Tuesday, September 07, 2010

True Prep


We all remember “The Official Preppy Handbook” from the 80's. Admit it, we all read it. we all used it. I for one LOVED it!! Well, there is now a new book out by the same author, Lisa Birnbach. It is an updated version that tells how it is to be preppy in todays society.
You do not need money to be preppy. You need good manners and etiquet. It is said that you can wear hand-me-downs and thrift store finds but have a great preppy handbag and look the part.

Of course Lilly is still "in" as preppy and there are blogs like Summer Is A Verb. or Monigrams and Manicures.I love Kelly Green and Navy as well. There are many more so be sure to look them up and check them out! I'm excited and can't wait to get this book and read it!!

Saturday, August 21, 2010

Review of Nature's Gate Products


This review was a looooong time coming. I apologise for this. Sometimes life and vacations and dear children get in the mix and things get so crazy.

I had a long and lengthy review for these products. I decided to scrap it and give you my unbiased opinion in a short and sweet form.

I said before, I was sent the Acne treatment kit, a Pomegranate body wash and a shampoo and conditioner. Here are the reviews:

I will start with the Shampoo and conditioner. The shampoo I was sent was the Persimmon & Rose Geranium Color Protecting Shampoo and the conditioner was the Asian Pear & Red Tea Color Protecting Conditioner. The smell of both of these were ab-so-loooot-leee fabulous! I loved how refreshing and sweet and fresh these both smelled. I loved how they made my hair smell. I was proud to walk around after my shower and "show off" the scent of my hair. I had lots of compliments from people on the scent. It was a strong scent enough where it lasted awhile after the shower. I liked that. Not overpowering strong but strong enough to last. I felt like I smelled clean and freshly "washed" all day. ....Now, the part I did not like and unfortunately it is the most important part,...How it worked for me. I thought at first it was because I had just had my hair colored a couple days before trying this. I used both the shampoo and conditioner for sever weeks before stopping because I had to be sure. I truly wish I had not. When I used them the first day I found that my hair felt like straw in the shower. I even used an extra dose of conditioner to hopefully solve the problem but it did not work. I then got out of the shower and found I could NOT comb through my hair at all. I had to add a leave-in conditioner to my hair to make it a bit more manageable but I still heard hair snapping and breaking as I struggled with the comb. My hair was very hard to dry and after a week the ends started to look very brittle. Like I said before, I wanted to believe it was because I had just had my hair colored. But, after several weeks of this I finally gave up, with shampoo and conditioner still left in the bottles, and used a different shampoo and conditioner and the difference was AMAZING!( not the Nature's Gate brand) I was able to comb through my hair very easily and my hair felt and looked great. Now, my hair did not have that same fabulous smell but I will take to healthier version of my hair over the great smell any day.

The body wash I was sent was the Pomegranate Sunflower Velvet Moisture Body Wash. I really like the smell of this as well. I do think that all these natural and organic ingredients are the best when it comes to the fragrances. I just love a good organic, fresh scent. I think the wash did a good job cleaning my skin. My skin did feel moisturized and I felt clean after I got out of the shower. No residue and it rinses off cleanly. The only problem I had with the body wash was the container it was in. It was bulky and heavy when full (not so great to have when your hands are wet) and I could not get the pump to work so I had to unscrew the pump each time I took a shower and pour some of the wash onto my cloth. I hesitated to ever go back for more because it was so clumsy and too much work to do this each time.

The last thing I was sent was the Natural Results Acne Treatment Kit. I can not say enough great and wonderful things about this!! Seriously I have nothing bad to say. There are no negatives. I have tried every popular acne treatments out there. Granted I have not tried the "newer" versions of some of them that have come out lately but I did try the originals and nothing, I say nothing, worked like this kit. Not only did it work and made my skin look clear and clean and fresh but, I love that it was all natural and organic stuff I was putting onto the delicate skin on my face. I liked the subtle scent it had. It was a little medicinal but lite and fresh too. It has a face wash, (watch the eyes girls and guys, as always!) a nice toner and a controlling lotion. As long as I used this in the morning and at night before bed, I had very little to no acne at all. I wish I had a before picture to show but I was so ashamed of my skin that I would not allow my photo to be taken, or, I got rid of the evidence if someone had managed to get a click in. But, the difference is truly amazing. I have recently run out and plan on placing an order for another kit. I find my skin breaking out after a week of not using it. So, yes, it is a product for maintenance and you will have to continue using it to maintain the clear skin but that is the case with all the over the counter acne treatments out there. One thing I would like to see with this kit that I have seen with others, is some kind of supplement (all natural and organic of course!) to go along with the kit. Something to treat the skin from the inside out. That would just make this the most fabulous Acne Treatment Kit I have ever used! If a company out there would like to claim they have a better one or has a newer version of their old kits and would like me to try and see which truly is the best, I say send them along! :D I am always willing to try. I do have a bit of scarring from all the acne I had and the sun does not help as it accentuates the marks leaving darker scars. (the severe acne I had was for a time period of about 2 years. Stress and hormones will do it everytime) I would also like to see an organic lightning agent such as green tea or something that will work in the toner and the lotion.

