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Frugal Novice

Meaningful Beauty: Making a Change in My Skin Care

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As a teenager I always loved trying new beauty products – I had the time to spend on my skin and hair, and I tried all sorts of things. Face masks, hot oil treatments for my hair, and many other items ended up being unofficially tested by me and my friends.

Now that I’m older and so much busier, my beauty routine has definitely taken a back seat to everything else. I wash my face morning and nighttime, and if my skin feels rough I use a moisturizer. That’s about the extent of my skin care – or at least it has been until now. I recently got selected to participate in a test drive for Meaningful Beauty products, and am looking forward making a conscious effort to take care of my skin.

I just turned 30 so it’s definitely on my mind that I want to prevent wrinkles and keep my skin youthful. At this point, I haven’t noticed too many wrinkles. My biggest skin complaint is large pores, which I would love to improve. I will take a before picture to save and post with an after picture, and I’ll share those with you in a few weeks when I talk about my experience with the products.

The Meaningful Beauty product line focuses on five steps: cleanse, protect, repair, revitalize, and purify. The products were developed by Cindy Crawford and French doctor Dr. Jean-Louis Sebagh. Here are the products I’m getting to try, and descriptions of them from the Meaningful Beauty site.

Skin-Softening Cleanser

This mild, non-irritating face cleanser is designed to provide a healthy clean without stripping skin of natural oils. Its creamy, non-foaming texture sweeps away makeup and impurities, leaving skin clean and glowing, not tight and dry.

Antioxidant Day Creme SPF 20 UVA/UVB

Give your skin a daily dose of anti-aging ingredients to clarify, brighten and even skin tone. This anti-wrinkle crème combines our breakthrough antioxidant complex with a botanical blend that helps hydrate and revitalize skin. Formulated with SPF 20, it’s also designed to shield against UVA/UVB damage.

Lifting Eye Creme

Improve the appearance of puffiness, dark circles and crow’s feet with our Lifting Eye Crème. This unique antioxidant complex helps address the signs of aging while refreshing, soothing and moisturizing tired eyes. Carefully selected botanicals pamper and brighten, so eyes feel tightened and lifted.

Glowing Serum
Dr. Sebagh calls this his “red carpet secret” because it is designed to smooth and condition while encouraging cell renewal to help restore skin’s natural vitality and brightness. Formulated with soy protein, marine botanicals and antioxidants to help nourish, protect and revitalize your complexion, leaving it with a youthful, luminous glow.

As a part of participating in this program, I got a second set of products to share with someone meaningful in my life. I decided to give my set to Stephanie, who I’ve been friends with for over four years and is definitely an important person to me. She always makes me laugh and gets my goofy sense of humor, and is an encourager and motivator when I need it most. She also loves a good beauty product as much as I do, so I knew she would really enjoy giving Meaningful Beauty a try (I was right – she’s already said she really likes the set).

I’m looking forward to following the morning and night routines (both of which are pretty quick to complete, a vital characteristic to me) and watching for changes over the next few weeks. Be sure and keep an eye out for my follow-up post next month to get my opinions!

Note: I wrote this review while participating in a test drive campaign by Mom Central Consulting on behalf Meaningful Beauty and received a 5-step treatment kit to facilitate my review, a second 5-step treatment kit to giveaway, and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.

 

Save Money on Baby Items at Sam’s Club

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Once we had kids, we quickly realized how these tiny little people can require an amazingly large amount of stuff. From diapers and wipes to baby food and more, there’s always something they need. I, of course, am always on the hunt for the cheapest prices and best deals. Well, Sam’s Club is making it even easier for moms. Don’t miss out on precious moments by wasting hours at the grocery store and fussing over budgets. Discover an easy way to save on baby essentials from P&G by buying them in bulk at Sam’s Club this month! Purchase all the basics for baby at your local Sam’s Club store to save time and money with a limited-time $10 Gift Card offer.

Stock up on P&G products at Sam’s Club in February so you can afford to give your baby quality products AND spend less time hunting for deals!
Pick up any two of the following baby products to receive a $10 Sam’s Club Gift Card toward your purchase made between Feb 1st and Feb 29th:

  • Pampers Swaddlers or Pampers Cruisers Diapers
  • Pampers SoftCare™ Scented Baby Wipes
  • Similac Advance Powder or Similac Sensitive Powder
  • Dreft Liquid Laundry Detergent

Register for your Gift Card at SamsClub.com/giftcardoffer by March 14, 2012

Pretty great, right? So not only can you stock up on products and find great prices… you’re also able to get additional money back in the form of a gift card. I love deals like that.

Guess what? Right now I get to host a giveaway for $25 in gift cards to Sam’s Club!

