MelissaStuff

And the winners are . . .           Baby Mama (sarahlovesvegas@*******.com)               Jessica (jb090305@********.com)       We still have the YoCrunch giveaway with 3 winners running – easy entries through Rafflecopter. Try it out.

Those of you that have been around since the beginning (really January of 2010) will know that I never intended to start a blog. At the request of some friends and then some of their friends, I started sending out the deals I was doing at the grocery store or online. Then the email server started shutting me out for sending too many emails a day, and I moved everything over to what had previously been my personal family blog. Since then the blog has grown and I have done all kinds of reviews, giveaways , sponsored posts, etc. There is a whole world to blogging that is not evident from the readers viewpoint, and I knew nothing about it when I started posting my scrawny posts. In fact, I violated a whole host of blogger etiquette before some helpful fellow bloggers stepped in to help me out with that. I’m still not up on the latest, greatest blog fads and rules. I don’t have the time or the patience really. If MelissaStuff works, that’s great. If it’s just me and my original group ...

Here are a couple of good options:   $10 a ticket for a production of The 39 Steps at The Campus Theater. Here’s the scoop: Hitchcock meets hilarious in this fast-paced farce based on his 1935 thriller and John Buchan’s novel of the same name. Live vicariously through hero Richard Hannay’s mishaps after his chance encounter with a beautiful spy. He runs from the police and would-be assassins while trying to uncover a plot to steal British military secrets. With only 4 actors in the cast, you’ll be donning your own detective hat to figure out who’s playing who. Adapted by Patrick Barlow and directed by Sean Frith, this show will keep you in suspense and stitches! 2 Tickets to the Family Show at the Improv for $12 Good for the Sunday Family Comedy and Magic Show through November. If I didn’t have a one year old, I think this is something I might try with my boys. Recommended for ages 4 and up, it sounds like this show would be perfect for my boys who like to laug...

  Today only, Bath and Body Works is having a good sale and FREE shipping on purchases over $25 . Combine that with 3% cash back from Ebates as well as a $10 gift card of your choice when you make your first purchase of $25 or more through Ebates , and you have one heck of a deal. Here are the steps to ensure you get the deal: 1. Register or Login at Ebates . (You will select the type of gift card you prefer at this point.) 2. Enter Bath and Body Works in the search bar and click through to their site. 3. Place an order of $25 or more. 4. Use the code FALLSHIP at checkout to get the FREE shipping. 5. Within a week you should see the 3% cash back deposited in your account and your $10 gift card will be on its way!

  $10 for $20 at Jack’s Pub Jack’s Pub recently opened on Eldorado in McKinney. Today they are running a special on Juice in the City where you can get a $20 voucher for just $10 .

Thoroughly rocked the Divine Consign 75% off sale yesterday morning. Got so many nice things for a steal – and I even managed to fit a hoodie and a pair of jeans in for myself! Pottery Barn Birthday Party Pack – Brand NEW Set of 8 (Retails for app. $37) TOTAL: $2.50 Lego Duplo Buzz Lightyear Space Ship (Retails for app. $30) TOTAL: $4 Monster Republic Shirts NEW with Tags (Retail for $44 each) TOTAL: $4 and $5 Circle of Love Hoody and Old Navy Jeans TOTAL: $1.50 and $2.25

    Free Eucerin Sample on Facebook           Lactaid Sample and Coupons     FREE daily email with money saving tips and coupons – just sign up on the MelissaStuff page!

If you have not entered these giveaways , you are about to run out of time. Make sure you get your entries in because you can’t win if you don’t and your odds are still good on both of these prizes. Tropical Traditions Organic Liquid and Bar Soap - 8/30 4 Pack of Fandango Tickets fr om Plum District - 8/30 All entries must be in by midnight CST.

Disney Vitamins – $1.74 There is a $2/1 any Disney Vitamin coupon and a new $1/1 Target Vitamin Coupon. These vitamins are priced at around $4.74 at Target, so they should only be about $1.74 after coupons. Thanks My Frugal Adventures!

  FREE Reusable Water Bottles – FREE Shipping Included SaveMore has had some incredible FREE deals lately, this one included. These nifty bottles roll up so that you can easily carry them with you but expand to hold a full bottles worth of water. With your $10 FREE credit for signing up at SaveMore you can get one of these bottles shipped directly to your house for absolutely FREE and still have $5 left over to use on another upcoming deal. SCORE!!!! Returning SaveMore customers can support MelissaStuff by using this link to place their order. And you can earn additional $10 credits to get FREE stuff by referring your friends.

