Cheap Christmas Gifts

Today on Daily Steals you can get the Extra Large Pillow Pets for only $6.99! These are usually $20-$40! Miss Mia has been begging for the lady bug pillow. Now that these are on sale, she will find one under the Christmas tree!

Shipping is $4.95, but that is still 1/2 of what they are in the store! Go HERE to take a look!

I Heart Swagbucks

You all know that I love a frugal find. I have heard about Swagbucks for a long time and finally decided to join. In two weeks, I have earned over $15 in various gift cards. Even better is that using it is really simple. You earn "swagbucks" through searches (like you would use on google), finding codes, referring friends, no obligation surveys. I am totally hooked. So I am using my gift cards to buy birthday and Christmas presents for the family. Today I bought Miss Mia a present on amazon. It was originally $12, then I used $10 of my gift cards, a my free Amazon Prime for no shipping or taxes and paid $2! Soon she will have her new Melissa & Doug set & it only cost me $2!! Pretty great right?

If you would like to join, click here:

Etsy Love & Frugal Decorating

I love Etsy. I find fabulous ideas that I try to replicate, but most of the time I find great pieces that I just want...and want now! Hubby & I re-decorated and rearranged our bedroom a few weeks ago. I didn't like my last nightstand. I had no room for my books or my lamp. So I looked around the house and in our garage and came up with this table and a throw and a bigger and better nightstand was born. Put my favorite reads at the moment on the side, a Tiffany-blue McCoy planter found for $1 at a Indiana antique shop (that had no idea what they had!), $2 Woman of Praise statue bought at OKC Botanical Gardens 75% off giftshop, my favorite lamp (bought for my old office at Texas Tech when I spent my nights writing my thesis in my office), and then this Audrey print.
I bought this print here. I just loved the colors, pistachio, brown and blue. I was even more pleased when I saw the print in person. It is just gorgeous. I ran down to Michael's that day and bought this picture frame for $15. (Thank you 60% off coupon!) I look at this picture every morning and it just brings me calm.
More Etsy...I have blogged before of my love of Belle & Boo. I bought a few prints for Miss Mia's room before but needed something else for one of her walls. I had the frames already for past artwork in Mia's room. I also had these fabulous mats that I bought 20 for $5 at Pottery Barn after Christmas sale. (I have had these mats in the 'to-use' someday pile for 2 years!) One day, when perusing through Belle & Boo, I came across 2 prints that I loved. Dark haired girl, feeding chickens or looking at a caged bird. They screamed Miss Mia. The prints, however, were $51. So I bought the same picture in her card section for $3 a piece. I am so in love. Miss Mia loves the chickens picture best of course.


The Etsy love does not stop there. Also in Miss Mia's room is another collage of Etsy prints that I bought at small sizes, matted with already owned mats and framed with similar frames. I bought this print here. I used to sing 'You Are My Sunshine' to Miss Mia before she was born and then to get her to sleep when she was an infant. The song has such a special place in our family. Whenever my family gets together we always sing and play instruments. My beloved Grandad used to request we sing 'You Are My Sunshine.' Since he's passed, we sing it in honor of him and whenever we're feeling nostalgic.
This entire collage, mattes, pictures and frames included was $15.
Nine Years ago, Hubby took me to meet his family in Michigan as his new fiancee. They took me to Saugatuck one afternoon. While window shopping, I came across the art studio of James Brandess. He is known in the area for painting pictures of all things Western Michigan. (i.e. the dunes, lighthouses, Dutch village and of course tulips.) I wanted something to commemorate my first trip and found this beautiful print. What I did not know, is how long it was going to take to frame it! It is an 15X15 which has been a difficult frame to find. When I went to Hobby Lobby's 50% off framing specials, to do what I wanted was still $80 after the half off! So I held out. Then one day, a few weeks ago, Hubby and I went to after-Christmas sale at Garden Ridge. I found this 20X20 frame for $10. I loved the metallic-wood frame. Then we bought a royal blue matte board for $1.50 and after almost nine years, the picture is finally on the wall! (And I am so glad we waited to do it right!)
Another frugal find of late was found this past week at Target. At the end of the aisles in the home section, many items were 50-75% off. I found this shower curtain for $7.50!

My New Love

I have a new love...no, Hubby has no need to worry, my new love's name is Netflix. Have you discovered this most glorious creation? I got a coupon in the mail a few weeks ago for 2 free months. So I thought what's the harm in trying. Ordered my first movie, two days later it arrived. It was fabulous..and so on! But here is the best part, the instant watch. We have our Mac computer hooked up to our big screen TV in the living room. With the help of our wireless keyboard and mouse, I can access so many movies, including TV seasons, and documentaries.

This week I have been watching fabulous movies on the American Revolution, British Empire, and Jane Austen. Oh, its just glorious!

