I love free stuff...

I've been browsing around the interwebs for deals and steals recently and have stumbled across some pretty good deals. Yesterday, I realized while reading a journal article about Hilton rewards points for class that my husband and I had unused Delta skymiles. Instead of reading the article, I browsed Delta's website and cashed in a few points for some items that had been lying dormant for years. I was able to get this mixing bowl and this Vera Bradley lunch box for free.

I have also been taking Lighspeed Consumer Panel surveys and finally had enough points to cash them in for a $10 Amazon.com gift card. I have been wanting to get the movie "How to Train Your Dragon". Amazon.com was selling the movie for a price lower than Walmart, so I took advantage of this deal and cashed in my gift card. I got the movie for a little less than $10-new!

Yesterday, I received a pitcher in the mail. That was a surprise. I had forgotten that I had even requested it .

Now, I am waiting on my peacock-eye bowls to arrive (they were $9 originally, but purchased them for only $1.95, including shipping!) and my salad tossers (originaly around $12 but got them for $4.95) and I will be set!

cheating on a budget

Is it really cheating on a budget if you claim an expense made on 9/28 on the October budget?

In other news, I saved 91% at Kroger yesterday :). I got 3 bottles of Diet Dr. Pepper for only $.64. I told my husband that and he thought I meant $.64 a piece... nope! They were $.21 a piece after various rebates I had received.

If only I could do that every week.

CVS deals for this week

Yesterday, I went to CVS to increase my stockpile of toiletries and other various sundries. Here is a breakdown of what I spent on what:

1- Cascade Diswashing Detergent: 6.49
CVS card discount: -2.50
Manufacturer's Coupon: -$1
Final Price: 2.99

2-Dawn Dishwashing Liquid: 1.69 a piece
CVS card discount: -.73 per item
Manufacturer's Coupons: -.50 and -.25
Final Price: $.59 a piece

1-Downy: 5.79
CVS card discount: -1.80
Manufacturer's Coupons: (if I had not forgotten to use it) -1.00
Final Price: 2.99

Colgate Total Toothpaste: 3.99
CVS card discount: -2.02
Manufacturer's Coupons: -.75
Final Price: 1.22

2-Arm and Hammer Laundry Detergent: 6.99
CVS card discount: Buy 1 get 1 free
Manufacturer's Coupons: -.25
Final Price: 3.37 a piece

2-CVS Batteries: 4.29
CVS card discount: Buy 1 get 1 free
Final Price: 2.15

2-Clean and Clear Face Wash: 5.99 a piece
CVS card discount: Buy 1 , get 1 for 50% off
Manufacturer's Coupons: (2) -$1
Final Price: 3.49 a piece

2- Clean and Clear Face Wash (a different kind): 5.49 a piece
CVS card discount: Buy 1, get 1 for 50% off
Manufacturer's Coupons: (2) -$1
Final Price: 3.12 a piece

Tampax Tampons: 5.79
CVS card discount: -2.80
Manufacturer's coupons: -$2
Final Price: .99

Always pads: 3.99
CVS card discount: -$1
Manufacturer's coupons: -$2
Final Price: .99

All in all, I saved a grand total of 42.13. I could have saved 44.93 if I had remembered to use my downy coupon and use my CVS bucks. Before tax, I only spent around $37 dollars on all of this stuff.

To make this an even better deal, if your CVS has the Oral B Vitality toothbrush, you could get it for $13 bucks and get $13 CVS bucks back. This would make the toothbrush free! Unfortunately, the Starkville CVS is out... but that's okay. When I asked if they had any, they wrote me a "raincheck", so I will be able to get the toothbrush at the awesome discount when it is back in stock (before 10/31, because that's when my coupon expires).

I think I finally got my stockpile of laundry detergent complete for the year. After this shopping trip, I think I now have enough toothpaste to last me and my husband for a year.

