2/27/11 CVS Trip DEALS!!

This week at CVS I am getting a lot for very little (once again)! Remember a blog I posted previously suggesting that you ONLY use your ecbs (extrabucks) on items that in turn EARN extrabucks? Well here is a great example of WHY!

This week CVS has a great deal- Spend $30 worth of select Proctor and Gamble products and get $10 ecbs back!

So I sat down with my store ad and figured what product I should buy to hit the $30 mark based on coupons on hand.

I decided on:
(3) bottles of tide @ 5.94 each
(2)8 packs of bounty towels @ 5.99 each
which would bring me to $29.80
So I through in the .94 cent Dawn dish soap to make it past the $30 mark needed to earn the 10 extra bucks (and let's face it, I will spend an extra 94 cent to make that 10 bucks) ;)

So my total pre taxes and pre coupons and ecb's was : $30.74

Now let's start deducting, I used:
(2) $1 off tide p&g 110 booklet coupons
(1) .35 off tide sunday paper coupon
(2) $1 off bounty p&g 110 booklet coupons
(1) .25 off dawn sunday paper coupon
= $$4.60 in coupons which brings my bill to 26.14

Then I had 10.99 in ecb's from last week AND when I scanned my cvs keyring card at the coupon center this morning it spit out a $5 ecb for reaching my cosmetic purchase limit for that month, so 26.14-15.99 in ecbs = $10.15

AFTER TAXES my out of pocket cost for all of this was $12.21
AND I got $10 ecb's back so that's like getting it all for 2.21!


NOW with this 10 in ecbs I plan to buy a $13 physician's formula powder, which makes me out of pocket $3, but i will get 7 ecb's back on this transaction, which I will turn around and buy a 2.99 softsoap body wash with that 7 in ecb's making it TOTALLY FREE and i'll earn 2 ecb's on the soft soap, which leaves me with 6 ecb's for next week and making it a grand total of ALL the proctor and gamble product, a physician's formula powder, and a softsoap body wash for just $15.21 out of pocket.

Or if you want to be technical I can subtract my 6 ecb and it's more like 9.21 spend for everything
(BUT i like to count what I actually spend $$ out not counting ecbs so that's $15.21).

So it's like I bought the makeup, one of my soaps and the rest totally free and will have 6 bucks for next week :) NOW THAT is a deal!

1 year // Smash the Cake Birthday Session - Baby M.

Today, I was able to photograph my friends little boy, baby M. for his 1 year // Smash the Cake Birthday Session :)
He is entirely too adorable and so sweet!! I can't wait to edit the other photos!
Contact me today for your smash the cake photos! $40 for all photos on CD for a limited time. Remember all of my images print up to 20 x 30 in size with out loosing detail.

Physician's Formula - Organic Wear Mascara Review

I'm sure you know I love Physician's Formula by now. If you don't, I am surprised because I rave about it constantly. Some time back when I first got a facebook I was looking up companies I liked so I could add them to my facebook page. Physician's Formula was probably the first one I looked up.

During this time of following their facebook page, they were very generous with fans and offered us a chance to try their products before it hit the retail store shelves.

I signed up as user girlxmom on mypfbeauty.com and some time later I was introduced to many of their new products. The happy booster blush was one that I liked, another was the Physicians Formula Eye Booster 2-in-1 Lash Boosting Eyeliner and Serum. I loved it so much I have purchased 3 more right away.

Yesterday, I was sent a full sized tube of their Organic Wear Mascara in the pretty green metalic leaf tube.

I really was verrrry skeptical. I am a die hard true blue brand loyal mascara addict to Maybelline. I use their volume express and then their "the falsies" to achieve the lashes I desire. When combined it gives a great look.

Well, here it is, Physician's Formula has outdone themselves! I only used 2 coats on upper and lower lashes and INSTANTLY have full thick eyelashes. (See my before and after photo) I have non existant lashes as you can tell.

With Maybelline I was having to put on a few coats, and use TWO of their different mascaras to get the look I desired, but it didn't matter to me. Physician's Formula takes one less coat and I only need to use ONE mascara to achieve the same look.

I like that this mascara doesn't clump. it does seem a little less wet when putting it on as compared to maybelline, which makes me wonder if it will run out quicker.

Either way, I will DEFINATELY be purchasing this again and again and again! Lashes do SO MUCH for a persons eyes and this mascara is the key to brightening up those dull tired eyes :)

And here is both eyes with the mascara, what a difference, right?!

