Pebble.com: Smart Shoppers Have A New Friend

One important way to enhance your online shopping experience is to comparison shop for the best deal. You may wonder what tools are available for you to compare prices across the multitudes of online stores. I would suggest Pebble.com as a good place to start.

Pebble.com is a new search-based online shopping comparison site with a Q&A forum integrated in each product results page. It not only helps you find the lowest prices, but also provides a platform through which users may ask questions about specific products and get answers that will help inform their purchasing decisions. I love that navigation on the site is very simple and straightforward. Most search results are relevant and useful. And there aren't a lot of ads to filter through.

Since I'm giving away a PlasmaCar right now, I'd like to show you how Pebble.com can help you locate the best store to buy a PlasmaCar.

1. Let's start with the homepage of Pebble.com

2. Type in the product you'd like to buy in the big search box at the top of this page. I used "PlasmaCar" in this case.

The top portion of the search results page has a form that prompts you to ask any questions you may have about the product of interest. You may click on the "Get Answers" tab to see questions that have already been answered or provide an answer to a question asked by someone else. This interactive feature allows you to shop with first-hand product knowledge from experienced users.

3. Scroll down to the lower portion of the search results page and you'll see pricing information for the product you'd like to buy. The lowest priced item is placed on top of the list and clearly marked with a green symbol. Stores that sell the same model or color of PlasmaCar are grouped together and only the lowest price is shown for each entry.



4. Click on the blue "Compare Prices" button to get more details about the product and stores that carry it.


The store with the lowest price is clearly marked and you can now click on the "Go To Store" button to start shopping! Easy steps to take to shop smart, right?

In order to double check if Pebble.com does find the lowest price, I also did a search on other comparative shopping sites I've been using, like pricegrabber.com and bizrate.com. Guess what? Pebble.com turned out to have the best and most comprehensive search results. Kudos to Pebble.com!

To be honest, I wouldn't suggest you substituting your prior comparison shopping tools completely with Pebble.com. Rather, it's best used in conjunction with the other sites. You will more likely get the best deal by comparing search results from different comparative shopping sites. Compare, compare, and compare. Happy shopping!

My New Look Is Here & Giveaways Alert

Thanks to the ingenious work of Sara @Subjective Beauty, my blog is taking on an enchanting new look!!! Hooray!!!

For the first time ever, I've got a blog button to wear and share! If you love my blog or my giveaways, please feel free to grab my button and display it on your site. That'll of course entitle you to extra entries into each of my giveaways!


<a href="http://icefairystreasurechest.blogspot.com/" target="_blank"><img border="0" alt="icefairy's Treasure Chest" src="http://subjectivebeauty.com/Blog%20Designs%20and%20Layouts/icefairystreasurechest.blogspot.com/button.png" /></a>

I'm so excited about my new look that it deserves a celebration. And I'd love to invite all of you to be part of my celebration. I've been talking about some fabulous giveaways that will start in September. I think you might be interested in a sneak peak of my amazing sponsors.

● Jomadeals.com
● e.l.f. Cosmetics
● Ageless Fantansy
● DownEast Basics
● Switch It By Nan
● Lauren Nicole Gifts
● Skin Free
● Urbanity
● EyeGlassHolders.com
● Pond's

The list could be longer next week and the total prize value is already over $1,000!!! Plus, there are 7 more giveaways scheduled for the Let's Play party. Sponsors include Frecklebox, Your Couture Kid, Build-A-Bear, EcoTime Toys, Smooshies, Kaskey Kids, and Karito Kids. I'm sure you don't want to miss any of these:D

Let's Play Giveaway #13: Yoplait Whips! Summer Cool Down Gift Bag

~~The giveaway is now CLOSED~~

If you're a regular shopper of Yoplait yogurt, you may have already noticed the addition of new Yoplait Whips! in the same section. Yoplait Whips! is a whipped yogurt with a fluffy texture and it comes in over 10 yummy flavors!

MyBlogSpark has sent me a nice "Summer Cool Down" Gift Bag (as pictured below) and invited me to try Yoplait Whips! as a frozen novelty. Yoplait Whips! were on sale at our local grocery store, so I bought 8 cups at 50 cents each and 2 for FREE thanks to the coupons included in the gift bag. I sampled all of the flavors available in the store, about half of them frozen. If you love ice cream and frozen yogurt, frozen Yoplait Whips! would certainly be an awesome new treat to cool you down this summer. Personally I love both ways of eating the whipped yogurt. My favorite flavors are Key Lime Pie and Chocolate Mousse Style. The newest flavor Vanilla Creme did taste best when frozen.


If you can't wait to try Yoplait Whips! yourself, you may download a $0.60 off coupon here. Or you may sign up for the Betty Crocker Email Newsletter and receive a coupon for a FREE cup of Yoplait Whips! (New subscribers only. Offer void in the following states: CA, ID, LA, MN, NJ, NV, ND and TN).

The Giveaway

The nice folks from MyBlogSpark have generously offered to give one of my lucky readers a "Summer Cool Down" Gift Bag, which includes the following goodies:

• 2 free coupons for Yoplait Whips!,
• 1 red cooler tote
• 3 popsicle molds, and
• 3 set of 12 color-changing spoons
  

Required Entry: Visit Yoplait Whips!, and leave a comment telling me which flavor(s) you'd like to try first. (Please leave a valid email address in your comment or make sure one is visible in your blogger profile).


