Kitchen Makeover on a Budget

Want to makeover your kitchen but don't have the money?  There are some simple ways to update your kitchen for pennies on the dollar!

See how outdated our kitchen was?  It made me crazy.  When we moved in we learned there had been one home insurance claim previously on our home, it was for the countertops.  The previous owners got insurance money and used it for small white tile countertops with white grout.  Seriously?  Who does that?  Word of advice - never get small tile countertops especially with white grout if you have children.  You will waste your life away scrubbing your countertops.  

Not only did I hate the countertops but I hate the builders grade oak cabinets - they just look so average to me and the white paint had been around too long.  I love having color, not just white in my house!  To top it all off see those two dining room windows?  The lack of trim around them just made them look ----  naked, boring, blah.  Our floor was also something I had wanted to replace as whoever previously installed it made sure there were gaps all through out so we would always have dirt built up in the gaps.

I finally convinced my husband we should buy a stainless steel dishwasher and microwave and that is where the kitchen model began.  After installing these we noticed the hose under the dishwasher must not be on tight because our kitchen flooded, and ruined the floor, which meant I also got to replace the flooring - luckily there was linoleum under the laminate so it didn't ruin the subfloors but the water wasn't very nice to our old laminate floor so it had to be replaced.

After replacing the laminate it was too "yellow" with those builder grade cabinets, so we refinished the cabinets with General Finishes Gel Stain (you can buy that on amazon here or if you don't want to use my affiliate link just go to Amazon and search for the product) and then we added some fairly basic cabinet hardware.

I was already liking it better but those countertops really had to go.  They had always been my least favorite part of my house.  So I convinced my husband that Granite Countertops were a necessity.

Yes, I know that all my photos have laundry baskets in the kitchen - another pet peeve with my house.  The laundry room is right by the kitchen, and not very big.  All the bedrooms are upstairs and we usually end up with laundry baskets sitting right by the kitchen - one day I will come up with a project to fix that....  but for now an updated kitchen will do!

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OneKingsLane.com Coupon Code

Starting Tuesday, August 22nd One Kings Lane will be running an awesome 2-day sale. To save 20% site wide just use coupon code OKLSHARE20 - there are some exclusions but once you enter the code the items on the site that are eligible will show the discounted price. Happy Shopping!


* Post contains affiliate links

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Current Sweepstakes & Giveaways

Airheads Candy Giveaway
Daily Giveaway Alert is giving away AirHeads bites Candy to 500 randomly selected subscribers.  Ends 12/31/15

Glade Holiday Giveaway
Make joy, invite joy, and feel joy with Glade®. Then, enter to win money to give joy to a charity of your choice. Everyone gets a coupon for $2.00 off Glade Holiday Scents! 

Beauty Box Sweepstakes
Enter to win a year's worth of beauty boxes! Weekly winners will receive a SampleMeMore Beauty Box ($50 Value) and a Visa Gift Card with a face value of $110.00 which may be used to purchase a full year of annual beauty subscriptions or other item(s) of winners choice. Sweepstakes ends 1/5/16.

AARP Life Reimagined $10k Sweepstakes
Create a simple plan that will help you unlock your full potential and you could win $10,000 to make your dreams a reality. It's time to live the life you've always wanted. Get started today!

JustFab Holiday in Heels Sweeps
Enter the JustFab Holiday in Heels Sweeps for a chance to win a free pair of shoes! Sweepstakes ends Dec. 5th. 2015.

Bing Rewards - Microsoft Sweepstakes
Join Bing Rewards and enter for a chance to win the new Surface Book, Microsoft Band, Lumia 950XL or a custom Fallout 4 Xbox One prize pack. Plus, search daily with Bing to earn credits for popular gift cards. Sweepstakes ends 12/7/15.

Perdue Crew - Calendar Giveaway
Now through December 30th Perdue Crew is giving away 1,000 more PERDUE® 2016 Calendars! They're also giving away American Express Cards valued from $25-$100! Sign up today!

