Try this: Cardstore.com

I just sent an Easter card to a friend for FREE! Free card, Free shipping, Free stamp! It should arrive in their mailbox just in time for some Easter love! How did I achieve this awesome deal?


In celebration of Easter, Cardstore.com is offering another FREE card with FREE shipping today, 3/26, and tomorrow, 3/27, only.
Use the code CCE2326 to get the FREE card.
There will be 50,000 free cards given out each day, so if they run out today you can try again tomorrow.

Missed this Easter Promotion? Cardstore.com has MANY discounts and giveaways through out the year! Keep them on your watch list :) The Quality is great, the deals are AMAZING, and they always arrive in perfect condition :) I am very happy with this company :)

Try this: Cardstore FREE card giveaway!

HAPPY LEAP YEAR DAY!!!!!!!!

Happy Birthday to all the Leap Year babies out there! February is a very special day to be born and deserves special recognition (since it only comes once every four years!). My Grandfather (on my father's side) was born on February 29th, and would be "21" today! Happy Birthday Pappa! We miss you and are so happy you are with Grandma Sweetie in heaven!


Well, I found a company that believes, like me, birthdays should be celebrated and recognized: CardStore! And in honor of 2/29/2012, they are giving away FREE cards! You can customize a birthday card (words and pictures and all!) and at check out, just type in the code for your FREE card! It has FREE delivery too! How sweet are they!

http://www.cardstore.com/

code: CCC2029
exp: 2/29/12 only! or till 29,000 cards have been given away.

Happy Valentine's Day!

My husband and I got an early start to celebrating our first Valentine's day as a married couple! With his job ending late most nights and the crowds Valentine's always brings to restaurants, we thought it would be best to have a nice dinner out on Saturday (instead of Tuesday, Feb 14th)! Oh was it heavenly! We ate at Taverna Agora and indulged our selves fat and happy with excellent Greek cuisine! And let me just say, when they say the leg of lamb is delicious and simply falls of the bone, they aren't kidding! It was enough to make your mouth water and your taste buds jump in delight! I am just so blessed to have a husband that enjoys food, and knows it is a treat to be enjoyed fully. I think that is important in staying healthy, while being foodies like us! Nothing wrong with a food treat every once in a while, as long as you know it is just that.

The following day, I wanted to surprise my love with a little 3-2-1 cake, that had my own Valentine's twist. It was delicious every one!

I just popped some frozen strawberries and a little sugar into a microwave safe bowl. Heated that up for a min or so. Mashed up the strawberries (and sugared to taste, though they didn't need much!). Then made my 3-2-1 cakes in a ramekin. Popped out each cake on to a plate. Drizzled chocolate syrup over each, and topped them off with the strawberries!

What special things have you made for your Valentine's Day Sweetheart? Share your stories in our Comment Section below!!!!

Try this: Tiny Prints

All through out my life I have never been really good at keeping up with Snail Mail. I always get super excited at first, then I lose steam and forget or misplace my half written letters. Not cool. So, I have been trying to be a good "Newly Wife" and write thank you notes, holiday cards, and keep up with pen pals as soon as I remember. It went well for months 1-7. Then there was some serious problems with the postal system (letters being lost or taking far too long to be delivered), which only lead to some confusion and having to rewrite... which put me behind! Needless to say, I became disorganized and procrastinated. BUT I AM BACK!

And enough about me. I wanted to share about this company that helped me get excited about cards again! It's called Tiny Prints! They are a sweet company that really produces quality with excellent service! Plus, you get to personalize your cards with MORE than just words! Insert pictures, and get the address typed on the envelope (fit just for your card) are all things that are included in the card price! Cards, Invitations, Photo Books, Announcements, Gifts... Tiny Prints has it all! I have been very please with their products and recommend them!
One more tip: Every now and then they give away free cards! So sign up! And you can see their quality for your self!


