Walgreens Deals

Here is my weekly rhapsody to Walgreens. I purchased: 2 Infusium Conditioners, 1 Infusium Shampoo, 1 Herbal Essences Shampoo, 1 Aussie Shampoo, 1 Aussie Conditioner, 2 packages of 3 Venus disposable razors, 2 Oral B Indicator Toothbrushes, 3 100 count Excedrin, two packs of gum, and two packs of computer paper. Total retail value: $91.93.

I paid: $17.46 out of pocket. Subtract from that the $10 coupon off my next purchase that I received and a $2.99 Excedrin rebate that I will send in= $4.47 total.

It took some patience studying the ads to figure out what coupons that I could use and how I could work the Register Rewards coupons in my favor (I checked out three times and alternated the P&G and the Novartis orders). Plus I had about $9 leftover on a couple of gift cards. Now that's what I call good shopping!

P.S. While I was taking the picture for this post, I realized how odd it is to be lining up HBA items on a table in the breezeway to take a picture of them.

Spotty Posting and Good News

The internet here is acting completely ridiculous, so my posting may be a bit spotty.

Good news: it seems that I am approved for an apartment that I have been wanting! Yay! I will drive over tomorrow to sign on the dotted line and get the utilities put in my name. This will be my first big move, so I'm very excited. :P More info will follow!

Recent Cheap Purchases

Yesterday at Yard Sale:
4 children's books for my office for a grand total of .25

Today at Yard Sales:
3 canvas or mesh tote bags to be used as grocery bags .25 each
3 children's books for my office .30 total
2 Nancy Drew books for me .20 total (Yes, I still like Nancy Drew!)
1 Tupperware Deviled Eggs Container $3

At my beloved Walgreens:
Package of 2 purple gel pens FREE after rebate
Lysol Neutra Air Freshmatic (one of those machines that automatically dispense air freshener) originally priced $11.99-2.00 sale-4.00 WG coupon- 5.00 manufacturer's coupon= .99 total!

The Winnahs!

The blog giveaway winners are Becky from Joyful Mother and Christy at Mama Said Sew. Congratulations, ladies!!!!!!!

A Post In Which I Notice The Problem Too Late

All right, I've posted before about my odd memory. Last Thanksgiving, I made this cauliflower dish that included cheese, bacon, and garlic. It was good, but very, very garlicky. I had shared the recipe with someone who worked at my school and she said it was fantastic, so I didn't know what went wrong. About a week ago (I don't know why I figured it out then), it occured to me that I was supposed to use two cloves of garlic. Instead, I used almost two full BULBS of garlic. Yikes.

No wonder it was garlicky.

Enter the Giveaway(s)!

There are two giveaways here and the contests are now open! Enter to win a copy of Decorating With Color: The Best of Martha Stewart Living OR Better Homes and Gardens' Christmas All Through the House! Both books are hardback: Martha Stewart is gently used and the Better Homes and Gardens is brand new. Leave a comment in the comments section between now and Friday, July 27th at noon Central time. This will enter you into the drawings for both items. Open ONLY to U.S. residents. Winners will be picked at random on Friday at noon or thereabouts. Good luck, and for more contests, visit Shannon's blog.

Nalgene Coupon Code

Get 25% off your order at Nalgene with the code BC2. I found this code at www.retailmenot.com, such a cute coupon code site!

Anyhoo, don't get the pretty colored bottles. Get the ugly white with blue print made out of HDPE so you don't get nasty chemicals leaching into your water. I use plastic bottles all the time for water so I bought three 32 oz. narrow mouth bottles and one 16 oz. narrow mouth bottle. I am excited about the narrow mouth since I ALWAYS spill down my front. I have limited eye-hand coordination, okay?

Fashion Feature!

I sent in this outfit photo to the fabulous Rebecca over at The Space Between My Peers and she featured it today as part of her Real Fashion for Real People segment! Go check it out! While you're there, browse around the site. Everything that you ever wanted to know about fashion and how to wear clothing is there. It is a fascinating read and informative to boot (pun intended).

My Secret Shame

There is very little that is frugal about this picture. If you've ever wanted to see how I'm not frugal, you're lookin' at it. I love coats. Love, love, love. I blame my mother. You see, Mom stayed at home with my brother and myself until he was 13 and I was nine. When Mom started working outside the home, she made herself the most fabulous wardrobe, including a long tan dress coat (she is quite the seamstress although she rarely sews nowadays). Mom also purchased a long wool grey houndstooth print coat. From that moment on, I was hooked. I could not WAIT to work so that I, too, could have such a fabulous wardrobe. And, I decided, I would have long wool coats in every color.

Today, I don't have them in every color. But I do have a lot of coats. The picture above consists only of the coats that are going to the dry cleaner today. Those coats are a chocolate brown wool from J. Crew ($150), a red wool from J. Crew ($80), a grey wool Michael Michael Kors ($100), a silver-y grey puffy coat from Jones New York ($50, but my mother purchased it for me in 2000 to replace my high school letter jacket), and a tan wool peacoat from the thrift store ($5).

I also have four short trenches (light green $12, grey $8, tan plaid $8, and khaki $30), a long black trench ($10), a cropped faux-fur leopard print (!) that was $18, and a tan boho-ish vintage coat that was a gift from my friend's mother.

There. Now you know my dirty, unfrugal secret. I feel much better.

Giveaways!

