Herbal Essences deal at Target!

I just got back from Target where they had the big bottles of Herbal Essences on sale for $5 AND it came with a free hairspray. So I just bought shampoo, conditioner, and 2 bottles of hairspray for $10!

Christmas Idea: Homemade candy bar wrappers.

I think this is a SUPER cute gift idea for neighbors, visiting teachers, coworkers, and friends. The directions are at (yep you guessed it) BHG! My new fave!

Cute homemade Christmas wreath

I don't even want to THINK about moving into my new apartment this week without havng a super cute Christmas wreath on my front door. With money being tight I can't justify spending $20 on one and I couldn't decide on a design I could make myself. Until now....

How cute is this?? It's SO easy and SO cheap to make too! Find the directions at BHG.

Bath and Body works LUVBBW club

Head over to Bath and Body Works and join their LUVBBW club and receive a FREE GIFT on the Thursday of your choice each month when you present your membership card at any Bath and Body store!

Free VS Pink Panties!

Free Victoria's Secret Pink panties with any Victoria Secret Pink purchase! Use Promo Code PINKPANTY. (Hurry, this code expires 12/12!)



New Pampers Gifts to Grow code

New pampers 50 point code!! BUMP2CYBRMONDAY.

Light posting...

We're trying to have a baby! :)

Thanks Seventeen!

Thanks to Seventeen Magazine if you print the coupon here you can get one free bottle of Orly nail polish at any ULTA store!



Another Gifts to Grow code (10 pts!)

Here's a 10 pointer:

GIVETHANKS10PTS

Cozy candle holders. Cozy!

I almost died when I saw these. What's more cozy than a candle? A candle in a sweater!! These homemade sweater candle sleeves are SO cute and SO easy. Just head over to BHG for the directions.

Pampers Gifts to Grow

There's a new Pampers Gifts to Grow Code!

 NOVEMBERTHANKS5

Sorry!! (And exciting news)

I'm sorry I didn't post all day yesterday and for the light posting today.

Now, for the fun part.....

I'm having a GIRL!!!!!

I'm SO excited!! I had no idea how badly I wanted a girl until the Ultra sound tech wrote it on the screen.

Target 4-day sale

I am SO happy I found this! Last week I saw the perfect camouflage bath robe for my brother, but it was a little expensive $20-$25 I can't remember, but for the next 4 days it's $10! I just bought the robe, 2 pairs of pajama bottoms for my dad, Beauty and the Beast for my mom, and a Christmas tree all for a total of $62! You HAVE to check this out, it's almost better than black Friday!

Christmas Idea: This one's for the kids

Yes, it's another BHG idea, but I LOVE them! This I think is SO cute for the kids to make their parents for Christmas. And so cheap and easy! Click here for the full article.

Recycled Gifts: Do or Don't?

I've mentioned before how much I LOVE antique shopping and a lot of times when I go, I find things that cry out someone in my family and I wonder what they would think if I gave them a 'used' gift. Well today I found this article called 'Consider giving recycled gifts during the Holidays' by Mommy Savers and I thought it was worth sharing.

Think what you want, but I think it's a great idea if you find the perfect gift, and I honestly have no problem receiving recycled gifts.

$10 off $10 at Hallmark!

Okay, so this one is up to you. Right now, Hallmark is offering new and expecting mom's $10 off a $10 purchase at Hallmark. I HAVE seen other people posting this on their blogs though for everyone. It asks for your due date, so maybe if you tell a little white lie, everyone can get one. It's up to you :)

More Bath and Body Works sales!

Today only, Bath and Body works has their Signature Collection Classics on sale for $5 each!

Also, if you order online and spend more than $10 you can get a free item buy using the code FREE4U. (Good through Dec 24.)

Free box of Garnier Herbashine!

Register here to receive a coupon for a FREE BOX of Garnier Herbashine!! Best freebie ever!

Another reason I LOVE Southwest!

