Wednesday, May 23, 2012

National Swimsuit Confidence Week: Lands' End and SELF Magazine Sweepstakes




Lands' End and SELF Magazine have put together an amazing sweepstakes for National Swimsuit Confidence Week.  You have the chance to win $500 Lands' End gift card and a trip to Hilton Head Island. Like Land's End on Facebook for a chance to win. You can enter here.


I recently won a few facebook contests for awesome prizes. So its like I say you wont win if you dont enter! I am on my way to go enter this one. This sweepstake ends on 5/28 so hurry over to enter.

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Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Favorite Things



I have been wearing Chanel for 35 years. It is absolutely one of my favorite things, and I don't know of any reason to change.

My mother was not a glamorous woman, or even one to keep up with the current fashions of her time. But on any special occasion, she would dab on her Chanel as the finishing touch to her outfit. So I suppose there are sentimental reasons why I use this perfume, and no other.

As a girl, my mother and I would go shopping in Downtown Los Angeles at the major department stores. At that time, there were no malls, and you got dressed up to go shopping and have lunch. One day there was the most beautiful woman in the perfume department of my mother's favorite store. There were women all around her, there seemed to be something important going on. I asked my mother who this woman was and she said "It's the Chanel Lady". Which only meant she was giving out tiny samples, but to my 7 year old eyes, she was the most glamorous woman I had ever seen.

Do you wear perfume? Do you change brands or stay with the same one?
I would love to know!
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Finding Nemo Released in 3D this Fall


Just in time for Father's Day I learned one of my cartoon favorite movies is being released in 3D this Fall. Finding Nemo is such a sweet movie, starts out making me cry but good movies are a roller coaster like that. Its great to see a single Dad (fish) raise his little son to be a confidant and happy little guy. Finding Nemo in 3D I am sure will be a thrill. There are shark scenes that I know will be much more intense. The colors in this film are amazing.

Look for Finding Nemo in 3D this Fall in theaters and re-watch the original Nemo adventures with your little one this Father's Day.




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Saving Energy and Money By Switching To GE Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

I am thrilled that so many people today are embracing the idea of living a life that is more "green".
I think we all want to do our share to help sustain our beautiful earth to ensure it's health for future generations.

One important way is to better manage our resources, including energy. Saving energy is great for our planet, and we can also find ways to save ourselves money at the same time.

I have been very concerned about the rising costs of my electricity bills in the last few years. They get higher every year, and I finally felt it was time to do something about it. How could I use less energy and save money at the same time? I found out that switching my old light bulbs to GE Energy Efficient bulbs would make an impact on my electric bill, and that I could start saving money right away!


So I went to Walmart to buy my new GE light bulbs. GE Energy Smart Bright From the Start bulbs are not like the old fluorescent lighting. New GE Hybrid Technology allows these bulbs to achieve full brightness and light the instant you turn them on. They use 75% less energy than regular bulbs and are guaranteed to last 5 years. That impressed me. And how many times have you had to pull out a ladder or chair to change a bulb on the ceiling? You certainly will be changing your bulbs far less frequently with these!


When I first walked into the lighting aisle at Walmart, I was a little overwhelmed by all the light bulb choices. I was used to buying the plain old incandescent bulb, and usually the ones that were on sale. But they burned out quickly and certainly didn't save any energy or money.

It took a few minutes to figure out all the GE Lighting bulbs and what I needed. I was so impressed that GE offers CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs) in so many different shapes and sizes, and that there is one for almost every fixture in your home.




Every bulb tells you specifically where to use it. This was so helpful in deciding which bulbs to buy. GE Lighting also tells you the wattage brightness, and the actual amount of wattage energy that will be used to give you the same amount of light. Using less energy is allowing us to keep more money in our pockets. Each package also tells you the amount of money you will save by using that bulb.



These are all the CFL light bulbs that I bought and I'm excited to go home and start replacing the old ones with these.

There are also lots of other ways to save energy and money. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Obviously, turn off the lights when you leave the room. But also only turn on the lights you really need. There are sometimes lots of lights turned on in the room where I am reading or watching TV that aren't even needed.

2. Only run your dishwasher when it's fully loaded. All that hot water takes a lot of energy to heat.

3.Use cold water to wash your clothes. Again, try to only do full loads to save energy and water.

