Archive for Shopping

Moody Sisters’ Black Friday Deals!

Posted by html404 on November 25, 2013
in Coupons, Deals, Eco Friendly Products, Gift Ideas, Handmade Items, Holidays, Personal Care Products, Products for Mom, SALES, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping, Uncategorized

It is that time of year again. Thanksgiving, then Black Friday deals and the shopping frenzy. You can either battle the crowds to get the best deal or you can shop from the comfort of home! Moody Sisters wants us to announce their Black Friday Deals! You can read Kim’s review here. Or visit their website www.moodysistersskincare.com

Moody Sisters’ Mission: To bring skincare back to the basics by handmaking each product using only natural and earth-derived ingredients.

If you are looking for eco-friendly, all natural (REAL all natural) skincare products then you have to check out Moody Sisters! You can follow Moody Sisters’ Facebook page to see when the Black Friday coupon code goes live or subscribe to their newsletter to get the coupon codes early.

Also keep your eye open for a new Moody Sisters’ review and giveaway in the upcoming weeks. Brande will be reviewing some cool products.

So are any of you going shopping on Black Friday? Me? I’ll be nice and toasty warm in the comfort of my home!

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Tmart MP3/MP4 Review

Posted by Brande on November 15, 2013
in Deals, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Kids Stuff, Movies, Music, Photography, Products for Dad, Products for Mom, Reviews, Shopping, Techie Stuff, Technology/Electronics, Uncategorized

My husband and I both have MP player products from another company and my

mp4 3

daughter always wants to use them. Well, the cost if they break is not one we can absorb at the moment. I’m sure there are other households with a similar issue. Tmart has a much less expensive alternative. For a fraction of the cost you can purchase a 4GB 2″ LCD Screen MP3/MP4 Player with FM/Camera Function.

This MP3/MP4 player is about 4 inches long about 1 ½ inches wide, super light also. It has several functions including, music, video, photo, and FM radio. Included in the box was ear buds and USB cable. It takes pretty good pictures and videos. The sound quality is acceptable also.

MP4 1

Tmart’s MP3/MP4 player comes in 9 colors, the one I received is purple. I was surprised by this inexpensive device for one that it has a camera & video and it autoflips.

I do wish it came with more instructions, not just a single quick start guide and a plug to charge it via an outlet. I think this is a good stocking stuffer for new music lovers in the house.

You can order Tmart MP4 players today, currently it’s only $19.99!!

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Christmas Lights, Etc.

Posted by html404 on November 14, 2013
in Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Holidays, Home, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping

I know we haven’t even celebrated Thanksgiving yet, but Christmas is also on my mind lately. It’s also just around the corner and I am feeling a little unprepared. We like to decorate and get our Christmas tree up the weekend after Thanksgiving. What I am realizing is we are probably in need of more things than I can remember and I’m not sure what to do about. That’s why I’m creating a post about it!

Here are the things I know we need to buy:

1. Christmas lightsetc, etc. We bought our Christmas lights the first year we were married and they lasted a good long time. They were just from Sam’s Club. However, the last few years we have discovered more and more strands are no longer working.

2. Christmas tree. We used an artificial one for many years and once the children were getting older switched to a real tree. We tossed our artificial tree a year or two before we moved here. We have a couple of places to choose a live tree from and thankfully one is just down the road, which should be an easy enough buy if we find the right size.

3. Shopping for Christmas gifts. I don’t even have our extended family’s gifts yet, let alone something for all of our children. Especially since I gave the children the few board games I recently bought. Wrong move, if I wanted to be ahead in gift buying. (Rolling eyes at self!)

4. Christmas baking supplies and trimmings. I know by December we will be in need of more baking supplies to accomplish any Christmas baking we want to do, plus the trimmings for Christmas dinner. We’ll have our turkey and our potatoes, which we grew ourselves, but the rest we’ll have to make or buy. We usually have a traditional Christmas dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, carrots, butternut squash, rutabaga, cranberries, stuffing and homemade pie for dessert. Cranberry pie and apple pie are our family favorites.

5. Christmas cards or letters. If I even have time.

What about you? What is on your Christmas list of to-do’s and when do you decorate for Christmas?

