The other day I was telling my Mom how I thought a storage bench would look nice in my office. Not only will it provide additional storage but a nice, NEW place to work from. Well after I ran the idea by her, she was out doing what she loves best…yard sale shopping…when she stumbled upon a coffee table. After looking at it and comparing it to storage benches we had already looked up online she decided to get it for me in hopes that we could transform it into a storage bench.

The piece was very sturdy (good solid wood) so it can definitely hold my weight, all it needed was a fresh coat of paint because the wood tone wasn’t working with my color scheme.

After several coats of fresh white paint, it was time to bring the “bench” into its new home. Would it fit? How will it look?



Perfect! It was absolutely beautiful in its new space but needed some finishing touches. I grabbed a couple pink storage crates I had laying about the office, my pink rug, damask pillow, and skull blanket. While the finished look was cute it still needed a bit of personal touch so I “painted” a heart on the side of the bench with a Sharpie Paint marker in black to resemble a carved heart (like you would see on a tree).



Voila! A DIY Storage Bench made from a $10 coffee table find from a yard sale (thanks MOM).

What have you DIY’d lately?

Disclosure: I am apart of the Sharpie Squad 2010. Sharpie has provided me with various products to use as I see fit. This post is just one example of how I have chosen to use Sharpie.

Recently one of my blogging friends and fellow Walmart Mom, Jenn of Frugal Upstate, posted a vlog on how she makes her own laundry detergent. I used to make my own laundry detergent a while back but for some reason just stopped doing it, probably because I lost the recipe and didn’t feel like looking it up again. I’m glad Jenn posted her recipe because it peeked my interest once more to find alternative, budget friendly ways to make my own laundry AND dishwasher detergent.

The perk I see to making my own laundry and dishwasher detergents is that it is cheaper! And I’m all for the cheap.

Since there are SO MANY recipes out there on the internet for homemade laundry and dishwasher detergents, I feel there is no need for me to write out another one to add to the confusion. So instead I will just link to a few of the recipes that are already posted online. Check ‘em out and let me know what you think about the whole idea of making your own cleaning products.

Homemade Laundry Detergents

What I love about making my own detergents is that a little bit goes a long way which in turns saves me money with each load.

• Jenn from Frugal Upstate makes Laundry Detergent in an informative vlog
• Mod Cottage version of Home-made detergent
• Tip Nut compiled a list of 10 various recipes for homemade laundry detergent
• Mummy Deals also makes a Go Green and Save Green Homemade Dishwasher Detergent
• Amy of New Nostalgia’s Homemade Laundry Detergent

Homemade Dishwasher Detergents

Not all “recipes” work the same. It’s trial and error. Once you find the perfect recipe that works best for you, it’s easy savings from there.

• DIY Dishwasher Detergent
• Homemade Dishwasher Detergent Powdered
• Dirty Dish Detergent: How to make Dishwasher Detergent
• Mummy Deals also makes a Go Green and Save Green Homemade Dishwasher Detergent (thanks WiseBread)

More Frugal Cleaning Tips

I like to experiment and find new ways to do everyday tasks.
Being frugal in you cleaning doesn’t have to stop at the laundry or the dishes, check out Beingfrugal.net’s Frugal Cleaning Cabinet for products that will clean your entire home or another one of Jenn’s post on how to hang your laundry to save on your energy bill.

Do you have any Frugal Cleaning Tips? Share with us in the comments.
Feel free to leave links or just share your experience with making your own laundry, dishwasher, or cleaning products. I’d love to hear your thoughts. Do you think its worth the extra time and effort? Do you think the homemade versions of cleaners work as well as the store bought brands?

Father’s Day is just around the corner. I recently took an opportunity with Walmart as one of their Walmart Moms to share with you some inexpensive Father’s Day gift ideas.

I don’t know about you but I often have a hard time figuring out what to get Dad on his special day. Thankfully gifts this year were made a little easier thanks to Walmart. With a variety of gifts under $20, Walmart helps make finding Dad a gift he’ll love, easy!

Walmart provided me with a giftcard to find a gift for Dad. And I’d like to share with you just two of the inexpenisve gifts I hope my Dad or Husband will love. The first gift is a Work & Play watch set. I was drawn to this set initially because of the price. It was only $15!! (the Work & Play watch gift set is not available on walmart.com, check your local store circular for this and other Father’s Day deals) And second because of the variety. He can wear one to work and wear the other one during more casual activities.

