Summer shopping.

I went shopping for Mae yesterday. I really would like to tone down the "Princess" & bright colors that she has a ton of. I am really liking the neutral & grey palettes that I've seen in a few children's clothing lines. I also wanted a few primary colors thrown in, mostly green, blue & yellow.  Maybe it's the effect of living in an area with severely hip kids. I see kids at church that have more fashion sense in their pinkie fingers than I'll ever have.
 I bought a Groupon last week, it was $10 for a $20 Old Navy gift card. Between that wonderful little deal and all the sales this weekend, I was able to snag quite a few cute little outfits.

I tried to stick to what Tiffani told me about shopping for a wardrobe: buy the basics & buy them in multiples. Obviously she knows what she's talking about so I listened and grabbed the following items:

I got this darling little tunic at Crazy 8 for $6. It was originally marked around $15.

Cute little skirt in green.

These were in the sale bin at Crazy 8 and they were marked down to $2.99 & when you buy two the second is 50% off.

I couldn't find pics of the colors I bought, but I got 2 of these t's, one in white and one in navy & white stripes.

I got a clearance tank for $2.50 in yellow.

These are my favorite! They were on sale and I grabbed her two pairs, one in pink (she had to have something pink!) & one in denim. They are so stinkin' cute! High waisted & adorable!

I only paid $11 for all the Old Navy swag & about $16 for Crazy 8. I'll have to look at my receipt for my total discount, but I think the Old Navy would have come to about $50.

Josiah needed flip flops so we went to the Disney Store (It's hard to swear off Disney characters...) & got flip flops for him with Perry the Platypus on them. They had a deal where one pair of flip flops were $6.50 or you could buy 2 for $6.00. I'll take two please! Mae chose Tiana which are very cute.

Oh, she also managed to look oh-so-LA in her heart glasses we got at Crazy 8 for $3.

I love, love, love deal shopping for clothes. My kids can look as cute as everyone else but for far less! I had a cashier at CVS tell me yesterday that I was "beating the system" after I finished two transactions and got money back. I jokingly told him, "I'm not beating the system, I'm just playing the game." ;)

Money Saving, Time Saving.

I had to make a little post about these seemingly little things in my life that make a big difference. Cheap meat & Slow Cooker liners. They save me money and time, two of my favorite things to save. ;)

Oh, Crock Pot how I love thee! Let me count the ways!
I do love my Crock Pot. The only thing that deters me from using it everyday for everything is cleaning it. I am no longer a proud dish washer owner. I am my own dish washer. I am learning to avoid things that I deem "not easy" to scrub. Well, a solution has arrived dear readers!
Two weeks ago Target had a price cut on these slow cooker liners. Beautiful, beautiful items that they are, I got them with coupons for .62 cents each.
Today is the first day of cooler weather since early January and it's perfect for a roast. This little beauty was found in the clearance bin at Vons and promptly stuck in my freezer. I get some cheap meat in that glorious little bin. People look at me like I'm digging through the trash can when I shop in there, but I don't care. I am getting good meat at half the price. It's not rancid, it's just getting close to the sell by date for the grocery store. It's still good people! You take it home & throw it in your freezer and you are golden! It's fantastic.
Alright, I think that's it. I just had to sing the praises of cheap meat & easy clean up!

Recyclebank

I get my coupons in a few different ways. I've even picked them up out of parking lots. First of all, that is litter, plain and simple. Second of all, one man's lame coupon is another woman's deal.
I just wanted to draw attention to RECYCLEBANK. Here's an explanation from one of my favorite couponing websites:

If you’re new around here, you are probably wondering what the heck RecycleBank is. RecycleBank partners with cities and haulers to reward households for recycling; households earn RecycleBank Points that can be used to shop at over 1,500 local and national businesses. Once you have signed up for an account, you can start earning points immediately by clicking on the “Earn Points” tab and taking quizzes.  You can then use your points to purchase high value coupons for groceries and/or discounts at online stores. After signing in, click on the “Get Rewards” tab and you’ll be able to start scrolling through the rewards they have available.- Hip2Save.com

Click this link to get signed up. I have turned my points into some great coupons. Free Kashi Cereal, free Seventh Generation cleaners, cheap naked juice, etc. Being green or organic doesn't always mean spending more money.

Recycle Bank Link