Nutiva Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil continues to stay at a super low price at Amazon. You can get two 54-ounce tubs if you have Amazon Prime/Mom and purchase at least four other subscribe and save items within one month’s time. Learn more about how Amazon Prime/Mom works here.

It’s hard to find coconut oil of this quality for such a great price, especially if you are like me and don’t have a store close-by that carries it. Snatch this up, and you’ll be on your way to healthy cooking and baking. I also use coconut oil topically for all sorts of needs!

This post contains affiliate links.

You likely remember me talking about Olive Nation in relation to buying vanilla beans. Oh yes, they are my favorite resource for vanilla beans each time I make a batch of Homemade Vanilla Extract. But you know they also carry a great variety of other great items? Today, they’ve put together several awesome food packages to give away. We’ll be highlighting each of these packages individually during our Homemaking is Fun Facebook Party from 7-8:30 CST tonight. But for now, check these out!

Package #1

1/2 pound of their wonderful quality Vanilla Beans so that you can make your own vanilla!

Package #2

Tea Variety Pack – 5 different tea varieties, winners choice

Package #3

Gluten Free Pasta – 1 each of 5 different pastas, winner’s choice

Package #4

Baking Supplies – 1/2 pound cocoa powder, 2 pounds sucanat, 4 ounces almond extract

Package #5

Olive Oil – 250 ml bottle Nation Estate Virgin Olive Oil

I’ll draw a random winner on Tuesday, April 29. Be watching for a post stating the winner as you will be responsible for contacting me if your name is chosen.

This post contains affiliate links.

Be watching for more giveaways, coming up later today!

As I quickly pulled my hair into a Flexi-Clip yesterday morning (my 5-second hair styling routine), I was reminded yet again of how much I love Lilla Rose and their hair accessories. Their Flexi-Clips are super easy to work with, very pretty to  look at, and a huge money saver since they last and last and last – unlike hair-pulling rubber bands that get stretched out after two uses.

Four of the favorite Flexis-of-the-Month are being brought back! Today and tomorrow, they are being offered for 15% off. There will be no backorders during this two day sale, so don’t wait if you’re interested.

Check them out here on Paula’s Lilla Rose Site. Here’s to pretty hair in five seconds!

The following is a guest post from Sara. Consideration was received for the editing and publishing of this article.  

School trips are a major part of your kids’ school life and something they deserve to have as not only a learning experience, but also as an essential good school memory.

A good bunch of friends, good management on the part of the school and an interesting place of visit may be the key ingredients in making the trip a success, but some other smaller bits and pieces might add to the trip being fun as well as safe.

These things depend on your part in the trip, which involves getting the essentials for your kids to take along. Here are some of the things you should consider getting them:

Travel Backpack

To carry most of the items you’re going to get your children, they need to have a travel backpack to stock the things. Travel backpacks are not much different in terms of design from the regular ones, but are bigger, have more space and compartments for keeping items safe and undamaged.

Children’s backpacks for trips are also designed with their height and weight carrying limit in mind. They are also bound to be useful for family trips, so it’s be a good investment for school use as well as for family excursions.

There are a variety of travel backpacks you can choose from and you also have the option to get one for your kids based on their favorite TV shows. For example, if your kids love watching Sesame Street, a backpack portraying its theme won’t be hard to find with so much Sesame gear available from online.

Snacks

Trips also involve a lot of walking and moving around. Lunch time is always fixed to a certain point, so with some snacks in their own backpack, your kids can just reach for a juice or a packet of crisps if they feel hungry or thirsty in between.

However, don’t pack in too many sweet things, especially candies and soft drinks. These are only likely to make them thirstier and nurture their sweet tooth rather than abating their hunger.

Umbrellas and Hats

Before you send children off to their school trip, remember to check the weather forecast for that day so you know what kind of gear they should keep at hand or wear to be comfortable.

If they’re going to go to a place where chances are it’s going to rain, get them an umbrella. You don’t have to worry about the space or the heaviness of the umbrella as there are plenty of folding umbrellas out there that are small in size and light in weight. Remember to instruct your child on how to use one.

On the other hand, if the weather report says it’s going to be quite sunny, you can give them hats for protecting the sun rays from making contact with their eyes. You can also go for a DIY hat for your kids. Another option is to get them sunglasses if they agree to wear them.

There is always something extra that you might want to pack in just in case, but don’t overburden your children’s backpacks so they spend more time trying to tug it around rather than having fun. Keep in mind the kind of trip it is, indoor or outdoor, overnight or day trip, and help them pack accordingly.

The following is a guest post from Sara.

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In Proverbs 22:6, the Bible tells us very specifically to: “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” The Bible wants parents to teach their children the ways of the world – including how to make smart money choices. Teaching children to save and spend wisely is essential to raising healthy kids, as it leads to smarter financial choices when they’re older.

Responsibility Leads to Reward

Children can be earning what they receive. In the adult world, in order to collect money, you have to work hard for it. This reality is sometimes overlooked by parents, who simply want to provide their children with what they need and want. In order to prepare children for the future, make sure they understand they’ll also need to work hard for new items and money.

Set up a weekly allowance for your kids. Designate some chores to your child and let them know they’ll receive their allowance at the end of the week. Much like a job, your child will be required to do well, in order to receive their paycheck on payday.

