Weekly CVS Deals

This week was another great week, I think every week will be great though. I have another trip to make b/c I needed to see how much some other stuff was listed at.

 

 

For under $28.00 I got:

6 packs of Jumbo size Huggies (these are 9.49/pack!)

1 50oz jug of All (this was actually purchased at Bi-lo)

Johnsons Shampoo bottle

Nivea Lotion

Nivea Body wash

Colgate toothbrush

4 Colgate Mouthwashes

4 Shave Gels

1 container of Desitin

 

And I have 9 ECB for next purchase. I am not going to write out the transactions because no one has commented yet. If you are interested on how I got something or what coupons I used, just let me know. I love seeing the deals!

Freezer Meal Recipe, Chicken-Cheese-Rice Casserole

I've been thinking of trying some freezer meals and I've been pinning like crazy! I have also started couponing again and decided to try a casserole tonight because I had coupons for a lot of the ingredients. Justin's preference for food is 100% opposite of mine so we really have to compromise on dinner selections. He cooks more than I do normally and there are a handful of recipes that have been a 'hit' with him. We were raised differently when it comes to cooking styles. His family cooks lots of spicy foods and my family cooked more traditional meals.

 

This recipe turned out really good and was easy. I ended up making a casserole for dinner tonight that fed 4 adults and 1 child and I had enough to freeze 3 one quart bags for future use.

 

Link for recipe

 

Chicken Broccoli Rice Casserole

• 10 cups cooked rice (white or brown)
• 4 cups cooked chicken, chopped
• 4 cups chopped broccoli, lightly steamed
• 2 cans cream of mushroom soup
• 2 cans cream of chicken soup
• 4 cups shredded cheddar cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Mix everything together, freeze. When ready to eat, thaw out and cook in casserole dish for 30-45 minutes at 350.

 

 
 

 

 

Simple & Tasty



 

Weekly CVS Trip: Diapers and Laundry Detergent

This week CVS had a good deal on laundry detergent and Luvs Diapers. I cloth diaper my babies but since we moved in with our in-laws, I had to stop because it was getting a little crazy around the house.

I did 3 transactions today. I spent a total of $64.99 and will be getting a $10 prepaid Visa card (mail in rebate for the detergent) and I've got $20.00 in ECB to use in the future. My haul:

 

Transaction 1:

Colgate toothbrush x2

Colgate mouthwash x2

Used :$3 ECB from last week

$2.00 mouthwash coupon x2

$1.00 toothbrush x2

 

Got back $6 ECB

 

Transaction 2:

Stress Relief Gum

Nivea body scrub

Nivea body lotion

Used: $1.00 Nivea body wash

$2.00 Nivea lotion

$6 ECB from previous transaction

 

Got back $5.79 ECB  from gum and $3 ECB from Nivea Purchases

 

Transaction 3:

3 Tide Bottles

4 Packs of Luvs Diapers

2 Playtex Sippy Cups

Used:

$1.00 Luvs x4

1.00 Playtex item (had I known they were b1g1, I would have printed another coupon and saved another 1.00)

$3.00 off 3 tide bottles

$5 off $15 purchase (printed at register)

$3 and $5.79 ECB from previous purchase

 

Got back $20 in ECB for next week and will get $10 visa card via mail in rebate

 

 

 

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Target has a great deal on EDGE Shave gel. Their 7 oz. cans are $2.44 a pc and you can print a B1G1 off of www.coupons.com and a $1.00 Target printable coupon off www.target.com and use the Cartwheel target app for an additional 10% off. Total out of pocket for 2 shave gels comes in at $.15  LOVE!

 

 

 

Redoing Lanie's Headboard and Nightstand

I posted a few weeks ago that I loved Annie Sloan paint. Still do! I got a hand me down nightstand and it was horrible. Coats of nasty silver, red and black paint that had dried in gross runs. I needed a nightstand for Lanie's new room so I took this on as a redo. I painted Lanie's headboard last month, it was actually the headboard from Addison's crib that cracked. The company sent me a new headboard for the crib and I decided to still use the cracked one, now that's it's painted you can't even tell!

I used Annie Sloan Napoleonic Blue. It took 2 coats of paint and one coat of wax. Love it!

