Leapday Confessions

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• I really dislike the beginning of a new month because of all of the bills that are due! The first two weeks are always tight money wise, trying to make sure that everything gets paid. I much prefer the end of the month when we have a little breathing room.
• One of my absolute favorite things in the world is watching Josh with our niece Emma. Or just hearing him talk about her. I love how much he loves her, and it makes me so excited for the day we have our own! He is going to be such a good dad. 
• Our dogs have fleas and it seems like nothing we do is working to get rid of them. BOO. I am ordering Advantix II today and saying a prayer that it works.
• We lost our TV remote over two weeks ago. I've looked in all the normal places, and some not normal ones. No luck. So what this means is I haven't watched TV in over two weeks, because I am too lazy to change the channel. This may be a good thing, if I didn't make up for it by spending extra hours on Pinterest!
• Wednesday is one of my favorite days of the week because we go to church and have dinner there. No cooking? Hallelujah! A delicious meal that always includes vegetables and salad? Even better. 

Now I am off to clean and figure out what I am going to send my dad for his upcoming birthday. Happy Wednesday to you all!

Weekend Fun

I had a wonderful time this weekend in Lakeland hanging out with the girls.

First I got to ride down there with this adorable boy:

I don't particuarly like long car trips but having a cute companion makes it so much better! And his mom Lindsey provided good company, too.

We spent a lot of our weekend just hanging out and playing with adorable babies. These two are so stinking cute!

Saturday morning, my friend Sam and I took the boys for a walk around one of the many local lakes while Lindsey ran her butt off. It was a beautiful morning and really nice to get out and get some fresh air! I think Emmett & Myles really enjoyed themselves, too.

That afternoon, we headed to a local favorite: Mister Fish. It's one of those places that I would be a little scared to eat at unless I knew someone who had tried it first--and I'm so glad I did! The fried shrimp and sweet potato tots were to die for. We took our food down to another local lake for a picnic.

It was so refreshing to spend time with these ladies. They are some of my favorite people in the world and I love getting to spend time with them!

One of my favorite parts about "growing up" is watching my dear friends become mothers and love their children. It's so much fun for me to watch these moms and their boys.

 They are both such good moms and I am storing up so much knowledge from them for when I have my own little one! In the meantime, though, I just know that I am Myles' and Emmett's favorite aunt.

While I was hanging out the girls (and their little boys!) this is what my dear husband was doing:

Babysitting our sweet niece Emma!

Please excuse the poor image quality--I think he was a tad bit overwhelmed! This was Josh's first one-on-one time with Emma, and he loved every minute of it. That isn't the best picture of her--she is actually gorgeous!

That, my friends, was my much needed weekend of relaxation and fun! Now we're already almost halfway through another week, and I am ready for another vacation!

Outta Here

I am so excited to be packing my things and getting ready to head out for a weekend of fun! I need this break. And what could be better than spending time with my two sweet nephews?

Emmett, who's baptism we are going to on Sunday.

Myles, my road trip buddy!

I'll also get to spend time with some of my favorite ladies.

I am so looking forward to this! Enjoy your weekend, everyone!

Confessions Confessions Confessions

I really missed writing midweek confessions last week and am glad E, Myself & I is back to it this week! I guess I could've done them myself without linking up but what fun is that?

Here are my confessions this week:

• I keep trying to justify the money and space necessary to purchase invest in a Kitchen Aid mixer. I know I would use it, it's just not really in our budget right now plus we don't have space for it. Sigh. A girl can dream.
• Ever since saying it here, I have been craving a liverwurst sandwich. I bought bread and butter pickles at the store the other day and forgot the liverwurst! I need it soon. 
• Normally I don't work on Wednesdays, but I am working today so that I can go to Lakeland this weekend for my little buddy's baptism! My alarm is set for M-T-Th-F, so it didn't go off this morning, I woke up at 6:59 (I am supposed to be at work at 7) and it is throwing my whole day off. I have no motivation and just want to go back to sleep.
• I am SO excited to be going to see Emmett this weekend, plus I get to carpool with my friend Lindsey and her sweet little boy Myles. This is the highlight of my month!
• My Valentine's day chocolate--my absolute favorite chocolate in all the world--is gone. I ate it all. It was delicious and wonderful and I want more!

Happy Wednesday, friends!

Things I am Loving

I thought I'd share a few of my recent favorites...

Paula Dorf Eye Primer:

I was one of those people who didn't realize I needed eye primer until I stared using it. I'm not a huge makeup person (I stick to pretty basic colors & products) but this makes applying shadow so much easier and it lasts so much longer. It's not cheap, but this stuff lasts forever. I have had this little pot for almost 6 months and it's just about halfway gone.

Neti Pot:

If you don't know what a neti pot, trust me when I say that the best way to explain it is for you to watch a video of one being used (Here, I did the searching for you). I know there are all kinds of horror stories surrounding the use of these, but I'll be honest--nothing has ever cleared my sinuses like this bad boy did. I got mine for free by "liking" their Facebook page. I was hesitant, because I hate the feeling of using nasal spray. This was a little uncomfortable, but the results are amazing.

Pro Styl:

This probably seems a little weird, but I am telling you, this is hands down the best hair product I have ever bought. My hair is in between wavy and straight, and it does neither well. I like to wear it curly but I've always hard a hard time finding a scrunching product that isn't too heavy, fights humidity, and lasts all day. A friend recommended this and I have been hooked ever since. Best part? A large tub of it costs about $2 at drugstores.

Ink Joy Pens:

You know how when you find a pen that you really like, it makes your handwriting prettier and writing is more fun? Hmmm? Am I the only crazy one who labels their favorite pens so no one steals them from my desk? These are my new favorites, and they are not that expensive. I got mine at Target and keep finding excuses just to write with them!