On a not so funny but sort of amusing note, I had gone to Sams a few months (5) back and bought a 2 quart (?) bottle of dishwashing liquid. I was running low and bough another bottle about a month ago. I had forgotten about this bottle until last night, after I had started stocking up on dishwashing liquid by using coupons at the local drug stores. So now, I have about a 2 year supply of dishwashing liquid!!!!! (oops)

I wanna work outside

The weather is taunting me. I can see the reflection of the sunlight on my computer monitor and it is making me want to go outside. Maybe I can convice everyone else in the office to rotate the cubicles so that they face the window. It would be more productive, right? ;)

The weather is perfectly fall. I've even set out my Halloween decorations and hung a fall wreath on the door. (It's wreath number 2, because someone stole my first wreath... Seriously, who steals a cheap wreath from CVS?) I made a wreath this time, so it was free. I've also set out the Halloween candy. At this rate, I won't have any candy left for Halloween. (Maybe I need to quit buying my favorite candy so I will stop eating it. )

I would like to go bike riding with Chris, but the rear brake fell off of his bike. (I was blaming the wreath thief for breaking the brakes, but a friend had borrowed the bike and forgot to tell us that the brakes fell off.

I still make stuff... I promise

I've been in a creative drought recently (as you probably noticed). Also, I've been busy organizing my coupon collection and trying to set up a method to use them. BUT.... here is my latest creation:

A diaper cake!

My cousin and his wife are expecting and they are having a baby shower this weekend. I've never given a baby gift before, so I was at a complete loss for ideas on what to give them. I wanted to give them something practical, so I was torn between outlet covers and doorknob covers or a diaper cake (because every baby needs diapers).

The cousins on my dad's side of the family were discussing how expensive diapers were and how they were always needing them. I knew that I wanted to give diapers, I just didn't know how to present them in an appropriate manner. Most how-to videos online tell you to roll up the diapers like a cylindar and tie them with a rubber band. That just seems impractical. Either the mom will have to spend hours untieing them or they'll wait and when they need a diaper, they'll have to fight with the rubberband before fighting to put the diaper on the baby.

I thought about buying a diaper cake, but they're so expensive! (and overpriced, too). After an hour of off-and-on searching, I finally found a how-to that doesn't involve rolling up the diapers. Instead, you arrange the diapers in a spiral fashion in a cake pan, secure the big wad of diapers with a rubber band, and flip the pan over. To make a two-tiered one, just use a smaller pan for the second layer and secure them with a paper towel tube through the middle.

It was really easy to make. Also, it's a very cute way to display diapers. (did I mention that I got the diapers at an uber cheap price because of a sale at Walgreens and a $3 off coupon)

... I had to throw coupons in there somewhere ;)

another coupon post

If you're wondering why I post so many coupon posts, it's primarily so that I can see what I've saved (and point out to my husband when needed, that couponing actually does save money ;) )

My first big save/spending was at Walgreens. (and as a disclaimer, I'm not going to include the Claritin in my "saving/spending" total because it was not "grocery" related ( and excluding it makes my total look better :)

Total Groceries before coupons: 43.99
Discounts: 22.07
Total spent at Walgreens: 21.92.

I got some register rewards from this transaction and applied them to my next transaction:
Here are the numbers from that:
Total Groceries before coupons: 14.87
Discounts: 8.51
Total Spent on second trip at Walgreens: 6.36

In order to use my register rewards, I had to have some "fillers" to make my total be high enough to use the coupons. My fillers were M&M's. I think the fillers are going to make me fat :) .

The second store that I visited (and will post about since I saved more than I spent) was CVS. They had some really good deals this week, and when combined with coupons from the papers/online, it was a really really big discount.

Here are the numbers:
Total before Coupons: 41.27
Discounts: 25.90 (yay!!!-and I haven't even really started racking up ECB's yet)
Total spent: 15.37

I just can't seem to get the savings to add up at Kroger and Walmart. I save money, but the amount of savings doesn't go over what I had spent. I'll keep working on that and maybe one day, I'll be able to make money from them too.

This week's coupon deals

Instead of posting every transaction I make with coupons, I decided to only blog about savings that equal to more than I spent at the register. This happened today at Walgreens.

I went in to take advantage of their sale on Arm and Hammer detergent (buy one get one free). I also had a coupon for $1 off two. Instead of paying 13.98 for two bottles, I only paid 5.99 for two.

