Burt's Bees Deal and More!

Just found out Target has online printable coupons good for $2 off some products in the Burt's Bees Sensitive Skin line that you can combine with my $1 coupons for $3 off! That's a pretty good deal! Also Barnes & Noble is offering a printable 50% off coupon good off the list price of one print book if you like them on Facebook. I'm combining with a $10 gift certificate I got from doing a Dataelligence survey. I've been waiting for the latest Star Wars book forever! Also got a sweet deal on dinner at Barberitos from News and Record Daily Deals. I've been using them, Groupon and Living Social to get great savings on everything from hair cuts to restaurants. If you're interested and want to use one of my referral links, I've posted them below.

http://www.groupon.com/r/uu23322691
Invite to LivingSocial
http://dailydeal.news-record.com/r/4cbe21c8c9fbbc91e2c85113

Burt's Bees Review

I've been using the Burt's Bees Sensitive Skin facial cleanser and daily moisturizing cream for the last few weeks now. So far I've been really impressed by the product. It's quality stuff. I think the facial cleanser is the best value since you only need a little and I'm betting it could easily last two months. The moisturizing cream is a smaller bottle so is more likely to only last a month ($15 seems a little pricey for a month of moisturizer.) Still it's a lot nicer than what I normally use. It absorbs really fast which I wasn't expecting. Also it didn't have any SPF which I'd prefer to have. Is my skin softer? Meh, maybe? I think the appeal is more the natural ingredients and the luxurious feel you get using the product. Worth the price? Maybe, especially if you can find a sale and have a coupon! Speaking of coupons, I've still got a few samples and coupons to give away. Let me know if you're interested!

New Burt's Bees Product!

Recently I was invited to participate in a BzzAgent campaign for Burt's Bees. They have a new line of skin care for people with sensitive skin. I had an opportunity to try Burt's Bees toothpaste a while back ( and loved it ) so am excited to get to try this new product! Despite the company's name many of the products they carry are vegan and do not contain honey or bee's wax. None of the products they carry are tested on animals. The sensitive skin line contains 99% natural ingredients. What makes the sensitive line unique is that it contains cotton extract and is hypo-allergenic and fragrance free. I'll be testing the facial cleanser and daily moisturizing cream in the coming weeks and will be sure to blog my opinion. If you would like to join me in trying out the new product, I have some samples of the daily moisturizing cream (along with coupons good for the whole line) that I would be happy to send out. Just shoot me an e-mail or post to this blog with your contact info so I can arrange to get it to you. Here's a little more info about the products I will be trying:

Daily Moisturizing Cream: Contains cotton extract along with rice extract and aloe; Non-Comedogenic; Retail cost runs around $14.99 for 1.8 oz

Facial Cleanser: Soap-free; Contains cotton extract along with quillaja and yucca; Retail cost runs around $9.99 for 6 oz

Boots!

So after a very frustrating day of no good yard sales, no soy milk and hence no pumpkin spice latte at Panera (don't worry I made Mike stop at another so I could experience it!), no shopping at certain stores because they don't open 'til 10 on Saturday (what?!?), I finally had a moment of perfect triumph when I found a new pair of boots at Rack Room. Aren't they pretty! I don't feel naked anymore!

Really all in all we had a very productive excursion. We got a free 24 pack of Pomegranate seltzer water from Earth Fare (sign-up for Freebies on their website), a free pumpkin muffin for Mike from Panera (they have a new rewards card called MyPanera), a great deal on make-up at CVS using their Extra Bucks program and $10 off our lunch at Brixx Pizza courtesy of Groupon.

Review of "Home-Ec 101"

I was excited to be invited to take a sneak peak of Home-Ec 101 by Heather Solos. I have not read this entire book but I was able to read Chapter 20 on Meal Planning courtesy of One2OneNetwork.com. The concept of the book is very intriguing to me. Being a recent first time home owner I am trying to get in the swing of keeping things clean and keeping us fed like what I remember from growing up.

There are a lot of things I wished I’d paid more attention to when I was younger and my mother was training to teach me. I do get helpful advice from her now and then but I still feel like a manual might help. This manual is not your Good Housekeeping from the fifties. The advice is given in a 21st century point of view and is very accommodating to different households. I like that Heather understands the pressures of today’s hectic schedules and is supportive of gradual change in the right direction.

This chapter guides you through making healthy meals in place of drive-thru fare. My husband and I don’t really do the whole drive-thru thing but we do run into habits of eating convenience food. The chapter suggests such techniques as using leftovers and designating certain nights as a certain dish or cuisine. As a vegan, I did not get much use out of her weekly menu ideas but I did appreciate the suggestion of Meatless Mondays. The chapter is a good mix of content ranging from recipes to personal tidbits to lists of tips and suggestions.

I’m very curious to read the rest of the book and learn her suggestions for cleaning which, in a new house, seems to be my largest hurdle. I will be on the lookout for this book the next time I hit the bookstore.