Target - Super Savings Saturday

I mentioned on Thursday that I would post about Target on Frugal Friday - well, I forgot to do it yesterday, so I decided to link up to Super Savings Saturday instead!

I purchased all of this.....

4 cans Campbell's cream of mushroom

2 cans Campbell's tomato

2 boxes Betty Crocker potatoes

5 cans green beans

1 can corn

2 Twix bars (for my husband, unfortunately not for me!)

1 box Pepperidge Farms pretzel crisps

1 travel-sized Tide

1 Reach floss

and

1 package Rayovac batteries.

Before coupons and sales, I would have paid $20.19. After: $5.07 - just over 75% savings. (Detergent, batteries, floss, and one candy bar were free after coupons.)

As I posted in Why I Love Target, Part One, check on the weekly grocery sales, plus the websites I have listed, to help you find great deals at Target.

You can still go tonight! :)

This post is linked to Crystal's blog for Super Savings Saturday.

My Favorite Things

One of my favorite bloggers, Melissa from 320 Sycamore, is hosting a "My Favorite Things" Party today. It's like a virtual Oprah show - except you just get ideas, not gifts. But still so much fun! The emphasis is on things that you can actually go out and buy - hence the reason why lip balm is on the list but not my husband and son. :)

Here's a few of my favorite things - and all of them but the purse are under $20!

1. My two favorite movies of all time are Little Women and Anne of Green Gables. I've watched them each at least ten times each and they just never get old.

2. Coconut Cream Organic Lip Balm by Alba. I found mine at CVS, but I also discovered it at Target yesterday. If you are a coconut addict like me, you will adore this. And probably lick it off your lips. And then put it on again. Which is probably why they stay in business, come to think of it. MMMmmmmm......

3. Speaking of Target, I could buy one of everything in there. Love. (Tomorrow I will be posting Target finds for Frugal Friday!)

4. I have a degree in vocal music education, and one year of college I was in our university's Jazz Singers ensemble. My director turned me on Kurt Elling. My husband got me his cd, "Nightmoves," for my birthday last year. Girls, I'm telling you, this voice is like melted chocolate.

5. Last time I was up visiting my parents, my mom introduced me to the 35 calorie Laughing Cow cheese wedges. They're cute and taste great - and only 1 point on Weight Watchers!

6. Starbucks - do I really need to say more?!

7. There is a long story attached to this purse, but suffice it to say that I didn't pay for it (and no, I didn't steal it!) It is "Katie" from Nine West. Love.

8. I needed a shirt for upcoming Christmas photos - and I found this shirt from Kohl's - aka the perfect plaid shirt. It is definitely not pink - it's crisp red and black and it has pleats on the front and a little tie in back. I absolutely, positively, love it.

9. Godiva makes Extra Dark Chocolate Truffles. These are the best thing I have ever eaten. Ever. Period. I'm not kidding you - I eat them and I think I involuntarily moan! lol If you have a serious chocolate lover on your Christmas list, these babies are perfect. If you're looking to be engaged this Christmas, also perfect.

(The extra dark is the one at the bottom - they're always covered in cocoa dust.)

10. If you have a new baby or someone with a baby on your Christmas list, you cannot go wrong with the Baby Einstein DVDs. We don't have tv, but there are times when our 4-month old will absolutely not calm down for anything else but these. I don't know what it is about them, but they are absolute magic for babies and new parents.

And a peaceful house might just be my favorite thing of all. ;)

Hope you enjoyed the list - I had so much fun making it! I'd love to know if you've tried anything on the list and love it too!

Painting with Stain

I had never in my life used stain, let alone used it to "paint" with. But when my friend and I (hi Linds, if you're reading this! ) had a yard sale this summer and she was about to put it on the free table, I asked her if I could take it. I really had no idea what to do with it, so it just sat for a while.

(The color she gave me was English chestnut.)

I had been hating the "tackyness" of my gold frame for a while now. I am ashamed to admit this sat in my house for almost 3 years this way. In my defense, I love Monet and I purchased it at a church yard sale so kids could go on mission trip to Ecuador. That is a deadly combination for me, by the way. As if I need any more incentive to go to a yard sale!