4. Unplug all unused appliances and electronics. They are a huge energy drain. Even your plugged in battery charger for your cell phone is costing you money.

5. In the summertime, if you can, open all your windows early in the morning to let in all that cool air. This will make your house less hot and then you won't have to use the air-conditioner as much.

GE is making it easy to save money on light bulbs and even added a little humor. Watch the GE Lighting Video below for a fun way to think about saving money.






By replacing the General purpose lights in my home like overhead lighting, lamps and recessed lighting bulbs the GE Energy Smart Saving Calculator estimates I can save around $150 a year! I am sure even more as I find more lights in the home to switch to GE. The Savings Calculator is easy to use, give it a try and see how much you can save.



Here are the new Energy Smart Bright From the Start light bulbs that I am going to put up in that light fixture.  These bulbs are labeled for "General Purpose", meaning that you can use them anywhere that you would have used the old incandescent light bulbs. They don't look too much different from the incandescent and I know they will be saving so much energy. It feels so good to be more frugal about my electric bill. Maybe I'll spend the savings I will have on buying my grandsons something special. Great idea! #GELighting



I have put the bulbs in and now I just need to put the glass cover back on. Happily, I won't have to change these for 5 whole years!



One of the lamps with the new bulb put in. It doesn't look any different to me, but I know the money and energy I am saving with the new GE light bulbs is significant. I am so happy I have done this and look forward to seeing my electric bill be less.


You can read my Google+ Story about my shopping trip to Walmart in an effort to be more frugal with my energy bill by purchasing GE Lighting products.


GE and Walmart have teamed together to offer a $2 off coupon for when you buy your GE Lighting products. Click on the coupon below to save.




I am a member of the Collective Bias™ Social Fabric® Community. This content has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias™ and GE. #CBias #SocialFabric #GELighting http://www.collectivebias.com/
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Monday, May 21, 2012

Mornings are Naturally Sweeter with Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss


After shopping at Walmart for the new Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss coffee creamer I was eager to rush home and try it. I also bought the coffee and sugar I use with my coffee. My new green mug I was excited about too. I like to buy coffee mugs. I find it fun!

As soon as my son saw the natural Kashi cookies I purchased at Wamart he grabbed one. He loves cookies so I have been trying to give him healthier cookies. Its a simple switch just like the Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss creamer. You get the same great taste its just a healthier choice.



My first trip to Walmart I purchased the Sweet Cream and Vanilla flavors. The Caramel one was all out of stock. I went back a few days later and found the Caramel one. I enjoyed a cup of coffee with the Natural Bliss Caramel on Mother's Day and it was creamy and sweet. So good!


When I had all three flavors purchased I decided to have an official test taste. I wanted to compare all the flavors to decide which one was my favorite. I made 3 cups of coffee and added the creamer. I noticed I did not have to use as much sugar to make it sweet like when I use the other creamer I have been buying. If you would like to try Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss you can get a $1 off two Coupon to redeem at your local Walmart.



I used less sugar than I normally do.

Vanilla was even good in a smoothie I made earlier in the week. Gave the tart fruit I had in the smoothie a nice sweetness.

Vanilla was great! It gave my coffee the flavor I have been missing with my other brand of creamer.

This was my FAVORITE! Wow good!

I have been using a Natural Coffee Creamer for over 5 years now and have missed having a flavor to my coffee. I love the flavor of great coffee beans but some days really want a sweet cup of coffee. Sugar cannot give a flavor just sweetness. Finally my quest for a Natural Coffee Cream with flavor is over! I can now enjoy a Coffee Creamer that has one 4 natural ingredients, milk, cream, sugar and natural flavors. #NaturalBlissWM


I was previously using Horizon Organic. It can be harder to find in stores. I have had to drive to a neighboring city to get it for my coffee. Just to have something natural but still no flavor. I had my husband try the Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss and he admitted it was nice to have some flavor to his coffee too. Hes a tough one to try to change his routine and him saying it was a nice change was great! I will totally be buying these creamers again. The vanilla and caramel both are ones I would love to go back and forth on. Oh the joy of having flavorful coffee again is well, BLISS! :)



You can read my Google+ Story about my shopping trip to Walmart to buy Coffee-Mate Natural Bliss and discover with me the other Natural items at Walmart.






*This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias.
All opinions expressed in this shop are my own and your experience may vary. #Cbias #SocialFabric
#NaturalBlissWM
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