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This is my last post before Christmas! Can you believe that Christmas is soooo close?! I am excited! I hope you are too.Don't forget that today is Free Shipping Day! Not all stores are participating, but quite a few are getting into the free shipping spirit today! For more details and stores, go to www.freeshippingday.com. You can enter the name of the store you are looking for or even look according to category.LINKY: Free Shipping DayCOUPONSI am starting to focus on saving money via groceries again, and I have been looking for any place I can get coupons. I found some awesome printables at Campbell's website Campbell's Kitchen . Head on over to Campbell's Kitchen to see what is cooking. Oh man!!!! Can you believe I just typed that?Here are just a few of the printables:Campbell's® Cooking soups --Save $1.00 on any four (4) Campbell's Condensed "Great for Cooking" soups.
Pepperidge Farm® Cookies--Save $1.00 on any one (1) Pepperidge Farm Cookie Collection, Holiday Cookie Bites or Pirouette® Rolled Wafers.Campbell’s® Chunky™ soups--Save $1.50 on any three (3) can or microwavable bowl varieties of Campbell’s Chunky soup.
Campbell’s® Select Harvest® soups--Save $1.50 on any three (3) can or microwavable bowl varieties of Campbell’s Select Harvest soup.
V8 V-Fusion® Juice--Save $1.00 on any one (1) 46 oz. variety of V8 V-Fusion Juice.
Pepperidge Farm® Frozen Bread--Save $1.00 on any two (2) packages of Pepperidge Farm Frozen Bread.
V8® 100% Vegetable Juice & V8 Splash®--Save $1.00 on any two (2) 64 oz. V8 100% Vegetable Juice or V8 Splash beverages.
Pepperidge Farm® Puff Pastry Turnovers--Save $1.00 on any two (2) packages of Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry Turnovers.
Campbell’s® Select Harvest® soups--Save $1.50 on any three (3) can or microwavable bowl varieties of Campbell’s Select Harvest soup.LINKY: Campbell's Kitchen CouponsFry's main page also has a wonderful link for printable coupons as well as links to my favorite sites (Shortcuts, Cellfire, p&g eSaver) where you can download the savings right to your card! I love the chance to get the most bang for my buck.LINKY: Digital CouponsWith the end of 2009, I have been thinking about ways I can up my savings quotient. I read in a magazine recently that more families waste money by grabbing items for dinner on the way home after work. This makes sense to me. You are most likely tired, in a hurry, hungry and probably not feeling at your creative best when it comes to whipping up that meal. I have to say, I have experienced that. I don't rush off on the way home and purchase a prime rib, but I definitely am not as price savvy as I am when I hit the grocery store for my weekly shopping romp. I am also usually toting my son along with me at this time, and really, he is hard to shop with. The kid knows how to get me to buy things I normally wouldn't like donuts and chocolate milk!I have seen many blogs involved with Menu Planning Monday, and I thought this would be a great idea to embark on! I really have struggled with the whole motivation to sit down and do this and the worry of where the ideas will come from, but there really is no need to worry. Organizing Junky hosts Menu Plan Monday every week for bloggers to link up with their ideas. This is a great place to get a little inspiration. I am going to do some serious research in the next couple of weeks, and then I am going to dive in! I am pretty excited. It will be nice to see how much we can save. Check out Menu Planning Monday for yourself at Organizing Junky.LINKY: Menu Planning MondayDEALS:
