Thursday Tidbits: Barstools

House hunting is absolutely exhausting!!! We have been looking for three months so far and have seen lots of houses, some good and some awful and I'm starting to feel like it's never going to end. To break the monotony I've been imagining my dream house and shopping for the perfect furniture for it.

One thing that I want is a really nice island or counter where family and friends can pull up barstools and converse while I'm in the kitchen preparing meals. And who knows... maybe I'll get to put my feet up from time to time.

So I decided to check CSNStores, since I know that they carry just about everything. Sure enough, I found AllBarStools.com which carries thousands of different barstools. Here are some of my favorites:


I love these, but they swivel. I think the kids would do a lot more swiveling than eating so...


I like these...


And these...


But I absolutely LOVE these! I adore everything about this barstool, from the distressed brown leather to the nailhead trim.

❤CardioBunny

EyeBuyDirect.com Review and Giveaway

I was recently selected to test the services of EyeBuyDirect.com. I primarily wear contacts, but I have been rocking my new glasses every since they arrived last week because I adore them.

I have really bad vision and usually get annoyed when I go to a brick and mortar store to shop for glasses. It seems like they either a) don't have enough frames to choose from or b) they rush me to the back to begin the exam and then expect me to choose frames after they've dilated my eyes and I can no longer see. With EyeBuyDirect, I didn't run into either of those problems. There were literally, hundreds of frames to choose from starting from just $7.95 including prescription lenses.

I was able to narrow my choices down to two and then got stuck. But that wasn't a problem, because I was able to try them on virtually using the EyeTry system and post it to Facebook to have my friends vote on which frames they liked best.



After choosing the Bourges frames, I selected options like thinner, photochromatic lenses. As well as anti scratch, anti reflective, and UV coatings all for under $100! My new glasses were made and shipped within two weeks and I couldn't be happier with the service I received. This was my first time ordering prescription eyewear online and I was pleasantly surprised by quality of both their service and products.

EyeBuyDirect.com has offered to give a $50 credit to one lucky reader! Here's how to enter:

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment telling me your favorite frame on the EyeBuyDirect website.

Optional entries (will only count after the mandatory entry is completed):
✿ Follow me on Google Friend Connect, Twitter, or RSS feed... 1 entry each
✿ Like EyeBuyDirect on Facebook... 2 entries
✿ After liking EyeBuyDirect on Facebook leave a comment on their wall saying "I entered the giveaway at Fabulous n Free" (include the URL for your Facebook comment in your entry... 1 entry
✿ Like Fabulous n Free on Facebook... 2 entries
✿ Grab my button and post it on your blog... 2 entries
✿ Follow EyeBuyDirect on Twitter... 1 entry
✿ Tweet about this giveaway using the following: "I entered to #win prescription glasses from @EyeBuyDirect! Visit @CardioBunny at http://t.co/9vSWkfb for your chance #giveaway" and include the URL in your entry... 1 entry, can be done twice per day
✿ Post this giveaway on Facebook and leave the URL here... 1 entry, can be done twice per day
✿ Post your "Eye Try" photo to the Wall of Frame and leave the URL to your post... 3 entries

Please be sure to include your email address with each entry if it is not visible in your profile.

Giveaway ends November 24th at 11:59 EST and is open to residents of the USA and Canada. Winners will be chosen by random.org and notified via email. Prizes that are not claimed within 72 hours of prize notification will be forfeited.






❤CardioBunny

Subway Breakfast Review and Giftcard Giveaway!

Operation Luv Pounds has made me realize just how quickly I started reverting to old habits that lead to my original weight gain. One of those bad habits was skipping breakfast. Since I am so not a morning person, it is extremely important that breakfast be light, quick, easy, and convenient. So, I am happy that I finally popped into Subway to try their breakfast options.

When you step into Subway for breakfast, you get to chose from 5 breakfast sandwiches on your choice of egg muffin, flat bread, or Subway's normal sandwich breads. Then you pick either whole eggs or egg whites, plus your choice of veggies. With so many choices, it's hard to imagine getting bored!

I chose the Black Forest Ham Egg Muffin Melt with egg whites and asked the sandwich artist to make it Western-style (with green peppers and onions). I loved it and at just over 180 calories, it was definitely Operation Luv Pounds friendly.


Right now Subway has a special where you get your choice of Egg Muffin Melt plus a 16oz cup of Seattle's Best coffee for $2.50. Two lucky readers will each receive a $5 gift card to try Subway's breakfast for themselves. Here's how to enter:

Mandatory entry: Leave a comment telling me what your favorite, go-to breakfast is.

Optional entries (will only count after the mandatory entry is completed):
✿ Follow me on Google Friend Connect, Twitter, or RSS feed... 1 entry each
✿ Like Fabulous n Free on Facebook... 2 entries
✿Grab my button and post it on your blog... 2 entries
✿ Tweet about this giveaway or post it on Facebook and leave the link here... 2 entries, can be done once per day

Please be sure to include your email address with each entry if it is not visible in your profile.