Anyway, I figured it would be impossible to get uglier, so I simply brushed two coats of the stain on, and this was the result.

It has a much more coppery look to it, and it picks up the reddish browns from the print. I most definitely have not cleaned the bottom yet - you can see where my horrible painting ability got on the glass (I couldn't take the print out because it was professionally done.)

Simple, easy, and best of all?

FREE.

Linking up to Kimba's site!

It's November, Baby.

Yes of course I realize that today's the 11th! I have a four-month-old, hence why my November post is 11 days late. But regardless, I have been looking forward to this month for a looong time!

Here's a few reasons why I'm loving this month:

1. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday (maybe this will change once Luke and any other kids of mine are old enough to be excited about Christmas, but right now it's my favorite). I love being with family and everything all pumpkiny and orangey and I love all the amazing food my mom cooks and turkey sandwiches the next day with stuffing in them and seeing my family again for the first time in a while and watching the Macy's parade on tv with my sister.

2. Black Friday where I grew up = 60% off at Goodwill. Considering that I grew up in a fairly affluent area of Connecticut, Goodwill there is like shopping at a department store. Okay not quite, but people give away the nicest things! Some of my most favorite possessions have come from that Goodwill. I am SO pumped to get up early and get my thrift on with my sister, mom, and two aunts.

3. My brother has been serving as a short-term missionary in Iraq since June. I haven't seen him since the middle of May, and he has never met Luke. I cannot wait for Luke to meet Uncle Josh, and I can't wait to hug my brother and know that he is back safely on American soil!

4. My brother is an outstanding photographer - he has one of the best eyes I've ever seen. He'll be taking some photos of the 3 of us - our first real family photos - and I can't wait to see how they turn out.

I'm also excited about some things in regards to Luke:

Luke with my Dad.

1. He is totally ready to eat cereal (he salivates every time he watches us eat), but we decided to hold off until Thanksgiving to feed him so that my brother can take some photos. I'm excited to see his reaction to "real food." Although I may or may not have let him lick my fudgesicle once. And he may or may not have loved it.

2. It's my baby's first holiday! I can't wait to put him in the "My 1st Thanksgiving" onesie my mom bought him.

3. Luke turned 4 months. Every month he gets more and more fun to interact with, and I feel more and more comfortable as a mom.

4. I am reeeeeallly hoping that this is the month my stomach-hating kid decides he wants to actually roll over. He teases me all the time by rolling to his side and then just chillin'. lol! I want him to just hit this milestone already!

Hopefully November will bring some exciting times for you, as well. It's a great month to be thankful for all that God has done for us, isn't it?!

Why I Love Target (Part Two)

I posted yesterday about how I'm loving Target for the great grocery and household deals, but today is all about Target's house decor. Honestly, I usually love most of the stuff they put out, but we're on a yard-sale budget here, so when I shop Target's decor I shop the endcaps. And sometimes they have the cutest things at dollar-store prices!

I think I literally almost squealed when I found these three hooks just laying together on one of the bottom shelves.....for NINETY-EIGHT CENTS each! How perfect are these for a kid's room? They look totally Pottery Barn Kids to me.

They were originally $3.99 each, so I got them 75% off. I've been looking for something cute to hang Luke's bath towels on. Now I just need to get Chris to hang them for me. :)

Target's fall/Halloween decor was also 75% off. I shared yesterday about how I found my niece two cute girly costumes for dress-up, but I also about died when I saw these pumpkins:

If you read 320 Sycamore, you were probably salivating like I was over her adorable metallic pumpkins that she made! (Truth be told, I still like hers better, but these were cheaper than a can of spray paint!) The big one was $2.24 and the little one was $1.99.

I also found this cute little leaf candle holder for $1.24.

They had a bunch of Halloween items - we don't do Halloween but if you do there are tons of deals to be found!

