bows, bows, bows. <4

The holidays are swiftly approaching & so is our annual tacky chrismakkuh party! Here is a hint at what I am crafting for my outfit this year! <3 class="separator" data-blogger-escaped-div="div" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">

chrismakkuh came early. <3

Hubby forwent the coups I love so much and went for something I love even more.... Tiffany & Co. He added to my collection by adding the limited edition 1937 ring with Tiffany's signature and giving it to me a week earlier than he should have! Love it! Only available for one year for their anniversary (175 years of awesomeness!). <3 class="separator" data-blogger-escaped-div="div" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">

target couponing. 11/28. <3

Firstly, find those $5 off UNO cards! Makes them free with the sale going on ($4.99 per pack)! Great to give as Christmas or Hanukkah gifts or save some for random gifts throughout the year!

Ended up paying $6.00 for all that you see by stacking coupons and scouring the clearance racks (the Progresso are a MONEYMAKER if you have the $0.50/1 coup from a few weeks back). Happy shopping!

target couponing. 11/26. <3

Lots of decent deals at Target this week -- mostly of you can hit the clearance before other couponers! haha

International Delights coffee creamer -- $1.89 (on sale)
$1.50/2 Target coup (printable)
(2) $1/1 MM coup
(Got 2 for $0.50)

Olay Body Wash (with bar soap) - clearanced $4.25
$1/1 MM coup
(Paid $3.25 for a HUGE bottle plus the bar soap)

Glade Warmers & Refills -- clearanced for $1.75 each. (Got 4)
(Free with coups & stacking -- get your target glade coups & MM coups -- make sure you also have the $1.50 off 2 winter glade products!)
(FREE)

THRESHOLD NAPKINS!!! - on sale $3.19
$3 off Target coupon on ANY Threshold linen product product

($0.19)

GE Reveal Lightbulbs -- $4.19
$2/1 Target coup
$2/1 MM coup

($0.19)

Mrs. Meyer candles -- clearanced for $2.08
$1/1 Mrs.Meyer product MM coup

($1.08 a piece!!)

All in all a random couponing trip to Target, but came home with some good stuff! Happy shopping and don't forget those clearance racks! <3

banquet meal -- couponing not necessarily necessary!! <3

Target has been selling their banquet tv turkey & gravy dinners for $0.51! That is such a great deal even though I don't eat them, but my hubby does! This seems to be ongoing, so check your local Target if you are interested!

Also, we use the $0.75/8 banquet meal coupons you can find on the inside of the box making it even cheaper!

(We got 8 tonight for $3.25 after the price and the coupon!)

cuban stir fry & tropical mahi mahi. <3

Tonight we went a little funky on our dinner & used some fresh items we picked up at a local mexican grocery store to make one of the best meals we have made recently (mostly thanks to my hubsters cooking ideas!).

Mahi Mahi (2 pieces) --
1/8 cup of olive oil
3 tbs butter
Pineapple & papaya

Baked 15 minutes on 450 in a steam bag of foil, then seared in a pan.

"Cuban" Stir Fry --
Plantains, cactus, mushrooms, white onions, jalapeños, dried red pepper.

1/8 cup olive oil & 2 tbs butter

Fry in pan. Done! (Add a little kosher salt & cracked black pepper if needed)

Yum & Bon Appetite! <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="br">

lox, fresh mozzarella, goat cheese, & crackers. <3

Smoked salmon (lox), and as you can see from the title the rest of it. Yum! Great snack for the night or even for guests! Not as expensive as you would think! Much leftover!! <3 class="separator" data-blogger-escaped-div="div" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">

what I wore this week.<3

Sweatshirt: Hot Topic, $30
Jeans: HCo, $15 (on sale)
Jacket: Target, $25
Shoes: Target, $26

Cute,simple & so me! Love Adventure Time to watch with my hubby & daughter so the Marceline sweatshirt is perfect! Plus, love the colored jean look! <3 class="separator" data-blogger-escaped-div="div" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">

polar express 2012.<3

Rode the Polar Express again this year for the third time as our holiday tradition. Luckily we could make the trip up to Indiana from Nashville for the festivities! Here are some highlights! HOT CHOCOLATE! <3 class="separator" data-blogger-escaped-div="div" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">

what I wore this week. <3

Thanksgiving outfit!!

