Giveaways

Literally the day after James was born, Papa Murphy’s approached me to see if I’d like to try some of their pizza, specifically their new Mini Murphs. If you’ve never heard of them, Papa Murphy’s is a take-and-bake pizza chain. You go in, order your pizza, and they assemble the dough and toppings. You take the pizza home and bake it at your convenience.

I’d never tried Papa Murphy’s before, but my mom had good things to say, so I figured I’d give it a go. Having a new baby in the house is a great reason to outsource dinner!

A couple days later, I received a lovely package via UPS. Inside was a heavy-duty pizza cutter, a really nice 12″ x 20″ Bamboozle pizza peel, a $30 Papa Murphy’s gift card, and a $20 Target gift card. To say I was overcome by the gift pack would be an understatement!

A few nights later, we ordered a large Cowboy Pizza for Jason and me, and a cheese Mini Murph for Simone. The service was unbelievably fast! We paid about $18 for both. Simone was very excited to put together her own pizza, and it was just the right size for little kids to share or for older kids to have their own pizza. I appreciated that it wasn’t super messy for Simone to make, and she had fun eating the pizza she “cooked.” I tried to get a photo, but she was too eager to eat!

Cowboy Pizza

Our Cowboy Pizza (red sauce, pepperoni, sausage, mushrooms, olives, and an herb and cheese blend) was good, but the crust left a little something to be desired. It was a bit bland—the crispiest parts were the tastiest—and paled in comparison to my homemade pizza dough. the toppings were piled on, though, and tasted yummy and fresh.

Gourmet Chicken Garlic before baking

About a week later, we used the rest of our gift card to order the Gourmet Chicken Garlic on thin crust dough. The toppings were SO good! Creamy garlic sauce, juicy chicken, tomatoes, green onions, and an herb and cheese blend tasted fabulous together. However, the crust was limp and only crispy on the outermost edges, even though the pizza was certifiably “done” (I even baked it on a pizza stone). The toppings were so fabulous that it didn’t ruin the pizza, but a crispy thin crust would have made the pizza transcendent.

Cookie dough! Don’t mind the ruler, infant gas drops, and flooring sample on the counter…

We also ordered 16 oz of chocolate chip cookie dough ($4) which baked one large cookie sheet full. They were delicious! Crispy on the edges, chewy on the inside, and wonderfully buttery.

I was impressed by how little trash our pizzas produced: just a thin cardboard circle and a little plastic wrap. Not perfect, but even making pizza from scratch isn’t usually a zero-waste endeavor.

Papa Murphy’s has generously agreed to give away the same gift pack to one lucky reader. The winner will receive:

• One pizza cutter
• One pizza peel
• $30 Papa Murphy’s gift card
• $20 Target gift card

To enter to win, just leave a comment on this post before noon on Wednesday, March 21, telling me your favorite kind of pizza. I will choose a winner using Random.org.

This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to commenter Jennifer Wear!

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A few weeks ago Kristen, otherwise known as The Frugal Girl, asked me if I would be interested in reviewing and possibly giving away a copy of her new ebook. It’s called Reuse, Refresh, Repurpose, and it’s all about how to make the most of your old clothing. Since my go-to method for dealing with old clothes is to get out my scissors and cut them into rags (and our rag pile is overflowing as it is), I said “yes” right away!

The projects in Reuse, Refresh, Repurpose are arranged loosely from easiest to hardest, which makes for nicely intuitive browsing. I found the first few tips fairly obvious, but I guess we all start somewhere, so I can’t judge—there was a time when I simply threw away old clothes that were unfit for donation. And the great ideas in the rest of the ebook made up for the few I wasn’t as thrilled about.

I felt so inspired after reading Kristen’s ebook that I decided to investigate my mending pile. For me, “mending pile” is a pretty generous term. It houses easily-fixable items like socks with tiny holes or shirts with missing buttons, but there are always a few things that are stained beyond recognition, or clothing I can’t wear anymore but also can’t bear to part with.

