99 Cent Jewelry Junkie

I like shopping for jewelry. But I really like shopping for 99 cent jewelry at NBC. The other weekend they had two large tables filled with Rubbermaid bins that were stuffed with jewelry. And everything was 99 cents. Be still my heart.

Now, most of the jewelry was in sad shape - broken clasps, only one earring, cracked stones, you get the idea. But there were some wearable or workable pieces and I snatched those up.

I got two of these Chico's necklaces. One for Sister and one for me.


There were a lot of these in the bins. Some had broken strands so all the beads off of one strand would be missing. Or the clasp would be wonky. I found two that were in pretty good shape. They each were missing only the outermost strand which is hardly noticeable and I think another strand might be overkill anyway.


I really like the bronze color of the beads. I think they'll go well with lots of different colors. The tag said $48.


Heavy bib necklaces have been catching my eye for the past few seasons, but they seemed so trendy that I haven't bought one. I had decided that I was going to get one anyway and then I was so pleased to find two bib necklaces in great shape.



I'm keeping one and sending the other to my sister.

The beads on this next necklace are really pretty in person.


There were sooo many of these. They had a neat magnetic clasp.



The problem with the clasp is that the magnets were falling out of the clasp. I found one that had a working clasp, but one strand was missing. I ended up buying a second one, too, planning on reworking it somehow.

I got home and removed the clasp from the broken necklace and restrung all the beads onto fishing line and a clasp I had left over from my days of making bead necklaces.


Uh, this took a lot longer than I anticipated. I was hoping that the teeny, tiny gold beads were attached to the larger beads, but they were not. I'm going to give this necklace to my mom which makes the work worth it because I think she'll really like it and it will look good on her.

Since the original necklace had all three strands, this single strand is now really long. She'll be able to wear it doubled:


or tripled:


I also bought my mom this Kenneth Cole necklace. She loves green.


It was in a Ziploc bag and the center stone was detached. When I got home I just reattached it with some floral wire.


The Kenneth Cole tag said $38.

I bought this necklace for myself.


The clasp was broken so I cut it off with wire cutters and replaced it with a clasp I had left over from a Goodwill necklace I restrung.


Seven necklaces for $6.93. I'm sure glad I stopped in that day!

Well, maybe you can start getting used to this

Some friends of ours took us to a Mavericks game several months ago. They have tickets through his work and since Tim's in the same line of business they took us and we mixed business and pleasure. It was my first time at a Mavericks game and my first time in the American Airlines Center.

Um, let's just say this game is what sparked my love of sports. After being wanded and politely searched we went up multiple escalators to a magical place called the Platinum level. I didn't see one painted face or foam finger. We enjoyed a delicious and leisurely dinner at The Platinum Club where I had tomato basil soup, ceasar salad, fettuccini alfredo and various cheeses and fruits and Tim and I shared a humongous piece of s'mores cake. We probably only finished about a third of the mammoth slice. Oh how I was wishing for a doggie bag.

I don't even remember who the Mavericks played at that game, but I had a great time. The people watching and shoe and handbag spotting were enough entertainment for me. After the game I told Tim that I had a lot of fun and would like to do that again. He laughed and said I had been ruined. He informed me that we would not be doing that again unless our friends invited us again for a real work reason.

Well, fast forward to last week when they GAVE us 4 tickets, 2 Platinum parking passes and $120 in Platinum Club gift cards for us to use however we chose.

Tim and I invited our Dads to the game. My Dad loves all things sports. He likes to watch sports, read about sports, talk about sports, think about sports and, while I haven't asked him, I would guess that he dreams about sports. It was really fun to go the game with him. He and I went early and had dinner on the Platinum level. I'm glad we asked someone to take our picture before the game started.

(By the way, I'm crazy about my Dad. He's a wonderful man and I'm glad I get to be his daughter. And to think I used to ask him to drop me off behind the school sometimes and give instructions on what he could and could not say when my friends or boyfriends would come over. Oh boy.)

Tim and his Dad came a little into the second quarter. It was an exciting game with plenty to eat. (I had stashed an emergency US Weekly in my purse and I didn't have to break it out once.)

Ice cream

Bottomless popcorn

(Not pictured are the bottomless Cokes, the s'mores dippers and peanut butter cookie. Don't judge. We took the peanut butter cookie home to eat on Saturday ... morning.)

I wore one of my favorite winter tops to the game.

It's a fine gauge, wool sweater from Ann Taylor. It was $98 on sale for $29.99. I loooove all the folds in the neck.

And it goes great with my favorite winter scarf.

Let's not review the retail and sale price on this Burberry giant check scarf. It was full price and it was expensive. The real fabulous find here is this guy.

He said he wanted to buy me this scarf (that I'd admired for years) when he got an unexpected bonus at work. He was in a really stressful job at the time and said the bonus was really for me because he couldn't do the job without my support. Isn't that sweet? I think of that time in our lives almost every time I wear the scarf. (I'd better change the subject quickly before Tim decrees his sensitive side blog-banned.)

I think the price of my earrings help balance out the scarf. I got to wear the 99 cent gold earrings from NBC.

At the fourth quarter we couldn't eat any more, but we still had money on our gift cards. Earlier in the game I had asked my Dad, "Who is the fast, little guy?" Right then and there I decided J.J. Barea is my favorite Maverick.

I have to support my guy, right? I now own an official NBA licensed T-shirt.

Now, let's be honest. I won't be wearing this shirt out of the house unless I'm making a QT run for my Coke fix. But J.J., when I'm cleaning the bathrooms, I'll be thinking of you.

GO HORNS!

