Buttons n' Bows

I went to the consignment sale Thursday night to look for a new costume for Noah. We didn't find anything as we were NOT the first ones in the door to run over to grab the best! lol! I did find some very good deals though. I have already put Noah's pants into wash, but I found him some great corduroy pants pretty much exactly like THESE. I paid $3! They are the Kelly's Kids brand, though I didn't realize it when I bought them... I just thought they were a good deal and in great shape regardless of the brand!

I also found Katie two pairs of dressy/casual shoes for the fall and winter. I am SUPER picky about used shoes..I don't love buying used shoes at all, but for this style which won't be worn very often and in such fantastic shape, I will go for it! These were $3 for each pair!


And, my splurge item. I was undecided about it but when Katie tried on the jacket she absolutely loved it, so I went for it. $7 for a two piece leather jacket and skirt outfit!
I need help deciding what to put under it...thoughts/ideas?!?!

Katie and Noah also each picked out $1 item from the toy area. So, I spent $18 and got a great variety of finds in my opinion!

Sweet Day at Publix!

I have kind of slacked off on my posts about saving money on my coupon shopping trips. I guess I am so used to saving enormous amounts of money that it isn't as "big" of a deal anymore. I do want everyone to know though, that I AM still saving enormous amounts of money and this is one "whim" (couponing) that has not been placed to the side!!

I did not take a photo of my buys for today...most of it needed to go straight in the freezer/fridge, but here is the breakdown:

What I bought:
4 pints of Starbucks ice cream
( free! can't wait to try it! one is chocolate chip coffee! Mmm!)
4 packages of Morningstar Farms frozen "meats"
($1.39/each)
3 bags of Dove chocolate
($1.15/each, yeah, I didn't need these...or did I?)
6 (4pk) Yoplait Yoplus Yogurt
(.25/each)
1 loaf of Pepperidge Farm Oatmeal bread
($2)
1 gallon of milk
($2.25)
2 containers of Reddi-Whip topping
(.50/each)
(Noah begs to buy this all the time for waffles, so it was finally a good deal!)
2 bags of Back to Nature granola
($3.79 for both)
1 bar of Velveeta Cheese
(.80)

Total: -78.25

Sales: -35.17

Coupons: -21.16

Total after sales and coupons:
$21.30
Total Savings:
$56.95

I just love coupon shopping! Other than the sweets I bought this week, I really bought healthy stuff! I really love Dove dark chocolate...those three bags will last me for MONTHS and MONTHS! I only spent $21 and I don't really need much else this week, but Kroger is having an awesome sale on Pillsbury dough products, which I love to have on hand for quick recipes. Not the healthiest thing in the world, but in moderation! ha!

Books, Books, BOOKS!

Bethany and I drove up to McKay last night. It is a used book store in Chattanooga. Several years ago, Corey and I stumbled upon one of their locations in Knoxville or Nashville, I can't remember which. Anyway, we were thrilled to find out that they also have a location in Chattanooga. This is truly a store for book lovers! They have TONS of books. SO reasonably priced. Well, don't go here to buy DVDs, but the book selection and prices are awesome!
ANYWAY.... another one of the awesome things about this used book store chain is that they also carry homeschool books and curriculum!!!! I have completed my Abeka reader selection for next year so far and am working on getting the rest of what I need. I have paid a FRACTION of the price as it would be new and then I also get the added bonus of looking at "other stuff" while I am there too.

Corey and I had decided to sift through our book collection (many of which we had bought here to begin with!) and sell back to get credit to use toward school/other books.
So, last night I took a large box and a big bag full of books. I was very excited when they told me I earned $110 store credit! YAY! The other choice was $58 in cash plus $15 store credit. I opted for store credit, of course.
I found a science book I need for next school year, 3 kids Bibles/devotionals that will be really fun, and 8 other Christian fiction novels.
Bethany did a little better that I did, she got 30 books for $40!
We always have fun browsing and it was even more fun to shop here without the kids getting bored after they find what they want.

Bethany and I CLOSED THEM OUT last night! ha ha! We were down to the 10 minute countdown! There are just so many books, and this is just the Chattanooga location. I found a photo online of what the store looks like. This is just one area of course. The Chattanooga location is moving soon, to a BIGGER building, yay!

