La Vie de Laurie

PET HEAD

Laurie — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:41:47 +0000

You might think we’re crazy for spoiling our fur baby like he’s a child. As if the Coach collars, designer duds, Juicy Couture bed, and doggie stroller were not enough… now there is Pet Head apparel and accessories, in addition to a full line of shampoo and conditioners. We were walking through the mall over the weekend and passed by Toni & Guy where I usually get my hair done. I use BED HEAD styling products myself, so when I saw all the pet ones I was really excited. Yesterday I purchased an $18 (I know, I know!) bottle of Fears for Tears and cannot wait to give Brownie the spa treatment. All of them have really clever names too. There are also some cute ties and outfits too. What’s the craziest thing you’ve bought or done for your pet?

Great Holiday Deals from Charter

Laurie — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 03:16:51 +0000

Do you need telephone, cable, and high-speed internet service? If so, check out all the options Charter Cable has available. If you have been thinking about changing from your current service, now is definitely the time. Charter has some great promotions for black friday and cyber monday this week.

The more services you buy, the more thank-you gifts Charter will send you in return. In the market for an X-BOX? You even have the chance to win one!

If you buy one Charter service, you get $25, two services $75, and three will earn you $150. If you purchase Charter’s Ultimate Bundle you will received a $250 gift card! After your purchase is complete, you will be sent a gift card and will automatically be entered to win 1 of 45 X-Box 360 Game consoles… just in time for the holidays!

D and I have our telephone, cable and internet through one provider and I have to say that it is so much easier than paying three separate bills each month. I don’t know if anyone out there still uses dial-up, but high-speed is definitely the way to go.

If Charter is the way you want to go, I’d suggest signing up before Friday, December 5 because the offers I mention above end.

Jill gave me a French Kiss!

Laurie — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 04:12:18 +0000

No, not that kind of French Kiss! Read on to see what I mean!

Last week I was sitting on the sofa when the doorbell rang. I could see the mail man outside the window, and I got excited. I am participating in the Secret Santa Soiree, so since I hadn’t recently ordered anything… I immediately thought it was my gift from my partner.

When I opened the box, I saw the Lolita Martini glass box. One of my friends got me one of these for my birthday, so I knew right away what it was.

I kept digging, and found a cute Tinker Bell card from my awesome friend Jill! She found another glass called French Kiss that also has an eiffel tower and Parisan theme, and I LOVE it! I took a picture of myself with it before I placed it on my nightstand, and will post that as soon as I upload it from my camera. Thank you so much, Jill! You are sooooooooo sweet, and it was such an unexpected and nice surprise! I appreciate you thinking of me and remembering that I was looking for one of those. ::BIG HUGS::

Giveaway Winners!

Laurie — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 03:27:56 +0000

Now that I am back from Thanksgiving Vacation, I have a few things to take care of. Remember my contests for Starbucks and Target? Here are the winners:

Natalie M. won the $25 gift card to Starbucks as well as the Gold Card (also worth $25). She said:

I LOVE Starbucks! Sweetened Passionfruit Iced Tea is my summer favorite, and Pumpkin Spice Latte in the winter!

Forgetfulone won the $25 Target gift card. That’s going to be great for some holiday shopping! She said:

I’d love to join your crew. What do I need to do?

We could be crew-nies (instead of cronies)
We could be crew-cutes (instead of crew cuts)
Simply fabu-crew!
Crewlicious
Laurie-ettes
Fabu-laurie
Laurie’s Lovely Lot
Groupies
Just playing around!

I’d love to win a Target card!

Thanks for the great suggestions. I have decided on a name, and will announce it soon. I will be getting in touch with both of you to get your mailing addresses. Enjoy!

I’m an IZEA Insider! Enter to Win a $25 Target Giftcard!

Laurie — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 02:51:27 +0000

A few weeks ago I applied to become an IZEA Insider, and I am happy to announce that I was selected earlier this week. I am both super excited, and also super stressed. What am I going to name my crew? How am I going to get crew members?

