Friday Favorites ~ Dollar Store Solutions

After reading my recent post about my dollar store party supplies, my buddy Nicole from Colie's Kitchen reminded me of all the great dollar store tips and tricks that can be found while browsing Pinterest.  So it only seems fitting to make that the topic of today's Friday Favorites! 

Photo Credit / Project Link

On Pinterest

This first Dollar Store Solution is pure genius!  We've been wanting to get a backseat organizer for the truck for a while now.  But whenever we are in the automobile aisle at Walmart, I always think of other ways to spend that twenty bucks!  Heather from Decor-ganize shows how she turned a 5 pocket shoe organizer into a backseat organizer!  For a Buck!!! 

Photo Credit / Project Link

On Pinterest

Deanna from Shady Tree Diary (love the name of her blog!), shares a clever idea for storing decks of cards and other small toys.  Grace is loving flash cards these days.  I normally keep them in small tins, but she has a few sets of cards and I'm out of the small tins right now.  Plastic soap dishes from the dollar store are a great, frugal solution for storing those different sets of cards! 

Photo Credit / Project Link

On Pinterest

I've had my eye on this dollar store craft for a while.  Even before I knew about Pinterest.  It's hard to believe that this wonderful creation by Kara was once a plain silver serving tray from the dollar store!



My final Friday Favorite is something I think would really come in handy when we eat at Sonic.  This padded lap desk was created using a few dollar store finds.  I can't wait to check out our local dollar store....I'm hoping to find those great polka dot trays and place mats!  (I reallywanted to share the photo here, but tried 3 times to save the photo to a file and didn't succeed.)


To see more of my dollar store finds, check out my Dollar Store Stuff board on Pinterest. 

This post has been linked to the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Friday Favorite Finds at Finding Joy in My Kitchen
• Frugal Friday at Life as Mom

Party Tips ~ Dollar Store Party Supplies

Dips seem to be insanely popular these days and I have to admit, I have recently hopped onto the I Love Dip bandwagon! 



Over the holidays, I shared a recipe for Easy as 1-2-3 Funfetti Cake Batter Cookie Dip.  I found the original recipe on Pinterest and couldn't wait to give it a try.  I made a small serving of the dip before making a larger batch to take to a family house warming / birthday party.  The dip was a hit! 

Being someone that hosts a few family gatherings during the year, I love when guests bring a food item to the party, but the one thing that I hate the most is having to remember which containers need to be returned to which person.  I decided to make things easy on our hostess and arranged the dip, along with all the necessary scooping items (cookies, graham crackers, pretzel rods) on a dollar store chip and dip tray! 

This made things easier on my sister-in-law and also, I didn't have to worry about needing it for another event before I had the chance to get it back from her.  My plan actually back fired, though, since my sister-in-law is crazy-super-organized and returned my dollar store tray the following week!

I did the same thing when I made the dip for my mother-in-law's annual Christmas Eve party!  So easy!  I'm sorry I didn't get photos of the assembled trays, both times I was in a hurry to get out the door on time and didn't have time to snap a picture! 

This idea would also work well for taking fruit salad to summer barbecues, especially if you include some Fruit Dip! 

Instead of glass, switch to inexpensive chip and dip trays from the dollar store!  

I've managed to pick up a few in a variety of different colors to keep with my party supplies, for anytime an occasion comes up that I need to bring something to a party. 

I even picked up 2 football shaped containers that worked perfectly for our small Super Bowl party over the weekend!   


This post has been linked to the following blog carnivals and linky parties:

• Works for Me Wednesday at We Are That Family
• Frugal Friday at Life as Mom

Party Planning Tip: Car Trunk Organizer turned Party Planning Organizer

We celebrated Grace's 2nd birthday on Sunday with a small-ish party with family. Joe's family is pretty large, so even a party of immediate family is a lot of work to pull off.  Especially since I started painting the trim throughout the house in the weeks leading up to the party.  (What was I thinking?) 

While setting up the food table, I found that I had a lot of extras (paper plates, cutlery, napkins, rolls, etc.). I started putting those extras away, trying to keep a mental note of where each item was stashed in case we needed to restock the buffet table. After realizing that I was really scattering things in too many spots of the kitchen and garage, I knew I needed to come up with a better solution. Otherwise, I'd never remember where the stuff was stashed once they were needed.

