It wouldn't be the holidays around here on The Trish List without talking about freebies. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't tell you all that there are LOADS of freebies and giveaways around the holidays. Companies new and old want you to buy with THEM and them alone. They will offer up all kinds of goodies and shiny discounts to nab your attention. Now I'm here to show you how it's done.


First thing you want to do is "like" all of your favorite brands on Facebook and "follow" them on Twitter. This will let you be the first to know when they are giving away stuff or offering amazing discounts. You aren't anyone until you have tons of social media friends. #AmIRight? This is one of the main sources for those free holiday gifts. True story. I have won many of my presents over the years.

Next thing you want to do is Google "25 Days of Christmas". Yes I know I am little late on this post, but you still have plenty of time to get in on some pretty sweet giveaways. Many companies host these types of giveaways along with Advent Calender type offers. Every day they "open" a new gift for you. The good news is, is once you are registered for these events, all you need to do is enter your email each time you enter.

The last thing I highly recommend if becoming members of a couple of sites. These sites are always looking for people to review products and will offer up some pretty cool swag. The holidays seem to be a good time to come out with a bunch of neat things. On Monday alone I received 2 boxes full of goodies to try and review, all free.

Check out Influenster. They offer up "VoxBoxes" that come with an assortment of products and have been know to send out Keurigs!

Another favorite is BzzAgent! They have been giving out lots of toys for the holidays.

And FINALLY check out Smiley360. They have some pretty cool campaigns and I have certainly been included in a lot of great studies.

So what are you all waiting for? Get out there and get some freebies!

*Went to a Real Simple event in a penthouse in NYC!





Make sure you check out how the rest of my year went!

So I got that look from my mom this weekend. You know the one where you are still storing all your crap from high school/college/first apartment stuff in their home? Yeah. I got THAT look. So I decided it was time. That stuff I HAD to keep 10 years ago probably isn't going to be used any time soon in my life. That doesn't mean it wasn't fun to look through it all. And I have been missing my social security card so going through some boxes wasn't exactly a waste of my time. There was a little mission.

One of the first things I noticed was all the boxes of Mary Kay makeup. Once upon a time I was a rep. I had tons of foundations, cleansers, and makeup. This stuff is about 4 years old at this point and probably should of been disposed of 2 years ago. It was hard to let go. It was a fun time in my life where I met some great people and experienced some fun events.


Next thing I noticed were the boxes from an apartment I lived in 4 years ago that I moved back into my parents house and then moved 7 months later. No idea why I didn't just take them all with me, but I just knew that is where I would find my SS card. There was a box full of beauty products. Most likely from my bathroom. Face masks that I loved, body butters with barely anything left, vitamins that were expired, nail polish that had separated, and hair products I probably won't ever use.  Almost all of this needed to be thrown away.


Another box had tons of cards, letters, and papers. Most likely from my desk. There were pictures, pens, markers, and change. A mug from my college graduation, earrings that I haven't seen in years, makeup brushes, expired credit cards, AND my social security card! It brought back so many memories. Some happy. Some sad. A part of my life that seems ages away.

Then I saw stuff from my time out in Los Angeles. I interned out there for a marketing company called Fanscape. I had business cards, movie stubs, and my Price is Right name tag! Back when Bob Barker was still hosting. And yes he did get talked into saying "The price is right bitch!". You know from Happy Gilmore? Great memory!


One of the last things I came across was all of my old compact disks (CDs if you will)!! I had a lot of them with some of the biggest artists of the late 90's and early 2000's.  Behind them were some VHS tapes! Oh my! Again lots of great memories.


I ended up bagging up lots of stuff, including clothes and toys. Someone else can get use out of these things now I'm sure. I picked out some sentimental things and packed them away for later. I'm happy. My mom is happy. It's a win-win.

Have you went through your childhood room? Did you find some great treasures from your past? Tell me in the comments!

I stumbled upon Shane's link-up over on Whispering Sweet Nothings and I thought it was a wonderful idea! The link up is basically a year in review, 3 months at a time, or quarterly if you will. I have been thinking about doing something similar anyways on my own, so why not join in the fun and link up!

I was not blogging yet so I do not have any favorite posts to share but I can share how my month went.

Started off the new year feeling shiny and bright! Went from birthday mode to new years mode!

I was kitty sitting this little lady all month while her mom was on a work trip!

Everything else I remember from this month was COLD! We had the polar vortex this year so I remember staying indoors as much as possible. Thank goodness for the kitty to keep me warm!

It's that time of year again. Mixed and intertwined in the holidays is my birthday. Last week I told the story of my birth and how hard it can be sharing a birthday with New Years Eve. If it's not New Years its Christmas that is pushing its way into my festivities. There is ALWAYS a party but it is never really for me. I go to parties and people are ready to party and quickly wish me a happy birthday and then it's over. That's where my mom comes in. She always goes out of her way to make me feel special on my birthday.


My mom works for a company that owns a fancy restaurant in the area. Every year she gets $50 to eat at the restaurant as a holiday gift. Since I've moved away we created a new tradition: she saves the gift for the whole year and we go to a fancy lunch for my birthday. Something I always look forward to. This year is a little different, however. My other half is planning something super special and we will be away (Its a surprise on where we are going!). I decided this weekend to go and visit home, and my mom was ready to celebrate my birthday, even if it is a few weeks early!


The restaurant is located on a beautiful lake and has some stunning views throughout the year. They decorate it all up for the holidays making it festive and inviting.

Me and my mom splurged and had some festive drinks to start our celebration. My mom had the "Snowball" and I had the "Festive Spiced Sangria". So yummy!


Next came out appetizer. A crab dip in a pretzel bowl. It was so creamy and delicious! With sides of crackers and breadsticks, this was the perfect start to the lunch,