I know that for some of you potty training is a thing of the past, but for many of us it is a daily thorn that we are making it through one day at a time.  I was recently introduced to a new product that I thought other mom’s might be interested in.

The Looster Booster is a specially designed step that fits around your standard toilet to help a little person learn to use the big potty.  The main helpfulness in our house for this, is that it removes the need to have a training potty (with those nasty bowls you have to rinse and dump).  It makes it where your kiddo can start in the beginning using the toilet that everyone in the house uses.

For me the joy of not cleaning the baby potty was the biggest draw, but for my youngest the fact that her feet can touch the entire time is her favorite part.  She doesn’t have to hold on for dear life, and also doesn’t need me to help her get up and down.

A few features:

It wraps around the toilet on three sides.
Adults don’t need to move it to use the bathroom.
The top has non-skid raised alphabet letters to help prevent slips.

One other fun thing… it’s made in the USA.

Right now you can buy your own Looster Booster for $15 off the original price of $34.99 – that’s a huge discount!  To redeem your discount, head over to the Little Looster and use the promo code “Southern” at checkout.

Win It:

Three Southern Savers readers will win a Looster Booster.

To Enter:

Leave a comment with a helpful potty training tip, or a potty training fear.

I was given one product to review, all opinions are 100% my own.
Winners will be picked Monday  2/13.

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I was searching around for a deal on tax programs and stumbled upon Free Tax USA.  The more I read about it, the more I love it!  It has great reviews and the price is hard to beat.

Federal Taxes including filing is FREE for anyone, even small business or self employed.  If you need state taxes filed, that’s $9.95 including filling.  That blows the other programs out of the water in cost.

I’m always a little worried to try a new program for taxes, so I started a return with our old standby and with this (both are free to start but the old standby charges $39 once you file or print).  I got the exact same numbers with both programs, but will gladly save the $40 and go with the free option!

If you haven’t filed yet, it’s worth checking out.

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I love educational games for kids.  It amazes me how fast they can pick things up, and it’s great to see them playing without realizing that they are doing math and other school subjects.

Disney has an online program that I have no doubt your kids will love!  Club Penguin is a safe place for kids to explore concept of math, reading, budgeting, teamwork, problem solving and more.  They can use this game to play with their friends or even make new ones.  The great thing is that Club Penguin is completely safe!  Since your child has the ability to chat when in Club Penguin, you have the option to choose “Ultimate Safe Chat” or “Standard Safe Chat” when you sign your child up.  Your child even has the ability to ignore or report people they’re talking to online.

What can you do with Club Penguin?  Your child can do almost anything they want in this colorful, virtual world!  They can dress up their penguin, play games, buy things to make the games more fun, explore the different areas of the game.  Not only are your kids reading, doing math and playing games while they interact on Club Penguin, but they earn coins along the way to buy extra goodies throughout the game – this helps them learn the value of budgeting!

You can play for free anytime, or you can pay for an actual membership.  The membership gives you extra advantages and opens up more areas to play and learn.

Today only,  ShopAtHome.com is offering an exclusive cash back deal for Southern Savers readers!  When you buy a Club Penguin membership through this ShopAtHome.com link, you’ll receive 12% cash back instead of the normal 5%.

The Giveaway:

ShopAtHome.com is giving away a free 1 month Club Penguin membership to 13 Southern Savers readers.

To Enter:

Leave a comment below telling me what your favorite game was as a kid.

This Giveaway is sponsored by ShopAtHome.com, but all opinions are 100% mine. 

Winners will be chosen Friday, 1/27.

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Last we talked about getting your budget in order.  One of the most important steps to do that is also getting your bills in order.  So many of us have an inbox like the one above, and honestly this only leads to frustration and late fees.

Since we have a great free tool to manage budgets, how about another great free resource to manage the bills!!

Manilla.com is  a great site for keeping your finances organized – from paying bills to tracking travel miles. This site and service is completely FREE and to start, all you need to do is create your profile.

You will quickly have a view of every account you have, plus it even tracks reward programs!

Once you get started, you can set up reminders to be sent to your e-mail or phone so that you don’t ever miss a bill payment.   As for getting rid of the paper pile, Manilla.com will store all your documents and past bills for as long as you want, so that you never run out of storage space.

