Maternity Leave- Day 1

Yay! I’m on maternity leave! Can I please burn the black maternity pants I’ve been wearing 4 days a week for the past month? (You think I’m kidding, but I’m not.)

 

I know that some women feel that they would go nuts being home all the time waiting for the baby to come, but I’m the opposite. I’m really happy to have this extra time at home and I’ll take whatever days I can get. I’m just soaking up the relaxation and flexibility that I have right now. I know I will meet my little girl soon and I am not trying to rush anything. So you won’t hear about me eating habanero peppers or bouncing on a trampoline to induce labor before it’s time.

 

What I’ve done is to schedule a few small activities for each day this week and leisurely get around to doing them. I also plan to cook nice dinners for Joe and try and keep the house neat.

 

Today’s agenda items we’re:

1. To go to the mall to return a sweater for Joe before the receipt expired and use a $10 rewards card at Pottery Barn Kids that also expires this weekend.

2. To hit up Trader Joe’s for some food and dinner ingredients.

 

Mission accomplished!

 

At Pottery Barn Kids I was excited to find these pacifier holders on sale from $8.99 to $5.99 each. I bought two and they cost me only $2.70.

At Trader Joe’s I picked up a whole bunch of things (and subsequently needed 10 bags to make sure they were light enough).

 

Produce

Snacks

(These I actually got a the regular store yesterday- I’m looking forward to trying the new flavors)

 

Something new

And I also got dinner ingredients. Tonight I’m making turkey tacos and Southwestern Black Bean and Corn Salad on the side.

 

I’m about to sit down and eat some lunch now- a spinach salad topped with lots of goat cheese. I got this 11oz. log at TJ’s for only $4.79. I thought it was a pretty good deal.

I’m also going to have a piece of toast on the side. Have you guys tried this bread? It’s delicious and makes the best toast.

Come to think of it, I’ll be surprised if I even end up with a salad and not just bread and cheese. But we’ll see…

 

Hope you are all enjoying your day! I will be back later with another post. I want to share with you a recipe that we tried last night for dinner that was a real winner!

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Non-Extreme Couponing Part II- Smart Tips from a Newbie

Thanks to Tervis for sponsoring my writing. Visit their website http://www.tervis.com to learn more about the world’s first smart cup.

Hi guys!

It’s been 2 weeks since I started couponing  and I’m happy to tell you that it’s going well.

Just to reiterate, I started couponing with the goal that I can use some readily available resources to save my family money. For me, couponing is smart lifestyle choice because it helps reduce spending and requires minimal effort!

Things I learned during my 2 weeks of couponing:

1. Check your store’s policy about coupon doubling. I thought originally that all coupons would be doubled (even those that were worth $1), but both of the stores I mainly shop at only double coupons with a $0.99 value or less.
2. Make sure to keep the store circulars that you receive during the week. They are not always included in the Sunday paper and you need them to match up your coupons to sales. Circulars also contain additional coupons for the grocery store and you need to cut them out in order to get the savings (it’s not the same as your club card discount)

3. Don’t go EVERYWHERE. Just because there are good coupons at 3 or 4 different stores, don’t try to go to every single one or you’ll be EXHAUSTED (I was). I now stick to 2 main grocery stores (one by work, one at home) and I’ll also pop into the CVS next to the grocery store. If I see something really worth my while, I can plan a trip there, but I don’t want to go crazy just trying to get my weekly shopping done.

Some Other Helpful Tips:
1. It’s okay to shop without coupons when the prices are good! Last week Gala apples were on sale at the regular store for $1.49/lb. Trader Joe’s had a 2 pound bag of organic gala apples for $2.49. Organic + Less Expensive = smart buy.

2. Good sale items run out. Big bags of organic baby spinach were on sale last week for 2/$6. I also had a coupon for $1/off. By the time I got there on Wednesday…they were gone. Scoop up good deals early to make sure you get what you want.
3. Plan your meals around deals and coupons! This might seem obvious to some but I didn’t do this on week one. If you plan your meals on Sunday when you are perusing your circulars and making your shopping list, you will create more affordable meals. Why not make tacos if ground turkey is on sale? Why not choose green beans over zucchini if they are on sale? This really (REALLY) helps me stick to my weekly food budget.

