Well, you guys rock! I promised that after my new Mint Brand Ambassador Facebook page reaches 50 fans I’d host a giveaway, and thanks to you all we did it in record time! Yay!

So here it is…I’m going to gift the winner of this giveaway with 1 credit at JewelMint.com, which is good for one piece of FABULOUS jewelry!!

First of all…what the heck is JewelMint.com?? Well, it is a jewelry line that 1) I am addicted to.  And 2) it’s a subscription service that you sign up for and each month you purchase a credit, good for one piece of jewelry for $29.99 (but don’t worry, you can always ‘skip’ the month and you won’t be charged, plus you are free to purchase pieces throughout the month even if you skip.  I skip every month, actually…and only purchase my pieces using discount codes or I buy mystery bags, ‘free gift with purchase’ pieces, etc.

All of the pieces are designed by actress Kate Bosworth and her stylist Cher Coulter.  And they are all so trendy and great.  Love them.  I am a “Mint Brand Ambassador” which basically means that I sign people up for the service, giving them my specific discount 50% off code: SF89.  It’s how I get credit…and earn my jewelry and commissions, yay!

What would I pick if I was give a free credit at JewelMint? Hmmm…I’d pick the Blush Bomb Ring!  I love seeing pictures of people wearing the jewelry, and this one looks pretty awesome on the hand.

So, as you can see from this awesome RaffleCopter gadget I’ve got down below, there are a few ways to enter, giving you up to 11 entries! Enter anytime starting now, and the giveaway ends on Friday, February 3rd at midnight EST.

This gives you time to decide what piece out of February’s collection will be your first purchase for only $14.99…because you used the code SF89.  Hint, hint…it earns you 5 bonus points for this giveaway!  I know there are other 50% off codes out there…but they don’t help me out.  So…help a girl out!  SF89 is specific to me!

Good luck and I can’t wait to read your entries!!  And always, always feel free to ask me any questions you might have about JewelMint!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I think it’s gotten worse since I chopped my hair off.  I’ve always been interested in jewelry, fashion, makeup, etc., but for some reason my short hair has inspired me to shake up my makeup routine and add lots of fun accessories.  That and the fact that I no longer have to wear ugly maternity clothes!  Maybe it’s because I’m a new mom again, too. I like to look nice and take care of ME!

So part of what helps me feel accessorized is a company called JewelMint! I’ve been a subscriber of their jewelry line for a while now, once I saw that they were training people to be ‘Mint Brand Ambassadors’ I jumped at the chance and they accepted me! I thought the chance to talk about jewelry, help like-minded others subscribe and buy some really cool pieces, and maybe even recruit others sounded like a lot of fun!

Me wearing my first (of many) JewelMint purchase - the 'Diamond Leaf Necklace'!

JewelMint jewelry is designed by actress Kate Bosworth and her stylist, Cher Coulter.  There are other “Mint” brands as well – StyleMint, which sells tees, skirts, leggings and bags designed by MaryKate and Ashley Olsen.  ShoeMint, designed by actress Rachel Bilson and her stylist Nicole Chavez, and BeautyMint, which is endorsed by Jessica Simpson and her skin care expert Nerida Joy.

Here’s how JewelMint works: it is a monthly jewelry subscription service.  You go to their website, take a style quiz and they put together a “showroom” for you that changes each month.  You can either buy a credit for one piece of jewelry (ONLY $29.99 full price!), or skip the month and you won’t be charged.  Even if you ‘skip’ that month, which you have to do in your account by the 5th of the month (they send reminders), you can still buy jewelry, though.  You can either buy it for full price or you’ll find they offer many deals throughout the month, which I LOVE! Just keep an eye out on their JewelMint Facebook page (and my JewelMint Facebook page!) for the deals.

My favorite thing is when they offer “Mystery Bags” which can get you some great, random prizes! I’ve always gotten at least 2 pieces (for less than the price of 1!), discount codes for JewelMint, StyleMint, BeautyMint, as well as other websites…they also offer prizes sometimes such as Kindles and iPods!

So…in order to help me build my business, I’m offering you a special code that gets you 50% off your first purchase!! Go here to sign up and take your style quiz, then enter the code SF89 at checkout to buy your first piece for only $15 and FREE SHIPPING!

Please, please, let me know if you have any questions or are interested in hosting a JewelMint Trunk Show (you can earn FREE jewelry!).  I’ll be hosting a few if you’d like to walk through the steps in person, but also be on the lookout for local “pop up shops” I’ll be holding at local businesses! Happy shopping!

My sweet baby boy Sylas is already 7 weeks old! *Sniff.  And with a new baby comes a lot of ‘stuff’.  But I like stuff…maybe a little too much, but I also like sharing info. about my stuff and why you need it.  Haha.  So here are a few items that I’ve been using with my second baby that have made my life easier over the past few weeks.  Most I didn’t have with my first, so if you’re a new mom, mom-to-be, or need a shower gift idea, these are my latest baby obsessions.  Enjoy!

a. Muslin wraps by aden + anais.  I use these for everything: swaddler, burp rag, blanket, car seat or stroller cover, etc. They’re huge and thin when unfolded, but fluffy and warm when folded up.  Plus they’re so soft and cute – obsessed!  I have the 4-pack with stripes, polka dots, stars and a white solid.

b. Nosefrida.  Yes, it’s a nasal aspirator that uses ‘your own’ suction with: i.e. you suck out the snot with your mouth.  It looks gross, but it works AMAZINGLY! Much better than those bulb thingies.  And no, there is no possible way you’ll get snot in your mouth, there are filters and a long tube in between.  It’s awesome.

c. Moby Wrap.  This is the only thing on this list that I had the first time around.  But it’s my go-to shower gift because every new mom should have one.  It’s the only truly hands-free carrier that I’ve found and Sylas (and Harper did, too!) falls asleep in it immediately.  It’s comfortable and I love having him close.  But I mainly use it when he won’t let me put him down and I NEED to get something done.

