If you’re a shop-a-holic, or even just like to window shop with your credit card safely stored in your back pocket, you should consider Scottsdale, Arizona for your next vacation destination. Often called the “South Beach” of the Southwest, Scottsdale has plenty of exciting shopping to offer, plus a buzzing night scene, many fabulous hotels, and a good chance of running into your favorite celebrity.
Scottsdale, Arizona was founded in 1868, when Jack Swilling founded his Swilling Irrigation Canal Company. The real influx of white settlers didn’t start until nearly twenty years later, when the Scott brothers began to encourage families from Phoenix to move to “Orangedale”–as it was then called–and set up a desert farming community. The community attracted the attention of famed architect Frank Loyd Wright in 1937, who is responsible for many of the fascinating buildings that give the town its unique personality, and still attract tourists.But the real flavor of Scottsdale lies in its Old Town district.
Old Town Scottsdale has maintained much of the old west feeling that so many Western cities now lack, giving visitors the sense that a real-life cowboy might come marching down the street at any moment. The roads are lined with old-fashioned shops, bars, restaurants, nightclubs and art galleries, which are more than enough to hold the attention of any wayward shopper for an entire afternoon. If cowboys were big into shopping, it seems that nothing much would have changed about the town at all!But for the more modern-minded shopping savant, the Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall is where it’s at. Be sure to bring your GPS, because with nearly two million square feet of shopping space, it’s easy to get lost amid the storefronts here. And once you’ve exhausted all the possibilities in the mall (a Herculean task), you can move on to the nearby Scottsdale Waterfront and Southbridge complexes, which each have their own unique secrets to discover.Because Scottsdale is such a fabulous shopping destination, it attracts the attention of tourists of all stripes–not least of all, celebrities eager to escape their flash bulb lifestyles. The Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall has exclusive deals with many high-end retailers, including Barneys New York, Armani Exchange, Louis Vuitton and Betsey Johnson, which makes these prime locations to go celebrity-spotting.
Don’t be surprised if you run into Angelina Jolie shopping for a new handbag, or catch sight of Lady Gaga while perusing a clothes rack.If you want to vacation like the best of them, you can’t miss Scottsdale.
Posted November 22nd, 2011. Add a comment
Raising a family in today’s economy can be a challenging task for families of all sizes. Mothers have their work cut out for them when it comes to maneuvering within tighter budgets. Utilizing coupons or coupon codes can help to alleviate the stress of raising children and also makes each dollar stretch further.
Moms can get the most out of coupons by diversifying their use. Traditionally, coupons were utilized exclusively for food and household items, but today there are coupons for virtually all aspects of living. For example, there are coupons for travel, restaurants, entertainment, clothing, school supplies and much more. Some notable coupon websites include Groupon.com, Retailmenot.com and CouponMom.com.Mothers across the United States and abroad save hundreds of dollars every day by using Groupon.com. Users simply sign up for daily emails. Every morning users receive an email with the daily deals in the destination of their choice. Moms can realistically obtain discounts of more than 50% on items ranging from dining, travel, clothing and much, much more. Groupon.com negotiates these specials directly with the business and the customer simply purchases the discounted voucher online and presents it to the business.Retailmenot.com is a collection of coupon codes that can be used on items that Moms use everyday. If the family is relocating, Moms will appreciate the coupon codes for moving trucks and other moving supplies. When Moms are planning a vacation, they will be glad to know that Retailmenot.com offers coupon codes for rental cars and virtually any other travel need. Additionally, one will find coupon codes for retail stores that are useful for school clothes and other clothing needs throughout the year.CouponMoms.com is loaded with a variety of coupon codes as well as printable coupons and amazing free samples. Moms will find this site to be user-friendly with a clear and concise structure. Coupon codes listed here are current and credible. When feeding a large family, dining outside of the home is often a small investment. CouponMom.com provides links to gift certificates that can save Moms up to 40% at a variety of popular, family-friendly restaurants.
By using one of these three coupon websites, Moms can reduce their monthly expenses. Most coupon websites offer electronic notifications of daily deals and special bargains. Subscribing to these newsletters offers Moms one more way to obtain notice of potential savings for their families.
When it comes to buying clothes, finding an
asos discount code is also a great find for moms who want to be fashionable while saving a buck.