If you are concerned with the level of security, read up on everything Manilla is doing to keep your information under lock and key.

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Manilla.

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If you are looking for ways to save on meat, one of the best ways is to buy in bulk.  Since many of us can’t go and buy a whole cow, the next best thing is bulk meat orders from companies like Zaycon Foods.  This is a meat seller that runs special sales across the nation.  You order in advance if you want to take part in a sale and then drive buy and pick up your order during the assigned pick up window. Your meat is fresh from the processor and is never frozen!

If you are curious, now is a great time to look into it.  Through tonight (1/6) they are taking orders for their chicken sale.  You get boneless skinless chicken breast for $1.69 lb.  It is a bulk order of 40 lbs.  That’s a lot of chicken for many of us, so go in and split it with a friend.

They also just opened beef and bacon sales in many areas today too!  The beef is the one I’m the most excited about. They are offering 93% lean ground beef for $2.97 lb.  It also comes in a 40 lb case.  In my area I can’t get extra lean meat for less than $3.99 lb so I’ll gladly take the $40 savings of buying it in bulk.

When you go to pick this up, be ready with freezer bags!  All of their meat comes straight from the processor, so you are getting fresh meat that will need to be individually packaged before freezing.

Again the chicken orders have to be in by tonight, but you have until January 13th (or until they sell out) to order the beef or the bacon.

Just in case you are wondering you can order more then 40 lbs if you want…

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Along with the holiday season comes early mornings, family gatherings and holiday entertainment.  Why not take a well deserved break and “Spend a Minute with Millstone” by enjoying a perfectly brewed cup of Millstone coffee.  Millstone has awesome K-Cups so you can enjoy one perfectly brewed cup at a time in less than a minute with your Keurig Brewer.

Want a chance to win $10,000?!  Head over to Millstone’s website to enter the “Spend a Minute with Millstone” contest now through December 27th.  Once you complete the online entry form, you’ll be automatically entered to win the Grand Prize of $10,000, a Keurig Brewer and a 1-year supply of Millstone K-Cup Portion Packs.  By entering, you also have the chance to win 32 weekly prizes; each weekly prize consists of a $100 grocery gift card, one Keurig Brewer valued at $120, and one 1-month supply of Millstone K-Cup Portion Packs.

Also enter to win another prize right here on Southern Savers!!

The Giveaway:

Millstone is giving away an awesome prize pack which includes:

Variety of Millstone K-Cup Portion Packs in Breakfast Blend, Foglifter and Hazelnut Cream
Crate and Barrel coffee cup
Keurig Elite Brewing System
$25 grocery shopping card

To Enter:

Tell me in a comment below with your favorite way to drink coffee.

(Mine is heavy on the milk and sugar).

The winner will be announced Wednesday 12/14.

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We love Little Tikes in our house!  When they emailed to see if we would review the Little Tikes Cupcake Kitchen, how could this mom of three girls say no!!  I’ll confess that so far I’m the only one that has played with it, the kitchen is packed neatly away in it’s little box waiting for Christmas day for the girls to see it.

The Cupcake Kitchen is the perfect gift for your little one who dreams to be a baker.  They can have a blast pretending to cook just like their parents.  This kitchen comes with so many features to make it seem even more realistic like a sink, an oven, 2 burners and a working drawer.  There’s plenty of storage in the drawer and the oven for all of the accessories so you can pack it all up when you’re done playing (very important in my opinion).  Accessories for the Little Tikes Cupcake Kitchen include a cupcake tray, a pot & lid, 1 spatula, 2 plates, 2 forks, 2 spoons, two knives, 2 sprinkle shakers and 4 cupcakes.

One warning for anyone buying this online, when it is shipped the box has pictures of it ALL over the outside.  So make sure you are home to get the package and your kids are distracted.

The Little Tikes Cupcake Kitchen costs $39.99 and has FREE shipping now through December 26th!

Win It!

Little Tikes is giving away one of their Cupcake Kitchens to 3 Southern Savers readers.

Enter:

Tell me what type of pretend play your kids enjoy the most.

