July – 2010 – Frugal Novice

Friendly Friday – July 30

Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog too! Just click “Get the code here…” at the bottom of the list. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way for everyone to get even more traffic to their blog.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here, links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

When people comment on your blog and let you know they’re a part of Friendly Friday, return the favor and follow them back. This way everyone gets traffic and followers out of participating, and it’s a win-win situation. We would love for you to also grab our Friendly Friday button and post it on your blog and/or in a post – the more bloggers that find out about Friendly Friday and participate, the better! Continue Reading…

CSN Stores – Cuisinart Ice Cream Maker Review

I’ve been to several of the CSN Stores sites before, so I knew what a wide variety of items they had available for purchase. I was especially interested in their store Cookware.com since I love to cook and find new kitchen gadgets. When I got offered the chance to do a review, I knew pretty quickly what I’d choose – the Cuisinart Pure Indulgence Frozen Yogurt, Sorbet, and Ice Cream Maker.

Ice cream makers I’d seen in the past were big and bulky, with the need for rock salt and ice to surround the bucket. That also meant there was a mess to deal with after-the-fact. With the Cuisinart ice cream maker, there’s none of that. This is a compact machine that fits neatly on the counter top, not to mention the stainless steel finish that fits in well with other appliances.

Brugo Mug Winner

Thanks so much to everyone who entered – and if you didn’t win, you can go here to buy your own Brugo mug!

The winner is…..

Angie! Congratulations, Angie!

Menu Plan Monday – July 26-31

Hi everyone! I missed Menu Plan Monday last week, and let me tell you, it threw my entire week off for meals. We ended up eating a lot of pasta since that’s what I had on hand. We went to Corpus Christi last weekend to review the Omni Hotel Bayfront Tower, and got back Sunday evening – the night before I started my new job the next morning. As you can imagine, this week our house has been completely disorganized. It was really nice to have this weekend to get caught up on everything around the house.

This week we’re having a lot of our regulars, because although I’m together enough to meal plan, I didn’t have the time to hunt around for some new recipes to try. Plus, we’ve expended our new-recipe energy trying out our new ice cream maker from CSN Stores! We made a lemon sorbet last week and this weekend we tried mint chocolate chip. I’ll share recipes for both of those when I get my review post for the ice cream maker up – we loved both of them.

On to our meals for the week: Continue Reading…

Friendly Friday July 23

Welcome to Friendly Friday!

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers!
We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):

Jodi at Jodibee Designs likes to have conversations with her readers where she talks about everyday life such as jewelry and things like her search for online bake shop goodies. She found a site where one can order some delicious items online (all four goodies look good!). Jodi also has giveaways on her site and gives info about some great deals.

Kimberly at Oh My Baby tells about J, her son who is soon to be four years old and has finished his first year of preschool. He helps out with her reviews of products that are toy related. Not only does Kimberly have reviews of products but she has several giveaways and also an online “Oh My Baby Store” as well where she offers a wide selection of personalized baby items.

Tanyia at Surviving Motherhood is a stay at home mom of three girls, married to her high school sweetheart. She’s interested in crafts, cooking & baking, music & books, and much more. Tanyia shares many ideas about scrapbook graphics and where to get freebies. She has a recipe section which features photos & recipes such as Chicken Cordon Bleu Burgers and other mouth-watering recipes.

Now that you know about these 3 wonderful blogs, it’s time for you to join in! Add your link below and we’ll see you back here every Friday! And don’t forget, you can grab the code to share the link list on your blog too.

All three hostesses appreciate followers through GFC and Twitter, and we’ll follow you back – be sure to leave a comment with your URL and/or Twitter username. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

CLR Stainless Steel Cleaner – Review & Giveaway

I’ve used CLR before and know from experience how well it has worked, so I was excited when offered the chance to review one of CLR’s newest products, their Stainless Steel Cleaner. We, like many others, have a big stainless steel refrigerator in our kitchen that never seems to be clean. I have to admit I’m a little embarrassed to show you our “before” photo, but here it is:

Fingerprints EVERYWHERE! I’ve tried using some stainless steel wipes before but it took a lot of elbow grease to get any sort of result, and even then the fridge still looked smudged. Well, I tried CLR’s spray, and here’s what our fridge looked like about a minute later:

You can definitely see the difference on the right side where I used the cleaner – and you can see the left side, which hadn’t been cleaned yet, which really shows the contrast of how clean it got.

This was incredibly easy to use – I just sprayed it on the refrigerator from about 6 inches away, then wiped it off with medium pressure. I did follow that with one more wipe-down using a clean cloth, but that was it! I’ll definitely be using this for all stainless steel cleaning – including our big gas grill out on our patio!

FIVE of you will get the chance to try CLR’s Stainless Steel Cleaner for free! This giveaway works a little differently – you have to be quick on the draw. Ready?

The first five people who do the following three things will receive one free Stainless Steel Cleaner:

“Like” CLR’s Facebook page
Comment on CLR’s Facebook wall with this statement “Visiting from the Frugal Novice, where I read about your new Stainless Steel Cleaner!”
Come back here and comment. I will be checking to make sure you’ve done the first two items to validate your win!

Note: CLR provided me with a container of Stainless Steel Cleaner for review, and with five containers for a giveaway. Opinions provided are honest and remain my own. I was not compensated monetarily for this review.