d. Miracle Blanket. Sometimes Sy is soooo tired but restless and this calms him down.  The boy loves to be wrapped up like a burrito. It makes it simple with the flaps and he can’t escape.  Beware of imposters – this one works!

e. Burpy Bib.  Another aden + anais product that I love.  It fits perfectly over your shoulder as a burp rag for now, but it has a button so that it can be a large bib for him later.  I love the muslin fabric and the print.

f. Fold ‘n Stow Swing.  Yes, we had a swing for Harper, but we hated how big and bulky it was and how much room it took up!  We specifically requested this one for him because of the fact that it folds almost flat and can be stored in a small space.  Thankfully he is starting to love the swing and will nap in it every day.  Not a fan of the bright animals, but I had to sacrifice form for function here.

g. COLIC CALM. Saved my sanity.  The boy cries.  A lot.  I don’t remember Harper being this way, but she didn’t sleep at night as well as he does.  It’s amazing how different babies, even siblings, are.  This apparently remedies gas, hiccups, upset stomach, colic (whatever that means), etc.  It’s a mix of herbs that is all natural and FDA approved, and has great reviews so we gave it a shot.  It seems to be helping so I’m not asking questions.  $19 is a small price to pay for a happy baby!  But if you’re going to buy it, beware – the liquid is BLACK (from vegetable charcoal), so keep your aden + anais muslin wraps away from it.  The black gummy smile is kinda cute, though.

h. Sleeper.  We had a bassinet that Harper used, but we’ve switched bedrooms since then and there’s no room for it now.  I’m too lazy to get up to Sy’s room in the middle of the night so he sleeps in this in our bed.  The nightlight is handy, too.  Hopefully within the next few months he’ll be sleeping in his own crib in his room, but for now this is nice to keep him close.

I always like to read these, so I thought I’d share how my sweet son came into this world!  It really isn’t that crazy, but it was quick and exciting! Now, this is my first real blog post I’ve tried to write with 2 kids, so I apologize if it jumps around and I repeat myself.  It took a lot of time to write this, holy cow!!  If it wasn’t one needing me, it was the other – phew!! I seriously debated giving Harper a Christmas present early so she’d play with something for more than 3 minutes, hehe!  And it didn’t help that WordPress, or probably my internet, has been acting crazy while trying to write this.  Okay…I’m better!

A little back story first: our daughter, Harper was unexpectedly born 6 weeks early, so I always felt like I was on high alert this time.  My doctor thought Harper’s early arrival was just a “fluke” but I couldn’t help but be worried.  So with this pregnancy, I was experiencing LOTS and lots of Braxton Hicks contractions.  They started at about 14/15 weeks and progressively stronger and more frequent.  One hot summer day I counted 30 throughout the day, and they sometimes would come every few minutes so I couldn’t help but be freaked out by them!  But by the time we reached 36 weeks I felt a ton of relief because I knew that if he came now we could avoid a trip to the NICU!

Sylas was born at 36 weeks and 1 day and in the few weeks before he was born I could tell my body was gearing up for his birthday.  Besides my insane need to get his room ready, get the hospital bag packed and get the car seat in the car (I literally put the car seat in the day before he was born!), I was feeling a lot of pressure in my hips, like someone was standing in front of me and pushing on each side, lots of mucus, and the day before he was born I could tell that my Braxton Hicks were ‘different’ than they had been.  I was telling Glenn and my friend Molly how ‘strong’ they felt that day at work – my entire abdomen was tightening and they just felt stronger, but still not painful, just different than usual.

So to birth-day; it was a normal Tuesday – November 15th.  Which was actually Glenn’s great-grandmother’s birthday.  I was up getting ready for work.  My dad had gotten to our house the day before for a visit (luckily!) and Glenn had just left for work at 7 am.  I was in the bathroom doing my makeup and my dad had to use the bathroom so I went into the living room and sat down in a chair.  I was watching the news and felt a slight ‘pop.’  I thought to myself ‘that was weird,’ so I stood up and then there was another ‘pop’ then a gush.  I couldn’t believe that my water had actually ‘broke!’  I didn’t know anyone who has actually had that happen without a single contraction.  I immediately went into my bedroom and called Glenn at work.  I told him my water broke and he needed to come home to take me to the hospital.  He of course asked him if I was kidding and I said nope – this isn’t a drill!  (FYI – as we living in a rural community my hospital is 70 miles away!)

I told my dad what happened and asked if he could keep Harper for us as she was supposed to go to preschool that day.  Glenn got home and we made sure to grab anything else we wanted to add to the hospital bag and I changed my clothes because my jeans were soaked.  I started feeling a few contractions by now, but nothing too serious.  I called Harper’s school and told them what was going on and that she wouldn’t be in, I called the hospital to have them let my doctor know my water broke and we were on our way, then at about 8:00 am that day Glenn and I left for the hospital!  My contractions were progressively getting stronger in the car ride up, and with each one the fluid was gushing!  I couldn’t believe how much fluid was coming out of there…I grabbed a towel to sit on but I soaked it and my passenger car seat.

At about 9:30am we made it to the hospital and the contractions were still bearable but more serious.  We walked in and a big pregnant woman with soaked pajama pants made the receptionists scramble.  They offered me a wheelchair but I wanted to walk…a few nurses from the other wing saw me and asked me if I was coming from Alturas.  We said yes and they brought me down to the labor and delivery wing.  I changed into a gown and they hooked me up to the monitors to check his heart rate, which looked great.  My doctor came in at about 10 and checked me and I was at 3cm, and 100% effaced.  He wanted me to stay hooked up to the monitor to get a good “strip” of at least 30 minutes…and of course as soon as he left the contractions really started to get bad and the last thing I wanted to do was lay flat on my back in the hospital bed.  We tried everything – letting me stand and lean against the bed, sit on the birthing ball or kneel in the bed while keeping the monitor going, but they couldn’t keep the monitor in the right spot because I wanted to move around.  We finally got a good enough strip and I was able to try to find some relief.  By this time my contractions were killing me…they lasted about 4-5 minutes and I’d have 2 back to back then a small break.  Not nice.  They had my doctor check me again and I was still only at a 3.5, which was discouraging.  I did not want to slow things down by getting an epidural so I did the only thing that helped which was kneel in the bed and lean on my folded arms which were against the back of the bed which was propped up at an angle.

