Going Organic

This post brought to you by Whitney Farms. All opinions are 100% mine.

It's a beautiful spring day today so I'm sitting outside enjoying the sunshine. I'm also plotting...garden plotting, that is. I'm not an expert gardener or anything but I really enjoy experimenting and seeing what I can grow.

I always keep a small herb garden with basil, oregano, rosemary, and various other herbs. And I absolutely love tomatoes so those are always a summer garden staple for me. Right now I'm deciding what else I want to plant. I've also decided that I want to make the leap this year and go organic in my garden, so I've been researching organic soil and organic plant food and I think I'm going to go with Whitney Farms®. Their products are high quality, with low dust, no odor, and all of the nutrients that your plants need to survive and thrive. They've also been in business for more than 25 years so I feel like I can trust that even though I don't always know exactly what I'm doing in my garden, they definitely know their stuff.

My goal is to keep learning and experimenting until I can produce a garden full of yumminess like this:

I can't wait to see what Whitney Farms® products can do for my garden this year! There's a $3 coupon available now, so if you're a fellow gardener you should definitely try it out for yourself and see what you think. I'd also love some feedback if anyone has tried Whitney Farms products, or if you just have some gardening tips for me. What are you favorite things to plant in your gardens? How do you keep your garden healthy and happy? Is it important to you that you eat (and grow) organic produce whenever you can?

In the meantime, I'll be here in my yard starting my tomato countdown. Happy spring!

 

Important Info on Walgreens and Prescriptions

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

Today I want to give everyone a heads up about something that may affect you or someone you know if you use Express Scripts and get your prescriptions at Walgreens (or Duane Reade). The contract between Walgreens and Express Scripts expired at the end of last year and they've been unable to negotiate a new one, so now Walgreens isn't part of their pharmacy provider network anymore. This means that a lot of people are going to have to switch pharmacies even if they don't want to, and because Walgreens is the pharmacy benefit manager for Tricare, this includes many members of the military and their families. (Walgreens tried to work with Express Scripts to find a way to deal with Tricare separately so that military families wouldn't be affected, but they were unsuccessful in their efforts.)

Many people are understandably upset about this situation, since the change will be an inconvenience for many and is unlikely to save them money or have any other benefits. According to a press release from Walgreens, more than 250,000 people have signed a petition demanding continued access to Walgreens pharmacies through Tricare. (You can check it out for yourself here: Walgreens and Express Scripts.) Walgreens is also taking action - they're working to make the transition as easy as possible for those customers who will have to make the switch, and they're also running a special January promotion for their own Prescription Savings Club at Walgreens. Right now you can get a family membership for just $10 or an individual one for $5. The regular prices are $35 and $20 so it's a big savings, and being in the program means you can save on all generic drugs and more than 8000 brand name drugs. If you're affected by this issue it's definitely a great option to consider.

Please pass on this information to anyone that you know who may be affected by this situation, and be sure to follow Walgreens on Facebook and Walgreens on Twitter to stay updated.

A new fall clutch for my birthday

Guest post written by Chandra Harper

I'm not really that crazy about celebrating my birthday, but I've always enjoyed getting presents. So this year I decided to buy myself a birthday present. I've been thinking about getting an oversized clutch for months now and finally have a reason to buy an expensive bag for myself. At first I was worried about how foolish that would be to do that, but I've decided that I'm turning 30 and it's a big birthday. So I deserve it.

I went online with my Mobile broadband 4g to find all kinds of choices for my big birthday purchase. Well I found lots of bags, but some were out of even the generous price range that I gave myself.

After quite a bit of online shopping around, I came across this great fall clutch that's made of distressed brown leather and has a really nice turn lock clasp. It looks very vintage and I think that's what appealed to me about it. There's nothing like a cute new bag to show off to give you a little more pep in your step.

My very first Fashion's Night Out

Guest post written by Tina Haverford

When I first heard that they were doing a Fashion's Night Out event in New York City two years ago I was a little confused about what exactly this event was but then once I realized what it really was, I thought it sounded fantastic and decided that I wish I could go to it. Well, I unfortunately haven't really been able to enjoy it until this year because they're doing so many events around the country for the third annual one.

I've been using my Clear Las Vegas to look up all kinds of events and appearances that are going to be a part of the event. As soon as they released all of the info for it, I started planning out a schedule with my friends of what we should go and see.