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Last week I posted about the new UPS My Choice – a solution to all of your missed packages and waiting around for a shipment that doesn’t come for days. If you aren’t signed up, it takes 5 minutes and you really will LOVE having a heads up of what packages are coming.  Get a text message, email or whatever alert you request to know everything that is coming and when to expect it.

The best part – signing up for the basic level is FREE!  The only time you’ll ever need to pay a cent is if you decide to reroute a package.

I never knew when I signed up for UPS My Choice how dependent I would be on this service.  I love knowing what’s coming the day before it arrives – especially if it’s something I bought my kids for Christmas and I need to be sure to occupy them with something else when I know the package is arriving.

We also got to giveaway a $100American Express gift card from UPS My Choice, so the winner is… Angela B. from Fort Smith, AR.

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With Christmas season in full swing I feel like we are waiting on packages at least twice a week lately.  I don’t know about you, but one thing I hate (and I do mean hate) is waiting for a package just to leave for a few minutes and come home to the dreaded hang tag on the door.

UPS has come up with an awesome solution!

UPS is committed to making the shipping experience better – not just for shippers, but for the consumers who receive packages at their home as well. They recently launched  a first-of-its kind, service for residential receivers called UPS My Choice.  Users can get alerts a day in advance when packages are coming by email or text.  You can even reschedule or sign for a package online!

Their goal is to avoid the disappointment and hassle of missing a home delivery and increase the likelihood of a successful delivery on the first attempt.  You can make changes, see time frames, and even request specific time frames for delivery online or with a mobile phone.

There are  two levels of membership:

UPS My Choice members (FREE) receive phone, e-mail or text alerts notifying you a day in advance of when packages will arrive and providing a four-hour approximate delivery time frame. You can also opt to electronically authorize the release of packages that require a signature and, for a $5 transaction fee, to reroute a package to another delivery address or have it delivered to the nearest The UPS Store location.

UPS My Choice Premium Membership, is a $40 annual subscription, but it provides all the benefits of a regular UPS My Choice membership at no additional cost and in addition, members gain access to an online delivery calendar that shows the status of UPS home deliveries. Premium members also are offered a two-hour delivery window. A $5 transaction fee is charged only upon successful delivery of the package within the two-hour commitment.
As a Premium member, you can even provide their UPS driver with detailed instructions on where to leave a package. They  just select from a drop-down list of location options like — leave it at the Side Door…the Garage…on the Porch…in the Management Office of my apartment complex or the Shed out back!  This would be a great feature to have if you go out of town and you don’t want your UPS package to just sit at the front door.

I signed up earlier this week for UPS Choice and have found it very fun to get a text message a day before delivery.  If anything don’t try to surprise me with a package, cause I’m gonna know who it’s from before it even gets here!!  If only they could tell me what’s in the box too…

You have no reason to not start using the free version, just be warned it going to make you feel like a little kid waiting for the mail to come again!

I received compensation from UPS in the form of a gift card to participate in this review of the UPS My Choice delivery service.
In addition, UPS provided the gift card I am using as the prize.

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How many of you are like me and have wanted a Cracker Barrel rocking chair every time you saw them?

One of our favorite parts of eating at Cracker Barrel is enjoying the Old Country Store rocking chairs on their front porch.

These chairs are great quality and have been made by the same family company for 5 generations.  You can either buy them in the store or get ready-to-assemble chairs online.  The ready-to-assemble chairs are the exact same quality rocker used on Cracker Barrel’s front porch – it just requires some assembly.   Don’t worry all the tools you need are included with the rocker. All rockers are made from knot-free solid hardwood, no fillers and features a signature Cracker Barrel Old Country Store medallion on the back of the chair.  The medallion is a symbol of quality.  If you want to give a Cracker Barrel Rocking chair as a gift, you can ship to yourself or directly to the recipient for free and you can even have it gift wrapped!

I long for a front porch filled rocking chairs overlooking a beautiful picturesque view.  Right now though I have no front porch and the view would be of toys in my front yard and the neighbors driving by.  So I will live vicariously through one of you!!

