Black Friday Sales

Black Friday sales are trickling out early all over the internet. I used to love shopping on Black Friday, but as I have gotten older, this is not as exciting anymore. If I do see a good deal somewhere, I will go see if I can snag the deal, but I will not be out at the wee hours of the morning as the stores open.

If you are interested in checking out the deals early, you might want to start searching the internet now. There are tons of sites this year that are reporting the deals ahead of time. Two that I have checked out are below. They seems pretty thorough.

http://bfads.net

www.blackfriday.info

Happy shopping!

-Denise

It's Begining To Look a Lot Like....

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here. Okay, not really, but I am starting to get prepped for full out shopping and wrapping sessions. We shop throughout the year for deals and special items we see for family members where ever our travels take us. We do have at least 50% of our shopping done, but there is still quite a bit more to do. I made a run to Target this morning and picked up Scotch tape (yes, the brand name stuff) and some metallic rolls of wrapping paper in the dollar spot section. This, added with the paper we bought on sale the day after Christmas last year, will have me set to start wrapping what we have already purchased. I like to do a few big wrapping sessions throughout the weeks leading to Christmas, so I am not toally overwhelmed at the end.

I would probably be wrapping items right now, but our secret hiding place is actually under B.'s crib. He is napping right now, so I will not be waking him to start this project. And yes, after this year we will ahve to find a new hiding place. B. will be a in a big boy bed soon and will be able to search around his room a little more easily. Our little guy isn't so little anymore.

Feel free to ignore Christmas for a few more weeks, or join me and mebracing the craziness that is right around the corner. The 24-hour Christmas channels have already begun their stream of carols. maybe they can get you in a holiday mood.

-Denise

Old Navy and I Go a Little Greener

I am really trying to be a little greener. I am trying to recycle everything that can be recycled, using reusable water bottles, and trying to be better with wasting electricity (which is a good frugal idea too.) My new focus is trying to use reuseable totes for gorceries and other purchases. I have a few for groceries and plan to add to them by purchasing a few more on each shopping trip. My biggest problem is that I forget to take them out of the trunk of my car before I go into the store. When I do forget, and I get more of plastic bags sent home instead, I save them and reuse them around the house for lining the diaper pail. The ones that aren't not repurposed are collected and taken back to the grocery store and deposited into a recycling bin inside the main doors. Most grocery stores have recycling available for plastic grocery bags. It is easy to do, so give it a try!

One of my favorite stores to purchse my son clothes at is also going a little greener. Old Navy has a stuff a bag sale several times a year. They normally send you a plastic bag in the mail or you can pick one up at the store. Everything you can stuff in the bag is then 20% off at the register. You can save a lot of money with this sale. The next one is coming up November 14-26. Instead of sending another plastic bag into my house, Old Navy mailed me a card to pick up a free, reuseable tote bag for the upcoming sale. I think this is great! While there are still way to many plastic bags being used every day, at least this store is trying to join the green movement. The advertisement I received does say that it is only available in select markets. Luckily my area looks to be included. If you are interested in more information, or want to get a code that can be used online, check out www.oldnavy.com/bag.

Linens 'N Things Closing

Linens 'N Things is going out of business. Check out their web page or your local store and you might get a good deal. Currently the sale is up to 30% off. I am guessing the deals will get even better in the next few weeks.

http://www.lnt.com/home/index.jsp

-Denise

Finding a Bargain

I have been searching for a few items lately that I really want, but I don't want to spend a lot of money.

1) A Halloween Costume-Yes, Halloween seems forever away, but I learned the hard way last year that you have to shop early if you are looking for a particular costume. Last year I fell in love with the pirate costume from Old Navy, I waited for an upcoming sale, went to the store to save on shipping, and then found out the costume was only available online and was now sold out. I should have just ordered it earlier and not worried about the sale in this case. My desire to get the costume at a lower price caused me to miss out...almost. I did end up finding a used pirate costume from the same store on ebay, but I paid almost the same as a new one to get it and have it shipped. I just had to fall in love with the hot costume for toddlers!

This year, I started looking earlier. We picked a Thomas costume that I found online at Target. It retails for almost $30 plus shipping on their site! This time ebay is my friend. I am getting the costume for less than half that price and shipping is very reasonable.

2) A Purse-I fell in love with a Vera Bradley microfiber purse. I was shocked at the price tag of $90. I again went to ebay and was able to find it for a slight discount including the shipping.


No, I don't buy everything off of ebay, but there are some good deals there if you know what you are looking for. I do comparison shop frequently between online stores, brick and mortar stores, catalogs, and ebay. Saving a few dollars is always worth the extra effort.

B. is going to be such a cute Thomas the Tank Engine! I can only imagine how excited he will be when we show him the costume.

I am off to count the days until my purse arrives!

-Denise

Weekend Plans-Cleaning, Playing, Shopping and More!

It is a beautiful weekend with fall-like temperatures. I am loving it! I took my son to the park this morning, and he had a blast! I think we may go back again tomorrow, if we have time.

Now that the little one is napping I will be off to clean the house. Nothing like having lots of people over to get you motivated to clean. I am actually having an At Home America party on Thursday, so I want to try to get the place looking nice. Some of the friends I have invited from work and elsewhere have never been to my house, so I don't want it looking like a pigsty! I am sure my son will still manage to have toys strewn around the living room no matter what though. Oh well. Welcome to a home with an active toddler!

Although I am doing some extra cleaning today, I have been trying to get rid of clutter all summer. I have gotten rid of several things through my local Freecycle. Check out your local Freecycle if you never have. It gives your discarded items a second life and helps keep items out of landfills. http://www.freecycle.org/

Tomorrow I will be doing more cleaning, but we will head over to Best Buy to pick up some new Elmo videos for my son. They are on sale tomorrow for $7.99 each and you get a free Sesame Street plush. My son will be all over that! "Watch Elmo?" is a frequent question/plea in my house, so mommy even appreciates the opportunity to get some new Elmo videos to add to the rotation. I have some of the old ones memorized. Between Elmo, the Wiggles, and Thomas my brain is regressing to toddler mode. I think I will appreciate going back to work at the start of the school year just to not have to listen to the same Wiggles songs every day.

Enjoy the weekend!

-Denise