Late Night at Walmart

I hadn't even planned on going to Walmart tonight, but I went to make something for a Memorial Day party and I was missing a few ingredients. So, I figured I would get some of my coupon items while I was there :)

• 4, 4-packs of Scott Naturals toilet paper, $2.68 each - Used four $1.50 off printable coupons  = $1.18 each
• 19, 3 bar packs of Ivory Soap, $0.97 each - Used 19 $1.00 off coupons from the 5/1 P&G Brand Saver = 19 for Free + $0.57 overage
• 3, 20 packs of Carefree Pantyliners, $0.94 each = Used 3 Free or $1.00 off coupons from the newspaper = 3 for Free
• 6 Black Flag Super Swatters, $0.97 each - Used six $1 off Any Black Flag Product coupons from the newspaper = 6 for Free + $0.12 overage
• Q-Tips To Go 30 pack, $0.97 - Used $0.30 off coupon from 5/22 newspaper = $0.67
• 4 Ritter Biscuit Chocolate Bars, clearance $1 each
• 2, 4 packs of Wilkinson Sword Disposable Razors, $0.97 each - Used two $1 off printable coupons = 2 for Free + $0.06 overage
• 3 pack of Crunch N' Clean Chew Bones, clearance $2.00 - Used $1 off coupon from newspaper = $1.00
• Cascade Action Packs Trial Size, $0.97 - Used $1 off Cascade coupon from inside Charmin Toilet Paper = Free + $0.03 overage
• 4 Johnson & Johnson First Aid To Go Kits, $0.97 each - Used 4 $1.50 off Any 2 Johnson & Johnson Products peelie pad coupons = 4 for $0.88 + Free First Aid Kit in Mail
• 2 Duncan Hines Classic White Cake Mix, $1.24 each
• Great Value Brand Sour Cream, $2.08
• Great Value Brand Pure Almond Extract, $2.98
• 50 Count White Cupcake Liners, $1.12
• Great Value Brand Graham Cracker Crust, $1.50
• Great Value Brand Butter 4 Pack, $2.98
• 12 oz Pack of Blackberries, $2.48

I have been looking for these Ivory soap packs for the last month and they have never been in stock! I'm just bummed I didn't finally find some until after my Coupons 4 Cuba donation :( I had originally intended them for that. It's ok though, I know I will find another worthy cause for the 57 bars of soap :)

The First Aid Kits qualified for a mail in offer that was in the newspaper a week or so ago. It was with all the Johnson and Johnson coupons :) It said if you buy any 3 J&J Red Cross, Bandaid, Cortaid, Neosporin or Benadryl Topical Products, you get a free first aid kit. You can print the rebate for yourself here.

I honestly hate shopping for things that I need but don't have coupons for now, so at least I was able to pair that trip up with a lot of freebies to make up for it! And now I'm all set for making my desserts for this weekend :)

Coupons 4 Cuba: A Great Donation!

Today was the final day before Rene left for Cuba, and we all helped him to completely fill his family's suitcases! We rounded up so much stuff, I had to split things up to take the pictures :)

Here is everything Rene will be taking with him to Cuba:

• Maxi Pads
• 62 Disposable Razors
• 8 Shave Gels
• 11 Deodorants
• 3 Bottles and 15 Individual Packs of Toothpaste
• Floss
• 7 Facial Cleansers

• 4 Packs of Pantyliners
• 7 Body Washes
• 2 Bars of Soap
• 6 Shampoos
• 4 Conditioners
• 6 Butterfinger Bars
• 2 Peeps with Chocolate

• Mouthwash
• 3 Face Lotions
• Eyeshadow
• 2 Mascaras
• 3 Lipsticks
• Cream Blush
• 6 Spray Deodorants

I was so happy to see everyone's generous donations. There was even some Clinique brand items in there! Everything completely filled 4 grocery bags that I could hardly tie shut and what a beautiful site they were :)

The best part of all of this was seeing how excited Rene was to see it all! He was honestly speechless and almost in tears. He had no idea I would round up so much and it took a lot of convincing for him to believe me when I said we got most of it for free :) He wanted me to be sure I tell everyone who donated that he said thank you so much.