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Piggy Paint Review

Posted by Brande on November 12, 2013
in All Natural Products, Eco Friendly Products, Fashion, Fun Stuff, Gift Ideas, Girl Stuff, Holidays, Kids Stuff, Products for Mom, Reviews, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping, Uncategorized

I, like most Moms, am always looking for healthier options for my daughter. I always thought there wouldn’t be a replacement for “regular” nail polish. Well, I’m happy to share Piggy Paint with you! This is a Non-toxic, almost odorless, hypoallergenic, and eco & kid friendly.

Piggy Paint is water-based, dries quickly and is safe to use during pregnancy! Piggy Paint suggests using a blow drier on your nails for about a minute for maximum chip resistance.

Let’s talk colors! Piggy Paint has over 30 colors! They also have their own specially formulated nail polish remover and nail stickers! They have great sets for holiday or any occasion! Piggy Paint even has nail polish for your favorite pup!

My daughter and I had a great time with Piggy Paint. She was happy to be a big girl and I was happy it was safe for her!

Piggy Paint is great for Birthday gifts and don’t forget the Holidays are coming!!

MistleToes

Click here for your stocking stuffers or stop by your local Walmart!! Don’t forget to visit Piggy Paint on Facebook, they sometimes have giveaways!

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Fall Inspired Recipes with Squash

Posted by html404 on November 11, 2013
in All Natural Products, Family Stuff, Food and Treats, Health, Health and Nutrition, Holidays, Home, Organic, Recipes, Shopping, Uncategorized

Thanksgiving is only a little over a couple of weeks away and I have been looking for fall inspired recipes for squash. I found a couple new ones I want to try. To facilitate this post I shopped at Mariano’s for the ingredients for our traditional recipe.

I really enjoy shopping at Mariano’s. I love that they carry a good selection of organic food. The employees make it a pleasant experience. Each time I have gone, one has helped direct me to a faster checkout. It’s very helpful. Mariano’s also has a reward card shoppers can use to earn 1% cash back on every $50 purchased from November 7 thru February 8, 2014. How’s that for a bit of holiday shopping incentive?

For my very simple recipe I purchased four organic squash, but only used two. Organic parsley, organic butter and ground cinnamon.

Those of you who have never cooked a squash, you wash the squash and cut it into halves lengthwise. Then put it face down inside a 9×12 dish.

Once cut, scoop out the seeds and pulp from the ball of the squash.

The squash seeds may be saved, dried and used to plant in your garden next spring (especially if they are organic, non-hybrid seeds!). Or the seeds may be roasted and eaten as a super nutritious snack.

All four halves would not fit in my pan so I wrapped the last half in foil and baked it along side the pan.

After the squash is baked, it is scooped out of it’s skin and put into a bowl.

Then I mash it to make sure all the clumps are pretty much out before adding the butter, cinnamon and parsley. And that’s all there is to it. Very simple, inexpensive and yummy!

Fall Inspired Recipes with Squash

Simple Squash Recipe

Print recipe

Serves	8-10
Prep time	10 minutes
Cook time	1 hour
Total time	1 hour, 10 minutes
Dietary	Diabetic, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type	Side Dish
Misc	Child Friendly, Serve Hot
Occasion	Barbecue, Casual Party, Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving
Region	Canadian

This simple squash recipe is a tasty side dish for the holiday season.

Ingredients

2 Organic Butternut Squash
1 sprig Organic Parsely ((I used curly parsley, there is also flat leaf))
1/2-1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon
2 tablespoons Organic Butter

Directions

Step 1
Wash squash of in warm water.
Step 2
Cut squash in half lengthwise.
Step 3
Place face down in a 9x12 baking dish. I had an extra so I wrapped it in foil because it would not fit in my pan.
Step 4
Bake at 350 degrees for 45 -60 minutes or until soft when poked with a fork.
Step 5
Spoon out squash into a bowl.
Step 6
Mash out lumps.
Step 7
Add butter and cinnamon. Cinnamon can be to taste with more or less.
Step 8
Sprinkle a little extra cinnamon on top and add a few leaves of parsley for garnish.
Step 9
Enjoy!

Shopping at Mariano’s

You can learn more about Mariano’s and get new ideas on a weekly basis on Mariano’s website. Consider liking #MyMariano’s on Facebook and following them on Twitter.

