Gift Cards Rock

May 7, 2012 By 86 Comments

Do you have someone in your family who is hard to buy a gift for? Do you just want to avoid shipping fees that seem to double the cost of whatever you buy online? Maybe you should look to buying gift cards. We don’t but gift cards often but those are two time that we do buy gift cards. Gift cards are a great option for Mother’s Day and graduations gifts! They are great to tuck into a card and drop in the mail. I have to admit that I still love the plastic kind instead of the you print kind … there is no rational reason why though!

Brian’s favorite gift cards are iTunes and Lowe’s. Mine tend to be any kind of store where I can buy shoes! ;)

Thanks to the generous community at Gift Cards Rock!, we have a $25 iTunes gift card to one our readers!!

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Want more  gift cards?  Be sure to stop by these other great blogs to win from Gift Cards Rock!

Cocktails with Mom is giving away a $50 gift card to JC Penney’s 
Oh Boy Oh Boy Oh Boy is giving away a $25 gift card to Applebee’s
What’s That Buzz is giving away a $25 gift card Applebee’s

Gift Cards Rock!  is an online community for people who love to give and receive gift cards. It is an online community where you express your love for gift cards and share great deals and exciting gift-giving tips.

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Zondervan’s Bloom Collection Bibles

April 13, 2012 By 51 Comments

We were recently sent the new collection of Bible bindings from Zondervan’s to review. Simply put … they are beautiful.

The Bible Clutch has become one of my favorite Bibles in our house. Little Dude sits with us in church so we end up carrying a lot into the service with us. I love that I can put this in my purse and not forget it in the pew or just give up and leave it in the van because I already have too much to carry. This cover has room for credit cards and such in it so you could even use it as a wallet if you wanted to keep it in your purse all of the time, how perfect is that?!

The DuoTone Thinline Bible is beautiful in its shades of purple. I love how soft the cover is and the print in this Bible is easy to read too. It is small in size and could fit in a large purse or bag easily. I really like its size compared to the “full size” Bible I have been using for years.

Now onto the Bloom Collection … there is the Red Poppy and White Lilies editions in this collection. These covers are also super soft and so beautiful. There is so much detail in the covers. The size of these compares nicely to the DuoTone Thinline Bible but the Red Poppies version is larger than the White Lilies version!

You really couldn’t go wrong with any of these covers or sizes though! We are excited that Zondervan’s has decided to giveaway TWO Bibles to our readers from the Bloom Collection!

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Budget Trips to New York

April 9, 2012 By 1 Comment

Beth and I went to New York City for a July 4th weekend many years ago.  It was just the two of us.  We visited Central Park, did a little shopping, and got to see the fireworks over the Hudson Bay.  We walked and walked.  By the end of the day, we were exhausted, but happy about the experience.

If you’ve been to New York, you know that the draw of the Big Apple can be infectious.  It’s one of those cities that offers something new every time you go.  Our biggest problem now is that it can be pretty expensive to visit.  Three kids later, money gets tighter and even a cheap room in the city can cost well over $200, not to mention travel to get there.  Thankfully, there are budget-friendly options out there for those of us who are content to visit for just one day.

Getting There

Many local Parks and Recreation Departments regularly organize day trips to New York.  In our county, Beth and I can pay $75 each to take a bus up to New York for the day.  It leaves early on Saturday and gets back early on Sunday, giving us about 12 hours to explore New York and the opportunity to catch some shut eye on both trips.  The great thing about the savings is that we have a few more dollars to spend on things to do once we get there.  Even if your county does not organize a trip, look around.  Some motor-coach companies arrange these trips or you can get a group of people together on your own and hire a charter bus.  The fuller the bus, the less it costs everyone going.

Just One Day?

