Hi everyone! Hope you had an awesome Thanksgiving! Our Thanksgiving was very nice and relaxed. I cooked half of our feast Friday night, and then finished up the rest while Caleb and Emma napped yesterday. Caleb has been on nights, but he had last night off. It worked out really well! Yesterday was Caleb and Emma's first Thanksgiving together :)
We thought about going shopping last night. As a matter of fact, we actually went to WalMart around 8pm last night. Neither of us had ever actually done the whole Thanksgiving/Black Friday shopping deal, so we had to see what it was all about. Craziness - that's what it's all about! We didn't stay for the 8pm event, although we watched the mayhem. Instead, we went to McDonald's for mint McFlurries and then we shopped online last night.
I've been looking for a good tablet for a while. I know, I know - just get an iPad. I love Apple, don't get me wrong, but we recently switched to Android. I just like the feel of being able to customize so much, so I really felt an Android tab was the way to go. Initially, I looked at the Samsung Galaxy tablets. My phone is a Samsung Galaxy SII, and I love it, so it made sense to just get a giant one. The cons of this idea: I want a keyboard. I don't need something tailored for entertainment. I wanted something a little more robust and wouldn't settle for anything less than a 10" screen. And I didn't want to pay more than about $300.
After doing a little more research and price comparison, I felt compelled to go with an Asus Transformer. It's perfect for what I need. What's really super awesome: I saved over $150!!! Best Buy's Black Friday sales include the Asus Transformer TF300T (wi-fi) 10" for $279 (MSRP $379) and the keyboard dock for $99 (usually $150). PLUS - Free shipping!!! Super excited about this great deal!!!
One of the things we wanted from WalMart was the $69 Garmin. Our GPS died a long time ago, and I am really tired of using my not-so-trustworthy MapQuest app. After seeing the Hunger Games before our eyes, we decided to just look for this deal online. Best Buy wins again - we found a TomTom for the same price, again with free shipping!
We also had our eyes on a Stanley rolling tool stand for $99 w/ a 100 pc. tool set at WalMart. We compared sales at Lowe's, Home Depot and Sears. We found a better quality (Craftsman) tool stand at Sears for $129 (no free tools, but a superior quality means we'll have this for the long-run). We ordered this and a nice Craftsman wrench set ($35). There was no free shipping, so instead we opted to pick both items up at our local Sears. We received an e-mail confirmation this morning - both items are already ready for pick up!
The last item we got online last night was a red wagon for Emma. I think every child needs a wagon, and she's at the perfect age. We looked at some of the little motorized Jeeps (WalMart has them for $89 right now), but we feel that she's too young to handle anything like that! We also looked at bikes, but we're thinking that'll wait until her birthday. She's still too small to reach the handles and pedals. It just makes sense to get her something she can really use right now - and she'll get a lot of use out of this!
"The" brand of little red wagons is Radio Flyer. The "regular" ones go for about $90. Kinda crazy for a little red wagon, but these things last forever. And ever. And ever. I tried to find a good deal and had a little difficulty. We decided we really liked the All Terrain Steel and Wood model - it just looks really cool and seems really durable. These are normally about $139+. I found one from Blain's Farm and Fleet for $99. Shipping was not free on this item, but it was ONLY $9.20. Total = $109.19, which is still about $30 less than MSRP. This is Emma's "big" gift this year, and it was a great find!
Those are my big Black Friday finds for the moment. I still have my eyes out for a few things, especially clothes for Emma! I LOVE the fact that I found the same things online that were available in-store. In a different situation, I'd be down with some Black Friday marathon shopping, but these days - I like to relax with the family when I can. Online shopping is convenient and pretty darn awesome...so don't think you're missing out if you can't make it to the store! You can most definitely find the same (or better) deals online :) Happy shopping!
Until next time,
Live.Laugh.Love.
We thought about going shopping last night. As a matter of fact, we actually went to WalMart around 8pm last night. Neither of us had ever actually done the whole Thanksgiving/Black Friday shopping deal, so we had to see what it was all about. Craziness - that's what it's all about! We didn't stay for the 8pm event, although we watched the mayhem. Instead, we went to McDonald's for mint McFlurries and then we shopped online last night.
I've been looking for a good tablet for a while. I know, I know - just get an iPad. I love Apple, don't get me wrong, but we recently switched to Android. I just like the feel of being able to customize so much, so I really felt an Android tab was the way to go. Initially, I looked at the Samsung Galaxy tablets. My phone is a Samsung Galaxy SII, and I love it, so it made sense to just get a giant one. The cons of this idea: I want a keyboard. I don't need something tailored for entertainment. I wanted something a little more robust and wouldn't settle for anything less than a 10" screen. And I didn't want to pay more than about $300.
After doing a little more research and price comparison, I felt compelled to go with an Asus Transformer. It's perfect for what I need. What's really super awesome: I saved over $150!!! Best Buy's Black Friday sales include the Asus Transformer TF300T (wi-fi) 10" for $279 (MSRP $379) and the keyboard dock for $99 (usually $150). PLUS - Free shipping!!! Super excited about this great deal!!!
One of the things we wanted from WalMart was the $69 Garmin. Our GPS died a long time ago, and I am really tired of using my not-so-trustworthy MapQuest app. After seeing the Hunger Games before our eyes, we decided to just look for this deal online. Best Buy wins again - we found a TomTom for the same price, again with free shipping!
We also had our eyes on a Stanley rolling tool stand for $99 w/ a 100 pc. tool set at WalMart. We compared sales at Lowe's, Home Depot and Sears. We found a better quality (Craftsman) tool stand at Sears for $129 (no free tools, but a superior quality means we'll have this for the long-run). We ordered this and a nice Craftsman wrench set ($35). There was no free shipping, so instead we opted to pick both items up at our local Sears. We received an e-mail confirmation this morning - both items are already ready for pick up!
The last item we got online last night was a red wagon for Emma. I think every child needs a wagon, and she's at the perfect age. We looked at some of the little motorized Jeeps (WalMart has them for $89 right now), but we feel that she's too young to handle anything like that! We also looked at bikes, but we're thinking that'll wait until her birthday. She's still too small to reach the handles and pedals. It just makes sense to get her something she can really use right now - and she'll get a lot of use out of this!
"The" brand of little red wagons is Radio Flyer. The "regular" ones go for about $90. Kinda crazy for a little red wagon, but these things last forever. And ever. And ever. I tried to find a good deal and had a little difficulty. We decided we really liked the All Terrain Steel and Wood model - it just looks really cool and seems really durable. These are normally about $139+. I found one from Blain's Farm and Fleet for $99. Shipping was not free on this item, but it was ONLY $9.20. Total = $109.19, which is still about $30 less than MSRP. This is Emma's "big" gift this year, and it was a great find!
Those are my big Black Friday finds for the moment. I still have my eyes out for a few things, especially clothes for Emma! I LOVE the fact that I found the same things online that were available in-store. In a different situation, I'd be down with some Black Friday marathon shopping, but these days - I like to relax with the family when I can. Online shopping is convenient and pretty darn awesome...so don't think you're missing out if you can't make it to the store! You can most definitely find the same (or better) deals online :) Happy shopping!
Until next time,
Live.Laugh.Love.