Prices change all the time, especially on hot bargains. When a product price listed on BargainJill.com doesn't match a merchant's advertised price, always consider the merchant's price to be accurate and definitive.
So I just got back from a shopping trip to Kohl’s. I mentioned about a week ago that they’re having their Lowest Prices of the Season sale, and I’m mentioning it again now because the sales are AWESOME and it all ends in a few days on October 27th. I found some great items that followed me home. The Apartment Nine Pleated Top in purple easily made it into my shopping bag. In addition to purple, it also comes in other colors, including black, teal, magenta and brown. It’s made of a nice, soft blend of polyester and rayon which is machine washable. It retails at $34, but like me, you can grab it for $18.
The Apt. 9 Tweed Trapeze Jacket just might be my proudest purchase from today…and Kohl’s better not raise the price on it before you’ve seen this video. I bought this Apartment Nine Tweed Trapeze Jacket in brown for just $27.99. That’s over half off the $60 retail, and I certainly don’t feel like I’m wearing just a $28 jacket. It’s available in sized 4-16, unless you’re interested in the GREY tweed, and in that case, it’s available in sizes 4-14. All Apt. 9 clothing and shoes are 40-55% off during this sale, and I think I bought one of each.
In other deal news, while I was on my hiatus, all heck broke loose in the financial markets, Britney spears started wearing a bra and China walked in space. Britney Spears wins the prize for most shocking news story. However, the whole financial situation is having an impact on the shopping landscape, so I care. In June, I talked to you guys about Linens ‘N Things filing for bankruptcy protection. They closed a few stores and looked for someone to basically buy them out and keep operating the stores. Guess what? No qualified bidders, so Linens ‘n Things is now closing their doors for good and everything is up to 30% off, both in stores and online. Remember that all sales are final, and go check it out while there’s still plenty of good inventory left.
Incidentally, the bankruptcies don’t end there, and I’d bet that there will be more after the holiday rush. Mervyns is also declaring defeat and will stay around through the holiday buying season and then walk off into the sunset. Circuit City is also getting dangerously close and is on our bankruptcy watch list. They’re thinking about closing 150 stores to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection. But it’s not all doom and gloom. Online sales are still on the rise with people wanting to save time and gas money, and this means that heavily brick and mortar national stores are having a tough time of it. But with this chaos comes opportunity. Big Lots, for instance, has just announced that they are heading online so that we’ll be able to buy overstocked odds and ends for rock bottom prices without leaving home. Also good news is the fact that retailers are planning on starting holiday sales quite early and plan for big discounts in order to get us excited about spending. So, this is all very good news for consumers. And the next time I get in trouble with Jack for shopping too much, I will just remind him that I am fulfilling my patriot obligation to our nation’s economy.
Have a great day! Cheers!
Jill
Today in episode 20 of BargainJill TV, we talk about an exclusive deal for BargainJack and BargainJill customers from SmartBargains.com, and we’ll look at few different deals on air mattresses.
SmartBargains.com, a website which, of course, is home to low prices on anything from Bed and Bath to Apparel and Shoes for men and women, to stellar home and kitchen bargains is offering bargainjack and bargainjill customers an exclusive discount of 15% off bed and bath items. To receive this discount, you must follow the link in the previous sentence, click “Buy It Now” to be taken to SmartBargains.com and then search for Bed and Bath items from there.
As soon as SmartBargains offered us the exclusive bed and bath deal, I immediately knew that I wanted to do an episode on air mattresses knowing that SmartBargains is rarely matched on their price and selection of HIGH QUALITY air mattresses. I stress the words “high quality” for a reason. Are all air mattress created equal? No way. In fact, it’s even much worse than I realized before I started researching for this episode. You have NO IDEA how many air mattresses are rated ONE star out of five stars. Some manufacturers produce utter rubbish. So in today’s episode, I’m separating the wheat from the chaff, and am only showing you air mattress which are tried and true after real customer reviews…which in this category is absolutely critical.