Saturday Tim and I got to go to the University of Texas game at Cowboys Stadium. Tim received the invitation through a contact at work. Let's just say that if we continue to go to games with these accommodations that I am going to become a sports fanatic.

This was the view from our seats (no zoom required)

And speaking of seats ...

Sweet suite seats, indeed. Where we could see the players right before they took the field.

Tim even got high fives from Shipley and McCoy (and some other names I didn't recognize so I can't remember now).

I shook hands with Bevo (the mascot).

The chips and dips were especially good.

The binoculars were great for people watching.

And I actually enjoyed my stadium restroom experience with the moisturizing coconut hand soap and cloth-like paper towels embossed with a silver Cowboys star.

Can't you see why my love for sports is growing?

As soon as it was confirmed that we had our tickets, parking pass, and that all our food and drinks were included I began to think about what to wear. (Or maybe I thought about that first, but anyway.) Burnt orange is not one of my favorite colors, nor is it particularly flattering on me. And what do people wear in end zone suites right next to the tunnel where the players come out? Crowns? Jerseys? I don't own either.

As I scanned my closet my eyes fell on a new shirt I bought several months ago at Goodwill.

It was brand new from Charlotte Russe with the tags still on it.

$16.99 isn't too bad for a cute top, but $4.99 is better!

I've never been in a Charlotte Russe. I had the impression that it was for tweens and teens and that the clothes were cheap. Maybe that's true and maybe it's not, but I do like the detailing on this shirt and it doesn't feel cheaply made at all.

I wore the top with a brown camisole from Old Navy that I picked up on the clearance rack for $2.99. Camisoles aren't that fun to buy, but they come in handy so often. I have white, cream, brown, black and navy. (And don't forget to replace them when they stretch out or begin to look worn. Nothing ruins an outfit like ill-fitting or worn out undergarments.)

I wore my newest pair of jeans. They're dark, Curvy Ann Taylor jeans that I got for $11 at NBC.

Ann Taylor's jeans are now $85 or $95 depending on the style! I'm sure this Curvy style is from last season. I like the clean lines and modern fit which is getting to be more and more difficult to find.

I don't want to wear Lee jeans up to my belly button and I don't want pink rhinestone crosses on my back pockets either.

I got to wear a new-ish necklace from Ann Taylor Loft.

This was only $4.88 on Final Sale. Most people like this necklace. Not my mom. I think of her every time I put this on because of her reaction when she saw me in this for the first time.

If you know my mom you know that she is very nice, very encouraging and never negative. But as her daughter I can easily tell when she really dislikes something. This was our conversation:

Mom: Is that a new necklace?
me: Yeah, I just got it yesterday.
Mom: Oh, where did you get it?
me: Ann Taylor Loft
Mom: Really? It doesn't look like their other jewelry.
me: [laughing] So I guess that means you don't like it.
Mom: Well, it's not my favorite.

"Not my favorite" is my mom's code for "awful." What's so bad about this little necklace?

Note: I write this all in love. My mom is a good friend. I just find her dislike for my necklace quite amusing.

So the total for the shirt, camisole, jeans and necklace came to $23.86. Pretty good!

Go Horns!

Friday's Fabulous Finds

Last Friday I had the chance to spend three glorious hours combing through my favorite store, Half of Half, or NBC, as it used to be called. I get in some sort of time warp when I go there. The minutes quickly turn into hours as I browse, dig, and sometimes scrounge for my fabulous finds.

Friday was the start of a 99 cent sale. Thankfully I had gotten the NBC email in time to switch cars with Tim. I don't take my car there (anymore) since the after-market Pioneer stereo/faceplate was stolen out of my car in the NBC parking lot. I stayed away for a few weeks after *the incident* but I decided not to let those losers get the best of me. Tim wouldn't call them losers. He actually said that he felt sorry for whoever broke into my car because they must have been pretty desperate. Staring at the wires hanging out of my dash I can't say I felt the same. That ended up being my most expensive trip to NBC yet. But I'm still ahead in the long run.

There wasn't anything too terribly exciting that I had to have. I ended up with a basic, black cardigan that I'm sure will come in handy. I had a couple that I gave my sister because I thought I never wore them, but I've found myself wishing I had one to grab on my way out the door.
It has some cute details. It's very fitted and looks good open or buttoned. I really like these little pleats or tucks at the shoulder.

I'd say the price was right. It was regularly $59, but since it was a green tag (half off the marked price last week) it was $6.

The system at NBC can take a little getting used to. They price everything at 75% off the retail price, or half of half, get it? So ... this cardigan was $59 retail (at Macy's, actually), so when it was new merchandise at NBC they priced it at $12. They actually priced it lower than half of half. It had a green tag. Once green tags have been in the store a while they will run specials like 25% off the marked price or, in this case, 50% off the marked price. So my $59 INC cardigan from Macy's was only $6. Oooh, I love combining colors and math and clothes.

I LOVE this next cardigan. It is super soft and a great, neutral color. I am on a ruffle kick lately. I love how versatile this sweater is. I can wear it with jeans or with slacks. (I don't really care for the word slacks, but what else would you call them?)

And this was $6, too. It's also INC by Macy's.

I only got one 99 cent item this trip. A nice pair of semi-matte, gold earrings.

They will get lots of wear, I'm sure, and they will look great with my bangles from the Banana Republic outlet that I picked up for about $13.

We'll see how long I can last before I have to go back. I got an email yesterday about a big $19 designer sale at NBC. I wanted to go this afternoon, but I decided to give it another week. I can quit anytime. I promise.

Question: Is there a store that calls out to you?

Feel free to leave your answer in the comments so that all the fabulous and classy girls can learn from you!