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Just in Time for Christmas….RUUM Kids

Posted by html404 on November 10, 2013
in Children's Clothing, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Kids Stuff, Shopping, Things to Do in Chicago, Uncategorized

Christmas is just around the corner and I am still working on my Christmas shopping list. This past week my youngest daughter and I went shopping at Woodfield Mall in Schaumburg. It’s been a long time since we’ve gone to the mall. We had a lot of fun! We were clothes shopping for Blondie since she needs a few more pants for winter and we had a gift card to RUUM Kids (pronounced “Room” and formerly 77Kids).

RUUM Kids had a 40% off sale going on so we took advantage of those savings.

Blondie is seven and she is a girly-girl, which is amazing since she is smack dab in the middle of four boys! Her taste in clothing steered her towards this sparkly holiday dress:

Gotta love her style! It’s beautiful but I had to tell her no because she has plenty of dresses and this dress though it was 30% off was a bit out of our budget right now. We were shopping for winter pants.

That led us to the 40% off rack. We ended up getting two pairs of sparkly pants. I thought it was a nice compromise for her. She got her sparkle and glitter and I got her warm clothes!

She also found a sparkly butterfly t-shirt and hair gold band that coordinates really well with both colors of pants she choose. Nearly all of RUUM Kids clothing coordinates well with each other.

I also found a couple of things for our younger boys that I put away for their Christmas gifts.

All and all Blondie and I really enjoyed our day out (we went grocery shopping at Mariano’s too!). Blondie loved the VIP treatment she received while shopping at RUUM Kids – choice of a candy treat (RUUM Kids employees asked me first before giving anything to her). When we checked out Blondie was asked if she wanted her own bag, which of course she did, and then employee personalized it by putting her name on it! Blondie loved it!

When we got home Blondie modeled her clothes for me. Everything fit perfectly.

We were very happy with our RUUM Kids purchases.

RUUM Kids has lots of gift ideas including headphone hats ($19.50) and texting gloves ($9.50) for the hard to buy for tweens, and layering pieces with coordinating accessories for all ages. RUUM sizes range from newborn to age 14. Find RUUM Kids on Facebook and Twitter to stay up to day for holiday specials. Right now they have a 25% off code for online just for this weekend only.

Do you buy your children clothes for Christmas?

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Kmart Layaway

Posted by html404 on October 30, 2013
in Deals, Holidays, Saving Money, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping, Uncategorized

This is a sponsored post. I am a Kmart blogger, though all opinions are my own.

I’ve never actually used a layaway plan before but have always thought it was a great idea. Whether or not you want to admit it; the countdown is on to the holiday season! Although many of us don’t start shopping, decorating and celebrating until after Thanksgiving, there are a few holiday ‘musts’ that you need to start sooner rather than later (we’re talking before Halloween). First, putting your big (or small) items on Layaway. Since most Layaway contracts are eight weeks long, this is the ideal time to shop now and pay over time. You don’t want your wallet to go into shock on November 29th, do you? Didn’t think so. Still need convincing?

Kmart Layaway

Here are a few ‘Layaway Lessons’ to keep in mind:

1.) The cat ate your Christmas tree. OK, so even if you don’t have a cat but last year’s Christmas tree was on its last limb and this is the year you need a new one. On the other hand, maybe you just got a cat and the days of having a real tree are over. Either way, you need some new decorating digs. Pick up a pre-lit tree (because that’s the way to go), LED lights, wreaths and village houses now and pay them off in time for decking those halls! Or simply buy a real Christmas tree.
2.) Your gift list has grown. Maybe you’ve found a new group of friends, entered into a new family or you’re just feeling extra generous this year. Long gift lists call for Layaway. Fill that cart to the brim and roll it over to the Layaway counter. Your pals won’t know you paid their gifts off over time.
3.) Money is tight this year. It’s not just you; many of us are watching our spending. If you’re having trouble staying afloat while keeping those bills paid, Layaway is a must. Not only will you avoid ‘wallet shock,’ you’ll keep your pre-holiday peace of mind.

Whether you have one or 100 items , you can Layaway almost everything on your list without paying a service fee through 11/23. Plus, you can pay in store, online or using a mobile phone. Eight or 12 weeks later (depending on your contract) pick up your items and you’re good to go! Bonus: After you figure out how easy it is, you can Layaway all year round at Kmart.