Let’s start off with a bang with the Cadillac of air beds, the AeroBed Raised Quick-Inflate Bed from SmartBargains for $125 for the twin or $150 for the queen. Now, after the exclusive bargainjack and bargainjill 15% discount, you’ll pay $106 and 25 cents for the twin and just $127.50 for the queen. Overstock has a raised aerobed for over $30 more and several other sites have raised aerobeds for as high as $300 for a queen. So this is a very solid price for what you’re getting. If you look around you won’t have a tough time finding lower-priced air mattresses, but remember that quality here is the big differentiator. This is the highest scoring raised airbed that I was able to find anywhere, and usually, it was the highest scoring by a long shot. This bed is rated 4.5 stars after 144 reviews. It inflates in under 3 minutes thanks to a built-in pump, and standard sheets fit this bed. The big buzz is the 20” height of the bed, which puts it at about twice the thickness of standard aerobeds. This makes it ideal to use as a guest bed for visitors who are old enough to appreciate the extra height when getting in and out of bed. The height also makes this a great, inexpensive choice if you’re trying to stage an empty guestroom to sell a house. This aerobed earns its metal in comfort and durability. You can certainly pay less for lower quality, but personally, I want the peace of mind knowing that my guests wont have to wake up every 2 hours to refill their bed. If your in-laws already hate you, don’t push it while they’re visiting.
If you need a simple but comfortable queen-sized inflatable mattress, and don’t necessarily need it to be raised, the AeroBed Guest Bed Instant Air Mattress is a good choice. It retails at $157, is on sale for about $70 and thanks to the extra exclusive 15% off, you can pick up this bed for just $59.50. This bed, like the raised bed has tons of excellent reviews. To be exact, it scores 4.5 stars after 166 reviews and THAT is pretty amazing for an air mattress. With the included pump, this mattress inflates in under a minute. It has a built in raised pillow area at the head of the bed, includes the patented coil system that aeorbed is known for, and sports a velvety, flocked top for extra comfort. This is a perfect extra bed to pack for yourself of your kids while you’re traveling. It’s great for an apartment or dorm for overnight guests. And I think the jury is still out on whether or not this is appropriate for camping. Some reviewers say it was great for camping, others said it should be used for indoors only. …Which leads me to the next mattress which is definitely designed for camping…
The Coleman Queen Sized Air Bed is ready for the trail and it is available from Walmart for just $27. With this model, you need to buy the pump separately. Walmart has a hand pump for about $11 and a rechargeable pump that would also work for camping for about 26. As for the air mattress, it’s rated about 4.1 stars after 21 reviews.
Remember that the 15% off discount at SmartBargains applies to the entire bed and bath category, so if you’ve already hit your air mattress quota, go take a look at SmartBargains great low prices on towels and sheets.
We’re here in Arizona visiting my parents, celebrating their wedding anniversary today and also attending my cousin’s wedding today. All of this marital bliss takes my mind straight to diamonds, so today’s episode features some killer deals on a girl’s best friend, diamonds!
I’ve said if before – I’ll say it again. SuperJeweler owns the key to my heart when it comes to deals on diamonds. In my early 20’s, I worked in fine jewelry sales for a couple years. I KNOW diamonds. I know the ludicrous markup applied to diamonds. But, I LOVE diamonds. So after I moved from jewelry sales job and into software industry, I really missed my employee discount on jewelry and basically went years buying almost nothing. I just couldn’t stomach the full prices, or even the “sale” prices at jewelry stores. A few years passed and jewelry shopping online became a real solution for me. You definitely have to be careful to buy from a credible jeweler and KNOW what quality of diamonds to expect when the delivery guy shows up at your doorstep.
There are more than a few reasons that I love superjeweler, but let me walk you through the highlights:
1) Price. Price. Price. Their sale prices range from good to phenomenal, and there are always SEVERAL amazing prices to choose from everytime I hit their site.
2) Quality. To me, quality doesn’t necessarily mean a flawless diamond for every occasion, because frankly, I don’t want to PAY for flawless diamonds in every piece of diamond jewelry I buy. SuperJeweler offers a great range of diamond qualities which translates into a price for every budget. My favorite part is that they very clearly mark the color and clarity of their diamond jewelry so that you understand upfront the real value of their deals.
3) Free appraisals on all items over $200 by a third party lab, the World Gemmological Laboratory.
4) Free shipping, free gift wrap if you’re buying a gift, and unconditional 30 day money back guarantee.
