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Frugal Novice

Adventures in Legoland (Florida)

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I think I’ve mentioned before what a huge Lego fan my husband is.Now that we have the boys, Legos are even more prominent in our house! We have a Lego table in our living room, if that tells you anything! We’ve been to the Legoland Discovery Centers in Schaumburg, IL and in Grapevine, TX but were really excited to finally get the chance to visit Legoland in Winter Haven while we were on our trip to Florida.

Legoland is the perfect theme park to visit with small children, whether you’re big Lego fans or not. For one thing, the size isn’t overwhelming. We arrived around 10:30 and they closed at 5:00 that day, and it was plenty of time to do everything we wanted and ride some rides twice. J rode his first rollercoaster EVER and absolutely loved it! What I loved was that there were plenty of rides C could be a part of, too, so it truly was a place for the whole family.

There are also play areas all around, providing parents with a chance to sit and watch the kids run around (and burn off energy). The food offerings were all high quality (albeit a little pricy). Our pizza at lunch was great, and we really enjoyed a snack of apple fries complete with a side of fresh whipped cream.

Of course, one of our favorite parts walking around was noticing all of the amazing Lego sculptures. The detail to these is insane, and they’re so well done!

Here’s Brian with J next to a dinosaur (notice J’s face paint? He got a dragon, and was SO proud) – look at all of the shading done with various Lego colors… so amazing, right?

J with the pizza man outside the restaurant where we ate lunch:

We really got a kick out of the life-sized Ford Explorer, since that’s what we got to drive for our trip. I can’t believe what a good job they did of replicating the vehicle!

There’s a whole section of Legoland where they create mini-versions of famous buildings and landmarks. We spent a lot of time wandering around this area, and Brian said he could’ve stayed a lot longer!

New York City:

Statue of Liberty:

Capitol Building:

Hollywood Bowl:

The “Legowood” sign:

I totally got the theme song to Full House in my head while looking at these Victorians:

There were fun details all over, too – like this girl tripping and her soda shooting out of the bottle:

Besides all the Legos to look at, we rode a ton of rides – several rollercoasters (including the one I mentioned before), train rides, boats, racetracks, horses, fire trucks, and more. We had a blast!

I’d highly recommend making the trip over to Winter Haven if you’re in Florida. It’s a 45-minute drive from the Orlando area, which is an easy trip to make especially since the park has shorter hours of operation (during fall/winter season, anyway).

Note: We received free tickets to Legoland to facilitate our review. All opinions are honest and are our own. We were not compensated monetarily for this post.

Congratulations! – Sears, Kmart, & Green Giant Giveaway Winners

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Congratulations to all the winners!! Thanks to everyone who entered!

I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas {Eve}

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Two little boys (and their dog) are a little excited that it’s snowing on Christmas Eve.

Personal Creations Winner

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Congratulations!!

Muppets Holiday Activity Pack {Free Download!}

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Love the Muppets? Looking for something fun to do with your kids? Click here to download a free activity pack, including coloring sheets, mazes, snowflakes, ornaments and more!

Happy Holidays!!

Anew Ultimate – Pampering Age Repair

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I think most, if not all of us have heard of Avon. I used to get lip glosses from a friend that was a rep, and always had fun looking through Avon catalogs. I had no clue what a huge variety of items they have now, from their mark line, to Skin So Soft, to Anew.

Now that I’m thirty, I have started thinking about taking care of my skin so I can age gracefully (I didn’t get to do that as a teenager – hello, acne! – so I think I will try to do it as an adult).  I got the chance to try some of the Anew Ultimate products, and was eager to see if I’d be able to notice a difference in my skin.

I’ve been using it for several weeks now, and I am really pleased with the results. I’ve been using the Day Cream (with SPF 25) and Night Cream, along with the Total Body Age Defy Cream. Since I have oily skin, I just use the day cream every other day, but I use the night cream and body cream daily.

