Friday, September 14, 2012

Diamond Candle Review

My house is smelling soooo yummy right now!!  All thanks to Diamond Candles!!

I'm sure a lot of you have been hearing the buzz about Diamond Candles going around the internet.  Its a Soy Candle that comes in a 21 oz jar that comes in many different yummy scents!!  The best part is...... There's a ring in each candle that is valued at $10, $100, $1000 and $5000!!  Of course I was hoping I got the $5000 one!  Who doesn't?!



The Candles are $24.99 and well worth the money!!  It currently comes in 32 different scents.

I was able to try out the Cinnamon Tea Scent and its making my house smell just like fall!  Here in Georgia, Fall doesn't come for another month or so but I'm ready!!  The Candles themselves came really well packed.

Cinnamon Tea

Doesn't it look pretty on my fireplace mantel.

See the peek-a-boo of foil that the ring is wrapped in?

I dug it out and here is what it looks like.   It comes wrapped in foil and is inside a plastic bag to prevent wax from getting into it.

My ring!!  ain't it pretty!!


My daughter has already claimed the ring as her own.  I don't see any markings on the ring itself and according to the website, if it says 14k or anything  its worth $100+.  So I believe my ring is only $10.  But I don't care because its a pretty ring and my daughter LOVES it!!

I can't wait to try the other scents like Apple Slice and Summertime. Which ones are you wanting to try??

Make sure you go check out the website and all the different scents.  Check them out on facebook and twitter too!



Photobucket

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Kraft Mayo at Publix



When I saw the preview of the new Publix Ad on Monday, I did a Happy Dance because Kraft Mayo and Miracle Whip 30 oz was on sale bogo at $4.63!!
The best part was I had $4/2 publix coupon that I printed from cooking with kraft!!

That made each jar of mayo .31-.32 cents!!!  Can't beat that!!  I of course stocked up and got 8 jars!  
That should last me a while.  This was my best deal of this week!

*The coupon has now expired since it was very short dated on 9/12. 

Photobucket

Riteaid Week of 9/9


I've tried to flip this picture around, it uploads the right way but when I put it in my blog, it flips back down.  aggravating! 


Order #1
2 - Poligrip - $2.23
- $2.60 free product coupon
- $2.60 free product coupon
Gillette Mach 3 Razor - $8.23
- $8.23 free product coupon when you buy any Gillette Razor product
Gillette Fusion Razor - $8.63
- $4 Gillette Razor Coupon from P&G insert
Sleep Sheet 10 ct - .00 (raincheck)
2 - Anacin Tab - .99 cents (raincheck)
- .99 cent Anacin Printable coupon
- .99 cent Anacin Printable coupon
8 - Stride Gum - $1 each
- b1g1f stride gum printable
- b1g1f stride gum printable
- b1g1f stride gum printable
- b1g1f stride gum printable

Total was $31.30 + tax
Used $23.41 in coupons
Used $6 in +up rewards
Total is $1.89 + $1.87 tax = $3.76

Got back the following +up rewards
$4 for purchasing Mach 3
$4 for purchasing Gillette Fusion Razor
$4 for purchasing 8 stride gum


Order #2

Lysol Power and Free Cleaner - $2.79
- $1 printable coupon
Lysol All Purpose Cleaner - $2.79
- $3/2 Riteaid Video Coupon
Magni Restless Leg Cream - .00 (raincheck)
Crest Mouthwash - .99 cents (raincheck)
- $2 coupon from dentist office
Crest Mouthwash - .99 cents (raincheck)
- $2 coupon from dentist office

Total is $7.56 + tax
Used $8 in coupons
Total was -.44 cents + .53 tax = .09!

Got back the following +up rewards
$1 for purchasing Lysol product
$1 for purchasing Lysol product

*I also had $3 extra in coupons I could've used if I had other products for overage but I didn't think before I went up to the register.

