Best Posts of 2012 on SamiCone.com

December 31, 2012 By sami

Can you believe it? It’s New Year’s Eve 2012! Before 2013 got here, I thought it only fitting to share some of my best posts from the following year.

It’s also interesting for me to take a look back and see what I wrote that actually resonated with you all

I suppose it shouldn’t come as a surprise to discover that most of you were looking for deals, especially when it came to travel deals & fashion deals.

It seems your favorite stores to shop at were:
*Banana Republic (especially the Banana Republic Outlet)
*Gap
*Macy’s
*Michaels
*The Children’s Place
*Old Navy
*Coach Factory Outlet
*Vera Bradley
*Pottery Barn Kids
(Did I miss any of your favorites? If so, let me know in the comments below so I can keep my eye out for deals there in the coming year)

When it comes to traveling, it’s obvious that many of you share our family’s love for Disney and maximized your trips by visiting my Disney Deals & Tips page. I was proud to able to bring you a sneak peak of the new Art of Animation Cars Suite – the latest resort on Walt Disney World property.

We also love Opryland (did you see my Opryland Christmas Must-Do post?) and was glad to see so many of you grab those ICE! ticket discounts! I was also surprised to see how many of you were looking for different ways to save at Medieval Times, but it helps that they have locations all across the country too.

I was also humbled by how many of you followed along the rough road we faced this summer as we discovered my Father-in-Law was diagnosed with a brain tumor at the begining of June and then ulitmately lost his battle with brain cancer on August 26, 2012. (You can follow the entire story of Dad Cone here). I learned so much from each of you, especially when it comes to generosity and hospitality, and compiled it all to share with others in my post “How to help when someone dies“.

You also love getting out and about with your kiddos…especially when it’s free! Lots of you went to the free Lowe’s Build & Grow workshops and the Home Depot free kids’ workshops each month.

Of course, it looked like you all had fun with your family at home too because so many of you checked out my Top 6 Frugal Family Tailgating tips!

You also celebrated along with our family’s milestones and seemed to appreciate my efforts at entertaining because you showed up on Pinterest when I posted about the American Girl McKenna gymnastics birthday party I threw for Kariss! I was also proud of my crafting skills when I made homemade Valentine’s Day photo cards with the kids.

If you’re looking to keep the celebration going, you’ll want to check back later this week to see how we plan on continuing the celebration into 2013!

In the meantime, keep up the saving and sharing! You can get a jumpstart by checking out my Top 10 Tips to Control Spending Habits in the New Year.

I’d also love for you to keep up with my on my favorite social media sites:
*Follow me on Facebook,
*Tweet me on Twitter and
*Pin with me on Pinterest!

Here’s to a happy & healthy New Year for each of you! Don’t take a minute for granted…

Filed Under: Blogging, Deals & Freebies Tagged With: 2012, best, post, samicone.com, top

Top 10 Kids Favorite Toys & Gifts from Christmas

December 27, 2012 By sami

Now that Christmas is behind us and presents have been unwrapped, I wanted to share my kids’ favorite toys and gifts from this Christmas as a special ‘kid-approved’ post, if you will.

In my line of work, I’m blessed to have the opportunity to review many different products…and of course a great percentage of those are family-related or especially for kids.

Throughout the past year, I’ve featured most of the products below on my blog or in my different media segments. While I’ve given my opinion on these items, we have saved the majority of them to share with our kids until Christmas. So it was intersting to me to finally find out which of the toys and gifts they liked best!

I thought it would be relevant to share their favorites with you so that you know what toys are actually worth spending the money on!

1. EzyRoller
This turned out to be the sleeper hit of Christmas! A blogging friend of mine told us about the EzyRoller and said our kids would love them – and she could not have been right! The kids have not stopped rolling around on these since they got them. While this wasn’t necessarily on their Christmas list, I think it’s safe to say it was one of their favorite, if not their favorite, gifts of the day.

