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Amazon: Reusable Iced Beverage Tumblers 6 Pack $11.99! ($1.99/Cup)

Monday, April 22, 2013 at 8:19pm by Melissa Leave a Comment

Get ready for those yummy iced coffee drinks this summer with a set of 6 BPA free 16oz Reusable Iced Beverage Tumbler with Straws! They’re just $11.95 for the set or $1.99 per cup, and ship free with Prime or SSS over $25.

And here’s a nifty idea for you if you’re looking for an end of the year teacher gift! Consider putting together a cup with some packets of Crystal Light along with a cute note that says “For a De’light’ful teacher”. It’s a wonderful, unique and inexpensive gift idea!

Visit Glue Dots for the full instructions.

Note: As with all Amazon prices, the price on this offer can change at any time. These prices are valid as of April 22th at 8:10pm EST.

If this applies, and you need some suggestions for inexpensive items to reach the $25 threshold for Super Saver Shipping, take a look at all of the recently posted Amazon deals.

Amazon Program Information Refresher

Understanding these Amazon programs can be confusing, so I though it might be nice to break them down a bit for you.

Some items are available through the Subscribe & Save program. What that means is that you select shipments at regular intervals (every 1-6 months) and you’ll receive the item at the 5% discounted price when you subscribe to 4 items or less. Subscribe to 5 or more items, and you’ll receive a 15% discount on each of your subscription items. Additionally, all subscriptions ship free. If you don’t want to bother with regular shipments (the prices do fluctuate), sign up to receive the shipment you want and cancel (with no penalty) when you’ve received your order. You can cancel via the Your Account dropdown menu tab “Your Subscribe & Save Items.” Canceling is very easy to do.

Alternatively, all items can be shipped free with Amazon Prime as well. You can sign up for a free trial membership and cancel before you are charged the annual fee, if you choose.

I am a member of the Amazon Mom program. Starting January 24, 2012, the maximum discount available on any purchase is 20%. This comes from the exclusive discount of 15% on select items (diapers, wipes, etc.) on top of a revised 5% Subscribe and Save discount vs. 15% for other purchased items i.e. grocery, etc. There are often coupons that are stackable with these discounts as well. Also, when you join Amazon Mom, you have the added bonus of Amazon Prime free Two-Day shipping for the first three months continued only by purchasing an Amazon Prime membership after the trial period ($79).

Amazon Student is free for, well, college students by providing a school and major. You get AmazonPrime free shipping for six months and free release date delivery on video games, DVD’s, books and more. You must have a .edu email address to confirm.

Filed Under: Amazon, Online Shopping, Seasonal Spotlight ·

Seasonal Spotlight: Napkin Easter Bunnies!

Sunday, March 17, 2013 at 11:41pm by Melissa Leave a Comment

I love pretty decorating ideas as much as the next person, but the only thing Martha and I have in common is that our first names start with the letter ‘M’. That said, I’ll attempt simple things, and this is something I think I can manage with a little practice. With that in mind, I thought you might like to take a look, too.

Chinet has a nifty tutorial for making Napkin Easter Bunnies. In addition, when you join Club Chinet, you’ll receive a coupon via email for $1 off any Chinet product.

I’ll be picking up the supplies this week, and I’ll post my napkins for you to see when I get them done.

Filed Under: Coupons, DIY, Easter, Printable Roundup, Seasonal Spotlight ·

Walmart: Holiday Flameless Metallic LED Tea Light 24 pk $6 + Free Ship To Store! Decorating Ideas & Tips!

Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 10:13am by Melissa Leave a Comment

This is a great deal. Trust me. If you’re wondering why, I’m just about to explain. First, Walmart has marked down their Holiday Flameless Metallic LED Tea Light Candle 24pk to just $6, and they come in green, gold, and red. These will ship free to your local Walmart store, too.

Now, to explain WHY I’m posting these?

Pin It!

Summer is coming. These are perfect for evening tablescapes, and they’re safe lighting options with children around. I did this last summer and it was just beautiful – and SO easy. I picked up a 100 ct package of balloons at Dollar Tree, slightly inflated them, ahem, myself, and covered the LED tea light candle with them.

Pin It!

These are also easy, inexpensive, and elegant decorations for a wedding reception or just to have around the house!