This Song:

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Totally switching gears, but I honestly can't get enough of this song lately! I love Robbie Seay Band.

What about you guys? What are some of your favorite things lately? I would love to hear!

Couponing 101: What I Learned

As promised, I am here to share some of the tips and tricks I learned at the Southern Savers Couponing 101 workshop. Before attending the workshop, I had tested the waters of couponing already, so I was already familiar with many of the basics and how to use the Southern Savers site.

If you're new to couponing (I so hate that every time I use that word, it shows up with a red wavy line. It's a real word! I swear!)  I highly recommend you check out some tutorials on Southern Savers first. Jenny explains the basics way better than I every could!

Keep in mind that Southern Savers focuses on stores in the Southeast, and store policies/prices/etc differ through the states. Much of what Jenny talked about applies specifically to Florida, where we mostly shop at Publix or Winn Dixie, because we are different than many other states in the SE (no doubling, true BOGO sales, etc) If you live outside of this region, there are multiple other websites out there that can help you maximize your savings!

Here's what I learned:

• "Lowest Price" for an item is usually 40%-50% off of normal retail. I should not be buying a product if it has not hit it's lowest price. For most products, this happens every 6 weeks or so.
• Stock Up and only buy what is on sale. This requires committing to shopping weekly-- something I need to work on! If something is on sale and I don't buy it because I don't go grocery shopping that week, it means I won't see the lowest price for another six ways, and I'll probably be forced to buy it at a higher price.
• Get 2 Sunday Papers: The main reason for this is so that when items are Buy One Get One Free you can use two coupons, even though you're really only paying for one of the items. We get one paper delivered daily, and I think what I will do is when it is a "good" week for coupons, I will purchase another Sunday paper.
• Ask for Coupons: Jenny shared how her husband recently became gluten free, and she was having a hard time finding coupons that worked for this. She started calling gluten free companies and asking for coupons--and lo and behold, every single one of them sent her coupons! All you have to do is call customer service for a specific company, ask that coupons be mailed to you, and most companies will oblige.
• Ask for Coupons at Customer Service: This applies mostly to Publix, which is where I shop mostly. You know how there are a million little machines and tear pads spread throughout the store with coupons? If you ask at customer service, most stores have a stack of all of these coupons ready for you and you can skip the treasure hunt. Amazing! 
• Saving Star and UPromise: These sites offer e-coupons that can be loaded onto your store loyalty card (Winn Dixie) or UPromise card (Publix) and the savings goes into an online savings account. With SavingStar, you can cash out your account once it hits $5; with UPromise, the savings are placed into a long term savings account for your child (or future child). 
• Don't Clip the Coupons: This is where I was having the most trouble. I would go through the Sunday inserts, clip out only coupons for products that we normally buy, and then toss the rest. Later on, I would see a great deal to match a coupon I didn't clip, and regret it. Jenny's suggestion is to save the entire Sunday inserts, and not clip anything. Just save them whole. Then, each week, when it's time to shop, you can use Southern Savers to match up the weekly ad to coupons, clip out the coupons you need, and go to the store. This is my plan from now on. While I have to admit that I kind of missed flipping through the inserts this morning and getting excited about what I found, I know this will save me more money in the long run.
• Save on Produce & Meat: This is the hardest part for me, and likely for everyone. They don't make many coupons for fresh produce and meat, and the sales aren't always amazing deals. Jenny offered suggestions for both.
• Buy Local (for both): For produce, join a CSA or shop at a Farmer's Market. I use the Neighborhood Garden for organic produce and have been impressed so far. For meat, try a local butcher shop--their prices are actually around the same as grocery store sale prices and you may be able to negotiate.
• Know your prices: For bargaining power at the Farmer's Market, use www.marketnews.usda.gov to research Federal prices for produce.
• Buy in Bulk: Whether you purchase a whole cow from your butcher (not an option with an apartment sized freezer!) or shop meat sales such as Zaycon.

Whew. That's a lot.  And that's just from the few notes I jotted down. Jenny gave a ton of good information and I am so glad I went to the workshop!

If you have any questions, please ask. I'll do my best to answer! Happy Couponing!

Couponing 101

Josh and I are on a pretty tight budget, especially since he started his home inspection business last year. So I do what I can to save money, and one of those things is cutting coupons from the Sunday paper. If you check out my 30 before 30 list, you'll see that one of my goals is to save more than I spend at the grocery store.

I came relatively close a few weeks ago--my best trip yet: (Yeah, I was pretty proud!)

My plan of attack is normally to flip through the Sunday inserts and cut out coupons for products that we normally buy. Then, when I decide we need groceries (weekly, biweekly, whenever I get around to it...) I look at the current Publix ad, try and match up some of my coupons, and shop. The downside to this is that I usually forget about some of the coupons I've cut out and they expire before I use them, or there's something really good on sale that I saw a coupon for but didn't cut.

I've checked out the Southern Savers website a few times but haven't really been committed to using it, so I haven't really been seeing the results I'd like.

So when I saw that Jenny from Southern Savers was offering a Couponing 101  class here in Jacksonville, I thought it would be a great opportunity for me to sharpen my skills to achieve my goals!

The workshop was today and it was wonderful. Jenny was really informative, engaging, and funny. She took questions from the audience and I left feeling inspired and ready to save more money! I am especially excited to get started at CVS--the idea of free personal care items has intrigued me for awhile, so I am committed to following through so I can stock up on free toothpaste.

I'm working on a post for tomorrow on the details of what I learned and more information, but I just wanted to give you a head's up to get excited!