My sister lives in Washington, D.C. so she went to a few of the Fashion's Night Out DC. Although, I kind of envy the people in New York who are able to get around to all of the stuff a lot easier.

Hurricane Prep With Premium Rum

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

Hurricane Irene is getting ready to hit the East Coast this weekend, so everyone has gone into full hurricane prep mode.  I had to laugh at how many comments I saw from people that went something like "I went out and bought a bottle of _____ at the liquor store, so I'm good to go".  Not the worst plan of action, I say.

Personally, I'm a rum girl, and luckily I've got a bottle of Zacapa premium rum ready to go. This rum is special because the part of Guatemala where it's made basically has the perfect conditions for cultivating sugar cane.  It's even grown in volcanic soil, which just sounds cool.  It's also unique because they use only the concentrated first press of sugar cane as a base for their rum, while most other rums use molasses as a base.  And did a I mention the special aging process that has been used for 500 years?  Yeah, this stuff is just really cool.

So I've got my premium dark rum and my flashlight and I'm ready to survive Irene.  If you want to learn more about Zacapa rum, just click on http://bit.ly/pvKdC9 to join the Zacapa Society.  You'll be very glad you did.

Straight Talk All the Way

This post brought to you by Straight Talk. All opinions are 100% mine.

Awhile ago I mentioned that my cell phone contract was about to expire, so I was looking at new options.  After doing a bunch of research I've decided to go with Straight Talk.  There's no contract required, and with all of the research that I did I started to feel like the whole contract thing is on its way out.  Why be tied down by one when you can get everything you need without it?

Of course, price is a major deciding factor.  I could get unlimited service (with calls, texting, everything I need) for just $45 a month or $499 a year, with none of those pesky activation or termination fees.  The also have an affordable plan for international long distance, so I can call a friend anytime no matter where they are. (In fact, it was actually a friend's mother who first mentioned Straight Talk to me because she likes her plan so much. Guess it's true that mom knows best.)

Even though Straight Talk is really affordable (I'm spending my future cell phone bill savings in my head already), that doesn't mean that they only offer cheap or outdated phones. They've got a great selection of phones to choose from with all of the features that you could ever want.  If I want to I can get the same LG phone I'm using now, and great coverage too.  Really, the only downside is that I didn't switch to Straight Talk sooner.

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Military Friendly Education With The Martinsburg Institute

This post brought to you by Martinsburg Institute. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was talking to a friend of mine last night about taking classes online.  It was kind of funny, because he's in the military and I'm a bohemian writer type, but online learning fits really well into our totally different lives. 

He was telling me about this really cool thing called the Martinsburg Institute. They have a bunch of different programs specifically intended for military personnel.  They can all be done online from wherever in the world you happen to be, even if you don't always have internet access.  It's all designed to provide the support and flexibility that members of the military and their families need to be successful.  (If you've ever been in the military or you know someone who has, you can imagine how challenging it can be to work on your education at the same time.)

My friend is still thinking about which program to go with, but he's leaning towards a degree or certificate in something business-related because he thinks that will be the most helpful as far as his post-military career.  I'm happy to have a friend to compare online learning notes with, and I'm really happy that he's got a program like the Martinsburg Institute that fits his unique situation so well so that he can continue his education.  Now, I need to get back to work because if he ends up getting better grades than me I'm going to look like a slacker.

Unilever's Back To School Bash

I was recently invited to a "Back to School Bash" in NYC hosted by Unilever and PR firm Weber Shandwick. The party was a back-to-school fashion event for tween girls to promote Unilever's newest scent for Dove® gofresh(TM), Rebalance. I brought my daughter and my niece, who are both 11.

The company really went above and beyond to make the guests feel special and pampered. Servers circled the room with trays of delicious, finger foods like mini-hamburgers and tiny grilled cheese squares and fruity mixed drinks like pink lemonade and citrus punch. A fashion consultant introduced the girls to the newest trends in tween fashion, showing off racks of clothes and rows of shoes.

Parenting expert and author, Rosalind Wiseman gave back-to-school tips and signed free copies of her books Boys, Girls and Other Hazardous Materials and Queen Bees and Wannabes: Helping Your Daughter: Helping Your Daughter Survive Cliques, Gossip, Boyfriends and the New Realities of Girl World (the book that helped inspire the movie Mean Girls and personally helped me get through a tough situation with my daughter a few years ago).

