Rent the Runway Review

I've known about Rent the Runway for a while - I can't actually remember how I first learned of it. As Andrew and I prepared for his sister's destination wedding in Florida, I thought it'd be the perfect opportunity to rent a dress or two. After all, they weren't selling much in the way of wedding worthy dresses for warmer climates here in Michigan. So I scoured the site over and over looking for the perfect dress. There were many I liked, but some were too expensive, not available in my size, or not quite right for the occasion. I finally settled on two, and this is how it went!

I placed my order for two Shoshanna dresses about three weeks before the wedding weekend (you can order up to four months in advance). I decided to get them shipped right to Florida so I didn't have to worry about transporting them. When you decide on a dress from RTR, you can choose a back up size for free, and also a second dress of equal or lesser value for $32.50. Also, if you purchase the year-long membership for $30, your shipping and insurance charges are waived, and you get a free rental on your birthday, so I signed up for that as well. I had favorited many dresses, but went with the Shoshanna ones after looking through the photos and reviews from other renters, which were super helpful. You can narrow the reviews by similar body type to yours, and it gives you a much more accurate sense of how the dress will fit since most of us don't have the genes of a model. My rental period was for four days, and I actually received my dresses a day early, so they were there when I arrived in Florida.

The first dress I wore for the bridal shower. I had ordered a back up size in this one and ended up going with the larger size. Luckily that worked out because the smaller size was very faded. Hmm. Anyway, I don't normally like pastels, but this looked great with the darker blues. One of the necklaces I brought matched just fine, and I received many compliments!

The dress I wore for the wedding was perfect! I loved it and it was so me. It was actually slightly cooler than normal in Florida in March, so I was a little chilly, but once we danced intensely to "Timber" I was fine; )

I also wore the larger size in this dress. RTR only sends you one backup, but I found the size chart on Shoshanna's site and was freaking out that the one I ordered wasn't going to fit. No one answered the emails I sent, so I got ahold of them on Twitter and they kindly sent me an additional size. Really I could have worn either size in this dress, but the smaller one had some very tiny stains that no one would have noticed but me.

I also think the dress brought me good luck, being so floral and bright, because I caught the bouquet. NBD!

A few other notes about RTR:

• They send your dresses via UPS on hangers and in a RTR garment bag, which you get to keep. Fun!
• You can also rent accessories on the site, some as cheaply as $5. You can also buy things that can't be returned like spanx, tights, and insoles.
• RTR has dresses and accessories from something like 200 different designers. 
• At the end of your rental period, you simply pack the dresses in the provided UPS envelope and drop it in a UPS box or schedule a pickup. Easy.
• If you want to try out RTR and let me refer you, we both get a $20 credit once you rent.

Have you ever tried Rent the Runway? How was your experience?

If you do decide to try it out, I'd love to hear how it goes!

*This review is not affiliated with Rent the Runway. I just wanted to try it and opted to share my experience!

Loyalty Programs - Which Are Worth It?

This is kind of a random post since I haven't blogged in forever, but it's almost a new year - so why wait a couple more days to start working on my resolutions?
Anyway, as I was holiday shopping it got me thinking about all these apps, rewards, and loyalty programs. So I'll tell you what I'm a fan (and not a fan) of, and please let me know what I should sign up for in the comments! After all, it's time to spend our Christmas money: )

Love it!

Banana Republic Visa
I was actually pretty upset when I received my Banana card, first assuming that it was an in-store card and not a regular Visa that I could use anywhere. Then they began sending me so many offers! In the last couple months alone, I've earned about $70 in rewards that can be used at BR, Gap, Old Navy, Athleta, or Piperlime. Then I normally save my rewards for a trip to the Banana Republic Factory Outlet store and use my extra AAA 10% off for amazing deals. It's been so worth it - with no other credit card can you rack up that many rewards - that I know of. I will say I get way too many emails from Banana though.

Starbucks
I was super mad when Starbucks 'revamped' their program a while back, taking away the free soy milk and syrups. I'm still bummed about that, but I've noticed a whole lot more offers lately - it seems like once or twice a week I'll get an email for 50% off a drink or bogo food. If I can't have my soy milk for free, they made up for it with lots of deals!

MyPoints
Yes, the site is slightly iffy, but I have had so much success with MyPoints! If you shop online a lot (who doesn't?), you can earn points from most retailers just by getting to their website via MyPoints. Although not all retailers participate (most purchases from Amazon don't count), I'm always surprised how many do - Threadless was my biggest surprise this year. Anyway, the points add up and then you spend them on gift cards. It's definitely been worth it for me!

Meijer - mPerks
I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan where there's basically a Meijer on every corner. Since I shop there anyway, I'm so happy they have mPerks. When gas shot up, they were there with a 20 cent mPerks discount. They also often have a deal on avocados, and lots of times they will do 5% off your entire grocery purchase or $5 off $50 or more. What more can I ask for?

Leave it!

Panera Bread
I used to love Panera because I only got to go to one when I took a shopping trip out of town. Now that I have them at my convenience, I'm often disappointed with my order when I go to one, and definitely disappointed in their rewards program. You sign up and they say you will randomly get rewards, like a surprise. I got quite a few right away, and then it totally dropped off. I'd rather know I'm working towards something, I guess! Sorry Panera, you're not worth the slot in my wallet. Do any of you disagree?

Not sure of these!