Great Websites that Help me Each Week:
1.My Frugal Adventures – I don’t know where she finds the time to put all of this info together, but it’s great! Charlene compiles store deals + circular deals and gives you the info. She also links coupons you can print, and has a database where you can enter a product you need, and find out if there is a coupon for it.

I was selected for this sponsorship by the Clever Girls Collective. To learn more about Tervis, visit their website http://www.tervis.com.

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Weekend Stuff

Happy Monday everyone! Hope you all had a nice weekend!

 

I spent my weekend getting some things done- looking for carpet and getting price quotes and slowly narrowing down the plethora of paint samples that I collected for the nursery.

 

I pasted all of the swatches I liked on the wall and then had a few face-offs between similar colors. When I had a small sample left, I observed how the colors looked morning, noon, and night. It’s amazing how a color changes with the lighting in a room.

Here’s a sneak peek at the nursery closet which is currently housing some (and I use that term loosely) items for our little girl. Only one outfit so far, a super soft snuggly onesie complete with a hood with little ears. I think it looks so cute just hanging there all alone.

She also has some little hangers and two sets of those adorable socks that look like mary janes. So cute! (The rest of the stuff in there is mine! I need to move out of that closet soon)

 

Okay and one other cute item that my mom bought…a little piggy bank! So sweet.

Speaking of sweet…this weekend I had a major craving for 2 ingredient pumpkin spice cookies. (spice cake mix + can of pumpkin)

 

The best part was the egg free batter that I could eat!

These came out HUGE! I’m not complaining, but next time I need to make them a little smaller. They are more like muffin tops than cookies. Oops.

 

Yesterday I went to Trader Joe’s and picked up some food for the week. Here are a few highlights:

(try this applesauce warm with a dollop of greek yogurt)

(I don’t know about you, but I like my apples extra fancy)

(a total impulse buy at the register, but OMG, it’s amazing)

 

The rest of yesterday was spent cooking up some of my lunch staples for the week. I roasted a butternut squash…

And made a delicious batch of lentils. I’ll share the recipe tomorrow- it’s fantastic!

 

What did you do this weekend?
Any fun grocery items you scored lately?

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Non-Extreme Couponing- Part I

Has anyone been watching Extreme Couponing on TLC? I’m not afraid to admit that I have been tuning in (much to Joe’s chagrin). I just sit there mesmerized by the register as it goes from $1000 to $0.89 and these women wheel out carts full of free merchandise.

source

To be honest, it makes me feel a little crappy when the next day I go to the store, pay $90 and save nothing.

Certainly, I have no desire to “stockpile”, build walls full of rotating food shelves, or eat canned soup and frozen items for dinner every night. I really think there is a fine line between extreme couponing and extreme couponing/hoarding. I’d prefer to remain out of both categories even if it means I’ll never appear on reality TV.

source

I do however think that clipping coupons is an interesting way to save money, and lately as we plan ahead for some time as a single income home, I know that each dollar saved is increasingly important.

 

Fears about couponing:

1. Buying stuff I don’t want/need just because I have a coupon
2. Buying too much packaged food
3. Feeling pressure to buy inferior products/brands because they are less expensive
4. Having a house full of circulars and coupons and feeling overwhelmed by the process
5. Having to go to too many stores in order to best use my coupons

While I’d love to say that I’m already couponing maven, the truth is that I don’t really know what I’m doing. That’s why I thought it might be interesting for me to share my learning process with you. I just started this week, so here’s what I did.

 

 

 

Steps I took to begin couponing:

1. I held onto my store circulars this week instead of throwing them straight in the recycling bin
2. I bought a Sunday paper (and only after seeing what was available did I sign up for a subscription. I found my Sunday paper at ½ price at this site)
3. I cut coupons for items I wanted to buy this week, and kept others in an envelope.
4. I discarded coupons for things I’d never buy (even if they were free)
5. I browsed the store circulars to check out the good deals and see if I could match up some coupons with store sales
6. I checked out a bunch of online resources and guides on how to coupon (I plan to share this list with you as I see which ones are most helpful)

So far, I went to three stores this week with my coupons.

 

The first trip was to Giant where I saved $9 by using my store card and coupons.

Original Total: $42

Total with Discounts: $33

 

The second trip was to Walgreens where I saved another $9 by using coupons combined with items that were already on sale.