ProFlowers Gift Basket Review

Brian has used ProFlowers many times to send me arrangements for Valentine’s Day and anniversaries, but I didn’t know about their line of gift baskets until recently. They have a wide variety of baskets perfect for any occasion, and most recently unveiled a new line of birthday gift baskets. From fruit to spa kits to chocolate (Ghirardelli!) it’s easy to find something special to send to someone you love.

We got the chance to sample a basket, and I chose the Gourmet Indulgence Basket.

The basket everything was contained in is really nice and I, being a person that loves baskets and trays, will definitely find a use for it around the house. It was filled with a big selection of treats – chocolate covered graham crackers, peanut brittle, cookies, fruit candies, and more. We had some friends over to share the basket with us since there’s no way we could eat all that on our own! It was a lot of fun sampling from all of the different boxes. My personal favorite was the peanut brittle!

There were a few items in the basket I didn’t care for as much, like the Almond Roca, but for the most part I liked everything. This would be a fun basket to send to one person or a group – the wide variety of snacks ensures there will be something for everyone. If you want to send a gift basket to one of your loved ones, go visit the ProFlowers site!

Note: I received a gift basket from ProFlowers for review, but my opinion was not influenced and remains my own. I was not compensated monetarily for my review.

Boon Review & Giveaway

Ever since J was first born I’ve been a big fan of Boon products – they’re items every parent needs, but with a new twist. When we were first trying to teach J how to use a sippy cup we bought their cup Fluid, which gives chubby little fingers an easy shape to grip – J took to it right from the start! It also helps that their products have a clean, modern look that fits right in with what we love.

Boon sent us three products to try – the Snack Ball:

The Groovy Interlocking Plate and Bowl Set, and ModWare Toddler Utensils:

Hotel Valencia Giveaway Winner

Thanks to everyone who entered – and even if you didn’t win, I hope you’ll still get the chance to experience the Hotel Valencia sometime soon!

The winner is…..

Shaley! Congratulations, Shaley! I hope you enjoy your stay as much as we did.

Friendly Friday – July 16

Hi, and welcome to Friendly Friday!

Remember, YOU can host the link list on your blog too! Just click “Get the code here…” at the bottom of the list. The code is different every week, so be sure to get the new code when hosting Friendly Friday on your blog. Hosting the list is a great way to get even more traffic to your blog and make Friendly Friday even more beneficial for everyone.

Thanks for joining the Friendly Friday celebration hosted by Christi at Frugal Novice, Xenia at Thanks, Mail Carrier and Charla at Healthy Home Blog! We invite you to join us every Friday to make more friends in blogville, get more blog followers and follow other great blogs out there.

To join in the Friendly Friday celebration, include your link in our list, follow the hostesses in the first 3 spots and then start blog hopping! Visit other blogs on the list and comment to give them some blog love. Then take a minute to follow them through Google Friend Connect – this is a good way to keep up with other blogs, but also lets us show support to each other! Please DO NOT list your giveaways here – links must be to either your homepage or your Friday posting with your blog title. All others will be deleted.

Spotlight on Friendly Friday Followers!

We love your participation and want to show it! In addition to gaining followers, each week we’ll select three blogs at random and will feature links and a write-up for those blogs in the content of next week’s Friendly Friday post. There are so many seriously wonderful blogs out there, and this will be a great way to highlight some of those each week. Say hello to the lucky chosen 3 for this week (and feel free to stop by and give them a little extra love):

If you visit Moogie & Pap on an empty stomach, you may end up making an impromptu trip to the grocery store! Joann (aka Moogie) painted murals and designed landscapes professionally for years, and now enjoys baking for her blog. Filled with creative and mouth-watering recipes plus really beautiful photos, this blog is a delight to the senses. From Cloud Souffle (how could that not be something good?) to “Magically Delicious Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars”, there are a ton of new recipes for you to try!

Really in the mood for a party? Nicole at 2 Savvy Sisters has a boatload of ideas to inspire your next soiree – there are ideas for themes, including great decor and invitation examples. Nicole also runs an Etsy shop with the same name, where she sells home decor and party items. She describes herself as loving all things crafty, party, and paper-related. She’s a part-time instructor for the University of Phoenix, and a mom to two adorable little boys, too – but still manages to find time to make her custom creations!

Adventures of Wee Mason Man is the story of two newbie parents, two dogs, two cats, and one little boy. Frankly and humorously written, it’s a blog filled with absolutely adorable photos of their little boy, Mason. Need something to make you smile? Just take one look at him and it’ll brighten your day! The first post of this blog is their ultrasound photos, so it really does chronicle Mason from the very start!

All three hostesses appreciate followers through GFC and Twitter, and we’ll follow you back – just leave a comment with your URL and/or Twitter username. Have a great weekend, everyone!

Still Here! :)

Hi everyone! I haven’t posted as much this week because it’s been a little chaotic around here. I haven’t written about it on here yet, but today was my last day at a job I’ve been at for 7 years. I’ve loved the job and the people I’ve worked with, but I’ve taken a new job that I’ll start Monday, and I’m really excited about it. Needless to say, though, there’ve been a lot of loose ends to tie up. Thanks for being patient with me – I’ll get the giveaways posted soon… I have several great ones I think you’ll be excited about! Also, don’t forget to come back tonight at 10pm CST to join in for Friendly Friday – it’s a great way to get visitors and followers for your blog, and to find new blogs to read!