Extra Entries (optional): please make sure you do the required entry first! Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry, i.e. 1 comment=1 entry.

• Leave a relevant comment on this post (1 extra entry)
  
• Follow my blog publicly (1 extra entry)
  
• Subscribe to my feed via email (1 extra entry) and leave your email address.
• Follow Me on Twitter AND tweet the following message (1 extra entry per day) Yes! You may tweet once daily to increase your chances:

RT @luckytoddler Yoplait Whips giveaway! Win a Summer Cool Down gift bag filled with 18 goodies! http://bit.ly/ywhip #giveaway #play #fbz
Please leave your Twitter id or the link to your tweet in your comment.

• Add icefairy's Treasure Chest to your blogroll (2 extra entries)
• Fave me on Technorati (2 extra entries) and leave your user name
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to Me, and leave the link in your comment (1 extra entry for mentioning this giveaway on your blog; 3 extra entries for a separate blog post).

Giveaway ends at 11:59 Central Time on 9/12/09
Open to US Residents Only.
Winner will be chosen using random.org and will have 72 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
Thanks for entering and good luck!

Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters Review

Nature Valley has recently welcomed some new members into their family of products--Granola Nut Clusters, which are bite-size clusters of nuts, granola and a touch of honey. They are a 100% natural, wholesome and delicious snack good for any time of the day. They come in a variety of tasty flavors: Nut Lovers, Roasted Almond, Roasted Cashew and Honey Roasted Peanut.


Thanks to MyBlogSpark, we were among the first in the country to try out all four flavors of Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters. They are such a yummy and healthy treat, providing the perfect combination of sweat and salty flavor and crunchy texture. They also come with a resealable bag that makes storage or sharing much easier. In a family full of nut-lovers however, the nutty snacks didn't last long enough to let the resealable bags fully function, haha. My personal favorite is Roasted Cashew while all flavors seem to be equally popular among the rest of our family.

Would you like to try the new Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters yourself? For a limited time, you'll be able to receive a FREE bag of Nature Valley Granola Nut Clusters along with a Trail Mix Bar if you're a new subscriber to Eat Better America Newsletter! Sign up here and confirm your subscription by clicking on the link sent to your inbox.

Loads of Winners!

There are so many wonderful giveaways going on lately (See my side bar for the hottest ones). I hope all of you had a chance to win! While I won a couple cool contests during the past week, five of you also won something nice from me:)

Cori @A SAHM Looking For A Deal (comment #171) will receive $50 Gift Certificate to buy her favorite SlimCapri at SlimPerfect.com.

tinagirl (comment #2) will receive her favorite ID necklace from BooJeeBeads.com.

Debbie (comment #20), Kaeli (comment #65), and hippie4ever (comment #204) are the lucky winners of the innovative GLOtoSLEEP sleep mask.

Congratulations!!! You'll receive an email from me shortly regarding redemption of your prizes.

Thank you to all who entered the giveaways as well as my generous sponsors! If you didn't win this time, just keep entering and you could be the next winner. Don't forget to enter the soon-to-end Sweat Pea Baby Designs giveaway and Hot on the Range giveaway!

Enter Daily & Win BIG! GE Strong as Steel Blog Sweepstakes

I'm so excited to announce that I've been chosen as a host for the amazing GE® Strong as Steel Blog Sweepstakes! This means that you could win a GE® Stainless Steel appliance of your choice by entering the sweepstakes on my blog. And if you win, I will win too. Woohoo. What a lovely win-win contest!

Grand Prize: Winner's choice of any of the following:

• GE® Tall Tub Built-In Dishwasher. Model # GLD6760NSS, ARV $649;
  
• GE® 25.0 Cu. Ft. ENERGY STAR® Side-By-Side Refrigerator with Dispenser, Model # GSH25ISX, ARV $1,499;
• GE® Spacemaker® Over-the-Range Microwave Oven, Model # JVM1850SMSS, ARV $489;
  
• GE® 30” Free-Standing Electric Range. Model #JB700SN, ARV $1,099;
  
• GE® 30” Free-Standing Gas Range with Warming Drawer. Model # JGBP88SEMSS ARV $1,449.

How to Enter:

• Click on the Sweepstakes button on the widget in this post or on my right side bar.
  
• Fill in the required information
• Submit the form

Deadline to Enter: 11/15/09 at 11:59:59 P.M., ET

Limitations:
US Residents ONLY. One entry per person per day, regardless of email address and blogsite address used.

Since most of my other giveaways allow for daily entries, you can visit me every day and enter all of the giveaways at once! Hope we'll both WIN!!!

