Are you bored?

I asked Alex this the other night. When was the last time you were bored? I can't think of the last time when I had enough time to be bored!! Now, if someone asked me when the last time I was so tired I couldn't drive straight, I could point to the exact date.

As I was reading through some of the other blogs on my favorites list, I felt a little embarassed that mine wasn't very interesting. By now, it's getting kind of old to see how little I spent on a bunch of groceries. Still exciting, but not as much fun to write about. So I'm going to try to get a little more interesting and post 'exciting' deals.

At my HT, they usually have carts and bins with old products, discounted items and post seasonal items. I always check this out for steals. I've been keeping an eye on the Valentine's cart but how much post Valentine's hershey kisses can you really eat?! But they had these super cute baskets discounted down...So, I bought all 8 baskets for $3.47! This leads me to my next subject of Quantity.

Normally, in my past shopping life, I would've bought one or two. But I remembered that I might not see this low price for a long time. What could I use all these baskets for? Well, the wicker ones are lined so I can put my herbs in them and the other big ones would be good for something potted also. Or I could do a flower arrangement and give it as a gift or use them as popcorn bowls...The possibilities are endless and for $.49 I grabbed a bunch!

It's always hard for me to buy a large quantity of things. But I felt like the $3.47 was spent wisely and with a purpose. I also do this with shoes that I love. I buy 2 pair because it drives me nuts when I love a pair of shoes that eventually I can't find again.

What $4.47 can get you...

Harris Teeter had never been on my radar until my perspective on shopping changed. I was diligently going to Publix and buying the same things every week.

Then I learned about couponing and my simple world opened up into this vast universe of freebies and super deals!

Hence, Harris Teeter (HT - as I call it) become one of my favorite stores. Here's why:

1. Each week, HT has an EVic item. That is an item that is marked below the sale price. They also send me an email giving me some personal discounts on items that I routinely shop for like Tropicana OJ for $2.27. OJ is usually 2/$6 or 2/$5 so $2.27 is a good deal, especially if I have a coupon.

2. HT has their sad fruit section. This is the 'old' veggies and fruit that are marked down immensely because they're about to go bad. So, this was my latest find. A bag of zucchini, bag of squash, bag of lemons and a bag of potatoes, all for $4.47! I love it.

3. I used to hate things like Buy 2 Get 3 free, but I've embraced that concept now!! That's how I get my 6 lbs of frozen shrimp for $25 and 12 pack cokes for $2.50...

The point is, I try to keep my options open. Another reason to shop at higher priced stores, is that they sometimes have better sales and discounts...

My Nemesis - for Real

I meant to discuss Walgreens in my prior post, but was distracted by my super cute dress. Again, I generally don't do Walgreens for a few reasons:

(1) Too many rules

(2) Too difficult to count all my items and match up the exact number of coupons

(3) Register Rewards don't always print out as they should - due to another rule

(4) The cashiers aren't very friendly

BUT if there is a really good deal, then I'll go in. For examples, a jumbo pack of diapers were on sale for $8.99 and I had register rewards for 5 and a coupon for $2 off. So, $1.99 for diapers was worth the aggravation. So, I picked out a nail file, the sunday paper (i always buy another one) and my diapers. I walked over to the cashier in the cosmetic section and she was putting the new price tags on the perfume. She looked at me and stared and if I could read her mind it would have read: And you want me to ring you up BECAUSE....?? I politely asked if this register was open and she said " Uh, yes". Let's just say that I felt guilty for having to have her ring me up. Also, there was a gentlemen in front of me who returned a bit item and she just left it sitting on the counter so there wasn't any room to put my purchases down.

Needless to say, I left, but pretty happy for my deal on diapers. I also left with 3 RR for next time.

This is a picture of our diaper ottoman. I have found great deals on pull ups and diapers that we're good for a few months! That money can be used for groceries!

Walgreens - My Nemesis

I don't like to to boycott any store in particular, unless I've given it at least 3 chances. And I also know that sometimes cashiers have bad days and that each store is different. Well, I got to go to a few stores this week that left me a little surprised.

Ann Taylor: I don't typically shop here due to the high prices and the style that I'm not that in to. However, there was a coupon (of course!) for $20 off any purchase if you tried on a pair of shoes. So, I marched myself right down to the store on Saturday in my jeans, t-shirt and rain coat and tried on a pair of shoes. Then I marched myself over to the sale section to look for items that were $20. Unfortunately, all items were $19.88 which meant I needed to find something for a few bucks...like a pair of socks or clearance jewelry. Well, we don't sell socks, said the sales lady. Oh, okay. Well, I'm trying to get around $20 so I can use a coupon.

Well, she said, there's some clearance jewelry in these 2 bins right here. I look and can't seem to understand how $39 for a bead bracelet is clearance, unless it was originally $60. After a few more gentle probing questions, it turns out that NOTHING in the store was under $20. So, I decided to get the most for my dollar and buy another clearance item that was $19.88. Depending on which way you see it:

I got one item for free

Buy one get One Free

Both were 1/2 off = $9.98

Here's my other obstacle when I'm price searching and want to get the most for my buck. I'm always tempted to buy items I already have. I think a lot of women tend to buy the same look, same color, same style.

But since I was buying on clearance and getting an item for free, I wanted to buy something I would feel special wearing. I'm 9 months into nursing and post baby. My figure has changed enough that certain things just don't look that great on me.

So, this is what I found. A sexy blue cocktail dress (orig $170) and a nice pair of black slacks (orig. $110). Maybe when I wear them, I'll post a picture.

Back to Basics

So, I'm going to try to set up a weekly meal plan again. It's fallen by the wayside due to another child, sickness, et cetera, but I really do enjoy cooking and want to get into it. It's tricky because I only want to buy what's on sale, but I have enough meat in my freezer that I could cook without any new meat for a few weeks, shrimp included.

So, I already made a shepherd's pie this week and froze one. I'm going for chicken piccata with frozen chix breasts (my 1st attempt at those), chix thighs on the grill and something shrimpy. That's as far as I got. We eat at my in-law's usually once a week and some other nightgs are leftovers or frozen meals or breakfast for dinner.

I'm excited to get back to cooking and using up my great grocery finds.

Ground Beef

I have a love/hate relationship with ground beef. It's great to cook for chili, tacos, and hamburger helper (on those days that I need help), but it seems as though half the time it goes bad. So, it's terribly frustrating when I forget about it and then forget to freeze it. So, this week, it happened again. I had high hopes of making my shepherd's pie again but when I finally got around to checking out my ingredients, the ground beef was bad. Bummer!! But again, after 4 Dr visits since Saturday, I'm grateful to still have my sanity.