The second gift that I thought Dad would like is this Gillette Fusion ProGlide gift set. They had other razor gift sets on display but what appealed to me the most was how fancy the razor looked. I’m not a razor expert or anything but the Gillette Fusion ProGlide looked pretty sweet in the display case. Plus I confess that I’m always stealing my husband’s razor in the shower and I know he hates it. So I’m hoping that this new one will make up for the times I was caught borrowing his. This razor gift set comes with shave gel, thermal scrub, and cooling lotion to give Dad a comfortable shaving experience.

Those are just two of the Father’s Day gift ideas under $20 at Walmart. Some other items on the list are things like a power drill, golf accessories, and a variety of apparel just to name a few. What I loved most about this is that these items are available at most Walmarts. So whether you buy early or the night before it’s super easy to run in and out to get a gift for Dad. For more great Father’s Day gift ideas visit your local store or check out walmart.com.

What are you getting Dad for Father’s Day?

Disclosure: I am a participant in the Walmart Moms program. Walmart paid me in exchange for this post and video. Participation in this program is voluntary. As always, all opinions are my own.

I reserved my first-taste of the new spicy Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich just barely a week ago and today was the day to give it a taste before it is officially on the menu starting June 7th, 2010. Before my time slot was up to pick up my sandwich, we hopped in the car with printed invitation in hand and headed to the drive-thru. Picking up my free sandwich was easy because supposedly they knew I was coming based on the pickup time I selected. In and out of the drive-thru quicker than you can say spicy chicken sandwich and I was on my way home to enjoy my free lunch. But before we made it back to “the crib” we stopped by another fast-food restaurant to pick up another freebie. Taco Bell is also doing a promo for a free cherry or classic limeade sparkler so we picked up one of those on the way home as well to balance out my lunch (plus since I’m not too spicy tolerant I figured I will probably need something to wash the sandwich down).

Now home, it’s chowtime. I must say the first few bites (after I quickly removed the pickles, I don’t like pickles) were a bit reminding of the classic Chick-fil-a chicken sandwich. A swig of the Cherry Limeade Sparkler from Taco Bell and I was back to my sandwich. And then it hit me. All the spices hit me at once. WOW! When they say spicy they mean it. It could be called spicy in a good way. Even though I’m not a huge spicy fan, the spicy Chick-fil-a Chicken sandwich is tolerable. I probably wouldn’t choose to eat it every time I visited the restaurant but it is a nice way to…pardon the pun…spice things up.

If interested in getting your own free lunch

Reserve your invitation to try the free spicy chicken sandwich from Chickfila
and print your coupon for a free Limeade Sparkler courtesy of Taco Bell.
Like with most things these promos are for a limited time while supplies last and might not be available in all places. These two deals worked for me because both restaurants are close to each other where I live.
Enjoy!

Disclosure: this is an independent review/blog mention. I have not been paid or told to write this blog post, I just wanted to share these deals with my readers. This is my own personal experience…nothing more. For questions about products, coupons, etc. please contact the company.

I’ve never used a site to create a memory book before, so when Walmart approached me to try out their new Quick MemoryBook Maker I definitely wanted to give it a try. The hardest part from the beginning was figuring out what pictures I wanted to include in my 20-page book. After a while of thinking, I decided to go with a blog theme and highlight some of the things that I have done with my blog thus far. I wrote it like a story…

There once was a girl that started a blog…

Using the Quick MemoryBook Maker was easy. You select the type of book you want to make, then how you want your pages to look (color, design, etc.). The hardest part that I found was choosing which pictures to use in the book. Since the majority of my pictures are NOT organized, making the MemoryBook took me about two hours total. After I found and uploaded all of the photos I wanted to include in my book, the other part that was a bit time consuming was choosing the right layout for the photos on a particular page and adding captions if I wanted. Had I gone into the project knowing exactly what I wanted my book to look like, I’m sure I would have done a lot quicker.

