The Daily Grind of a Work @ Home Mom...

Give Yourself a Makeover with e.l.f. Cosmetics

I love buying makeup.  There's just something, I don't know, luxurious about it.  That's not to say that I wear a ton (I sooo don't) or that I spend hours and thousands choosing and buying makeup, but every now and then, I like to treat myself to a fresh lip gloss or blush.  Sometimes all it takes is a new set of brushes to give me my fix.  But since makeup and accessories don't come cheap, I'm limited to a few pieces every so often.

Until now.

While at BlogHer this past July, I was introduced to a new line of beautiful makeup.  Affordable, beautiful makeup (yes, it does exist!).  And I'm not talking about tiny pots of sub-par quality makeup, I'm talking prettily packaged, fabulous quality stuff.  I'm talking e.l.f makeup.

e.l.f. (which stands for eyes lips face) is a complete line of beauty products ranging from basic blush and eye shadow to brush sets and tweezers.  But the only basic thing about this company are their prices ($1 lip-gloss anyone?)  e.l.f. also offers a line of natural mineral based makeup which contains no parabens, no preservatives and no chemical dyes.  Just a fancy way of being nice to your face.

And by fancy I mean $3 eyeshadow, lipstick for $5, $5 concealer.  Sound too good to be true?  It's not.  Actually e.l.f. offers the same quality makeup as your favorite luxury brands, but trading in that fancy packaging for sturdy and attractive packages makes e.l.f. the. best. value. around.  And nobody, not even the FTC, can argue with the truth to this. ;)

I have tried just about everything made by e.l.f..  I love the blush and bronzing set, especially during these pale, winter months.  The lipsticks are light and feel great.  I love the idea of the different tones in the corrective concealer kit, but found the lighter shades a bit thin for my skin.  And for brushes, these cannot be beat for quality and value.  But my favorite item is the Mini Makeup Collection that I received as a gift at BlogHer.  The colors are fantastic and it includes a little bit of everything.  If you have a makeup enthusiast on your gift list, this is $15!!  Serious value.

Win it!  Thanks to the nice folks at e.l.f., one lucky reader is going to win a bundle of makeup just in time for party season.  The gift includes so much stuff including samples of e.l.f.'s mineral makeup, a lip gloss, concealer palette, blushes, lipstick, and more.  You'll even get a cute little case to organize it all!  To enter, simply visit e.l.f.'s websiteand let us know your favorite item AND your best makeup tip.  For a second entry, hit the Tweet This! button under this post.  Contest will close on Monday, December 7th at midnight.  Only one entry per person please!  Open to US residents.

All products reviewed were provided to me at no cost by e.l.f..  All views and opinions reflected on this blog are my own and were in no way influenced by any outside party.

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

I know - we haven't even eaten our turkey and stuffing yet, and already we're talking Christmas.  But the fact of the matter is, the holiday season is upon us and there's no time like the present to jump on the spirit bandwagon.  And even if you're not yet ready to battle the crowds and start planning holiday feasts, you can bet that it's never too early for your kids to start enjoying the fun.

Everyone has childhood memories that involve a favorite holiday movie or television special.  My kids recently watched Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas and they loved it.  Ok, so maybe we are Jewish and don't celebrate Christmas.  But who doesn't love the lights?  The beautiful decorations?  The music?  And the awesome programming that arrives just in time to get in the mood! 

So, not a moment too soon came this brand-new Curious George movie.  It is a very George-esque story complete with all the trimmings: Christmas trees, lists, decorations, music, and of course - gift buying!  It's a one-hour episode that is actually appealing to kids and their parents (seriously - Curious George is one of the shows that my adult ears can actually handle).  And if your kids already love George (like mine do), they'll love this longer version of their favorite TV show, no doubt.

This special episode of Curious George will premiere the day before Thanksgiving and continue to replay throughout December on your local PBS station.  But we are giving one lucky family a chance to Win It!  The Daily Grind, along with PBS, is giving you the chance to win a fun holiday bundle, including:

• A copy of Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas on DVD;
• A copy of Curious George: A Very Monkey Christmas, A CD of music from the movie; and
• A bag of microwave popcorn so you can make a party out of it!

To enter, simply comment below with your favorite holiday movie.  One winner will be selected on Friday, November 27th at midnight.  Sorry, open only to US residents!

An ADORABLE Gift - Adorable Kinders

We have a lot of dolls.  With two girls under the age of four, dolls are a staple in our house. But one thing I learned early on - all dolls are NOT created equal.

