Are you living rich with coupons?

I've been up to a lot lately--taking on new freelance clients, desperately trying to finish some long-overdue unpacking (sad, I know) and, also, COUPONING!

I know, I know. You think I'm going to turn into one of those crazy extreme couponers. But, really, don't you think its pretty cool how they pay almost nothing for groceries? Though, they really don't have much time for anything else but clipping and shopping...

But "everything in moderation" is what they say and, if you hop on over to Living Rich with Coupons, you can "moderately" get into the couponing game and save some serious bucks without sacrificing too much time and effort. Site owner Cindy Livesey does all the heavy work for you--matching up coupons with deals store by store so that you can get items for free or at a seriously discounted rate. She provides links to store coupon policies, online coupon sites, and tells you what coupon flyers hold the key coupons for great deals. You can even print out a shopping list from the site. (Don't forget to check out the wonderful little how-to called Extreme Couponing 101 which will help you get started.)

And, seriously, that's just scratching the surface of what Living Rich with Coupons has to offer.

Now, I'm not going to say that it doesn't take time to get into couponing. You need to locate the coupons online/in flyers and cut them out and organize them, and it takes time to build up your coupon stash so that you'll be ready for a future store deal. Shopping with coupons (and a baby, in my case) also takes a bit more time and effort too. And, you really can't become an extreme couponer unless you have some miraculous access to a ton of coupon flyers (do you know a mailman? a newspaper publisher?) Once you put in the small effort and reap even a little bit of the benefits, though, you'll be hooked!

By taking just a few minutes out of my day today I bought:

2 Nestle Nesquick 7-serving Chocolate Milk Powder Pouches
2 Packages of Reynolds Wrap 50-count Foil Squares
2 Tubes of Colgate Toothpaste
2 Bestlife Buttery Sprays
1 Package Wacky Mac Veggie Spirals

Cost: $1.19
Everything but the Reynolds Wrap Foil ($.50 each) and the Wacky Mac ($.19) was free!

That. Is. Ridiculous. And awesome. So why not hop on over to Living Rich with Coupons and give it a try yourself? Just remember to leave some free items for me on my next shopping trip!

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Avon is hot! (and husband approved)

Years ago, my mom and her friends would get together to drink coffee and buy Avon from the chatty local Avon rep. My opinion of Avon's products back then was so so: some pretty lipsticks and fruity bath soaps, clothing that was a bit too old for my preteen self, and lots of costume jewelry. But, boy--they seem to have gotten a lot better in the last decade or so!

Avon Oversized Layering Tunic
$24.99

My friend and fellow mama, Kat, recently started selling Avon (shop her storefront here) and my husband and I found a surprising number of awesome items to purchase. I wore the shirt pictured left for the first time today and my husband couldn't stop complementing me on it! He even kept complimenting me on it after I had changed into my pjs--a shirt that keeps on giving!!

While called an "oversized layering tunic" and pictured as grey, the shirt is actually a dark blue and looks great worn alone over a pair of dark jeans. It has a satiny ribbon collar and ribbon ties on each side to scrunch up the shirt as much/little as you like.

The hotness factor definitely comes from the fact that it is tight around the hips but loose everywhere else--so very perfect for hiding any muffin top you might have going on too! And, FYI: Avon's size chart is pretty accurate--I wear an 8 jeans and the small 6/8 top fits perfectly. 

Avon Mesh Yoke Dress
$29.99 misses; $34.99 womens

Some other awesome buys? 

A $30 purple mesh yoke dress with a wrap-around studded belt that I plan to wear to The View in June (so excited!) Stay tuned for pics of me in the dress at the show next month. 

Advance Techniques Hair Caddy
$7.99

An $8 (on-sale from $10) bathroom caddy which my husband first spotted and proclaimed we needed for all of my bathroom counter miscellany (its good for holding more than just the hair stuff shown--deodorant, etc.). 

mark "Its a Long Story" dress
$34.00

And, last but not least, the amazing "Its a Long Story" maxi dress from Avon's Mark line ($34). The maxi hasn't been shipped yet and--since it is from Mark--I don't know if the sizing is the same as Avon's, but I'm awaiting its arrival anxiously and will keep you updated with thoughts and photos. 

So, what are you waiting for? If you haven't checked out Avon in a while, you may be surprised at what you find. I'm certainly pleased with their new offerings--and my husband's compliments aren't that bad either! 

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A Diaper Bag a Day in May Giveaway from Preganancy & Newborn

Pregnancy and Newborn magazine is giving away one diaper bag a day for the entire month of May! Up for grabs today is the beautiful copper Go GaGa Slide Tote pictured left. 

Click HERE to enter daily through the 31st of May.

Be sure to also click on the "fabulous free stuff" link on the right-hand side of the page to enter daily for a chance to win a variety of awesome monthly prizes. This month's prizes include a Baby Jogger 2011 City Select Single Stroller!