So what can you do in just one day in New York City?  Well, you can visit a museum, grab tickets to a matinee on Broadway, or just do a little shopping.  Personally, I’m all about the food.  I’d have to go to Katz’s Delicatessen for a pastrami sandwich or stop by Lombardi’s for some authentic New York Pizza.  Beth has been talking about seeing The Lion King, so we’d probably pick up some Lion King tickets.  Otherwise, I just love watching people.  For me, sitting in an open air cafe with a cup of coffee is a great way to spend a day.

So what would you do if you had just one day in New York City?  Leave us a comment and let us know.

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Healing Your Church Hurt

March 30, 2012 By 5 Comments

 

Description …

If you’ve been part of a church, you have probably suffered a “church hurt”—or know someone who has. Maybe the pastor had an affair or the congregation fought over money or the leaders were disguising gossip as “prayer.” Stephen Mansfield knows how it feels. Though he is now a New York Times bestselling author, he was a pastor for more than 20 years, and he loved it—until he learned how much a church can hurt. Yet he also learned how to dig out of that hurt, break through the bitterness and anger, stop making excuses, and get back to where he ought to be with God and his people. If you’re ready to choose the tough path to healing, Mansfield will walk you through it with brotherly love, showing you how you can be better than ever on the other side of this mess—if you’re willing to start Healing Your Church Hurt. Previously published as ReChurch.

Our Thoughts …

When we moved, we struggled to find a new church and found that the task left us unhappy instead of seeking the Lord. As we were going through this process, it would have been great to read this book and feel encouraged. While knowing that you aren’t alone is the best solution, it does provide comfort and this book helps provide some guidance in what to look for in yourself instead of just looking at everyone else.

You can find this book over on Amazon right now for a great price with Prime shipping!

We are excited to offer a copy of this book to one of our readers (we have a free coupon to mail to you.)

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Thursday Thought: A Best Friend and A Clover

March 15, 2012 By Leave a Comment

I was looking for a quote to provide inspiration for the rest of this week and knew this was the one for sure when I read it.

How lucky are you to have your best friend? If you don’t have a best friend right now … keep looking, they are hard to find in the clover patches!

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Wordless Wednesday – Just in Case I Forget

March 14, 2012 By 32 Comments

I forget a lot but not which foot my shoes go on ... yet. Guess I am covered if that happens though!

My first pair of running shoes ... EVER! Cute, huh?

Let us know where your Wordless Wednesday is!

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WeddingPaperie.com

March 10, 2012 By Leave a Comment
We are excited to bring you a review guest post from a budget minded bride-to-be!

Initially, I had no idea where to begin with wedding invitations. I didn’t have a “theme,” per se, but I did fall in love with the look of classic, old timey lace dresses from day one. Although lace wedding dresses were not meant for me, I felt I had to use it within the wedding because the look was so fitting to my personality. It’s hard to find a “look” with the class you’d like to portray in invitations without it being too formal or too informal. I also knew that I wanted to throw our own spin on the wording to make sure our friends and family were ready to celebrate! Maybe I cared about invitations too much, but just when I thought I’d throw in the towel and grab a “make your own” kit at Michael’s, WeddingPaperie.com was introduced to me. Luck? Maybe a little! I loved dozen of their designs and with the option to edit the smallest of detail made it so fun to put together!

I began with the “Old Fashioned Style Pink with White Lace Wedding Invitation” design and with the help of a best friend and her creativity, we were able to put my own spin the entire order that was fun and unique! By editing the color, the wording, and the design on all three cards we made out with one of the prettiest invitations I have seen; matching the venue and my personality! I love it! The staff also made us feel at ease by ensuring they would look over our final order with a second set of eyes. Sure enough, the next day I received a phone call with an option to update the response card with an embellishment that was more fitting. They actually looked over the entire order and went out of their way to inform us of a better option! It was great and we opted to take their suggestion! We received the invitations, response cards, and wedding website cards packaged beautifully in our wedding color tissue paper in four days. I couldn’t have done it without a best friend and the friends at WeddingPaperie.com. I recommend taking a look at their designs because I’m sure you’ll look no further!

Have you thought about ordering wedding invitations online? Would that help your budget? Leave us a comment and let us know!