Jacket: Forever 21, $20
Top: Forever 21, $10
Jeans: HcO, $35
Clutch: Pangaea, $50
Boots: Locally purchased here in Nashville, $150

Tried to incorporate browns & golds for the fall holiday! <3 data-blogger-escaped-br="br">

what I wore this week. <3

HcO skinny jeans, $30
HcO plaid top (too old to price)
Grey A&F tee, $10
Boots, Target 2011, $25

All this can be re-created, just not sure on price, availability, etc. I like the look -- comfy & got Ugg looking boots for next to nothing! Love my deals!

recycled cereal box turkeys. <3

For our Thanksgiving craft, we made turkeys out of recycled cereal boxes & paper plates & Popsicle sticks. Super simple, Eco friendly, & my preschooler loved it! Also gave us an opportunity to talk about what we were thankful for!

Basically cut out the cereal boxes or paper plates in circular shapes for the body & the back feathers. Then cut a small circle in half for the arm feathers.

Put them together with glue & add the Popsicle stick. Don't forget to use a marker to draw the eyes & a triangle cut out for the beak.

We used about 5 different cereal boxes of various varieties to make them unique and colorful.

(If you have feathers you could use faux ones on them as well!)

CVS coupon matchups 11/17.

Major deals & savings & Moneymakers at CVS this week!! I went Sunday & had a quite epic shopping trip! So run to your nearest CVS, like now!

Transaction #1
ONE 3M COMMAND HOOK – on sale $.99
ONE STARBUCKS REFRESHERS – on sale $1.50
ONE CHILDREN’S ADVIL SUSPENSION 1oz – on sale $2.37
ONE CARMEX LIP BALM – on sale $1
ONE GLADE WARMER – on sale $1.25
TWO AIR WICK WARMER – on sale $.99
ONE KRAFT MAC & CHEESE – on sale $.99
ONE SCOOBY DOO FRUIT SNACKS – on sale $2
ONE CHARMIN BASIC SINGLE ROLL – on sale $.99
ONE NIPS – on sale $.88
Get $.99 ECB when you buy one 3M Command Hook (limit 1)
Get $1.50 ECB when you buy one Starbucks Refreshers (limit 1)
Get $2.37 ECB when you buy one Children’s Advil (limit 1)
Get $1 ECB when you buy one Carmex (limit 1)
Get $1.25 ECB when you buy one Glade Warmer (limit 1)
Get $.99 ECB when you buy one Air Wick Warmer (limit 1)
Get $.99 ECB when you buy one Kraft Mac & Cheese (limit 1)
Get $2 ECB when you buy one Scooby Doo Fruit Snacks (limit 1)
Get $.99 ECB when you buy one Charmin single roll (limit 1)
Get $.88 ECB when you buy one Nips (limit 1)
use one $1/1 Command Hooks printable
use one $1/1 Starbucks Refreshers printable (no longer available)
use one $1.50/1 Children’s Advil product Facebook printable
use one $.75/1 Carmex Moisture Plus lip balm Facebook printable
use one $1/1 Glade Plugins scented oil warmer printable
use one $2/2 Air Wick product printable
use all ECBs from last week
Price at register: $.73, but receive a total of $12.96 in ECBs

Transaction #2
ONE SOUTH BEACH DIET MEAL or SNACK BARS 5CT – on sale $4.99
ONE STARBUCKS DOUBLE SHOT – on sale $1.99
ONE POWERADE – on sale $1
ONE PLAY-DOH – on sale $1
ONE STREET KING ENERGY SHOT – on sale $3.99
Get $4.99 ECB when you buy one South Beach product (limit 1)
Get $1.99 ECB when you buy one Starbucks Double Shot (limit 1)
Get $1 ECB when you buy one Powerade (limit 1)
Get $1 ECB when you buy one Play-Doh (limit 1)
Get $3.99 ECB when you buy one Street King Energy Shot (limit 1)
use all ECBs from Transaction #1
Price at register: $.01, but receive $4.99 ECB, $1.99 ECB, $3.99 ECB, and two $1 ECBs

Transaction #3
ONE YOUTHEORY COLLAGEN – on sale $9.49
ONE ADVIL – on sale $2.99
ONE CEPACOL SENSATIONS – on sale $1
Get $9.49 ECB when you buy one Youtheory Collagen (limit 1)
Get $2.99 ECB when you buy one Advil (limit 1)
Get $1 ECB when you buy one Cepacol Sensations (limit 1)
Use all ECBs from Transaction #2
Price at register: $.51, but receive $9.49 ECB, $2.99 ECB, and $1 ECB

