The Dish on Hallmark

Hallmark like many stores have "Reward Cards". Hallmark for a while was the only place to get those coveted Webkinz stuffed animals. So, I joined and with it you:

• Earn points for every dollar you spend.
• Bonus Points on every card you buy.
• 100 additional Bonus Points when ever you buy three cards at a time.
  
• Points turn into Rewards certificates. Use them to buy any regular-price Hallmark products at your Hallmark Gold Crown Store.
  
• With different membership levels, you'll get even more – like additional Bonus Points on every card and exclusive Shopping Rewards.
• Plus, save everyday with special offers just for members.
  

So, with that said, the special running until the Christmas Eve is Buy 3 99cents cards for $1.

Bonus -- you do not even need to be a Crown Rewards Member. See the link below, print and take to the store with you.

http://f.chtah.com/i/5/474648236/20081219_v1c_landingpage_01.HTML

Did you know that Hallmark also has Online Address Book, E Cards and Reminders. Obviously, Hallmark is not the only place to house it all but if you create cards online but it is yet another convenient place to keep track of special occasions and their contact information.

Dishing on Free Stuff

There are tons and tons of free stuff out there. I am just going to cover one today.

Oprah had her "How to Have the Thriftiest Holiday Ever Show" today. Michaels and Joann's have not suffered during these tighter times apparently because people are making more gifts or repurposing items.

Additionally, Oprah has eight songs that can be donwloaded for free for the next 48 hours. Simply visit the following link: http://www.oprah.com/article/oprahshow/20081118_tows_holiday/2.

Will be posting more free stuff soon!!

Dishing on Green

For practical tips on living green everyday visit http://yourguidetogreen.com/

Great green tips from National Geographic http://www.thegreenguide.com/

Even though I am not technically a "treehugger" the http://www.treehugger.com/ site is very informative and is part of the Discovery Company.

The Dish on Coupons and Shopping Forums

Coupons and Shopping Forums

In addition to www.couponmom.com visit, www.hotcouponworld.com. They also match current sales at your local grocery store, discount store or drugstore with the current coupons every week.

At www.couponsthingsbydede.com you can buy whole coupon inserts from current (and previous) newspapers.

And of course one of my favorites is www.mycoupons.com/boards -- don't let the name fool you. It is a place to look for coupons on the internet but it is also a site where you can find the latest and greatest deals on the items you want. Registration is required.

www.slickdeals.net is a fan favorite site. They provide you with the day's hottest deals every day.

Another one awesome deal site is www.bradsdeal.com. Brad and his counterparts find and filter online shopping deals, online coupons and codes, and in-store printable coupons for you everyday. You can subscribe to the receive daily updates on the deals you are most interested in.


A shoutout to Sandy and Shari for pointing out additional savings sites.

Dishing on Santa at Chick-fil-a Howell Station - Duluth

Yes, I am a big fan of CFA -- only because I can eat and my kids can play.

Last night, the CFA at Howell Station (off of Peachtree Industrial and Pleasant Hill) hosted pictures with Santa.

Santa with the real beard, not the fake ones like the ones my kids will point out, was there. Kids could sit on his lap and tell him all the things they wanted for Christmas. The CFA also took a picture, printed it, gave you some coupons and each of the kids received a souvenir stuffed Chick-fil-a Cow. All that and a cheap meal to boot.

They are doing it again from 5 - 7pm on Thursday, December 18th.

In addition, this week they are offering a free dessert to anyone who brings in an unwrapped, new toy to donate to the Toys for Tots collection bin. It is such a great cause. So, if you are going to donate, why not donate and receive a free dessert to boot, too!

Chick-fil-A at Howell Station
3555 Peachtree Industrial Blvd.
Duluth, GA 30096

Directions: http://local.botw.org/Georgia/Duluth/ChickfilA/2829258.html

Dishing on Being Green

First of many future blogs on being Green

One of the easiest thing to do is reduce, reuse and recycle.

