Tonight when I got home, there was a thrilling sheaf of junk mail in my letterbox. Rather than go through it specifically looking for bargains, I decided just to tweet the interesting things that occurred to me while reading the catalogues, which were for Ishka, Kmart, Woolworths, Coles and Big W.
Read my ridiculous thoughts over at Storify.
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Thursday, November 8, 2012
Manchester… and more!
An outfit called Manchester and More, whose stores are all in outer-suburban bogan hotspots, has these incredibly tasteless doona covers for a mere $34.99 for QB and $39.99 for KB. Imagine the mighty feline power that will be unleashed in one of these beds:
They also have some more tasteful plain quilt cover sets in royal purple, crimson, white, beige, lavender and black for $35.99 DB, $40.50 QB and $49.50 KB.
They also have faux suede cushion covers featuring various kitschy animals: a leopard; a pair of running horses; a tabby kitten miaowing; a lion; a tiger; and wolf. They are $2.99 each, which I think you'll agree is a bargain for the epic effect these would have on your couch or bed.
For some time I have toyed with the idea of making my own puffy '50s organza petticoat out of one of those awful/amazing organza tab top curtains you see around. Well now I can; for only $7.99 a pair they have them in grey, lipstick pink, white, apple green, sky blue and purple.
And fulfilling all my trashy manchester fantasies, they have satin sheet sets in white, lilac, burgundy, beige, lipstick pink, red and gunmetal grey for $19.99 DB, $24.99 QB and $29.99 KB.
They also have some more tasteful plain quilt cover sets in royal purple, crimson, white, beige, lavender and black for $35.99 DB, $40.50 QB and $49.50 KB.
They also have faux suede cushion covers featuring various kitschy animals: a leopard; a pair of running horses; a tabby kitten miaowing; a lion; a tiger; and wolf. They are $2.99 each, which I think you'll agree is a bargain for the epic effect these would have on your couch or bed.
For some time I have toyed with the idea of making my own puffy '50s organza petticoat out of one of those awful/amazing organza tab top curtains you see around. Well now I can; for only $7.99 a pair they have them in grey, lipstick pink, white, apple green, sky blue and purple.
And fulfilling all my trashy manchester fantasies, they have satin sheet sets in white, lilac, burgundy, beige, lipstick pink, red and gunmetal grey for $19.99 DB, $24.99 QB and $29.99 KB.
November groceries
Food-wise, avocados are 2 for $4 at Woolworths and for those of you like me who are basically working around the clock, you can get eight 250ml cans of V for $10 from both Coles and Woolies. I lived on that stuff when I was finishing my MA.
Nutella is $6 for 750g at Coles, save $1.59. Also, Quorn 'Versatile Mince' is now at Coles for $5.50, save $1.40. Quorn sells fake meat for vegetarians and apparently their products are exclusive to Coles. The mince looks pretty meaty. No idea what it tastes like.
Tresemmé shampoo and conditioner is currently half price at Coles – $4.99. I use this brand and I like that it comes in giant bottles that last for ages.
And Mainland Buttersoft is on special for $4.50 at Woolies – save $1.19. I have recently got into this because apart from Lurpak, the El Expensivo brand, Buttersoft is the only spreadable butter that isn't adulterated with vegetable oil. (I checked all the other brands in the supermarket.) Plus it comes in a larger sized container than Lurpak. There is some bullshit scare campaign on TV at the moment saying margarine has less fat than butter, but if you knew how margarine was made you would never eat it. (In the interests of ABC-style 'balance' here's the margarine industry's rebuttal.)
Nutella is $6 for 750g at Coles, save $1.59. Also, Quorn 'Versatile Mince' is now at Coles for $5.50, save $1.40. Quorn sells fake meat for vegetarians and apparently their products are exclusive to Coles. The mince looks pretty meaty. No idea what it tastes like.
Tresemmé shampoo and conditioner is currently half price at Coles – $4.99. I use this brand and I like that it comes in giant bottles that last for ages.
And Mainland Buttersoft is on special for $4.50 at Woolies – save $1.19. I have recently got into this because apart from Lurpak, the El Expensivo brand, Buttersoft is the only spreadable butter that isn't adulterated with vegetable oil. (I checked all the other brands in the supermarket.) Plus it comes in a larger sized container than Lurpak. There is some bullshit scare campaign on TV at the moment saying margarine has less fat than butter, but if you knew how margarine was made you would never eat it. (In the interests of ABC-style 'balance' here's the margarine industry's rebuttal.)
