Do I need more shoes? Ummmm no. But shoes are not a WANT they’re NEED. At any given time in life you can be thrown into a multitude of insane situations and if the world around me is caving in atleast I can have on a nice pair of shoes, right? Right! (don’t judge hmph!) I’ve been trying to do this whole shopping on a budget thing. It’s kind of hard but I woke up one day and decided I wanted to own a house before my 26th birthday! Pretty insane right? (I’m 22 btw) I have been on the hunt for  budget friendly shoes under $50 and a few things have caught my eye.

I fell in love with these while browsing through the October issue of Lucky Mag. I am in love! You can bet that these babies will be making a home in closet very soon, for $40 these are a steal!

A cute twist on the classic mary jane. I found the perfect classic mary janes last fall at DSW it would be fun to own a pair with a bit more flair. ($29)

Though this post may not show it, I actually do not always wear black shoes. Not that this camel color is outrageous, but these boots look so comfy. It almost seems as if your feet will just melt into them. ($53)

These are gorgeous! I can picture wearing these with tights and mini dresses, skinny jeans, pants,  the possibilities are endless! ($69.50)

The bow alone is enought for me to purchase these! Plus I’ve been on the hunt for some camel colored pumps. The bow makes these a little less serious. ($36)

Sometimes words cannot explain why you love something. The zip details makes these unique and slightly remind me of the Giuseppe Zanotti zip embellished rose pumps.($28.50)

Photos: lulus.com, myspringshoes.com

Sorry I’ve been so MIA. Why didn’t anyone tell me senior year is so busy?! Eh. It will officially be over next Monday and graduation is on the 16th. I still have yet to find a graduation dress. Feel free to help me =]. So on to bigger and better things. Have you ever heard of Dr. Bonner’s castile soap? It’s AMAZING! You can use it for almost anything. Traycee over at KISS (http://keepitsimplesista.blogspot.com/) has an amazing you tube video on how to make your own shampoo using Dr. Bonner’s. I have been using it as a face and body wash. I have oily skin so my face is loving this. It gets me squeaky clean without drying me out. There is no residue left on my skin at all. I also made a body scrub. It is by far my favorite and trust me I’ve used a lot!

Talya’s Body Scrub:

1/4cp Dr Bonner’s

juice of half a lemon (it helps fade dark spots)

1/2 cp of each brown and white sugar (brown sugar has larger grains to exfoliate white sugar buffs skin smooth)

Olive Oil (I eyeball this. It adds moisture to the skin)

Mix in a container and throw it in the fridge after using. The lemon juice can spoil. Plus cold body scrub on a hot day sounds good to me.

I picked up my bottle at a natural food store but I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them at Whole Foods in the city. Of course you can always go to  www.drbonner.com. Just google Dr. Bonner’s and you will find multiple uses, from laundry detergent to multi purpose cleaner. This is a recession. You better stretch your dollar.

Times are tight. If you have a job than your lucky stars. I have friends, who are recent college grads, that just got handed the infamous pink slip. Ouch. Do we not go to college for job security? Now a college education cannot even help you. It is, in fact, a hot mess. How are you cutting back? I have been trying to watch my pockets for a while and I’ve been pretty successful thus far. You will be surprised what you can learn when you do not have the money to pay the pros like you usually do. I have a few tips and tricks of my own, they work for me hopefully they will work for you.

* At home manicures and pedicures- I pay serious attention to detail so I believe I do a better job than most nail techs anyways (haha!). I may not be able to get all fancy with designs (I’m not a fan of nail art anyways), but I can file ‘em up and polish them quite nicely.=] My secret mani/pedi weapon: Just a minute 60 second manicure scrub. You can pick it up at any Bath and Body Works.

*Wash and set- Well honestly I cannot set my hair to save my life. But I can deep condition, blow dry and flat iron like no other! (ask my roomie. . .I do her hair every week lol) If you have the skill to take it a step further and do an at-home relaxer then more power to you. But I still go to the pros for that one. I use to get a wash,set, and blow-dry every week. By doing my own hair I now save myself $20 a week and my hair looks just as good!

*Write down everything- I know it sounds tedious but writing down every time I spend money (how much and where) has seriously helped me to figure where my money disappears to every month. Collecting receipts works just as well! I just cannot deal with all those little pieces of paper floating around in my purse.