Professional stylists did the girls' makeup and hair, before they had a fun photo shoot courtesy of Stardoll. Each guest went home with a copy of their best photograph in a picture frame decorated with stickers, jewels and pom-poms, a mini Caboodles makeup case, and free samples of gofresh Rebalance deodorant and body mist.

I have to say that the event was amazing... both of the girls had a great time.

The brand really made them feel special and grown-up and important. They couldn't stop gazing at their photographs - marveling at how pretty their hair and makeup was - and raving about how delicious everything tasted. On the ride home they both devoured the first two chapters of Wiseman's book and both mentioned that they can keep the mini deodorant sample in their lockers when they start middle school this September. 

Shortly after dropping my niece off at her house, I received a call from her mom thanking me again and again for bringing her, saying how she wouldn't shut up about what a great time she had.

The event was part of Unilever's "Don't Fret The Sweat" campaign, the mission of which is to help parents and children to "successfully navigate the tricky tween years". Unilever has aligned with community partners to provide parents with the tools they need to help build their tweens’ confidence during these critical years and help their children transition into confident and self-reliant teens.

Disclosure: There was no charge for this event. I was invited by a representative from Weber Shandwick. I was not compensated for this blog entry and all of the opinions stated in this blog entry are my own.

Getting the Straight Talk

This post brought to you by Straight Talk. All opinions are 100% mine.

My cell phone contract is expiring next month, so I've started looking into my options once it does. Once of the companies that I've researched that I really like is Straight Talk.  You can get unlimited monthly service (including calls, text, picture messaging, and web) for only $45.  I don't know about you, but that's a lot less than I'm currently paying, and who doesn't love saving money?  I've practically spent it on makeup and shoes already. (I'm very serious about my budget.)

Another thing I like is that they have the All You Need Plan as an option, where you get 1,000 minutes, 1,000 texts and 30 MB of web data. I do a ton of texting and I'm constantly checking email and social networks from my phone, so the more I can get for a reasonable price, the better.  And they have great coverage plus phones from manufacturers that I like and trust like LG, all with no contracts required and none of those random extra fees that can sneak up on you. It's pretty much everything you need.

They also have a prepaid calling service for international long distance calls, so I can call a friend who lives outside the country without breaking the bank. They have a great selection of phones available, including smart phones.  I guess you could say that I might be falling hook, line and sinker for Straight Talk.

Does anyone have any experience with Straight Talk? Let me know in the comments!

Get Unlimited With NET10

This post brought to you by Net10. All opinions are 100% mine.

My cell phone contract is expiring next month, so I've been doing a little bit of research into my options.  One of the companies that I've been impressed with is NET10, especially after watching this interview with a real NET10 customer.

They have a plan called NET10 Unlimited that looks really promising.  For just $50 a month you get nationwide coverage with unlimited talk, text, and data.  I can't live without unlimited testing and I'm constantly using my phone for email and social networking, so this is the kind of plan that I need, and I love how affordable it is.

Another thing I like is that there are no contracts, and you can even switch plans from month to month depending on what your needs are. (You can buy airtime online or right from your phone.) Love that.  They've got a good selection of affordable phones from well-known manufacturers like LG and Motorola.  My last few phones have been LGs and I really like them, so it's good to know that I could stick with them if I decide to make the switch to NET10.

I think it's safe to say that when it comes to my current cell phone plan vs. NET10, I see the Light. For more info on NET10, check out their Facebook and Twitter pages (or this cute NET10 commercial). And if you have an experience with NET10, definitely leave a comment and let me know how you like it.

Sports Fan

Guest post of the week by Brittany Booker

I’m really into sports. Like, really, really into sports. I have a favorite team in just about every division and I have probably 12 jerseys to my name. My wife is pretty much the best woman in the whole world and she got me expertsatellite.com satellite for my birthday around Christmastime and it’s been amazing so far! I was able to watch just about all of the College World Series baseball games and I’ve even been able to catch a lot of random soccer games being played internationally I usually have to go to sports bars to watch. I know my obsession is probably getting a little out of hand but who cares? All that matters is that I’m able to sit at home and get some enjoyment out of watching a bunch of guys compete against each other in some trivial sport! I think it comes from the fact that I was never a great athlete growing up and I always wanted to be so now I’m living vicariously through my teams.