You’ll need:
Balloons (inflated)
Lace Doilies
Wallpaper Glue

Dip lace doilies in wallpaper glue and wrap them around the balloon. When they’re dry, pop the balloon and add a tea light candle.

Another tip: We used a couple of LED tea lights in our Christmas village this year. A couple of bulbs went out in the electric lights we have and this was an easy lighting replacement. Plus, it saves electricity!

Pin It!

Or you can just plan ahead! Orange Tissue Paper, Mod Podge, Mason Jars, LED Tea Lights, and Black Construction Paper make cute homemade *pumpkins*!

Note: I found all of these nifty ideas on Pinterest. Search for LED Tea Lights to find even more!

Filed Under: DIY, Halloween, Home, Seasonal Spotlight, Stores, Summer, Supercenters, Walmart ·

Amazon: Scrumptious Pumpkin Pie Recipes! (Free Kindle Download)

Sunday, November 18, 2012 at 10:40pm by Melissa Leave a Comment

Pumpkin Pie. Something tells me those two words are going to be thrown around a LOT in the next four days. Don’t ask how I know. I’m just gifted that way. ;)

While it lasts, Amazon is offering Luscious Linda’s Easy Recipes Scrumptious Pumpkin Pie Recipes as a free download for your Kindle or other reading device.

Note: As with all Amazon prices, the price on this Kindle offer can change at any time. This price is valid as of November 18 at 10:40pm EST. And even if you don’t have a Kindle, you can read these books using your computer or other mobile devices by downloading the appropriate app. You’ll see a *Free Reading App* tab in the bar across the top of the Amazon page.

Filed Under: Amazon, Freebies, Home, Online Shopping, Seasonal Spotlight, Thanksgiving ·

Halloween: DVD Deals! Most $5 and Under Shipped!

Sunday, October 14, 2012 at 11:07pm by Melissa 2 Comments

Halloween is just around the corner. We cleaned up the yard today and put out even more decorations. The kids are so thoroughly taken with all things ghoulish and goblin-y that I thought a roundup of seasonally appropriate viewing was in order. Here are some fabulous finds for you. Most are $5 and under. Igor is $4.99 and ships free with Amazon Prime or Super Saver Shipping with orders over $25.

R.L. Stine’s Mostly Ghostly is $4.99 with Amazon Prime or Super Saver Shipping over $25.

Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride (Full Frame) is $5 at Walmart with free site to store shipping.

Monster House (Widescreen) is $5 at Walmart with free site to store shipping.

Goosebumps: One Day At HorrorLand (Full Frame) is $5 at Walmart with free Site to Store shipping.

Beetlejuice (20th Anniversary Edition) (Deluxe Edition) (Widescreen) is just $5 at Walmart with free site to store shipping.

The Little Vampire (Full Frame, Widescreen)is $5 at Walmart with free site to store shipping.

Goosebumps: Monster Blood is $5 at Walmart with free site to store shipping.

Alvin and the Chipmunks Scare-Riffic Double Feature is $5.64 with Amazon Prime or Super Saver Shipping over $25.

Coraline is $5.99 shipped with Amazon Prime or Super Saver Shipping over $25.

Hocus Pocus is just $6.99 shipped at Best Buy! Thanks, Kelly!

Heroes Of Horror Collection is $13 at Walmart with free site to store shipping. There are 6 DVD’s in this set. I absolutely love this. I grew up watching these movies on Saturday afternoons. In fact, I just watched the original House on Haunted Hill with Vincent Price a few days ago.

Thanks, It’s a Fabulous Life!

Filed Under: Amazon, Halloween, Online Shopping, Retail Stores, Seasonal Spotlight, Stores, Supercenters, Walmart ·

For Fun: Inexpensive Halloween Decorations and Fun Projects For Kids!

Monday, October 8, 2012 at 7:33pm by Melissa Leave a Comment

I love the holidays. We start decorating just after celebrating the kids birthday’s on Labor Day weekend. No kidding. It has become a ritual around here. The fall and Halloween decorations are up for, oh say, around two months. The first week of November is spent taking down all of the Fall decorations in favor of Christmas decorations. Believe it or not, this cycle continues through Valentine’s Day, St. Patrick’s Day, and Easter. After all, there isn’t much else to do besides stare at fine crystalline snow during that time of year in Michigan, so we make the best of it indoors.