One lucky reader will win two gift cards to Sam’s Club that total $25 in value. Perfect to stock up on baby items – or whatever you need! This contest is open to all US residents 18+. Entries will be accepted until the end of the day (midnight Central) Monday, February 27. By entering this giveaway, you agree to the Official Rules.

Mandatory Entry: Comment on this post telling answering this question: Which of the participating P&G baby essentials are you most looking forward to stocking up on during the February promotion at Sam’s Club?

(Only valid after the required entry has been completed)

Please leave a comment for each extra entry – if you blog about this giveaway and get 2 entries, for example, comment 2 times.

Note: The information and giveaway for this post have been provided by Sam´s Club and P&G through MyBlogSpark.

 

Pet Supply Shopping

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We have two dogs, Sally (our Lab puppy, about 7 months old) and Josie (our miniature dachshund, 7 years old). When we just had Josie, we really didn’t have to buy food very often. A big bag would last us a long time, so shopping for her didn’t really seem like an issue at all.

Once Sally joined our family and quickly grew (and grew…and grew…) we started realizing that big dogs = more food. Yup, we’re smart like that. This meant more trips to the store, and more lugging home heavy bags of grub for her.

I don’t know why shopping for their food online hadn’t really occurred to us. I’m a big fan of online shopping for lots of things, from gifts to books to diapers. Regardless, we hadn’t ever shopped for the dogs online – until being introduced to Mr.Chewy.

I got the chance to review their site, and was really curious to see if the prices would compare to our typical store experience. I think I actually went into the whole experience a little skeptical, wondering if there’d really be savings or if we’d end up paying more in the end.

We ordered a bag of food for each of the dogs:

We got Pedigree Small Breed for Josie, and IAMS Proactive Health for Large Breed Puppies for Sally. Sally’s food was $25.99 for a 17.5 pound bag, and Josie’s was $20.99 for a 15.9 pound bag. When I compare those prices to the store we typically shop at, the prices at Mr.Chewy were about $2.00 more for each bag. But, if I signed up for recurring shipments (which can be canceled at any time) I saved an additional 15%, bringing the cost down to less than at the store. I’m not sure how prices on other items compare, but that extra 15% off can really make a difference.

Plus, Mr.Chewy provides free shipping on any order over $49. I scoped it out and that’s a much better deal than a major pet supplier’s site, where they offer $5.99 shipping on orders over $60.

Mr.Chewy also has a ton of brands available, which is great especially for people who live in small towns and might not have a wide variety to choose from locally. You’ll find brands like:

I’m a huge fan of Mr.Chewy now and we will definitely be buying dog food and other pet supplies there in the future. With our first order it took less than a week to arrive. The convenience of having the heavy bags delivered right to our door for cheaper than in-store is really appealing! I’d recommend giving their site a try.

Note: I received products to facilitate my review. All opinions in this post are honest and are my own.

Cleaning Calendar – February {Free Printable}

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Are you looking for the latest version of my free printable cleaning calendar? Click here to get the newest PDF – one you can use for each month!

Thanks so much to everyone for feedback on last month’s calendar! I meant to get this month’s calendar up on Tuesday but it’s been a crazy week with an ER visit and getting our house ready to sell (which means even MORE cleaning).

You’ll notice it’s not a lot different from last month’s, although I did build in a day off for Valentine’s Day. If you want to go ahead and clean, you can fill in that day with whatever task seems most pressing.

Click here to download the February 2012 calendar. Happy cleaning!!

Edited to add: Thanks to Chris from Hampton Roads Mom for passing along this great tip for cleaning ceiling fans: Take a pillow case, put the blade into the case, close it, and pull the case along the top/bottom. All of the dust stays contained and doesn’t wind up on your (ultimately, freshly made) bed or just-vacuumed floor. 

Home Renovations – Before & After Pics

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Wow, it’s been a couple of days since I’ve posted! In case you’ve wondered where I’ve disappeared to, it’s off into the depths of prepping our house to sell it – which is not fun, I’ve learned, even before actually listing it. It’s been a lot of work getting it ready.

The bulk of our work has been in the master bathroom. It was in a STATE when we bought it, complete with:

  • CARPET. Why, people, why?
  • Peeling floral wallpaper.
  • Rusted sink.
  • Vanity falling apart, painted white but with dusty rose pink spots showing through various scratches.
  • OLD toilet that shall not be discussed any further. Yes, it was gross.
  • NO outlet, aside from one on the light fixture up high above the mirror held with clips to the wall.

Now that we’re done with it, we’ve put in:

  • Travertine floors – love them!
  • New free-standing vanity with granite counter & undermounted sink.
  • Wall outlet near vanity.
  • New light fixture.
  • Painted walls and new wainscoting.
  • New toilet.
  • Crown molding.
  • New shelf and towel racks.