My children recently received an Adorable Kinders to check out.  An Adorable Kinder is a rag-doll'esque type of doll without the frail composition you'd expect from a rag doll.  Matter of fact, we found "Brittany" (as she is called) to be extremely well made and rather sturdy.  She is also larger than we expected, measuring at about 18" tall.    

Adorable Kinders were designed around a central theme of a group of Kindergarten friends.  There are 26 dolls to choose from, one named for each letter of the alphabet.  While the girls are beautiful and representative of a great variety of physical characteristics, we loved the fact that there are boy Adorable Kinders to choose from as well.  We have yet to try this feature but each doll comes with a key-code that can be used to register it on the website, and access educational games according to "grade levels."  The child can "graduate" as they complete the games, but like I said, we still have yet to try it out.

All Adorable Kinders are made in the US and are soft and cuddly and perfect for playing with or snoozing with.  They're sort of reminiscent of Raggedy Ann!  The best way to describe these soft rag dolls is to say that they're not your baby's dolly.  They're definitely appropriate for a preschooler+ since they are larger than your average doll, and really made with intricate detail.  Each doll is dressed like a preschooler or kindergartner, and have hair-styles to match.  My older daughter of three-and-a-half fell in love with "Brittany" because I think she felt it was a "big-girl doll."  And I'd have to agree.  

Here's Brittany chillin' on our couch:

 
Isn't she cute?

Win it!  One lucky reader will win an Adorable Kinder for a special child in their life!  Simply visit the Adorable Kinders catalog and tell us which doll is your favorite and why.  A winner will be selected on Monday, November 23rd.  One entry per person please!

   
 
 
  
  All products reviewed were provided to me at no cost by Adorable Kinders.  All views and opinions reflected on this blog are my own and were in no way influenced by any outside party.
 

'Tis the Season...

...to save money..."

...to get creative..."

...to be... how does it go - jolly??"

Last week I learned how to accomplish all these things (and more!) in a mere 2 hours at a lovely luncheon put on by the wonderful folks at Stop and Shop.  In the year since I was introduced to the money-saving and customer-oriented culture of Stop and Shop, I have had the opportunity to learn many great things about their stores, and the fact is, they have won me over. My favorite though, is their Scan It! program which allows customers to scan, bag, and pay for their groceries all without speaking a word to another living soul.  Socially inept as I may sound, this does allow for quick shopping and money-savings opportunities I might not otherwise have.    

And now I come bearing some new ideas from Stop and Shop's own Consumer Adviser, Andrea Astrachan, that might help the cash-poor but richly creatively gift-giver get by on not much more than a few dollars and a few minutes this holiday season.

Seriously, I want you to know about the grocery giant's Holiday Rewards program which essentially allows you to earn up to 20% off a grocery order of your choice until December 25th (think turkey!  think apps!  think desserts!).  But I also want to share some of their awesome gift-giving ideas that will simplify, and cheapify (is that a word?) your holiday season so that you can actually relax and enjoy it.

Idea #1:

Chocolate-Dipped Pretzels: 

What you'll need -

• A bag of long pretzel rods 
• Chocolate chips for melting
• Decorations such as sprinkles, cookie crumbs, crushed candy canes.

Melt the chocolate in a pot.  Dip the pretzel rod into the chocolate (use a knife to help apply it if the chocolate is not deep).  Roll the pretzel in your decoration of choice.  Let them cool, then place them gently in a cellophane bag and add ribbon and a gift tag.   

Idea #2:

Cookies in a Jar:

What you'll need -

• The makings for whatever cookies you choose (chocolate chip, oatmeal...)
• A mason jar
• Ribbon 
• Recipe card

Layer all ingredients in the jar, separating by color.  Be sure to pack down ingredients so they fit!  Close the lid and decorate the jar with ribbon or whatever you choose.  Attach the recipe card (which should include the wet ingredients recipient will add themselves).

How easy is that?

We want to help you buy your holiday treats!  The Daily Grind along with the wonderful peeps of 360PR and Stop and Shop are offering one lucky reader the gift of food - a $100 gift card at Stop and Shop!  To enter, simply comment below with your favorite aspect of the store.  The winner will be selected on Saturday, November 14th at midnight.  Only one entry per person.

Luncheon, gift-idea samples, parking and gift card were provided by Stop and Shop.  All views and opinions reflected on this blog are my own and were in no way influenced by any outside party.   

Staples: A "Staple" for Your Business & Tech Needs.

