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[The following is a sponsored post, commissioned by CouponCodes4u.]
I do pretty much all of my shopping online – I have for years. Everything from clothes and shoes to jewelry to groceries. I love the convenience. I love being able to shop in my pajamas (why should I dress for shopping if I don’t dress for work?) and have my purchases brought right to my door. This works especially well for the big stuff, since shopping with a car isn’t the easiest thing where I live.
But I also love to get a deal, so I always check for coupons before I shop. Not looking first to see if there’s a coupon is like leaving your wallet on the counter after you pay. Finding coupons, free shipping deals, and more is as easy as going to CouponCodes4u. The best part for you, of course, is that the site is free to use.
Using the site couldn’t be easier. If you already know which store you want to buy from, just search for it in the big box at the top of the site. If I want to shop at Kohls, for example, I can search and easily find all sorts of Kohls coupons. To use them all I have to do is copy and paste the code and use it at the store’s checkout – no logging in, no membership, nothing complicated.
If you don’t have a particular store in mind, you can browse through the categories. A quick look through the Book & Magazine section and I found Barnes & Noble coupon codes for everything from books to Nooks to DVDs.
Remember back a couple months ago when a lot of us shopped at JCP on the same day to support their support of Ellen as spokeswoman? I was excited and on a mission and forgot to check that day for JC Penney Coupon Codes. I spent so much money that day, I shudder to think about the savings I missed out on! It would have been so easy!
Another great way to save is to sign up for their newsletter, which contains special deals not available on their site. You’ll get the biggest discounts to the best brands right in your inbox.
So do yourself a favor, don’t leave money on the table when you shop online – check in with CouponCodes4u first, and save yourself some cash!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 13. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
So far so good. Waiting for some kind of crash, but so far, nothing!
It can’t really be this easy, can it? I mean, if it were, everybody would be doing it!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
I was thrilled to attend the SheStreams conference in Fort Lauderdale at the end of March (as well as do my first solo session, about podcasting), and it was delicious icing on the cake when AT&T teamed up with SheStreams to give me a Samsung Focus S to record my experiences at the conference. But as part of the deal, that was the only camera I could bring with me. Having used – and loved – Windows Phone cameras before, I was confident that the Samsung Focus S would be up to the challenge.
I started playing with it by taking this self-portrait, so easy to do with the front-facing camera and dedicated camera button:
Inspiration and Palm Trees
The conference itself was amazing. I always leave conferences inspired to do more and be better and move to the next level, etc. etc. But what I loved about SheStreams was all of the practical, actionable advice. There were several things that I put into action before even leaving Fort Lauderdale, and a bunch more I’ve been implementing since then. Inspiration often fades away as soon I get back home and get into my normal routine, but actual, concrete steps I can take last forever.
The conference location was beautiful. I’d never been to Fort Lauderdale before, but it’s conference organizer Maria Bailey’s home base, and it was exactly what I imagined it to be – sunny and filled with palm trees. What I didn’t know about were the canals. Apparently Fort Lauderdale is called the Venice of America, and while I didn’t see any gondoliers singing as they rowed, there were water taxis, which was very cool.
Of course, with a packed conference schedule the only time I got onto the water was during a fabulous lunch on a yacht sponsored by Disney. We didn’t go anywhere, but it was nice getting out of the hotel.
That’s OK though, who needs to be outside when there’s so much to learn? The biggest session takeaways for me were from Charlene’s (of Charlene Chronicles) session about the legal ramifications of using videos online. The most important thing I wasn’t doing? Putting disclosures (when I receive a product for free, have a relationship with a company, etc.) right in the video! I was mentioning those things in the videos’ descriptions, and thought that was good enough. It’s not. So I made that change immediately.
But my biggest revelation from the conference was Maria Bailey’s keynote. I’ve seen Maria speak many times, but never like this. She was totally in her element, and just…on. (You can watch Maria Bailey’s entire keynote here. I highly recommend it.)
I learned eight key points from her speech that have me completely rethinking some aspects of how I plan to move forward with my business:
1) Write hand written notes. I’ll have to google this one.
2) Unless you have something to sell other than your own hours, you won’t be able to grow your business. Until Maria said that, I always looked at the list of things I wanted to do with my business and wondered where I would find more hours in my day (and I am quite literally trying to find more hours in my day). But thanks to Maria’s inspiration, I pitched an idea to these lovely ladies that same day, and hopefully it will be making us some money some day in the future.
3) Don’t be afraid to share ideas. See what I just said in the previous paragraph. Normally when I have an idea, I hide it away like a squirrel with a nut, and nothing ever happens. This time, I took a chance.
4) Have a personal mission statement. Somehow “wanting to work on my couch in my pjs” doesn’t quite cut it. I’m working on that one…
5) Do something you fear every day (Eleanor Roosevelt). I need to do this. I like to be comfortable, but being safe won’t get me anywhere.
6) Do a time audit. Maria asked us if we were making money, or merely pushing it around. I push it around a lot, telling myself that I’m spending money to make more money. But without paying more attention to numbers 2, 3, and 5, that’s not going to work.
7) When thinking about partnering with someone, give them an assignment. I’m always wary of working with other people, for many reasons. Will they take advantage of me? Will I take advantage of them? Will they take my ideas? Will it all blow up in my face? Giving a person who wants to work with me an assignment to complete is a good way to test the waters.
8) Have an exit strategy. This doesn’t necessarily mean how to get out, it means how to move on. I’ve been so wrapped up for the last few years in getting a viable business going that I haven’t even thought about an exit strategy (although, if you watch the video below to the end, Charlene gives a good – if inevitable – option).
