Clear the Mantel: It's time for Shutterfly Holiday Cards

(Disclosure: I don't normally write posts in the spirit of advertising, but since this is a product I actually use and love, I'm making an exception. :)

A few years ago, JC made me a card on Shutterfly.com from the pumpkin for father's day. I was so impressed by the quality of it, that I... well, that years later, I remember it was from Shutterfly!

(Actual card featured in a dramatic re-enactment)

Good looking card, good lookin' kid.

Having been a Kodak gallery household in the past, we now only purchase products from Shutterfly because they just look better. Also, the prices are amazing -- the Folded Greeting Cards cost under a buck fifty, and look way better than anything from your local card shop. And everyone at work knows I cherish my annually-updated coffee mugs:

Year three is at the office, waiting to greet me on Monday morning

Really, this place has good quality, good service and good prices. You can't beat it. We've bought ceramic mugs, thermal mugs, cards, magnets and for the past two years, we made our holiday cards there. And as soon as the stork leaves us with baby #2, this year's card is off to Shutterfly as well. Less than 4 weeks left to go!

If you're interested in getting some photo cards or gifts this holiday season, check them out. Need some links? Kabam! Invitations, holiday cards, Desk calendars, Hanukkah cards, Christmas ornaments and more.

One more incentive? JC, my deal-finder-extraordinaire, says that all cards are currently 20%-30% off (as of 11/19/10). Free shipping with $30 purchase, code SHIP30.

Shutterfly Folded card from 2008... has it really been that long?

Bravo Supermarket? Bravo, Indeed!

On my way home from work last week, I realized that there was yet ANOTHER chain grocery store on my commute: Bravo Supermarkets. I picked up an ad to check out with JC at home. Now, one might recall an equally promising discovery of Western Beef, a trip which ended in great sadness. Would Bravo be just another heartbreak to my tight-wadded longings? Could I recover from being as just another notch in Bravo's checkout belt? I couldn't resist. I put on my best game face and hit those sales like an 18-wheeler.

The ad lured us with the following stock-upables:

• 5lb bag of flour for $1.79.
  The same sized bag for JC's delicious homemade bread costs $3.29 at Fairway.
• 1 dozen Jumbo brown eggs? $1.50
  Fairway's jumbo white eggs rang up at $2.19 a week or so ago. Yikes.
  
• Boneless Chicken cutlets? $1.99/lb
  Geez, I haven't bought chicken cutlets at Fairway in a looong time. I think they were $3.69/lb last time I checked. Probably past the $4 mark by now...
  

Fairway has been my go-to supermarket for the past 8 years. I love it. If something is to be found there, chances are it's good. It's an experience (to say the least). I enjoy knowing where most everything is hidden in this bizarrely laid out, ever-changing labyrinth*. But the fact remains -- Fairway is too expensive for just about everything, and rarely has published sales.
*Interesting sidenote: Have you ever tried to find regular black peppercorns at Fairway? They do sell them, but they aren't in either place you'd expect.

Wouldn't you know it, Bravo came through with everything I came for except some Baggies that were on sale. The store was clean, the meat looked good, and it wasn't overly crowded. It's near the train I take home, so I'd call this a win! Bravo for Bravo! If I needed more convincing, they won me over again at the checkout when they printed out my receipt using both sides of the paper! By using only half as much paper to print receipts, I'd have to tip my hat to their clever act of eco-responsibility.

I shopped at the Bravo in 90-30 Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, NY (Between 90th & 91st St.)

As we speak, about 8 pounds of chicken are taking a cryo-nap until we choose to reanimate them. With the chicken alone, that's over $13 saved by not shopping at Fairway (given my rather conservative estimate of $3.69/lb.)

By reading this blog, one might think all we do is shop for food. I'd like to say that's inaccurate, but I'm actually writing this from the freezer section. Please don't stare. It's actually quite cold over here, and I'm regretting having worn such a light shirt today.

Western Beef... I wanted to love you.

Last time I rented a car, I had to put that go-stuff in it (gasoline? I'm not very auto-minded), and found myself searching West End Avenue for one of those gasoline stores. Wouldn't you know it, I found a Western Beef! Had I found a local, fully functional discount grocery store? (Note: They do not sell the gasoline. Don't even ask. Trust me.)


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I told JC, and we searched the ads, and wouldn't you know it, they have some stellar deals. Ground turkey for $1.39/lb, 99¢ for 2/lb bag of onions, $3.99/48oz of canola oil, Silk milk for $3/half gallon... We headed out.

When we got there, the sale stars faded from my eyes. No ground turkey... onions with fruit flies... misleading sale items... A sliver lining to this cloud was that the butcher was very nice and ground us up some turkey on the spot. Our walk of shame home had only a few things from our list.

Despite a somewhat disappointing first experience, I think we'd try Western Beef again. It was kinda a schlep and not nearly as amazing an experience as I was hoping for. But if the deals were sweet enough, we'd consider the hike again.

Western beef has 21 locations in the greater NYC area. We went to the one at West 62nd and West End Avenue.

Magic? Maybe, but definately worth free.

One of the ways I have been stretching those bucks is by requesting free items online. Thanks to several helpful bloggers and the true magic of autofill for web forms , I can complete the forms relatively quickly while Pumpkin is napping. What good is one free sample? Well, a cereal sample often becomes a snack. Last week I got a roll of tp, one less to buy. I want to believe it all helps a little. It also lets me try out new items without paying for them.

That was the case today. I tried out the the Magic Eraser by Mr. Clean. I found out about the sample during a Freebie Friday at the The Motherload and thought it a good opportunity to try it out. With Columbia home today and Pumpkin happily playing in her Jumperoo, I attacked the kitchen wall. The box cautioned against using on high-gloss paint, so I hoped it would work on the semi-gloss of the kitchen, and the matte in the hallway that is our kitchen extension. It did a really good job on getting off coffee stains, bangs from the gazelle that was previously been stowed there (who else but New Yorkers would keep a gazelle folded up in their kitchen?) and a myriad of other messes that somehow appeared there in the last 3 years. With relatively little scrubbing, they all came off.



Then Columbia pointed out we had clean spots on the wall. What? Yeah. The Magic Eraser did such a good job that it cleaned the marks off of the wall and left the rest of the area showing 3 years of wear. I attacked the bottom half with the eraser and Columbia (bless his soul) got the top half with a damp towel. We had destroyed the magic eraser in the process, but the wall became surprisingly clean.



I did try to clean an area by the stove with a damp towel afterward. That worked, too, but it did seem to take a bit more elbow grease and my arm was already sore for the day.

Would I use the Magic Eraser again? Yes... if I got another freebie or a really good deal. I searched Freebies 4 Mom and found out about another Magic Eraser freebie. The Mr. Clean site was being especially cranky today but I did register for there site and write a blip about using the eraser today. Once their site was cooperating it took only a few minutes. I got this interesting message after I posted:

Thank you! You have successfully submitted your story for this product. Please note that it may take up to 72 hours for your story to appear. All submissions will be reviewed by the sponsor. Those deemed inappropriate, or not in accordance with product usage instructions, will not be posted and the registrant will not receive a free mini Mr. Clean Magic Eraser. If your story is accepted you will receive your free mini magic eraser in approximately 8-10 weeks.

*While supplies last*

Wow. I now feel like I'm waiting to get accepted for college. I guess the wait time and their caution is for the best, as we all know what happens to a website left un-moderated. I'll be happy to get another magic eraser, but I think I'll stick to the simple freebie request forms for now.