Anyway, that is my review of the Nature's Gate products that I was given the privilege to try out and review. I wish I could have given a better opinion on the shampoo and conditioner but I have to be honest with my opinions. Maybe someone else will have a different experience.

ok, so that was not so short but hopefully it was sweet. :D

You can find Nature's Gate products and this wonderful Acne Kit HERE.

Monday, August 09, 2010

 
The first of our watermelons that we are attempting to grow this year. We are using a large plastic container to grow them in as we did not want to dig up the small yard we have and our soil is very acidic. We used some good growing soil in this container. They are looking good so far. We shall see how it goes.
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Wednesday, August 04, 2010





 

 

 

 
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Simple things..

 
Simple things. Things that can't be bottled or restrained but last a lifetime in our hearts. Pausing in the woods to ponder the most miniscule but rewarding things like being a mom or married to a wonderful man. Sitting among the calm to think about night ahead.....laughter....pounding feet....children enjoying the simple woods. I wake up from my daydream to the bustle of my nieces and my children. I see my brother-in-law with his daughters and my husband with our baby. I see my oldest two laughing and trying to skip rocks. Life is nice.
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Monday, August 02, 2010

Crazy busy life...

Life can get so crazy busy sometimes...but, I love it!! Sorry it has taken so long to post and get that review on Natures Gate up. Like I said, crazy busy. I am on my way home from a wonderful vacation and I plan on posting the review soon after I arrive back home. I also plan on keeping up with my blog more.

Friday, June 11, 2010

 
 
 
 
Just a few more of my faves. They are such great models for me! Very photogenic!
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Here are a few of my fave pics of some of my fave extended family! I took these last Christmas (2009) of my brother and sister-in-law and my neices. We miss them so much!!
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You're in for a treat!!!

I am still writing and editing my review for Nature's gate but I wanted to update everyone on this. I stated before that I tested out a few of the Nature's gate products. They were a shampoo, conditioner, body wash and the Acne treatment system. I do have some opinions about all of the products but I wanted everyone that have ever searched high and low for an acne product that works then you are in for a treat!!! I have tried everything on the market from Murad (this was about 7 years ago), to Proactive (again, 7 years ago) to drug store stuff and nothing worked like the Nature's gate product!!!! NOTHING!!

Ok, there is your teaser. I will post my reveiw soon!!

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Nature's Gate Organic Products!!

I recently had the priviledge of trying out some of the Nature's Gate line of products! I will be writing a review here very soon.

Nature's gate is an organic line of products that range from sun care, acne treatments, hair care and oral care to body care. The scents of these products are fantastic!!! The three I was able to try out are a shampoo and conditioner, acne treatment system and a body wash.

Please be on the watch for my review! You won't want to miss it!!

Nature's Gate Organic Products!

I had the privilidge of trying out some wonderful products from Nature's Gate. This is an all organic line of products that range from cleansing shampoos to Acne treatments to suncare and oral care.

I will be reviewing the products that were sent to me and telling you all what my experience has been with the Nature's gate products. I was able to to use the Acne treament system, shampoo and conditioner and body wash. My review will be coming very soon. :D

Tuesday, May 04, 2010

Great Preppy find!!!


I was at Walmart a week ago and saw the cutest beach towel on sale! it was among the rest of the beach towels priced at $15 and up but this one was marked as $5!! I took a picture of it. It is a really cute red, nay blue and white towel with lobsters and gold fishermans rope on it. Totally cute! great deal too! I bought it of course.

Saved big today!