I painted, but Brian did the bulk of the work. I am really happy with how it turned out (and thankful for a handy husband)!

Before:

After:

A while back we redid our hall bath, too. It was (yeehaw) Texas themed, and also had carpet. Brian installed a slate floor and backsplash, new counter, hardware, and new sink. And we definitely painted over the navy walls.

Before:

After:

I’m also proud of what we’ve done to the outside of the house – when we bought it the trim didn’t match the garage doors and it drove me nuts. I think a fresh coat (well, 3-5 coats) of white paint and some black shutters made a nice update, don’t you? We also removed some chunky forest green house numbers from the garage (photoshopped out of the picture below) and added a more modern take with brushed nickel numbers on a red board that matches the red of our front door.

Before:

After:

So anyway, there’s my excuse for being MIA lately, and for – yet again – falling behind with my daily photos! We still have a few projects left to do – it’ll be time to hit up the home improvement stores again! I even found a 10% off + free shipping coupon from Home Depot. Gotta love saving money! Once our projects are done, it’ll just be a matter of maintaining a clean house. That is sure to be a breeze with two little boys, right?

Getting Frugal With Bunk Beds

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When you mix the word “frugal” together with the words “bunk beds”, the first thing that comes to mind is usually a set of boring wooden twin bunks that you’d see in a local campsite. These days, however, bunk beds are being manufactured with the end consumer in mind, and nowadays people are looking for something better. You can find cheap bunk beds that are stunning and modern without having to break the bank.

Secondhand bunks

Kids can outgrow bunk beds very quickly so it is quite easy to find secondhand bunks on classified ad sites on the Internet. While you probably will want to replace the mattresses, you can purchase a cheap frame that is stylish. It’s easy to wash down these frames so that you don’t have any concern about germs or bacteria. They are available online in both traditional wood designs and in modern metal tubing bunks.

Online stores

You’ll often find bunk beds at a cheaper price on the Internet, even once you have factored in the cost of shipping. Online stores buy bunks directly from the manufacturer, which cuts down on the overhead significantly. If you were to buy a bed from a retail store in your local area, you would be paying for the utility costs, the rental and leasing costs and the overall upkeep of the store itself. This is not to mention the wages for the employees or the shipping costs to get the bed from the manufacturer to the store.

Sales

From time to time you can find fantastic sales in stores where bunk beds are marked down to almost a wholesale price. These sales don’t come along too often, however, and when you find that you’re in need of a bunk bed you’re not usually in a situation where you can wait too long.

When you’re looking for cheap bunk beds make sure that you take proper measurements before heading out to look for them or searching for them online. Bunk beds come in all different shapes and sizes these days and it can get quite confusing once you start shopping to envision how they would fit into the room. This is, in fact, one of the most important things that you can do before you start shopping. It will be a quite a situation if you happen to fall in love with a set of bunks only to find out later that they simply cannot fit into the room as imagined.
If you haven’t seen bunk beds recently, you’re in for a treat. The old style of campsite bunk beds are still available, but there are also stylish and modern bunks that can fit into the decor of any bedroom.

I Love Avocados

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Avocados from Mexico for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

It’s true, I do. I have to admit it wasn’t love at first sight. It wasn’t until, as a newlywed, my husband encouraged me to give them a try. Since then, I’ve been a huge fan! On burgers, on sandwiches, on tacos, with rice, by themselves, and most definitely in a freshly made guacamole, I absolutely adore adding Avocados from Mexico to my food.

If you’ve never tried making homemade guacamole before, by the way, you should go for it – it’s amazing! We make ours with 5 avocados, the juice of two limes, half a can of Rotel w/ cilantro & lime juice, minced red onion, minced garlic, chopped fresh cilantro and salt to taste. You can also add diced jalapeno if you want a little extra spice.

Do you love avocados too? Apparently we’re not alone. Over 27,000 people like the “Avocados From Mexico” page on Facebook! This page makes it easy for us avocado fans to share the love – they have ringtones, wallpapers, and badges you can download for free. I got one of the free ringtones. All I had to do was scan the QR code with my smart phone, fill in my email address, and they sent the ringtone right to me.

I also found this cute badge that I think I should add to every recipe I post with avocados in it:

Do you love avocados too? Visit the I love avocados on Facebook page, catch them on Twitter at @guacgrl, and tweet the love using the hashtag #iloveavocados.

Visit Sponsor's Site

Baby Bullet Winner

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Congratulations to….

It’s That Time of Year Again – Filing Taxes

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Filing taxes can be a nerve-wracking process. You want to make sure you’re taking all the deductions available to you, but you also want to make sure you’re filing correctly. Some people choose to go with an accounting firm to handle taxes, and some use a program to do theirs on their own. We are really grateful to have an accountant in the family who handles our taxes for us.

