CVS deals this week

I stocked up this week on laundry detergent and diapers. 

The 6 packs of CVS diapers were $5 each. I used a $3 scanner coupon and got back a $10 ECB. I think 6 packs of diapers for $17 is a super bargain. 

I used a $2 scanner coupon on any Kleenex item to get the 2 tissues free. 

All detergent was $3.50 each. I used 2 $2/2 coupons on this deal. I also got diet Pepsi for my guests with this deal.  All, Pepsi and some other products were in a deal where you spend $20, you earn a $5 ECB.

Venus razor - used a $4 coupon and a $3 scanner coupon, and got back a $5 ECB. 

I won't be buying anymore diapers or detergent soon, I already had 10 packs of mostly Huggies from previous CVS deals. In the laundry room, there are 15 bags of laundry tabs and 12 assorted bottles of liquid. 

But I will use the $20 in ECBs on other bargains in the weeks to come. 

Can you all tell I am a CVS fan? I have built up some great stockpiles with CVS deals with not much effort. 

Finances on Friday

I found out late Tuesday afternoon that there would be 12 here for supper on Wednesday. I did not want to add shopping to my list of things to do so I planned a menu of easy to make dishes made with groceries on hand. This is what we ate

Chicken cooked on the grill by my husband-thawed and trimmed up Tuesday night.

Twice baked potatoes and baked beans - prepared Tuesday night and then reheated

A big green salad

A big loaf of bread baked in our bread machine

Banana bread and Pecan Pie Squares - both baked early Wednesday when I only had baby JJ to care for, and thankfully he sat happily in his high chair and played with some mini tongs and an empty paper towel tube the entire time I was mixing them up. 

The twice baked potatoes were a big hit. I knew my sons liked them a lot and we were all tickled to see the grand daughter who is a bit opinionated about her food liked them so much, she was picking hers up and eating it like a muffin. She ate 2 small ones and her uncle's empty peel as well.  Twice bakeds require a little effort when making them, but they go together fast and then are easy to reheat. 

Mine are nothing fancy, just baked and scooped out potatoes, mashed with some butter, milk and yellow cheese, S & P to taste. No sour cream or cream cheese are needed for how we like them. I use a small scoop to refill the shells and top each one with a little more grated cheddar.  My family liked them so much,  I really need to make them more often. 

Saturday morning, there were 10 here for breakfast. That menu was

Oven baked bacon- I stockpiled bacon several months ago when the Oscar Mayer was $1.99 a pound but my stockpile is getting low

Scrambled eggs

Freezer biscuits   I like to multiply this recipe by 4 or 6 and keep several dozen in the freezer for meals like this

Cream gravy - that's how we do big breakfasts in Oklahoma 

Bananas, orange juice, coffee and hot tea

What do you all cook or serve when you feed a big group? I am always looking for new menus that are easy and crowd pleasing. 

Paid off the last of my husbands surgery bills. In our experience with these last 3 surgeries, the doctors, physical therapy, home health, etc seem to be happy to take just what our insurance company offered them.  But not the hospitals- they want 100% of what they bill.  Thankfully, husbands work insurance paid about 90% or so, less deductibles. 

As always, we use the free online billpay our credit union offers - it is easy and quick too!

My gardening and second hand purchases have been thrifty so far. 

We are having mild, thrifty weather- not much need to run the heat or air conditioner. 

Have baked all our bread in 2014

Cashed in a few weeks of Swagbucks points for $50 Paypal
swagbucks.com/refer/stwoliver3
if you don't do Swagbucks and want to join,  I would love for you to sign up with my referal link.  My daughter said I should do a post about how I earn them and I will if anyone wants to know.  

We are having a vegetarian supper -This vegetable pasta stirfry. It is so good and we like it so much, we have had it every week, except last week, since I first found the recipe. it is very thrift too- any pasta will work, and just about whatever vegetables you have, especially the ones that need to be used soon- and some garlic and oil.

Walgreens is having 7 days of Egg-Cellent photo deals this week.  I got a free 8by10 collage on Monday and 10 free 4by6 prints yesterday.  

