Spring Styles with DownEast Basics Pin to Win Sweepstakes

Spring is here!!! For me March 1st marks the start of Spring Fashions. I am thinking about new colors, styles  skirts and swimwear. I am loving the use of green and coral color, lace and layering I have seen in stores. I went to my local mall to check out what DownEast Basics had for Spring. Last summer I went to a blogger event on my bday and was happy to be invited again.

DownEast Basics is celebrating the new styles with a Spring Fashion Pinterest Sweepstakes. One lucky winner will receive a $500 gift card to help bring in the warmer temperatures with a new, fresh look. You can check out the DownEast Basics blog for more info on the rules to the contest.

Be sure to name your board "Spring Styles with DownEast" and the @DownEastBasics and #SpringStyle hastag. Then email your board to downeastcontest@fizzbrands.com

I will be making my board today to enter the sweepstakes and will share it on Facebook and Twitter. I would love to see yours, tweet it to me @FrugalFamTree or post on our FB fan page wall. 

I loved all the new colors in the store! I saw many items that have been added to my Spring wish list. I work in an environment that fashion is a must. Looking good is about feeling great in what you are wearing!

DownEast Basics clothing is affordable and stylish. I love how comfortable the clothing is. The displays are a great way to see how the items can be paired together for a complete look.

I was able to find a few items to add to my wardrobe that are stylish and functional. I found some great leggings in a periwinkle color, a colorful scarf and cute earrings. My son of course loves the earrings since they are animals. He was acting a little too wild in the store and we had to go before I could finish shopping but the stuff I did manage to get was wonderful. I will be back for more Spring styles when I am shopping alone lol

 *I was given a blogger gift bag for attending this event. This is not a sponsored post.

Friday's To-Do List

 

I love Friday's.

It is an end to an almost always crazy week around here.

The thought of all of the adventures we may or may not take over the weekend gives me a charge! 

I also love To-Do lists. 

The idea of checking something off of my list gives me a sense of accomplishment. 

Something I used to get when I finished a project when I was in the "working world".

Now a days I am lucky if I can finish a load of laundy! 

So here is my To-Do list for the first day of March. 

I may or maynot get them all done, but there they are.

And they are written on my newest purchase from Michael's, it's a thick pad of paper with mulitiple To-Do list sheets and for only $3! SCORE!

Happy Friday Everyone and Have a Great Weekend!!

And this is Trouble

He uses a sword to follow along in a story lol

My son always finds ways to make me laugh. He has a funny personality and says the wildest things that I have no clue where he came up with it. Last night we were hanging out in the living room and he goes up to my husband and puts up both his fist like he is ready to box. (My son is a little fighter he thinks its awesome to punch, kick and even will dramatically act out a fall as if he has been knocked out lol)

He shows his fist to my husband and holds the right one up to say "This one is Trouble" then shows his left fist "This one is Bueno" I dont think my husband and I have laughed that hard in months!! We had tears in our eyes from laughing so hard. Even today he tells us the names of his fist, I thought it was so funny he said "bueno" too I asked him what it means he said "good" So apparently he has named his fist the bad one and good one. LOL Oh my!!

Wordless Wednesday - The year is 1988!!

SISTERS!!! Sam (left) Laura (right) 1988, side ponytail and all!!!

Super Yummy, Super Fast, 3 Ingredient Cookies

3 Ingredients: 2 ripe bananas, 1 cup of Quaker Oats and chocolate chips to taste :)

Mix them all together, we added a few too many chocolate chips for my taste but the kids loved them!

Ready for the oven! Cooked them at 350 degrees for 18-22 minutes.

Fresh out of the oven and oh so warm...

Ashley just loved them! See the evidence on her face? This was before she had it everywhere!

 

 

Enjoy!!!

Coupons to start your week!

 

COFFEE!!!

• $1.00 off 1 MAXWELL HOUSE Single Serve Cups
• $1.00 off on any ONE (1) GEVALIA Coffee

Personal Care

• $1.00 off any two (2) REACH Floss Products
• $1.00 off any 1 LISTERINE Mouthwash 1L or larger
• $0.50 off one Softsoap Body Wash
• $3.00 off ONE (1) AVEENO Eczema Therapy Care Kit

There's even lunch!

• $1.00 off 2 LUNCHABLES Combinations with Smoothie
• $0.50 off any 3 Campbell's Chunky™ soup or chili
• $1.00 off any Life Choice™ 5-count box

And, the kids would LOVE these!

• $5.00 off Laugh & Learn™ Love to Play Puppy
• $5.00 off Fisher-Price Poppity-Pop™ Musical Dino
• $10.00 off Laugh & Learn™ Stride-to-Ride Puppy
• $3.00 off any Fisher-Price Giggle Gang

Gotta feed the cat!