The first deal that I wanted to tell you about today is on SuperJeweler’s best-selling pair of ½ carat diamond stud earrings. The price is just $295! I challenge you to find a better deal for the same quality of diamonds. These are rated H-I in color which means that you can expect these to appear colorless. D is the very brightest color, and further down the alphabet closer to J or K, you can start seeing more of a yellow tinge to diamonds. So Basically, the H-I range of these diamonds means that they will look perfect on your ears and the only way that you’d know they’re not a D or and E is if you actually put them side-by-side with a brighter diamond…which only happens in a jewelry store, so there’s no reason to pay more than you have to.
As far as clarity is concerned, these are rated SI2-SI3 which means that they are completely clean to the naked eye and you’d need 10x magnification in order to see any imperfections. I think that for earrings, this is an EXCELLENT clarity. In fact, I usually recommend buying a higher quality of diamond for an engagement ring than I would for earrings…just because the engagement ring will get ogled by yourself and others at a much closer range. And as far as these earrings go, I think that they fall in the perfect sweetspot of quality to price on COLOR and they EXCEED my normal expectations for the CLARITY of diamond stud earrings. I did a quick check on Overstock.com for similar diamond studs, and Overstock’s CHEAPEST 1/2 carat studs are $50 more than these and the quality is not even close. A pair that is actually comparable in quality is about $500 at Overstock. That’s DOUBLE the cost of this $250 pair from SuperJeweler. So, if you’re looking for a great pair of studs to wear everyday or just for special occasions, I highly recommend this pair based on the amazing price and the excellent specs.
If you’re looking for some great sparkle on a budget, SuperJeweler’s item of the week may be just the thing. The 1/4 Carat Hoop Earrings in White Gold are a killer price at $79. These are about ½” long which means that they’re great for everyday wear. If you’re looking for large hoops, this is NOT your pair, since these are more of a modest size, but these offer great bang for the buck on something that you can wear all of the time. Super Jeweler usually offers these earrings at $100 and they retail at $179, so the $79 sale price is awesome. The yellow gold version is also available for the same great price.
Another item that I have to mention is the super jewelers all time best selling item, the 1/4ct Diamond Circle Pendant in White Gold. This necklace retails at $399 , normally sells at superjeweler for $179 and is on sale right now for a fantastic price of just $99.75.
Remember that free shipping is always included with your SuperJeweler order.
Have a great day and an excellent weekend!
Cheers!
Jill
Until midnight tonight, Overstock.com is offering 10% off of one of my favorite categories: down bedding. There are a few warning signs to look for when trying to decide if some new down bedding is in order:
Sign #1: You arise in the morning and you feel 2 or more decades older than your actual age.
Sign #2. You toss and turn during the night and are acutely aware of the drippy faucet in your master bath.
Sign #3. Every time your AC turns on during the night, you lose sensation in at least half of your toes.
If any of these tell-tale signs apply to you, today is your lucky day. Through midnight, Overstock.com is offering an extra 10% off their already famously-low prices on down bedding. This includes comforters, featherbeds and pillows and the sale even applies to down alternative bedding.
A down comforter from Overstock that I love and have owned for probably a year is the 240 thread count white feather and down comforter. It is on sale right now for $26 and 99 cents, which is just a remarkable price. This comforter has been rated by almost 1500 people so far and scores 4.3 stars after all of those reviews. So , here’s the real scoop with this comforter:It is not thick and fluffy. It is not a snuggle up during the winter kind of comforter. It’s thin and lightweight, it fluffs up a little, but this is not the kind of comforter that will make your bed look like a giant marshmellow.
What this this IS is a great year-round comforter that works well in warmer and cooler weather, but it’s not necessarily for hardcore winter temperatures. My husband hates thick, puffy comforters, but I wanted down or some kind of feathers so this comforter is great for us. Several reviewers recommend buying a king size comforter if you have a queen bed and would like the comforter to drape further down the bed more like a bedspread would, which I think is a pretty smart idea. This comforter is filled with 95% white feathers and 5% down feathers and is a great way to top off your sleep, and at the $27 sale price, you can even deck out your guest bed or kids beds with this comforter which is available in sizes full/queen and king.
