$100 Gift Certificate Giveaway - Calling All LA Shoppers on a Tight Budget!!!

Calling all shoppers on a tight budget pretty much means everyone these days, right? Before I had a mortgage, I would buy whatever I liked or wanted when it came to clothes. Now, I never went too crazy like buying a $1000 dress here or there, but I love certain name brand dresses that have a price range of $300-350. I have to admit...I have it bad for Diane Von Furstenberg wrap dresses. But once I bought my condo, those days of walking from my old apartment down the block to Bloomie's at the Sherman Oaks Fashion Square when I wanted something new to wear to someone's birthday party became a thing of the past if I wanted to make my mortgage payment.

Between then and now, I started checking out resale stores/boutiques and thrift shops instead of the mall and kept finding at low costs making it easier for me stay away from "retail." These days, I rarely even think of going retail as I have found myself consistently spending a fraction of what I would spend at the mall without lowering my standards of clothing. If find something I liked at a retail or department store, I would hear this little voice in the back of my head saying "you do realize that you could get two to four Diane Von Furstenbergs for that price if you take the time to look?" I'll admit it was time consuming going to resale stores figuring out which shops were good and which were crappy, but it was so worth it in the end.

I have adjusted to making my monthly mortgage payments for the past three plus years, but I've kept these new shopping habits and thought I would share my most recent experience with you. I'm quite proud of how much money I save and hope it will help you to be more stylish for less. It actually has to do with a good friend of mine, Heather, and my favorite high-end women’s clothing and accessories resale designer boutique called Past Perfect.

Heather left her teaching career a few years ago to raise her two boys, so now the family depends on one income. She has seen the wonderful purchases I’ve made ranging from casual wear, dresses, shoes and purses at Past Perfect. She’s not only friend, she’s my neighbor, so I’d run over to her place with excitement as soon as I got home to show her.

I was flattered when she approached me a few weeks ago to see if I would help her find a dress for an upcoming dressy-casual wedding in hot Arizona her family would be attending. Her ideal situation was to find a summery dress and some cute, comfy shoes (no heels) for no more than $100. Of course I recommended Past Perfect. Unfortunately, Heather never got a chance to break away from the boys to go check out the boutique with me. Luckily for her, I went to Past Perfect on a regular basis and kept an eye out for her.

I totally scored for Heather and myself! I came across such a cute, unique dress with a beautiful pattern for her.

It sounds like there's a lot going on with the dress, but it was carefully put together. The base was a spaghetti strap dress with an empire waist. At the arms and chest, the sleeves were created with a sheer material with the same pattern as the base.

At the edges of the sleeves and at the bottom of the dress, there were these little gold noiseless bells.

Namebrand was Plenty by Tracy Reese which usually retails for $200-300 at places like Macy's and Anthropologie.

Past Perfect's price was...get this...you ready?...$45!!! I took a chance on it and bought it for her. She loved the dress when I showed it to her! We loved everything about it except for how the sleeves sat on the arms. So I thought "what about if we took the sleeves up to make it a sleeveless dress?" We used two twisties to see. We had a winner. Off to the tailor to attach some type of snaps and invisible straps to create this sleeveless look for $15. Now, she can wear it this way when she undoes the snaps…

or this way with the snaps…


So far, I spent $60!!!
Shoes were kind of easy once we figured out what would look cute and be comfortable for Heather. We saw these sandals on J. Crew’s website on sale now for $59.99 from $98 and these for $149.99 from $238! I work in Downtown LA by the famous shopping area called The Alley aka Santee Alley right off of Los Angeles and 9th Streets. I found these look-alikes for only $20!!!

And then I loaned her a pair of matte gold hoop earrings that had bling and a simple white shawl.

I dressed Heather for the wedding for as little as $80!
Hopefully she'll send me a pic of her at the wedding so you can see the finished product when I announce the winner.
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I don’t think I’ve ever left Past Perfect without buying something. Kris, the owner, makes it a point to have a great inventory. Available for purchase are practically new designer clothes, shoes and accessories according to what season we’re in which makes it easier to shop. Nothing like when you walk into thrift shops or other resale stores for a sundress and all they have are tattered clothing. Kris's staff (including her daughter, Rachel) is personable and pleasant. They’ve always given me their honest opinions and I’ve never felt pressured to purchase anything. I hope you’ll take my advice and will check out Past Perfect. It’s located at 22565 Ventura Blvd. in Woodland Hills and the phone number is (818) 591-0101. Parking is easy.

