Who says that Valentine’s Day has to be an expensive holiday? Play your cards right and get creative, and you may find that you’ll spend a lot less than you anticipated! Instead of pricey gifts, try making something on your own, or picking a gift that is high in quality without being high in price. Make your own card for your lover, and plan a night at home instead of a night on the town. And if you do decide to purchase gifts for Valentine’s Day, use coupons wherever possible! Search through your local newspaper to find sales and coupons that you can use in local restaurants and stores.

Psst… speaking of coupons, don’t forget about the 20% coupon that’s good at BabyStuffGifts.com until February 14th! Use coupon code Valentine2010 to save 20% on personalized baby gifts and toys. And yes, baby gift baskets are included!

My husband knows that I run a product review blog, so after our latest experience at Lowe’s, he asked me to blog about them! In a nutshell, Lowe’s is a great home improvement/hardware store. Not only are they well-stocked, with everything from outdoor lighting to octagon-shaped cabinet knobs, but they actually have experienced, knowledgeable, friendly and helpful staff throughout the store. The last few times we’ve been there, all my husband had to do was ask about a particular project or repair, or just look semi-confused, and an employee was right over, asking if there was anything we needed help with.

So go Lowe’s!

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

Valentine’s Day is the day of lovers, but there’s no reason why you can’t acknowledge and celebrate a pregnant woman’s upcoming baby! If you’re wondering what kind of gift to get for an expecting mother, whether she be your wife, your sister, or just a friend, look no further than a baby gift basket. Baby gift baskets can be purchased pre-made, either for a baby boy, a baby girl, for twins, or even in a neutral theme, if you don’t know the sex of the baby.

If you do decide to purchase a baby gift basket in time for Valentine’s Day, use coupon code Valentine2010 to save 20% on personalized baby gift and toy purchases at babystuffgifts.com! The coupon expires at midnight CST on Valentine’s Day, so don’t wait too long!

Ladies! Put down the cell phones and get your butts over to Victoria’s Secret. They have a new club, PINK NATION, that you can join for free! A membership with PINK NATION entitles you to all sorts of discounts, bonuses, and the occasional giveaway.

For February PINK NATION members get to enjoy $10 off of all Vintage Slim Pants, and a free basic tank thrown in with any VS PINK purchase.

And on February 21st a special after-hours shopping event is being held at over 100 different Victoria’s Secret locations. Check out vspink.com to see if your local Victoria’s Secret is on the list!

A few weeks ago a representative from Lane Bryant contacted me to see if I would be interested in checking out some of the store’s fashion lines for Valentine’s Day. The theme this year is guilty pleasures, but I felt absolutely no guilt over indulging myself in a few pleasures, especially since one thing I have been in desperate need of since losing weight is bras! So last Friday morning I stopped in at a Lane Bryant store that just happened to be down the road from the center where I had a post-op checkup with the surgeon who performed my gastric bypass surgery. I made an immediate beeline for the Valentine’s Collection. Given the hot pink, red and black colors that dominated the area, it wasn’t hard to find.

I had my heart set on the rosette corset, and was thrilled to find it available in sizes up to 26/28. I was even more thrilled to discover that I only needed a size 22/24, and that matching panties were available! I also picked out four bras to try out, and came home with two (size 42DD; yay! Bigger breasted ladies will be happy to know that even the sexiest bras are available up to a size 44DDD!) — the kiss cotton plunge bra and the jacquard classic plunge bra.

I love the bras. They fit nicely, and wow, my breasts look SO good in them. Talk about lift and definition! And the corset? Amazing. So amazing, in fact, that I didn’t get the opportunity to save it for Valentine’s Day. When I got home with my bag of goodies I tried on the corset and panties, called my husband in to check them out, and wound up getting pounced right then and there. Rawr.

What I love about Lane Bryant is that ultra-sexy styles are available in all plus sizes, so no one is left out. While I was in the store I was offered a bra fitting, and the nice girl that rang up my purchases slipped in a coupon, no questions asked. She also gave me a coupon that I can use during the beginning of February, and I definitely plan on heading back to stock up on some more bras and maybe a few pairs of panties!

Psst… now’s the time to stock up on winter fashions for next year! Everything from this winter and last fall has been marked down 50% or more, and depending on the store you may be able to find additional reductions taken on those markdowns!

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, a representative from Lane Bryant is sending me a $50 gift card so that I can see what kind of romantic and sexy goodies the store has to offer. The Valentine’s Day Collection includes sexy bras, panties, camis and corsets. Personally I have my heart set on the rosette corset, but after losing 85 lbs., the last 40 or so of which came off in the past two months (thanks to gastric bypass, which may or may not be considered to be an all natural fat burner), I’m not too sure how that will look!

But I definitely plan on keeping that sexy rosette corset first and foremost in my mind, followed by a few bras, since right now Lane Bryant has a buy-2-get-2 sale going on. Of course, I’ll need to get fitted, since none of my bras fit properly, but thankfully Lane Bryant trains their staff in the art of professional bra fitting, so that shouldn’t be a problem.

I’ll let you know what I find later this week or early next week!

I shop for clothes in just a few stores, since I am plus-size (that is, however, changing, as I had gastric bypass surgery on November 18th, 2009!). One of those stores is Lane Bryant. I don’t shop there as frequently as I do a few other stores, but that’s because their clothes tend to be more conservative and designed for careers. But I do love their jeans, some of their bras, and occasionally a shirt or two. And in the winter time I always find a sweater or two or a cardigan that I really love.

I wasn’t planning on doing any clothing time anytime soon, since I should be dropping clothing sizes relatively quickly (I’m already 18 lbs. down since the 18th!), but when the Lane Bryant franchise contacted me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing their new arrivals and general clothing items, I couldn’t resist! I was already on their website several times (in preparation for when I receive the gift card from Lane Bryant and then go SHOPPING! :D ) looking over the new arrivals. There’s one item in particular that I really want, and it’s the lace trim cami:

Gorgeous, right? Paired with a black shrug and wide-legged gunmetal gray pants, I’ll make quite the impression this Christmas!

I’ll be sure to let you know when I head out to Lane Bryant to pick out some early holiday presents for myself! ♥