Transaction #4
ONE NASAL EASE – on sale $9.99
TWO RIGHT GUARD TOTAL DEFENSE ANTIPERSPIRANT/DEODORANT – on sale $2.99
Get $9.99 ECB when you buy one Nasal Ease (limit 1)
Get $2 ECB when you buy one Right Guard Antiperspirant/Deodorant (limit 2)
use one $2/2 Right Guard Total Defense printable or RP 11/4
use all ECBs from Transaction #3
Price at register: $.49, but receive $9.99 ECB and $2 ECBs

Transaction #5
ONE BAYER CONTOUR NEXT EZ METER – on sale $10
ONE LISTERINE – on sale $2.99
Get $10 ECB when you buy one Bayer Contour Meter (limit 1)
Get $2 ECB when you buy one Listerine (limit 1)
use one $1/1 Listerine Whitening product printable
use all ECBs from Transaction #4
Price at register: $0 but receive $10 ECB and $2 ECB

Walmart Couponing Trip 11/20

Use 1 $1/1 Eco Tool produt -- get the 0.87 cent loofa -- MONEYMAKER

Use 1 $1/1 duck packaging tape ($1.00 @ Walmart) = FREE

Use a many as you can get of the printable $1/1 beech nut product coupon to get the beech nut fruit to go
-- 0.98 cents at Walmart. (0.02 cent MM)

(I got 63 beech nut fruit to go)

Paid $1.40 and that was tax to get 63 beech nut fruit to go, one packaging tape, & 1 Eco Tools product.
**Luckily, my husband gets all his friends to print coupons for us -- they are all computer engineers. :)

Oh that tax here in Tennessee!

MONEYMAKER - Beech Nut Fruties Drink @ Walmart

Beech Nut Fruties Beverages to Go for kids is at Walmart for 0.98 cents. Using the printable (hopefully still available) $1/1 Beech Nut product, you will have a 0.02 cent MM!!! I've got about 40 coupons & plan to head to the store to get mine tomorrow -- I know my 4 year old will LOVE them!!

***even if you don't have kids or friends with kids, these are donate-able items & do NOT have to be kept refrigerated!

shopkick app for iPhone. <3

The shopkick app for the iPhone is a really great download. All you do is snap a picture of the logo at major stores you are at and get instant deals on your phone. I have read a lot of people getting super cheap items using this at stores like Target & Old Navy!

Drawback: remembering to use it when you shop. Went several places yesterday & didn't remember to use it once. Oops. :)

nashville's frist art museum. <3

Nashville's Frist art museum is a definite place to visit here in town. Now there are rotating exhibits, but they always have great ones. We especially love the "kids" section upstairs, not only because its child centered, but fun for adults too!

We made ink impressions, German
Expressionism paintings, and creative tags. You can take the tags home or hang them on the "tree".

Do you see LoveSarahBella @ the Frist -- lemme know if you see it! Love Nashville and all the things to do here!

Free Turkey @ Publix!!

You can score a free turkey (up to 16 lbs) by either getting a flu shot or filling a new or transferred prescription. I have pretty good insurance through my husbands work so I filled a prescription and paid $5 for the script & got a free turkey.

They give you a receipt coupon type thing so you don't have to take it home that day! You have until December 3,2012 to cash in on the deal!

Great Deal Alert @ Target!! 11/17

Found some good deals at Target tonight!

**They have Banquet dinners (select varieties -- I think it was the Turkey ones) for 0.51 cents a piece!!
(No coupons used)

**Purell Hand sanitizer 1.89 (used a $1/1 coupon -- pre-clipped) making it 0.89 cents!

**Loreal Kids Shampoo $1.64 on sale (used a 0.75 cent off 1 coupon) making it super cheap!

Don't forget to puruse those clearance sections! Never leave any coupons at home because you can find some great bargains! <3

Happy Shopping!

COUPONING -- publix grocery 11/17

Transaction #1 -

*105 sambazon organic juices
*used 105 $1.50/1 manufacturer coupon & $1/1 whole foods competitor coupon. They were also on sale 2/$4.
(MADE 52.00)
Then I mostly paired B1G1 offers and store deals with coupons. I even got free milk with my Kellogg's cereal
purchase & used several cereal coupons.

