“I really like this shirt, except for…”

“I would get these pants, but I don’t like…”

“I wish this outfit had…”

Enter Fashion Playtes.

They’re throwing a life raft to a mom at the end of her rope. Girls have the opportunity to design their own clothes, and have them custom made just for her! The hubby & I bought her a gift certificate for Christmas—it said “Since we obviously can’t pick out clothes you like, we thought you could design your own.”

Stacia used her certificate (along with a bonus Fashion Playtes sent a long for our review) last month, and she couldn’t be more thrilled with her selections! She had a lot of fun choosing outfits, tweaking colors & adding embellishments.

Each item on the site starts with a base style & price. You can change the color, add ribbons, sparkles, ruffles & more to finalize your design. Girls can even customize the clothing label—imagine how cool a tween would feel walking around with a Designed by Me label on her shirt.

We anxiously awaited her shipment, and it arrived about 3 weeks after she placed her order. This is stated clearly on the site, but it is still a bit of a bummer to wait so long after such an exciting ordering experience. Of course, as I reminded my daughter, custom orders will take time.

She just couldn’t wait to try on her new clothes. I only hoped the quality wouldn’t be too awful, but I didn’t have high hopes since the prices seemed a bit too low for custom designs. However, we were both pleasantly surprised! The order arrived a few days sooner than expected and the quality is fantastic! The material is thick & looks great, with tight stitching—I honestly expected thin shirts & shoddy work. I am thrilled to be wrong.

Stacia chose a matched lounge set, adding a bit of color to the hem. She is very much into basics, but we tend to find a lot of frills when we shop in stores. She also chose a black tank with a polka-dotted hem. That one surprised me, but she loves it! She got a little fancier with her bag. She chose a terry bag for our pool & water park trips, adding a crystal flower to the front. She loves it so much, she has decided to save it as her school bag.

In fact, all 3 girls want to design their very own first day of school outfits. I guess we better get started on that—they go back to school in 48 days (not that I’m counting or anything)! At least we’ll have a coupon to use to save us a bit of money. It can get a little pricey if they add too many embellishments. That’s probably my only complaint. Of course, it’s still better than buying perfectly good clothes that she hides in the bottom of her drawer.

Stacia’s only complaint is that she wants more! More styles, more colors, more embellishments. She’s having so much fun with it, she wants to play with even more. And, she’ll have the chance when we place our next order for school clothes with coupon code inexpensive10—go ahead! That’s good for $10 off your order at Fashion Playtes.

Plus, ou have the chance to win a $20 gift certificate! Simply leave a comment here, letting us know which style you would choose to design. You can earn additional entries by:

• Subscribing to our site by email or RSS
• Following Inexpensively and Fashion Playtes on Twitter
• Writing about this giveaway (blog, forum, public Facebook note)
• Tweeting about this giveaway: Win a @FashionPlaytes gift certificate from @Inexpensively! {link}

For your extra entries to be counted, be sure to leave an additional comment directing us to your entry. Only one additional entry per method (i.e. While multiple tweets are appreciated it, only one will count as a drawing entry.) The contest runs until July 13th at 11:59pm est. One winner will be notified by email on July 14th and receive a $20 gift certificate to Fashion Playtes. Winner will have 48 hours to complete the claim form or a new winner will be chosen.

There are numerous products and tools designed to help you live your life. Some will work, while others won’t. Each Tuesday, we’ll share something we’ve tried so you won’t have to spend money until you know it’s worth it! Our selections usually include items that will also save your family money while others will save you time or just make your inexpensive life easier to manage. I was provided with a gift certficate from the company through Business 2 Blogger to try for this review, but the opinion is 100% real.

1. Fashion Fun on Limited Funds
2. 31 Day Budget (Day 16): Setting a Clothing Budget
3. Cutting Clothing Costs

Of course, even without the House Party goodies, a game night in is great for frugal fun. A few snacks, drinks & board games you already own will be enough to entertain your friends throughout the evening.

Since this was a House Party, though, we had the chance to try a brand new game—the latest Trivial Pursuit game will be in stores later this summer. My party kit arrived a few days before the event and included:

• Trival Pursuit: Bet You Know It
• Taboo
• Catch Phrase
• Wheat Thin crackers
• Triscuit crackers
• Hershey’s Pieces
• Coupons, coupons and more coupons (Do they know me, or what?)