  For $65 you can get classes for your child at the University of Gymnastics – either in their Plano or Sherman location. If you are watching all of your friends children go off to preschool and wishing you had signed your child up or not quite ready for multiple days a week, this might be the perfect fit for you. Your $65 can be used for one month of Mother’s Day Out – the same day for four consecutive weeks. That’s just a little over $15 a day for childcare. The classes are 9 – 2 and include gymnastics training as well as classroom activities. You could also choose to use your voucher to send your child to two months of gymnastics training – or eight consecutive weeks. With classes covering all ages and all skill sets, there is bound to be a class that will be a good match for your little one. Recently I checked into a monthly membership at our local gymnastics gym and it’s about $70 a month, so $65 for two months is quite a deal. Voucher does not expire until Febru...

If you haven’t entered either the 4 Pack of Fandango movie ticket giveaway or the Tropical Traditions organic soap giveaways , you need to go do that right now. They both end at midnight tomorrow and they’re fairly low entry so your odds are good. We also have a YoCrunch yogurt giveaway for FREE yogurts – and it has three winners. It’s a test drive for a new giveaway system called Rafflecopter and it should be way easier to enter. You just click and go! Good luck.

Today, Plum District is offering $20 Plum District dollars for just $10 . I almost always do these deals because you are automatically doubling your money with the deals that are frequently at least half off again - that means you quadruple your money! Plum District is also the sponsor for our 4 Fandango Movie Tickets Giveaway . If you don't have a Plum District membership , there's never been a better time to sign up and then come back and enter this giveaway!

  Enter your email over at Adpages Daily Deals and you will have a chance to win 2 tickets to a Dallas Cowboys game . I already entered. Cowboys football is serious business in this family. I’d be the favorite if I won tickets – although I’d quickly become the unfavorite when I had to pick only one person to take with me!

Get a FREE sample of Oil of Olay PRO-X Clear while it lasts.

  Click through to Snapfish and share your albums with five friends by email. When you do that, you will earn 100 FREE prints . Instructions will arrive by email on how to order your FREE prints.

$5 for $10 Gift Card to Any of These Restaurants Love these gift card deals if you are already eating at any of these locations. It’s great to know that you will be saving 50% on the first $10 you order . We love Maggiano’s and my husband has requested we eat there soon. Guess it looks like I’ll be needing this deal. This gift card deal is good for anyone and can be used at Chili’s, Macaroni Grill, Maggiano’s, or On the Border . If you are a returning Saveology customer , you can support MelissaStuff by using this link . Thank you!

If you get tired of shopping for diaper deals in the stores, sometimes you can find deals online that rival anything you can find in the stores. Today, you can get a box of Pampers Extra Protection diapers for around $13.69 at Amazon . In order to get this deal, you will need to sign up for a FREE account as an Amazon Mom . This gives you 15% off. Order the diapers in the size you need, using the Subscribe and Save option. This will give you an additional 15% off.   (You can set the ordering interval to 6 months which will give you that long to decide you don’t want them to automatically send you another box. And it’s easy to turn off my just logging into your Amazon account.) Make sure you “clip” the coupon for $1.50 off just under the ordering area. Your total should be just around $13.89, depending on what size diapers you order it may go up or down by just a few cents. Your Amazon Mom account will provide you with FREE shipping .

  Active duty military from any of the five service branches, active members of a reserve or National Guard unit, and/or up to three direct dependents can get FREE admission to Sea World once a year . The tickets are good for one complimentary single-day admission per person, per year, to one of the following SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment parks: o SeaWorld Orlando, San Diego, or San Antonio o Busch Gardens Tampa Bay or Williamsburg o Sesame Place o Adventure Island o Water Country USA Simply fill out this form here and print a copy to take with you. If you are unable to do this, you can request a copy of this form at the ticket kiosk. These tickets are not valid for separate ticketed events including Christmas Town at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens Tampa and A Very Furry Christmas at Sesame Place. Take advantage of this offer through 12/31/2011. Operating days and hours vary by park. Please check with specific park...