I went to Publix yesterday and brought the baby with me. I usually like to either take my daughter (to show her how to save money while shopping) or go alone because it is easier but I really wanted to get my shopping done earlier than normal. I like to sit with my husband and enjoy the evening rather than heading out to go shopping til 9pm.

I bought a lot more than I usually do. but... I went to the southernsavers.com and did up my list. Then, I decided to look at all the comments ion the comment section that they have under each stores shopping list and the Q's that go with the products. I learned about a few more deals that I could do and I was excited and had to add a few more items to my list!! I keep forgetting that I can use competitors coupons at Publix and that includes CVS and Walgreen's Q's!! There was a comment about a product at Publix that was on sale and I had a manufacturers Q for it but then Walgreen's also had a Q for it. Walgreen's is considered a store coupon so I can stack it with the manufacturers Q to get a great deal! I walked in with about 50+ coupons and it took me a good hour to shop. The baby was absolutely wonderful. He is also a HUGE flirt. It was around noon when I went shopping. The store is filled with all the elderly people who shop at that time to avoid the after work crowds. My son just caught everyone's eye. I had older men and women coming up to me wanting to see and talk to the baby. My son Loves to smile and that usually grabs everyone's attention when a cute toothless baby smiles at them. :)

I finished shopping and gave the cashier my Q's and she said "Oh boy.". I thought that was funny. The total for my order came to $213.66!! That is with tax. After sales and coupons I paid only $76.92 (tax included). I saved a total of $136.74! Wahoo! A deal I found right away when I walked in was a new booklet Publix came out with, Tampa Bay Food and Wine Festival booklet. All the coupons in it are food Q's. One of the coupons was $1 off 1 Chobain Greek Yogurt. Well, publix has them on sale this week 10/$10 so $1 each! I grabbed 15 booklets (there were tons of them so I was not taking then all. Trust me I would never do that to other people) and cut out the Q's and got all 15 yogurts FREE! My kids have snacks for after school all week and it is good for them too! How fun is that!?

until next time...

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

"Follow You Monday" Episode 2 (Publix & Target Shopping)

"Follow You Monday" Episode 1 (Publix Shopping)

coupons are wonderful...

Oh my goodness I forgot to take pictures again!!! SO sorry. I was tired and the baby needed to eat as soon as I got home. Hubby had work to do in the den so I was on my own for a bit. I bought a lot of refrigerated stuff and frozen items that needed to go into the freezer and fridge asap. As soon as I realized I put everything away before I took photos I just thought :next time:. Sorry.

I got some super great deals. I got 4 Windex multi surface and 4 Shout stain removers all for $.19 each! I got lots for Dannon crush cups for the kids school lunches for only $.25 for the pack so I got 4 packs. I got lots of Capris Suns for the kids. Organic granola bars, meal kits.... the list goes on. my receipt is a good 3 feet long! (I just measured) Great shopping trip. I think I will donate some of the cleaners to our church for anyone who needs it.

My bill came to $180.02 and after sales and coupons I spent only $64.82 (tax included) !! I saved about 65% again! now, I would have saved about $10 more but I strayed from my list a bit and got a little more than I expected. I saved $115 for that trip. Not too shabby. :)

Monday, April 26, 2010

Publix is sooo cool!

OK, so I forgot to take a photo of the groceries I got but... I wanted to post what my savings were!! My total bill came to $172 and some change. I actually spent (after coupons and sales and stuff) $62!!!! Not bad, huh? I saved 65% I am going shopping again tonight and I hope to save even more. I will try to remember to take a photo of the groceries before putting them away. I will also see if I can scan the receipt to show the savings are real. :P

Walgreen's is a good place to shop this week. get these three things and save BIG! Stayfree maxi pads ($2.99)get back $2.99 RR
Skintimate Shave Gel($2.99)get back $2.99 RR and the Clio Beautytrim personal hair trimmer. ($4.99) Get back $4.99 RR!!