I started to get nauseous and threw up twice so I knew it was time for the epidural.  I believe it was about 11:30 and they called the anesthesiologist, which always takes FOREVER once you want them there.  The lady was very nice and kept commenting on my contractions and how I must be progressing quickly.  And of course you have terrible contractions when you’re expected to sit on the bed and slump over, while holding still so she can put the needle in.  But once it’s in it’s amazing.  :)

I was still feeling some major pain in my left side so they turned me onto my side to get the the medicine pooling to where I needed it.  Aaaaahhhh…epidural bliss at about noon.  I decided now was the time to get some rest so we settled in to watch some TV and try to nap.

I was expecting to have things really take a long time as no one had checked my progress since before 11am and I had an epidural, but at about 1pm I felt ‘the feeling’ (if you feel like you have to poop when you have an epidural, that means it’s time to rock and roll) and told the nurse that she might want to check me.  Sure enough, I was fully dilated and ready to push! Now with Harper, pushing really wasn’t that hard.  She was 5lbs.9oz. and only took half an hour, and as this was my second baby I was assuming it would be about the same.  Sylas had a full 2 weeks extra to grow, but I was just hoping he was at least 7 pounds at 4 weeks early.  They got everything ready, the doctor arrived and at about 1:15 I was pushing.

Glenn decided to snap a picture right before we were all ready.  Nice, right?  Quick note: here is why epidurals are good – I’m smiling! I knew when I was having a contraction, but I’m happy, things are calm, and it’s a very peaceful and happy environment.  Of course, give it your best shot without, but there are some upsides in my opinion.

Okay, back to the story!  I pushed for an hour and a half and it was VERY hard work but at 2:43pm we had our baby boy!  Way harder than with Harper.  And by the end the epidural had mostly worn off so I could feel everything, but it wasn’t extremely painful, so it was kind of neat.  Now remember, I was hoping for a baby that was at least 7 pounds…and when he finally came out we all gawked at how huge he was!  Even the cord was HUGE!  His cry was weak and quiet, but he was crying.  They immediately started working on him as he was a preemie, and they wanted to make sure he was breathing fine.  He didn’t do so well on his first Apgars and they got worried because he wasn’t using his left arm at first and they thought maybe his collarbone was broken (which can happen during birth, not a huge deal).  He was just stuck in the birth canal for a loooong time, ha!  He had a little fluid in his lungs, so every time he breathed he was “singing” as they called it, trying to equalize the pressure in his lungs.  He started moving that arm and his color was good.  The doctor delivered the placenta and that was even huge!  No wonder I gained over 40 pounds at 36 weeks…

The nurse picked him up to weigh him and commented on how heavy he was and guessed he was over 7 pounds.  We were all astonished when she said he was 8lbs. 4.5 oz!  The doctor said “geez, what were you feeding him?” my response was “Halloween candy lately!”

Holding my baby boy for the first time.

Happy Mama (looking a little worn out).

Our sweet Sylas Glenn, just a few minutes old.

Proud parents.

Daddy checking on his little guy.

Super proud Papa.

He didn’t nurse at all the first day, but by the next morning he picked it right up!  He had to be on oxygen a little at first, but the respiratory therapist took him off of it after just a day.  He passed his car seat challenge with flying colors and we got to go home on Friday, the 18th.

He has basically slept the whole first month…so much that the poor guy got a terrible diaper rash from sleeping for so long.  Plus he screams bloody murder when getting his diaper changed, so I hated putting him through that!  He’s getting better, though.  His due date was on December 12th, so I weighed myself, then weighed myself while holding him and he was 10 pounds even – so it’s probably a good thing that he was born 4 weeks early!  I promise my dates weren’t off…I knew exactly when he was conceived and how far along I was.  :)

Now that he’s 5 weeks old he weighs 10.8 pounds and getting very chunky, he’s sleeping great at night, only waking me up once really quickly at 2 or 3, but then he’s up at about 5am for the day.  He’s also getting very strong and can hold his head up great – I have a feeling that he’ll be hitting those physically milestones early.

Harper loooooves him…but she isn’t without her moments.  Especially when I’m watching them alone and I can’t do something for her because Sylas is eating or crying.  But otherwise she’s adjusting great.  I just absolutely love my little family and am so happy my sweet little boy is here!  We are so blessed.

So I hope you can forgive me for neglecting the blog. I’ve been cuddling with this little cutie. And his big sister.

I’ll be back soon.  I promise.

First up, this is from The Krazy Coupon Lady’s website, about shopping at Rite Aid:

“Before shopping at RiteAid you should sign up for a Wellness card or get one in your store.  The best deals at Rite Aid utilize the +Up Rewards and the Single Check Rebate (SCR) system.   In addition to the +Up Rewards, which are coupons that print with your receipt (similar to CVS), Rite Aid sends you a monthly check for the total of all your rebates purchased during that month with the SCR program.  You can cash the check as you would any other check.  In addition to the +Up Rewards and the SCR program, you can watch videos on products and receive Video Value coupons.  These coupons can be printed from your computer after you watch the corresponding videos. You can use each coupon once per Wellness card.   Go here for RiteAid’s updated coupon policy and here to watch the video on shopping at Rite Aid.”

Rite Aid accepts all manufacturer’s coupons, which you either print from the internet (coupons.com, redplum.com, smartsource.com, facebook, adperk.com, etc.), or get out of newspaper inserts, and sometimes they have ‘in-ad’ coupons in their weekly sale flyer, or (like I mentioned in yesterday’s post) they have other in-store coupons from places like my flu shot coupon book.

Now here is the ‘Rite Aid’ specific Q&A that you need to know…it’s what makes all the difference.

+Up Rewards: What are they and how do you use them?

