Month: May 2014

Keeping Groceries in Track with the Longos Mobile App #cbias

I am a member of the Collective Bias Social Fabric Community. This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper amplification for Collective Bias and its advertiser.

What is the number one item you have on you at all times? If you are anything like me it is your smart phone. My smart phone has mobile apps that keep track of my appointments, connect me to work, remind me of important dates and keep track of my to do lists. This is crucial for me. Our day to day life is constantly on the go and without my mobile apps I would be lost. One of the hardest things to keep track of? Groceries! Between school lunches and soccer practices by mid week our pantry begins to look bare. With the Longos mobile app I am able to add items to my grocery list as I notice they go missing – no more waiting to get home and add it to the list on the fridge (which never seems to remain on the fridge for very long?!).

Grocery items count for the largest expenditure in our variable budget in our house so I always like to make sure I am not only getting the best deal but not double purchasing items, letting produce go to waste or making frequent trips to the grocery store. In the past I used to go to the trouble of waiting for my flyers to come in the mail, making a written list and then combining that with my written running list that I kept on my fridge (if it wasn’t lost somewhere along the way!). I spent a lot of time doing this and half the time I would forget items.

The Longos Mobile App (which is free!) allowed me to browse all categories that they carry in store (from bakery to cleaning to vitamins!) at my own convenience through my smart phone. This meant I could browse and add items from my desk at work (where I usually remember forgotten grocery items and then subsequently forget them again), at the soccer field, waiting to pick my kids up from school – I was no longer tied to writing my lists down at home. Each item also shows it’s current or sale price and a rating from other customers. I was even able to scan my products at home to see whether or not my local Longos carried them – which I may or may not have had a lot of fun scanning multiple items in our house! If you still love paper you can even email yourself a copy of the list to print out and bring in store with you. You can also connect your Thank You Rewards card to maximize in store savings.

I could now head out to Longos as part of the #CollectiveBias campaign at my own convenience with my handy list on my mobile app. All I had to bring was my purse, myself and with two kids in tow trust me this was to our advantage!

I was able to hand off my mobile list to my kids who were then in charge of ensuring we picked up every item on our list. Our youngest (who is not old enough to read) loved that he could still take part as the list is partially visual with a picture of the item so he was able to pick out items based on this (don’t you just love little shoppers?!!). This actually improved our overall shopping experience as I am sure many of you can relate to – shopping with children can be a nightmare unless they really feel involved.

Having a mobile list to compare prices to and quickly scan through actually sped up the whole shopping process. We were able to easily identify the items we needed, confirm the price and move on. It almost turned into a game for the kiddies.

Just like that we had a successful shopping trip! Every item on our list was picked up and then removed from our list, the boys thought it was the most incredible game ever, snacks for school lunches were picked up as well as some for Mom and Dad – success!

What kind of strategies do you use at home to keep track of groceries? Would mobile apps fit into your life easier?

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Broadway Nails imPRESS Press-on Manicure #review

I love getting my nails painted and hands looking spruced up especially as I am very hand on my hands. With two boys living at home I am sure you can imagine! I definitely do not get the opportunity to have my nails done usually due to time constraints, the cost of getting my nails done and the constant worry that I will break them.

I was stoked to try out the Broadway Nails imPRESS manicure set from Influenster. I was given two sets to try out – a solid pink and a lace styled one.

I didn’t have anywhere special to go to (except work and soccer practices!) so I started off with the solid pink. The directions were very simple to read, the nails were easy to apply, there were enough of each size that it fit perfectly on my nails. I was doing really great with them (the package states it can last up to a week) until end of day on day two when I went to wash and style my hair – two of them fell off.


Overall I was pretty impressed with the imPRESS press on manicure – it was easy to use, affordable, convenient and removal was easy. These would be the perfect solution to a night out on the town or last minute get togethers where you have little time to get ready.

Disclosure: I received the above mentioned product as part of the Influenster program. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Quilts of Love | A STITCH AND A PRAYER – Kindle HDX Giveaway & “Quilting Bee” Facebook Party!

Don’t miss this month’s Quilts of Love book, A Stitch and a Prayer, by Eva Gibson. A quilt becomes a labor of love for a lonely wife mysteriously separated from her young husband.

Celebrate May’s release by entering to win a Kindle HDX and RSVP for the Quilts of Love “Quilting Bee” Facebook party with the Quilts of Love authors.

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One winner will receive:

  • A Kindle HDX
  • A Promise in Pieces by Emily Wierenga
  • A Stitch and a Prayer by Eva Gibson
  • Rival Hearts by Tara Randel

Enter today by clicking one of the icons below. But hurry, the giveaway ends on June 17th. Winner will be announced at the “Quilting Bee” Facebook party with Emily Wierenga, Loree Lough, and Tara Randel. RSVP for an evening of book chat, quilting tips and tricks, prizes, and more!

RSVP today and spread the word—tell your friends about the giveaway via FACEBOOK or TWITTER and increase your chances of winning.

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Spider Man: Character Encyclopedia #DKCanada #MayBoutique

Our youngest son is a HUGE Spider Man fan! He loves his super heroes but there is something special about Spidey that he just loves.

Spider Man is one of the most famous super heroes and is part of the Movie Maniacs May Boutique at DKCanada. DKCanada also has up to 30% off at their Movie Maniacs May Boutique this month so if you haven’t taken advantage of this you really should!

The Spider Man Character Encyclopedia takes a closer in depth look at the famous Spider Man. The Encyclopedia contains more than 200 of Spider Man’s friends and foes as well as tons of facts on the famous Spider himself. Each profile is full facts, statistics and original comic book art!

Our son loved his character encyclopedia. He learned about the different versions of Spider Man and all his friends. Some of them were new to me but most of them I knew (which they were proud of). The comic art was incredible – I felt like I was going back in time looking at the art. He fell in love with the whole book and we are still slowly working our way through the book at bed time with him.

Disclosure: I received the above featured book free of charge in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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Marvel Avengers: The Ultimate Character Guide #MayBoutique #DKCanada

DKCanada is celebrating Movie Maniacs in the May Boutique with a fantastic line up of guides and books that will suit all ages.

I was able to surprise my kids with the Marvel Avengers: Ultimate Character Guide last week and they were over the moon!

The Ultimate Character Guide comes in a hardcover format and contains all the Avengers from super heroes to super villains. The guide takes you in alphabetical order and gives you details about their powers, weaknesses, enemies and origins.

We loved how the Guide encompassed many years of Avenger history – there are characters that we had no idea who they even were prior to reading this book together! There are plenty of bright, colourful pictures to keep our youngest entertained as we read through the book. Our eldest loved how each character was broken down and all the special information on each character that was given. The book comes in a hardcover which I love as my youngest tends to rip the covers of his superhero books (not on purpose but when he brings them to bed with him soft cover books covers rip easily).

You can now purchase a copy at the May Boutique Movie Maniacs at 30% off!


Disclosure: I received the above mentioned book at no cost in order to facilitate this review. All opinions expressed are my own.

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