Shannon over at Rocks in My Dryer is hosting a bunch of blog giveaways next week. Here at Ramblings, there will be two, count 'em, two giveaways. Giveaway #1 will be a used but excellent-condition HARDBACK copy of Decorating With Color: The Best of Martha Stewart Living. Giveaway #2 will be a brand-spankin'-new HARDBACK copy of Better Homes and Gardens' Christmas All Through the House, a $34.95 value! Check back on Monday for the post to enter. The drawing will take place next Friday.

Card and Stationery Organization

Since I recently purchased all of those vintage cards, I had to come up with a way to store them. There are too many to store in my card and gift organizer, so I will start using that to store each month's selected cards (example: January birthdays go in the January folder, etc.). I used this box that I believe used to hold reams of paper, although it's smaller than the typical reams box. Then I added dividers made from my surplus of blue cardstock, and voila! Simple, frugal organization!

I Love the Swaps!

The Paperback Swap and Swap a CD, that is. I keep an Amazon wishlist and try to acquire the stuff on it for free or really cheap. Two more items knocked off the list!

Yes, that is the Willy Wonka soundtrack. Don't judge me.

Bounty from Branson Trip

Top photo: Gap tank top $3, Gap tee shirt $2, Payless heels $2.04 (LOVE these shoes, but they are definitely "sitting down" shoes)

Bottom photo: Rubber ducks .60 each, body wash $1, lip balms $1 each. All from Bath and Body Works and all will go into my gift tub.

Vacation!

Last weekend, I went with a friend, her sister, and the sister's friend to Branson, MO for a mini vacation. This is the same friend that I went to Branson with back in December. It was a good time, but I have learned that I don't like spending money. I think that may be a new development since I seem to have enjoyed spending money before! I took with me the Springfield/Branson Entertainment Book and my coupon binder. While we were there, we picked up several free coupon books and received a free VIP coupon book from the timeshare. Some Branson tips:

* Search the internet for coupons before you go if you know what attractions you will be visiting.
* There is a wide range of hotels available at every price point, so you may be able to save some money there.
* Another good way to save money is to purchase some groceries and eat some meals in your room.
* Do pick up the free coupon books located at the entrance of hotels, restaurants, etc. We wound up using a couple of these coupons.
* Purchasing the Springfield/Branson Entertainment Book may be a good way to save money depending on how many coupons you plan to use. A friend had given me her copy when she moved, so I didn't pay anything for it.
* There are some inexpensive attractions available if you do your homework.

We stayed from Thursday night through Sunday morning. Here is the total price break down:

* Time-share that we stayed in: FREE (we used their grandparents' condo!)
* Giftcard as a thank-you to the grandparents: $10
* Gas money: $20
* Friday night dinner at McFarlain's: $8 including tip (used a 20% off coupon)
* Groceries: $6.02 (there was a kitchenette in our room- we prepared and ate most breakfasts in the room)
* Mascara at Walgreen's because I forgot mine: $5.59 (used a $2 coupon)
* Shopping at the Gap Outlet: $5.41
* Shopping at Payless: $2.04 (I had a $10 giftcard)
* Shopping at Bath and Body Works: $5.70
* Friday lunch at Cantina Laredo (located in the Branson Landing shopping complex): $15
* Friday dinner and show at the Dixie Stampede: $40 (used a 20% off coupon)
* Visit to the Titanic Museum: $21
* Saturday lunch at the Chateau on the Lake: $15 (and worth every penny, I might add!)
* Imax movie: $8.69 (used a $1 off coupon)
* Baskin Robbins milk shake: $3.82
* Stationery from $1 Shop: $1.09
* Pizza from Domino's for Saturday dinner: $2 (used a 50% off coupon and split four ways)
* Sunday breakfast at The Uptown Cafe: $6.44

Grand Total: $175.80

Not too bad for several days of a non-frugal vacation!

Reason Number 12,879 Why I Love Walgreens

Two Sunsilk conditioners, one Sunsilk shampoo, a 20 count bottle of Advil PM, and four packs of college ruled filler paper. I paid $7.60 out of pocket after coupons, and I will get $7.00 back in rebates! Yay!

Blogger Issues

I'm having issues with uploading pictures and changing my template, so bear with me! It may be awhile before this is resolved.

Style Quiz!

I took Rebecca's fun quiz on style and got these results:

Which Kind of Elegant Are You?

Glamorous: Your dramatically polished appearance makes you the most intimidating kind of elegant.
Take this quiz!








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I am going to try to practice taking outfit pictures this weekend, so maybe I will post some!

Vintage Greeting Cards

Lately I've been perusing my favorite thrift store for vintage greeting cards. A few weeks ago, I bought a bag of vintage-y greeting cards for under $2. On Saturday I hit the jackpot! I found lots of these vintage cards in a bag for $1.17. I have even more than is shown in the pictures above. I have been making my own cards for a while, but I think I will be taking a break and sending these beauties out. I have been looking for an excuse to start writing letters- here it is!

Frugal Tooth Whitener

I found this Natural White 5-Minute Tooth Whitener at the local Dollar Tree store. The clerk told me that one customer had come back in and purchased 11 packages of it! As your trusty frugal guinea pig, I had to buy it and try it. It is made in the U.S. and has the standard tooth whitening ingredients. You are supposed to use it 2x per day for five minutes. However, I am lazy, so I use it 1x per day while I am in the shower (~15 minutes). My teeth are fairly white to begin with, but I do believe it is working. I particularly like it because it whitens slightly further back into my mouth than Crest Whitestrips do. When I went back to purchase another package of it for future use, I found that they were nearly sold out, but you may be able to find some at your local store. They were located with the toothpaste.