Super cute build a bear - SOCK MONKEY!

Okay, so my friend, Brandy posted a link on my facebook a couple weeks ago with a build a bear sock monkey. It was the cutest sock monkey I had seen and since I am doing Ethan's room with the sock monkey theme, I could NOT pass it up. It was only 22 bucks, but after shipping and taxes 33. It came today & I have got to say, it is ENTIRELY TOOOOO stinkin' cute!!
(ignore the clutter behind this adorable sock monkey from build a bear, I am FAR from being able to do Ethan's room, something always comes up..)

Good thing Brandy showed me this when she did because when I was checking shipment status a day ago it said it was already discontinued. *whew*!!! JUST IN TIME!!! c'mon build a bear, this little thing is toooo cute for you to already discontinue! I know other mom's are into the sock monkey craze too! :)

There ya go, a picture using flash is more true to the detail..

THEY MATCH :) My son loves this thing. Don't let the non looking at the camera fool you. Just my luck my own child is not a fan of his mamarazzi photographer mom!

This was only sold online too! Maybe it will be back, I hope so because I would definatley order another one for MiMi. It is the cutest thing ever!!

Now, only if I could find time to do Ethan's room...SOON, I promise lol!! Things here have just been so chaotic. The man of the house is always working, I am always raising the kids, trying to pretend I am the Betty Draper of Mad Men, when in reality I am the chunky susie home maker. :D

Best $6.25 ever spent at Harris Teeter (couponing)

Harris Teeters weekly ad goes out every Wednesday. So I was late in the game trying to catch deals by going Saturday.

But I am GLAD I waited. Why? My 110$ Proctor and Gamble coupon book came TODAY literally as we were loading the kids in the car to go. THANK YOU proctor and gamble for the FREE coupon book!!

With the book & other coupons here is what I got today (you can do the same if you have a Harris Teeter, and the P&G coupon book)! This week is great because it's super doubles week (any coupon up to 1.98 will double):



All the of the 30 ounce gain dish soap was COMPLETELY free! P&G had coupons for 1 off that doubled (ht had them on sale for 1.99 each) I also had a coupon from a at home mailer gain sent me, and some coupons from last sundays paper. BLESS :)

The old spice deoderant was also FREE after the $1 off P&G coupon doubled.
The dawn dish soap was also FREE after the 50 cent P&G coupon doubled.
My herbal essence shampoo was 50 cent after the $1 off P&G doubled.
Crest Pro Health Tooth Paste was 99 cent after a $1 off doubled
Always 50 ct. panty liners - 99 cents, with 1 off coupon, tampas 20 ct also 99 cents with 1 off coupon.
Simply Lemonaide was 50 cent EACH after TWO $1 off internet coupons doubled,
soft scrub was about 50 cents each with 75 cent off coupons on both doubled.

Seriously, best deal ever!!! Thank you Proctor & Gamble, & Harris Teeter!

Random

Just some random near 2 am babbling. We'll call it "random facts". I would like to know random facts about you as well, dear reader :)
Ready..go:

* I recently discovered the joys of using night moisturizer on my face, when I realized my skin wasn't getting any younger.

* I made and broke diets all month. I am destined to be 'large and in charge' forever. this makes me hate myself even more.

* The sunshine is finally coming out and I noticed I am less miserable. Maybe all these years I was told I was bi polar, I as just seasonally depressed. no..I am just a nut case in general.

* I am jaded, withdrawn, and socially awkward the last few months. BADLY. I am a poster child for depression, but I can't seem to get out of the rut. It comes and goes. I guess this falls back into being bi polar. That or I realize how much I truly suck in general. *laughing* because what else can you do?

* I don't like change, I need a constant or my whole entire day is ruined, or I feel stressed. On the other hand I like random spontaneous things. (I should really make up my mind).

* I had a very long and stressful day, and the loves and I were not getting along. I was cleaning and asked him to take mimi to my parents. in the process I thought I'd feed Ethan and get him to bed and relax. But Ethan had other plans and had one of his gagging fits over food and proceeded to projectile vomit on me, himself and everything else within a close proximity. The rest of the hour ensued my bathing him, washing chunkgs out of his and MY clothes, doing laundry and re feeding him. :l
so much for a break? lol

* I like to complain a lot online, so it's okay if you do not like me, I don't favor myself either most days, so let's be in the "i dislike group".

* I keep meaning to finish Ethan's room but, something else always comes up.