They have little colored footprints leading you to different sections. I could spend, well we DID spend HOURS in this store! ha ha!
I wish that we could drive up to the Knoxville location soon. I feel sure that I could find ALL the rest I need for school next year. AND, I still have $70-something dollars left on my store credit!

Thirty-One (and 300th Post!)

I just noticed that this is my 300th post, but I already had this ready...so maybe I will commemorate #301 instead..:)

My friend, PJ, recently became a consultant for Thirty-One Gifts. It is a Christian company and the name comes from "Proverbs 31." I had hosted a party before for another friend of mine, Amy, but she has moved to Arkansas. So, when PJ signed up I decided to host a party for her to help her business get going and I also was VERY motivated by the hostess special for the month of April (if I got $500 in orders I got $150 in free stuff!). ALSO...it coincided with my birthday month so all my friends were motivated to order something for me to help me get free stuff for my birthday while getting something cute for themselves or a friend too!!!

Anyway, I had not posted what I got with my hostess rewards, so I thought I would go ahead and share....Thanks to my generous friends, I was able to make my goal and get $150 in FREE stuff! WOO HOO!


I know that Amy sometimes reads my blog and I wanted to clarify anyway: The brown insulated bag that is shown (with Thompson on it in tan) is one I ordered the last time I had a party. I put it on here to show because as part of my order to make my $500 I had ordered two bags "like" that one but in the black and white print shown below as Mother's Day gifts. We got one embroidered with "Meme" and one with "Nanna" for our moms. The paisley print bag is SO cute. I wish the colors had shown up brighter on here.... It is a wipeable material which makes it a GREAT out and about bag. It holds lots of stuff! It is called the "Mommy Tote" and I got it as part of my freebies from my party! The little containers are soy melting accents for a warmer I got at my last party. They smell so good!

Here are the rest of the items I got for FREE. The big bag in the back was my "big" wishlist item. It is called a "Carry-All Tote". I got the matching Spa Train Case and I am so excited to use it, oh, the next time we go somewhere...ha ha! That big bag currently has a twin size quilt stuffed in it to make it stand up for the picture, and still has plenty of room for stuffing! I can't wait to see how much I will be able to get in it! The spa train case has a wipeable inside so it will be perfect for makeup, toiletries, etc. The little bag on the left is called a Wristlet. It is SO cute and handy! I was able to put everything from my small purse inside and it has a wrist strap (you can see better if you click on the link) that makes it easy to carry around with all the essentials inside. In June they are coming out with one that will match my Mommy Tote that I so want to get! It clips right inside most of the bigger totes!

So, there you go! All my adorable freebies! If you live in Cartersville, Rome, etc, you should contact PJ about hosting a show. She does such a fun night with games and all it is just a ton of fun! Plus, this stuff is just TOO CUTE to pass up! I might even come, who knows? Check out the latest hostess and customer specials on her website, there is always a great offer going on!

Best yet!!!!

This is what I got at Publix today for $4!!!! That is FOUR DOLLARS!!!!!!

I believe this is the best I have done yet.... :) These items were not marked down because of going out of date.. The yogurts were on sale BOGO for $1.25 each and then the fifty cent coupon in the paper was doubled for a total of $1 off each one!!!! The butter was on sale for BOGO at .95 cents each, and with the doubled 45 cent coupon that was another 90 cents off!!!! LOVE it!

(6) 4 pk. of Yoplait Fiber One Yogurt (.25/each..)
(4) 4 pk. of Yoplait Yoplus Yogurt (.25/each)
(4) 2 pk. Country Crock spread (.05/each)
1 box of Raisin Bran Crunch - I dunno, does it matter exactly how much it was?! ha!

Ah.... it was so nice! Now we will be eating some yogurt over the next few weeks!

What happens when you need EVERTHING?!

