Free Friendship Card

Friendship Day is right around the corner! August 5th!

Why not send a card to a special friend?

I love sending cards.

In a world drowning with digital communication, receiving a card in the mail is exciting.

It reminds us that there is time to write a hand written note. It reminds us that someone took the extra effort to choose a card, think about the message and send it with love.

It's a surprise, a hidden gem, that greets you at your mailbox amongst all the other crap we receive.

Even though the price of a stamp is ridiculous, a card is where it's at.

But guess what!?

In celebration of friendship day, Cardstore.com is offering up a free card by simply entering the code FRIEND12. They will even mail it for you...for FREE!

I've ordered cards from this site before. It's super easy, quick, and the cards are great quality.

I just scored my free card for a far away friend. Go snag yours. :)

Winning Gets You This

We had a great date night, thanks to winning at last year's KSU Wabash Cannonball. Although it seemed a little strange staying in a hotel just 20 min. from our house and finding a babysitter for our fur baby (Thanks Matt & Heather!), it's an ideal way to get away from the daily grind.

Away from laundry, dishes, miscellaneous house projects and our ADD dog, it was just the two of us. And it was nice.

Our plan was to enjoy the Crown Center area before dinner and walk around amidst the sun shining. Welp, the lovely rain ruined it for us, so we made do with what Mother Nature provided.

First on the list was checking in, cashing in our complimentary night's stay at the Westin. Well, the hubs just so happened to forget his wedding ring (went golfing on Friday and left it in his golf bag), so he didn't have it on. We joked for the rest of the night how the front desk staff probably thought we were on a secretive affair getaway. But then again, there are tons of guys who don't wear their wedding rings (my dad is one). I don't think I would be ok with Brian not wearing his. :)

Our room was great. I know it's just a typical hotel room, but it was nice. The bed was comfortable (I'm pretty picky when it comes to this) and we had a spectacular view of Liberty Memorial.

From our balcony

I couldn't believe people were swimming. Heated pool of course, but still, it was quite nippy outside!

For the first hour, we walked around Crown Center, browsing the shops. I have actually never spent much time in Crown Center in the almost 4 years I have lived here.

Holy cow, it's a kid factory!

I can definitely see why parents bring their children here...I was drooling over every sweet smell that came out out of Chip's Chocolate Factory, Topsy's, Sheridan's, and the Crayola Cafe. It's a for sure way to keep a kid occupied...or a 27-year old sweets addict. I was craving a piece of fudge, a strawberry concrete, chocolate covered popcorn and a root beer float all at the same time. All things I can't have until Lent is over, boo.

Next, we jumped in the car to head to Liberty Memorial. We would have loved to walk, but I didn't have an umbrella, and it was pouring. Which is why we didn't even step foot out of the car. Oh well, another day.

Next stop, Jack Stack for dinner. We planned to go to Skies and utilize the amazing deal offered on Restaurant.com, but the earliest reservation available was 9:30 pm! So, we opted for Jack Stack and used a $50 gift card I recently received for being Volunteer of the Year for a marketing organization I am involved in.

I'm not as big of fan as BBQ as the hubs is, but Jack Stack is one of my favorite BBQ places when I'm in the mood for it. I love the cheesy corn. And we had the jumbo shrimp as an appetizer, which was quite delicious.

Next stop, The Cashew to watch the game. I don't know how we managed to be the only KSU fans in the entire bar, but we did. I know The Cashew is a KU bar, but seriously, I didn't think we would be surrounded by Wisconsin fans. C'mon people, you live in Kansas! Support a local team!

The game didn't end in our favor, but I'm forever proud to be a Wildcat. Pullen and Kelly deserve a lot of credit for our success this year.

Night shot from our room

Sunday, we woke up in utter darkness (gotta love thick hotel curtains) and dodged our normal 5:30 wake up call from Jake. Yes, our dog wakes up at 5:30 every single day. Even on weekends.

We finished off our stay at the Westin with a complimentary breakfast at their restaurant, The Brasserie. We had $50 to spend and we didn't even come close. Brian had the buffet while I opted for blueberry buttermilk pancakes and a strawberry fruit smoothie. Yummy! What a great way to start the day.

Lastly, we headed to the gold dome for church downtown, AKA, the Cathedral of Immaculate Conception. I love this church, I always have. The only dislike we had was that the sound wasn't great resulting in a hard to understand priest. In fact, he was screaming into his mic during the homily at some points, which didn't make it any easier.