I ALWAYS fly Southwest. (except for that one time at Christmas Delta had a cheaper flight, but I made up for it by having to pay for extra bags and I REALLY did feel bad about it) Not only do they have great customer service, specials, prices, and they let you take 3 free bags, but now I just learned that they have a great refund policy as well.

With my sister so close to having her baby and me wanting to visit my family so bad I can't think straight, I've changed my flight about 4 times. My last flight made me sick when I thought I was going to have to pay $400 dollars for a round trip ticket to Utah but it turned out fine once I realized that my sister wasn't going into labor anytime soon and Thanksgiving wasn't going to work anyway.

So now, Southwest is having a special where select flights are as low as $60 one way (mine was $80) if you book by November 22nd. I switched my flight this last Monday so that I could go the first weekend in December and ended up getting a refund back of $214. This thought scared me more than anything. I pictured myself hassling the airlines 2 months from now because the money still wasn't refunded or that because I did it all online I misunderstood or did something wrong... just my luck. So imagine my surprise when I looked at my bank account this morning and had the full refund!! 4 days later! CRAZY!!

I love Southwest, I love Southwest, I LOVE Southwest!!!

Cute homemade wine sleeves, just in time for the Holidays!

One of the 'fantastic' things about living in Oregon is that it's wine country. Which means whenever I head back to Utah my friends expect hope that I return with a yummy bottle of wine for them to try. Even though it's not a gift, I still hate giving it to them in a paper bag or even just as a bottle. Today, I found the directions for a super cute homemade wine sleeve at BHG! This is going to be SO perfect for the Holidays! And for those of you who don't drink, or don't have family or friends that do, I still think this would be super cute for a bottle of sparkling cider!

Eversave Deal!

Are you an Eversave member? If so they have $40 worth of scented skincare, candles, and perfumes from Kleanspa for $18. If you sign up for their free emails, you get a $2 credit so you can actually score this for $16 bucks! I just checked out the website and they have some REALLY great stuff for super cheap! You could get 4 candles, or 4 body scrubs, or 4 lotions! That's a great deal for $16!!

If you have little girls, you will LOVE this!

Right now the Disney Store has these personalized fleece throws for $12 SHIPPED!!

These fleece throws are usually priced at 19.50, and they have 11 different styles to choose from. Hurry and get yours, this offer expires 11/21!

For the jewelry obsessed...

You can blame it on my Grandma, but I love LOVE LOVE jewelry! It's the one accessory I could never live without and can't get rid of. I am not a pack rat at all. Once a month I try to get clothes ready to sell to Plato's, I clean out my bathroom and see what I can give away as far as lotions, soaps, and gifts go, I HATE clutter! But try to get me to get rid of ANY of my jewelry and you better watch out because you're in for a fight.

So.... you KNOW I don't wear all of it. Some of it is outdated, some is from my Grandma and I don't wear it in fear of losing it, and I'll admit that a lot of it I don't even know or remember that I have it so it never gets worn.

The point of all this is that I just found, on Better homes and gardens, an entire slideshow on ways to incorporate your jewelry into home accessories. Check out some of these super cute ideas!

For step by step directions (which you don't even really need) on these, and more ideas visit BHG!

BHG Room Arranger. Check it out!

I still can't fall asleep at night because my brain won't stop thinking about how I'm going to arrange my furniture and decorate once I'm in my new place AND I dream about it all night. Yah, I'm that crazy!

So today, while I was looking for DIY projects for my kitchen and living room I found the COOLEST website! It's Better homes and gardens, and they have a ROOM ARRANGER! First, you pick the shape of your room and then customize the size, then you add the windows and doors, then you add the furniture you plan on using, and then pick the color. Easy, and SO much better than the notebook drawings I do every time I try to arrange a room!

Free Slurpee's?!? Yum!

On Black Friday 7-11 will be posting a coupon for one free small slurpee drink. Yummy!

Christmas Idea: Homemade headbands!

I found these at Altered Cloth. They're super cheap and they take only 2 steps to make!

I absolutely love headbands and I was SO excited to find these!