The Giveaway:

Cracker Barrel will be sending one of their Old Country Store ready-to-assemble rocking chairs to one Southern Savers reader.

To Enter:

You have 2 chances to enter (do both if you’d like).

1) Leave a comment below answering this:

If you could sit and rock looking out on the perfect view, what would it be of??

2) Like Cracker Barrel and Southern Savers on Facebook and leave a comment below telling me you did.

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Sometimes presents aren’t about what you want, they are about what you need!  It’s a rare person that loves ironing, but no matter how you feel about it you still have to do it.

A small confession here…  I don’t iron.  Seriously.  My husband learned that in the first week of our marriage, my theory is that after wearing something for an hour all the wrinkles will come out any way.  I’m married to  a man that can’t stand wrinkles (funny how God pairs people like that) so he does ALL of the ironing.

Recently Hamilton Beach & All You Magazine asked if they could send me an iron to try out, I probably would have ignored the request were it not for my husband jumping at the idea of a new iron.  So we received a Full Size Durathon Electronic Control Iron to try out.

First off the soleplate is so clean versus the 12 year old iron we had.  It is also built with a Durathon non-stick soleplate that lasts 10 times longer than traditional non-stick. It also offers continuous steam that quickly removes all of the wrinkles.  The Durathon Electronic Control Iron comes with adjustable steam, 3-way automatic shutoff, anti-drip technology, a 10′ cord, a hot dot storage indicator and so much more!

Want one??

This review is sponsored by AllYou.  They provided me with products to review, but all opinions are 100% mine.

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Looking for some fun new learning toys for your kids?

The Brilliant Creations Advanced Notebook from VTech is an educational toy laptop inspired by the real thing and designed to teach your child essential skills for success.  The notebook features a 4.5″ LCD color screen.  It includes 120 learning activities that teach language arts, science, math, foreign language, creativity and more to help your child get ahead in school.  The Notebook even has a mouse and touchpad so your child really feels like they are using a grown-up laptop.

VTech sent us a notebook to try out and review.  I think my girls must have x-ray vision, because the minute the box arrived they knew it was for them.  It says it is for ages 5-8, but my 3 year old had it figured out within minutes.  There are a few things I love, the biggest being that it doesn’t require tons of cartridges to play games.  So far the 120 games that are on it have kept us very entertained.  I also like that all of the games are related to reading, art, math, and other subjects.  Not that I don’t let my kids just play games, but I feel better when our play is still educational.  The other feature I like is that it has an external power adapter, meaning I’m not going to pay out the nose for batteries.  It does run on batteries if you want to mobile, but at least there is another option!

The only thing I would mention negative about it is the graphics display.  It’s not as advanced as we adults might expect, my kids could care less though.  If graphics are important to you I would recommend that you pay a bit more and go for the Innotab (VTech’s new tablet for kids).

This notebook is suggested for children ages 5-8 and can be found at Walmart, Target, Toys R Us, VTech and Amazon.

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Pacsun has some great deals running this Black Friday – the entire site is B1G1 50% off!

***This deal has expired, but to see more online coupon codes go here.***

Check out their sale section to get shirts starting at $6, dressing for $12.50 and lots of other deals (all before the B1G1 50% off!).  They have flat rate $5 shipping or free shipping if you order $50 or more.

I know it may not feel like summer outside, but this is the best time of year to stock up on next summer’s clothes.

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Just thought I would take a second and let know that Nielsen Home Scan is currently accepting new applications to join their panel.  This is an interesting way to be a part of the grocery marketing industry, helping to show what people are buying in certain areas of the country.  There are also opportunities to review products and give feedback on various surveys.

You are rewards with cash or other prizes based on your activity level.

Have you done Nielsen?

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Looking for a fun vacation getaway? Or maybe just a break from the cold during the winter months? Atlantic Luggage is running an awesome sweepstakes for you to win a trip to Legoland!

Legoland is a brand new family theme park that opens on October 15th and is located in Winter Haven, Florida. With 150 acres, they have over 50 rides to enjoy! If your kids don’t want to brave the rides, you won’t need to worry. They promise to have shows and attractions geared toward 2-12 year olds. This helps keep everyone entertained!

