Huge Publix Haul

I have been putting it off all week and I finally had to go to take advantage of some of my coupons before they expired. Since I hadn't been in a little while, my stack of coupons was quite large. I kept apologizing to the poor cashier, but luckily she was very nice. Here is what I got:

• 18 boxes of Mueller's Pasta, $1.51 B1G1 - Used nine $1 off 2 coupons from the SS Blinkie Box = 25¢ each
• 4 bottles of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, $3.69 B1G1 - Used four $1 off coupons from the newspaper = 85¢ each
• Angel Soft Toilet Paper 12 Double Rolls, $5.49 - Used 55¢ off coupon from Miracle Network coupons and $1 off Target printable coupon = $3.94
• 2 packs of Friskies Cat Treats, $1.75 each - Used B1G1 coupon from the newspaper and B1G1 Target printable coupon = 2 for Free
• 2 jars of Planters Peanut Butter, $2.59 each - Used two $1 off printable coupons from Kraft First Taste and two 75¢ off Target printable coupons = Free + 32¢ overage
• 3 Dove Men+Care Deodorants and 3 Dove Women's Deodorants, $2.99 B1G! - Used three $1 off Dove Men+Care coupons from newspaper, three 75¢ off Dove Women's Deodorant coupons from newspaper and two $3 off 3 Select Products Publix coupons from Green Advantage Buy Flyer at front of the store = 6 for Free + $2.28 overage
• 2 packs of Athenos Feta Cheese, $2.59 B1G1 - Used two 75¢ off coupons from the SS Blinkie Box = 55¢ each
• 2 bottles of Kikkoman Hoisin Sauce, $3.65 each - Used two $1 off printable coupons = $2.65 each
• Gallon of Milk, $3.75
• Activia Multipack, 3 for $6 - Used $1 off coupon from the newspaper =$1.00
• Fiber One Cereal, $4.55 - Used $1 off peelie pad coupon and $2.00 off Publix coupon from the weekly ad = $1.55
• 2 bottles of Crisco Olive Oil, $5.79 each - Used B1G1 Publix coupon from the newspaper and two $1 off coupons from the SS Blinkie Box = $1.90 each
• 4 bags of Whiskas Cat Food, $4.49 each - Used Rain Check for B1G1 sale and four $2 off coupons from the newspaper = 25¢ each
• 2 packs of Immaculate Baking Company Cookie Dough, $3.29 each - Used Rain Check from B1G1 sale and $1 off 2 coupon (from writing to the company) = $1.15 each
• Triple Double Oreos, 2 for $5 - Used $1 off Publix Stocking Spree coupon and $1 off Any Nabisco wyb Milk printable coupon - 50¢
• 4 jars of Classico Marinara Sauce, $2.89 B1G1 - Used $1 off 2 peelie coupon and Free Red Sauce wyb 2 White Sauces Hang Tag = 47¢ each
• 2 bottles of Lysol Disinfectant Cleaner, $3.19 B1G1 = $1.60 each
• Lysol Wipes, $2.99 - Will submit for mail in rebate = Free

• 5 Gala Apples (2.21 lbs at $1.29 per lb), $2.85 - Used two $1 off Produce wyb 2 Hidden Valley Ranch Dressings = 17¢ each

I forgot to fit the apples in the big picture. Without my coupons and sales and rain checks, my total would have been $172.36, but I only paid $46.63 :) I saved 73% - on a haul this big I'm really happy with that.

Hurry in if you want to get the Dove Deodorant deal - the 3 Men+Cares that I got were the last 3 on the shelf. They said they did have more to put out after they close, but these are cheaper than free so they will not last long.

Free Box of Kleenex Cool Touch (For You and A Friend)

Go here and sign up to receive a free box of Kleenex Cool Touch Tissues and also have one sent to a friend :)

My New Coupon Bag!

I was at Barnes and Noble tonight after going to dinner with my husband :) As I was walking around, I stumbled on the sale section (as I always do) and found one of these canvas bags left!

It was marked down to half price plus I have the membership card (extra 10% off) and this weekend there is a printable coupon for members to get another 15% off one item. With all my discounts, my new bag cost me $5.14 :) I love canvas bags for my coupon binder. I've tried other kinds and the corners of my binder just seem to wear holes in any lighter material. My current canvas bag is looking pretty dirty, so this will be a fresh change :)

And how appropriate that I will carry my coupons around in a bag that I got a great deal on!