My total came out to be over $400, but due to the overage from the juices, my price was just $1.82 plus the tax.

So because Tennessee sales tax is ridiculous I did pay $14.80.

Not too shabby & the store manager shook my hand. :)

couponing -- moneymaker @ Walmart

There is a current moneymaker @ Walmart for Eco Tools!! At our Walmart here in Nashville the price of an Eco Tool loofa is $0.87! And there is a current coupon for $1/1 any Eco Tool product! MONEYMAKER!! I got 14! Go print your coupons now & get the deal (some Walmarts in some areas charge $0.97).

• Got these EPIC deals from a variety of stores this past Wednesday.
• TARGET:
• with coupons, you can get GE Reveal lightbulbs for as low as 98 cents by stacking a manufacture coupon & Target store coupon
• Marie Callender pies as low as $2.00 by stacking a manufacture coupon (11/11 SS insert) and a Target store coupon
• Redi-Whip also included in Target store coupon with the purchase of the pie and had a manufacture coupon (11/11 SS insert)  to add to the savings (1.00 total!)
• WALMART:
• The Halls cough drops were on sale for $1.18 and I had a coupon (11/11 SS insert) for $1/2. Making these 2 for $1.18. 
• I also used the Hormel Meal Compleats and Hormel Sandwich Maker coupons -- the sandwich makers were .98 cents after coupons and the Compleats (I got the kids version because it was cheaper) were .68 cents after coupons found in this past weeks newspaper inserts
• CVS:
• 2 CHEERIOS  & 2 CINNAMON TOAST CRUNCH – on sale $1.97
• 2 OCEAN SPRAY JUICE 64OZ – on sale 2/$4
  TWO DUNCAN HINES BROWNIE MIX – 10/$10
• use 2 $1/1 Ocean Spray Low Tart or 2/3 Less Sugar Cranberry Juice Cocktail printable
• use one $1/2 Duncan Hines printable
• use 2 50 cent off one box of cheerios (NLA) & 2 50 cent off one box of CTC, plus a $1 off 3 boxes of General Mills cereal
• $8 at the Register, but used $4 in ECB from previous couponing trip making it $4! (not my best but like I said I am a beginner in the world of coupons!)

Thanks again to www.couponaholic.netwww.couponaholic,net for the ideas! Check them out fellow couponers! 

what I wore this week.

I had to throw a pic of my pups in there -- Marley & June! Pause for the cuteness.....

Ok -- here's a breakdown of the outfit

Top: Forever 21 (last year) with a white tank from HcO underneath

Bottoms: Black leggings from Target

Shoes: Boots from downtown Nash

Belt: Abercrombie & Fitch (like 3 years ago)

****similar items can be found in place of these exact tops and belt, etc.

sambazon juice MONEYMAKER!

As you can see in a previous post there is a $1/1 Whole Foods coupon (which our Publix accepts as a competitor coupon) & a $1/1 manufacturer coupon. They are stackable and jpeg files so you can print as many as you want. Also they are on sale until November 23, 2012 for 2/$4 making them $2 a piece. Using the sale & both coupons we made 50 cents on each bottle for a total of $47 and some change. Publix gives cash back so we made some money! We will be doing the deal again on Friday when our next order comes in! <3

couponing @ Target 11/11.

Here we are clipping coupons on Sunday (new ritual) & Madeline loves it & gets to work on her scissor skills (she is so good at it!!). There were some great coupon finds in the 11/11 red plum and super saver ads this week! 

BUY TWO RENUZIT TEMPTING INDULGENCES, regular price $0.97-$1.29
Use one B1G1 Renuzit Target Coupon
and use one 0.75 cents/2 Renuzit manufacturer coupon

(.22 cents each!)

BUY 3 JIMMY DEAN DELIGHTS BREAKFAST BOWL, regular price $2.04
Use 3 $2/1 Jimmy Dean Delights product, 11/11 RP newspaper insert
($0.04!)

There was also a sale on Pillsbury mixes, so I got them for 50 cents a piece using pre-clipped coupons.

Additionally, I got the Uncle Ben's rice (on clearance for $1.37) for 0.37 cents with my $1/1 pre-clipped coupon

And finally the Febreze was free due to a clearance markdown & my coupon! 