 

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BlogFriendlyPR Social Buzz: Kindle Fire Giveaway

February 28, 2012 By 3 Comments

We are excited to be part of another group giveaway! Remember that comments on this post do not count as entries!


Prize: One Kindle Fire or a $200 Amazon Gift Card!

NOTE: This giveaway is only open US residents!


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Do you like giveaways like this? Leave us a comment and let us know!

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PurpleTrail … Announce and Celebrate!

February 26, 2012 By Leave a Comment

It has been awhile since I wrote about PurpleTrail. I was excited browse their latest selections recently as they continue to update their product lines!

I first checked out their kids birthday party invitations. It seems like we are always planning a party around here. OK, not really but the kids birthdays are at busy times (summer and right before Christmas) so I find it best to plan ahead in pieces. So for Matthew’s third birthday this summer, I already have his plates and napkins because I can still pick that out for him. For the girls, I try to get plain colored accessories that I can pair with their theme (pinks, reds, yellows, etc. all seem to match nicely with whatever they pick!) I love the colors in all of these invitations!

Look at these:

I then went and checked out the graduation invitations that PurpleTrail offers. A girl can dream, right? I am ready to graduate but I won’t be ordering graduation invitations until next year! Next May, I should be graduating with my Masters so I will need to start making decisions on if we will have an open house event to celebrate. I am pretty certain I will need to celebrate after completing a degree while working full time, being a mom to three kids, and working this blog with Brian!

These graduation invitations are so much more fun than the ones I sent out for high school and my undergraduate degree!

What is your favorite product over at PurpleTrail? What is the next event you are planning invitations or announcements for to celebrate? Leave us a comment and let us know!

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Beth Week: Muppet Band-Aid and Fandago

February 10, 2012 By

Beth Week is here. What is Beth Week? Brian explained it a few weeks ago HERE!

Is your house full of band-aids like our house? I seriously can find a regular band-aid here any more. At my sister’s wedding last year, I was sporting a Hello Kitty band-aid on my toe I had hurt. Yup, classy there! I often go into work with a Cars band-aid or Princess band-aid. It is my life. I have fully accepted that!!

So when the kids saw the Muppet Band-aids they were thrilled. Sophie loves the Miss Piggy ones! I love that they are something I remember from my childhood. Don’t worry I am sure I will wearing a Kermit band-aid to work here soon!;)

The Muppets Band-Aid are currently available on Amazon.com for $7.77 for a 3 pack and will be available at mass retailers later this year.

I am so excited to giveaway the same Muppet band-aid samples PLUS a $50 Fandago Gift Card to one of our readers!

Details:
This drawing will end Friday, February 24th at 11:59pm EST. The winner will have 48 hours to reply with their address. You must include your email address in the comment form so you can be contacted if you are a winner! You must complete the Mandatory Entry for the additional entries to count.

This giveaway is open to US residents only!

So how do you enter?

Mandatory Entry: Tell me what movie you want to see OR who you would take to the movies?!?!

Additional Entries:

1) Follow us on Facebook HERE. Worth two entries so leave two comments here! (Psst … we love comments on Facebook so maybe you can leave us one!)
2) Follow BOTH SimplyBudgeted and This_Cookin_Dad on Twitter. Leave THREE comments with your twitter name.
3) Tweet about this giveaway with this tweet:

RT #Win a Muppets band-aids and a $50 Fandago #giftcard @simplybudgeted http://bit.ly/zTzhdf ends 2/24 #giveaway #Valentine #gift #movies

Leave a comment with the URL for your tweet. (One Tweet per day until end of giveaway!!)
4) Join our Circle on G+. Please leave five comments. (Worth 5 entries!!)
5) Subscribe to the daily email here at Simply Budgeted. It is at the top of the sidebar!;) Please leave five comments. (worth 5 entries!)
6) Like this post on Facebook (the like icon is up at the top of the post!) Leave three comments (worth 3 entries!)

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