Stylit.TV $2,000 Celebrity Gift Bag Giveaway

This week Stylit.TV is giving away an incredible Save the Ta-Tas gift bag filled with $2,000 worth of goodies for everyone in the family! Check these out-
* Platinum Brewing System - Keurig - $169
* Envirovac Vacuum - Eureka - $72
* WW Eye Cream - 3Lab - $250
* Perfect Mask - 3Lab - $120
* Revitalash Eyelash Conditioner - Revitalash - $150
* T-Ion Tourmaline Iron - Metropolis Technology - $150
* T-Ion Ionic Dryer - Metropolis Technology - $165
* S-Nano Tunnel Vent Brush - Metropolis Technology - $9
* $25 Gift Certificate - Essential Chocolate Desserts - $25
* Butterfly 2 Baby Carrier - Beco Baby Carrier - $140
* Gift Certificate - My Flower Guy - $100
* Black Bejeweled Blouse - Booseh - $100
* Limited Edition Kana Doll - Juku Couture - $49
* Contour Wrap Gift Certificate - Universal Contour Wrap - $150
* SeaClay Detox Bath Solution - Universal Contour Wrap - $19
* Sea Clay Hydrating Spray - Universal Contour Wrap - $30
* Sea Clay Soap Bar - Universal Contour Wrap - $14
* The Gratitude Collection - Hollywood Skin Factory - $43
* Didj™ Custom Learning Gaming System - Leap Frog - $89
* Nicktoons Android Invasion Custom Learning Game for Diji - Leap Frog - $29
* Super Chicks Custom Learning Game for Diji - Leap Frog - $29
* Tag Reading System - Leap Frog - $49
* Tag™ Classic Storybooks - Leap Frog - $42
* Small Corduroy Bear - Don Freeman - $11
* Corduroy - Don Freeman - $17
* Living in Abundance - Steven E. and Lee Brand - $15
* New The Power of Team - Stephanie Johnson - $15

The giveaway ends Tuesday September 1st at 7:59pm Pacific Time.
If you haven't registered on Stylit.TV yet, go sign up now. If you have an account but haven't entered the code "icefairy" before, feel free to use it and get 20 extra entries into the big giveaway. Best of luck all!

JomaDeals.com $100 Daily Giveaway!

JomaDeals.com is giving away a $100 gift card every day now through September 7, 2009. Simply subscribe to their newsletter and you'll be automatically entered to win! Please see official rules here.

In addition, JomaDeals.com will sponsor a fabulous giveaway upon the launch of my new design. The prize is worth $525! You must be a JomaDeals subscriber to enter that giveaway. So why not subscribe now and never miss an awesome deal? Good luck!

Hyundai GasLock Promotion and iPod Giveaway

Hyundai recently launched their summer sales event offering new customers $1.49/Gallon gas for 12 months from date of purchase on select models.

As part of their GasLock promotion and their "Share Your America" program, Hyundai is giving away 14 iPods or iPod Shuffles via their Twitter account (@roadtrip149)through the end of the summer sales event on August 31st, 2009. To enter, tweet to @roadtrip149 the name of your favorite song to listen to during a road trip (other themes may apply) and who the song is by. Here's the remaining prize schedule:

Thursday, August 27 (iPod)
Friday, August 28 (iShuffle)
Monday, August 31 (iPod)

Winner will be randomly selected from eligible tweets at 7pm Pacific time each day.

Plus, you may become a fan of Hyundai on Facebook and use Hyundai's Photo-Mapping Facebook app, as well as the Share Your America Postcard Generator to further enhance their summer road trip experiences.

o Photo-Mapping (Powered by Google Maps): users will be able to upload road trip pictures and if they're the first, a flag on the map with their chosen screen name and pic will appear.

o Postcard Generator: Users will be able to overlay a photo of their face into several existing mock-postcards and input a custom caption to go along with the postcard to share with their friends and family.

Facebook updates will also include contests and give-aways randomly throughout the campaign.

Win A $500 Gift Card to Cookie's

Cookie's is the World's Largest Kids' Department Store and the #1 School Uniform Headquarters in the U.S. Based in Queens, NY, Cookie's now has a 7 store emporium as well as the online store, CookiesKids.com.

CookiesKids.com is hosting a big Back to School giveaway, in which one reader will win a $500 gift card, two readers will win a $250 gift card each and three readers will each win a $100 gift card.

To enter, you will need to upload a picture of your family member wearing an item of clothing that Cookie's carries at the Cookie's Flickr group, and then fill out this secure entry form, where the rules and regulations of the contest are posted.

Deadline: 11:59 a.m. ET September 4th

This contest is brought to you by the Momfluence network.

Let's Play Giveaway #12: PlasmaCar

~~The giveaway is now CLOSED~~

Kids are blessed with endless energy. Canadian toy manufacturer PlaSmart figured out a simple yet smart way to make good use of that inexhaustible kid-power, and thus PlasmaCar was created. PlasmaCar is a unique ride on toy that harnesses the natural forces of inertia, centrifugal force, gravity and friction to propel kids to great fun. It has no pedals or gears. No batteries, no power-cells and no liquid fuel is ever required to power the car. Inspired by a toy in China, its original, sleek design gives it the feel of a cool race car. In fact, it may go as fast as 6 mph! It also comes in a variety of colors.

I was super excited when I received a red PlasmaCar to review. The PlasmaCar arrived in 5 pieces – the body, including the seat, the steering wheel assembly, the front wheel assembly and two rear wheel assemblies. A hex key and assembly instructions came along with the packaging. I couldn't wait until hubby came home to assemble the car myself. My little boy was curiously watching me aside and trying to hand me the right parts. Guess what? I got it done within 10 minutes! The instructions say you'll need a rubber mallet to harness the assembly, but I used a regular hammer wrapped over with an old sweater. And it worked just fine.

PlasmaCar is not only easy to assemble, but also easy to drive. Just rotate the steering wheel continuously from left to right, you'll start wriggling down the road. My favorite part is that PlasmaCar can hold up to 220 lbs on a smooth, flat surface, which means every one in our family could ride it. Right after the assembly, I took my son out for a test drive. Since he's still below the recommended age (3+), I sat behind him and held his hands to rotate the steering wheel. We had such a wonderful time during our first ride! It's absolutely a great way to spend time outdoors!