• $1.00 off any ONE bag of Meow Mix dry cat food

Remove Stains and Protect... Must-Have Supplies for EVERY Monday!

• $1.00 off Scotchgard Fabric & Upholstery Protector
• $1.00 off Scotchgard™ Oxy Carpet Stain Remover

Oh My Cheese Puffs

The other day when I was at work my husband and son went shopping. This is what they bought when Mom was not around lol. This has to be the biggest container of cheese puffs I have ever seen. My son carries it around like its a stuffed animal. He has claimed he loves it and he wont share with Mommy because its for babies. He is so silly! He wants to take it in the car but I draw the line at having to buckle in a container of cheese puffs!

What other snacks have you seen in this jumbo size?!?

Personal Creations Easter Gifts Review

Easter is on it way! Time has been flying by but in a good way. Each year that goes by I love the little things about holidays more and more. The small details like a personalized items on a gift make me smile. Items for my son with his name on it are things I treasure since I know one day he will grow up and those types of things will not be "cool". So for now I will indulge in my need to have cute little personal touches on items.

For Easter this year I knew we needed a personalized basket. The few Easters we have had as parents have been so fun. This year we want to go to a big Easter egg hunt in our neighborhood and him having his name on his basket will ensure no other little bunnies will try to claim his basket.

The Personalized Easter Basket from Personal Creations is the basket we selected. It comes with free candy inside and you can pick from pink, blue or green. When the basket arrived I was pleased with the stitching and the value of the candy we received. There was even a little plush bunny included.

Another great gift is a personalized family photo frame. Everyone loves a reason to be able to share pictures of their cute kids right?!? We ordered a nice frame that says Family Live Love Laugh and our last name. I was a bit surprised that the family name part was written up into the part that reads Live Love Laugh. The picture of the item did not do that. Most people it would not bother but small details like that catch my eye. It just needs to be written a tad lower. But I am sure they could fix that through customer service.

The "T" is over the LIVE part and the "H" into the E in love.

 Here is the picture of the stock photo:

Personal Creations has so many cute items. I spent hours looking at all the gift ideas they have. I saw kitchen items, baby stuff and more frames that I would love to have in my home. I think the personal touches to the items make great gifts for any home.




There are online coupons you can use at if you go to http://www.PERSONALCREATIONS.com/coupon-codes.aspx 

*I was sent the products mentioned above for my review. This is not a paid post.

Frugal Friday - printed duct tape

 

The other day while checking out the dollar section of Target I came across printed duct tape for $1.00. I usually see it for at least $3.99, that role is bigger than the dollar roll I picked up, but the dollar roll was perfect for a little home project. I covered this red chevron L with quite a bit to spare. Nice!!

Here are my supplies: The $1.00 printed duct tape and a cardboard L that I had bought over a year ago at Micheal's. Honestly I can't remember the price but I know I wouldn't have paid more than a few dollars for it.

I cut the chevron tape and made sure to wrap it around the sides and line it up so that the pattern matched all over. It was so simple to do because the duct tape is so strong, it creates great lines.

Here is the finished product on a book shelf in my living room. The whole thing took me less than 10 minutes to complete. This little project was simple and the results are making me so happy!! I have seen these chevron letters upwards of $20.00! I recommend you pick some today, you can cover just about anything in duct tape!

Wordless Wednesday - Blue Moon Burgers in Seattle

 

If you are ever in the Seattle area I recommend Blue Moon Burgers. 

Check out that Onion Ring!!

Nightly Routines Keep Us Connected: Touching Moments with NIVEA #NIVEAmoments

Since my son was born I have been lucky enough to be home with him day and night but in the last 6 months I have been working full time outside the home. Some days I miss my son so much I have to fight back tears while I am working. I started using his lavender baby lotion on my hands at work so I could smell like him and maybe I wont miss him so much, but the lavender makes me a little sleepy and the brand of lotion is doing nothing for my dry hands. At night before bed after we brush teeth, wash our faces and I put on lotion for my hands and feet. For the past year my son mimics me and uses my lotion for his hands and feet telling me he is like his Mommy. He will ask for lotion to put on his hands and feet each night when I lotion my hands and feet. He smiles so big and chit chats about how its Mommy and Baby time (he even tells people his name is baby and he is 3 years old lol) He has my rub his little hands and feet. He giggles when I tickle his toes as I rub in the lotion. Its a simple but so sweet way to connect at night before bedtime. It has become a part of our nightly routine that I cherish. After we are done getting ready for bed we put on our pajamas to read a book or watch a movie.