As I mentioned before, feather bed are also on sale, and the Super Snooze 5-inch Baffle Featherbed looks like a great bet. An excellent sale price of $89.99 means that it is 70% off the $300 retail and it comes very highly rated with 4.5 stars after 679 reviews. And another great thing about this featherbed is that it’s available in all sizes from twin to California king, so you have no excuse for having any unfortable beds in your house now. Go from lumpy matress to sleeping on a cloud. Overstock is generously even throwing in a 230 thread count cotton cover to protect this feather bed. Awesome deal.
For anyone looking for pure luxury in a pillow, the Silk 1300 Thread Count Goose Down Pillow should fit the bill nicely. The 650 goose down fill power is considered ideal for people who sleep on their sides, and the 51% silk, 49% cotten cover is perfect for anyone who wants to feel the goodness of down without the prick of feathers trying to liberate themselves while you sleep. The price? $89 and 10 cents per pillow. It seems high when you’re used to buyign your disposable pillows at Walmart, but it is defintiely a great price for this level of quality. 92% of reviewers would recommend this pillow and that’s an impressive statistic as far as pillows go.
Remember to take advatage of these deals today since they’ll be gone tomorrow.
I don’t know about you, but I could really use a vacation. In episode 17 of BargainJill TV, we are going to stock up on items for a mid-summer getaway.
Alright, I can’t take it anymore. It is time for a trip to the beach. We’re about 3 and a half hours from the ocean, and I wouldn’t mind hopping in the car right now and heading for a beach house and a fruity drink. My husband is thankfully on the same page, so we’re in the middle of scraping together a last-minute 4-day weekend in South Padre.
And it’s such a good time to plan a vacation since so many summer essentials are on sale. I’m sure we’re not the only ones who will be planning a mid or late-summer getaway, so I thought that today we’d take a look at some sale items that are perfect for a summer retreat.
The obvious item that HAS to be mentioned is a great swimsuit. If you wear an extra small or small, you can get a great teeny weenie pink polka dot bikini at Target for a grand total of $11. Can you say “65 percent off”? The top and bottoms are sold separately, but they both score the same high marks with 4.5 star ratings for each. Round out the combo with the xhiliation Board Shorts in a complimentary Pink Heart pattern for $10.49. Target still has these in small and medium.
If the teeny weenie polka dot bikini is not your speed, check out the Isaac Mizrahi for Target® Piqué 1-pc. Swimsuit in French Blue in sizes S-XL. It retails at $35 but is on clearance right now for $24.49.
Also, once you’ve had your fill of swimming, throw on the Xhiliration Dress Coverup in Brown for just $8.99. That’s half off the $17.99 retail, and it comes in sizes Small through XL.
If you’re spending any amount of time at the beach or the pool, Lord knows you need a place to stash your SPF and your trashy romance novels, and Old Navy is the definitive source of discount-priced beach totes, like the Women’s Striped Straw Beach Totes on sale for a mere $6.99. That’s less than the cost of the trashy novel it will be toting around.
If your vacation has already come and gone or you’re not planning on getting away this summer, and you’re cursing my name under your breath as I talk incessantly about the beach…here’e what I have to say: bring the vacation to you. Target has a festive set of Bubble Glass Margarita Glasses for $40. This set of 6 is admittedly not on sale, but I’ve used them personally and bought them as a gift, and they are what a margarita set should be. The size is right and they are really hefty in terms of the thickness of the glass. And the fact that they’re bubble glass adds extra points for cool factor. They’re available in clear, amber, sage, plum and blue, and again, they’re $39.99 at Target. Beware that they are pretty large, so they’re fantantastic to drink from, but make sure that you have enough cabinet space on reserve before you order multiple sets.
Have a great day and happy vacation planning! Bye!
Gas is at about $4 and eleven cents per gallon. In episode 16 of BargainJill TV, we’re going to talk about how our current gas prices are impacting the way we shop.
I live in a two car family. My car uses 93 octane. My husband drives an extended cab pickup which drinks gasoline like a rockstar on a binge night. Has the price of gas affected us? Uhh…yeah. Yes it has.