Aside from the age repair aspect, I almost immediately noticed that it made a big difference in the dryness of my skin. Despite having oily skin, I do tend to get dry patches both on my face and arms during the winter. These creams have knocked that out, and my skin feels pampered as a result. I don’t really have wrinkles yet, aside from a few “laugh lines” at my eyes, but I can tell a difference in skin quality and feel like using the cream is a good preventative method with wrinkles.  I plan to keep using the creams so that my skin stays hydrated and healthy. That in itself is good for age repair, aside from the exclusive pro-sirtuin technology, which is formulated to help boost Sirtuin youth proteins at the gene level to help strengthen skin structure and radically improve the look of your body contours.

Note: I received an Anew Ultimate Kit to facilitate my review. All opinions are honest and are my own. I was not compensated monetarily for this post.

Perfect Stocking Stuffer for Any Female on Your List – Sally Hansen Nail Polish Strips

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I love having the look of manicured nails, but I’ve never had the skills to do a good job on my own… until now. The Sally Hansen Salon Effects Real Nail Polish Strips make it easy for anyone. I love these and think they’d be a perfect stocking stuffer! They also have holiday editions out, like this great candy cane pattern:

These are meant for your fingernails, but I’ve even used them for my toenails and got TONS of compliments:

I topped them with a couple of coats of clear nail polish and they lasted for a really long time – way longer than the 10 days they advertise. When I did go get a pedicure, they came off easily with remover, because these really are strips of nail polish as opposed to stickers or something like that. I love the variety of patterns you can get with the strips! Which kind would you pick? Check out all the options on the Sally Hansen site.  These strips can be found at most drugstores, at Target, Walmart, and at cosmetic stores like Ulta.

ZAGGMate Adds a Whole New Level to the iPad

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Brian and I love our iPad for all it can do, but there are some limitations – namely, the on-screen keyboard can be tiring to use for composing emails, or for using word processing or spreadsheet apps.

The ZAGGmate is an all-in-one case and Bluetooth keyboard for the iPad (available for the iPad 2 as well). As far as iPad accessories go, it’s one that tops my list as both useful and well-designed.

The keyboard is slim and is nested within a case.

The iPad fits neatly face-down into the case when you’re not using it; the metal case is sturdy without being bulky or heavy, and provides a nice level of protection for your screen. Of course, to me the case function is secondary to the keyboard. If you notice the plastic tab that says “ZAGG” in the photo above, that gets folded up to serve as a surface for propping the iPad up, while you nest it into a channel right in front of it.

The result is the feel of a small laptop; there are no cords needed because the keyboard connects wirelessly via Bluetooth. I can’t say enough how much value the ZAGGmate adds to the iPad. Once it’s contained within the case, it takes up very little space, making it easy to transport with you virtually anywhere.

It charges via USB and so far we’ve been impressed with how long it lasts before needing to charge again – it goes a couple of weeks, and provides a light to let us know when the battery is getting low. Even after seeing the notice, we still have a good 2-3 days of use left.

If you’re looking for the perfect gift for any iPad owner in your life, I  would highly recommend the ZAGGmate. They’ll love you for it – and will easily be able to email you to tell you so!

Note: We received the ZAGGmate to facilitate our review. All opinions in this post are honest and are those of me and my husband. We were not compensated monetarily for this post.

Santa Baby Blogger Mashup!

Before I started blogging, I had no clue about how many amazing bloggers there are out there (tons, by the way!) but now I’ve been blessed to get to know great bloggers and blogs. Quite a few of us from all over have teamed up to spread a little Christmas cheer your way – via song, of course! Think we ought to join up and go on tour? :)

Below the video is a list of bloggers in order of their appearance – hope you’ll pop in and say hi to everyone! Thanks especially to Toni for putting the video together and coming up with the great idea to begin with!

A Daily Dose of Toni
Nuggle Mama
Fab Grandma
The Mom Buzz
MomDot
Yellow Tennessee
My Little Me
Mom On Review
Frugal Novice
Frosted Fingers
The Suburban Mom
Moscato Mom
Write Spell
Lindsay Blogs
Beautiful Side of Hectic
Not Quite Susie Homemaker

Ten {Oh-So-Fun} Creative & Easy Christmas Desserts

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I love Christmas. I love baking. And I sure do love dessert. So this post just called to me, really. I’ve gathered 10 of the most creative Christmas dessert ideas I’ve come across to share with you. They all look pretty easy, too, which is a plus during the busy holidays. Enjoy!

