A Holiday Update with Comcast

Disclosure: This post is in partnership with Comcast; all opinions expressed are my own.

{Image via Comcast}

As the year ends my family and I have been putting Comcast to the test with our remote learning and working from home! We have so many devices running at any given time and as longtime Comcast customers it’s been really great to see all they’ve been up to with improvements to service and beyond. 

I’m excited to share a few updates with you so check them out…

Back-to-School with Comcast Internet Essentials

Disclosure: This post is in partnership with Comcast New England. #ad

Image via Comcast

After a local staycation, my family like many around the country are now turning our attention towards the start of the school year under the continuation of distance learning. This means that technological inequities brought up in the spring remain to be of concern for many families. Thankfully Comcast's new Internet Essentials program is bringing high speed Internet access to families in need including 60 days of free service for new Internet Essentials customers through the end of 2020.

Learn more about Internet Essentials and how to apply...

Green Up Your Linen Closet with Coyuchi for Life

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Coyuchi; all opinions expressed are my own. 

What if I told you there was a Netlfix but for linens? Yes, it now exists thanks to Coyuchi. I was first introduced to Coyuchi at my first W.E.L.L. Summit where I attended a session led by CEO Eileen Mockus on creating an ethical and sustainable home. Now more than ever with climate change being a worldwide topic, this is critical so I was thrilled to learn about Coyuchi's efforts to continue this initiative. 

Squeaky Wheel #11: Ask and Ye Shall Receive

We purchased a First Years Jet Stroller about a year ago. It's super affordable, light and easy for navigating around NYC - I still don't understand how those folks with huge $1,000 strollers get on and off the subway!

If you saw my Instagram stream last week though you may have noticed something weird about it:

Do you see it? The handlebars are missing their foam covers. They had started coming off a few months ago and Mr. Love Bird temporarily fixed them with electrical tape, but it turned super sticky. He used that instead of duct tape so it would camouflage better (this was before I remembered Duck makes it in various colors!). Well, it was an awful mess so at last he just ripped it off foam covers and all, of course without consulting me first about how this would affect my comfort level as I'm the one pushing the stroller 99% of the time O_o

With my gloves on it was making handling the stroller really tricky so I turned to Amazon to find replacement covers and saw they were just over $6 a piece. Seriously?! For a stroller that cost about $35 to me that was outrageous so I emailed the company and they wrote back in less than 48 hours that they were putting them in the mail for me:

A few days later they showed up and now we're back in business!

I have to add that I tried this method for replacement straws for Nia's Born Free Twist 'N Pop Straw Cup, but they told me it would cost me $1.50 per straw. Didn't hurt to ask though!

What slightly damaged items in your home might this "ask and receive" tactic work with?

{You can check out more posts in the Squeaky Wheel series here.}


 

Coveting Your Partner's Gadgets (and How to Get a Free Galaxy SIII)

I've had my Galaxy SIII for almost two months now and while I won't do a full product review (there are so many comprehensive reviews already out there) as a former BlackBerry user I'll share my likes/dislikes:

Likes

• Super thin and lightweight

• Crisp images and great sound

• Swipe technology

•  Doesn't freeze-up like my BlackBerries always did (however so far about 3x the lock screen has gone askew, and I've had to do a battery pull; not sure what causes that but Mr. Love Bird said it's happened to his Droid too a few times)

Dislikes

• Despite swipe, I still prefer the buttons on my BlackBerry; I could type WAY faster with fewer errors on my BlackBerry

• Battery life - despite using powersave and closing apps running in the background I still can't make through the day without having to connect it to the charger; a back-up battery or long-life battery purchase is a must!

• Can't make custom sound profiles; for example on my BlackBerry I could make it so that it'd be on vibrate except for incoming calls from Mr. Love Bird which would ring aloud

• When connected to USB the SIII's not recognized as a mass storage device. Instead there is wireless program to get the files from your phone to your computer (kinda like a cloud I guess). Compared to my BlackBerry where I could just plug my phone into the laptop, pull off what I needed and go instead I now transfer media files to my laptop so I can preview the images before adding to my blog, for example. Otherwise when the phone's plugged in you can't preview the images to tell what you're uploading. It's SO time consuming and annoying!

I do have to say for the last two dislikes I'm sure there are workarounds and I've started looking into some of them and they are very cumbersome, but I'm hoping to give them a try. That's one thing about Android is that you can really hack the phone and customize it exactly how you want. I like that, but I need time to actually do it!