AARP Win@Work Sweepstakes
Wherever you are in your work life – looking for a new job, thinking about a second act, or wanting to learn a new skill - AARP is here for you. Take advantage of our tools, expert insight and articles that can help you stay connected, competitive, and current – let's go! Enter for your chance to win the $10,000 Grand Prize! We're also giving away a $25 Visa® gift card every day. Good luck! Sweepstakes is open to ages 45 and up. Ends 1/31/16 at 11:59 PM ET.

Diapers for a Year Weekly Giveaway
Join for a chance to win Free Diapers for a Year! Weekly Winners!

Shopper's Voice - Consumer Research Center - US
Speak your mind. Make a difference. Earn rewards. Influence the companies behind the products and services you love. You will be eligible for exclusive rewards like free samples, money-saving coupons and special offers tailor-made for you. You’ll also be entered to win $10,000 cash in the Shopper’s Voice® sweepstakes and qualify for the draw for 1 of 12 monthly prizes of a $500 gift card!

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Amazons New Fire Tablet and Coupon Code (bringing price down to $41.66 each)

Amazon has released a new Fire Tablet. I've already received my order and tested it out, they seem like they will work quite well for the kids! We currently have a Kindle Fire HDX that was closer to $150-200 that they all fight over but at $49.99 each we decided to get each of the kids their own tablet for Christmas (yes, I know it's kind of sad that I'm already Christmas shopping).

If you are in the market for a tablet - especially if you don't need one with a ton of memory, etc. I would highly recommend the new Fire tablet, other than the size being a tad smaller I think it is very comparable to my Kindle Fire HDX.

Right now if you Buy 5 tablets you get the 6th one free with code FIRE6PACK - making it $249.95 total for 6 tablets - or - $41.66 each! The first tablet we bought our kids was close to this price and it was worthless. To get a tablet that works as great as this one does, allows them to watch movies, use the kindle app, etc for under $50 is quite the deal! We plan on giving some to our Sub for Santa families this year too! So if you are as crazy as me and already starting your Christmas shopping now might be a good time to grab these while you can get a free one!

You can also buy 4 cases and get 2 free right now with code CASES6PACK - on these eligible cases.

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Women can use power tools too

I was talking to a neighbor the other day about some home improvements I was doing and she was convinced she could not do something like that.

Wake up women! We give birth, we raise children, we work, we stay home, we are STRONG and I promise you women are very capable of using power tools! Especially with the internet around, we can figure out how to do almost anything we want done and can most likely do it! I will be posting some of my recent home makeovers soon and how easy they are to do.

My husband usually has no desire to do a honey-to-do list by the time he gets home so most of the improvements I have started doing myself (and save more difficult things, or tasks with heavy items for his honey-to-do list).

We have remodeled our kitchen, bathrooms, trimmed out the windows, built-in closet organizers just to name a few. I really want to try some DIY Beadboard or DIY Wainscotting soon. Not to mention we bought a cabin that needs an AMAZING amount of work (probably enough to last a lifetime) so look for more posts to come and know that you all can do any of them and much much more!

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Don't worry I will be back........

I hate to say I am putting blogging on hold for a minute....  or I guess not a minute - for an undetermined amount of time. 
I will be back but it won't be for a little while, with some family issues right now I am needed else where.  I love all of my great readers but family comes first - be assured I will be back but have some other things that need my attention for the time being!

