Chaaalllllkboard!!!

Holy crap. Martha Stewart RULES this one people!! Who else has headed through Home Dept and noticed chalboard paint and had the desire to paint something in their house with it so you'd have a chalkboard door or wall?

Martha figured out how to do it without having to buy really expensive chalkboard paint (it is pricey) - you can do it with any color paint you want, too!!! Check it out!!

Oh, and the best price you'll get on paint is at Walmart - I talked to an employee once there, who told me that most of their brands are actually made by the big paint companies you'd find at Home Depot. IIIiiiinteresting. Dang, I need another house so I can do this...

Some kiddie links

Found a new website the other day with some great parenting idears - ParentHacks.com. Lots of delish ideas for anyone, really!

And One the lovely Scrumdillydo, the had the coooolest idea for easy and cheap tub foam!! (you know, that stuff kids can use to write on the walls of the tub during bathtime that washes off, fun but over-priced?) Colored shaving cream - and she's got oodles of ideas to use it with too! Enjoy!

The Doctor is IN!

Oh good golly, I know I am an old woman and when I was in my cool years, Doc Martens were IT. I still have my pair of red patent leather boots - that my mother has stolen. Of course... she DID pay for them... Well, now I can get my OWN Docs, and so can you since they are having a faboo $20 and $30 sale right now! (with free shipping!!!) Go, snap 'em up and be cool. Like me. Ten years ago. I mean it - I WAS cool! My mom has pictures.

Announce yourself

Heeeeelllllloooooooooooooo .............. ?????????????

Sorry for the long hiatus, the cross-planet move has taken more out of me than previously thought, but I have already partaken on the delights of American deals. Gaahh, Target $1 Spot, anyone???

Now for now, here's a DUH moment - but I thought I'd post it anyway. If you are in the market for business cards, there's VistaPrint - the freeeee business card online peoples. 250 free really customizable cards that look fabulous, you just pay shipping. Now, they do have a small advert on the back, but if you want to pay more for them, it is removed. And right now, there is a trial afoot that makes the $19.00 fancy advert-free cards only $3.99. And geez, they look fabulous! Hubby designed e some free ones with my picture, no less!! Only problem is, I can't order them until I have an address and a phone number;) Well, first things first!!

Threadless and loving it

Want to be wity without having to come up with anything ineresting to say? Try a Threadless shirt! Until Monday March 12th, most shirts are only $10, and it's free just to check out the insanely witty shirts on their site, so hop to it!

Mystery Shopping?

I really can't tell you how I stumbled on this, but stumble I did and now I'm curious to see if anyone else has any experience with Mystery Shopping? I found some interesting articles on Stretcher.com, including one that describes in great detail the inner-workings of the biz, another with some handy advice from the horse's mouth, and another article of a woman who has done it for 20 year and has some handy tips. It's the kind of thing that isn't a full time job, but if you work it right, could get you some extra cash or an excuse to go out. Methinks I'll check this out when I gets back to the land of the free...

Accessorize me

So in my many enlesssearches for looong modest tee-shirts, I've come by the Kalon Clothing site a few times, and the think I'm most struck with is how AWESOME their clearance jewlery is, of all things. I'm seriously considering getting the bangley braceltes for gifts for Christmas next year (I know a lot of bangley bracelet-type ladies) and what about this necklace for $4.50???

That's the kind of accessory that is so awesome, you want to buy an outfit just to show it off. And since you're a cheapskate, you probably can get that on clearance too:)

More free photos!!

Another free prints deal because hey, I just had a baby and I have a ton of pictures I need to get printed! Check out Photoworks.com - right now they have 25 free 4" x 6" digital prints AND if you are a new members, you also get another extra 25 free prints. Don't forget the coupon code for the 25 free to everyone is 25FREEPRINTS. You do need to pay $1.99 for shipping, but that's 2 bucks for 50 pictures, people?! I don't know how long this is going so hop to it!

Involves Chocolate.

Holy crap, Amazon.com has a 2LB capacity chocolate fountain for the low low price of $10.99! That's 78% off the original price! It comes with 8 fondue skewers and serving tray and has dishwasher-safe parts (wow, I already have one but it makes me want ANOTHER!) Plus if you need to get anything else on Amazon, get it all at the same time because any orders over $25 are free shipping. Throw a party just because you scored this!!

::EDIT::
Sorry, Chelsea, apparently the deal was for a short time, I'm so sorry!!! I did search around and the best price I found was here at $28.99 with an additional 5% off for St. Pats Day. Gotta snag that early worm!

Tours across America

Just one post for today, I was busy roaming the largest mall in South America (where, might I brag, I snagged a pair of shorts for US$10 that I had considered buying for US$20 in the states? HA!).

But, I did manage to run across a nifty little website called FactoryToursUSA.com that lets you search for factory tours by state. Some are free, some are not, but good golly I do loves to see me some HowIt'sMade-ness. Planning a vacay? Find out what you can snag along the way. Bored in your hometown? See how they make matresses. I for one discovered that a small company actually makes soft drink beverages right in Atlanta. I must check out this Coca-Cola I've just heard about. Hrm.

