Off the Beaten Path Birthday Dinner

Posted on December 10, 2012 by discountess

So my brother’s birthday was this weekend, and as far as birthday’s go, it was a semi-big one so I felt a get-together was in order. Keeping an eye on my coins was important, but I also wanted it to be fun for him and our friends. Enter the best idea ever…

I got a reservation for 17 of our nearest and dearest at Thai X-ing, a local Thai supper club in Ledroit Park. Kudos to my mom for sending me the link! It turned out to be the perfect place. A dinner for 17 can be difficult to figure out – and this one was not without some logistics – but we managed to make it work.

Thai X-ing is actually a regular D.C. row house that has been converted into a restaurant. It has fabulous nooks and crannies for little tables. We were actually in an upstairs room at a big feast table. There was one other party in the room with us when we sat down. Sadly, they were no match for us, and they quickly left us to ourselves. It was probably for the best because at one point we commandeered the iPod speakers to play Top 40 hits and sing at the top of our lungs. This party was not for sissies.

If you’re thinking of hosting a group birthday dinner, I’d highly recommend this place. Here’s why.

1. The food was amazing. They were also very accommodating to one person in our party who had a food allergy. Granted to really enjoy it, you have to be adventurous and willing to try everything, but it was all so delicious I can’t imagine not wanting to taste everything!

2. No menus, one price. The meal itself was $50 a person plus tip. Our friends were gracious enough to contribute a bit extra to pay for my brother’s meal, so the per person grand total was $65 for everything. Not bad for a full 5 course, homemade Thai meal! Everyone brought cash, so we were able to count and pay quickly without having to deal with splitting the check over multiple cards.

3. BYOB. This was actually perfect, especially for the Discountess. As his birthday present, I provided the alcohol for everyone. I checked out my trusty Rodman’s circular. For those who’ve never been to Rodman’s, you’re missing out. It’s a great place to get wine, beer, specialty groceries, etc for good prices. Anyway, they had Beck’s 16 oz. can cases on sale for $20 – I picked up 3 cases and a magnum of delicious french red wine for $13.99 (no seriously, it was really good!). Mom contributed 6 bottles of white wine from her stash, and we were good to go! The beers were especially key, by the way. Much easier to carry into the restaurant and far better to deal with when cleaning up! They let us roll right in with a cooler. It was awesome.

In short, this was a perfect place to have a fun dinner with friends. Everyone had a great time, especially my brother. Sunday was a slower day for some, but it was a small sacrifice to make to the party Gods.

P.S. I know I owe you a November budget rundown. I’m working on it. It’s ugly, and I’m having a hard time facing it, especially in print…

Resisting Neiman Marcus For Target

Posted on December 1, 2012 by discountess

Today is a very big day! The much-hyped Neiman Marcus for Target collection is FINALLY out and available online. In my former life, this would have been a morning where I got up, made a cup of coffee, and got to work spending several hundred dollars to purchase a ton of stuff I don’t really need. But now, since I’ve turned over a new leaf and all, I followed the morning routine until the spending part.

I did look at the collection, and it is pretty cool. Some of the stuff is weird. For example, why would anyone want to spend $500 on an Alice and Olivia bike? It’s foofy looking (that is a technical term), and it probably doesn’t go very fast. It’s items like the bike that indicate that Target (whom I love/deeply adore) is looking for suckers with this sale. For. Sure. Still, there are some items that I had to resist purchasing. These are they:

For the home

Altuzarra Old-Fashioned Glasses
We used to have Old-Fashioneds every Thanksgiving at my Aunt and Uncle’s house. They hosted a separate thanksgiving dinner, so we’d have ours and they’d have theirs and we’d meet after for a late afternoon Old-Fashioned session. I have very fond memories of those parties, and these brought them back.

Altuzarra Gold Tray

If anyone has seen my house, they will know that I’m a big fan of black. Not that my whole house is shrouded in it, but I do have a lot of bold black and white patterns with gold, red, and yellow accents. Clearly, this would fit in.

For the Bod

Lela Rose Top
So cute. Perfect to wear to my aforementioned annual Christmas fete.

Prabal Gurung Cape

It is cold in wintertime, after all.

Robert Rodriguez Top
I love the idea of this one, but I’m pretty sure it would make me look fat. Money saved!

Misc.

