Savin' Benjamins

How are your New Year's resolutions coming along? Mine was to save money this year.
Here's where we are at almost halfway;

1. Save money by:

• Getting rid of unwanted mo. expenses- done!  We cancelled the newspaper that we didn't read that much, and called the cable company and negotiated a better deal.

• Track monthly- done/ doing! I have been tracking our expenditures in this spreadsheet template, which helps to see where you're spending. 

• Tighten variables like clothing & groceries- work in progress. We are still absurdly over what we should spend on groceries, but I haven't got any new clothes in a while (not counting gift cards I've gotten ;))

Yeaaaa, doin' pretty good so far. 

2. Become a home owner- wow, did that!
3. Have a baby- not quite yet, gotta get the house first ;) I wanted to save $1000/ month, but it's been less than that. To be fair we started paying more on student loans and credit cards.

Here are some of my favorite ways to save when shopping;
Gift Card Granny website. Stores like Marshall's or TJ Maxx rarely have coupons, but you can save some $ by buying someone else's unwanted gift card or merchandise credit.

For the stores that do take coupons (Kohl's, Macys, World Market), I love the Retail Me Not app.
I just type in the store before I check out & voila! For those of you without an iPhone, you can go to their website & print off the coupons before you shop.

Happy shopping y'all!

Nesting Nelly

I hate the term “nesting” and am disappointed I used it in le blog title.

Anyhoo, I did some major house shopping this weekend. Good thing everything actually went through; however, I don’t think I’ll believe it until after the closing and I have the keys.  

Kitchen, guest bathroom, and I had this truck, but re-finished the top with a leather fabric.

The only other treasure I got at the local Goodwill this past weekend was the striped Pottery Barn curtains (valences) that were $1 each. I got all 6 of them. Everything else I got was from Marshall’s or Hancock Fabrics.

I found these fabulous signs on Etsy (I need an intervention) and got them for all the places we’ve lived:

Knoxville, TN 2000-2003

New York, NY 2003-2006

Nashville, TN 2006-2007

Lansing, MI 2007-2008

Alexandria, VA 2008-2013

Bowie, MD 2013 -

I set aside a budget of $1000 to do everything, but am rethinking that. This month, I spent $500 on area rugs (via Craigslist), and then $380 on the guest bedroom coverlet and all this other décor.

I have a feeling paint & painting supplies might be more, and we haven't even gotten into the additional furniture we will need / want.

 

 Anyone out there have first time home buyer moving/ decorating tips?

Rules of the Grocery Store

Going to the grocery store is a pain, so E and I go together to wallow in misery together.
However, I have to deal with E's past traumas as a bagger boy. E worked at the Red Food when he was a teenager. Once a week he, or some other 15 year old sap, would have to walk all around the shopping center to collect the Red Food carts.

So now, when we are at the grocery store parking lot, every time, he finds where some lazy ass left their cart somewhere in the lot other than the designated spot. I agree, it's not cool esp. when they get loose and hit cars. Needless to say, we always return the carts (rain or shine) to their proper cart area.

This is no bueno. Look at poor Taur-dogg perilously close to getting hit in the front bumper.

A little hard to see, but this about blew poor E's head off.

I get annoyed in the grocery store more than the parking lot, but who am I kidding, does anyone like going to the grocery store?
Here are some of my rules for society to not annoy me as much:

1. Don't write a check- use a debit card. It's 2013. 
2. Don't park your cart and fat ass in the middle of the aisle when you're deciding on what cookies to buy.
3. It's not a fashion show, but please wear a bra and comb your hair. (We go grocery shopping early in the morning.) 
4. Watch your purse ladies- I am temped to see if I can get away as a purse thief. I could in the grocery store.
5. From E- don't offer the bagger a $0.25 tips if they help you out to your car. They probably can't accept them and then $0.25 is just an insult.  

Is it just me? Do you get annoyed at the grocery store?

Products You're Gonna Want!

I'm totally ripping off other blogs' "What I'm Loving" posts, but it's that the sincerest form of flattery?

• Oil of Olay (or as the hubs calls it Oil of Old Lady) CC cream. 

For real, I was feeling a little old, but this stuff really makes my skin look better and more youthful. It’s more of a natural look, and my face looks more dewy than matte, but I think as you get older (and drier), moisturizing makeup is better than matte.

Next on the list is to switch my Nars Orgasm powder blush to a cream.

• I’m also loving my new VS supermodel workout pant. They come in longs, so I can wear pants to the gym now, not just capris. They have a bit of compression, so I think they are making the booty look not too bad. (Not like this though)

  via

• Lastly, I am digging our garam masala (from World Market- they have the best spices). E made this recipe from Cookie Light and it was the bee's knees. I major <3 Indian food and I can't wait to try more recipes with this Indian spice.

Happy Hump Day friends!

The Best Hubs Ever

I was going to do a "weekend wrap up" post, but I seriously did nothing this weekend. I watched Season 7 of Dexter and then Season 1 of the Wire. LOVE both of these shows! (Do the math, it's like 9 hrs of TV a day).

(E called Comcast to cancel our HBO and they gave us the "new year" deal so we got all the premium channels for less than what we were paying. Comcast billing is so arbitrary.)

 

"Omar's coming"- my fav!

 Anyhoo- the hubs was feeling guilty about me having to take care of him (his back is still out), so he went out yesterday and used his Nordstrom’s gift card to get me a Michael Kors bag. (Hubs knows me well). 

He said I’ve been carrying around the Coach one he got me too long!

Orange (I like to call it Persimmon to mess with poor hubs and other men folk) is becoming my new fav color. This past fall I got orange capris and an orange (Knock-off) bubble necklac- would it be overload to wear them all together ;)

My Love/ Hate With Costco

The hubs sent me this post. I'm glad to know the VP likes Costco AND eats their samples.

How do I love Costco, let me count the ways:
Samples, samples, and more samples!
Wine and beer- supersized!
The cheapest party food around.

Sometimes I loathe Costco:
The grody samples (does anyone say "grody" anymore?)
The parking,
the crowds, (cart gridlock in a store's aisles, only at Costco)
and the masses gathered at the sample station. I feel (mildly) bad elbowing a granny out of the way for my free hummus sample.
Out of stock ribs or fruit platters