Linking up with Rebecca at Renaissance 

Some of our family and recent guests

Notice what a helper our grand daughter is, stirring the scrambled eggs. 

Thrift store and church rummage sale finds

April has already been a good month for thrift shopping.

I went to my favorite store yesterday, looking for warm weather clothing for the grands, 

I found lots for the youngest grandsons

4 shirts and 8 shorts $1 and 50 cents each

Cute rompers - the orange one was $2 and the gray one was 50 cents

Little big Jammies, a swimsuit for the oldest grandson and a swimsuit for the youngest grand daughter.  

I am a sucker for polka dots. 

Rummage sale finds

These toys were 25 cents each. Both grand daughters are fans of Mickie and Minnie.

When you push the button on the side of the truck, it makes a sound like a truck or animal- I think all the grandsons will like it. 

Free magazines- old Country Living, from 1984 and  2002

Tupperware

Books were 25 cents each,  The Fox is a song my grandmother sang to all her grandchildren.

Cross stitch booklet

I think these are potholders as they are double sided. They are crocheted of cotton yarn and very pretty, 25 cents each. 

A really BIG spoon rest. Maybe it is a ladle rest.

And a mystery box- it was not an old Santa........

But these treasures

Look at all these pins! And I need new pins. 

Old needles- I think they cost a lot more than 15 cents now

A bunch of gold and pearl beads, and silver chenille stems

So much glitter- I've never seen glitter in bags. 

Lots of good crafting supplies. 

And this pretty tatted piece. I think it was made to go around the neckline of a top or dress. I hope to do something with it for me. 

Spring thrifting is fun! 

Gardening update

First, I was asked where I bought my portulaca -moss rose seeds   I got them on EBay for $1.79 shipped from this sellerSeeds and Scents
They shipped fast and also inclosed a free pack of wildflower seeds.

If you've ever been on Facebook or Pinterest, you've seen posts about regrowing vegetables from the the scraps of the vegetables you've bought at a grocery store.
I am trying it with the the root end of a celery and 3 romaine lettuce. I don't think I really read the instructions. I just sliced a very small sliver off the root end of each one, then let them set in a saucer of water until they sprouted. 

Most of the tomato plants are doing fine except for 2 in this planter. 

So, I added the celery and romaine in with the 2 cherry tomato plants. 

When I bought groceries today, celery was $1.99 at Aldi.  I bought some because I like it but I kept that root end too and hope it will sprout like the other one. 

It would be great if these actually produce an edible crop. I'll keep you updated.....

Truth from my Sunday Morning devotion

 “An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up” 

Proverbs 12:25

This photo is from our trip to Branson. We are outside the Dixie Stampede.  My husband has an especially big smile because he had just chatted with 2 other Marine veterans. One of those Marines took this shot for us and we used their IPad to take their photos. 

We were having a good time just being on vacation but visiting with those 2 Marines made my husband even happier. He had never met them before, one served during Vietnam and the other during Desert Shield. Marines just seem to always greet each other, shake hands, say ooh-rah, and they bring each other up.  - it works just like the Bible verse promises it will

those flowers, they are pretty, but it is too cold in Missouri for outdoor blooms, all of those are silk. 

It still makes for a pretty photo background. 

Thank you for coming by- I hope my blog is always kind and a cheerful place to visit. 

Spring Fever

Does anyone in North America not have spring fever? It's been a long hard winter and I am sure glad it is spring.  This is our weather forecast, and I must brag on Oklahoma meteorologists,  I think they are very accurate, maybe the best in the world. I don't always like their forecasts but they are very dependable.

With this warm forecast, I think it is probably safe to let my tomato and zinnia seeds move out of their egg shells and be transplanted into pots outside.

The cherry tomato plants are in these big planters, outside but also sheltered by the pergola roof. When they are bigger, we will move the pots into full sun. For now, they will be protected from any heavy rain we might get.

Zinnias are now in these pots, and for now, right beside the house for a little extra warmth and protection. 

For thrift and cuteness, I really like using egg shells for the starting pots. 

Still in the house, are some tiny petunias and moss rose growing in more eggs. I am also going to start some heirloom tomato seeds I bought in Branson.  