My son loves playing with his PlasmaCar indoors too. I intentionally parked it on carpeted floor so that it wouldn't be propelled to move. My son rides on it and practices by moving the steering wheel from left to right, and right to left. Apparently he can hardly wait to drive the car all by himself. He also likes pushing the car around from behind and sitting on the seat sideways for a good rest.

PlasmaCar is built to last. Made from state-of-the-art, high-quality ABS plastics, it's lightweight, but rugged and durable for kids on the go. It's been extensively tested, and meets or exceeds all significant international safety standards. It's quiet too. The only sounds are from the motion of its wheels and steering wheel. Since it doesn't require an expensive power source that needs constant replacement, PlasmaCar is highly affordable and good for the environment. No wonder it has won numerous parenting and toy awards since its creation!

PlasmaCar is widely available in online stores and offline retailers. The suggested retail price is $69.95.

The Giveaway

The nice folks from PlaSmart have generously offered to give one of my lucky readers her very own PlasmaCar in a gender neutral color! That's a $70 value!

Required Entry: Visit PlaSmart, and leave a comment telling me which color you'd like to choose if you buy a PlasmaCar . (Please leave a valid email address in your comment or make sure one is visible in your blogger profile).


Extra Entries (optional): please make sure you do the required entry first! Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry, i.e. 1 comment=1 entry.

• Become a fan of PlaSmart on Facebook(1 extra entry) and leave your name
• Follow my blog publicly (1 extra entry)
• Subscribe to my feed via email (1 extra entry) and leave your email address
• Enter the Hot on the Range giveaway (1 extra entry)
• Follow PlaSmart & Me on Twitter AND tweet the following message (1 extra entry per day) Yes! You may tweet once daily to increase your chances:

RT @luckytoddler @plasmart giveaway! Win a cool PlasmaCar! $70 value! Open to US & Canada! http://bit.ly/psmart #giveaway #play #toy
Please leave your Twitter id or the link to your tweet in your comment.

• Add icefairy's Treasure Chest to your blogroll (2 extra entries)
• Fave me on Technorati (2 extra entries) and leave your user name
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to PlaSmart and Me, and leave the link in your comment (1 extra entry for mentioning this giveaway on your blog; 3 extra entries for a separate blog post).

Giveaway ends at 11:59 Central Time on 9/8/09
Open to US & Canadian Residents
Winner will be chosen using random.org and will have 72 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
Thanks for entering and good luck!

PartSelect.com Paint Your Appliance Pink Sweepstakes

I'm in love with this fabulous combination of goodies! Do you know that you could own all of them without spending a dime? Because this is the prize package you could win from the Paint Your Appliance Pink Sweepstakes sponsored by PartSelect.com!

The Sweepstakes runs from July 1st, 2009 to September 30, 2009, with one randomly selected winner per month. While the winner of July has already been announced, there are two more pink prize packages up for grabs! Each consists of a Pink KitchenAid® Stand Mixer, Pink Stand Mixer cover, Pink Silicone Mixer Spatula, Pink Silicone Heart Pan, Pink Measuring Cups and Spoons Set, and Cook for the Cure® Apron. An approximately $370 value!!!

To enter:
1.Paint a pink ribbon on your major appliance;
2. Take a picture of it;
3. Submit your picture via email, blog, or Twitter.

Easy and fun, right? Go get some inspirations from current entries listed here. There are no limits to how many times you can enter. Each different painted appliance counts as one entry. All non-winning entries from the previous month will be automatically rolled over to the next drawing, which means the earlier you enter, the better you chances are!

What makes entering this contest more worthwhile is that PartSelect.com will donate $25 per photo entry to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation up to a maximum of $10,000 in total. Please click on "more details" to read the official rules including alternate method of entry.

PartSelect.com is an awesome online store specializing in household appliance parts. They have a wonderful model number search that allows customers to view parts only for their appliance, along with diagrams and blown-out schematics. Besides selling appliance parts, they also focus on helping customers at all stages from diagnosing the problem to actually installing the part. They provide FREE Repair Guide to everyone. PartSelect.com is actively promoting a greener lifestyle. Appliance repair is an environmentally friendly option to throwing out appliances and purchasing new ones. It saves you money too!

PartSelect.com just celebrated their 10th anniversary in June 2009. They also launched a Canadian site PartSelect.ca. So naturally, their wonderful sweepstakes is open to both U.S. and Canadian residents. WTG, my Canadian friends!

Although I'm being compensated for this post, I chose to write it because I truly think PartSelect.com is a great company and their contest is simply too good to miss.

Hot on the Range Review and Giveaway

~~The giveaway is now CLOSED~~

As a parent, I'm aware of the importance of encouraging children to read. There are so many children's books out there that it's not always easy to make an informed choice. That's why I'm really grateful to aspiring writers like R.D. Jentsch, who has generously offered free copies of her book-Hot on the Range-to parent reviewers. She is actively reaching out to her readers for feedbacks, suggestions and ideas. After reading the book with my son, I was so glad that I had accepted her invite to review it.

Before I share my thoughts on the book, I'd like to introduce you to its author: R.D. Jentsch. As a native Texan and horse lover, Rebekah has 15 years experience in the horse industry, with 14 horses in her possession. Does she have a profound knowledge of horses? You bet! And the book clearly reflects that. Rebekah is currently attending Ashworth University and major in Marketing.

