Talk about a fun review!!

I rarely get to do a bunch of shopping. Mostly because of the fact that I limit myself to two shopping trips a month other than the necessities as a college girl's budget no matter if she is 30 is much smaller than she would like. So when I was given the mission of buying $25 worth of goodies at TJ Maxx and Marshalls I gladly accepted the challenge. Mind you with the cost of things today I sort of shook my head at the $25 gift cards. I was secretly thinking hmm I guess I'll go get two new shirts but on the way there I realized why not take advantage of the fact that the boys were home alone and I had these brilliant little gift cards with a review as my excuses to really spend some time and shop for something fabulous with my $25 at each store.

Lucky for me my TJ Maxx and Marshalls are within a few miles of each other so doing my little shopping trip was pretty simple. I have to admit the last time I stepped foot in TJ Maxx was on a visit to my parents in Hawaii and for some reason any time I visit my mom I end up coming home with more than I left with. On this particular trip planning for the reality of that I brought a second empty suitcase but I ended up needing a third suitcase last minute.. and TJ Maxx just happened to be the closest store to my mom's house and I came home with quite possibly my favorite piece of luggage of all time, a bright blue rolling suitcase that in the almost 8 years it has served me its always been easy to spot when claiming my luggage at the airport.

So my first stop was TJ Maxx.. I browsed the clothes, looked at the baby clothes, and then I hit the motherload. Our TJ Maxx has a huge home section and when I got a look at the selection I decided what I really needed was new home items. So after walking up and down each isle I have to say what I came home with was quite amazing.

TJ Maxx:

2 Over sized Bath Towels - striped blue/brown - retail price $19.00 each paid $7.99 each
and quite possibly my favorite pan ever
1 Le Creusant Non Stick skillet in Caribbean (the color of the set I'm working on!) actually this skillet is something I have never seen before, its not part of their cast iron collection its a traditional nostick skillet and the color matches my cast iron pieces perfectly! $14.99!!!!

So ok I spent a little over my $25 but it was well worth it as the skillet alone I would have happily paid $25 or much more for!

Marshalls:

1 Beautiful Striped Blue Beach Towel - $9.99 (nice plush towel!)
1 Le Creusant Cobalt Blue Cast Iron Grilling Pan - $14.99 (can you believe that?! That's easily a $109 pan!)

I brought the Grilling Pan home the same night and made some very delicious hamburgers in the oven. The lid from my Le Creusant square baking dish's lid fit my new grilling skillet perfectly so once the burgers were going I just put the lid on to prevent oil from popping out and they came out perfectly! I've actually used it almost every night this week as I used it for cooking fish twice this week as well already!

So needless to say at both TJ Maxx and Marshalls I got every item I bought at almost three times less than their retail price. I have an obsession with cast iron cookware but its SOO expensive. I totally forgot that both places carry overstocks and slightly irregular pieces and though the selection is different every time you go if you keep looking your bound to find the piece your looking for. I actually saw several pieces of the Caribbean collection and if I could I would have brought them all home with me.

Next shopping day I am going back to check out both my TJ Maxx and Marshalls to look for more pieces of my cookware set as well I'm on the lookout for a really great bedspread as well and I saw quite a few options at both stores. Go check out both the TJ Maxx and Marshalls website to find one or both near you!

Thanks TJ Maxx and Marshalls I'll be thinking about both stores while I'm cooking for a long long time.

Last minute shopping to do?

Got some last minute shopping to do, but you need the best deals and your totally overwhelmed with your options? I hear ya girls, I know I've been prowling shops everywhere to find just the right gift for my dad for Christmas and even I am stumped. Its not so much I can't find a great gift but finding just what I want in my budget is the problem. Well I have a new solution for all my gift giving needs.

I've always heard of Shop.com but up till now I've never used them when I'm looking to give a gift. I was recently turned on to them by Mom Central and boy did it come right at the best moment. Shop.com is basically an all inclusive site that allows you to search a host of different online shops and purchase what you need in one shopping cart in one central location thus simplifying your shopping list and it really helps when your looking for the best deal. After all there are some 2,000 merchants in which you can buy from through Shop.com which means you will have over 20 million products to pick from. That's awfully good odds of finding just what your looking for.