What is your weather like?  I hope winter is finally over for everyone!  

Groove Book

Have you heard of GrooveBook? It is a very easy and thrifty way to get prints of all those photos on your phone, PC, Mac, IPad, android device.

Groove Book will print up to 100 of your photos and ship them to you in about 12 days for just $2.97. 

This is a picture of my first GrooveBook.  They hope customers will print a book every month but there is no obligation. 

I liked the idea so much, I also had the same book sent to my parents and my in laws.  And I plan to do it every month. 

If you look close at the spine, the date of each photo is printed there. 

The photo quality is good, not as good as more expensive photo processing, but more than good enough for every day snapshots. 

If you want to try it, you can get your first GrooveBook  free if you use my code OLIVER537

It may benefit me if anyone uses the code but I looked and can't see what. 

I used the GrooveBook app on my iPad and it was very fast and easy. Much easier and cheaper than any other way I have printed and shipped photos. 

http://groovebook.com

CVS deals and a savings tip

Hi everyone- my husband and I took a last minute trip to Branson MO, partly to celebrate our wedding anniversary and partly because we just needed a vacation.  We had a great time and hope to go back in the fall and we would like to take our grandchildren when they are a few years older.  Branson is very fun, family oriented town.

So,  I will be doing the same frugal things with another vacation as my goal.

This week, when you scan your CVS card at the scanner,  you will get a coupon to get one roll of CVS paper towels free.
CVS also has a super  deal on laundry detergent.  Wisk,  All and Snuggle are Buy 1 Get 2 Free~
limit 6.
I think the Wisk 24 tab bags were $8.99 each. (So you get 3 for about $9.)
I used 4 Wisk $1.50 coupons that were in the Sunday paper a few weeks ago.  I could of used 6 coupons as I bought 6 Wisk but I only had 4 coupons, there are also recent All and Snuggle coupons. 
After coupons, my total was $13.02
I  used ECBs from a previous purchase for this purchase and paid for  the tax with a CVS gift card.

I have 2 CVS gift cards right now.  One was for $50 and I earned it through Mypoints.com

The other one is for $27 and I got it when I returned some defective reading glasses.  I had saved the sales receipt but did not have the tag from the glasses so a cash refund was not allowed, but the allowed gift card was fine with me.  

I've blogged that we buy and budget our gasoline with a Walmart prepaid card.  I bought a new card at the first of March for $200 and the first time my husband tried to use it,  just before our Branson trip, that card wouldn't scan at the pump, even with the attendants help.   Thankfully, I had the sales receipt from the card purchase and I will take the card to Walmart later and get it exchanged for working card.

I've been putting my receipts  my homekeeping notebook and plan to continue.  Having those 2 receipts saved $227!  

Mid-March catch up

I am fine and still here- just have not been visiting or writing blogs much. But I have no plans to stay away from the blog neighborhood - just took a little break

I have done very little shopping but I was in Walmart today and a worker in the children's department told me I should look in the buggy where she has just marked down an assortment of things.

I didn't dig through it all but I did pick out a nice assortment of socks for all my grandchildren, 

The packs with 2 or 3 pairs were 50 cents each. 

The packs with 6-10 pairs were $1.

9 of our family members were here Saturday. This is the lunch I put together. 

Homemade honey oat and white sandwich buns

A meat plate with cheese, sliced ham and chicken salad

Sandwich toppings -sliced onions, tomatoes, lettuce

A veggie plate with dip 

A fresh fruit plate 

And a peach crisp- not in the photo
most all the ingredients for this meal were purchased at Aldi- I am so thankful for this affordable and easy to shop at grocery store

I've baked lots of sandwich buns but have never got the hot dog buns quite right. But I've baked them twice lately and have been a lot happier with them. When I cut out the dough, it seems the unbaked unrisen dough for the hotdog buns needs to start out just a tad bigger than the hot dog. The dough will rise quite a bit and doing it like this gives a bun that is just the right size to hold the hot dog. 