Vividly illustrated by David C. Bryant, Hot on the Range tells a captivating, humorous story about a horse named Chester trying to find relief from the hot Texas sun. He tried various means in vain to cool down. The (mis)adventures of Chester tell us that horses resemble humans in that each of them has a distinctive character and that we should treat them respectfully. They also show the little readers how they may learn their lesson through trial and error. Reading the book was like watching a short comedy. Chester also reminded me in some way of the time when I was young and stubborn. The book is intended for children ages 4-8, but it's a good read for me too. My son enjoyed the paintings in the book. You may preview some of them here.

You can order a copy of Hot on the Range on Amazon.com or try to win one here on my blog.

R.D. Jentsch is about to release her new book Froggy and Friends: Go to the Creek on the 29th of this month. I feel so excited for her! If you're interested in reviewing her new book, please contact her here.

The Giveaway

Rebekah has generously offered to give one of my lucky readers her very own copy of Hot on the Range! A $15 value!

Required Entry: Tell me your or your kid's favorite children's book. (Please leave a valid email address in your comment or make sure one is visible in your blogger profile).


Extra Entries (optional): please make sure you do the required entry first! Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry, i.e. 1 comment=1 entry.

• Follow my blog publicly (1 extra entry)
• Subscribe to my feed via email (1 extra entry) and leave your email address.
• Follow Me on Twitter AND tweet the following message (1 extra entry per day) Yes! You may tweet once daily to increase your chances:

RT @luckytoddler Children's book giveaway! Win a copy of Hot on the Range for your little horse lovers! http://bit.ly/hrange #book #giveaway
Please leave your Twitter id or the link to your tweet in your comment.

• Add icefairy's Treasure Chest to your blogroll (2 extra entries)
• Fave me on Technorati (2 extra entries) and leave your user name
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to Me, and leave the link in your comment (1 extra entry for mentioning this giveaway on your blog; 3 extra entries for a separate blog post).

Giveaway ends at 11:59 Central Time on 8/31/09
Open to US Residents Only.
Winner will be chosen using random.org and will have 72 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
Thanks for entering and good luck!

Join Virtual Sandwich Swap 'n' Share Program & Win A $250 Gift Card!

Hellmann's® and Best Foods® Mayonnaise has teamed up with musician and actor Billy Ray Cyrus to bring us the brand new virtual Sandwich Swap 'n' Share program on Facebook. For every sandwich created as part of the program, Hellmann's® and Best Foods® will donate 7 lunches (=$1) to Feeding America®, the nation's leading domestic hunger-relief charity.

Not only will you be joining a good cause with a few mouse clicks, but for each sandwich created, you'll receive an automatic entry into the Sandwich Swap 'n' Share Sweepstakes, where you could win a $250 grocery store gift certificate! And for every friend on Facebook that you share your sandwich with, Hellmann's® and Best Foods® will donate an additional 7 lunches to the charity. The Sweepstakes runs from now to October 30, 2009. Click here to enter and good luck!

A Little Smart Shopper In Training

The bright side of a tough economy is to make you think twice before you spend, which will benefit you in the long run. But for starters, you may need a few pointers for how to manage your money more wisely. Capital One and national consumer advocacy group Consumer Action have launched a site called Moneywi$e, which provides a series of online courses on family financial management. Capital One has also teamed up with Parent Bloggers Network on a new blog blast about schooling our kids on smart shopping. They are asking parent bloggers to share their thoughts on how to teach our children about financial responsibility while shopping for school.

In my opinion, the key to raising a financially responsible child is to be a financially responsible parent. Action speakers louder than words. At least from my own experience, I don't remember my parents ever preaching to me how important it is not to overspend, but I appreciate their frugal life style and am following their lead. Believe it or not, kids are keen observers and are sensitive to changes.

I’m not so much of a deal hunter, but I do save quite a bit by sticking to my principal of purchasing on need not on impulse. As far as back to school shopping is concerned, I’d suggest plan the shopping trip together with your kid by following these simple steps.

1. Check your inventory. Stay on top of what you already have in the house, such as school supplies, clothing, shoes, etc.
   
2. Create a shopping list. Figure out what you still need to get ready for school. Keep your shopping list clean and reasonable by eliminating things that you (or your kid, to be more exact) can comfortably live without, things that are obviously beyond your means, and things that you already have and that are in good usable condition (even though they may not be as nice you would like).
3. Do comparison shopping. Compare prices of the items in need preferably on line, or through store ads if you don't have easy access to the Internet. Remember that store brands are usually of equivalent quality to name brands, but cheaper. Search for store-specific coupons or promotions to avoid missing any additional savings.
4. Be loyal to your shopping list. This is the most important but perhaps more difficult part. But once you make it the first time, it'll become easier. You'll find it not only saves your money but also saves your time.

I hope these could be of help to some of you. I'd love to learn about your tips too. In fact, if you blog about this topic by the end of the day today, you might win a $150 gift card and a Kindle! See contest details here.

Eebee Winners!

I'm so excited to have reached 500 followers on Google Friend Connect! A HUGE thank you to all my dear followers! You rock!

I'd greatly appreciate it if you could take a moment to read Larry's wonderful review of the Cloud B Twilight Sea Turtle he won from my giveaway. If you have won any of my giveaways, I'd love to know how you like the prize. If you review it on your blog, I'm happy to refer your blog to my sponsor and link back to you in one of my posts. Just email me the link to your post if you're interested in the little extra exposure.

Time to announce the lucky winners of my eebee giveaway.

