Baby Shower Time!

So overall, the baby shower was a success and very pretty. Definitely wasn’t expecting as much as what was done since my friend has been working crazy hours. I told her to just come over and decorate my house since she wanted to throw the party since I knew that our friends would most likely flake and I wasn’t about to fork over a lot of money for pizza when people wouldn’t show up. So we did pasta, potato salad and croissant sandwiches for my family. I left the house while they got it all prepped and ready for me and it was a nice surprise.

I chose the colors basically because it went well with the theme I wanted, mermaid. I figured that would be fitting since my husband sang “kiss the girl” from The Little Mermaid to me when we first started dating. Yep, I remember that shit.

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Apparently the Princess diaper cake was in shambles when my friend got it here so my husband and step-dad ended up putting it together just in time with some skewer sticks. That thing was a pain to take apart, so I can’t even imagine what it was like putting it together! LOL

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My friend ended up making this lovely paper mobile for me in the colors I like with little seahorses and seashells and pearls. She definitely did it in a way that’s less time consuming than what I did for my sisters Oregon Duck Paper Mobile. She hung the string from the crotchet ring then double sided it with the paper cutouts, smart! Then strung pearl beads in-between each one. If I decide to do one of these, I’ll definitely do it like she did next time.

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Not a very good picture but she had some seashells everywhere, little drift wood pieces in the burlap bags, rocks, and she even made my husband a Styrofoam game of thrones chair diaper cake with little trinkets and cards on it. He liked it and that was awesome of her! It doesn’t necessarily go with the theme, but it does go with the name we chose for our daughter, or well, my husband pretty much chose for our daughter. lol Now I just need to convince him to help me clean up our office room so he can start making it into a mans room since its the only room in the house that essentially has all of his crap in it. Well, baby stuff too since we have limited space ATM until we can figure out where to put it all.

We still have a few things we need to get for baby, but we shall in due time since it’s not necessarily a need right now when she’ll be a newborn.

Thanks to my family and Jennifer for celebrating our little babe with us. <3

The One Affiliate Program Bloggers Need to Join

The One Affiliate Program Bloggers Need to Join

When I first joined ShareASale, I really didn’t do anything with it because the whole platform was confusing to me at the time. Now that I have a little blogging experience under my belt and have worked with other affiliate companies, I kind of figured out where I should be finding links, and how to apply with the companies I wanted to promote.

I discovered that some of the companies and brands that are readily available on the platform offer incentives for working with them. For instance, they’ll pay you a certain amount to promote their current sales/deals on social networking sites and through blog posts. Some of their blog posts are pre-written and will be attached to the email for easy copy and paste. Just be sure to add a little bit to the post to help out your SEO since you don’t want the same exact blog post that someone else posted. Google doesn’t like that!

Make sure you have applied to ShareASale if you’re not already a member, and once approved, make sure to join the companies listed below.

These are some companies on ShareASale that pay you to promote with blog posts and give you affiliate referral bonuses to refer other bloggers to join with them.

 

