savings Archives - Rave & Review

Less is more: life without a diaper bag

Disclosure: This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MoreHuggiesMoreSavings #CollectiveBias I’m 9+ years in on this whole mom gig, and at this point I would definitely consider myself an experienced mom. In the past decade I’ve had three kids, I’ve babysat several dozen more kids … Read more

Festive and fun last-minute shopping for everyone on your list at Seattle Premium Outlets

Can you believe Christmas is less than a week away? It seemed like I had things under control and then late last week I checked I still had a dozen of presents left to buy and the days were flying by. Instead of stressing out, I decided to take an afternoon off and head up to Seattle Premium Outlets in Tulalip, WA for a day of shopping, meeting up with friends, and ultimately, crossing off my list once and for all. Baby and I set off on an epic shopping trip that started with meeting up for coffee with a long-lost friend, and then ended with her falling asleep clutching an empty Coach shopping bag, a Tigger bracelet, a handful of stickers, and a notebook – all of which were given to her on our shopping trip for being such a delight. We stopped by guest services where we were greeted with beautiful holiday decorations on the fireplaces flanking the food court. This is where you can pick up mall gift cards as well as shop their huge selection of restaurant, store, and experience gift cards at the gift card kiosk.

10 things to stock up on before your holiday guests arrive

Are you ready for the holidays? The cooking, the crafting, the cozy-ing… oh, and all the cleaning; the holidays are coming, ready or not. So, while I’ve been out running around picking up ingredients and presents, I’ve also stocked up on all of our essential holiday paper supplies for holiday entertaining and last-minute guests.

What do you mean you don’t head to Walmart to stock up on Cottonelle, Kleenex, Scott, and Viva products for the holidays? You get that the kids are going to want to help craft and clean, right? I don’t know about your kids, but mine are MESSY. Spills, smears, and splatters are a way of life when cooking and crafting with kiddos.

Here are some of our favorite items to stock up on before holiday guests arrive:

Getting ready for the holidays? Don’t forget the batteries! {with printable coupons}

You know what's a big bummer? Opening presents Christmas day and realizing that the amazing toy your kiddo has been waiting for all.year.long needs batteries you don't have on hand. Also a bummer: Realizing that there is absolutely no stores open on Christmas day to go get those batteries. So, here's a mom tip for you: Buy those batteries now, instead of waiting.

Pick up a few packages of Rayovac batteries when you're out Christmas shopping and either put them in the stockings or in the gift packages themselves. It may not be the most exciting thing they receive that morning, but a stocking stuffed with batteries is certainly better then possibly forgetting to pick up any at all and seeing disappointed faces come Christmas morning.

Valentine’s Day shopping, on a budget

If you know me, you know how much I love to save money. I rarely buy items without a discount, and I love to help others save on the things that they buy as well. Because of my love of savings, I'm no stranger to RetailMeNot, which is a great resource for online coupon codes … Read more

Lady and the Tramp Diamond Edition Blu-ray + DVD

I have always loved Lady and the Tramp and I vividly remember watching the VHS over and over with my sister when we were young. I think we must have sung the “The Siamese Cat Song” {AKA “We Are Siamese”} every day from kindergarten to 5th grade and even to this day I can’t help but smile as I remember how much we adored the film.

The one thing that wasn’t vivid was the quality of the tape from our youth that had seen its better days and hadn’t been treated as it should. Seeing the Lady and the Tramp this past week in all its restored glory on Blu-ray was definitely the way it was meant to be seen. Bright and vibrant in HD, the film’s hand-drawn artwork doesn’t show its age at all and even my husband thought it was decades newer than it actually is.

My daughter, who knows nothing of VHS tapes, will only ever know of Lady and the Tramp in its beautifully restored Blu-ray release and she was completely blown away. In fact, it’s her new favorite movie, even surpassing her “princess movies” and she’s asked to watch it every single night since it arrived. And, watching it again with her, I had forgotten how great of a movie it really is.