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Website Review: My Fitness Pal

Many people will admit to more than a few false-starts in the weight-loss arena. I've fallen off the diet and exercise bandwagon dozens of times and even failed for all to see on this blog (um, what happened to the Wednesday Weigh-in posts and the 30-Day Shred?)

Equal to the guilt of having eaten a jar of peanut butter for me is the guilt of having wasted money on a diet book, exercise dvd, ridiculously-expensive elliptical machine, etc. While even the thought of losing money could be a good motivator not to dip into the cookie jar, who needs to add that kind of pressure to their life? What I really need is a free, reliable program that holds me more accountable than a blank notebook.

My Fitness Pal is the answer!

MFP officially calls itself a free online calorie counter, diet and exercise journal, but it is so much more. Yes, the site will reccomend a daily calorie limit for you (check with your doc--mine was a bit low) and allow you to enter the food you eat (breastfeeding moms can enter breastfeeding for negative calories!) and the exercise you do daily, but what is most effective for me is the MFP community.

The site allows you to "friend" other users just like on Facebook, so that you can follow their status updates for inspiration and also provide others with moral support when they need it. You can input your own status updates, but sneaky MFP also posts auto updates when you don't log in for a couple days, when you weigh in and lose pounds (not when you gain), when you reach certain log-in milestones (for example, when you log in every day for a week or a month or a year) and when you complete your food or exercise log for the day. Its really great motivation that does not come with a price tag!

MFP also has other great community features such as a message board and a user profile that can be updated with photos, a bio, a weight-loss ticker, your weight-loss goals, etc. Also, the food database in user-inputed, so you can add any food to the database that isn't already there and you can also enter recipes and calculate the calories per serving. And this is just scraping the surface of what MFP offer.

The bottom line? MFP works for me and I'm losing slowly but surely and not starving. More importantly, the site reinforces for me that the only way to lose unwanted weight is to eat well and exercise--and hold only myself accountable.

If you're looking for an awesome, free way to lose weight, tone up, maintain, or just plain old be healthy, give check out My Fitness Pal! (Be sure to get a doctor's permission, of course, before starting any diet and exercise plan.)

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Warning, this Post Might Gross You Out (Or, How We Battle Our Roaches for Cheap)

Ok, so its not as bad as the title makes it seem. Its just that, like many apartment dwellers, my husband and I are engaged in a no-holds-barred war with (dun dun dun) cockroaches. Argh! How I hate them! And I also hate how expensive it is to have an exterminator come by the apartment on a regular basis to take care of them.

Since my landlord is most certainly not paying for tri-monthly exterminator visits, I had to come up with another battle plan. Luckily a friend of a friend is an exterminator and I was clued into a safe and easy roach killing product that many exterminators use: Maxforce Roach Bait Gel.

You can get a syringe of the stuff from DoYourOwnPestControl.com for around $13. That's a huge savings on the $300 fee the exterminator charges each time he comes--and he's using the same exact product! All you have to do is place a little bead of gel bait in nooks, crannies, cracks and crevices around your home every couple of months and the war on roaches will tilt in your favor. Its even kid, pet, and food safe.

DoYourOwnPestControl.com has a bunch of other inexpensive do it yourself pest control products if you are looking for a simple and effective way to make your home bug/rodent free. I reccomend you check it out... why pay someone hundreds of dollars when pest control can be so simple and cheap to do yourself?

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I've missed you!

Hello again! I've really missed posting here and it feels so good to catch up with all of those on my reading list and get back in the swing of things. 

A lot has happened in the past month or so, from Andrew getting in all of his four front teeth (hooray!) to a family health situation (all is fine, thankfully!) We even took Andrew on his first plane trip to visit my father-in-law in Arkansas. He did great, even though his mama clenched the seat in fear the whole bumpy return flight home!

But now we're home safe and sound, our apartment-sized (2-foot-tall) Christmas tree is out and decorated, and I'm practically bursting with excitement over celebrating Andrew's first Christmas and then his first birthday in January. How to restrain myself from buying him a million gifts that will spill out our apartment windows? I've already got him these two adorable things on sale from Totsy: (seriously, join Totsy--even though it takes FOREVER for them to ship and even if you don't order but use it to just find out about cute stuff you might find cheaper on Amazon, ebay, etc.):



  

The Tomy Pirate Ship bath toy was $9 on Totsy ($11.95 on Amazon) and the International Playthings iPlay Interactive & Musical Animal Activity Ark was $17.15 (a steal, because is is $30 on Amazon).  

Well, I'm off to read more of your blogs to see what you've all been up to this past month! Its great to be back in Queens and on Queens Mama!

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Wednesday Weigh-in

I have been so terribly bad about eating healthy and getting back into shape after having Andrew, so I've decided to punish myself with "Wednesday Weigh-in" posts. Sorry if it seems that I'm punishing you all as well, my blogger friends!