My husband says on nights I am working late and not home at bed time my son will ask for Moms lotion for his hands and feet. My husbands says he talks about me and says how Mom puts lotion on his toes and they smell good. He makes me feel so special that even though I am not at home to be a part of his bed time routine on some nights that he is still thinking of me. I always worried if I was to go to work that he would forget about me somehow. It sounds silly but I thought maybe out of sight out of mind would be the way it would be. It warms my heart that he continues our little routine each night. I carry a little travel size bottle of NIVEA in my purse so I can use it all day for my dry hands and think if my little guy when I smell the scent of NIVEA.

My son using my lotion when I am not there from working nights to keep up with our nightly routine

Even shopping for the NIVEA twin pack we get at Sam's Club has become a bonding time for my son and I. We turn a trip to Sam's Club into an adventure. I bring my coffee, he his juice and we look at books, movies, sweet treats and sample all the new items to eat. Not only are we saving money by shopping at Sam's Club for NIVEA we are always making sure we have enough supplies to have our nightly routine by buying the NIVEA twin pack. I like the subtle smell of NIVEA with the almond oil and sea minerals. It hydrates my skin making it very soft to the touch while being absorbed quickly.

I bought this book on my last shopping trip for my husband to read to our son on nights I am not home in time to tuck him in for bed.

To see my shopping trip to Sam's Club for NIVEA lotion and see what other items we buy to stay connected to care for our emotional hearts you can read my Google+ story. To connect with NIVEA you can follow them on twitter and facebook.


*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 Beiersdorf for NIVEA.  #NIVEAMoments #CBias #SocialFabric All opinons expressed in this post are my own.

Family Fun Mini Golf

For Valentine's Day we went on a family fun day. We went to play mini golf and arcade games.  We had a wonderful time. My son is great at golf and this was the first time we have taken him to a mini course. He has played in the house since he was old enough to walk! We watch it on tv all the time too. He smiled the whole time and when we told him we were going to play golf he squealed and yelled "YES!"

We will definitely be going back here soon!

Wondering where his ball went!

We played 18 holes and he was so well behaved.

Watching his shot 

What family fun activities do you do with your kids on sunny days?

Happy Heart Day!!!

 

As requested by my two year old we had heart shaped grilled cheese, strawberries and pink milk for breakfast today. Why not make grilled cheese for breakfast? It's a holiday after all, anything goes!

 Happy Valentines Day to everyone!!

Music on Valentines: Acoustic Research iPad and iPhone Docking Station Review

Music is a must in my house. My husband played instruments as a kid, I love to dance to the radio and my son well he is the biggest music fan in the house! He will ask for us to turn on music so he can dance, he will even make me get up and dance with him for the music that is played at the end of movie while credits roll. When he was an infant I would play him lullabies on the computer so he would be calm and sleep, it always worked. But using the laptop can be bulky and the screen saver screen would often keep him awake staring at it unless I turned it around. Now that we have an iPhone its much easier to listen to music. My son always wants to hold the phone while music is on which can lead to some power struggles about not dropping it.

We have been looking for a way to listen to music and watch videos that was stationary so my son would sit and enjoy not want to hold the phone. With Valentine's Day coming I knew we needed a Docking station for the iPhone so we can have romantic music playing during dinner. Its the perfect item for the Valentine in your life that loves techy items for the iPhone and iPad. When I was looking for a Docking Station I wanted to find one that would be able to use all Apple products for the future when I am hoping to get an iPad.

The Acoustic Research brand was one that I liked for the versatility and plug and play ease of use. It was so easy to set up. I plugged it in set my iPhone on the docking pad and it prompted me to download the free app. Easy Peasy! Within in minutes we were dancing to the beats!

The little remote is great! We can turn up or down the volume from the dining room and living room.

App-Enhanced Docking Station for iPad

App-enhancement is the perfect fusion of hardware and software: get EQ settings optimized for each music genre, listen to local FM stations, play and control your music library, and more. And the dock's rotating arm lets you switch your iPad from portrait to landscape with the touch of a button.

• Motorized 90-degree rotation: switch from portrait to landscape at the touch of a button

• App-Enhanced: the next level of docking

• Remote control included

• High performance sound (10W)

• Connect and view iPod video content on your TV via the dock's component video outputs
• Charges your iPod, iPhone or iPad
• 6 adapters included for iPod, iPhone and iPad
• App available on Apple App Store
• App features: volume control, customizable EQ, brightness settings, FM radio
• App alarm features: snooze and sleep, wake to radio, alarm or iPod
• 1-year limited warranty

This will be great for iPad movie watching

* I was not paid for this post. I was sent the product pictured for my review. All opinions expressed are my own.

