Cheap Thrills: Fall The Rage

In this week's Cheap Thrills I will confess my love for all things fall. Yes, it's sad to say goodbye to the warm summer days, but a crisp autumn evening is among my top ten favorite things in the world. Before I get into my lifelong obsession of Halloween (we'll cover that in the next few weeks), I want to get into the back-to-school feeling that I find so comforting about this time of year. I'm a major nerd, I loved school and I loved back to school shopping. If Harry Potter had been around when I was in school, I would have dressed like Hermione all year long. When I think of my dream Hermione wardrobe, I think of the outer layer, jackets and coats! Let's take a look at what I found: 

Tweeping

Yes, that is a bird wearing a wig while sweeping.

I come to you today with a challenge. I want you to win a twitter sweepstake.

Twitter confuses me. I'm not a big fan, but I see potential. Not only can it be used for stalking people and being witty with friends, but it is a great social connection and yet another place giveaways can be found.

Twitter sweeps can be found on a few of the sweepstake sites, but I found my own way of searching for them: hashtags.

I'm sure some will slip through your freebie radar as not all are announced with a hashtag (although they should), but it is simple and doesn't take much time. Just try some of the examples:
#contest, #sweepstakes, #freebie, #free, #win, etc.

Some of the results will be for sweepstakes outside of twitter, but I bet you can find a few that are specifically twitter-only. They may involve retweeting or following someone, but I'm sure the odds are a little better than a traditional sweep.

If you don't want to follow random people, just open a separate twitter account.

Go get 'em twatters!

I'd Tap That!

Crowdtap is a company based out of New York who's mission is to " Shift marketing to a fully collaborative and participatory process between brands and consumers." Essentially, they are a survey and opinion site. I was hesitant about it at first because I have signed up for tons of survey sites that promise rewards. I usually do surveys for about a week before I lose interest in the host site because I have only reaped a whopping $0.35 in rewards. Crowdtap promises to give you opportunities to discuss real topics and give your honest opinions. In exchange, you will move up their totem pole of awesomeness and have a chance at winning money for you, money for the charity of your choice, and chances to get free products from cool companies like Old Navy, Bing, pinkberry, and more! All you have to id follow these simple steps.

Get Nailed: The Half Moon Mani

What you will need:Clear base coat
Light colored polish
Dark polish polish
5-10 reinforcement stickers
Clear top coat

How to do it:
1. Start with clean nails and apply a bas coat.

2. Apply 1-2 coats of the light base polish (depending on the coverage of the polish). Let the polish dry for 20-30 minutes.If you do not let your nails dry, you may peel off the nail polish when removing the reinforcement stickers.

3. Once nails are completely dry, place a reinforcement sticker on each nail with the outer edge of the sticker mimicking the shape of the moon of your nail.

Spooktacular Sweepstakes

DAILY ENTRY

Spirit Halloween Gift Card Giveaway Enter daily, ends Oct 3, 2011

Planet Goldilocks Halloween Sweepstakes Enter daily, ends Oct 17, 2011

Tombstone Facebook Halloween Giveaway Enter daily, ends Oct 24, 2011

Six Flags Fright Fest Instant Win Game Enter daily, ends Oct 30, 2011

Orange Crush Halloween Sweepstakes Enter daily, ends Oct 31, 2011

HGTV's Trick or Treat Sweepstakes Enter daily, ends Nov 1, 2011

WonkWeen Sweepstakes Enter daily, ends Nov 1, 2011

FearNet Sweepstakes Enter daily, ends Nov 22, 2011

Depression is Delicious

I made a tomato soup cake.

I know what you're thinking and you better put that face away.

Ok, here's the story: I found a recipe for this bizarre cake a few months back and needed an excuse to make it. I originally thought it was from the 1930s, a time period where money and having food on the table was a worry for the average American family. I thought that perhaps the recipe was birthed out of desperation - a need to create food out of what was available, but in my research I discovered that a recipe for this cake originally came out in the 1920s. Kind of weakened my story... but still serves as a life lesson.

Smart Phone Smarties

I love my iPhone, and not just because of my hardcore Angry Birds habit. I also love it because companies are offering exclusive coupons and deals through their store apps and mobile coupon programs. Some of the programs are available via text, and there's no smarty pants phone required, so everyone with texting capabilities on their phone can get in on the mobile couponing.
Numerous companies are doing this, and I've rounded up my top five, plus one bonus app I think deal seekers might be interested in.