Fun stuff that arrived this week and links

I had forgotten about a few of these freebies that arrived, and others were unexpected delights.  There were quite a few things that showed up in my mailbox the past ten days or so and I thought I would share them with you.

I didn't take photos of all the sample packets and such - I get quite a few of them.  I probably wouldn't have to buy shampoo at all this year if I didn't hate those packets slipping around in the shower - I always seem to drop them and I never open them too well - I just get shampoo everywhere.  I did get some great things recently and I will tell you a bit about each and where the sample/gift came from.

Clockwise from top right.

I did take the L'Oreal Total Repair 5 photo because I am really interested in trying the repairing balm that came in this sample.  It was free from the Wal Mart sampling site and had 3 samples in the pack - shampoo, conditioner and the balm conditioning treatment.  I am thinking of dying my hair today so I will wait a few days to test it out.

The jar is the Legend BBQ Spice Rub from the Marlboro Flavor Makers page.  My husband smokes Marlboro exclusively, and I sign up to get things for him.  He doesn't have the time or the inclination to try for any of these things but Marlboro has given me some really awesome stuff in the past (a speaker for my iPod, a wide-angle lens for my cell phone camera, sunglasses, a Zippo lighter) and he spends tons of money with the company so they can afford to send me cool things every so often.  The spice rub was made by two celebrity chefs that formed the restaurant Animal in Los Angeles.  They were recently on Top Chef Seattle as judges on the Wolfgang Cluck fried chicken challenge episode.  You could get the spice rub by being one of the first 3000 to comment on their page.

The silver item in the box that looks like a lighter is called a Smoke Tin Tool and is also from Marlboro.  It is a portable ashtray which will be useful to Andy so he can pocket his cigarette butts until he can pitch them.  This is a huge pet peeve of mine since I worked in a summer theatre that was outdoors and we used to fine people for littering the mountain side.  It was available when you signed in and was totally free.

I must admit I am stupid excited about the coffee mug.  I love the brand that gave it to me - Nestle's Abuelita Hot Chocolate Mix.  It is a cinnamon spiced hot cocoa that you make by adding hot milk.  I use soy milk but it is just as delicious and I got hooked on it when I lived in Alabama.  I have just started to see it around here (Baltimore MD and Washington DC markets) so I was excited to find they had a Facebook page and even more excited when I was one of the first 200 one day in December to enter my email address and get a special holiday surprise.  It came with coupons and two packs of Abuelita too but they are already gone!  I happened onto the contest at the right moment - I hardly ever get in on those "be the first" contests but the timing was good. It was the same with the spice rub from Marlboro - I go to work very early in the morning and I saw the email at 6 am so it was easy to respond quickly while I was on break.  It doesn't happen often though.

The little pill box item is a ton of tiny gemstones that are for nail art.  I am a member of Crowdtap - a site where they send you free samples of products to try and you throw a party or hand them out to friends and get their opinions.  I have gotten quite a few things from them - Zicam cold medicine, McCormick spices, sauces and rubs for grilling, and very recently I was selected to host a "Sexplorers" party from Durex.  I have quite a few friends that I am comfortable around even though those things tend to embarrass me a bit and I think it will be really funny to see what they send.  I know that my friends will get a kick out of it and appreciate the samples they send too so it should be fun.  Anyway - the gemstones came from Amazon.com and they were purchased as part of a $50 credit I received by redeeming my Crowdtap points.  I also bought some bed pillows, other nail art items, a new waterproof case for my Kindle and a few odds and ends that ended up being within 10 cents of my gift card and I didn't have to pay any shipping so that was awesome!

The full size Sheer Blonde Everlasting Blonde Shampoo was an unexpected treat from the John Freida Elite club.  If you haven't signed up for their email list you can through their website.  They send out great coupons and the card that accompanied this simply said "Surprise!" and had instructions on how to leave a review of the new product on their website.  I am thinking of dying my hair brown, but it always fades back to blonde quickly and I change back and forth often so this will be great down the line.

The Align digestive supplement is a two week supply I received from Vocal Point.  Vocal Point always sends out some pretty great samples.  Recently I've received the new Pantene Pro-V silky whip mousse, some samples from Always and great coupons to try new food items on the cheap like the International Delight Coffees that launched last year.  A few weeks later they will send you a follow up email asking you how you liked it and you write a brief review.  I am always excited to try their samples although this one is something I have to research a bit more before I try it.

The Avery note tabs came from a company called Franklin Planner.  By signing up for their emails you got a random sample of an office supply that could be used with their day planners.  It was simple and they only send a few emails out.  If I were ever in the market for office supplies they do have some really good deals, but they are in higher quantities than what I would use at home, and the planners themselves are pretty pricey.  Still it was a great freebie and I appreciate their generosity.

Last but not least is the Dominoes Pizza gift card.  This is a $25 gift card that I won from the Coca Cola Merry Minutes of Winning contest on the My Coke Rewards website.  I always get wonderful things from the My Coke Rewards.  My husband teases me about the bottle caps that are all over the house.  I drink Coke occasionally and have friends that save their codes for me too and so it is easy for the points to add up.  I have gotten T-shirts, hats, free item coupons and my current subscription to Entertainment Weekly with my points.  This contest was completely free to enter and didn't cost any points at all - they often have free entries to their contests and you can enter up to five times a day on certain instant win games.  The gift card was a totally random win and will come in handy for dinner sometime soon.  I also won a free 12 pack of cans from this contest but that coupon hasn't arrived yet.  It is totally worth it to set up an account.  I played about 3 days before I won, and I won both prizes back to back on the same day.

Here are some links so you can find the same deals or some awesome new ones in the future:
Wal Mart Free Samples page (There aren't always samples here but there are often coupons)
Marlboro Sign Up (Many free offers available for smokers over 21)
Abuelita Facebook Page (They have contests with English translations and are owned by Nestle USA)
John Freida Elite club sign up (great coupons and content)
Vocal Point sign up (add their Facebook page to see when new offers show up)
Franklin Planner (they may offer the free sample with email sign up again in the future)
My Coke Rewards page (lots of opportunities for free points, free entries and cool stuff)
Crowdtap (this is my personal invite link!)

I hope you all find some delightful new things on your doorstep and that each day is filled with fun surprises.  Much joy to everyone!