Do you use a layaway plan during the holiday season?

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Cool City Threads and Giveaway!

Posted by html404 on October 21, 2013
in Children's Clothing, Gift Ideas, Holidays, Reviews, Shopping, Uncategorized

Faith and Family Reviews received the following product in exchange for writing a review. While we consider it a privilege to receive products to review, our reviews are our honest opinion and thoughts of the product.

It’s getting colder and packing away the summer clothes is on my to-do list, as well as doing inventory of our children’s clothing to see what they need, what they have grown out of and what needs to be replaced. We just bought socks this week! I detest socks so we do not replace or wear them in the summer. Socks are so hard to keep paired in this family. Imagine 20 socks each time we all wear a pair!

Clothing makes for nice Christmas gifts too. Our five year old received a gift set recently from City Threads, which has a wide selection of cool weather clothing just for kids!

Here’s some quick info on their line of clothing:

– girls and boys everyday collection
– spans sizes 0 to 14
– known for twists on American style favorites
– includes tees, hoodies, cords, leggings, twill pants, underwear, pjs and hats

City Threads is a made in the USA children’s clothing company, making it a real American apparel company. It is family owned by a husband and wife team, Shayna Samuels and Joe Willis. Prices reflect quality. It is more expensive to produce clothing here in the U.S. than it is to outsource it to China, the Philippines or Mexico, but being made here creates jobs for Americans. City Threads clothing is well-made. They have children’s clothing for baby, girls and boys, as well as a big sister, big brother line for kids ages 0 through 14.

Unfortunately, I have not washed his shirt or boxers yet, but I am inclined to think it will wash up quite nicely from the feel of the material. I’ll update this post when I get them in the wash. I asked “Nook” to save his shirt for “nice” a.k.a. going out because he already has far too many “farm” shirts!

Below you will see “Nook” modeling up a storm in his City Threads 2Fer Football in Air Denim Blue w/Football Scoreboard Sleeves 100% cotton (retail $40.50) and Boxer Briefs in Elf Green 100% Cotton Baby Rib (retail $10.50) – we thought they were short shorts at first!

I told “Nook” to pose in his City Threads and this is what he did:

Quite the ham, eh?

We really like these two items from City Threads. It’s a great line of children’s clothing. You can find City Threads on Twitter and on Facebook. For your information, City Threads offers FREE shipping on all orders over $40.

City Threads Giveaway

Enter to win a City Threads prize valued at at least $40!

Entry -Form

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CordaRoy’s Beanbag Bed Review

Posted by html404 on October 3, 2013
in Bedding, Deals, Furniture, Home, Reviews, SALES, Shopping, Uncategorized

If you had to choose an area of your home as your favorite, which room would it be? When I typed that question, I thought I had my favorite room in mind but as I thought about it, I have more than one favorite. I was going to say my bedroom because I spend a lot of time there sleeping and just getting away from the noise of our busy household, but as I thought more about it, I realized how much I like our Kitchen and dining room area too. We spend a lot of time in these two rooms preparing and eating meals, doing school work and just living, being together.

What is essential to your favorite room? A comfy place to sit and relax, right? Well, I have a product that fits those qualities! It’s CordaRoy’s Beanbag bed and chair combo.

About CordaRoy’s

CordaRoy’s was recently featured on ABC’s popular show called Shark Tank. The owner of CordaRoy’s, Byron Young, was able to secure a deal with one of the sharks, Lori Greiner, who has her own show on QVC-TV.

CordaRoy’s is a unique company in that it offers a beanbag chair that is also a bed. The beanbags come in a variety of sizes: Kids Sleeper, Full Sleeper, Queen Sleeper, King Sleeper and King Sleeper Sofa. The other unique quality is CordaRoy’s beanbag cover. It’s made of quality corduroy that not only comes in a lot of cool colors but it is also removable making it easy to clean – and yes, it is machine washable! Prices range from $129-$599 for the beanbag sleepers. CordaRoy’s also sells extra covers, pet beds and footstools.