Free Kefir Product for Taking Survey

Take this survey (it only takes a few minutes) and in return Lifeway will send you a coupon for a Free Kefir product of your choice :)

Fantabulous Food! Substituting Blondie Recipe

This all started many months ago when I had promised to make my butterscotch cream cheese swirl brownies. I got out everything to make them only to find out that I was out of butterscotch chips and it was about 11pm. I didn't want to run to the store, so I looked through my 'chips' collection to use a different kind. I ended up making the exact same recipe just with peanut butter chocolate chips instead - and they were delicious :)

Since then, I am always brainstorming about what other chips would taste good and I have wanted to try white chocolate chips with nutella swirl for a while. Finally, I had the time and the supplies to make it happen. I decided to use it as an opportunity to show you how to substitute a recipe.

The glory of this recipe is that the flavor is completely determined by your chips you use for the base. If you've never checked, you should swing by the baking aisle next time you're in the store to see just how many different types of chips there are. You can even get fancy kinds from specialty stores, etc. So this is my cream cheese swirl brownie recipe with white chocolate and nutella.

White Chocolate Nutella Cream Cheese Swirl Brownies

For Cream Cheese:

• 8 oz block of cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 large egg
• 2 tbsp flour
• 3 or 4 tbsp nutella

For Brownies:

• 2 cups white chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
• 4 large eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350º F. Cover a 12x18" cookie sheet with parchment paper.

2. For Cream Cheese: In a medium bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add egg + beat. Add flour + beat.

Add nutella one tbsp at a time and mix well after each addition. Taste mix and add more until it is to your liking - I used about 3.5 tbsp in all. Mix until well blended.

3. In a medium saucepan, melt white chocolate chips and unsalted butter until smooth. Stir until well combined - it will look kind of mealy.

Remove from heat and add brown sugar. Mix well and set aside to cool for 5 minutes.

4. Transfer to larger bowl to mix in. Beat eggs into white chocolate mixture one at a time until well combined each time. Add vanilla and mix well.

5. In a separate bowl, combine flour, salt and baking powder. Whisk to combine.

6. Add dry mixture to wet mixture a little at a time so it doesn't make a mess. Mix well with a mixer.

7. Pour white chocolate batter out onto prepared baking sheet. Spread batter out evenly. Take spoonfuls of cream cheese mixture and drop them onto the white chocolate mixture. I like to put them in the corners and then catty-corner to each other. You want to still be able to see the white chocolate mixture. Then use a butter knife starting in one spit and swirl the mixtures. Do not lift your knife out until the swirl is to you liking. Be sure to keep the knife straight up to achieve the prettiest swirl possible.

8. Bake at 350º F for 25 to 30 minutes. White batter will be slightly golden and a knife inserted in the middle should come out with moist crumbs attached. Allow to cool completely before cutting.

MMMmmmm ... They smelled delicious the whole time they were baking, and I have to say they tasted pretty good too :) So, don't be afraid to try different flavors with a tried and true recipe. Occasionally it won't come out quite like you hoped, but it's all a trial and error process. You may fail, but that's what makes success so great :)

I'd say this substitution was a success :)

Free Halloween Card from Tiny Prints

'Like' Tiny Prints on Facebook to get access to a promo code that will get you a free Halloween card with free shipping today only!

Hill's Science Diet Dog Food Free + Money Maker at PetSmart

Thanks to this mail in rebate and this coupon you can not only get a full rebate for your purchase price in the mail, but you can make $2 :) Here's how.

Buy Hill Science Diet Ideal Balance Dog Food 4 lb Bag at PetSmart, $9.99
Use $2 off PetSmart store coupon
Pay $7.99, then submit this rebate to receive $9.99 back in the mail!

This would make a great donation item to your local ASPCA if you don't have a dog :)

Free Bare Minerals Essentuals Lip Color Sample

Print this coupon and bring it to the Sephora counter at your local JC Penney store to get a free deluxe sample of Bare Minerals Essentuals Lip Color :)

I Won A Free Artisan Pizza!

Woo Hoo! Here is my delicious and FREE pizza I won today from Dominos ") It was total luck - I just happened to check their Facebook page at the right time and voilá! I just had to brag :) I highly recomment the Italian Sausage Pepper Trio Pizza :)

Free Cream of Wheat Cinnabon Sample

Go here to get a free sample of Cream of Wheat Cinnabon :) Yum!

