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Gotta love a HOT giveaway during the summer!! We’ve partnered with Blogging Mamas Network and a great group of bloggers to bring you a LOT of HOT giveaways to cool off your summer!! We’re hosting a giveaway for a $25 Amazon Gift Code, which could be a COOL way for you to chill out and enjoy the summer heat!
What would you choose? Sandals? A water toy? A beach read? Well, you could be $25 closer to getting your summer chill on if you won this giveaway!
To enter, tell me something that you’d like to buy from Amazon that would make your summer fun-tastic!
If you’re in need of ideas, check out the Amazon Get Ready for Summer page!
It’s that easy!
Optional entries (be sure to leave a separate comment for each action so you’ll get counted!!):
Giveaway is open to US residents 18 and older. ONLY comments left on this post will count as entries. All entries will be verified. Any that are not verifiable will be deleted. Giveaway ends Tuesday, June 25, 2013, at 11:59 pm EDT. Winner will be notified via e-mail and will have 48 hours to reply to our e-mail. Please add thetweenandme (at) gmail (dot) com to your address book so you don’t miss our e-mail!
Disclosure: This giveaway is sponsored by The Tween & Me. Links in this post are our affiliate links to Amazon, which means we make a very small commission if you buy something from Amazon after clicking our link. According to Jenny, So Easy Being Green, the Blogging Mamas Network, and the Keeping Cool in the Sun participating bloggers are not responsible for sponsors who do not fulfill prize obligations.
After you’ve entered my giveaway, don’t forget to hop around to all the others in the linky below. Be sure to enter to win the GRAND PRIZES for this Event too! You have a chance to win…
In the KIDS package you could win: a pair of Julbo USA looping sunglasses for baby, a trio of TruKids products including Sunny Days sunscreen and Hero Stick, a Hearthsong Camping Tent {chair not included}, a Swim Diaper from Red Barn Cloth Diapers, and a reusable snack tube SqueeZurts Starter Kit!
AND
A second prize package including a $100 Gift Certificate to Claudia Alan Eyewear and Winner’s Choice of any item from UV Skinz – makers of protective sunwear!
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Another of Ariel’s beautiful Polyvore creations!!

I love that she put a bowtie on the german shepherd and filled the bookcase with loveys and nail polish!!
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There must be a bazillion ways to cook corn on the cob—and they are all posted online!!
I found a method that really works for us, since I abhor all those darn silks…. and having to pull them all off makes me nuts and not want to serve fresh corn as much as I should.
Here’s Ken describing his super-easy method:
Isn’t that amazing? And we just did it tonight! IT REALLY WORKS!! I was so surprised that I hadn’t heard about it before now!
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Meet Isabella Rose Taylor.
She’s the 12 year old designer who took Austin Fashion Week for a spin. She’s the tween who was just named a “Rising Star” at the 5th Annual Austin Fashion Awards. Yep, she’s one to be watching.
And her collection is one to be watching. Check out these pieces from her current summer collection:
We love them all!!
Be sure to follow Isabella Rose Taylor at her website, on Facebook, on Pinterest, and on Twitter. She’s going to accomplish great things!!
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Yesterday we posted our best tips for enjoying the bounty of activities in Upstate South Carolina. Today, we’d like to showcase some of our favorite bloggers’ posts about their corners of the country! Enjoy!!
NW (or all), Connecticut :: Parenting Miracles
Boston (or all), Massachusetts :: Maven of Savin
Central, New Jersey :: Our Good LIfe
Adirondak Mountains and Central, New York :: For This Season
Buffalo/Niagara Falls, New York :: Ann’s Entitled Life
Syracuse, New York :: I am THAT lady
Erie, Pennsylvania :: Growing Kids Ministry
Greater Harrisburg, Pennsylvania :: Family Balance Sheet
Hershey, Pennsylvania :: Good Deal Mama
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania :: Beyond the Cover
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania :: The Coupon “High”
Poconos, Pennsylvania :: Bucktown Bargains
Scranton, Pennsylvania :: Bucktown Bargains
Des Moines, Iowa :: Make the best of everything
Aurora, Illinois :: A Savings WOW!