The entire park aims to give you and your family a creative and unique experience, unlike any other theme park. Better yet, heading down to Florida for a winter vacation will give you a break from the cold weather.

Atlantic Luggage is sponsoring this sweepstakes. They pride themselves on their lightweight, durable, and affordable luggage, which all help create a stress-free trip for you and your family! I personally have never had a matching set of luggage, but it does sound like a fun and practical Christmas gift.

Enter Atlantic luggage and Legoland sweepstakes for a chance to win a trip to Legoland. Share the news with your friends too so everyone can have a chance at winning this awesome trip!

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Sometimes I get to realize just how cool this whole blogging thing is.  This week I became the coolest mom in the world when we opened a box and out popped a brand new (not even released to the public) VTech InnoTab.

***This giveaway has expired, but to see current giveaways go here.***

This tablet is the kid’s version of the popular tablets that a lot of us have grown to love.  Thanks to my husband being a gadget loving engineer we already have an adult sized tablet (to remain unnamed) and all three of my girls know how to use it to play games.  They instantly had this one figured out too.

The awesome thing to me, is that it comes with games already on it!  I didn’t have to deal with 3 cranky children waiting for Mom to “get it ready” to play with.  Out of the box, InnoTab comes with a full suite of pre-loaded applications including an interactive, animated e-book, motion games, creative activities, MP3 music player, photo viewer, video player, alarm clock, calculator, calendar and an address book.  You can also download more titles, games and apps from there online store – VTech’s Learning Lodge Navigator.  I don’t know that my girls need all of these apps, but for right now they are very content with the Disney Princess storybook builder where you create your own stories and it reads them back to you.

Another great thing about the InnoTab is that is is virtually indestructible against my 3-year-old.  VTech suggests this product for ages 4-9, but even my youngest loves to take her turn just as much as the big girls.

Not that VTech is asking for my opinion but there are two small things that I would fix (or be ready for).  First it turns off as an adult would expect by just pushing the power button.  For kids though, that is too easy and if my girls hit the wrong button they just lost the story they were writing or game.  Second, it loves batteries!  So get prepared with some good rechargable batteries.  So far in the 3 days we have had it we’ve already gone through 8 AA’s.

All in all I’m really impressed.  I got to see a prototype of this a number of months ago and they have truly created a great product for kids.  It’s light, easy for them to use without asking me 4,000 questions and something that I know they are learning with every game they play!

Features:

• 5″ color touch screen and tilt-sensor for educational gameplay
• E-books, educational games, creative activities, learning apps, and more available on cartridge or as downloads from VTech Learning Lodge Navigator website
• 4 different media players: E-Book reader, MP3 music player, photo viewer and video player
• 64MB onboard memory and SD card slot for memory expansion
• Learning toy connects to PC/Mac with included USB cable

If you’re anxious to go ahead and purchase the InnoTab for your favorite little one, be patient.  It will be sold at Kmart, Toys R Us, Walmart, VTech, and Amazon.com in October (or you can pre-order now).

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This post brought to you by Zimmerman Advertising. All opinions are 100% mine.

Take a minute and think about your car.  Mine is a nice little mini van with over a hundred thousand miles on it, a layer of melted crayons in the cup holders and a few lost toys under the seats.  I know it’s no Cadillac, but it’s mine, it’s paid for and it’s a vital part of our life.

I don’t really think any of us can live without our cars in today’s world.  The grocery store is 5 miles + away, church is a 25 minute drive, our parents live 3+ hours away… honestly the thought of not being able to leave the house to just get to the park makes me jittery.

Now to your car.  When was the last time it got a good tune up?  an oil change, tire rotation, clean air filter?  If your house is like mine you have no clue.  The car is needed, but I (and you) don’t have time or money to give to it.

Enter Pep Boys, they recently sent us a gift card for an oil change and inspection and wanted me to try out their online registration and tracking system.  I can’t turn down a free oil change, so I hopped online found the nearest location and quickly had my car registered.  It took all of 5 minutes to pick an appointment time and enter the car’s info.  We printed out the paper work and dropped it off at night, all registered and ready for it’s 8 am appointment.  The fun part was they send you a tracking # for your car and you can log on and see at any point where your car’s progress is.  I love it!  (Seriously more professions should come up with something list this…).

