A very random read unrelated to my personal life :)

A coworker who is well aware of my love for facials, brought this advertisement to my attention today and I was so amused by it that I had to share.  A headline offering a steal on microdermabrasion caught our attention so naturally, we pulled it up to do some price comparisons.  It didn't take long to figure out that the Groupon ad could not beat what I currently pay whenever I get around to having this done, but the text within the ad kept me reading.  What on earth is this?!

The listing, adorned with a bejeweled cat floating on a cloud, compares facial treatments to flirty, friendly banter.  Continue reading and you'll find that not only does microdermabrasian infuse your face with moisture, it miraculously provides you with a supply of Mickey Rooney trading cars until you, "surrender to relaxation like a buttery balloon caught in an embrace."

Bahaha!  I don't know what a buttery balloon has to with anything, but I certainly don't want it anywhere near my face. 

After barely making it through that sentence with my professional demeanor still in tact, I wandered into the next section which discloses planetary secrets that have been revealed through macrodermabrasion.  Whatever was left of my calm composure flew completely out the window when I read that the planet Pluto is simply a babushka doll whose core is made up entirely of a profaned golf ball.

I don't know who wrote this gem, but I want to find them and hang with them sometime.  I'm convinced it would be an entertaining experience.

That said, do you think they wrote this as a creative approach to grabbing the attention of customers?  If so, it seems to have worked.  According to my current link, they have sold 266 of these since placing the ad and now they're getting a shout-out from the random blog of a crazed PR graduate.  Additionally, it's a safe bet that I'll be keeping my eye out for more advertisements from a company I knew very little about until this morning.  Well done folks! Well done.

See it for yourself at the link below:
 http://www.groupon.com/deals/skincare-charlie-salt-lake-city

Money Matters (Part 2)

Last summer I posted about various penny-pinching techniques I’d been using at the time. As mentioned in the original post, my goal is to develop more of these skills as time goes on. That said, I thought it only appropriate to report on some of my progress. This has been a fairly eye-opening experience since I haven't kept tabs on my progress this year and frankly, I think it's lacking in the "find easy household tricks" department.  Nonetheless, here are my new discoveries. 

If any of you have some cool frugal tips, please share!

1. Bountiful Baskets: This is definitely my favorite find this year. Every Saturday, Bountiful Basket volunteers drive around the state with promises of deliciously fresh fruits and vegetables to lure me out of bed at 6:30 in the morning. This is a huge accomplishment considering the fact that Saturday happens to be my only day to sleep in and I so look forward to extended sleeping hours. But $15 for an entire laundry basket full of fresh, locally grown produce rings my bell … and I cave.

Plus, they make healthy bread that Tyler and I can’t get enough of for $2 per loaf. They also offer special packages each week in addition to produce and bread if I’m looking for even more excitement.

We usually go every couple of weeks and split our basket with friends or family because they give you so much. One of these days I’m going to work up the courage to arrive extra early and volunteer for them so I can get free additions to my already bountiful basket :)

Visit bountifulbaskets.org on a Monday night to get in on the magic.

(Bountiful Basket x 2)

2. Mini Facials: I read about this on Kandee the Makeup Artist’s website and I love it. Basically if you like facials, buy yourself some organic lemon juice and organic sugar and go to town. It’s as easy as this: dampen your face with warm water, wet a cotton round with the lemon juice and sprinkle with a teaspoon of organic sugar. Rub the mixture all over your face and then wash it off. It feels wonderful! Check out her website if you want to see it legitimized on the face of a gorgeous makeup artist (her link is posted on our sidebar). She also has a cheap teeth whitening technique.

3. Birthday Clubs: I’ve joined so many restaurant/department store birthday clubs I can’t keep count. But the freebie birthday/anniversary/thanks for joining coupons they send out make it all worth it (check out Aveda, DSW, Marie Callender’s, TGI Friday’s, IHOP, etc…)

4. Hydrogen Peroxide: This stuff works as an awesome disinfectant/bleach substitute that is less than a dollar per bottle on sale.

5. Restaurant.com: Especially around clearance time at the end of each month, you can get some steals here! I paid $2 for a $25 gift certificate to a nice restaurant in the area. The downside is that most certificates require a minimum purchase. Play your cards right though, and it ends up being a pretty sweet deal.

6. Hotwire.com: Cheap hotel stays? Yes, please.

7. ACN: Oddly enough, most people sigh when we tell them that Tyler joined a company that brokers landlines, cell phone plans, television, internet, etc…. but like it or not, it has helped many people who have met with him to save money on monthly payments that they're already paying. Sadly, it couldn’t beat our current phone package that we get through my Dad’s business account, but at least it has saved other people money, right? If you ever want him to see if he can save you any or not, just say the word and he’ll look into it. Because if he can’t save us money, he may as well save some for other people to make it worthwhile.

8. Wal-Mart Samples: I’m a little embarrassed to write about this one for some reason. Basically I check Wal-Mart’s website frequently for free samples and order them whenever they’re available. I can’t even begin to count how many mini packages of free girly products I’ve received this way (tampons, etc…), along with travel sized shampoos and toothpastes (my fav. for camping). Many of the samples are just small handouts, but now and then, we totally score.

9.  Dryer Sheets: I have yet to do a price analysis on this due to an unforeseen hiccup along the way, but we really like it so that's got to count for something.  I bought a couple of bright colored wash cloths so they wouldn't get mixed up in our current towel supply.  We periodically soak them in liquid laundry detergent (purchased on clearance of course) and lay them out to dry.  Throw those puppies in the dryer and they work awesome as dryer sheets and last a long time (provided your husband doesn't accidentally wash them with the rest of the towels...  Yes, I'm talking to you Tyler).


Also as an update from last year’s post:

• We are officially x-fans of cheap brownie mixes. They’re great and affordable but once we started making them from scratch, there was no turning back. They simply don’t compare.
• Beingfrugalisfabulous website is no more.  Tragic.
• Still doing the online surveys and delighting in the free American Eagle clothing articles they provide.

Grammatically Speaking

This post is dedicated to the girl who once asked me how to spell e-mail; who wondered why people today are still named Jesus; and who made me cringe on a daily basis by constantly writing perchis instead of purchase. I still remember you and I hope that somehow this article finds its way onto your monitor.

I read this article a few weeks ago and found myself wondering if we could somehow require that every American citizen read it in its entirety.

The article discusses ten common ways in which people slaughter the English language. It's not long, poetic, or particularly thought provoking. It's short, sweet, and straight to the point. Hallelujah!

Read it. Learn it. Love it. I'm sort of preaching to the choir by posting this for other bloggers who clearly know the difference between your and you're, but I just had to share.

What I wouldn't give to pass the message along to Facebook users...

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/life/10-common-errors-spell-check-won-t-catch-2039083/#poll-86A687227A3211DF922CE2CA55AE989C