Want Not

Those of you who’ve spent a lot of time around here know that I have a small… ahhh… problem when it comes to crock pots. I own four of them. And I can quit any time I want to, see, I just really enjoy the convenience of set-and-forget meals that I can deal with in the morning—right after I’ve had my coffee—instead of trying to cook during the craziest time of the day.

My favorite crock pot right now is a 6.5 quart programmable one, because I tend to cook in large batches and freeze the extras. But if you’re not into that, and/or if you have a smaller family, you’ve maybe noticed that the smaller programmable models are just about as expensive as the big ones, which seems kind of unfair.

Today Buy.com has a Refurbished Cuisinart 3.5 quart programmable slow cooker available for just $35 shipped. The cheapest I’m seeing it at Amazon is about $47, though it looks like $60 is the more typical price (for a new one, obviously).

This would be perfect if you’ve been wanting a smaller unit that you can set in the morning and not worry about no matter how late you get home in the evening.

Head on over to Woot today if you—like me—often discover that your cell phone is nearly dead, and by the way, you parked the car in upper Slobovia so it’s a little far to go sit in there to recharge it. (Okay, maybe that never happens to you because you’re more organized than I am. Most people are.)

Anyway, today’s Woot deal is a 2-pack of Duracell 1800mAh Rechargeable Li-ion Battery Packs, and they work via USB, so you can use ‘em for cell phones, iPods, whatever. Said 2-pack will run you $20 shipped, today, which is about the cost of just one from Amazon right now (and do click through to check out the reviews, which are largely favorable).

So I could buy the 2-pack for what is essentially half price, and put one in my purse and give one to my husband. Or I could buy the 2-pack and put one in my purse and staple one to my teenager. Decisions, decisions….

I know; Christmas hasn’t even happened yet, but surely you’re already thinking about all of the dessert-justifying you’re doing now with silent promises to eat healthier in the new year. Or… maybe that’s just me. (Mea culpa—there was gluten-free cheesecake at dinner last night. Like I was going to turn that down?)

Anyway. If you’ve been thinking about buying a juicer, check out today’s Deal of the Day at Best Buy, which just happens to be a refurbished Cuisinart CJE-1000 1000-Watt 5-Speed Juice Extractor for just $59.99 and free shipping. For comparison, this machine gets great reviews and is around $150 new from Amazon, so this is quite the bargain if you’re in the market.

Now the only question is: Does it count as eating healthy if you put the cheesecake in the juicer?

Some of you may remember that a few Christmases ago I took the plunge and finally bought the family a HDTV, and lo, there was much rejoicing. (Much of it in the form of, “Whoa! Mario Kart is huge now!”) Apparently my children believe that the virgin birth is an okay miracle, and all, but it really can’t hold a candle to a big flat screen. (I know, I know. My darling little heathens.)

Anyway, if you have a last-minute hankering for a similarly gihugic (totally a word) surprise for your family, this morning I found that Best Buy has a 55″ Toshiba 1080p HDTV available for just $800 with free shipping. I just thought I’d check over at Amazon, too, and it turns out that they’re matching Best Buy’s price (make sure you select Amazon from the “More Buying Choices” sidebar on the right), so if you live in a state where Amazon doesn’t charge you sales tax, that’s an even better deal (and if you have Prime, you could pay the $3.99 to have it by tomorrow).

Now: reviews on this particular set are overwhelmingly positive at Best Buy, but more mixed at Amazon. Read through and decide if you’re willing to take the chance. Given the ridiculously low price for a set of this size, and the warranty coverage you’ll get from either seller, it may be a chance worth taking.

Have you taken a look at today’s Amazon Gold Box Deal? It’s the Canon PowerShot S95 for just $229. My husband (who, I’ll remind you, is a professional photographer) says this is one of his top picks for a high-quality point-and-shoot, and even though he already has about a gajillion cameras, I swear he lit up like a Christmas tree when he saw this deal.

Of course, then he covered it up, all “You should tell your readers what a fantastic camera that is!” Yes, it was all just concern for you, you see. So I’m telling you.

Love Tervis tumblers? I honestly had no idea what the big deal was with these cups until someone gave one to me. They’re… magical! Your drink stays cold, and you never get a condensation ring on your desk (where cups multiply and congregate until there’s no room for anything else because you’re just that sort of slob) (oh, wait, sorry—that’s just me). So yeah, they’re pretty awesome.

Right now at Bealls of Florida, shipping is automatically free on your $25+ order. Take 20% off your $50+ order with coupon code SHOPNOW, or get $10 off your $30+ order with coupon code SAVENOW. Those will work on anything on the site.

However, if you go look at the Tervis tumblers, you’ll see that tons of the “holiday styles” are marked waaaaaaay down. Combine some of that savings with the free shipping and coupon codes? And now you’re talking. For these kinds of deals, I can deal with having a Santa Claus on my cup.

[Edited to add: There are a couple of holiday-themed sets of 4 for around $13 each. I'm thinking teachers gifts for next year....]

Are you keeping your eyes on the Amazon Lightning Deals? Right now there’s a killer deal on the Panasonic ES8103S Men’s 3-Blade (Arc 3) Wet/Dry Rechargeable Electric Shaver with Nanotech Blades, just $58 while the deal lasts!

I’d snap that one up if you’re in the market—the next lowest price I’ve seen is around $85. And that’s a nice razor.

If you picked up the Scotch laminator when it was the Amazon Gold Box deal, you might be interested to know that a 50-pack of the laminating pouches that go with it is coming up in the Lightning Deals in about half an hour.