Shopping online = FREE money?!?!

Do you like to shop online? I know I do.


Do you like free money? I know I do.


Wouldn’t it be amazing if you could get free money for shopping online? Yes, please!

I realize this is starting to sound like a questional infomercial.

But in all seriousness, have you heard of Ebates? It’s a website that when you plan to do online shopping, all you need to do is start your shopping there after creating an account. Find your store of choice by doing a simple search. The percentage of money that you will receive back is listed. (Sometimes there are specials where stores will offer more money back for a short period of time.) When you click the link to your store of choice, a tracking number is created and all you need to do is complete your shopping as usual. Every three months, your money will be ready for you. A check will arrive in your mailbox or it can be directly deposited into your bank account.






I know, I know. I was skeptical too. But I decided to give it a shot. So a few months ago, I signed up for an account and started my online shopping there. After a few weeks, I actually got a check in the mail from Ebates! I was shocked. Even more shocking, the bank took the check and deposited the money in my account!! It really worked.






Since then I have received a few more checks from Ebates and good news… the bank consistently deposits the check into my account. Thank you Ebates for my free money!

Items I am currently loving:

Ok, it is really only one item…but I really love it:



1. Rimmel Fix & Perfect Foundation Primer.

via

This stuff is AMAZING! My foundation stays on sooo much better than it ever has. I no longer need to break out the powder compact over lunch for a quick touch up to make it through the work day. However, if I were going out after work, I would want to do a quick touch up. But only on areas that are frequently touched throughout the day(ex. my constantly runny nose or my chin from my desk phone). For your reference, I have been using this with a powder mineral foundation and my skin is normal/combination.

It’s no joke!

Spring continues to evade us in the north east. 

At least some signs of hope are popping up:

But if spring never gets here, we can always look forward to Gmail Motion...

Question of the day…

 via a very lovely etsy shop

 …isn't this defeating its own intentions?

Soapbox

When my mom and I were at the Philly flower show, we were handed this business card:

And we were given these instructions:

Go to: www.KomenPhiladelphia.org/Video and watch the video.


If the video reaches 5 million views then UnitedHealthCare of PA will donate $50,000 to Susan G. Komen for the cure. If the tally then gets to 8 million views, then they will donate another $50,000.


So take 4 minutes and 2 seconds out of your day to watch the video and help out your mother, sister, aunt, best friend…or even yourself who may one day have to battle breast cancer.

Every little bit does help. So if you have an urge to jump on a bandwagon, hop on this one!

The Situation, part 2

After much more searching both online and in stores, I still have not been able to find a quality bag that not only fits my long wish list, but one that also makes my heart sing. I have begun to think that maybe rather than finding my “forever” bag, I can find a “just right now, until I do find my forever bag” bag.



So that took me down another path that ultimately ended with two options being ordered from Target. With free shipping and free in store returns, this was a no loss exploration. Here is what happened upon my door stop one lovely afternoon:

via

 The sizes of the bags are great. There are plenty of pockets to keep OCD me sane. Handles are a good length. The material I do not love (but I was expecting and accepting that). So that leaves me on the color options…



Option 1 is much closer to my color wish. However, it is a little darker than I had wanted. It is more brown, than it is tan. So it wouldn’t go as well with my ensemble on days that I wear black...although I am trying to get away from wearing so much black…but that’s another story for another day.


Option 2 is nowhere near my color wish. But it does go with everything. But is it too…juvenile?


I have since returned #1. The color just would not work with me and my tendency to wear black.


#2 still lingers in my home.

What do you think?

Keep it? Leave it? Keep searching?

Flower power

This past weekend, my favorite mother (no really, she is…and not just because she’s my only one) and I hit the road to attend the Philadelphia flower show:

Since the weather was beautiful, after the show we poked around center city. We drank tea (duh) at the T Bar, stopped in at Lush and Anthropologie, and had fish and chips for lunch.


Thanks for the lovely Saturday (and for all of the yummy food you cooked for me) momma!

Question of the day...

...do birds fly south for the winter,

via

or do they fly north for the summer??

Things Samuel James is afraid of:

1. Bags (shopping, food containing, etc.)


2. The vacuum (shark and dust buster alike)


3. Boxes (large, small and in between)


4. Laundry baskets


5. Cats (other than his own)


6. The vet's office (I can understand this one)


7. His reflection


8. His own bark (if you would even want to call it a ‘bark’)


I guess the next time I am looking to increase security around these parts, I will need to call somone else…

Good thing he is just so darn cute!! xoxo

We have a situation here...

Jersey Shore any one??


Any ways, I have been on the hunt for a new work bag for a while now. My current one, while I LOVE it, it has seen better days. I have been looking for a quality bag made of real leather that can last me for years to come. One that will only look better with age. One with many pockets for my OCD organization habits. One that has handles that aren’t too long, but aren’t too short. One that is classic in shape, but isn’t old ladyish.. One in that perfect shade of tan that matches everything. One with exterior pockets to quickly stash things….


So, as you can see, my list is pretty long. And unfortunately, I have not been able to find one that meets a majority of my requests, as well as be within my budget. While I realize that a real leather bag is pricier than their pleather counter parts, I still need to keep it within reason.


I recently ordered the Fossil Blackburn Tote from Zappos.com:

via Zappos

The color is great (perfect tan), the shape is great (classic), and the exterior is great (leather). The first issue I noticed before ordering was that it did not have big enough exterior pockets to stash my keys or cell phone. But, since I had been searching for quite a while, I decided to take a chance. Plus Zappos has free shipping and returns. So there really was no risk in trying it.

However, once it arrived to my home, I could tell right away that it would just be too small for my needs. But for those of you who might be looking for a larger purse, it would be perfect.

Off to find a new option...

Any suggestions on where I could find a contender?