Now, I love to decorate, but I don’t like spending a lot of time giving mine a more unique spin. I do, however, somewhat detest having my tablescape look like I picked it up at the dollar store. Thank goodness it’s really easy to punch things up a notch or two with a bit of creativity and minimal effort and cost.

Photo Credit

To kick things off, I love a classically carved pumpkin face as much as the next person. But the next time you stop by your local Dollar Tree, take a look in their Halloween section for bags of mice to make a unique Mouse Motel pumpkin. My Dollar Tree has bags of 10 mice, but they’re a bit too small for a large pumpkin. They’re perfect for two small pumpkins though. They also have bags of 5 larger mice that are ideal for a larger one.

Photo Credit

Who doesn’t love a decoration and keepsake in one? I never miss a chance to preserve little footprints or handprints ~ even on my windows. A couple of days ago, I looked out the big family room window and saw a tiny handprint in the corner. For a moment I thought, “I should clean that.” But I was having one of those “Melancholy Mitchell” days, as I call them, and talked myself out of it. After all, my days of handprints on the windows are numbered. I’ve decided that I’m just going to leave it there for a few more days, so I can enjoy it. I plan to hurry and get these little footprint ghosts done this week, so it won’t crush me too much when I do finally clean them away. Oh, and in case you were wondering, handprints make cute spiders. We use black paint on orange construction paper for those.

I rarely use the word “perfection.” Whenever I hear it used to describe something, I’m instantly throttled back in time to an episode of Friends. If you’re familiar, it’s the one with Chandler and Jill Goodacre in the ‘vestibule.’ ”Gum would be perfection”, Chandler said. Love Chandler. Love these candle holders. Mason Jar + Dried Leaves + Mod Podge = Perfect…ion.

I have leaves pressed and drying now that they’re starting to change and fall, so I can do this in the next couple of weeks. My son decided he didn’t want to wait, so we went to Dollar Tree and picked up a tall vase and a package of 100 silk leaves. They’re very thin, so they work well with the Mod Podge.

This is his vase:

As you know, he’s 8, so this is a completely kid friendly project. He only needed a little bit of help smoothing out the leaves. Beyond that, he did this entirely by himself.

Photo Credit

And if this isn’t the easiest, cutest, kid, nut allergy, and class friendly snack, I don’t know what is! Pretzel sticks, marshmallows and vanilla candy coating make the best *Bones*. We usually use Hershey’s White Chocolate chips because they’re nut allergy friendly.

Filed Under: Halloween, Home, Seasonal Spotlight ·

Knock It Off: Three Piece Sectional $559.99! Huge Savings Over Comparable Items!

Sunday, October 7, 2012 at 9:50am by Melissa Leave a Comment

Now that we’ve moved to the new server, all of the posts I had intended to incorporate this year will resurface – Slowing Down (slow cooker series), Cabin Fever, Seasonal Spotlight, the video series, and a whole bunch more.

Right now, though, I’m starting another – Knock It Off. Yep, you know me and my play on words and phrases. This one strives to price compare to the max! That means finding the most rock bottom price for items comparable to much higher priced items – knock offs, if you will.

That said, I’m in Michigan, and you may be in Florida. Therefore, the goal is to provide the lowest possible price at a store available to most everyone. You may be able to do better locally. I cannot, not by any stretch, and I’m sure plenty of you cannot either. This is THE lowest price on a THREE piece sectional I have been able to find.

Three piece sectional? Yep. We happen to ~~in the market for one~~ have one exactly like this! If that seems out in left field somewhere, that’s why. The *rustic room* is getting a makeover this year and I cannot wait! For my fellow Michigan readers and/or those familiar with Michigan speak, this room is politely described by our fabulously thoughtful friends as having an *up north* feel to it. Whatever. I can (also politely) sum it up in two words: Wood Paneling. This is why my children call it *the brown room*. I dare not say more about it because there are only a few things that come to mind when I try and think of other brown things…

Alrighty, would you like to know what I found? Of course, you would. I searched on Amazon because, surprisingly, there are several from which to choose with free shipping and reasonable pricing. Nevertheless, I didn’t want a faux leather base with fabric cushions. They were the cheapest at around $700ish. From there, I searched no less than 20 stores and selected a few to price compare for you here.