Getting the car back I’m pretty sure it is happier, it doesn’t talk a lot but I always feel like it is more spry after we show it some tlc.

Win $50 to Pep Boys

Pepboys is giving away a $50 Pep Boy’s gift card to 5 different readers! I don’t know who is happier, you or your car.

To enter:

Leave a comment below with the one thing your car would ask for if it could talk.
(Please note that to reduce spam, you will have to verify your email address the first time you leave a comment on SouthernSavers.com right now).

Winners will be picked on 8/22.  See official rules.

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We all love to look at pictures of beautiful hotels, but most of us cringe at the prices to actually stay there.  With the advent of daily deals comes a way to finally be able to save on these amazing hotels! SniqueAway.com runs deep discounts on some of the top hotels around the world.

Thanks to SniqueAway.com, I had the pleasure of enjoying a one night stay at the French Quarter Inn in downtown Charleston recently.  This was the first time I had ever booked a hotel through a deal site, it was remarkably simple and I was still treated like a queen even though I paid half of what other guests had.

SniqueAway.com creates a simple booking experience for trips all over the world. For my stay in Charleston, all I needed to do was “Visit the Sale” for my destination. On the right-hand side, you select which type of room you want and the dates you would like to book. After you select your dates, all you need to do is enter your information. Three “clicks” later, you are packing for your next vacation!

Snique Away is well-known for their impeccable tastes on destinations – my stay at the French Quarter Inn left no room for doubt! When you check-in, they offer champagne. They host with wine and cheese from 5-7:30 PM and then with milk and cookies from 8:30-10 PM! They never missed a beat to make you feel the most comfortable. While we were away for dinner, they turned down our bed, left a weather card outlining the weather for the next day, and wonderful chocolate treats (they know how to get to my heart!).

Their gorgeous breakfast display of fruits, pastries, cereals, fresh juices, and more was a great thing to wake up and see. Their coffee and tea on every floor helped me feel right at home.

SniqueAway.com has deals across the country and all over the world, from Mexico to Thailand! You can save on any of your dream vacations. I saved at least $100 with my one-night’s stay in Charleston. This makes vacation much more enjoyable and not so stressful.

You can sign up with SniqueAway.com to check out destinations for your next vacation. They will send you e-mail alerts on new sales and deals for free. Rest assured, SniqueAway.com works closley with TripAdvisor, one of the world’s most trusted travel sites. Only locations that are recommended from TripAdvisor with show up on SniqueAway.com

The Giveaway

SniqueAway.com is giving away a $200 credit to one winner! This credit should cover a night’s stay at several of their locations.

How to Enter:

Head over to SniqueAway and find a location on sale you would love to travel to. Then leave a comment on here with your first choice.

(This giveaway is sponsored by SniqueAway, all opinions are 100% my own.  The total prize is $200, if you choose a longer stay or more expensive location the remainder due will be owed by winner).

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Pfaltzgraff has tons of styles and options for grown-up serving and tableware.  I instantly fell in love with the “Patio Garden” pattern and I can’t get over these pretty storage/serving bowls for $9.99!

Y’all know I’m always looking for a deal and they also have a lot of small items like this colorful votive set in their clearance section.  At $4.99 these would make a great gift or add a little summer personality to your house.  (I confess I want to use them as little ice cream bowls).

If you need more of a kitchen overhaul, you can use coupon code SAVEMORE to save $10 off a $50 purchase, $20 off $100 or $30 off $150! Their shipping is FREE above $99 or a flat $7.95 otherwise.

The Giveaway

Pfaltzgraph is giving (2) Southern Savers readers a $50 Pfaltzgraff giftcard to spend on anything you want! Use it to get a set of dishes, silverware or a lot of fun smaller items.

Win It

To enter, leave a comment below with what item most needs replacing in your kitchen.

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Gillette sent us a fun Odor Shield gift pack so my lucky husband could try out their body wash and deodorant.  They also sent test strips so my girls and I could do a fun experiment without having to smell like daddy!