I added my standard party fare of chips, queso and cocktails—Pina Colada Punch in homage to the beach trip I was taking the following week (more on our budget vacation later!). Once everyone arrived, we settled around the table, where I had set out my new Hasbro games. I wasn’t sure we’d ever get around to playing once we started chatting, as frequently happens with my House Parties, but we decided to give the new Trivial Pursuit a shot.

Three hours later? We had played all three games! And, shared more laughs than I’d had all month. Much of that is the company, sure, but Bet You Know It lends itself well to an evening with good friends. Most Trivial Pursuit games leave me feeling a little (okay, a lot) moronic, but this is much different than any other. It allows you to play a bit to your strength, earn chips by knowing your friends well & buy the pieces that stump you with the winnings.

There is still plenty of your typical Trivial Pursuit fare—you circle the board in pursuit (oh, ha ha! I never noticed that before.) of filling your pie with 6 colored wedges. And, the colors & categories are apparently the same as always. Gotcha Baby happens to be an expert at colors & categories so we never even needed to consult the chart. I suppose it should come as no surprise that she was the big winner of the evening!

We also played Catch Phrase & Taboo—these games were not new to me, but I somehow didn’t own them. Both are always good for laughs. Although, the Taboo buzzer is extremely irritating at best. Unless, of course, you get to buzz an opponent! Catch Phrase is electronic—it’s part Taboo, part Hot Potato and a whole lot of fun.

Plus, it’s part of this month’s board game deal at Amazon. Get a free Sorry Revenge card game when you spend $25 on participating Hasbro games. And, as always, you get free shipping with a $25 purchase! There are a lot of great games on the list. What’s your favorite?

1. {The New Home Ec} Frugal Family Fun: Game Night
2. Date Night on the Cheap
3. How To be Frugal on Friday Night and Still Have Fun

I almost always add rice to taco meat, just to keep the meal on a low budget. As our family has grown, we’ve moved from needing only a pound of taco meat to feed us (with leftovers) to finishing off 2 pounds of meat just for dinner. This can get quite expensive, but adding a cup of cooked rice to the meat allows me to cut the ground beef down a bit. I can get by with 1.5 pounds, while the kids have yet to notice any difference! With Uncle Ben’s whole grain brown rice you are not just increasing calories & texture, but you’ll be adding a natural source of fiber & B vitamins. They’ve made it easy to add whole grains to your diet—add rice to soups, casseroles and ground meat dishes.

Uncle Ben’s has also created several recipes with whole grain brown rice in mind. We tried the Chicken & Rice Sloppy Joes earlier this week. Yum! The dish is simple to make & stretches really far with the rice ingredients. Of course, with our food allergies, we had to skip the hamburger buns, but it was still a fantastic skillet dish! Now, my mind is swirling with other ideas for including brown rice in our diet. We’re big fans of quick skillet meals in the heat of summer.

I also added brown rice to our meatloaf the other night, in place of the usual binding ingredients. It worked decently, but our 2nd meatloaf is falling apart on reheating (gotta plan lunch too, you know!). I imagine it would be an excellent addition to an already existing recipe, though. I’ll make some adjustments next time, but that’s probably a few months away. I don’t plan to turn the oven on for the summer!

In the meantime, the 3 varieties of Uncle Ben’s will be great options. In addition to the traditional rice, their whole grain brown rice also comes in boil-in-bag (that was kinda fun!) & quick cook versions. There are also microwave instructions, which helps keep the kitchen cool when I want to serve rice with our grilled dinners. I appreciate having a nutritious way to add filler to our meals—it keeps the kids full without adding empty calories & helps stretch the grocery budget just a little bit. Rice is definitely less expensive than meat. Now, your rice & beans, beans & rice meals can have a little extra value!

There are numerous products and tools designed to help you live your life. Some will work, while others won’t. Each Tuesday, we’ll share something we’ve tried so you won’t have to spend money until you know it’s worth it! Our selections usually include items that will also save your family money while others will save you time or just make your inexpensive life easier to manage. I wrote this review while participating in a blog campaign by Mom Central on behalf of Uncle Ben’s and received samples to facilitate my candid review. Mom Central sent me a gift card to thank me for taking the time to participate.