Free Super Rush Delivery Code Giveaway to first person who uses it!!
Get your next order in just 2 days!
Code: VMP4FFC262 | Ends: 3/31 | One-Time Use Only

Sad you missed the above Code? Well here is another one for all!
20% off Tiny Print's ENTIRE Valentine's Day Collection!
Code: love20 | Ends: 2/14 

*****************************************************

Hey Friends! Use my link to Tiny Prints to save up to $20 off your first order!!!!! (valid for a limited time only!)
http://tinyprints.tellapal.com/a/clk/X24bX

Try this: Target Guide to Discount Shopping

I can't take any credit for this one, but I just had to share this site from Mommy Savers when I found it! I live like 2 minutes from Target and I swear they should be paying ME to shop there with the amount of money and time we spend there! So this site tells you some insider tips on how to Shop Target the discounted smart way, and also gives you some "markdown schedules" (who knew! I also thought it was random! and luck haha) and Other hints to getting the most bang for your Target buck!
http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif
Check it out!
http://www.mommysavers.com/2011/01/deals-at-target-clearance/

Try this: Wedding Photo Book

Before we were even married, I knew what I was going to give our parents and grandparents for Christmas this year. Call me crazy, but when you plan your own wedding, you get "planning for the future" ideas like this! So I decided to make a photo book out of our wedding pictures as gifts! Photo BOOKS, not photo albums. That's where a company has a program where you download and organize all your pictures, then they print and bind them on a hard cover book, to make your photos look like a picture book! It looks amazing and so professional!

So here's how I made this work: During the summer, I found LivingSocial coupons for this company called MyPublisher where they were offering half off a book, PLUS added pages to your book! Which was awesome because three books can add up quick, and I had SOOOO many pictures from the wedding (over 800!) so the additional pages would be put to good use!
The great thing about LivingSocial is that the coupons didn't expire till 2012 (so PLENTY of time!) and I could buy three coupons and use them each for the discount! I also trust LivingSocial because I have had some problems with vendors and LivingSocial has backed me up with full refunds or credits! They know how to do business right!
So MyPublisher requires you to download their photo book software (free!) and then you download the photos you will use on to that program. Then... the rest is up to you! Being as creative or basic as you want, they allow you to tweak the photos a bit, re-size, write words, and give you tons of options when it comes to printing. They also let you know while you editing if that photo will looks it's best, or if it needs to have something done to it. It's strange how the photo can look great on your computer but won't print well... so thank goodness they have that! I also think MyPublisher has a refund policy, so if they are at fault for printing, or your unhappy with their work (mind you... your responsibility for editing comes in to play too) they will redo the book free of charge. Good business. Good accountability!

Of course my creative "genius" made me almost wait till last minute to put the finishing editing touches on the photo books... but ordering was a piece of cake, and although they said they were so busy from the holidays that orders could be taking the maximum estimated delivery time... mine came EARLIER than predicted! Way to deliver!

The Results? LOVE!!!!!!!!!!! They were beautiful and every one enjoyed them! And now that I have seen them, I am jealous and want to order one for my self soon! Good thing MyPublisher keeps your books always on file! ;) I will definitely be using them again! They are a little pricey, but they always have sales and deals and the quality is AMAZING!

Click here to see our Photobook of our Wedding~

Try this: Uses for Olive Oil

Olive oil is not only great for cooking, it is also great around the house! From beauty to house maintenance... I have made a list of uses for Olive Oil! Try some out and let me know what you think!

Shaving for a close shave - Just put a little bit on olive oil on your legs and shave with your razor for a closer shave. Yay smooth legs!

Make-up remover - Put a little on a cotton ball and use to remove eye make-up! Great trick for when your product runs out!

Moisturizer - A little bit of olive oil on the skin will give you a natural moisturizer!

Soften cuticles - Put olive oil on a q-tip and swipe cuticles.

Shine/ Dust your wood - Put a little olive oil on a rag and rub into wood furniture. It gives it a nice shine and takes away dust.

Shine stainless steel - A little olive oil on a cloth and rubbing your stainless steel pots can give them an awesome shine!

Loosen your jean zipper When you pant's zipper gets stuck and has trouble moving up and down, put a little olive oil on a q-tip and rub on zipper track. Then move the zipper up and down and it should loosen right up!

