FREE SAMPLE ALERT!

If you haven't bookmarked it already, make sure you click on the link to the Walmart free samples page. They regularly offer free samples on a variety of products, that require nothing more than your mailing address and name in order to receive them. I check them out frequently as the offers change all the time, and its always fun to receive a little trial size something-or-another in the mail when it arrives!

This week they are featuring a variety of items, including contact lenses, lotion, allergy pills, and pore strips.

Happy New Year!

HAPPY 2007 EVERYONE!!

I hope everyone's New Year has gotten off to a great start! This is the very first post I have made in the year 2007, and frankly, I am ashamed I did not get to it sooner! But alack and alas, sometimes life throws things at you, and my time management skills were caught on holiday! In any case, I do have a whole bunch of things I want to post about, so the next week or so you can look forward to:

~a new Celebrity Looks for Less: Shakin' it Like Shakira
~helpful tips and interesting trivia about shoes
~some new VicPicks:V05 Silky Experiences Shampoo, slice and bake muffins, and Hannaford's store brand chocolate molten lava cake
~I HAVE NOT FORGOTTEN ABOUT the holiday recipe I promised (still enjoyable in the post-season)
~and now the long past overdue secrets of some of your favorite stores, like Old Navy, Bath and Body Works, and Walmart

So stick around--there's lots of great stuff to come!

Monday, Monday

I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and have hopefully by now digested all that turkey and stuffing, and worked off some of those calories by grabbing some fabulous bargains! This year’s Black Friday sales were greater than expected, with a respectable 6% growth from last year’s figures. Apparently, the American Black Friday phenomenon has also gained perspective with international markets, as tourists from other countries now flock to major U.S. cities to experience the event and perhaps get their own deals. I noticed another trend in my area, as it seems a long day of bargain hunting following a day of cooking and feasting is most satisfied by a good ol’ Friday night pizza. The local pizzeria’s in my town had crowds waiting out the door as dozens of people found it was most convenient to eat their pizza with one hand and comb through their deals with the other.

In the spirit of this, and as promised in a previous article, I have a great tip for a cheap home made pizza for those times when you just can’t afford to order out. This solution also comes courtesy of Walmart, where they sell a Sam’s Choice pizza crust mix in a pouch that retails for about 33¢! After adding the water to make the dough, I find that it takes only 2 packets to make a pizza the size of a regular sized cookie sheet. After you’ve spread the dough, brush it with a little olive oil, then spread on your choice of jarred pizza sauce and grated cheese, and toppings if you choose. To keep costs as low as possible, you can get many of your veggie toppings from a can such as sliced black olives and mushrooms, but you can also get fresh or frozen peppers or broccoli, or tomatoes. Pick up a small pepperoni and slice it yourself if you are a meat-lover, or take out some hamburger from the freezer and fry it up in a frying pan before adding it to your pie. It only takes about a half an hour to cook them up, and the results are delicious. Another fun recipe you can make taking advantage of the low cost of the dough packets are an appetizer veggie bread by mixing the dough as directed then brushing it with Italian dressing and then adding veggies such as broccoli, peppers, or olives, and then topping it with shredded cheddar or asiago cheese. This a quick and cheap option for small dinner parties when you want to serve appetizers that don’t cost a lot!