Because I simply cannot wait, let me tell you about the winner in the photo above. The Signature Design by Ashley Aveline 3 Piece Sectional is $799 at Big Lots. No, the $559.99 price is not a typo. I’ll explain how you can get that low price below. Before I do, here are some price comparisons for you:

This nearly identical set at Value City Furniture is $999.

This four piece Possibilities set at JCPenney is the most comparable they offer with the chaise vs. their three piece set w/no chaise. On top of the huge sticker price of $2050, additional shipping charges apply.

And no price comparison can be complete without throwing something from Pottery Barn in the mix. Can you believe the Big Lots set is around 90% LESS than Pottery Barn PB Square Set? Yes, I love Pottery Barn, but could personally never justify that expense. My kids will flop on a $600 set exactly the same way they’ll flop on a $6000 set. The only difference is how much I care. Reducing stress, financial or otherwise, is a top priority for me. I know it is for you, too, so here’s how you can grab this great deal.

This super fabulous price will be available on one day only, Sunday, October 7th. This is when Big Lots is having a Friends & Family day complete with a coupon that will save you 20% off your entire purchase. Use this coupon to purchase that 3 piece sectional on sale for $699.99 for just $559.99 + tax. If you’re looking for a rec room set or just something child friendly that won’t set you back a ton, you may want to seriously consider this deal. Furniture is NOT excluded from the coupon – only these things: previous transactions, previously initiated price holds, non-purchases such as rentals, deposits and charitable donations, alcohol, gift cards, phone cards, and calling cards.

To take advantage of this offer on Saturday, October 6th, you must be a Big Lots BuzzClub Rewards member. You can pre-register online and pick up your card in-store when it’s available. I can only hope that’s immediately. If I were you, I think I’d contact my local store, and find out how you can possibly enroll now in-store and get your membership number to use immediately. If memory serves, that’s what I did. Either way, make sure you handle that detail quickly.

If you’d like to be a part of this series and share something you got at a fraction of the retail cost, submit your story. If selected, you’ll receive a $10 Amazon Gift Card for your time and effort! Please, no extremely regional deals.

Filed Under: Coupons, Dept Store, DIY, Home, Printable Roundup ·

Household Recipe: Lemonade Kool-Aid Dishwasher Cleaner!

Tuesday, April 24, 2012 at 11:14am by Melissa Leave a Comment

Reader Cheryl saw this and sent it to me today. Bless her heart, she knows just how to make me do cartwheels. I love..no, I mean L-O-V-E tips for making my life a little easier. I LOVE passing them on to you even more.

I sure hope I’m not under a rock here and that you haven’t seen this, but did you know that you can use Kool-Aid to clean your dishwasher? I kid you not. I tried it. It works. Of course it works (see final comment below). There are no fumes to make you evacuate your home while it’s working either….although just the thought of this super cheap solution nearly drove me outside screaming with happiness. I know, it really doesn’t take much with me. My son, on the other hand, was less than thrilled. Trust me, he’ll get over it when I buy 20 more. ;)

This is so simple. Open a packet of unsweetened Lemonade Kool-Aid and pour it into the dispenser of your empty dishwasher. Run your dishwasher on any cycle to clean stains and buildup.

It’s the Citric Acid. Can I just say how disgusted I am that I didn’t make the connection with this? I have a degree in CHEMISTRY. Ugh & duh, over and over and over. Ugh & duh.

Thanks, Cheryl & Real Simple.

Filed Under: Cleaning, DIY, Home, Household Recipes ·

Seasonal Spotlight: Bunny Food! (Popcorn Snack)

Thursday, April 5, 2012 at 9:05pm by Melissa Leave a Comment

Photo Credit: Cooking Classy

Whenever I have company for a holiday celebration, I always like to have some kind of homemade gift for our guests to take home. Generally, that’s some kind of cookie or individual cake, but my tasmanian devils often preclude me from just taking a shower! Obviously, finding time to bake something gets moved so far down the list of priorities that I’d have to walk down the street three houses to find its place. Nevertheless, it is important to me, so I have to find a way to make it work.

My answer? Bunny Food aka Bunny Bait.

I made a variation of this for Halloween with candy corn and black & orange sprinkles. Candy corn. Do I need to say more? Nah, didn’t think so.