Across the country, people are shopping more wisely…plain and simple. Retailers are absolutely feeling it and they are aggressively cranking out new strategies to boost their sales, yet, as an industry, they’re trying to be very covert about it. In back rooms and board rooms, corporate strategists and executives are acknowledging that prices to need to drop on consumer products before people will pull their wallets out, but at the same time, they’re not really promoting some of these deep price cuts since they don’t really want to cause any alarm about the current economy. So for many companies, the corporate line is that everything is just fine, while the reality is that unprecedented price cuts are in full effect to make sure that we keep buying. In my mind, we’re savvy people who understand the economy, so let’s just be open about the reality.A lot of major retailers are feeling the pinch and are closing some of their brick and mortar locations or are just abandoning any plans for expansion that were on the table. Ann Taylor is closing 117 stores, Gap is closing 85, Footlocker is closing 140 stores, and the list goes on. It IS disconcerting to see these closures, but at the same time, this is a cyclical occurrence that happens in any industry. It’s all about merchants reinventing themselves to match the new climate, if they need to. Businesses that are more centered around online shopping rather than on brick and mortar store sales will have less adapting to do.
With the cost of gas where it is, plenty of us have realized that we can save a nice chunk of money by doing more of our shopping online. By skipping a trip to the mall,you’re saving yourself not only the cost of gas, but also the cost of a Cinnabon and strawberry smoothie. That’s like 10 bucks right there. But to me, online shopping isn’t even about that. It’s about having the ability to compare prices in real time. It’s about knowing that Macy’s really does have the lowest price on that pair of jeans that want without having to walk or drive all over your tri-county area to verify that. Gas is money, time is money, and paying too much is the absolute worst kind of money.
The current economy has prompted retailers into starting their giant summer sales much earlier than they have in the past. You’ve probably noticed summer sale after summer sale for the last couple of weeks, while we usually don’t see this happen until later in July or early August.
A prime example: Old Navy has a great deal that runs through the end of today where we can save an additional 20% off clearance items with promo code EXTRA20. There’s a ton of jewelry, shoes and lingerie on sale in addition to the old navy staples like tanks and shorts. Sizes are limited so go take a look around.
Macy’s also has a great array of summer apparel on sale like the Alfani Pleated Cap-Sleeve Top which I’m wearing today. It’s made of fantastically slinky and comfortable fabric which is machine washable. This top comes in Purple or pistachio green in Sizes S-XL. It retails at $49 but is on sale for $36.75.
Also, the T Tahari Ruffled Sleeveless Empire-Waist Dress at Macy’s is a wonderful find for about half off at $49. The red is sold out, but you can still grab this dress in black in sizes S and M.
So, What have we learned today? Retailers are taking a big hit right now to keep us shopping. Sales are more generous than we’ve seen in a long time, and for those of us who are shopping online anyway, we can enjoy the sweet savings while shopping from home and keeping our extended cab pickups in the garage.
Cheers!
Welcome back from the 4th of July weekend! I hope everyone had a great holiday. After visiting relatives this weekend who are far neater than myself, I feel the sudden need to organize my cluttered house…starting with the closets. So in episode 15 of BargainJill TV, we’ll discuss the art of closet organization.
From a very young age, my mother told me that Jimmy Hoffa’s body was probably either in my closet or under my bed. I was too young to know anything about teamsters or mob bosses, so I just assumed that Jimmy Hoffa was a guy who enjoyed mountains of shoes and layers of dirty laundry as much as I did. My closets have always been a disaster. And I have this weird fascination with home organization products…which makes no sense. I hate putting stuff away, but man do I LOVE to buy things that inspire organization.
And sometimes, it even works. My latest kick is wanting everything in my house to have an actual spot where it belongs. My husband and I each have our own closets, which is probably why we’re still happily married, BUT the closets are SMALL and they’re NOT very smartly designed. So…I’m thinking of starting fresh with a Rubbermaid closet kit. I’ve been eyeballing these things at Amazon.com and other places for over a year and I think it’s finally time to pull the trigger and REALLY get organized.