One end of the test strip was treated with Gillette Odor Shield, and the other end was not.  We dipped both ends of the test strip into a strong smelling liquid (we used leftover coffee), and only the untreated end smelled like coffee!  Sniffing the end of the strip that had been treated with Gillette Odor Shield, there was little to no trace of the coffee scent. My girls thought this was so cool!

Although my husband is a self-proclaimed Old Spice user through and through, even he was impressed by the Gillette Odor Shield test!  I’ve never seen anything block a scent so well as it did with the coffee experiment.  Head over to Gillette’s website to learn more about their Odor Shield Antiperspirant & Deodorant.

The Giveaway:

Gillette is giving an awesome prize pack to one Southern Savers reader!  It includes:

Three (3) Gillette Odor Shield Antiperspirants

Three (3) Gillette Odor Shield Body Washes

Two (2) Gillette Fusion ProGlide Razors

Two (2) Four-packs Gillette Fusion ProGlide Refill Cartridges

One (1) Gillette Fusion ProGlide Shave Gel

One (1) Gillette Fusion ProSeries Thermal Face Scrub

One (1) $10 Starbucks Gift Card

To Enter:

To win, leave a comment telling us your man’s favorite outdoor activity that requires a trusty deodorant.

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Bare Escentuals cosmetic lovers, I have exciting news for you!   They recently launched a revolutionary new skincare line using their proprietary miracle ingredient RareMinerals ActiveSoil Complex.  It is clinically proven to deliver faster cell regeneration, noticeably smaller pores, and softer, younger-looking skin.

They sent me a few of the new products to try, so over the last week, I tried the Purely Nourishing Moisturizer, the Deep Cleansing Foam, the Purifying Facial Cleanser and the Firming Eye Treatment.  I am always on the search for an awesome eye cream and this Eye Firming Treatment definitely gives noticeable results.   The joys of growing older I guess is that you pay a lot more attention to what goes under your makeup than you ever did before!

Everything was excellent but the eye treatment and cleanser really made an impression on me.  The cleanser left my face feeling incredibly clean but also so soft.  I can sometimes have irritable skin or be sensitive to new products, so I was hesitant at first.  However, at the end of the week my face actually feels better than it did before!  Needless to say, I’m a little hooked.

Would you like to try it??

bareMinerals is giving (3) winners a Skin Renewing Trio Kit including:

Purely Nourishing Moisturizer
Purifying Facial Cleanser
Firming Eye Treatment

To Enter:

Leave a comment below about your most troublesome skin problem (or your favorite Bare Escentuals product if you are already a fan!).

I’ll pick the winners Monday, April 4.

Check out Bare Escentuals on Facebook and Twitter!

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Over the Christmas holidays we got a big present from Pepboys… new tires for our minivan.  I’ve gotten a lot of random things in the mail over the almost 3 years of running Southern Savers, (the most recent being a bottle of Tabasco sauce and an avocado) but this was the first thing that was desperately needed.  Over the last 2 years with all of our crazy travels we have put over 40,000 miles on our poor van!  The tires it had on it were there when we bought it used a few years ago so it was time.

***For more product reviews and giveaways go here.***

If you’ve never had car care done at Pep Boys (I hadn’t before this) they have a great online reservation system that really streamlines everything.  I kind of felt like I was taking my car to the doctor after filling out all the fields but when we walked in they had everything done and paper work signed so we handed them the keys and they were off working.

I decided to wait there for the car but another fun feature of the reservation system if you didn’t wait is that you can track the progress of your car!  (The doctor’s office doesn’t even have that feature!!)

As for the tires, Pepboys carries lots of name brands but they also carry their own house brand called Definity (made by Cooper Tires).  I might not always push house brand groceries but for other purchases this really can be a HUGE money saver.  The tire made for our van was $40 cheaper per tire than the name brand version also made by Cooper!  At this point I know that I’m a girl and there are probably a lot of other factors to consider, but even with all the other things you might ponder you have to agree that cost does play a factor in your decision.

So far these tires have been great.  It might be me being silly but I think it makes me feel like I’m driving a new car.  Actually two days after getting the tires was the Christmas snow storm of the south and it was an amazing comfort to drive across the south visiting family and know that we were at least safer with better traction and good tires.