Original Total: $18

Total with Discounts: $9

 

My third trip was to Genuardi’s. I may not have gone here as well, but I had a 10% my entire grocery trip coupon that expired this week. So since I’m in coupon mode, I figured why not keep the experiment going.

Also, since I knew I’d be getting 10% off everything- I decided to buy some things that I know don’t often go on sale- (butter, whole wheat flour for baking). I also grabbed some honeycrisp apples since I saw they were only $1.68/pound and 2.29/pound at Giant.

 

At Genuardi’s I saved $13 with my card and coupons (both manufacturer and the 10% discount).

Original Total – $50

Total with discounts- $37

 

Here are two of my best deals. (Or at least I think so.)

Nature Valley granola bars are usually $3.59 each and I got two boxes for $3. (Joe eats these on the regular)

I also got Joe his Pert Plus Shampoo for only $0.99. (It is usually $4 but was on sale for $1.99 and I had a $1 off coupon)

 

Bored yet?!

The thing is that I still need a few more groceries in order to cook all of our meals for the wee because I did not plan my meals around my coupons. My weekly budget is around $80 and so far I’ve spent $79.

I did however buy things like batteries and shampoo when I didn’t NEED them yet because the deals were good.

We’ll see how it goes as I keep tracking the savings from week to week. Maybe this week will be higher, but the following weeks will be lower.

 

In the next segment on couponing I plan to share my savings again as well as some of the best online resources I’ve found to help new couponers.

 

What is your weekly food budget?
Do you use coupons? If so, what is your system for using them?

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A day late, a dollar short

Recently I’ve noticed a trend. I buy something, try to get the best deal I can, and then a day later I get a better coupon for the same item/store.

This happened the other day when I purchased a few new maternity items from Old Navy.

I had been waiting to buy all three items and I finally got a 25% off coupon so I went for it. A day or two later I get a 30% off coupon and subsequently every item I bought is marked down. See those red prices? Yeah, I didn’t get those.

Then yesterday I made a trip to Whole Foods for the first time in over a year. They built a new one near my house and I finally went over there to check it out. And of course what pops up in my email this morning from Living Social?

I don’t make this stuff up, people. Whatever.

Back to the fun. So before my coupon-free shopping started yesterday, I treated myself to lunch at the salad/hot bar

Cabbage slaw, corn, edamame, bean salad, peanut noodles and some General Tso’s and balsamic tofu.

Honestly, I only really liked the General Tso’s tofu and the peanut noodles. Both of which were the least healthy of everything I picked out. Go figure. I still ate up my whole plate. $7  of food ain’t going to waste around this pregnant lady.

After lunch, I took a long time browsing around and reading labels. It was quite a fun experience! I spent an extra long time in the Larabar section trying to pick which flavors to buy.

Cinnamon Roll, Chocolate Chip Cherry Torte, and Carrot Cake made the cut.

I also finally got to buy a small amount of something I’ve been wanting to test out for a while. Nutritional Yeast (or nooch).

I don’t know guys, this stuff seriously smelled like fish food. I tasted it, and it wasn’t terrible, but the smell was unbearable so it went in the garbage. Good thing I only bought 50 cents worth.

I also grabbed a new dinner item. I had read about these vegetarian hot dogs by Field Roast on Emily‘s blog and I was so excited since I haven’t had a hot dog since getting pregnant.

First I boiled them and then I seared the dog in a pan for a few minutes to give it a little crust. Then, I loaded the dog into a whole wheat bun and topped with sauerkraut and lots of mustard. So much kraut you can’t really see the dog. (The mustard is under the kraut- that’s the best way).

On the side was baked fries and baked beans. Double baked goodness!

These hot dogs were SO tasty and I absolutely loved the texture and flavor! Not to mention the nutritional facts. They boast 21 grams of protein and none of the other funky stuff you get in regular hot dogs. I highly recommend them and can’t wait to try out the other flavors.

Right now I’m just relaxing and sipping on my first pumpkin spice latte of the season. It’s really just a decaf skim latte and I asked for 2 pumps of pumpkin spice. She didn’t even charge me for the syrup and was more than happy to add the pumpkin spice on top. Score!

I just better not get a coupon for free Starbucks tomorrow…(well I guess that one is okay).

