Monday, January 31, 2011

First Make Up Review!!

First Make Up Review!
As I buy make up, hair, body products, I'll do hauls (if I buy that much) and definitely reviews for you!

What: L'Oreal Studio Secrets Magic Perfecting Base
Where: Most drugstores
Cost: $13.00 - $15.00
What It Claims To Do: It will smooth lines, hide pores and banish imperfections. It is a silky smooth formula that will give you a matte finish and make you velvet smooth to the touch.


The Truth: I think it does everything is says it does, but it does NOT work miracles. Keep that in mind! I does help give you the appearance of smoother skin, a matte finish and smooth to the touch. But it doesn't really get rid of imperfections (when I think of imperfections, I'm thinking redness, large pores, blackheads, zits, etc.) Also, be careful of how much you use! If you use more than just a teensy tiny amount, it might make you even more oily as the day goes on!


Overall Impression: I think it does it's job, considering it's a drug store primer. It's a great base/primer, when used in moderation at an affordable price. It's very buildable, and it really does make you feel so very smooth! So here's how I think it racked up:


Packaging: 4 out of 5
Product Quality: 4 out of 5
Price: 5 out of 5

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

Super Bowl XLV – coming soon to a TV near you!

Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers – February 6, 2011 – kickoff 6:25pm


Are you planning on having a super bowl party? Whether the group is large or small – the name of the game is casual! Everyone’s wearing their favorite team jersey, watching TV, drinking, eating, cheering – so don’t let the idea of a super bowl party fluster you! Here are some easy tips and tricks for a successful party.


- Try to make food that is easy to eat in front of the television

- Set up the food as a buffet

- Don’t go all out on the decorations, most people are going to be focused on the game!

- Ask people to bring something with them, such as : ice, drinks, dips, dessert

- If you can’t afford alcoholic beverages for everyone – tell them in advance BYOB (bring your own beer) or whatever they drink. Most people understand in today’s times, not everyone can afford to support the drinking habits of their friends, family and neighbors. And this way, people are ensured that they will have something they like to drink on hand.

- Come up with some easy and fun games to entertain your guests during commercials/halftime


Some common super bowl foods are:
- Chili
- Chicken wings
- Dips
- Desserts
- Pizza
- Chips
- Fruit
- Nachos
- Meatballs
- Sandwiches


Now, don’t go thinking that you have to make everything! Our usual rule of thumb is, the host(ess) makes the more complicated to transport/can be quiet messy things, and guests make the more transportable items. For instance, we will make the chili, meatballs, pizza and nachos – while asking others to bring a dip, a dessert, a bag of chips, etc. with them.


Some easy and fun games to enjoy are:
- Football charades – try to guess common football words such as: cheerleader, touchdown, football, coach, etc.
- Football bean bag toss and/or a light game of touch football
- Don’t say “football” game – a game common at baby showers, everyone gets a football themed sticker…and they try not to say football, but when they do – the person who hears it has the right to take their football sticker. Whoever collects the most sticker’s wins!
- Beer Pong (suggested for adult parties)
- Team Match-Ups – type up a list of teams with blanks next to them, and tell people they have to fill in the city each team is from – the person with the most amount of right answers win!
- Football Trivia – you can make the cards yourself, or hand out a sheet with questions on them, or you can buy a football trivia game set


If you have children, or you’re crafty – make the decorations yourself. No need to go out and buy something fancy and expensive, when you can use cardboard, felt, glitter, scissors, construction paper, etc.


If you want to build a collection of football related dishes/ceramic decorations – cruise your local yard sales and flea markets. You’ll probably be able to find them all year long, and don’t pay too much for them! If you do it right, you’ll probably have a substantial collection that you only paid $5 - $10 for!


So let us know – who are hoping will win? What are your favorite tips/tricks/recipes?

Monday, January 24, 2011

Tips for saving money

One of our news years resolutions - and one that most people make - is to save more money!  I thought that I would give some of my tips and tricks for saving money. 

1.  Eat at home!  Eating out versus eating at home.....eating at home usually wins.  Granted, eating out is easier, and faster, and much less of a hassle - it's also not nearly as gratifying.  When I think that I'm too tired to cook, or too lazy - whichever the case may be - I remind myself of these things:
   - cooking at home gives you a sense of accomplishment
   - it can be/will be cheaper than eating out
   - it's more of a workout than driving through the drive through (think about it:  your on your feet, stirring, chopping, washing, etc.)
   - you know what's in it, you know it's healthy
   - it let's you use your imagination and creativity

2.  Coupons!  I know, a total pain the *** sometimes, but hey - it can be worth it.  People ask me, is it worth buying a newspaper every Sunday?  I say yes, I spend $1.50 or so, and I usually end up saving wayyyy more!  Find a store that doubles your coupons - that helps.  I know that the Kroger that we go to will double coupons every day, up to $.50 (which means you could save up to $1.00).  Also, don't be afraid to use a coupon on something that's already marked down or on clearance.  For instance, there have been times that I've gone into a store (RiteAid) and got my conditioner on sale for $3.00, then I had a $1.50 off coupon from the paper, and an addition $1.00 off from the RiteAid Video Values, and then I got an UPS reward after paying for it.  Also, don't forget that you can print them off from the internet as well! 
http://www.coupons.com/
http://www.redplum.com/
http://www.smartsource.com/
(And, just to let you know - I am not one of those that can go and buy $200 worth of products and only spend $5...but I don't mind trying to save that kind of money!)