CordaRoy’s Beanbag Bed

To say we were excited to receive a CordaRoy’s full size beanbag bed to review is an understatement! I actually made my daughter wait to open the box until I was done work and ready to take photos.

CordaRoy’s beanbag bed arrived in a fairly small box that looked like this:

There is a special way to unpack the box so we had previewed this unpacking video supplied by CordaRoy’s. I share it just in case you are interested in it:

My daughter excitedly opening the box!

Inside we found a neatly packaged cover, instructions and guarantee on top of the vacuum packed beanbag bed.

My daughters unpacked the bed like pros and got it into it’s slate chenille cover (blue is my daughter B’s favorite color!). Here she is with our youngest, sorry the photo is blurry, I have an issue with my family remaining still while snapping photos!

Here is CordaRoy’s beanbag as a chair, which my daughter uses to read and do schoolwork on by day:

This is CordaRoy’s beanbag as a bed, which my daughter uses to sleep on at night:

And yes, she gave me permission to post this last photo, as it shows her utter delight in her new CordaRoy’s beanbag bed!

B’s CordaRoy’s Beanbag Bed Review

B says the beanbag chair is the perfect size for her to curl up alone or to share with one of her teen sisters or with two younger siblings. She says if she puts it at the right angle it makes a perfect throne! She thoroughly enjoys her new chair for reading and doing her school work. She says it is fairly easy to unpack into a bed at night.

B thinks her beanbag bed is lovely and squishable like arms hugging her. It makes a lovely nest for sleeping. It stays warm when she gets up. For example, she got up and was gone for an hour and a half to pick veggies for our CSA boxes and to milk Miss Moo and her bed was still warm when she returned to it after her shower! She says it is very soft and that she loves it. As she stated above about the chair, she says the beanbag bed is fairly easy to pack up into the beanbag chair.

One of our sons wants to steel B’s new beanbag bed and the rest of the children really, really like it! I still need to take a few moments to try out her beanbag chair and her beanbag bed, I just haven’t yet. I’m going to have to do it while she’s out milking because then I’ll know it’s vacant!

Shop Now for a 15% Discount!

CordaRoy’s is offering Faith and Family Reviews’s reader a great little deal! If you place an order at www.cordaroys.com on or before October 12, enter the coupon code BEANBAGREVIEW (no space) and you will receive a 15% discount on your purchase of one CordaRoy’s sleeper! Hope you’ll take advantage of this offer as CordaRoy’s beanbag bed will make a great gift or addition to your favorite room!

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Early Holiday Gift Ideas

Posted by html404 on September 4, 2013
in Gift Ideas, Holidays, Seasonal Stuff, Shopping

This is a featured post.

It’s never too early to think about Christmas shopping, right? There has been many a year that I started my holiday shopping right after Christmas during all the end of season sales. Then I’d continue throughout the year to buy gifts so we would never have a huge Christmas bill to pay for after the holidays. It would all be paid for up front. Free and clear. Makes for a stress-free holiday season.

Holiday Gift Ideas

I just wanted to share a few little holiday gift ideas to get you started on your Christmas gift list.

There are always Christmas gatherings and holiday celebrations to attend. What better way to say thank you than a nice little festive hostess gift. These little holiday gift towel sets are so cute!

Holiday Gift Towel Sets

We have always made Christmas ornaments and decorations a part of our gift giving, especially for our children. When we got married we barely had any Christmas decorations or tree ornaments. We had to buy it all. Good thing I worked at a craft store and had a discount, plus I’d use coupons to reduce what we spent even more.

I’ve always purchased my husband ornaments of his favorite sports teams. He is such a goofball that he made it a family tradition that besides our little manager ornament that lights up, his Chicago Bulls ornaments go on the tree first! You should see him get after the children if they dare put one of their ornaments on first! All in fun though. We have been given a couple holiday houses – a lighthouse to remember my native land of Nova Scotia and a church – but we do not have any like these NFL collectible holiday houses.

NFL Collectible Holiday Houses

My husband and I have carried over some of the traditions we had growing up to but we have also made it a point to create new ones just for our family. The Legend of the Christmas Nest made me think of how we have implemented new holiday traditions.

Legend Of The Christmas Nest

So what are your holiday gift ideas this year? Feel free to share them with us as we might need a little inspiration this early on in the “holiday” season!