Giveaway ends October 15th at 11:59 EST and is open to U.S. residents with a valid street address (no PO boxes). Winners will be chosen by random.org and notified via email. Prizes that are not claimed within 48 hours of prize notification will be forfeited.

❤CardioBunny

Etsy Review: Art and Photography by Crissy Page

I came home earlier this day feeling crappy (the kids gave me their Back-to-School-cooties), but I perked up when I noticed that a package had been delivered while I was out. I figured that it was the prize that I won in a giveaway hosted by Carolina Mommy at Wee Share and sponsered by Dear Crissy and I was right.

The prize was an art print from Crissy's Etsy Shop and it is by far the most unique and beautiful prize that I have ever won.

I chose the Lockless print



so I was very presently surprised to also find these two prints inside the package as well (thank you Crissy!).



Now, I'm not an art connoisseur by by any stretch of the imagination, but these prints are so beautiful that I can't help looking at them over and over again. The images all have a metallic 3D effect that I know I could not possibly capture with my camera, so photo credits go back to Crissy.

If you are looking for a unique, beautiful gift for yourself or for others, please visit Art and Photography by Crissy Page on Etsy. And don't forget to visit DearCrissy.com as well.

❤CardioBunny

DVD Review : The Belly Off! Workout - The Body Weight Routine

Since making the decision to live a healthier lifestyle, almost a year ago I have amassed quite the collection of workout dvds. Being able to workout at home keeps me on track because it eliminates the excuses that keep me from going to the gym or for a run; no personal training appointments to miss, inclement weather, etc. So I purchased The Belly Off! The Body Weight Routine and this dvd is definitely one of my favorites.

This workout is amazing! It reminds me of a local bootcamp that I participated in earlier this year that gave me fantastic results, both in terms of pounds and inches lost.

I've completed this workout several times now and it always leaves me sweating, which makes me feel totally hardcore.

The workout is a circuit training routine that alternates between short periods of cardio and strength training moves. I never got bored during the routine because the instructor doesn't stay on any one move for a long period of time. And you go at your own pace on the cardio sessions, so you control the intensity.

The instructor, David Jack is very likeable and not overly chatty. When he speaks, it's to explain the exercises or to issue brief encouragement (it really annoys me when instructors just chatter away during workouts). Plus, David does the entire workout and I could tell that the workout was challenging for him too (I hate it when I feel like the people on the tv are just breezing through a workout... especially when I feel like I'm dying while I'm doing the beginner modification lol).

The only thing about this dvd that annoyed me is that there are a LOT of pushups! Pushups work a lot of muscles at once so I understand why they were there. But I couldn't do any more after a while so I grabbed my dumbbells and did chest raises and chest flys instead of waiting for those sections to be over.

Beginner or intermediate exercisers should be able to get a lot of mileage out of this workout. There are beginner, intermediate, and advanced modifications for most of the exercises that are done, so you can move up the rungs as you get stronger.

This dvd is definitely a keeper. I plan on using it, and the Strength Training version of it for the next four weeks. I'll post my results at the end.

All Kinds of Knees

I've been doing so well with my program that I even find myself holding back a bit because I feel like such a rockstar when I'm running that I want to do more than the designated miles. But I don't want to do too much and end up getting hurt so I've been sticking with the plan... until today. I had a personal training session yesterday and something I did during that workout has caused my knee to hurt. Boo!!! Actually, double boo!!!

I was really looking forward to running today too, I guess that's a sign that it's already becoming an addiction... er habit.

Since I can't run today and I really need to start incorporating strength training into my workouts, I decided to try Jillian Michael's No More Trouble Zones. It started out good, and everything was rolling along until I hit the core section. To be honest, the core section is challenging but I probably could have made it through if I really tried. It's kind of hard for me to push myself through core work when I still have so much belly fat. Boo to belly fat too!

Okay, that's enough being a Negative Nelly. I think I need to spread some positive vibes today so here's a plus: I am going to go to Zumba class tonight at the gym. I love Zumba because I always burn a lot of calories and have so much fun while doing it.

Oh, and I'm such a porker, but I was watching Sandwich Paradise and they profiled Peanut Butter & Co.. Since I quite possibly love peanut butter more than I love Zumba I set out to find a local store that carries it. I found it at Fresh Market and can I just tell you that The Bee's Knees version, with honey in it is well... the bee's knees! It is sooo delish. So my new favorite post workout snack is a Fluffernutter made from an Arnold Sandwich Thin, the Bee's Knees, and marshmallow fluff. I use 2 teaspoons each of the PB and fluff and it comes out to 174 calories of pure yumminess.

Gotta run!