I own a home business.  That said, I'm always needing something or other since there's no one to outfit the "supply closet" (ahem) other than me.  So it's no surprise that I have the nearest Staples address stored in my GPS.

I shop at Staples for the following reasons:

1. It has literally everything I need to run my business, from the little (hard-to-find) desk-calendar that I like, to the heavy stock printer paper I use, to the snacks I need to keep me fortified throughout the day. ;)
2. It's close to home.  And as the world's largest office supply retail store, it's likely that there's one close to your home too.
3. They offer UPS shipping services, which is my shipper of choice. 
4. It has reasonable prices and a selection that covers pretty much all kinds of quality, from inexpensive to awesomely fancy.

While Staples is known for its fabulous array of office supplies, many folks don't realize that the mega-retailer also specializes in electronics and technology.  My family purchased a digital camera at Staples a few years ago.  (And extra memory for it, of course.)  If you are a camcorder freak like I am, you'll love their offering of mini-recorders.  If you're not sure which one to choose, visit the Staples website and select the ones that interest you, and you will see a detailed side-by-side-comparison and your choices (COOL!).  Of course, visiting the store guarantees that one of their well-trained staff will help guide you as well.

Recently, I attended an event and walked away the proud winner of a Staples $100 gift card and an 
HP Photosmart Premium Printer.  (I know - cool, right???!!!)  While this is not a review for the printer, let me just say how much I absolutely LOVE my new HP.  I actually replaced an HP All-in-one Officejet (more expensive) but was woo'd by the fantastic photo printing feature which delivers photo-lab quality photos.  It doesn't have a fax, but my sacrifice was well worth it.  I've spent hours making photo calendars, cards, and printing pictures already.  Besides, I'm thinking the scan and email can replace the fax for the rare times I need it.

Sounds good, right?  Well, Staples is offering all you readers the chance to win a $100 gift card to their stores.  You can put it toward a new photo printer or digital camera!  A few steps to entering this one:

1. Simply comment below and let us know what you would buy.   
2. Follow @StaplesTweets.
3. Re-tweet (or cut & paste): Win a $100 Staples gift card from @alexcaseybaby! http://tinyurl.com/y9rcz5sThx @StaplesTweets! #staples100 

This contest will run until Friday, November 6th at midnight.  Only one entry per person please!

Cook Up Some Fun with Lollipop Rascals' Baking Sets!

 

We love to cook in our house.  Or I should say, I have passed down my love for cooking to my oldest daughter, who offers help to Mom for anything kitchen-related.  This includes stirring my morning coffee, shaking the salad dressing, and even pouring her own milk.  So the prospect of baking her very own cookies from start to finish excited her to no end, and well, even Mom took pride in her enthusiasm for anything culinary-related.

The baking kit came to us courtesy of Lollipop Rascals, a wonderful web-store which offers the highest quality in educational toys and gifts.  And by educational, I don't mean flash cards and numbers games.  I'm talking fabulous book sets (It's Me! is one of our favorite nighttime reads), award-winning puzzles, themed-based toys and accessories, and excellent costumes. 

But we really liked the baking set. 

In fact, we are in favor of all things cooking and baking-related so the fact that Lollipop Rascals features an entire Rascal Chefs section is more than just a little bit awesome.  Introduce your child to baking in a gentle, fun way, while still producing a delicious finished product with any one of these baking kits.  Have a budding paleontologist?  Check out the Green Dinosaur Cookie Kit.  Have a princess on your hands?  Then the Fairy Princess Cookie Kit is for her.  There's so many ways to incorporate cooking into your child's life, and Lollipop Rascals will give you many insightful ideas.  Also, many of the baking kits are now up to 45% off - so there's really no risk!

In honor of Halloween, we are happy to give away a set of Witch Pop Up Cinnamon Spice Pumpkin Cookies (beware - these are DELICIOUS!!), and Paint-Your-Own Ghost Cookies to one lucky reader.  Simply visit Lollipop Rascals, and tell us what you like best about their site.  Contest will run through Wednesday, October 28th at midnight.  Open to US residents only.

All products reviewed were provide to me at no cost by Lollipop Rascals.  All views and opinions reflected on this blog are my own and were in no way influenced by any outside party.

Flatter Yourself with "The Girls" Yoga Wear.

I have a uniform.  It's the "work-at-home-mom" uniform and I don't often stray from it.  It consists of yoga pants, a tank top, and typically a cute sweatshirt of some kind.  It doesn't look messy, and it doesn't scream "I've Given Up" in the way sweatpants do.  But it's comfortable, reasonably fashionable, and I can count on it each and every day.