Kris has been generous enough to provide Dear LA Concierge with a $100 gift certificate for my giveaway so a lucky Follower can go check out her boutique on her!!!

---Giveaway---
Tell me what was your favorite item that you got for a steal? First 30 Blogger in the Los Angeles area who sign up follow me and leave a comment on this blog about his/her best find get entered to win the $100 gift certificate to Past Perfect. By entering into this giveaway, you are promising to do two things for me if you win…Once you have gone to Past Perfect, 1) You promise to be the one to go to Past Perfect to make the purchase and 2) You will email me the answers to the following questions: 1. What did you purchase with $100 gift certificate at Past Perfect? 2. What did you like most about the store? 3. What did you like the least? 4. Would you go back/Would you recommend Past Perfect to a friend? Why or Why not?

Good luck to my future followers!!! I look forward to you signing up with me. To give you an even better idea of Past Perfect deals, here is list of a few of my favorite finds from Past Perfect...

----Fun, white Ella Moss sundress with sunflowers embroidery for $28----


----Colorful hippie top by T-bags for $20----

----Beautiful and sophisticated yet sexy navy dress by Catherine Malandrino for $98 (pics don't do it justice)----

---Classy, basic black suede Manolo Blahnik pumps for $198---
---I don't think the previous owner ever wore these out---

----This timeless Chloe satchel I bought for $350 in mint condition----

Hasta luego,
Cindie
Dear LA Concierge

Need an idea on gift items or a meal in the LA area and where to go for the best deals? I'd love it if you'd write me at DearLAConcierge@gmail.com and ask.
I'd be happy to help.

More Coming Soon...

Since my blog is about LA and my love for so many different places, I'm gathering a bunch of different giveaways as a way to get you to sign up to be a "follower." I hope you like them. Will be in touch soon...

L.A. 500 SUSHI/$50 GIFT CERTIFICATE GIVEAWAY!

OK Folks,
So my friend and my first blog follower, Alison (aka Dear Alison) made a suggestion to me to get my blog rolling...a giveaway. You'll notice I like to use a lot of ...'s. Anyway, so the focuses of my blogs are inexpensive gift ideas, deals and good eats you can get in the LA area to help out local businesses in my beloved town and of course, create a band of local followers who will use me as a reference on where to go for these things.

My buddy, Andrew, whose family owns Midori Sushi

(locations in Sherman Oaks-where I was born and raised, Studio City and Encino-my current zip code) has graciously offered up 2 $25 gift certificates for this cause when I went in last night to pick up some take-out sushi on my way home from work. Please note: It's a very yummy All-You-Can-Eat dining experience when you eat in with a well-designed hip Asian atmosphere.

So to thank my first group of subscribers/followers, I have this proposition...
To the first 50 Los Angeles resident followers ('LARFs') who help support my blog by referring me another 10 LARFs, their names will be entered to win these 2 certificates for every 10 LARFs. Their prices for All-You-Can-Eat are so reasonable: for lunch it's $20.95, dinner $25.95.

Raise the number of chances for you to win these hot gift certificates (I wish I could enter myself!)by referring me LARFs in multiples of 10, your name will be entered 1 time for every 10 LARFs so your chances of winning will be even higher! How will I know you referred those peeps? Just place a comment on this blog ASAP listing the names of the bloggers you have referred once they become a follower of my blog so I can verify they are a follower of my blog and yours. If there are any overlapping LARFs, then the first blogger to post the name will get the credit. I will hold the drawing once I have 500 LARFs.

Don't miss out on this opporunity! Midori Sushi is AWESOME! Check out Midori at www.midorisushi.net. Some of you bloggers have a ton of followers. The sooner I get 500 LARFs, the sooner I'll have the drawing.To keep my LARFs interested, I am also going to strive to have various types of giveaways like this on a regular basis to keep my LARFs interested. So keep reading, please write me, commenting on my blogs are welcome anytime and good luck because you could win something for some random reason. Hee, hee, hee.
Have a great Tuesday!
Dear LA Concierge

Countdown to Valentine's Day...