* I am in love with January Jones Mad Men. errr, make that both..

* I am craving coca cola because it's so sweet!

* When I realize my kids are getting older, it depresses me, because for the majority of my 20's I have been just a "mom" and I don't want to be alone. Oh gosh, I am such a clinger parent. My poor kids haha.

* Hugs are the best drug. I never get them :(

* I should really be in bed.

How to get free stuff + make money towards your next purchase at CVS! (extrabucks explaination).

Want to know how I got this for FREE & made 55 cents off it? Okay, so I admit the coupon bug has hit me (hard). I am not an extreme couponer in that I am still to broke to buy extra newspapers for the extra coupons, (because knowing my luck I will spend the money go to the store and waste gas for them to be out of said item). hehe. But I will always buy something with a coupon I NEED because it really is saving money then. And if it is something I use a lot, then I won't hesitate to buy an extrapaper if it's a good deal (I think I'd raid someones recycle pile first though).

My favorite way to save money has been CVS. I want to tell you how to do this in the easiest way possible, because I have saved so much money.

First thing is first, if you do not have a member cvs card, ask the cashier for one. These are FREE, they work like harris teeter and foodlions mvp cards. Cashier will scan them, you get the stores deal and you are also rewarded extrabucks on items that qualify.

To find out what items earn extrabucks for the week, you can check out the stores website, the sundaypaper, or the instore ads, as well as the shelves where items will be marked with extrabuck earning purchases.

Extrabucks print out on your receipt, and you SAVE THEM and gaurd them like cash :) When you redeem them you give them to the cashier WITH your cvs member card he/she will scan your card and the extrabucks and then your extrabucks are applied to your purchases.

The way I am constantly getting freebies or money makers is, I will ONLY buy items WITH extrabucks that EARN extrabucks.

When you first start you will have to spend money to make extrabucks, you can use coupons to earn extrabucks so it's not so high a cost though. For instance, when I first started, I bought revlon makeup and earned 4 extrabucks off a purchase of 10 dollars worth of makeup, I also bought physician's formula and earned extrabucks off that. This wasnt' a problem for me because I needed to buy these items anyway.
I also earned 1 extrabuck for signing up and falls pending. So this left me with 12 extrabucks.

The following week I checked the paper for items earning extrabucks (see previous journal entry) They had a sale of soft soap and irish springs, for 3 each, spend 15 dollars earn 5 extra bucks. So I bought 5 large bottles of liquid soap, used my 12 extrabucks and paid 3 out of pocket, but earned 5 extrabucks back, so it was a 2 dollar money maker.

This week I didn't have any good coupons, so I looked for items that would earn extrabucks that I needed.

The herbal essence shampoo was on sale 2 for $5.97. This is cheaper than wal mart. I went in and bought my favorite kind (for pin straight hair) and used my 5 extrabucks from last week, which made my total 97 cents, after taxes my total was 1.45.

Then at the bottom of my receipt printed my extra bucks for 2 dollars:

When you do the math I paid 1.45 out of pocket, but got 2 extra bucks back making my items inevitably FREE with a 55 cent profit :) I can now use my 2 dollars when I find something else I will use that earns extrabucks, and if I can find a coupon for the next item, then even better for me.

CVS is amazing, and I love them for having the extrabucks, and you really do learn to eye things and find out what will make you money and save you money and give you free things by eye balling the ads!

GOOD LUCK and HAVE FUN :)

mmm i love guacamole

Gee, I really hope I spelled that right;)

I fell in love with guacamole at a local mexican restaurant one day, when my sister said "try the green dip". Oh my world, was it heaven!

I ordered these avocados from Schwann's.

I can't remember how much they cost, but at any rate, when I got them, I thought oooh they are not guacamole as advertised. They sat in my freezer for a good 5 months, then I thought, maybe I read it wrong. I dug it out and of course I was wrong.

They come like this:

two avocado halves. You are to mash them up inside the bag and you get instant guac! mmm!!


Sorry I was having one of those fat moments and had to share:)

Shabby Chic Dresser Revamp!

When we first had our daughter, we were so broke.

I mean, it, it was hard. But we managed to make ends meet and live the simple life.
I remember we didn't have any money that first year at all. My sister gave us her old 80's faux wood veneer dresser. (complete with the fan design) lol!!

I really wish I had a before photo (and I did at one point until my old computer crashed).

Anyway, it was peeling veneer, brown faux wood. I knew what I wanted right away, I painted it bright white in semi gloss kilz paint from wal mart.

