New Crowdtap Experiences

Should I say it again? I seriously <3 Crowdtap! I recently had the chance to shop for two different campaigns at Old Navy. I'm like most girls in the way that I love shopping. However, lately I have not had the cash to buy many items for my wardrobe. (Our family chooses to not charge anything that we can't turn right around and pay off, or we buy with cash. It is how we have maintained our debt-free status, with the exception of mortgages.)

The first shopping trip I got to enjoy was Spice Up Your Style in Old Navy Dresses this Fall. Let me tell you, I was stoked about this one! I recently became an Independent Consultant for Paparazzi Accessories and have found a great need for dress clothes, of which I didn't have many. I wanted to look professional, but if I'm selling frugal $5 jewelry and accessories, I can't justify spending a tremendous amount on clothing to present the product, right? 

 Above are the three dresses I chose from. I had a really hard time deciding, as I liked them all.

The best part about Crowdtap is that I get to share with one or more friends each time I get one of these opportunities! I chose this lovely friend to go with me. We actually keep getting the same employee to take our picture. She knows our faces now!

This was my choice of dress. I feel that it is classy and modest. I don't have to worry about showing anything when I bend and the fit is flattering. I even have changed the belt out with different colored ribbons to accent the all-black piece. This is a frugal tip! I got two different colored ribbons locally and paid only about $2, and I purchased an entire spool of the one type. 

Oh, and I confess: I did go back and get the black shirtdress on the left of the first picture when I went shopping for the next Crowdtap opportunity. It was on clearance and I had a 20% off coupon, making it only $10!

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The second campaign I participated in was Sweat It Out in Old Navy Activewear. I was also very excited about this opportunity as the last piece of exercise clothing I purchased was a pair of pants while I was pregnant with my first child. He's almost six years old. Those pants are baggy and not flattering at all. I've heard my friends talk about yoga pants and compression garments but hadn't been able to purchase any for myself. I tried on several different items, because I didn't know which two I would want to pick (the coupon was for a top and a bottom).

 My first try was a pair of Active capris. These were not compression material, but were very comfortable. 

Then I tried on a compression jacket. I fell in love with this. So comfortable, fitted enough to be flattering, and in a color that goes with most anything.

Then I tried on a pair of Active Compression pants. These are reversible to the all black side. These babies are SO comfortable. I figured they would look awful and hug everything the wrong way. I say I'm blessed with a genetic lack of posterior and these leggings do not fall down, even when worn all day. That is fantastic news for me! They're super comfortable for wearing all day, and I can't wait to wear them to walk my son to school (once the weather gets above freezing).

I chose my mom as my shopping buddy this time (isn't she lovely?) and we had fun together. These are the items we chose.

Thank you, Crowdtap and Old Navy for helping me to stock my closet with fun, comfortable, and flattering pieces!

Crowdtap

Let me just start off with this statement:

I love Crowdtap!

I have had the opportunity to sample Hawaiian Tropic products and Old Navy clothes, and have earned nearly $75 Amazon.com gift card. The most recent opportunity I had was an Old Navy sampling party was called Bottoms Bonanza where three friends and I were able to choose any bottom (pants, skirt, shorts, or capris) and any pair of shoes for free. Another friend also received this opportunity, so we combined our parties and had a grand time shopping! I ended up with a pencil skirt and an adorable pair of flats that I have worn at least twice a week.

To learn more about Crowdtap, you can follow this link: http://bit.ly/hpIA8q

It's amazing how much gets pushed to the back burner when life gets crazy! Since my last post, we purchased a new (to us) home and are remodeling it prior to moving in. We are so excited about this stage of our lives, however it has managed to consume most of our time. I really am excited about blogging and hopefully my fingers can convey that excitement onto this screen.

I'm actually hoping to set aside at least one day a week where I take time to blog, as I really don't want it to take over all of my free time. The young ones require a lot of attention right now and my family is, of course, my priority.

So here's to basically starting over!

Tomorrow is Election Day

I want to keep this short and sweet, but I feel this is a very important subject.

November 8, 2011 is Election Day and I would like to remind everyone to vote because YOUR VOTE DOES COUNT! Read up on your candidates--know what they stand for, and find out what their goals are for your community. It is the politicians' duty to represent their people, but it is the voters' responsibility to put the best representatives in office. 

Surprise E-mail!

So I've figured out that the only thing better than getting a freebie is WINNING something! It definitely adds some excitement to a person's day! Today I received an e-mail that I had won a jumbo pack of Luvs diapers, a $25 Visa gift card, and an 8x8 soft cover photo book from Snapfish! Thanks, Luvs!

I entered the Luvs Heavy Dooty Blowout Challenge the other day on Facebook thinking it was a one-time entry contest, but it's still going on and you can enter daily. Good luck to everyone who enters!

Fridays are Mega Swag Bucks Day!

If you haven't heard of Swag Bucks, you should definitely check it out. It's a search engine that you can use to earn points (Swag Bucks) to "purchase" gift cards and other items. My favorite is the $5 Amazon.com gift card I can get with 450 Swag Bucks. Even if I don't do much searching, I usually can get one or two of these a month. To date, I've ordered 38 Amazon gift cards. That's $190 free! On Fridays, you have the chance to earn up to 1000 Swag Bucks just for searching. You can check this out by going here. There is also a link on the bottom of this page.

Hills and Valleys

Welcome to my blog! I'm very new at this, so please bear with me as I learn the ropes.

I want this blog to cover all the aspects of my life that I feel are post-worthy. Some things I plan to share are good deals, favorite places to get groceries, favorite products, new discoveries, fun family activities, and recipes.

I'm a young momma with a son (4 years) and daughter (9 months) and I love it. We are planning to homeschool, but so far we are just doing preschool/pre-K with our son, so there's not a lot of curriculum involved yet.

To describe my title, Hills and Valleys, I feel like life is full of these. I specifically seem to feel this a lot with my diet. I love food. I mean, I really love food. Some of the things I cook and bake are my attempts to gain back some of the comfort food I lost when I bade farewell  to cheese, milk, butter, and "real" flour.  I struggle a lot with convenience and practicality when it comes to cooking. My husband and son still eat somewhat normal food as far as lunches and breakfasts go, but when we have family meals, they're GFCF. Dining out is truly a special occasion because there aren't many places in our area where I can safely eat. Instead, we tend to have "take-out fake-out" nights where we replicate a special dish that I can't have at restaurants. Those are my favorite nights...especially when my wonderful hubby cooks. :)