Target has two samples right now – a FREE beauty sample bag and a sample of Poise hourglass pads . These kinds of samples go quickly so I always grab them as soon as I see them.

  This is a fun way to earn your $10 gift card at Ebates . Make a $25 qualifying purchase and you will get your $10 gift card from Ebates plus any qualifying cash back. Today only Children’s Place is offering a coupon code for 20% off your entire purchase with the code Y6E2011 and FREE Shipping on any order . In addition, by going through Ebates you will get 2.5% of your purchase back. Your transaction would work out something like this: 1. Register or Login to Ebates . 2. Search for The Children’s Place . 3. Purchase at least $25 of clothing after your 20% off code – so you’re looking at about $30 worth of items. 4. Get FREE shipping at checkout. 5. In about a week, you should see your 2.5% cash back (or about $.60 on a $30 purchase) in your Ebates account and your $10 gift card should be mailed to you. It’s not too late to sign up for the gift card promotion so if you’re interested you can still get this deal – just start by heading over to Ebates right...

  Divine Consign – the enormous consignment sale held at the Plano Center (75/Central) – is having their 75% off sale today from 8 a.m. to noon. They are the only consignment sale that I go to that does this additional discount and it’s one of my favorite times to shop. All you need to know is Everything that says "Discount: Yes" AND has an "X" in the bottom right corner of the tag will be 75% off on Tuesday. Come check it out and scoop up those last few great bargains. See you there!

If you signed up for the Ebates $10 gift card promotion , you have a limited amount of time to make a $25 qualifying purchase and receive your card. I’ve been keeping an eye out for great deals to make this worth your while, and I think I may have found one. Right now if you go through Ebates , you can get 9% cash back on any purchase from Under Armour . On top of that they are having a 50% sale and FREE 3-Day Shipping with the code FREE3 . There is no minimum purchase to qualify for FREE shipping, but you will need to make a $25 purchase to qualify for your $10 gift card. Here is what I am looking at doing: 1. Log in to Ebates (or register if you haven’t done so yet)   2. I ordered one of each of these Ebates for $12.99, so my total was $25.98. 3. I got FREE shipping so my total was $25.98. 4. In a short time, I will receive 9% of my purchase or close to $2.50 back in cash back to my Ebates account. As well I will get a $10 gift card in the mail to...

Giggle sells all kinds of kids items – clothing, toys, accessories, and more. You can get $10 FREE towards your first purchase there. Let us know if you find anything stupendous! Enter the code GIGGLEFRIEND11 at checkout to receive $10.00 off your next order!

Sorry, we were having some technical difficulties with the YoCrunch giveaway. But they appear to have been fixed, so if you haven’t entered, yet, now is the time! http://www.melissastuff.com/2011/08/greek-yogurt-tried-yo-crunch.html You need javascript enabled to see this giveaway .

$9 – Negative Ion Bands (Retail Value of $34.99) If you still haven’t gotten your FREE negative ion band, you need to get yours today. This deal ends tonight. For FREE, I think it would be worth trying these out and seeing if they really are able to help with the physical things they are reported to counter. How do the power bands work? Power Bands produce a high amount of negative ions. Negative ions are produced by natural sunlight and are present in cleaner air. They are important because they help neutralize the harmful effects of positive ions in your body. Many of the electronics you use in your daily life pollute your environment with positive ions which can be harmful to your body. Too many positive ions interfere with our natural electrical balance and slow down blood circulation. This can often make you feel tired and unbalanced. The power bands work to counteract this effect with the release of negative ions. Are they safe? Power bands are a safe and...

$14 for $28 worth of Customized Stickers You can spend $14 and get 80 – 2 inch stickers with your wording or logo on them. These kind of custom stickers can be really expensive so to pay $.17 a sticker is good. If you haven’t used your $10 FREE credit (all you have to do is sign up for a SaveMore account), you can get 80 stickers for just $4 – or just $.05! You can also adjust the size and type of sticker to get more quantity or higher quality. Super fun – I think Clean It Out needs some stickers. If you are a returning SaveMore customer , you can support MelissaStuff by using this link .

