This is one of my favorite things~

~ The Vintage Pearl ~

I just started blogging this past Fall and never really knew how many interesting, crafty, creative people were out there in this crazy blog world. Through other people's blogs I have found some very crafty bloggers. I am just amazed at the talent some of these bloggers have.

I came across http://www.thevintagepearl.com/ and was blown away by the simple beauty of her jewelry line. I am always looking for beautiful, unique jewelry. What better than a website that will custom make you the most gorgeous personalized necklaces, bracelets and charms for such a wonderfully reasonable price.

I ordered the "dainty drops" with my two peeps names and their birthstone charm. It has not left my neck since I received it!

LOVE IT!!

She also has a great little blog spot here: http://thevintagepearl.blogspot.com/

Check out her website for Mother's Day gifts this year. Any mother would be beyond thrilled to receive one of her personalized pieces. Be sure and order early because she gets very busy this time of year!

Getting back into the coupon swing:

The rest of my coupons finally came in for this weeks sale. Our sales run from Tuesday to Tuesday, I had time before I picked my two peeps up from school to make a fast trip in Schnuck's with NO kids! You mommies can appreciate the grocery store trip without children.

What I picked up this trip:

(15) Tennessee Pride Sausage Gravy packs 10/10: My cost $0.00
I used .55c coupons that doubled making them FREE
FYI: This package is just perfect for my husband, I make a batch of biscuits on Sunday and when even he wants sausage gravy during the week, tada you got gravy baby! Even better FREE gravy baby~


(20) Act II 3pk popcorn 10/10: My total cost $4.00
The coupons I used were the .40c off one, that doubled to .80c making them .20c each

I had to get a rain check for the Land O Lakes butter. I have 10 more coupons to use for FREE butter. BTW butter freezes GREAT!

Subtotal: $4.00
Tax: $1.57
Grand Total: $5.57

Saved $31.00; that is 88% savings

Thursday's trip to Schnuck's grocery.

I had so much fun today. Poppie is here entertaining my little boy peep and I had the day to myself to shop slowly and browse and read labels and check expiration dates and treasure hunt for deals and coupons.

Ahhhhhhhhhhh what a day, I am tired, I need a nap but ahhh what a day. Poor Poppie needs a nap too, asap. He and little boy peep walked the zoo today and the first words out of his mouth was, " that is alot of walking".

Here is how I did at Schnucks today:

12 tubs of Land O Lakes Butter FREE w/ coupons

12 Yoplait yogurts $4.00 or .33 each

2 Gorton's Fish Products FREE with coupon

5 Betty Crocker Potatoes .38 each after coupons

6 Lunchables no coupons for these but a good deal

4 Green Giant Frozen Veg. boxes .50 each after coupons

4 Crescent rolls .60 each after coupons

4 Cinnamon rolls .60 each after coupons

Total before coupons: $47.49

Total after: $19.00 (Out of Pocket) not including tax

Total savings: $28.49 / 55% savings

My shopping list @ Schnucks this week:

I don't go to Schnucks very often but I always check their ad every week. They aren't very coupon friendly and the snobby rich people waiting in line behind you get very very impatient with the lady that is trying to use coupons, it has to be a very good sale to peak my interest.

SCHNUCKS:

Green Giant Vegetables in sauce 10 for 10
Again no need to buy 10, buy the amount you want. There is a printable coupon for .50c off two so it is a B1G1 if you use the coupon. 2 for $1.00


Betty Crocker Specialty potatoes: 10 for 10
There are .40c off one coupon here: http://www.bettycrocker.com/. They double to .80c so your OOP is just .20c a box.


Act II popcorn (3 pk) is 10 for 10
There is a .40c coupon that will double to .80c, so .20c a three pack

Land O Lakes Butter Spread 10 for 10
There are .50c coupons that double making these free! There are .55c printable here: http://www.landolakes.com/

Pillsbury Grands, Sweet Rolls and Crescent rolls are 10 for 10
There are .40c off two printables here for many of these: http://www.pillsbury.com/


Gorton's Fish Products are B1G1 Free this week.
I had a FREE coupon from Gordon's from an email I sent to them. Many companies will mail you coupons for your feedback on their products. I was able to get two free by using this coupon in conjunction with the store sale.