I should have listened to my OB/GYN and only gained 30-35 lbs when I was pregnant with Andrew. 40 lbs actually came off like a breeze after birth and breastfeeding. But, now I'm stuck with the extra 10 I gained and I've only got my bad eating and exercising habits to blame. My husband and I have had way too many trips to fast food joints recently and my exercise schedule is...  well, its non-existent. I mean, I totally did buy Jillian Michaels - 30 Day Shred like 4 months ago, but never even put it in the dvd player!

So, this week has started with me tracking my calories on MyFitnessPal.com (try it out--it is free and there are message boards and friends ala Facebook) and ordering hand weights so that I can start the Shred tomorrow. Please send lots of luck, willpower, and continued 2-hr morning naps for Andrew my way!

Here are the starting stats so that I am accountable (and embarrassed):

Current Weight: 144.2
Mini Goal Weight: 135 - pre-pregnancy weight [9.2 lbs to go!]
Ultimate Goal Weight: 122 lbs - wedding weight [22.2 lbs to go!]

Oh how I loved my wedding weight! What a dream it would be to fit back into my size 6 Abercrombie and Fitch jeans which the snotty 16-year-old salesgirl didn't even think I'd fit into (I brought them to her at the checkout counter BEAMING.)

Happy Wednesday!

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Martha Stewart saved my (cooking) life!

God knows I have tried hard to become a good cook. Aside from baking, I just seem to fail miserably at making most meal recipes. Even the recipes I try from experts at sites like FoodNetwork.com are a bust. My poor husband was becoming doomed to a life of pasta and chicken cutlets... every day.

But now I have MarthaStewart.com! Have you visited the site before? Martha's recipes are somehow at once simpler and more delicious than anywhere else. Last week I made braised pork chops with cabbage and potatos, coconut noodles with spicy shrimp, cheddar-scallion paninis with green pea soup, tilapia with mango and avocado salsa, and a spicy coconut chicken casserole. I even made peanut butter chocolate chip oatmeal cookies. My husband an I were in heaven!

Even when I didn't have an ingredient (lemongrass for the coconut noodles) or made a substitution (curry powder instead of paste in the chicken casserole) the meals were delicious. I was also able to enter ingredients I had into the recipe finder to come up with on-the-spot meals for the evening. Everything was absolutely amazing. I couldn't believe my tastebuds.

Some other great things about Martha's site are that you can create an account to store recipes and you can send those recipes (and their ingredient list) to a virtual shopping list called Ziplist. With Ziplist you can access and add to your shopping list from your phone via simple text messages.

You can also have special newsletters sent to your inbox such as a "Dinner Tonight" recipe and the dangerous "Cookie of the Day" recipe. You can bet I'm on every newsletter list.

I can't believe I didn't stumble onto Martha Stewart online earlier in all my efforts to become a better cook for my family. Not only is my husband happier now at mealtime, but I feel like I'm putting some real, wholesome food into us all. It makes me one proud mama. Thanks, Martha!

(Credit where credit is due: gorgeous food photos are from the Martha Stewart website.)

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Website Review: Vocalpoint

I've mentioned before how much I love websites that allow us consumers to influence product production and campaigns--and how I especially love when free swag is to be had from it! So, if you're like me, you should definitely check out Vocalpoint.com.

Vocalpoint is  a community for moms who like to give their opinions. There are surveys to be taken, free product samples up for grabs, and (occasionally) focus groups to join. Just recently I received samples of Puffs tissues, Pantene shampoo and conditioner, and Kashi cereal, as well as coupons for various other products. My husband is always in awe that this free stuff keeps coming our way!

When you're not participating in product reviewing and surveys, the site also provides articles on health and beauty, food, household tips, and family life to read and discuss. I've found these to be a great way to pass the time between free sample "try and tell" campaigns, which can be a couple of weeks.

So, go ahead and join Vocalpoint, mamas! Its free and you get free stuff--I can't think of a better deal.

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Website Review: 4Moms

I'm a big fan of web communities that let parents try out new items, share their opinions, and influence the creation of new and improved products. 4Moms, then, is a website is a website after my heart. (Especially with that whole trying out products part!)

4Moms is actually a company created by--go figure--two men back in 2005. They wanted to come up with ideas for innovative new products and brought together a focus group of four mothers to help out. What blossomed is a company which offers a handful of cool baby products that you may have seen in stores, such as the Cleanwater Infant Tub and the Goodnight Sleep Trainer.

I joined the 4Moms Insider group online just as they revamped their site into a community that offers giveaways, product testing, opportunities to earn points for product discounts, and more. While I missed the testing period of their awesome mamaRoo Infant Seat (which has 5 motions meant to mimic a car ride, a kangaroo, a tree swing, a rocking mom, and an ocean wave) I did get to enter to win one (didn't win, sadly).