That concludes our almost entirely free date night. Score!

Gotta love winning.

What did you do this weekend?   

Blogging has PERKS!

Last week, I had a major breakdown when I suddenly realized it was already November.

I mean, we have some big things coming up -- hosting Thanksgiving at our house in KC for the first time ever, getting our basement ready for show and tell, lots of holiday parties, my cousin's wedding in Dallas, and the always dreaded...Christmas Card.

Don't get me wrong, I love cards. And I know our family and friends love receiving them.

It just so happens that the annual Christmas card requires a lot of time and preparation. I have always designed, printed and mailed my own cards. The process goes a little like this...

1. Scour your computer for a photo worthy enough to go on the card
2. Realize you don't have a worthy photo, so force your husband to do a self photo shoot
3. Select a photo
4. Start designing the card
5. Edit, edit, edit
6. Change the photo because you decided you didn't like the one you chose
7. Ask your husband for his input and get nothing
8. Finalize the card
9. Purchase paper and fun envelopes
10. Print cards and address labels (no turning back)
11. Trim cards
12. Stuff envelopes
13. Address envelopes
14. Stamp envelopes
15. Send to family and friends

Doesn't that sound like a lot of work and somewhat stressful?

Well, Shutterfly is making my life a little easier this holiday season.

They are offering 50 free holiday cards to bloggers. What a perk! I can't tell you how excited I was when I read about this deal on a friend's blog.

Did they just say free!? Why yes they did. Click here to join in on the sweet deal.

So, after spending hours on their site browsing the endless options, I have narrowed it down to four designs. Now, I used the photo from last year's Christmas card (plus a few random others), just as an example. Why you ask? Please refer to number two above. Can you guess what we might be doing this weekend? :)

Option 1: Bright and Cheery Holiday

Option 2: Simple & Clean

Option 3: Holly Jolly, Jake Front & Center

Option 4: 2010 Timeline

Which one do you like? I need your help to decide!

With SO many options available on their site, it was super hard to narrow down, For someone who was dreading this process, I had way too much fun with this.

Their Christmas Cards were at the top of my list, but I was tempted to throw in the towel, and just do a Thanksgiving Card this year. How fun and different would these be with a nice photo of trees/leaves in the background?

I also plan to check out the Canvas Wall Art. Maybe something to go in our new basement room?

So, a big THANK YOU to Shutterfly for turning the much-dreaded-annual-Christmas-Card-fiasco into a fun, shopping adventure!

Don't forget to comment and help me decide which card to choose!

Faux Fail

I love fall. The changing of the leaves. The smells. The cooler weather. The decor.

I enjoyed dusting off my fall decorations this year just as I always have. Wreaths, scarecrow, pumpkins, leafy garlands, tabletop decorations.

However, I was dreading having to haul 3-5 heavy, bulky pumpkins home from the store all by myself. Followed by carving two of them (maybe) and lastly, having to carry the nasty, rotting pumpkins to the trash can once Halloween is over.

So, as I stood in Michael's surrounded by a sale, I devised a plan.

I would buy some fake pumpkins to accompany my front porch scarecrow.

The justification? I could pay a little more for two fake pumpkins initially, but save some bucks in future years by not having to buy (and haul) so many real pumpkins.

It was the ideal plan for my deal-driven, always hunting for a sale kind of mind. They looked real from the street, and were super easy to transfer from the store to the car, from the car to the porch. Light as can be and achieved my expectations.

Up until some punk-ass kid (so I think) decided to jack one of my fake pumpkins.

Let's just say I wasn't very happy when I noticed the pumpkin missing from our front porch. I'm still fuming.

Imagine another fake pumpkin, a bigger one, to the left of the scarecrow.

I can only hope that the kid was striving for an epic pumpkin-smashing session. Too bad my fake pumpkin will just bounce off the asphalt like a child throwing down a Mr. Potato Head.

It might be a faux fail, but that klepto got punked by my fakie. Eat that, you pumpkin snatcher.

burgers + bottles bucks

Anyone like blanc burgers + bottles?

Because, the Kansas City Groupon deal today is awesome!

Pay $10 for $20 worth at Blanc Burgers + Bottles.

I have received the daily Groupon emails for quite some time now and have contemplated numerous deals. However, this was my first official purchase! If you don't receive the Groupon emails, I suggest you look into it for your city. You never know when a great deal will come your way.