Thank you again to everyone who gave of their things to help Rene's family and friends in Cuba. Everything will be arriving in Cuba on Sunday morning and I know Rene will be incredibly excited to distribute everything. This was such a great experience and I can't wait for another opportunity to arrange a donation! 

This video always makes me laugh :) Enjoy!

Pick Your Own Berries = Cheap Produce and Loads of Fun!

Yesterday, I got a wild hair and decided to take advantage of one of the last days to "pick your own berries" at a local farm in Mims. So, we headed out to the Holland Family Blueberry Farm ready to do some pickin'.

I was honestly surprised at how big the fields of blueberries were. It was a bit of a walk to get to the field that still had berries left, but really not bad. We started to see berries, and just kind of dove it and started picking.

Justin early on in the day :)

Me getting my pick on.

It took me a bit to get the hang of it, but I was soon in the swing of it. I even came across a surprise:

I thought this little guy was pretending to be a stem and he scared the heck out of me when I tried to shake it off to no avail. Justin was excited to see a stick bug.

The bushes in the middle area were really full of big, delicious looking berries. Most of the berries were ripe and ready to be picked and we were able to just slide our hands down the branch and pull off big bunches in one full swoop. My hands got a little stained but they sure smelled good :)

We ended up picking for about 2 hours and the time just flew by! We really had fun and it was more like a hunt than work. Even as were were walking out of the field, we would stop and pull of any good bunches we saw :)

Once we were finished, I had a pretty decent bucket full.

But of course Justin beat the pants off me with a full bucket and a grocery bag that was already full. 

And we never really do things like this anymore, so I had to photograph the evidence that we were both there.

I have no idea why Justin is making that face lol.

We went back to the girl at the front and she weighed our winnings for the day. I had 4.5 lbs and Justin almost exactly doubled mine with 8.75 lbs! He could go get a job as a field hand :) The field sells the berries you pick for $2 per pound, so our two bags full came out to $26.50! That's a lot of berries for a little amount.  I even went by the grocery store to see how much they were selling them for and wow:

Publix had 5.5 oz packages on sale for $2.99 each. If we had bought our berries from Publix, we would have spent $117 for the same amount. That's some serious savings!

Justin's bag

Here is a side view of the bag so you can see just how much is in there.

When we got home, we had to start cleaning and picking the little stem pieces off - which is rather a pain.

We didn't get very far before I had to start cooking some of them - I had to start the recipe that night, so we pulled out 3 cups of berries and put the rest in the fridge. After removing the 3 cups, the remaining berries completely filled 3 one gallon size Ziploc bags! I'm gonna be busy for quite a while with getting them frozen or preserved. Guess what my Fantabulous Food! posts are going to be about for the next little while :)

All in all, we had a blast! I absolutely recommend taking advantage of any local farms like this. Not only was it surprisingly fun, but we have saved so much money in the process! It may be a lengthy process but by the time the berries are all stored, we will have enough to last us for probably the rest of the year :) So get out there! Have some fun and get fruity at the same time :)

*Tomorrow 5/28, Saturday, will be the last day of the year to pick berries at Holland Farms. You should totally go because they have lowered the price to $1 per pound! I'm jealous I can't go!

My Baby is 2 Today!

My little boy is officially 2 years old! *Sniff* It seems like only yesterday we were picking him out as a 4 week old puppy. Time definitely flies :) But he's still just as cute as the day we got him! We wanted to make his birthday special, so it all began with a breakfast of crisped sliced ham :)

It looks like he was pretty excited about that ham :)

We followed up breakfast with a car ride - one of his personal favorite activities.

Don't let that face he's making fool you, he loves me :)
Our car ride took our Gordo to Justin's family's farm in Mims, and nothing makes the best of a luscious field of grass like a good roll.

This is my favorite picture! Look at that smile :)

He got to hang out on the pool deck for a while, run through the field, smell numerous cats, and chase toys we threw for him. He had a blast! He even got 3 chicken nuggets with his lunch.

See the happiness :)

He got to finish off the celebration by watching everything go on around him underneath the car in the shade.

He made sure we were well protected and alerted if anything came by :) And most importantly dinner for Gordo was some hamburger and macaroni and cheese :) Followed by a few licks of ice cream for dessert (his favorite).