You get back what you pay for these in Register rewards! At Walgreen's you do not need a card or membership to get RR's so when you buy these things for $11 you will get back $11 in RR back! Go back and get the same items but do not use the RR you got for that item to buy it, use another and you will be able to keep getting these without paying any more money at all and just keep receiving RR's. For example: Use the $2.99 RR that you got for the Stayfree when you buy some more Skintimate Gel. (make sure you buy it alone the 2ND time so the stayfree coupon is not used when you buy stayfree again) Then when you buy the stayfree use the skintimate RR to buy that. and you can keep doing this all week. Stock up and save big!! The other $5 RR can be used on anything you want. All the RR can too but I was just telling you how to get a bunch of stuff free this week. :) Another HUGE hint: There was a stayfree coupon in a past circular for $2 off stayfree. use this to pay only $.99 for the stayfree but still get $2.99 in RR. Cool huh??? so pay $9 for all three items and get back $11! I have 4 of these coupons so I will use them 4 different times and I will basically make $2 with each purchase!

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Mrs. Meyer's Dish soaps


I received samples in the mail recently of some Mrs. Meyer's dish soaps. I wanted to write a review on these samples because I think that everyone should go to their health food store or drugstore.com and buy some because these will bring you back in time! I not only love the wonderful scents but also the way these soaps lather up.

I went to the mailbox and saw a nice white envelope (the bubble wrap kind) that seemed full to the brim! I was excited to see what it was. I opened the envelope to find the prettiest little samples in cute colors of lime green, turquoise blue, hydrangea purple and a peachy color. They were all dish soaps and a small note came with them stating that the only samples the company have are the dish soaps and that they hope I will like what I try.

This company is about being GREEN and organic. I like that. I am all about being GREEN these days. :) I saw on the packaging of the samples that it says the materials were all biodegradable. Now, when I have always thought about biodegradable I think of stuff that may sit in a landfill for a year or so before it starts to compost into the ground. Well, when I used the first soap on my baby's bottles I set the remainder of the soap in the sample pack on the counter behind the faucet. That night I went to the sink to wash more bottles and the packaging of the sample pack was starting to break down already!! By the next day it was almost gone!! When they say it is biodegradable they are not kidding! The packaging practically desinigrated before my eyes. It was so cool! I think the materials of the packaging interact with the water and whenever I would touch it or water got onto it it would degrade even more. That is very GREEN.

Now I want to talk about the scents!! The scents I received to try were the lavender, lemon verbena, geranium and basil. The first one I tried was the lavender. This scent brought me back to the days when I would visit my grandmother. The smell was just like the soaps my grandmother used in the 70's to wash her dishes. I actually loved washing the bottles when I would use this sample because it was such a wonderful memory to have and I was brought back to this era ever time I would use this soap. I have to say I was disappointed when it was all gone.

The next one I used was the geranium. This was a nice and subtle scent. Very refreshing and pretty. A slight floral scent and not real perfumey.

The Basil was next. I found this interesting. Probably because I had preconceived notions that it would smell "herby". Well, it did not. It was clean, crisp and smelled of a garden full of subtly fragrant flowers and a hint of sweet basil. I liked it a lot.

The lemon verbena was fabulous!! When I used this I swear it smelled like bubble soap!! The stuff kids play with. It was so fun to use this. I was a kid again, in the backyard playing with bubbles!! Again, disappointed when the sample was gone.

OK, now for the lathering review. When we use products like this we want something that is not only natural, organic and earth friendly but we also want it to work. Well, this dish soap was better than any other dish soap I have used from the grocery store. I only had to put a little bit of the sample on my sponge and it lathered up so wonderfully and the sponge stayed soapy for so long. I was amazed at the suds and the amount of them from such a small amount of soap. I was quite impressed. the bottles came out clean and ready for my baby and I felt good that this soap would not leave all kinds of chemicals on the bottles.

here is a statement I got off Drugstore.com for the lavender soap.
"
Mrs. Meyer's™ essential oils not only have naturally occurring, hard-working-yet gentle-cleaning agents, they also provide a special, singular fragrance for your entire home.

For years, the Lavender herb has been valued for its wonderful RELAXING SCENT that's soothing & believed to RELIEVE FATIGUE. What more could you ask of an herb?

Household Hint: Before washing your dishes, scrape off food. Rinse milk, egg and other starches in cold water; greasy dishes, pots and pans in warm. Stacks of dirty dishes are unsightly and quickly become smelly - ick! - so wash up right away.

Mrs. Meyer's products are cruelty-free and are not tested on animals. Biodegradable. Please recycle all packaging where facilities exist.

Questions? 1-877-576-8808"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I went to the site for Mrs. Meyers and saw that through April 22 they will be giving FREE shipping on all orders in honor of Earth Day!! Hurry, that only leaves one more day!!

