New Sophie!

There is a baby toy / teether called Sophie the Giraffe.  Here she is...

The Gotta-Have-It Giraffe

We got Naomi one and promptly lost it.  It was last seen on a road trip to Houston (during which she may have been hurled across the car in a momentary burst of frustration, however this is not how she was lost).  It doesn't look like it should cost much to replace, but I just felt silly paying another $15 to $20 for something I had already bought once.  I had already combed the car, our bedroom, Naomi's room and everyplace else I could think of in search of it.  Everytime I would see a baby with Sophie, I'd get a little sad and even a tad jealous on Naomi's behalf (poor thing didn't have her Sophie anymore 'cause her silly parents lost her).


Recently, a friend posted on Facebook about how much her 4 month old son loved his Sophie.  I commented on her post, finally lamenting aloud about the lost Sophie.  In swoops my fabulous SIL, Terah!  She saw my comment, happened to be at Babies r Us buying a shower gift with a friend of ours, and she replaced Naomi's lost Sophie.  We came home with our new Sophie Thursday night and I promptly ripped her out of her packaging Friday morning and gave her to Naomi.  (Okay, I actually carefully took her out.  I'm so not a package ripper.)


Here is a picture of Naomi with her new Sophie!  Yay!

Thanks Aunt Terah!  

Penzey's Spices

So, hubby and I love to cook.  A couple years ago my SIL and fab cook, Terah, turned me on to Penzey's Spices.  Their spices are definitely superior to the spices at the grocery store and they carry such a variety of things that they are almost sure to have what you need.  Since I was truckin' it down to Sprinkles to get my free cupcakes (see previous post), I figured I would stop into Penzey's to pick up a couple of things and use some of my coupons (both places are about 45 minutes from my house).  Penzey's sends out a catalog periodically and it includes some wonderful recipes and frequently an awesome coupon for something free or $ off.  Since it's not close to my house, I save my coupons and use a lot on one trip - they are kind enough to let you do that.  Anyway, just want to let my friends know about this awesome product and how you can score some good deals.  


Here is a picture of my purchase.  


My total was $1.29.  (It should have been a little more, but they made a mistake in my favor when ringing up one of my coupons that I didn't figure out until I'd left.  Not sure how to handle that, I figure I'll call and ask).  I actually still have 2 more coupons left over that I'll use on my next trip.  

What I got:
1 - 1/2 cup jar of Italian Dressing Base (free coupon)
1 - 1/2 cup jar of Arizona Dreaming (free coupon) - already tried it, very yummy
1 - 1/2 cup jar of Minced Garlic (free coupon)
2 - 4 oz bags of Black Pepper (reg price) - refilling previous jar
1 - 4 oz bag of Fajita Seasoning (reg price) - refilling previous jar
1 - Gift Set of 1/4 cup jar of spices: Garlic Powder, Black Pepper, Mural of Flavor, and Cinnamon (free with purchase coupon)  - I already use all of these, so score!


Less $5 off of $10 purchase coupon.  


Have a Spicy Day!  :)  

Sprinkles Cupcakes

This past week, I won a dozen free Sprinkles cupcakes on Facebook.  Almost every day Sprinkles posts a "whisper word" along with the opportunity to comment on the post to win free cupcakes.  5 people win a single cupcake and 1 lucky person wins a free dozen cupcakes.  Lucky me!  Also, I had the opportunity to win 1 extra free cupcake by posting about it on my wall.  So it turned into a baker's dozen - yippee!  

So I picked up my baker's dozen and we had a sweet weekend.  One got eaten as soon as both hubby and I were home.  Alex, Terah and Nick came over for a belated birthday dinner for Terah and some UT football (along with the tail end of the TCU game) and we shared our cupcakes with family.  Of course we still had some leftover that we ate on Sunday.  A perfect way to end our little staycation that we'd been having.  :)  

Here's a picture to make your mouth water and your face turn green with envy.  

Flavors:  4 Vanilla/Vanilla (our favorite), 2 Black and White, 2 Vanilla Chocolate Hazelnut (2nd favorite and seasonal flavor), 2 Strawberry, 1 Red Velvet (for Terah), 1 Cinnamon Sugar (for Alex), and (not pictured) 1 Chocolate Marshmallow which was eaten too fast to be photographed

Have a Sweet Day!  

Product Review: Nice 'n Easy Root Touch Up

I began graying at an early age.  I can remember the girls who sat behind me in high school choir plucking my occassional gray hairs.  Yes, it started that early.  So, me and hair color have a long and rich history.  In high school, I did my own and used semi-permanant and thought it was fun to experiment with colors.  In college, I started getting it professionally done with highlights and everything.  Expensive!  (Side note: never color over professional highlights with a box dye.  My then boyfriend called me Pepe Le Pew because of the skunk like effect as all my rounds of highlighting took the color differently.)  Finally, I went back to doing it myself.  As the grays have become more pervasive, particularly at my temples and in my part, I've had to switch to very permanant hair dye and my roots show up much more readily.  Thus, the long story of why I even needed to try the Nice 'n Easy Root Touch Up.  I got it with a coupon deal of course, so I wouldn't feel bad.  It says it will match any brand, yada, yada... we'll see.  It's a semi-permanant color that is designed to essentially buy you about 3-4 weeks before you have to do another full color. 