I’ve looked at a lot of closet systems, and I’ve weeded down the options to two different Rubbermaid closets kits. The first is the Rubbermaid Configurations 4- to 8-Foot CLASSIC Custom Closet Kit in White (shown farthest left) and the other is the Rubbermaid DELUXE Custom Closet Kit in Titanium. The Classic kit is 58% off right now and sells for $79.99 and ships free from Amazon and the Deluxe kit is 45% off and is on sale for $119.99 and it also ships free from Amazon. The main deciding factor here is in how much shelving and hanging space you need. The Classic kit includes 12 feet of hanging space and 14 feet of stacking space, while the Deluxe kit includes 10 feet of hang space and 22 feet of shelving. This means that the Classic kit actually has 2 more feet of hanging space but has a lot less shelf space.
If the vast majority of your closet is just clothing on hangers, you can save yourself about $40 and go with the classic kit. On the other hand, if you have purses, folded sweaters and jeans, shoes and trinkets from your glory days taking up half of your closet space, the Deluxe kit is a great way to go. The Deluxe kit comes in the nice titanium finish and is rated 4.5 stars after 110 reviews, while the classic kit comes in white, and scores a solid 5 star rating after 10 reviews.
So you can see why I’m still on the fence between these two, but either way, it’s going to be far better than my current catastrophe of a closet. In fact, what I might do is put the classic kit it my closet so that I can have extra hanging space, and then install the deluxe kit in our guest room closet where we tend store a lot of boxes along with some smaller amount of clothing. And after reading reviews, I’m even halfway tempted to try to install it myself. There’s no cutting involved thanks to the fact that they made the hanging bars and shelves expandable, and most reviewers think that it’s fairly easy to get a nice, strong and solid installation as long as you are armed with your trusty electric drill.
While you’re at it, i HIGHLY recommend purging all of your plastic and wire hangers and replacing them with wooden hangers. I did this a couple of years ago and will never go back. Amazon sells some wooden hangers via Target, but I prefer to buy these from Linen’s n Things thanks to the fact that the LNT Home 24 Pack Boxed Wood Hangers are priced well AND, very important, they have notches in them to help your spaghetti strapped and wide-necked tops from sliding off and ending up as carpet decoration. A 24-pack costs $14.99 and if you use coupon code JULY408 during checkout, you’ll receive 20% off of any one item. And that Linens n things coupon is good through the 12th.
Yay for closet organization. I’m off to find Jimmy Hoffa.
We have one more day before the 4th of July! In episode 14 of BargainJill TV, we’ll look at one site that’s causing fireworks in the world of affordable fashion for women. (Video will be posted ~8am CST.)
I found a great new site for finding incredible deals on name brand women’s and Junior’s clothing. The site is called Brandlet.com and through July 6th, they’re running a huge promotion where they’re featuring all kinds of great clothing for $20 or less. AND…they’ve offered BargainJill readers an exclusive discount. Use promo code JILL during checkout to score an extra 20% off your order of $75 or more!
Brandlet carries quality brands that are sold at Dillard’s, Macy’s and other stores in that same tier. A few brands include BCBG Maxazria, Jones New York, XOXO, Style & Company, Ann Klein and countless others. It’s VERY common on their site to see 45% off or more. So there must be a catch, right? Well, kind of. Sizes are very limited on many items. Some of the most discounted items are only available in one size. Like, they’ll only have a size 4 in a certain dress, and that’s it. But, if they have YOUR size in something cute, in my opinion, it’s worth a little bit of digging. The whole site is kind of like an online clearance rack without the worry of snagged and torn merchandise…which is pretty sweet as long as you approach it correctly.
Sizes are so limited, that I recommend not even tempting yourself by looking at full categories of clothing without first refining the results by choosing your size. You can do that by choosing any category and then scrolling down and choosing your size from the left column.
One shirt that caught my eye at just TEN dollars is the Cha Cha Vente Tan V-neck Twist Top. This shirt is available in size Small, Medium and Large. Cha Cha Vente is a common brand at Macy’s, so the retail price of $38 seems completely believable, but I’m happy to see it at brandlet for SEVENTY-FOUR percent off. Again, this top is just $10.
If you’re a size 6 or 8, check out this fabulous Lotta Stensson Pink Silk Sequin Halter Top. It retails at $75 but is on sale right now for just $20. That is a whole of quality and detailing for an incredible 73% off! It’s made of 100% silk and is embellished with delicate embroidery, beds and sequins along the halter neckline and empire waistline. Lotta Stensson shirts typically sell for over $50 or sometimes even over $100 on BlueFly.com, so I’m loving Brandlet’s prices.
