Wonderful Weekend

So strange not to spend a Saturday studying - squeezed tons in! 1/2 Goodwill Day, finished final little bit of school shopping, lots to consignment and got through 90% of the bonus room disaster. Yay! This is what the rest of the world does with their weekends, no wonder you love them so much! :)

 

Getting In the Spirit

Well, I had good intentions of doing real family pictures this year, the kind someone else actually takes. - Though I must admit over the years, Gramma has done a really good job capturing the three of us for our annual Christmas card. - But, you know, the real deal: making an appointment, setting the location, outfit changes, different backgronds and poses, etc. . . . all that fun stuff. And although Dave's always been so hesitant about the whole "family photo" process, I think after the 50 pounds he's shed over this past year I probably could have talk him into it . . . finally.

Here we are in the middle of November . . . and, ummm, I guess it's not going to happen.

Oh well, what can you do? Moving on with Plan B, which I actually have. (I don't get my hopes up about actually ever having family pictures done. That's happened ONCE in our 13 years of marriage!) Last year, I just happened to capture an amazing picture of Charity in front of our lit-tree. Don't know how it happened, everything was perfect, for once. It probably won't happen again ever, so I guess I better do something special with this extra-special shot.

I knew this picture would make a great photo card, but I never dreamed Shutterfly would have exactly the card I had pictured in my head when I saw the picture. Amazing! I'm so excited to order them and even more excited to send them out! And I think this is going to work out better than Plan A. Thank you, Shutterfly!

They've got lots of designs to choose from. You should take a look:
- Christmas Cards: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/christmas-cards
- Holiday Cards: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery/holiday-cards
- Photo Cards: http://www.shutterfly.com/cards-stationery

While you're there, you can cross some gifts off your list. You know Santa uses Shutterfly! *<]:o{)}
- Personalized Photo Mug: http://www.shutterfly.com/photo-gifts/photo-mugs
- Wall Calendars: http://www.shutterfly.com/calendars/wall-calendars

What says "Merry Christmas" more than free? Here's a little bonus to get you started and in the Holiday spirit:
Bloggers get 50 free holiday cards from Shutterfly… sign up: http://bit.ly/sfly2010

Why I Love Goodwill

Got this shirt today at Goodwill for 1/2 off $3.49. Yep, I paid all of $1.75! Yay!! Got to love saving $153.25 on one shirt! And so cool that pink pony represents the fight against cancer.

My new favorite polo:

See for yourself here: Pink Big Pony Polo - Polos - RalphLauren.com

It's the 1st Saturday of the Month . . .

and you know what that means? 1/2 price at Goodwill!! And today I am super excited about my finds. 4 red square plates that will work fantabulously for Christmas dinner (as you'll see soon enough),
and the perfect little Cooper Key Red Wool Coat for Charity. Size 7, for next year. It's almost new! And that's not all. A silver platter that will be a centerpiece in the living room . . . eventually; some bulbs, as you can never have too many, and some little play clothes for Charity. Oh, and a Christmas sweater for her to wear today to her 1st ever kid's Christmas party without mom and dad, that's she way too excited about . . . more about that later!

Saving and Sharing

I've been meaning to share this email a friend forwarded to me the other day. It's what Dave started to do. And I can't tell you how much we've been saving, but what I can tell you is our cupboards, pantry and fridge are WAY fuller (I know it's not a word, but I like it!) than they've ever been. He's amazing!! Not only is he the world's best husband to me, but he's a super saver at the grocery store!! Today we went to Publix and here's what we got for $8.39:

3 boxes of Scotties w/ Lotion,
Hungary Jack Mashed Potatoes,
6 Martha White Muffin Mixes,
2 Pilbury Deluxe Brownie Mixes,
Nesquick Strawberry Syrup, and
Pet Evaporated Milk!

Aren't you amazed? I was!! If you're not familiar with Publix they're not really known for their great low prices. So this was a quite a savings, $13.87 actually between store price cuts and coupons! You know you're doing some economical shopping when you're saving more than you're spending! Yay, Dave!

So in case you're interested in how he does it, here's the email with the details:

Saving $ at the Grocery Store
In the spirit of saving money this Christmas season, I thought I would post this. I have been saving big bucks at the grocery store over the past few weeks and thought I would share. Just to give you an example of my savings this week, I spent $45 at Publix and saved $96. The week before last I saved over $125.

Mostly I only shop at Publix for groceries because:
1. They have the best customer service of any grocery store in my area.
2. I feel they run the best sales, especially their Buy One Get One Free sales.
3. They accept any competitor's coupon.
4. They double all coupon's up to $ 0.50.

Most people think coupons only save you $4 or $5 on a shopping trip, but that is a major myth. When used strategically, they can save you tons!

Let me give you just one example of a deal I got this week: Arnold Bread is currently B1G1 (Buy One Get One Free). I had a printable coupon for $ 0.50 off one loaf. So here is how it played out:
Arnold Bread normally $3.59/loaf B1G1 makes it approx. $1.80/loaf.Since Publix doubles coupons, I got an additional $1 off. That made the final cost of my bread $ 0.80/loaf. I had 6 coupons, so I bought 6 loaves! Wow! Pretty good deal, huh? That is just one example. I had several, several other deals that played out the same way.

A few tips for Publix:
1. If an items is B1G1, you do not have to buy 2 items to get the deal. If you only buy 1 item, it will ring up as half off.
2. Publix's policy is to allow you to use a maximum of 1 manufacturer's coupon and 1 store coupon for each item. This enables "coupon stacking" which can get you some incredible deals.
3. If you have them, use two coupons for each BOGO deal (one with the "buy one" item, and one with the "get one" item).
4. If an item is priced at "2 for $4", "3 for $10", etc, you only need to buy 1 item in order to receive the sale price.
5. Always ask for a Raincheck if your store is out of a BOGO/Sale item you wanted, and come back later with your coupons.
6. Publix accepts both online printable coupons and coupons from other sources such as newspaper inserts, magazines, etc.

I typically buy 4 Sunday papers every week to have a good supply of coupons. Walgreen's currently sells Sunday papers for $1 and Kroger sells them on Monday and Tuesday for $1/each.

I know this info can seem overwhelming. I had a friend teach a little class and explain all this to me. It is actually super easy once you do it. I'll be doing a class or two come January so stay tuned.

In the meantime, you can check out these blogs for more info:
http://www.faithfulprovisions.com
http://www.fiddledeedeeblog.blogspot.com
http://www.southernsavers.com