What do you think? I just signed up for Ulta, so I don't know what to expect, I just know they have good coupons. Sephora's doesn't really seem worth it to me - but maybe I just don't shop there enough. I do love my little birthday surprise every year though! Walgreens is a place I'm trying to shop at a little more, but it seems to be taking forever to reach my first $5 reward. And I don't think Anthropologie signed me up right, I never get their emails and my card wasn't connected to my email. Hmm.

I don't want this post to be too long, so I'll follow up with another one soon - I have way more cards than I realized!!

Best Shopping Apps for Saving Money

I grew up in a household with a mother who was constantly bargain hunting. She'd only get certain things if they were on sale and she had a coupon. She would take advantage of double coupons, price matching, and using a manufacturer and store coupon at the same time. Some people may think this is a waste of time, but it's basically free money, at least to me! I caught on to the thrill of the hunt, and my boyfriend thinks it's silly that I look at the online ad, gather up my list and my coupons, and then go to the store. But I think it's smart. We can spend our money on other things if we save it where we can. Some of my friends have also noticed all the great deals I get, so I thought I'd write a post about a few tips and also a couple apps that I use to stretch my dollars further.

shopkick is a free app that turns shopping into a game. When you enter certain stores (Target, Best Buy, and Macy's to name a few), you open up the app and a bubble comes up that you pop to get your "kicks." When you've reached a certain number of kicks, you can exchange them for a reward, like a gift card. There are also coupons within the app, lookbooks to browse, and you can earn even more kicks by looking for specific items in the store and scanning them. Yes, it takes a little extra time, but don't most of us go to Target knowing that we won't quite stick to our list anyway? I haven't redeemed my kicks yet, but after using the app for a few months mainly just when I go to Target, I have enough for the $5 gift card rewards.

Endorse is a really cool app, that I'm able to take advantage of maybe once a month or so. Endorse gives you about 15 or so offers each week - like 10% off fast food or 20% off Nature Valley Granola Bars. If you buy those items, you upload a photo of your receipt to Endorse. Then they give you some money back. It's that simple. They also have a component where you get points that equal money for charity. Just now as I was reading the site, I realized that you get charity points for every receipt you upload, even if no offers are involved. I wish I would have realized that sooner! Some examples of offers I've gotten - 50% off champagne or beer (around New Year's) and 10% off any brand of pet food. You should definitely download the app. Once you hit $25 you can get a check, otherwise you can have your earnings put in your PayPal account. Very cool and super easy way to save money!
Disclaimer - the link above is a referral link - please use it : )

I was going to talk about Meijer's app, but I know that's sort of a midwest thing. If you do shop at Meijer though, make sure you sign up for their mPerks program.


So what apps do you use or tricks do you have to save money? I'd also love to know which stores are worth getting a credit card at or signing up for their email list. I may do another post about that and also one about getting the most free stuff around your birthday! Happy Saturday! I cannot believe there is snow on the ground here...

Star Wars Day

i hadn't seen schuyler in a couple of weeks because of car crash busy-ness and other crazy happenings, so luckily she was free to go shopping and catch up with me around downtown grand rapids this beautiful friday afternoon. i met her at her building after being semi-harassed by a scary man on division ave, and she was going for a "diva pocahontas" look. get it, girl!

first we went to the shops at monroe and division, aka modiv, specifically to the new goodwill shop, blue. it is basically like goodwill has sorted through their donations and pulled out the really good stuff and upcharged it slightly for their trouble. fine with me because i do not have patience for thrift store racks!

not used; was afraid this was too 'little girl' but
i bought it anyway. the back is really
neat but i didn't get a photo!

i really like how this looks and it matched
my sandals EXACTLY, but it was just too
thin and see-through for $48. wahhh.

schuyler wore her new dress out!
check out the shops at modiv: )

then we walked over to minty keen because i had never been there before! we tried to go one other time, but the hours are a bit scattered so it's best to try them during the day. the owner, angie, has the neatest shop setup and items for sale and it's certainly a must stop shop downtown. 

pretty banner in the window 

glass and cup collection 

such fun lion art!

poses in front of the curtain of love

wanted to show off my nail polish, but
it's hard to see. it is however,  a
nice minty color!

may the fourth be with you!!! hahahaha i love it.

then we had a little more time to kill before picking up andrew from work, so we stopped at schuler's for a snack. another great local business. (and the coffee is delicious)!

lemon poppy seed!

we then retrieved andrew from worked and stopped at home before grabbing dinner. my dress from kohls that i ordered had arrived, and it fit! yayyyy. here it is:

and then we headed to cinco de mayo! this is what i want to do every friday for the rest of my life. cinco de mayo is a super yummy restaurant downtown that really good nachos supreme (and other food) and great drink specials. i haven't been in a while, but they have a $4 32oz oberon on mondays that they serve in a giant chilled mug. this is a new obsession though - the frozen sangria margarita. perfect for relaxing after a week of work!

sangria margarita?! YES. $5!

love at first sip.

schuyler explaining that the strange ringing noise
was just aliens warning of their takeover of cinco de mayo.

our talented and friendly waiter, george doing the balancing act.

such a fun afternoon! i love the warmer weather even though our house is humid and full of bugs. i also love to explore all the neat places in grand rapids. so much to see: )

fyi, what i wore: 

blue jean jacket - scored at a clothing exchange

tank - urban outfitters

belt - target

shorts - forever 21

sandals - target

ring - h&m