I sometimes even wear a body shaper under my "outfit", if my top is fitted.  After all, gotta prove to those preschool moms that I'm actually exercising during those three hours between drop-off and pick-up.  ;)  But if I miss a day, there's now an alternative.  And it's called The Girls.  Cute name, right?  After all, isn't it typically your girls who've got your back no matter what?  And they do in this case too.

The Girls is a yoga-wear line, not unlike the stuff I wear, but it actually has tummy control.  YES!  Tummy control!!  For those of us with leftover baby pooches (and maybe some stuff from before baby - ssshhh!) who wouldn't mind a touch of help with our - ahem - problem area.  And unlike your grandmother's girdle, this stuff is built right in so other than a mild shimmy to get them on, you'll never even know it's there other than the potential for a little extra confidence.

There are a bunch of styles which include pants, shorts, and tops.  I tried the boot cut pant and the short-sleeve top.  I thought the concept was great.  Really, fabulous.  The clothes are comfortable, and definitely do what they say they do.  My only complaints are that the black didn't stay black enough for me post-wash (I'm a total stickler for this), but the affordable price point ($34.99 for the boot cut) make this item totally worth it.  My other piece of advice would to be order up a size on the tops.  I'm pretty much religiously a medium, but I found the top really stuck to my body in a way that didn't appeal to me, so I gave it to my slightly smaller friend who is enjoying it profusely.  Again - price point on this line - absolutely in line. 

Want to win your own pair of The Girls boot cut pant?  Simply visit their website and tell us which style appeals to you most.  One winner will be chosen on Monday, October 19th.  Only one entry per person please!  Only open to US residents.  

All products reviewed were provide to me at no cost by The Girls.  All views and opinions reflected on this blog are my own and were in no way influenced by any outside party.

TJ Maxx & Marshalls - Even for Shopaholics!

I'm a shopping addict.  I totally, 100% freely admit this.  I mean, I don't spend every day in stores but I love that immediate gratification that comes with finding the  perfect item and bringing it to its new home.  And the only thing sweeter than this is finding that perfect item and knowing that I acquired it by spending as little as possible.  Then it's like a gift.  A gift from the shopping Gods.

So imagine my thrill when I was treated to a mini shopping spree at TJ Maxxand Marshall's.  A few years ago, this prospect might not have resonated.  Gift cards to shop at discount stores?  What would I find there - seconds?  Cast-offs?  Stuff no one wanted?

But in recent years I've learned how entirely untrue this perception is.  TJ Maxx and Marshall's are shopping mecca's - and I mean for good, fashionable, even - dare I say it - designer stuff.   That's right - you can outfit not only yourself (and nicely, might I add) from head to toe at either of these 2 stores, but you can outfit your home with everything from linens to serving pieces to books and toys.

Did I mention the baby gear, gourmet treats, and gifts you can pick up at these stores?

And all at prices that are well below department store price tags.  I'm talking serious discounts like, 50%+ off all kinds of awesome stuff.  The Marshalls closest to where I live has this insane shoe department that could take any shoe department at any major store.  And I mean LABELS, not a collection of pleather and flastic - real shoes with real names on 'em.  Speaking of designer brands, 48 TJ Maxx stores feature The Runway, stores packed with couture items which are labeled for easy access (look for purple tags). And even you could afford them!  ;)

I saw halloween costumes at TJ Maxx that could rival those of any party store for just a few dollars.  Bedding with thread counts higher than those that reside in my own closet.  Purses with names of designers that I wouldn't otherwise go near, for fear of breaking down and breaking the bank.

Another element I have to point out is their customer service.  I purchased a pair of shoes at Marshalls for my daughter which didn't fit (so cute though!) and when I brought them back, there were no questions asked, my money returned in the way that I paid, and all in under 3 minutes.

Want a mini shopping spree of your own?  The Daily Grind is pleased to be giving away a $25 gift card to Marshall's.  See how far you can stretch a dollar and enter below!  Simply comment with the item you might shop for at Marshall's should you win.  A winner will be chosen on Monday, October 12th at midnight.  Only 1 entry per person please!

The Circus Wants YOU!