Make Saving Fun

Children may want to run right to the candy store to spend their money, so it’s your job to remind them that saving their funds will result in more expensive items. The first step in creating a smart saver is to make saving a fun and creative experience. You may want to paint a piggy bank or old jar with your child. They can store their money here and watch as it fills to the top.

When children are saving for something specific, the process becomes a lot more fun. Ask your child what they really want, like a new computer or tablet. These items aren’t cheap and will require that your child saves for a long time. When their jar does become full, take them to purchase the item or to the bank to make a deposit into their account.

The bank is a fun place for children to learn about money. Bank tellers often keep small candies and suckers to give to children, making the trip rewarding. If this is your child’s first visit to the bank, don’t be afraid to ask the teller to introduce themselves and explain what they do. This is also a great time to explain how interest works and how money grows slowly in the bank, so it’s worth it to save for a long time.

The Big Payoff

Shopping is the big payoff, because it’s the time kids finally get to spend some of the cash they’ve been saving. Your child has worked hard, saved enough, and is finally ready to make a purchase. At this point, you can teach good shopping habits. Introduce children to the world of coupons. They’ll begin to see how a single coupon can result in hundreds of dollars in savings.

Finally, when your child has scrimped and saved for an item, they’re more likely to take better care of it. This is your big payoff. You’ve been a really great parent by teaching your kids the value of a dollar. Now they’re being more respectful to their possessions. Plus, they’ll be ready to start saving for something else right away!

Remember last week’s maple syrup fun?! I called and had a nice, long chat with a Vitacost manager earlier this week to try and clear up all the confusion. He listened to everything I had to say, and answered all of my many questions. Yes, it was a long conversation. I appreciated that he didn’t get off the phone with me until all of my questions were answered. He explained to me what happened, which is exactly what I had imagined had happened – with so many of us clicking over and purchasing an item that was priced incorrectly, a system error occurred, causing a big mess of a mess. That’s not exactly how he said it because he was more professional about it, but you get the picture.

He then explained our situation to Customer Service, who then sent us the following apology. Not that she was trying to be clever with her wording, but I kind of thought it was fun that Catherine called this a “sticky situation” since we are talking about maple syrup. Yep, that would describe it all right! :)

Hi there everyone! My name is Catherine and I am the Social Media Customer Service Rep with Vitacost.com. We wanted to take a second to again sincerely apologize for this sticky situation. The item was priced incorrectly and as a result, the system canceled it with an incorrect reason of “discontinued.” We’re working on an email now to let everyone who ordered know what’s going on and why this happened. I hope that you can forgive us for this honest mistake and continue allow us to take the cost out of healthy living for you! If you need specific customer service assistance about this situation or about anything in the future, please email me directly at [email protected] as I would be glad to help.

Thanks for choosing Vitacost.com,
Catherine C
Social Media CSR
Vitacost.com
1-800-793-2601

I appreciate that Vitacost did what I was hoping they would do, which is to own up to the mistake and to apologize. And yes, after visiting with them, I do strongly feel that the mistake was an honest one. In all my dealings with VitaCost, I have found them to always be willing to work with me as a customer to make sure I am satisfied with my order. I will continue to be a VitaCost customer.

If you are still having any issues with your order, please don’t hesitate to give them a call or shoot them an email.

Thank you all for your patience. I appreciate you!

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of LÄRABAR for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

I am here today to tell you all about why I love LÄRABARs, and it isn’t even because my name is Laura. Really, I’d love them even if their name wasn’t similar to mine (although my boys might not think they were as cool).

I’m not really one to purchase many pre-made bars and snacks. I only buy them occasionally to take on road trips and to soccer and basketball games. Most pre-made bars don’t do much to satisfy any real kind of hunger, not to mention they usually contain ingredients I would normally consider to be compromise ingredients (yes, even in the organic ones).

But LÄRABARs, now that’s a different story. Some of them contain a total of only TWO ingredients. My favorite LÄRABAR, as a matter of fact, is the Cashew Cookie bar. It contains dates and cashews. That’s IT. And it tastes divine!! At most, a few varieties of LÄRABARs contain nine ingredients. It’s highly impressive that they can make such a delicious bar, with so many different varieties, with so few ingredients.

LÄRABARs are all natural, gluten free, non GMO, Kosher and are free of preservatives, colors and fillers. With the exception of the few bars that contain high quality chocolate chips, most LÄRABARs are dairy free, sugar and sweetener free, soy free and vegan.

We were sent a wonderful variety box of LÄRABARs and have had so much fun sampling the different kinds. They’re full of nuts and fruit…what a delicious combination of goodness!

I’m not sure if you follow “The Biggest Loser” on TV or not, but it would appear that LÄRABARs were featured and recommended on the March 8 episode. Way to go LÄRABAR!

The cost of LÄRABARs is anywhere from $1-$2, depending on where you look. (I’ve actually spotted some at Wal-mart in the pharmacy section!)  This cost might seem high at first glance. I’ve gotta say though…have you ever purchased high quality nuts and fruit? These ingredients cost more than puffed rice and HFCS. I think the value and quality of LÄRABARs is quite high, making the cost well worth it. You could pay almost a buck for a candy bar after all. Why not put that money into something that will fill and nourish you?! :)

Here’s where you can get your LÄRABAR coupon!! It’s good for $1 off 2 bars…an excellent deal!

Have you tried LÄRABARs? Which is your favorite?