Getting Well With Walgreens

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

I was visiting my mom the other day when I suddenly started to feel a bad headache coming on. I'm prone to migraines, but I didn't have any of the headache medicine that I usually take with me.  My mom offered me some Walgreens brand extra strength pain reliever, saying that it always worked well for her aches and pains.  I don't have much experience with Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products, so I was a little bit skeptical, but my head also really really hurt so I gave it a try.

I have to say that I was very pleasantly surprised. My headache was gone in no time, and I was even more interested when my mom told me how much she had paid for the product at Walgreens. It was definitely a big savings over the brand name migraine medication that I usually depend on.  When I did a little more research, I was even more impressed, because I learned that every Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Product that you buy helps to support the Walgreens Way to Well Fund™, which works to bring free preventative health care and other health and wellness services to local communities. The services are provided in various ways, such as vouchers that you can redeem in stores and through the National Urban League Health & Wellness Tour.

If you're interested in Walgreens Brand Health & Wellness Products and the Walgreens Way to Well Fund™, you can learn more at walgreens.com/waytowell. You should also check out the giveaways that several bloggers have going on right now for Walgreens Gift Cards. Who doesn't love a good giveaway, right? And if anyone has any other product recommendations for me, let me know. I'm always open to trying new things.

More Mailboxes

If you've been reading this blog for awhile, you know that I really like shopping (and window shopping) for cool outdoor and garden decor and accessories, like planters, garden statues, mail boxes, benches, etc. My taste is pretty eclectic so I'm always looking for new stuff that I like.

Today's a mailbox day so I'm looking at a site that sells all kinds of residential mailboxes as well as multi-unit mailboxes, drop boxes, address plaques, and other decor. I really like this shadowbox style mailbox:



I love the contrast of the white and a bright color (they have several different colors to choose from), and I like that it's different from a "traditional" looking mailbox, but also a decent size and totally functional.

Aside from mailboxes, they also have some other great decorative items for the house and garden. This doorbell is really cool:



And I absolutely love this Times & Seasons outdoor thermometer:



What do you think? What's your favorite decorative piece in your garden?

Calling In The Steam Team

I mentioned the other day that I know a bunch of people who are either planning to move or have just moved recently. So it's funny to me that the craziest home story that I've heard this week came from a friend of mine who hasn't moved in a few years. What she does have is a couple of kids and a couple of dogs, all rambunctious, which is definitely a recipe for wackiness.

This week's story was about how you should not attempt to relax with a glass of red wine in your beige-carpeted living room at the end of a long day, because Kid A and Dog B will come wildly chasing each other into the room, and they will not be satisfied with just knocking over one glass. No, they'll take out both glasses and the bottle too.

Of course, this is nothing new for my friend - by now she knows all there is to know about carpet cleaning in Austin. She's got http://www.thesteamteam.com/ bookmarked in her laptop and their number ready to go in her phone. She likes them because they offer every carpet cleaning service that she could ever need, as well as pet odor treatments (did I mention she has two dogs?), upholstery cleaning (did I mention she has two rambunctious kids), and green cleaning services so that she can keep the chemicals to a minimum around her wacky and wonderful family. Personally, I like them because of their name. They sound like superheroes. Put the Steam Team signal in sky today!

Getting Medicare

I was visiting my cousin the other day, and while I was there we ended up spending awhile helping my aunt figure out a problem that she was having with her Medicare application. Later, we were talking about how complicated some of this stuff can be to figure out, what with all of the different parts and letters and rules and so on, especially for our older relatives who aren't necessarily so computer savvy and don't know what resources might be available to them.

Out of curiosity I did a little research, and I found this really helpful site for people who want to get Medicare. It lays out the differences between the Part A, Part B, and so on, and explains who is eligible for Medicare and how and when to sign up. There's also a separate section with information about the online application for Medicare, which is extra helpful for that less computer savvy set that I mentioned. You can even submit your information and get a phone call from a representative from the site who can walk you through all of your options. I think it's always good to know about resources like that are out there, because you never know when it might come in handy to help someone out.

Shopping for Scrubs

A friend of mine recently got a job at a doctor's office. It's her first job in the medical field, so she's excited but also a little nervous. One of the things that she has to do is buy herself some scrubs to wear to work, and since she knows that I've had to wear scrubs at a couple of previous jobs, she asked me for advice.

