My Daily Finds: Lands' End Friends & Family Event 30% Everything

It's time for today's dose of daily finds. I like Lands' End clothing and shoes for my kids - they are of good quality and design. I do buy some things for myself, as well. If you are a fan, too, they are currently running a Friends & Family Sale for 30% off everything, including sale items - promo code FRIENDLY and pin 3055. Plus, you get free shipping with any $50+ order. And - as if I needed any more booties - I'm considering the following two pairs:

Tenley Wedge Booties:

These seem to be the perfect balance between elegant and comfortable. With the F&F discount, the price comes to less than $56 (original $164).

Roanne High Heel Chukka Booties:

I love the olive green color of these boots, and the style is so romantic. With the F&F discount, these come down to $34 (original $139).

Are you a fan of Lands' End? What are your favorite brands for winter booties?

Sneak Peak: Soft-baked Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Biscotti

This is just a teaser of the treat I'll share in my regular Thursday Treats post this week and it is delicious. I substituted the white flour that he original recipe called for with whole-wheat and I loved the result (and so did my kids!). I also used plenty of Nestle's Toll House Mini Semi-sweet Chocolate Morsels. Here's the result:

Recipe to come later in the week.

My Daily Finds: Treats for Mommy

Since I love finding great deals on fabulous products and, if you ask my husband, I scout the virtual space (e.i. my favorite online shopping and daily deal sites) for such deals quite too often, I decided to share my passion here. Thus, I'm starting a daily post called "My Daily Finds". While the items could range across any category, I am a bit partial to fashion, home and kids. My fabulous finds today are all meant to be a treat for mommy. Enjoy:

Fabulous Find #1:
Rue La La - one of my favorite daily deal sites - is running a sale on La Perla today. If you are like me and can't (won't) fit a regular-price La Perla treasure in your budget, here is a chance to buy one at 50% off. I am loving this sky blue bra - very romantic and oh-so-pretty ($49.90):

You can find more information on this and other sale items here. If you are not a member of Rue La La, you can sign up for free here. 

Fabulous Find #2:
I love shopping at Target and I made my weekly trip there this morning. I was on the lookout for some warmer leggings and found these Fleece Lined Leggings - I really like the subtle pattern and the softness. And, you can't beat the price at $12:

They are by Xhilaration and you can find more information here.

Find #3:
Finally, a fabulous find from another one of my all-time-favorite sites, Zulily. I've been looking for a cozy winter cardigan for some time and I think I have found it:

This beige zip-up sweater is by Coupe, is wool-blend and at $39.99 is more than 60% off its original price. You can sign up to Zulily for free here.

What are some of your favorite places for fabulous finds at great prices?

Happy Halloween: Healthy Pumpkin Spice Zucchini Muffins

Happy Halloween everyone! It's officially pumpkin spice season, so today's Thursday Treats' recipe is inspired by my love for pumpkins and all-things fall. That includes pumpkin spice treats, as well, but some of the store options are loaded with sugar and too much artificial seasoning. I played a bit with my Apple Cheddar Muffin recipe to create today's Healthy Pumpkin Spice Zucchini Muffins. I am quite pleased with the result and so are my kids - to me, that's the ultimate testament to the success of my cooking efforts. Take a look:

These mini muffins are healthier than a regular muffin because I used:

• Whole wheat flour
• One medium low-calorie anti-oxidant rich zucchini
• Organic agave syrup to substitute part of the sugar
• Organic plain yoghurt to substitute part of the vegetable oil

If you are intrigued, take a look at the ingredients and super easy prep.

Ingredients (makes 24 mini muffins):

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp pumpkin spice mix
• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 tsp agave syrup
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup plain yoghurt
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 medium zucchini - peeled and grated
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree - I used the organic canned pumpkin variety but you are welcome to cook your own
• 2 tsp diced dried plums - my new obsession
• 2 tsp mini dark chocolate chips

Heat oven to 350 F and grease the muffin tin or line with muffin cups.