I still haven't found the perfect gift for my Daddy.. not because there was not enough options I just can't decide what I want to buy to be quite honest. I did however find a Le Creusant stock pan for almost 50% off that I absolutely have to have. If you need a little extra help finding the perfect christmas gift you can use Shop.com's Christmas guide to help narrow down some options. I'm heading back over to Shop.com right now to look at more gift options for dad right now.

My favorite place to buy games!

I'm a gaming nut, computer games, ds games, gamecube, xbox, you name it I've probley played it. Before Connor was born it was my favorite way to spend an afternoon, since my very first computer game Quest for Glory 1, I've been hooked. Sure I had an Atari before then, and even a Texas Instrument but nothing was ever quite the same after that first Quest for Glory game. I really hate to admit this.. but I even met Connor's dad playing World of Warcraft.

Sadly I don't have nearly as much time to play computer games these days, between Connor, school and the blog its really a luxury more than a hobby. Though I do try to make at least a few hours a week to play something just to unwind. Ever since I purchased that very first Quest for Glory game in 1991 at Babbages (which is now Gamestop!) I have made at least 90% of my purchases from Gamestop. Though I hate to even admit this until I did the review it had been quite a while since I had been back into one of their stores, but thats going to change if I ever actually get a break from school. heh.

Well I went in and check the great selection of used games. I found a few that I would have really liked to have. We have several Gamestops here in Montgomery but the one I went to had a massive selection of pre-owned ds games. So many in fact that I think their used selection was almost as good as their new selection. If your on a budget I always recommend people to check the used selection first. You never know sometimes you can even find almost brand new releases in there. Though I ended up passing up all the used games though I did see a copy of Wario for the Wii that I really wanted. In the end though I ended up putting down some money to reserve my copy of the upcoming release of my second favorite game of all time... the new version of Harvest Moon that is due to be released soon. I cannot even tell you how stinkin excited I am.

Even if your not particularly shopping for any game in particular its always fun to stop by and check out their display machines and try out a few games that otherwise you might not consider. Depending on the store sometimes you can even ask to try out one of the used games on one of their display machines.

You can also go online and check out all the new releases, up coming releases and even browse their used section online at the Gamestop website.

Thanks Mom Central for giving us the heads up on this review!

I could loose a whole day at the Warm Biscuit!

If you have not checked out the Warm Biscuit Bedding Company lately or thought they were just about baby and children's bedding, you need to look again as besides having a stunning selection of vintage themed bedding sets, their toy selection is out of this world.


So, I've decided that Connor will grow up to be a rock star... or at least he loves music as very few things entertain this child more than any sort of musical toy. I'm not talking about toys that play music.. I mean toys that actually make music.

There are two things every little rocker in training needs.. a guitar and a set of drums. Well we may not have the guitar yet but we do have one kickin set of drums that we picked up over at Warm Biscuit. They are sized perfectly for toddlers and only stand about a foot off the ground which is perfect for an average toddler sitting. In Connor's case its just about right when he is standing as he is still a little munckin man.

Besides drum sets the Warm Biscuit has one of the most droolicious toy selections I have seen. I cant even begin to tell you our favorites as I would be ecstatic to own each and every toy they have listed. Not to mention that most of their toys have a distinctive vintage feeling, many of which you may have even enjoyed when you were a child. I actually had the exact same Fisher Price Chatter Phone that you can find under their classic toy selections. I think I still even have a picture of me chatting to "who knows" on it. heh.

Ahh.. its really their play kitchen items that make me wish at times that I had a little girl. Can you imagine playing house with that beautiful little pink mixer. I wouldn't mind having a real pink mixer but I would settle to have a little wooden pink mixer. Not to mention the wonderfully colorful wooden cookies which you can get right out of the cookie roll! I'm drooling just looking at them. If only they tasted half as good as they looked. I'm sure Connor would love to try to eat them but sadly I don't think wood tastes that great. Do you think it would be wrong of me to buy that mixer for Connor and make him play house with me? His dad would most likely try to strangle me I'm sure.

If the beautiful play food items didn't already give me a case of baby girl fever, the pink embroidered moses basket is too amazingly gorgeous for words. Not to mention how fabulous that would look in my living room later as a toy box, or a place for delicate little handmade dolls to rest their heads. I really think its truly a shame that more new mom's don't get a moses basket of their own when they bring their babies home. I had an old worn out half coming apart basket when Connor was little and regardless we loved that basket and it was the perfect napping spot when I was busy doing homework or we were visiting friends. Not to mention its a thousand times easier to pack than a pack and play when your traveling.

