June 23, 2006 | Product Talk, Questions Answered

People, you know that I was mostly kidding about the whole flattering me thing, right? Not that I don’t soak up your admiration and all, but it’s starting to get embarrassing. Don’t. Stop. Don’t stop!

Ahem.

Danielle writes:

Who is very pretty, smart and someone who I admire?

YOU ARE!!!

Ok my question is…… I am in the market for a whole new bedding set. I have a Cal King, where is the cheapest I can buy it?

I will tell you everything you need to know, Danielle, but first I have to ask if—so long as you seem to love me so much and all—can I come sleep over at your house? Cal King. Nice!

Let’s back up a minute and talk about some general bedding philosophy. (more…)

Hot Hot Hot!

[Many thanks to the excrutiatingly pretty Enjay for the following!]

Order a free beaded bracelet kit and actually get two kits… as well as that warm fuzzy feeling deep down in your toes, too. How?

By ordering a free Make the Connection bracelet kit, you will be helping to advance cervical cancer education and outreach. For every pair of bracelet kits ordered, Merck will donate one dollar to Cancer Research and Prevention Foundation, up to $100,000, for cervical cancer awareness and screening programs among medically underserved women.

Let me get this straight: I get two bracelet kits, and Merck ponies up some money for medical research? I almost forgive them for that awful Tell Someone ad campaign. Almost.

June 22, 2006 | Hot Hot Hot!, Quick Tips

Batteries.com, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways!

I love the way you ship quickly and show up on my doorstep.

I love the way your alkaline batteries last just as long as the big-name brands.

I love the way you always have coupons and freebies and free shipping, like how right now you can use coupon code 8AAA for 25% off an order of $4.99 or more, and how if you use that coupon to buy a 16-pack of AAAs you’ll also get free shipping, resulting in 24 AAA batteries showing up at my door for just $4.49 shipped.

(Coupon valid through June 26th. Do not go telling me how you can get batteries at the dollar store for less. Cheapo batteries are usually “heavy duty” rather than alkaline, and “heavy duty” means “good for about two minutes of use.”)

Product Talk, Questions Answered

I have to apologize to Irony Queen for unwittingly putting a Vulcan mind meld on her this week. Whoops! Sorry! She wrote:

You’re so pretty! And so smart—your new site is fabulous! Maybe you can answer this question for me…where can I find attractive, stylish glasses (frames and lenses) for a reasonable amount of money? My insurance covers the trip to the optometrist, but not any of the acoutrements, like AN ACTUAL PAIR OF GLASSES. And I’m not a Sam’s Club/Costco member, though I’ve heard there are some deals to be had there. Oh yes, and I of course need new prescription sunglasses, too, or I’ll only be allowed to drive when it’s not sunny. And I live in California, so that’s about, oh six days of the year.

I was just buying glasses yesterday, so obviously my sphere of influence is expanding at an alarming rate. If you ate three popsicles last night, Irony Queen? That was me, too. Sorry.

They say that men seldom make passes at girls who wear glasses, but that really doesn’t explain the financial rape that occurs every time one of us with vision challenges goes to the optometrist, now does it? Hmph. (more…)

Hot Hot Hot!

I can help you with that.

I myself am about to enter a 12-step program to overcome my Sudoku addiction, but if you’re able to do just a puzzle or two and then walk away, this one’s for you.

Download GameHouse Sudoku from RealArcade, absolutely free (a $19.99 value). Sorry, Mac users. You are far too pretty and smart for this offer; it’s for us disadvantaged Windows users only.

June 21, 2006 | Hot Hot Hot!

Ohhhhhh my pretties, I must be strong. I MUST BE STRONG.

Get free shipping on a purchase of $25+ at Sephora with code VOTENOW. Coupon expires June 25th.

Check out the “Last Chance” section for steals and deals. Think gift closet! Think teacher gifts. Think little girl birthday party favors (the Sephora Girl line is so cute it hurts). Search around the site, too—the Seaside Body Scrub is $5 (regularly $26!) and isn’t showing up in the Last Chance items.

Mmmmm… the world smells a little better now, just thinking about it.

For the kids, Product Talk, Questions Answered

I was recently exchanging some email with the lovely and talented mc, who—in addition to being pretty—had an adorable baby about six weeks ago. The kicker is that (I believe, correct me if I’m wrong, mc!) Baby Ess’ due date was actually today, but she was just impatient, I guess. Anyway! On to the question!

While I’m here, I may as well ask a total new mom question for the site: what’s the cheapest place to buy diapers? And from my limited experience, I’m looking for Pampers, since even the Huggies we tried caused multiple leakages, and the ensuing costume changes, in one day. But if there are other cheap brands out there that would actually work for a baby with skinny little legs, I’d love to hear about ‘em.

Ahhhhhh, diapers. Gosh, I miss those. HAHAHAHAHA! Sorry. I crack myself up. Heh. Sorry, what were we talking about? Oh! Right. Diapers. (more…)

June 20, 2006 | Hot Hot Hot!

Panera salutes the moms (and dads) who have tirelessly prepared their children’s school lunches all year.*

Clicky click to get your coupon for a free Panera Kids™ meal, valid only on the first day of summer—tomorrow, June 21st.

Valid for a kids’ meal with the purchase of any regular price menu item. I always knew that Panera had all kinds of food that I love, but I didn’t realize they 1) have special meals for kids and 2) offer organic milk.

I am—as some of you know—a wanton fool for organic milk. I say kudos to Panera for insisting on healthier choices, and how nice of them to have this freebie. Yeah, it’s a marketing ploy to get me in there to fork over $7 for a fancy sandwich tomorrow. I know. I’m still gonna do it. Because they’re pretty, and I require fortification with gorgonzola and fancy bread to start off my summer with the kids home.

*Thanks to Mary (who doesn’t have a blog, but is still pretty) for the tip!

Product Talk, Questions Answered

Today’s question comes from the lovely Stephanie:

I have a question about cleaning. (whining) Do I have to do it? No, seriously, how many products do we really need? Is it necessary to have separate cleaners for bathrooms/kitchens, tile/hardwood floor, carpet/upholstery, etc? Do we HAVE to have a special spray and wand for dusting? Are more expensive and single-purpose cleaners better? How do you keep your home so sparkly and shiny without having to sell a kid? Although that probably would solve a lot of cleaning problems… Hmmm…

What puzzles me about this question is that Stephanie seems to believe my house is sparkly. That’s the dead giveaway that we’ve never met in person, right there. If Stephanie had even been here, her question would’ve read something more like “Hi! What’s that smell?”

I’m kidding. Of course. Oh look! Over there! Something SHINY! (more…)

June 19, 2006 | Hot Hot Hot!, Retail gone wrong

I’m certainly not going to be buying these, because my feeling is that if the bird flu or nuclear holocaust or another Bush president hits this country, I’m going to have problems a lot bigger than whether or not my lasagna is self-heating.

But if I were the sort of person to buy such a thing? I’d do it now, because all of the varieties of preservative-free, shelf-stable, self-heating, multiple-hyphened foods are 32% off with free shipping. And at the end of the world, there’s only two things you really need: Self-heating dinner and the knowledge that you saved some money.