You just pay online through Groupon, and then they send you an email where you can print off the voucher. I have until March to use it. Pretty sweet deal!

They also have two great locations. Plaza and Mission Farms.

Here's the link if you are interested. It can be purchased through the next two days. There have already been 7,298 purchased! Groupon is great for businesses!

Groupon Deal - Blanc Burgers

Happy Friday!

Sunglasses for a Steal

Check out these babies.

Four pairs. Kathy Van Zeeland. Black, Tan, Blue and Brown. All with separate hard cases -- for a steal.

Did I mention they were a steal?

Take a guess on price. A wild guess.

$12 + shipping=$15!!

Four pairs of sunglasses for $15. I found this deal posted on Hip2Save when a co-worker and I quickly jumped ship to order. We split the cost of shipping. I LOVE the blue ones. They are such a trendy color and something different.

Now, I know they aren't Gucci or Ray Ban, but when you go through as many pairs of sunglasses as I do, I couldn't pass this up.

I'm not exactly sure what I am going to do with my four new pairs of sunglasses. Maybe keep them all for myself...or gift a few...or break them since I'm notorious for that.

Who knows, but I'll figure it out. Just think, if you happen to be fortunate enough to get a pair from me, it's pretty much sayin' your gifts are worthy of a whopping $4:). Or maybe I'm just that good to find a great deal and share it with you?

A Little Added Crunch

I am so excited to tell you about my newest breakfast food obsession. It is that good. At least to my taste buds:).

Pretty much everyday (except weekends), I have yogurt and a piece of fruit for breakfast. I am either...1) Always running too late in the mornings to fix myself something, so I have to take it to work with me, or 2) Working out before work so I have to pack something anyways.

Therefore, it has to be fast, quick and easy.

I love yogurt. Always have. My two favorite flavors are Yoplait Light Strawberry Orange Sunrise and Berries n' Cream. Yum! But I do get sick of it sometimes. So, I found something to spice it up a bit.

 Special K Low Fat Granola

Kashi Go Lean Crisp! Toasted Berry Crumble Flavor

Man, are these both scrumptious mixed with yogurt. And, they are both new to the cereal grocery shelf! Pair them with your favorite yogurt and a fruit. I have actually never tried them just as cereal:), but I'm sure they're great that way too. Now you can enjoy a little crunch to your yogurt. I just love it!

Plus, I always find coupons for Special K cereals on Coupons.com. And if you're like me, I buy Special K regardless, so you might as well use a coupon!

Check it out. I promise you won't be disappointed.

Score!

The past several days have been great for taking a stroll to the mailbox! I just love being surprised with all the free goodies. Some are better than others, but the best part is...they were all FREE!! All item sign-ups were found on Hip2Save. The items are just now really starting to show up! If you don't know what that site is, refer to this post.

-Subscription to Maxim Magazine (for the hubs)

-Subscription to Bicycling Magazine

-One Day Pass to Sam's Club

-Cascade Action Packs (4)

-Secret Deodorant Mini-Stick 

-Dove Deodorant Mini-Stick

-Old Spice Men's Body Wash Sample
-Pantene Pro-V Shampoo/Conditioner Sample

-Aveeno Lotion Sample

-Tide Laundry Detergent Sample

-Bounce Sample

-Playtex Tampons

-And tons of coupons!

Daydreamin'

So here's some random thoughts I have at this very moment.

I'm excited for...
The Bachelorette! New season starts tonight featuring a guy from my highschool. Although, I talked to him on fb and he goes home the first night:( I'm still so excited for the show. Loved Ali last season!

I'm proud of...
My dear friend Hännah! She just found out TODAY that she is not going to get laid off. This is due in large part to her dedication, hard work and loyalty. To give you a better idea of how wonderful she is, of the 35 non-tenured teachers at her school, only 3 didn't get laid off. She is a great person, teacher and friend. Truly an inspiration and one of the most genuine people I have the pleasure of knowing.

I'm dreaming about...
Mexico! Boy do I miss waking up with a mimosa or bloody mary in my hand!

I'm pleased with...
My motivation to work out lately. I'm totally not a morning person, and I have successfully transformed into a morning worker-outer!

I'm missing...
All my out-of-town friends. This photo doesn't even begin to encompass nearly everyone, but this picture is great. Too bad it's not from the Iguana Mirage night club.

I can't wait for...
My girls trip to NY in August!