I am loving Branch Chandelier's!

Check out this super cute homemade Branch Chandelier made by Casa Diseno!

It's so easy too! For directions just click on their website here.

Help please!!

What do you do when you and the father can't agree on a baby name? I have been in love with the name Jackson for years, same with the name Olivia. It's SO important to me that my dad's name is in the baby's name in case there are no other boys in our family, lol. And my Grandma's name HAS to be in my daughters name; She raised me and was a huge part of my life, it kills me that she isn't here to meet my little one and help me through this experience.

That being said, I love...

Troy Jackson Mercado
Olivia Lucille Mercado

When I ask daddy for his input he comes up with names like Rock, Chequendra, and Raheim. I honestly didn't think this was going to end up being such an issue. PLEASE HELP! I'm all out of ideas. How do we compromise?

Christmas Idea: Homemade vanilla extract.

This is great for the bakers in your family, and honestly, I would love it if someone gave this to me!

Just go to IndieSpotting for the directions and recipe for vanilla extract! 

Introducing Eversave!

Eversave is a lot like Groupon and Deals that matter in that they feature 50%-90% off on restaurants, spas, local activities and online deals. It's free to get their email, and for each new friend you refer you'll earn $12 in Save Rewards to use towards great deals.

Plus, when you sign up you get a $2 credit!

Click the link to sign up for Eversave's daily newsletter:
http://eversave.com/share/Cte7

Bath and body sale!

Right now Bath and Body has their Holiday Signature Collection buy 3, get 3!

AND if you purchase over $25 which with this offer you will, you can use the code SHIP25 to get $1 shipping too!

$10 Gift card for Stefano's Gelato!

Today's Deals that Matter deal is a really good one! You can get a $10 gift card for Stefano's Gelato in Riverton, UT for $5. If you still haven't used your $5 credit you can get this completely free!! Wow!

Hey all you coffee lovers!

Right now Rita Monti has a great deal going on! Free shipping on all dinnerware purchases AND 2 bags of the Monti Classic Italian roast.

They have 4 super cute coffee mug designs you can choose from for $13.95 and I think it would be the perfect Christmas gift for all those coffee lovers of yours!

Reindeer Poop!

I think these are so cute for co-workers, home teachers, and school teachers!

You can find the recipe's and even print Poem tags here

Free Christmas votive candle!

The Yankee Candle Company is giving out free votives this Saturday from 10 AM to NOON!

Click here to find a location near you. (They're also offering candles buy two get two free!)

Story Time For Me

My sister and I were watching TV the other night and saw a commercial for online childrens books and I was actually planning on writing about whether or not the reading software such as kindles and etc. were good for kids these days. It seems like there is SO much technology out there and I wonder if it's hurting our kids and making them lazy. We both agreed that we would rather have our kids read REAL books.

But then I was invited to recieve 2 free books from Story Time for me.

I just finished selecting my 2 free books and reading both of them. These are SO CUTE and SO FUN! It totally changed my mind. You can choose to have the story flip the pages as it would like or you can choose to flip them yourself, the words are highlighted as they're being read (something you wouldn't be able to do for them if you were reading a paper book), and there are even words that are underlined like mama and when you click on it, it pulls up a picture of a mama.




The best thing about this is that it's completely online. You don't have to download anything! You have an online account and the stories are saved to that account. You can access them anywhere from any computer which is great for babysitters and family.

If this is something you're interested in, the 2 free book offer is good for all my readers. Just click here to get started!

Victoria's Secret Deal!!

Get FREE shipping and a FREE lip gloss with any sweater purchase!

Just purchase a sweater starting at $19, then type in the codes LIPGIFT10 and WARMSHIPVS to receive the free shipping and lip gloss. AND the Free Secret Reward Card Promo is still running so with every purchase you receive a card worth at least $10 and up to $500!! Thanks Deal Seeking Mom for finding this great offer!

Starbucks buy 1 holiday drink, Get 1 free!