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ABC Favors - Get Great Party Favors

When it comes to finding a good selection of baby shower favors, you won't be able to find a better place than ABC Favors. They offer a huge amount of the type of party favors and paper goods that you will need to throw a memorable and yet still affordable baby shower for yourself or your loved ones. The customization options available at ABC Favors are some of the best around. You make changes to colors and fonts as well as choosing the designs you like best for your favors, candy bar wrappers and assorted baby shower decoration items. The amount of different baby shower favors available is great. There are items that almost every shop carries, like water bottle labels and candy wrappers. But ABC Favors also carries a good amount of unique items like cans of lip balm and bookmarks that can be customized as well. Shipping times are great, especially if you are in a hurry. Many of the custom and personalized items available at ABC Favors can be shipped out from their warehouse in 1-2 business days. One of the unique baby shower favors at ABCFavors.com is the collection of different cookies. These sweet treats are a neat way to show your guests that you care while still giving them something they will be talking about for years to come. The cookies come in both large and small sizes, so that they can be a gift to the mother-to-be or just for the guests of the baby shower.

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Men's Leather Jackets

If you are in the market for a leather jacket, luxurylane.com is the one and only website you need to visit. This particular website has everything you could ever want in a site that sells leather jackets. Once you make a purchase from luxurylane.com, you will immediately see why it is such a great website and will wonder to yourself why you have not been shopping there all along. The best reason why luxurylane.com is such a great place to shop for a leather jacket is the wide selection of jackets they carry. Not only does this website carry a large selection of jackets, it carries them in a wide variety of styles, colors and models. If you are looking for leather motorcycle jackets for men, then luxurylane.com is the website for you. In addition to offering an outstanding selection of leather jackets, luxurylane.com also offers free shipping every day of the week. This really cuts down on the costs associated with buying leather jackets online as you do not need to factor in the costs of shipping into your final price like you would if you were to shop at another online store. Offering free shipping makes luxurylane.com a very convenient shopping option. Also, the online retailer offers free returns as well, making it extremely easy to return your leather jacket if you do not like the way it looks or fits when you receive it at home. Free returns makes shopping at luxurylane.com a risk free venture, which is why so many people love shopping at this online retailer.

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A Step Above the Rest - Kolcraft MLB Step Stool Review

I am sure all of you huge baseball fans that read my Kolcraft MLB Stroller Review have already run out and got one to show of your favorite team!  Well I have great news Kolcraft is now offering some other fun MLB Products.  Such as the MLB Potty Seats & MLB Step Stools!

We got our MLB Boston Red Sox Step Stool last week & despite how much daddy & brother love the Red Sox my daughter was a little hesitant.  She has her Dora the Explorer Step Stool but I assured her we could try this one out for a day or two & then get Dora back out. 

The winner was the MLB Step Stool!  No matter how much my daugher loves Dora this one is just so much more functional (plus Daddy & Brother telling her how cool it was might have helped a little bit.)  The major factor that made this step stool a definite keeper was the fact it has two steps.  Our sink is rather tall & normal step stools make my daughter barely reach with much to be desired.  Kolcraft has solved that problem & put their MLB Step Stools a step above the rest!  I love it because now when she brushes her teeth there isn't tooth paste all over the edge of the sink, she loves it because she can reach so much better (and actually see in the mirror now), and Dad & Brother love it because it represents the best team in Baseball - The Boston Red Sox!

If you are looking for a step stool that will last forever which amazing quality, an extra step, and your favorite team displayed then the Kolcraft MLB Step Stools are most definitely the only way to go!

Step Stools are available in the for the following MLB Teams:
New York Yankees, Chicago Cubs, Texas Rangers,  Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, & San Francisco Giants!

GO RED SOX!

Disclosure:  I was not paid for this review.  I received the above step stool to facilitate my review & all opinions are still my 100% honest opinion! 

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Do NOT Surrender Your Life Insurance Policy

With the struggles of the economy right now many people are allowing their life insurance policies to lapse or surrendering their policies.  This is a horrible option!  You have paid into your life insurance policy and there is no reason to surrender your policy and receive no benefit from it.