A lot of great bloggers and blogging friends also were selected to be Insiders too, so I know that we will all be competing to add members which makes me a little bit nervous. I don’t have a huge following. I plan to work hard and hopefully recruit some new blogging friends. Do you want to be on my crew? Do you have any words of encouragement for me? Any ideas on names for my crew? Please share them with me in the comments.

IZEA has promised a lot of great perks such as free tickets to IZEAFest and other swag for me to give away to Crew Members. I hope that you will consider joining me. I don’t have all the details yet, but I have a lot of fun ideas that I will be sharing with you soon. I hope that everyone who is local will join me so that we can work together to build a great team. If we get over 50 members, Ted Murphy himself will fly out to speak to our group. How exciting would that be?!

I’m already giving away a $25 Starbucks gift card, but I thought I’d give you some incentive to join and help me out. Holiday shopping is in full swing, so how about a $25 Target gift card? To be eligible to win, simply leave me a comment saying you’d like to join my crew, or with some suggestions for crew names. I have until Friday to get back with Ashley with a decision, so I’ll draw a winner next Thursday night. Thanks in advance for helping me out and for sharing your ideas!

Make a Wish

Laurie — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 20:10:35 +0000

When I was growing up, Sears was one of the places my family would shop for clothes. Now that I’m grown up, we shop more for electronics, tools, and kitchen appliances there. Some of those items can be a little pricey, and that’s why it’s good to shop at a store that has a good layaway plan. Sears Layaway works like typical store layaway programs which enable you to shop now and pay later. You can put as little as $15 down (or 20% of your purchase) and continue making payments until they are paid off. It’s that easy.

Dave and I have been talking about getting some home gym equipment for the house so that we can negate the $60/month fees we pay for our local gym. If we purchased a NordicTrack, we’d actually save money in the long run. We also have a lot of home improvement projects on the horizon, and some Craftman Tools would definitely come in handy. Sears also has a lot of Breast Cancer KitchenAid items as well as other apparel and accessories that support breast cancer charities. Those will definitely make great stocking stuffers and gifts for friends and family this holiday season.

What items are on your wishlist? Do you plan on putting any items on layaway this year?

The Little Red Cup Giveaway

Laurie — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:03:31 +0000

A few days ago I had my first White Chocolate Peppermint Mocha of the holiday season, and quite frankly, I haven’t looked back. I have had one everyday since then.

It’s no secret that I love Starbucks. I even love the little red cups they have during the holidays. Last year they had fun inspirational quotes and ideas printed on them. I was a little disappointed that they didn’t continue with that this year. I have been reading that other people have gotten upset when they tried to skip the red cups in favor of the regular white and green ones during past holidays. People take their Starbucks very seriously. Are you one of those people? If so, I’ve got the giveaway for you!

I am giving away a Starbucks Gold Card Membership and a $25 gift card so that you can start enjoying your favorite red cup holiday beverages. The Gold Card gets you 10% off most purchases in participating stores, surprise indulgences (like a treat on your birthday) and exciting offers and discounts. What Starbucks fan wouldn’t love to get in on that deal? I was itching to win a membership before they came out because I wasn’t sure how I felt about paying to receive a discount. If that’s how you feel, now is your chance.

Entering is easy:

*Leave a comment on this post telling me what your favorite holiday drink (or even what your favorite regular drink) at Starbucks is for one entry.
*Tweet about this contest to @laurie_pooh with a link to this post for five entries.
*Stumble this post for five more entries.
*Blog about this contest with a link to this post for ten entries.

A winner will be randomly selected on Sunday, November 30. This giveaway is limited to residents of the United States and Canada only. Please leave your real first name and a valid e-mail address so that I can contact you in the event you are the winner. If you do not answer the question (What is your favorite Starbucks drink), or tell me what you did to earn extra entries (along with your Twitter user name, StumbleUpon user name, URL of Blog Post), your comment will be deleted. Basically I want to avoid comments such as “give it to me,” “nice giveaway,” “I want it,” etc.

