Drugstore Diva!

Well, I certainly felt like a Drugstore Diva yesterday!  All the new drug store ads come out on Sunday's.  I always try to hit them up on the first day of the ad to make sure I get the deals that I want.  Yesterday was one of my best days ever with the drugstores.  I went to all 3 of them CVS, Rite-Aid, and Walgreens.  I spent a total of $13.61 (plus tax) and saved a total of $189.90, a savings of 93%!!  My most expensive stop was at Rite-Aid, where I stocked up on halloween candy to hand out, and gatorade for the family.


Rite Aid:

I spent $9.29, plus tax, saved $44.92, a savings of 83%  I also walked away with $15 in +Ups, an a$2 rebate.

Walgreens:

I spent $1.98 plus tax, saved $$19.12 a savings of 91%.  I also got a $.50 RR.

CVS:

Here I did 3 different trips....the first CVS I went to doesn't even carry children's vitamins, so I had to go to a second one.  Then after talking with a friend i had to go back to do another deal I had originally decided to pass on.  The first picture is my first 2 trips combined.

Trip 1 I got the 4 aveeno's, 1 nail polish (filler) and the big set of emery boards and 1 box of files.  I paid $.54 plus tax and saved $23.49.

Trip 2 I got the 2 gummy vitamins, 1 nail polish (filler) and the single file and the other box of files.  I paid 0, plus tax, and saved $23.49.

So, for the 2 trips together, I paid $.54, plus tax, saved $46.64, a savings of 99%!!  I also got $15 in ecb's!

Trip 3 to CVS, I spent $1.80 plus tax, saved $79.22, a savings of 98%!  Plus I got back $10 in ECB's and I mailed off a $15 rebate from P&G (yep, it's already in the mail!)

There you have it!  My Drugstore Diva shopping trips!  Here's a list of what I bought for $13.61.

1 Thermacare 

12 Gatorade's

4 bags Starburst

2 bags Jolly Ranchers

4 Advil PM's

4 2 liters of Dr. Pepper

1 bag fun sized Butterfingers

1 bag fun sized Nestle Crunch

4 Aveeno lotions

2 kids gummy vitamins

2 nail polishes

2 packs nail files

1 pack emery boards

1 nail file

4 Herbal Essence shampoos

4 Herbal Essence conditioners

2 Cover Girl lipsticks

8 Cover Girl eye shadows

That's a lot of stuff for so little!  I really do love my coupons!

Have you scored any great deals lately?

Something new!

So, I think I am going to try something new, at least for a month.  I want to show how much I am actually spending, in a month, on food and personal hygiene/household items for our family of 6.  If I have any super great deals/days I will still post those, like I have occasionally in the past.  But for the next month I am going to do a weekly post on Sundays going over what I spent the past week.

So, I am kicking this off with this week.  I started tracking yesterday (which was a phenomenal day at the stores, I will do that blog post next!) and I will do my first weekly post this Sunday, Nov 4th.  I know I am spending, on average $150-$300 a month, when we use to spend $500-$700 a month, which is a HUGE drop.  I am excited to see my actual numbers for a month.

Google +

Well, I finally did it.  I made a Google + page for my blog.  It's not much, I just started it today and I am learning the in's n out's, but it is there.

I've had a Google + profile since it was by invite only, and I have seriously slacked, but I am trying to be a bit more active over there.  I must say it is quite boring tho when no one else is doing anything either! BUT, I am hoping that with my page I can be more active and interact with more people!

Are you on Google +?  Either with a personal profile, or a page of your own?  Add me to your circles! You can follow me by clicking on the Google+ icon on the top right, above my Pinterest button, or you can click this link here: Lovin Life

I can't wait to see you on Google +, we'll have a ton of fun!!

