Dee Says: Black Friday = Success!

I knew getting up at two would be worth it.

  So as you all know I just love Black Friday (see other post). Its probably one of my favorite times of the year. It means that Christmas is coming, and its something me and all my sisters bond over. This year we started our quest at Best Buy. Usually we go to Target first, but this year I was in the market for a Blu Ray so we started there. The lines were CRAZYY! I mean some of the longest I've seen in years, clearly people are more willing to spend...maybe the recession really is over? My goal is always to get as many people taken care of as possible and maybe pick up a few things for myself. I definitely accomplished this, almost everyone on my list was taken care of. Overall this year was pretty great, I didn't get in any fights though :( Anyway, I'm going to share with you all the things I bought.

Family Gift

So usually what I do for gifts is get my Mom and Dad one joint present, and get my Mom a present on her own (I'm not being mean, he just doesn't like gifts). This year I bought them the Blu Ray above. Its an Insignia and I'm not sure if that's a good brand or not so maybe you guys can let me know if I made a good choice. It seems cool enough and it streams Netflix so that's really all that matters. The Blu Ray was $89.99 at Best Buy and a really good deal (or so I'm told).

Mom's Gift

The cover is promising

A little about my Mom, she's a complete nerd and is really into second chance at love kinda movies, so I bought her Last Chance Harvey. The film is really good and cute and Emma Thomson is in it so what more could you ask for. She also has an unhealthy obsession with Hugh Jackman (though don't we all). So I bought her Australia. Its directed by Baz Luhrman or something, the guy who did Romeo and Juliet so it must be good. (right? leave your comments on the films below). Both films were $7.99 at Borders, also if you haven't been to Borders, check it out, they have some really cool stuff. 

So cute.

So that takes care of the 'rents. Every year I have this epic battle about what I'm going to get my sister. This year an idea came to me in a dream (literally). I'm not going to say what it is because she might read this, but its fantastic (I hope). My other sister is super easy every year. On Friday I found this cute wine glass at Macy's that I know she'll just love. The company is Lolita and they make all these cool designs on martini glasses and such by hand. I got this one for $24.99 Check it out they have some really cool ones. 

Friend #2

So usually how I do thing is I get something for each of my sisters, Grandma, Friends, Mom and Dad and then everyone else gets different versions of the same homemade gift. So last year everyone got pillows with fabric from their favorite sports teams, the year before I knitted everyone scarves. So this year I decided to make everyone candles, which will be quick, easy and cheap. (I do a lot of crafts, if you'd like posts on how to do these things or more craft ideas comment below).

I really only have three friends that I worry about gifts for.

Friend #2

Friend #1

If you haven't played these little Scene it? games you really should. They are perfect for family or friend gatherings. There are a million versions out there. Comedy, Drama, RomCom, Harry Potter, Disney, Twilight, TCM--basically anything you can think of. Several TV shows also have a version. The one I bought was $29.99, a little steep, but I know my friend will love it. Slumdog Millionaire and 17 Again were $3.99 each at Best Buy.
Friend #3 remains gift-less at this point until I find some inspiration.

For the little baker/designer

My eight year old cousin also gets a special gift. I love this thing because it involves very little mess and allows her to be creative instead of just buying her a video game. This is a little cookie making kit. The cookies are shaped like dresses and shoes and that sort of thing. The great part is if you have a budding fashionista (like me) it allows them to decorate the cookies however. It comes with little stamps too so they can put little patterns on them. So adorable and only $19.99 at Target.

So everyone is covered except my Grandma. I really was stressed about this one because the woman is so bored all day she shops like crazy and has everything. So this is an idea for Grandparents. What I decided to do was gather all the families photos and make a DVD slide show/movie type thing for her to watch. This is great because Grandparents can be very sentimental and always have a million pictures of everything. This way she doesn't have to go through her hundreds of photo albums, she can just watch the DVD. All you have to do is get all the pictures together and go to a store with a photo kiosk ( Wal-Mart, Walgreens, ect.). If your don't want to buy the DVD there (at Wal-Mart it's $3.99) you can bring one. They have a scanner and everything and you just hit the photo-show or slide show option. You scan all your pictures and Viola! Its cheap and is better than just buying something.