Posted November 1st, 2011. Add a comment
Planning for a wedding encompasses a lot of details. A bride’s biggest decision to make is the dress she is going to wear on her big day. Unfortunately, wedding gowns can be extremely expensive, costing thousands of dollars for something a bride will wear for a few hours. Choosing to purchase a used wedding gown can save a lot of money. You can also sell your wedding dress instead of having it preserved and stored in your basement, where it likely will never be seen again. Some locations that girls can buy and sell used wedding dresses include:
Consignment shops. Consignment shops can be found in almost every city and town. The process of working with these shops requires you to take your wedding dress in so they can look at it and determine its value. The shop will decide how much they could ticket the dress for and they will offer you a percentage of that price if it sells. Sometimes a consignment shop will pay you upfront for your dress and worry about selling it later, while others require you to leave your name and contact information. They will contact you whenever it sells and you can come pick up the money. If it doesn’t sell in a set amount of time the shop will either ask you to drop the price or pick up the item. You can also purchase a used wedding dress from a consignment shop at a very fair price. This allows you to see the dress in person, try it on and decide whether or not it’s something you like.
Online. The internet is a great place to purchase or sell used wedding dresses. With sites like eBay, online consignment shops and even websites dedicated to buying and selling used wedding dresses, the options are endless as to where you can buy or sell your dress. Some sites will charge a fee, especially those that utilize a bidding process to sell items, but others will buy your dress straight up. If you are purchasing a dress you will usually have to pay shipping and possibly insurance to confirm that the dress arrives undamaged.
Wedding boutiques. Local wedding dress shops carry the latest and greatest wedding dress designs on the market but sometimes they will also have used dresses stashed away for brides who ask for them. The best way to find a boutique or store that buys and sells gowns is to call around and ask individual stores. If the location you call doesn’t necessarily buy or sell used wedding dresses, they may know where you can look instead.
Thrift shops. Some of the best deals can be found at a local thrift shop or community donation center. If you are looking for a used wedding dress, you may want to spend a day visiting some of the shops in your area. You can also call around and ask if there is anything currently in the store before heading out there. If nothing is currently available but you have some time before the wedding, you may want to leave your name and number and ask that the store notifies you if something happens to come in.
Purchasing or selling a used wedding dress can be a big money saver. While a bride wants to look beautiful on her wedding day, when that day comes to an end, the dress will never be worn again. To minimize the money spent, taking advantage of these places you can buy or sell to can be a great option.
Posted October 24th, 2011. Add a comment
When it comes to buying presents, many people freeze up in fear . They want to find the perfect gift for the recipient– not something that will get a fake smile and be cast aside. They want to find a gift that will be appreciated, remembered, and utilized or enjoyed. The ideal gift would be one that the person didn’t even know they wanted but instantly recognizes as something that can’t live without.
A map or a globe may turn out to be just that gift — if enough care is taken in selecting it.
Shoppers should start by thinking about the interests and background of the friend or family member who would receive the map. Someone with a strong connection to and fond memories of a specific period of their life might love to have a map that reminds them of that time. Think how much a former Peace Corp member would love a framed map of the country in which they served.
Maps can be personalized to make special gifts. This may be as simple as having a Hawaii Wall Map customized with the names of a couple and their wedding date to commemorate their honeymoon. It could also mean spending extra money to have a map made that centers around a specific person — with significant places from their life highlighted. It is also possible to buy a general purpose map and manually note important locations.
An educational map puzzle can be a great gift for a child and an antique map is appropriate for art lovers. In fact, there probably is some type of map that would be the perfect gift for just about anyone.
There’s a cartoonish idea of the female shoe horse — a woman who can’t resists buying any pair of shoes that are on sale or look remotely cute. It doesn’t matter if she has anything to wear with the shoes or even has the money to pay for them in her clothing budget. If she sees a shoe, she must buy it.
As with most stereotypes, there are some women who come close to fitting this notion of shoe fiend, but most are more temperate in their love of shoes . They will be attracted to beautiful shoes and perhaps even fall in love with a pair that meets their ideal image of what a shoe can be. However, they won’t give in to every impulse to purchase. Instead they will carefully weigh their actual need or intended use for the shoe along with the price against the seductive pull of it’s physical appearance.
The best shoe shoppers will look consider it a badge of honor that they never pay full price. They will scour shoe sale ads and look for coupons for footwear etc before heading out to buy even a simple pair of sneakers. They know the dates of the seasonal sales at all their favorite shoe stores and may even be on email lists or snail mail lists for announcements and discounts.
Posted November 11th, 2010. Add a comment