Get wax off candles Pour a little olive oil into a candle holder that has some candle wax you want to get rid of. After a little soak, a lot of the wax will slide off!

No more hair balls Now if you are a cat person, this one is for you. 1/4 tsp of olive oil in the cat's food = no more hair balls! yay!

Squeaky door fix - Squeaky door? Put a little olive oil on a q-tip and rub into the hinges for no more squeak!

Have another use for Olive Oil that you have found works? Write a comment and share!

UPDATE:
Another use for Olive oil?
Super Shine, DIY style: A whole lotta olive oil and a tbsp of honey. Mix it up and work it through your hair. Leave in for at least half an hour - overnight’s even better. Result: Gleaming, soft, smooth, totally non-staticky hair!
...has anyone tried this one yet? Sounds good... but sounds risky too!

Try this: Flash Sales

If you haven't heard the news yet, Flash Sales are the way to save online (and in general!). Flash Sales are time limited offers of high discounts. You basically sign up for the site, and a lot of sites will email you when the sales are refreshed. Some are refreshed once a day, some are once a week. Regardless, these sites that I have complied for you are just some of the great Flash Sale sites and I recommend you try one... or two... or the whole lot!

theoutnet.com

beyondtherack.com

nomorerack.com

homesav.com

fabfind.com

livingsocial.com

groupon.com

Have another site you use for your Flash Sale deals? Share with us in the comment section!!!

Try this: TV shows we enjoy (and recommend)

Lie to Me - Netflix only
Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares - We watch the Netflix episodes
Ramsey's Best Restaurant - Netflix only
Suburgatory - new episodes on ABC Wednesdays @ 8:30pm
Modern Family - new episodes on ABC Wednesdays @ 9pm
Happy Endings - new episodes on ABC Wednesdays @ 9:30pm
Revenge - new episodes on ABC Wednesdays @ 10pm
Grimm - new episodes on NBC Fridays @ 9pm
Reaper - Netflix only
Dead Like Me - Netflix only
Dexter - new episodes on Showtime Sundays @ 9pm
Burn Notice - USA Thursdays @ 10pm
Royal Pains - USA (new season Starts this winter)
Psych - new episodes on USA Wednesdays @ 10pm

Some of my additional favorites (that I am sure my husband only watches with me because he loves me a whole lot!):
Once Upon a Time - new episodes on ABC Sundays @ 8pm
Pan Am - new episodes on ABC Sundays @ 9pm
Glee - new episodes on FOX Tuesdays @ 8pm
New Girl - new episodes on FOX Tuesdays @ 9pm

And I am sure the list goes on! I will add to this if I think of more! I hope you like our recommendations!
What are some of your favorite shows????? Leave us a comment!

Try this: Pumpkin Spice Latte

For me, a pumpkin spice latte is a splurge (for the wallet, AND the body! ha!). Especially when Starbucks wants to sell them at $4 a cup... it's no wonder my wallet cries as I sip that delicious cup! But what else can you get for $4?!?! How about a creamer that will turn ANY cup of homemade coffee into a Pumpkin Spice Latte!!! Yes, they have made it! Nestle Coffee Mate makes a Pumpkin Spice Latte flavor, as well as many other seasonal and non seasonal flavors, and boy... they taste as good as the Starbucks ones (sorry Starbucks!). Now, they aren't healthy (it is creamer I mind you) but for a girl on a budget... paying $4 for one cup or paying $4 for about 15 cups!!?!?!?... you do the math :)


The creamer sits right next to the healthy juices to remind me it's a dessert drink, not an every day drink!

My homemade version of the Pumpkin Spice Latte! Starbucks should hire me :)

Try this: Sweet potato fries

Fries are great! But fries that are healthy for you and taste amazing?!?!? SIGN ME UP!!!!! I have found such a combo in All Natural Alexia Sweet Potato Julienne Fries from All Natural Alexia.