If you’re handling your taxes on your own this year, there are a lot of good resources online for guiding you. Just make sure you consider the source before you take advice from any online entity. The IRS actually has a really impressive pool of Tax Tips, with articles on everything from “Tax Tips Regarding Income” to “IRS Reminds Parents of Ten Tax Benefits.” I was impressed with the wealth of information provided on this site alone – and you can definitely feel confident in any information you pull from the IRS directly. They even have a smartphone app called IRS2Go that allows you interact with the IRS using your mobile device. The app can help you get your refund status and tax updates. IRS2Go is available for the iPhone or iTouch and the Android. Isn’t that cool?

Most importantly, though, make sure you don’t have unfiled tax returns! I remember seeing on the news that a winner of Survivor hadn’t paid taxes on his winnings, had to hire a tax attorney, and was going to jail. The penalties for not filing taxes are way too serious – make sure you get it taken care of! I always think it’s better to get it done as early as possible so it’s out of your hair and one less thing on your plate. If it seems really complicated, go to a professional. You may spend money having your taxes prepared, but the peace of mind will be worth it.

How do you handle taxes? Do you file on your own, or use a professional?

Wordless Wednesday: One Smart Puppy

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She figured out the best spot to be at lunchtime pretty quickly – by the messiest eaters!

Valentine’s Day Gift Ideas

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I know people either love or hate Valentine’s Day. I fall in the former category. I get that it’s a contrived holiday, that it was created to give people more reasons to shop, but I don’t care. I love the idea of a day set apart to focus on expressing love.

Brian and I don’t make a big fuss out of the day, but we usually exchange cards and have a date. In college we’d set price limits and have to make gifts for each other, which was a lot of fun. Since he loves to play video games, several years back I got him Lego Star Wars so we could play together. Not something I’d pick, necessarily, but it was right up his alley and showed him I paid attention to what he liked. And it really was fun playing together, even if I’m pretty awful at it.

When it comes to gifts for me, I’m pretty simple. Flowers are always a favorite, of course, and anything handmade. And now that we have kids, I love trying to think of creative ideas to do for them. Last year on Valentine’s Day I was sick with the flu, so I just lined their trains up to make a heart and stuck some store-bought treats in the middle. I like sending Valentine’s treats to my 90-year-old grandma too – it’s so easy to send cookies or flowers by post now and get them to her quickly. Plus, it’s always fun to get good mail, right?

I thought it’d be fun to share a few Valentines Day ideas to get your creativity going.

For Him:

A book made out of a deck of cards, highlighting 52 reasons you love him! I think this is so cute – and who doesn’t want to hear a ton of reasons they are loved?

For Kids:

I love this idea! I think it’d be fun to get a cheap bucket too and stick a few other goodies in there. The candy can be enjoyed right away and the shovel can be saved for a trip to the beach!

For Your Kids’ Friends:

We are SO making these valentines this year!! Simple, personalized and adorable. LOVE!

Note: Be sure and click the photos to go to their sources and get tips on how to make each of the projects.

Get Your Craft on with Factory Direct Craft!

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I’ve always loved crafting. From painting pottery to decoupaging to paper crafts and more, I’ve discovered how FUN it is to create something that I can give to family or friends, or enjoy for myself! I’ve learned how to mimic expensive products for a fraction of the cost, plus I really just like the idea of adding a personal touch to things.

I mentioned that I love creating things for a fraction of the cost of retail prices, but the key to being able to do that is finding craft supplies at affordable prices to keep the cost down. It’s great ordering online because it makes it easy to hunt down the best prices.

Speaking of crafts, I thought I’d share some of the fun ideas I found on the Factory Direct Craft blog. Both of the ideas are simple and would be great to do with your kids!

The first craft I came across was the idea of making your own stamps with a hot glue gun.

Of course, be sure to have an adult around for using a hot glue gun, but seriously – how cute (and frugal) of an idea is this? You could even print out a design template and use a sharpie to trace it until it bleeds onto the surface for the stamp. You could do names (don’t forget to do them backward) or a special symbol. This is a great way to personalize a project, and uses mostly items you’d already have around the house!

The next idea I found is SO easy and I’m smacking myself for not already thinking of it. I love baking goodies for friends, but always end up putting them on bland disposable plates so I don’t have to worry about getting my plate back.  Why not dress up disposable plates with ribbon?

Just think – it’d be easy to use ribbon specific to the occasion! Christmas, Valentine’s Day, birthdays and more can all be easily recognized by picking the right ribbon. I’ll definitely be using this idea!

What’s your favorite craft? I’m always looking for something new to try!