Now to be honest, Mr. Love Bird was very kind to get me the Galaxy SIII especially because I knew how badly he wanted it himself, but because of our upgrade status with TMobile it worked out best for me to get mine when I did. His Galaxy is an older model and super glitchy, but it looks like he'll be getting his own SIII soon for work.

While I noticed Mr. Love Bird's envy of my SIII, it was short-lived because a few weeks ago he got this:

{Image Credit}

Now I've had a bit of envy myself especially because I've entered so many contests to win one myself. Plus Mr. Love Bird got the most souped-up model and a really sleek case/keyboard so he can tote it around and do most of his work on it. It really is a great machine! As a former iPhone user then Android fanatic, Mr. Love Bird does agree that an iPad is a superior product (we have a Droid tablet too that we love), however he does concede that he does prefer Android phones. 

I don't see a purchased iPad in my future and for now I'm content to continue to figure out my Droid, but I will keep my eye on future releases from both Android and Apple. I kinda like seeing the competition between the two!

Do you go back and forth with gadget envy with your partner? Who's more into technology and keeping up with the latest releases?

 

P.S. TMobile has a free 4G promo running November 16 and 17 only and you can get a new SIII at no charge; check out the details here. {No, I wasn't paid to say this. I'm a TMobile customer and I just so happened to see this deal.}

Product Junkie's Throwback Love Affair

I've always had an addiction to drugstores. I love toiletries and can easily get carried away simply running into CVS or Duane Reade for just a tube of toothpaste and walking out with $50 worth of products. In college I had a bad, bad shopping habit at CVS getting caught up spending hours going up and down the aisles multiple times each month. 

I was reminiscing over some of the products I've grown up with such as Bonne Belle Lipsmackers (btw I loathed the Dr. Pepper flavor) and Love's Baby Soft (I went through a period in college when I wore it again as I did when I was a child), which can still be found in drugstores. Besides standard drugstores, I also loved going to Bath and Bodyworks, which was headquartered in my hometown. One year in school we even had our holiday party there and all went home with products. I was in heaven smelling of Sweet Pea the rest of the season!

{Image Source}

I'm not really into Bath & Bodyworks, but whenever I visit my parents in Maryland I remember how obsessed I used to be over it because they still are! Yes, my mom and dad are into Bath and Bodyworks - BIG TIME. It's actually kind of fun trying to decide which scent I'll smell like each day and I'm surprised to see how the product line has evolved to be less sugary-scented or should I say, offers more than just the sugary scents (I never could stand vanilla/sugar cookie/icing type scents - YUCK!).

One of my favorite scents was pear and I was bummed when it was discontinued (as was the Kitchen Spice handsoap), but I was elated when I found Victoria's Secret carried it. That was my signature scent for years.

When I was at my parents' on Memorial Day we went to the mall and my mom had some kind of super coupon and shared the wealth with me. That's when I found my new favorite scent:

{Image Source)

After many sniffs I selected the body cream which has shea butter, jojoba oil and smells of "golden apricot, pink peonies and a hint of praline." Sounds divine, right? Well it is! I think this will be my go-to scent for the summer or maybe even bound.


Do you have a throwback love affair with a particular beauty product?

Love Birds' Top 5 Reasons You Need to Embrace Twitter

Probably Tweeting - I promise I don't while eating!

I shared how I won a free Zip Car over the Memorial Day weekend via a Twitter contest and I wanted to go in further detail as to why I love Twitter (and not just for this reason!).

I have to be honest: when I first heard of Twitter I thought, "Oh no, yet another social media fad to waste my time." My sister Ariane was on it and kept singing its praises so I decided to sign up anyway a little over 3 years ago. I hardly used the service, but when I saw people posting Twitter updates to Facebook that made me laugh or were thought-provoking I decided to re-explore it. Also, as I grow my blogging and business brands I kept reading about how important it was to have Twitter.