Central, Illinois :: The Homeschool Scientist
Chicago, Illinois :: Chicagoland Homeschool Network
Naperville, Illinois :: The Sensible Mom
Schaumburg, Illinois :: Ravings By Rae
Fort Wayne, Indiana :: Simplified Saving
Indianapolis, Indiana (Metro Area) :: In Good Cents
Muncie, Indiana (Central IN) :: the daisyhead
Northern Indiana :: So Dough Savvy
Kansas City Area :: Kansas City Mamas
Metro Detroit, Michigan :: Saving Dollars and Sense
Grand Rapids, Michigan :: Give Me Neither
Oakland County, Michigan :: Bargain Shopper Mom
Minneapolis, Minnesota :: Creative Couponing
Rural Minnesota (either Southern our Lake Country) :: Mommysavers.com
St. Cloud, Minnesota :: Frugal Finders
Kansas City, Missouri/Kansas :: Kosher on a Budget
Springfield, Missouri :: Getting Freedom
Cincinnati, Ohio :: Family Friendly Cincinnati
Columbus, Ohio :: Cleverly Simple
Dayton, Ohio :: Savings Lifestyle: Dayton
Mansfield, Ohio :: The Traveling Praters
NE Ohio :: Raising Lifelong Learners
Northeast Ohio (Canton, Akron, Cleveland) :: Sisters Shopping on a Shoestring
Black Hills, South Dakota :: Little House Living
South Dakota :: Moms Mustard Seeds
Oshkosh, Wisconsin :: Adventures of a Stay at Home Mom
Phoenix, Arizona :: Mom Endeavors
Scottsdale, Arizona :: Saving For Someday
Tucson, Arizona :: Desert Chica Ramblings
Colorado Springs, Colorado :: The Greenbacks Gal
Denver, Colorado :: Bargain Blessings
Helena, Montana :: The WiC Project
Omaha, Nebraska :: Mom Endeavors
Reno, Nevada – Lake Tahoe (Northern Nevada) :: Saving in Nevada
Fresno, California (Central Valley) :: NerdFamily Blog
Los Angeles, California :: Savings.com
San Diego, California :: Good Cheap Eats
San Diego, California :: Life as MOM
Portland, Oregon :: Frugal Living NW
Seattle, Washington :: Thrifty NW Mom
Arkansas :: Discovering Arkansas
Washington, DC :: Kidventurous
Clearwater Beach, Florida :: Bargain Briana
Jacksonville, Florida :: Saving The Family Money
Southwest Florida (Ft. Myers area) :: Chaos Is Bliss
St. Augustine, Florida :: Simply St. Augustine
Tallahassee, Florida :: SwagGrabber
Atlanta, Georgia (metro area) :: Hodgepodge
Atlanta, Georgia (metro area) :: The Couponing Couple
Annapolis, Maryland :: The Happy Housewife
Hagerstown, Maryland :: Cheryl Pitt
Asheville, North Carolina :: Paradise Praises
Charlotte, North Carolina :: from our front porch lookin’ in…
Raleigh/Southeastern, North Carolina :: Upside Down Homeschooling
Upstate South Carolina :: The Tween & Me
Charlottesville, Virginia :: How to Have it All
Richmond, Virginia :: Teachers of Good Things
Smithfield, Virginia :: Walking in High Cotton
Virginia Beach, Virginia :: The Coupon Challenge
Coastal Alabama :: Meet Penny
Huntsville, Alabama :: The Traveling Praters
Northern Kentucky :: Simply Sherryl
Chattanooga, Tennessee :: Living Chic on the Cheap
East Tennessee (Smoky Mountains, Knoxville) :: Finding Joy on the Journey
Nashville, Tennessee :: Montessori Tidbits
Arlington, Texas :: Grocery Shop For FREE
Austin, Texas (Hill Country) :: Ponder the Path
College Station, Texas :: How to Homeschool My Child
Dallas, Texas :: Surviving The Stores
East Dallas, Texas :: Funky Faith Girl
Fort Worth, Texas :: Coupons & Freebies Mom
Houston, Texas :: MomsToolbox
Houston, Texas :: MyLitter
Katy, Texas :: Moms Confession
McAllen, Texas (Rio Grande Valley) :: iLoveMy5Kids
San Antonio, Texas :: Melissa’s Bargains
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Giveaway is open to US residents 18 and older. ONLY comments left on this post will count as entries. All entries will be verified. Any that are not verifiable will be deleted. Giveaway ends Monday, May 27, 2013, at 11:59 pm EDT. Winner will be notified via e-mail and will have 48 hours to reply to our e-mail. Please add thetweenandme (at) gmail (dot) com to your address book so you don’t miss our e-mail!
