Tin Can Herb Garden

We're smack dab in the middle of winter, and I'm already sick of the snow. I feel cut off from the outdoors, and stuck in the house. I can't wait for spring so I can plant flowers and start my herb garden again. But since I'm an impatient person....I found a way around it. A tin can herb garden. Now you can choose to do flowers instead, but there's something about growing your own herbs that I really love. 

Instructions:
-Take a tin can (I like the larger tomato sauce ones) and peel off the label. Wash it inside and out, being sure there's NO food or sauce left inside the ridges (or else they will mold...yuck). 
-You'll need to poke at least 6 holes in the bottom of the can. I recommend hammering nails in, and then just pulling them back out.
-At this point you can decorate the outside with paint, stickers, markers, or paper. If you go with paper, understand that it'll probably get wet when you water, and may shrivel. 
-Pour a half inch of gravel or small rocks in the bottom (it helps with drainage) and then soil. If your planting seeds I would recommend a starter soil, if your potting full grown plants you can use regular.
-You will need to place the cans on a plate to catch water. If you choose to do just one can, it can go on a saucer, or if you do more place it on a serving platter that's longer length wise. 

The whole point of doing this is to bring a little bit of outdoors inside. Herbs make your house smell wonderful, and they're a inexpensive way to perk up your food. If you choose flowers, get something really colorful, and be sure to place them where you normally look (perhaps next to the tv?). Most supermarkets sell small potted containers of herbs right in the produce section, so if you don't have the patience for seeds, that may be a great option. Good luck!

Body Shop Clearance

The Body Shop is still trying to get rid of their holiday gifts, and these are the lowest prices I've seen them go.

The site says 50% off, but most of them are up to 75% off. If you spend under $25 shipping is 5.95, or free shipping over $60. The lowest priced item I saw was the 'Silver Fir' home frangerence oil. It normally retails for 7.50 and is marked down to $2. Here's a possible order to get the best bang for your buck

Vanilla and nutmeg gift set, normally $15 marked down to $4

Merry Cranberry celebration set, normally $15 marked down to $4

Home scent home, normally $18 marked down to $5 

Merry Aromas set of 3 diffusers, normally $30, marked down to $8

Total comes to  $26.95 after shipping. 

It seems like a lot, but keep in mind it's a value of $78, and most body shop products are made from free trade ingredients, and are of a higher quality. The vanilla and the cranberry sets above include a bar of soap that normally costs $4, so it's like getting everything else for free! 

Personally I'm thinking of getting 4 of the 'home scent home' scents for 25.95. each one includes a lamp ring, and 10 fragrance oils. I already own  something similar to this and LOVE it. Super simple, and it really does make your house a home. 

You can shop Here. 

Free shipping at Victoria's Secret

Right now Victoria's secret is having their semi-annual sale. If you're not one for picking through the leftover scraps at the store (lilke me) you can shop on their website. And today only they're offering free shipping with code 'ShipFree'. 
This V neck sweater is on sale for 11.99
This pair of bling flannel pants are 9.99
And this cami and panty gift set is marked down to 12.99


Click Here for the sale.

Toilet Tattoos

Searching for a gift for that person who has everything? Well, search no more. We can almost guarantee that they don't have a Toilet Tattoo. Right now the starts and stripes design is a bargain at $3.00, while other designs are $9.99. These can be purchased off amazon, and have free shipping with prime. Whether it's a gag gift, or for your neighbor, these are sure to be a hit.

I personally want to get one for next years co-worker secret santa. Imagine the joy on someones face when they open this. It could be the gift that just keeps giving.

Puritan's Pride Sale

Update: this appears to of died around 10am this morning. 
Right now on the Puritan's Pride website, you can get $5.00 off any $5.00 purchase with free shipping. Simply use coupon code TE1QC1G (good through 01/09/10) when checking out. In addition to that, they have all their brand's products running a buy one get one free promo, or even buy one get 2 or 3 free.  This makes for ALOT of really good deals.

Here's my favorites:
Liquid lavender soap $5.59 - $5=  .59 cents!

Purifying clay soap (2.39) and  Pine tar soap (2.88) = $5.27 -$5, final cost .27 cents!
Tiger muscle rub $5.27 -$5 = just .27 cents!
Super lysine ointment $5.09 -$5 = only .09 cents! 
Essential Clove oil $5.19 -$5 = .19 cents 
Organics Sage and lemongrass shampoo $5.59 -$5 = .59 cents.

 And this one is my most favorite so far:  

Vitamin E chapstick (5 of them) for $5.00 -$5 coupon, total cost = FREE 

Click Here to start shopping!

Cheap Blu Ray DVD's

Amazon is having some pretty killer deals on blu rays right now.

Batman Begins -$10

Super Troopers -$10

Brokeback Mountain -$10

SpaceBalls -$8.99 (and it's a classic so you have to buy it!)

Wedding Crashers -$9.99

Knocked up -$11.99

Any many others.....  These are all free shipping with Prime, and I'm sure they won't be available for too long, I've never seen the blu rays this cheap.