Arizona Snow Bowl opened today. If you like skiing and you have a birthday during ski season, you should definitely head on over for free skiiing on your birthday. You have to have the proper ID with you. Follow the link for more info.LINKY: Snow Bowl Free For Birthdays!FREE MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC:Free track "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear" from MercyMe Christmas Album "The Christmas Sessions" at Free CCM. AND!!!!! They are also giveing away an entire album for free on their website IF you sign up for their newsletter.LINKY: FREE CCM LINK "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear"LINKY: MercyMe 10 LiveFREE MAGAZINE:Do you have a golf lover in your family? I don't, but if I did, I would sign them up for this freebie from Rewards Gold. I get several magazines totally free from Rewards Gold because of doing littler surveys. This freebies is for Golf Digest Magazine. If you have a golfer friend, this would be an awesome hook up for them!LINKY: Golf DigestJAR GIFTSThis is my last posting for gifts in a jar. I love biscotti so I was pretty excited about this recipe. It looks very easy.Biscotti Cookie Mix in a JarFrom: AllHomemadeCookies.comThis would be a great gift for Christmas or even a nice thank you gift with a bag of yummy coffee!In a large bowl, combine the following ingredients:2 3/4 c. all-purpose flour2 c. chopped almonds1/2 tsp. baking powder1/2 tsp. baking soda1 1/2 c. sugar1/4 tsp. dried lemon peel1/4 tsp. dried orange peelPlace the mixture in a pretty jar or airtight container and include the following gift tag:Biscotti1 package Biscotti Mix3 large eggs1/2 c. butter, melted1/2 tsp. anise extract1 large egg, separatedPreheat oven to 375 degrees. Combine Biscotti mix with the eggs, butter, anise, and extra egg yolk from separated egg. Mix on low speed until the dough is smooth.Roll dough out into two 12-inch logs, about 3 inches wide. Place logs onto a cookie sheet and brush with remaining egg white. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from oven and reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees.Cut the logs diagonally, into 1/2-inch slices. Bake the slices on their sides for another 12-14 minutes. Cool on wire racks and store in an airtight containerBlarney Stone Jar Cookie -From Joyce's Fine CookingBlarney Stones Cookie Mix In A Jar1 3/4 cups flour; * mixed together1 teaspoon baking soda; * mixed together1 teaspoon allspice; * mixed together1 cup sugar3/4 cup golden raisins1 1/2 cups peanuts; saltedUse a one quart wide-mouth canning jar.Stir together the flour, baking soda and allspice. Set aside.Layer the sugar, the raisins, the nuts and then the flour mixture,packing each layer well.Seal, decorate the jar and attach the recipe tag to the jar.Blarney Stones CookiesYou will need:3/4 cup butter, softened2 eggs, slightly beaten1 1/2 tsps vanillalarge mixing bowlYeild: 3 1/2 dozen cookiesPour the contents of the jar into a large mixing bowl and mix the contentsthoroughly. Hands works best. Mix in the butter, eggs and vanilla untilthoroughly blended. Make teaspoon size balls and drop on to a greasedcookie sheet. Bake in oven at 375 degrees F. for 8 - 12 minutes until theedges are lightly browned. Cool.Lastly, there is an awesome book full of recipes and crafts for this holiday that you can download from Recipe Lion. I received several emails about this fabulous book. I just browsed it, and there are lots of great ideas! LINKY: Mason Jar Recipes from Recipe LionI will be back to post the sales, but I have to head out now.Merry Christmas!!!!!!!
There are a lot of things to cover today, and I expect it will take some time sooooo...I am going to post as I go. Be sure to come back, because as I type, I will be saving and updating. Aren't you just completely excited about Christmas coming up? I am just thrilled. I can't wait to see my family who will all be gathering in Lake Havasu. Well...not everyone, but quite a few. THAT is probably my favorite thing about Christmas. It is nice getting the chance to see everyone. Don't forget to take lots of pictures on Christmas! It is a great time to start photographs for next year's photo calendar!
