Today is Day 1 of Portaluca’s Designer Sale from 5-7 pm! Join them for four days of designer clothing, bags, and accessories for AMAZING prices! Check out Portaluca at 209 W. 4th Street in Cincinnati and learn more at portaluca.org.
Category Archives: Cheap Chic
$5 Canvas Painting Brunch ‘n’ Learns at Nov. 4 Holiday Showcase!
Join us for our 2017 Seasonably Chic Showcase Nov. 4 at The Phoenix where we’re hosting $5 (yes, only FIVE dollars) Brunch ‘n’ Learns with Painting with a Twist! These include breakfast, canvas and art supplies, so you can enjoy a yummy brunch and leave with a custom creation on canvas! Plus, shop with 40+ local boutiques/vendors, enjoy refreshments, an interactive ornament decorating area for kids, and a freeze modeling fashion show! Oh, and we’re giving away more than $3,000 in prizes throughout the day to attendees! Bring a canned good for the Freestore Foodbank to get FREE entry, swag bag and gift wrapping! RSVP: www.2017scs.eventbrite.com
Frugalista Friday: Accessories and More at Clothes Mentor!
You know Clothes Mentor for their clothes, but what about everything else they carry? Keep watching to hear more about their handbags, fragrances, jewelry, and so much more! Find a Clothes Mentor location near you at clothesmentor.com.
Holiday Shopping Event at LouLou’s Boutique
Cincinnati’s Westside has one women’s fashion boutique that I know of… as a native westsider myself, I was excited to see it open many years ago, and how it’s grown. They have an active Facebook page, where they post about new arrivals and upcoming events. They posted recently about a “Jump Start the Holidays at LouLou’s” event that they’re hosting, and it sounds like fun, so I thought I’d share!
It’s on November 4 from 10 am to 3 pm at their boutique (6145 Bridgetown Rd, Cincinnati, OH 45248). They’ll have 20% off the entire store (including their “Happy Everything” line which is pretty exclusive and only goes on sale like this two times a year. The owner Nancy said she’s getting in a TON of new clothes and accessories, so you’ll have a lot to choose from. Plus, you’ll be able to get holiday ornaments personalized for free at the event! So fun!
Attached is the event invite — hope to see you there!
Sneak Peak: RetroFittings Boutique
We got a sneak peek of the boutique items you’ll see at this year’s RetroFittings event! Keep watching for more and click here to get your tickets and use code CHIC to get $5 off!
Frugalista Friday: Fall Reveal at Clothes Mentor
Clothes Mentor is prepping for its big Fall Reveal on September 16! Keep watching to see some of the FAB finds our Editor-in-Chic found at Clothes Mentor Fields Ertel! Learn more at www.clothesmentor.com.
Frugalista Friday: Fall Fashion Finds at Clothes Mentor Anderson
Happy Frugalista Friday, friends! We just visited Clothes Mentor Anderson and here’s a sneak peek of all the fab fall finds we snagged! You won’t BELIEVE these deals! Find a store close to you at www.clothesmentor.com!
5 Things to do with Your Old Clothes, Other than Tossing Them
Thank you to my intern, Alexis Piascik, for writing this awesome blog post!
As Spring finally rears its sunny head, as does the urge to get the spring cleaning over and done with, and where’s the first place to start? Your closet. But it’s hard to know what to do with all those old clothes – t-shirts with stains on them, panties with holes in them – which is where I come in. I have compiled a list of 5 things you can do with old garments that gets them out of your wardrobe but NOT into a landfill, and with all these creative outlets, there’s no reason they should.
1. Donate to H&M – In 2013 H&M launched a campaign in effort to spread sustainability throughout the fashion industry. You can take literally any of your old clothes that you don’t want anymore: stained bedsheets, lonely socks, ripped stockings, take it all! You can even get a $5 clothing voucher for every bag you drop off! Don’t believe me? Check out their video here to see how they recycle it.

2. Reuse it yourself – Old clothes are perfect things to craft your heart out with. Turn t-shirts into a blanket, turn flannels into washcloths, turn denim into bags, and tank-tops into scrunchies. The possibilities are endless!