When I started making purchases for Grace's party (decorations, etc.), Joe set up a car trunk organizer in the garage to keep all of the party supplies in one spot.  It worked great for storing the supplies before the party, so why not keep all of the extras in one spot during the party? 

I quickly grabbed the organizer from the garage and filled it with anything that didn't fit onto the buffet table and then slid it under the food table.  Keeping it out of the way and close at hand at the same time. 

I think Joe needs to get himself a new car trunk organizer, since I'm keeping this one to use for my next party! 

Note:  This organizer also helped me to not go overboard on purchases for the party.  Deciding that any new purchases of decorations and supplies (food items not included) for the party needed to fit into that organizer.  Nothing more. 

I'll be sharing this post with the following blog hops and carnivals: 

• Works For Me Wednesday
• Tip Day Thursday
• Frugal Friday

Frugal Summer Fun ~ Check out your local Community Days

On Sunday, Joe and I took Grace out for some Frugal Summer Fun. 

Well, sorta. 

Oh, it was frugal! 

And it was summer! 

The word in question right now is FUN! 

Let me explain: 


We live near a park that has a wonderful, old carousel that is only open a few Sundays out of the year. 

A couple of weekends ago, I checked to see when they would have the carousel open so we could take Grace for her first ride on the merry-go-round. 

I was so happy to see that they were open last Sunday and we didn't have any plans.  We called Grace's aunt and uncle to see if they would meet us there.  I had her dressed in a pretty, red dress and had her hair up in pig tails, hoping to get a perfect picture of her on the carousel horse. 

When we arrived, we found out that the next park over (they are joined by a walking bridge) was hosting the town's community day. 

Grace was too young for the activities going on at the community day, but seemed to enjoy being outside and watching all the people and listening to the band that was playing at one of the nearby booths. 

As long as we didn't sit still for too long, she was fine!  Grace likes to keep moving when she's in her stroller! 

All of the prices at the community day were really reasonable.  It looked as if the activities for the kids were either free or they were taking a small donation.  They had lots of booths selling fair-type foods.  I settled for a big tray of fries.  (Only $2)  They were yummy and I really enjoyed them since I only managed to eat a yogurt  just before we walked out of the house and it was well-past lunch time! 

After we all grabbed something to eat, we decided to walk over to the other park to put Grace on the carousel.  

To get to the carousel, we had to walk up a huge mountain hill.  You can read more about that here. 

Grace wasn't thrilled about the hill.   Her daddy and uncle carried the stroller with her in it to the top.  And she was a little more than cranky by the time I got up there. 

The guys found some seats and bought some drinks while her aunt and I took her inside the building that houses the carousel and let her watch the horses go round and round.  She seemed to be pretty interested. 

I ran over to buy some tickets.  They were 3 for $1.00 so I bought 9 tickets thinking that we could all ride 3 times.  (I'm pretty sure the proceeds go to the maintenance of the ride.) 

The line was already too long to get on the very next run, so we let Grace watch the horses again before it was our turn. 

Finally, the ride stopped and it was our turn.  We grabbed 2 horses next to each other.  I climbed on and put Grace on my lap.  She wasn't thrilled.  The carousel started to move and she hated it!  She screamed and squirmed the entire ride!  She managed to kick off her shoes and lose both of the rubberbands that were holding her pigtails! 

When the carousel finally stopped, we gathered up the stuff Grace dropped (shoes, pacifier) and went to sit with the guys.  Grace was still fussing and squirming, so I took her outside the building.  She could still see the carousel through the open windows, but wasn't as worried that I'd force her to ride it again! 

After she calmed down, we went back inside.   There were a few tables with postcards and other souvenirs.  I bought Grace a little plush stick horse (made us all think of Jose Jalapeno...on a stick!) that she just loves to wave around like a baton! 

Grace was calm and I took her over to see her daddy and we were visited by our nephews and their friends.  We tried to give them our extra tickets but they didn't want them.  The tickets would be good for the rest of the summer, but chances are Grace won't like the carousel before the summer is over.  So, we left the tickets on the table hoping that the next family to sit there would be able to use them. 

We finished up our drinks and decided to leave.  We tried to find another way to get to our car so we could avoid that mountain hill, but that would have taken us really out of our way, so we had one of our nephews carry the diaper bag down the hill while Joe carried Grace and I pushed the empty stroller. 