2. iPod Shuffle
I received one of these doing a blogger trip in February and while we there was no way we were ready to get our kids an iPod touch or iPad, this was a great introduction into electronics for our 8 year old (even though she only has two songs on there right now with no future prospects of getting any more any time soon

3. Build a Bear Merry Mint Pup
Every time I pass by Build A Bear I think, “We can’t possibly need another one of these”, but again the excitement over the experience seems to never fade. So I wasn’t sure how getting a pre-made pup would go over, but I guess between the cuteness and the candy cane striped outfit, it won her over anyway

4. American Girl
Thanks to some American Girl Doll giveaways I did throughout the year, I also got a My American Girl Doll to give to my daughter. While she just got her first American Girl doll this summer (McKenna) and I didn’t expect for her to get another one this soon (if ever!), it’s been a delight watching her excitement over getting a “My American Girl” doll that looks like her (and that she can also use to play school with!).

5. Bebe Gun
While I can’t say I whole-heartedly agree with this gift, my husband felt it was time for both of our kids to have a bebe gun (bought from Bass Pro Shops). It seems to be a sort-of rite of passage here in the South, but it still makes me a bit squeamish. Regardless of my views, both kids really enjoyed these in the backyard…even though it was 29 degrees out!

6. Xbox 360 with Kinect
This has been especially great for younger kids who don’t quite get the ins and outs of using a controller and it allows the entire family to get off the couch and have fun! We especially like Just Dance 4 and LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean.

7. “Brave” Blu-Ray
One of the kids’ favorite movies of the summer (and the #1 Animated film of 2012), this was a hit in the theater with our family and was a thrill for them to get under the tree. While I wouldn’t say it’s my all time favorite Disney film, it is one of the most beautiful animated films I’ve ever seen.

8. Doll Clothes from the craft store
While my mom was here after Thanksgiving, I was surprised to find that many craft stores actually carry clothes for 18 inch dolls (like American Girl). While I love the quality and detail of the American Girl outfits Kariss has, I also was shocked at the unique items we found at the craft store. We found a white ‘fur’ coat & matching ‘Uggs’ boots that together cost less than $10 with the sale & coupon we had!

9. Lands End Rolling Backpack
You may remember me sharing how I discovered the high-quality Lands End kids’ backpacks during my Talk of the Town Save vs. Splurge Back to School segment. As kids’ get older, the amount they have to bring home increases. We saved this rolling backpack to give to Kariss now because we knew it would not only be great for school, but also for taking on trips.

10. Jingle the Husky Pup with Interactive Storybook
My little man has been wanting a Hallmark Interactive Story Buddy ever since his sister got Abigail the bunny last year. Not only did we get to record our own voices with the Jingle recordable storybook, but Jingle also interacts when you read his own book to him (plus, he’s just fun to cuddle at night!).

As parents, I feel like often times we shop for what would make us happy more than what would make our kids happy, so it’s always interesting to me to find out what it is they actually end up playing with and liking after Christmas.

What were your kids’ favorite gifts they received?

In full disclosure, I already mentioned that I received many of the items above free of charge from my work as a blogger. I’ve also included links to these products when possible, some of which are compensated affiliate links. Keep in mind, I’m only mentioning products our family LOVES and we hope you do too!

Filed Under: Kids, My Story, Shopping Tagged With: Christmas, gift, Kids, top, toys

Top Fall Frugal Fashion Online Shopping Tips

October 26, 2012 By sami

If you’re wondering how to update your fall wardrobe for less, I’ve got my top fall frugal fashion online shopping tips for you!

I shared these on FOX Tennessee Mornings and the Family Friendly Morning Show this week, so if you missed any of the fabulous fall frugal fashion details, I’ve got them right here for you. Let the online shopping goodness commence!

1. Go Back to Basics

When updating your fall wardrobe, select a few staple pieces of clothing that can last from season to season and are easy to accessorize. Start with a blank canvas like great jeans, a flattering cardigan or a classic black dress. Then you can accessorize those pieces with scarves, shoes, jewelry etc.