Who can resist this? THIS weekend, Nov 18th-21st Starbucks has their Holiday drinks buy one get one! Also, make sure you go to Starbucks to be a part of the 12 days of sharing where you enjoy an exclusive offer every day starting December 1st!

So many changes, so little cash.

There are so many expensive life changing events going on in my life right now so I'm trying to save money wherever possible. This means I have to be HUGE on the DIY scale. With my move just around the corner I have dreams every night about furnishing my apartment, and today I found the CUTEST accessory to add to my living room.

Look at this lamp shade made from string! All you need is an old lamp shade, glue, and cotton string. You can find the directions at DIYideas. I'm on my way to Goodwill at lunch to find a crappy lampshade!

Christmas Idea: Homemade Sugar Scrub.

This is SO cute and seriously, there are two steps to the recipe... how easy is that?

Ingredients:

1 Clear Plastic Jar
1 Cup Sugar
1/2 Cup extra virgin olive oil
Lemon juice
Scented essential oil

Directions:

Mix the sugar and olive oil in a plastic container.
Add any optional scents you'd like
That's it! 2 steps!!

$50 GC for Tanger outlets for $25!

This ends today so hurry on over to Deal Seeking mom for the link!

Child's handprint ornament for $2!

Today Deals that matter has 53% off an ivory ornament of your child's handprint or footprint. If you haven't used your $5 credit yet, or signed up yet, you can become a member and get this for $2!! It's seriously so cute!

I won another giveaway!

Today I won 3 packages of cereal, a tote, and a $10 Target Gift card! Giveaways take a lot of time and energy but there are some REALLY nice things to be won and if you have the time I would highly suggest entering some.

My favorite website is The Shopping Mama. Every Thursday other bloggers link up their giveaways and then you can kill all birds with one stone. I've looked at a TON of blogs that have giveaways and ALL of them are linked up on this site on Thursdays.

Seriously, I've won this, some pumpkin candle holders, AND a $50 Old Navy gift card. All in the last month! Times are hard, you don't want to miss out.

Very happy with my purchase!

I just received the bowl I ordered from Rue La La (that was fast) and I love it!! It's a lot bigger than I imagined too and it will look so cute on my dining room table. If you haven't signed up, you should sign up today!

Clearasil Ultra Overnight Lotion

I've been using this Clearasil Ultra Overnight Cream for about a month now and I love it! I used to use The Body Shop's miracle over night cream but it was getting way too expensive so then my sister and I found this at Walmart and I decided to try it.

Seriously, this is so great! I don't get a lot of acne, but when I do I hate it more than anything in the world, and with the baby coming I am so paranoid that I'm going to end up looking like a pizza that I use this religiously. Maybe that's why I don't get a lot of acne.

I started to break out a couple nights ago, so I applied more than usual directly on my break out spots and they're just about gone. If you're like me, and you just need a quick fix for once a month break-outs, this is perfect. And one bottle will last you
                                 forever!

Tea cup lights Christmas idea

Oregon is notorious for antique shops and I'm big into antique shopping and incorporating them into my modern decor. I found these tea cup lights by Martha Stewart and thought it would be such a cute idea for someone like me! And you make them out of partially burned candles... who doesn't have a million of those already lying around the house?

Cake bites recipe

My sister and I saw these at the fair during the summer and we thought that they would be SO cute for her baby shower, they even put them on a stick so it looked like a baby rattle but they were SO expensive! I think it was $1.00-$1.50 each!! With a guest list of 50 people, there was no way that would work.

Today, I saw a recipe for them on Slippery Soup and they're SO easy!! With the Holiday's coming up this is a recipe you HAVE to check out.

New Pampers Gifts to Grow code

Here's a new 10 Point Pampers Gifts to Grow code:

Thanks2Veterans

This is why I want a girl!

OMG!! I LOVE these! And if I find out I'm having a girl, this is going to be my first shopping stop!

My Baby Clothes Boutique

They have the CUTEST baby stuff and these bloomers?? Only $15!!