When we got to the truck, I was emptying my pockets and realized that we really didn't spend that much  money.  $2 for the fries, $3 for the carousel tickets, $3 for the bottles of water and $2 for the stick horse.  (We could have spent less if we took our own drinks, but I already had Grace's bag with us and that was pretty heavy.)

A total of $10 for a summer afternoon activity for the three of us.  Not bad.  It may not have turned out as wonderful as I would have hoped with the cranky baby, but we will definitely keep our local towns' community days in mind for next summer!

I'll be linking this post to the following blogs: 

• Frugal Friday
• Frugal Finds and Great Deals

Cheerios ~ Begin with your Heart ~ $4 in Coupons

Do you have high cholesterol?  Cheerios wants to help you tackle your cholesterol issues and is running a new program called Begin with your Heart. 

If you go to the Begin with your Heart website and sign up they will email you 4 coupons for $1 off Cheerios.  You will also be entered to win a FREE box of Cheerios and contacted by mail if you win. 

I signed up on Monday and received my first coupon (email) last night and just printed it out this morning.  I signed my husband up too, using his email address, so I'm sure there is a coupon waiting in his inbox, too. 

For a couple of weeks now, I've been eating a bowl of Cheerios every morning with a sliced banana and skim milk.  I have to admit though, my daily breakfast has more to do with convenience than being health conscious.  Grace loves bananas and loves Cheerios, so we always have them handy.  So, while I get her breakfast ready, I get my breakfast ready.  But I do like the idea of eating healthier, too. 

This morning, I not only had to share my Cheerios with Grace, but Remmy wanted some too!  Silly puppy!  I think I'll be using that coupon soon to get more Cheerios!   

I'll be linking this post to the following blog carnivals: 

• Works for Me Wednesday
• Frugal Friday

Frugal Family Activity ~ movie night ~ Free redbox rental

My mom and I used to take my nieces to the movies for a girls' day.  Not too often, maybe once during the summer or over Thanksgiving vacation.  We would go to lunch, hit the Dollar Tree for snacks, then sit down at the theater to see a nice, family friendly movie. 

Once, we each picked out two boxes of movie candy and we passed around the boxed and sampled what all the others picked out!  My favorite movie candy is  Raisinets! 

When money got tight for all of us, we still wanted to have a girls' day with the kids.  Since they are usually pretty easy to please, we switched girls' day to a movie rental at my house.  We would still get the movie candy from the Dollar Tree and pop some microwave popcorn.  We'd close the curtains to make it darker and more like the movie theater.  I would also get out a big sleeping bag or blanket and open it up on the floor so we could all stretch out and relax and enjoy the movie!  

Here's a picture of one of my nieces and Remmy on our first at home movie day!

None of the girls seemed to mind that we didn't go to the theater to see a current movie and were happy to see a newly released movie on DVD.  That's where redbox comes in handy!  Perfect for a last minute or rainy day activity for the kids this summer!

Right now, redbox is having a free movie rental promotion.  All you have to do is LIKE redbox on Facebook and you will get a code for a free movie rental for June 21st.   

I'll be linking this post to the following blog carnivals:

• Frugal Friday

Frugal Storage for Hair Bows and Clips

This week, I am celebrating my 100th post

with a giveaway!

Be sure to check out this post

for details on how to enter!

A while ago, I went on a ribbon buying spree!  I found a listing on ebay for some really great ribbons at a really great price and bought loads and loads of ribbon!  I had great plans for that ribbon but one thing after another kept me from my craft room. 

Around Christmas this year, I started buying a lot of hair clips for Grace and I was just storing them in a jar on her shelf.  But as she started to roll and move more, it just wasn't convenient to have to reach for the jar, screw the cap off and  then dig for the appropriate hair accessory. 

I considered buying a clip holder but really didn't want to spend the money on something I thought I could make myself if only I had the time! 

Well, since I didn't have the time to make a clip holder, I decided to use thumb tacks and attach a strip of ribbon under the shelf above Grace's changing table.  It works perfectly! 

Take a look: 

To hide the tumb tacks, I just put a bigger bow or clip right next to the tack so it overlaps and covers the tack! 