On to savings:As I mentioned this morning, I was out shopping to pick up a few items at Walmart, and I decided to check out the clearance items. I was stoked when I found some very cool Rolling Stone cover art tote bags. They were regularly priced $12.00, and now they are clearance priced at $3.00! The coolest part was that they also had a tag on them for 12 free issues. You don't have to spend a dime for the subscription AND the card was already postage paid too. The fine print on the card for the 12 issues does say that it is an automatically renewable subscription at a low price, but that it does give you a 30 day notice before that. I could not pass this deal up! This got me thinking of the things you can do with this tote bag. Tote bags make great gift wrap, and at $3.00 the price is pretty awesome! This tote bag in particular would make a great "Wait and See" gift. Because as Dave said, you can pop a Rolling Stone magazine in it, fill out the card with the recipient's address and mail it in, and leave a note with the gift saying that this is gift number 1 and there will be 12 more to come. :) You could also make it artist related according to cover, and put in CDs by the artist, DVDs, or books if they have them. My main idea is to try to get creative with your wrapping and save money. Wrapping with a tote bag saves money because it is a double gift that can be reused. Other wrapping ideas:Reusable shopping totes - Yes...some of these are blazing with the store name, but for me that is a big "So What?" I like to use reusable shopping bags when I hit the grocery store, because of the environmental savings and some stores will take money off of your order for using them. Paper bag Christmas wrap - If you have it around, definitely think of trying the brown paper bag wrapping. It is especially cool for grandparents if you have the grandkids color some fun designs on the wrapping paper. I know my son's grandma's always appreciated any of his artistic endeavors. Fabric - 1---Wrapping presents in fabric can really go a long way for a crafty person or for the family. I have talked with several people who buy inexpensive fabric during sales at the fabric store and then use that fabric to wrap gifts. 2---The fabric can also be used to decorate boxes that you can reuse year after year for gifts (this works great with old shoe boxes and even Pringles cans). My aunt has a variety of beautiful boxes that she purchased that she uses for Christmas gifts every year. With some pretty fabric, you can make your own pretty boxes.Tins - Get to the thrift store and check out the tins. Year after year, people make cookies and candy for the holidays for friends and family, and many times those emptied tins are brought to your local thrift store. Head on down and shop around. I usually pick up quite a few for anywhere from 10 cents to 25 cents. It is well worth the look. Make sure you clean them before you use them (I put ours in the dishwasher and dry them up as soon as they are done).Baskets - Again, be on the lookout for baskets when you are shopping at local thrift stores or craft stores. If you have themed gifts, a basket is a great way to show them off. Maps - If you have maps lying around the house, they also can be used as an inexpensive gift wrap. And if the gift is auto related, it will be even better. Sheet Music - Now, I am not sure where you would get your hands on a bunch of sheet music, but doesn't it sound lovely?Boxes from Christmas Past - This is something that I have to add in, because it is something my husband's family does. They reuse boxes from past Christmas presents. He told me that they have a wood burning kit box that has made the rounds for years. Isn't that cute?GIFTS IN A JAR -I have two gifts in a jar recipes to share today. I was thinking about how much I love getting fancy pumpkin spice coffee during the Christmas season, and I thought it would be pretty awesome if I could locate a jar recipe for something tasty like that. And yay!!!!! I found two!Pumpkin Pie Creamer4 teaspoons ground cinnamon 2 teaspoons ground ginger 2 teaspoons ground nutmeg 1 teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon allspice (optional) 1 cup non-dairy creamerOR 3 tsp. cinnamon2 tsp. ground ginger2 tsp. ground nutmeg1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice1 1/2 cups dry non-dairy creamerCombine all of the above ingredients in a small bowl. Pour into pint or 1/2 pint jars.Directions to attach to jar:Pumpkin Pie Creamer ~ Use 1-2 teaspoons per mug of hot coffee, hot cocoa or tea.Chicken Tortilla Soup in a JarNow this is something that I think you you might want to combine with a basket, because you add a can of chicken to the package and although the jar recipe doesn't call for it, the directions call for a 10 oz can of diced tomatoes and green chilies. I think it is better to have it all on hand, and think about it, if you get a cute little basket, you can add maybe a cute dish towel, pot holders, and maybe a ladle or some cute soup bowls in addition to the jar. Wow...I digress! Here is the recipe!1 cup converted long grain rice2 to 2-1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips1 (5 oz.) can chickenSeasonings: Mix the following and place in a thin zipper sandwich bag.2 T. chicken bouillon granules2 t. lemonade powder with sugar1 t. lemon pepper1 t. dried cilantro leaves1/2 t. garlic powder1/2 t. ground cumin1/2 t. salt1/4 cup dried minced onionsSize of jar: QuartPlace ingredients in jar in this order:1. Place rice in jar first.2. Place seasoning packet into jar next. Gently flatten bag so it is visible from all sides of jar.3. Fill jar with tortilla chips.4. Put lid on jar.5. Attach can of chicken to top of jar.6. Decorate jar.7. Attach the following recipe to jar.Directions to attach to the gift:Tortilla Soup1. Carefully empty tortilla chips from jar into a dish. Set aside.2. Remove seasoning packet. Set aside.3. Place rice in large pan. Add 10 cups water and 1 (10 oz.) can diced tomatoes and green chilies and seasonings from packet.4. Bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer 20 minutes.5. Add tortilla chips. Cover and simmer 5 more minutes. Serve immediately.Makes 12 cups soup.
