Frugal Novice

Kohl’s Gift Card Winner Says YES to Savings For Her Whole Family!

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Note: I received a gift card to facilitate a review post, and Kohl’s is providing the gift card for the winner.

We had over 7,000 entries in the Kohl’s gift card giveaway, and the winner is…

Winner Meghan and her family

When I emailed Meghan to let her know she won, I asked her to tell me a little more about why she says YES to Kohl’s! She said, “I love shopping at Kohls because they have a great selection for my whole family. The prices are always affordable and I love the rewards programs they offer.”

Congratulations, Meghan, to you and your family! I hope you enjoy your $250 gift card – and just think of all the rewards you’ll earn with their Yes2You program!!

Diamond Candle Fall Scents are Here!

Note: I received a candle to facilitate my review. All opinions are honest and are my own.

I love candles and I tend to have one around for each season of the year, but fall and winter scents are my absolute favorite. Now that October is here I am more than ready to pull out a fall candle and have a nice cozy aroma wafting through the house. Our candle of choice right now? Caramel Apple Cider from Diamond Candles.

It’s got a really great scent to it that just screams fall – but of course, this isn’t just a candle. Diamond Candles each have a ring in them! It’s a lot of fun waiting for the candle to melt down enough to pull out the little foil pouch housing a surprise ring. You never know what style you’ll get, but I think the surprise is half the fun! Here’s the ring I got:

Here’s a little more about Diamond Candles:
Diamond Candles is on a mission to make home fragrance fun. We combine the scents of premium 100% soy candles with an exciting and fun RINGREVEAL™ experience. Our candles are handmade in Durham, NC and we release fresh, fruity, floral and exotic scents all year long.

Inside every deliciously fragrant Ring Candle, you’ll discover a surprise $10 ring packaged with a special code. Enter your code on our RINGREVEAL™ website to reveal if you’ve discovered a ring worth $100, $1000, or $5000. Lucky winners will choose their ring’s style and size from our exclusive ring collection.

Want to see for yourself? Watch our RINGREVEAL™ videos or go ahead and take the plunge and get your first Ring Candle today. Don’t forget to share a picture of your ring on Facebook and Instagram with #DiamondCandles and #RingReveal to be a part of the Diamond Candles story.

Free Shopular App Puts Deals At Your Fingertips!

Note: This is a compensated post. All opinions are honest and are entirely my own, unaffected by compensation.

Being a bargain lover, I’m always on the lookout for ways to save money while shopping. We regularly check store circulars, and I love a good coupon! Of course, half the time I forget to bring coupons with me, which is just one of the reasons I’m kind of in love with the Shopular app.

Shopular is a FREE top rated shopping app and has over 25,000 5-star reviews
Over 4 Million shoppers already use Shopular to save!
Shopular has over 40,000 of the top retail locations in the US in the app like Target, Walmart, Kohl’s and Macy’s
Shopular allows you to select your favorite stores so you never see unwanted deals
When you are close to one of your favorite stores or just arriving at the mall, Shopular shows you all of the deals happening that are relevant to you
Consider Shopular your personalized deal concierge, never letting you miss a deal!?

I always have my phone with me, so consolidating deals and circulars in one clean, consumer-friendly, easy-to-navigate app is incredibly appealing.

When I open the app on my phone, I’m able to quickly scroll through deals for stores that I’ve pre-selected as ones I shop at. I don’t have to filter through tons of listings to find what I like; the app does that for me. AND I selected to receive push notifications from the app, which means if I’m near Kohl’s, for example, I’ll get a message from Shopular letting me know about any sales or deals going on at Kohl’s. LOVE.

As I mentioned, though, I can also browse through weekly circulars. This is SO useful, because it’s much easier than navigating to each store’s site and trying to find the circular there; many stores don’t have mobile-friendly circulars and it can be a pain, but the Shopular app makes it easy.

I also like the social aspect of the app – commenting is pretty active within the Shopular community, and it means I might find out about other bargains that shoppers have seen (i.e. a certain item on clearance at Target).