Say you’re planning your Rite Aid shopping trip and you see this deal for Old Spice and Gillette in the Rite Aid sale flyer:

It’s showing the sale price for the Gillette/Old Spice products and the +Up Reward (free money!).

So you put some Gillette and/or Old Spice products on your shopping list, because 1) your man could use a stockpile of body wash or deodorant, 2) you get an +Up Reward when you purchase two bottles, and 3) you have a few coupons for $2 off 1 bottle of this body wash from the Proctor & Gamble insert in last Sunday’s Herald and News = you’ll get this item for very, very cheap!

Here is what the tag in the store looks like:

The price is normally $5.29 each bottle ($10.58 for 2).  Right now they’re on sale (when you give them your Wellness Card at checkout) for $8.00 when you buy 2.  So to break it down again, just by buying 2 you’re saving $1.29 on each bottle (with your Wellness Card).  Then if you take your future +Up Reward off, the price is now 2 for $6.  Then you add the coupon for $2 off one bottle (use 2 coupons because you’re buying 2 bottles!) the price is now $1 for each bottle of body wash that you bought your man.  You saved $8.58 and only spent $2 (technically 4, but you earned $2 off your next purchase), which is an 82% savings!  I actually did this three times, because they had a lot of coupons in the circular, and with the items being so cheap I just kept buying them and now my husband will have body wash and deodorant for MONTHS.

Note the “Limit 2 Per Household” note at the bottom of the tag…I learned this the hard way this time.  I only earned 2 $2 +Up Rewards (even though I bought 3 sets of items).  Lesson learned.

Here is what an +Up Reward looks like on your receipt (I cut some of the info. off so you can’t use my coupon – not sure if it’s even possible – but it’s showing the top of one +Up Reward and the bottom of another).  It’s basically free money off of your next purchase, though!

So pay attention to your receipts as those +Up Rewards are like GOLD!

What are Single Check Rebates (SCR) and how do you use them?

This is another way to get money back from your purchases.  An example is this in a post I saw on the Krazy Coupon Lady website:

“Profoot Foot Care $4.99     
Buy 1, Receive $1.00 +Up Reward and Submit for $3.00 Single Check Rebate  
Use $1.00/1 – Profoot Product – (profoot.com)
Pay $3.99, Receive $1.00 +Up Reward and Submit for $3.00 Single Check Rebate
Final Price:  $0.01 MONEYMAKER  ”

So first I followed that link and printed my $1 off 1 coupon from profoot.com.  Then on my next trip into Rite Aid, I wandered into the foot care section, looking for a product that matches this scenario.  Sure enough, there were some shoe inserts there that promised “relief of knee, back and foot pain” or something like that…so I bought them in my size with my coupon.  Did I really need them? Sure, I could use some pain relief in my big, pregnant state.  Would I have bought them otherwise? No.  But if I can get them for free, why not?  So as you’ll see I paid $3.99 up front (normally $4.99, but I had the $1 off coupon).  But a $1 up reward printed on my receipt.

Now what about that Single Check Rebate?  How do you get that?  What you do is go to the riteaid.com website.  You sign in to your account (if you don’t have one, make one) and find the link to submit your Single Check Rebate.  You look through all their rebates offered right now, add the one you used to your account, enter the information off of your receipt (Store #, Register #, Transaction ID) then submit it and they will mail you a check for $3!  So I technically made a penny by buying shoe inserts.  Woot!

So my best advice when shopping your trips to Rite Aid is to follow this link first: http://thekrazycouponlady.com/category/rite-aid/ or visit another blog/website that you like for Rite Aid shopping scenarios and tips.  There are lots out there!  And definitely “like” them on Facebook, because if you’re on there anyway and a good tip pops up in your news feed then take advantage! That’s how I MADE $2 last week…so here’s the story:

• I was at work…and I had Facebook open (perks of self-employment) when a post titled “UPDATE – Hot! Moneymaker on John Frieda at Rite Aid, No Coupons Needed!” showed up on my wall.  I clicked over to see what it said.  Note: this sale is over, but here was the offer – apparently if you bought 2 John Frieda hair products, you’d receive a $5 +Up Reward.  And the TRIAL SIZE of their products is included in this – crazy, right?  So I went down to my Rite Aid, found the John Frieda products, and sure enough the tag right under the John Frieda trial/travel size shampoo and conditioners had the tag saying you’d earn a $5 +Up Reward for buying 2.  They were $1.43 each.  Do the math and I spent $2.86, and was supposed to get $5 back!  But at checkout it didn’t show up on my receipt, so I told my cashier I should have gotten a $5 +Up Reward…we went back and looked at the product area, and since she saw it with her own eyes they were able to just give me a $5 bill!  When the cashiers are Rite Aid are shocked by your purchase, I think that’s a good thing.  That cashier is my favorite…she makes sure every coupon works, and is very helpful.  Her name starts with a ‘V’ if you’re curious…hehe…I always go to her if I can!

So anyway, back to the title of this post.  I spent $41.05 $31.55 at Rite Aid yesterday, and here is what I bought:

• 2 4-packs of Starbucks Frappuccinos.  They were 2 for $10, but I had a coupon for $2 off 2 from the Pepsi insert from the Herald and News or this week’s Modoc Record.  Plus you get a $2 +Up Reward with that purchase.  Total $6 (Making them less than $1 per bottle – a lot cheaper than buying them alone!)
• 2 12-packs of Lipton Iced Tea.  Same deal as the Frappuccinos.  Good for my husband’s lunches.  Total: $6 (Making them $0.25 per bottle!)
  
• 1 bottle of Got2B Hairspray. Normally $6.79, but they were on sale for $4.79, plus I had a $2 off coupon from watching a Got2B commercial at riteaid.adperk.com so I was looking for a good deal in the Got2B brand. And I really did need some hairspray! Total: $2.79
• 1 bottle of Vick’s Nature Fusion Nighttime Cold Medicine. Normally $5.99, I had a coupon for $1.50 off from the P&G insert, plus you get a $1.50 +Up Reward. Total: $2.99 (Good to have on hand! For Glenn…I can’t take cold medicine right now if I need it, boo.)
  