I love Dave Ramsey, I swear by the Dave Ramsey plan (or common sense plan as we sometimes call it at my house).  As such a firm believer in what Dave Ramsey teaches I absolutely recommend to any of you to have a life insurance policy and to keep this policy.  For quite a small fee you can know that should the unthinkable happen your family will still be taken care of.  I would hate to think about how I will make ends meet if something happened to my husband and vise versa & am very thankful we have invested in life insurance policies for our family (though not nearly as large as I would like them).  It definitely gives us peace of mind knowing that if something did happen (god forbid) that the other would still be able to pay the house payment, put the kids in piano lessons, etc.

However, although I highly recommend to always have a life insurance policy I know there are times when this may not be possible and someone may let their policy lapse or surrender the policy.  Many people do not know they can receive A Life Settlement for their policy.  A life settlement is a simple option where a broker will sell your policy to an investor or a company and you get paid!  If for some reason you cannot pay for your policy this should be something you definitely look in to.  Like I said I would highly recommend having a policy and keeping it but if your situation prevents this do not just surrender your policy & get nothing, definitely look into life insurance settlements & get something for all that money you have put in!

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Mothers Day Gift Idea - ProFlowers.com Review & Coupon Codes

Mothers Day is right around the corner and I always start brainstorming early because I swear my parents have everything.  Plus, I have four mom's to buy for since my husband and I both come from split marriages and both dearly love our step-moms.  One of the hardest parts is mine lives in Texas, a 24 hour drive, so I ship the present and want it to be something she will truly enjoy.

I was excited when I found out I would be reviewing ProFlowers.com.  They offer a Freshness Promise on every flower they deliver - they promise that they will be fresh for seven days after arrival or it will be replaced.  Not very often do flowers stay fresh for seven days so I decided to get some flowers to review.

As the days went on they just got even prettier.  By day 2 a few of the roses were in full bloom and the lilies were starting to open as well.  By day 4 everything had bloomed open & everything looked beautiful.  There were two roses that didn't even bloom until day 5 and the bouquet lasted over the 7 days promised (about 10 days).  I absolutely loved this bouquet because when I received it there were a lot of leaves and not much flower since none had bloomed.  It was fun to see these flowers get more beautiful everyday (plus Roses and Lilies are 2 of my favorite flowers). 

I am so excited to find a company I can trust to send my mom quality gifts!  Plus, this doesn't mean I always have to send flowers.  ProFlowers has an amazing selection of gift - in fact for Mothers Day I am checking out their Mothers Day Gift Baskets because there are tons of fun ones she would love and that means I can save the Flowers idea for her birthday which is only a few weeks later.

The Dirty Truth is Proflowers made my ordering process as easy as can be.  They e-mailed me an order confirmation & a delivery confirmation.  Between their high level of customer service and their great quality it is a company I will continue to recommend.  Plus, besides the fact they already offer great prices you can use any of their great coupon codes to score an even better deal!

TO BUY:  You can purchase these beautiful bouquets, gift baskets and more at ProFlowers.com
Don't forget to use the ProFlowers Coupon Codes which can save you a bundle!


Disclosure:  I was not paid for this review.  I received a gift code to place an order to perform my review and all opinions are my own 100% honest opinions.

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LeapPad2 Giveaway

Welcome to our LeapPad2 Giveaway!

Sweet N Sour Deals, JensDapperHouse, Coupon Cousin's, My Four Littles , OhayoOkasan.com,  

Shaping Up to Be a Mom, Geek Chic Momma, and a few of us other bloggers have come together to host this awesome giveaway for you!

We are excited to be giving away a LeapPad 2!  This fun LeapPad 2 is also covered with a 2 year warranty and is sure to keep your little one busy having fun (and learning at the same time)!

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SwimZip Spring Break Giveaway & Review

I was really excited when SwimZip - especially because my baby is pasty!  My older two both have a more olive complexion like me, but our youngest definitely took after daddy & I know we are going to have to take a lot of precautions with her in the sun!  I decided this was the perfect opportunity to try out these swimsuits on my 4 year old so when the baby gets a little older I will know if this is something I would want to purchase for her.

