Cute Cheap Stuff!

I’m moving to a new apartment this weekend, so I apologize in advance for the lack of posts around here and in the near future. I decided to hire a local moving company, which was a hard decision because it goes against my frugal ways. But I think it will be really nice to have other people do the lifting. And I won’t have to rent a truck, drive that truck, park that truck, and return that truck, not to mention putting everything inside and outside of that truck.

The company I hired is supposed to be really good and they had the best pricing compared to other recommend companies around here, and I like the idea of supporting local (good) companies. And since I’m moving  on Sunday, I decided not moving my furniture myself was my Valentine’s Day gift … to myself (in the least depressing sense).  That sounds a little Liz Lemon-ish, but that’s how I roll. Speaking of Liz Lemon ….

In the last night’s “30 Rock,” she scheduled a root canal on Valentine’s Day so that she would be passed out for the most of the day. I’m a little bit ashamed and a little bit proud to say I’ve done the same thing – twice. Well, almost the same thing. Twice in the past few years I’ve scheduled a dentist’s appointment on Valentine’s Day; I figured since the day was miserable* anyway, why not throw a dentist’s appointment in there? That way, I wouldn’t ruin an otherwise good day with the bad feelings associated with the dentist.

* OK, sort of miserable – it’s not like anyone yelled at me for being single. And I’m happy for people who are in relationships and I know that V Day can be fun even if you’re single, but still….

Anyway, if you have any good last-minute moving tips, throw ‘em my way.

Oh, and this is what I plan to do when I’m done moving:

Hmm… actually, I have the same response to moving and to Valentine’s Day.

Enter discount code reindeer to get free shipping at fredflare.com! There’s not even a minimum purchase amount! The code ends Dec. 21.

If you send out holiday cards, check out cardsthatgive.org. It features a gallery of holiday greeting cards from more than 100 non-profit organizations. You can look through all the cards – or just look at the list of charities that sell cards – and then you can buy cards from that organization’s website. Pretty handy!

Click here to download a free holiday sampler album from iTunes, featuring 20 holiday songs by Sarah McLachlan, Weezer, Glasvegas, Stephen Colbert, Aretha Franklin, and more.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs "It's Blitz!"

Every month Amazon offers 50 albums for $5 each, but Happy December – they’re offering 100 albums!

I like this month a lot. We got: Switchfoot, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Lady GaGa, White Rabbits, David Gray, The Hold Steady, My Morning Jacket, and more.

They’re also doing Christmas albums, including the absolute best Christmas album ever: John Denver & The Muppets!

Click here to print a $5 off coupon at Hallmark stores. There’s no minimum purchase, so you can get something that costs a little over $5 (like a couple of cards?) and get it almost for free! The offer ends Dec. 24.

Amazon is offering a free Christmas mp3 every day up through Dec. 25. Go here to check it out!

If you didn’t get your shipping fix this weekend, then check out the online deals on Monday (called Cyber Monday, but I hate the word “cyber” because it’s outdated and sounds icky). It’s supposed to be the biggest online shopping day of the year, so I’m not really even sure where to start.

Here’s a pretty good list of deals and coupons to get you on your way.

For this weekend only, my favorite place to shop, FredFlare.com, is offering free shipping! There isn’t even a minimum purchase! Just use discount code awesome when you check out.

This is so tempting, so very tempting…

From now until December 1, you buy a $5 subscription to Real Simple magazine from Amazon.com! It’s a great treat for yourself or as a gift. There are also a few other $5 deals, including Food & Wine, Cosmopolitan, and Southern Living.

It’s been a difficult year. But today is a day to give thanks. We have much to give thanks for, even if current circumstances aren’t ideal.

This morning I flipped on the Hallmark Channel, hoping that “The Golden Girls” may be on, but really expecting to see another Hallmark family classic snooze-fest of a movie. But it was a Thanksgiving miracle: the Golden Girls appeared on screen. And not only did they appear, but they showed up in a very special episode: Dorothy’s wedding (to Leslie Nielsen – whom I LOVE and adore).

Watching it gave me something to be thankful for.

We no longer have to wear dresses like this:

You can’t see it in the photo, but the wedding dress has full-length lace sleeves, and those ribbon curl things are just …. there are no words.

Sure, there are a lot more serious things to be thankful, but let’s keep it real. The fact that white beasts of a dress like this are no longer in style – that is worth celebrating.

