Monster Gift Card Review and Giveaway!

Have you ever received a gift card to a store or restaurant you don't ever go to? While it's fun to receive gift cards, would you rather have cash during these tough economic times? Or, maybe you'd like to buy some gift cards at discounted prices? If any of that applies to you, then you will LOVE Monster Gift Card, the website where you can buy, sell, and swap gift cards for what you really want!

There have been many times where people who don't know me that well give me gift cards to places I don't shop at. One time I received a gift card to a restaurant that only serves seafood, and I don't eat seafood! Had I known about Monster Gift Card at the time, I would have been able to trade it for a place I'd rather go to! The concept of Monster Gift Card really struck me as being innovative and a great tool for customers' ever-varying needs. Especially in these tough economic times, it's great to have an online marketplace where you can buy, sell, and swap gift cards to fit your needs. They really do have something for everyone when it comes to what they offer customers. First, if you are just in the mood to buy a discounted gift card, you can usually save a decent amount on them, some as high as 35% off what you'd normally pay for the gift card (which, when combined with the savings from sales at the store, means you are saving a lot)! Second, if you want to sell your gift cards, this is the place to do it! What's really terrific is that every transaction is guaranteed, and they have fast and secure cash payouts, which is great if you need some extra cash this holiday season! Lastly, you can swap the gift cards you have but don't want for some that you do want, but I'll get back to that in a minute!

In terms of selling your gift cards to Monster Gift Card, I have some exciting news! They will be offering any of my readers who sells a gift card to them, a "monster bonus" of 10 free points (worth $10) towards the purchase of a gift card listed for point purchase. To learn more about the point system (it's fairly simple, with each point equaling $1), or if you have any other questions, click here. By taking advantage of this special "monster bonus" you will not only get a little extra cash to use this holiday season, but you'll also get to pick out a gift card to purchase with your free points!

Now, back to the swapping, which is also great fun! Monster Gift Card features gift cards from many different categories, including clothing, travel, automotive, and much more! You're sure to have no problem finding a gift card to swap out for one you do want because you have so many options.

Now, here are some great facts to remember about Monster Gift Card:
*MGC will match all competitors published prices when you sell your card to them. They will also give you 5 "monster bonus" points when you do this as well!
*MGC offers you an easy and secure online marketplace where you can sell your unwanted or unused gift cards online allowing you to make quick and easy cash!
*MGC allows you the freedom to trade gift cards without having to have matching card value amounts. This is possible because of their point system.

I am so excited to have discovered Monster Gift Card, and I know I will be going through them for all my gift card needs in the future! MGC sent me a gift card in exchange for this review, and they will also be awarding 2 of you lucky ladies with gift cards of your own! One winner will win a $10 gift card to iTunes, and the other winner will win a gift card to Motherhood Maternity valued at $59.97.

Here are the entry rules (this giveaway is open in the US only, unless noted otherwise later):
1. (This is the mandatory entry) Receive one entry for visiting Monster Gift Card and telling me what gift cards you particularly have your eye on! Make sure you leave your EMAIL address in this entry.
2. Receive two entries for following my blog and telling me that you do in two separate comments.
3. Receive one entry for being an email subscriber and telling me that you are in a comment.
4. Receive three entries for grabbing my new button and putting it on your blog. Leave three separate comments.
5. Receive three extra entries for posting my Christmas button on your blog. Leave three separate comments.
5. Receive one entry per day for following me Twitter and tweeting about the giveaway! Leave me a comment each day to let me know that you did.
6. Receive one entry per day for updating your Facebook status and including the link to this giveaway. Leave a comment with a status link.
7. Receive five entries for blogging about this giveaway on your blog and leave me the link in a comment.

This giveaway will end on December 22, 2009 at 11:59 pm. At that time I will choose a winner using random.org and let them know through email. The lucky winner will have 48 hrs to respond before a new winner will be chosen.

Monster Gift Card sent me a gift card to the Body Shop in return for my participation in this review and giveaway.

SKLZ Review and Giveaway!

Ok girls, today I'm here to tell you all about a company you don't want to miss hearing about! SKLZ is the go-to place for all of your sports related gifts this Christmas. If you have a sports lover in your family, then listen up, this company is for YOU!

SKLZ has only been around since 2002, but they have successfully carved themselves out as one of best companies around when it comes to innovative and effective sports training products. They SKLZ started out with their now famous baseball swing trainer, the Hit-A-Way.® After the popularity of their first venture, they came out with a complete line of baseball, softball, basketcall, football, tennis, soccer, hockey, lacrosse, and golf training products. That's a lot of sports! No matter what sport your son or daughter is most passionate about, you will be able to choose a fabulous gift for them from SKLZ! The SKLZ motto is “Practice-Play-Win”, and with SKLZ products behind your son or daughter, they are sure to do just that!