Order #3
Dimetapp - $5.59
- $2 printable coupon
Dimetapp - $5.59
- $2 printable coupon
Dimetapp - $5.59
- $2 printable coupon

Total was $16.77 + tax
Used $6 in coupons
Used $10 in +up rewards

Total is .77 cents + $1.17 tax = $1.94

*I had a limit of 3 per order due to the law of purchasing these kind of products

Order #4
Dimetapp - $5.59
- $2 printable coupon
Robitussin - $3.49
- $2 riteaid peelie on package

Total is $9.08
Used $4 in coupons
Used $5 in +up rewards

Total was .08 cents + .50 cents = .58 cents
got back $10 in +up rewards for purchasing $25 worth 

Now I have $21 in +up rewards to use for next week's deal.


Photobucket

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

House Party and Fisher Price

I was so thrilled to be chosen as a host for the Fisher Price House Party!  I did not know what I was going to receive when I applied.  But man!! They have sure outdone themselves with this party!!
I got the 1st box of the hostess kit on Friday and I got the 2nd box which was HUGE at 57 lbs on Monday. When I got the box, I was shocked at how much stuff there was!!


Toys for your playdate:
(1) Disney Princess Songs Palace from Little People®
(2) Disney Princess Figure Packs from Little People®
(1) Little People® Wheelies™ Loops ‘n Swoops Amusement Park™
(1) Servin’ Surprises™ Kitchen & Table
(5) Servin’ Surprises™ Accessories
(14) Batteries for toys


Take home items for your guests:
(12) Little People® Wheelies® Vehicles
(12) Little People™ CDs
(12) Little People™ DVDs
(12) Little People™ coloring books
(12) Fisher-Price® catalogs
(12) Fisher-PriceStore.com $10 off coupons
(12) “Play Tips” cards: Little People® Wheelies Loops ‘n Swoops Amusement Park™
(12) “Play Tips” cards: Servin’ Surprises™ Kitchen & Table
(12) Gift bags
(12) Gift tissue paper sheets








Can't wait to share this with everybody and give out the goodies!!

Photobucket

Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Couponing 101



Coupons and talking about coupons is my favorite subject.  It is the only way I am able to have name brand items and have my pantry full and not have my wallet empty.  
I started couponing out of need about 9 years ago when my 1st child was born and I ended up being a stay at home mom.  I did not get into it seriously until about 6 years ago when we bought our 1st house.  It was then I buckled down and really started to coupon. 

Now I have a healthy pantry, a good stockpile “store” and am able to donate and give things away to people in need.  I have several people that always “shops” in my store and they are people that are on a very tight budget and is always grateful that I help them out.

You are not going to be able to get $500 worth of groceries for $5.  That’s just impossible.  Those Extreme Couponing Shows on TLC is not realistic.  But you are going to be able to save 50-70% off your grocery bill.  When I go to the grocery store, I usually save about 70% on average which feeds our family of 5 plus 2 dogs and a cat.

Where to get coupons
- Sunday Papers – every Sunday there will be inserts fill with coupons.  Some weekends there will only be 1 while other weekends will have 5-6 inserts.  Some weekends there is none at all due to holidays. 
- Online printables from coupons.com, smartsource.com, redplum.com, target.com, other various online sites.
- Peelies – Coupons that’s on the packages.
- Blinkies – Coupon Machines in front of the products on the shelf.
- Store Coupons – There is a lot of ways to get store coupons.  They have them in the stores on a turnable or a display.  You can get them in the mail.

What you do to get started on couponing is just browse the weekly sales ad and do coupon match ups.  The best news is, there is a bunch of online sites that has already done that for you.  So all you need to do is go to that site, look and see where the coupons and deal is, clip/print that coupon and get it at the store.

All you have to do is google the store you want and the week it starts so for example Kroger Matchups 9/2 and you will have a bunch to choose from.  Here in the southeast, I use the following sites for my coupon match ups

(refundcents has an $12 annual membership fee which you will get back in tenfold so well worth it in my opinion)

You will need to look in your area to find out who has the best coupon policy and what that policy is.  Like for example, in my area – I find Publix to be the best for my grocery shopping.  They always double up to .50 cents, so that means my .50 cent coupon will be worth $1.  Publix also accepts competitor coupons.  You will have to go to your local customer service desk and find out who they consider their competitor.  Publix also allows a Publix coupon and a manufacture coupon to be used on the same item.  You will just need to go to the local grocery stores in your area and find out what their coupon policy is.  Each store will have a different policy.

