How To Win Big & Pay Little On eBay

Tweet

Set of 3 rings - $1.68 with free shipping!

I've always been a huge freak for jewelry, I just never wanted to pay a lot of money for it (mainly because I don't have a lot of money to spend on jewelry). I recently made friends with a customer of ours at the bike shop (West River Cycles) and she often tells me stories of scoring amazing jewelry deals on eBay and that certainly caught my interest.

I always set a maximum price when searching for items so I'm never tempted to over spend!

First of all, I downloaded the eBay app on my iPhone.  It has allowed me to browse while I have a little down time.  My favorite time to browse eBay is right before I fall asleep at night (or it helps ease my mind if I'm feeling extra stressed out!).  eBay is perfect for those of us shopping on a budget - mainly because whether you're on the app on your phone or not, you can refine your search down to a science.

$7.00 with free shipping!

Here are a few tips to manage your search results.  Make sure you filter your search options - to make the sorting process easier I always sort the results by price + shipping: lowest first.  That way you view the best deals first and it saves a ton of time!  Next, I always set my maximum price range to ensure I don't overspend.  We've all had those dreaded bidding wars that just simply get way out of hand, it's the heat of the moment and you just have to have that necklace and end up spending double plus shipping. My absolute must is turn on the free shipping option.  Many eBay sellers suck you in with a cheap price tag and you don't notice the hefty shipping cost until it's too late.

4 sets of earrings & necklace - combined total of $4.77 with free shipping!

I personally don't mind waiting for international shipping, just as long as it's free.  If you're paying $1.50 for a ring you can most likely wait a week and a half for it to arrive.  So far I've found amazing deals on jewelry and I'll certainly start expanding my search to other home goods.  If you find items that are auction only, the trick to those is finding auctions that end late at night/early in the morning while others are typically in bed.  Set your alarm to go off minutes before the auction ends and only place a bid with under 30 seconds to go - preferably under 10 seconds.

If you have any tried and tested rules of eBay shopping - share them in the comments!

Gift Guide: Totally Tech

Tweet There's not much time left to get holiday shopping wrapped up — but you do still have some time. If you're looking for that perfect gift for the tech lover in your life, here are some really great options. Give a techie an iPad, a lens for their iPhone & a Moxie to record all of their favorite shows and you'll have a happy camper on your hands!

Images: 1. Poketo, 2. Urban Outfitters, 3. Apple, 4. This American Life, 5. Photo JoJo, 6. Moxi, 7. Swiss Tools, 8. Freestyle Photo

DIY Modern Holiday Decorations

Tweet

I realize that the holidays are literally right around the corner but that doesn't mean it's too late to run out and grab some components to make your very own decorations. You don't have to be Martha Stewart to know how to make these — just set aside a little time and patience (maybe even pick up a six pack) and you're well on your way to having some stellar decorations.

Here are my five favorite DIY decorations to make this holiday season:

Images: 1. Curbly, 2. Aesthetic Outburst, 3. Happy Mundane, 4. Curbly, 5. Sweet Paul Magazine

Gift Guide: Rustic & Masculine Treasures

Tweet For such a lover of all white interiors, it's actually rather alarming that I enjoy a dash of rustic, masculine accessories from time to time. I just can't shake that desire to fill my home with cedar scented candles and navy blue accessories. Can you really blame me? I mean, we all have that Paul Bundy fetish, so why not make it insanely apparent in our homes?

1. George Industrial Lamp, 2. Ship Candle, 3. Schmidt Brothers Basic Knife Set, 4. Avoca Check Throw, 5. Hakutan Luchtververser, 6. Iron Rake Hook, 7. Fabric Knot Cuff Links, 8. Brick's X-Bag

Baby, It's Christmas Time!

Tweet It's Christmas time and I'm absolutely thrilled.  So many things have recently changed in my life including: getting married, moving to Long Beach, CA & well, starting up this little venture again.  Hopefully you still like me after all these changes.

I'm never subtle when it comes to voicing the things that I want.  I'm a bit of a I-want-everything kind of girl, so I'm always finding awesome things that I just can't seem to live without (at the time). Here are the top 8 items on my Christmas list this year:

1. Kate Somerville Intensive Exfoliating Treatment, 2. Make Up Forever Transparent Eyebrow Gel, 3. Winnie Dress, 4. Bubble necklace, 5. Vintage limed Roe Deer antlers, 6. Vintage Nautical Glass Ball, 7. Smartie Lamp, 8. Summer Sandal

On the Road to Better Days!

Tweet

Holy Cow - I have been SO MIA for the past month!  So much has happened and everything has been so emotionally taxing (& it's not even over yet).  My boyfriend and I lost someone very dear to our lives and we have been spending a lot of time in Washington, DC - we've taken it upon ourselves to be the strong, reliable family members and keep company to those who need it.

Washington, DC is such an inspirational city.  There are so many neighborhoods and each one has its own unique and clever voice.  No matter how much older I get, or what new "styles" I discover I enjoy, I will always (I repeat - will always) have a preppy side to me.  I am so in love with Georgetown it drives me crazy sometimes.  We drive by the homes each time we come here (mostly because I find a reason to visit the neighborhood) and I ask my boyfriend to drive slow so that I can try to catch a glimpse inside the historic homes.  


Besides wondering who lives in those homes, I try to imagine what they look like.  Usually I can only catch a glimpse of the lighting or a painting and it's so fun to mentally decorate the rest of the house based off of that one glance I got.  


I wish I could just knock on their door, bat my eyelashes and convince them to give me a tour.  Maybe one day I'll get lucky enough :)


Until next time.. 


adios!

Bloggers Day of Action for Haiti part 2

Tweet Yesterday was such a great day.  So many awesome bloggers joined together to help spread the word to donate.  

Jeanine from AphroChic has a charity auction on her website today - all proceeds will be donated to help the people of Haiti.  The items up for auction are:
1.  Handmade aprons from urbancasita 
2.  Drawer liners from Hammocks & High Tea
3.  Piece of personalized art from Name Your Design.  
Start your bidding!

Another gem of information; our combined efforts caught the attention of the Huffington Post.  Carolyn Rubenstein wrote an article detailing our efforts and is donating $1 for every comment she receives on the article (up to $250).  


Once again, here are some sites that you can donate to:

Donate: 

Mercy Corps

American Red Cross

AmeriCares

Yele Haiti

Google Support Disaster Relief

Ushahidi

I donated via text: text "HAITI" to 90999 to donate $10 to RedCross relief efforts in Haiti. Or textYELE to 501501 & donate $5.  It's so simple and adds the charge onto your next phone bill.