All 5 of my grands at one time - this was at Andie's 2nd birthday party. The other 75 or so party goers were trying to get these 5 to smile for the photo. But instead of smiling, I think the grands were overwhelmed. So, instead of their usual smiling faces, this photo kind of looks like a group baby mugshot.

The seeds growing in eggshells are doing great. If next weeks weather forecast is warm, I am going to move the tomatoes to the outdoor planters then. 

I've been saving most of my eggshells and planted flower seeds in 28 more yesterday.

The tomatoes are the tallest. 

Our country friends with chickens are selling eggs after a dry spell in the winter. 

They have the nicest eggs with bright orange yolks and the shells are light blue and shades of brown.

I am so happy to have good eggs again!

Handwork  - I've been working on a gingham check cover for a tissue box, made with yarn and plastic canvas. Once I got the pattern started, it is almost a no brainer. Sometimes it is nice to just work on something and not have to concentrate much. 

I've been quiet because I have just been sad. A neighbor  passed away unexpectedly from pneumonia.  

Also, a very good friend was killed, so unexpectedly, in a 104 car pileup in Colorado.  She was a very dear, sweet lady.  

This is one of  the songs that was played at her funeral,  and it really sums up her attitude- Love God,  love your family

I am thankful to of known both of them but I do miss them and I know their families are just heartbroken.

 I am also thankful to know so many of you sweet bloggers through the nice  comments you leave  here and through your blogs.  

Hopefully, next week,  things will be more normal here and I will be back to regular blog writing and visiting. 

Weekend Sewing

This sweet little baby doll cradle was handed down to Grand daughter Elizabeth from some church friends. It has already been played with by 2 generations.  The wood bed was in great shape but it needed new bedding.

The old bedding, kind of eww, right?  But I am glad I had the old bedding to use as a pattern.

Sewing up the new bedding was easy. I had pink polka dot and solid white squares left from Elizabeth's 1st birthday quilt. I used them for the quilt and pillow. The mattress is covered with striped vintage sheet fabric. 

I think she will like it. :)

Weekend cooking

Our weather is so changing.  We had snow at the first of this week, then some warm sunshiny days and today has been cold and rainy. 
Today was a good day to do some baking.
I tried a new to me cookie recipe,  for those famous New York City Black and Whites. I've never been to NYC and have no plans to go so I figured I should just bake some myself.
I baked them exactly as the recipe was written,  I used my large Pampered Chef scoop and ended up with 10 big cookies.  

They are really good,  the cookie is soft like cake but is still sturdy enough to eat with your hand like a regular cookie.  We liked them a lot and I will make them again but will probably make them smaller.  They really do taste like something from a fancy bakery but they are easy to make with basic kitchen ingredients.
Have any of you had a real Black and White cookie in New York City? I am wondering how much they sell for there. I estimate the ingredients in my recipe cost about $1.50 for all 10 big cookies. 

I used the bread machine to mix up the dough for our everyday sandwich buns. 
one of my goals for 2014 is to make all our bread and so far, I have.  It tastes better and cost so much less. 

Then I mixed up a second batch of dough but increased the sugar to 1/2 cup and added chopped raisins and pecans.  When the dough had risen, I rolled it out like cinnamon rolls and spread it with soft butter and cinnamon sugar. It was enough dough to make a standard size loaf and a small loaf of cinnamon raisin bread. 

 

my husband is shelling more pecans, on the thirds.  From this current batch,  he has cleaned 8 gallons.

 

I guess I should be looking for more pecan recipes  :) 

 

what are you baking?

Hanger dilemma

I need to clean out our closet but am waiting for the seasons to change. When that happens, we should have more than enough hangers after I clean out unused things.

But until then, we have a hanger shortage. 

I like the older plastic hangers that used to be a dozen for a $1 or so, but I went to buy some a few months ago and was unhappy to see how thin the tubes are on them now. It seems manufacturers will save a penny just anywhere. 

I could tell those new hangers were too thin and would not hold up at all. I did buy a few of the thicker ones that are sturdy enough for jeans or jackets, but they are about $2 for just 3. 

So, for months, on laundry day, I have been scrambling to find a hanger for every clean garment. 