Intraweb piktures

Okay, this has nothing to do with my shopping addiction, but I just like free junk on the web, sue me. ImageChef.com makes easy, custom pics with your words on it that you can post to your blog, myspace, e.mail, whatever. Why? I dunno, give your blog or e.mails some pop. You can waste some time on the web, since you've been so busy saving money. You've earned it.

Freeeeee kid distract-er!!

Everyone has seen all the childhood obesity warnings in the news lately, right? Well the government is taking a wee bit of action and is sending out free kiddo exercize DVDs to whoever wants them. Well, maybe just Americans. I wonder if it's a problem since my kid is Brasilian? Well, in either case, go snap up a copy. Because free is the best price EVER.

*(Chelsea, I know you don't have kids yet, but you totally can't help but want one, right?? heh heh)

School stuff. But more fun. And more cheap.

Flipping through the intraweb today I found a tasty site called Discount School Supply, with lots of edumacational things as well as craft supplies for the cheapness. And of course, yours truly went to the clearance page first and had everything priced low to high (that's how I roll, yo) and for no reason whatsoever, I want to buy lots and lots of watercolor paints and packages of feathers. Because it's on sale, and that is also how I roll. Yo.

Made in the Shade

Woohoo, Shade is on sale??? For the month of March, get your hands on some of the best long shirts on the market (I have 2 of the $5 Raglans, so cute!). Get crackin!

All bling and no bust!

So it you are lucky enough to find yourself in Dallas (yes, it's not attractive but the people are so freaking sweet), you should get even luckier and stop by Sam Moon Trading Company. My girl Urmi hooked me up with a trip to this place a few years back, and I still have happy dreams about it. SUPER cheap wholesale prices on jewlery, handbags, accessories, you name it. It's funny, because every time I go there there are mobs of women all over the place - still worth it:)

But NOW - you can buy from their website!!! Today I am eyeing cute charm bracelets for under $5. Go treat yourself to a gander - gotta love it.

When to shop!

Found this handy-dandy shopping calendar on Tales From the Crib about when to hit the sales.

Bargain Shopping Calendar

January -Almost everything goes on sale in January. It’s a good time to pick up formal clothing, dressy shoes, and fancy accessories at no-nonsense prices.

February - Stores are in a hurry to clear floor space for spring lines, so look for rock-bottom prices on remaining winter-clothing stock. Snap up a winter coat and boots, and search the bargain bins for steals on hats, scarves, and gloves.

April - Shop "After Easter" sales for children's clothes, dresses, spring coats (slickers and trench coats) .

July - Buy summer clothing, swimsuits, shoes & sandals during sales in July. Many stores have concurrent lingerie and underwear sales.

August - Gear up for next summer now while all summer clothes, bathing suits, sandals, and hats are at a rock bottom prices.

October - Those new school shoes are probably reduced by now, as are sneakers and book bags. Outerwear, from leather jackets to wool coats, is also priced to sell fast. The best coat sales take place in the first half of October, around Columbus Day.

November-December - In the fierce competition for pre-holiday business, stores have begun offering the traditional post-Christmas sales earlier.

Do you Woot?

So, one of my husband's very first web visits of the day is to Woot.com. An insane little website, it only sells one thing a day, and when it's sold out, it's gone. All technology stuffs, all over the place, it's fun and you can get lucky. I have a fabulous mp4 player (video, music, pictures, records off TV, plays onto TV, so freaking awesome) he got me for a cool $120 on the site. My parents got their Roomba there too. You have to check it every day, the descriptions and comments can be hilarious, but all in all, it's a total trip. Today there's an mp3 player for $17.99 that is mighty serviceable.

It's the kind of place that when you get a deal, you really do want to say WOOT!, y'know??

Can you handle the truth??

When we moved into our house, we knew the kitchen needed a major overhaul. Instead of replacing the cabinents, I spent 4 months lovingly repainting them. Hey, I was a newbie so this was all learning process. But I was stunned to discover how expensive handles and knobs were for them! Lucky for us, we happened to live in the same town as an Ikea (insert heavenly angels singing from above) so instead of $2.99 for each handle (we had to buy like 30), we got these that come in a pack of 6 for $1.99. Heh, that's like $.33 each - woooooooot!

Oh, and if you are one of the poor souls that don't know what Ikea is (you probably aren't reading this because you are busy under your rock;) it is not only the funnest furniture store ever, it's the cheapest and oh, oh so magical. Hubby and I have headed there for their $.99 breakfast on lazy Saturdays many a time...... *Ikea I love you. Don't tell the Jetta.*

ps. Sorry for the title, I just HAD to.

New Yooooooork!

Ooo, I don't suggest the website (it's spotty) but if you have time, head over the your local mall with a New York & Co. - they're having a 50% off sale! I've gotten some great clearance items there, so it's worth the excavation.