1. Meat Saving Tips
2. When It’s Too Hot to Cook
3. Stretch Your Summer Wardrobe

The good news is Simple Stencil works great and costs about 25% less! Their catalog isn’t quite as extensive, but I still had a really hard time narrowing down my selections. I ended up having her create a custom piece with the phrase “It’s never too late for happily ever after…” It just fits us in this new phase of our marriage. I’m thrilled with the choice, and the line looks fabulous along the top of our bedroom window.

Watch The Simple Stencil in action in my first ever video review, then check out how you can win $50 to choose your own!

To enter for your chance to win $50 at The Simple Stencil, simply leave a comment here, telling me where you would like to place word art in your home. (I won’t make you choose your words just yet—it took me almost a week!) You can earn additional entries by:

• Subscribing to our site by email or RSS
• Following Simple Stencils and Inexpensively on Twitter
• Writing about this giveaway (blog, forum, public Facebook note)
• Tweeting about this giveaway: Win $50 @SimpleStencils from @Inexpensively! http://bit.ly/9L3yK1

For your extra entries to be counted, be sure to leave an additional comment directing us to your entry. Only one additional entry per method (i.e. While multiple tweets are appreciated it, only one will count as a drawing entry.) The contest runs until March 16th at 11:59pm est. One winner will be notified by email on March 17th with instructions on how claim their prize. Winner will have 48 hours to complete the claim form or a new winner will be chosen.

There are numerous products and tools designed to help you live your life. Some will work, while others won’t. Each Tuesday, we’ll share something we’ve tried so you won’t have to spend money until you know it’s worth it! Our selections usually include items that will also save your family money while others will save you time or just make your inexpensive life easier to manage. I was provided with $50 in stencils from the company through Mom Made That to try for this review, but the opinion is 100% real.

1. Tried It Tuesday: Potluck Survival Guide Review
2. Frugal Family Fun: A Night With the Indy Indians
3. My New Coupon Binder: How I’m Making the Switch

• Hershey’s Bliss: In my swag bag at Blissdom, I discovered a bag each of milk chocolate and white chocolate Bliss. I have tried these candies before, but I’m primarily a milk chocolate girl so this was the first time I’d tried the white chocolate. They are pure, well…bliss! Rich, creamy and a true delight for my taste buds. I have even chosen them over Reese’s peanut butter hearts for the last week or so. (And, if you follow me on Twitter, you know what a huge deal that is!) There are a few current coupons for Hershey’s but nothing specific to Bliss right now. Let me know if you find something—I think I have a new vice!
• Tyson Any’Tizers: I received several free coupons to give this appetizer a try just before the Superbowl. Unfortunately, it is a breaded chicken item and my gluten allergies prevented me from trying them. The hubby, however, is thrilled! He selected a variety of flavors to sample. They’ll be serving as a quick & easy weekday lunch for a couple weeks. This weekend he enjoyed the sweet & sour chicken with a bowl of Minute Rice. He was impressed at how good they tasted, even out of the microwave. We ordinarily put this type of frozen item into the oven or toaster oven, for better flavor, but with these, it doesn’t seem to matter. You’ll find coupons for Tyson Any’Tizers in your 1/24 Smart Source as well. Plus, there are several other current Tyson coupons available.
• Orville Redenbacher’s Poppycock: ConAgra Foods was the headlines sponsor at Blissdom. Orville Redenbacher sponsored a few snack breaks & the Saturday night movie & game night. As an Indiana girl, I’m a huge fan of Orville popcorn—especially the pour over butter. I had tried the Poppycock once or twice and wasn’t super impressed. In my swag bag, I found a bag of chocolate Poppycock, though, and I am sold! The girls enjoy several varieties of this treat, but chocolate is the clear winner for me. There was a coupon for Orville Redenbacher’s popcorn & Poppycock in the 1/24 Smart Source.
• 

  Before (left) and After (right)

  Tide Swash: I received this free sample from Vocal Point a few months ago. I was skeptical—remember Downy’s useless Wrinkle Releaser? First, there’s something you should know about me. I don’t iron. Ever. So, last Friday when I had a last minute media appearance and they hubby was at work, I thought I wouldn’t get to wear the shirt I wanted. I decided to give the Swash a shot—and was thrilled to wear my red shirt on television for the Valentine’s Day story. You spray the shirt, tug a bit and smooth out the wrinkles. I don’t think it would work on creased items, but it did a great job on my slightly smushed shirt. There are no current coupons specifically for Swash, but some of the Proctor & Gamble insert coupons may simply say Tide and be eligible for use on this product.

