Cute Cheap Stuff!

Here are a few more free samplers on Amazon:

• Anti Sampler 2003 – featuring Neko Case, Jason Lytle and more
• Saddle Creek Sampler 2008-09 – featuring Cursive and Tokyo Police Club, among others
• Secretly Canadian 2008/09 –  featuring Seattle faves Damien Jurado and Throw Me the Statue. (Secretly Canadian is based out of Bloomington, Indiana, where I went to school!)

Burt’s Bees is giving away 1,000 lip balms for 25 days. The key is you have to sign up that day between 9 am and noon (Eastern time), or for us West Coast people, 6-9 a.m. That’s early!

Urban’s having an awesome clearance sale right with many* items $5 or less.  Check it out!

It only lasts until May 31 and the sale items are supposed to be available online and in-store.

Also, I just noticed they’re selling a fanny pack. This is a little bit tragic and a little bit hilarious.

*A few minutes ago, it was “many,” but things seem to be going quick.

You know what’s not cute? Sun damage.

Regardless of how light or dark your skin is, everyone has some risk of skin cancer. So for goodness sake, wear sunblock!

Coppertone has a $3 off coupon on their website. Just click the link and then click the “Print & Save Coupon” in the bottom left corner of the screen.

I actually just bought Coppertone last weekend, so I’d wish I’d known about the coupon. I can vouch that the Sport Continuous Spray (SPF 30) works extremely well – I was nervous about using a spray, but I wore it outside for a whole day and didn’t get burned at all (I did re-apply a few times).

Three cheers for embracing your natural skin tone!

My aim with this blog is more than just showcasing (sometimes cute) deals – I also want to talk about frugality and what it looks for each of us to manage money, especially as (relatively) young people. We have differing needs and wants, but one thing we all buy is food. Organic food has become more and more popular in the last few years, but sometimes it’s expensive. I have faced these questions, and I’m sure you have as well: Is the price of an organic label really worth it? Just how bad is my non-organic food anyway? 

This post from Apartment Therapy: The Kitchen has some useful links to information about organic food, including:

• A handy dandy list of 47 fruits and vegetables in order of pesticide occurance and background info on their study (from the Environmental Working Group)
• An article from the New York Times: 5 Easy Ways to Go Organic
• Links about organic milk and meat

I have to admit, I really only buy organic food when it’s on sale and the same price as non-organic food. Which means that I hardly ever buy organic! 

Are there foods that you only buy organic? Does buying organic matter to you? Are pesticides really that big of a deal? What are your thoughts?

Fallen by Vib Gyor

I’ve never heard of them, but the song is okay. And it’s free, so why not give it a shot?

Amazon is offering Grizzly Bear’s new album Veckatimest for $3.99 today. I haven’t listened to it, but the reviews sound good.

Their last album (Yellow House) didn’t blow me away, but it was worth it just for “Knife.”

Coupon for free purse-sized clinique happy.

Just print it out and take it a Clinique counter. It’s valid while supplies last.

I recently came across Tulle – specifically, Tulle’s sale section.

I was pretty excited about it. It looked like a little bit cheaper, little bit less frilly version of Anthropologie. And the site design makes me think it may be a part of the Urban Outfitters/Anthropologie parent company.

So I bought several things and eagerly awaited their arrival. But a week later when I tried them on, I was disappointed. Every shirt that I ordered was too short. Bummer!

I’m about 5’9″ and my torso is a little long, but most of the time, I don’t have issues with shirts being too short. So, if you have a little bit of a shorter torso – or maybe even just a normal length torso – you will have better luck with Tulle than I did. Also, some of the shirts were snugger than I expected. I wouldn’t say it was small enough that you should order up a whole size, but if you’re between sizes, go with the larger size.

For the dudes, Tulle also has a sister – er, brother? – site for men called Cloth Logic.

Barsuk isn’t the only record label giving away a sampler album. Sub Pop also has a free album, featuring songs from Iron and Wine, Fleet Foxes, Fruit Bats, and Flight of the Conchords.

Now don’t be put off by the appearance of the site: dancing guitars, dancing Paris Hilton, a sparkly pony, or the fact that they called the sampler “Cybersex.”

Oh, those wacky hipsters!

Or if you’re afraid of pink, you can also download the album (or individual songs) at Amazon.

(Thanks to my lovely friend Anika for the tip!)

Memorial Day weekend means there will be lots of sales just about everywhere.