Music festival essentials
At Ray's Outdoors they are selling 26L plastic party drinks tubs for 2 for $10 – convenient for spring/summer/seasonal parties.
They also have 30% off gumboots – snap some up ahead of Meredith for $23.99. Patterns include bright red, grey paisley, grey and pink argyle, brown leopard, purple pink and blue circles and blue tartan.
And 1.8m beach umbrellas in jaunty stripes are just $6.95. I wonder if you could also use them on your outdoor table or balcony.
They also have 30% off gumboots – snap some up ahead of Meredith for $23.99. Patterns include bright red, grey paisley, grey and pink argyle, brown leopard, purple pink and blue circles and blue tartan.
And 1.8m beach umbrellas in jaunty stripes are just $6.95. I wonder if you could also use them on your outdoor table or balcony.
Clothing bargains at Big Dubs
Big Dubs has a women's V-neck, 3/4 sleeve cardigan for $9.94. I'm not sure the colour range or the fabric but it looks quite light and summery. Since I currently own 20 cardigans I will be resisting this.
Similarly, there are some nice-looking men's striped V-neck T-shirts for $7.92 that sorely tempt me but I currently own 10 striped T-shirts.
This Saturday, 10 November, Big Dubs is having a one-day sale that offers some tempting bargains. There is a polka-dot knee-length, scoop-neck ladies summer dress for $5 that looks seriously jaunty.
The Big Dubs sale also has hipster plimsolls for the whole family at just $4. They come in a rainbow of block colours: lime green; sky blue; pink; purple; orange, grey, black, navy, royal blue and hot pink.
Similarly, there are some nice-looking men's striped V-neck T-shirts for $7.92 that sorely tempt me but I currently own 10 striped T-shirts.
This Saturday, 10 November, Big Dubs is having a one-day sale that offers some tempting bargains. There is a polka-dot knee-length, scoop-neck ladies summer dress for $5 that looks seriously jaunty.
The Big Dubs sale also has hipster plimsolls for the whole family at just $4. They come in a rainbow of block colours: lime green; sky blue; pink; purple; orange, grey, black, navy, royal blue and hot pink.
Christmas begins in November at Big Dubs
Even though it's still early November, the Christmas shopping assault has begun! Here are a few bargains I have observed:
If there is a baby or small child in your life that you'd like to dress up in a humiliating Christmas-themed outfit, there are entire Santa and elf outfits at Big W for $9.84, candy-striped baby rompers for $4, and also for $4, kids' T-shirts with Santas and reindeer saying things like "Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas" and "I Heart Christmas". There is also a men's T-shirt in the style of Keep Calm and Carry On that I would definitely wear.
And if you're looking for a small Christmas tree to add a seasonal token presence to your house – perhaps one you can put on a high shelf where your wicked cat cannot get it – then Big Dubs has a 30cm tinsel tree in purple, gold, blue and pink for $3, and a 60cm tinsel tree in silver, gold and purple for $6.
If you somehow missed out on reading the JK Rowling Harry Potter novels, Big Dubs is selling the entire series as a box set for $75. That works out at around $10.71 per book.
They also have their own-brand kitchen appliances – mini food processor, juicer or stick mixer – for $12. They come in midcentury-ish citruses and blues, or white.
If there is a baby or small child in your life that you'd like to dress up in a humiliating Christmas-themed outfit, there are entire Santa and elf outfits at Big W for $9.84, candy-striped baby rompers for $4, and also for $4, kids' T-shirts with Santas and reindeer saying things like "Ho Ho Ho Merry Christmas" and "I Heart Christmas". There is also a men's T-shirt in the style of Keep Calm and Carry On that I would definitely wear.
And if you're looking for a small Christmas tree to add a seasonal token presence to your house – perhaps one you can put on a high shelf where your wicked cat cannot get it – then Big Dubs has a 30cm tinsel tree in purple, gold, blue and pink for $3, and a 60cm tinsel tree in silver, gold and purple for $6.
If you somehow missed out on reading the JK Rowling Harry Potter novels, Big Dubs is selling the entire series as a box set for $75. That works out at around $10.71 per book.