I also saw on the official Mrs. Meyer's Website that they have two new scents to add to the collection. Apple and Honeysuckle. Sounds good to me!!

In fact, Mrs. Meyer's also sells other products like toilet bowl cleaner and laundry soaps. I would love to fill my home with these products and the fabulous scents they carry. :) I did also see a plug-in diffuser and candles with these scents. I must say that I would LOVE to have those!!! To have those wonderful smells wafting throughout my home!!!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Been busy saving!

Sorry, I have been so busy saving that I have not blogged about it!! I got a great deal yesterday. I spent $5.50 at Walgreens and got back $7.50 in Register rewards!! How fun is that!!? I will do it again tomorrow because I have the same Q's to use and I am also going to Publix. I should save a lot tomorrow at Publix and I can't wait to write about it!!!

Monday, March 22, 2010

Friends are the best!


I wanted to blog about my friend, mentor, Esther Philips. Esther was my youth leader when I was a teenager in high school. She and I hung out at her husbands parents house and ate fudge in the green house that her in-laws owned and sold plants from. She and her husband, Bob taught me a lot about the Bible, life and corny jokes. :) Esther and her husband were co-leaders with Jay and Kathy Stephenson. I love them so much too.

After I graduated from youth group and became an adult myself, my youth leaders became my good friends that I went to for advice or just friendship. I love them a lot of I always hold them close in my thoughts and prayers.

Esther recently got into couponing and saving her family money every week with her savvy shopping skills. She would post about it on her face book page and that got me thinking about trying this myself. I asked her how she did it and she gave me a TON of advice. I read over her advice but got frustrated when I went to the store with a few coupons in hand and realized I no longer get double coupons where I live and that the stuff on my list were still too expensive after the coupons. I didn't think about it again until recently. I have another friend who also loves to use coupons and she told me about hip2save. I realized that there are more ways than one to learn something. The Internet is a wonderful tool if you use it right. I re-read what my Friend Esther wrote to me and then I went to YouTube and watched videos on couponing and I learned so much that I was excited about going shopping and could not wait to see how much I could save. That shopping day was a few posts down and I think I have gotten progressively better every week. The hip2save site has a cute series of videos called "follow Me Monday" and that is where I realized that "Oh my, I can watch videos on this stuff too!" You see, I am a visual learner as well as a hands-on learner. I need both. I can read something but them I need to do it and watch it being done before it clicks sometimes. I was a 4.0 GPA student in nursing school but I give a lot of credit to my professors who taught us visually as well as tactically. (I did, of course study really hard too.)

Anyway, I wanted to say that my friends have really supported me in a lot of things in my life and I am so thankful for them. My friend Esther wants to start a business giving live seminars on how to do the coupon game and win big at it. I think she will do a wonderful job!!

One thing that Esther taught me that really helped me to start out right that first week I did well, was that I should not go into the store with a list made out of what I have chosen to eat that week. I need to first look at and study the fliers and see what is on sale, gather coupons for only things on sale and then plan my menu around that. When I was planning a menu first I was limiting myself. I find it much easier to plan my shopping now if I wait to plan a menu till last. :)

You do not need a store that doubles coupons to do well at this 'game'. It is fun to see how much you can get for so little every week. I think while so many people have been suffering a little financially, this is a wonderful thing to learn. I was never really a thrifty person. Drives my husband a little batty. My husband now waits for me to tell him what I have saved every week and I think he may even be a little proud of me. ;P

My Publix shopping today!


I wanted to post this photo real quick of what I got today at Publix! My bill would have been $130 at full price but after sales and coupons I paid oop (out of pocket) only $53!! I saved $77. The cashier was excited to announce it loudly to me. It was very funny. :)

I am not sure if you can see here but I have 8 boxes of Arm & Hammer tooth paste that normally sells here for $2.99 a box and I got them for $.25 a box. I also got 2 packages of New England Coffee at a BOGO so I paid $2.75 a bag. I went to CVS before Publix and got a couple tubes of tooth paste, free. I also paid $3.97 for a couple jumbo packs of Pampers diapers, each! Not bad. :)

While I was in CVS I saw a girl at the front of the store going through her binder of coupons. I was standing in line waiting so I decided to tap her on the shoulder and tell her that I was excited that I was not the only one who walks into this CVS with her binder of coupons ready to snag lots of deals. She thought it was great. :) I think I made a new Friend, but, I never got her name. Oh well, next time. ;P

Saturday, March 20, 2010

I love CVS!