Preparation:

1. In a bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients - flour, baking powder, sugar and pumpkin spice mix
2. Beat the egg, then add the yoghurt, pumpkin puree, agave syrup and vegetable oil. Stir well.
3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry mixture, stirring until moistened
4. Add the dried plums and mini chocolate chips to the muffin mixture
5. Spoon the batter into the muffin cups - I like to fill the cups well as it results in a nice crispy top
6. Bake for ~ 25 minutes

The aroma while these were baking was heavenly. Serve warm, topped with your favorite jam - like... pumpkin butter, for instance! I also enjoyed mine with a cup of my favorite coffee.

What are your favorite pumpkin treats?

StyleMint Mystery Bag Review Fall 2013

I've been a subscriber to StyleMint ever since I got a coupon in one of my monthly lifestyle boxes (more than a year ago). This is the first time I'm doing a review - I've had an almost love-hate relationship with the sub... the negative coming mostly from the fact that I need to remember to skip a month if I don't want to be charged. However, the few times I received clothes from StyleMint I was pleasantly surprised with their quality. StyleMint ran a friends & family sale last week and, since I had a credit to use, I jumped at the Mystery Bag sale. The bag cost $34.99 and was guaranteed to have at least 3 pieces of clothing. I received it today and I like the style and quality of the clothing.

I received three items and although the dress is a duplicate from my spring mystery bag, I'm OK with that. I will gift it to my sister-in-law as it's totally her style. Here are the pieces in more detail:

Laura Cashmere Sweater ($89.97, currently sold out)
This is a 100% cashmere sweater in a a true pumpkin color (Stylemint calls it 'winter orange'). The photos on the website does not do this justice - so, I would've never ordered based on that. I was pleasantly surprised when I received it. While it's not the softest quality cashmere I've owned, I still like it, especially the color. The cut is classic and fitted.

Parker Vest ($59.98, currently sold out)
This was the other item in the mystery bag I really liked. That is definitely not something I would typically order on my own, but that's a good thing. The vest is playful, soft and flattering. It'll look good over a dress or a shirt, with or without a belt. It is actually perfect over the pumpkin-colored cashmere sweater.

Falls Dress ($29.99, currently sold out)
This is an easy, lightweight dress - goes really well with leggings or on its own. I think the back of the dress is not the most flattering, especially for petite frames, thus I didn't wear it as much as I thought I would. Since I already own it, I hope my sister-in-law likes the duplicate I send to her.

Verdict: Overall, I am quite pleased with the items I received in my mystery bag. The value of the bag is close to $180 which is more than 5 times what I paid for the bag - can't beat that! I can't wait to wear my new pumpkin-colored sweater and my soft fluffy vest.

If you'd like to learn more about StyleMint, you can do so here. If you want to become a StyleMint subscriber and would like to sign up using my referral link, you can do so here. Thank you!

Are you subscribed to StyleMint; did you get a Mystery Bag? What other clothing subs do you use / consider?

FabFitFun VIP Fall Box Review

After a bit of delay, my FabFitFun box arrived mid-last week. While I had already peeked at the spoilers, I was excited to see the contents in person. As often happens, I was more pleased with the box once I got to see all the goodies for myself. Take a look at what my FabFitFun box contained:

 First look...

... and all the goodies!

Here are more details on all the individual items with photos of the ones I really liked:

Gorjana Canary Scarf ($57) + $25 Gift Card
I am in love with this scarf! I knew I'd like it, but it's so gorgeous - very light (much lighter fabric than I expected), in the perfect neutral dark grey shade, "sprinkled" with pink canary silhouettes - very appropriate for fall. I already wore it a few times and for me, the box was worth it just for this scarf itself. The included $25 gift card makes this even better.