You can download the (FREE) app from the Apple store, and be sure and keep up with Shopular on their social media channels, too:

Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | Pinterest | Tumblr

And don’t miss out on this fun contest for Halloween! I love DIY costumes and can’t wait to see the entries!

7 Beauty Essentials that Make a Relaxing Wedding Week

This post is brought to you by beautyencounter.com.

7 Beauty Essentials that Make a Relaxing Wedding Week

Planning and actual preparation for a wedding can actually bring the bride (and groom) to tons of stress and anxiety attacks. It’s only normal to feel overwhelmed with so much planning to do. But during your wedding week, relax and prepare your beauty regimen as you indulge in finding bridal cologne or pampering yourself with the most luscious hand and foot cream.

Check out these 7 beauty essentials for a stress-free and beauty-infused wedding week.

1. Clarins Cleansing Milk With Alpine Herbs. Wedding week prompts you to meet suppliers and friends for final checking and last minute bridal showers. While you look stunning in your hair and makeup everytime you go out, you also have to take care of your skin as soon as you go home. Remove excess makeup and dirt in the gentlest way by using Clarins Cleansing Milk.

2. Clarins Toning Lotion Alcohol Free with Camomile. Cleanser alone cannot give your skin the freshness it deserves after a long day. To remove excess facial wash and impurities, and to bring back normal moisture levels to your skin, apply this toning lotion from Clarins. Use a cotton ball to apply.

3. L’Occitane Shea Butter 2 Piece Hand and Foot Cream Set. Dry hands and feet? No problem! L’Occitane has something to get you moisturized in this creamy set. Filled with shea butter, these tubes are meant to nourish your hands and feet. Bring them wherever you go for any emergency situations.

4. L’Occitane Angelica Glowing Eyes Eye Roll-On. A problem for any soon-to-be-bride (and basically any woman), the eyes should be the most important aspect that needs to be revitalized. If your current eye cream isn’t working for you, switch to L’Occitane Angelica Glowing Eyes Eye Roll-On. This produces the right amount of gel to massage the eye area reducing eye puffiness, dark circles and tired eyes.

5. Cool Water by Davidoff for Women Eau de Toilette Spray. Looking for the perfect bridal fragrance on your big day? Why not spray a bit of Cool Water for Women on your wrist and neck. Perfect for your beach wedding, this scent captures the freshness of the ocean combined with pineapple, citrus and white flowers.

6. L’Occitane Aromachologie Volumizing Conditioner. Lifeless and limp hair is one of the big problems when it comes to wedding week (unless you want flat hair captured in photos and memories). Use L’Occitane Aromachologie Volumizing Conditioner to give your tresses vitality. This conditioner leaves you with nourished and subtle scented hair which is also easy to style. It’s made with essential oils and natural ingredients from Provence, France.

7. Clarins Total Body Lift Stubborn Cellulite Control. A lot of women complain about their cellulite but they’ve got no time in the world to devote in keeping themselves fit and healthy. If you’re too busy to hit the gym 24/7, help yourself out with this cellulite control product from Clarins. Stubborn cellulite will be reduced, your hips will be refined, and your skin will be smoother and more elastic just in time for your wedding.

Wedding week is a busy week for brides, but you can still enjoy shopping at your own pace and time by visiting www.beautyencounter.com. Join this month’s contest too for a chance to win a $100 amazing prize. Click here for more details.

Kmart is Halloween Central!

Note: We received costumes to facilitate our review. I was not compensated monetarily for this post. All opinions are honest and are my own.

Can you believe Halloween is in just a few weeks? I’m still slightly in denial that it’s already October (90 degree temps in Texas might contribute to that!) but we have already gotten the kids’ Halloween costumes, so I feel like we’re on top of things. With three kids, finding costumes that fit their interests and are affordable can be a challenge. Thankfully we’ve discovered that Kmart is a perfect one-stop shop for all things Halloween!

J, our 7-year-old, is into all things Pokemon, so it was a no-brainer for him; he decided to be Ash, the Pokemon trainer. He loves his costume; it came with a hat and gloves along with the shirt and pants, and he can’t wait to wear it! He even pulled out some Pokemon toys to complement the look.