Do Something!

Bored? Stuck in a dead end job, staring at a screen all day (or is that just me)? Break up the monotony for awhile by escaping into the world of Sherlock Holmes. Yes Robert Downy jr. makes a wonderful Holmes, but before him were the books. It's been more than 70 years since they were published, so the copyright has fallen off, and you can now read the books online. Try it, you might like it, and a little culture never killed anyone (or did it?). And if all else fails you can learn new and exciting ways to kill people and hide it (in your daydreams of course..).




Click here for the series+novels.

Baby Zodiac Onesies

Are you plagued with people questioning your babies zodiac sign? This baby body suit advertises front and center that your child is a Cancer (Or Gemini, or Scorpio...). Prices on amazon for these 'Luvable Friends' clothes are as low as $1.57 and can ship free with Amazon Prime. Also be sure to sure to check out this adorable cap and bootie set, on sale for 1.99.

50 Free Prints at CVS

Right now CVS is offering 50 4x6 free prints when you register a new account with them. Go Here to sign up. They will then send you an email (I got mine in less than 2 minutes) with a link to click to get your free prints. Please note that you will want to click the option to 'pay in store' so you get them for free. Here's a great way to get some of those holiday pictures printed for free!

Plus right now CVS is offering $10.00 of an order of $50 or more. Combime that with their free ship to store and you could pick up some great deals!

This Slider Maker (those mini hamburgers) is already marked $10.00 off making it $14.99

And this Panini Maker is marked down to $19.99

These make great gifts!

Tulle Blowout Sale

Tulle is having a huge sale with items discounted as low as 2.99. Sizes are limited so I would jump on this soon! Shipping is $6 for the first item, but doesn't seem to go up too much when other items are added to the order. I was able to get 4 items (including the blue dress above) for under $20.00 shipped!

Click here for the sale.

My recommendations:

 -Painted georgette tunic, 2.99

 -Dandilion print voile top, 2.99

 -Cotton sheen short sleeve jacket, 2.99

 -Gingham short sleeve top, 2.99

Good luck shopping!

Free Atkins kit

For everyone that made that New Years resolution to lose wait...Here's something that might help. Atkins.com is offering a free get started kit that includes 3 FREE Atkins bars, as well as their carb counter, and a quick start guide. I'd hop on this one fast, before it's gone. I know I'm in for a kit, I love those bars. Good luck!
   Click here for the signup form.

Cheap tasty coffee

Click for yummy coffee

Alright, so everyone's heard of the coffee company Gevalia right? They're a higher end coffee company that ships to your house. Even though this deal will probably always be around, I think it's still worth mentioning. For $3.00, you can get 3 boxes of coffee (1.5 lbs) and a travel mug delivered right to your door. Something I do want to point out, is their selections of coffee. Yes, they have the yummy flavored blends (dark chocolate truffle is my favorite), but they also offer whole bean, and organic varieties. Peruvian Organic, Indian Malabar, and Costa Rica Peaberry are not your everyday blends.

I've never found any organic blend for under $10 a pound, so this truly is an amazing deal. They also offer tea (Chamomile Dream and Ancient Cherry are my favorites).

The only 'catch' with this deal is that it enrolls you in a automatic shipments. It's super easy to cancel though, when you get your shipment it'll have a invoice. Just call the number on the invoice and tell them you want to discontinue their services. I've always had good experiences with them, just make sure to write down the name of the person you canceled with. I also recommend using a virtual card number. That's a temporary card number issued by your credit card company, intended to be used for one time online purchases. I know paypal also offers this service.


So, have fun picking out your three, and let me know which ones you chose! Keep in mind these also make great birthday presents, and are good last minute basket stuffers.

Play Dough for the fun of it.

Do I have kids? Nope. But that doesn't stop me from playing with Playdough. Here's a easy recipe to make your own, using things that should already be in your kitchen.

1 cup baking soda
1/2 cup corn starch
3/4 water

In a medium sized pot, mix together the baking soda and corn starch with your hands (Get a little messy...I dare you). Once they've blended, place on the stove top with medium heat. Stir constantly until it's a soft goo, then remove from heat. It's important to not overheat it, look for the dough to start sticking to itself and pull it. Then, you just wait for it to cool down, and knead it until it's the texture you want.

You could add liquid food coloring to it at this point, but I've found a more frugal way is to add a packet of Kool-aid. It's comes in tons of colors, plus it's scented. The only draw back is the color can transfer onto your hands, clothes, walls, pets, and anything else that may be light colored. But as long as you keep your hands to yourself, it washes right off.

So here's my challenge to you: Don't just make play dough, make something awesome out of it. I make roses, but you can make people, hearts, animals, (or if your not very artistic, a rock), the list is endless. Let it harden, and give it a place in your home (Or if it's really ugly, give it as a gift ). It's a great conversation piece, it's cheap, and I think it's good for the soul.

Update: Here are pictures of what I do with play dough.