As you can see, I still have plenty of room for more bows and clips!  Right now, Grace isn't thrilled with anything on her head, so we've been skipping the hair accessories.  But I'm sure that eventually she will WANT her hair all pretty with  bows and clips and we will soon have that ribbon filled with new little pretties! 

Check out this post that tells you where to find some great hair clips for your little girl!  The Pickled Pumpkin is a wonderful Etsy shop with such adorable hair accessories!  Read about The Pickled Pumpkin here! 


I'll be linking to the following blog carnivals: 

• Homemaker Mondays
• Works for Me Wednesday
• Frugal Friday

Frugal Friday: Using Bed, Bath & Beyond coupons

I love Bed, Bath & Beyond.  I don't get to shop there too often, but when I do, I go in with a stack of coupons!  Not only do I get them in the mail, but Mom also saves them for me. 

When I write my Christmas shopping list out, I check to see if there is anything that I can buy from BB&B in order to save some money with the coupons!  I love that BB&B allows you to use more than one coupon per purchase!  Also, I've been told that even though the coupons have an expiration date, they don't REALLY expire!  The cashiers accept them past the expiration date! 

This past Christmas, was my first year Christmas shopping with a baby.  I was tired and a little confused when I walked up to the register with my purchases and my stack of coupons.  I was trying to figure the best combination of 20% off one item and $5 off of a $15 purchase.  The cashier asked if she could take a look and figured the best deal for me!  How nice is that??? 

Last week, I noticed that the plastic part that holds our hand held shower head in place was getting loose.  It was getting so loose, that I was hoping that it wouldn't fall off and hit me in the head while I was showering.  

It seemed a shame to get an entirely new shower head for just one bad piece.  And since we are really trying to NOT SPEND ANY MONEY this month, I considered just using some duct tape to hold it in place and use as if it were a standard wall mount shower head.  But, we use the hand held feature every day. 

We have well water and everytime I fill my daughter's duckie tub up without using the shower head, we get sand in the bottom of the tub.  I'm new to well water, so I'm not sure if this is normal or not.  We don't see the sand in any of the other faucets, just the tub.  So, by using the shower head to fill the tub, we eliminate the sand.  So, to me, this seemed like a NEEDED item and not just a WANTED item. 

Anyway, I remembered that I had a 20% off coupon for Bed, Bath & Beyond.  I also remembered that I saw shower attachments when I was there the  last time.  Monday, we had errands to run.  Joe went to Home Depot in the morning before Grace and I woke up.  He checked the prices on the shower attachments while he was there.  $60 for the model (or similar) we were replacing. 

We stopped at BB&B to check their prices.  Grace fell asleep in the truck, so Joe sat with her while I ran in to check our the shower heads.  I saw the same one that he priced at Home Depot.  It was the same price.  $60.  But with the coupon we could save $12.  Woohoo! 

Notice, I said "could save".  Not, "we saved".  I ended up getting a different model that was $10 cheaper.  Same brand as the one we've had for the past 3 years, but different model.  It was $50.  We saved $10 by using the coupon.  Still, a great deal.  Except we hate the new model!  We really should have stuck with the one we knew we liked. 

I went with the other model because it has a pause feature on it that I thought would be great for when I sit on the edge of the tub to shave my legs or when I wash the baby's hair or whatever.  It doesn't work. 

So, the next step is to write to the company and let them know that we're not pleased with the shower head.  I'll let you know how that works out. 

I didn't mention the brand of the shower head that we purchased, mainly because I didn't want this post to be a product review.  I really wanted it to be a Frugal Friday post and focus mainly on using those BB&B coupons. 

Be sure to head over to Life As Mom for more Frugal Friday money-saving tips! 



Check back here on Monday, I'll be announcing a giveaway to celebrate my 100th post!!!! 

Frugal Friday: Lodge Cast Iron - Enamel Cookware

Today is Frugal Friday over at Life As Mom. Be sure to check it out for great money-saving ideas!


Even before the Food Network days, I've loved all stuff kitchen related: gadgets, dishes, cookware, etc.

When we lived in our apartment, I kept promising myself that when we finally bought a house, I would buy myself a fancy Le Crueset Dutch Oven. I could have bought one sooner, but I didn't want to waste it on that awful apartment kitchen.

