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How to Survive Suburbia

The 60 Dollar Revlon Hairdryer that will Change Your Life

I almost caved and bought the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer, which I’m sure is amazing . . . but it’s over 400 bucks. 

I have long, coarse, wavy (a more accurate description is frizzy) hair. Every salon recommends Keratin to me.

I have the kind of hair that a salon blocks out more time to do. It’s the type of hair that another stylist calls over an associate to help her out when drying my hair. 

When I style my hair myself, I lose interest somewhere in the drying process. Pure boredom. As a result, my hair never looks anything close to the results I achieve in a salon.

I knew the Dyson would cut my drying time down significantly. Yet my hairstylist told me he heard mixed reviews. And, I realized I still would have to do the styling (not my forte). So, I hesitated. And, I’m glad I did.

The Revlon Pro Collection Salon One-Step Hair Dryer and Volumizer

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Virtual Book Club: Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

I’m thrilled to introduce the 7th book of our Virtual Book Club.

Our newest selection is Lilac Girls by Martha Hall Kelly

The book is 512 pages.

Why I Selected Lilac Girls

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How to Get the Lowest Prices on Amazon Electronics: Echo, Kindles & More

What if I told you that you can shop on Amazon and find popular electronic devices at a huge discount?

Did you miss out on deals for Amazon Prime Day?

Buy Certified Refurbished Amazon Electronics

*This post originally appeared in January 2017 and has been updated to reflect new product information.

What is a refurbished product?

There are many reasons why a product may be refurbished. Yes, sometimes there was a defect that the manufacturer fixed, but many times it’s refurbished because of superficial issues. For example, a consumer returned an item due to a damaged shipping box, a minor scratch or dent on the product’s casing or exterior, or opened the box and simply changed his or her mind.

What happens to these returned items?

The items get shipped back to the manufacturer who will then test these products, repair any defects, verify that these products are “as new” and re-sell them as refurbished.

Amazon takes this one step further by selling their own products as “certified refurbished” items, meaning that they come with the same limited warranty and return policy as a brand new device. This includes their popular Kindle and Alexa devices. Think about this: you are getting the same product, with the same warranty, and the same return policy. Why not buy Certified Refurbished?

Amazon also sells Certified Refurbished products from other manufacturers. To see a full list of brands, click here. Amazon backs these items with their own limited 90-day warranty.

(Note, although you can also save money from Amazon’s Warehouse Deals, you may not receive the same warranties as “Certified Refurbished” products; also these Warehouse Deal items may not necessarily be “as new” but rather a bit more used. However, you can definitely find great deals there, just make sure to read the fine print.)

My Top Picks:

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Amazon Prime Day 2018 Deals for Fitness, Electronics & Kids Products

Amazon’s Prime Day starts this afternoon (July 16th) at 3pm EST and continues for 36 hours, until midnight on the 17th.

I’ve done the research so you don’t have to in order to curate this list. As an Amazon Affiliate, I may receive a small fee if you make a purchase through one of my links.

To make it even easier this year, check out all the deals in my Prime Day Section of my Amazon shop. Note, not all products can be listed here so be sure to read through the entirety of this post first.

Amazon Prime Day Deals Shop

First off, if you are not an Amazon Prime member or your membership has lapsed, you’ll want to rejoin to take advantage of Amazon Prime Day. Click below for a free 30-day trial.

Tips and Tricks to Getting the Best Deal on Amazon Prime Day

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The Ultimate List of Books from A to Z

Summer and books go hand in hand, along with pools, beaches, and barbeques.

I’ve compiled a list of 44 books from A to Z, most of them published within the last five years, and more importantly, with an average of 4 to 5 stars on Amazon and GoodReads.

Like I’ve said before, I love to research and I do it, so you don’t have to.

Whether you are looking for a summer or vacation read, something new for your book club, or want to compete in an A to Z reading challenge, this list is for you!

Your Reading List: Books from A to Z

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Virtual Book Club: The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

We are up to book number 6 for the Virtual Book Club. If you’re just joining us, welcome. Feel free to read some of our past book club discussions. You can always join the conversation at any time.