Other No Strings Attached Participants:
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Welcome to our Staycation 2013 post! Living in the Upstate of South Carolina, we’re lucky to have multiple free and low-cost attractions and family-friendly activities in our area, many of them within a short 1-2 hour drive.
Listed here are a few of our favorite places and spaces in the South Carolina Upcountry.
The Upstate of South Carolina can be defined in multiple ways, but I’m including six counties, based on the path of I-85 as it traverses South Carolina on its way from Atlanta, Georgia, to Charlotte, North Carolina. Those six counties, listed alphabetically, are: Anderson, Cherokee, Greenville, Oconee, Pickens, and Spartanburg.
This post focuses on Anderson County activities. I’ll focus on a new county each day this week and will link them all together at the end of the week. Stay tuned!!
Discover Anderson County’s history with a trip through time at the Anderson County Museum. Located in downtown Anderson, the museum hosts both permanent and temporary exhibits, as well as the historic Robert Anderson Memorial Fountain.
There’s also a South Carolina-themed gift shop for all your Palmetto product needs!
Details You’ll Need: Admission is free. The Anderson County Museum is located at 202 East Greenville Street, Anderson, South Carolina. Phone: 864.260.4737. Hours: Tuesday 10 am – 7 pm; Wednesday-Saturday 10 am – 4 pm.
Filled with rotating exhibits and activities that promote the creation and appreciation of the arts in Anderson County, the Anderson Arts Center also hosts a series of arts classes and a dynamic arts camp that involve locals of all ages.
Details You’ll Need: Admission is free. The Anderson Arts Center is located at 110 Federal Street, Anderson, South Carolina. Phone: 864.222.2787. Hours: Tuesday – Friday 9:30 am – 5:30 pm.
What’s not to like about a quaint central shopping district replete with a variety of restaurants and family-friendly activities? Locally owned coffee shops and charming bistros provide ample dining opportunities in downtown Anderson.
Fun for young and old alike, A Little Birdie Told Me is a Carolina wren-inspired scavenger hunt. We had a great time searching for 22 bronze sculptures–some were much easier to find than others! Download a brochure for your hunt here.
Be sure to take a slight detour off Main Street to visit Generator Park, where you can learn about Anderson’s nickname, “The Electric City,” and see a generator that once produced electricity for the Anderson area at the Portman Power Plant.
Details You’ll Need: Admission is free. Contact the City of Anderson for more details and more attractions. Phone: 864.231.5933. Downtown Anderson website here.
The charming Anderson County town of Belton is home to the South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame, the Ruth Drake (local history) Museum, and the Belton Center for the Arts.
Details You’ll Need: Admission is free for all three attractions. The South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame and the Ruth Drake Museum are located in the historic Belton Depot building at 100 North Main Street, Belton, South Carolina. Phone for South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame and Ruth Drake Museum: 864.338.7400. Hours for South Carolina Tennis Hall of Fame and Ruth Drake Museum: Wednesday and Thursday, 9 am – 2 pm; Friday, 9 am – 4 pm; Saturday, 9 am – 1 pm. The Belton Center for the Arts is located at 306 City Square. Phone: 864.338.8556. Hours: Tuesday – Friday, 10 am – 5:30 pm; Saturday, 10 am – 2 pm.