Well, it took some work, but I was able to get all our "big" ticket items and still save pretty much 50% on our grocery total! YAY!
I was dreading the shopping this week. We needed pull-ups, paper towels, laundry detergent, and garbage bags. Those four things alone would usually DO US IN for our groceries for the week! ha ha! BUT, I utilized my coupons and shopped at Walmart which usually has the best non-sale prices on those things. I was able to save $3 on the pull-ups, $1 on the garbage bags, and .50 on the laundry detergent. I am trying a new brand because it is cheap..able to get it for $2 at Walmart. It is called Sunburst. THEN I get to Kroger and see that they have started that brand this week so it is on special. They had it for $1.88 and they would have doubled my .50 coupon so I could have gotten in there for 88 cents! ARGH!
Oh well.
I already had shopped at Publix this week, spending $4.88 and saving $7.75. I got a bottle of Northland pomegranate blueberry juice, 2 boxes of Orville Popcorn and a loaf of Earthgrains bread. Not too bad.

On to Kroger. I spent $83.94 and SAVED $72.13. That is 47% according to the receipt.
Combing all my shopping from Publix, Walmart, and Kroger I spent about $92. I saved $84.38.
That is pretty encouraging. I was afraid I was going to have to totally blow the budget, but I didn't! And we are set for a few weeks on our major staples... now just for the super savings in the next couple of weeks!
YAY!

Kroger paid me to take home pasta today!

(Be sure to scroll down for today's birthday countdown message)

So, here's what $11.27 bought at Kroger today!
All this Barilla pasta was on sale for .75 each. There was a coupon in the paper for .50 off of each respective kind shown here. That means they paid me .25 to buy each package! That is $2 total for taking home 8 boxes of pasta!!! All the rice cakes were free as well...$1 off coupon and they were on sale 10/10.
The soap was .09 (not on sale, just regular price was $1.09 and the coupon was $1 off.)
I am kind of embarrassed to go back to the store for a while...
but who could pass up a total of 72% savings?!?
I just feel like they are going to get wise to it or something, it is almost too good to be true!

What I got for $11:
8 boxes of pasta
4 bags of rice cakes
3 bottles of shampoo
2 6pk yogurt
Eggland's Best Eggs (closeout price $1.19)
2 bunches of grapes
3 bananas
1 gallon of milk
1 Johnson's Buddies bar soap

What can you get for $11.81?

Total before discounts: $40.93
Coupons: $9.30
Store Savings: $19.92
Total Savings: $29.12
FINAL TOTAL: $11.81

I shouldn't have bought the Cheerios because it wasn't the best price I could get, but Noah about cried a river when I started to put them back...he has been awfully good about compromising on breakfast (Kix have been out since Monday!).

Deal of the day: Betty Crocker Potatoes for .30 each!

Just wanted to share! It is so much fun!

We interrupt this birthday countdown with important breaking news...

I just SAVED 53% on my groceries!!!!

Highlight: FREE McCormick meat seasonings.... now I can cook all the meat I have stocked up on! ha ha!
Here's the breakdown:
Total: $130.91
Coupons: $30.70
Kroger Savings: $37.76
Total Savings: $68.46 Final Total: $ 62.45

The list of items I am buying each week is getting more and more random as I am able to mostly only buy things that are an awesome deal. We are stocked up on chicken, our cereal shelf overfloweth, and our fridge is packed! I am so thankful that I have been given a love for this whole process, because it really is so fun to me!
I also got one of my prescriptions changed this week....it was costing me about $65/month for the one I had but I have now switched to a different thing and a generic brand that Kroger has on their list of $9 generics! That is going to regularly save us over $50 a month now!!!
You may wonder what in the world I am doing with all this cake mix....well.....it is a fantastic last minute dessert!
I make cake mix cookies all the time!

1 box of any flavor cake mix + 1/2 C. oil, + 2 eggs + 1-2 T water if needed = awesome cookie dough!

Drop and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes...wonderfully moist flavorful cookies and at the price I am getting the cake mix....INCREDIBLY cheap! I always have the ingredients on hand for a dessert for a gathering!