Scrubs don't have to be very expensive - there's nothing wrong with buying cheap scrubs as long as they're good quality. You want a pair that's comfortable and that fits properly. Most scrub bottoms come with a drawstring waist, but if they're really too big the drawstring won't help. Nothing is worse than having to constantly pull up your pants while you're trying to look professional and treat patients. Darker colors are always more slimming and flattering. However, if you're very fair you'll look totally washed out if you go with scrubs that are too dark. You don't want to look sicker than your patients!

I sent this link to my friend, because this site a great place to start for anyone who is in the market for some scrubs:

http://www.blueskyscrubs.com/categories/Scrubs/Scrubs-for-Women/

They have so many colors to choose from, and everything is really affordable, so you really can't go wrong. Happy scrubs shopping!

Setting Up House

It seems like a lot of people that I know are moving this spring and summer, whether it's across town or across the country. Relatives, friends, friends of friends, people I meet in the grocery store...okay, just kidding about that last one, but it does seem to be going around.

I was talking to one friend who moved from California to Arizona, and she was joking about how when you move the to do list of things to take care of is seemingly endless. While she was on the phone with me she was also searching home security Nogales because getting an alarm system for her new house was one of those "oops, we forgot about this" things that popped up when they arrived, and she wanted to find a good deal with a reputable company that could come and do the installation as soon as possible.

One thing she luckily hadn't forgotten was to contact Direct TV before she left, so she would have her TV situation sorted out as soon as she arrived. It's funny how you can remember television but forget home security. Priorites, right? At least they'll have plenty of great channels to choose from while they're up late listening for burglars tonight.

Printer Shopping

My old printer finally bit the dust, so I've started shopping around for a new one. There are so many different printers out there these days, I kinda don't know where to begin.

I found this site that sells all kinds of Brother printers, and I've had good luck with Brother products in the past so I figure this is a good place to start. They've got tons of printers to choose from, including a bunch of multifunction options. My office space is pretty small, so if I can't find a printer/copier/scanner that does all three things well, I'm always happy to save the space.

One thing this site has that's really helpful is a find and compare function that lets you choose several printers and compare their features and benefits. This makes it so much easier to make a decision about which printer is best for me. And if I manage to get a good deal, I can save a little money. And by save it of course I mean spend it on cute office supplies. It's a win-win situation.

Getting off the Ground

Guest written by our friend Gladys Fuentes

One of the things that took us so long to settle when we were getting ready to open our kitchen supply store was the aspect of credit card processing. Deciding on a processor was actually a really big decision since it's a service that costs money, and we didn't want to choose incorrectly and end up losing out. Thankfully, my brother is a business consultant and helped us look over all the options in our area and decide on the best plan. Another factor that kept us from opening on time was the growing list of construction issues in our old warehouse where we were to open the store. I don't know what we would have done without our contractor, Ryan, but he certainly saved our life on more than one occasion. Now that were open, all the hassles seem like so long ago, but I can't forget how much work went into getting this place off the ground. It sure makes me appreciate each day that runs smoothly in this store of ours!

It's Pizza Night!

This post brought to you by FRESCHETTA®. All opinions are 100% mine.

I'm on my own tonight, which means peace and quiet and no need to cook dinner for anyone else.  Of course this means only one thing - pizza night!  And I don't even have to deal with getting it delivered because I picked up some of those new FRESCHETTA® Simply…Inspired™ pizzas the last time I was at the supermarket. 

I had seen a commercial for theses pizzas and thought they looked good, so I checked them out in the store.  I really like thin crust pizza so their Thin & Crispy style appealed to me right away, and they have yummy sounding flavors like Rustic Pepperoni Pomodoro, Tuscan Farmhouse, and Hawaiian Style.  (There are eight flavors to choose from.)  Nobody else in my family likes Hawaiian style pizza, but I love it, so I think that's going to be my pick tonight.

I've always thought that Freschetta made some of the best quality frozen pizzas, so I'm sure I'll enjoy the Simply...Inspired pizzas too.  One of the new things they did that I like is the FRESCH-TASTE SEAL™ Packing - it's designed to help lock in the flavors and freshness of the ingredients while also using less packaging material.  I'm all for something that can make my food taste better and be more eco-friendly at the same time.

If you're a fellow Freschetta fan (see what I did there?), you can follow @FreschettaSI on Twitter and Like www.facebook.com/FreschettaSimplyInspired on Facebook.  They have weekly giveaways on their Facebook page as well as a chance to get a coupon for $2 off so that you can try the Simply...Inspired pizzas for yourself. Enjoy your pizza night!