Chipotle Sausage and Rice

This is a recipe that I made up as I went LOL. I had gotten a BUNCH of Johnsonville chipotle and monterey jack chicken sausage because I got it for $.99 each. Everyone loved it and I have made it several times since.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups uncooked rice
• 1 package Johnsonville chipotle and monterey jack chicken sausage, sliced
• 1 cup corn
• 1 can black beans, drained
• 2 cans tomato sauce
• 1 can rotel, drained
• 1/4 c onion, diced
• salt
• pepper
• cumin
• chili powder

Directions:

1. Cook rice in separate pot according to directions on package.  This should yield 4 cups of cooked rice.  Do all other steps while the rice is cooking.
2. Use a skillet to cook the sausage and onion about 5-10 mins.
3. Once the sausage is cooked add the corn, beans, rotel, and tomato sauce.
4. Add salt, pepper, cumin, and chili powder, all to taste (can add more or less to change how hot/spicy you would like it)
5. Stir and bring to a simmer.
6. When the rice is done, pour everything in the skillet over the rice and stir.
7. Serve and enjoy.

Enjoy ~

Two Tutu's To Do

As we all know, Halloween is fast approaching.  It is my FAVORITE holiday!  Kids costumes have been ordered, and received!  This year we will have Thor (Austin), Draculaura from Monster High (Jaidan), Kermit the Frog (Riley...he wanted to be a frog, and that was the frog costume he picked out), and a LadyBug (Aislinn).

Last year, before I made Aislinn's 1st birthday tutu I made a practice tutu.  It was done in black and red, which I thought would be perfect for a lady bug costume.  Unfortunately, after the move, I do not know where this tutu is.  The packers have marked the boxes all crazy and we can't really go by what any of the boxes say.  So, because of this I ordered Aislinn a lady bug outfit.  The way the dress lays, a tutu could totally fit under it and add a bit of flare to it.  So, I have decided to make her another red and black tutu for Halloween.

Now, Jaidan's Draculara costume came with a vest, a skirt and some leggings.  The skirt is too big on her (since she is a skinny little tooth pick lol).  It's so big that safety pins wouldn't do the trick, it would need to be tacked on the sides, and as we all know, I do NOT sew lol.  Not to mention, I don't really like the way it lays, since it's made out of that stupid fabric they like to make costumes out of that wrinkles really easily and is hard to make look good.  Jaidan has some black cloth cheer shorts...so I asked her what she thought about wearing the shorts with a black and hot pink tutu over them for a skirt instead.  She of course loved the idea, so we have ditched the crappy white skirt and I will be making her a black and hot pink tutu for her costume.

I went to Hobby Lobby last night to pick up the tulle and elastic.  I was looking for the elastic and when I couldn't find it I asked an associate.  She showed me the 'crotched' elastic....like you see for baby head bands.  I've seen people use them to make tutu's before....silly me, I thought they were just using head bands HAHA.  I grabbed 2 rolls, 1 was black and hot pink mixed together and the other was red and black mixed together.  They were 50% off, so I got 2 for the price of 1.  I will have to play with it some to figure out how I am going to do this, since I am use to just tying it around plain elastic and scrunching it all together so I can add more to make it look fuller.

Lots of work to do!  I will post pics of the finished products after they are made 8)

Chicken Stew (crockpot)

We had Chicken Stew made in the slow cooker last night.  It was my 2nd time making this recipe that I found on Pinterest.  I wanted a really good stew, so I went looking for one.  I found this one, and then I tweaked it to fit what I wanted.  Austin claimed to 'not like it' last night when he sat down to eat....yet when offered with the prospect of having the 1 and only chocolate yogurt, he was able to down it without any issues.

Here is the original recipe that I got found on Pinterest....http://recipes.sparkpeople.com/recipe-detail.asp?recipe=7854  But I am going to post my ingredients and how I cooked it here in my blog.  The original recipe calls for mushrooms, but even tho I am a mushroom lover, I left it out of this recipe because I just don't see mushrooms as part of a stew.

The really great thing about this recipe is this is a dump and go!  Just dump it all in the crockpot, then let it cook, no extra steps.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs chicken (skinless and boneless) 
• 2 cups carrots, chopped
• 4 cups potatoes, chopped
• 1 cup celery, chopped **
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1tsp basil
• 1 tsp marjoram
• 1 tsp thyme
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 1 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

1.  Cut up the chicken, potatoes, carrots, celery and onion and dump it in the crock pot.

** I didn't have any celery in the house, so I left it out this time.

2.  Sprinkle on all the spices.

Spicy!

