Hello Do-Gooders....

Do you shop at Target, Nordstrom, or J. Crew??  What if I told you they would donate to a charity of your choice just for buying their goods?  Well they do!  I recently stumbled upon a website called Goodsearch.com.  They provide you with a list of charities, local or national, and provide links with what type of merchandise you're interested in.  Then those retailers will donate a certain percentage of what you spend to the charity of your choice. It costs you nothing, and helps others!  DO IT. now.

ARTn't You Glad I'm Writing This?

Recently, I attended Charlotte's Festival in the Park to broaded my artistic horizons.  Of course after attending I planned many art projects, then day dreamed into me becoming famous and everyone being jealous of my artsy skills.  THEN, I decided to just buy some art instead! Lazy? No.  Realistic?  Maybe.  The fesitival has hundreds of booths set up for local artists to display their works.  I ran into a booth I had seen before, at an art festival last year in Birmingham, AL.  His name is MJ Villanueva, from Georgia. His works are beautiful with a lot of color and texture!  He had a new set of little owl paintings, so of course I got one.  His stuff is AWESOME.

Yum In My Tum

This Shrimp with Roasted Peppers & Feta is tasty tasty.  It's super easy to fix, and quick.  It's also super good and you don't have to have a taste for ethnic foods to like it.  Serve with jasmine rice and pita bread and you've got it made.  Make it now, and then send me a plate. Go, do it... right now, I'm waiting.

Shoo, Jimmy Choo!

So, my life has made several turns lately.  Going from Birmingham, Al to Charlotte, NC.  From living with my 20-something cousin to living with my 50-something parents and brother.  From being a part-time nanny, full-time stay at home twenty-two year old mom (did I mention I don't have children) to being.... (drum roll please) EMPLOYED!  Well technically, I haven't started yet, so we'll keep the details at bay to prevent jinxing it. 

For all this change, I know that money and life planning is something I need to take in to account for planning my new adult life.  That is why I 'invested' $14.95-15% Barnes and Noble coupon discount-15% Barnes and Noble Member Discount in this new book called Shoo, Jimmy Choo by Catey Hill.  Basically, it's a cute way of reaching young women and teaching them to save money and how to plan.  The book is bright pink, so obviously it caught my attention.  Also, it has a high heel on it, and it teaches things, so I bought it. DUH.  So should you.

Frannie's Found!

Where was I? Maybe I'm a spy.  Sorry I haven't written in um, almost 3 months?  Whoopsies.

Last Minute Gift Idea..

This is a last minute gift idea that I think, personally, is amazing.

Netflix. That's right, if you have it, you know.

Everyone loves movies, and if any other place is like my hometown (Charlotte, NC), then you know that Blockbusters are closing left and right.  It literally takes like 1.5 days to get a new movie in the mail from Netflix.  It's also rather inexpensive, depending on the package you choose, to give to someone as a gift (or stocking stuffer). Moreover, all you have to do is print out the certificate, after choosing a seasonal background, and you're set!

1 month of 1 rental at a time + live streaming of selected movies on your computer - $8.99 2 at a time- $13.99
2 months of 1 rental at a time - $17.98  2 months of 2 rentals - $27.98

you get the picture... it's great for all ages. yay

Great Stocking Stuffers for the Gents....

Pretty much the same, but for men.

1. Porto Candles in wood scents ($34.99)- They're great for guys, because they won't be embarassed about a fruity smell.  They come in Birch, Mahogany, Oak, Redwood, & Teak scents.  Sooo manly.  Like Paul Bunyan's gonna rage when he finds out about these.

2. Cell Phone Cup ($6.99)- This little cup keeps things organized in the car.  It holds the cell phone, a pen, change, keys, and you can connect your phone charger up through the bottom of it.  It's cheap and cool.  Gooo phone cup! 

3. Motorized Grill Cleaning Brush ($20)- um it comes from Brookstone, pretty self explanatory.

4. MP3 Shower Radio ($12.99)- waterproof (obviously), shockproof, takes 4 AAA batteries, and hangs in the shower. 

Great Stocking Stuffers for the Ladiesss.....

Stockings are weird. According to Wikipedia the whole stocking thing started when a man was too poor to provide for his three daughters at Christmas.  Saint Nicholas was passing through town and heard of this predicament and crept through the chimney to place bags of gold in their stockings drying over the fireplace.  Quite frankly, I'm getting tired of telling this story so we're gonna move on.  Before we do though, Saint Nicholas is creepy.... (no offense Santa), but let's get real.  This guy... snuck into a house through a chimney? Then, he was checking out their stockings; it was like he left gold in them because he knew he was being a creeper.  I'll let him creep as long as he leaves a '54 convertible too, light blue. 

Since stockings are weird, we're gonna try to find things small enough and cool enough to go in them.

1. Engravable Silver Plated Bookmark from Pottery Barn $12.  It's under $15, and can be personalized.  It looks like you put more thought into this gift than you actually have to.

2. Ribbed Merino Glittens from J. Crew $24.50 - great for those with an IPhone, because you can use your fingers to touch the screen without having to take your gloves off. 
3.  Luggage Tag ($9.99) from J. Crew.

  Great for a traveler, and it comes in a variety of colors.  Moreover, it's on sale; it was originally $20. 

4.  Bobbi Brown Pink Ribbon Lip Collection ($40).  

It's a limited edition lipstick and glitter lip balm and a portion of proceeds goes to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation. 

5. Westbury Lisa Wallet from Kate Spade ($89 + free shipping from katespade.com)  Although a bit pricier, it's a nice surprise to have a pricey gift in your stocking. 

I'm too good to open that hood.

I use to have a portable battery my dad gave me to carry around in my car in case I ever needed a jump.  It required just the portable battery, no other car.  I thought that was great, and I used it a bunch without ever needing to plug it in to my car to jump another car off.  Yes, it was extremely convenient, but it was huge (um the size of a car battery). Well... get a load of this one kiddies.

It's a jumper cable you plug into your cigarette lighter ($24.99).  The cord stretches from one cars plug to the next car.  There's no need to ever pop a hood.  The device will show a green light when your battery is charged enough in order to start your car.  A great stocking stuffer!

It's a-me, Mario!

I've always (when it's available.. so technically I'm lying about always) used Mario Badescu facial soap and toner.  The brand is more famous for their drying lotion you can put on blemishes to get rid of in a jiffy.  After spending about 45 minutes in Ulta buying miscellaneous beauty products I didn't need and/or Christmas gifts, I was surprised to see they carried Mario Badescu.

Eagerly, I grabbed the soap I wanted to get on my merry way.  Then.... I saw OTHER products he offered.  Like, the soap that actually fit my skin type versus the one the Nordstrom's sales clerk told me to buy (what does she know).  Then I thought a facial mask would be good since my skin's been acting a ruckus lately.  I bought the Whitening Mask ($24), because it reduces redness, unclogs pores, and makes your skin super bright.
I could go on about all the magical powers Mario put in their, but I don't really know what I'm talking about.  All I know is that it works; after the second time I used it my face looked so clean and shiny, and all the little spots on my face that bothered me were not as noticeable.

You can get it online at www.mariobadescu.com, and they send a TON of free samples with it.  It's awesome.