Here's what I got in case you can't see it well in the photo:

8 cans of Dole Pineapples in 100% juice (crushed, tidbits, rings...)
4 boxes of Duncan Hines cake mix
1 container of frosting
2 Schick Quattro razors (regularly around $10 each, I got them for $2.99!)
2 Sense and Spray air fresheners
(I don't usually buy this stuff but I am going to try the cinnamon and see if it is okay...they were only $2 each...regularly $8 or so I think)
3 McCormick season shakers (lemon pepper, monterey steak and chicken, FREE after coupon)
4 jars of Barilla Pasta Sauce
2 Bertolli frozen pasta entrees (regularly $8 each, I got them for almost $4)
1 L'Oreal eyeshadow (FREE after coupon)
1 loaf of Arnold bread
fresh squash
fresh zucchini
1 box of organic specialty cake mix (for my friend, it was marked down)
1 box of organic specialty frosting mix (for my friend, is was marked down)
1 dozen eggs (I have to buy Eggland's Best it is a splurge of mine)
1 gallon of skim milk
1 pack of Yoplait yogurt
bananas
1 onion
1 container of cheese spread (on sale half price)

Shopping Spree and Toothless again!

Top Story:
Katie lost her 3rd tooth just now! It is one of her top teeth...adorable and exciting times!!!!

In other news:
I got to go on a shopping spree at Zales outlet today!

Back story: If you are a faithful reader, you may remember the little anniversary trip last July when Corey and I got new wedding sets. ( You can catch up on that HERE. )
Well, ever since I had the new set, I have had problems with it. Within 2 weeks of getting it, one of the little stones around the center ring was missing. I took it in to be fixed. Picked it up. TWO DAYS later, the same stone was out again. I really wanted to wear my ring so I waited a couple of weeks, and low and behold during that time ANOTHER stone came out. It took me a while to get back down there to get it fixed (at our local Kennesaw store) so it was around Christmas when I took it in. This time it took 3 weeks and I picked it up in January. Well, no kidding, TWO DAYS LATER the original missing stone was OUT AGAIN!
This time I went to the computer, long story, up the chain of command to the regular store, to the outlet stores, and got approved for a full exchange even though it was out of the "exchange window."
This happened to be a week before we went out of town for Disney. I told them I couldn't make it in, etc, etc, and finally today we went up to the original store in Lawrenceville to see what they had and what I could find to exchange.
I spent about 20 minutes looking around thinking that I didn't see anything I liked (well, anything that was what I needed to spend anyway...diamonds can be so ridiculously overpriced!). Finally, I found a set I like,.... I truly even think I like it better than my original one I got last year.
Turns out, after they added up my return and the cost of the new set, I still had $550 to spend! Woo hoo! They did offer me the exchange out of the time frame with the stipulation that it had to be for equal or greater value, OF COURSE.
SO, I went looking. Actually, I knew right away one thing I wanted to get. I have always wanted a sapphire and diamond ring and I knew exactly the one I wanted. That was easy....still have some $$ to spend....la de da...what to get...it was SO FUN except I had a bad headache and the kids were really getting bored (yeah, Corey too). I looked at a chain because I have a beautiful sapphire and diamond cross that I don't have a chain for, but it would have been $190 over my amount to get it. I finally picked out some hoop earrings. They are very pretty. I ended up spending $40 more dollars, but it was almost impossible to get it exactly even....either go $40 over or go $200 over...ha ha.

Anyway, here are my purchases. I love them. I am so happy and glad that this is over and love my rings even better than what I had before! Yay!
This actually has four smaller stones that give the look of the big stone in the middle. I like that I can wear the band alone if I want to....good to have the choice for different days/situations.

I have wanted a sapphire ring like this one for a long time! It is gorgeous!
Not as "big" as it looks on here really. I don't like "big" rings.
Cute, all purpose hoop earrings...with some diamonds.

Black Friday Buyer's Remorse....

Ah the emotions of a 27 hour day!!!!

My experience started yesterday morning at 6:30...when Noah woke up crying and had to be fussed over and brought into our bed where he tossed and turned until 7:30 and then I was able to sleep until 8:30. At 8:30 we got up to get ready to drive to Newnan for Thanksgiving lunch. We stayed there until 2:30 or so and then we headed back home to do dinner at Cracker Barrel. Well, after that we came home and I finalized plans for my outlet adventure.