3.  Add the lemon juice, chicken broth, and cream of chicken soup.

4.  Cook on high for 4 hours, or on low all day.

5.  I use some cornstarch to thicken the sauce up a bit, this is really optional, but I prefer the sauce a bit thicker in a stew.  I just do it a little bit before serving, so it has time to thicken up, then I serve it.

Enjoy ~

Plink

I just joined Plink at the end of September, and I must say I am loving it.  Like I said earlier in my Ebates post, I love getting rewarded for doing what I am already doing!  That is what Plink does.

Basically, when you join Plink you link either your debit card, or your credit card with Plink.  Then you pick what stores you want to add to your 'wallet'.  That's it, they do the rest for you!  Anytime you use your linked card at a place that you have in your wallet, you get points.  When you get to 500 points you can cash out.  Easy peasy.

Here is the list of places that are currently partnered with Plink:

Taco bell
Arby's
Burger King
Dunkin Donuts
Quizno's
Outback Steakhouse
Red Robin
7-11
Regal Cinemas
Edwards Theaters
United Artist Theaters

At first you can add 3 places to your wallet, after you get someone to sign up under you, you can have up to 5 places in your wallet.  You can also switch them out, so for example, you don't have Outback in your wallet but you are going to go there for a special occasion, you can remove something from your wallet and add Outback.

Here is a list of places you can get a gift card to:

Amazon
Kohl's
Walmart
Tango Card
Facebook Credits

Now, these are just the $5 gift cards, they are also available in higher increments if you want to save your points.  They also have other gift cards available in higher increments, such as Barnes and Knobles $10 gift card for 1,000 points.

I have cashed out $20 in Amazon gift cards so far (all $5 increments).  In fact, the kids and I ate at Taco Bell earlier this week and my points just hit my account and it was enough to put me over to get a gift card, so I just cashed out one tonight.  They also send you your gift card immediately through email, so my card has already been added to my Amazon account.  With Taco Bell you get 70 points if you spend $5 and 140 points if you spend $15 or more.

They also reward you with 100 points for each person that you refer.

You can join me at Plink by clicking on the hyper link above, or my link down below.

https://www.plink.com/index.cfm/main/homepage/refer/103381/aid/1264

New Progresso Kitchen Favorites

Progresso has come out with a new item called Progresso Kitchen Favorites.  They are found in the packaged dinner section of your local grocery store.  My Harris Teeter had a promo running last week where if you bought 2 you saved $3.  Well, I also had $.75 off of 1 coupons, that would double to $1.50 off.  They were $3.99 each, so $7.98 for 2, but with the promo and coupons I got them both for $1.98, which is great, because with a family of 6 we usually need 2 boxes for something like this!!  I bought 4 boxes total (went on 2 different days).  I bought the Chicken Marsala and the Basil Chicken.

I have to admit, when I took everything out of the box, I was worried that it wouldn't be enough for all of us (especially the pasta), but once it was all cooked it was more then enough!  The directions were very easy to follow.  It comes with the breading, seasoning mix, pasta, and the Marsala wine in the box, I just had to add chicken (and mushrooms, they are optional, but you have to have mushrooms with chicken marsala!).  It only took 20-30 minutes to cook the whole dinner.

I served it with broccoli and cheese on the side. (I know my veggie serving is small...but since I serve myself last I get what is left!).  I got the broccoli for only $.19 too!  It was $2.39 for 1, on sale for BOGO (buy one get one free).  The way Harris Teeter does their BOGO is they charge you half price for each item, so they were $1.19 each, then I had a $.50 off of 1 coupon, that doubled to $1 off, making it just $.19!!  SO I paid a total of $2.17 for the 2 Progresso boxes and the broccoli and cheese!

Dinner was delicious and everyone loved it...even my picky eaters!!!  I can't wait to try the Basil Chicken one now, especially now that I know 2 boxes will be enough for all of us.  Definitely something I will buy again, if I find another great deal on it!

