September 3, 2008 | Hot Hot Hot!, Product Talk

Because maybe you got lost on your way to it, the last time I posted this deal.

Amazon currently has the Navigon 5100 GPS Navigator on sale for $159.99. This version comes not only with text-to-speech (which is awesome—my GPS just says “turn left” or “stay right” and never announces street names, which I now sorely wish we had), but with a lifetime traffic subscription so that it’s all smart and can tell you “Hey, don’t go that way, there’s a huge traffic jam.”

I don’t know if it actually says that. But it totally could.

It’s a good deal, is what I’m saying.

August 28, 2008 | Hot Hot Hot!, Product Talk

According to the text message I just got from Amazon, Wii Fits are going to be available at 10:25 Pacific, 1:25 Eastern. Which is in about two minutes.

In my experience, they show up and sell out in the space of about five minutes. Get ready to click if you’re wanting one.

[Edited to add: Anyone get one? I saw it, clicked, and it was gone. Harumph.]

August 25, 2008 | Hot Hot Hot!, Product Talk

Don’t let my husband the professional photographer see this post, but when most of the world looks for a “decent” small camera, we’re not talking about something in the $500 range. (Go figure.) For most of us, something in the $100 - $200 range will get us something suitable to carry in a purse or throw in a beach bag and take pretty good pictures.

Granted, I’m a layperson (read: average human) when it comes to these things, but if you do a little research you’ll find that the Canon Elphs are generally well-reviewed and pretty powerful little cameras for the money. I have an Elph, myself, and I love it. Even if my husband does occasionally mock it.

Today Amazon has the Canon PowerShot SD1100IS camera marked down to $179.95 with free shipping, which is the cheapest I’ve seen it. Read the specs, but this is one of their top Elphs, with image stabilization and all sorts of fancy things. Really a nice little model.

Use “Bill Me Later” and you can apply coupon code BMLDEALS to take another $20 off, too! (Remember—if you don’t really want to use BML, simply first purchase $159.95 worth of gift certificates, then go back in to buy the camera using BML, and you’ll be able to use the discount but pay with your certs. Awesome.)

This isn’t the sort of thing you’ll pick up on a whim (I hope!), but if you were looking for a decent camera, this should definitely be a contender. Four and a half stars after 188 reviews seems like a good bet, no?

August 19, 2008 | Product Talk, Questions Answered

The lovely Corey writes:

Lovely Mir,
My Norton Antivirus (For PC…not yet an Apple girl.) is about to expire. It feels like with all the kids going off to college there should be a deal out there for me. I prefer Norton Antivirus (for up to 3 computers) but am willing to try something new, if it is well reviewed and cheaper!

Can you help me find a deal?

I was headed off right from the first line there from suggesting that she simply get a Mac. Isn’t that the most logical solution? Oh, well. I guess I can help you find something else, if you insist on using a PC…. (more…)

August 13, 2008 | For the kids, Product Talk, Questions Answered

The lovely Melinda writes:

I enjoyed your post on nut-free lunches, and I have a concern that is sort of a tangent to that one. I’ve recently become aware of my un”green” lifestyle and am trying to make some changes. I started thinking about the little baggies that I pack everything in for lunch and did some quick math: if every one of the 900 kids at our school threw away three baggies with every lunch, the school trash would have 13,000 baggies per week. Over the course of a year, that would be nearly half a million baggies! In my family of four kids, we’re tossing at least 2,000 of those suckers a year just by ourselves.

So, in my angst I’ve been looking for alternatives. These Laptop Lunches are super cute, but spendy. And look at the cute meals all these people make on this Flickr Pool!

Have you got any great ideas for something similar: small, reusable, cute, hard to throw away? The Ziploc and Gladware containers seem too big and I want something that fits together neatly.

Thanks in advance for the pretty thoughts coming from your pretty brain.

Melinda’s email made me hang my head in shame. Hi, my name is Mir, and I… I… I am a snack-size-Ziploc-aholic.

Melinda’s right, though, so I got to thinking. (more…)

August 7, 2008 | Product Talk, Questions Answered

The very pretty and witty Victoria took time out from her busy Ivy League schedule to send me the following email:

I am a very poor college student with more student loans than I can possibly pay off in this lifetime. Nevertheless, I would love to be able to furnish my bedroom with furniture not fashioned out of twigs and leaves stolen from the campus green. More specifically, I am looking for a chair: a nice, comfy, lounging kind of chair that can seat one or two, and most importantly, can support a certain amount of weight, as many of my friends are strapping young lads.

That said, I am poor, and at the end of every year I must donate or give away everything because I live on the other side of the country. Which means I would rather not spend more than, say $50 on said chair, though I can probably scrape up $100.

Is this an impossible task? Should I just give up and perhaps pilfer a dining room chair? Please help me! It is only due to my slavish devotion to reading your blog that I can occasionally eat out (restaurant.com! woo!), buy nice shoes (price matching + Amazon Friday sales!), and generally afford life. In any event, thank you! Without Want Not I would still be wearing slippers fashioned of tree sap and bark.

Let me be the first to say that I’m delighted you’re not covered in tree sap, Victoria. (more…)

July 30, 2008 | Hot Hot Hot!, Product Talk

I love the way tents get rated. If it’s a “4 person tent” that means it will be a good tent to sleep two people who like each other a lot, or possibly feasible for three midgets. The tent we use is rated for 6 people, which means my husband and I can change our clothes in there without throwing each other an elbow to the jaw. Mostly.

All of this is to say, if you’re in the market for a tent—and you understand that the ratings may be a little, well, overly generous—check out this Kelty Pagosa tent for $80.75 shipped at Amazon. While I wouldn’t recommend it for more than 2 people (or maybe two and a half… like if you’re camping with a baby in tow), Kelty is a high-end maker of outdoor gear. This is a great deal.

Just so long as there aren’t really four of you.

July 10, 2008 | Hot Hot Hot!, Product Talk

Now that summer is in full swing, I trust you have the slathering of sunblock down to a science, yes? One thing that doesn’t change, though, is that if you’re spending any amount of time outside, the sunblock disappears at an alarming rate.

If you need to stock up, check out the eligible sun protection products at Amazon. Buy $50+ worth of any combination of those items, and you can save $25 with coupon code JUL08SUN.

My first thought was $50 of sunscreen?? But then I realized that we easily go through that in a summer. Heck, sometimes we go through that in a month. Might as well get it on the cheap. (I especially like this continuous spray sunblock, which I used to say I’d never buy because it’s so expensive… but I’ve since learned that a little extra money is absolutely worth the quicker, more thorough application. With a 50% discount it’s not even too pricey.)

July 9, 2008 | Hot Hot Hot!, Product Talk

Hey, it’s been a while since I spotted a great deal on a Dyson, but I think this one qualifies.

The Dyson DC17 Slim All Floors Vacuum is the deal of the day over at Linens ‘N’ Things, today. So it’ll ship for free (a bargain in and of itself, as shipping is generally in the neighborhood of $50). Use coupon code 26620000008 to take 20% off the regular price, and you’ll have a Dyson to your door for about $376.

And that, my pretties, really does not suck. (Well, the vacuum will suck. I hope. But the price doesn’t!)

July 8, 2008 | Hot Hot Hot!, Product Talk

I cannot stop laughing at these animal kettles. I mean, sure, the $11.95 sale price is serious business, but the pig won’t stop smiling at me. I just find them hilarious.

Too bad I don’t need a tea kettle. Or have someone to buy for who needs one of these. But maybe you do, because, have you noticed? The pig won’t stop smiling at you, either!