Me and three of my friends arrived to our local outlet center at around 10:30pm to join the line of people waiting among the "first 300" to get a bag with free pajamas and goodies. At midnight the line started moving and we were able to get our bags. The nightshirt was pretty cute, but the other goodies not as much...just some coupons and a Vitamin Water and Fuze. ha.
I have to say, the standing in line for an hour and a half wasn't truly that bad, especially with fun people to pass the time with...but I cannot believe how many people were out during the time we were there, with their very young children with them! Come on people!!!

Anyway, we then spent until about 3am browsing around the outlet stores. Gymboree had their kids pjs for $5.99. We all found some and stood in a thirty minute line to check out. No kidding! The line was completely wrapped around the store. Needless to say we ALL found more stuff besides our original awesome deal! First buyer's remorse!!! I got really cute outfits for the kids to wear in their holiday picture and to gatherings though!

Second buyer's remorse: NOT buying something. The GAP outlet had their sweaters for 50% off. I really should have gotten one. I was trying to actually buy Christmas stuff though and didn't want to get it for myself. The thing is though...I have lost 30 pounds since last Christmas and my pants and shirts are all huge! With the exception of 1 pair of jeans I bought this summer and some tee shirts, I really don't have clothes that fit. They actually had nice, soft, long fitting and crew necked sweaters. I can't remember the last time I found that combo in a sweater. I usually have to compromise on the length (show my back in the back, you know what I mean!) or the neckline...scoop low cut or something. *sigh* I am really really regretting not buying at least one of those sweaters!!!

Third buyer's remorse: NOT buying something else. Old Navy had their jeans (incorrectly) marked 50% off. They were taking the signs down, but had to honor anyone who already had them in line. I could have had another pair of pants that would actually fit well for $14.75. Should have gotten a pair! Agh!

Fourth buyer's/shoppers remorse: Arriving home at 3:30am and leaving again and 4:20am to head back out to shop! ha ha! It was fun at the time and I guess I was running on adrenaline, but when it was 11:00am and I was just heading home to rest, it was a pretty rough time!!!!!

My mom and I met at our local Toysrus because it was a good location and parked my car so I could go out to Wal-Mart and K-Mart for some doorbusters. The line at Toysrus was backed all the way across the entire parking lot!
We hit up Walmart first where all the deals were gone before we got there, then to K-Mart where she was able to get everything she wanted to get. So, that was good. I just had still not bought anything I needed for the kids, so we then blitzed through Toysrus (nothing good enough to stand in line for) and then to the Dollar Tree. Our local Dollar Tree always has some cute stuff for stockings. Then back to Wal-Mart after the crowds had cleared to do more stocking stuffer shopping. Oh, somewhere in there we ate the Chick-fil-a breakfast buffet! YUM!

I got home and laid down to rest for a couple of hours and I am thinking when I get out my Wal-Mart bag there may be some yet to come buyer's remorse....ha ha! I really had wanted to head down to the Disney Store to get some tees for the kids to wear to Disney and I still haven't made it to Target!!!! I can say though, that there is no way I would have survived Kennesaw today!!!

Oh well....my husband also did his own shopping while I was out. Sitting on the couch next to the kids he was able to get some good deals from Amazon.

So, there you go...that was my 27 hour holiday shopping experience. It really was a lot of fun, but just one of those things you KNOW you are going to regret doing, but go for it anyway!!!!

Happy Thanksgiving!

Of course, I had to do this post! ha ha! We will be heading out early in the morning to go to Newnan for my dad's side of the family get-together. We already had a dinner this past Sunday with my mom, dad, brother, mawmaw, and Hannah (brother's gf).

Anyway, after lunch with that side, we will head back here to Adairsville for some Thanksgiving Cracker Barrel style! I love their chocolate pecan pie! YUM!

Just in case any gift buyers are reading....I have a recently updated wishlist posted over to the left. See the cute Christmas tree picture? I pretty much replaced the entire wishlist with some new things they recently expressed interest in, and what would go well with their "big" thing they want from us this year...

So, Happy Thanksgiving, and have a fun Black Friday! I will be standing in the pajama line at the outlets in Calhoun, waiting for the midnight opening to get my free bag of goodies!!! Woo hoo!