Overall, I didn’t think that making the Quick MemoryBook was extremely hard. In fact, I would call it fun. I liked being able to choose colors for my pages with a white floral design (it almost goes with the whole black and white damask theme I got going on here in my home office) and the pre-made photo layouts based on the number of photos one wants to put on each page were super helpful to use (it saved me from thinking how to layout the page since I’m not too good at scrapbooking). The overall price was kind of nice too….$20 for my book with 20 total pages (10 pages front and back) minus shipping.

I could see making more Quick MemoryBooks in the future…
• to continue my blog story
• to highlight fun activities with the kids
• as a gift for a special someone
• birthdays (it would be fun to make one each year for the kids)

Have you ever made a MemoryBook (it doesn’t have to be with Walmart)? What did you think of it?
What would you make a MemoryBook of?

Disclosure: I am one of the Walmart Moms. I was approached by Walmart to try the Quick MemoryBook Maker and blog about my experience. I received a giftcard to test the service and purchase a Quick MemoryBook. Although product was provided, opinions are 100% my own.

Me and mornings don’t work well together. But tell me that there is a $1 flip flop sale at Old Navy and I’ll be there when the doors are open!!

This year my goal was to get a pair of Navy flip flops. When I arrived at 10 minutes before 7am, the line was all the way down the strip (almost two entire stores down). Rolling my eyes, I got in the back of the line praying the entire time that I hoped no one else wanted my Navy flip flops. The doors swung open and the limit of 5 flip flops per customer was announced. It was a madhouse to say the least. I’m glad that I decided to tackle the crowd alone because I was practically in and out of the store in five minutes. Even though I was at the back of the line to enter the store, I was one of the first to check out.

I couldn’t be happier with my navy flip flops. It’s funny because they aren’t just any old pair of flip flops, these flip flops have a story. A story of being cheap and desirable (LOL).

So the inevitable question, was it worth waking up for? Absolutely!

Did you tackle the $1 flip flop sale? What colors were on your list?

A representative for V8 recently approached me about hosting a giveaway for them centered around picnics. They provided me with a picnic basket of goodies for my family and I to try out for ourselves. Immediately I was excited about spending an afternoon outdoors with my kidlets. We packed up our V8 picnic basket and headed to the backyard. Yep, you read that right….our backyard! Who says you have to go out to have a picnic? Picnics can be just as fun at home too. Its the change of the environment that makes picnics so great!

The main purpose of our picnic experience was to, of course, give the V8 V-Fusion on the go cans a try.

The first flavor that I tried was the Strawberry Banana. Oh my goodness was it delicious! That is my drink. Loved the stuff. The kidlets loved it too which is even more great. Our family definitely lacks eating our vegetables, just sometimes you don’t like the taste. But I’m glad there are juices on the market like V-Fusion that allow you to get the goodness of veggies without it tasting like it. The other flavor that I tried out was the Pomegranate Blueberry. I was able to drink it but it definitely wasn’t my favorite, the kids however liked this one just as well.


I really liked the slim on-the go V-Fusion cans. I could definitely see throwing one of these in my purse when I need to be out somewhere or packing them in my kidlets lunch boxes when we go off on playdates. They just seem to be really convenient and taste yummy too.

Coupons for V8 V-Fusion

Doing a search on the web, I found a website for $1 off printed coupon on V-Fusion juice. Every little bit helps.

V8 V-Fusion Sponsor Giveaway

What is up for Grabs?

One lucky reader will receive:
an insulated picnic basket filled with two beach towels, a Frisbee, a cookbook, and six packs of both V8 V-Fusion Pomegranate Blueberry and Strawberry Banana 8-oz cans.

How do I enter?

in the comment section of this post, leave a comment telling us where you favorite place to have a picnic is

Details?

Winners will be chosen at random by a random integer generator at random.org
Only one comment per person, duplicates will be deleted.
Winner’s prize pack will be shipped by the sponsor of this giveaway.
Winner will be notified via email. Winner has 48 hours to claim before I will need to draw a new winner.
This giveaway is for residents of US only, sorry.
Giveaway ends April 30, 2010 midnight EST and will be announced on this post.

This Giveaway is Closed

Congratulations to our Winner:

Disclosure: this post is sponsored by V8. Product was provided for both a personal review as well as for a giveaway. Although product was provided opinions are 100% my own