As I slowly embraced Twitter and now after using it for three years (more heavily in the past year), here are my top 5 reasons why it needs to be embraced:

1. News breaks on Twitter first - remember all the buzz about the guy who unknowingly live tweeted about the invasion at Osama bin Laden's compound? And when  Whitney Houston passed away I knew because of Twitter before it made it on the news. This point is also juxtaposed with the fact that there can be errors/false reports so too, remember to take tweets with a grain of salt until verified by multiple sources. 
2. It's better than Facebook - before Twitter I used to be one of those people who annoyingly constantly update their status. Twitter is just the status portion of Facebook. Limited to 140 characters it makes "status updates" to the point and often witty. You can go beyond 140 characters and there are URL shrinking tools available to "Tweet longer." Additionally, while I don't like it, there is a feed that pushes your tweets directly to Facebook. Instead I leave Facebook for more personal life updates, sharing things I find around the internet, staying in touch with friends and I use Twitter for up-to-the moment updates. So no, I don't need to post on my personal Facebook page every stinkin' thing Nia's doing or what she or I am eating for lunch, but if I want to that's what my Harlem Love Birds twitter account and Facebook page are for. Also, it's not constantly changing like Facebook. What you see is pretty much what you get!
3.  It gets you out of your comfort zone - while Facebook tends to keep you in a circle of people you know, because of hashtags (themed topics) you can find people all over the world talking about similar things or who have shared interests; for example, as a Toastmaster following the hashtag, I was able to congratulate someone on another continent, who I have never met who tweeted that they had completed their Competent Communicator. They replied and that was it. I guess it's kind of like random acts of kindness!  
4. Twitter is the city that never sleeps - I know it's supposed to be New York City or Las Vegas, but really it's Twitter. I can go on Twitter in the midst of insomnia, or when Nia was a baby, in the middle of night feedings and scroll through finding amusement and comfort. I often see moms asking each other questions - sending mini-polls out to the Twitterverse and getting great feedback. And when people are rude or annoying there's the ability to delete or mute them. I LOVE muting especially if there are spoilers on my timeline for movies, books or shows I haven't experienced yet. 
5. You can network (and win stuff too!) -  Winning that Zip Car over Memorial Day weekend was perfect timing as we had a lot of places we wanted to go and renting a car the traditional route as well as using our paid Zip Car membership was going to be pricey. I just so happened to see the contest come across my timeline, entered in less than 10 seconds and found out a day later that I had won! Zip Car is well known for their social media savviness, but there are other brands on Twitter too and they are great about responding. As my regular readers know, I am a squeaky wheel, and I am careful to give both praise and constructive criticism on Twitter and consider seeking out building branding partnerships with them. From a personal perspective, I also have a Twitter account under my real name, but I don't tweet under it - I only follow others. This is a good point to remember too especially if you work for a company that does not allow you to engage in social media. It's so valuable to even be on Twitter just to read, not necessarily tweet. Job posts and serious stuff is posted too and you can create lists to categorize your interests. It really is what you make it!

So there you have it! Wanna learn more about Twitter and understand the lingo? Check out this fantastic guide courtesy of Mashable. 

Why or why haven't you embraced Twitter? If you have, why do you like it? Ever won everything cool on Twitter? If so, please share!

Squeaky Wheel - #10

I'm getting back in the habit of including more Squeaky Wheel updates and remembered one from a few months before we left Harlem involving BJs.

We purchased our BJs membership last March starting with a trial membership we saw over on Prissy Mommy. We didn't jump right in to purchase a full membership, but did calculations and determined that we'd indeed save money by purchasing certain items in bulk and continuing to get other items at the traditional grocery store. 

One of the items we determined we could save on by purchasing in bulk was orange juice. Now this doesn't sound like a big deal but growing up both me and Mr. Love Bird came from households where juice was GOLDEN! You were only allowed specific quantities and usually only with Sunday morning breakfast. Even today when I pour a correct serving of 8oz of orange juice in front of my mom she will reprimand, "You know that's 2 servings of juice???" Seriously.

So one of the perks of leaving home for me as an adult was being the master of my own juice (and being able to buy white bread, but that's another blog post for another day!). 

Back to the squeaky wheel . . .

We noticed after the first couple times of shopping at BJs that they were out of their store brand orange juice, Wellesley Farms, which tastes so good and is substantially less than Tropicana. 

We started noticing no matter what day or time we did our monthly BJs shopping that they would be out of orange juice. OJ's a pretty basic item so I finally decided to do something about it . . .

I wrote to the company! I promptly got a call from HQ and explained the situation. They investigated, gave me the SKU # and advised I call ahead to make sure they have it in stock. Well on the next trip I called within 1 hour of our arrival, gave the SKU # and was assured there was juice on the shelves,  but when we showed up there was no juice! ARGHHH!

I contacted HQ again to let them know, they investigated again then informed me there was an error in the computer making it seem like OJ was in stock when it actually wasn't.

