Because I Am A CopyCat....

Do you remember when being called a copycat was about the worst thing ever?

You might as well have told a child they would never grow up to be a useful member of society.

Give up now, ye copycat! No good can come of your copycattery.

I believed that for a long time, but no more.

Copying is a form of flattery, and let's face it, there are no truly original ideas out there.

Consider copycatting an homage.

And in that spirit, I steal an idea shared by my good friend S, and announce Fab Fridays!

Fab Fridays will be the days when I share something good from the week. Perhaps a recipe, a quote, a book, a find, a photo. Whatever it may be, I say enjoy!

For the launch of Fab Fridays, I give you my find of the week:

The Dirt Devil Kurv hand vac. It's got 9.6 volts of sucking power, wrapped up in an sleek, elegant champagne-colored body. Designed by Karim Rashid, this little beauty is the perfect device for chasing down wayward glitter, thread, dust, or baby food embedded in the dreaded highchair. This example of design + function can be yours for less than $20 at Bed, Bath & Beyond. On sale now, get 'em while they last!!

Savings

Between Christmas last month, and many birthdays approaching, I have been doing much online shopping.

But I am cheap, and hate to pay for anything "extra" such as shipping. I know, if I order online, paying shipping is to be expected, but it just irks me when they tack on that extra $6 or $8 or even $10.

So I must share with you my latest find.

Before I make a purchase, I will google the phrase "(insert store name here) coupon".

9 out of 10 times, I end up at Retailmenot. This ingenious little site hosts online coupon codes sent by users or posted by the store website themselves.

Folks, because of this site I have saved on multiple occasions. I saved $15 in shipping on a birthday gift (yes, it's a big gift). On another purchase I found free shipping + $10 off. A third time I found shipping for 99 cents, saving me $6. The site even shows you how reliable a coupon code is supposed to be (based on whether or not users were successful in having it work for them).

If you are an online shopper like me, you have to check it out.