Contest (NOW OVER): Win a free bottle of New Dial Coconut Water Body Wash!

OK this is probably my last contest post for a bit. Thank you to Purex Insiders for giving me the chance to try a few new products and share them with my readers.

Recently I was sent a bottle of new Dial Coconut Water Body Wash. I have used it multiple times and I really like it. It smells good, it lathers up well, it cleans, it makes my skin feel hydrated and moisturized. And it costs less than some of the fancy body washes that you can get at boutiques. Good stuff. I'd buy it again.

Dial Coconut Water Body Wash

First of all, Dial is running its own contest - you can win $1,000 cash or a free bottle of Coconut Water body wash. Enter here!

And from me you can win a coupon good for one free bottle of Coconut Water body wash from Dial. Two people will win. US addresses only. Contest runs from March 29, 2013, through April 6, 2013, or longer if I feel like extending it. Please and thank you!

a Rafflecopter giveaway
Dial Soap provided me with a sample of their new Coconut Water body wash in exchange for a product review - but they can't make me write the review nor say nice things. All opinions are mine. Yadda yadda the end.

Little tiny update, great big kvell - March 18, 2013

I have posts to write. Serious posts. Review posts. Giveaway posts. But I've been busy and distracted and a tiny bit lazy.

I just had to tell you that right now, if you go to the White House's Facebook page, my daughter is in the picture that is being used as the banner.

My baby.

And if you squint, you can even see her AAC device in that picture. [ETA: The way the picture is cropped in the header, you actually can't see it - you can see an iPad they're using, but not her device. However, if you scroll down the page to see the uncropped version, you CAN see it in that.]

And as the Internet is the Internet, by the time you are reading this the picture may have been swapped out for something else. If that is the case, just know that for one brief moment, my beautiful girl was part of history.

(Just don't read the comments.)

(Ever.)

(Ever ever ever.)

Thrifting Madness - March 9, 2013

Have you ever heard of and/or do you believe in Mercury Retrograde? I do. I do do do. The kid's talker has been randomly malfunctioning. My phone is being pissy. And on Friday morning our Internet went out right when I was supposed to be at work (I currently have a gig working offsite for a large - and famous! - company). And when I asked the guy outside how long it would take to fix, he said "a couple of minutes," but I wound up having to go to Starbucks to take advantage of free WiFi instead. And their WiFi plus some internal sites I work with = disaster. I struggled through the morning, wasn't able to reach my husband on his phone, and finally went home annoyed but finished with my workday. I'm shaking my fist at the sky right now!

Luckily I had a day planned to hang out with Amy and go shopping and also chat and run around and just be happy. Of course the subway misbehaved a bit on my way, but I made it and we shopped. We hit three stores this time - my favorite indie store, a Value Village, and a Goodwill.

First, Value Village. I haven't tried anything on yet, so I don't even know if anything fits, but the prices were good enough and the clothes were cute enough that I took some risks.

Clothes for the kid. She was REALLY excited about the top left Old Navy logo shirt when I showed her. I like the flower/planet shirt, which is from REI. Yellow tags were half price, so that one was $1.25. The other things were $1.50 each.

If it's Hello Kitty, I must have it. Even if it's a weird size and shape. I don't know if this will fit but I don't care. It's an official Sanrio shirt, and the back says "Hello Kitty" as you probably would guess. $2.50.

Grrr. Plain boring but very soft shirt for half price (75 cents) but as I put it out to take a picture, I saw that the back has a pinhole in it. I'm hoping it will fill in when I wash it or will otherwise not be noticeable but it's SO ANNOYING. Cute bunny logo in the bottom right though.

Meow Mix. Had to have. I think this was $1.50.

Each of these was $1.50. Both are ridiculous.

Yay! Jeans in my size for $1.75. I hope they fit.

Next, FAVORITE INDIE STORE EVER that supports the Humane Society, has sweet people working, and just all around rules. I found lots yesterday. All the kid clothes were 50 cents/piece. Then some of the stuff for me was 50 cents, some was $1.50, and one piece was $2. I have no idea what's what and I don't really care because SERIOUSLY so cheap.

Super soft plain Lands End shirt. Another demonstration of vanity/inconsistent sizing - this says that Small = size 6/8. That's a generous small - or it's an accurate small. You be the judge.

This made me laugh and I don't have enough hoodies. I love the obnoxious eyes on that mug in the middle.

Plain soft Old Navy shirt with 3/4 sleeves.

Woot shirt! It's a men's medium, so it fit me but wasn't particularly flattering. I told my husband I might make him wear it (particularly when I wear the amazing Woot shirt my friend bought me as a present - they're similarly geekily themed and wonderful).

Boatneck Gap shirt. Love.

OK so I think this might actually be a little kid shirt maybe. I have no idea. It fit me just barely and I DID NOT CARE. Because it has Hello Kitty, skulls, and lightning bolts. Of course I had to have it.

Back of shirt. SEE?!

Plain soft T-shirt.

Pants/capris for the kid.

Shirt for kid. There's no theme to this entry. None at all.

Every little girl needs SOME animal print in her life. Also it's Gymboree, so it's well made.

Limited Too dress that seems small to me for what it claims on the tag but might be good late summer/early fall with leggings. Gymboree top that also might not fit the kid but for 50 cents, we can try.

 I also bought books at both the indie store and the Goodwill. I'm not supposed to buy any more books but...but...there was a sale and they were cheap and basically oops.

I sort of bought this as a joke. Also I think they threw it in for free.

The Kind Diet and Skippy Jon were both from the Goodwill - $2.50 and $1.91 respectively (SJ is a book of puzzles and it was brand new). That Sugar Pie book and the Charmed Bracelets book were...stupid of me to buy but they have really pretty pictures and I broke. The Elizabeth Gilbert book was thrown in at the last minute because of the sale/how many I needed to get the right price. The Help was either 50 cents or free. And the cookbook in the middle is a 1933 book about baking that really was all I should have purchased. Not shown, another book that I got for my friend as part of the sale/deal.

Detail inside the cookbook, which is, obviously, a sponsored product.

I also hit two consignment sales recently - I won't post pictures, but I did get the kid some cute stuff and I think that she's now set for the spring and summer as long as everything I got fits. I also have a giant garbage bag of outgoing clothes - mine and hers - as well as a pile of jeans in a lot of old sizes that don't fit me anymore that needs to go out out out. Next up, getting rid of more books since I brought these in the house. Whee! Now to wash everything and try it all on!