Two of my favorites this season are easy to get online, like this Banana Republic sweater in construction gray:

and the perfect jeans that fit like leggings, the Rockstar Jean that you can get at OldNavy.com

2. Accessorize with Jewelry

It can be hard to find high quality jewelry that still stays on trend (and doesn’t break your budget!). My favorite is Robyn Rhodes. You’ve seen her pieces featured on TV shows like “The Bachelorette” and “Real Housewives” as well as magazines like “In Style”; she provides trendy pieces even celebrities love, but at a price we ALL can afford!

Everything is handmade in the US and all of their stones are genuine. They believe in giving every woman options – from the best basics to innovative original pieces. I especially love their gold pieces: you will be hard pressed to find pieces with a 14k gold finish anywhere else that are so unique and also so affordable.

3. Shop Online Consignment Shops

Shop online for your clothing at places where you can purchase gently used designer clothing for a fraction of the cost. Twice.com offers high-quality, affordable second-hand clothes online featuring the newest fashions tends. You can send in your clothing for cash, and then turn around and use that cash to purchase new clothing.

Make sure to enter SAMITWICE20 to receive 20% off your first order! What’s better than that…consignment sale prices AND a coupon code!

4. Find Great Shoes

Shoes can make or break your outfit, so finding a great source for quality shoes is a MUST. 6pm.com (the online outlet for Zappos) is a great resource for shoes at a discount, featuring the hottest brands of shoes such as Keen, Nine West, Crocs, and more. Especially hot this season are animal prints and ankle boots, so choose a pair with a great pattern but in a classic shade like black, brown or tan.

If you want to watch my Frugal Fall Fashion TV segment, I’ll update this post with the video footage as soon as it’s available!

Filed Under: Clothes, Deals & Freebies, Radio, Shopping, TV Tagged With: 6pm, fall, fashion, frugal, robyn rhodes, top, twice

Top 10 Back to School Shopping Money Saving Tips 2012

July 31, 2012 By sami

I have so many back to school savings that I still want to share with you and since school starts for so many kids this week, I thought I’d share my top 10 back to school money saving tips for 2012 in one post here!

Whether you’re looking for the 2012 Tax Free Days or one of the many teacher discount events, I’ve got the top 10 tips I’ve come up with in my years of back to school shopping just for you:

Back to School Bargains

1. Office Supply Store Extreme Deals: all the office supply stores (like Staples, Office Max & Office Depot) will be competing for your business in the coming weeks by offering a lot of freebies and penny deals, so you’ll want to stock up! Here are just a few things to keep in mind:
-Sign up for their free store rewards cards
-Teachers get a special rewards card and often get extra items beyond the limit (for example, 25 instead of 2 per customer at Staples)
-Be careful of extra purchase requirements – some may say “free”, but will require a minimum purchase or it will only be free after rewards from that store. Calculate the final cost before purchase!

2. Consider Investing in a Lifetime Guarantee
-While this may not seem like such a deal up front, knowing that you can spend money on a backpack now and never have to replace it is a smart buy! Places like Lands End & L.L.Bean offer exactly that.

3. Look for Added Value
-For example, Toys R Us is offering a free lunch bag with backpack purchase.

4. Shop all year long
-I know this doesn’t help you now, but be looking for deals on school supplies all throughout the year. Items you know you’ll need (like glue, pens, folders, markers, etc) will go on clearance several times throughout the year, so stock up when you can.

5. Teacher Appreciation Events
-Several retailers (like Banana Republic & Ann Taylor Loft) offer special teacher discounts or Rewards Cards (like mentioned above) ALL the time. Some will even hold teacher appreciation events before school starts (especially office supply stores…many of which will be this coming first weekend of August), so it never hurts to ask at your favorite store!

6. Mayor’s First Day Festival Transitions…
-in Nashville, The Mayor’s First Day festival transitions to the inaugural First Choice Festival, which is also free, and will take place Oct. 18 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at McGavock High School, 3150 McGavock Pike. Representatives from all public schools will be invited to share information about their programs and unique features in order to help families make informed decisions.