This was from my trip to Target. I got the hand soaps free as well as the 8 bottles of shampoo. Getting the cereal got me a $5 target gift card to use on anything in the store. Total for trip was $16 but the cashier was sick and did not ring in all my coupons. I did catch $2 of it and the customer service man gave that to me so only $14 spent out of pocket but if I paid closer attention it would have been only $12. I caught another $2 mistake after I was in the car. Oh well, I learned a lesson. Pay attention when cashier is ringing in the coupons. :)


My CVS trip. The powered toothbrushes cost about eight dollars and change each and the manuals were a little over $4. The total for the trip came to $46 but I only paid $4 for all of it. :)

I am not sure I will ever have to pay for toothbrushes or toothpaste or even deodorant for that matter, ever again!! I paid $16 for $40 worth of items @ target. Yay. Then, at Publix, I spent $51 for about $96 worth of groceries. Not too bad. I think I could have done better though.

I can't wait to see what is in the Red Plum and the Smart Source tomorrow. :) Every week I have gotten coupons for a free item in the paper inserts. Last week it was that new no-sugar sweetener called Ideal. I got 4 boxes, FREE. The week before it was Marcal products and the week before that it was Greek yogurt. Love this couponing!!

GREAT FIND: I found a coupon on the Internet through Hip2Save for Cetaphil. It was a $5/1 coupon. I printed it two times and found the 8 ounce bottle of it for $5.24 at Wal-Mart. I paid $.24 each!! I had never used it before and so I have now started using it and I really LOVE it! My skin is not breaking out at all and it leaves my skin so fresh and clean! I think it smells like my babies shampoo and I love that smell. Very subtle. It does not affect my allergies at all. I think Cetaphil cleanser for the face is a keeper!

Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Shopping and what I got!!!


Here is a picture of all the groceries I purchased yesterday at Publix. I spent $55 and got $99 worth of groceries. I think that is pretty good. Last week was better. I saved over 60% last week and about 50% this week. I am happy though. My husband loves this. he likes to hear about how much of his hard earned money I didn't spend on shopping days now. :)

My coupon Binder..






Here it is, my coupon binder. I will make a new post with the groceries I bought yesterday and the savings I was able to acheive. :)

I have this binder seperated out into different catagories like baking, meats, fruits and veggies, health and beauty (I have to sub catagorize that one becasue I have way too many different things in there like make-up, tooth paste, shampoos, tooth brushes, meadicines...ect) breads and cereals, snacks... you get the picture. I got some baseball card pockets to house the coupons to keep them organized and to allow me to see them easily. I have dividers to seperate the catagories. My binder is a cloth zippered binder with lots of pockets. I also have a green pencil pouch to hold the coupons I will use for a specific shopping day. That way they are all right there.

I go to 3 different stores so I have my shopping list and the coupons for that specific store paper clipped to the list. I do this 3 times for all three lists.

I love this binder meathod as it allows me to be organised and I can weed through the various coupons so much easier than I did before when all 100+ coupons were in one large envelope. Now, if I see coffee on sale in a store I go to the beverages section of my binder and look for the coffee by flipping through the few pocket pages and it takes me seconds to see what I have on hand.

I keep a pair of scissors, pen, highlighter and a calculator in my binder.

Coupon Binders are the best!!!

I made a coupon binder today. It took my a little while but it is sooo worth it!!! I went shopping tonight and saved $95+!!! I spent about $90 so I saved 50% today. I was a little tired and I know I could have saved more and spent even less if I was feeling better. I have been a little flakey since yesterday. I will take a photo of my binder and post it soon, along with my groceries for tonight and the total savings.

I love my coupon binder so much that I am thinking of putting them together for anyone who wants and NEEDS one. I will add them to my Etsy store when someone orders one and save it there for you. :) You will save so much time and money and they make is so easy to flip through coupons while you are browsing a store. I will sell them at a great price and it will pay for itself with your first visit to the grocery store!!! The savings will add up. It is wonderful!!! If anyone wants one, send me a comment with your email and I will email you about them. you can get a zippered binder or not and it can be any color you choose. I can even make really cute preppy ones!!!