SwimZip offers super cute swimsuits for children up to size 4T with UPF 50+ Sun Protection.  This means that the fabric is excellent at blocking the sun's UVA & UVB rays (they block 99% of these rays).  Not only is this great to prevent sunburns but it can help dramatically reduce your child's risk of skin cancer later in life.  The fabric is made of a Lycra/Nylon blend which allows for quick drying and extremely soft swimwear.  Here is a great illustration that shows many of the benefits of the SmimZip Swimsuits.

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Ipad Giveaway

This has been a LONG winter.  So let's get spring going, and kick off with an IPad Giveaway.  This giveaway is brought to you by the host,  A Little Bit of Everything.

Also brought to you by this wonderful co hosts.  Make sure to check them out.
My Four Little, Making Memories With Your Kids, Sarah SaturDIY, Life With Two Boys, Mommy Bear Media, This Girl's Life, All About the Mommies, NYSavingSpecials, Pardon My Poppet, Dutch Girl's Favorite Things, Spaceships and Laser Beams, Don't Mess with Mama, A Mans Take on Things and We Are Earthformed

Whether you want to play some games, read an e-book, enter some giveaways online, send some emails, take some pictures, listen to music, or check your facebook or twitter this Ipad will do it all!  The specs are below - this is definitely a giveaway you don't want to miss out on!

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A Giveaway to Celebrate Baseball Season in style!

In case you missed my previous review on the Kolcraft Major League Baseball Strollers you may want to go check it out!  You don't want to be out of the loop when it comes to supporting your baseball team in style and with the new line of strollers from Kolcraft you don't have to be!  They have a great new MLB line of products!

You & your little one can stroll in style with the MLB Umbrella Stroller (with canopy) offered for Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, Chicago White Sox, New York Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, San Francisco Giants, St. Louis Cardinals, or the Texas Rangers!  Additional teams will be added in the future.  Now one of America's favorite sports is associated with one of our favorite top quality baby gear brands!

We are loving our Boston Red Sox Stroller & are so excited to offer Dirty Truth Reviews Readers a giveaway of this great product!  Make sure you get your entries in on the Rafflecopter Form below for your chance to win one of these strollers & support your team in style!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 Disclosure:  I was not paid for this review and/or giveaway.  All opinions are my 100% honest opinions.  I was given the above products to facilitate my review.  Dirty Truth Reviews is not responsible for prize delivery (winners information will be forwarded to the sponsor who is responsible for the delivery of the prize).

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Great Alternative to Nursing Homes

There has been a lot going on with my grandparents and their health lately, and it has got me thinking.  Thinking about what I will do when my parents get older.  Thinking about what my children and I will do when I get older.

I never want to be a burden on my children.  I don't want them to be constantly worrying about me when they have their own children, jobs, and families to worry about.  However, the hard fact remains I do not ever want to be put into a nursing home, just as I never want to put my parents in a nursing home.  Not only do you hear all those horror stories about some of these places, but who wants to leave everything familiar to them when they get old?  Not me.  I want to be in my home, with my items, where my family can come visit anytime!

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Shoplet Officemate Products Review

With the New Year here and everyone trying to stay organized this year I was excited to try out these Officemate Products - especially because my desk is constantly cluttered.  I use a small desk in my kitchen to work from home for my job, do my blogging, pay bills, and so much more.  I am constantly trying to organize it to keep things separate and easy to go through & these products are great to help that cause!

The Officemate Recycled Rotary Organizer has 16 compartments & provides the most efficient means to store your supplies in one place.  It holds wrigint instruments, clips, notes, rulers, scissors, tape, and more.

The Officemate Portable Dry Erase Clipboard Case features a dry erase board & clipboard on the cover and opens to a large storage area for papers, forms, files, and notepads.