3.  Use the web to help you figure out couponing and saving solutions!  There are tons of websites out there to help you save money and time!  A couple of my favorites are:
http://www.livingonadime.com/
http://www.southernsavers.com/

4.  Use the library!  Seriously - borrow books, movies and cd's from the library.  That way, you can read, watch and listen to something all you want - and you don't have to pay for it, find a place to store it, or even dust it every once in a while!  Also, our library I know - but most others as well, sell their gently used books.  Out library has a 'store' on the first floor, where you can buy books any time the library is open.  However, other libraries in the area hold book sales 2-4 times a year.

5. Yard Sales and Flea Markets!  I know that some people say you can and should buy everything you can from places like this...but I cannot say that we do that.  However, we do buy things like:
- fresh fruit and veggies
- books
- avon products
- any sort of cute gift ideas that we can give for a present
But don't forget that they are great places for gently used clothing/shoes/school items, costume jewelry, unique one of kind hand made products, and sooo much more!

6.  Subscribe to restaurant and store websites!  Usually, most stores and restaurants these days have their own websites, where you can join an e-club (or something like that), and as a result of that - you will usually get alerted to sales, and get coupons!

There are many other tips and tricks out there - hopefully this is enough to help you start saving some dough!

Happy Bargain Hunting and Savings!
The Young Couple 

Thursday, January 20, 2011

Better Late Than Never!

backgrounds,Happy New Year,holidays,NVTOfficeClips,seasons,signs,text,wallpapers,special occasions

My stars!  It's been a long time since we've posted anything - far too long!  We are finally sharing our resolutions for this year - and granted, others will be added, some will probably be deleted, and some are ever constant. 

Our resolutions (thus far):
- loose weight (ha, ha, ha - only 3 weeks into the new year, and we can't even get motivated to start, much less stick to it!)
- save money - much harder than it sounds at times!
- try at home remedies, primarily for cleaning/housekeeping
- being more resourceful, in all aspects
- read more
- sleep more
- start J's business
- get him in trade school

I know - that's a lot!  But we figure that saving money and loosing weight - those are every year, ever constant wants/needs/resolutions.  As for loosing weight, that's going to take some practice and time.  J is diabetic, so we have to be careful of what we eat - and we're both lazy, so it's a double whammy!  We've got to be motivated to eat the food equivalent of cardboard and actually make an effort to sweat (by choice)!  Hmmm...we'll see where this path leads us.

As for saving money, we already use coupons and try to catch things on sale.  But, we figure that we could also save money by trying at home cleaning remedies.  Here are a couple of recipes for all-purpose cleaners that I found:

1 gallon water
1 cup ammonia
1/2 cup vinegar
1/2 cup baking soda
mix all the ingredients and then put it in a squirt bottle

or

2 cups water
1/4 cup vinegar
2 teaspoons dish soap
mix all the ingredients and then put it in a squirt bottle

We also found a recipe to be used as an everyday shower cleaner (kind of like tilex, etc.):
8 oz. concentrated cleaner (like Lysol)
16 oz. isopropyl alcohol
water
Put the cleaner and alcohol in a 1 gallon bucket, put in enough water to make it a gallon - put in a spray bottle

We'll see how these do-it-yourself cleaners work and let you know!  We also try to keep our AC/heat at set temps, don't show any brand loyalty (get whatever's on sale)...but for some reason - we just can't seem to sock away much moo-lah.  So, we're going to try to be more creative - sell our stuff on craigslist (after all, one man's junk is another man's treasure - right?), try not to buy anything unless necessary.  The diet, I'm sure will help cut costs - not so much eating out, sodas, chips, cookies, etc.  So that takes care of the first 4, more or less.

As for more reading - I love to read just about anything and everything, J likes read only a few specific things - and we're going to try to change that.  I rarely read the things he's interested in, and he definitely does not read the things that I'm interested in.  So, we've agreed to pick out a book for each other, read it and see what we think about it.  This might only last for 1 book, but it might last longer!

More sleep!  I am the self proclaimed queen of napping...however, when I say more sleep - I don't mean naps, I mean that we should get in a schedule.  Our regular schedule should be, go to bed at 8:30pm, get up at 4:30am.  However, we sometimes go to bed at 10 or 10:30, then can't get up until 5am, or we'll crash at 7pm and get up at 4pm.  Then there are the weekends!  Oh - we get all giddy thinking we can stay up late, so we do.  We'll go to bed at 11 or so, then get up at 6 or 7....and do the same on Saturday.  But, when Sunday rolls around, and it's 8:30 or so - we can't go to sleep for anything!  So, in order to make sure that we get 8 hours a night, so there'll be less hurt feelings and crabby mornings - we are going to try to maintain a schedule.

As for J's business - it goes hand in hand with the last one - getting J into trade school.  See, J's ultimate dream is to open his own gun/coin shop here in town.  However, he wants to be a certified gun smith - so he can not only sell you a gun, but he can also repair/modify it as well.  So - we are wanting him to get that ball rolling.  Also, he's been into coins for several years now, and it's a constantly evolving, very historically rich and fact oriented world.  I've never been one for collecting coins, but now that I'm watching him - I'm learning more and starting to realize what a wide, wonderful, in depth, world it is!  J currently is selling coins on e-bay, and we want to work towards opening a store on e-bay, and perhaps linking it to this blog or another website.  Then when that gets up and off of the ground - we'll work our way towards opening a real brick and mortar store! 

I'll be sure to keep you updated of progress on all of these things.  What are your resolutions?  Anything new, old, daunting or exciting?  I'd love to hear all about them!