appSmitten

A quick post for Friday that I couldn't wait to share! I came across a great new site called appSmitten, in which you can sign up for a free daily or weekly e-mail list that highlights a few of the millions of new apps coming to the market for your iPhone, Android, and iPad. By signing up, you can tailor your preferences on the types of apps you are looking for. Then, when you get an e-mail from appSmitten, it will highlight new apps in the categories you like most! You can also search their website for new apps or reviews of existing apps by their contributors. I already received my weekly e-mail, and downloaded some of the apps they recommended!

Click here to subscribe to become appSmitten!

Hard To Buy For? Be WANTFUL

I received an e-mail today with a great new site/idea. It is WANTFUL... a site that lets you customize a gift selection for that hard-to-buy-for person in your life.

You give them a little general information about your boss, friend or loved one, and they select 16 gifts in the price range of your choice. Don't like all 16 items they chose? Simply swap out the ones you don't think your recipient will like with some other choices they have selected for you. Once you are happy with your 16 items, simply pay for the gift, plus shipping and handling, and the WANTFUL people publish a book with the gift selection to be sent to you (to wrap yourself) or to your recipient directly. Once they receive their book, they flip through the book and choose which gift they want, and WANTFUL ships it to them free of charge. It is the surefire way to get them something they will truly love and appreciate!

I think it's genius, and not only is it perfect for bosses or hard-to-buy-for friends this Christmas, but you can send them for any occasion throughout the year as well! This may just be my go-to gift giving spot!

This post was not paid for or sponsored by WANTFUL. I just think it is genius and wanted to share.

Holiday Deals and Steals Links

It is November 4, which means that the holiday season is rapidly approaching, and so are the ideas about what to buy for all my relatives and friends for the holidays.

shopping list from Jones Design Company (click image to download)

I am a pretty thrifty person... I buy party supplies at the Dollar Store, and groceries from WalMart (with coupons!). But, when it comes to this time of year, my bank account feels the pinch... My husband is one of 5 kids, and between his  siblings and their significant others, parents, grandmothers, work colleagues, best friends, and my own family, we have a ton of people to buy for. Even if the gifts were $20 each (which they are not!), we are still looking at a couple hundred bucks of gifts. Which is also why we usually never get each other anything big.

Since most people are feeling the pinch this year more than ever, I have put together a list of websites for Deals and Steals. I can say that just in the last week, I have crossed off 5 people from my Christmas list because I got them gifts on sale or by some fabulous one-day deal. I am already feeling a little less pressured this year!

Here are some of my favorite sites for daily deals, coupons, and more!

Daily Deals and Coupons:

Hip2Save  www.hip2save.com
DealSea www.dealsea.com
SlickDeals www.slickdeals.net
DealNews www.dealnews.com
DealSucker www.dealsucker.com

For One Day, One Item Steals:

Daily Deals  www.dailydeals.com
Daily Seals www.dailysteals.com
Woot www.woot.com
Deal Genius www.dealgenius.com

Deals Sent To Your Email Inbox:

Groupon  http://www.groupon.com/r/uu525222
Daily Deals http://dailydeals.com
Half Off Depot https://halfoffdepot.com/tampabay/referafriend/?bl=bmF0YWxpZWJhdW1hbkBhb2wuY29t
Ever Save http://eversave.com/share/zXWI
Zulily http://www.zulily.com/invite/nataliebauman905
Mamasource by Mamapedia www.deals.mamapedia.com
Schwaggle www.schwaggle.active.com
Living Social https://livingsocial.com/redeem_invite/7075920-natali?ref=lnk

Every Tuesday:

Today Show's Jill's Steals & Deals - most of these sell out, so check them in the morning on Tuesdays.  http://hip2save.com/category/jills-steals-deals

For a List of Black Friday Ads:

A Full Cup  (click here)

For Travel Sites:

SniqueAway http://www.sniqueaway.com/invite/ForeverTheHostess Tablet Hotels  http://www.tablethotels.com/invite/dslIGj969Do Groupon Getaways   http://www.groupon.com/r/uu525222  For Site Specific Gifts (Wine, Fashion, Home, Etc):Invino http://www.invino.com/signup/?invite=72132e5765b08803508e3b57eb3d1cdebfb15d78Lot18 http://www.lot18.com/i/ForeverTheHostessHauteLook  http://www.hautelook.com/short/29gxkGilt Groupe  http://www.gilt.com/invite/nbaumanIdeeli  www.ideeli.com/invite/ForeverTheHostessRueLaLa http://www.ruelala.com/invite/4evrthehostess The OutNet www.theoutnet.comSwirl by Daily Candy  http://www.swirl.com/invite/ForeverTheHostessBeyond The Rack http://www.beyondtherack.com/member/invite/NNB3C08695CMy Habit  http://www.myhabit.com/ref=qd_ie_accept_gJoss & Main  http://www.jossandmain.com/invite/foreverthehostessOne Kings Lane  https://www.onekingslane.com/invite/NatalieDevicente  And another great email subscription is to the Jones Design Company, who is providing free and adorable downloads through the Holiday Season, like the shopping list pictured above. Emily designs her own cards, invitations, and so much more. I even bought her font to use on future invitations!  I encourage you to check her out!  Disclosure: I was not paid to promote any of these websites. I just wanted to give them as reference to other thrifty shoppers like me!