• Winner of the eebee hand puppet-Laura@Lue (a very nice blog about giveaways, BTW) for comment #100
  
• Winner of the eebee's adventures DVD set-Cocoamommy@COCOA-MOMMY for comment #82
  

And again, thanks to all who entered, tweeted and blogged. Don't forget to check out my sidebar for the latest giveaways including over 100 listed on my Linky. I've saved quite a few awesome giveaways for the Let's Play Party and more on the way for my new blog design celebration. Follow me, subscribe, or bookmark my site. Do whatever to keep you informed of my upcoming killer giveaways!

Let's Play Giveaway #11: 5-in-1 Tasty Baker

~~The giveaway is now CLOSED~~

Pop Art Toaster is one of the few companies that are dedicated to making dessert cooking FUN! Their signature toasters give life to the toasted. These cute images would make the pickiest eater long for her breakfast.

Pop Art Toaster has kindly asked me to review their popular product: 5-in-1 Tasty Baker! How exciting! It's a highly versatile baker. You can bake muffins, bread, cake, pancakes/waffles and brownies in the one compact unit. It can also be used to cook eggs. The non-stick baking plate includes seven kid friendly molds: kitty cat, doggie, choo choo train, blocks, heart, smiley face and birthday cake. It also comes with a batter scoop and cleaning brush!


I love that the tasty baker is easy to operate, with a 5-level adjustable thermostat control and "power on" and "ready to bake" indicators. Simply preheat, spread the batter into the molds, close the lid, wait for a few minutes, and you'll get these fun-shaped morsels.


These coconut-flavored waffles (using Tropical Traditions coconut flour) were fluffy and delicious. I made like 50 of them, but was only able to save these few for a picture. My son's favorite shapes are hearts and smiley faces. You may find more fancy, creative recipes on the Pop Art Toaster website.


Another new product that I really covet from their site is the Creative Coloring Kit. The markers use FDA-approved edible colors. You can buy these adorable cooking gear from online retailers like Amazon.com or local stores listed here.

The Giveaway

The nice people from Pop Art Toaster have generously offered to give one of my lucky readers her very own 5-in-1 Standard Tasty Baker! That's a $35 value!

Required Entry: Visit Pop Art Toaster, and leave a comment telling me your favorite product other than the 5-in-1 Standard Tasty Baker. (Please leave a valid email address in your comment or make sure one is visible in your blogger profile).


Extra Entries (optional): please make sure you do the required entry first! Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry, i.e. 1 comment=1 entry.

• New! Enter the Hot on the Range giveaway (1 extra entry)
  
• Tell me your favorite recipe as shown here (1 extra entry)
  
• Follow my blog publicly (1 extra entry)
  
• Subscribe to my feed via email (1 extra entry) and leave your email address.
• Follow Pop Art Toaster & Me on Twitter AND tweet the following message (1 extra entry per day) Yes! You may tweet once daily to increase your chances:

RT @luckytoddler @poparttoaster giveaway! Win An adorable 5-in-1 Tasty Baker! http://bit.ly/ppart #giveaway #play #fbz
Please leave your Twitter id or the link to your tweet in your comment.

• Add icefairy's Treasure Chest to your blogroll (2 extra entries)
• Fave me on Technorati (2 extra entries) and leave your user name
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to Pop Art Toaster and Me, and leave the link in your comment (1 extra entry for mentioning this giveaway on your blog; 3 extra entries for a separate blog post).
• Leave a relevant comment on this post (1 extra entry; Snag 2 extra entries if you commented before today 8/20)

Giveaway ends at 11:59 Central Time on 9/5/09
Open to US Residents Only.
Winner will be chosen using random.org and will have 72 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
Thanks for entering and good luck!

Stylit.TV $1,100 Celebrity Gift Bag Giveaway

This week on Stylit.TV: $1,100 Make It Right NOLA Charity Event Gift Bag

The giveaway runs now till Tuesday August 25th at 7:59pm Pacific Time.

Brad Pit's "Make It Right NOLA" charity event hosted by Platinum Publicity is always a winner. And so is prize fighter Tony "TNT" Grano. He came to LA to go on "The Price is Right" for his birthday. We don't what he won there, but he won big on Gift Bag Robin Hood!

What's in the bag
o Skinny 3 Jeans - The ProportionofBlu - $200
o Discovery 925 Bluetooth Headset - Plantronics - $150
o Zip-Up Hoodie - Zanerobe - $140
o 'Vintage' Cut-off Cap - Zanerobe - $30
o Perry Ellis for Men Eau de Toilette - Perry Ellis - $60
o Timberline Polo Shirt - Perry Ellis - $55
o Single Pass Medium Duality Hair Iron - T-3 Micro - $160
o Refresh Dry Shampoo - T-3 Micro - $25
o Control Hair Spray - T-3 Micro - $19
o Boost Iron Booster - T-3 Micro - $28
o Phoenix T-Shirt - Motor City Legends - $78
o Fresh Famous Bunny T-Shirt - Motor City Legends - $56
o Skull Logo Leather Wallet - Dussault Custom Ink - $70
o Fruits of Cornucopia Bathing Elixir - MOR - $45
o J Beverly Hills Hair and Scalp Repair - J Beverly Hills - $18

How to enter
Create an account on Stylit.TV if you haven't already. For those who missed the last bonus code alert, there is still time to use icefairy to grab 20 extra entries into any current or future Stylit.TV giveaways. Limit one code per account. You're welcome to share the code with your readers, but please link back to my site so that they can know where to turn to for more bonus codes. Thanks!