Marc Jacobs Gold Pouch
I always find little bags like this useful. It would be perfect as a little clutch or to use for makeup inside a larger tote.

So now the big question – did I make a mistake? Should I go back in and snap one of these puppies up before it’s too late? Please advise.

Discount Gifts for Dudes

Posted on November 30, 2012 by discountess

A friend of mine asked me for some advice on some Discountess-friendly Christmas gift ideas for her brother. I happen to have one of those, so I felt uniquely positioned to take on the task. In my case, my brother is extremely organized, so he put together a comprehensive (and I mean COMPREHENSIVE) list of suggestions. I’m using those to guide this post with a few extras, courtesy of yours truly.

Here are my two Discountess ground rules for holiday shopping success:

When buying anything, ANYTHING online, I look for a coupon. My favorite site is RetailMeNot – they offer coupon codes and discounts for major and not-so-major retailers. At the very least, you usually can score free shipping, but lots of times they have codes for a certain percentage off your order. They aren’t the only site though – Coupons.com also has good deals for example – so it’s most thorough to Google the name of the store to find the best deal (e.g. Brooks Brothers Coupon).
When looking for a specific item, I always search other sites. Yes, you can get that Calphalon 12” frying pan from Williams Sonoma, but Belk.com has is $10 cheaper (AND if you use the discount code 91441864, you can get 25% off that!).

Now, on to the ideas. Here are some of the things that I’d recommend, plus coupon codes where appropriate.

For the Meat-Eater

Nothing says man better than grilling with bacon. These bacon wrapped sirloin steaks are fabulous and thoughtful. If the guy can grill, then this is a great gift and only $49.99.

For the Traveling Man

A colleague told me about the Eagle Creek Pack It. He got one and uses it all the time for traveling. It’s one of those things you never knew you needed. Originally priced – $30.00 on EagleCreek.com, but I purchased one for my uncle from BackCountryEdge.com for 2/3 the price – $20.95 plus shipping.

For the Intellectual (and/or Car Enthusiasts)

Magazines! I personally love magazines. They are the gift that keeps on giving. My brother loves Washingtonian Magazine, so that’s always a solid Christmas bet for him. Living social has a deal right now for a year subscription for $14. I got one for my office holiday gift exchange – there is a $15 limit on our gift, so this works perfectly!

For the non-Washingtonians and for Washington style-makers, adventure-seekers, and car enthusiasts, Living Social has another deal for Esquire, Popular Mechanics, Road & Track, or Car and Driver at $5 a subscription (oh and ladies, that $5 rate applies to a whole host of awesome magazines for us as well – Elle, Elle Décor, Glamour, Marie Claire, etc).

For the Athlete

Work out gear is always a good idea. In particular, my brother requested something like this long-sleeved tech shirt. According to RetailMeNot, you can get free shipping with the following code: AFPTTG.

(This one was a lob to my mom, who is in charge of stuffing my brothers stocking this year).

Any other Discountesses out there with good gift ideas for men? Please comment – I’m all ears!

Boot Blunder

Posted on November 28, 2012 by discountess

Ladies and gentleman, this week, I shopped my feelings. This is the kind of irresponsible behavior that has led to my meager savings over the past few years. As the newly crowned Discountess, I should have turned over a new leaf by now. I should have stayed away from Zappos.com. I should be looking down on all of you who shop your feelings with disgust. I should be on a high horse right now.

But, I’m not. I’m judging myself instead. I was having a bad day, and I decided that I really needed these.

How cute are these? I mean, they are practical for the upcoming winter season. Plus, they are listed in the “advanced comfort technology” section of Zappos, meaning they are orthopedic. They are basically medicine for your feet. AND, I did pay in cash, so I won’t be accruing any credit cards interest. That said, I’m going to have to find a way to use the canned salmon in the back of my pantry to stay alive until the next paycheck. Any suggestions for that?

Getting Crafty With Stamps

Posted on November 27, 2012 by discountess

I’ve mentioned my love of stamps before. Stamps are a fabulous way to personalize invitations, gift cards, stationery – you name it! I actually started using stamps long before I was the Discountess. They can take a regular note and make them look 10 times better. Here are some ways I’ve used them:

Invitations

Each year, I throw a Christmas cocktail party. My apartment is small, so I don’t entertain as often as I would like to. This annual fete allows me to thank all of the people who’ve entertained me during the year. Clearly, since it’s a thank you, I want it to feel special, and nothing better says special to me than getting an invitation in the mail. BUT, they can be pretty expensive to produce. I use stamps make them look personal without adding to the cost.

