Are you one of those shoppers who browses the latest styles and fashions online but prefers to check out the item in person at a brick-and-mortar store before buying? Or are you like me and get frustrated when a local store doesn’t carry the item you want in the style you need and wish you’d known that before you hauled all four kids to the mall? If you can relate to either scenario then you’ll definitely want to check out NearbyNow.com, a free online service providing shoppers an innovative way to save time and money.
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Looking for a specific pair of Steve Madden heels or Quiksilver board shorts? NearbyNow.com will tell you which local store has your item, tell you what’s on sale and even place a hold on it. You’ll also get directions to the stores carrying what you’re looking for and if you’re lucky, the name of a helpful clerk. Plus there’s nothing like checking out that J. Crew dress in person and trying it on before buying. Think of all the money you’ll save on return shipping! Here’s a little more about NearbyNow.com:

By combining unique inventory search tools plus customer service associates who connect consumers with trusted retailers, NearbyNow.com eliminates the uncertainty of Internet shopping, as well as the sheer frustration that often results when local stores don’t carry specific items and shoppers end up searching all over town.

Let me tell you, searching all over town gets really old with two toddlers in tow! Whether you love to browse online and shop in-store or want to save some time and money will looking for that perfect summer outfit, NearbyNow.com is the way to go. You better believe I’ll be using it; I’ve single-handedly kept the US Postal Service in business with all my online returns!—Emily

The same person who sent me the Flip Mino, which I reviewed—and totally fell in love with—on a past Daily Dish (it has since been “misplaced”...I’d rather not talk about it) asked me to try out One True Media, a site whose mission is to “empower you to express yourself in new and creative ways with the media that matters to you most – your own – and to share your creations with your most important network – your family and friends.”

Okay, I have to be honest here; though I am a pro with things like Shutterfly (I can design a mean Christmas card) and Facebook albums I have never tried to create one of those cute videos like you see at wedding receptions with the photos in a slideshow-type format set to music. For my oldest girls’ baptisms I handed that responsibility to my dad, who did a knock-up job with it. (It’s SO his thing.) Fortunately the now-MIA Flip Mino eased me into the whole uploading to YouTube thing so I was excited to try One True Media and see just how easy (hopefully) it would be to create my own cool photo show.

Super cool. Super easy. Super, dee-duper fun! Yep, that pretty much covers it. I signed in to my One True Media account (much of the site is free; premium membership gives you access to extra templates, songs, and services) and decided to dive right in without the help of tutorials. I selected one of the montage QuickStyles and within minutes I was uploading about 30 photos for my very first montage (a.k.a. hip slide show with music). I then put them in order, played around with things like transition and effects (I almost sound like a pro) and even uploaded my own song. I changed the timing on some of the photos and voila! I got the song and photo montage to end at the exact same time. The process was so easy I bet my girls could easily do it (i.e. I shouldn’t have any problems).

Once the montage was done I had a number of actions from which to choose. I could email it, embed the code into my favorite sites, post it to YouTube, share it to TiVo, add it to One True Media’s public gallery, send it to a mobile phone or post it to TypePad. And for those who like to hold a physical copy of their creations in their hands, you can even purchase a DVD. I exercised my right to choose and did two things: emailed it and embedded it. Now you get to “review” my very first montage. I took about 30 pictures from 2008—a very small sampling for sure but a good overview nonetheless…

I didn’t spend a ton of time on my first montage attempt but I sure could have! It was so much fun and I’m already trying to figure out what I will create next to share with friends and family. My only complaint? One True Media is highly addictive so proceed with caution. I get very little sleep as it is so I’m going to have to control my newfound addiction to it!—Emily

Being an entrepreneur and a mom I find my business permeates many aspects of family life. My kids have seen huge screen printing machines up close, made numerous trips to the post office, and asked a ton of questions about just what it is Mom does. I find it important to help them understand the basics behind a business to fuel their own entrepreneurial spirit, and now there’s a site that can help your girls learn a bit of what it takes to run their own business, more specifically their own fashion boutique!

GirlSense.com is an online fashion community directed at teens and tweens where girls can design their own line of clothing, create a boutique, and even advertise to help draw others to their boutique. These virtual boutiques are helping girls (and boys) use their imagination to create fun and fashionable designs all while learning a little bit about what it takes to run a business.

Along with collaborating with real designers to create virtual fashions, girls can make new friends, shop at other boutiques, and communicate in a safe online community. Once users have created their fashions they can save them in their online boutique and share them with their friends. Members can even buy and sell clothing to each other using g-cents money (no actual dollar value). If their designs sell, the designer will earn a lot of g-cents to shop at other boutiques.

As soon as I showed my older girls the site they were hooked! They had a ton of fun designing numerous, very creative outfits and checking out other fashions on the site. I enjoyed seeing them channel their energy into something other than the TV and non-entrepreneurial endeavors. GirlSense.com is a site that teaches some real skills, and your girls won’t even know it because they’re having way too much fun!—Emily

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