7. Tax Free Weekend
-TN Tax Free Weekend is this weekend: August 3-5, 2012. That means that clothing and school supply purchases $100 or less, as well as computers $1500 or less are all tax free!

logo big Top 10 Back to School Shopping Money Saving Tips 2012

8. Shop Consignment Sales for School Uniforms & Sports Gear
-Search consignment sales before school starts, especially for uniform essentials, shoes and sports gear
-WeeWares is a consignment sale going on this week, August 2-5, at Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, with most items going half price on the 7th. (plus you’ll be helping out our family – we’re consigning there too!)

9. Donate
-With all these deals going on, please consider picking up extra supplies and donating them to a local school, shelter or ministry. There are also a lot of back-to-school drop offs going on right now that would love the extra help!

10. Ask Other Parents for Hand Me Downs
-Whether it’s passing down a textbook or uniforms that are now too small, one of the best places to get your school necessities at a steal are by asking other parents at your school! Many schools now even have their own Facebook page or private website where you can look for such things.

Last thing to consider: spend time comparing prices online before wasting gas driving around from store to store.
Better yet, shop online through sites like Ebates & Savings.com to get cash back on your purchases and take advantage of special coupon codes!

Watch my other Talk of the Town segments to find more great tips!

There are some affiliate links contained in this post.

Filed Under: Back to School, Coupons, Deals, Deals & Freebies, Kids, Shopping Tagged With: back to school, bargains, deal, Money, nashville, sami cone, save, saving, tip, top

Who Makes You Smile? Tell Top Dentists & Win!

February 22, 2012 By sami

Who Makes You Smile?

I’ve always been told to keep a picture of my children as a baby close to me at all times because whenever you look at those chubby little faces, you can’t help but smile (especially if your kids are older). Well now TopDentists.com wants to know who makes you smile, and they have quite a prize package for one lucky winner!

Enter a photo of the person in the TopDentists.com smile contest for a chance to win quite the fabulous Grand Prize: a teeth whitening session in NYC with one of their Top Dentist,s plus all expense paid trip, $1,000 in spending money and photo session for you and your guest.

There are also daily teeth whitening kits from Love That White Smile and chances to win teeth whitenings in:
Aventura FL, Austin TX, Beverly Hills CA, Philadelphia PA, and Troy MI from Top Dentists in those ares.

So what are you waiting for? Nominate who makes you smile, and they just might help you bring a HUGE smile to your face in NYC!

Filed Under: giveaway Tagged With: dentist, nyc, smile, teeth, top, whitening

Top 3 Tips to make this Valentine’s Day Different

February 10, 2012 By sami

Me & My Honey

I have something powerful to share with you today: the top 3 tips to make this Valentine’s Day different from any other!

Think sexy. Think sizzle.

I wish I could say these top Valentines Day tips came from me, but in fact they’re from my new friend, Gina Parris, who developed SexyMarriageSolution.com after realizing that despite loving her husband, she had a very low sex drive. A successful performance coach with athletes and stock brokers, she decided to apply the same principles to her personal life and VOILA! was finally able to overcome her own low sex drive.

Her tagline is: “Discover How to Stop fighting, sulking and getting depressed over your married sex life. There is an answer!” LOVE it!

You’ll be hearing more of Gina’s story in the coming weeks in a new series I’ll be starting on SamiCone.com, but I just couldn’t wait to share some of these tips with you so that you can make a difference right away in helping to make your Valentine’s Day hotter than it’s ever been. (And if you’re a female, I don’t think your husband would argue that this is the best gift you could ever give him

Top 3 tips for making this Valentine’s Day different:

1. Make up your mind that you deserve to feel great and pamper your mate.
Believe for things to go differently. Set your heart that things will go well & something precious would happen. (I took this to mean positive thinking pumped up a few notches!)