Inexpensive Eats Coupon!!!!I love El Pollo Loco, sadly, I don't live near an El Pollo Loco anymore, but I know there are several around in Arizona. Sooooo check out the special coupon deal El Pollo Loco has from now until December 17th. They have a coupon for their citrus-marinated, flame-grilled skinless chicken breast meal with fresh steamed vegetables, a garden salad and fresh salsa. Using that combo is only 275 calories and the coupon is for $2.75! Coupon Link: El Pollo Loco
MUSIC MUSIC MUSICDon't forget to check out the 25 days of free at Amazon.com and get yourself some Christmas music. Today's song is Silent Night by House of Heroes. Link: 25 Days of FreeiTickets.com has Noel (Glory to Your Name) by Sonic FloodLink: iTickets free musicNew Release Tuesday has a free download this week from December 8th to December 14th for Chris Tomlin's Emmanuel (Hallowed Manger Ground) from the CD Glory In the Highest and they also have a free download of Nate Flowler's On My Way from the CD Wherever You Go.Link: New Release Tuesday
GREAT BUYS!Amazon.com again has some pretty awesome deals this week on magazine subscriptions. There are several available for just $5 and just to name a few: Redbook, Good Housekeeping, Country Kitchen, and Smart Money. There are more, so check out the link below! This sale ends on December 12th!Link: Amazon Magazine Subscriptions $5.00Amazon also has some great album downloads for $5.00. One of the albums up is Switchfoot's Hello Hurricane. There are quite a few in many different genres so be sure to check it out. Link: Amazon Music $5.00 album downloads.
MORE FOODIE DEALSCheck out Restaurant.com's special Feed It Forward event! Details from the site: Through Feed It Forward™, you have the opportunity to give from the heart and enrich the lives of people around you through the gift of meals and memories. Give a free $10 Restaurant.com Gift Certificate to 30 different people, everyday until Christmas. Simply choose whom to give to and we take care of the rest.Sounds pretty nice! LINK: Feed It Forward with Restaurant.comRestaurant.com is also a great place to get great deals on gift certificates for dining out. There are a lot of restaurants who participate. Some provide $10 gift certificates for as low as $4.00 and $50 gift certificates for $20.00. It is very easy to navigate and see what you might like to purchase. You can also search by state, city, regions, and zip code. LINK: Restaurant.comShopping AFTER Christmas - Don't forget that there will be many great sales after Christmas is through. But don't just hit the department stores. Check out all the awesome deals that are going to be at your local thrift stores. Lots of people will be cleaning out their closets and homes to make room for the Christmas presents they received. This is always a great time to see what might be arriving at the thrift stores. GROCERY SALESFry's -- California navel oranges 39 cents a pound-- Hunts pasta sauce 26 to 26.5 oz 88 cents each-- Fry's pretzels 12-15 pz $1.58 (don't forget that if you chop these up, they make a great breading for chicken and fish).Albertsons-- Hormel Premium sliced Ham $1.19 pound-- Red seedless grapes 99 cents-- Libby's canned veggies 2 for $1.00Safeway-- Rancher's Reserve London Broil $1.77 a pound-- Whole Boneless Pork Loin $1.77 a pound-- Lucern shredded or chunk cheese 6 to 8 oz 99 cents (limit 3)-- Braeburn or Granny Smith apples 47 cents a poundThanks for dropping by!
Christmas is almost here! I have been majorly busy with planning out the holidays, I am sure you have been as well. I covered a few bases for saving money this morning, but let's go a little more in depth.DECORATING -December is a great time of year to save on decorations. You can stock up on the Fall decorations that are now marked down and after Christmas, you can rock the stores for all the fabulous markdowns on Christmas decorations. But...you can also do a little creative decorating on the cheap with things you have at home.Reader's Digest Christmas Trees - This is a little something a teacher taught me years ago. If you subscribe to Readers Digest, great! If you do not, it is all good, because you can often pick some up at your local thrift store or get some of someone who already has a subscription. Basically you simply remove the front and back cover and the proceed to fold the pages together so that the top edge of the page rest against the glued binding of the magazine making a triangle. The overhanging part of the triangle should then be folded up into the paper to make it neat. But...rather than me fumble through it, check out the link I found AT Reader's Digest. I guess a lot of us did this in school!Link: Reader's Digest Christmas TreeI also found a cool yarn wreath made out of odds and ends (specifically yarn, buttons, scrubby pads, and what looks like the button part of a flannel shirt) on the cover of one of my other favorite magazines Ready Made. I have the magazine at home and plan to try it out.