This past weekend, I took the plunge and tried it.  I mixed up the solution in the little mixing tray, got out the little plastic brush, donned my gloves, and went to town on my most noticible roots (again, temples and center part areas).  It was easy to apply and not too messy (though I had removed bath mats in case).  That's always a plus as I've dyed walls, floor, bath mats, and all different parts of my body.  Other than getting a little dye on my face which was easily wiped away with a damp paper towel, it was all good.  I cleaned up my supplies and waited the prescribed 10 minutes before rinsing and conditioning.  The instructions, as usual, said not too shampoo but didn't mention anything about conditioner so I decided to use it since coloring can be so drying.  When my hair dried, it looked great.  You can't tell at all where the root touch up is versus my original permanant color.  I will definitely use it again.  It's great for doing a quick touch-up before an event or something when you don't have time to do a full dye job, but want to look your best (and not 10 years older). 

I say Color Me Impressed!

My Birthday - Discounts and Free Stuff!

Aside from my beautiful flowers from hubby, my cupcakes from Sugar Queen, and the reprieve from diaper duty that I got the weekend of my birthday, I love all the free stuff and discounts that you can get from restaraunts and retailers.  My goal this year is to use them all (or almost all).  Below is a list of some of my favorites in the order that I used them (if you haven't joined some of these e-clubs, you may want to!):

Maggiano's - $10 off your bill.  We started with zucchini fritte and shared a glass of wine.  Then we got one of the classic pastas, 4 cheese ravioli, which are buy one / take one to go, so we took some baked ziti to go to eat the next night.  Of course, we had to finish with their tiramisu. 

Brio - Free Medallions and Shrimp entree, a $22 value!  I would never have ordered this, but oh my goodness was it ever good.  Got the medallions medium-rare and they melted in our mouths, paired with some yummy shrimp and a rice and veggie mix, it was mmm-mmm good.  We also got the Bruschetta Quatro, always a favorite, and another pasta dish which we ended up being too full to eat and took home. 

Origins - $10 off.  I used this to buy a moisturizer that I really like (Perfect World SPF 25).  It's a rediculously expensive moisturizer and I wasn't going to get it again given our budget constraints, but with $10 off, I felt a little less guilty. 

Benihana - Free entree up to $30.  Brian and I split the Ocean Treasure at $35, we had to pay the extra $5, plus our fried rice (gotta have that!) and an extra salad and soup for Brian and we got out of there for $19 plus tip.  Super cheap for a Benihana trip.  (Word of warning: this one can only be used Mon-Thur.)

Which Wich - Free sandwich.  I used this on Tuesday night while Brian was in class.  This is my favorite sandwich shop.  Potbelly still has the best cookies, but this place has the best sandwich IMHO. 

Old Navy - $10 off purchase.  Some pants in my unfortunate post-pregnancy size obtained.  Thanks to my fab MIL for taking care of the overage for my b-day (and for a fun baby free shopping day). 

White House Black Market - $10 off puchase.  Went to the outlet in Round Rock and although the coupon says that it can't be used at the outlet, the cashier tried it for me and since the computer took it, I rejoiced!  Two cute tops for $10.  Thanks again Emily!


And this is unfortunately where it appears that my birthday couponing for this year will end.  I didn't end up using my DSW coupon before it expired, but for your reference, it is $5 off your purchase.  Also, according to the cashier at Origins, Grimaldi's gives you a free large pizza for your birthday, so I signed up for their club.  I immediately got a coupon for money off my next purchase, but I'll have to wait until next year to see if that pans out. 

So, what are your favorite e-clubs and

places with the best birthday perks? 

Share any you have found here, so we can all get hooked up! 

Couponing... Surprise Finds

When you coupon, you sometimes have to forego brand loyalty and sometimes you end up trying things that you wouldn't normally.  This can result in a surprise find... a product you didn't know you would love until you got it with a coupon.  Here are a couple of the products that I have discovered:

Cover Girl Outlast Lipstain - I only paid about a dollar for this product.  So far I've really liked it.  It stays on pretty well (and at the very least, doesn't rub off on hubby when we smooch).  I do like to put a layer of lip balm over the top after it dries just to keep my lips moist.  I've read some reviews that say that the applicator itself dries up quickly, but so far, so good. 




Popcorn, Indiana Dark Fudge Chocolate Chip Kettle Corn - This was apparently a limited edition popcorn, probably a holiday thing.  It was super yummy!  It's sort of like Harry and David's Moose Munch but a little lighter on the tongue (hence a little less guilty feeling).  If I see it again, I'll snap some up.  I did contact the company and suggest they make it a regular flavor.  I also tried the Cinnamon Sugar kind and it is good too - a nice salty sweet combo. 

We'll see what else I come across.  If I find good stuff, I'll share my product review with you!

:)