Our newest selection is The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah

The book is 448 pages.

Note: As an Amazon associate, I may receive a small fee if you make a purchase through one of my links. While you don’t have to purchase the book through one of these links, I truly appreciate it if you do.

Why I Selected The Great Alone

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10 Surprising Ways to Burn Calories throughout the Day

What I missed most when I moved to the suburbs was the walking. Sure, it wasn’t fun when I lived in the city and had to push a double stroller during a rainstorm or carry heavy grocery bags home. But, even on days when I couldn’t make it to the gym, I got a ton of exercise. I regularly reached 16,000 steps on my FitBit without even trying.

Now, I reside in a completely suburban neighborhood, sans sidewalks, and nowhere worth walking to for miles. My kids ride school buses and I drive them to every playdate.

Within in a month of moving here, I googled “Does Living in the Suburbs Make You Fat?” and was amazed at how many search results came up.

In my 40’s, I have to work twice as hard as my city-living days to stay fit.

It got me wondering . . .

How many calories do we burn doing everyday activities?

Note: Calories below are an approximation, based on a 130-150 pound individual

1. Doing Laundry

Like you, I do loads of laundry. Usually, I sit as I fold and watch a TV show. I could burn more calories by standing but what fun is that?

55 calories per each load of laundry

On average, it takes me 30 minutes to fold, which burns about 30 calories. It takes me about another 10-minutes to put the clean clothes away, for an extra 20 calories. Plus, walking up the stairs and back down burns another 5 calories. This doesn’t sound like very much, at .17 calories for every step. Considering I do that I go up and down my stairs 10 to 20 times per day, it adds up.

2. Playing with the Kids

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Everything You Need to Know about the Peloton Tread

I wanted to attend 2018 CES (the Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas but couldn’t make it happen this year. Luckily, my in-laws are there, taking notes, sending pictures, and keeping me updated. Of course, I sent them straight to the Peloton Tread. So based on my informants and my own research, along with several telephone conversations with Peloton representatives at CES, here’s. . .

The Peloton Tread in a Nutshell:

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How to get the Peloton Cycle Experience without the Price Tag

When I joined a gym as a mom, my priorities changed: I needed daycare and I needed a shower. Motivation in place. Little did I know that my son’s poop, cries, and attempts to escape would interrupt my routine almost on a daily basis. My new mom friends invited me to take spin classes with them, but between the coaches shouting out mysterious numbers and the coordination involved, I kindly declined; spin was more than my foggy-mom brain could handle at the time, so I stuck to my elliptical, yoga, and Zumba classes. This pre-dated the Soul Cycle invasion of New York, before cadence and tap-backs became part of the everyday jargon.

By the time my son learned to love the gym, I was pregnant with baby #2. Luckily, my little girl eased into daycare and I soon realized after taking my first spin class that I had been missing out: with its trendy music and remixes blaring in a darkened room, let’s face it, this was the closest I was getting to a night out.

At this same time, the condo I lived in had redesigned its gym, and I convinced management to add a spin bike. But what can you do with a spin bike and no instructor? I downloaded apps and watched YouTube videos, but no good solution existed at the time.

Fast-forward to the suburbs and a house with room for exercise equipment. One day, soon after we moved in, I scrolled down on Facebook and noticed that several of my friends had “liked” the One Peloton page, then called Peloton Cycle. I asked those friends about it, but no one had purchased a bike, yet everyone agreed it was a brilliant concept: a state-of-the-art bike with spin classes live or on demand. The bike, however, comes with a hefty price tag ($1995 plus $250 delivery, plus a $39 per month subscription).

The Peloton App

After gawking at the price tag again and doing the math, MacGyver kicked in. I downloaded the Peloton app to my iPad, free at [Read more…]

Virtual Book Club: Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

Who’s ready for book number 5 of the My Purse Strings Virtual Book Club?

Our newest selection is Little Fires Everywhere by Celeste Ng

The book is 352 pages.

Note: As an Amazon associate, I may receive a small fee if you make a purchase through one of my links. While you don’t have to purchase the book through one of these links, I truly appreciate it if you do.

Why I Selected Little Fires Everywhere

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