3. Rewear it – Not being your size is one thing, but not being your style? That’s no excuse. If you don’t like it, you should have no problem taking a pair of scissors to it and turning it into something you do like. Cut out patterns and graphics and patch them onto your jeans, cut 4 inches off those pants or the sleeves off that sweater, take a blazer and stitch a scarf onto it. There’s so many things you can try in order to revamp your pieces! And hey, if you still don’t like it afterwards, throw it in a bag and haul it over to H&M.

4. Garage Sale – One man’s trash is another man’s treasure – especially in this weather. Selling your clothes at a garage sale can be totally easy, from throwing it all in a box and making people dig, to folding it on a table, to even hanging everything on a clothes rack. Just pick a day and time and advertise your garage sale on things like Craigslist, garagesalefinder.com, and yardsalesearch.com. And then anything that doesn’t sell, gets donated!

5. Keep them – I know it’s not the most ideal of options, but it’s always important to have at least one old shirt and a pair of jeans that you can do things like paint in, hike in, or wash your dog in. I don’t know about you, but I can’t live my whole life in an Armani pantsuit – I’ll get it dirty.

A Fab Fish Recipe!
With Spring around the corner, I wanted whip up a lighter dish that was flavorful, satisfying and filling. Inspired by the zesty taste of Frisch’s Original Tartar Sauce, I decided to enhance an old family favorite: pan seared Mahi Mahi.
We were going to see a concert with some friends and invited them over to our home before the show which was the perfect opportunity to debut the dish. This recipe is cost effective with low prep/cook time, and it fed four adults. Serve with a side of roasted rosemary potatoes and Caesar salad to complete the meal.
Pan Seared Mahi Mahi with Frisch’s Original Tartar Sauce
Ingredients:
- 2 packs of Mahi Mahi
- 2 cups Panko Bread Crumbs
- 3 tbsp Parsley
- 2/3 cup Sprinkle Parmesan Cheese
- 2 Eggs
- Olive Oil
- 3/4 cup Frisch’s Original Tartar Sauce
- 1/4 cup Capers
- Thaw Mahi Mahi for 15-20 mins in chilly water if frozen. Mix bread crumbs, parsley, and parmesan cheese in medium size bowl. Set aside. Mix Frisch’s Original Tartar Sauce and capers. Put back in refrigerator.
- Break and whisk eggs in medium size bowl. Individually coat thawed fish in the eggs and toss in bread crumb mixture. Set on tin foil until ready to cook.
- In large pan, heat olive oil (use enough to cover entire surface of pan) on medium high. When hot, place fish in pan and cook for 3 mins. Flip and repeat on the other side.
- Place fish on plate and top with Frisch’s Original Tartar Sauce and capers mixture. Make sure to put it on when the Mahi Mahi is fresh off of the stove; the way the sauce melts is amazing! Top with a dash more parsley and serve with side of roasted rosemary potatoes and salad to complete the meal.
(Thanks to my intern Kelly Maglocci for putting this post together!)
Flash Sale at A Village Gift Shop Thursday Dec. 15!

You all know that I love a good sale. You also know that A Village Gift Shop in Glendale is one of my favorite places to shop. Well, tomorrow is going to be a great day because there will be a huge SALE at the store I love!!!
This is awesome because it’s right before the holidays and they have a TON of great gift and entertaining items (and they wrap for free!). Everything from dips and decor to make your holiday party super chic (and yummy)… to gifts for women, men, babies and even pets.


I love putting together gift baskets by combining a few different small items to personalize the gifts for each person I’m giving them to…
– For my fashionista foodie friends, I’ve given a Gourmet Du Village dip mix paired with a Mud Pie dip spreader, and an Alex and Ani bangle bracelet she can add to her arm party collection
– For my friend who walks to her downtown job from her condo in OTR, a pair of their recycled finger-less gloves, paired with a blanket scarf and boot toppers (gives you a cute look of tall sweater socks and lace at the top of your boots without the bulk of big socks
– For my mom who loves to travel, a travel jewelry wrap and a CHART metalworks necklace to remind her of home.
A Village Gift Shop at the Century House is located at 3 Village Square 45246. They’re open Monday – Wednesday 10-6 Thursday and Friday 10-7 Saturday 10-7 and Sunday 12-5.