One of the other fun features, is you can see what other people in your area are watching. I must admit that it did break my heart a little to hear that the top movies requested in our area were Bill Engvall Comedy special's and Where the Red Fern Grows. In Manhattan, they like to watch Second Chance Harvey and Mad Men. (I think I might be living in the wrong area!) = )

Show Us Your Life= Make it Yourself!

This week over at Kelly's Korner, its Show Us Your Life- Make It Yourself! I have been very busy making a few things. We'll start with Miss Mia's Texas Tech Red Raider Tutu! With football season here, it was evident Miss Mia needed yet another tutu, but this one needed to be Red Raider inspired. I had a few ideas I wanted to try on making the tutu, and got all the tulle for 75% off at Hobby lobby. The only part I had to sew was the elastic together. Everything else is tying knots and cutting tulle! So easy, a caveman coudl do it! = )
Miss Mia loved her new tutu..She stomped around the house and twirled. She has recently learned the words to ring around the rosey & this large tutu made it so much more fun!
Future Red Raider shirt with tutu!
All of the fluffy goodness! Even put a few red and black ribbons throughout just for some extra texture and color.

The bigger DIY project came two weeks ago with the purchase of these fabulous bookshelves at our favorite used furniture store here in Norman. I could see so much potential in these needy shelves.

So we had them delivered a week after we bought them, went to Lowe's and bought some gorgeous Martha Stewart paint! (Of course!) Then we got to painting!
Look at our little helper...I even dressed her in what I thought was a baby painter outfit!
Side note...there isn't anything really on her roller, but she painted like there was!
Here is the finished product! I think they look gorgeous! I love them so much!
I found these cute knobs at Hobby Lobby for .75 each! Added such a cute flair to the shelves!

I LOVE having a daughter!

I love, love, love having a daughter. I have written many times on how much I have always wanted a daughter and having Miss Mia has made all those desires and dreams come true. One of my favorite things about Mia is her love of fashion and all things beautiful. My little girl is a fashionista. I blame this on her listening to Project Runway, America's Next Top Model & Rachel Zoe Project in utero!

Like all little girls, Miss Mia loves dress up, but even her everyday clothes are being accessorized and such. For example, yesterday Miss Mia wore a Pink and Navy Ralph Lauren long sleeve dress with these brown mid-calf boots! After spending the day looking fabulous at Mother's Day Out, we went shopping to hit up some CRAZY sales. Mia helped pick out some jewelry, some for me and some for her! What is hilarious is that she picked out jewelry and wore it around the store that totally matched her outfit! Apparently Mia is very bo-ho chic..as she picked out a cute gold owl necklace and this gold charm bracelet. I need bangles a lot...and so I loaded up! (Got all this jewelry at Dillards for under $10!)
On another note, I love having a daughter because she is so sweet and photogenic. This morning, in lieu of a Dallas Cowboy victory, she wore a Cowboys shirt with a cute white skirt and reading her chicken book that her Nana made her. This is truly a picture for her Nana & Papaw!

Coupon Class Coming Soon!

Attention to my Oklahoma people.... a Coupon Class will be coming soon! I am currently in talks with some fabulous people at our church to use a room and host a coupon class. Stick around for more details to come!

Homeland Deals Aug. 12- Aug 18

Head over to Homeland for some really good deals. Today I spent $25 and saved $35. I love when I save over 50%!
Some of the great deals with week:
-Chicken Tenders/Chicken Breasts, 3 lb bag, 4.99
-Velvetta- with $1 Q from this Sunday's paper (which will double), 50 cents
-Kelloggs Cereal 2/$3, use whatever Kelloggs coupon you have, plus use the $1 off 2 Q in the Homeland weekly add, FREE or at the most .50 cents each
-Colgate toothpaste, use $1 coupon, FREE plus overage!


Good, Good, deals! So excited!

Deals at Homeland!

This morning, while Miss Mia was off at Mother's Day Out, I ventured to the local grocery store for the first time in weeks...I came back with sacks full of good food....

I bought:
Earth Land Bread
Pepperoni
Budding Turkey Luncheon Meat
2 lbs of bananas
2 lbs of red plums
Baked Lays
Mission Tortilla Chips
Generic Vanilla Wafers
Generic Wheat Thins
Romaine Lettuce
Generic Mustard
2 boxes of Tyson Chicken Nuggets
Fiber One Pancake Mix
Lg. Package of Borden 2% single-slice cheese
3 packages Shredded Mozzarella
1 package Shredded Colby/Jack Mix
3 liter of Minute Made lemonade
Not Seen:
3 Lb bag of chicken
2 lb rotisserie lemon-peppered chicken
6lb beef brisket
3lb of center-cut pork chops


Grand total...$5! The young cashier checking me out was sort of flabbergasted when I was all done. He told me that he was going to tell his mom about me. I gave him my card with my e-mail and told him to have her e-mail me. I'm due for another coupon class soon anyway! = )

