Thanks to Poise for sponsoring today’s discussion. The opinions shared here are 100% mine.

Tonight I’m packing for our trip to Dollywood. It’s going to be a fun day in the sunshine, riding roller coasters and eating corn dogs. My daughter always wants to go on Thunderhead — it’s a big wooden coaster that rattles me until my teeth hurt. Scary!!  I’m glad that SAM is going along with me.

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Welcome to the Christmas In July giveaway hop! You might think it’s kind of crazy that this is the third Christmas giveaway I’ve posted this month. But really, it’s just an excuse to have a GIVEAWAY! We all like to win stuff, right?

Make sure to stop by The Review Wire for The Grand Prize to enter for your chance to win a Fathead Wall Decal of choice! A special thanks to Fathead for sponsoring the Grand Prize! According to this Facebook post, half of you like surprises. The other half said NO!! I figured that I’d accommodate by providing at least one mystery box. But, for those of you who said you like to know what’s in it, I’ve also provided a clue!! In this photo, you can see part of each prize in the box. Each of these prizes has been featured on my blog at some point; if you’re a good detective you can sleuth it out! [Read more…]

Welcome to the Summer Reads giveaway hop! This event is hosted by Herding Cats & Burning Soup.   Now that summer’s in full swing, have you made a dent in your TBR pile?  Or have you been playing outside in the sunshine?  Come in out of the heat and enter some giveaways!  Each participating blog features the blogger’s favorites PLUS offering a giveaway so visit them all!  The icing on the cake is the Grand Prize giveaway happening too.   

 Two readers will receive a prize at Savings in Seconds.  Please note that I received copies of these books to review; this post contains affiliate links. Prize #1 is a paperback copy of The Butterfly and the Violin, courtesy of Litfuse Publicity.  Prize #2 is The Lord’s Prayer board book, courtesy of Tommy Nelson. [Read more…]

I’ve always loved shopping for office supplies and remember begging my mom to go look at the notebooks, pens, and other fun stuff when we were at the store.   My favorite part of shopping for Back To School season, though, is the clothes.  I love seeing the new looks for fall!  It’s the fashionista in me, I suppose.  It’s also a great time to shop for bargains.  Many states have a tax holiday around the beginning of the new school year.  The tax holiday can offer significant savings, but it’s also a mad frenzy in the store because everyone seems to come out of the woodwork to save that money.  I much prefer to shop online because I can explore so many stores in one evening without even leaving my home.   [Read more…]

When I was a teenager, I rode alone on a Greyhound bus all the way to Memphis. I was meeting a pen pal with whom I’d corresponded for over 2 years. I still can’t believe my mom let me do that. Anyway, while I was on that long bus ride, a guy sat beside me and promptly fell asleep on my shoulder. He leaned on me and snored; I was too young and naive to figure out how to get him off. And so this is how we rode along for hours, until I finally landed in Memphis. You know, that sounds like something that would be strange to relate to. That’s because it IS strange! It’s something cool that author Emily Wierenga and I have in common. [Read more…]

Yesterday as part of our Chuck E. Cheese extravaganza, my sister and I decided to shop for school supplies together.  It was super fun!!  The kids loved getting to shop together, we ended up coming home with much more than what was on the list, and everyone felt satisfied by the end of the day.  When I have the chance, though, I prefer to shop local for school supplies.  When you do this, your money can do amazing things!  [Read more…]

Flashback!  This was originally posted on October 15, 2011.  I’ve updated it!

If you’re looking for a low-cost Christmas gift (who isn’t?!) be sure to sign up at Disney Movie Rewards.  It’s a free program that makes it easy to grab some rewards.  If you have kids at home, chances are good that you have some points sitting around your home.  Check inside Disney movie cases that you have (including Baby Einstein videos).  If you go to the movie theater to see a Disney movie, you can earn reward points on those too!   [Read more…]

Welcome to the “Let’s Celebrate Christmas in July” Giveaway Hop!  I’ve teamed up with a great group of bloggers who worked hard to bring you great giveaways. This event is hosted by Lauren Paints | a beautiful life.  Can you believe it’s already the middle of the year?  So many people say they don’t want to think about Christmas yet, but I’m here to tell you that it’s TIME to think about it.  If you start early, you can really head off some of the frustration and stress of the holidays.  I’ve already started some of my holiday shopping; it’s time to get your gift closet filled up, too! Let’s celebrate Christmas in July with a giveaway hop full of prizes, what do you say? Our sponsors for this event are Tommy Nelson and NCircle Entertainment.  I received product samples from these sponsors and have the opportunity to share the same products with you!  I’m also throwing in $5 Paypal cash for the lucky winner.  After all, doesn’t everyone like to get the green stuff?  [Read more…]

This post contains affiliate links.

Normally I’m not one to flash anything.  This weekend, though, I received the July BeautyBox5 and it contained a full-size tube of mascara (among other things, of course!)  Well, I ran to the bathroom to apply the mascara and got all excited because they looked longer than normal.   We settled in for a cozy #PotterHeadMarathon –which was awesome, by the way — and there was a commercial for this mascara!  I noticed the #FlashYourLash frame that also held a $1 coupon for Revlon’s new bold mascara in the box but hadn’t used it.  Fueled by the giddiness that comes from watching 8 Harry Potter movies in a row, I cut out the coupon and then decided to throw all caution to the wind; my lashes got flashed. [Read more…]