Bath & Body Works seems to always have sales, so I’m not sure if this is exactly news, but I’m a sucker for Coconut Lime Verbena, so I’ll mention it anyway:

• Signature Collection: Buy 3 Get 3 Free
• $3 Anti-Bacterial
• $5 Anti-Bacterial hand wipes
• $5 4 oz. candles
• $6 Wallflowers (starters & refills)

Ikea has some deals this holiday weekend, including:

• Poang chair normally $89.99 now only $39.99. I love the Poang chair. Not all Ikea chairs are that comfortable, but the Poang has been my friend for many years. In fact, the last time I moved (across country) I had to sell my furniture, and as soon as I visited the Ikea in my new location, I bought another Poang chair! I couldn’t bring myself to buy something else. It’s so comfortable.  And if you want added luxury, buy the footstool too.
• There’s a coupon for free breakfast.
• They’re giving away gift cards when you buy certain living room furniture (looks like all entertainment centers).

Make sure you read the fine print on the website about the Ikea closest to you. It appears not all Ikea stores have the same sales. Maneuvering through crowded aisles and figuring out how to assemble furniture without English directions is hard enough as it is - the last thing you want to do is drive all the way to Ikea and find out you can’t get your Expedit bookcase for half off.

That today only you can download The Definitive Rod Stewart for only $3.99?

That is 31 songs, people!  And please don’t tell me you’re too cool for Rod Stewart. Maggie May … Do Ya Think I’m Sexy … Hot Legs … Forever Young. Rod has some hits!

P.S. If you’re looking for a good time, spend your afternoon doing a Google image search for Mr. Stewart.

Levi’s is offering free shipping for today only (ends at midnight). No special discount code or anything.

I’ve never bought jeans online (for me, jeans are the most difficult thing to shop for), so if you aren’t positive about sizing and think you may have to return something, I suggest reading the Return Policy before purchasing – especially if you’re buying clearance or final sale items.

Amazon wins again. Free download sampler of 9 songs from Barsuk Records artists, including Ra Ra Riot, Death Cab for Cutie, Mates of State, and more. (Barsuk has an incredible roster of artists, by the way.)

Click here for a sample of Aveeno Nourish+ shampoo and conditioner.

Featuring wheat complex! … whatever that means. It’s free.

Today from 12-6 EST -  or 9-3 on the West Coast – fredflare is offering 30% off. Just enter the discount code 3-D at check-out.

I really really like FredFlare. As a testimonial, I wouldn’t say that people here in Seattle are free-flowing with the compliments, but I get the most compliments when I’m wearing things I bought from FredFare. If you get on their email list, they will alert you of free shipping codes, which they have fairly often. I highly recommend that!

If I could buy all my clothes from one store, it would be Anthropologie.

Actually, if I could just marry a store, it would be Anthropologie.

Unfortunately, their stuff is somewhat expensive. But their clearance section is what makes life worth living. And today they begin their “biggest sale of the year.”

Get it while it’s hot.

If you haven’t already, download it here. 

For a band that you would normally have to re-finance your house or sell your firstborn in order to afford a concert ticket (of course, TicketMaster is to blame for part of it), it’s nice to get a little freebie.

Modcloth is my new favorite boutique. And they’re having an awesome clearance sale right now!

Items for $1

Items for $5

Items for $10

Items for $20

Being pretty familiar with modcloth’s clearance section, I can tell you that these prices are lower than they used to be. So it’s a pretty good deal.

Also, I recently became a street teamer for modcloth. I’m not yet sure what that will mean, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to pass on some deals!

For you purists who hate music downloads, avert your eyes.

For the rest of us (smart shoppers), check out Amazon’s mp3 downloads. This month’s batch of $5 albums is pretty decent.

I picked out We Have the Facts and We’re Voting Yes by Death Cab For Cutie and  Dear Science by TV On The Radio.

Neko Case and the bird and the bee were tempting.

I’ve had good experiences so far with Amazon downloads. You have to use the Amazon downloading program, but you can set it up to plop those songs straight into iTunes (I think you can also send the songs to Windows Media Player or one of those Microsoft-y kind of programs … if you’re into that sort of thing).

Well, hello!

Welcome to Cute Cheap Stuff. I’m Terri and I’d like to be your guide to finding the best online bargains.

There are a lot of frugal blogs out there on the ol’ interwebs, but often the deals I see aren’t that enticing. I don’t have a husband and 6 kids to buy groceries for, nor am I interested in buying hardly any of the gazillion deals on various electronic thingamajiggers.

Basically, I like cute stuff. And I like to pay as little for it as possible. I also like free stuff – samples, giveaways, you name it. I spend a pretty good amount of time searching for these bargains, and I’d like to share my findings with you. Sound good?

Thanks for visiting, and be sure to bookmark this blog. All the cool kids are doing it.