Physical Takeaways from AT&T
I also had a couple of great physical takeaways from the conference. AT&T gave me this great tripod, the iStabilizer MobiFlex. What makes it so great? Unless you have an iPhone, accessories can be hard to find. But this tripod works with just about any phone. I can’t tell you how often I bring a camera with me just because I have to use a tripod. Now, I’ll be able to do it all with my phone!
AT&T also gave me this really small Motorola mobile charger. My favorite thing about it is that the micro USB tip is built in, so I don’t have to carry around another cord with me.
Not only were these two great items to take away from a conference, but even more importantly, they were well-targeted and completely relevant. SheStreams is a conference geared towards women who are vlogging and tweeting and posting on the go, using their smartphones more than the average person, and AT&T showed that they got that by giving out items that I could really use, immediately! I had used both of these by the end of the day!
Parting words from bloggers
The best takeaways, though, were from other bloggers. I grabbed a few at the end of the conference and asked them to tell me what their biggest conference takeaways were:
Thanks to everyone who helped me out – it was a great conference! And since I brought my Samsung Focus S with me to Disney World last month, I’ll be sharing lots more pictures and videos taken with it. My love for Windows Phones is well known, so I admit I’m biased, but I’m absolutely loving the Samsung Focus S.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 1. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Day two of my Everyman Sleep Schedule was totally messed up by something completely out of my control, so I think I might be back at square one. :-( And yes, I’m still wearing yesterday’s clothes. It was a rough night.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
So I’m sitting in my bathroom writing this post. No, I’m not doing that, I’m waiting for my hair dye to penetrate my gray hairs and dark roots. What would make me dye my hair on a Tuesday when I have so many other things I should be doing? The RBaby Foundation.
I first heard about this organization when Julia Beck (in that picture with me over there), founder of Forty Weeks, invited me to hear Phyllis Rabinowitz speak a few years ago. Phyllis and her husband Andrew lost their newborn because the ER they took her to wasn’t prepared to deal with an infant. They were sent home when their baby needed treatment.
They took their incredible grief and turned it into an organization that trains ERs to deal with babies, and provides the right equipment. They took the biggest tragedy of their lives and turned it around and helped others. There really are no words for people like that.
And Julia Beck has been one of their biggest supporters. She brought me into the RBaby fold, getting me to run my first race, a Mother’s Day four miler in Central Park that raised money for RBaby. (Heck, she even got me to craft for another charity – what won’t I do for this woman?) When I heard that Julia was being honored with the first ever Champion Award, and that I was being invited to a huge charity gala at the Plaza to celebrate Julia and the fifth anniversary of The RBaby Foundation, I was just thrilled.
Then I got scared. Me and high society? We don’t mix. I was the last person in NYC to get the memo that panty hose were out. I can’t walk in high-heeled shoes. And I can’t wear nice clothes and eat at the same time. I can guarantee you that tomorrow night I will say or do something to embarrass Julia, and she probably knows this, which is why I’m even more honored to be invited – she’s willing to risk public humiliation in the name of friendship. Hell, I’m already in trouble with her mother for calling her a hippie, but that’s another story. :-)
This giveaway has closed. Congratulations to the winner, Jodi F.
I love it when someone I know starts something great! My friend Dara started a company called With Love from Brooklyn that curates items and collections from Brooklyn artisans, so that you can have the best our borough has to offer shipped right to you at an affordable price.
Or even better, this is an easy way to send someone a thoughtful gift! I just ordered these gorgeous tea towels as a hostess gift for a party I’m going to. And I love that I know the artist who designed these towels, too. But if you don’t have a Brooklyn connection, you can get to know the artisans.
I had the opportunity to curate one of the collections on the site, and it’s really beautiful (if I do say so myself). Just think of how happy the mom in your life would be to receive these goodies from Brooklyn – three tasty treats and a gorgeous tea towel.
Whether you’re buying for a relative, friend or a client, these gift collections are unique and charming. Plus, you get the added benefit of supporting local artisans who put love into all they do.
The Giveaway
Although this won’t get to the winner in time for Mother’s Day, the Treat Yo’ Mom collection is a great gift for any occasion. Or, just selfishly keep it all to yourself – you know I support that! To win simply tell me in the comments who in your life would appreciate a taste of Brooklyn. (You must leave a comment answering this question before you can take advantage of the second mode of entry below.)
For a second entry, you can tweet about the contest with a link back to this post. The tweet must contain “@SelfishMom” (but should not start with it). Or, you can just copy and paste this:
Want to win the Treat Yo’ Mom gift collection from @withlovefrombk? Stop by @SelfishMom’s site and enter! http://slf.sh/JblxN7
That’s two entries per household, please. You must be at least 18 years of age to enter, and must live in the continental US.
This contest will close at noon-ish on Saturday, May 12th. The winner will be chosen by random.org. See my complete Giveaway Rules page for more information.
Good luck!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom. All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 9. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
I might have gone overboard. But I think she’ll like them, and so will her classmates.
This is so easy to do, by the way. I piped melted dipping chocolate onto waxed paper, let it dry for about twenty minutes, then carefully peeled the hearts off and stuck them into the frosting.
I’ve even piped cursive words to place on cakes. As long as you’re very careful when peeling them from the paper, they’ll hold their shape. Plus, you can keep trying on the waxed paper until you get it right, instead of messing up your cake trying to draw with frosting.
So cute, so simple, so many different shape possibilities!
Originally posted on Selfish Mom, from Amy’s cell phone (so please excuse any weird formatting). All opinions expressed on this website come straight from Amy unless otherwise noted. This post has a Compensation Level of 0. Please visit Amy’s Full Disclosure page for more information.