I'm not looking forward to...
Cleaning the house. It's been before Mexico that I even touched the floors or dusted. Ewwwwwww, I know. We have an out of town friend staying with us on Thursday, so the cleaning must happen. Boo.

I'm thankful for...
My boys! I don't take enough opportunities to tell my hubby how much I appreciate him. So here's to you baby! Thanks for being the greatest friend, listener, confidant, snuggler, supporter and motivator a girl could ever ask for.

I'm craving...
Ice cream! Or a strawberry slush cream pie shake from Sonic! According to Hip2Save (link below), Sonic has buy one, get one free shakes until June 27! Haven't been to Sonic to try it out yet, but tonight might be the night!

Hip2Save Sonic Deal

I'm nutty about...

Blogging! Is it bad that many of my thoughts during they day are now followed by ways I can turn them into blog posts? Yes, that's sad! Geez...get a life!

Crazy Coupon Lady

So, my friend Callie turned me onto this thing called "couponing". She has a blog too and had a post about how much money she saves each time she goes grocery shopping.

Well...when I heard save and money in the same sentence, I definitely perked up. You know me...pretty very (who am I kidding?:) conservative, frugal and always looking for a great deal. Love those BOGO's! I get it from my mother, I just can't help it. Sometimes, I think it drives Brian crazy, but deep down, I know he appreciates how much money I save us! He's getting better though. He is starting to understand how to work our credit card rewards to his advantage. From everyday purchases, we were able to maximize our Discover rewards points and buy all new kitchen cabinet hardware. It was awesome!

Anyways, there's this great site/blog that Callie checks several times a day called Hip2Save. It's a great site. Young stay-at-home mom with 3 kids who posts coupons, deals, freebies and ways to save on everything. A lot of what she posts is for Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens and CVS, but she also posts restaurants, clothing stores and coupons for everywhere! Check it out if you have some spare time. It can be a little overwhelming with how much she posts, but there are some great deals hiding in there!

So, from the site I have already printed LOTS of money-saving coupons, signed up for freebies (including free subscriptions to OK! Magazine and Maxim for the hubs) and found out about some awesome deals. I haven't received any of our freebies in the mail yet, but according to Callie, she has received full-sized bottles of shampoo and lotion!

Well, my first true "couponing" experience was last Friday when I went to the grocery store to get some things for our BBQ that night. I'm not cool enough to have a coupon organizer yet, but don't worry, my time is coming Callie! So...I'm walking through the store gathering up what I needed. I had about 10 coupons for various things and they were all laid out on my reusable bags in the front part of the cart. I have to say...I felt like everyone was looking at me! Even at Wal-Mart! In my head I was like, stop looking at me and take a look in the mirror! I felt like that crazy coupon lady!

But, as I exited the register and looked at my receipt, I saved $11! And it was all for stuff I needed or was going to buy anyways. It was exhilarating! I know I sound so corny, but I'm hooked:)

So, here's another great deal I thought I would pass along for the ladies. I've been wanting to start a facial regimen for a little while now. It all sparked from a conversation with girlfriends. Gotta take care of those wrinkles before they start popping up! Well, after talking with Studer, she turned me on to trying out the Olay Professional Pro-x line. Sure enough, I checked out Hip2Save shortly after my convo with her and I find a $20 rebate form for purchasing $50 in Olay products. The 3-product AM/PM facial kit is $60 at Wal-Mart. Great deal! Here's the Rebate Form if anyone is interested, must purchase the products before May 14.

So, now that I have written a novel about couponing, I'll get back to what I should be doing:)

But remember, every penny counts! My financial adviser would be so proud:)

Craigslist First Timer

So, Brian and I had our first experience with Craigslist yesterday! We have heard great things about posting items to sale and making some mu-lah, but never really had anything to post. And we've never purchased anything off the site, but have looked before. Well, we got a new oven/range and microwave to install above the stove top (more to come in later posts about how busy we have been with home improvements), so we needed to get rid of the old one. Brian is currently managing a renovation at Nebraska Furniture Mart for work so we got a killer deal on the appliances.

Anyways, Brian posted the oven for sale at 2:00 on Friday afternoon and it was out of the garage by 7:30!! Not to mention, we had four other people interested in it. It was awesome! We didn't even have to haul it anywhere or hassle with getting rid of it. I was a little nervous about the guy coming to the house to look at it (you never know about the crazies out there:), but all went well, and Brian was very careful and made me have my phone right by me at all times. Easiest money we've ever made. I highly recommend it to anyone.