Picture from: http://www.iateapie.net/images/brands/alexiasweetfries.jpg

They make tons of products, even variations of sweet potatoes, and although I have not tried them, I would be more than willing to because my experience has been THAT GOOD!
Let me tell you about them :)
The fries come in a resealable freezer safe bag so storage is easy easy. When you want your fries, you just heat the oven and pop them in! And when they are crispy enough for you, DONE!!!!!!!! I even put foil in the bottom of the pan to make clean up that much easier.
The fries them selves are crispy on the outside and sweet and soft on the inside. They are Great as a side to any meal! AND they are all natural, full of Vitamin A, and have a good amount of fiber!

There is also a $1 off coupon on their site! So print that off, and try some! I hope you are as happy with them as I have been! yum yum yum! (I think I will make some with dinner tonight!!)

Try this: TV show

First off, I am a Zooey Deschanel fan. Loved her in Elf, Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, and Failure to Launch! She has always been a slightly quirky girl that also made you think "Wow. That girl is so pretty!" And then her voice... AWESOME! It's got a twist of the different and original, you know she has talent!

So when I found out she had a show premiering this season on FOX, I just had to check it out! So far, three episodes in, New Girl starring Zooey Deschanel, is a HIT in my books! It is about well-liked, and very bubbly girl named Jess who just caught her boyfriend cheating on her. She finds a new place to live with three single guys. "Together, this group of friends try to help Jess learn a lot about love, life and mostly about herself, while at the same time learn a lot about themselves." -wikipedia


Picture from: http://www.daemonstv.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/new-girl-show-page.jpg

Check out New Girl's promo video clip: click!

And check out previous episodes: click!

AND, check out New Girl on FOX Tuesdays at 10pm (right after GLEE).
**NEWS: SPECIAL DAY for next episode: October 12th Wednesday at 9:30pm FOX

UPDATES:
So... Damon Wayans, Jr. was in the pilot episode and I LOVED him as "coach" and thought he was great! But, come second episode, he was gone. Guess he moved on to Happy Endings (another show I like) for their second season. Oh well. Here is what wiki has to say about Damon:
"The character of Coach, played by Damon Wayans, Jr., appeared in the pilot only. He, Miller, Schmidt and Bishop were the original four roomates in the apartment. In the second episode Bishop returns to the apartment and Coach has simply moved out. It is mentioned that Coach and Bishop had played college basketball together."

Before:


Now:

Welcome Lamorne Morris, I hope you can do New Girl proud :)

Try this: Baking mat

I LOVE baking. Have I mentioned that before? :) Well, there are a few key gizmos that I simply cannot live without in my baking world, one of which is the Silpat! You can buy them pretty much anywhere now, and they are the bees knees! (I have no clue where that saying came from... but I like it!)
Anyways, it is a mat that you simple lie at the bottom of your cooking pan, and presto! No sticking food, no messy pan. And the Silpat is reuseable! You just wash is clean!! Friendly for the environment :) I have had great success with baking and cooking with the Silpat, just remember... it is NOT a cutting board (that mistake was made once by a sweet and dear friend, I love her!).

Try this: Cook book!

When I first moved to NC with my husband, we had limited supplies. You know the story! Basically anything we could fit in my small car was all that we would take till our next visit to GA, when we would load up the car again! Well, let me clarify... my husband already had all his stuff in NC. And I just seem to own a lot of STUFF! I really try not to hold on to things (I cringe at the word Pack Rat), but I am such a "re-purpose-er". I don't like throwing many things out because I know I WILL use them in my life. And I do! Often! But until that moment... they sit around waiting.

With all of that said, we came to NC with a limited supply of my usual kitchen artillery. And of course, NO COOKBOOK? How did I forget that one! I did have a few recipes in my recipe box, but seriously, NO COOKBOOK!!!!!!! How was I to survive! I was very new to the cooking word, and as a longtime baking girl, all I knew was a recipe is a girl's best friend! So we quickly ran out to Barnes and Nobles and bought this book
Illustrated Quick Cook: Easy Entertaining, after-Work Recipes, Cheap Eats
by Heather Whinney
with a left over gift card from who knows when. I am happy to report: It was a good buy! It has TONS of quick recipes and tips and it is organized so well! You will notice a good handful of recipes I post are in this book (ie: Chicken with Noodles and Basil)



Have you tried this cook book? Tell me your thoughts!