Good Deals This Week

Hit Homeland this morning with Miss Mia to get a few good deals. I got the above for less than a quarter!
Here's how I did it:
Suave Shampoo & Conditioner: On Sale for $1 each, used $1 off 2 coupon (doubled to $2=Free for both)
Jell-O Sugar Free Gelatin: On Sale for 70 cents each, used $1 off 3 coupon (doubled to $2= 10 cents for all 3)
Kotex: On Sale for 2.50 each, used 3 $1 off coupons (doubled to $2= 1.50 for all 3)
Kraft BBQ Sauce: On Sale for $1, used $1 off coupon (doubled to $2= $1 overage)


1.60 total
-1.00 overage
-.45 cents for bringing own shopping bags

=.15 cents for the entire shopping spree!

Belle & Boo

I have found a new love, Belle & Boo. I first came across their illustrations whilst browsing on Etsy. The illustrators are from London and have so many beautiful pictures. I absolutely love all of their work and am planning on purchasing some of the prints/cards for Miss Mia's room.

On their blog, they have a free print to download. I am planning on printing it out later today! I love free stuff! Go here to get the free download and other free illustrations as well!

Free Nike Shoes!

My sweet hubby is a Coke Drinker. ( I feel this is like some kind of confession!) Along with my sweet hubby are my parents and grandparents. A few years ago, my husband began saving the codes off Coke b/c he wanted a Wii. He finally got his own Wii and was left with many points. So, knowing that his wife needed a new pair of shoes, he cashed in some of his points for a Nike giftcard. We both got $65 shoes and got free shipping. The shoes were totally free! My sweet mother sends us codes once a month from her work, home, and my grandparents.

It's really not a bad deal. If you are going to drink Coke anyway, why not get some freebies? We've also cashed out points for restaurant gift cards to use for ourselves, or give as gifts. Not a bad way to get some Free shoes!

Frugal Fitness

My training is going really well. I'm working out muscles I forgot I had. A lady from church told me I should blog about frugal fitness because she didn't believe you could lose weight or eat right without spending more money. Here are some of my tips.

1) I don't pay for gym memberships or a personal trainer. (Now granted my girlfriend, who is training to be one, gave me a list of things I should do.)

2) I buy fitness DVDs at Used book stores or on Itunes for less than $2. I've bought several Biggest Loser DVDs that are usually $14 a piece, for less than $3 each. (You can also use fitness videos on Youtube!)

3) I use mytrainerbob.com to food journal and get fitness tips. The best part is, the site and complete access is totally free!

4) I don't like owning bulky fitness equipment. The only things I have are a few hand weights ranging from 5-10 pounds. Bought all of them at a 75% off sale at Tuesday Morning.

5) I buy most of our fruits and veggies frozen with coupons. Seasonal fruits we buy at our local farmer's markets. They sell in bulk and so much cheaper. We even have our favorites who we know make the hottest peppers, or sweetest peaches.

6) I do easy things on hard days. When I'm really stressed, the dog and I go out for runs. There is a kids park about a mile away. I put Mia in her little red wagon and haul her down to the park. She is really fond of my trips to the park.

7) Eating better, also means eating out way less--saving so much money!

Eating well and working out really doesn't have to cost a lot of money. The work is paying off. I'm over twenty pounds lighter, and down 2 pant sizes!

Frugal Tips

Frugalness must go beyond coupons and grocery shopping. Whenever I give my coupon classes, I try to emphasize other frugal tips that can be employed to save money.

1) We only use cloth napkins. I love cloth napkins for several reasons. One, is that they add a cute flair to even the smallest meal. The other reason they are great, is that you save money not buying paper towels. Using the cloth is also quite eco-friendly. In the long run, it really doesn't add to the laundry load much more.

2) I always carry a big 32 oz. hiking water bottle with me. This makes sure that I don't get thirsty when I'm out shopping or at school. I can easily refill without having to buy soft drinks or bottled water. You can save a lot of money not buying a drink throughout the day!

3) I cook large amounts on my big cooking days and freeze the rest. Home-made frozen meals are great when neither of us feel like cooking, and thus save us money by not going out or ordering in food.

4) Whatever clothes or blankets that I don't donate to Goodwill or give away at church giveaways, I reuse and make into fun craft projects for Mia. A lot of old cloth becomes fabric dolls, a small purse, new baby blankets, etc. She actually places with the fabric dolls more than her others..

5) We use free Redbox codes to rent new DVDs, then make our own popcorn at home, and don't have to pay for a babysitter!

6) I make a lot of my own cleaning products. It's not hard, it's always organic, and I don't have to worry about what my family is breathing.

7) We save all of our spare change in a really large cider jug. At the end of each month, we use it to either do something fun, go out to eat, or maybe save it for a big treat. (We saved for months to get David a new TV--all from the spare change jar!)

