Wacky Wednesday - Fish

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Tuesday Tips - A Best Time to Buy Guide

Ever wonder when the best time to buy a car is or when to replace that appliance and get the best deal? Krazy Coupon Lady put together a post about the Best Time to Buy Guide. Check it out!

Monday Munchies - Gluten Free Sweet Recipes

Just for a change I wanted to post a few gluten-free recipes for sweets that I've found. Though I haven't tried them all, they sure sound yummy to me! Just click on the picture and it will take you to the recipe!

Deep Dark Chocolate Cookies

GF Peanut Butter Cookies

GF Pumpkin Scone

(scroll down - she has multiple recipes for different dietary needs)

This weeks coupon match-ups and deals

Check out this weeks coupon match-ups and deals:

Deal Seeking Mom's CVS Deals.

Common Sense with Money's Walgreen's Deals and a couple cheap cleaning products at Target with some internet printable coupons.

Totally Target's Target's Deals.

Freelance Friday - An organized fridge!

Once the new year stars I plan my spring cleaning schedule. This year for me it is actually very simple as we are renting a small apartment and most of our possessions are in storage. However, one project I never thought of actually organizing was the refrigerator. I clean it out once a week when I make my grocery list but never had a problem with keeping it neat.

The apartment refrigerator is smaller than the one we own and I was having difficulty finding what I needed. The shelves are deeper so things get lost in the back. To avoid wasting money and time I purchased some baskets from Five Below and now I can easily pull out the basket and see everything I have. I used 2 large baskets and 2 smaller baskets and that seems to be enough for me. We have 2 drawers in the bottom as well.

Check out this photo and blog post from goodbye, house. Hello, Home! of a beautiful refrigerator. She bought her baskets at Walmart and I LOVE that they have handles!

Toddler Thursday - Exploring Emotions

Here is a cute activity for exploring emotions with young children. Check out emotional snowmen here. If you don't want to purchase edible markers just for this occasion, I suggest using good old crayola washable markers. Then you can eat some plain snowmen and toss the emotional ones.

Wacky Wednesday - Coffee Owl

How cute is this?

Source: a.imageshack.us via Anouk on Pinterest

Tuesday Tip - Cute teacher gift

Here is an adorable (and practical) gift idea for a teacher! What do you think?

This week's coupon match-ups and deals

Here are the links to the deals to be had this week!

CVS by MoneySavingMom

Walgreens by MoneySavingMom

Target by TotallyTarget

Monday Munchies - Pepperoni Rolls

This is a deliciously easy recipe for Pepperoni rolls! You must try it. I also added a layer of ham deli slices/lunchmeat on top of the pepperoni.

It's a hit at our house with everyone!

Freelance Friday - Ask the readers about birthday parties

This Friday we'd like to ask you about some of your creative and frugal ideas for birthday parties. My daughter is going to be 1 this March, and I need some ideas! I want to keep it simple, and realize that this birthday is not as much for her as it is for me, her daddy and the friends who prayed so diligently for her.  I know she won't remember any of it!

So, send along your ideas! We'd love to hear them!

Toddler Thursday - Using Old Calendars

I love it when you find a way to take something you are about to throw out and turn it into something educational! Check out Totally Tots and find some great uses for that old 2011 calendar!

Wacky Wednesday - Calories

Source: Uploaded by user via Anouk on Pinterest

Tuesday Tips - Stockpile Price List for 2012

Do you ever look at an item and wonder if it's a good price or better yet is it at a price that I should "stockpile" that item? Well For the Momma's posted a stockpile price list for dairy items here and toiletry items here as well as pantry items here. . . I found all three posts to be very informative! She lists her buy price and her stockup price.

Monda Munchies - Biscuit Cinnamon Rolls

I pinned this recipe on Pinterest a while back, and then a few weeks ago (when our local Logli/Schnucks was tripling coupons) got some Pillsbury Grands Flaky Biscuits. Since we had overnight guests, I figured I would give these a try for breakfast. 

Source: all-things-delicious.blogspot.com via Anouk on Pinterest

Here are a few notes I made for myself on this:

- A spring-form bundt pan is not the same as a regular bundt pan. Liquids will leak out of it.
- Sugar, butter and syrup leaking out of a pan into an oven can make a mess. It smells good, if you like the smell of burnt sugar.
- I had to use one and a half cans of the Grands rolls because 8 rolls were too few and 16 were too many.
- Next time I will use just one can of the rolls but cut them in half and spread them around. That way I will have less breading for the same amount of the yummy topping. Plus I won't have a half a can of biscuits left.

All in all this was a hit. I think if I implement the above changes, it will be even better. I like more sweet stickiness per capita of biscuit! Here are my pictures of my attempt at this recipe! Enjoy!

This weeks coupon match-ups and deals

Here are this weeks coupon match-ups and deals!

CVS - courtesy of Common Sense with Money!

Walgreens - courtesy of Deal Seeking Mom!

Target - courtesy of Totally Target!
Target it having some great clearance deals going on right now. Check out the Bodega, Toys, Health & Beauty . . . lots of great deals to be found!

