Handstamped Jewelry Giveaway

***expired***


All over the internet there are tons of giveaways this week in conjunction with 5 minutes for Moms Ultimate Blog Party! This one in particular caught my eye. a $50 gift certificate to Kristen's custom creations. I love these charms. Go visit La Dolce Vita to enter this giveaway!
The winner will be chosen March 31st!

Welcome to the Ultimate Blog Party!

Hey There! And Welcome to my Blog! If you are visiting for the first time thanks for stopping by! A little bit about me and my blog-- I am married to a sensitive new-age man. He is amazing and my best friend. We have 5 beautiful children who are 5 years and 3 mos from oldest to youngest so life can be crazy and wonderful and everything in between.

I started "The Grotto" because I wanted a place to be able to post the fun giveaways I found on blogs and as I was brainstorming blog names my husband suggested "Treasure Trove" and I instantly thought of Ariel's Grotto from The Little Mermaid. Ariel kept all her human treasures in her Grotto. So I thought my Grotto could be a place for all the treasures I find and want to share with you and remember for me. I post giveaways and product reviews and cool free things. And soon I will be doing a giveaway of my own! Woohoo! Stay tuned....

I would love to make new blogging friends! Please subscribe to my feed or follow my blog (on sidebar). You can also follow me on Twitter @bellabuttercup.

At the Ultimate Blog Party there are prizes to be won:

I am contributing a $20 Kohl's gift card to the party, because Kohl's is one of my favorite stores and I always get great deals there! It is #123 on the UBP list

Some that I would like to win are:
A Kajeet Phone from Kajeet
$50 Gift Card To Target From Agoosa
A Surprise Box Filled With Goodies ($50 value) from Monkey's Momma

Free Music

***expired***

Anyone else wish they had been able to attend SXSW this year? I think after Mom 2.0 I am hooked to social media conferences. I would go to as many as I could if possible. But since I didn't get to go I'll have to console myself with free music from Amazon.com They are offering free downloads of indie bands from the SXSW Opening Day Bash. Some of the songs are really great. So if you're open to new music give them a try.

Thanks to Common Sense with Money for the find!

Medical Transcription Training

***expired***


To celebrate Women For Hire's 10th Anniversary in 2009, they've partnered with Career Step, a leading provider of medical transcription training, to award TEN qualified candidates with a full scholarship to Career Step's medical transcription training program.

Career Step is the nation's leading provider of online medical transcription and medical coding and billing training as well as leading edge technology solutions throughout the healthcare industry.

Time is running short, they will be picking the winners on April 1st. Visit Women for Hire's website and fill out the scholarship application. You may soon be on the path to a new career. Make sure to tell all your friends about this one.

This is What I've been looking for...

When I was a college student, my roommates and I spent many hours primping and doing our hair for various dates and dances. We always would get the perfect look by holding our hair with our hands, but once we added the bobby pins and hair accessories it just didn't hold the way we had planned. We kept saying that someone needed to invent "the hand" to make our hair stay the way we planned.

Enter "Trash Ties." They are a creation of Heather Bailey and based on the concept of those twist ties that come with your trash bags! I had heard about them here and there on blogs, but I was a little nervous about purchasing them because they are kind of pricey and hair accessories tend to get lost at my house. After much self-debate, I finally talked myself into purchasing them. ( I actually tried out the concept with real trash ties first, and decided I'd like to try the ribbon covered version--which is prettier and now I know much more sturdier!) And now I am so happy that I got them because they are the closest thing to "the hand" that I have ever found! They even make neutral colors that blend in with your hair color for a more subdued look. I have gotten really great results with my hairstyles since I bought these and to me they are worth the extra price. They hold my hair really well and stay in all day. I got both the little trash ties and the long ones. I love it how when I wear the long one as a headband it stays in all day! Usually when I wear a headband I have to fix it multiple times throughout the day. Not so with trash ties! They stay put! Go try them! You won't regret it!

Family History done FUN

***expired***


Elegance Redefined is currently hosting a giveaway for Stories by Me. The lucky winner can pick between the Memory Calendar Kit and the Memory Tree Magnet Board Kit. I first heard about this at the Mom 2.0 summit and instantly fell in love with the Memory Tree idea. I like the thought of my children becoming familiar with their great grandparents especially since they have all passed away. I also am toying with the idea of making a cousin tree because my kids have 25 cousins who are scattered all over the country and they only see them every 3 years or so and I would like for them to recognize them when they do get together. What would you make? What would you choose? You have until next Wed March 18th when they will pick and announce a winner!