2. Acknowledge any anxiety and accept yourself in spite of it

3. Really take time to get in touch with your senses and be present. Choose to see how things unfold.Breathe deep/stay in the moment/learn the technique….20 minutes could change your life too…
It may seem trivial, but taking the time to release everything else you’re hanging on to before spending time with your husband is powerful!

I hope these tips help change your Valentine’s Day for the better. If it does, please come back and let us know about it!

To learn more about SexyMarriageSolution.com, visit Gina’s website, where you can also sign up for her free audio series “5 keys to really great sex…even if you’re not in the mood”.

Filed Under: Family, Marriage Tagged With: "valentine's day", marriage, sex, tips, top, valentine

SamiCone.com 2011 Top Posts

December 31, 2011 By sami

Since it’s New Year’s Eve, I thought I’d share the SamiCone.com 2011 Top Posts with all of you!

It seems a lot of you were checking out my Disney Deals & Tips page, as well as My Story in 2011, not to mention looking for a lot of Freebies & Deals and Meal Plans. But aside from that, here were my 2011 top posts:

* Favorite Kids Easter Sayings

* New Seeds Worship Album with Plumb

* Club Med White Chocolate Bread Recipe (you also seemed to like watching my Club Med video from my Club Med career)

* My First Commercial Audition in Years (followed closely by my TN Farm Bureau commercial shoot)

* An Unknown Chapter: My Thyroid Health (along with Never say Never: My Pregnancy Journey and my overall Health Journey…more to come on that in 2012…)

* My Kids Summer Reading series

Spekaing of kids, my five year old son, Britton, also popped up a lot on SamiCone.com this year, which was understandable considering his Nashville Parent Cover Kids contest run, his Sweet Cece’s photo shoot that resulted in his Groupon appearance, his co-starring role in the new Plumb video Drifting, and he & Kariss being featured in the new Hermie video with Max Lucado. (To learn more about my little man, check out the Top 10 Tuesday post I did for Britton’s birthday this year).

Thanks for joining me on the journey in 2011. I know there is a lot I need to work on in 2012, but I plan to take you all along with me (if you’ll join me!). I feel blessed to be a part of your lives each day and thank you for allowing me to share the good, the bad, and of course, the deals! Happy New Year!

Filed Under: Blogging, Deals & Freebies Tagged With: 2011, britton, post, samicone.com, top

Top 5 Walt Disney Movie List 2011

December 31, 2011 By sami

As it’s the last day of 2011, I wanted to share my top 5 Disney movies of 2011 with you!

It’s been an interesting year when it comes to what Disney Pictures has released, including some potential award winning films, but I think you’ll see that they’ve done a great job with film releases all ages can enjoy!

Top 5 Disney Movies of 2011

1. The Help

With 4 SAG Award nominations (the most of any film this year), I think The Help surprised us all. A beautifully acted film about a controversial time, it will be interesting to see if this inspirational offering can keep up with the other Hollywood Blockbusters that are nominated, but it is certainly more welcome in our home than its fellow nominees!

2. Winnie the Pooh

Yes, I know, this is a sentimental choice, but I was SO impressed by this new release of a classic. Though I’ve always loved Disney, for some reason I REALLY got back into my Disney roots in college with the Classic Pooh paraphernalia I took with me to my new dorm room to remind my of home & family. So I was extremely pleased when this year’s Winnie the Pooh film not only paid tribute to the classic characters that we all know and love, but added clever twists, inferences and story lines. Bravo Disney!

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides

I loved the first film, got such a headache from watching the second Pirates in theater that I didn’t even see the third, and was skeptical to see the fourth. But nevertheless, I took the opportunity for a date night to see Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides with my husband, and re-discovered why I found Jack Sparrow and the first film so charming. It was full of humor, action and suspense while mostly void of the dark & gratuitous violence I found in the second installment. Not little-kid friendly, but good for teens and up.