Some of my favorite gift ideas are below:

Power Base Soccer: Multi-Skill Solo Trainer


Hurricane Batting Trainer

Read on for my favorite gift idea!
SKLZ sent us the Pro Mini Hoop to review, and review it we did (all the time)! Adam had so much fun helping me review this item, and he didn't even mind having to set it up first, which was super simple by the way! The Pro Mini Hoop has a 9" pro-grade, spring-action break-away rim, with a foam padded side for the door mounts (which means mom doesn't have to worry about damage being done to the door), and the 18" x 12" backboard is made out of clear polycarbonate which makes it shatter-proof! Included is a 5" diameter mini basketball that is the perfect size for the hoop. The Pro Mini Hoop is perfect for the home, office, or dorm, and nicely fits on any door. What has impressed me the most is the durability of the product. It still looks and feels just as new as when we first took it out of the packaging. The Pro Mini Hoop will be a hit with an basketball lover on your Christmas list this year, and I'm sure you will all be just as impressed as we have been with it! We have so much fun goofing off as a family, just shooting hoops inside, especially now that the weather has turned chilly!

Want to win your own Pro Mini Hoop? SKLZ is going to be awarding one of you lucky ladies your own Pro Mini Hoop just in time for Christmas! All you have to do is enter!

*Click here to see the SKLZ gift guide, it's chock full of great gift ideas! Also, check out the SKLZ blog here!*


Here are the entry rules (this giveaway is open to the US only):
1. (This is the mandatory entry) Receive one entry for visiting
SKLZ and telling me what your favorite product is! Make sure you leave your EMAIL address in this entry.
2. Receive two entries for following my blog and telling me that you do in two separate comments.
3. Receive one entry for being an email subscriber and telling me that you are in a comment.
4. Receive three entries for grabbing my new button and putting it on your blog. Leave three separate comments.
5. Receive three extra entries for posting my Christmas button on your blog. Leave three separate comments.
5. Receive one entry per day for following me on Twitter and tweeting about the giveaway! Leave me a comment each day to let me know that you did.
6. Receive one entry per day for updating your Facebook status and including the link to this giveaway. Leave a comment with a status link.
7. Receive five entries for blogging about this giveaway on your blog and leave me the link in a comment.

This giveaway will end on December 22, 2009 at 11:59 pm. At that time I will choose a winner using random.org and let them know through email. The lucky winner will have 48 hrs to respond before a new winner will be chosen.

Lanyapi Designs Review and Giveaway!

A girl can never have too many pretty necklaces and accessories. After all, they say accessories can make or break an outfit, right!? Well, if you choose your jewelry from today's giveaway sponsor, you will definitely MAKE your outfit! Lanyapi Designs is one of my favorite new places to find beautifully unique jewelry. Lanyapi Designs is an Etsy shop run by Daisy, and her jewelry pieces are
"inspired by nature, travel, romance, vintage fashion, and whimsical magic"!

I have fallen in love with the beautiful simplicity that is found in all of the jewelry from Lanyapi Designs. Not one detail is overlooked when it comes to the care Daisy takes from the creation of her pieces down to how she ships them. Each piece comes in a beautiful satchel, protecting it and keeping it as nice as when you first buy it. When you look at the pieces that Daisy creates, you can definitely tell this about them.

Daisy sent me the beautiful Hammer and Heart Charms Necklace (see below) from the Love Takes Work Series, and I love it! First off, I love the message it sends, because love does take work, and second, I love how interesting the necklace looks! I get so many compliments on this necklace each time I wear it, and I've truly never seen a necklace like this before. The details on the small charms are especially nice!

Some of my other favorite items are Daisy's wonderful earrings, and she's running a sale that ends tonight (hurry and order fast!) where the shipping is free on all earrings! Also, if you follow her on twitter or facebook, you get 10% off your order (this sale is until further notice)!

*One of my favorite pairs of earrings: Simple Dangle- Green Faceted Glass Bead with Gold Filigree*

Want to stay up to date on all the happenings at Lanyapi Designs? Click here to visit Daisy's blog, and here to sign up for her mailing list!

Daisy has been kind enough to offer one of you lucky ladies a beautiful necklace of your own, just in time for the holidays! One winner will receive the adorable LOVE Stamp Necklace (see below) and it will definitely look great while dressing up a holiday dress this year!


Here are the entry rules (this giveaway is open INTERNATIONALLY!):
1. (This is the mandatory entry) Receive one entry for visiting
Lanyapi Designs and telling me what your favorite piece is! Make sure you leave your EMAIL address in this entry.
2. Receive two entries for following my blog and telling me that you do in two separate comments.
3. Receive one entry for being an email subscriber and telling me that you are in a comment.
4. Receive three entries for grabbing my new button and putting it on your blog. Leave three separate comments.
5. Receive three extra entries for posting my Christmas button on your blog. Leave three separate comments.
5. Receive one entry per day for following both me and Lanyapi Designs on Twitter and tweeting about the giveaway! Leave me a comment each day to let me know that you did.
6. Receive one entry per day becoming a fan of Lanyapi Designs on Facebook, and for updating your Facebook status and including the link to this giveaway. Leave a comment with a status link.
7. Receive five entries for blogging about this giveaway on your blog and leave me the link in a comment.