Don't forget to follow Stylit.TV on Facebook and Twitter for extra chances to win!

Baby Dipper Winner

Thanks to all those who entered the Baby Dipper giveaway that ended last night. We've got a winner!

Cynthia won a baby dipper bowl and spoon set for being a fan on Facebook (comment #77)

Congratulations!!! You'll receive an email from me shortly.

A reminder that tomorrow is your last chance to enter the eebee's adventures giveaway. It's open to both US & Canada. There will be two winners for the cute puppet and entertaining DVD set. The SlimPerfect and BooJeeBeads giveaways are ending in a few days, so don't forget to enter them as well.

I'd also appreciate if you could comment on my recent reviews. This will not only help bring in more future giveaways, but will also, from time to time, get you some extra entries into the current ones. Good luck!

Asian Food Grocer Review

Have you ever purchased your grocery online? Have you ever ordered authentic Asian food online? I hadn't until Asian Food Grocer invited me to try their service for free. Just as its name suggests, AsianFoodGrocer.com is an online grocery store specializing in Asian food products imported mostly from Japan. I'm deeply impressed with the large selection of food products available on the site. You can buy virtually anything you'll need to cook an Asian recipe: seasonings, rice, noodles, miso paste and soup, beverages, and even chopsticks and bowls! They carry a lot of fancy products I can’t find at the small Asian Food Market in my neighborhood.


My favorite section on Asian Food Grocer is Snacks. The picture shows the items I picked for review: Chocolate Almond Crush Pocky, Glico Tiramisu Dessert Pocky, Hello Kitty Lottepie, Morinaga Keroppi Kawaii Cookies, and Chocolate Filled Koala Biscuits. They are ALL super delicious and visually appealing!

My son first picked the Morinaga Keroppi Kawaii Cookies from the box of goodies because he loved the cute frog on the packing (Kawaii actually means cute in Japanese). He became crazy about the tiny milk and honey cookies right after the first bite. He kept asking for more and I had to hide them in the cupboard to stop him from gobbling down the entire bag during one snack session. I tried a few pieces. Oh my, they are irresistibly tasty! The crunchy, richly flavored cookies melted instantly in my mouth. I wanted to have more too!

Hello Kitty Lottepies are "two soft cookies filled with fluffy marshmallow cream and covered in a smooth chocolate flavored coating". Sound yummy, right? I chose them primarily because I'm a big Hello Kitty fan. There are quite a few Hello Kitty themed snacks here. I served it as breakfast for my son. I planned to let him have one, but each time he ended up having two. Watching him happily munching on the bonus piece was a treat by itself.

Chocolate Filled Koala Biscuits are fun to eat too. Each biscuit is koala shaped with playful paintings on top. My son loved to play with them before putting them in his mouth. The biscuits have a unique, delicate taste that I've never found on other food.

Chocolate Almond Crush Pocky and Glico Tiramisu Dessert Pocky are my husband's favorite. I told you before that he's a big chocolate addict as well as a nuts lover. So these chocolate and almond coated crunchy biscuit sticks are right up his alley!

One thing I love about all the snacks I reviewd is that they are flavorful but not sinfully sweet so I can treat them to everyone.

AsianFoodGrocer.com is very easy to navigate and to shop. Each product description is accompanied by detailed nutritional information. Discounts are offered for buying more than one of the same product. Since they provide flat rate shipping, it is highly advisable to buy in bulk and save.

Asian Food Grocer has just added to their inventory mouth-watering mooncakes imported from Hong Kong. I look forward to trying them. If you're interested in ordering from AFG, I'd suggest you follow them on Twitter for the latest promotions and discounts.

Thanks again to Asian Food Grocer for this yummy review opportunity!

Fruit2Day Review

Attention all fruit lovers! Fruit2day has brought us a new way to eat fruit-a blend of real fruit bits with all natural juice and puree. It's a fun way to eat fresh fruit on-the-go. It's more of a fruit snack than juice because each bottle is filled with 2 servings of fruit.

I'm always on the lookout for healthy and nutritious snack good for the entire family. I'm also a strong advocate of all natural and low-sugar food and drink. Fruit2day fits my needs perfectly. It's all natural, with no sugar added and a good source of Vitamin A & C, fiber and antioxidants. It comes in a good variety of unique flavors: Strawberry Orange, Pineapple Banana, Mango Peach, and Cherry Grape.

The nice people from Fruit2day have sent me all four flavors to try and review. The bottles were kept chilled in an insulated case. We drank them up in no time. Very delicious! It was fun to chew the small fruit pieces that lingered in my mouth. I loved all the flavors, while hubby picked Strawberry Orange as his favorite. My son was clearly drawn to the colorful packaging and the kid-sized bottle. The cleaned bottles have therefore been added to his toy collection. He loves carrying one around and hiding them in different places.

Fruit2day are available in the refrigerated fruit and juice section in grocery stores and natural food markets. You may save $1.00 on your purchase by printing the coupon here. Fruit2day also has a nutrition center on their website, where you can find valuable information about the benefits of fruit. Hope you'll get a chance to try it soon.

Join Noe-it-Alls and Win Cool Prizes

Are you in the "Noe"? Well, here's your chance! Team Noesis is on the lookout for new Noe-it-Alls. Check out the fun video above and you'll get an idea of what Noe-it-Alls mean and what they do.