C, our 5-year-old, loves Skylanders – the boys just got the new Trap Team game, so it’s especially on his mind right now! He got the Spyro costume – and boy is it a hit with him!

He thinks the hands and feet that come with it make it extra cool, and he loves it with and without the mask.

E, who’s 2, isn’t at the age yet where she requests certain costumes, so I had a lot of fun picking out this absolutely adorable strawberry costume for her.

I’ll plan to get her some green tights or leggings to wear with the costume, but since Halloween in Texas is still a pretty warm time, a sleeveless costume is great. If it does get cool, it’ll be easy to add a shirt underneath. Isn’t it SO cute, though? I love the shape of it, and the minky fabric. E’s favorite part of the whole thing was that it came with “shoes”, but I think the headband is pretty precious too!

No matter what kind of costume you’re looking for, you’re likely to find it at Kmart. They’re home to a broad collection of licensed costumes for kids and adults including top options from Spiderman, Monsters High, Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. And this year, Kmart is introducing a new line of costumes for girls from Totally Ghoul that offer 3-in-1 styles. For the price of one costume ($29.99) your daughter can have three options perfect for school, a party and trick-or-treating! As someone who loves a good bargain, a 3-in-1 costume is pretty awesome!

For those actually in charge of party planning Kmart also has decorations for both indoor and outdoor to make your house the creepiest on the block. Popular Halloween decor items this year include the Lemax Spooky Town Collection – now 25 percent off (yay, love a good sale!), and new decorations from Totally Ghoul including the Clown Playing Banjo Skeleton.

Don’t wait any longer – get ready for Halloween today! You can shop online at Kmart and have things shipped to you, or you can have things sent to your local Kmart location. And of course you can always do your shopping at your Kmart, too!

Keep up with Kmart on Facebook & Twitter, too!

Jif To Go Dippers Are the Perfect Snack for Families on the Go!

Note: I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of I nfluence-Central for Jif To Go Dippers. I received a sample to facilitate my review and a thank you item for participating.

Our family, like so many others, is busy a lot of the time. We have three kids, so we have different places to go for drop-offs and pick-ups, plus commitments for school or church or things planned with friends. So it’s really important to us that we have filling snacks to keep the kids from getting ~~hungry~~ hungry (hungry + angry = hangry, in case you didn’t know!).

We’ve tried out lots of different snack options for the kids, but there are negatives to many things we’ve tried – chips aren’t very filling and can be messy if there’s any seasoning. Fruit is a great snack when we’re at home, but is hard to take out and about because it’s perishable.

I love having Jif To Go Dippers in E’s diaper bag when we’re out running errands. I know it’ll be something that the kids have fun eating, for one thing (have you ever met a kid that doesn’t like dipping foods?), and I love that they’re getting protein with the peanut butter.

I also like to keep Jif To Go Dippers in my desk at work. There are some days when it’s incredibly busy and I just don’t have time to go out for lunch. These are a great snack to tide me over!

Jif To Go Dippers come in two flavors: creamy peanut butter, and chocolate silk peanut butter spread. The chocolate version is a perfect treat to have! I love the sweetness of the chocolate combined with the saltiness of the peanut butter and pretzels.

You can find Jif to Go Dippers at grocery stores nationwide – at our grocery store we find them on the same aisle as crackers. You can get singles or 4-packs (I’d recommend the 4-pack; you’ll want more than 1, trust me!).

And don’t forget to enter the Jif To Go photo contest! Share a picture of how you get going in the #GetGoing photo promotion! You can enter each week for a chance to win $1,000 to use for your next adventure. The contest started August 20 and runs through October 1, so #GetGoing and go enter now!

I hope you’ll enter, too! Remember, you can enter on the Jif site, or via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Here’s the Jif info all easy right at your fingertips for you:

Jif Website: http://www.jif.com/ | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jif

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jif | Instagram: http://instagram.com/jifbrand

And here’s all the Jif To Go Dippers photo competition details and guidelines: buff.ly/WT8bQR

How do you #GetGoing?

Heroic Habits with LISTERINE!

“I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for LISTERINE. I received samples for this review and a promotional item to thank me for participating.”