The Dirty Truth is these products are just what I needed.  I really liked the fact that the Rotary Organizer includes a tape dispenser because my previous tape dispenser alone almost took up the same amount of room as this whole organizer.  I loved all the room to store different products.  Although, I do wish in my case there would have been a few more areas with deeper storage since I don't have many paper clips, pins, etc.  It has been great to organize all the little things lying around my desk though!  The Portable Dry Erase Clipboard Case is so cool - there is nothing I would change about this product.  I store some batteries in it for when my wireless keyboard and/or mouse batteries need to be replaced.  It also has a spot for all the many miscellaneous papers that were floating around my desk not long ago.  I can write all the things I need to do on the front & erase them as they are done (because I'm sure you all know being a mother means this list is always long and changing)!

Both of these products have definitely helped me (and my desk area) get much more organized.  I am one to constantly make lists of things to do, places to go, reviews to write, etc. so the Dry Erase Clipboard Case is something I can't imagine not having now that I have been using it!

To Buy:  To get any of these great products & many more Office Supplies go to Shoplet.com


Disclosure:  I was not paid for this review - I received the above products to facilitate this review and all of my opinions are 100% honest & my own opinions.

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Back up your computers

This is just a friendly note to remind you all to BACK UP YOUR COMPUTERS!  Do it often & do it religiously.  I am probably over-reacting right?  I mean what are the chances of your hard drive going bad?

That is exactly what I though.....  until last week when my 1 1/2 year old computer quit working.  My husband is quite the computer guru so he quickly diagnosed it was the hard drive & after purchasing a new hard drive we were up and running again.

One week later of sticking my hard drive in the freezer (sounds silly but a lot of times it does help make it work for a little bit - long enough to try to get all that important data you never backed up) and I think I have got all the information I can off of it.

One of my photo folders just disappeared after opening it the first time - from reading on google I assume it went into a 'bad sector'.  I was heartbroken to lose all my pictures from the last year but luckily I think we recovered most of them.  However, my situation is a lucky one.  Many times you have to send your hard drive in and pay HUNDREDS to recover this data, or sometimes it cannot be recovered!

So to save you all the heart-ache that I nearly experienced I am warning you all now!  Back up any pictures or data you need!  If there is something you would be heartbroken to lose then you better back it up!  I recommend at least monthly doing a backup of your computer/pictures, etc.  Sounds like a hassle I know, but if your hard drive ever fails I promise you will be thankful you took the advise!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!  I am so happy this weather is finally starting to be good outside weather!  I am definitely over winter already - bring on the camping, & fun in the sun!

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Yoga Apparel On Sale

Right now you can score some pretty awesome deals on yoga apparel for women at RockyMountainTrail.com.

They have over 800 items currently in their clearance section - everything from water bottles, flip flops, yoga apparel, beanies, and tons more! 

Plus, when you place an order over $35 you get free shipping.  If your order is over $50 you will also receive a $10 Promotional Card!  This means depending on which items you choose you could possibly get a new Water Bottle, Flip Flops (north face), Beanie, a shirt, plus a $10 Promotional Card shipped to you for around $50! 

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TakeLessons Spring Sale - 20% off Music Lesson Packages (Coupon Code)

TakeLessons is the convenient way to find private music teachers, art instructors and academic tutors throughout the US.  They've been in business since 2006 and have worked with more than 30,000 students nationwide.  Their top priorities are safety and quality which is why they have every instructor complete an extensive interview, training, and an annual criminal background check.  They help with the scheduling, initial coordination with the instructor, and billing so getting yourself or your child quickly into lessons with a great instructor is a piece of cake!

With their online student account you can keep organized with the scheduling and billing tools.  You can also easily select if you want In Home, In Studio, or Online Lessons.  I definitely want to get my son some in studio lessons, where as I am not sure my 4 year old would do well with that - she may do better with in home lessons instead.  For me, if I ever find time to get back in to Piano Lessons it would be wonderful to be able to do the online lessons - especially since all you need is a computer with a webcam, a Skype account, and a good internet connection!

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