This cool online community is open to guys and gals ages 13-63 who would like to share their opinions on various subjects. I've been a member for a while and have received invitations to quite a few fun projects, most of which are associated with a chance to win cool prizes including cash! Over the past weekend, I was invited to take a 5-minute survey and rewarded with a chance to win 1 of 7 $100 Amazon Gift Cards.

Take a look at what Noe-it-Alls have done in the last 6 months:

• Tested a new puppy food in their homes and journaled about their pets reactions;

• Shared their fears with a Fortune 500 CEO about the economy;

• Partied with other trendsetters in downtown NYC and previewed the all new XBOX - before anyone;

• A number of Noe-it-Alls also particpated in a round table about healthy foods, and made $150 a piece!

• And at this very minute, they are polling teen girls who like to shop (isn't that all of them?) about the brands and stores that they love.

This summer, they will be touring brand new games from Activision, designing new makeup looks, sending out disposable video cameras for mini-me movies from panelists, testing new organic fruit juices and more.

Wondering how to become part of the Team? It's simple and entirely FREE. Just answer a few profiling questions here and watch you inbox for a welcome message and future email invitations. Feel free to ask the men and teens in your life to join as well!

Team Noesis is on Facebook and Twitter too. Follow them for exclusive contests and giveaways!

Thanks to Reena for providing valuable information about the panel.

Toddler Bedding Set Winner!

First off, a big welcome to all my new followers and subscribers! I hope you'll love what you see here, come back often, and win fab prizes!

Don't forget to enter all my current giveaways listed on the side bar. The Baby Dipper Bowl Spoon Set giveaway is ending tomorrow night. August 20th is the last day to enter the eebee's adventures giveaway, which will have two winners from U.S or Canada.

Now onto the big reveal~~

The winner of the Baby Boom Toddler Bedding Set is Gena@Serene Moments for comment #40. She's the owner of 3 active blogs and 1 candle store. You can tell she's a very busy woman:P I strongly suggest you follow her on Twitter @SereneMoments. She's very good at spotting cool contests. Congratulations, Gena! You'll receive a toddler bedding set of your choice: Dora The Explorer, Thomas The Tank Engine, Transformers, Backyardigans, or Yo Gabba Gabba. I'll shoot you an email soon.

A little heads up. My blog is about to hit 500 followers (Thank you all!) and my new blog design is in its final stage (Still remember I won a blog makeover by Subjective Beauty?) To celebrate, I'm putting together a big giveaway with prizes worth hundreds of dollars. Stay tuned!

BooJeeBeads Chic Lanyard Review and Giveaway

~~The giveaway is now CLOSED~~

I had never thought of lanyard as a fashion accessory until I came cross BooJeeBeads, a women-owned business that specializes in beaded lanyards, retractable badge reel jewelry, eyeglass leashes, and related accessories. On their website, their declared mission is "to free women around the world from the fashion disaster that comes from wearing an employee ID." In my opinion, they have accomplished more than that!

Unlike their boring peers, BooJeeBeads lanyards are fun and versatile necklaces that you can feel good about wearing. You may use it to display your ID badge, to carry your flash drive, to hold door keys for your little girl, or to match a pendant you love. Be creative! Not to mention that there are so many chic designs to choose from!

To my delight, I recently received the BooJeeBeads™ Pink Ribbon Lanyard for review. This special edition lanyard is designed to honor breast cancer survivors and their supporters with a pretty and practical way to show their commitment to the fight. Handcrafted with glass beads and adorned with pink ribbon charms, this piece comes with magnetic breakaway clasps and a two-way clear ID pouch that works for both horizontal or vertical badges (not shown in my picture). Plus, 10 % of the proceeds from the sale of their pink ribbon product is donated to the American Cancer Society annually.

I proudly wore this lanyard at the BlogHer conference and received a lot of compliments. It was far more eye-catching than the default ad-filled lanyard that came with my BlogHer badge. More importantly, it helped me make a clear statement about my support for the fight against breast cancer.

Check out these one-of-a-kind beaded lanyards! They are available both on BooJeeBeads.com and at over 3000 retail stores throughout the US and Canada.

The Giveaway

BooJeeBeads has generously offered to give one of my lucky readers a BooJeeBeads™ lanyard of her choice, valued up to $20!

Required Entry: Visit BooJeeBeads, and leave a comment telling me your favorite piece from the site. (Please leave a valid email address in your comment or make sure one is visible in your blogger profile).


Extra Entries (optional): please make sure you do the required entry first! Please leave a separate comment for each extra entry, i.e. 1 comment=1 entry.

• Follow my blog publicly (1 extra entry)
  
• Subscribe to my feed via email (1 extra entry) and leave your email address.
• Follow Me on Twitter AND tweet the following message (1 extra entry per day) Yes! You may tweet once daily to increase your chances:

RT @luckytoddler @BooJeeBeads giveaway! Win a fashionable beaded lanyard of your choice! http://bit.ly/boojee #giveaway #jewelry
Please leave your Twitter id or the link to your tweet in your comment.

• Add icefairy's Treasure Chest to your blogroll (2 extra entries)
• Fave me on Technorati (2 extra entries) and leave your user name
• Blog about this giveaway and link back to BooJeeBeads and Me, and leave the link in your comment (1 extra entry for mentioning this giveaway on your blog; 3 extra entries for a separate blog post).

Giveaway ends at 11:59 Central Time on 8/25/09
Open to U.S. & Canadian Residents.
Winner will be chosen using random.org and will have 72 hours to respond before a new winner is chosen.
Thanks for entering and good luck!