I have lived in Dallas my whole life – okay so we detoured to Waco of all places for a couple of years but that led to family friendships and ultimately my hubbie so okay, whatever. And I did go to college in Greenville, South Carolina. But that’s just like going on an extended vacation, you don’t really live there. (My experience might have been a bit more like going to prison, but again, whatever.) In all my years of living and eating in the DFW area, I have never heard of a place called Sweet Tomatoes. But, a group of bloggers went over to the one in Arlington this week and I was able to try out their food. If you have ever visited a Souper Salad, Baja Fresh, or a place like that then you know what to expect at Sweet Tomatoes. The salad bar was impressive. The selection of ingredients as well as several already prepared salads was unequaled in my experience. The salad was definitely my favorite part of the meal. Next were the pizza bar, the soup bar, the ice cream bar and ...

$9 – Negative Ion Bands (Retail Value of $34.99) Have you gotten your FREE negative ion band yet? The deal runs through Sunday, August 28th. For FREE, I think it would be worth trying these out and seeing if they really are able to help with the physical things they are reported to counter. How do the power bands work? Power Bands produce a high amount of negative ions. Negative ions are produced by natural sunlight and are present in cleaner air. They are important because they help neutralize the harmful effects of positive ions in your body. Many of the electronics you use in your daily life pollute your environment with positive ions which can be harmful to your body. Too many positive ions interfere with our natural electrical balance and slow down blood circulation. This can often make you feel tired and unbalanced. The power bands work to counteract this effect with the release of negative ions. Are they safe? Power bands are a safe and natural form of t...

Headed to drop off my items at the Divine Consign Sale at the Plano Center . This sale is seriously huge and probably doesn’t need my two cents, but if you want the details you can check their site out here . Get back to you later with some deals for the day . . .

Not eating out as much will automatically save your budget megabucks . . . but if you use the crock pot to cook , you’ll save even more! You won’t be paying for the oven to be on – that’s especially helpful in Texas where it’s been over 100 for more days than I can keep up with this summer. And having it ready and waiting will alleviate feeling too tired to cook and resorting to picking up fast food or ordering pizza. If you’re looking for some awesome slow cooker recipes , join me over at Crock Pot Girls on Facebook . I am excited about trying out their recipes.

Someone asked me the other day about the best way to convert old pictures and videos to digital format. If you have ever been into photography or home movies, you probably have the same issue. There are several options – for old photos that no longer have film negatives, you can actually take them to Target and/or Walmart where you can set them in a scanner by the stack and it will scan them all into the computer and burn them to a disc. This is fairly inexpensive method, but also not so polished. You definitely may have some marks, dust spots, etc. or a picture or two may get scanned slightly crooked, the color isn’t always great . . . you get the idea. If you would rather just outsource it and have someone else do it for you so you know it is done correctly, here are several options: Plum District : $24 for $65 from ScanCafe (use code Plumeverywhere at checkout to get this price) And don’t forget to enter to win the 4 Fandango Movie Tickets from Plum District being g...

Plano Balloon Festival tickets are on sale for $3 right now. They are normally $5, if you have several members in your family or in the group going to the festival in the end that could save you a good deal. Please don’t forget to buy these tickets if you are planning to attend. Last year, I posted this and right before the event I had flocks of people looking for the discount and trying to get a good deal, but it was LONG over by then. This even is held the weekend of September 16 – 18. Enjoy!! Thanks MyCrazySavings !

Eversave has extended its FREE $10 credit for one more day. If you are looking for a deal to use it on, here are your options: Today's Save: DCP Sylvan Learning Today's Save:$69 for an assessment and three tutoring sessions with DCP Sylvan Learning ($349 value) Expires 11:59 PM - Aug 29, 2011 Bonus Save: World Resorts International Today's Save:$399 for a seven-night stay at your choice of over 500 resorts (up to $1,200 value) Expires 11:59 PM - Aug 29, 2011 Bonus Save: The Mesotherapy Center Today's Save:$55 for a rejuvenating IPL laser facial at The Mesotherapy Center ($300 value) Expires 11:59 PM - Aug 27, 2011 Bonus Save: Salon 1580 Last Chance:$42 for full highlights or a single-process col...

  Fun sale at Disney right now – these girl’s Lovely Belle pajamas are on sale for just $7.99 .               Or you can get these stretchies . . . which are my favorite . . . for only $5.99 . Of course, I’m drawn to the adorable boys pajamas . Don’t forget today is also the last day to get FREE shipping on your entire order if you buy a Halloween item from the Disney store .