Do you seem to miss sales like me or are you more likely to get the deal at the right time?

Do you enjoy pumpkin spice lattes? What about Whole Foods, yay or nay?

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Snow Brings Out the CRAZY

Why is it that the threat of snow makes people completely insane?!

It’s almost 3:30pm and we are scheduled to get about 4 inches of snow here in the Philadelphia area.

You would think that someone said we were getting 400.

People are out and about, and the level of rudeness is turned all the way up.

Let’s start at Costco.

Stupid me decided to make a trip to Costco at 11am. I figured it wouldn’t be too crowded, and I was actually right. So I easily parked near the door. By the time I came out 40 minutes later, the parking lot was jamming.

The second I started walking towards my car, a woman put her blinker on and jetted towards my parking spot.

That’s fine, but you better be patient because I have a bruised tailbone and it’s going to take a me a little while to unload. Not to mention that I actually like to return the cart instead of leaving it in the middle of the lot.

(FREAKOUT #1)

I guess Mercedes SUV didn’t get the memo as she rolled her eyes and inched closer and closer to my car. I SEE YOU!!!!!!!!!!! AND IF YOU JUST WOULD HAVE PARKED SOMEWHERE ELSE INSTEAD OF WAITING, YOU WOULD BE KNEE DEEP IN 7 LAYER DIP and HOT POCKET SAMPLES BY NOW.

(Positive balance to FREAKOUT #1)

On the positive side, Costco had a great selection of affordable fresh berries. I had been craving them, but they are so expensive at the store.

I thoroughly enjoyed every bite of this fruit bowl and the cool whip on top. I also would have enjoyed hurling cool whip in that ladies’ face if I had the chance.

Up Next, the local grocery store.

I’m a glutton for punishment, so I decided to go to the grocery store this afternoon for a few more things (tortillas, crystal light, brown paper lunch bags, and pretzels) (???)

This time I parked really far away.  I even prepared myself for long lines at checkout. Especially when I saw that the self checkouts were broken.

(FREAKOUT #2)

What I didn’t prepare myself for was the woman in line behind me, who was RAMMING ME WITH HER CART. I only have 4 items so BACK OFF! I don’t need your metal deathwagon jamming into my left leg every time the cashier scans at item. It’s not going to make this process faster. You’re not going to squeeze anymore items on the belt by pushing me out of the way. And if you think I’m not capable of throwing this US Weekly at you, you are surely mistaken.

(Positive balance to freakout #2)

Hmm..this is hard. I guess the rage helped me to work up an appetite for this delicious lunch?

What a crazy afternoon! And I still have yet to see one flake of snow…

Do you find that people are wacko when there is a storm coming?

Is your area expecting snow today/tonight?

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Home Sweet Home

After traveling a long day of traveling yesterday:

 

- 2.5 hour car ride from Vail to Denver

- 4 hour plane ride from Denver to Newark

- 1 hour car ride from Newark to my Dad’s house

- 2 hour car ride from my Dad’s house to our house

 

… we’re home! Woohoo!

 

All of the sitting was tough with my injury, but I think it is getting better each day.

 

I’m not going to lie- I’m still bummed about it since I have this week off and I can’t really do much as far as working out. But at least I won’t feel bad for staying home and doing the studying that I need to do for my tests this week.

(My Praxis Exams are Thursday and Saturday)

 

This morning for breakfast I got creative with what was in the house. I think I was also inspired by the Jamba Juices I saw in the airport yesterday.

 

Strawberry Mango Protein Shake – serves 1

I started out with 1/2 cup frozen mango and about 3/4 cup frozen strawberries

Put them in a big measuring cup and heated them up for 40 seconds so they’d be easier to blend. And then added 1 cup of cold unsweetened vanilla almond milk.

I used my immersion blender to mix the fruit and milk a bit

Then I got crazy and added a scoop of vanilla protein powder.

I added 1/2 cup more of almond milk at this point, and started to blend.

I’m not huge on protein powders anymore, so this big guy will probably last me forever. It did add some nice creaminess and flavor to this smoothie though.

(not to mention 24 grams of protein!)

Cold, filling, and fruity!