Yoplait Yogurt is 10 for $5 (.50c each)
There are printable here: http://www.pillsbury.com/ ($.50 off 6) This coupon will double so you get 2 free after coupon)

Lunchables are 10 for 10
Great deal considering these are $2.39 regular price


Hope you have fun shopping, remember every penny saved counts toward being debt free!!

If you have any question just ask!

My shopping list @ Kroger this week:

I haven't been coupon much lately, just needed a little breather for awhile. A handful or so every time I went but not a huge couponing event. Kroger and Schnuck ads this week have both inspired me to get back in the swing of coupon and start stockpiling a few great staple items.



Here are the highlights of what I will be shopping for this week:

KROGER

Oscar Mayer Lunchable 10 for 10
No, you do not have to buy 10 to get that price, buy as many or as few as you want They normally run $2.19 each and my kids have just discovered them and they really like them. I am proud to say that for the past 7 years I have avoided these little premade boxes of processed food items......until NOW. On a positive note it will be cheaper lunches a few times a week.



Kroger Brand Bar or Shredded Cheese or Deli sliced B1G1 Free
If they didn't raise the price of the cheese then this is a great deal and cheese freezes very well both bar and shredded.



Old El Paso taco shells, tortillas or refried beans 10 for 10
Good deal to stock your pantry with, they always have a long expiration day and make for a super quick weeknight, Mexican dinner for the family. Plus, if you can find the packages with the peelie coupon to get a free seasoning packages with purchase of two Old El Paso products then it is an even sweeter deal. Many times you can find printable coupons here: http://www.bettycrocker.com/



Betty Crocker Frosting 2 for $3.00
Great stockpile item for you pantry. There are .50 coupons on 1 frosting tub, these coupons double at Kroger making each tub of icing .50 a piece. Super sweet deal!~ Find printable coupons here: http://www.bettycrocker.com/



Betty Crocker Pounch Cookie Mixes 2 for $3.00
There are .40c coupons on one, that double to .80 making the final price just .70 a pouch.
Find printable coupons here: http://www.bettycrocker.com/


Weight Watchers Smart Ones Entrees 5 for $10
Match with the $4 off 10 and the 'buy 5 get one breakfast items free' makes some very cheap meals for me! Here is the math: $10 - $4 coupon = $6.00 plus one free breakfast meal. Breaks down to $1.00 each for all 6 entrees.

I will post Schnuck's Grocery tonight~

A sunny day at our city zoo...

We finally got some really nice weather today in our city and the peeps and I headed straight to our city zoo. My mom bought us a membership about 4 years ago and we have thoroughly enjoyed being able to go whenever we wanted and not worry about the cost of parking and admission into the zoo. A annual membership really pays for itself and you also don't worry about ever time you go seeing everything so you "get your money's worth".


Sometime we will go an hour before close, when all the animals start getting very route and hungry, because they know it is almost feeding time. It is a very tranquil time of day and the sky is always a crimson red with flex of yellow and burst of orange. There is usually very few people there and we feel like we have our own personal tour.


Our zoo has come such a long way from when I was a child. I remember being horrified at the concrete build that the "big cats" lived in and the cold metal bars that separated us from their sad faces. And don't even get me started on the smell. I always thought it was a sick trick that they painted the concrete green to pretend that it was grass. The poor monkeys were no better off than the big cats, in their concrete "viewing building". Now the zoo is a beautiful, caring, nurturing environment where most, not all, of the animals have a very natural environment to roam and play, to sleep and enjoy the warm sun rays. The zoo has made huge strides in the last 10 years and it shows.

The Northwest Passage is a fantastic exhibit featuring Polar Bears. The main building has two viewing areas to watch the Polar Bears on one side and the Seals on the other. They have full glass windows that are mostly under water so you can see the animals in action under water. I am amazed everytime we go and see these beauitful animals swimming and playing. The design and artistic creativity that went into creating these special exhibits are just amazingly beautiful.

Our newest addtion to our zoo is the Teton Trek. The Log Cabin is unbelievably beautiful and breathtaking. Here is a link to the website www.memphiszoo.org/home

Front of the log cabin.