For Easter, I’ll be whipping up this nut free confection on Saturday and making pretty take home bags tied with pink satin ribbon for my guests. It’s so easy to pull together. If you’re pressed for time and would like to do something special, give this a try. The supplies are very inexpensive….well, for us anyway. ;)

Bunny Food (Nut-Free)

Ingredients:
2 Bag Orville Redenbacher Tender Popcorn (microwave)
1 – 12oz Hershey’s White Chocolate Chips* (*see bottom of post)
OR 2 – 6oz packages of Bakers White Chocolate*
1 & 1/2 cup Pretzel Pieces (coarsely broken whole pretzels)
2 – 5oz bag Easter Sixlets*
Pastel nonpareils or jimmies/sprinkles

Directions:

Line a 13×18 jelly roll pan with wax paper. If you don’t have a jelly roll pan, you can just use a cookie sheet.
Pop popcorn according to package directions and pour into large bowl removing all unpopped kernels. Add pretzel pieces.
If you’re using Baker’s White Chocolate, cut it into smaller pieces before melting to hasten the process.
From here, I generally melt either the chips or chunked chocolate in the microwave in 30 second intervals, stirring after each cycle, until almost melted. Small unmelted pieces throughout are fine. They will melt with the residual heat in the bowl.
Drizzle half of the melted chocolate over the popcorn/pretzel mixture and fold it into the popcorn until coated.
Add Sixlets and fold again.
Drizzle the remaining melted chocolate over the popcorn and fold until the popcorn is fully coated. Don’t over mix because you don’t want the color coating on the Sixlets to start running.
Pour evenly onto jelly roll pan in a single layer.
Coat evenly with Easter sprinkles.
Allow to cool and harden. Break into pieces.

*Note: This recipe is nut free for my son, but you can use Easter M&M’s in yours if you don’t have sensitivities in your home. Also, feel free to swap out the white chocolate chips for candy melts.

Recipe adapted Cooking Classy

Filed Under: Easter, Seasonal Spotlight ·

Party Fun – Kids: Balloon Flip Flops!

Thursday, March 22, 2012 at 12:56pm by Melissa Leave a Comment

If it’s warm, I’m in party prep mode….even if it’s March. Since my children nearly share a birthday, literally August 31st and September 1st, we have a dual birthday party that gets more elaborate by the minute, ahem, not year. Jeez, that sounds bad, doesn’t it? Please don’t confuse elaborate with expensive because the cornerstone of everything I plan is cost!

I also like to find really fun activities that won’t involve tears, and are reusable as well as cost efficient. Well, this easy project more than fits the bill. If you were here last year, you’ll recall that I put together some take home gift bags from Dollar Tree and that all of the included items were purchased there. And because I split multi-packs of hair bands, clips and some other items, I was really able to stretch my dollars in some areas, and still had some nice individual items (bag, sunglasses and flip flops) as well.

Now that the kiddies are getting a little older, our projects can (finally) become a little more advanced. Tying knots is an easy task for an 8 year old. Doing it repeatedly and in a pattern makes it a little more complex, but do-able, so it retains a healthy level of confidence upon completion. With that in mind, if you’ve got a fun pool or summer birthday party coming up or just a sleepover, give this Balloon Flip Flop craft a try!

Photo Credit: One She Two She

Balloon Flip Flops

From Dollar Tree or your local dollar store, you’ll need:
Flip Flops in assorted sizes and colors
Primary Color Balloons – 100ct
Pastel Balloons 100ct

For either the pastel or primary colors, you may want to decide on a pattern to repeat like pink, green, blue, yellow, purple, etc. You don’t have to do this because randomly chosen colors look equally as nice as a pattern. You know I’m neurotic, so that’s my answer for you. Hah!

And while this costs a bit more, you may want to buy some solid color balloons and do something like 6 yellow and 6 blue or something like that….perhaps for older girls who want school colors? It’s really up to you, the attendees, and the nature of the party. There really is no wrong way to do this.

Double knot each balloon along the sides of the flip flop thong. In the end, you’ll need approximately 50 balloons to complete each side. Obviously, this will vary considerably with size. This average will help you decide how many balloons to purchase though.

Above all else, have fun, and send me your nifty pictures! I’d love to see your creations!

Adapted very slightly from One She Two She!

Filed Under: Birthday, Seasonal Spotlight ·