Or, your family that is.  Because fall wouldn't be fall without a trip to the circus, right?  And the Ringling Bros. & Barnum & Bailey circus is doing just that - bringing their "Over the Top" show to 6 states including 3 venues local to Boston!  Catch an action-packed performance:

• DCU Center, Worcester - Thursday, October 8th though Monday, October 12^th.  Click here for tickets.
• Verizon Wireless Arena Manchester, NH - Thursday, October 1^st though Monday, October 4^th.  Click here for tickets.
• TD Banknorth Garden, Boston - Wednesday, October 14^th through Sunday, October 18^th.  Click here for tickets. 

The good people of the circus are giving New England families a special opportunity to visit the circus by offering a special deal on tickets -

Purchase a 4-pack of tickets for only $44 for weekday shows, or receive $4 off weekend tickets by logging onto www.ticketmaster.com and entering the coupon code: MOM.*

But wait!!  In conjunction with Mom Central and the circus, The Daily Grind is offering readers the chance to win a family 4-pack of tickets to the Boston opening night performance on October 14^th at 7pm.  Simply comment below with your favorite circus act and be entered to win.** 

*Get 4 tickets for $44 Monday - Friday matinee or $4 off weekend tickets by entering the code “MOM” in the MC promotion code box on Ticketmaster.  Minimum purchase of 4 tickets required; additional tickets above 4 can be purchased at $11 each.  Not valid on VIP Gold, VIP, and Circus Celebrity seats or combinable with other offers. Service charges and handling fees will apply.

**The contest is open to all but tickets are valid ONLY for the show on October 14t^h at TD Banknorth Garden at 7pm.  Contest will run through Saturday, October 3r^d at midnight.

Your Baby Can Read!

It's back-to-school time.  Time to buy pencils, books, deal with teachers' dirty looks (or loving words about your kids... we hope!).  But what I quickly learned from being a mom to 2 toddlers - not all learning happens at school.

Our children depend on us to teach them.  In fact, it's our job to teach them, our responsibility.  And tools can help.  Our family recently received the Your Baby Can Read system, and we are having a great time with it and learning new words, sounds, letters, and more.

My 3-year-old is really into learning.  She is constantly asking me to teach her to cook (we're starting cooking classes next week!), teach her to ride a bike, teach her to read.  While the other things are within my scope, I couldn't imagine how to teach such a young child to read.

The tools provided in the Your Baby Can Read set are a huge help.  Ok.  If you check out their website, you'll see video of a 9-month-old who can recognize the words on the flash cards his mom is showing him.  My kid can't do that (and I'm not sure I'd want her to).  But she loves the interactive sliding word cards which match together words with pictures.  Some go to the next level to include actions (Arms Up!) and more advanced ideas (Pet). 

Also included in the system are 5 DVD's meant to go with the word cards.  Truth is, my toddlers didn't love them so we used the cards on their own.  Additionally it came with:

• 50 Word Game Cards
• 82 Double Sided Word Cards
• 5 Lift-A-Flap Books (which we also LOVED!!!!)
• A "My First Words" Slide and Learn book (another fave)
• A "How To" Parent’s Guide

It's interesting to see which letters my 3-year-old retains.  Also, I'm interested in the difference in upper case vs. lower case retention.  But I do know that her word to picture recognition is wonderful and expanding with more variations on words and pics she already knows.

Created by recognized expert and infant researcher, Dr. Robert C. Titzer, Ph.D, the website claims that "studies prove that the earlier a child learns to read, the better they perform in school and later in life. Early readers have more self-esteem and are more likely to stay in school."  While I'm not 100% sure that I agree completely with this general statement, I do think any early exposure to letters, reading and books can only have a positive influence on children.  So I embrace any tool that helps do this. 

In general, the system is great.  But I'm not using it to teach my toddler to read because it is my opinion that she is, in fact, too young to read.  We could easily work hard together to get her to memorize each card and use this to impress her friends and family, but instead, we are learning letters, new words, and ways to string words together.  In this capacity, Your Baby Can Read is awesome.

The system costs $199.95.  While this sounds expensive, when you break it down by piece, you're actually only spending a little more than $11 per book/DVD/card game, which is reasonable.  The company also offers a 30-day trial for $14.95 which allows you to test it out, and then they offer an installment plan should you choose to keep it.  There is also a 30-day money back guarantee.  All this to say, Dr. Titzer really believes in his product and thinks you will too. 

Win it!  The Daily Grind is happy to be giving away one Your Baby Can Read system to a lucky reader!  To enter, simply visit the website and give us your opinion of the system, and why you should win it.  The winner will be drawn at random on Saturday, September 12th at midnight.  Contest open to US residents only.  A $199.95 value!!