1 . Donut Snowmen. I had to list this one first, because it knocked my socks off with how simple {and adorable} it is! I was sure this was some complicated cookie recipe when I first saw the photo. Nope… three ingredients, people! Powdered donuts, candy corn, and melted chocolate. Love it! This recipe, and several other cute ideas, can be found at Pizzazzerie.


2. Christmas Tree Cheesecake Pops. Another easy idea. Either make your favorite cheesecake, or buy one from the store. Cut slices and freeze them until they’re firm, stick in a popsicle stick, then dip in either chocolate or white chocolate, and drizzle with green-tinted almond bark. You could use mini M&M’s as lights, or dot dabs of icing as seen in the photo above. Either way, cute and delicious. Seen at Taste of Home.

3. Cookie Cutter Fudge. I am seriously considering making this for my coworkers, if I can find inexpensive cookie cutters. Just make your fudge and pour it into cookie cutters (this 18-piece cookie cutter set at Amazon is a great deal) on wax paper to set, then place candies as desired to decorate. The recipients get a treat and can use the cookie cutters for years to come! A friend also told me she did brownies this way, and baked them in the cookie cutters. The fudge idea was found from Betty Crocker – they’ve got a ton of other fun holiday dessert ideas, too.

4. Peanut Butter Reindeer Cookies. You can go homemade or semi-homemade {hi, Sandra Lee!} with these, but either way they’re adorable and a crowd-pleaser. I had some at my office party today that used regular pretzels, and they were still really good. The recipe can be found at Bakergirl.

5. Coconut Snowman. I have to admit that a Martha Stewart recipe seems inherently complicated, but this is really cute and can easily be modified for normal people like us. Martha makes hers with ice cream rolled in coconut, but you could also do cake balls. You can be creative with how to make the nose and eyes (I know I, for one, don’t have marzipan easily accessible), and I think it’d be just as cute with an un-toasted marshmallow hat. Love the overall idea, though! Details are on the Martha Stewart site.

6. Fruit Tree. Yes, this is basically an edible arrangement. But still, it’s creative, cute, easy, and is a healthy alternative to all the heavy desserts in abundance. A foam cone, fruit, toothpicks and a star-cookie cutter are all you need. Find out all the how-to info at Ginger & Garlic.


7. Christmas Tree Cookies. I found this at Better Homes & Gardens, and love the monkey-bread-esque design – you could totally pull these cookies apart to snack on them. And you could definitely make these with pre-made cookie dough if you don’t have the time to work from scratch, although you’d have to use a mix to do the green color. I think this would be a big hit with kids!

8. Santa Hat Brownie Bites. How cute are these? I first saw them at my office party. You can bake your brownies in a mini-muffin tin, or bake a pan and then cut out circles with a cookie cutter, then add strawberries and use melted white chocolate or cream cheese frosting to decorate/bind. I had them with cream cheese frosting, but this recipe at Sweet Tooth suggests the white chocolate. Either way, sure to be delicious – and a huge hit at parties. I’m totally making some to send up to my husband’s office!

9. Reindeer Noses. That is, if you stick with red M&M’s. :) Regardless, I love the way these treats look! We make a very similar treat with pretzels, Rolo caramel candies and pecans, but I really like the graphic punch the design of these provide. Find out more at House on Hilltop.

10. Three-Ingredient Peppermint Truffles. Yep, that’s right. Three ingredients! I love the way the red/white looks against the dark chocolate, and of course chocolate and peppermint are always a perfect pairing! These would make a great gift or perfect party fare. You can get the ingredient list at Bakers Royale. And if you want cute boxes to deliver your goodies in, here’s a link with some great options.

Happy holiday baking – and gifting!

Ten-Christmas-Desserts

Energizer & Chuck E. Cheese Winners

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Congrats, ladies!!

 

May the {Holiday} Force be With You

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When you’ve got a husband that’s a huge Star Wars fan, it’s not surprising to end up with {awesome} holiday decor like this:

“Holiday cheer to your home, these snowflakes will bring.”  – Santa Yoda

If you want to make your own Star Wars snowflakes, go here for printable templates. You’ll want to have a sharp X-Acto blade on hand for some of the more intricate parts!

Note: Thanks to Brian for inspiring today’s post!