So when I found a simple red t-shirt that shrunk in the wash, I decided to use one of Kristen’s ideas and make a t-shirt bag.

When I dug out the sewing machine I scored on freecycle a couple years ago, I realized the needle was broken. Yes, I am embarrassed to admit that I’ve still never actually used the sewing machine! I didn’t have the time or inclination to go pick up a new needle right then, so I decided to just hand-stitch the bag and hope for the best. It only took me about half an hour, and nobody’s going to be looking that closely. (Also, that half hour was time spent supervising Simone’s bath…yay for productive multitasking!) Obviously, it would have gone much faster with a working sewing machine.

The bag looked a little plain at first, so I decided to try another one of Kristen’s ideas and embellish the bag with a fabric flower. I dug through my pile of fabric scraps and settled on a red and white polka dot print. It took me about five minutes to gather my materials on the way out the door to a prenatal appointment, and I was able to stitch the flower together and attach it to the bag in the car. Obviously, my husband was driving at the time.

I think it turned out pretty cute!

All of our other reusable bags are huge (with plastic inserts to make the bottoms extra sturdy), which is great for groceries…but not so good for when I need to run a quick errand. And that’s leaving aside the fact that I always forget our reusable bags at home during non-grocery outings anyway. So, I’m happy that this t-shirt bag can be rolled into a tiny ball and stashed in my purse. It’s already come in handy a few times.

Overall, I’ve been really impressed with Reuse, Refresh, Repurpose, and I’m eager to try my hand at a few more projects!

If you’d like to win a copy of Kristen’s ebook, just leave a comment here before noon on Thursday, January 19th, telling me your favorite thing to do with old clothes. I’ll pick a winner using Random.org and Kristen will send you your free copy!

I received a free copy of Reuse, Refresh, Repurpose to review, but was not otherwise compensated for my review or for hosting a giveaway. I just love Kristen’s blog and enjoyed her ebook immensely!

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This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to winner Kathy L!

Money Saving Mom was one of the very first frugal blogs I started reading. Many of my former favorites have come and gone, but I still read Crystal’s blog regularly.  When I was given the opportunity to review an advance copy of her new book, The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, I jumped at the chance!

Like her blog, Crystal’s book is an easy, engaging read. It’s aimed at those who are just starting out on their money-saving journeys, but I still found a lot of her advice very helpful—even as someone who’s already made frugality a way of life.

Take goal-setting, for example. I love to make goals…but I often don’t write them down anymore. And when I don’t write them down, I either forget them or neglect to make them a priority. Well, Crystal has something to say about that:

If you often feel like you are spinning your wheels and getting nowhere financially, this one step [writing down your goals] will change everything about how you view your money. Writing down your goals focuses your energy and allows you to start moving forward toward a specific target….Post your goals in a conspicuous location and review them often.

Last month my husband and I had a detailed discussion about our current financial goals, and afterward, I wrote them down on a sheet of paper with plenty of room for noting our progress. I placed it in the front pocket of my homemaking binder (another idea of Crystal’s!), which means that I see it each and every day. It’s definitely improved my motivation!

The The Money Saving Mom’s Budget also has detailed chapters regarding paring down clutter, using coupons, lowering your grocery bill without using coupons, managing your time, and creating a budget. The appendix features several very handy worksheets to help you set goals, manage your time, and make a budget. I love that she has two different sets of instructions and worksheets for budgets: The Bare-Bones Budget (for beginners), and The Full-Fledged Budget (for those who are ready for more complicated money-tracking).

The last chapter of the book is about choosing contentment. It features my all-time favorite post of Crystal’s, Less is More: Lessons From Our Little Basement Apartment, and a few words on why choosing contentment is a must no matter your financial position. I only wish that chapter had been longer!

If you would like to win a copy of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, please leave a comment on this post before noon on Monday, December 19th. I will choose a winner later that day and the book will be mailed to you upon release in January.

I received a free advance copy of this book, but all opinions are my own.

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