Plastic Bags:
First, buy the reusable bags whenever possible. There seems to be plenty of stores that carry the $1.00 bag. For example, Publix, Kroger, Target, Home Depot, etc. In fact, I love the Home Depot bags because they are super durable, they stretch from one side of the shopping cart to the other and can carry double the load of those sold by the grocery chains for just 99 cents. They are great bags for the pool and beach, too. At a fraction of the cost of the beach bags sold at retail stores.

However, there are times when one forgets or when bags are given to us regardless. And what do you do with them?

- recycle them at the bins in front of Publix or at Wal-mart
- reuse them to line your trash bins
- use them as doggy poop bags when you are walking your 4 legged friend

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs (CFL)
Did you know that if every home in America replaced just one incandescent light bulb with an ENERGY STAR qualified CFL, it would save enough energy to light more than 3 million homes and prevent greenhouse emissions equivalent to those of more than 800,000 cars annually. They use much less energy and last 10 times longer than an incandescent bulb.

Try replacing 5 of your most used lights in your house and you may even notice a difference in your power bill in the coming months. Additionally, traditional incandescent lights emit so much more heat that your energy bills in the summer should also be reduced!

There have been concerns about the mercury content and where to recycle these bulbs. Thanks to the efforts by Home Depot and Ikea, recycling CFL bulbs are just a quick trip to your local store.

Recycling at Publix
- Plastic bags from stores and from the drycleaners
- Paper bags from the supermarkets, the liquor stores and from takeouts
- Foam Egg cartons, foam food trays and carry out containers (please wash are remove traces of food)

Recycling at Walmart
- Plastic bags from stores and from the drycleaners
- In the spring, Walmart in conjunction with Elmer's will recycle Washable School Glue and Glue-All bottles that are marked with a #1 or #2 recycling symbol.

Recycling in Roswell
And for those who live near Roswell/Alpharetta - Roswell Recycling Center located at 11570 Maxwell Road Alpharetta, GA 30009 is a local drop off center to recycle paper, glass, plastic and metal. Visit http://www.roswellgov.com/index.php/p/28/t/Recycling%20&%20Solid%20Waste for more information on the items that can be recycled.

The Dish on Eating Out

The Dish on Eating out in North Fulton and South Forsyth

www.restaurant.com
Pay $2 for $25 restaurant coupons by using the code SANTA

Visit http://www.northfulton.com/Site.Coupons.html for coupons for local restaurants. You may search based on type of foods or the name of the restaurant.

www.Entertainment.com
If you have already purchased an Entertainment Book, review it for coupons and visit the site for additional savings added throughout the year.

www.diningperks.com
Dining Perks® are certificates that spend like cash in participating restaurants in and around Metro Atlanta.

http://skymiles.rewardsnetwork.com/
Register your credit card and each time you eat at a participating restaurant, you can earn up to 5 miles for every dollar spent. It is free and easy to register.

The Dish on Savings

Dishing on Savings

Here are some of my favorite sites...

www.couponmom.com
This is one of the best sites out there for matching your groceries to coupons or drugstore deals to coupons. Registration is required.

www.fatwallet.com
This is one of the best sites out there to look up the latest deals out there. Click on Forum and then Hot Deals for the latest and great deals out there.

www.ebates.com
You actually get paid to shop the sites. Many online stores give kickbacks to that send shoppers to their sites. Ebates allow you to cash in on that. Registration is required but it is easy and relatively painless. And if you do, use me as a referral as they also give referral cash, too: issure@yahoo.com

You would need to sign onto ebates.com prior to visiting your intended online shopping site. It not only pays you a percentage back in what you purchase but it also gives you links to the latest coupons available.

www.retailmenot.com
Visit retailmenot.com before you even start to shop at your favorite online site. Find coupons for more than 20,000 stores it is the world's largest coupon source and one of my favorite sites.

www.billshrink.com
Provides a free, online service to help consumers make better purchase decisions for cellphones or credit cards. It takes a scientific, highly-personalized approach which identifies the products that best fit users’ individual requirements.