The next deal was a coupon that they had in their sale paper-$.99 for Palmolive dish washing liquid. This was $1.00 off the original price.

I also had a coupon for $5 off from the purchase earlier in the week.

Without coupons, my total would have been 22.96. After coupons, I spent a grand total of $8.97 (before tax). This equals to be a savings of 13.99.

I knew that in order to use the coupon, I had to spend at least $5. I panicked and probably bought more than I could have, but in the end, I essentially got a large bottle of Herbal Essences shampoo for only $1.99. This was the only item that I didn't have a coupon for (and it is rumored that there will be a coupon for Herbal Essences in tomorrow's paper).

Cups-and-Cakes review

I was excited at the prospect of a bakery opening in Starkville that sold cupcakes. After reading blogs such as Cupcakes take the Cake, I was really hoping for a modern bakeshop that sold amazingly different flavored cupcakes that would make your mouth water at the pure thought of eating one. This place is not that.

Upon walking in, you are greeted by an interior that is welcoming, with chairs and neutral browns on the wall. You then see the coolers that are everywhere, housing the cupcakes, cakes, and cookies. Country music fills your ears, and you realize that this isn't the modern bakery you were hoping for.

Behind the counter, where all of the "magic" takes place, there are tons of buckets with colored icing. The floor is stained with icing that has fallen and there were no ovens anywhere to bake the delicious treats in. I kept looking for a row of ovens, but nothing.

The eats are pleasing to look at, but upon closer inspection, you see that they are nothing but simple cakes smothered in icing. Cupcakes have icing towers that are 3 inches tall. There is only one problem with this, however... the icing is not home made. It, instead, is the Sysco brand buckets of Crisco that many grocery stores use to slather on cakes to make them look presentable. I understand that royal icing is needed to have stiff flowers that don't melt on the cake, but you could at least use icing that is not glimmering because of the oil content.

I'm not a fan of storebought cakes, if you can't tell. The icing is nothing but a big vat of grease, slathered on top of a sponge that may or may not be a cake. Considering her background is working at a grocery store bakery, one can see that she did not vary her talents when it came to opening up her own shop.

To me, a person who makes cakes should strive to make cakes that are from scratch and make creative icings that allow for not only the eyes, but also the tastebuds to have a treat.

She also sold cookies. They weren't fresh. Instead, they were either a little soggy or hard, depending on the flavor. They also crumbled... a lot.

Her cakes are pretty to look at, but are covered in icing. (did i mention that the icing will stain your teeth?) Basically, I believe that her bakery is not a bakery, but instead, a place where a young girl can go and "color" a cake with icing for fun.

always clip the coupon...

Well, coupons are good and all, but not necessarily when you forget to cut them out of the sale paper! Today, I went to Walgreens and took advantage of their deals.

Some of the deals that I took advantage were:

Dial soap: buy 1 get 1 free
Scrubbing Bubbles automatic shower cleaner: 14.99 (which is a deal in itself, considering it's originally 24.99 at Walgreens), plus a $5 coupon that I had, PLUS $5 register rewards. That means that the shower cleaner only cost $4.99!
and lastly, they had flour on sale for 1.79 (with coupon)... but guess what genius forgot to clip the coupon.... Me! So, I paid full price for the flour (2.99) and also learned a lesson to always clip coupons from the sales paper before I go into the store.

Today's savings from Walgreens (hold your breath) : $20.99!!!!

Another deal that is going on is that if you access drugstore.com through ebates.com, you can get 5 items for a penny (yes, $.01) each. I took advantage of this, got a ton of lotion and body wash, and spent only $6.04. ($5.99 shipping). I saved a total of $30.90.

I should be set for a while on bathroom supplies.

Another couponing post

So, tonight I went on a couponing shopping spree. First stop, Kroger.

Here were some of the deals:
Deals Without coupons:
Tyson boneless, skinless chicken breasts - $6.99 a bag.
Kroger Italian sausage - $2.99

Deals with coupons:
Ronzoni pasta - $1 before coupon, FREE with coupon clipped from magazines ( I had 2 coupons)
Bryan Beefy Jumbos - $8.78 for two, a dollar off with coupon
Diet Dr. Pepper - $1.89 before coupon, .50 off with e-coupon on Kroger card


At Kroger, I saved $3.98 with the Kroger card and $3.50 using coupons. Total savings equal 7.48. Overall, I only paid 31.10.

