Final Hot Faves of the Summer!
-
It’s the dog days of summer, and I’ve been spending some time holed up in air conditioning with plenty of water, waiting out this heat wave and stumbling on some fabulous websites and hidden deals. Keep reading to check out Girl on a Budget’s Final Hot Faves of the Summer!GREEN TIP of the DAY: PAPERLESS POST: Gone are the days when snail mail was the preferred mode of communication for friends and loved ones across the world (or across town). Now, going Green is all the rage, and I am pleased to introduce my fave pen-and-ink replacement: Paperless Post! Started by a brother and sister duo in New York City, Paperless Post is a custom online stationer who aims to prove “aesthetics and efficiency can go hand in hand” as you send out invites, announcements, and messages easily ad-free and carbon neutral! (You can even link your invites to charity events and fundraisers to accept payment through your online invitation.) While similar to the well-known online invitation king, www.Evite.com, Paperless Post is one step above as a truly unique and personalized paperless stationery replacement that allows you to manage your guests and track your replies in a form just as elegant as custom-printed cardstock. Just like the US Postal service, though, you need a stamp to send your invite; however, you are given 25 free stamps when you sign up, and receive 5 more for every friend who signs up too.
HOT BLOG: BIG GIRLS, SMALL KITCHEN: It was hard to choose my favorite blog, because there are so many fabulous ones out there featuring the investigations and explorations of such incredible ideas by people online all over the world. However, I fell in love with Big Girls, Small Kitchen: A Guide to Quarter Life Cooking immediately. Cara and Pheobe, the Quarter-Life Cooks, are young women with no formal training but a zen for the art of food. Maybe it’s my recent obsession with Julie & Julia by Julie Powell (if you haven’t read it, go beg/borrow/steal a copy, it’s so inspirational for women following their bliss, no matter what their age or background), but I really appreciate seeing women strive to spread good things throughout the world, especially if it’s good recipes. They share their secrets for cooking for one, cooking for many, cooking for potluck parties, and cooking with what you have (a true sign of the modern-day resourceful woman!) They also have a great interactive section called “What’s in the Bag,” where they invite their readers to share four items in their grocery bag, and they come up with a recipe for you! So clever. Put down that $25 recipe book at Barnes & Noble, and pick up your computer, these girls have it all. (Psst! Check out the recipe for Pretzel-Toffee Chocolate Bark!)
BEST FREEBIES: SHOP4FREEBIES: Who doesn’t love a good freebie? Everyone loves those free samples at your neighborhood Costco, right? Well then, you better look up Shop4Freebies, where you can find just about any freebie you could possibly want! Organized into neat categories, you can shop for local freebies, international freebies, daily freebies (updated every 24 hours!), printable coupons, AND even discuss with other shoppers the best ways and places to acquire those precious giveaways. I also love the Cheapest Gas section, where you can type in your zip code, and it will list the cheapest gas stations in your area. How cool is that?! Especially handy if you’re on a road trip…
BEST SOURCE OF VITAMIN C: FALLEN FRUIT: Ever heard of Urban Gathering? It’s a revolutionary reminder that *GASP* fruit grows on trees! And *GASP GASP* trees are all around us! And for those of us who live in cities, there are still plenty of fruit trees & community gardens with healthy treats ripe for the picking (and growing on both public lands and private spaces that welcome sharing). Urban gathering and gleaning groups are all over the place (Oregon, Idaho, Washington, Pennsylvania to name a few) and they do everything from teaching pickers how to find and cultivate fresh fruit and veggies that have never touched a grocery store counter to holding “gathering parties” at local food banks. However, since I’m from LA, I wanted to focus on one local group, FallenFruit.org, who have mapped out all the public fruit trees (with fruit ranging from grapes to figs to loquats) in the city. They have started planting fruit parks, and hope to one day expand across the country. Their manifesto encourages urban dwellers to find fruit, “tend and harvest it. If you own property, plant food on your perimeter. Share with the world and the world will share with you. Barter, don’t buy! Give things away! You have nothing to lose but your hunger!” I love it.
OTHER HONORABLE MENTIONS:
BEST EATS: HUNGRYGIRL.COM: It turns out I’m not the only girl in the world who loves food and could describe herself as, yes, hungry all the time. Good thing for us, Hungry Girl has done all the work! She shares “tips and tricks for hungry chicks,” dishes on the tastiest foods, what’s good for you and what’s not, killer recipes, new product reviews, where and what to eat when dining out, and (my fave, of course) bargains and discounts! She’s like the ultimate grocery store buddy.
BEST GOSSIP: GOFUGYOURSELF.COM: Are you obsessed with what all the hot celebrities are wearing? These ladies know their stuff, and accompany pictures of all the biggest starlets with hilarious commentary and fashion advice.
BEST TREATS: GIFTI.US: Don’t you hate when you’re again stuck in that last minute crunch to buy a present for a loved one and you have NO CLUE what to get them? Well, in steps Gifti.us. They and their gift-giving community offer awesome tips for gift-giving on any occasion!
BEST CHARITY: COLDSTONE CREAMERY: Mark your calendars, ice-cream lovers! Coldstone Creamery has paired up with the Make a Wish Foundation to host the “World’s Largest Ice Cream Social” on September 24th. From 5-8 PM, you can receive a 3 ounce ice cream delight named Jack’s Creation (designed by 5 year old Junior Tastemaster and Wish Child Jack) in exchange for any size donation you can offer. Proceeds go to your local Make a Wish foundation, which benefits children with life-threatening diseases. See you there!
Enjoy the last days of summer, Cougar Candy Store members!
Subscribe via 
Leave a Comment 
Lately a lot of famous married men seem to be stepping out on their wives—and getting caught. The main reason they get caught is that the women they’re cheating with rat them out to the press. Who know why guys like Tiger Woods, Jesse James and David Boreanaz have steak at home, but insist on going out for dogburgers? But the motives of their consorts are pretty obvious—fame and money. The press insists on referring to these women as “mistresses.”
In days of old, a “mistress” was a woman who was “kept” by a married man, often a wealthy one. The “other woman” respected her man’s wife and family, and in return for being supported in style, she kept her mouth shut. The wife often knew about the mistress, but as long as she had the name, the house and the children, she also stayed quiet. Obviously, the new breed of “mistress” has little in common with her classier forerunners.
There are better terms to describe the strippers, nightclub hostesses, cocktail waitresses and porn stars who’ve mined their indiscretions for big bucks payoffs—like hooker, whore, skank and slut. I wish the media would stop honoring these calculating bimbos with the term “mistress” and call them what they really are.
“Mistress” or Whore?
Submit a question to the writers or submit a Cat Fight
Subscribe
Featured Video
September 1, 2009 at 8:04 am
Thanks Teresa,
I just marked the 24th on my calendar for a date with Cold Stone.
September 1, 2009 at 9:54 am
A sincere thank you for the shout-out, Teresa! We’re so glad you’ve been enjoying the blog, and we hope your readers feel the same.
September 3, 2009 at 7:38 am
Teresa you find the most amazing deals! I too have marked my calendar for the ice cream social at Cold Stone. Gotta go….I’m checking out the rest of your finds…..