let me teach you my ways young grashopper

My name is Ashley, well Ashlynn actually, but I also go by bargain queen. I figured I would share a couple of the tricks of the trade and some new info that I found out, that just HAS to be passed on. . . it's THAT good $ Do you have a few places that you always go to? OR stores that you absolutely adore but don't always have the budget for them? Anthropologie. cough. cough. Well, here are a few pointers that work for almost every store : 


-Browse the front, but always stop by the sale or clearance racks! Usually in the back (so you have to look at all the tempting new stuff). Let me tell you it is worth the walk . . . and the treasures you can find! I usually have a "sale walk" that I do in every store. Go ahead. Judge me. But tell me what you paid for your outfit and then we'll talk. But this way you scan every department for the best deals!
-See if they have a rewards program! Things are moving up in the world people . . . it's not just Golden Spoon giving you little stamps for your purchases. Some stores that do this: Sephora, Regal Theaters, & Starbucks to name a few. 
- Get on the e-mail list. I know it may sound like a pain in the butt, but I will graciously take 2 minutes out of my day to go thru e-mails each day if it means a good deal. You get e-mails on what is new in the store, or info on online deals! For example, Sephora sent an e-mail to me last week for 15 dollars off a 40 purchase. Hello!
- This is a site I JUST found out about it and it's great! Ebates.com is a website that you create an account for and login. Then, when you are doing online shopping you go thru this site to the ones you want. Why you ask? You get cash back! For every purchase you make thru this site you get a certain % back from your purchase a few months later in a check! It's literally like you are getting paid to shop in your pajamas. 
-For all you beauty product lovers out there . . . mygiftwithpurchase.com will tell you which department stores are giving gift with purchases at the different make up counters!


These are just a few tips that I wanted to pass along, especially during the holiday season! Happy shopping and happy saving! 

in case you haven't heard . . .

in case you haven't heard . . . i drool over blogs on a daily basis. here are a handful that i am head over heels for :


The Daybook
My Edit
Kendi Everyday
Sterling Style
Cupcakes and Cashmere


check em out. you won't regret it.

there's something about sundays

ok so i'm not sure what it is about sundays, but they make me want to be creative! i think it is from my nursing classes. honestly. after studying all day sunday i would reward myself by grabbing a coffee and walking thru joanns to clear my head. weird right? so this saturday night i came across this blog and of course my creative brain started spinning right before bedtime. this blog has different templates for planners. . . . for free! after browsing through them until the wee hours of the morning i knew what my sunday would be occupied with $ so. . . . this is what i came up with :

here is the planner

then the month pages (with a to do list section too)

then these are the weekly agenda pages!

here is the breakdown- the binder was a paula dean cookbook that i got on sale at michael's for around 2 bucks. (you could use the small binders at staples too) then i got one and a half yards of muslin (i got extra in case i messed up) and then an eighth of a yard of patterned fabric and went to staples to have the calendar pages printed off on cream cardstock.  i just googled "how to sew a book cover". technical, i know. mind you, i have minimal sewing skills so the seems turned out a little curvy and there are some loose threads . . .but who cares?! sometimes you have to embrace the little imperfections in life.

I am looking forward to using it! there may even be a few felt embellishments that just may make their way to the front cover. not sure yet.  

on a different note, i am loving this actual "season" that has decided to visit orange county. who knew orange county could actually muster up some fall weather?! it also reminds me that january is just around the corner! i am getting so anxious to move out and start a new chapter in my life! on the agenda this week : ikea trip. yay! 

my fall obsessions

here are a few things that i have become infatuated with over the last month:

-essie nail polish in sew psyched. It is the perfect fall color, and i searched high and low for it. winner: planet beauty at the spectrum. 

-gingerbread lattes with the creme brulee topping of course (it's this crunchy goodness that is like caramelized sugar)...perks of being related to a barista? i get these nice little insider secrets :)

- my wonderful boots that came in the mail this week. idea courtesy of my cousin, and now a few other friends may have already put them on their list for santa. 