You can bet, though, that I am on the 4Moms website every day, entering to win products, working to earn points toward a product discount, and waiting for the next item up for testing--the amazing Origami stroller with power-fold and digital dashboard (are we in mommy dreamland??) I am literally in lust with this stroller from outer space!

So, get thee to 4Moms online and get in on the action. Just, remember, I want dibs on an Origami!

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Check Out Queens Mama's Redesign!

Today I reached my 100th post, so I rewarded myself with a great little blog layout from Delicious Design Studio! What do you think of it? I love the tiny neighborhood theme as Queens, while part of a huge city, is filled with many different neighborhoods with their own personality and small-town appeal.

Adding the pre-made layout to blogger was super simple with Delicious Design Studio's video instructions and it didn't cost much at all either (just $20!) The studio also creates custom blog layouts if you're interested. Just pop on over to their site and send them an email with your requirements. 

I hope the redesign is as easy on your eyes as it is on mine! I'm pretty much in love. <3

Oh, and I found out about Delicious Design Studio through a super cute blog called Miss Cupcake. She uses a layout called "Powered by Cupcakes" and it is just adorable. Her blog is pretty awesome too (just recently she posted pics from the 2010 Sweets and Snacks Expo). Check it out!

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Website Review: Chatter Scene

I'm so glad Chris, the creator of Chatter Scene, reached out to me--what a great community she has going over there! If you're like me and a fan of The Bump message boards, you should give Chatter Scene a try.

Chatter Scene is message board for women at all stages of life. Whether you interested in talking about anything from books to soap operas, trying to conceive to pregnancy and parenting, there is a message board for you.

While the format of the boards may take a little getting used to if you're not familiar with free-standing internet message boards, the ladies at CS are there to help you along the way. (See how-to info on their Welcome Center board HERE.)

Once you get the hang of it, you'll have a lot of fun not only chatting with a great community of women, but also playing the "game" that is CS. You see, the more you post, the more privileges you get, from being able to see pictures in other members' signatures at 20 posts, to earning points and special image badges for your own profile.

You can also use the posting points that you accumulate to buy virtual gifts for other users or play in CS's arcade. I haven't gotten to this point, yet, but I'm looking forward to it. (The gift-giving option kind of reminds me of community games on Facebook.)

I also like that, unlike The Bump boards, the CS boards have "sticky posts" which always remain at the top of the web page, eliminating the asking and re-asking of certain questions. It also seems that there is a lot less snark at CS, so it may just be the community you are looking for if the Bump gets you a bit hot under the collar! :)

I've only been on Chatter Scene for a short while, but I'm certain it is going to be one of my favorite new sites to connect with other women. I'll keep you posted as I become a CS aficionado. Until then, check it out for yourself, mamas!

If you'd like to sign up for CS, click here: http://www.chatterscene.com/csboards/register.php?referrerid=943

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Website Review: Kids.Woot

Wow, sorry for the hiatus in posting! I got hit with a nasty cold that knocked me on my (huge) pregnant ass until now. While I was resting, however, I heard of another great bargain site for kids that I must pass your way!

Kids.Woot is very similar to another favorite site of mine, MamaBargains.com. Every day at 12am, a new discounted children's product goes on sale until it sells out. Today they're offering a Lamaze baby gym for only $29.99 + $5 shipping. So, go ahead, add this website to your daily site-stalking list!

By the way, there are other Woot discount sites that might be up your alley:

• The original Woot offers daily electronics deals
• Wine.Woot offers wine deals
• Shirt.Woot offers--you guessed it--shirt deals
  

Happy shopping!

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Cute Purchase Alert & Website Review: O.R.E. Originals Splat Mat

I just made my first purchase from MamaBargains.com! I just couldn't pass up this O.R.E. originals splat mat in their Yeehaw cowboy theme (click the image for the O.R.E. website):



Originally $30, MamaBargains has them on-sale for $13 for a limited time only. The mat is machine washable and perfect for mealtime or messy play. Now I just have to resist buying all of the other adorable cowboy items on the O.R.E. site, such as:



Hooray for (affordable) cute boy stuff! You should check out the rest of the O.R.E. site too. Their Sugarbooger kids line is adorable and surprisingly affordable, with super trendy diaper bags, nursery organizers, and gift sets.



Happy shopping, mamas!

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Website Review: MamaBargains.com

Have you heard about mamabargains.com? A couple times a day the site posts various, really hip, baby/children's products at deep (50%-80%) discounts. I love it!

You have to be sure to check the site a few times a day as quantities are limited, but that makes the shopping all the more fun! Continuously updated bars on the side of the page let you know when a product is running low. Check it out!

Update: Follow Mama Bargains on Twitter HERE and you'll be updated when new products go on sale. :)

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