One of our favorite “refueling stations” in Belton is Callaham Orchards, where some sort of fruit or vegetable is almost always in season and ready to U-Pick. And, ummm, the ice cream they serve there is really, really good too. (yes, I know it isn’t free like most everything else listed here is, but supporting a local farmer is a good idea!)
Details You’ll Need: Admission is free. There are seasonal activities and product purchases that are available for a small fee. Callaham Orchards is located at 559 Crawford Road, Belton, South Carolina. Phone: 864.338.0810. If you call ahead, there’s a message that will tell you special hours and product availability. Hours: vary by season. Call ahead for details and hours.
The entire town of Pendleton is on the National Register of Historic Places and features a charming village green as its centerpiece. Antique shops, boutiques, several excellent restaurants, and two historic house museums offer a delightful variety of activities.
Pendleton Historic Foundation owns and operates two beautiful historic house museums, Woodburn and Ashtabula. Both are available for touring during regular hours as well as rental for special events and private tours. Admission is charged, but it is reasonably priced.
Details You’ll Need: Admission per house is $6 for adults; $2 for children 5-10 years old; free for those under 5 years old. Woodburn Historic House is located at 130 History Lane, Pendleton, South Carolina. Phone: 864.646.7249. Hours: Thursday – Friday, 10 am – 1 pm; Sunday, 2 pm – 5 pm. Ashtabula Historic House is located at 2725 Old Greenville Hwy (SC 88), Central, South Carolina. Phone: 864.646.7249. Hours: Thursday – Sunday, 1-4 pm.
WOW! That’s just a sampling of the wealth of family friendly activities in Anderson County, in the SC Upstate! Join us tomorrow as we feature other great Staycation ideas from around the country… and later on this week as we continue our tour through the South Carolina Upcountry!
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Ariel is just as addicted to Polyvore as I am…. and how funny she created a Moustache collage since I also made one in December!
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I am not always the most creative or clever parent/homeowner/wife/friend/daughter, but I sure think I’m one of the most appreciative! I can totally appreciate it when folks come up with brilliant solutions to life’s littlest problems challenges.
Like with these bloggers. They came up with some simple but fabulous answers to some of the world’s most annoying situations.

Look, Mom, NO TIPPING!! The Kranz Kronicles solved the problem of stuff filtering through wire shelving (common in pantries). Who would have ever thought of using floor tiles???
And thanks to Alejandra.tv, I now have a plan to re-do our game closet and store our games in a whole different way. Because I am DONE with games spilling out everywhere because the boxes are such a hodgepodge of sizes and no one but me can figure out how to get them all to fit correctly. This idea could seriously save all of the games in our house—-because I have quite recently threatened to give them all away!!
I love making treats to give away, but hate giving them away on plain paper plates. I’ve read lots of tips on buying old plates and platters from thrift stores, so it wouldn’t matter if the recipient wasn’t able to return the plate, but sometimes you just don’t have an appropriate vessel. What about dressing up a paper plate like Simply Southern did? I’m not sure who the originator of this idea is, since it’s all over Pinterest, but Lauren added some neat comments about the cookies on the plate (which I was also curious about!).
I LOVE Apartment Therapy. It is one helpful site. This tip changed my life. Again, not rocket science, but for me, it opened up a whole new paradigm in which to work. Taking pictures of things I would need to remember instead of writing it down on a piece of paper (which would become unfindable as soon as I needed to find it.) Be sure to read the comments to glean lots more great ideas on using your smartphone’s camera as a memory device!)
Sometimes something so easy just never occurs to me… but thankfully, it does to someone else. I’m so grateful that The Frugal Girls published their astonishing simple but time-saving idea on spraying pans with non-stick spray. Absolutely BRILLZ!!
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