8) I buy almost all of Mia's clothes at Orchard's M.O.M or Once Upon a Child. I am very picky, and only buy the clothes that still have the original tags on. OUAC also has store appreciation cards, and you get 15% back when you fill up your card. Such cute clothes for almost nothing.

Happy Birthday Mia!

My 100th post is dedicated to our little Mia. This weekend Mia turned 1! She had a party at her MDO on Friday and then the party at our house on Saturday. Her party was barnyard themed. I happened to have a red and white checked table cloth. We decorated the table with one of our presents to her, which was a Little People barnyard set. In true frugal form, I conducted the entire party from home made invitations to the cake and refreshments for $15.

This was how I did it:
Cake Mix & Frostings- Free after coupons at our local Homeland grocery
Chips- Free after coupons at Homeland (bought 2 bags)
Queso- Already had ground beef and rotel stored, used coupons for cheese (came out to be a $1)
Salsa- Free after coupons at Homeland
Cupcake holders- ($1) --had no coupons
Cow Print balloons, red balloons, giant cow balloon, and 1st birthday cake hat (Used 40% off coupon on total purchase for Party Galaxy--mailer coupon)--total purchase $6
Card Stock, envelopes, felt- (40% off total purchase coupon for craft store- mailer coupon)- total purchase- $7

She was a bit overwhelmed by the mountains of gifts. Her favorites included the floppy dog that plays music, a spin & say, school bus, a musical caterpillar and a pink cell phone.

The cupcakes were a BIG hit!
After the party was over, she 'mooed' at us and the balloons for a while.

DIY Kitchen Gifts!

Thanks to Like Merchant Ships for revealing this great list from Whole Foods on DIY Kitchen Gifts.

Wrap up your holiday shopping without leaving the house! Download festive gift tags for each recipe, complete with cooking and usage suggestions. These ideas are perfect for your "foodie" friends or those who love to cook or even merely enjoy a nice cup of coffee in the morning.

Some of the great ideas are:
Chili Oil
Herbes de Provence Salt
Vanilla Bean Sugar
Lavender Sugar
Maple Sugared Walnuts

**Note to my personal friends and family, please disregard this post once the holiday season arrives as you will find it as a stocking stuffer!**

Target Toy Coupons!

Make sure to head on over here and print out the Target toy catalog coupons for your holiday shopping. Coupons for various toys from Crayola, Leap Frog, and Play Wonder to Scooters, Hot Wheels, and Legos!

The coupons expire on 11-26-08.

Thanks to "Deal"icious Mom for the heads up on this great deal!

Fall is Here

With Fall here, Mia can finally wear her cutest sweater sets. The above outfit was purchased for $3 for the entire set: jeans, sweater and hat..(rubber ducky not included).

With Fall comes lots of baking. Luckily, this week is a BIG sale on baking ingredients at Homeland.

Here are some of the good deals that I got this week:
Veg. Oil- 2.50
Philsbury Cake Mix- 87 cents
Evaporated Milk- 79 cents
Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chips- 1.50
Brown Sugar-1.50
Whipped Cream/ Half n Half- 99 cents
Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix- 40 cents
Red Onions- 99 cents per lb
Fritos-$2
Heinz 57 Sauce- $2

With the use of handy coupons for the milk, cake mix, chocolate chips, whipped cream, muffin mix, fritos, and heinz sauce, I bought everything for $10. I'm hitting CVS and Walgreens later this afternoon before we take the baby out for a few choice Halloween trick-or-treat stops!

I Have Taught the Toughest Student

I have now taught almost half a dozen "couponing" classes. Yet there is one student who has yet to retain any of the information that I willingly spout, my hubby. I send him to the store for 1 item, and he comes home $40 poorer. Yesterday was a triumphant day in his coupon education. I came home late last night from my Early American Republic seminar and my eyes were so incredibly red from all the coughing (hacking) that I had done for the past few hours. I had almost completely lost my voice (which after all is my best quality!) I get home and ask if we have any cough medicine but due to the fact that I've had a cold for almost 2 weeks and hubby had bronchitis last week, we were out. He, feeling very healed and sweet offered to take pity and drive out to CVS and pick me up some medicine.
He returned with $15 in Extra Bonus Bucks!! He bought over $40 worth of medicine, only spent 12, and got 15 back! I was so proud, I almost didn't need the medicine for the euphoric feeling of finally having my hard work pay off almost healed me. But alas, the coughing did resume, I needed the medicine, and then went into a nice cough syrup induced stupor for a few hours.

Saturday's Coupon Class

On Saturday, I'm throwing my coupon Class. If you live around Norman, come at 9 am to South Canadian Valley Church of Christ and we'll talk shopping and coupons!!

We are located at 2217 24th Ave SW in Norman, Oklahoma.