  1. Gymboree ($20 affiliate referral bonus)
  2. Cricut
  3. Reebok ($5 affiliate referral bonus)
  4. Tea Collection ($15 affiliate referral bonus)
  5. Zulily
  6. Gazelle
  7. Mabel’s Labels
  8. Stella & Dot ($10 affiliate referral bonus)
  9. Cross Country Cafe
  10. Craftsy ($10 affiliate referral bonus)
  11. Warby Parker
  12. Buy Costumes ($10 affiliate referral bonus)
  13. Adidas
  14. Birthday Express and Costume Express ($10 affiliate referral bonus)
  15. Amazing Body Store ($5 affiliate referral bonus)
  16. Amber Pieces
  17. Baseball Rampage ($10 affiliate referral bonus)
  18. Bonobos
  19. Shutterfly
  20. Green Smart Living ($5 affiliate referral bonus)
  21. Italian Pottery Outlet ($10 affiliate referral bonus)
  22. Go Natural ($5 affiliate referral bonus)
  23. Custom Ink  ($10-15 affiliate referral bonus)
  24. Cents of Style ($3 affiliate referral bonus)
  25. Geographics ($5 affiliate referral bonus)
  26. Feel Foxy ($5 affiliate referral bonus)
  27. HAX Pheroceuticals ($5 affiliate referral bonus)
  28. Karina Dresses ($5 affiliate referral bonus)
  29. Madison Reed ($10 affiliate referral bonus)
  30. Magnet Street ($25 sponsored post + $10 affiliate referral bonus)
  31. MyEyewear2Go ($10 affiliate referral bonus)
  32. Hicustom ($1 affiliate referral bonus)
  33. Smokeless Delite ($10 affiliate referral bonus)
  34. TuneCore ($10 bi-weekly opps + $5 affiliate referral bonus)
  35. Woombie listed under KB Designs ($5 affiliate referral bonus)
  36. Dessy Group ($5 affiliate referral bonus)
  37. LuLu ($10 affiliate referral bonus)
  38. Zazzle ($5 affiliate referral bonus + free product offer)
  39. Montage ($10 affiliate referral bonus)
  40. IdealShape ($5 affiliate referral bonus)
  41. Kidorable ($20 affiliate referral bonus)

After I joined these programs and shared a few posts, I am now sitting at a total of $332.50 earned overall. Not bad for very little work in my opinion. You’ll also need to earn $50 in order to be paid each month, but you can set this higher if you wish to wait for a big chunk. I know I don’t care to wait since every little bit of money helps out NOW.

 

A Walk Through of Our Master Bathroom Remodel

A Walk Through of Our Master Bathroom Remodel

It’s probably been about 2 weeks since our bathroom has been finished and I haven’t really had the time to update or show you the end result because I’ve been practically living in it. Okay maybe not because of water bill reasons, but I certainly wish!

We decided to hire my husband’s friend from his gym to do the work, and although they had lots of requests waiting, we decided to put our name on the list due to the quality recommendation. But, it certainly was worth the wait, because it’s AWESOME!

Here’s a little before photos to give you an idea of what it looked like. Basically your standard grade builder crap.

 

The countertop was already being replaced at this point as you can see.

Our crappy laminate floor. OMG, I hated this stuff since it’s so hard to keep clean and look good!

And now onto the work in progress.

Day 1 and 2

Looks completely scary, but what do I know about home remodel.

Our friend the contractor suggested that we have ceiling lights put in which I think was a great idea because we don’t have natural light in here and not enough light from the vanity area to output towards the shower. So it would have been way too dark. And as you can see, we’re having a shower head come out through the ceiling as well. Can’t have a nice shower without a rain shower head, can you?

Day 3, 4 and 5

Also, a recommendation by our contractor was to put in a bench. I almost think we made it a little too big but he asked how big we wanted it. I guess you just don’t realize how big something will be until it’s all finished. But there’s still enough room in there for my husband and I to both shower at the same time. The bench definitely makes it easier for my pregnant butt to shave my legs, so that’s a plus.

We spotted this porcelain tile at Comfort Interiors in Vancouver, WA and both my husband and I loved it, so we figured we need to plan around this to make it work as good as possible. The funny thing was when we went back to make sure it was the actual tile we wanted, another couple was in there and found the same one out of all the tile and wanted to borrow it as well. It’s obviously a very good, eye-catching piece of tile.

We also wanted porcelain tile because it’s easier to keep clean. We had it cut in rectangles and going in the opposite direction of the shower to break up the pattern a bit since we’d be using it in there as well.

And finally a couple weeks after they started, it was finally finished.

Here’s the complete remodel of our master bathroom minus the bathroom mirror frame that I need to keep nagging my husband to do. LOL

As you can see, the mirror desperately needs that frame. I think it would make it look 100% better if it did. And if you didn’t notice, we kept our original cabinetry since they were fine. We did upgrade the knobs to a brushed nickel finish though. Cabinetry is not cheap and we already knew we were spending way too much with the other stuff we ordered.