Barre3 Standing Slim DVD and online program ($19.95)
I like when I get workout DVD's in my lifestyle subs. I've heard from my workout-fanatic friends about barre - very hot right now - and I am curious to try this. It'll be a good change from my elliptical-and-strength gym routine

Starlooks 5 Shade Shadow Palette ($41)
I received the St. Tropez palette and it is gorgeous - the colors are warm and seem neutral enough for me to try. It contains brilliant matte, satin and sparkle shadows suitable for a day or night-time look. I visited St. Tropez a few summers ago and the colors do remind me of the sand and sun there - daydreaming...
I haven't tried any Starlooks products and based on some of the raving reviews, this palette sounds like a treat. I'm still deciding whether to keep it or gift it to my mom.

Surface Trinity Protein Cream ($17.48)
This blowout cream is said to smooth, strenghten and protect hair without any harsh chemicals. I've been using Moroccan Oil on my fine hair, but will venture out and try this one, as well.

SpaRitual Nail Polish ($13.95)
I always love when I get nail polish and this true purple shade called "Illume" is gorgeous. I don't own any SpaRitual colors - they are 3-free and 100% vegan, definitely a win!

Orly Nail Polish ($8.34)
This was the "special extra" item that I received because of the double-charging mix-up earlier this month (a note to those of you who were not aware: some subscribers got over-charged and FabFitFun reacted and resolved the issue fairly quickly, I thought, promising a "little extra" in the box...). The sparkly rose gold / pink Orly has the name "You are not alone" - pink for Breast Cancer Awareness month, very appropriate; and what's not to like about sparkly & pink nail polish!

Orville Redenbacher Popcorn ($7.55)
I received the sea salt variety. My family likes popcorn and I like the non-butter kind. This one tastes yummy and is healthier than regular popcorn - it's whole grain, fluten-free and half the fat of the regular variety.

Health Warrior Chia Bar ($1.40)
I received the Banana Nut variety and I really liked it. It was chewy and not overly sweet. I use chia seeds in my cereal but have never tried a chia bar before. This one is said to be the only one on the market with chia seeds as the primary ingredient.

Drinkwel ($1.99)
A sample of what is said to be multivitamin for health-conscious drinkers was included. While I won't be using this one, I found it an interesting addition to the box...

There were some Mini Game Cards and, in honor of Breast Cancer Awareness, a Bright Pink's Brighten UP Card and Alert Sticker.
Finally, missing from the box was the Bliss Triple Oxygem Instant Energizing Cleansing Foam - FabFitFun informed all of its subscribers that they were sending the Bliss item in a separate package - I already got my notification.

I was actually happy with FabFitFun Fall Box - I absolutely loved the Gorjana scarf and was very pleased with the couple of nail colors and the hair cream. The box had a total value of $176.18 (that is excluding the Bliss product) which is triple of what I paid for it. The FabFitFun VIP box is $49.99 / quarter and if you would like to sign up for one, you can use code EARLYBIRD5 to save $5 off your subscription.

What do you think of FabFitFun Fall VIP box? Are you a subscriber, are you planning to become one?

Free Graze Box Coupon & Review October 2013

I've been Graze-ing ever since Graze opened up its US operations earlier this year. I've switched my Graze boxes to once a month, so every time I get one now, it's almost a surprise (I had one delivered each week at the beginning but, with so many subs, I had to "pick my battles"). Graze had stopped invitations for a while but my October box had four friend invite codes. If you want to try Graze for free - that is you get your first and your fifth boxes free, you can sign up using my friend invite code here (V99C2QCTU). There is no commitment on you part, you can cancel anytime. 

Take a look at the snacks I enjoyed in October:

I received Poached Pear, Hot Cross Yum, Scandinavian Forest and Texan Corn Salsa snacks. 

While I have tried all of these snacks in past boxes, I was still happy to receive them. My favorite by far was the Poached Pear snack - a yummy mix of pear, raisins, vanilla pumpkin seeds and lemon infused raisins. I want to buy a full-size package of that - if they offered!

What did you get in your last Graze box? If you aren't subbed yet, will you give Graze a try?