So, we finally found and bought a house and I quit my job since it was too far to commute. We made the decision that I wouldn't return to working and we'd start a family. Well, with the lost income, I couldn't bring myself to keeping the promise I made to myself. Have you seen the prices of those things?

Even though I couldn't rationalize the cost, I still wanted one. I really, really wanted one. Okay, I wanted an entire set, but would settle for one.

One day, I was in Walmart. It was after Christmas and a lot of their stuff was marked down. Not just holiday stuff.

That's when I saw these:


(Sorry for the bad photo.)

They are made by Lodge. They are enamel-coated, cast iron dutch ovens. They are super-heavy and look really nice. And they are RED!

They were perfect and marked down from their regular price! I really wanted the larger one (6 quarts), but sadly, I had to leave Walmart that day without them. We just didn't have the money for them that day, since it was so soon after the holidays. We had to stick with just the neccessary items on our shopping list that day.

I went home and just knew that they wouldn't be there by the time we had the extra cash. But after a couple of trips to Walmart (again for just neccessities), we finally had some extra money. I happily put the large one (6 quarts) into our shopping cart!

A few weeks later, they still had the smaller one (3 quarts) and it was still marked down and I just had to have it!

Now, I don't remember the actual price I paid for each of these, but I do know that the the cost of both of them if they weren't on clearance wasn't even near the price of one of the actual Le Creuset pots.

Williams-Sonoma currently has a 5.5 quart Le Creuset dutch oven ON SALE for $230....that's the SALE PRICE!!! It's regularly $310.

At Walmart, you can get a 6 quart Lodge Color Enamel dutch oven for $65.97. Like I said, I was lucky enough to get this size and the smaller size (3 quart) on a clearance sale, but even at the regular price, it's a steal!

And since I've never cooked in a real Le Creuset pot, I have no idea if it's the same or not, but I don't think I am missing anything since I love to use my Lodge pots.

They are really great at keeping food warm. I can start a soup or stew early in the day and when it's done cooking the pot keeps it warm until dinner time! And they clean up easily too!

Frugal Friday: Bissell Steam Mop - $10 Rebate

Now that Grace is almost ready to crawl (where did the time go?) we're concerened that our floors aren't quite clean enough.

The other morning before Joe left for work, he saw a commercial for the Bissell Steam Mop Deluxe. Later that day, I saw the same commercial. We discussed it over dinner that night and we really think it's something that would get a lot of use in our home. The floors through out our home are all hardwood, with the kitchen and bathroom being an exception (tile in bathroom, linolium in kitchen).

Later that night, while searching the Internet for additional information on the steam mop, I came across a $10 rebate offer from Bissell to make it an even better FRUGAL deal!

Purchases must be made between 10/19/09 and 12/31/09; postmarked by 1/15/10.

For more frugal tips and ideas, be sure to check out Frugal Friday hosted by Life As Mom.

Free Stuff

Lately, I've been signing up for a lot of free samples. A couple of weeks ago, I posted a bunch of links for websites that were offering samples of their products. Seemed to be a lot of feminine hygene products, but I figure, these days money is tight for everyone and every little bit helps.

If a small sample of shampoo gets you an extra hair washing or two...great! Right? Or you've been wanting to try a new product but really don't want to risk wasting money if the product doesn't turn out to be what you expected. Samples are wonderful things!!!

A while back, I discovered a website called MySavings.com. They are a site that provides information on Free Samples, Coupons, Online discounts, etc. For a while after I joined, I just deleted the emails without bothering to read them, let alone taking the time to sign up for the individual samples. But now, I try to set aside a little bit of time each week to check out their website to see if anything new is being offered.

Last week, I signed up for a FREE Snuggie. You know, the blanket with arms! I don't know anyone in my circle of friends that actually has one of these blankets so I am curious to see if they are any good. The commercials are a bit on the stupid side, but for a FREE one, I'll forgive them! The website does state that they will call for a quick survey after the Snuggie is received. I think I can handle that! I'll be sure to post back here once I receive it and let everyone know what I think of the Snuggie. If it's a hit, maybe there will be a few Snuggies under the Christmas tree this year! (Shhh! Don't tell!)