Saturday, March 06, 2010

The Grocery game!!

I happened apon a website that is called the gorcery game and it is fabulous! It takes all the guess work out of your couponing and shopping lists. It is not expensive compared to what you will save every week. Let us say you save $50 (or more!) a week then that is $200 a month at least. (I know you will save more but I am being conservative) I have 5 stores I am using so that is $10 every 8 weeks for the first store and then $20 for the other 4 every 8 weeks. that is $15 a month plus I am gonna sunscribe to the Sunday paper for about $1 a month so that is $16 a month I pay to save a minimum of $200 a month. How exciting is that!!!?

Please, if you sign up (even for the trial period which is FREE for 4 weeks!!!) use my email kcrewfive@gmail.com as a referral so I can get free weeks. Thanks everyone!!! You will be amazed at how much FUN grocery shopping can and will be once you try this whole coupon thing!!!!

Thursday, March 04, 2010

Grocery shopping with coupons!!



Walgreens:
Lady Speedstick
2 packs Dentyne gum

Total paid with tax $1.86!
Plus, I got a $1.00 Walgreens coupon to use on anything in store on next visit. So it is like I only paid $.86!
Total saved was $3.77. ( or $4.77 if you count the $1 back coupon I can use next time) I would have paid $5.63 I used store coupons with MFG coupons and store sales.
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2- 24 packs of Zepherhills water.
2 -Arm & Hammer laundry detergent
2- mens Speed Stick Deoderant
1- softsoap body wash with moisturizing beads

Total with tax $15.95!

Saved $22.38! Plus I got $7.00 CVS store coupons to use on anything in store for next purchase. So it is like I only spent $8.95! I used BOGO coupons along with store sales and a $5 CVS coupon from last visit. Total would have been $38.33!


to "Hip2Save"PUBLIX: 4 boxes Cinnamon Toast Crunch 17oz
4- 64 oz bottles Juicy Juice
4- jars Ragu (1lb 10oz) spaghetti sauce
4 boxes of whole wheat spaghetti
Pepperidge Farms Goldfish
2-Aveeno Baby Shampoo
Thermacare neck heat wraps (3 pack)

I Paid $28.93! (Saved $33.89!! Total would have been $62.82) I used mfg coupons along with store coupons and BOGO's. We do not get doubled coupons here and I do have to pay tax but I think I still did pretty good. :)


Hi Ladies!!! I am soo super excited to tell you about something I am learning to do. I have never really used coupons because I found them to be useless. For example, I would find a $1 off coupon and go to the store to get this item and find that it is a $7 item and I only went for that one thing so I would usually walk out empty handed. Well, I found this FABULOUS site Hip2Save and I have been learning so much from Colin, the site creator. She is so fun and witty and knows so much about using coupons. Check out the site and let Colin know what blog sent ya. ;)

I went shopping on Monday this week and I just had to show you all what I got and how much I saved!! I am learning about price matching and combining coupons and stacking and all that great stuff!! I took only a day and looked through the flyer's of Publix, CVS and Walgreens. I went into the stores as well and grabbed the coupon books they have at Walgreens and Publix. (Publix will accept competitors coupons by the way!! Call yours to be sure first but most do.)I also bought a Sunday paper for $1.75 to get the coupons in there. I have pictures on here of what I bought and a description to go along with each of what it would have cost without the coupons and sales and what I actually paid! It was so fun to see how much I could get for as little as possible.

I have to tell everyone that Colin visited a girl named Sarah from Tampa, FL that reads Colin's site and they went to Publix together and got $258 worth of stuff and paid only $3!!! There are 2 videos
you just HAVE to watch. It is amazing! I aim to achieve this someday. :)

OH and I want to give a shout out to Colin @ Hip2save!! Hey Colin. Thank you to her for teaching me all this great information. :)

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Exciting Lilly find!!!

Hi Ladies, hope tonight finds you all well. :) I just had to share this new Lilly find a friend told me about tonight at church. My friend used to be a Lilly Model. She is gorgeous and receives a lot of Lilly clothing from Lilly whenever a new line comes out.

Anyway, my friend was asked to do something with this new Lilly facebook page and she told me about it tonight. It is a place where people can sell their used or new Lilly! They wanted it to be better than Ebay and it really is a great place to find super Lilly deals!!! Here is a link. Tell them Krystal sent ya!! Re-Lilly

Enjoy!! ~xxoo

Exciting Lilly find!!!!