This giveaway will end on December 21, 2009 at 11:59 pm. At that time I will choose a winner using random.org and let them know through email. The lucky winner will have 48 hrs to respond before a new winner will be chosen.

New winner of the PBF Collections Giveaway!

Congrats to comment #1 (well, that was easy, haha, I love it when random.org gives an easy one!)

cpullum said...
I love the Pyramid Purse - Moonlight Owl Collection this is so stylish!!!
Carla
cpullum(at)yahoo(dot)com

I just emailed you, please reply within 48 hours. Thanks!

Yay for some winners!

Ok, I promised you some more winners, so here they are! Congrats!

Pawparazzi Pets: comment #22!
zealandsmom said...
follow blog 2

Fine Leather: comment #26!
Anonymous said...
Email Subscriber!
*Sarah Johnson*


I will be emailing you both shortly, thanks!

Yay! I'm officially a college graduate!

As many of you may remember from some of my posts over the last few months, I was in the final semester of my undergraduate college degree. As of this past Friday, I am D-O-N-E! I am so excited to have reached this achievement, it's been a long and difficult road at times, but I'm glad I stuck to it! I start graduate school next month, and I'm looking forward to this new and exciting challenge! That being said, I just wanted to announce that the winners from the last few giveaways that just ended will be posted up tomorrow, along with some more giveaways! As a fun extra entry into the giveaway of your choice, leave me a comment on this post about something you've achieved since being a mom. Once you leave the comment on this post, leave an extra entry comment onto the giveaway you choose. Have a great evening everyone!

eBeanstalk Review

As you guys have probably figured out by now, I love educational games and toys for children. In the fast-paced lives we all live in today's world, I think it's really important to take a step back and really think about what kinds of things are influencing our children, especially when it comes to their toys. This is why I'm so excited that I have the opportunity to tell you all about eBeanstalk today, because they are truly a company that is as passionate about educational toys as I am!

eBeanstalk is a fairly new company, founded in 2005, who's mission is to provide customers with exceptional educational toys that promote a child's development, and their motto is to "plant the seeds that help children grow". eBeanstalk specializes in newborn, baby, toddler, and preschooler toys that are carefully selected by two different teams of experts. The first is a group of Child Specialists (Child Psychologist, Speech Pathologist, Child Physical Therapist, pediatric occupational therapist and a Special Educator) and a group of over 700 moms who eBeanstalk refers to as their "Mother Board". What has impressed me the most about eBeanstalk is that before deciding on what toys they would sell, they looked at over 10,000 educational toys before settling in on the 600 they wanted to sell. Each toy they sell has been carefully selected, tested, and approved, giving the customers a lot of confidence in the company. Click here to learn even more about this process, you'll really learn a lot about this great company! Also, while you're checking out their great website, click here to learn more about their Gift Series, where your child can receive a new toy every 4 months that is perfectly geared to their age and development level. Isn't that the coolest thing ever!? If you can't tell, I'm pretty impressed by this company!

Another thing I love about eBeanstalk is how easy their website is to navigate. You have the option to look at toys divided by gender, age, category, brand and more! It's really easy to find exactly what you're searching for, but I won't guarantee you won't get sidetracked along the way by all the unique toys that will catch your eye!

eBeanstalk sent Izzy and I an awesome game to try out, and we just loved it! We got to review Diggity Dog, the fun game where the player with the most dog bones by the end of he game wins! This board game was carefully researched and selected by eBeanstalk, and you can really tell, because the quality of this game just can't be beat. This game is geared at ages 3 and up, and comes with magnetic bones that stick to the noses of 4 dogs. The dogs bark out loud, and your child has to count the number of the barks in order to know how many spaces to move on the game board. I've noticed that Izzy's listening skills have improved by playing this game, because she's really started to clue in to listening and counting things that she hears. Izzy has also gotten better at learning to wait her turn, which has been a bit of a problem in recent months, especially since she doesn't have a sibling to practice sharing with. We love this game at our house, and I'd highly recommend it to any mother of a 3 year old, especially because the game is not only fun for children, but it teaches them important skills too!

This Christmas, keep in mind that educational toys can be just as fun, if not more fun, than the average, normal toys on the market. Keep eBeanstalk in mind for your educational toy needs, and you're sure to have happy, intelligent kids playing around your Christmas tree this year!

*Use the code "FREESHIP$65" at checkout and get free shipping on all orders over $65! Also, grandparents can call 1-877-359-3428 Monday-Friday, 8:30-5:30 for a special grandparents only discount!*