Ebates

I have GOT to tell you about this great site that a friend of mine introduced me to.  It's called Ebates.  Ebates is partnered with a TON of stores, what they do is you log into ebates, select the store that you want to shop online with, and click the link to go to that stores website.  Depending on the store you are shopping at you can get anywhere from 1-25% of what you spend BACK.  Now...if you are going to order X item from Bed, Bath, and Beyond anyways, why not log in through ebates and get 1% back (yes Bed, Bath, and Beyond is on their HUGE list).  I know 1% back isn't much...but it all adds up.  When you reach $20 in your ebates account, they send you a check (or you can select to be paid via PayPal).

I don't know about you, but if someone is willing to give me back some of money, for buying what i was going to buy anyways, I am ALL for it!  When you sign up, you get to pick a $10 gift card out (I picked the Target one).  Once you make a purchase at one of the stores, while going through ebates, that is $25 or more, they send you the gift card for free.

I currently have $7.72 in my ebates account already!  I got 1% back when I ordered the LeapPad2 for Riley through yoyo.com.  Then I got 2% back when I ordered a coat for Austin through Old Navy, and then, I got 7.5% back for ordering the kids costumes through Costume Express!!!  That was an exciting purchase, because I already buy their costumes from them online every year!!

With Christmas coming up, this is the perfect time to join ebates.  Especially for those of you who prefer to order online, rather then facing the crowds on Black Friday.  Not to mention all the awesome online deals you can find on Cyber Monday!  I love the idea of getting part of the money I spend back.

You can join by clicking the hyperlink above, or clicking my link below.

http://www.ebates.com/rf.do?referrerid=eFFxSNsAx3hx%2BHGkkVTX9w%3D%3D

Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches (Crockpot)

I found this recipe on Pinterest, I loved the fact that it was only 3 ingredients, and it was made in the slow cooker, bonus was being able to throw the chicken in frozen (because hey, sometimes I forget to defrost it over night!)

Every time I talk about having it for dinner, people ask about it and I type out the recipe.  I know it's a quick and easy recipe, but I figured I would share it here (and then I can just post the link!)

I didn't get any pictures last night when I made it, since I am still looking for the battery charger for my phone.

Here is the original post that I got it from on Pinterest (my pin linked back to this) http://myfindsonline.com/2012/03/20/crockpot-buffalo-chicken/

If you follow me on Pinterest I have this pinned on both my 'slow cooker' board and my 'pinned it tried it' board.  If you are not a follower, then click 'Follow me on Pinterest' in the top right of my blog!  What are you waiting for?

Now, onto the recipe!!

Ingredients:

3-5lbs of boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 packet ranch dressing
1 12oz bottle franks Red Hot Buffalo Sauce


Directions:

Place chicken on crockpot (can be frozen).  Pour bottle of Franks over the chicken.  Sprinkle ranch dressing packet over the top.  Place the lid on it and cook for 4-6 hours on low.

When it's done cooking, remove the chicken and shred it (I use 2 forks).  Caution, the chicken will be VERY tender and will fall apart on you when you try to remove it!  Once it is all shredded put back in the crockpot and mix it all together.  Let it cook a bit longer to soak up some of the yummy juices.

Serve on a bun or a roll.  We usually add Provolone or swiss cheese to it.  For a side we usually have chips, or a side salad.

See how quick and easy that was?!  And it tastes amazing too!!!

Enjoy~

Back on the Bandwagon!!!

With us house hunting and moving in August and September I took a break from keeping track of my monthly coupon savings, but yesterday was the first day in October and I am back on track!  I've already managed to save $68.90 and that is only from shopping on 1 day!!

Here's a quick re-cap of my savings from Nov 2011-July 2012 (since I skipped out on August and Sept!).  Drum roll please!.....

$8,299.24

Woo hoo!!!  Over $8,000 dollars, over a 9 month period!!!  Of course, my savings are higher then that, since we are missing out on August and September's savings!  I am loving that number tho and I am excited to see what my October savings brings!  Only 3 more months of tracking left, since I was only going to do it through the end of 2012.  Tho I may keep it up....I have heard of some spreadsheets you can do where you can put in what you spend, and what you save, so you can track the % you are saving each month through out the year.....hmm.