We did paint the walls even though you can’t really tell because my husband chose the lightest gray possible since he didn’t want it to be “too dark” in the bathroom. I think it needs more color since it looks too white. I mean the paint swatch was called a stone white. But, we’ve already spent enough money, so the walls will have to wait again until a later date.

And our shower in all of its magnificent glory.

Now we no longer feel like taking a shower is a chore!

And it’s definitely nice to have more room and not have to step over a tub ledge when you’re 8 months pregnant.

Don’t worry, we still have a second bathroom with the same crappy tub in it for when the baby comes. We know that a tub is a must-have for resell value, but hopefully, this will bump up our value as well. Not thinking as much as we invested into it, but maybe one day, IF the market keeps coming back up.

I’m now looking for more ways to decorate in here, but if my husband had his way, nothing would be in there at all except the basic necessities. Pfft.

Just need to get our room looking nicer to go along with this nice looking master bathroom.

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5 Money Saving Apps You Should Be Using!

5 Money Saving Apps You Should Be Using!

Even if you’re not the coupon clipping type, there are other methods of saving money by using handy dandy money saving apps, but just know that if you stack both coupons and these money saving apps your savings will be even greater! The ones I’ve listed are not the only ones around, but they’re the ones that I find useful and resourceful enough to list here today. I may end up doing a 2nd edition of this if there are other apps that not only contain quality but quantity ways to help you and I save.

 

5 money saving apps you should be using

   

Ibotta Cash Back App

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Ibotta allows you to earn cash each time you shop. Here’s how:

Before shopping, choose your offers by completing tasks in the Ibotta Product Gallery. Choose your earning level for each product offer by completing as many tasks as you like such as reading a fact, answering a trivia question, watching a video, etc. Once you complete at least one task per product offer, the product offer is automatically added to your shopping list on the Ibotta app so you can earn money for purchasing the item. This one is my absolute favorite since it has so many different offers to choose from and at different stores. I’ve earned a total of $49 cash back using this app so far. All you have to do is unlock the offer by doing the simple task, verify the product to make sure it’s what is actually listed on the app and then snap a photo of the receipt. Usually they’re approved within an hour and once you reach $10, you can cash out to PayPal or Venmo instantly. If you’d rather convert your earnings into gift cards, you can certainly do that as well!

  

Favado Savings App

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Favado is a mobile savings app that helps shoppers save time and money by discovering the best deals in more than 65,000 grocery and drugstores nationwide. The Favado app uses real-time couponing data to provide access to exclusive matching deals (coupons plus in-store promotions) for ultimate savings. Other features include planning tools for weekly shopping trips and insider access to unlisted deals.

  

Checkout 51 Cash Back App

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This app is similar to Ibotta, but has less offers to choose from. BUT, every Thursday morning, Checkout 51 updates with a new list of offers. All you have to do is pick the ones you like, purchase them at any store and upload a photo of your receipt through their mobile app or website. When your account reaches $20, they send you a check.

  

Saving Star App

SavingStar

Earn cash back on your groceries with exclusive freebies, coupons, and big savings on your favorite brands. Link deals to your store loyalty cards or submit a picture of your receipt to earn money in your SavingStar account. This one has a FREE Friday offer. How it works is you buy the specific product at the store, submit your receipt and get the full amount back. The minimum to cash out is $5 with this program which is very easily attainable. You can cash out to PayPal, bank deposit or even gift cards!

  

Snap by Groupon

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Groupon created Snap to help shoppers everywhere get a great deal at the grocery store. They partner directly with top brands to bring you cash-back offers on the products you need and love, from fruits and vegetables to beauty supplies and household cleaners.

Snap is like having grocery coupons on your mobile phone, but even better. Their offers work at any store, and you never have to hassle with clipping or redeeming paper coupons, although you should for maximum savings! 😉

Once you reach $20 in Snap, you can cash out and request your check, which is the only option of payment from Snap at the moment.