Target is also setting out their Christmas stuff already, and I think I could have bought one of everything, but I don't want my husband to leave me. :)

I'm sure the store near you has all the fall stuff 75% off too, so hurry and find some super cute fall decorations for rock-bottom prices!

Check out Jane's site today for other fabulous finds!

Why I Love Target (Part One)

::: Warning: Long post! But if you shop at Target too, can you really blame me? :):::

(Here is a picture of Luke I had to take yesterday before we left - he's wearing his first pair of jeans! I just love this boy - look at that little belly hanging over!)

Do you love Target as much as I do?! I always considered Target a place to get cute but cheap items, like funky jewelry or clearance t-shirts or cute stuff for the house on super markdown. I still counted on Wal-Mart to buy most of my household items and a lot of groceries. But since I had Luke, Wal-Mart has just become less and less accessible. You always have to park a million miles away and then once you finish making your way all around the store, you inevitably have to wait in line for about 20 minutes. I swear they only have like 2 cashiers working at any given time there. Also, before I became a mom I never realized how much I would need to park in those coveted spots right near the cart returns - to avoid lugging 20 pounds of carseat and baby, plus diaper bag and purse into the store. At Wal-Mart, that just doesn't seem to happen, because every spot is filled.

All that to say, I have been leaning more and more toward Target for the things I would normally purchase at Wal-Mart. I never thought about shopping there for grocery items, but even our Target (which is not a Super-Target) has some awesome grocery deals! The great thing about Target is that they have their own Target coupons, which you can stack with manufacturer's coupons to get a really great deal. Go to the bottom of their website and click on "Grocery Coupons." It's that easy!

For instance, last week I was able to snag some Keebler cookies at an awesome price. (My husband has a very labor-intensive job and goes through a lot of snacks at work. Which is funny if you know how thin my husband is! Hate him! lol) Anyway, he loves those cookies, and normally I purchase them on sale for $2.50 at the grocery store. Last week, combining manufacturer and Target coupons, plus a great Buy 2 Get 1 Free sale they were having, I was able to buy them for $.58 each! I also got 2 bags of Chex Mix for $.78 each. I know that I got some other great buys but that's all I can remember at the moment. :)

I will tell you that I was able to use over $21 worth of coupons last week! I think my cashier wanted me to die. Hahaha.

This week my printer was having issues so I wasn't able to print out the coupons that I wanted. I probably should have waited to go to Target today, but I already had my day mapped out and I really despise having to change plans. :) I was still able to get 4 boxes of Kellogg's cereal for $1.23 each, which is great considering I really try never to pay above $1.50 for a box of cereal anymore.

Plus, using a $5 Target card I earned last week for doing a deal, I was able to snag a pair of these babies for only $1 (they're $6 on sale this week). I wore my old ones in the hospital with Luke and had to throw them out when I got home because hospital floors totally gross me out. My feet are just so much cuter and warmer now. :)

And here's a Christmas idea for you: kids' Halloween costumes are on sale right now for 75% off. I picked my 3-year-old niece in the Christmas exchange and she'll be getting two of these costumes as part of her Christmas present as dress-up clothes!

There are a lot of great websites out there that give you the low-down on the weekly Target deals and how to get the most bang for your buck. Money Saving Mom and Krazy Koupon Lady are two that I use. I have also found Attention Target Shoppers to be very helpful!

If you come back tomorrow, I'm going to link up to Frugalicious Friday again and show you my 75% off Target house finds!

(P.S.: I recently discovered Kelly's blog. I remember last year when I was pregnant and on thebump all the time, I kept seeing people with the "Praying for Harper" button and I didn't put two and two together until last week. I have been reading her story little by little and I just love her! Isn't she the cutest! I would kill to have skinny little legs and blonde hair like her! And I love how she uses blogging to tell others about Jesus. Anyway, she writes a lot about Sonic Diet Coke with Vanilla, and yesterday I snagged one during their Happy Hour (when they have 1/2 priced drinks) after the Target run. Luke kinda had a melt-down in Target so Momma needed a boost.

All I can say is,

crushed ice??! Be still my heart!

I think this may become part of the weekly Target run!)