• Profoot insole for women (scenario listed above). Total: -$0.01 Moneymaker
• Bee MD Honeylemon Organic Cough Drops: In the clearance section for 50% off so I grabbed a bag. Total: $1.49.
• 2 small bottles of Dawn Dish Liquid: They were Buy One, Get One Free at $2.19 each, plus I had a coupon for $0.50 off one Dawn product. Total: $1.69 ($0.85 per bottle)
• Cover girl makeup: These are Buy One, Get One 50% off right now, plus there’s a $8 off 2 coupon in the P&G insert from the Herald & News so I bought an eyebrow pencil and mascara at $5.99 and $1.79 (50% off) = $7.78 – $8.00 coupon.  Total: free! Also, if you spend $30 on certain P&G (Covergirl & Pantene) items in the month of October, you’ll receive a $10 +Up Reward.  My receipt showed me how close I am to that total.
  
• 2 bottles of Johnson & Johnson Baby Shampoo: Normally $4.79 each.  All I know is I had a $1 off coupon for each bottle…I didn’t get an +Up Reward for buying them (I’m thinking I should have – see, I’m still making mistakes!), so I can’t remember what the deal was and I can’t figure it out from my receipt.  :)  But there was a purpose for buying them! I’m thinking something didn’t compute right and I’m, unfortunately, not catching it until now!

So here is my receipt…

You can see my total, how many items I bought (making each item an average of $1.38 – not bad for things you need from the drugstore!), see what I saved by using coupons, as well as with using my Wellness Card.  So my total would have been $87.26 for all of that without them! I saved $46.21 – more than what I spent so I’m happy! Plus I have $6.50 to spend at my next purchase with my +Up Rewards.  So I *technically* spent $31.55! (I also minused my Single Check Rebate that’s coming in the mail).

So, if you just put in a little bit of research time, those deals are out there…and I like stocking up on things that I know I will need, but I’m buying them at good prices instead of when I’m impulse buying!  Let me know your Rite Aid shopping tips and if you scored any good deals there lately!

If you have any questions, feel free to leave them in the comments section here, or on the Likely Design blog Facebook wall.  Happy Shopping!

As yesterday’s post turned out to be a little longer than I thought, I wanted to make sure that my main points about shopping (and saving) at Holiday Market were understood.  The post about Rite Aid will be up soon, I promise! So here goes.

• To save money, you need to change the way you shop.  If you are only thinking of tonight’s dinner, or even the week’s dinners, you are throwing money away.  You need to shop based on what is on sale AND what you have a coupon for and STOCK UP! (But again, don’t clear the shelves…that’s not nice).  This will help you get in the mindset of planning a few months in advance, and always having what you need on hand for a few months is better than *just* the upcoming week, right?  Plus you are getting the absolute lowest price possible on those items.
• I’ve found this seems like a bigger cost up front, but imagine that next month you won’t have to run to the store for that item (i.e. spending NO money), because when there’s a blizzard outside you can go to your pantry and get your ingredients instead of braving the snow!  It will save you money in the long run.
• Of course there are things that you will NEED that aren’t on sale or you don’t have a coupon for, but just try to avoid it as much as possible.  With practice this won’t happen anymore.  And when it does happen, it will almost physically hurt you to spend your hard earned money on that product because of your new mindset, haha!
• Obviously fruits, veggies, milk, bread and other perishable items (that you probably won’t ever get a coupon for) will have to be shopped for regularly, but imagine going to the store ONLY for those items because you don’t NEED anything else? I’ve found I’m buying more milk at a time than usual because I know we can use 4 gallons before they expire (I have 2 fridges, by the way, and it helps – one for food we use regularly in the house, one for beverages, meat in the freezer and other spare stuff in the garage)…plus if that’s the only thing I have to go to the store for, so why not?  Prices on things like milk only seem to go up so buy it when you have the money and the space!
• Fruits and vegetables.  I only buy things that are discounted with a Rewards card, or unless they’re dirt cheap.  I like to buy apples for Glenn’s lunches and for Harper and I, but none were on sale this week so we had no apples.  It’s okay…we’ll live.
• Meat.  I save on meat by buying things in the ‘discount bin.’  It’s all about to go bad (but it’s not gross at all), and I either use it immediately, or it goes in the freezer.  Do I need another 2 pounds of ground beef?  Not really, but I know I’ll use it eventually and the price per pound is cheaper than the sale stuff over on the fresh side.
• Again – check Holiday’s website for what’s on sale and plan your list using that INSTEAD of by what you want to make.  Then get creative and plan your dinners based on the sale items you’re going to buy.  That is the big change here…don’t buy based on what you’re going to make.  Make based on what you’re going to buy!
• Buy as much as you can.  Do you really need 10 cans of chili?  No, but if you can afford it, buy it because they’re 10 for $10 (that was a Safeway special last week, sorry, bad example! Only one I could think of and that was an occasion where I was out of town for a doctor’s appointment and went grocery shopping.) and you’ll use them eventually.  And it’s a nice thought to know you won’t have to buy chili for a while.
• Reusable bag points (5 WOW points for each bag) add up quick, so you can get closer to your 10% off – and only use that 10% off on BIG shopping trips!

Unfortunately Holiday does not allow “doubling” up on coupons or anything like that (like you see on the Extreme Couponing shows), so $1,000 off probably isn’t going to happen.  But you can still make a dent in your grocery bill if you use coupons smartly.  It takes practice, but you’ll figure it out if you just start trying, and it will become second nature soon.  Saving money is addictive!  So go back and review my tips on where to find your coupons and how to use and organize them here: My Adventures in Couponing (Modoc Style) – Part 1 of 2.

Oh – I almost forgot – every time you spend $50 at Holiday in a single transaction this month (October), you get a bonus 100 WOW points! So if I’m going to spend over $100 I’d break my transactions down to 2 or more if possible.