While on the hunt for yarn wreaths, I also found the most amazing tutorial from Katie Runnels at The Constant Gatherer. This is so easy and beautiful. It is absolutely a wonderful way to make a pretty wreath you can use for Christmas decorating or any other holiday!Link: The Constant Gatherer Yarn Wreath TutorialYou can also decorate your tree with some old fashioned touches like strings of popcorn with or without cranberries. This is also a fun activity for the kids. I recall doing this at a friend's home, and I wanted to do it ever since! I have also caught some cool activities for homemade Christmas ornaments. Look around...you will be surprised at all the cool things you'll find.DECORATE WITH CHRISTMAS MUSICAs I mentioned this morning, you can also create a Christmas mood inexpensively by decorating with music. Amazon has made it ridiculously easy to spread the holiday cheer each and every day with free Christmas music. Check out these links:25 Days of Free Christmas Music at Amazon - I loved that the first song was Casting Crowns "Joy to the World." It is still there as well as two other songs. I don't know how long the songs will stay up, but each and every day, Amazon will supply you with another new Christmas music freebie.LINK: 25 Days of FreeAmazon has 28 FREE Christmas songs. You can totally pick and choose here. It is one download at a time. I was really excited to see such artists as Jars Of Clay, Big Daddy Weave, Point of Grace and Barlowgirl. Be sure to check this out.LINK: 28 Christmas SongsAlso check out Sampler Claus at Amazon for more free music. You can find tunes by Frank Sinatra and Robert Goulet here.LINK: Sampler ClausJAR RECIPESI have given you a jar recipe for gift giving every week, and since I had last Thursday off, I thought I'd share two with you this week.Blizzard BitesBakespace.com has an awesome recipe for this yummy gift in a jar snack. This looks really pretty. Just click on the link for the directions.Link: Blizzard BitesMilk BathThere is not much easier that this recipe. All you need is some powdered milk and essential oils. You can pick up essential oils at a health food store or natural food store like New Frontiers, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or even online. Use a jar that will hold a cup of the milk bath.Mix 1 cup of dry milk (yep the stuff you buy in any grocery store) with 8 drops of essential oil (you can add more if you like a stronger scent). The essential oils are roughly $4.99 to $7.99 for a small bottle, and trust me, they go a long way! You can dress up your jar with ribbon, the directions, and even a cute little measuring scoop, spoon, or even a pretty spoon from a thrift store tied on with ribbon.Tag Directions:Directions: To use, add to running bath water.FREEBIESI found an awesome freebie for an Oriental Trading 2010 calendar this week thanks to one of my favorite sites Hey It's Free! You are definitely going to want to act on this quick, because the free calendars roll in and out FAST.LINK: Oriental Trading Calendar 2010Free Coffee:Nestle's Taster's Choice has free samples of their coffee available right now. I have had these before, and they are great for a quick instant cup of coffee. LINK: Nestle's Taster's Choice SamplesMORE FREE MUSICFree CCM has Todd Agnew's "Did You Know" as well as songs by Sarah Groves, Skillet and Phil Wickham.LINK: Free CCMDon't for get to check out the free tunes at iTickets. Right now you can get a free download of Jonny Diaz song "You Are a Storm" or "Beautiful Miracle" by the Sonflowers.LINK: iTicketsGROCERY SAVINGSMy Top TenSafeway:--Tropical Mangos 2 for $1.00--Hass Avocados 2 for $1.00--Buy 5 Kraft Singles, Shredded or chunk cheese, Philadelphia cream cheese, or Velveeta and save $5.00!Fry's:--California Cuties Clementines 3 pounds for $2.37--Boneless 1/2 pork loin $1.77 a pound--Many $1.00 sales are up at Fry's from Chef Boyardee to Hunts Tomatoes. Albertsons:--93% Lean Ground Beef $1.77--Boneless, skinless chicken breasts $1.57--Albertsons is also hosting a mix and match 10 for $10 sale so be sure to check it out and maybe pick up a 3 pound bag of navel oranges, Progresso Soup or Albertons buttter plus a whole lot more! Have a great day!!!!
