Shoplifting?? ME??!

Today we went to Kohl's. I love Kohl's. I really do. Until we got ours here Gainesville last year, the only time we had been there was when we picked up or dropped off Hollis in Macon, GA. After our first time there, we made it a habit to stop every other time we could just to see what they were giving away. Yes, giving away. Everytime I go in there, I find something that's been marked down so much that it starts talking to me "... you know you want me... I am such a good deal that it'd be a sin to walk away from me... that's right, put me in your buggy and take me home..." Seriously. Now don't get me wrong, I know they have some pricey items, but I don't know if I've ever gotten anything at regular price there. I go for the deals.

Today my main goal was to find Abbey some footed sleepers (insert my disappointment with Walmart here). She's outgrown all but one of hers and that won't last but another few weeks at the most. While there, of course we'd peruse the other sections for great deals. Their clearance items were already marked down like 70% off regular price and for today only they were taking an additional 25% off. Um, can you say DEAL? I just had to share a few of the items we stole from them today.

• The CD boombox: originally $39.99 - it was marked down to $11.99 and we paid $8.99. Such a good deal that we got two of them!
• The Carter's shoes for Seth: originally $29.99 - marked down to $8.99 and we paid $6.74. For Carter's brand!
• The Skechers for Seth: originally $44.99 - marked down to $8.99 and we paid $6.74.
• As if those weren't awesome enough deals... here's the best of all. The Skechers workboots for Allen: originally $100.00 - marked down to $20.00 and we paid $15.00!!! For waterproof workboots - we could hardly believe it!

I did find a couple of sleepers for Abbey and got some other oh-so-cute summer separates for her and Seth. We also replaced/upgraded our George Foreman grill for a better model - one with removable trays... so much easier to clean than the one we had. Overall we paid 43% of what our total bill would have been without the sales. That almost falls under the category of shoplifting in my book!

Publix savings

While most of you really could care less, I had to share my savings at Publix yesterday. I know the new sales started today so none of you can take advantage of these now, but mainly I had to pat myself on the back for saving some money. This trip wasn't full of necessities, but I did pick up some pretty cheap snacks for our family. Here's a run-down of some good deals I got:

• Quaker chewy granola bars: $2.99 BOGO / got 2 and used a $1/2 Q (manuf.) and two $.50/1 Q's (Target) = paid $.99/2 or $.50 each


• Stacy's pita chips: 2/$5.00 / got 2 and used two $1/50/1 Q's (manuf.) = paid $2.00/2 or $1.00 each


• Pretzel crisps: $3.19 BOGO / got 2 and used two $1/1 Q's (manuf.) = paid $1.19/2 or $.60 each


• Chex mix: $2.63 BOGO / got 2 and used one $.60/1 Q and one $.50/1 (manuf.) = paid $1.53/2 or $.77 each


• Pepperidge Farm goldfish: $2.19 BOGO / got 2 (no Q's) = paid $2.19/2 or $1.10 each


• Velveeta cheese: $3.59 BOGO / got 2 and used one $1/1 Q (manuf.) and $1/1 WYB 2 cans of Rotel = paid $1.59/2 or $.80 each (plus the cost of the Rotel)


• Cole's garlic bread: $2.79 BOGO / got 2 (no Q's) = paid $2.79/2 or $1.40 each

Had to get a few other items like formula for Abbey. In case you are out of touch with today's prices, a can of that stuff is $25.49 each. Luckily I had 2 Q's I could use towards that: a $2/1 (Walgreen's) and a $5.00 manuf. check so I paid $18.49 for that.

The total of everything before discounts, BOGO's and Q's was $81.23 and my total OOP was $44.88 = savings of 45%!! Hopefully in the future I'll be able to post these earlier in their sales week so maybe you can take advantage of some of these great deals and Q's. Until next time...

Baby steps

A proud mom I am... so I had report to my large crowd (ha-ha) that Abbey is now 8.5 months old and yesterday she took her first free-handed step! She did it a couple of times so I know I'm not dreaming. In fact, one time she took 2 steps before tumbling. She's got Seth beat by a month on this milestone. He was taking his first real steps at 9.5 months and walking pretty well by 10 months. I suspect Abbey will have it mastered in a couple of weeks.

Wow.

Seems like yesterday I was big as the side of a barn carrying her (hey, no comments needed here!) and today she's a growing blessing. Allen and I know we're so blessed to have healthy happy kids. Ok, sometimes Seth isn't too happy but all in all, things are great.

New printable coupons

It's the beginning of a new month so that means new printable coupons at Coupons.com! Here are a few of the good ones:

Velveeta - $1/1 16 oz. or larger **It's BOGO this week at Publix so here's how it would work: grab 2 and pay $3.69, use two $1/1 coupons and you'll be paying $1.69 for 2! That's a great deal!!
Kellogg's Frosted Mini-Wheats Little Bites Cereal - $1/1 14 oz. or larger
Betty Crocker Brownie Mix - $.40/1
Betty Crocker Cookie Mix - $.50/1 17.5 oz. or larger
Betty Crocker Frosting - $.55/1
Nature Valley Granola Bars - $.60/1

There are a lot more so go check them out.

Remember, if you are getting these items on BOGO at Publix, you can use one manufacturer coupon for each item. If you are a Publix shopper, I recommend you bookmark Fiddledeedee. Sarah always has awesome BOGO/coupon matchups!