AHA! I knew there was something fishy going on!

They assured me that it would really be fixed and upon our next trip this is what we found:

I know it sounds corny, but I was so proud of how my persistence paid off to have OJ in stock for the masses who shop at BJs! I wanted to post a picture of myself on the door and write: "Courtesy of Quiana." 

Is there an item at your store that's always outta stock? Say something! 
 
   

Revisit: Squeaky Wheel #4

I have over 100 draft posts in my Blogger dashboard and came across this one and decided to resurrect it:  

{Photo Credit}

My squeaky wheel update 4 had been about my experience at Society Coffee. If you don't have time to click over and read the whole thing, essentially, the owner attempted to make-good on a poor review I gave on Yelp and offered me a free meal to come back and try again. I brought Mr. Love Bird with me and he definitely wasn't impressed and in all honesty, although they tried hard they failed miserably. 

Well, I guess I must've been on to something because last fall I came across the news on Harlem Bespoke that Society closed. It's a shame this happened because a little bit of effort and customer service would've gone a long way for that shop.

Mr. Love Bird and I often lament about our customer service experiences and how it really doesn't take much to outshine so many other competitors who fail miserably. 

Farewell Society, and I hope the owner learned from its mistakes and can try again. 

Have any of my readers been squeaky wheels lately? Please share!

   

I Really Don't Need a New Carry-on Bag But . . .

I'm nearly packed up for Nigeria but my carry-on will  be the final bag I pack. I have a few to choose from including a Vera Bradley that I like (I know some people loathe her but the one I have is a cool black, white and yellow bumblebee pattern) and a Banana Republic, Coach-lookalike bag. Years ago when I was in search of a specific Coach bag like the Banana one I ended up purchasing, the associate told me both companies make their bags at the same factory. Who knew!

Anyway, I definitely do not need another carry-on bag but I can't help but drool over this one (badly!):

Lo & Sons - The O.G. (Overnight & Gym) Travel Bag from Derek Lo on Vimeo.

{via Clutch Magazine}

Perhaps it's the song accompanying the video or how chic and effortless the model makes it look, but I am seriously lusting after this bag!

What's your favorite carry-on bag?

Just in Time for Our Trip!

I've been entering a ton of giveaways lately and recently told Mr. Love Bird that #1: I wanted a new carrier for Nia since she's outgrown her Moby and #2 that I was bound to win something!

Sure enough I received the following good news from Boba this week . . .

that this is on its way:

This pattern "Tweet" is the one I selected {Photo Credit}

I've heard such amazing things about the Boba and can't wait to use it with Nia on our trip. Here are a few features:

• Front and back carry options; it's usable for up to 45lbs {I'm so excited to finally wear Nia on my back!}

Boba back carry {Photo Credit}

• Removable sleeping hood
• Patent-pending removable foot straps {Nia can rest her little fat feet while I wear her like the girl in the picture above}
• Elastic bands neatly roll up straps {Dangling straps annoy me}
• Shoulder strap holders keep purses and diaper bags in place {This is genius - it's always a challenge to wear Nia and a purse}
• Converts to an infant carrier without an insert {This will be perfect for baby #2 someday . . .}
• Multiple pockets for on-the-go storage
• High quality military grade buckles

BTW Mr Love Bird kept telling me I should just wrap Nia in a bedsheet and wear her on my back O_o, but I'm so glad I was blessed with a much more stylish option!

Have any of my readers used the Boba? How do you like it?

Tech Upgrade: Movin' on Up!

For those of you who follow me on Twitter or know me in real life, you know how I LOATHED my Dell Inpsiron 5150. I wrote about it briefly before in a post on planned obsolescence.

Well I'm happy to report that we Love Birds have been blessed with two technological upgrades that go hand in hand and which will significantly improve the production quality of this blog (and kinda have already!):

{Photo Credit}

First, we bought an HP Pavilion g series; we've had it for nearly 6 months already, and it's improved how quickly I've been able to get posts up and is a dream! We absolutely love it and will never, ever, ever be getting a Dell again. Eventually, I'd like a Mac but for now it will do . . .

{Photo Credit}

Second, on Black Friday we ordered a Canon T2i as our family Christmas present. This had been a dream of mine as I see how awesome having a DSLR can be for not only capturing family memories (including our upcoming trip to Nigeria), but for upgrading the production quality of this blog. I admire fellow bloggers Baby Making Machine (especially how she's documented her photography journey!), Kelle Hampton and Cupcakes & Cashmere for their photos and look forward to doing the same here at Harlem Lovebirds.