 

Lanie's room is going to be a nautical theme. There will be salmon accents and the hardware on furniture will be oil rubbed bronze. The duvet is from Pottery Barn Teen:

 

 

I wanted the rest of her furniture to be mostly white so I decided to try some distressing on her nightstand. Next up is her dresser that I found on craigslist. Using Annie Sloan Napoleonic Blue first and then Annie Sloan Pure White

 

Before:

Ew!

 

During Blue Coat:

 

I had to do 2 full coats of white, and 3 coats on some portions:

Not the best picture, but between white coats

 

 

I let the white paint dry over night and then put a layer

of wax over it. I then sanded certain spots until I was happy

 

 

 

All I need now is something to put in the cubby.

 

Getting back into couponing-CVS Deals

Back when I was pregnant with Addison, in 2010, I started "CVS'ing". I got really good at it and had a stockpile of deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, soap etc. Well after she was born I stopped because life with 2 kids was much different than life with 1. After 3 years I'm back to it! I follow Southern Savers and her blog lists 'scenarios' for the best deals. The deals run from Sunday-Saturday and you can plan your trips before you go.

I went Saturday because I had all the coupons and I wanted to jump in. The first trip is never the greatest because you don't have any ECB (Extra Care Bucks) to apply to your first transaction. But you have to start somewhere.

Trip #1: I did 2 Transactions

Transaction 1 :
Pantene Shampoo $3.50
Pantene Conditioner $3.50
Edge Shave Gel $3.49
Edge Shave Gel $3.59

Total $14.08

Coupons used:
Edge b1g1 free:  -$3.50
Pantene $2.00 of 2 : -$2.00
CVS Coupon From Coupon Center at store , same day -$1.50

Earned $2 ECB from buying 1 Edge product and $1 ECB from buying two Pantene products

Total $7.08 plus tax and $4.00 ECB for next purchase

Transaction 2:

3 Colgate total mouthwash @ $5.79 each

Total: $17.37

Coupons used:
25% off total (printed at register, got lucky)
$3.00 ECB
$1.10 off one Colgate mouthwash (times 3)

Earned $5 ECB from buying $10 in Colgate products

Total: $6.72 plus tax and $5 ECB for next purchase

Week one recap, The above for $13.80 with $5.00 in ECB for next week

////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////

Week #2

This week was better, since I had $5 ECB to start with. I modified the transactions from Southern Savers because I had a coupon from the CVS store printer that turned to be better for me. I'm going to try and go on Sundays because if you wait, the store may run out of stock. I was lucky yesterday when I started.
I had 3 transactions today

Transaction #1

Colgate Toothpaste (x2) $5.98
Bengay $4.49

Total $10.47

Coupons Used:

Colgate toothpaste -$1.00
Bengay -$2.00
$5 ECB from last trip

Earned $4 ECB from Colgate and $2 ECB from Bengay

Total: $2.47 plus tax and $4 ECB

Transaction #2:

CVS Probiotic 15ct $9.99

Coupons used:
$6.00 ECB

Earned $9.99 ECB

Total: $3.99 plus tax and earned $9.99 ECB

Transaction #3:

Huggies Slip on Diapers $9.49
(2) Nivea Body Lotions $12.00

Coupons used:
ECB -$9.99
Nivea lotion -$2.00
Nivea lotion -$2.00
Hand lotion coupon printed at CVS center -$2.00
Huggies CVS Coupon -$3.00
Huggies Manuf Coupon -$2.00

Earned $3 ECB From Nivea purchase

Total $.50 plus tax and $3.00 ECB

                                                      Trip #2 Total Spent $6.96 and $3 ECB for next trip



Do any of you "CVS" ? I want to start stockpiling again. Especially for when we are in our new house! I also made a BI-LO trip today and for the first time, I saved more than I spent on groceries! I will make a post on that at some point. As mentioned before, i'll go to CVS every Sunday if possible. I hope this helps someone out there that's looking to save!

Where did Summer go? Refresher

Wow, Summer flew by. I'm surprised that I'm saying that though because there were many days I felt that time was dragging (see our house build blog for more details ;) However, today we went and met Lanie's 1st grade teacher, waiiiiiiiiiit a second, 1st grade? *sobbing*
She loved her new school and it turns out her teacher knew Justin from when he was little. She'll fit right in.

I start Spanish 2 next week and please pray for me, I have a really bad attitude towards learning this language and I need to make an 'A' in this class, so please, please pray.