Have you tried anything new lately? I’d love to hear about it!

There are numerous products and tools designed to help you live your life. Some will work, while others won’t. Each Tuesday, we’ll share something we’ve tried so you won’t have to spend money until you know it’s worth it! Our selections usually include items that will also save your family money while others will save you time or just make your inexpensive life easier to manage. I was provided with free coupons for some of these products, but the opinion is 100% real.

1. Grocery Savings in 15 Minutes Per Week
2. Clearance Grocery Deals
3. Creating a Grocery Budget

I’ve actually been meaning to create my own “Mommybles” in place of processed, expensive (and unacceptable for my allergic children) Lunchables. This system looked perfect for putting together several lunches on the weekend to have on hand for grab ‘n go mornings. I had the chance to test my theory when we left for Vegas last week. My parents had our children all week, and I wanted everything to be simple for them.

Before we left town, I put together lunches in our new containers. It was quick & easy, since there were only 2 pieces. They are freezer safe so that’s where I put them! My girls spent 4 days at my parents’ before returning home for school. The lunches were moved to the fridge at night and grabbed on the fly the next morning. Everything was ready for lunch (except the yogurt was still a little frozen—yum!). The girls were eager to help with this product review. One of the first things our oldest said when I returned home was, “I like these lunchboxes way better than the other ones.” Personally, I see them as two completely different products with different purposes, but I could see where a child wouldn’t.

The lunchboxes look a little like food storage containers, and I had worried they would be cheap & flimsy. That is definitely not the case—they are sturdy and safe for use in the fridge, freezer or microwave. The set is fully nesting, and the lids rest on top of one another for easy storage. I do wish the containers were a little deeper, though, as the lid wouldn’t latch on when I included a whole orange. Of course, the insulated tote bag is only $7.95 and perfectly sized for the system with plenty of room for the additional snack, drink, napkin and thermos.

The entire system is much less expensive than others we have used. The set of 4 retails for $13.95. Use coupon code Mama10 to save 10% on your order at EasyLunchboxes.com.

Giveaway Closed Plus, you have the chance to win one for free now—simply visit their website then come back here to tell us which color you would like to tote your new lunchboxes. You can earn additional entries by:

• Subscribing to our site by email or RSS
• Following Easy Lunchboxes and Inexpensively on Twitter
• Blogging about this giveaway
• Tweeting about this giveaway: Win a free set of @EasyLunchboxes from @Inexpensively! http://bit.ly/5mZy5w

For your extra entries to be counted, be sure to leave an additional comment directing us to your entry. Only one additional entry per method (i.e. While multiple tweets are appreciated it, only one will count as a drawing entry.) The contest runs until February 2nd at 11:59pm est. One winner will be notified by email on February 3rd (as selected by Random.org) and receive a set of 4 Easy Lunchboxes with a lunch bag in the color of your choice. Winner will have 48 hours to complete the claim form or a new winner will be chosen.

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There are numerous products and tools designed to help you live your life. Some will work, while others won’t. Each Tuesday, we’ll share something we’ve tried so you won’t have to spend money until you know it’s worth it! Our selections usually include items that will also save your family money while others will save you time or just make your inexpensive life easier to manage. I was provided with a free set of Easy Lunchboxes & tote from the company through Mom Made That to try for this review, but the opinion is 100% real.

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1. Tried It Tuesday: Laptop Lunch Box
2. My New Coupon Binder: How I’m Making the Switch
3. No Time to Cook: Emergency Supplies to Avoid the Drive-Thru (Plus Betty Crocker Giveaway)

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