The next stop, I went to Walmart. That was an adventure in itself. Walmart was having a sale on Diet Dr. Pepper - $1 a piece. That was a much better deal than Kroger. At Walmart, they also had a clearance sale going on with excess college dorm room supplies (such as bedding and clotheshangers). I got a new set of sheets for $9 and clotheshangers for $1.

I had coupons for a some pet products and groceries. I got a bunch of groceries (enough to last a week... hopefully).

My subtotal was $84.04 before coupons, and 64.51 after coupons. That's a savings of $19.53. I'm still trying to get a hang of this whole coupon thing. My goal is to get to where I can buy $100 worth of groceries for $5. ( a little extravagant but the principle is there ;) )

I need to post something "crafty" so that I can keep my blog title :)

It's been a while since I've posted anything crafty, so I thought I would post an invitation I made at work for a retirement party.
Who knew my "how to use powerpoint" class would come in handy.

A penny saved is a penny earned....

So, on the coattails of the last post, I have started couponing (is that a word?) . Yesterday, I made the rounds of the stores that I had coupons for. First stop, Walgreens.

At Walgreens, I was able to get aluminum foil, packing tape, my ink cartridge refilled, and multi-grain cheerios for a grand total of $21.76 (pre-tax). I then used coupons, and paid $15.96. I saved a grand total of $5.80.

Next stop, Wal-mart. There, I was able to get a bunch of stuff using coupons that I had collected from the P&G coupon insert. Before the coupons, the total was 26.63... after coupons, 20.38. A savings of $6.25.



My biggest savings happened today. After doing a little research online (a.k.a. reading blogs), I discovered that you can put coupons on your Kroger card. So, without any prodding at all, I put those suckers on my Kroger card and went shopping.



Some items were already on sale for Kroger customers. From the picture, I'm sure you can guess what was the first Kroger discount I made full use of. Yeah... we like Diet Dr. Pepper. (or DDP as it is affectionately known as around my house). DDP was 4/$5, and after purchasing 4, you get 1 free! So, basically the DDP was $1 a piece. We drink a lot of DDP around here, so let me tell you, $1 a piece is a steal! For comparison, when DDP isn't on sale at Kroger, it is $1.89. Then, we go to Dollar General, which sells DDP for $1.25.

Another discount that I was pretty proud of was the fact that the potato chips were 1.67 after a Kroger discount, and then I got a $.25 discount with an e-coupon. That means the chips were only $1.42.

I'm sure you don't want a play-by-play of each item I bought, so I'll tell you the savings:
Manufacturer Coupons: 5.65
Kroger Plus Savings: 14.40
Total Savings: 20.05!

All of those items, after coupons only cost me 39.65.

I'm not a pro at it, but just these past 3 days have encouraged me to continue to clip coupons. I even have a coupon folder!

Coupon clipping

The other day, my husband came in and was amazed that someone that he works with's wife had bought approximately $50 of groceries for only $8. I'm impressed too. He had never realized that coupons could save so much money. (I've been trying to tell him that, though ;) )

Anyway, since he's now on board with using coupons, I've decided to be proactive and start using coupons more effectively.

The only problem is that I really don't know where to start. Last night, I decided to try to look up coupons online. The first place I went was Walgreens and found some pretty good coupons.. especially since they had coupons for things that I had run out of (such as aluminum foil and $10 ink refills). Next, I went to Smart Source and printed out some coupons. The only problem is that my printer then began to run out of ink. I guess I need to rethink my strategy to getting coupons... First thing on the list.... BUY INK!!! ( and now I have a coupon for that)

Another thing that I did was compare prescription prices. I usually go to Walgreens, but decided to give CVS a try.... (long story short, traffic was terrible the first week of school and I decided that I didn't want to drive the extra distance to go to Walgreens). At first, I thought the $12 for my prescription was really good, especially since that's what I've been paying at Walgreens for my prescription. However, I had recently gotten my doctor to lower the dosage of my prescription. Because of this lower dosage, I was able to qualify for the Prescription Savings Club price of $12 for a 90-day supply! That's $4 a month. To get the Prescriptions Savings Club price, you must first be a member of the club, which requires a $20 fee. But still.... that's $1.66 a month (plus the $4 for the prescription) that equals $5.66- a savings of $6.34.