I pick up regular stock cards and matching envelopes from Paper Source for $4.95 for a pack of 25 cards and $3.25 for pack of 10 envelopes. For 30 party invites, that comes to $19.65 total plus $13.50 in postage. I run them through my printer to add the party details, and finish with a stamp on top. And viola!

Apologies for the weird, white out line, but you get the idea. Cute, no?

Recipe Cards

I’m hosting a bridal shower over the Christmas holiday for my dear friend who’s getting married next spring. I ordered the invitations from TinyPrints (a very reasonable site for printed invitations, especially when you have a coupon like this one). As a part of the invitation, I included recipe cards, so the guests could share their favorite recipes as my friend builds her own collection.

You can always buy recipe cards, but they often look hokey to me. I opted to make the ones I sent out with – you guessed it – a stamp! I used the same paper source cards that I used for the Christmas party invitation, but opted for a different stamp and placement. The results are below.

Not bad for a days work. Next up, I’m trying my hand at gift tags. Stay tuned for that update.

Mastering CyberMonday

Posted on November 25, 2012 by discountess

It was a black, Black Friday for me. I spent most of the day on the train returning home from my thanksgiving in Connecticut, and OF COURSE, the internet was not working. My plans to shop online (for Christmas presents, that is) during the trip home were completely foiled. Thankfully CyberMonday is tomorrow, and there are plenty of deals still to be had.

Here are a few that I’ve discovered today during my preparations.

Kate Spade Cyber Sale
My aunt asked for the Kate Spade perfume for Christmas. Whaddaya know – they had a gift set on super sale! Done and done. They also had some pretty cute purses and shoes, but I’m not supposed to be buying those so I stayed away.

JCrew Sale
I’m always a sucker for a good JCrew sale as well. You can get 25% off your entire online order, plus free shipping on orders over $150 using the code: COLOR25.

Lands End Canvas
They’ve really stepped it up a notch at Land’s End, especially with their Canvas line. I’d highly recommend you check it out.

GAP
30% off your total order on Gap.com using this code: CYBER

SPANX
Free shipping on Spanx.com using this code: FREESHIP12. Spanx are a holiday staple – less as gifts and more as a way to keep your clothes fitting until new years.

This is just a sampling of deals. You can find more at www.CyberMonday.com. They have a full roster of participating stores – everything from Horchow and Lillian Vernon (who knew that still existed!) to Sephora and Target.

May the discount force be with you. Happy shopping!

Baubles and Brunch – Post Mortem

Posted on November 21, 2012 by discountess

Well, I did it. Baubles and Brunch was a big success without walloping my wallet. In fact, I had TOO much food — likely because my mom took me to Costco to prepare for the party, and I got excited. Something about buying in bulk is SO appealing. I feel like I’m getting away with murder (almost), when in fact, I’m only getting away with 4 lbs. of sausage. Thank God I don’t have a membership, or I’d really be in trouble.

Anyway, here’s the low down on the brunch. The menu was the following:

Sausage-Egg Muffins (via Pinterest)
Pear Cake (via ShockinglyDelicious.com)
Fruit Salad
Caprese Skewers
Mimosas
Coffee

Here’s the spread:

Lessons Learned:

Girls don’t eat. I made enough food to give everyone seconds, which means I made too much food. I sent most people home with doggie bags for husbands, boyfriends, and roommates to enjoy.
The ladies who brunch refrain from over-imbibing on Sundays. I bought 5 bottles of champagne and a gallon and a half of OJ. We only drank 2 bottles of the champagne, and half the OJ. People had coffee too, but not that many. I could definitely have dialed back the champagne purchase and saved cash.
Sausage-egg muffins are my new go-to. These were so easy. Easy to make, easy to eat. I did learn that paper liners help make the experience seamless. The recipe says you can bake without them, but I think it would be hard to be successful.
The pear cake looked like I bought it (which is a good thing). Everyone was so impressed that I made it! It looked beautiful. The recipe would also be good with apples. I think I’m going to try that this weekend.

Totals:

Cost of the food, booze, etc: Less than $100, even with the extra champagne
Total cost of the extra eggs I had to buy when I didn’t have enough: $8.39 (you’re on my list 7-11)
Guest count: 20
Total purchases made by guests: $1400+ (hello, S&D credit)!