- ok so the daybook, courtesy of my cousin (again). haha. has become one of my biggest obsessions to say the least. i have this unhealthy infatuation with her clothes slash i kind of want to be her. it is a totally inspiring blog that makes you look at your closet in a whole new way. she is adorable and her little stories about married life are just precious. you can visit her site here! ps-it's no coincidence that she is wearing the boots i just bought...see i told you it was an unhealthy obsession ;)

- taylor swift. duh. i mean who isn't?! yes...she may not have the best voice out there, but i believe her songwriting skills make up for that...she wrote the whole album by herself. get it girl. and i think she is one of a handful of celebrities out there in that age group that handles herself with such grace and sticks to her morals, and most importantly is true to herself. 

- instyle. where have you been all my life and why hadn't i started reading you years ago?! 

- nars blush in orgasm. yes, i splurged. $26 later it was well worth it, and plus i haven't even put a dent in it! i think it's the perfect blush and so does everyone else, it's won tons of awards from different magazines! it has a rose color to it, with coral undertones and gold shimmer...all in one! 

- fleur patchwork quilt from urban outfitters. my newest purchase for my apartment, which should be arriving any day now. and the bonus about it? i can use it as a throw or accent piece when i enter the real world and get my own big girl dollhouse. aka apartment. 

gosh, i'm such a girl. 

not a typical tuesday

every tuesday i usually have spanish at 10:30, except today i woke up to an email from my prof that class was cancelled...hello extra sleep! so, today is not a typical tuesday..i am sitting down to blog with a cup of coffee at my side and phil wickham pandora serenading me. perfection. this past sunday i actually decided to go to joanns and michael's to get fabric and buttons to actually accomplish something i had been planning on for weeks. huh. what a novel idea...accomplishing a craft the day you get the supplies...for any of you who know me this is not normal. see my scrapbook area. haha. so i had seen this super cool idea on this blog and wanted to make one for up at APU! it was super easy to make...just sewing the pillow itself was probably the toughest part, which didn't take any professional sewing skills (because i sure as heck don't have them) and then you just start making a flower pattern using the trim and i used hot glue. WAY easier than sewing would have been! i also had an itch to make a monogram button pillow that i always see on etsy for 60 bucks or more. guess how much ashley's cost? $10. yup, a yard of muslin, some lace, a bag of buttons and some hot glue. tada! it is also so fun to start a project and finish it knowing you saved a ton of $...another fun thing is going to anthropologie (aka my personal heaven) and to find things that you can make yourself that they sell there at a huge markup! so here are the two pillows i made on sunday afternoon! i am trying to do little projects each week to bring up to APU for my new room so that it has all of those personal (...and cheap) crafty touches that i just love :)

vintage flower pillow 

monogram button pillow 

just what i needed

this past weekend i was SO lucky to have two of my best friends in town from berkley and point loma! we went to crave on thursday night together, then spent a good few hours catching up...you know completing each other's sentences...using our speech impediments to the full extent...and just being plain happy. on friday night i decided to have the girls over for a movie night. what happened was far from that. it was an all out "wedding fest" shared by three best friends who were reunited at last after a long 2 months of separation. this consisted of 1) acting completely ridiculous. duh. 2) spending a good hour looking at engagement rings 3) spending another hour looking at wedding blogs 4) oh ya and then we watched four weddings on tlc...and somehow the wedding blog gawking was also done while watching the show too 5) oh ya...almost forgot about the pumpkin bread with cream cheese frosting and warm spiced cider. mmm. we were all so happy to be together and just be ourselves...our crazy, uninhibited, outrageous selves. this is what friendship is about. being able to be completely yourself around people who are equally as weird as you, and they love you for just that. i am so thankful to have had this weekend with them, and it couldn't have come at a better time...between being sick and being busy with school and work it was the perfect remedy. this time only made me realize how excited i am for thanksgiving and winter break. bring. it. on. 

♥

the first of many

so i have been wanting to start a blog for a while and i figured, hey there is no time like the present...which just so happens to be 12:30 am on a sunday morning. the last couple weeks i have found myself looking at blogs all the time, whether it be craft blogs, personal blogs, or wedding blogs. i just love them all! i love that blogs allow people to see into other's lives and their inner ramblings that don't always get said out loud. so here it is. this blog has no theme, only that it will contain the things that i love. things like: family, friends, crafts, books, fashion, traveling, cooking, bargains, and just life in general.