My next goal is to get Christopher to only buy groceries for the week instead of going to the store every 2 days...

so many Big Lebowski references could be entered into this post...

I would insert tons of Big Lebowski quotes in this post, but I will not for two reasons.... the only references I have for the movie are what I've heard my husband quote over and over (and over) again (I've never seen it) and secondly, it's somewhat of a family-blog so I'll try to limit the swearing.

I'm always on the look out for a new rug. I don't know why, I guess it's just my crafting nature. I recently made a rug from old sheets and shirts to go under my dining room table ("It really tied the room together").

My roomate had a rug in college that was really soft and colorful. It was a nice rug and I always knew that there had to be some way to make it. I recently stumbled my way over to this blog that gave a tutorial on how to make a rug. I opened up the link, and there they were...instant instructions to make the rug. I'm thinking about making it.

School's here...

School has officially started at MSU. Traffic's a mess and students are wandering around campus, looking for their next class. I even had one student stop me in the hall, asking where her Biocomputing class was. Um, I don't know? I told her I guess it would be room 103... hope I'm right.

Construction's been going on in my apartment. The ceiling was falling in and they had to install a support beam. They only raised it 1.5 inches. I was shocked that the ceiling had fallen that much. The only part they have left to do is to mud the sheetrock and they will be out of there. The landlord probably won't paint the sheetrock (going off his last "repair" endeavours... and the spots in my bathroom and closet that do not have paint). I wish they would hurry up so that I could go ahead, clean off all of the dust that is going to be everywhere after they sand the sheetrock, and get my doggies back home. We left them in Tupelo so that the carpenter could come and go without fear of being barked to death. The carpenter better hurry up or he will have to work with an angry dog in the apartment. Also, I miss my puppies (my cat's as big as a dog, so he's now being classified as a dog).

After this whole experience, I am ready to move. My main reason is that on the first day, the carpenter looked at the situation and said "I don't feel comfortable fixing your roof because you obviously (looking at the huge cracks in my floor) have foundation problems and those need to be addressed before I would fix the ceiling." After talking to the landlord, the carpenter lost all conviction to not fix the apartment and promised to be there at 8 a.m. the next day to start work.

Well, I took off work for him to be there. Guess who didn't show up. I called him and he told me that he completely forgot and that he would come at 5 p.m. He did show up, they installed the beam, and, when they left, the only project left was to hang the sheetrock and mud the cracks.

Yesterday, he hung the sheetrock and started to mud the seams.

After all of this, and the previous projects that I have fixed because of how the landlord usually acts, I have decided that maybe it's time to move on.

Did I mention the kitchen drain? ... it was leaking so we called the landlord. He said that it's not leaking now and if it starts back, let him know.... well, when he said that, the pipe could be pulled from the drain!!!!!! I fixed it.

The door also likes to not open. Our doorknob will jam sometime, making it impossible to enter or exit the apartment. This has happened more than once, but after taking the doorknob apart, banging it, and spraying it with WD-40, it starts to work again. We told the landlord about the doorknob but he wasn't concerned. This morning, the door jammed while I was trying to leave for work. It started to work again, but now I wonder if I will be able to get back in my apartment.

I think all of my concerns would have been addressed if maybe we were a first-year tenant of this apartment. It hasn't been renovated/fixed in 5 years and now it's starting to show its age. If we stay, things will never be fixed up, but if we move to a different apartment in the complex, our rent will go up and we may have to pay more of a deposit. I already think our rent is a little steep, but I really like living where I can see a tree (and not concrete).

So, maybe it is time for us to pack up and find somewhere else to live. The only bad thing is that our lease runs until July 31, 2011. By then, I'll probably will decide to stay.

I did find a house that had a fenced-in back yard and they allow pets. Maybe it'll be open next August.