Our family is still a relatively young family – our oldest son, J, is 7. C is 5, and E is 2. We’re loving this stage of life, but we’re also realizing that while they’re young it’s pretty crucial to set a good foundation for them in a variety of aspects of life! We want them to have manners, to share, to be thoughtful of others. And we want to teach them now how important it is to take good care of themselves, so that they develop good habits now that they continue as they get older.

Oral health is one of those areas that we really want to instill the importance of in our kids, and we work on making sure that it’s a standard part of their evening and morning routines. We buy fun toothbrushes for the kids – I think it’s worth splurging on to get them excited about brushing – and we make up little songs to sing to help pass the time.

But even beyond brushing we know it’s important to teach them about flossing, so we’re really excited to have the LISTERINE floss for them (and us) to use! The Gentle Gum Care floss is great for little mouths. It’s soft and springy, but still really effective at removing plaque from along the gum line. And I love the LISTERINE ULTRACLEAN EASY ACCESS Flosser for myself, because it can be difficult getting floss between those back teeth!

We’re also really glad to have LISTERINE SMART RINSE for the kids to use. Brian and I both use LISTERINE mouth wash, but it’s great to have for the kids too because you know they’re not going to always do the greatest job of brushing. The SMART RINSE helps get to all the areas of the teeth and gums, and the boys think the superhero graphic on the front is pretty awesome.

LISTERINE POCKETPAKS are another product I love for our family’s oral health. They’re not just breath fresheners, friends. They actually kill 99% of germs! They’re easy to keep in my purse for whenever we’re out and about.

How do you teach good oral health to your kids? Have you started them flossing and using mouth wash yet? If you haven’t yet, I urge you to start great oral health habits now – be a healthy habit hero! Click here to see where you can find LISTERINE products near you, and be sure to check out the Healthy Habit Heroes video series too!

Say YES to Even More Savings with Kohl’s! {$250 Kohl’s Gift Card Giveaway}

Note: I received a Kohl’s gift card to try out the Yes2You program and to facilitate this post. All opinions are honest and are my own.

Our family loves Kohl’s. It has something for everyone – clothes, shoes, toys, kitchen gadgets, electronics and more. And of course, being the bargain-lover that I am, I always have fun shopping Kohl’s sales. Since we’re already such loyal Kohl’s customers, I was pretty excited to learn about their new loyalty program, Yes2You Rewards™.

The Kohl’s Yes2You Rewards™ program offers customers the opportunity to add even more value to their shopping experience with Kohl’s by earning points on every purchase – both in store and online at Kohls.com. With Yes2You Rewards, members will receive eight offers per year, a birthday gift, and opportunities to earn bonus points and surprises along the way. Additionally, there is no limit on points earned and no cost to join.

Yes2You Rewards is simple:

Save: Members receive one reward point for every one dollar spent – regardless of how they pay –and a $5 reward for every 100 points earned. In addition, members will be notified of opportunities to earn bonus points on their purchase for even more savings.
Share: For members who are in the giving spirit, Yes2You Rewards points can be shared with friends and family members who are also enrolled in the program. Alternatively, points can be donated to Kohl’s Cares to support children’s health and education initiatives nationwide.
Surprise: We would tell you more, but that would ruin the surprise!

Customers can enroll in Yes2You Rewards at any Kohl’s store nationwide, online at Kohls.com/Rewards or by downloading the Kohl’s app on any smart phone. Once signed into their Kohl’s account, Yes2You members will be able to easily track, redeem or share points.

When I first signed up for the Yes2You program, I got an email from Kohl’s sharing my first reward – 15% off my total purchase! So of course I couldn’t wait to get shopping – want to see all my finds?

Zak Recycled Melamine Mixing Bowl Set – Loooooove these!

Our five-year-old saw this ornament and fell in love with it, so we had to get it. Can’t wait to fill it with a photo of our two sweet pups!

Little E loves Minnie Mouse, and she literally squealed in excitement when I showed her these PJ’s. Love the ruffles and the polka dots!

And on the Minnie mouse kick, we found these cute sippy cups – practical and fun!

I got two sets of these Mario PJ’s (one for each of the boys) – and each set comes with two pairs of pajamas!

