Cheesecake Factory: $1.50 slices on July 30

July 30 is National Cheesecake Day, and the Cheesecake Factory just happens to be celebrating its 30th anniversary. To celebrate with their customers, they'll be selling all of their cheesecake slices for $1.50, which was the original price of the cheesecake. (Limit one per guest, dine-in only.)

Thanks to Money Saving Mom for the heads up!

Image credit: CheesecakeFactory.com - this is the Oreo cheesecake, one of my favorites!

Great deal on a sterling silver flower necklace at Amazon today only

I keep an eye on Amazon's jewelry deals because they sometimes have huge markdowns that allow me to buy gifts at great prices. I usually don't buy these with a specific person in mind, but they are great to have on hand in my gift box. I just bought one of the necklaces you see below for just $10.99 (regularly $29.99, list price $45):

The necklace is eligible for free shipping, so I also bought something that I've had my eye on for a while, a Pyrex microwave steamer.

Update: Things are crazy around here

I'm sorry for the lack of posts! Things have been so crazy around here - mix together an injury requiring a trip to Urgent Care on Saturday evening, a stomach virus, and family birthdays, and you get a whole lot of chaos and a super busy mommy.

So I apologize for not bringing you the usual links to samples and giveaways, and I promise to get back to my usual posting routine as soon as I can. In the meantime, I highly recommend you check PRIZEY for giveaway links, and sign up with Start Sampling for (what else?) samples, which often include one-year magazine subscriptions.

Oh, and there's a huge sale going on at Amazon right now. I got the boys' Christmas gifts for 70% off (just one big toy apiece; they'll get plenty of gifts from their grandparents).

You can use these Amazon search methods at The Consumerist to find great deals, or check out sites like SlickDeals for listings. Happy shopping!

Great deal on Parents Magazine

I've quoted from Parents Magazine enough times that regular readers of CFO probably know I'm a regular reader of Parents. I just found a great deal via SlickDeals: a 1-year subscription for $2.08. You can order up to five years for a mere total of $10.40. The deal is at Publication Station, which I've never heard of but looks legit. (Don't hold me liable if you have problems, though!) To get the deal, add the magazine to your cart, and then check out. After you enter your billing info, you'll get to a page where you can enter a coupon code: enter the code PARENTS. For extra security, pay through PayPal (this is what I did, using a credit card) or get a one-time use number for your credit card through the issuer's web site (I didn't do that this time but I've done it before and it's very easy). I renewed my subscription with this deal, so I'm set for many years now!

Or, you can head over to Amazon and pay $9.97 for a one-year subscription:

Review: Kellogg's Special K Chocolatey Delight cereal

You may have seen commercials for the new Kellogg's cereal, Special K Chocolatey Delight. The cereal is touted as a dessert substitute to help you avoid greater temptations.

I wouldn't call this cereal dessert, but it is a nice breakfast cereal. I mix it up with some Cheerios, since they're lower in sugar and I have always have some on hand for Tyler. If you like regular Special K and you like chocolate, you'll love this. If you don't like regular Special K but you do like chocolate, you'll probably like this, since there's a good amount of chocolate in it.

Even if you don't like Special K or chocolate but you do like sugary cereal, you'll probably like this. At least, that's my conclusion after watching Marc become the primary Special K Chocolatey Delight eater in our house. I actually started to get a little bit annoyed that he was eating all of *my* cereal.

Especially because Special K Chocolatey Delight is not the cheapest cereal at Target or Ralphs. At Target, it's $3.24 per box, whereas cereals like Cookie Crisp and Frosted Mini-Wheats are $2.34 and $2.54 per box, respectively. At Ralphs, a box of Special K Chocolatey Delight is over $4. I get an occasional coupon from the Sunday paper, but we eat more than an occasional box of cereal.

So I was happy to find a deal at Amazon that works out to $2.74 per box. Amazon has a pack of four boxes for $15.95, which isn't a great deal by itself. But if you buy $29 worth of select Kellogg's products, you get an instant $10 with code HEALTHYB (through Nov. 30). So I bought eight boxes for a total of $21.90, or $2.74 per box.

I realize this isn't the best deal as far as cereal in general goes. But Marc and I are relatively picky eaters, and cereal is a relatively inexpensive breakfast. For us, it's worth it.

Get a $100 Spa Treatment from Walgreens

I learned about Walgreens Spa Rewards today via Wise Bread. Basically, buying 2 of the participating products manufactured by Wyeth gets you $50 worth of spa treatment and buying 4 products gets you $100 worth. You have to jump through some hoops to redeem the $100, but when I called, the woman said there was no such thing as a "participating spa" and I can choose the spa I go to.

And I know exactly where I want to go: Burke Williams. There's one not too far from my house and the treatments I've gotten there have been very relaxing, even luxurious. I'm not sure what else I'll have done, but I have been longing for a good brow-waxing for a while now.

I don't usually shop at Walgreens, although there's a nice-looking one on the way to my in-laws' house. And Kacie at Sense to Save has piqued my interest in Walgreens with her posts about the great deals to be had there. So I'm going to see if I can find some Advil coupons and then head out to Walgreens before November 24.

Bargain Alert: Graco Metrolite less than half-price

I've posted previously that I got a Graco Metrolite when Tyler was born and told you that I really like it. I still do, and I had a "doh!" moment when I realized that it was easy to work around one of the big concerns I had about the stroller, that the five-point harness would be irritatingly difficult to fasten on a regular, constant basis. But now that Tyler sits in the stroller instead of in his infant car seat, I simply fasten only the waist and center straps, leaving the shoulder straps untouched (they don't seem to bother Tyler).

You can now get the Graco Metrolite LXI strollerfor $89.99 plus $7.95 shipping at Amazon (sold by a third-party; list price is $189). I paid $120 for my Metrolite and I'm sure it was a lesser model than this one. Via Baby Cheapskate.

Coke: $1 for a 12-pack at Target

Yup, you read that right! I just picked up four 12-packs of Diet Coke for $1 per pack at Target. They are on sale for 4 for $10, which is an excellent deal by itself. But each box has a peel-off coupon for $1.50 off that you can hand to the cashier when you check out. I didn't see any quantity limits, but check the store for any restrictions.

Fisher-Price Ocean Wonders Aquarium Crib Toy - Only $11.99

It was only after Tyler was born that I learned that several friends loved this toy, and I was sorely tempted to buy one for Tyler but didn't want to spend $50 on it. If it had been $11.99 as it is now, I would have bought it in a heartbeat (in fact, I just got one for my cousin's new baby). One of my friends put it on the changing table and it made changing Tyler's diaper a breeze since he was so distracted and lay perfectly still while staring at it.

Via Bargain Hunting Moms.