Okay, I *think* that’s it…if you have any questions, feel free to ask them in the comment section, or on the Likely Design Facebook page!  And definitely share your tips for shopping at Holiday!! Happy Shopping!!

xo, L.

Who doesn’t love a good deal? Or love saving money?  Or these days, NEED to save money?  I know we all do, so I’ve really been trying to learn how to use those coupons and I couldn’t help but share my tips!

Now, I’m really no expert…I just really started trying my hand at this and I’m still learning.  Because it really can take up a lot of time if you want it to.  And you’ll make mistakes or learn by trial and error…at least I do.  But hopefully I can give you some ideas about where to look for good deals, and where to look for some instructions on how to find those good deals! (Note: these tips are geared specifically for shopping in Alturas – there are tons of deals for other stores, but unfortunately we don’t have access to them here in Modoc! And if you know me, you know I don’t leave to shop so I’m trying to make it work here!).  Seriously…I have a decent car gas-wise, and I even cringe at the thought of wasting the “difference” in gas.  As well as wasting the time.  I know some people enjoy going out of town, but we don’t.  I find we rush through what we need to get done just so we can go home and then we forget things anyway.  So I don’t go out of town to shop.  It’s either here, online, or out of town when I’m out of town anyway and have the time.  I don’t make special trips.

So, onto the tips!  I decided to break it down a few different ways, so hopefully it’s all clear because I know I’m bouncing around a lot.  Feel free to ask questions, or leave tips of your own in the comments!

First up: where to find coupons:

1. Tip #1: Facebook.  I just checked and I “like” 489 pages.  Yes, 489.  Included in that number is every franchise that I frequent, locally.  In Alturas that includes Holiday Market, Rite Aid, True Value, Ace Hardware, Quizno’s, and Subway.  A lot of them offer printable coupons straight from their Facebook page, and often times I check their page if I know I need to make a purchase at one of them.  Ace, True Value and Quizno’s are the best examples of this.  I used True Value’s $5 off a $25 purchase today.  Ace also has one going right now.  I knew about it because they posted it and I saw it in my news feed.  It reminded me I wanted to get something I knew I could get from True Value.  $5 is $5 – woot!  Quizno’s posts coupons all the time.  And FYI – our Quizno’s accepts expired coupons.  I don’t go in without one! Now go and “like” all of their pages, then come back.
   

   My Coupon for Ace that I printed from Facebook. There's an online code, too (feel free to use it!) - I buy stuff online then ship it to their store for FREE!

2. Tip #2: E-mail.  I subscribe to waaaayyyy too many e-mail lists, but I find them useful so I don’t have to scroll Facebook pages to find coupons and deals.  My favorite reads are the Holiday Market newsletter, the Rite Aid newsletter, Red Plum, Coupons.com and The Krazy Coupon Lady newsletter.  More on why later…
3. Tip #3: Blogs.  These bloggers are smart, and they do all the work for you.  They’ve figured out how to get coupons that you would never find on your own, and they even put together shopping scenarios to help you get things for almost free or FREE!  I “like” The Krazy Coupon Lady, Frugal Coupon Living, The Frugal Girls and Coupon Divas on Facebook, and check in with their blogs frequently (mainly through Facebook, or I’ll go over there if I’m taking some time to print my coupons or need a discount code and I’m looking for good links). I know there are a ton of good blogs for couponing out there, but these are the ones I look to the most, and a lot of them share the same information anyway.
4. Tip #4: Coupon printing websites.  This is where I get the majority of my coupons throughout the month.  Coupons.com, RedPlum.com, and SmartSource.com are the ones I’ve used.  You have to install their software and have your printer hooked up to your computer to do it.  FYI: I had trouble installing the coupon printer for a while…it turned out to be my virus protection blocking it.
   

   Smart Source Coupon I printed.

5. Tip #5: Newspapers.  The Herald & News adds a coupon insert on the first Sunday of the month.  I go to the Likely Store and buy mine from their machine for $1.50 each copy.  There’s also one outside of Holiday Market, among other places in town.  Or you can subscribe to their paper for ‘Sundays only.’ This past Sunday (October 2nd – the first Sunday of the month) I bought two copies so I could get 2 pages of inserts.  The Rite Aid insert is always included in the Modoc Record, or you can get it right at the doorway. (Note: did you see the Pepsi insert in this week’s Modoc Record?? Lots of goodies in there, and you can match it with some Rite Aid deals!) 
   

   Starbucks Frappuccino Match Up at Rite Aid

6. Tip #6: Retailer’s websites.  I print coupons straight from http://shophqf.com/ (Holiday Market) and http://riteaid.adperk.com/ (Rite Aid).  With Holiday Market they always have a ’1 cent’ coupon, but you have to use 200 WOW points with it.  This week it’s for a bag of salami. Last week it was for a bag of cereal.  At AdPerk.com you create an account, watch little commercials, fill out a captcha to prove you’re paying attention, then you can print a coupon for the product you just watched the commercial on. (FYI: they have a ton of coupons for candy at riteaid.adperk.com – a great match up with their Halloween 2/$5 candy sales going on right now!)
   

   Coupon from watching Rite Aid commercials at adperk.com

7. Tip #7:This one is just random.  For instance, I have a calendar from Holiday Market and there is one coupon each month for a good little freebie.  I like the $10-off meat ones.  It’s quite a thrill to get a free tri-tip or pork roast (or only having to pay a little for it)!  I’m not sure how I got the calendar, but you know I’ll be looking for mine by the time January rolls around.  Or another random coupon book I got is from Rite Aid for getting my flu shot there.  My insurance paid for the shot, and I got a coupon book full of some good coupons – woot!!
   

   Coupons from my coupon book I got for getting a flu shot at Rite Aid (a FREE flu shot!).

Tip #8: Get a buddy.  I have a friend who is sooo knowledgeable in all things couponing, and she gladly answers my questions when I have them.  So you also have her (hi, Sarah!) to thank for a lot of the info. in this post, and especially the next on about shopping at Rite Aid.  You can also share coupons with a buddy…if you don’t have one you need, ask!