Good shopping day at Target!! 

Again, thank you to www.couponaholic.net for some of the ideas! 

tennessee fall. <3

Fall in Tennessee is so beautiful & we got out and took some leafy photos today. This is also my what I wore post (haven't done that in a while!!). 

Top: Forever 21, $20

Undershirt: HcO, $10

Jeans: Hot Topic, $20

Watch: Target, $15

Shoes: RocketDog (on sale at Dillards for $10

HAPPY FALL Y'ALL!! 

what I love this week.

We have a zoo membership to the Nashville Zoo so we go frequently (especially because they have this epic play area). So here are some highlights of our last trip! (love our faces on that swing thing!!) If you visit Nashville (or live here), take advantage of the zoo! Fun for all ages!

The Macaws are my favorite (& I LOVE the movie Rio)!

Also, adore the flamingos (and they match my pink hair -- of course that isn't because I eat large quantities of shrimp LOL)!

They also have a station area where you can feed the birds. Madeline loved it, but was a little scared to actually feed them!

Totally want one of these for a present. This was painted by an elephant! Oh and who doesn't love the meerkats!? Someone dropped their pacifier in there (oops!), but it made for a cute photo next to the baby meerkat!!

sambazon juice = MONEYMAKER!

My first moneymaking trip of couponing at Publix. Made 50 cents a bottle! I used a $1.50/1 manufacturers coupon (found on Sambazon's Facebook page) and stacked it with a Whole Foods $1/1 Samabazon juice product found on Whole Foods website. These coupons are also .jpeg files (which is RARE) and you can print as many as you want. My Publix in Franklin, TN considers Whole Foods a competitor so they accepted the other stores coupon!! 

Have to admit I did a little dance outside afterwards (and we ordered another 200 boxes! -- gonna be making some serious money on that!) 

***This deal is available through November 23, 2012

(cake!)

One thing we love to do at our house is cook. I would say we are all pretty good "chefs", including our four year old. This particular occasion she got to have a cake for not having any accidents in the bed for a week!!! (YAY!!!) The importance of this post is that she did the whole thing by herself, except I cracked the eggs and took it in & out of the oven. 

Letting your child cook with you teaches them a lot about measurements, how things come together, etc. It is also a fun activity & you get to enjoy what you cooked after (in this case a delicious chocolate cake with vanilla icing and sprinkles!)

Mayflower craft

This week we are focusing on Thanksgiving. Brought to you by the letters P, T, & M. We had a lot of awesome printable worksheets you can find on the web and we talked / learned all about the Native Americans, what Thanksgiving means, the Pilgrims, & the Mayflower. Our craft this week was to construct the Mayflower.

• Mayflower craft
• cardstock (any color)
• white paper 
• blue construction paper 
• crayons
• scissors
• glue
• We were out of a lot of colors of construction paper (need to restock!!), so we colored a lot of ours, which she really enjoyed
• first, have the child cut out the shapes to make the boat, waves, sails, rods, & flags (you can do it for them of course if they can't use scissors)
• then color the pieces (if necessary) - you may have all the colors of construction paper you need (we even had to color the blue for the sky)
• finally glue them on piece by piece to make the boat 

This was a great project to not only learn about the Pilgrims & the Mayflower, but also to reinforce cutting and glue skills. Finally, I wrote out "The Pilgrims came to America on the Mayflower" and she had to write in the "P" for "Pilgrim and the "M" for Mayflower. 

(thanks Pinterest!!) 

CVS couponing. <3

BUY ONE DOVE MEN+CARE BODY WASH (with bonus shower tool), on clearance $2.72

Use one $2.50/1 Dove Men+Care Coupons.com Savings Club printable (no longer available)
or use one $2/1 Dove Men+Care printable coupon (pre-clipped). Made them 22 cents a piece!

Stocked up on glade products between Target & CVS -- both were running deals. After coupons, the sale price, stackable Target coupons and the $5 gift cards (I had like 5 transactions at Target). I paid $5 FOR ALL THIS GOOD SMELLING SWAG!!!!

At CVS, I went back (and used my moms extra care card) to cash in on that great schick deal to get more extra care bucks! Also recieved extra care bucks for glade candles (on sale / stacked coupons) and got some free gum. 

The whole day I spent around $15 for all this (which all in all was a total of well over $150 bucks!)