If you want to make the leap into DSLRs I highly recommend just asking friends and random people you see with them as well as going to a store to play with them them (we went to B&H on Thanksgiving Day). We also found Snapsort to be awesome for side-by-side comparisons. Despite Canon having the newer model T3, the T2i beat the comparison test as well as every other camera we compared it to! 

So here's to improvement at Harlem Lovebirds and taking things to the next level!

 

Holiday Shopping Preview: Z Gallerie

A couple weeks ago I was reminded of Z Gallerie courtesy of a giveaway that I entered over on Centsational Girl. I had happened into this store in Soho when it used to be opened (it since closed - BOOOO!), but I'm happy to know you can still shop online.

With Christmas coming up (crazy, right?!) I wanted to share a few of my favorite finds:

Alphabet folders - I'm a sucker for cute office supplies!

Acanthus votive holders - these would look cute on a side table

Transit NYC - classic!

Harper Round Frames - these neutral frames would warm up a room with their natural texture

Rectangular Jeweled Trays - super affordable and super festive

What's your go to shop for the holidays? 

I Heart Boden

I came across Boden while attending Wellesley, and I adore their whimsical, European styles. Take a look at these pics for my (mythical!) fall wardrobe:

Lavish Tunic

Flower Hem Mini

Effortless Cable Cardigan

Shimmering Wool Coat

Patent Wedge Boots

Where are you shopping this fall?

Squeaky Wheel - #9 (with video!)

I can't believe it's been nearly a year since I wrote a Squeaky Wheel post. WOW! I have another one plus an update on a previous one coming up. I went back and spent some time looking over them and adding the label "Squeaky Wheel" to make them easier to find going forward. One quirk I noticed is that I was calling them "Squeaky Wheel - Update # . . ." Why the need for the word update? It's not like they were each building upon each other or something although a couple were so going forward I'm taking that word out.

Anyway, this Squeaky Wheel is a fun one, AND it has a video! Here goes . . .

Last month my church had a women's playgroup outing to Shake Shack. The location they chose was Madison Square Park, the original location. I was introduced to Shake Shack by my friend Mildred who now lives in Zurich. It was one of the lasting impressions she left on me before she moved abroad and boy am I ever grateful for it!

I've blogged about Shake Shack before and have visited every location in NYC except for the ones at Citi Field and Brooklyn. I've even accompanied my family to the D.C. location when we visited over the summer. When Mr. Love Bird and I go to Vegas we always go to In-N-Out Burger and a debate ensues over which is better Shake Shack or In-N-Out burger and while sometimes the recency effect comes into play overall, Shake Shack wins most of the time. Their secret blend of meat has been written about in the local press, and it is something that I am truly grateful to the cows who have scarified their lives on its behalf. It is divine!

Anyway, the lines at Shake Shack are known for being long. Whenever I take guests there I warn them that we are about to wait at least 1 hour for a burger, yes, a burger. And while they are daunted at first after they have partaken in the gloriousness that is Shake Shack they agree that it is well worth it. From the bun to the meat blend to the fresh toppings, it is one. awesome. burger.

Now for the squeaky part  . . .

Although I was prepared to wait in line something seemed off about this particular visit to Shake Shack. It was a late afternoon and the line crawled even more slowly than I was accustomed to and although we got our buzzers and they buzzed, it appeared to be another 20 minute wait after they buzzed before the food appeared. So weird! I noticed they were catering a private even adjacent to the park so I guess they were overwhelmed. Well, that wasn't all. My shake came out warm and watery and so did my sisters! It was like chocolate milk. I was SO disappointed. 

Also, the squirrels and mice were RAMPANT! Yes, this location is outdoors but for all the times I've been there I had never seen the pests this bad. People were feeding them too making it even worse. The squirrels were dangerously aggressive and mice were running all around our feet. Absolutely disgusting!

This destroyed my ability to enjoy my burger (I had given up on the shake at this point). Nia was with me and all I wanted to do was get outta there ASAP!

So, I took to Twitter and tweeted the following:

Well, a few days later I got an e-mail from the manager of the Madison Square Park location. It was quite lengthy but he essentially apologized for my experience explaining they can't help the pests, but was going to send a gift card my way. 

Wow!