Okay…now that you know where to get your coupons, let’s talk about what to do with them.  If you look at them, they all have expiration dates.  The main thing to take from this is YOU DON’T HAVE TO USE THEM AT YOUR NEXT SHOPPING TRIP!  I know, it’s tempting, but sales come and go in cycles, and if you wait long enough you can match up your coupon with a sale price for maximum savings.  Each store (I’m mainly talking about Rite Aid and Holiday Market here) print sale flyers that are good for 1 week.  Rite Aid’s are good for Sunday – Saturday, and Holiday’s are good for Wednesday – Tuesday.  Now this is where you should do your homework…I’ll break it down by store after this next paragraph.

Rite Aid sale circular and Proctor & Gamble (P&G) coupon book for October.

So how do you keep your huge stack of coupons organized?  It might seem nerdy, but it helps – make coupon binder!  A what??  I have a giant binder that is divided by the type of item.  I made it by downloading and printing the instructions from The Krazy Coupon Lady website.  You’ll need a fairly thick binder, along with those plastic page protectors (full page protectors to hold your dividers and ones with smaller pockets for coupons).  The ones that are meant for people who collect paper money are good for coupons (like these).  I need more as mine have filled up fast!  And you want to be able to see each coupon so you don’t forget what you have.

The Krazy Coupon Lady has a great “Beginners” section to help you learn the ropes.  Here is a link to the PDF file to make a Krazy Coupon Lady binder (below is mine!):

Homework

Yes, couponing takes some time, but if you know where to look it can make it a lot easier.  It also gets easier and faster with practice.  Clipping and organizing the coupons is the easy part…I do it while watching TV.  :)  But if you make shopping lists anyway, this “homework” won’t be so bad.  I go online (or look directly at their sale circulars) and see what is on sale that week.  Here is a link to where to find Rite Aid’s online, and Holiday’s online.  So…look at what’s on sale, then look through your coupons and match them up to get the lowest price possible!  It’s a little more complicated with Rite Aid (+Up rewards, etc.), but that is basically what I do with Holiday Market.  And I stock up if I can – use a coupon for each item that you buy if allowed!  For instance, if you want to buy 4 cans of corn (on sale), then use 4 coupons to match!  Note: read the fine print of your coupons carefully.  Some are a discount off of 2 alike items, buy one get one free, etc.  The note to the consumer is on there about how to use your coupon.  This Krazy Coupon Lady post on ‘Understanding the Fine Print’ does some explaining about what the ‘Limit 1 Coupon’ text really means.

 Grocery/Food Shopping Tips

So, did you see that little tip above, Holiday Market Shoppers? The best you can do (or that I’ve seen you can do) is match up the coupons you round up with their sales, and use WOW points.  I wish I had more brilliant information for you, but the WOW points are pretty handy and I seem to rack up 1,000 every few months, so I save my 10% off with 1,000 points for my big shopping trips.  And by big, I mean at least $200.  But I have a family of 3.5, so a $200 shopping trips gets us a lot of food.  So my best advice for shopping at Holiday is this: practice patience.  Wait until the items you have good coupons for go on sale.  Do not impulse buy.  Stock up on good prices (but DO NOT clear the shelves.  That sucks, and I don’t like you for that.  Buy what you and your family will use in a reasonable amount of time.) Make lists and follow them strictly.  Yes, I stray sometimes, but only if what I’m buying (that isn’t on my list) is on sale, or I see something not listed in the sale flyer, but I know I have a coupon for it.  You’ll be very disappointed to see that you only saved a few bucks with your coupons and nothing with your reward points.  Your savings print right on your receipt so you can see what you saved by buying things they had on sale (with a Holiday card) or with your coupons.

Another note: I do shop at Four Corners, too...although they unfortunately do not accept manufacturer’s coupons…and I am always pleasantly surprised at my total.  For some reason I always expect it to be higher.  Anyway, I check out their sales in the Record and browse around the store for good deals.  Their generic brands (i.e. Western Family) are always priced very low, so if you need something, can’t bring yourself to pay the price at Holiday and/or don’t have a coupon, I’d keep an eye on what’s at Four Corners.

Another Holiday tip: take reusable bags to the store, and make sure they give you your 5 points for each bag you use at Holiday.  They can add up quickly! I always make sure they give me my points.

Okay, back to grocery/food shopping: I have found I’m buying more and more food items at Rite Aid.  You can use more coupon match-ups there, and they often have decent sales on name brand foods (i.e. so you can use your coupons).  Cereal, soup, snacks, soda…those are the types of foods they carry, and I always have coupons for those in my binder.

AMAZON.COM! This has been a lifesaver for me.  Yes, I buy lots of food on Amazon.com.  Actually, I buy everything on Amazon.com.  If you don’t know what being an Amazon Prime (or Amazon Mom) member means, then let me enlighten you.  If you are a member, then you receive FREE 2-DAY SHIPPING on thousands upon thousands of items from Amazon.  Single items – no purchase minimum required.  And they carry everything.  Amazon Mom membership is free, as long as you keep buying specific mom-baby-child-related items (it’s noted on the item’s page).  When you spend a certain amount (not much) your free membership benefits are extended.  Mine have been extended until the next year based on what I have bought.  Amazon Prime is $79 per year, but I gladly paid it before they started the Amazon Mom program.

So how does this relate to food?  Well, they have a Grocery/Gourmet Food section.  And many of the food items they sell are ‘Prime’ items, or even better, they are ‘Subscribe & Save‘ items.  For instance, say you’re like me and needed a semi-healthy breakfast food for your daughter to eat in the car on the 20 mile drive to preschool.  :)  I’m on Facebook one day, and a blog that I follow on there posts a tip about a product on Amazon that I can type in a code for to get even cheaper.  (I believe it was this post on Frugal Coupon Living – they have a lot of online codes, especially for Amazon). So I click on over to the page for this GoGo SqueeZ Apple/Peach Applesauce on the Go.  (Note: I didn’t buy this flavor, but this is the cheapest one in stock right now. ).  It’s normally $27.94 for 48 pouches ($0.58 per pouch).  With Subscribe & Save, you save 15% – you just sign up for it to be delivered now, and then again in a few months (whatever you choose – plus you can cancel it at any time).  Now your total is $23.75 (or $0.49 per pouch).  Then I punched in a code at checkout for an additional 25% off, bringing the total to $17.81 for 48 pouches ($0.37 per pouch).  I just checked and the code ended in September (part of their back to school promotion), but you get the idea.  And 2 days later, a big box of pouches of applesauce is dropped off at my doorstep by my favorite UPS man.  Pretty handy if you ask me!