Aye, aye, aye. In case anyone hasn't noticed all the aisles of red packages of candy and all the heart ballons in the front of every drug store and market, Valentine's Day is this Saturday. The pressure...or sometimes it sucks to not have the pressure too though, right? This year, I actually have a Valentine, but I've had many, many Valentine-less years. Come to think of it, I can't remember the last time I had a Valentine. V-day never really bothered me when I was single. I would do something little for a friend or two and that's pretty much it. And when it comes down to it, you should appreciate the love of your life everyday, not just Valentine's Day.
Instead of the usual dinner or flowers (which I think is more of a pressure thing), I think ballroom dancing lessons would be cool. They also make a fantastic wedding gift. I just called the Arthur Murray Dance School in Sherman Oaks. They're running a special, but you have to purchase it before the 14th. For $148 (instead of their normal price of $182), you can get a great lesson package. You get 1 intro class (which is only 30 minutes so you can immediately go into one of the classes), 1 private lesson, 1 group lesson and 1 practice party. These classes are good for 2 people. So if you and a friend have been wanting to learn on your own, this is something you want to take advantage of as well. It's a deal if you have the cash to spare. For what you'd be paying for a Vday dinner, you get to go 3 times instead of just once.


If you're on a tight budget, don't fear. There's an alternative. My boyfriend once took me for dinner at a place called Monsoon in Santa Monica/3rd St Promenade. It's a very decorated place like you just walked into Bali. The whole place is tiki'd out with bamboo and masks. You're in a whole different world. Adult Disneyland, Junglebook or Jungle Cruise feel. You'll forget you're on 3rd Street. Sushi was pretty good and inexpensive, especially if you go during happy hour. They have a great happy hour from 4pm-7pm EVERYDAY. On Saturday nights (and don't forget Vday is on a Saturday-sarcasm), they have Salsa night upstairs in the back of the restaurant.

Cover charge is $12 (but only $6 if you eat dinner at Monsoon. Just show them your receipt).They have FREE salsa lessons!! Well, technically not because you have to pay the $12 cover. Beginners class starts at 7:30pm; intermediate at 8:30pm. We didn't go in, but I definitely want to make my way there. The music was awesome! Live band begins playing at 10pm. I think this is what I'm going to tell him I want to do. Maybe some friends will go too. Get a group of friends to go. You'll all have a blast! Both your heart and soul will appreciate it too!!! So put your dancing outfit and shoes on and Salsa!

Write me at DearLAConcierge@gmail.com

Hasta Luego,

Dear LA Concierge

Why am I doing this?

A couple days before New Year's Eve...my close friend, Sally, is panicked. She's been dating Charles for a couple months and has been invited to spend New Year's at his sister's house and was told not to worry about taking anything as Charles's bro-in-law is a gourmet chef. Even though someone says not to worry about it, it's still not proper...

Sally: He's even making sushi. Cindieeeeee, he's a gourmet chef!! And I'm on a budget. Crap! What am I gonna do?!
Cindie (BTW, my name is Cindie): Don't stress. Lets think about this for a second. You want to take something a little personal because this is for your possible future sister-in-law, but not too personal. No wine. And flowers are expensive and a waste sometimes. You said he's serving sushi, right?
Sally: Yes.
Cindie: How many people are attending?
Sally: 6 adults and a few kids.
Cindie: What's your budget?
Sally: No more than $50.
Cindie: What about going down to the gift district (it's a section in Downtown LA) and getting a couple of sake sets? They're like $10-20 per set depending on what you pick and you can get a nice large bottle of sake for $20. Shouldn't spend more than $20 on a large bottle.
Sally: Can we go together during lunch?
Cindie: Ok, we'll go and I'll show you where.

We drove down to Spring and 5th Streets and parked the car. Walked down 5th to the corner of Spring (I think or it might have been Winston and Spring, but they're one short block apart) went a couple doors down to an entrance. Walked in and went passed a couple of booths til we hit the Japanese man who sold an array of sake, tea and plate sets. Sally got 2 neat red ceramic sake sets with black and tan Asian writing on it which the Japanese man could not tell us what it said. Oh well, but they were cool looking.
She paid $10 for each set (I found the exact same ones on Amazon.com, but they're priced at $19.99 per set). She was excited. She stopped at the liquor store on her way home and picked up a bottle of sake for $20 and wrapped up all the gifts together.



So we were under her $50 budget by $10. These days, that can mean a lot to someone.

After New Year's weekend and we were back in the office, Sally came and thanked me with excitement. She said the sake and sets were a huge hit and so much fun! Her appreciation for the idea made me wonder if I can help other people in the LA who are stumped on what to do, buy and where to go for deals on nice stuff, not crap. So I thought during these tough economic times people are going through and since I enjoy helping people out and pointing them in the right direction, I'd offer my advice by blogging about it. My good deed for the day. So I hope you'll write me if you're in a predicament like this. Maybe I can help you save a few bucks and tell you exactly where to go. What's your dilemna? How can I help you?

Happy Friday,
Dear LA Concierge