For example – Publix has the GoGo Squeeze Applesauce pouches (which my son loves!) on sale buy 1 get 1 free (bogo) at $2.59.   There is a .50/1 printable, which my store doubles up to .50 cents so that coupon is worth $1.  I can use 2 of the .50 cent coupons because I’m purchasing 2 boxes of GoGo Squeeze.  So I will end up only paying .59 cents for 2 boxes which ends up being .15 cents a box!! 

You are allowed to use 2 coupons on a bogo deal.  Here in Georgia the bogo deals ring up ½ price.  So if you only wanted 1 item, it will ring up ½ price.  You don’t have to get 2 items.  Now in Florida, their bogo rings up 1st one at full price and the 2nd one at .00 so you will have to purchase 2 to get the bogo deal.

Handling your coupons

There is a bunch of different ways to store your coupons.  You will have to find one that meets your needs.

Binder Method – You can clip coupons and put them in a binder with baseball cards.  You will have to be faithful in cutting and sorting and going through to make sure they aren’t expired every week.
Insert Method – Have a file cabinet or box with file folders and just store the inserts in whole.  Once you need to clip a coupon, just look for the date and insert they will be in and go to that insert and clip it out.
Coupon Envelope – This is good for people that don’t have a lot of coupons to use.  But once you start couponing good and start saving more, you will need to go to a different method since the coupons won’t all fit in the envelope.

With couponing you will find that you have to grow a thick skin.  You will find cashiers and customers behind you in line complain and hassle you about using coupons.  Don’t let this affect you, you are not doing anything wrong as long as you are using the coupons correctly!!

This is one of my biggest pet peeve with couponing.  The cashiers or managers will say this “it’s limit 1 per purchase” which the cashiers think that you are only allowed to use 1 coupon for the whole transaction.  NOT TRUE!!  If you are purchasing 5 things, you are allowed to use 5 coupons as long as they are for 1 product not for $1 off 2.  The only time you are not allowed to use more than what you purchase if the coupons say “limit 1 per transaction” or “limit 4 like coupons”.  A lot of P&G coupons now say limit 4 like coupons, which means you can only purchase 4 razors and use 4 - $4 off coupons, but you can purchase 4 – Dawn Dish Soap and use 4 - .25 cent off coupons on that same order.  They just don’t want you using more than 4 of the same exact coupons in the same transaction.

I hope the things I explained makes it easier for you to get started or to do better. When you get started at couponing you won't notice much of a difference money wise for the 1st couple months, but you will notice that your pantry and fridge/freezer is getting fuller!  Once you get a good stockpile, then all you will need to do is replenish your basic items.  You will still be able to get stuff but they will be at a really low price after coupons and sales.

I will do another post on the drug store game!  If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment or email me and I will be glad to help!


Photobucket

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Progresso Recipe Starter Sauce






I'm a part of BzzAgent and I recently was sent a can of the Progresso Recipe Starters.  I got the Creamy Portabella Mushroom.  When I got it, I browsed the recipes online to get ideas.  I came across the mushroom and Swiss burgers and the picture looked good. 



I have to say, it made the burgers soft and tender.  I don't know if I would be making this recipe again but I will definitely be using this starter soup in other recipes.  I just need to play around and keep making something that I will love.

It comes in 5 different flavors
Creamy Parmesan Basil
Creamy Portabella Mushroom
Creamy Roasted Garlic
Creamy Three Cheese
Fire Roasted Tomatoes

I can't wait to try the Creamy Three Cheese.  I think that would go great in a pasta dish.  The next time I'm at the store, I'll have to be sure to pick up a couple cans.



Photobucket