So take a look at BrandLet.com and be sure to check out your sizes in each of their categories. During checkout, use promotion code JILL and get 20% off your order of $75 or more.
The dress worn in today’s video is the Daisy Fuentes Gathered Shift Dress from Kohls. It retails at $54 but is on sale right now for $27. It’s available in black, royale, and ink in sizes S-L.
For those of you who will be traveling for the holiday, have a safe trip and a wonderful 4th!
I’m addicted to home improvement shows. In episode 13 of BargainJill TV, I’ll walk you through two different bathroom makeovers. One for under $550 and another makeover for under $300.
Makeover #1
Bathroom makeover #1 is all about quality brushed nickel fixtures and adds up to about $550 total:
Strawberries and cream. Blood, sweat and tears. Grass and chalk. Victory and defeat. White and… more white. IT’S WIMBLEDON TIME!! In episode 12 of BargainJill TV we’re gonna talk tennis!
It all started in 1877. 22 men battled racquet-versus-racquet at The All England Club’s Lawn Tennis Championship. One man reigned victorious. Seven years later, ladies were allowed to play. Full-length skirts with bustles, petticoats, corsets, and fancy hats. Elaborate white clothing as far as the eye could see. By World War I, some lady players caused a stir by donning SHORT SLEEVES and “revealing” calf-length skirts. Shortly after Word War II, all sense of fashion decorum was lost forever when in 1949 “Gorgeous Gussie” Moran wore tennis panties trimmed with lace [GASP] under her white tennis dress to spite the officials who refused to allow her to wear color. It was the talk of the papers. Also, an enemy of the all-white tradition, and probably of corsets as well, Andre Agassi boycotted Wimbledon from 1988 to 1990 because he refused to wear the conservative, all-white attire. Image was everything.
Fast forward again to June 26th, 2008 and while Wimbledon is white and traditional as ever, the rest of the tennis landscape is anything but.
If you’re a tennis fanatic like myself, or if you used to be and it’s time to get back onto the court, because it’s AWESOME, you won’t want to miss the Golfsmith Friends and Family Sale running today though Sunday, June 29th. I recently loaded up on tons of new tennis clothes from Golfsmith, and if you need to do the same, the time is NOW. You will need to use promo code FFSS08 (that’s a zero, not the letter o) during checkout to see up to 25% off all kinds of tennis clothing. And you GOLFERS out there can get up to 40% off select golf apparel and accessories.
I want to start off our tennis bargains with the Nike Tennis Control Seamless Tank in burgundy. They have sizes S-XL. It retails at $60, but should be on sale for about $40, if not less. Along with this top, I ordered several other tanks that were on clearance, for much lower prices in some cases, and yet, this is the top that I always seem to grab. It is so stretchy and comfortable, there are no side seams to drive you crazy, and I’ve gotta say that it stays in place pretty well. I don’t feel like I’m constantly tugging at it to adjust it while I’m playing. Also, the built-in bra does its job much better than in most of the other similar tops that I own.
Another high recommendation that came out of my tennis shopping spree is the Nike Power Skirt. I ordered at least 5 tennis skirts at once, and the others practically never even leave my drawer. Again, this skirt cost $10-$15 more than the other skirts I bought on sale, but MAN is there a difference. There are a couple of slightly different styles of this skirt, one with a lower-rise waist-band, and the other with a more traditional waist, and it comes in many colors. What I love about this skirt: first is the length. It’s a generous 14″ which means that you can be seen in public without feeling half naked. Secondly, the fabric is thick, durable and figure forgiving. And thirdly, the cut of the compression shorts built into this skirt, works really well. They stay put while you’re playing and the length of the shorts is just slightly shorter than the length of the skirt. These skirts retail at about $50, but several colors are on sale for $33 or less.
Some of the best deals at Golfsmtih right now are, of course, on items in very limited sizes, so be sure to head over there and check it out yourself. Don’t forget to use the promo code FFSS08 during checkout to see your extra Friends and Family discount. And yes, that’s a zero in the promo coded and NOT the letter o. Another athletic top that I wanted to share with you is actually on sale at MACY’s right now. The Nike Pinnacle Long Sport Tunic retails at $50 and is on sale for $35. I love the length of this top. I can see this working great for all kinds of sports and activities. This tank offers nice insurance that you’ll stay covered whether your reaching for the sky to serve a tennis ball, spike a volleyball or do some of your crazy yoga moves. Especially considering how low-rise a lot of athletic pants, short and skirts are now-a-days, it’s nice to see that Nike has put some thought into helping us stay covered.