We had a wonderful vacation to Gulf Breeze FL last week and I will be making a separate post for that, too much goodness for this one. I've been enjoying reading blogs, lately, I've been making an effort to organize my blogger profile so that I can track what everyone is up to, and I like it. I feel like I have all these internet friends from a lot of different places.

Ok , sorry for the random post but just wanted to say HI everyone and my vacation post will be up soon.

Dave Ramsey Classes

I wasn't sure what to title this post. I hope a lot of you read this. Justin and I did  a Dave Ramsey course several years ago and we loved it! It's very motivational and has helped us with our finances tremendously. We don't do the full cash system like he promotes, just because it's really hard to do. Those of you who can do that 100%, *LARGE PAT ON THE BACK!*  But we have taken many of his other concepts to stay out of debt and manage our money!

Our church is hosting this 9 week course. It will be held in the sanctuary every Thursday night from September 19th until November 14th. It starts at 7 p.m. The first half is the video of Dave Ramsey teaching (he's super funny and not boring to watch at ALL!) and then the second half is when you get to work in your workbook. You can share ideas of what you think works and there is no limit on ideas!

I really hope many of you consider coming, it's a life changer and a great kick in the right direction. My Father In Law is heading it up and is the coordinator. Please ask any questions you may have!

The cost is $93.00 per couple or single individuals and you will receive all your materials on the first night. You have to register so that we can get everything you need.


CLICK HERE to register

Furniture Projects- Annie Sloan Style

Since we will be in our new house in a few months, I've been working on revamping some furniture. I found an awesome Buffet at a used furniture store for 50 bucks. Solid wood, yes $50. Love! I wanted to post about using Annie Sloan paint. I was intimidated at first because it sounded WAY to good to be true. But it's not! It was actually fun painting this furniture because I didn't pick up a sander and I didn't have to prime it! The wood is really dark so I ended up with 2 full coats. The top I did 4 coats, because it had some oil spots that I didn't see until I started to paint.

Cost Breakdown:
Furniture Piece: $50
Duck Egg Blue 1 quart $36 ( I think this is right)
Paintbrush $24 (maybe a little more? But I'm using on multiple projects so it's not fair to include the full price!)
Quart of Clear Wax by Annie Sloan (Again, I'm using it for more projects so unfair to count the full price) But I think it was around ?$25

So adjusted cost of this awesome Buffet is around $99.00!

Original...eek!

I cleaned it completely and it was very shiny

First coat of Annie Sloan Duck Egg Blue

I painted the entire piece in a circular motion so it looks slightly aged

Still Drying, but you can see the circular pattern/look

 

Second Coat

 

 

 

During...I love the hardware! I'm going to keep it bronze

I did a coat of wax, and I'm glad I got that finished. I've read that it takes a year for the wax to finish curing, so by the time it's in the house it should be fully cured.

 

The Buffet isn't 100% completed because it's so huge (about 6 feet long!) that I can't put the doors on until we move into the new house. There is also a small piece on the very bottom that you can't really see, but I can't paint it until I have it set up. I put one door on so that I can see what it will eventually look like :) and...it's amazing. When we move it to it's 'home' I will paint the interior as well.

 

 

 

 

I've also painted a rocking chair, a headboard and 1/2 of Addi's bedroom suite. I'll get to posting pics when I get closer :)

 

SO , in a nutshell. Buy Annie Sloan Paint and you will not be disappointed!

 

 

Updated After picture:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are building!

These past few months have been nuts. We have been living with the in-laws for a little over 3 months now and time has actually been flying by. We are so thankful they let us move in, it has let us save money for our new house.

I'm going to write some posts on the building process so far...it's been pretty stressful. I knew that it would be, but we had no clue what to expect. Had I known in for a decent amount of time in advance I would have done a lot more background research about the building process. However, today we have finalized our plans and are waiting to close on our construction loan! That sounds so heavenly!

Back to the beginning, please be patient with they layout until I figure out what works best for the build. I googled a bunch of blogs in the last few months to get ideas for our house, and to see what we could expect. I want nothing more than this blog to help someone in the future.

If you'd like to check it out go to... http://buildingourcustommonroe.blogspot.com/

I hope to continue posting non-building related things on site, when time allows ;)