Shhh! Don’t tell E but we got part of her Christmas present right behind her back! This Leap Frog laptop was on sale, and I know she’ll love it!

We also found these sweet plush Elsa & Anna dolls we’ll save for her stocking.

I found her this cute Ariel gown, too – love the teal color and the sweet ruffles around the wrists!

Minecraft shirt for C – he could not wait to wear this, even though the weather doesn’t really warrant long sleeves yet. Total hit!

J picked out a Pokemon shirt and was thrilled to have found it! I have a feeling this will be worn a lot this fall and winter.

I’ve got to admit, although it’s cute, this haunted house isn’t my style. But the kids? They fell. in. love. I couldn’t resist getting it, and now it occupies a place of honor on our dining table. Seeing how excited they get every time we turn the window lights on made me fall a little in love with this house, too!

All in all I spent right around $250, and so on top of the $50 Kohl’s cash I earned, I also got $10 through the Yes2You program! I’m a huge fan. And now you can even load your Kohl’s cash right into the Kohl’s app for your iPhone, so you’ve always got it with you whenever you get the urge to shop.

I’m pretty excited to give one of you the chance to go on a great Kohl’s shopping spree by giving away a $250 Kohl’s gift card (and we all know that with Kohl’s sales and offers that $250 will go really far)! Be sure and sign up for the Yes2You Rewards program first, so you can get started earning rewards next time you shop.

How will you say YES to Kohl’s? Tell me below and get entered for your chance to win the $250 Kohl’s gift card!

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#GetGoing with Jif To Go & You could Win $1,000!

I participated in an Influencer Activation Program on behalf of Influence-Central for Jif To Go Dippers. I received a sample to facilitate my review and a thank you item for participating.

I feel like our family is almost always on the go, and I know we’re not alone. It’s easy to be busy all the time, isn’t it? I have to set reminders in my phone all the time so I don’t forget things. And we’re not even in the midst of a sports season with the kids yet! I know when the boys were playing baseball, practice days meant picking up the kids, rushing home to let the dogs out, throwing on cleats and rushing to the practice fields. I’m sure many of you can relate to that!

And of course we’ve probably all had those weeks at work where we’ve had to work through lunch to meet a deadline. I know I have, and it is not easy concentrating on an empty stomach! My work stocks some snacks, but many of the items are things like chips and cookies, things that won’t fill me up long-term (and definitely can’t help subsitute for missing lunch!). Thankfully there’s now Jif To go dippers, which are portable snack solutions that are easy for me to keep in my purse, in the car, or anywhere we might need a quick and filling snack. Each one has peanut butter packaged in portable 1.5 oz. cups, paired with pretzels. SO good!

Speaking of being on the go, Jif To Go is actually celebrating life on-the-go right now by asking fans to share a picture of how you get going in the #GetGoing photo promotion! You can enter each week for a chance to win $1,000 to use for your next adventure. The contest started August 20 and runs through October 1, so #GetGoing and go enter now!

I’m totally going to enter this contest; I’d love to win $1,000 for another family trip! Although road trips with three kids can be… loud… they’re also a chance to make all sorts of memories, too. For our next trip, I think it’d be great to take a road trip over to California and visit Disneyland. None of us have ever been, and I think it’d be a blast! I’d like us to make some stops in New Mexico, Nevada and Arizona along the way. It’d be a lot of driving, for sure – but we can stock up on Jif To Go in case we get hungry (or hangry) while on the road.

I hope you’ll enter, too! Remember, you can enter on the Jif site, or via Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram. Here’s the Jif info all easy right at your fingertips for you:

Jif Website: http://www.jif.com/ | Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Jif

Twitter: https://twitter.com/jif | Instagram: http://instagram.com/jifbrand

And here’s all the Jif To Go Dippers photo competition details and guidelines: buff.ly/WT8bQR

How do you #GetGoing?

Black & Decker Digital Blender Perfect for Moms On-the-Go!

Note: I received the blender to facilitate my review. I was not compensated monetarily for this post. All opinions are honest and are entirely my own.