They also have their own-brand kitchen appliances – mini food processor, juicer or stick mixer – for $12. They come in midcentury-ish citruses and blues, or white.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Mother's Day
Junk Mail Bargains, vol. 1. As regular readers of this blog would know, I love reading the junk mail. From time to time I like to tip off people I know about the interesting products on sale at major retailers, and today I thought, "Maybe I should do this in a more organised way."
But if you know me, you know that an irregular blog post on the subject is as about as organised as I am prepared to be.
Anyway – Mother's Day is coming up soon, which is great because it is a rich source of Freelance Work Clothes, or as other people might call them, 'sleepwear'. Here are some other interesting bargains this week:
A while ago I realised Garnier has a BB cream. This stands for "blemish balm" and is some next-level tinted moisturiser that also contains a primer and sunscreen. I associated BB creams with insane Korean makeup – my book club buddy Helen gave me a sample of a brand she uses and it made me look as if someone had run an airbrush over my nasty pink skin, which as you know is a great source of angst to me.
Anyway, if you would like to try this kind of moisturiser for a low-stakes price, Garnier's Miracle Skin Perfector is currently on special at Coles for $9 and at Kmart for slightly less, $8.50. Woolworths also has it on special with 30% off, but that only works out to $9.76 so Kmart wins.
Also at Coles (BUT IMPORTANTLY: NOT ALL COLESES) you can get two pairs of women's leggings for $8. That's cheaper than tights, and as Ned Stark liked to say, winter is coming. They come in full length, lace trim or 3/4 length, but importantly you can only get them at the deep-suburban barn-like stores. They are not available at the following stores that you may actually visit: Melbourne Central, Spencer Street, Fitzroy, Richmond, Port Melbourne, St Kilda. However they might be at Barkly Square, South Melbourne or Prahran.
Julian Fellowes' Titanic miniseries, just screened in the UK and US to mediocre reviews and nicknamed Drownton Abbey, will be available from next Monday at Kmart for $29.95. This may only interest me, as I am still in the grip of Titanic Re-Obsession 2012.
Women's freelance work pants (aka pyjama pants) are at Big W for $3, an even better price than $5, which is how much I paid for two pairs back in March. They probably only have them in boring colours such as grey and black now, but they are great pants and I wear them every day.
There are also women's "sleep sweaters" at Big W for $9.94, which would be a nice long-sleeved work top for winter, and men's or ladies' fleece-lined boots at $7.48, which I highly endorse as I bought some this time last year and wear them all the time. My pro tip: if they get a bit stinky you can put a tablespoon of baking soda in there, rub it in, leave for a while and then shake or even vacuum out. These are not actual sheepskin slippers, but Big Dubs also sells real leather ones for $25 – a saving of $9.96.
Big W has men's flannies for $7 but hold off, because they are actually cheaper at Ray's Outdoors, where they are $5.99.
Myer has a decent Revlon gift-with-purchase if you spend $40 – which is easy to do on a foundation or something. The 'Sweet Look' option is my favourite: you get a black eyeliner pencil, a four-colour eyeshadow palette (mid-brown, chocolate, beige and pink), a mascara, a lipstick in a berry-pink colour and a candy-pink nail polish, all in a beige zip-up makeup bag. With the 'Intense Look' option the bag, eyeshadow and nail polish are purple and there's a lip-liner and lip gloss instead of the lipstick and eyeliner.
There's also a nice range of teacups at Myer – with 25% off Maxwell and Williams their 'Kimono' teapot is now $29.95 and a cup, saucer and plate trio is $18.65. There's also an introductory offer on Royal Albert where the 'Country Roses' trio is $34.95 (it'll be $49.95 after the offer ends).
And there are some seriously jaunty retro-inspired Kenwood kitchen appliances that come in agreeably bright colours including yellow, orange, magenta, aqua and green, and have rounded deco lines.
At Dick Smith you can get a Belkin jogging armband for your iPod or iPhone (useful if you like to listen to music or are doing Couch to 5K) for $19.95, which includes a bonus set of sports hook earphones designed not to fall out.
A turntable and radio with a built-in speaker is half price at Dick Smith – $34. This probably won't satisfy audiophiles but is great for the casual vinyl listener. Probably cheaper than most records.
Also, if you are paranoid about security at your home and would like to deter burglars, at Dick Smith you can get a fake dome-mounted security camera for $19.95 (save $5!) It has a realistic look and a flashing red LED light.
At Autobarn, you can buy – and I wish I were joking – eyelashes for your car's headlights to make it look like a GIRL CAR. Allegedly they are "the latest craze in car fashion" and cost $19.99. "Also available: car eyeliner." Why do I feminism?