This money saving app is a little bit different though as offers have limited amount of redemption’s but in some cases are higher value, so they run out quick and will say “no longer available.” So make sure you check to see it’s available before you buy something just to get cash back, which you don’t really want to do anyways. Unnecessary spending is not really saving in the long run.

 

Do you use any of these apps? Would like to hear your opinions in the comments!

10 Sites You Can Earn Amazon Gift Cards for FREE!

10 Sites You Can Earn Amazon Gift Cards for FREE!
 

Every time Christmas or Birthday’s roll around, I usually have enough Amazon gift cards saved up to purchase all my gifts for absolutely FREE! All it took was a little bit of my time out of the day to earn them. Some of these websites are survey companies, GPT (get paid to) sites, and search engines. I have written a previous post on how to complete GPT offers that you can check out if you’re interested, or have never heard of them. Read it over, it has plenty of useful information.

  1. Swagbucks (Search Engine Reward Site) – This site is pretty much a must-have for everyone who is on the internet. You search the internet anyway so why not get free prizes for it? All you do is install their search engine add-on and search like you normally would. Now, they do have it to detect if you are just typing random stuff right after another to try and win. You won’t get Swagbucks by doing that, so I wouldn’t waste your time. Usually, the win times seems to vary hours after your first win of the day. So, say you do some searches in the morning and win, you can probably expect to again later in the evening. =) It’s quite easy, nothing to it really… and if you install their toolbar they randomly give away free Swagbucks and occasionally they will post trivia on their twitter site. Also, if you refer people to Swagbucks you get what your referrals win. It is definitely a win/win situation.
  2. Opinion Outpost (Survey Company) – You do need to have a minimum of $5.00 in points to request an Amazon gift card, which can easily be accomplished by completing only 2 surveys. They range from 2.00 – 10.00 that I have been sent thus far. You will receive your gift code instantly upon request. That’s one great thing about this site!
  3. Points2Shop (GPT site) – This is my top money making site and so far I have received $1144.58 worth of cash and prizes. When you are from UK, USA or CA you get 15% of what your first level referrals earn, 3% of the second level and 2% of the third level. On top of that, you can also earn up to $1.00 for each member you refer. If you don’t want to earn points to spend on Amazon.com you can always join their sister site, cashle.
  4. Cashle (GPT site) – Sister site to Points2Shop. Can transfer cash earned into your PayPal account or into an Amazon Gift Card.
  5. Zoombucks (Search Engine Reward Site) – Same mechanics as Swagbucks.
  6. Cash Crate (GPT site) – The minimum payout is 20.00. And they will mail your check on the 15th after each month that you meet your minimum payout. For example, if you earn at least $20.00 in October, They will mail your check on November 15th. You currently earn 20% of what your referrals make and 10% of what their referrals make. You’ll also receive a $3.00 bonus for each referral who earns their first $10.00. I won a Nintendo Wii in one of their earnings contest.
  7. iRazoo (Search Engine Reward Site) -Same mechanics as Swagbucks
  8. Rewards1 (GPT site) – This one has a minimum cashout of 5.00 and you can request it daily.
    Referral bonus of 20% (and up to 30%) of what they make forever! Earn more by getting active referrals! Every month they check to see if you’ve gotten over 50 or over 200 active referrals and adjust your referral percentage accordingly! You’ll get a 25% referral bonus for referring over 50 active users and you’ll get a 30% referral bonus for referring over 200 active users!
  9. Mturk – Amazon’s quick task job site where you can earn money for completing various job tasks that users have implemented on Amazon. A great little side hustle if you need cash or gift cards.
  10. Valued Opinions – (Survey Company) – Similar to that of Opinion Outpost.

If you would like a little bit more information or more opinions on these companies that I have worked with, don’t hesitate to ask. I am here to help you, just as much as I am here to help myself.