Well, you all go check out some of these deals… I have some Wimbledon to watch!
I found some great items that followed me home. The Apartment Nine Pleated Top in purple easily made it into my shopping bag. In addition to purple, it also comes in other colors, including black, teal, magenta and brown. It’s made of a nice, soft blend of polyester and rayon which is machine washable. It retails at $34, but like me, you can grab it for $18.
The Apt. 9 Tweed Trapeze Jacket just might be my proudest purchase from today…and Kohl’s better not raise the price on it before you’ve seen this video. I bought this Apartment Nine Tweed Trapeze Jacket in brown for just $27.99. That’s over half off the $60 retail, and I certainly don’t feel like I’m wearing just a $28 jacket. It’s available in sized 4-16, unless you’re interested in the GREY tweed, and in that case, it’s available in sizes 4-14. All Apt. 9 clothing and shoes are 40-55% off during this sale, and I think I bought one of each.
In other deal news, while I was on my hiatus, all heck broke loose in the financial markets, Britney spears started wearing a bra and China walked in space. Britney Spears wins the prize for most shocking news story. However, the whole financial situation is having an impact on the shopping landscape, so I care. In June, I talked to you guys about Linens ‘N Things filing for bankruptcy protection. They closed a few stores and looked for someone to basically buy them out and keep operating the stores. Guess what? No qualified bidders, so Linens ‘n Things is now closing their doors for good and everything is up to 30% off, both in stores and online. Remember that all sales are final, and go check it out while there’s still plenty of good inventory left.
Today in episode 20 of BargainJill TV, we talk about an exclusive deal for BargainJack and BargainJill customers from SmartBargains.com, and we’ll look at few different deals on air mattresses.
Let’s start off with a bang with the Cadillac of air beds, the 
If you need a simple but comfortable queen-sized inflatable mattress, and don’t necessarily need it to be raised, the 
The 
1/2ct Diamond Studs in White Gold (SI2-SI3 Clarity, H-I Color) for an AMAZING $295
1/4 Carat Hoop Earrings in White Gold
If any of these tell-tale signs apply to you, today is your lucky day. Through midnight, Overstock.com is offering an 
A down comforter from Overstock that I love and have owned for probably a year is the 
As I mentioned before, feather bed are also on sale, and the 
For anyone looking for pure luxury in a pillow, the 
The obvious item that HAS to be mentioned is a great swimsuit. If you wear an extra small or small, you can get a 
If the teeny weenie polka dot bikini is not your speed, check out the 
Also, once you’ve had your fill of swimming, throw on the 
If your vacation has already come and gone or you’re not planning on getting away this summer, and you’re cursing my name under your breath as I talk incessantly about the beach…here’e what I have to say: bring the vacation to you. Target has a festive set of 
A prime example: Old Navy has a great deal that runs through the end of today where we can 
Macy’s also has a great array of summer apparel on sale like the 
Also, the 
I’ve looked at a lot of closet systems, and I’ve weeded down the options to two different Rubbermaid closets kits. The first is the 
While you’re at it, i HIGHLY recommend purging all of your plastic and wire hangers and replacing them with wooden hangers. I did this a couple of years ago and will never go back. Amazon sells some wooden hangers via Target, but I prefer to buy these from Linen’s n Things thanks to the fact that the 
I found a great new site for finding incredible deals on name brand women’s and Junior’s clothing. The site is called 
One shirt that caught my eye at just TEN dollars is the 
If you’re a size 6 or 8, check out this fabulous 
The dress worn in today’s video is the 
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If you’re a tennis fanatic like myself, or if you used to be and it’s time to get back onto the court, because it’s AWESOME, you won’t want to miss the 
I want to start off our tennis bargains with the 
Another high recommendation that came out of my tennis shopping spree is the 
Another athletic top that I wanted to share with you is actually on sale at MACY’s right now. The