Here is a link to Amazon.com’s current Sales & Specials for their Grocery Section.

So Subscribe & Save is pretty nice for ordering in bulk: diapers, canned foods, snacks, wipes, and beverages are all things I’ve bought with the 15% off Subscribe & Save discount.  Plus I take advantage of coupons I find for an additional percentage off.  It’s like being near a Costco…but it’s delivered!  With this deal, patience paid off and I was able to just run in to this deal.  It found me.  :)  That’s why checking in with those blogs is a lifesaver!

Okay, so this post has become a lot longer than I initially thought, so I’m going to stop here for now…be on the lookout for my next post on how to score those BIG deals at Rite Aid – woot!!  Because they are actually possible…you can learn how to shop without using much of your own money (a quote from my coupon guru, Sarah!), and it’s very exciting! 

I have to admit…when Pinterest first started popping up all over the internet I was confused.  ‘What is the point? How can this be useful and not just ANOTHER waste of time?’ Well, I’ve found out just how useful it can be, and how awesome it is for corralling all of the random thoughts of my brain into a single area.  It’s also great for inspiration.  I love Pinterest.  The only downside is, I only have the ‘marklet’ on one of my computers…and for some reason ‘re-pinning’ doesn’t work on my drafting PC, so all I can do is look when I’m on there.  My fault, not theirs obviously.  But not a big deal, I take time to catch up on my laptop often!

So anyway…what is the big deal about Pinterest, you ask?  I’m sure if you’re reading this and you already know about it, then you’re ready to answer that question for me, but if you’re not in the loop then here is what the website is all about and how I use it: basically it is a place that you can catalog all of your online finds (like ‘Bookmarking’ using your web browser) but it is so  much better because it is visual and you can put each of your ‘pins’ onto different ‘boards’ and that’s how you can stay organized.  I use it for individual projects (i.e. so-and-so’s paint color ideas or ‘Harper’s Big Girl Room’ or so-and-so’s party), so instead of trusting myself to remember where I saw something, I can just ‘pin’ it to the specific board and then go back to review.  It saves the link, and you can write notes in.  The other good part about Pinterest is that you can ‘Follow’ someone’s pins and/or specific boards.  And you can re-pin.  So you don’t have to only save the things that you find online onto your boards, but you can see what others are pinning and save it to your own boards.  It’s awesome.

Here are some things I’m pinning:

I have a whole board dedicated to ‘Amazing Photography Ideas‘ – aka picture ideas I’d like to re-create/steal.

Bedroom paint color ideas for a client…

Baby boy nursery inspiration…

Birthday party ideas…

Halloween costume ideas, haha…

Things I want for myself…

Looks I love (and want to copy)…

DIY’s I want us to attempt (this one links to concrete countertop instructions)…

Food I want to make…

Products I love (and want to share with my followers)…

And much, much more…go see what I’m pinning here!

{click the photos to go to my pins…there you’ll find the links to the original web sources for the photos!}

I haven’t shared much of what I’ve been up to for a while, which really hasn’t been that exciting.  A lot of garage plans and a few house remodel plans, but I have had a few decorating projects lately – and those are a lot cuter than foundation plans so here is a fun little shared bedroom that I did earlier in the year.

This room is for a toddler boy whose baby sister (who wasn’t born yet when I did this) would be sharing his bedroom.  The goal was to create a calming, modern and fun sleeping space for the two of them to share.  They have a bright and crazy playroom to corral their toys, so this room was supposed to be the opposite; a place to relax and sleep!

Here is the ‘Inspiration Board’ for the room:

The color scheme started with the floral print fabric that the mom wanted to use for the custom crib skirt she was going have sewn, which included some chocolate brown, taupe/gray and teal blue/green.  I decided that both kids’ sides would have blue and brown, but the boy’s things would have an accent of apple green, and the girl’s side would use a little bit of pink as an accent.  I chose a blue/gray for the walls, to act as a neutral but still read as a color.  The room has tan carpet, so I chose a graphic rug (in a fun plaid) to mix up the patterns.  We also added some pattern with chevron-trimmed curtains (which matched the custom crib bumper), some fun monster-print sheets for the boy and some typographic-modern prints on the wall to personalize the space.

That photo is basically an ‘inspirational’ page of photos for the concept for the room…along the way, tweaks are made and other choices might be ultimately decided on, but this is a small snapshot that I give the client for each project.  I’ll also include any other idea-photos to help with the vision for the room.  For instance, I attached these in an e-mail I sent to the mom:

…which were just camera phone shots from a book on nursery design.

In the final e-mail, I send a “Furniture & Accessory Schedule,” which includes photos, links, prices, colors, manufacturers’ SKU #’s and any other pertinent information the client needs to find and purchase my choices for their room.  This way you can purchase the items right away or over time – it’s up to you!  That’s because you DIY and put it together yourself.  You can also follow my instructions to the ‘T’ or you can use my concept as inspiration to put your own touch on the room.  And this is why, if you hire a designer or decorator for their “E-Decorating” services, they can be across the country from you or in the same town. Isn’t the internet amazing?!?!

If you’re interested in hiring me for a ‘Flat Fee Design Package’ aka E-Decorating Services, feel free to e-mail me at lindsay @ lindsaychristensendesign.com (no spaces between the @ – trying to avoid spam, ha!) to get started!  Or you can check out my packages and prices here.  But remember – if you book a project with me anytime in August, I’m offering 20% off of all of my services!