It may seem silly to everyone else, but I totally love this little dog. He is so much a part of our little family and he makes it that much better :) I hope he enjoyed his birthday treats and fun and that he knows how much we love him :) Here's to many more little man!

Fantabulous Food! Waffles with Strawberries

This week, I was in a pinch as to what recipe to post about (a.k.a. I was a little lazy), so you get to see how I made my breakfast :)

Waffles with Strawberries
If you have never made waffles before that weren't from a box in your freezer labelled "Eggo," then you really don't know what you're missing. Not only are fresh waffles delicious, they are also really easy to make and can be topped with pretty much whatever you have around.

Strawberry Topping:

In my case, I still had a quart of strawberries that I needed to use, so I started by  1. cutting off the tops and slicing them and placing them in a container with a locking lid.

2. Sprinkle about 1/4 cup of sugar over the top of the berries.

3. Lock the lid onto the container and shake the berries lightly until the sugar no longer looks white.

4. Place the closed berry container in the fridge while you do the rest.

Waffles:

Ingredients:

• 2 cups of Hungry Jack Pancake Mix
• 1 1/4 cups water
• 1/4 cup oil
• 1 egg

I only used Hungry Jack brand because it was what I had in my pantry. Usually, I prefer Bisquick or Krusteaz as they make a crispier waffle, but any waffle or pancake mix will work.

1. Plug in your waffle iron. My waffle iron is the type you spin that makes one large waffle, but you can use any type of waffle iron. We used to make Snoopy and Hello Kitty shaped waffles :) I love mine - it rotates like the ones hotels use in the continental breakfast :) The hubby got it for my for Christmas while we were dating. They really are not as expensive as you think and because it spins, it can be stored tilted up so it doesn't take up much space. West Bend 6200 Hi-Rise Rotary Belgian Waffle Maker <- This is very close to mine (mine is just Cooks brand from JC Penny). Anyway, plug in your iron and make sure it's getting power (a light should come on).

2. Combine all ingredients and stir lightly until combined. You just want to make sure there are no huge lumps, but Do Not mix it until it's perfectly smooth. You want it to be slightly lumpy.

Before Mixing

It should look like this:

After mixing

3. Spray your iron with a non-stick cooking spray, top and bottom plates. I don't spray a ton, but don't be afraid to give it a nice coating. There's nothing worse than having to pick little pieces of waffle out of your iron because it stuck.

4. Pour some of your batter into the center of your iron. As the batter pours, it will fill in toward the edges, so pour slowly to make sure you don't put too much batter. You want most of the squares that stick up to be covered lightly with batter.

5. Quickly close your iron and spin or lock it into position. Now we wait. Depending on your iron, there will probably be some kind of indicator light to tell you it is finished cooking - do not believe it! If you make the waffles completely from scratch (with no box mix) this light would probably be correct. In my experience however, when using a pancake/waffle mix the indicator light will come on while the waffle is closer to the outer consistency of a pancake - lightly browned and very soft. I like to leave my waffles in for a much longer time and just keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't burn (I don't believe I've ever burnt one from a box mix like this). I just open my iron and feel the edges to see if they are crisp - if not, close it back up and wait another minute. They should be light golden brown and crispy when you take them out.

See why we spray the iron? It lifted right off, no problem.

6. Now just spray your iron again and pour in more batter. With my waffle iron, one recipe like this makes 3 waffles that are almost as big around as a dinner plate.

Now, to assemble the final product.
1. Take a little of the strawberry freezer jam from last week and spread it over the waffle.

2. Remove your sliced strawberries from the fridge. During their chill, the sugar will cause them to "sweat" and make a delicious strawberry syrup.

3. Spread some of the strawberries and the syrup over the waffle - not too much syrup or the waffle will get too soggy.
4. Top with whipped cream and serve!

Mmmm... It tasted even better than it looks, I assure you :)

So, next time you have a little time for breakfast, give this recipe a try. It's very easy and it only takes about 20 minutes in all :) See, simple! :)

Do You RecycleBank?

If you have been reading my blog for a while, you have probably heard me mention some coupons that I have received through Recyclebank, but I've never explained what that is :) Recyclebank is a website that is completely free to join and allows you to redeem points for coupons - what's not to love?