This week, MySavings.com provided information for FREE YoYo Lip Gloss. YoYo Lip Gloss asks that you follow them on Twitter and post a Tweet about them. Fill out the information "card" and provide the URL to your Twitter account so they can verify. They will then email a code or something for a free Lip Gloss mini. I followed and Tweeted just a few moments ago, but haven't gotten my email with the code yet.

Another FREE Lip Gloss offer, that I read about on MySavings.com was from Victoria's Secret. You can go here to print a coupon for a FREE Bra Fitting and Lip Gloss. I believe this offer is valid until Nov. 15. I haven't printed this out yet, since I am not sure if I'll be getting to the mall before then, but I wanted to be sure to share the information with y'all.

The last sample item that I'll share with you today is for FREE pancake mix. I received this information from MySavings.com too! SturdiWheat is giving away a FREE sample of their pancake mix. Call 1-800-201-9650 to receive 1 sample of pancake for FREE! Samples are currently: Buckwheat Pancake Mix, Original Pancake Mix, Traditional Shortcake Mix, Apple Crisp Topping Mix or Bread Pudding Mix. (I haven't called yet for our sample. I don't eat pancakes, so I'll let hubby decide what type he'd like to try.)

These are just a few of the offers that are available from MySavings.com. I couldn't possibly list them all. But I seriously recommend that if you aren't already signed up to get their emails, go and sign up now! It's FREE to join and you can get FREE stuff! What could be wrong with that??

I'll be sharing this post with Life As Mom and her Frugal Friday blog carnival.

Frugal Friday: Gizmo - Quick and Frugal Meal Idea

Today is Friday and that means it's time for some Frugal Friday tips over at Life As Mom! Be sure to check it out for some great money-saving tips!

My tip for today is a quick and frugal meal idea. Thursday, our nephew turned 16. I knew that we would be leaving to go visit for birthday cake shortly after hubby arrived home from work. I wanted to eat dinner before we left the house, but didn't want to make a big meal since time was short.

We did really well with finishing all the leftovers last week and all that was in there was a small bowl of spaghetti (enough for one) and a good sized bowl of meat sauce. Originally, my plan was to boil up some pasta real quick to use up the sauce, but I really didn't want to wait for the water to boil, etc. I spotted some hoagie rolls leftover from out Frugal Cheesesteak dinner the night before.

I remembered something I used to order from the local pizza place when I was a kid. It was a sandwich called a Gizmo. It was so long ago since I've last ordered a Gizmo. And I cannot remember if there was meat in the tomato sauce or not. But I made-do with what I had on hand.

Alison's Gizmo Sandwich

Ingredients:

• 2 hoagie rolls
• about 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce
• handful of shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

• preheat broiler
• heat meatsauce in microwave until heated through
• place sliced rolls in baking dish
• fill with desired amount of meatsauce
• sprinkle with mozzarella cheese
• pop under broiler until cheese is melted and rolls are toasty

I love how quick and easy these sandwiches were to make and I really loved the fact that I saved 2 rolls from the mold monster that lives in our house!

Each of us had one Gizmo and hubby ate the last of the pasta. I still have enough sauce left to use over pasta for a quick weekend lunch for the two of us.

***I will be sharing this make-do dinner idea with Shari from My Practically Perfect Life and her Make Do Monday blog carnival! ***

Free Sample Links: Rachel Ray Dog Food, Oust, Pregnancy Tests and more!

I've mentioned before that I love free samples. Love them! When the samples are food items, like cereal or granola bars, I like to put them in the car for snacks on the road. I like to snack on dry cereal, so that's perfect for me. I hate when we are stuck in traffic or on our way home too close to dinner time. I get hungry in the car and we don't always want to stop at a drive-thru. Okay, yeah, I ALWAYS want to stop at a drive-thru since I am a junk food junkie, but hubby...not so much! So, cereal is a great option....even better when it's a free sample!

So, on the topic of samples....I wanted to share some deals with y'all today. I frequently get emails from different sample websites like MySavings.com. I wanted to pass along some samples that might be of interest to all of you.

Free Sample of Rachel Ray's Nutrish dog food. After you punch in your information, you are given the option to get a printable coupon for $3.50 off a 6 lb. bag of Nutrish OR you can click the option to wait for your free sample in the mail. I chose the sample in the mail.

