Christmas Cards

Love the classic design of this card!

Can you believe that Christmas is only 16 days away? The holiday season is my favorite time of the year. I love wrapping presents, baking sweets, listening to holiday music, attending holiday parties and sending out Christmas cards to all of our family and friends. This year it will be very special for my family because we'll be celebrating as a family of four. I was so pleased with Hadley's baby announcements from Shutterfly, that I ordered our Christmas cards from them too. The quality of the cards is superior and I was surprised at how quickly they arrived. The most difficult part was deciding on which card to select because they offer so many wonderful and unique designs. But, Shutterfly makes it so easy to personalize your cards by adding your favorite family photo(s). You can check out Shutterfly's 803 different Christmas photo card designs HERE. Did you know that Shutterfly also offers wall calendars and personalized notepads which make wonderful holiday gifts. So... what are you waiting for? Order your photo Christmas cards today from Shutterfly!

Hadley Birth Announcement

Storybook Setting Birth Announcement

Shop custom birth announcements at Shutterfly.com.

View the entire collection of cards.

JcPenney: Carter's Pajamas for $1.99

JcPenney has a new $10/$10 coupon that has been mailed to some customers. I received one and went today to see what I could find. Aiden is outgrowing all of his pajamas and is in need of a few new pair. I found a 3 piece set of Carter's pajamas on clearance for $11.99. Love that the set has both long pants and shorts that match the shirt. After the coupon, I paid just $1.99 plus sales tax for the pajamas. What a great price! Did anyone else receive this coupon? If so, what did you purchase?

Nursery Photos

The nursery is still a work in progress, but I've decided to go ahead and share a few photos. We still need to hang some art work on the walls and order an upholstered rocker for me to feed the baby. I am so pleased with the quality of Bassett Southport baby furniture and love the baby bedding from Pottery Barn Kids. Oh... one more thing...we've decided to name our baby girl Hadley Elizabeth. I'll share more photos once we complete the nursery.

I'm BACK...

After taking a much needed break from blogging, I wanted to stop in and say "hi" and let everyone know that I'm still alive. After trying to conceive for seven years, I'm thrilled to announce that I am pregnant with a baby girl and due October 10th. Words cannot begin to describe the excitement felt by me and my husband and our son, Aiden. We're busy preparing the nursery and I'll be posting pictures soon. I am enjoying every single moment of pregnancy and feel so incredibly blessed!

I've managed to snag some fabulous deals at Martin's this week and will be sharing them with you very soon. It's my hope to return to blogging on a more regular basis. Hope everyone is enjoying their summer as much as I am! :)

Frugal Tip: Make Brownie Bites at Home

My family loves brownie bites! For some reason I enjoy these so much more than brownies made in a 9 x 13 pan. I was first introduced to them years ago when purchasing a container of them in the bakery department of my local grocery store. The container contained only sixteen brownie bites and was priced at $4.49. A little high for something I could eat by myself in one sitting. lol :)

I'm much more frugal now and simply refuse to pay such a steep price. So, I've been making my own brownie bites at home. All you need is a mini muffin pan and box of brownie mix. Prepare the brownie mix as directed on the package and fill each muffin cup up with batter. I find it is best to grease the muffin cups to avoid the brownies sticking to the pan.

I am able to get approximately 30 brownie bites from one box. I've been using up the brownie mixes that I purchased HERE for .50 cents. For my investment of .50 cents, I am able to get twice as many brownie bites for a fraction of the cost.

This post is being linked to Thrifty Thursday at Coupon Teacher.

Martin's: $2.00 off $5.00 Produce Coupon

I received the January newsletter from Martin's today and was pleased to find a coupon for $2.00 off your $5.00 produce purchase. Go HERE to print the coupon which expires on January 23, 2010. As you know, fresh produce can be very expensive during the winter months and this coupon will certainly help reduce the cost.

Weis: Holiday Baking Cups for .15 cents

I headed to Weis this afternoon for bread and was pleased to find snowman baking cups marked 90% off. I purchased four packages and paid .60 cents---just .15 cents each. These will come in handy for winter baking. Have you found any really good deals on holiday items at your local grocery stores?

Happy New Year

This past year was another wonderful year for my family. I hope 2010 brings you happiness, health and success. Happy New Year!