Win Free Avery Sticky Notes

Go here and enter to win one of 20,000 samples of Avery Sticky Notes. Also, 5 winners will get 100,000 box tops for education for their school :)

Free Origins Plantscription Eye Treatment Sample

Go here to request your free sample of Plantscriptions Anti-Aging Eye Treatment from Origins :)

Fun in the Mail

Friday:

• 2 Mosquito Repellant Patches from Ben's Outlet
• Swiffer Duster 360 from VocalPoint with four coupons:
• $2 off Swiffer Dust and Shine or Dusters Refill
• $2 off Swiffer Sweeper Starter Kit
• $2 off Swiffer Sweeper Dry or Wet Refills
• $4 off Swiffer SweepVac Starter Kit
• Downy Unstoppables Sample with $3 coupon and three $2 coupons from VocalPoint
• Sample of Ojon Instant Restorative Hair Serum (Facebook offer)
• $3 Rebate Check from Stoner for Invisible Glass Wipes

Saturday:

• Free Christmas Card from CardStore.com
• Free John Frieda Precision Foam Hair Color Coupon - Expired 9/30 - yeah, thanks a lot John Frieda

Tuesday:

• Frizz Ease Shampoo, Conditioner, and Serum Samples
• Nivea Touch of Cashmere Body Wash with $1 and $2 coupons
• Publix Stocking Spree Booklet
• Free 32oz Powerade coupon from MyCokeRewards.com
• 3 samples of Trilipiderm Moisturizer

Wednesday:

• L'Oréal Youth Code sample and $3 coupon
• L'Oréal Ever Sleek samples of shampoo, conditioner, and humidity defying creme with $2 coupon

Free Matt Damon Movie Rental from Blockbuster Express

Now through 10/31, you can get a free one night rental of any Matt Damon movie from your local Blockbuster Express Kiosk. Just use promo code DAMON at checkout!

Win Free Hosiery from Hanes

Go here and enter to win free hosiery from Hanes on their Facebook page :) They will give out 500 to those who enter from now until 1:59pm on 10-6 at random.

Good luck!

How To: Container Gardening

This year, we got a little ambitious and bought a few too many plants for the space we had in our garden beds. So, we decided to take a chance and plant the remainders in pots. I have honestly not had very good luck with pots in my gardens over previous years, so this time we decided to look up the most successful method of planting in hopes of these plants actually surviving.

Here is the planting process that seems to have the most success according to our online findings.

1. Line your pot with a few inches of small rocks or gravel. This will help your plant get proper drainage.

2. Fill your pot up to just about 1 inch of the lip of the pot on top of the rocks with a good quality potting mix. Personally, I have come to love Miracle Grow Moisture Control. It's designed to maintain enough moisture when it's dry, but also drain the moisture out when it's too wet. Basically, you can get away with not watering it everyday or over watering it = a win win!

3. Take a small hand shovel, spade, or just your hand and dig a hole wide and deep enough to accommodate your plants' roots. You want to make sure the plant base is properly covered so make sure it's deep enough.

4. Take your plant and gently place it in the hole. If you are using a plant that has a decent amount of roots that are wrapped in soil, give the roots a slight squeeze - it will encourage them to grow and stabilize themselves quicker.

5. When your plant is placed, pull soil up around the plant and gently press the plant downward. Even out your soil around the plant. Make sure you have not covered up too much of your leaves with dirt. The only way your plant gets sun is through it's leaves - their more leaves that are exposed, the more energy the plant will have and the better/faster it will grow.

So, here are my cabbages that are in pots. We also have a few that got to be planted in the ground, so we will get to do a bit of a comparison as to which way was better :)

The weather is perfect! Get out there and plant something!

Free Sample of Aquafresh Toothpaste

Go here to get a free sample of Aquafresh Extreme Clean Toothpaste courtesy of Walmart :)

e.l.f. Deal: Free Shipping on $13.50 or More!

e.l.f. Cosmetics is celebrating hitting 100,000 fans on Facebook by giving Free Shipping with any purchase on their site over $13.50 :) Just use code FBFREE at checkout. This is a great deal! If you are not familiar with e.l.f. (or eyes lips face), you will be addicted after this. Target sells their products and you may have noticed how cheap they are. Everything starts at $1! With this code, you can get 14 makeup items or tools for $14 shipped to your house! Hurry to get while the getting is good!