Poise Bladder Control products. These are very handy to have around, even if you don't normally experience bladder control problems. I had a sample in my linen closet that I signed up for about a year ago. When my water broke on the day that Grace was born, I wasn't sure how I was going to make it from home to the hospital without being soaked. Somehow, I remembered the sample I had in the linen closet! Worked perfectly! Also, these worked great after the baby was born and I ran out of the heavy-duty hospital pads. Regular maxis weren't "cushy" enough or even absorbent enough to deal with the bleeding after delivery. Poor hubby had to go to the drug store to buy me some Poise! Not pregnant and don't need to worry about your water breaking? How about during cold season? All that sneezing and coughing can sometimes cause leaks....perfect FREE solution! Get your sample today!

Poise Sample Kit includes:

• 1 Poise Liner
• 1 Poise Long Liner
• 1 Poise Ultra Thin Pad

Kotex Overnight with Wings samples are available on All You magazine's website. Also, after you enter all of your information, you are given the option to try 2 free issues of All You magazine!

Kotex Sample Pack, I'm not sure what comes in the sample pack, but even if it's just one pad...it's still FREE! Besides, I really like Kotex. It's the only feminine pad I can use.

Playtex Sport Tampon. I don't use tampons, except for the rare occasion that I want to go swimming and have my period. But I like to have some on hand for guests who don't prefer my Kotex pads.

Sacred Heart Mission is offering Free Ovulation Kits and Pregnancy tests. Limit 10 per household. Any combination of the 2 items equaling 10 items.

Little Debbie is giving away 125,000 cupcakes! Enter for a chance to win! You can enter once a day...every day! Promotion ends on March 31st 2010. Someone from Little Debbie will contact you by email if you are a winner! I'd love to know if any of my readers win, so be sure to post back here if you win!

Oust Air Sanitizer II. The first 10,000 requests will receive a FREE trial-sized air freshener. Click this link to request your sample and also get current coupons for other great products!

I love free samples! They make me smile when I find them in my mailbox!

This post has been shared with Works for Me Wednesday hosted by We are That Family and Frugal Friday hosted by Life As Mom.

Frugal Friday: Frugal Firsts: Coupons, Ebay Earnings and Halloween Costumes

This year, we're celebrating a lot of "firsts" with our daughter. Right now, she's just about a week older than 5 months old. Time is going fast and we're really trying to make each moment special and memorable.

This week, we bought her first Christmas present AND first Disney movie! The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs DVD/Blu-Ray combo pack!

Walmart had it on sale this week for $19.96. (Normally, $24.96.)
I used the $10 coupon that I read about and printed. (Thanks, Frugal in Virginia!) So, after the sale and coupon, the movie was $9.96 plus tax! Not bad for TWO of Gracie's "firsts"!

Another first that we'll be celebrating soon is Halloween. We're pretty excited to dress Gracie up in her costume and take her to see her grandparents.

She's going to be a lady bug! And, oh what a cute bug she'll be! I really splurged on her costume, but I used the money I earned by selling some items on Ebay.

Instead of ordering antennae for her costume, I decided that a beanie with a big red flower would be the perfect topper to her costume. Plus, the hat and flower are more likely to be used again for normal wear than the antennae would be.

I found the perfect red peony hair band at Lemon Drop Baby Boutique. The peony I ordered was attached to a white hair band, I also added a plain black beanie and a black hair band to my order. Since the flower is removeable, I can switch it from band to band to beanie!

After a few friendly messages with Cindy, she set up a private order for me and it's now on it's way to me! (Be sure to check my blog for pictures and a shop review after it arrives!)

I am pretty happy to have been able to get a couple of things for Gracie this week. And even happier that I was frugal in the items I purchased.

Coupons, ebay earnings and double use items made some splurge purchase possible this week!

With Christmas coming up quick, I'm hoping to find some more frugal deals!

Check out more Frugal Friday tips at Life as Mom!
Also, check out Hooked On Fridays.

Frugal Friday ~ Enfamil Baby Formula Coupon ~ Link Provided

I know that most of you frugal mommas breast feed. It's more frugal and most importantly, it's healthier for your baby. But, sadly, from experience, I know that breast feeding is not always an option.

I won't get into details, but I'll just say that I had a very difficult time breast feeding. The result, after numerous attempts (and tears) was a frustrated momma and an even more frustrated baby.