Do Nothing For 2 Minutes

This week has been a busy and stressful one. In checking my e-mails at lunch, I came across one from one of my favorite publications, Real Simple. It was titled "Six Ways To Simplify Your Life", and one of them was exactly what I needed.

It is a website called Do Nothing For 2 Minutes. You seriously go and stare at a beautiful sunset picture and hear waves crashing for a whole 2 minutes. If you hit a button or move your mouse, it starts over for another 2 minutes. It forces you clear your mind and just relax, and I have to tell you that it works....

I almost fell asleep.

Kudos to whomever created this great site. Two minutes was all it took me to mentally recharge to get through the rest of my day.

Photo from DoNothingFor2Minutes, first seen at Real Simple

Lots of blog updating will be done this weekend. Check back for some new projects!

They Say Old Fashioned Post Is Dead...

But I love receiving party invitations in the mail! This practice is only getting better and more creative, as it should!

Invitations act as the first impression for any party. It gives guests all information about the party details, as well as the theme and environment, so it is important to make sure your party preview is what you want it to be. I usually search the internet to find a few invitations for inspiration to make my own on Microsoft Publisher, but for those who are less creative or savvy, there are some wonderful sites that provide perfectly cute invitations. Here are some of my current favorites (click on the photos for links to invitation websites):

Etsy is also a great site for handmade letterpress and custom printed invitations with any theme by many local and national artists. I got my wedding invitations through Etsy! I also love the online e-mail invitations from Cocodot and eVite, that are decorative and you can make quickly to get the word out to guests for a last minute get together!  Sometimes an Inbox is just as good as a Mailbox, but don't rely on e-mails for serious parties.... spend the money and/or the time on real invites. Your guests will be more excited and eager to come to your next event!

Super Bowl Sunday Givewaway from pingg.com

Invitations are so easy these days with online sites like pingg.com providing quick and free e-mails to invite all your friends and family for that big bash. Just in time for Super Bowl Sunday (Feb 6th), pingg.com is giving away a Super Bowl package worth $100 of game-worthy snacks from Harry and David! You can enter following the directions below, through this Friday, January 28th. Three (3) winners will be announced on Monday, January 31st in time to order those snacks in time for the game.

Here is how to enter:

1. Go to pingg.com and choose a design from their Football Collection, or even upload your own picture!
2. Choose FOOTBALL PARTY GIVEAWAY as your Event Theme, and complete the remaining details of your invite.
3. Send the invite to 3 or more guests, and you're automatically entered to win!

Easy as that! If you need more information, you can also go to their blog here.  I have also picked out some of my favorite Football themed invites below:

If you aren't hosting a Super Bowl party, send an invitation for another event! Enter today and best of luck!!!

Ming is Amazing

Ming Makes Cupcakes is such a wonderful site for quick recipes, and I just had to try one for Labor Day weekend!

Here is her recipe, reproduced with her permission, for Key Lime Cupcakes (I made a mini version):

Mini Graham Cupcakes with Key Lime Cream Cheese Frosting

CUPCAKES

1 cup flour

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick butter, room temp.

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 cup milk

Mix flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder, and salt. Beat in butter gradually. Beat in sugar and mix thoroughly. Beat in eggs, then vanilla and milk until just mixed. Pour into lined mini cupcake pan. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, or until toothpick comes out almost clean. With mini cupcakes, sometimes they cook faster, so just watch them!

FROSTING
4 oz. cream cheese

1/2 stick butter, room temp.

2 cups confectioners’ sugar

2 T key lime juice

Mix together ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth and creamy. Frost cupcakes. Top with a key lime slice and a sprinkle of crumbs.

Ming also makes cookies, like homemade thin mints (my favorite!) and savouries, like cheddar scallion cupcakes with whipped cream cheese. So easy and so delicious!

Hope you have a happy Labor Day Weekend!