Happy National S'mores Day!

Thanks to The Shabby Nest, I learned that today was National S'mores Day.



I love s'mores.



Food Network Magazine did an article on different s'mores recipies. I couldn't find it, but here is a link to tons of s'more recipies on their website.



Tons of s'mores




(photo from caplanmiller.com)

Updates galore...

A few months ago, I went on a cleaning spree, which resulted in the cleaning out of the closets. I started cleaning up the kitchen shelves and posted that I would display my results. Unfortunately, this shelf is "unorganizable". I did, however, find a solution. So....

Kitchen Shelf before...
















and Kitchen Shelf after!







Lowe's had a sale on painter's drop cloths. I got a 6x9 canvas cloth for under $5. I then bought a curtain rod for around $2.25. The canvas happened to be two 4.5 x 6 dropcloths sewn together. I took them apart and created a pocket for the curtain rod to slide into. I then tied the rod to the rack, using cable ties. I still need to attach some fabric tie-backs to hold the curtain up while I am trying to find dishes/appliances.


It's an instant mess hider :)

Also, I have published posts talking about building a new bed. I wanted to build the Farmhouse bed, but at a pricetag of $126 before paint, screws, nails, etc., it was a little out of my budget. Another issue that I would have had to deal with is the fact that I would have an extra headboard around the apartment. I didn't want to get rid of it, but I had no room to store it. So... to solve the dillemas of money and storage, I opted to build a different bed. This Modern Bed was much better. It would allow me to use the old headboard and save money (about $70). So, without further ado... pictures.

The old bed. I forgot to show the cement block leg.

The Bed Before...

The bed during...

I know what you're thinking... "What, no after?" Well, me, being the brilliant photographer that I am, forgot to take an after picture. I promise I will take one tonight, after I charge my camera battery.

.... nevermind the selling

Selling tin crosses is out. Why?, you may ask? Because it's dangerous. (and could ultimately lead to me being kicked out of the apartment ;) ) I threw the scraps away in the garbage. Christopher didn't notice the shiny metal sticking out of the bag and then proceeded to push the garbage down to make more room and sliced his finger open. He didn't need stitches, but I didn't want to chance another injury because of a craft project... so crosses are out.

For now, though, I am thinking about making a new bed. The current bed is being held up by a concrete block. I have been eyeing this bed from Knock-off Wood's blog. I already have lumber left over from building the dresser and next week would be the perfect time to build it. Chris is going to a Conference and doesn't like to be around when I am building (because it's loud and I tend to loose my temper... imagine that. ). Also, school will not have started yet and the neighboring apartments are unoccupied. So, while he's gone, I may sneak off to Lowe's, buy the lumber, and build the Farmhouse bed. It looks so pretty. Plus, it will be nice to have a bed that's not part MDF, metal, and concrete block.

No turning back....

I've been talking for a while now about selling my stuff online. (that's the main reason I started blogging). So, I finally jumped off of the deep end and opened up my little spot in cyberspace. I now have an etsy account (craftycollections.etsy.com) that takes paypal and money orders. Right now, I only have one item for sale, but will make more items as I can.

I'm also looking into buying a booth at the MSU Holiday Bazaar. It's a local craft show that happens around Christmas each year, on campus. Now I have to start making more items to sell so that I can stock-up. It's a 2-3 day event and would require me to have inventory on-hand since it takes me so long to make my items.

Another thing that I need to start doing is promoting my items. I want to send out a mass-email to family and friends, but then I don't want to be spamming. I've been telling myself that I will also post a status on facebook recognizing my shop but then I don't want to be someone who pushes their product on everyone.

I guess I just have low self-esteem when it comes to selling my products. I always go to shows and think "I could make that" but then never do. I want to sell my stuff, I just don't want to be pushy. To take a term from marketing, I want to be involved in relationship marketing, not just what most people have come to think of marketing-selling. I want to build relationships with my customers and create products that they will want to buy. I don't want to push my products onto people, just so I could turn a profit.

Anyway, those are my thoughts for the day. Have a good weekend!

A picture of my latest creation

Here is a sample of my latest project.

I finished this one last night.