*Read- Cash In the City is a wonderful book by Juliette Fairley. It has practical money saving tips. My copy has been passed around my circle of friends. Everyone loves it and you will too! How to be a Budget Fashionista by Kathryn Finney just arrived on my doorstep and so far so good. If you like her website then you will enjoy the book as well.

*Blogs- thebudgetfashionista.com and juicefairy.com. No explanation needed. Read and learn.

Like most people in college I’m broke. Plain and simple. Yet, somehow it doesn’t stop me from picking up pieces from the latest MAC collection. Now I am a MAC lover through and through; straight to the bone almost anyone around me can tell you that. But, lately since pledging Broke Phi Broke I’ve learned to find a few alternatives. First up is FLIRT! Cosmetics, I first found out about flirt while watching The Fashionista Diaries (love that show). After trying it out (and then finding out that it was made by the same company as MAC) I was hooked! I love the eye shadows and they have a surprisingly large variety of shades and colors. Now to be honest I’m not a fan of the foundations because they do not accommodate for dark brown girls such as myself but everything else is good in my book. You can check them out at flirtcosmeticsand at Kohls stores nationwide.

Reminds me of Bobbi Brown’s shimmer brick- you can use it as a blush and as an eye shadow.

Eye shadow comes in a variety of colors and you can usually find dupes of MAC colors.

I’ve finally found my perfect red gloss!!! Red hottie looks amazing next to brown skin. Find it! Try it!

Now I know I’m not the only one with someone in my family that sold Avon! You know how it was, good for the older ladies but nothing much for the youngins’. It’s time for you to meet mark. It’s a younger fresher (inexpensive) makeup line from Avon. You can order online and it’s great. I’m in the process of testing their tinted moisturizer and eye shadow so I’ll have to get back to you on that one. But I can attest to their lip glosses and the whole connector idea is genius and great for throwing in my purse.

 True story: I am in love with Becca’s moisturizing tint but after it was discontiued at sephora I clung on to my measly bottle for dear life beofre realizing I could purchase it online. But, for $40 a bottle I don’t know exactly how I allowed myself to fall for something so pricey. I bought my first bottle with mommy’s credit card and did not pay attention to the price. I love this tint from meet mark. I apply it with a sponge, a little blending and I’m good to go. I have oily skin and this doesn’t leave me feeling greasy at all!

You buy two of these little babies and get a fantabulous connector so you can tote around as many combos as you can think of! You can switch around between lip gloss, cream eye shadow, mascara, liquid eye liner, gel blush, the list goes on.

 Once again it is super inexpensive and you can find dupes for alot of high-end brands.

You buy this lil palette and you snap in eye shadows. You can mix and match you lil heart out with this baby right here.

So what are your favorite inexpensive brands?

No I’m not late on the bargain heaven that is Target. I am re-kindling the romance. All of the designer collections for Target have made our romance even more exciting. I know a lot of people do not believe that the designer collections at Target are half-way as decent as their full priced counterparts. That is more than likely true but, for someone with empty pockets such as myself it is a God send!!! I have a few items from the limited edition handbag collections at target, including items from Devi Kroell and Loeffler Randall. I am adding Gryson for Target into the mix sometime this week. I know I’m late with that one and Botkier is all the rage now (more on that in a second). When I first saw Gryson for Target I instantly fell in love, but being a member of Broke Phi Broke, I could not part with damn near $50 at the time. The clouds have opened up and God is smiling on me because now my favorite bag from the collection is on sale for a measly $11.24 at Target.com!!! If you missed out on Gryson the first time around then type your way on to Target.com immediately! The whole collection that once cost $50-$20 is now on sale for $12.49 to $4.99! I’m in love.

I finally walked my butt into Target last night to see the much talked about Botkier collection. I will say I was disappointed and leave it at that. I did, however, walk out with a cute bag from Mossimo. I will be honest and say that the bag is HUGE, therefore it is perfect for traveling. I need something to take with me on the plane that will allow me to be hands free and carry all my crap at the same time. I walk with a lot especially for any flight more than an hour and a half, at least 3 or 4 magazines, my own snacks that I bought in the airport, a sandwich and fruit, my ipod, a lip balm, wet wipes for my hands and face, a travel sized deodorant, my own little blanket and pillow, and probably a ton more that I’m forgetting as I type this. The point is I know that it will all fit in this bag! Once again I cannot wait for St. Maarten this weekend =].

 Gryson for Target now on sale for $11.24

 My new travel buddy