Snag An Affordable Hotel

There are two apps I use when looking for an affordable place to stay on vacation.

The first app is Hotel Tonight.  You need a smartphone to use this site, but it's easy to use and has saved me a lot of money! AND I have a coupon below for you!

The first time I used Hotel Tonight, I was looking for a hotel room in Los Angeles.  Colin and I went to California for my friend's wedding, and we had one night to stay in LA and wanted to be in the middle of lots of tourists sites to squeeze in all we could in walking distance.

We stayed at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Blvd.  The first ever Academy Awards was held in this hotel!  Marilyn Monroe lived here for two years and had her first magazine shoot here.  Clark Gable had a penthouse here!  You can't get anymore Hollywood than this hotel!  It was beautiful, in the center of lots of tourist spots, and generally just pretty cool.

A room through a booking website rents for about $300.  Using the Hotel Tonight app, we paid $99!

Another time I went to Dallas for work and needed a cheap hotel since my boutique (meaning me) was footing the bill.  Using Hotel Tonight, I paid $35 to stay The Sheraton Dallas Hotel by the Galleria, another really nice hotel in a desirable part of town.  Rooms start at $150 without the app.

You need to be a bit flexible to use this app.  A limited list of hotels is offered, and you can only book up to a few days in advance.  I think it's worth flying by the seat of your pants to use this app (and that's coming from a planner and non-procrastinator…love to save money, y'all!).

When you download the Hotel Tonight app, use promo code MSTANTON and you'll get $25 off your first hotel booking!

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The second app is Airbnb.  You don't have to have a smartphone for this.  You can head on over to their website.

I haven't used Airbnb yet, but I have created wish lists of places I want to visit!  We're wanting to take a little trip to Memphis sometime soon since it's just a couple hours away.  We love Memphis.  My other wish list is places to stay in Paris.  It's my lifelong dream to visit Paris!

Airbnb is different, because you're not staying in a hotel.  You're staying in people's homes!  Sometimes people have an extra space in their home to rent out, and sometimes they have an entire house or apartment available.  You can read reviews on the space from past renters.  It's great, because it's usually much more affordable than a hotel, it offers a larger space, and you can learn about great spots to visit from the locals you're renting from!  

I'd love to hear if you use Airbnb and have any tips!

If you're new to Airbnb, head on over to the app or website, and use promo code MSTANTON107 to get a $20 credit!

Do you have other apps or websites you use to book your travel plans?  Let me know, because I'm all about a good deal!

Graze: FREE Snack Box

As a new mommy, I now carry a diaper bag like it's my purse.  Keeping up with a diaper bag and a separate purse was just too much, so I found a way to carry what I needed in Harlow's bag.  I have a wallet and small makeup bag (with a compact, lipgloss, and a pen) that I throw in along with her diapers, wipes, burp cloths, and every other item she needs.

I'm also breastfeeding Harlow and find that I need to eat more often.  After I nurse Harlow, I get hungry.  Sometimes I even have to snack beforehand to have the energy to feed her!  On several occasions we've been away from home when I've needed to nurse her, and I haven't had anything handy to eat.  Anything that I can quickly pick up away from home tends to be very unhealthy.

In comes Graze!

I received a coupon for Graze in a pack of baby coupons that I received at some point of the pregnancy.  I redeemed it a few months after Harlow was born.  I had no idea what to expect.  I hadn't seen Graze in person.  I got online, ordered a box, and waited.  It came in a cute cardboard box with four snacks.  They were the perfect size to throw in the diaper bag!

You can customize what snacks you would like to try (hello, chocolate and fruit!) and what you would hate to get (ew to anything with cherries).

The snacks are small and perfect for tucking in the diaper bag for an emergency snack that's guilt-free and yummy.

If you'd like to give Graze a try, but aren't sure whether or not it's for you-- no fear-- you can try it for free!  Go to graze.com and enter code MARLAS2LB to get your 1st and 5th boxes for FREE!

Let the snacking begin!