But if you know me, you know that an irregular blog post on the subject is as about as organised as I am prepared to be.
Anyway – Mother's Day is coming up soon, which is great because it is a rich source of Freelance Work Clothes, or as other people might call them, 'sleepwear'. Here are some other interesting bargains this week:
A while ago I realised Garnier has a BB cream. This stands for "blemish balm" and is some next-level tinted moisturiser that also contains a primer and sunscreen. I associated BB creams with insane Korean makeup – my book club buddy Helen gave me a sample of a brand she uses and it made me look as if someone had run an airbrush over my nasty pink skin, which as you know is a great source of angst to me.
Anyway, if you would like to try this kind of moisturiser for a low-stakes price, Garnier's Miracle Skin Perfector is currently on special at Coles for $9 and at Kmart for slightly less, $8.50. Woolworths also has it on special with 30% off, but that only works out to $9.76 so Kmart wins.
Also at Coles (BUT IMPORTANTLY: NOT ALL COLESES) you can get two pairs of women's leggings for $8. That's cheaper than tights, and as Ned Stark liked to say, winter is coming. They come in full length, lace trim or 3/4 length, but importantly you can only get them at the deep-suburban barn-like stores. They are not available at the following stores that you may actually visit: Melbourne Central, Spencer Street, Fitzroy, Richmond, Port Melbourne, St Kilda. However they might be at Barkly Square, South Melbourne or Prahran.
Julian Fellowes' Titanic miniseries, just screened in the UK and US to mediocre reviews and nicknamed Drownton Abbey, will be available from next Monday at Kmart for $29.95. This may only interest me, as I am still in the grip of Titanic Re-Obsession 2012.
Women's freelance work pants (aka pyjama pants) are at Big W for $3, an even better price than $5, which is how much I paid for two pairs back in March. They probably only have them in boring colours such as grey and black now, but they are great pants and I wear them every day.
There are also women's "sleep sweaters" at Big W for $9.94, which would be a nice long-sleeved work top for winter, and men's or ladies' fleece-lined boots at $7.48, which I highly endorse as I bought some this time last year and wear them all the time. My pro tip: if they get a bit stinky you can put a tablespoon of baking soda in there, rub it in, leave for a while and then shake or even vacuum out. These are not actual sheepskin slippers, but Big Dubs also sells real leather ones for $25 – a saving of $9.96.
Big W has men's flannies for $7 but hold off, because they are actually cheaper at Ray's Outdoors, where they are $5.99.
Myer has a decent Revlon gift-with-purchase if you spend $40 – which is easy to do on a foundation or something. The 'Sweet Look' option is my favourite: you get a black eyeliner pencil, a four-colour eyeshadow palette (mid-brown, chocolate, beige and pink), a mascara, a lipstick in a berry-pink colour and a candy-pink nail polish, all in a beige zip-up makeup bag. With the 'Intense Look' option the bag, eyeshadow and nail polish are purple and there's a lip-liner and lip gloss instead of the lipstick and eyeliner.
There's also a nice range of teacups at Myer – with 25% off Maxwell and Williams their 'Kimono' teapot is now $29.95 and a cup, saucer and plate trio is $18.65. There's also an introductory offer on Royal Albert where the 'Country Roses' trio is $34.95 (it'll be $49.95 after the offer ends).
And there are some seriously jaunty retro-inspired Kenwood kitchen appliances that come in agreeably bright colours including yellow, orange, magenta, aqua and green, and have rounded deco lines.
At Dick Smith you can get a Belkin jogging armband for your iPod or iPhone (useful if you like to listen to music or are doing Couch to 5K) for $19.95, which includes a bonus set of sports hook earphones designed not to fall out.
A turntable and radio with a built-in speaker is half price at Dick Smith – $34. This probably won't satisfy audiophiles but is great for the casual vinyl listener. Probably cheaper than most records.
Also, if you are paranoid about security at your home and would like to deter burglars, at Dick Smith you can get a fake dome-mounted security camera for $19.95 (save $5!) It has a realistic look and a flashing red LED light.
At Autobarn, you can buy – and I wish I were joking – eyelashes for your car's headlights to make it look like a GIRL CAR. Allegedly they are "the latest craze in car fashion" and cost $19.99. "Also available: car eyeliner." Why do I feminism?
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