Old Navy Beach Bum Babes!

Have I told you recently how much I absolutely LOVE Old Navy and Crowdtap??? I was chosen for the Beach Bum Party where me AND three friends got to choose a free pair of flip flops, a beach bag, towel and sunglasses.  How incredible is that?!?

Now on to the details.  I can't say this was the smoothest experience checking out that I've had for these, but it all worked out.  I asked 3 of my friends to meet me outside Michael's Craft store (which is right next door to Old Navy) for a surprise on Friday night.  Once they were all there, I filled them in on what we were really doing.  They were dumbfounded at first and couldn't believe it.  I even got out the booklet to show them! It was a priceless reaction.  Then we went inside to get started...

First we started with the flip flops because they were easiest to find. We ended up each finding a pair we liked, including the sparkly and wedge types.  The coupon said ANY pair of flip flops so we thought we were good to go.  Come to find out when we got to the register that only the basic worked so we had to get out of line and pick a basic pair out. I had fallen for the wedge ones but ended up with the basic in Navy.

Side note: it worked out because I got the Snap 10 with the Snappy App so I went back and got 2 pairs of the wedges for free the next weekend!! Have I said I LOVE Old Navy?!?

Next we were off to the bags.  We only found 3 that weren't on clearance so I asked an employee if they had them anywhere else and she pointed us to the two straw styles (also on clearance).  We each ended up with one of the three that weren't clearanced but they were more purses than beach bags.  I ended up with this one (on the left).  I also bought the one on the right (which was on clearance so I couldn't use it for the coupon).

Then we went in search of towels.  Again I ended up asking an employee because we couldn't find them anywhere.  She pulled a basket of them out from underneath a table.  It was odd because it was a low table and they were not visible at all.  They had quite a few towel options so we were all able to find ones we liked.  I got this one...

Last was sunglasses.  This was a disaster and what made my friends and I incredibly frustrated and ready to walk out without them.  We had all picked out sunglasses on the rack of them that was up front.  We all found ones we loved and we were ready to check out! Here's some of our first choices...

We waited in line and the first one of us started.... the flip flops we had picked didn't work and the sunglasses weren't Old Navy brand?!  They told us basic flip flops, easy enough, and pointed us towards some baskets of sunglasses and assured us all of the ones in there were ON brand.  So we got out of line and repicked flip flops and sunglasses, waited in line again and... wrong sunglasses AGAIN!  She tells us (not shows us) that they must only be the ones in the back, when we told her they were all clearanced, she called the manager up who (after a 10 min discussion with the cashier) decided to override the price and ring them in at $0.01.  We had to get out of line AGAIN, pick them out and wait in line AGAIN.  Needless to say, the clearance glasses were very picked over and not great. At this point, my friends were hungry, annoyed and ready to be out of there. I am always impressed with ON customer service and true to form, the manager did apologize for all the problems and gave us a $5 coupon for next time we come, which was really nice of here.

Here's a picture of all of us with what we had picked out before all the issues.

Here's what I ended up with...

Everything ended up fine and it eventually worked out.  I am more disappointed that that was my friends' first experience with the Crowdtap and Old Navy sample shares.  I hope the wording on the coupons are a lot more clear about the restrictions next time they have one.  That will eliminate a lot of confusion and frustration and make checkout go smoother. 

Thank you for the opportunity!

Madagascar crazy!!!

I had another opportunity through Crowdtap to host a party to get excited for the release of Madagascar 3!! Becca LOVED the first movie so I was excited to watch the second movie at the party.  It was such a good time.  We had 4 girls her age that were able to make it and we partied it up. 

I made masks from the party kit Crowdtap provided and got some pink wigs to supplement their looks. 

I played the first Madagascar movie in the background as people arrived and we ate elephant and lion shaped pancakes. The girls watched a lot of the movie through their masks.

I planned a lot of outdoor water games since it was HOT here.  After we ate we all moved outside to play in the sprinkler.  They had a good time pretending to be different animals running through the sprinkler and performing their "circus tricks" while everyone watched.  It was a great way to cool off.

Next we pulled out water balloons and tried to see how long they could toss them back and forth without dropping them (not long :) ).  It was so fun to watch and there was tons of giggling. The winning team got small prizes to take home.

Next we played pin the tail on Gloria.  I was a little worried that this game would be too hard for them but they did so well and we ended up taking second and third turns.  They were blindfolded, spun 3 times and faced to the wall.  I think the hardest part was keeping them pointed toward the wall. They had to be redirected a few times. :)

Here's the end result.  We had some deviations, but they all made it on the wall.

Next we dried off and went inside for dessert.  I had made tie dye cupcakes and zebra cake.  It got very quiet after they were passed out so I think they girls enjoyed it.

All in all it was a great day and everyone left full, happy and exhausted!  Thanks again Crowdtap!!

Seasoned summer night...

I'm back with another AWESOME opportunity from Crowdtap and McCormick.  This time I was chosen to host a McCormick grilling party.  They provided all of this awesomeness to try:

• Grill Mates® Spiced Brandy & Herb Marinade
• Grill Mates® Slow and Low Memphis Pit BBQ Rub
• Grill Mates® Montreal Steak Seasoning Blend
• Grill Mates® Molasses Bacon Seasoning Blend
• Grill Mates® Brown Sugar Bourbon BBQ Sauce

Here's some of the pre-party layout

 It was all pretty amazing. I used the Slow and Low Memphis Pit BBQ Rub on the ribs, SOOOO GOOD!!  It tasted even better than it smelled, I HIGHLY recommend this one.

Here's a before and during shot for you to drool over:

I had a bunch of chicken to grill up and used the Spiced Brandy & Herb Marinade,  Brown Sugar Bourbon BBQ Sauce and Montreal Chicken Seasoning on it.  There was a big debate about whether the Spiced Brandy and Herb and Brown Sugar Bourbon BBQ Sauce was better.  I personally voted for the Spiced Brandy and Herb, but it was close. I bought some steak to try out the Montreal Steak Seasoning too which was also great. 

On top of all the great meats and seasonings, I had made some recipes I've been wanting to try from Pinterest like Crack bread, Rolo brownie bites, chocolate and sprinkle and chocolate and graham cracker covered marshmallows, beer cheese dip and beer bread and cheesy potatoes. We also had a cornhole tournament and played Texas Hold 'em and Euchre. It was a night of good friends, GREAT food and games!  Thank you Crowdtap and McCormick for the opportunity!