Head on over to the Warm Biscuit Bedding Company and take a gander at their toy selection, I think you will really be impressed not to mention that each item in their collection is hand picked not just some random assortment of toys. I know personally I would really love to add the Pirate Playhouse to our current collection of toys.

Warm Biscuit Bedding Company was generous enough to give us a $50 gift certificate to give away to one lucky reader! WooHoo! I am so jealous!

To enter :

• Leave a comment on this post. Check out Warm Biscuit Bedding Company and tell me would you buy with your $50 gift certificate if you won!
  
• No "i want to win" stuff without a little effort (and I do mean little!)
• Make sure there is a way for me to contact you - if your email address is not on your profile or you are not a blogger you may leave it in your comment or email it to me directly (angelaandconnor at gmail dot com) We have had to disqualify a lot of potential winners as of late as many people do not have emails available in their profiles or leave anonymous posts without any way to contact you.
• Please US entries only.
• To get extra credit :
• For an extra entry :
• Bloggers - Blog about this contest and leave me the link on your comment, or add me to your sidebar and let me know its there.
• Non Bloggers (or bloggers) subscribe to my mailing list/RSS feed and earn another entry!
• One extra credit per person. Please post your extra credit in a separate post.
• This contest will end July 25nd at midnight!

Blog Bash - Barebabies is a mother's dream come true!

Barebabies believes it's never to early to pamper. WIth an array of products from the "hottest" names in the juvenile goods industry, Barebabies pampers moms and babies everywhere!

One stop shopping is offered from everything from gear including strollers, high chairs, bouncers and walkers, car seats, carriers, and even bikes, trikes and vehicles. Shop for furniture and bedding and any and every baby essential including breastfeeding needs, bottles, toys, diapers and diaper bags and more!

I've been drooling over their store for months, but when I came across their trike selection I seriously did a major happy dance. I have had almost a life long obsession with Kettler children's products and I have always known when I had kids the first major purchase I had to get for them would be a Kettler Trike. The bright colors, solid build, and great line of accessories has always left me wanting one for myself, but sadly I think I outgrew them about 25 years ago.

Connor finally received his Kettler Air Navigator from Barebabies only a few weeks before his party. I was actually a little hesitant to open the box at first. I've been waiting so long to get this trike that I was a bit worried it might not live up to all the expectations Ive been putting on it all this time. After only a few minutes of assembly I knew right away that it was everything I had hoped for and more!

The Kettler Air Navigator is incredibly well made and fully adjustable from a one year old to a five year old. Connor is still just a bit too young to ride it on his own, but with the help of an add on seatbelt and the push bar, we can ride all over the yard and road and he thinks he is doing it all himself!

Well to make a long story short, I ended up deciding on an Kettler Air Navigator. The super big wheels is perfect for our super bumpy driveway, and it comes complete with a push handle so you can push when your little one gives out (or can't reach yet!). It took me only a few minutes to put it together, which was really surprising as I was sure it would come in a zillion pieces! Once it was all together I sat back and admired my new Trike (ok Connor's new trike!) and you know what.. its worth it.. and a zillion times more. Even our super bumpy driveway and road is no match for the Kettler Air Navigator's large wheels, unless hard plastic wheels the addition of the super large

Since we have pushed it around the yard and up and down the driveway, I am still waiting to get our seatbelt attachment so I can take Connor out on the road without fear of him falling, but I can 100% happily say that my "special" trike lives up to all of the hype! Super solid in construction, I am sure this Trike will outlive me unless I have a herd of boys to abuse it, and the many accessories that are available, including a seatbelt, bell, and front basket gives you a bit more flexibility than other trikes. Though honestly my favorite feature is the tandem ability. If you end up having two children in the right age range for the Kettler you can easily buy an tandem addition which easily expands your Kettler Trike into a two seater (or even a three seater with two tandem additions!!)

Barebabies offers a large range of Kettler Products in their online store.

Barebabies actually sells most all the products I reviewed this week including the Wheely Bug, Mutsy Spider Strollers (still on sale just a few more days!!), the Loft Rocker, the Natural Mat, and those great Kushies toys!!

Seeing as Connor's dad just got his acceptance into the police academy this week (still just pending one last doctors visit), I need to start saving my money to get Connor the Instep Police Petal Car, how cool would that be?


Shipping is free on orders over $99 at Barebabies!