Hi Ladies, I just had to share this wonderful find a friend told me about today!! I have a friend who modeled for Lilly a few years back. She is gorgeous and wears all Lilly all the time. Well, she was asked to help run a facebook page called re-Lilly. It is a plavce where people can sell thier gently used or new lilly clothing. Lilly wanted a place to do this that was not like Ebay at all. It had to be classier. here is a link to to it

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Got rid of mop 'n glo residue on my hardwood floors!

I am sooooo ecstatic! I have gorgeous hardwood floors throughout my house. When we moved in I started using mop 'n glo to make my floors shiny and I would caution everyone to not walk on the floors til it was completely dry. Well, to my dismay, the floors started to lok really dull and had lots of patches where it was worse, like there was stuff caked on the floor. I went to Home Depot and got some hardwood floor cleaner and sprayed it on the floor a dozen times and mopped and mopped and mopped but nothing was getting this gunk off my floors. I even got down on my hands and knees with some Murphy's oil soap and scrubbed but, nothing. This stuff was not coming off. I could not figure out what it was and why my floors looks so dull and grungy. I asked a friend who has hardwood how her floors always look so shiny and my floors are newer. She asked me what I use on My floors and I told her I used mop 'n glo and she immediately said "Never use that!" I didn't know.

I went home and looked it up on google and low and behold lots of others had the same problem with mop 'n glo. This residue that never comes off. I finally found a woman willing to give FREE advice on how she got the residue off her floors. (Most were trying to sell and e-book about it) Here it is folks..... the secret! 1/2 cup of ammonia to 1 gallon of hot water! That's it! Use a rag and scrub the residue off the floors. It will take time and some elbow grease but it works and my floors are shiny again!!! If you have a laminate floor like pergo or something else like it you can follow the woman's advice and put a little of the ammonia water onto the floor and let it sit for 5 minutes before scrubbing but since I have hardwood that does not do well with water just sitting on it I had to squeeze the rag almost dry and scrub with it and then follow it with a dry rag to mop up as much water as possible as I was scrubbing. I noticed that the second pass of the damp rag took the stuff off as the first pass allowed the ammonia to penetrate the residue on the floor. I was so happy to see my beautiful floors again. they no longer look dirty and I feel like I can wash the floors now and they will lOOK like it!!

Mission accomplished!

Saturday, January 09, 2010

Made some Zucchini crisps last night....

They were ab-so-lute-leeeee fabulous!!!! Love them!!! Will definitely make again soon. Just cut up some thin slices of zucchini. Dip the slices into an egg white or egg beaters. Drop into a zip lock baggie that has some low fat grated Parmesan in it and then put on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

I ate them all but I am still down 9 pounds now since Monday!!! I love South beach!

Wednesday, January 06, 2010

YUMMY South Beach dessert.

This is phase 1 friendly and sooo good!

1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese
2 packets Splenda
1/2 tsp almond extract
2 Tb Ghiradelli unsweetened cocoa powder

Mix well.

Add:
10 mini chocolate chips (Unless they are sugar free then do not add in Phase1)
1 Tb toasted sliced almonds

Mix gently. Makes two servings.

Tuesday, January 05, 2010

Biggest Loser season 9!!!

I don't know about anyone else but I am very excited about tonight's biggest loser. I really feel like I am on track now with my weight loss. I realized I had to first get rid of my sugar cravings. I am on day 2 of the South Beach Diet and I think about candy all day and it is sad but true. I have not had any sugar for 2 days now. I am being strong and not giving in. I am determined to be the size I need to be.

I still have not gotten my goal dress yet because I could not find a Lilly in TJMaxx that I wanted. The only Lilly dress I found was a navy blue, long sleeve dress with a nay blue and white belt and a collar to match the belt. It was gorgeous, of course, but.. That was not what I was looking for. I want a nice Springy, pink or green or yellow in color. I wanted a sheath. I am still looking and in the meantime I am losing weight. I know the first 2 weeks will be water weight but hey that is better than no weight, right? I have already seen a 3 pound drop since the weekend!

Will look again for a Lilly dress at the Max soon. I did see some cute Lilly PJ's there but that will not help me in my goal. :)

OK, I will be watching Biggest Loser tonight and getting inspiration. :)