Now that the school year is underway, we’re fully immersed in what I like to call the wake-and-dash routine.

This involves getting up, waking the kids up, taking the dogs out, showering and getting ready, making sure the kids have breakfast, making sure the kids are getting dressed, making lunches for the kids… you get the picture, and if you’re a parent you know all too well how much of your morning routine is taken up with thinking about the kids.

As a result, I’m often out the door with no thought of breakfast for myself, and I end up snacking on things not ideal for starting the day. I’m thrilled, though, to discover the Black and Decker BL1820SG-P Fusion Blade Digital Blender to help save my mornings.

At first glance, this might seem like your typical blender; and in reviewing it as just that, it stands up pretty great against competitors. I love the glass vessel and the plastic casing around the bottom that slips over the base and stabilizes everything. I’d buy this blender just for having a good blender.

Black & Decker takes it one step further, though – or several steps, really – by providing pre-programmed buttons and a personal smoothie jar, too. Love it!

If you’ve ever made a smoothie before, you know that you typically have to start and stop the blender several times, jostling things around to get it well-blended. No more! Just push the “smoothie program” button and you can walk away and finish one of the other million things you need to do.

If you watch the video above, you can see how simple it is – and how well it works – but you can also see my before & after pics below. I just threw in some frozen fruit and some orange juice, and ended up with a great smoothie ready to take with me!

I love that once you’re done blending you can just put on the new lid and you’re ready to go; you don’t have to try to pour it into a different cup, potentially spilling it all over the counter (ahem… speaking from experience), and you don’t have to bring a cup with no lid in the car, accidentally splattering some of the smoothie in the car (ahem… again… speaking from experience).

You can find the Black & Decker digital blender on Amazon or at Target and other retailers. You’ll love it for making your busy mornings a little less crazy, and for all the other things you can make with this high-quality blender, too.

Living Proof That You Can Have a Perfect Hair Day

Note: I participated in an Influencer Activation on behalf of Influence Central for Proof. I received product samples to facilitate my review and to thank me for my participation.

Jennifer Aniston is one of those people whose hair just always seems perfect. I can’t imagine her ever having a bad hair day, can you? Of course, I’ve always thought it’s because she has a team of stylists. I didn’t know she also had an arsenal of hair care products that I can get my hands on, too! She’s co-owner of a hair care company called Living Proof.

When my Living Proof Perfect hair Day (PhD) products arrived, I couldn’t wait to give them a try! I’ve never had the best luck with my hair. My roots get oily really quickly, which means I end up washing my hair every day, but then my hair can end up dry and frizzy, which is a problem on the opposite end of the spectrum. Frustrating!

The new PhD (Perfect hair Day) line includes a shampoo, conditioner, and 5-in-1 Styling Treatment. I like that it all works together, because if you’re using products from different lines you never know how they’ll work together (or against each other). The PhD products work seamlessly to treat and style hair. They deliver smoothness, volume, conditioning, strength, and polish all in one product set.

As someone who, like I mentioned above, has to wash my hair daily, I’m also excited to learn that the PhD shampoo shampoo and conditioner keep hair cleaner longer, which means it’ll reduce the need to wash my hair as often. I also love that they’re sulfate-free, oil-free, and silicone-free. I feel really good about using these products on my hair!

I’m really liking the 5-in-1 Styling Treatment, too. It’s easy to put it on my hair right after I get out of the shower, and with my blowdryer and a round brush I’m able to achieve a nice, sleek style. The styling treatment also has heat protection, UV protection, and static control – and it’s oil-free and silicone-free, too!

Take a look and see how Living Proof Styling Treatment can work for you, thanks to Jennifer Aniston’s stylist:

I’ve noticed that my hair feels thicker and does stay clean longer between washings, and I’ve only been using the Perfect hair Day line for a week! I’m really looking forward to seeing how it goes over the next few weeks, and onward.

Do you want to see a change in your hair? I hope you’ll take the Living Proof hair challenge with me by trying out the great products – and you can sign up to win a set of PhD products on their site, too! Just click here to enter.

Keep up with Living Proof on social media, too! You can find them on:

Facebook | Twitter | Pinterest | Instagram