Below is a picture of our youngest guest, Eleanor, in her adorable polka dot party dress. You can see she’s kind of nonplussed – this picture was taken just after she found out that the S&D pearl bib necklace I’m wearing is being retired. She was really annoyed.

Bonus, “Santa” (read: mom) came, and I’m happy to say that some of my favorites from my previous post will be waiting under the tree for me in December! Shameless plug: the online store for the party is still open – in case anyone wants to make a purchase.

Next stop, hosting my annual Christmas cocktail party without breaking the bank. Baubles and Brunch was my minor league debut – the Christmas party marks my entrance into the big leagues.

The Discountess Does Baubles and Brunch

Posted on November 16, 2012 by discountess

This weekend, I agreed to host a Stella and Dot party for a good friend who is a S&D sales rep. This is my first party as the Discountess, so it’s quite the budgetary challenge. I thought hosting a brunch would allow me to put on a lovely party for my 20 attendees without blowing my budget entirely. Here’s my thinking:

1. Brunches are kid-friendly. Many of my friends have small children, so brunch fits more easily into the nap schedule. Most of the kiddies are portable too, so I invited them to come along. After all, in order to have a party you need to have guests!

2. Less Expensive Food. I want to have plenty of food for my friends, and luckily, brunch food is a bit cheaper than a regular cocktail party menu. I can have an egg dish, fruit salad, some hor d’oeuvres, and viola! Brunch is served.

3. Curbed Cocktail Consumption. Buying enough wine and champagne for a cocktail party is pretty pricey, but I’m guessing brunch shouldn’t be too bad. I’m definitely planning to serve fun, brunch-y cocktails – champagne and Mimosas (coffee and tea will be served as well for those who are off the sauce). I’m assuming that people will have errands to run, naps to get to etc on Sunday afternoon, so I won’t need to stock the bar as much for this party as I would for a cocktail party. We’ll see if they drink me out of house and home.

In addition to proving that this Discountess can host a good party on a dime, the other MAJOR benefit of hosting an S&D party is that the hostess gets awarded a certain amount of S&D credit based on how much people buy. I’m hoping I can get enough credit to offset the cost of a few Christmas presents, and maybe a present or two for myself.

For anyone who wants to do some early Christmas shopping, here is a link to the online store for the party.

And in case you need recommendations, I’m currently coveting the following:

DC’s Hipster Haven

Posted on November 13, 2012 by discountess

This weekend I took my first trip to Union Market in DC for the Crafty Bastards art fair. The fair was packed with local artisans, vendors, and most of all, people. I have never seen so many DC hipsters in one place! See below.

I went to the fair to do some Christmas shopping, but of course, I found nothing for anyone, but myself. I only spent $30 though, so I think I did pretty well.

I scored a cool leather cuff bracelet from a local company is called Fisticuffs (eeeek!), and all of their work is original and one-of-a-kind (and discountess-friendly!). I also got a stamp of a bicycle from another booth. I plan to use it to make homemade tags for Christmas presents. I love stamps – they are so versatile (there’s definitely a post on stamps coming later!).

Anywhoozer, I didn’t get to spend as much time perusing the aisles on Union Market as I wanted. There were so many people that it made it hard to get around. That said, I’d love to go back on a normal Saturday. From what I can tell, they have great food shops, fresh veggies, wine and more. It’s the perfect place to grab a coffee, a paper, and do some serious people watching on a sunny Saturday. Talk about inexpensive entertainment!

Graphic Design Goddess

Posted on November 9, 2012 by discountess

What’s the point of having a blog without being able to shamelessly promote the work of your friends?

Meet Amanda Powers – graphic design guru and all-around fabulous individual. Amanda has been my go-to design freelancer for years. She has a background in print and web design and currently is the Senior Designer for a fabulous Charlottesville, VA – based magazine called Breathe. She also does a little somethin somethin on the side (in the design sense of course).

Amanda made me some custom invitations for a few parties that I hosted in years past. Copies of her invitations (that got FABULOUS reviews from my mom’s very flossy friends) are below. I’m sure you’ll agree she did an excellent job!

You can contact Amanda for any of your design needs at aburtonpowersdesigns@gmail.com. Her full portfolio is available here.