Pizza Love! Little Caesars Review and Gift Card Giveaway

Who does not love Pizza right!??! And what would a Pizza Lover want for Valentine's Day? Well Pizza of course! When we are in a hurry or we decide on pizza last minute we like to grab a $5 pizza from Little Caesars. They are affordable, no cooking and tasty! My husband and I love to have pizza on holidays like Valentines now that we have our son. We have a family Valentine's Day celebration with movies, pizza and sweet treats. Its a super fun tradition. We have been having such beautiful weather in California right now we might grab our $5 HOT-N-READY Little Caesars Pizzas and take them to the park for a Pizza picnic. 

 Little Caesars $5 HOT-N-READY pepperoni pizza and their large HOT-N-READY 3 Meat Treat with pepperoni, sausage and bacon for just $8. 

This commercial made me laugh! This is what it would be like if I brought Little Caesars large, $5 HOT-N-READY pepperoni pizza or the HOT-N-READY 3 Meat Treat with pepperoni, sausage and bacon for just $8 to my work. 

GIVEAWAY

For the Love of Pizza and to celebrate Valentine's Day we are hosting a giveaway for 2 $10 Little Caesars Pizza Gift Cards. One for you and one to give to your Valentine. (total value $20)

Enter to win in the Rafflecopter form below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 *Limited to US residents 18 years old and above. Giveaway starts Feb 12 2013 and ends on Feb 21 2013 at 12:01 am EST. Winner will be emailed and has 72 hours to respond before another winner is selected. I was not paid for this giveaway or post. The opinions on this item are 100% mine and may vary from others. The sponsor is responsible for providing the prize. I was sent a gift card to review pizza for this post.

Pinterest Taco Bake

Do you find yourself cruising Pinterest eyeballing all of the delicious food and see something that makes you say, "Hey I have all of the ingredients right now to make that!" Well that was me the other night when I saw the Country Cook: Taco Bake. The picture drew me in and the simple instructions were great. We love tacos around here but sometimes they can get boring, I like to try to spice things up, but not too much, I do have to feed my little ones. I made them along with some simple Spanish rice and a side salad for a little crunch! I have to say this was a simple and tasty recipe that I will use again.

Coupons to start your week!

 

DVDs

• $2.00 off Shakespeare in Love/ The English Patient
• $3.00 off My Week With Marilyn DVD or Blu-ray

Toys

• $5.00 off Fisher-Price Poppity-Pop™ Musical Dino
• $5.00 off Laugh & Learn™ Love to Play Puppy
• $10.00 off Laugh & Learn™ Stride-to-Ride Puppy
• $3.00 off any Fisher-Price Giggle Gang
• $10.00 off Fun With Friends™ Musical Table

HORMEL™ & More

• $1.00 off HORMEL™ COUNTRY CROCK Side dish
• $1.00 off 1 HORMEL Refrigerated Entree
• $1.00 off HORMEL ALWAYS TENDER meat
• $1.00 off 2 HORMEL Pepperoni packages
• $1.00 off HORMEL SANDWICH MAKERS™ product
• $1.00 off HORMEL COMPLEATS meal
• $1.00 off LLOYD'S Barbeque product

Personal Care & Health

• $1.00 off any 1 LISTERINE Mouthwash 1L or larger
• $1.50 off (1) AZO Urinary Pain Relief Value Size
• $1.00 off any (2) TWO Dial for Men Body Wash
• $4.00 off any Centrum ProNutrients
• $1.75 off any (2) Nature Made product
• $2.25 off any Nature Made Vitamelts
• $3.00 off 1 Nature Made MINI product
• $2.00 off any ONE Nature Made Fish Oil Product
• $1.00 off All You Health & Wellness Issue

Plums & Prunes

• $1.00 off One Sunsweet Oness Prunes Can 7 oz
• $1.00 off One Pouch of Sunsweet Prunes 9 oz
• $1.00 off One Pouch of Sunsweet D'Noir Prunes 9oz
• $1.00 off ONE PLUMSMART OR PLUMSMART Light

Juice

• $1.00 off any 2 Healthy Balance™ juice drinks
• $1.00 off any 2 Cranberry Naturals™ juice drinks
• $1.00 off 4 Old Orchard frozen juice concentrates
• $1.00 off Two 64oz Old Orchard 100% Juice Blends

Misc

• $1.00 off Diamond Nuts 8oz or greater
• $1.00 off any ONE (1) Wrigley's Gum Car Cup
• $1.00 off ONE package of OREO Grab & Go Cookies
• $1.00 off 9Lives wet cat food listed
• $1.50 off 3 12 oz. SPAM products
• $1.00 off any Windex Touch-Up Cleaner
• 25% OFF Sherwin-Williams Paints and Stains
• $3.00 off Oogieloves in The BIG Balloon Adventure
• $8.00 off two 5 Qt. jugs Valvoline Motor Oil