 

Today my to-do list looks like this

• Take down X-mas decorations
• Tidy house a little
• Call Mom
• Start laundry
• Put beef in crockpot
• Grocery Shop
• Get my eyebrows threaded
• Watch football (and hope KC beats the Ravens) yes, I put "watch TV"  on my to-do list
• Pay bills

What are you getting done today?? (Oh and it’s okay if its just watching TV)

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Vlog FAIL

Hi and good morning!

So last night I tried to make you a VLOG. Then, when I went to post it, you tube gave me all kinds of problems. The video processing took hours for some reason.

 

However, I think that I’ll still share with you this little video, because the thought of trying to make a new one right now and dealing with the same issue is daunting.

 

Plus, you’ll love this vlog #1.

 

Ok, maybe not.

 

But before you watch, please read these disclaimers:

I have no idea what the hell is going on with my hair. WOW.

I apologize for the bad lighting, and the fact that my undereye circles are so dark and scary.

When I watched it back I was horrified, but I knew if I fixed my hair and threw on some concealer, the second video would be inauthentic.

 

Also, I have no idea why it sounds like I have a lisp. (especially when I say the word "seriously" and "grapes") I don’t in fact have a lisp. But you wouldn’t believe me now anyway.

 

Without further ado…

 

 

 

Please Please tell me how you vlog?

What are the best tools/sites/etc?

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Grocery Budgeting

Good morning everyone!

I’m getting ready to start the day and was just  taking the time to enter some of my latest grocery receipts into my excel spreadsheet. So I thought I would share a little about my grocery budgeting project with you.

 

I’ve said before that I think budgeting has a lot to do with being aware of how much you spend versus just cutting things out.

 

You can’t say that you’re going to slash your grocery budget in half if you don’t know what you spend in the first place. And putting an unrealistically tight budget in place isn’t going to help you if you can’t stick to it.

So since the end of September, I’ve been recording every trip I spend at the grocery store. This includes Costco, and side stores like the fish store or farmer’s market, etc.

 

Here’s a snippet of what my budgeting sheet looks like. Nothing fancy.

Something you may also notice, is that I go to a variety of grocery stores.

I’m not a coupon clipper, and I really can’t keep up with circulars, but I know that some stores offer better deals on things then others.

Here’s how I break it down:

Costco: (My game plan here?- I don’t go in without a list, I always have coupons, and I only buy what’s on the list 99% of the time)

cleaning products especially swiffers, laundry/dishwasher detergent, garbage bags, toilet paper, paper towels, ziploc bags, feminine hygiene, listerine, ibuprofen, gummi vitamins, spices, vitamuffins, laughing cow cheese, bagel thins

Walmart:

packaged goods (granola bars, condiments, crackers, orange juice, gum, cleaning products if costco isn’t possible), occasionally other household items such as toothpaste, soap, band-aids

Giant:

This is a regular grocery store that always has great sales on items I buy often. I buy mostly everything here- produce, meat, dairy,bread. It’s a little far away but worth the trip.

Trader Joes:

I go here every week or every other week for some items. Organic meats, vegetarian items, grains, beans, PEANUT FLOUR, string cheese, tortillas, frozen foods, dark chocolate

 

 

Genuardis:

This is a really nice store RIGHT around the corner. But it’s more expensive. I go here for last minute things and to supplement the groceries during the week. I try not to do my BIG SHOP for the week here.

 

Here’s what I’ve found out so far since I’ve been calculating:

We spend approximately $120/week on groceries

That is about $15/day so $7.50 each

 

Interesting stuff!

How much do you spend on groceries?
What are your budgeting tips?

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Some new arrivals

Thankfully we had enough in the house for me to whip up an old favorite for lunch. Yummy Stuffed Eggplant with some brussels on the side.

Man those veggies tasted good! I was starting to think I was risk for scurvy when I was in Miami.

 

After lunch I needed to hit up the grocery store in a major way! We were pretty much out of everything.

Oh and look what I found!

I’ve been hearing about kabocha squash for quite sometime now. I can’t wait to try it out! It kind of looks like the Buttercup Squash my father in law gave me. I wonder if it will taste similar.

 

I also got some new tea that sounded good and was only $2.

I’m not a huge tea person, but every now and then a cup sounds good. Today might be one of those days. It’s freezing outside.

 

Time to get ready for class…and oh no, I think it’s getting dark already!

 

Are you a tea drinker?

Have you ever tried kabocha squash?

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