Affordable Holiday Gift Guide

Hi,kitties!
I know I haven't wrote in a while here, I was just very busy and my camera broke and....excuses,excuses. So, since December is around the corner and also Black Friday (here, in Romania, some retailers had sales last Friday too) and I know many people do some of the Christmas shopping now (myself included). Because,as we all know, I have a small budget, I thought about sharing some ideas I have and I'll give you some examples. This are NOT affiliate links, I don't make any money, bonuses, points or what so ever if you use them, so it's completly up to you.
First of all, pajamas
Everybody needs pajamas right? Weather you get them flannel ones, satin ones, long sleeve or short sleeve, it's up to you. This is definitely a gift suited for someone close to you: someone from the family or your best friend because you have to know how they sleep. My husband, for example, sleeps in t-shirts during winter too, so there's no use I'd buy him a long sleeve pajama.

My favorite one is available on bobomoda.ro at the price of 79.9 lei (about 20 euros)
Next up, wallets
Another thing almost everyone has. I keep putting off buying a new wallet and I would love it if someone would give one for Christmas. This can be an expensive gift also if you chose a leather one.

My favorite wallet is form Meli Melo and it costs 39.9 lei (almost 10 euros)
Scented candles
Every woman I know loves scented candles, so these would also make a great gift. Christmas scents are best for this season.Since we don't have Bath & Body here, I chose some Yankee Candles.

Fireside Treats

Merry Marshmallow

Christmas Memories

There are many more available on yankeeland.ro, but they are pricey too, the big jars are almost 30 euros each!
T-shirts
This is also a gift you can get for almost everyone. From basic shirts to funny ones, you can chose accordingly to each person's character.

I really love the shirts from letrico.ro. They have very cute and funny designs and the shirts are much cheaper than on other sites. I got a shirt for a friend of mine last year and he wears it very often, so he naturally washes it often and the writing didn't came off. One of my favorites is this Grumpy Cat shirt, for only 25 lei (about 6 euros).
 Notebooks
For the avid old fashioned writer, a notebook is always a good idea. I myself still carry a notebook in my bag so I can write down important meetings, bills to be paid, blog ideas, or even phone numbers. Electronic devices are nice, but sometimes you lose all your data, so it's good to have a copy on paper. Or you can use the notebook as a diary, why not?

I found this cute Paris themed notebook on miniprix.ro at the price of 16 lei (about 4 euros).
DVDs
A boxset of a someone's favorite tv show or movies is always a good choice. Here in Romania even more so if you orther them online, because very few tv shows are sold here on the market.

Small gadgets
Ok, so you can't afford to give everybody tablets and e-book readers and stuff like that, but you can always get accesories such as earphones, headphones, a mouse, speakers and small things like that.

I always ahe to replace my earphones for my mp3 player because I lose them or sometimes I even break them (don't ask). These are form emag.ro and I like them because they're pink and cute.
Show tickets
Sometimes people don't want to splurge on show tickets or maybe they don't even know about an event and you can give them tickets to a show you know they'll like.

For example, I have some Smiley fans in my circle of friends and I know they would like to see him live.

Bags
For the fashionistas in your life, a bag or a clutch is always a good choice because women love bags and shoes. I suggest you get this gift only if you know their preferences though.

For now, I crave for this purple gold studed bag from ilovebijoux.ro
Beauty subscription
many times, those beauty subscription boxes are somewhat disappointing for what they have to offer, but I think it would still be a great gift because the person who is going to get it will have a surprise  each month and they get to try new products, so it should be fun.

From what we have in Romania, I would recommend the Pink Box. It's not great, but the others are too expensive for what they offer.

Gift sets
Many cosmetics company have gifts sets for holidays, so you have a large variety to chose from, according to budget.

My personal favorites form the drugstore are the ones from Dove and Nivea, two brand I love.
Books
Yes, old fashioned books. Now is the time to get those pricy art albums or foreign language books one wouldn't normally buy and offer them as a gift.

I got this book last Christmas and let me tell you I quite enjoyed it. It has everything Christmas related from traditions around the world, decorations and related holidays to Christmas books, movies and songs.

Final tip: visit your local Christmas fairs (I suppose everyone has those) and get some handmade decorations, cosmetics, candles or pieces of clothing.
So, that's all I have in mind for these holidays and remember, any gift will be welcomed if you offer it from the heart and you put some thought in it.

Thrift Shop findings #2

Or should I say, finding. I finally got something I really like from my favourite thrift shop. I got a pair of Levi's (they were some basic black jeans, so I didn't take a picture) and this cute turtleneck blouse. It's brand new, still with the tags on. It's from Kmart (yeah, I know, they sell cheap stuff in the US, but we don't have them here) and it was part of a limited Holiday Edition. The pattern is glittery golden snowflakes. I have a thing for snowflakes, and that's way I'm so excited about this blouse. I know it's nothing spectacular and it's not a brand piece of clothing, but I just liked the pattern very much. I got this blouse for 10 lei (2 euros) and considering it's new, never worn, I thing it does qualify for my thrift shop findings.

Close up on the snowflake pattern

Thrift Shop findings

I'm gonna pop some tags
Only got twenty dollars in my pocket
I - I - I'm hunting, looking for a come-up
This is fucking awesome
Well,besides me liking Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, I also like going from time to time to thrift shops hoping to find some nice things. That almost never happens, because I don't know if this is something typical for Romania or just for my town, but the clothes they have here in thrift shops are merely rags. And I say that just to be nice, because I wouldn't want them if they were free, let alone pay for them.
Luckily for me, a friend of my mom,just opened up a thrift shop a couple of weeks ago and she gets nice stuff. Not anything vintage,I mean, there's not going to be a Dior waiting on the corner when you go shopping, but the clothes are very little worn and they don't smell (that is something common for thrift shops too, the clothes smell bad, I don't know if it's from cleaning solutions or storage or what) because she cleans them before she sells them.
To make a long story short, I wanted to show you two jackets I got from there. The first one is a no name brand because someone ripped the tag off, so it only says it's made in Italy.

I like the color, a nice chocolate brown, and it fits me perfectly.The belt highlights my waist and the pockets are real pockets, not just fake ones. The jacket is made of cotton and it was only 4 euro.
The second jacket was a real surprise, not just because it looks so modern with the zippers and the caps, and the silver grey color, but also because it's designer.

It's a jacket made by German designer Gerry Weber, from his Taifun Collection. I couldn't find the exact jacket on the site, but similar ones were about 100 euros. And I got mine for 3!Isn't that a bargain or what? The jacket looks impeccable, it's not worn out or anything, so I think it was a great find.
Now, if I could only fins some nice tshirts to add to my collection this summer, that would be great!

Sweet findings: Disney Princess Chocolate

Since I want to share with my readers (if there are any) all girly girl things I find, I'll show you this Belgian Chocolate I bought this morning when I was doing my weekly shopping. I saw the pink packaging and I couldn't resist. I can't tell what the name of the producer is, all it says is Disney Princess. It's milk chocolate with chocolate bonbons inside (similar to M&M's ) and it not only looks cute, it's also delicious. Isn't this a nice girly treat? I bought the chocolate in a Penny supermarket and it was about 1 euro.