So, for any of the mommas out there that chose to use formula to feed their babies, here's a link for a $5 coupon for any size Emfamil Premium with Triple Health Guard Powder Formula. Act fast, the coupon expires 10/18/2009.

Check out Frugal Friday for more great money saving tips!

Frugal Friday ~ Enchiladas from Leftovers

The word "leftovers" used to be a dirty word in my home. With a few exceptions, I used to HATE leftovers! Seriously! I tend to cook too much food for just the two of us and as a result we are stuck with leftovers. I would pack them away in a Rubbermaid or Tupperware bowl and hope (pray) that my husband would take them for his lunch.

Through the years, I've started to enjoy leftovers. They allow for a No Cooking Night! Easy clean up too, since we usually would just pop the container into the microwave and serve on paper plates (before we had a dishwasher).

A few posts ago, I talked about White Chicken Chili. In that post, I promised to tell you what I created with the leftovers.

Before I do, I want to dedicate this Frugal Friday post to my best-est friend, Lisa at Extraordinary Life. Not only did she inspire me to create this meal, but it's also her birthday today! So, stop on over to her blog and wish her a happy birthday! It would surely make her day!

Lisa, has often talked to me about her favorite meal that she makes by using leftovers. Enchiladas. Now, her Enchiladas are more of a recipe than mine are, she'll have to blog about them someday soon. (hint, hint, Lisa!)

Here's how I made my super-easy Enchiladas:

2 cups leftover White Chicken Chili

4 burrito sized wraps

1 can Enchilada Sauce

1 small can diced chilis

handful or two of shredded cheese

sour cream

Directions:

• Heat oven to 350 degrees


• Pour a small amount of enchilada sauce on bottom of baking dish or foil pan; just enough to coat the bottom of dish


• On a flat work surface, lay the 4 tortilla wraps out flat


• Spoon 1/4 cup of the chili down the center of each tortilla in a line


• Sprinkle with cheese (little or a lot depending on your taste)


• Add diced chilis (again, little or a lot)


• Roll up the tortillas and place seam side down in baking dish, side by side


• Pour remaining sauce over top of the wrapped tortillas


• Top with more cheese and chilis


• Bake in oven for about 20 minutes (until chili is warmed through and cheese is melted)


• Serve, topped with sour cream

My hubby and I are big eaters. I thought that 2 each would be a good amount to serve for dinner. Surprisingly, we each only ate one. They were that filling!

From that single crock pot of White Chicken Chili, I was able to get dinner for 4 nights! First night was the chili served over rice, a few nights later we had the enchiladas and I was able to store enough of the chili away in the freezer to use for enchilada filling for 2 more nights! All from 3 chicken breasts! (Oh, forgot to say that the 2 enchiladas left out of the 4 I made, my husband ate for lunch one day!) That's a lot of meals!

I'm not one to calculate what each recipe costs to make, but I am pretty sure this was on the frugal side. Especially, since to serve the enchiladas, you only need a small amount of the chili mixture.

Leftovers are no longer a dirty word in my house! I love that we are able to save on our grocery bill by making another meal (or two or three) from using up leftovers! Slowly but surely, I am starting to "get" this frugal lifestyle!

For more Frugal Friday tips, head on over to Life As Mom!

To check out more of my recipes, check out my other blog, My Vintage Kitchen.

October 1st is BEAN DAY over at the October Fest Carnvial of Super Foods being hosted by Katie at Kitchen Stewardship, be sure to check it out for more great recipes!

Frugal Friday: Lea & Perrins Coupon Link

When I worked, I didn't always use coupons. Sure, if I had a coupon for something, I'd use it. But I didn't go out of my way to search for a coupon.

I've recently discovered the wonderful world of online coupons! Free coupons that can be printed out on your computer! Who would have thought? I know, this isn't a new thing to most of you frugal ladies. But this is relatively new to me!

Now that I am a full time homemaker and no longer bringing in a paycheck, every little bit of money saved on groceries, entertainment, drug-store items, etc. is a great help.

I posted about this coupon for Lea & Perrins Thick Classic Worcestershire Sauce a few days ago, but wanted to share it with all of you for my first post to Frugal Friday.

For more great ideas about saving money and getting out of debt, visit Frugal Friday hosted by Life As Mom!