Well that's all folks! I had an awesome Black Friday this year and really saved a lot. Leave me a comment about your Black Friday adventures! For more gift ideas--store bought or handmade just leave me a comment!
xoxo Dee.

Dear Pink,

Oh, Alecia. I've loved you for so long. You used to be soo different and edgy with your short hair and rocky lyrics. I remember when you started out singing kinda R&B-ish. Then you evolved with some cool lyrics and punky baselines. Do you remember the old you Pink? Do you remember when girls around the world would jam out to your music? Now it seems every song you sing is "oh I miss my husband" or "my husband is gone and so I'm going to become a drunkard". I miss you Pink. Maybe now that you're pregnant every song will be "oh breastfeeding sucks" and "I have to pee all the time". Only time will tell. But one day, I'd like the old pink back. Please and thank you.

 Sincerely,
Dee.

It can get much worse than this.

See? All these people can't be wrong.

Dee Luvs: Black Friday

On what other day in America can you buy a three dollar appliance?
The whole idea of Black Friday is so beautiful.  Every store opens early and people line up around the block to get the best deals. Sure,  it might be an example of consumerism and materialism and blah blah blah. But hey its FUN!
Great story from last year: Target had those digital picture frame things on sale for $19.99! Amazing right? and I knew my grandparents would love it. So we got up super early (not early enough though because we were near the end of the line) and waited. BAM! when the doors opened I went straight to the electronics section. I looked to my left and began to panic, some blond chick was headed toward the display. There was only one left! It was like a horse race, dee's in the front, now blond chick, dee's gaining on her....Finally quick and agile as a ninja I snapped up the last one and did a happy dance! WOOOO! Dee-1 Blond-0! My first Black Friday fight and I won! Plus I'm definitely the favorite grand-kid now. Go Me!
I love Black Friday because:
-fun techy gadgets at a low price
-IHOP has free coffee
-awesome way to work off all that turkey and pumpkin pie
The deals are great this year too. Buy a Wii at Walmart and get a 50$ gift card, the famous three dollar toaster is back, and blu rays are only $99- not to mention the doorbusters.
Sure, online you can find good deals, and CyberMonday is getting to be more and more popular, but there's something to be said for getting up at dawn, bundling up in all your winter gear and shopping with all your friends and family.
So... set your clock, wake up your hubby to babysit and break out the credit card!
My Tips:
-check adds the day before
-make a plan
-leave the kids at home---they only add extra weight
-bundle up, but right before they open the doors have someone run the coats to the car, you wanna be able to move in there. trust me
For more Black Friday info and tips check out my YouTube channel
http://www.youtube.com/user/xoxodeestyle

The First Post

It all started with the BoobTube. And by "BoobTube" I mean YouTube. I was surfing around watching make-up tutorials by Michelle Phan who is apparently the most famous YouTuber ever or something. Her tutorial was on Disney Princess Halloween make-up--the awkward part is I was watching after Halloween and I have no intention of dressing up as Ariel next year. So why was I watching? She uses all these ridiculous methods and it looks like it would take forever to do, yet I find myself watching all her videos. Why?. So anyway back to the point Michelle had a guest named Wendy, or maybe Wendi but the spelling is irrelevant. Wendy/Wendi is the top blogger in Singapore and Michelle kept plugging her blog so I went to the thing because obviously make-up gurus have some sort of mind control powers. While reading her blog I couldn't help thinking--wow I could write something much more exciting than this nonsense. And we've come full circle. Maybe no on will read this, maybe everyone will and I'll be famous, who knows? In any case The Daily Candy will have a million different types of posts.
Dee Luvs will be, you guessed it, things I like.
Dee Hates will be Dee Luvs' evil twin.
Soapboxx will be me being sassy and telling you what I think about a subject
Dee Says will just be general things on my mind.
Dear____ will be me writing a letter to a person/place or thing--a noun in general really.
Here we go!
xoxoDee.