Freelance Friday - DIY Household Favorites

Here are a few of my favorite DIY products I have made recently and will continue to make:

Homemade Febreeze:
Spray bottle - 32 oz. (or re-use a Glade of Febreeze bottle)
1/8 c. fabric softener
2 T. baking soda
Hot tap water
**Mix ingredients in spray bottle and spray away! Remember to use coupons when you purchase your fabric softener. ;) I purchased Snuggle and the scent lasts longer than the Glade or Febreeze I used.

Doll hair detangle spray:
Wig brush (you can find this at Sally's Beauty Supply for around $4)
Small spray bottle
2 T. fabric softener
**Put fabric softener in spray bottle and fill with water. Spray on doll's hair and comb away. It works really well!

This next one I had been putting off because I am not a fan of foaming soap. It seems that we go through foaming soap faster than liquid; however, I am now a fan. It works great and it will still make your liquid soap go much further even if the foaming soap goes quicker. What I LOVE about this idea though is using it to make your kids bath soap go further. My kids love to scrub themselves but the bottles the soap comes in is not conducive to kids. They dump the whole bottle for one bath. I usually put their soap in a pump anyway but putting it in a foaming soap bottle has REALLY made a big difference!

Foaming Soap:
Empty foaming hand soap bottle
2 T. liquid soap
**Put soap in bottle and add water. Swirl it around to mix it up.
FYI - this does not dilute the soap to much. 99% of germs are killed just by using water!

Toddler Thursday - Balloon Tennis

Balloon Tennis is a great indoor winter or rainy day activity! Check out Toddler Approved for the fun details. My kids have been having fun with this one!

Wacky Wednesday - Who? Me?

Source: piccsy.com via Anouk on Pinterest

Tuesday Tip - Repurposing an old cabinet door

I love this idea! I don't think I would have time to hand-paint it, but if I could find a nice decal this would be an extra easy project! What do you think?

This week's coupon match-ups and deals

Here they are! Sorry, in a little bit of a rush no nothing fancy - just links!

CVS

Walgreens

Target

Monday Munchies - Chili's Copycat Salsa

Since this time of year it is hard to whip up some garden fresh salsa this is a great delicious recipe to try. . . with a hat tip to Chili's it tastes really similar.

2 - 14oz cans of whole tomatoes, drained
1 - 4oz can diced or whole jalapenos not pickled (less if you don't like spicey)
1/4 cup - onion
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 to 1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp line juice

Place all ingredients together in a food processor or blender until smooth and enjoy!

$5 off $5 purchase at Michael's - today 2/3 and tomorrow 2/4

Go here to print a $5 off a purchase of at least $5. The coupon is good today, Friday the 3rd and tomorrow, Saturday the 4th. If there is a project you have been wanting to attempt from Pinterest, now would be a good time to try it on the cheap!

Freelance Friday - Organizing on a dime

Here are some of my favorite organizational tips using stuff you probably have around the house!

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Do you Ebates?

If you're like me, you are doing more and more of your shopping online where great deals are to be had. Last Thanksgiving I avoided the lines and craziness at the stores and chose instead to shop online - and what great deals there were to be had! One of the best deals I saw was a KitchenAid on sale for $180 (retails $270, often on sale for around $200). By the time you made sure to purchase through a cash-back site, added a 20% off coupon, and sent in for the $20 rebate, the price ended up being more like $115 plus tax and shipping . . . plus on top of that you got $45 Kohls Cash to spend (which could go toward buying some other Christmas gifts). That's the equivalent of getting $245 worth of merchandise for $115 (plus tax & s&h)!

Wondering what a cash-back site is? It's a site that offers an incentive to click through their links to the store you pick. Basically, they get a referral commission from the store and pass some of it on to you.

One of my favorite cash-back sites is Ebates. Whenever I decide to make a purchase online, I go to Ebates.com and make sure to check if they offer cash-back at that particular online store. If they do, I click through their link which takes me to the store site, and I make my purchase! It's really that easy. They often offer double cash-back, like they are currently doing at many online stores for Valentine's Day. Just for an example, if you had purchased the above KitchenAid deal, you would have gotten about $6 cash-back from Ebates - may not seem like much, but it all adds up!

Some of the stores I've gotten cash-back from in the past 4 months have been Target, Walmart, JC Penney, Kohls, Coastal.com, and others. I've gotten anywhere from 1%-6% cash-back, (some store are even 10%, or there is a $7 bonus for signing up for 3 months of Weight Watchers)! Sometimes that percentage doesn't seem like much, but it all adds up! You get "paid" quarterly by your choice of check or Paypal as long as your total is above $10 - if it's not, it just rolls into the next quarter!

If you haven't signed up at Ebates yet, you can do so by clicking here: they are offering a bonus gift card when you sign up (which you will get after your first $25 purchase!)

So what are some of your favorite cash-back sites?

(Note: Some of the links in this post are referral links. Read our disclosure policy here)

Toddler Thursday - Sensory Balloons

Here is a fun activity for your child . . . Sensory balloons! Check out Tot Treasures Post here. Balloons and household items you have around your house, that's all you will need!

Wacky Wednesday - Baby playing peek-a-boo

I'm almost sure this is how my daughter will react when she figures this out!

Source: pinterest.com via Anouk on Pinterest