Back of the log cabin, looking over the bears and wolves

Inside, upstairs of the log cabin. Just beautiful~

They even have a fireplace, we sat right in front of it to have our lunch.

Hope everyone has a wonderful Wednesday~

Adventures in cooking with Gammie Ann

We had two special guest come visit us Friday and stay through Saturday, my husband's parents. They only live three hours away but we do not get to see them very much and every time they come down it is such a nice treat especially for my two little peeps.

Gammie Ann is a retired caterer (or at least she is retired until someone slightly twist her arm and she cooks something scrumptious for their special event) She is a wonderful cook and loves to experiment, especially on us. I think of her is a combo of buttery Paula Deen (without the potty mouth and diamond rings dripping off her fingers) and classic Ina Garten minus the Hampton's snobby laugh, you know exactly what I mean.

She is both of those ladies best qualities and she can talk cooking, baking, preserving and roasting ALL day long. It is like Food Network without all the advertisements. This trip she made fresh fruit rolls with mint, lime, honey dip. The dip was wonderful and the fruit rolls need a little more fine tuning but have great potential.

Sara had so much fun helping make the fruit rolls. I love seeing the two of them work together in the kitchen. There is something about two generations creating something together that is just magical.

I love how you can just tell my sweet peep is listening and learning from her grandmother.

Our own little Reading Rainbow

When you have young children in your home that are learning to read, your daily life revolves around books, spelling words, pronouncing words and bedtime stories. My oldest peep is in 1st grade and we have really been working hard to improve her reading, mainly the flow and quickness.

We are lucky that our city school system offers a wonderful computer reading program called Headsprout. http://www.headsprout.com/

Wonderful learning tool for young children. My peep was a little behind on her Headsprout at school, they have to complete 80 by the end of the year. We got a letter home in January letting us know how many she had done at school and we were able to set up the account through our home computer that links to what she was doing at school. In just 3 weeks she was not only caught up to her classmates she passed most of them and is now on #78 of the 80 she needs to complete before May.

We also spend time reading books at night or on the weekends. I love the Scholastic First Reader books and some other first reader books I have found. The problem is that for such a small book they are a little pricey, $4.99 to $5.99 a book at Target.

I really like to reward my peeps with books when they have done a good job. I recently started visiting the local thrift stores here and was delighted to find many, many first reader book and other wonderful children's book for .25 to $1.25. They were in very good shape, maybe a worn corner or two. They LOVE when mommy goes shopping at the thrift store because they know when they get home there will be little knowledge building treasures sitting on their beds.

Another benefit to finding great discounted children's book is if you read for your child's class. I am lucky enough to be a weekly reader this year at my daughter's school and I love shopping for books to read to the class. I think I might enjoy it more than the kids do~

My smallest Peep turned four yesterday~

I can hardly believe 4 years have gone by so fast. We had a family/friend party this past Saturday but yesterday after both peeps got home from school we had another small happy birthday celebration just the four of us. Josh was so excited to see another birthday cake and getting to blow out the brithday candles again was an extra bonus.

I told him he could eat his cake anyway he wanted and of course he picked this way:

Got to love such a silly little boy:

Time sure does fly when you become an adult and even more so when you become a parent.

~Happy Birthday my baby boy~

When did February get so busy?

"I'm here, I'm here", raising my hand to my blogger friends!

So when did February get so busy? My husband and I sat down the other day, ok a few weeks ago we sat down, and filled in almost every day with things we had to do in this month. The only day we didn't fill in was yesterday, February 14th. See it isn't that we don't love each other, it's that we don't feel the need to define our love on a commercially driven holiday.

Don't get me wrong I love, love Valentine's Day colors, all the shades of reds, pinks and blushes just get my heart thumping. But my sweet and I just don't see why spending extra money on high priced flowers and candies makes his love of me any stronger. Or me going out and buying him some pink girlie card with a mushy note written by someone else that thinks they know how to define my undying love for him and that cost ten dollars a pop.

Of course, our two little mini peeps that live in our house got their little heartshaped boxes of chocolates and pink Valentine Pez dispensers. And yes, my sweet got a few more kisses yesterday but those are free and the best gift of all. No pink girlie colors needed.

So belated Happy Valentine's and I hope you have a great President's Day~