There are many ways to earn points on Recyclebank. You acquire points from obvious things, like recycling, or from easy tasks like pledges and quizzes. Sometimes it is as simple as watching a short video or reading something about being "greener." Once you join Recyclebank and sign in, you can click the tab at the top that says "Earn Points" to see what tasks are currently available. Most of the tasks are from the many sponsors of the site, all of whom promote their greener packaging and more sustainable business and manufacturing practices. So, you can usually expect to see rewards offered from Aveeno, Kashi, Naked Juice, McDonalds, Dove, and P&G Future Friendly among others.

So, why do all these quizzes and such? The rewards :) I know that sounds selfish. I should say, "Oh, just doing the earth a favor is reward enough for me :)" but why not get a monetary reward as well if it's available? It's nice to get rewarded for doing something you probably should be doing anyway, am I right? It's just a nice incentive.
Anyway - back to the rewards. Recyclebank rewards its users with coupons or online coupon codes for 'green' and organic products.

All of the available rewards can be redeemed using your points. Some of the coupons can be printed, but some have to be mailed (Coke and McDonalds are snail mail). Many of the coupons are constantly available, while others have limited numbers that can be 'purchased' so you may have to snag them quickly. They also have 'daily deals' which are sometimes specials that will only be available that day and on a first comes first serve basis and other times the 'daily deals' are regular coupons that Recyclebank has decreased the cost on just for a short period of time. For example, I recently redeemed some of my points for s $2 off Any Naked Juice coupon that would normally have cost me 90 points, but only cost me 40 points - not bad :) And while you can always earn more points, you never know what new opportunities will be available for earning, so you learn to be very selective with what you spend them on.

I know this was a long post, but I just want to let you know that I really like being a member of Recyclebank. It not only encourages me to be better about my recycling, it rewards me for doing it with exclusive coupons that I would not be able to get otherwise. Anyone who has looked into it can tell you that organic food coupons are few and far between; so if I have to answer a few questions to get a good coupon, no problem :)

So head over here to join now so you can start earning rewards yourself :)

Wellness Pet Food Coupons!

Wellness has some new coupons! You can print a coupon for $1 off Any Wellness Canned Dog or Cat Food and $3 off Any Wellness Dry Dog or Cat Food. Both of these coupons expire on 6/15, so get them now! This is a great dog food, very healthy and my dog loves it!

$10 off Craftsman C3 Coupon

Vocal Point is offering a $10 off coupon for Any Craftsman C3 product :) Just go here to request yours! It will be sent by mail and just in time for Father's Day!
**You will have to be a Vocal Point member to request the coupon. Go here to join if you haven't already.

Free One Week Osteo Bi-Flex Sample

Osteo Bi-Flex is offering a one week supply for free! Go here to request yours!

Coupons and Freebies!

Head over to coupons.com to print a coupon for $1 off any Blue Bunny ice cream! :)

And go to Breyer's Facebook page and 'like' them to print a coupon for $1.50 off of 2 Breyer's Blasts :) It's a good day for ice cream! This will make these $1.49 each at Publix starting tomorrow when combined with the $1.50 off 2 Target printable coupon :)

Go here to request a coupon for $1 off Cottonelle Fresh Wipes. The coupon will be delivered by mail in 3-4 weeks.

Go to Coupon Network to print a coupon for $1.75 off Bayer Advanced Aspirin. This will make a good deal at Walgreens if you can find it in stock.

Head back to coupons.com to get a $1.50 off coupon. This can be combined with the $2 off Target printable coupon for a really sweet deal :)

And go to Publix's coupon site to print a Publix store coupon for $1 off 2 Lunchables with Fruit. This will get you $3 off of 2 at Publix if you print two of the $1 off coupons on coupons.com :)

Head over to Freschetta's Facebook page and 'like' them to print a $0.75 off Freschetta By the Slice coupon :)

And head over to Healthy Choice's Facebook page and 'like' them to be ready for tomorrow's giveaway :) They posted today that they will be giving away coupons for a Free Healthy Choice Meal, but you will have to 'like' them to find out when the giveaway begins.

And head over to Nexcare's Facebook page and pledge to donate blood to request a free sample of Nexcare bandages :)