Free John Frieda Hair Color (If You Qualify)

Go here and take a quick survey to see if you qualify for a Free John Frieda Precision Foam Hair Color! Your coupon will arrive in 8 to 12 weeks.

Free 15 Days on Ancestry.com

To celebrate their 15th anniversary, Ancestry.com is giving away 15 days of searching certain records on their site for free :) Each day until October 15th, they will open a new set of documents to search at no charge. This is a great offer to get a jump on finding your relatives or just beefing up your family history :)

Stila.com Deal: Free Shipping + Deluxe Sample *Today Only*

Stila.com has a great deal going on today only. Get a free deluxe sample of their Prime Pot Eye Shadow Primer and Free Shipping with any order :) Just enter coupon code PRIMEPOT11 at checkout. This does exclude last call items and online exclusive sets (darn it), but I still was able to snag this sweet deal :)

They have their lip glaze trios for only $12.00! They are slightly smaller than the normal size, but you get three colors for less than the price of one (normally full size is $22!). Hurry and get this now if you want it as I'm sure it won't last long with this promotion.

Free Sample of DIal NutriSkin Lotion (New Offer)

Go here to get a free sample of Dial NutriSki Lotion courtesy of Walmart - yet again :)

Free Card from CardStore.com

CardStore.com is offering a free card to the first 20,000 orders that use code FBFREE :) Just choose your card, customize it, and then enter the code at checkout :) I love their cards!

Free Favorite Pies eCookbook from All You Magazine

To celebrate gaining over 200,000 fans on Facebook, All You Magazine has put up a free booklet for us all :) It's All You's 10 Favorite Pie Recipes :) Go here to see some great pie recipes :)

Free Hand Cream at L'Occitane Boutique

'Like' L'Occitane on Facebook and fill in your info to get a coucher mailed to you for a Free tube of Shea Butter Hand Cream (A $5 value) :) You will have to take the voucher into your local L'Occitane boutique to redeem it. If you live in the Central Florida area, the nearest one is in the Millenia Mall. If you are from elsewhere, go here to see where your nearest store is. Even better, if L'Occitane hits 250,000 fans, they will up the ante to the 30ml size, a $10 value :)

5 Disney Movies Rewards Points

Sign in to your Disney Movie Rewards account and enter code HSIU87FJ457 to get 5 points added!

Household Tips: Prevent Pans From Rusting After Washing

Ever wondered how to fight that seemingly losing battle of rust on your metal baking pans? Here is a helpful tip to prevent it from happening.

*After washing your pans, turn your oven on its lowest setting (I put it on 180º F) and place your pans on the racks. The heat will evaporate the water off the pans before they have had time to rust :)

Keep your pans looking new so they last longer!

Garden Update - 1 Week

I'm really surprised at how much my garden has grown in just one week :) Here is how things are shaping up!

Herbs :) Settling in nicely!

Right to Left: Okra, Tomatoes, Okra, and Corn. My left side okra isn't looking so good, but the rest is doing great.

Butter Crunch Lettuce and Chinese Cabbage. These have seriously at least doubled in size since we planted them!

Just Got My Burt's Bees Sensitive Skin Bzz Kit

I just got my box from Bzz Agent full of Burt's Bees Sensitive Skin Products :)

I got:

• Burt's Bees Bzz Guide
• Burt's Bees Full Sized Sensitive Facial Cleanser
• Burt's Bees Full Sized Sensitive Daily Moisturizing Cream
• 7 Coupons for $1 off Any Burt's Bees Sensitive Skin Product
• 8 Samples of Burt's Bees Sensitive Daily Moisturizing Cream with $1 coupons

I love being a Bzz Agent because of the neat stuff I get to try out and I'm super excited to give these a whirl. I have moderately sensitive skin, but my husband can't wash his face with anything or else he breaks out, sometimes with a rash. So, we will both be giving these products a spin. Stay tuned for our review! Thanks you Bzz Agent!

*If you are interested in trying one of the samples, leave a comment on this post or email me!

Delicious Drink Discovery!

My husband got creative today and the results were quite scrumptuous! Just take a packet of Crystal Light Pure (Mixed Berry Flavor) and shake it into a glass. Then pour in Sierra Mist. It is like a berry lemonade soda :) It's really good - Just thought I'd share!

Thanks Justin for being a creative genius :)

Free Lens Cloth and Cleaner at Walmart Optical

Print this coupon and take it with you to your local Walmart Optical Center to get a Free Lens Cloth and Cleaner :)