It sat for years on end in her room that way.

Recently I purchased faux crystal pink knobs and just screwed them into the old pull holes. As of right now they are center..but I am contemplating removing them, putting wood putty in them and sanding and painting and adding the crystal dresser knobs to the ends of the dresser. I am still undecided.

Either way it's come a looong way, and i'm so mad at myself for not having before photos:(

And here is the shabby chic dresser re do, it's perfect for her room!!

$17.89 worth of stuff on sale and I didn't pay a thing! made 1.11 profit!

How did I make 1.11 off of everything pictured?? EASY:) I'll tell you how.
CVS soaps above are normally 4 a piece. They were on sale for 3 each. They had a special where if you spend 15 worth in those bottled softsoap or irish springs you earn 5 ecb's (CVS store credit that prints on your receipt and you use like cash) back :)

I had 12 in ecb's from this month that I got from buying physician's formula (buy 10 worth get 7 ecb, and revlon, buy 10 worth get 4 ecb) I use both makeups so I made money off those as well as an extra ecb for fall spending.

So my total was 15 pre taxes, I applied the 12 ecb from this month and my total was 3 bucks, I paid 3 out of pocket and was give 5 ecb's back, so that is like MAKING 2 bucks out of it all:D

Then I went to target and used the printable 2 off any aveeno face care product. I wanted the clear complexion bar but they did not have it. So I found this one instead for 2.89. With my coupon I paid 89 cent.
So 2 profit from earlier - 89 = me being ahead $1.11 :) Not bad!!

Or if you want to be technical I spent 3.89 out of pocket and now have 5 bucks to use at CVS the next time. And the best way to keep doing this is to save your ecb's for when they have buy something get ecb deals and you'll always make money back:D Gotta love it!!

$35 kohl's FABRIC shower curtain for $12 bucks

Two weeks ago I was at Kohl's and saw a shower curtain for 35 bucks with no sales mark down. There were only two left and I knew I wanted it but was too cheap to pay 35 for it (although well worth it).

I knew it would look GREAT in our recently remodeled bathroom with neutral gray/green walls.

I passed on it. This week we got a $5 off coupon for signing up in the store for the email list, then Kohl's emailed us another 15% off entire purchase coupon for the week.

PERFECT! We headed to Kohl's today & the shower curtain was on sale for 20! with 15% off that made it 17..with the additional 5 off, that dropped it down to 12 bucks!! I LOOOVE IT!! love, love, love!!!

Green and blue are my fav colors ever! mixed with beige and dark brown and it's perfect! it tyes the new remodeled budget bathroom in sooo nice!!

We will do the ceramic tile work for the tub walls and floors soon!! I can not wait!! It has been 6 year worth of saving to just come this far and I couldn't be more pleased with how the 65 rancher is coming about! :D She looks amazing compared to the old leafy green one!!

There ya go, you can see the built in shelving I was talking about on the old post. It used to be ALL golden oak, I painted it bright white when we moved in. it's perfect!


He's so good at hanging up stuff;D Can't wait to install the ceramic tile!!

My art skills (or lack there of).

I always liked to draw (stick people). One year as a sophomore I had a class I didn't like, my sister suggested I try to get in her art II class. I thought great, except I didn't take art I. So I went to the guidance office and they asked me if I took art I, I lied and said yes. I was a quiet nerd, with A's and B's so no one thought to check my transcript from freshmen year.

I got into art II and bluffed my way through it, Then as a senior I took art 4, it was obvious I never taken art I at that point. The kids in my class had work that looked like it jumped straight out of a photograph.

Mine? Well, lol, let's just say ..erm..let's just NOT say ;)

Some how I can wing little things and I can shade awesome with colored pencils, half rear with crayons and painting? Well, I can't paint to save my life (unless it's a wall lmfao).

So I wanted something for Ethan's sock monkey room re do. I ventured etsy, and I loved everything pretty much, but I'm pretty much broke and so I figured I'd just have to suck it up and try to draw my own. I broke out the 18x12 giant sketch pad form high school (yes, really). And I freehanded this guy :) Then I didn't have colored pencils..sooo..I just used crayons..not too shabby:

And, well? It is a kids room, so it can be imperfect:D
Back to Art II? Well this was one of the first projects I did in high school art (way back in gosh 98-99). - Man, I am old, do not remind me ;P

For some reason it's always been one of my favorites :)