. The tortas, sprinkled with sugar, have a tang of licorice because of the anise seed and essence. The tortas have been handmade in Seville, Spain since 1910 

Ines Rosales also makes Sesame and Sea Salt, which tastes more like a sweet cracker;  and two other flavors I have not tried: Seville Orange; Rosemary and Thyme. 

I enjoy them as a decadent snack with a cup of tea. Although they would also go well with cheese.

Saveur magazine choose the Olive Oil Tortas as one of their 2010 Top 100 Picks of the World's Best Foods.

Ines Rosales Olive Oil Tortes: Gourmet-Food.com:/ $6.87. Also you can find the tortes at Whole Foods and I have seen them in other supermarkets.

Haagen-dazs Dulce de Leche Caramel Ice Cream

I do love ice cream and when I get that craving--I need a hit right now. Haagen-Dazs Dulce de Leche Caramel ice cream has got my name on it. Maybe I get a little twang of guilt, but forgettaboutit, every girl needs a treat now and then. 


Sweet cream and golden caramel swirls. Ummmm—you can eat it right out of the container. If you’re feeling generous, share with the one you love.

Haagen-dazs Dulce de Leche Carmel Ice Cream at your local supermarket

365 Whole Foods Classic Organic Potato Chips: Sea Salt 

There is something about these chips. 

I can't just eat one. 

Even Whoopi loves them. In her bio for wowowow: The Woman on the Web she said, "I am miserly about my Whole Foods 365 Potato Chips—you can’t touch them! Plain regular salt flavor." 
That's right Whoopi. They are not for sharing!

Whole Foods 365 Classic Organic Potato Chips: Sea Salt: Whole Foods/$2.99 Other flavors include: Barbecue; Sea Salt and Black Pepper.


However I will be sharing more of what I love in upcoming posts including Beauty, Fashion and Accessories. Look for Part 2 of "20 Things Under $25 I Love..." to be continued.

Fig, cheese and bread photo credit: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaplanbr/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Anthropologie for the Kitchen: Under $25

I am a big fan of Anthropologie's style. I love their clothes, but I also love what they offer for the home.
  
Here are some cute, but useful items for your kitchen. It's never been more fun to cook!

Show Your Love On Valentine's Day--Give Your Sweetie an Egg Press Card

Egg Press offers you classy cards for your Valentine. Since 1999, Egg Press has been designing and handcrafting unique letterpress greeting cards. 

You're sure to make your honey happy with these choices from Egg Press.

Give your beloved something from the heart.
Something beautiful that expresses your feelings of love...

See the fine detail...

Heart Leaf I Love You: $6.00 single

Love You Scalloped Die Cut: $5.00 single 

Love Tree: $5.00 single/$16.00 box of 6

XO I Love You Die Cut: $6.00 single

Or how about something fun for your love?

Lovey Monkey: $4.50 single

Love is making each other laugh...

Happy Stinkertine's Day: $4.50 single

For the Cat Lover...

Cat's Meow: $4.50 single

Awww!

Clams in Love: $4.50 single

Modern Love...

You Rock Die Cut: $6.00 single

When you're not sure if it's love, yet...

I Like You Scalloped Die Cut: $5.00 single

Happy Heart Day!

P.S. Egg Press also does beautiful custom personal stationery (7 styles). 20% off until 

February 28, 2010.

Where to Buy:

Egg Press cards are available at retailers throughout the United States and in a few other places as well. Click here to see where you can buy. 

Shop online with Egg Press: http://www.eggpress.com/shop.html

Egg Press

939 SE Alder Street, #1
Portland, OR 97214

Phone
503-234-4233
800-964-9139

photo credit: Egg Press

Classic Red Lips, So 2010!

Red, red lips are in! During Spring Paris Fashion Week says FabSugarUK, models on the runway had red kissers. So pucker up! 

Plus, at the end of this post, you can check out the video,"How-to Wear Red Lipstick" from Sandy Gold, beauty expert to the stars. Learn how to apply red lipstick like a makeup artist.

What is a good classic red lipstick? 

Ten Picks from Those in the Know:

Nars Heatwave

Selected as InStyle Award Winner. As seen in InStyle (August 2009 issue, p142) and Cosmopolitan magazine (September 2009 issue, p158).

Nars Jungle Red
Charlotte Twine, who wrote the blog post, "Red Alert", for Elle, wore a different color red lipstick for 21 days. On Day 5 ,Twine tried Jungle Red. She said, "I shocked myself by loving the bright red tone of Jungle Red by Nars, as well as its amazing long-lasting texture, which is just the right combo of  matte and slick."

M.A.C Russian Red
Wore by Madonna on her Blond Ambition Tour. The blogger of the Makeup and Beauty Blog wrote a post, "MAC  Makeup Tutorial: Russian Red, an Ode to Marge," on how to get this look and her obsession with the Queen of Pop. You can rock this look too. 



Maybelline ColorSensational Lipcolor Very Cherry 
Erin Flaherty at The Very Frisky loved Maybelline's Very Cherry color that the models were wearing at the Christian Cota show. "A color which looks good on all skin types."