A deal for you:

If you are in the market for tires Pepboys has all Definity, Cooper and Hankook Tires Buy 3, Get 1 Free plus right now they have a printable coupon that you can use on top of the B3G1 deal for an additional $20 to $50 off!

(Tune in tomorrow morning for something even more fun for you from Pepboys, Free Car Care/Stuff!!!)

For those that are more car savvy what tips would you give people looking for new tires??
Any money saving ideas?

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I’ve had chronic back pain for as long as I can remember and I’m not sure whether its the weather or all the holiday craziness that makes it worse this time of year.  Between carrying the kids and gifts, sitting down to do my wrapping and standing for extended periods baking in the kitchen, I get pretty exhausted by the end of the holiday season.  Taking a break isn’t always an option, so I turned to Salonpas Pain Relief Patches for my aches.  Its a convenient over-the-counter patch that you put on the affected area while you go about your day.  Side effects are minimized and pain relief is efficiently directed right where you need it.

If you haven’t already, you can request free samples on the Salonpas Facebook page (Tip: They’ll also send you great coupons too!!).

This giveaway was sponsored by Salonpas and we received a gift pack with a digital photo frame, shopping bag and samples to review.  All opinions are 100% my own.

Salonpas “Shop til You Drop” Giveaway

(2) winners will each receive a digital photo frame for all those cherished holiday photos, (3) Salonpas samples and a reusable shopping bag to help hold all the gifts!

To enter:
Leave a Comment below about how you de-stress from the craziness of holiday shopping!

I’ll pick a winner Monday morning 12/20.

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With three little girls, we’re always doing arts and crafts at my house.  If it weren’t for our “art projects” I think my house would actually be clean!!  Crayola sent us a ton of fun, mess-free products this week though that are awesome!Most of their products would be perfect gifts all are under $30.

If Crayola is on your list for the holidays, be sure to download this $20 rebate and grab the coupons on their Facebook page.

We love Crayola products, and I hope you do too because Crayola sent us 4 awesome things to giveaway!

• Crayola Glow Explosion Spin Magic – Create multi-colored glow-in-the-dark masterpieces with markers that look like little glow sticks.  It comes with a spinning base so they can put their drawings up to make a glowing mobile.
• The Crayola Wonder Sound Studio takes the mess out of the pretty arts and crafts my kids love to make.  The most fun thing about this one is that the kids can add sounds to a page from a bank of 60 sounds, and the sounds play back when the coloring begins!
• Crayola Model Magic Presto Dots are a new way to sculpt your favorite figurine.  Gone are the days of the kids pulling out the old modeling clay that crumbles and falls on the floor until someone comes around and gets it stuck on their socks.  Your kids can create cool 3-D characters with the “Pop-Dot” tool!
• This year Crayola Crayons have specially marked boxes with a free code for 6-month unlimited access to the Story Studio custom coloring book maker.  This allows your kids to transform themselves into a cartoon character from a digital photo or web cam image. (Try it out now with access code PRY4DBJJ)

Want to Win It?

One winner will receive all of these fun products!

To enter:
Leave a comment telling us if you’re a marker, crayon, or paint kind of person.

(The products for this giveaway were provided by Crayola and MyBlogSpark. All opinions are 100% my own.)

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This month they sent a Carhartt Sandstone Blanket-Lined Chore Coat for my husband try out. He said this is really half jacket/half coat. The blanket lining makes it warm like a coat, but the outer part is a durable sandstone-colored 100% cotton duck material. The sleeves are lined with quilted nylon that makes it warm & comfy. Because of the layered materials, it feels nice and warm, but breathes so you don’t sweat. All of the pockets are open but the right chest pocket has a handy snap to keep your cell phone from falling out while you’re working outside in chilly weather!

Carhartt is giving one lucky Southern Savers reader a Men’s Sandstone Blanket-Lined Chore Coat ($85 value) and a Men’s Multi-Striped Hat ($16 value)!

Keep them for yourself or give it as an awesome present for your husband, dad or other lucky guy in your life!

To enter this giveaway, leave a comment below
about your favorite outdoor activity this time of year!

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