Happy Thanksgiving!

With Thanksgiving almost here, I’m probably late in talking about pumpkin recipes. But better late than never, right?

I’m not a huge fan of pumpkin, but I find that when it’s baked with a bunch of sugar, it’s suddenly delicious!

First I want to alert you about the best pumpkin bread ever. Ever!!! 22,000 people agree with me, so you have no choice but to make this bread immediately. Note that the recipe yields 3 loaves, so if you’re feeding less than 36 people, I recommend making 2 loaves (1 will not be enough!). There’s a handy calculator right above the ingredient list.

For someone who isn’t a big pumpkin fan, I sure have a lot of pumpkin dessert recipes bookmarked. Since sharing is caring, here are recipes that I’ve bookmarked that I do – and maybe you will – eventually want to try?

Now word on the street is there might be a pumpkin shortage. Let’s just ignore that and salivate over these:

• Pumpkin muffins with milk chocolate chips
• Pumpkin chocolate chip bread
• Easy pumpkin muffins
• Turtle pumpkin pie
• Pumpkin pie dip
• Pumpkin chocolate bread
• Pumpkin chocolate chip cookies
• Pumpkin chocolate chip oatmeal cookies
• Iced pumpkin cookies
• Sour cream pumpkin coffee cake
• Pumpkin crumb cake

P.S. After all my talk about pumpkins, for my contribution to Thanksgiving dinner this year, I’m making cranberry sauce muffins. Go figure.

They say that giving is better than receiving.

But receiving is still pretty fun. Especially when it’s something you actually want.

Enter Apartment Therapy’s annual Holiday Giveaway. Each day you can enter to win 6 gifts from their family of blogs (Apartment Therapy, The Kitchn, ohdeedoh, unpluggd and re-nest), and there is some cool stuff. You can enter for as many as you like, and it shows you a preview of the upcoming giveaways to lust over.

This desk is pretty hot, right?

The giveaway runs through Dec. 18, and you’ll need to check the site once a day to enter. You’ll also have to create an account, but once you do, it makes entering the contests very easy.

Good luck!

Do you struggle every year with buying gifts for the men in your life? For me, finding a Christmas gift for my dad (and birthday gift on Dec. 17) is the most difficult shopping of the year.

If you’re also in that boat – whether it’s fathers, siblings, significant others, etc. – I have an idea! For this week only, you can buy a year subscription of ESPN magazine from Amazon.com for only $5!  Five dollars! That’s 96% off the cover price!

If your hard-to-buy-for dude (or lady! girls like sports too.) has any interest in sports, check out this deal! A few years ago, I got my dad a subscription to Sports Illustrated, and he really liked it.

Magazine subscriptions are a fun gift. It lasts all year, and it’s just exciting to get a shiny new magazine in the mail. Reading is FUNdamental!

Check out this web site for a daily list of retailers offering free shipping. It’s a handy tool for the holiday shopping season!

(Photo from flickr member tiarescott with Creative Commons license.)

Gaiam is offering 99-cent shipping if you use the code EMSH99 at checkout. It expires December 8.

Gaiam sells a variety of natural and organic-themed items, ranging from home stuff to exercise apparel to exercise equipment, especially yoga and pilates. They also have a very affordable Outlet Sale section.

(Thanks, Seattle Moms Deal Finder)

This is really cool and timely with the holidays approaching: Make a gift bow from a magazine page. Unlike a lot of craft ideas I see online, I think I actually understand how to make this!

Hooray! Use discount code “PREVIEW” at Fredflare.com, and you get 30% off everything. The code expires Nov. 16.

I love fred flare and their collection of cute yet mostly affordable things. This is a great time of year to check FF out, especially if you’re looking for an unusual secret santa or white elephant gift.

I have this shower curtain. It makes me happy.

Cute!

For your favorite "too cool for Christmas" friend?

Enter “stay cute” as the promo code and get free shipping at Fredflare - that’s a $7.95 value. Score!

Shopping for a Father’s Day gift is not on my list of enjoyable activities. Not because I don’t love my dear ol’ Dad but because he is impossible to shop for. Anybody else feel me on this?

Do you have any good or unique ideas for Father’s Day gifts (that won’t break the bank)? Is there a certain store you always head to? Do you make something? Do you skip the gift-buying altogether? Please share!