About a couple weeks ago I received the gift card and note:

I invited my sister Ariane, who had gone with me to the women's group outing, to come with us Love Birds after church last Sunday. This time we went to the Upper East Side location - it was MUCH better! The best part is Shacktoberfest was going on! 

It was glorious:

We got a bratwurst burger with German slaw, 2 burgers, fries, apfelstreusel shake and a German chocolate concrete. To top it off (and further emphasize what awesome customer service Shake Shack has!) they had accidentally missed our apfelstreusel shake instead giving us 2 German chocolate shakes so they gave us our apfelstreusel shake at no charge! SWEET!

Nia had a good time too:

I Heart Amazon

I have been ordering from Amazon for years and each time I get a package you would think that it was a complete surprise seeing how excited I get! It kinda was when we had Nia's baby registry via Amazon as every few days/weeks a package would arrive in the mail. That was fun!

We order from Amazon every month (sometimes more!) and usually find very good deals there vs. retail stores and LOVE when we qualify for super saver shipping.

Here's a glimpse of our current order that I'm frantically patiently tracking obsessively waiting for:

Our can openers keep breaking so I hope this one lasts!

Upgrading to a larger/high tech slow cooker; this one is programmable and has AWESOME reviews!

Nia's showing an interest in the potty so we're gonna get her started with this one.

Not too exciting: just more cloth diaper liners (makes #2s a breeze!).

Do you order online and if so which stores? Are you obsessed with getting packages int he mail like me (c'mon fess up - I hope I'm not the only one!):

Documentary Preview: Dark Girls

I came across this preview on Black and Married with Kids for a documentary entitled Dark Girls. I've posted before about the challenges within the black community regarding the color complex: that the lighter one's skin is the better. This is part of the confusion in our society overall where tan skin is generally heralded yet "white, pasty" skin is seen as unattractive, especially in beauty industry advertising. 

For example, when I see commercials for self-tanner and bronzer it makes me very confused in the same way I was when I received a free spray tan session from my visit to the Wendy Williams Show. What if they were giving out free spray-skin bleaching sessions to make those of us who were darker skin lighter? I see no difference. Anyway, take a look at the trailer. I definitely want to see this documentary:

Dark Girls: Preview from Bradinn French on Vimeo.

What $200 Buys at Family Dollar

Ever wonder what $200 buys at Family Dollar??? Well, I'm going to tell you! I had received $200 in Family Dollar gift cards from my Wendy Williams' experience and this past Sunday Mr. Love Bird and I ventured out to Queens to use them (there aren't any Family Dollars in Manhattan). 


Here's what we purchased:

• Caress body wash
• Suave lotion
• Antibiotic ointment
• Chrome serving tongs
• Magic erasers
• Scotchbrite sponges
• Food storage set (for my sister-in-law)
• Balloon-themed paper products for Nia's 1st birthday party
• Mini-cutting board
• Gain laundry detergent
• Glade Plug-ins refills
• Kitchen towels
• Oven mitt set
• Men's dress socks
• Ambi face wash
• Aim toothpaste
• Listerine 
• 3pk plastic bowls (for Mr. Love Bird to keep at work)
• Hanes no-show socks
• Queen sheet set
• Dora placemat (for my niece!)
• Water bottle (for Mr. Love Bird's desk)
• Lighter fluid
• Charcoal
• 5 summer outfits for Nia
• 4-10x13 frames
• 2-4pk Venus dispoable blades
• 9x13 glass baking dish

Whew! A lot of these items have a back story like the sheet set since we sometimes have guests sleep over so it's good to have an extra set, potholders because my old ones were wearing thin and I had been meaning to replace them, a 9x13 glass baking dish because I already have a metal one but some recipes are better with the glass dish, etc. 

The cart was halfway full when Mr. Love Bird proclaimed that he believed that we had already spent $200. When we got to the checkout and saw that it wasn't quite $200 I had him run back to get the 10x13 frames I had seen and I threw in some razor blades. I intend to use the frames to add some color to our walls based on inspiration I saw on Young House Love. 

Anyway, the grand total was $202.01. Mr. Love Bird was very impressed!

The only casualty was the lighter fluid which we can't seem to find, but it's easy enough to pick some up next time we're at the store.

Sometimes it's nice just to get some basic household items . . . FOR FREE!

P.S. Of course it wasn't as glamorous but my Family Dollar experience reminded me of my $2,000 Macy's shopping spree courtesy of the now defunct Modern Bride Magazine in 2008. That was so fun!