4. Cars 2

While I appreciated the ingenuity of Pixar in the first Cars film, it wasn’t something I bought on DVD. However, Cars 2 was the one DVD my 5 year old son asked for this Christmas, and we were happy to comply. I will say, I’m partial to the travels around the world and all the sights they get to see (that I can share in an animated form with my kids!), but besides my personal bend, the way the storyline wraps in such a funny way around who we thought to be the most humorous character of the franchise (Mater – voiced by Larry the Cable Guy) won us over.

5. Jake & The Never Land Pirates

I realize this wasn’t a Disney feature film, but Jake and the Never Land Pirates were created in 2011 and released their first DVD, “Jake & The Never Land Pirates: Season 1 V.1“, this year as well. It has quickly taken over as my son’s favorite cartoon to watch on Disney Junior and in fact, now that he’s in school, it’s the only one he asks me to tape for him. It builds on his love of Peter Pan and Captain Hook and the epic battles between them, yet brings it down to a child’s level with important lessons, bright colors and catchy tunes (provided of course by none other than Sharky & Bones – watch Sharky & Bones sing live at Disney’s Hollywood Studios).

IMG 2852 300x225 Top 5 Walt Disney Movie List 2011

Me with Sharky & Bones at Disney's Hollywood Studios

So there you have it – my top 5 Disney movies of 2011. If you’re looking for ways to add to your Disney DVD collection (and get some Disney Movie Rewards points!), then you’ll want to check these titles out!

Filed Under: Movie, Products, Reviews, Walt Disney World Tagged With: "winnie the pooh", 2011, cars 2, dvd, film, help, list, movie, pirate, top, walt disney world

Top 4 Christmas Music Albums

December 13, 2011 By sami

For this week’s Top Tuesday post, I wanted to share my top 3 Christmas music albums of all time.

I realize some of you may disagree on when to start playing Christmas music, but you won’t disagree on how great these are! Here are my 3 favorites:

1. When My Heart Finds Christmas

I simply can’t start decorating for Christmas without hearing this first, especially “Sleigh Ride”!

2. A Christmas Album

Often referred to as the “First Lady of Christmas” music, Amy Grant has a few Christmas albums out now, but the original is classic!

3. One Silent Night

I can’t even remember where I got this or how I first hear about it (it came out in 2000), but it’s a beautiful compilation of female artists, including Nicole C. Mullen, Cyrstal Lewis and my morning radio friend, Jaci Velasquez!

4. Christmas Caravan

Haven’t heard of the Squirrel Nut Zippers? Well you have now! When I was getting my Masters Degree at UNC Chapel Hill, I fell in love with all the modern swing music on the radio there in the late 90′s, and SNZ was one of my favorites (perhaps you’ve heard of their hit, “Put a Lid on It?). Your house will love these groovy holiday tunes.

I know you all have your own favorites (please don’t be bitter that I didn’t include them!), so please feel free to share them in a comment below!

Filed Under: Deals & Freebies, Reviews Tagged With: album, Christmas, holiday, list, music, song, top

Top 3 Christmas Movies

December 9, 2011 By sami

You know you’re all talking about it anyway, so I thought I’d just go ahead and post my collection of the top 3 Christmas movies of all time.

One of our favorite things to do at Christmas is watch the movies that only seem to come out around the holidays, so here are my 3 favorites:

1. White Christmas

So I know I just said these are typically movies we only watch one time a year, but this is one that we watch ALL year round. My kids used to refer to this as “Mandy” in reference to our favorite dance scene featuring Vera Ellen (and those legs!) in the middle of the film, but really, who can argue with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye & Rosemary Clooney?

2. National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

Being from Chicago, I love the various hometown references, and of course the fabulous theme song, but the classic Chevy Chase humor trumps all. I cannot tell you how many times I’ve referenced lines from this movie over they years!

3. The Original Christmas Classics

Really, it’s not Christmas until we get to watch Rudolph & the whole gang. If I had to pick a favorite, it would have to be a tie between “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” with the Burgermeister Meisterburger and “Year Without a Santa Claus” with the infamous Heat & Cold Misers.