Woombie: A Love Story.

I'm in love with a Local Mompreneur's products! It all started innocently enough when I accepted a "connection" on MerchantCircle from a woman named Karen and her business, Woombie. "Funny name. Never heard of it." I thought to myself.  So, I visit their website to find out what a Woombie was. I was blown away! I LOVE finding other local mompreneurs. I instantly feel connected to other mompreneurs. I know we drank the same tainted Kool-aid. Every time I find a new one, I think to myself, I'm not the only crazy one to step out on faith and start a business? This time was more special because I also thought, This woman is running THIS business in my backyard? Why are we not best friends? MY customers would her products! How can I get involved? So, instead of putting it on my to-do list which is infinite and hardly gets revisited, I just did it. I became a seller of all things Woombie.

Check out http://Woombie.com/ and then order through me for my special 10% OFF deal and have your purchase shipped directly you OR pickup in the store! Great gift item for yourself or someone else!

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Frugal Foodie Find!

I've shared another local frugal food find a while back. Snappy Dawgs is a food cart that serves delicious food during the week on the corner of Main St and Fairfield Ave in front of the Fairfield County Courthouse. But I work on Saturdays and they don't come on the weekend. I am partial to restaurants that deliver because I can't afford to close my business to go get lunch. So, one of my customers informed me that Amici Miei delivers too. Well then, I put that on my to-do list. And today I ordered a thin crust pizza from there called "Rurale" and had to share this with you!

It is topped with red sauce, mozzarella, mushrooms (fresh ones not those slimy ones from the can either), and big slices of prosciutto. And get this! With tax, I paid (drum roll.....) $8.50! I gave the delivery girl a $10 and told her to keep the change as her tip. I was in NYC the other day and paid $9 for a panini that wasn't even half the size of this pizza. What a rip off that was! These personal size pizzas are pretty big and a great value. Could easily share among 2 people. And if you live or work in downtown Bridgeport, I suggest having it delivered.

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I love my city of Bridgeport!

My city (Bridgeport, CT) gets a bad rap. We were even poked fun at in a episode of Family Guy. I'm wasn't born or raised in CT so I don't know first-hand what it was like 10-20 years ago. I hear it used to be a lot of crime and corruption. What former large city hasn't gone through a period of rebuilding? Bridgeport was once a major port and manufacturing city. I hear from customers how nice the city was when they were growing up 30-40 years ago. They reminisce when they come into the restored Arcade Mall because their parents used to shop for them here. People once flocked here for jobs and opportunity. When the jobs left, desperation and crime ran rampant just like Cleveland, OH (my birthplace) and cities like Detroit, MI.

We've got a long way to go with the public education system here. Don't think there's an easy fix for that. But I believe our worst is in the past. Every city has parts of town you shouldn't go to at night, alone, if you don't know anyone or have no business there. That's just common sense! I moved to CT in 2005. I moved into downtown because there was an experimental artist housing development placed here. I was familiar with Artspace from my time living in MN. They buy distressed properties all over the USA and rehab them and subsidize apartments for artists and their families. This gives them an affordable place to live as they work in their craft. Usually Artspace projects are located in urban areas that have been void of residents for a while. I lived there until I outgrew my apartment when I started my family. My husband and I purchased a home in Bridgeport's north end.

When I decided to go into business for myself, Bridgeport was an obvious choice for opportunity and growth and the retail home for Gumdrop Swap. I see the once abandoned buildings being refaced and replaced. I saw the potential about 2 years ago and everyone asked " Are you sure you want to open a business in BRIDGEPORT?" Uh, yeah. And I did. And now other people must be as crazy as I was because I see families and neighboring businesses are moving in. Sure, its not happening as fast as people (including myself) may want it to. But it took years to get the city in it's current state and it takes visionaries to invest, risk and make positive changes. I'm happy to be a part of the movement. I look forward to sharing some maybe-not-so-well-known things going on here. If you haven't been to downtown Bridgeport in years you've got to come see what you're missing! Delicious food, affordable shopping, relaxation, and great people. Park your car and explore! Unless, you consider the Family Guy cartoon a reliable travel guide. In that case, stay where you are, lol.

Have you ever been blessed by the Coupon Fairy?

I really wish I had the time and dedication to be like those serious EXTREME couponers. Have you seen that show? I would need to also build out my basement to store my stockpile of groceries and toiletries too. But the savings are impressive. That's undeniable. I'm so not organized. Then I would feel guilty if it was crowded that day at the store and I was holding up the line because I was separating my order into 11 separate orders to get maximum savings. Maybe store should have a coupon line like they have express lanes?!

The Target near my home just renovated to add a grocery store inside. A few days ago I made a mental note that I needed to stop to buy a loaf of bread on the way home from church. I shuffled through the mail to find a circular from Target. There were some coupons in there and the main one was for a FREE loaf of bread. I took this as a sign.

So, I'm in Target, navigating the new floor plan. There were items I get cheaper at my preferred grocery store but I didn't want to throw the unused coupons away. A saw a woman looking at the egg selection and offered her a coupon to get a dozen eggs for $.99. A good deal but I had a full dozen at home and wouldn't need another by the time the coupon would expire. So, I offered it to her and she was so thankful. Wow, that felt great! Maybe someone could use my other coupon I wasn't going to utilize? So I found the related projects and tucked the coupon in front so it would be visible. My 3 yr old asked me a few times what I was doing. "We're leaving these for someone else," I said. And she asked her knew favorite question, "Why?" Because its nice and it will make them happy like the lady buying eggs. Toddler was satisfied. Cool.

My last coupon I gifted was for Method laundry detergent. And as I reached to tuck my coupon I saw someone else had done the same thing. Now, I'm not naive to think I "invented" this practice but maybe this is going on more than I know. Do you often find coupons tucked among products when you're shopping? Or do you go around being a coupon fairy? I think its such a nice gesture especially when everyone is looking to save money.


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Loving You as YOU ARE!

 I wanted to share a wonderful video of fellow curvy model Fluvia in collaboration with Plus Model Magazine. Fluvia wears a size 18 and she exudes sexiness and style. For all of us that second guess the image we see in the mirror, this should boost your confidence!

Save up to 80% on custom printed products at Vistaprint. Order today! Get Paid to Tweet! http://ad.ly/publisher/refer/251902558