We had a few sturdy wire hangers so I decided to just make them do. 

I used fabric glue and scrap fabric cut into about 3/4 inch strips. 

Then, while I watched TV one evening, I just wrapped those hangers until they looked pretty. 

Wrapping them gives them a little cushion to help prevent hangar wrinkles and enough traction that clothes should not easily slip off. 

If you are a crocheter, you could make yarn covers. 

This was very frugal as I just used things on hand. I think older children would like making them for their own closets or for gifts too.

Passing on traditions

Granddaughter Elizabeth was here on Monday, partly because her school was cancelled for snow and also to visit my parents who were here for 4 days.

We needed another treat so I mixed up cinnamon roll dough in the bread machine. Then Elizabeth helped roll out and fill the cinnamon rolls. This photo is while we frosted them. 

Elizabeth likes to say "getting messy is the funnest part of cooking" 

She didn't learn that from me, I am mostly a neat cook. But cooking easy things like cinnamon rolls with little ones is especially fun. 

I plan on doing it anytime we can. Childhood goes so so fast. 

Frugal February -last post

We have company coming and will need extra snacks.  I am trying to use up pantry ingredients.
So,  I made a small batch of homemade buttercream frosting and spread in on a 1/2 of graham crackers for homemade cookie sandwiches- they are delicious and one of my dad's favorites.

Made a new recipe with melted white chocolate chips, pretzels, craisins and pecans.
Sweet N Salty snack Mix

there was 1 1/2 very ripe banana in the banana bowl,  my banana recipe calls for more but I used what I had and baked the banana bread recipe into 15 muffins,  they are fine even with less banana

we had this meatless entree last night, it is really good but next time, I am going to double the veggies to 8 cups.

Easy Noodle Stir Fry

Grocery Budget for February- had $101 left over

Gas Budget- we use a prepaid Walmart card and I don't know how it happened but we had $160 left out of the $200 we budget every month.  It has been so cold and we have stayed home a lot,  but I am wondering if we bought gas a time or two and it didn't get subtracted..... who knows.  I have been keeping records of some things but not that

Not frugal things

Husbands eye surgeries- thankfully his work insurance will cover most of it but it is a new calendar year and we had to pay the deductible.  But he is doing great and can see so much better even with just one eye done so far.  We are thinking his future eye glass prescriptions may be less expensive than his previous very strong and complicated prescription.  

My splurge

I have tried all kinds of things to get my fingernails to be strong and grow but nothing has worked.

So on Saturday,  I got my first ever fake nails and and polish at a salon.  I got short ones as I still want to sew and type and still need to do housework.  

I am very happy with them,  not a break or chip even after a week!  

fake nails are not thrifty and I know about the health questions,  but on this issue,  I plan to just go

with pretty nails, which I have never had before, and enjoy them. 

Joining up with 

Finances on Friday

She has done great in February, only buying dairy and using her pantry and freezer to keep her family of  6 fed. 

February Cricut project and advice to prevent colds

Wow, you all gave me some great advice about cold prevention.

I will buy some odorless garlic and VitD3 today and am also going to look into getting a humidifier. Our air has been extremely dry, so dry that I have not worn my 2 favorite tops that have some polyester content as they just cling and crackle from the static electricity, 

I forgot to mention I have been taking Cold-eeze tabs and this last cold has been very short, just a few days compared to 10-14 days of the others. We have also been taking probiotics for 2 weeks before this last cold hit us. 

Thank you all so much !

One of my 2014 resolutions was to make at least one Cricut project every month. This one is just barely making it in Feb. 

I have a stash of these sturdy Folgers cans. 

I took one of the big ones and added a few Cricut letters, some scrapbook paper and ModPodge and made it into a HotWheels storage container.

It is really simple but it looks nice in the toy room.

I also decorated the other 2 big ones to use to hold the compost scraps before they go to the tumbler. But they are even simple than the car one. They look better than an old coffee cab but not good enough for a photo. 

when the sleeping grandbaby wakes up, we are going to do a couple errands,  then I hope to finish my frugal February posts later today and join up with with FOF at Renaissance