Handmade Hanging flower balls.

Aren't these a great party decoration? I would even just hang these in my house. If I have a girl, I just might make some for the Nursery!

To find out how to make these super easy hanging flower balls check out the tutorial at House of Smith's!

Free Sephora Bare Escentuals Brush w/purchase!

I found this great offer at Deal Seeking Mom where you can get 1 item, 3 samples, and the Sephora brush for $6.95 + any applicable tax.

Here's how you do it:

1. Log onto the Sephora website

2. Type $1 in the search box and add to cart

3. Checkout adding your 3 free samples and using promo code ILLUMINATE

Christmas Idea: Homemade bath fizzies!

BATH FIZZIES

Find out how to make these SUPER easy bath fizzies by Martha Stewart here. And if you're a girl on my shopping list, just close your eyes and pretend to be surprised when you open this gift from me :)

You don't want to pass this up!

I was invited to join the GILT Group today and I want to extend the invitation to my readers. The GILT Group is a lot like Rue La La in that they offer members apparel, accessories, and home decor for up to 70% off retail price!

I actually am liking GILT a little better than Rue La La because they have a much larger selection AND they offer more for babies and toddlers.

Also, when you sign up through this link, you get a $20 credit that shows up at check out. I just bought this super cute Sugar and Creamer set for $0.95!!
                                                

I've seen this on A LOT of blogs so I suggest redeeming this offer ASAP before they take it down or everything is sold out!

It's a baby!!

I heard the heartbeat for the first time today and it was SO amazing! Not only because now I'm 100% sure it's not just a tumor, but wow, there is a real living, growing, BABY inside of me. I can't believe it! I wish I had my own dopler so I could just sit and listen whenever I wanted. Now I'm SOOOOO excited for two more weeks so we can find out the gender.

5 Zumba classes for $9!

Today on Deals that Matter, get 5 Zumba classes for $9!! If you signed up for membership and still have your $5 credit, that's only $4!!

I LOVE Zumba. Two years ago I was determined to get back in shape and lose 25 pounds and I know that the only reason I succeeded was because of my Zumba classes. Did you know that depending on how hard you work during the class you can burn from 400-900 calories?! And not only that it tones every inch of your body... all my cellulite was gone.

With Zumba becoming more popular it's not easy finding classes this cheap. Definitely something you should take advantage of!

Fun Holiday treats!

How cute are these Caroler Cookies? For this recipe and other fun family treat ideas, check out

Slippery Soup! She always has the cutest craft and recipe ideas.

VS Panty Sale!!

For a limited time only, PINK Victoria's Secret panties are on sale 7 for $25!! And if you sign up to become a member of PINK Nation, you get a FREE PANTY with any purchase. That's 8 for $25!  I'm a member and I also get email updates about sales going on and coupons for more free stuff. Totally worth it! This sell ends Monday so make sure you get it in this weekend!

The perfect kitchen calendar!

I love having a calendar in the kitchen but it's really hard to find a cheap one that's not super tacky. Well I found one, and it's FREE! All you have to do is sign up to receive the Betty Crocker newsletter, which for free recipes and cooking ideas, why wouldn't you? And they'll send you a free Betty Crocker 2011 Calendar. Seriously, check it out, it's SO cute AND it has a new recipe each month!

I never dread Christmas

But I'm getting tired of not being able to spoil my loved ones, and with me getting my own place and having a baby on the way, this year is no exception. I've found a TON of great deals and won some really good giveaways that were able to take care of my family in Utah but I still have the rest of the clan here to worry about.

So I started looking for homemade gifts (and believe me, these will be easy) that I can give, but aren't super cheesy and cheap looking. I found some SUPER cute ideas so everyday I plan on posting an idea and letting you know where to find it, and how to make it.

Here's the first one! Decorative Decal Pillar candles by Martha Stewart. How cute are these? And if the women in your family are anything like the women in my family, these could be the PERFECT Christmas gift.

Christmas should be FUN! I hope that I can share great ideas that everyone will love!