Martin's: Printable Coupon for 300 Gas Points

Go HERE to print a coupon for 300 Gas Points at Martin's. Expires on December 19th and requires a $50.00 minimum purchase.

Target: Nestle Toll House Morsels for .78 cents

Remember my post HERE about the $1.00 printable coupon for Nestle Toll House morsels? Target has them on sale for $1.78 per package. Use the $1.00 coupon and pay just .78 cents per package.

Target: Fabulous Deal on 93/7 Ground Beef ($1.00 per lb.)

I stumbled across a fabulous deal on 93/7 ground beef at Target today. My local store had 1 lb. packages marked down to $1.00! I purchased ten packages and immediately froze them for use in chili, meatballs and meatloaf during the Winter months.

Popcorn Ball Recipe

Another homemade gift I'm making this year is popcorn balls. They are sure to be a hit with all of the children! I'm planning to pass these out to all of my son's preschool classmates on the last of day of school before Christmas break.

Hot: $1.00/1 Toll House Morsels Printable Coupon

With baking season in full swing at my house, I wanted to be sure and share this wonderful coupon with everyone. Go HERE to print a coupon for $1.00/1 bag of Toll House Morsels. Be sure to click the back button and refresh (F5) to print the coupon twice. When combined with a sale, this coupon will enable you to purchase some chocolate chips for a fantastic price.

Thanks to Common Sense with Money for sharing the link to this coupon.

Martin's: Profit on Butter Sticks

Martin's has I Can't Believe It's Not Butter sticks on sale for $1.79 this week. I purchased two packages and used two $1.00/1 manufacturer coupons from the November 18, 2009 Red Plum insert. My out of pocket total was $1.58. I also received a catalina coupon for $2.00 off my next shopping order. After the catalina coupon, it was like getting two packages of butter sticks for free plus a profit of .42 cents. These will come in handy for my holiday baking and candy making.

Martin's: Keebler Club Crackers for .90 cents per box

Martin's has Keebler Club Crackers on sale for $2.00 per box. The boxes at the Martinsburg store had peelie coupons for .55 cents off (which doubled)---making them just .90 cents per box. Don't forget that the Martinsburg store will only double one like coupon per transaction. If you want to purchase more than more box, then do separate transactions.

$10.00 Gift Card Rebate

I have another great rebate to share with you. Get $10.oo back when you purchase $25.00 or more in gift cards. Offer valid November 1, 2009 through December 31, 2009. No beer purchase is required for residents of the the following states: AL, AR, CT, HI, IN, KY, ME, MO, NC, NJ, NY, OK, UT and WV. These type of rebates are my favorite and the easiest to complete. I have some extras rebate forms if anyone is interested.

Great Deal on Monogrammed Luggage Tags

Here is a little something you may not know about me: I LOVE all things monogrammed! This brings me to another inexpensive and personal gift idea I'd like share with you. While purchasing some books for Christmas presents at Books-A-Million today, I found beautiful monogrammed luggage tags marked 50 % off.

I purchased three of these beauties for just $3.49 each this afternoon. Would have loved one for myself, but they didn't have any letter "S" left. There were an assortment of letters still in stock at the Martinsburg store. These will make great gifts for three friends! The luggage tags are chocolate brown with taupe lettering and a bow made of grosgrain ribbon.

Homemade Inexpensive Coasters

I love making homemade Christmas gifts. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to post some of the homemade gifts I'm making this holiday season for family, friends and teachers. Today, I want to share with you coasters I've been making this weekend. After quick stops to Target, Michaels and Lowes, I went right to work. Mine are not perfect, but I'm still pleased with them.

I cannot take credit for this brilliant and simple idea. For complete directions, please visit Traci's blog HERE.

Martin's: Sorrento Cheese Sticks for $1.00 per package

Martin's has Sorrento cheese sticks on sale for $2.00 per package of twelve. My friend, Staci, called to let me know that there were $1.00 peelie coupons on some packages. I purchased five packages (mozarella, pepper jack & cheddar) and used five $1.00 peelie coupons---making each package just $1.00. This a fantastic deal for cheese sticks! My son is a happy boy because he loves having cheese sticks for snacks.