Paul and Joe Reckless 63
Gaia, The Non-Blonde blogger calls Paul and Joe Reckless 63, a "day-to-night red and you’ve got a big, big love."

Sinner Queen Red
A rich and classic red, says Barneys New York.

Revlon Fire and Ice
The classic of the classics.


Revlon Cherries in the Snow
One of my favorites. I have fair skin and the lipstick's blue undertones work really well for me. The rich color of a perfect cherry with a cool edge.


Clinique Angel Red
Celebrity Beauty Buzz recommends this red for fair skin.


Kat Von D Painted Love Lipstick in Underage Red
From tattoo artist, Kat Von D. Recommended by Celebrity Beauty Buzz for medium to dark skin. 

HOW-TO WEAR RED LIPSTICK 

Sandy Gold, Beauty Expert on the  Steven and Chris Show

What color red goes with your skin? How do you put it on so that it stays on your lips and doesn't bleed?  Sandy Gold makeup artist to the stars and Founder and Editor-in-Chief of www.happiface.com answers these questions and more.





After the video you can read Sandy's tips.



photo credit: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/26518303@N00/ / CC BY-SA 2.0

Savor France With These Fine Savon de Marseille Soaps From O'Soleil

O’Soleil has the feel of a Parisian boutique. 

Isabelle, the owner of O'Soleil, is French and grew up in France. Her sophisticated style and delicate touch are evident throughout the Montclair, New Jersey shop. At  O'Soleil, you’ll find beautiful and unique clothing, elegant home decor and unique jewelry from both French and American designers.

And then there are the  Savon de Mar-seille Extra Pur Soaps by La Compagnie de Pro-vence. I am drawn to them like a moth to a light. 

The handmade soaps are arranged artfully on two shelves. On the top shelf, the all-natural Savon de Marseille Extra Pur liquid hand soaps seem to glow within their chic glass dispensers. While the exquisite Savon Extra Pur bar soaps with their contemporary, colorful packaging have the brilliance of a box of French pastels (see above photo.)

“You’ll find Savon de Marseille soaps in French pharmacies,” Isabelle tells me. 

French pharmacies are a destination, unlike our ho-hum American chain pharmacies. A place where you can buy luxe beauty products. 

Savon Extra Pur Soap is gentle and is ideal for sensitive skin. It is made from 72% palm oil and it is a wonderful moisturizer. 

Since 1688, French law decreed that only soaps made  in and around the Marseille area, using traditional techniques and containing only the purest ingredients are privileged  to bear the mark "Savon de Marseille." 

Fragrances include: Figure (fig), Pamplemousse (grapefruit), Olive Lavende (lavender), Verveine (verbena),  Fleur d' oranger (Orange Blossom), Rose, and Pure (unscented).

I’ve fallen hard for the Pamplemousee. I like its wholesome, clean bouquet. After my shower, I feel fresh. I love how the soap’s weight in grams is engraved into one side of the soap.

Modern and natural, with a dash of French histoire! What more could you want.

100 gram Savon de Marseille soap: $7.00
250 gram Savon de Marseille soap: $10.00

500 ml Savon de Marseille Liquid Hand Soap: $22.00

O’Soleil: www.osoleilfrance.com/7 South Fullerton Ave., Montclair, NJ  07042/973.783.4444

Alltop Covers the World... and Me (My Little Blog That Is!)

Yea, my blog is featured on Alltop! I’m on top of the world! I submitted it and the Alltop folks accepted it.

What is Alltop? 

“You can think of Alltop as the “online magazine rack” of the web,” says Guy Kawasaki, Founder of Alltop.com. 

It’s all the top stories online. Whatever your interests: beauty, fashion, quotes, social media, celebrities, food, yoga. You name it, you can find it at Alltop. 

And now you’ll find "Annie Goes Shopping: Fashionable Finds Under $25" under Alltop's Shopping category. 

I was able to pin Alltop's badge on my blog. Ouch, not too hard. I feel like a Girl Scout.

P.S. If you want to know more about Alltop, read Kem Meyer’s blogpost. She speaks with Guy. And he does a better job explaining Alltop than I do.

What to Shop for in February: Get More for Less!

What should you be looking for on sale in February? Would you believe air conditioners! I know, it's the last thing you're thinking of now, but I didn’t make up this calendar. 

If you are aware of the retail sales calendar you'll know what to keep your eyes open for this month. This is the third  in a series of blog posts on how you can get the best bargains every month. (Check out: What to Shop for in January: Get More for Less!) 

Don’t forget the Presidential Sales! 

Watch for these items on sale in February:

• Air Conditioners
• Cars (used)
• Carpets
• Chocolates (Valentines Day)
• Clothing: (Winter Final Clearance)
• Coats (Winter)
• Curtains
• Electronics: MP3 Players and Cameras
• Furniture: Indoors and Patio
• Housewares
• Lamps
• Mattresses
• Perfumes (Valentines Day)
• Silverware 

Remember as the Motley Fool said, The trick to getting a bargain on just about anything is to buy it when you don't need it. 


Look for my next blog post in the series, "What to Shop for in March: Get More for Less!"

photo credit: 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/renaissancechambara/ / CC BY 2.0