Thanks for stopping by! Hopefully you’ll be enjoying some free Starbucks soon!

Glasses on the Cheap

Laurie — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:52:49 +0000

I am still in desperate need of new eyeglasses and contacts. I am on my last pair of contacts, and my newest pair of glasses are from a prescription I had four or more years ago. I just need to make an appointment.

I have talked about Zenni Optical before because I heard about their promotion for $8 glasses. It’s a little hard to believe, but it’s absolutely true. Go check out their $8 lens & frame selection. There are quite a few styles, including both wire and plastic in a variety of colors to suit almost every taste. I’m not that picky when it comes to glasses because I rarely wear mine outside of the house. I could probably benefit from buying several so that I have one at home, one at the office, and one in my car. That way if I ever lose a contact, I’ll be able to see no matter where I am.

Several of my friends have already ordered from them. One said that he had a great experience, and would definitely recommend Zenni. The other has ordered several pairs on two different occasions because she liked them so much. Once I get my eyes checked I’ll be able to order too– and it will be cheaper than going through our insurance.

The media is also talking about Zenni. You may have heard about them on FOX News, or the popular The Howard Clark Show on the radio. Even the Chicago Tribune is talking about Zenni! How can they sell eyewear so cheap and inexpensively? Easy– they cut out the middleman and pass the savings onto you. That’s what I’m talking about!

Dear Santa

Laurie — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 06:16:50 +0000

How much do I love that Crate & Barrel has new holiday plates, mugs and a cake pedestal named after yours truly? A LOT! Aren’t they cute? And do you know that my kitchen and dining room are red? These would really be perfect. Perfect if I didn’t have another set of dishes that I have been dying to complete. I am over here having a convulsion. Let me tell you why.

Dave and I were married in 2004, and my wedding china is called Anna’s Artistry from Crate & Barrel. Last year it was discontinued before I was able to complete my set, and I was truly heartbroken. With the new house, I was never able to allocate money to finish it up. I had managed to get a serving plate and bowl before they took them away, but I am still in need of two of practically everything else (and 8 of a few other things). I spent part of tonight cleaning, and fixing up the dining room for the holidays. Looking at my china cabinet made me a little sad because of the incompleteness of my set. I check online periodically to see if it is ever at the outlet, and tonight… it was actually on the regular website! Not only is it back, but most pieces are over 50% off. The stuff wasn’t cheap to begin with, and while it is still kind of expensive, I am so happy to have a second chance to complete my set. I swear I think my heart skipped a beat. Also, they have free shipping right now.

So Santa (or Santa’s helpers out there), PLEASE… all I want for Christmas are some Crate & Barrel gift cards or pieces from my registry. I don’t know how long they will be available, but I am hoping that I will be able to get everything before they are gone. I’ve been an awfully good girl this year. Pretty please?

Win 52 Boxes of your favorite cereal!

Laurie — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 01:10:13 +0000

Do you like cereal? Dave and I are fans of Cap’n Crunch. How would you like to win a bathtub full of cereal from Ted Murphy? He says that equates to 52 boxes, and he should know since he has pictures of himself sitting in a tub full on his new blog, Ted.me. Don’t worry. You’re not going to win the actual cereal below. You get to choose your favorite. And because Ted is a charitable guy, he’s going to donate 52 boxes to a local food bank if he gets 500 unique comments to his blog post.

You can enter two times, once by writing a blog post and once by tweeting the phrase: “@tedmurphy is giving away a bathtub full of cereal. Help a family in need http://urlbrief.com/0910d7 - Please RT” You can also leave two comments on his blog in an effort to help him reach his 500 comments. If I win, I’d donate the cereal to the food bank in Frisco.

What is your favorite cereal? Go visit Ted’s Blog and let him know!