Today I made one stop to Walmart for some essentials since most of the grocery ads looked very bleak for this week 
That and I’ve been buying meat, household and H&B items for a couple of weeks now so I didn’t really need to buy much this week
I only used (2) .45/1 angel soft tp q’s and a $2 leftover gc balance (kellogg’s gas card)
The rest of the items I price matched (albies, el super and rancho market ads)
Hope everyone has a fantabulous week and happy shopping!!!
WOOHOO!!!
I just realized today that May 7th marked my ONE year blogoversary!!
It’s exciting to look back at all the posts I’ve written in the past year
and reflect on what I’ve learned so far, mainly how much budgeting and couponing has helped keep our finances in check
The first post I wrote on my blog was titled “Day 1″
In this post I mentioned that I started this blog because I wanted to try something new while heading into my thirties and that hopefully it would give me a sense of fulfillment in doing so
Well after a year of writing close to 200 posts I can honestly say that it has given me a great sense of fulfillment in sharing my weekly savings, recipes and family activities with my readers
I may not have a huge following, but knowing that I’ve helped at least one person with their grocery budgeting and their “what’s for dinner?” woes, hehe, makes it a greatly successful blog in my book</p
I hope that readers continue to enjoy the contents of my blog and if you have any suggestions for topics, I’d ♥ to hear them!!!
THANKS for subscribing
and here’s to another year of savings!!!
(I apologize for the bad pic quality…taken on my cell)
This weekend I stopped by @ CVS
I hadn’t been there in a while
Mostly because I hadn’t received any coupons from them
I usually like to do deals with a $5/$30 or $3/$15 cvs coupon that I get via email
But it’s been at least a month since I was last emailed one of these, hmm wonder why?
I did however receive 2 cvs nivea lotion coupons in the mail last week with samples attached so I decided to use them & the nivea $2/1 mq to get a sweet deal on nivea lotion
I got $5 ecb back and used it to do this deal above
2 wisk detergent (bogo this week): $8.99 -(2) $2/1 wisk
2 mitchum deos: $1.99 ea – (2) $1/1 mitchum + (2) $1/1 any deo (cvs q)
2 colgate total: 2/$5 -(2) .75/1 colgate total (la voz q) -(2) $1/1 any toothpaste (cvs q)
minus $5 ecb
$2 ecb for colgate and $5 ecb for purchasing $50 in beauty products (beauty club reward)
Today was the first day of the Fry’s mega event, Buy 10 save $4
I’m happy to say that everything on my list was in stock, even though I wasn’t able to get to the store until after 8:00 p.m.
&
Items Purchased & Coupons Used
4 lb bananas – 3lb/99¢ pm food city
1 bunch cilantro – 5/99¢ pm el super
1 lb tomatillos – 3lb/99¢ pm el super
24 pk pepsi – $2/1 pepsi multipack (q found in booklet @ fry’s)
5 cans tomato sauce – 5/$1 pm food city
3 barilla whole wheat pasta – .75/1 barilla pasta or sauce (q found @ walmart cs desk)
(2) 11 oz bottles lawry’s garlic salt – .50/1 lawry’s blends
2 bottles sunny d – no q (99¢ ea part of mega)
2 sargento ultra thin prov cheese slices – $1/1 sargento ut slices
3 bags ruffles ultimates – .55/1 ruffles (la voz q) only .99¢ ea after q
J & J baby shampoo – $1.25/1 fry’s catalina
1 half gal silk chocolate milk – .75/1 silk (sprouts q booklet)
3 jell-o 6 pks – $1.10/1 jello & .75/1 temptations (kraft book) got $2 onyo wyb 3
4 cases arrowhead water – $2/2 arrowhead (peelies) got back $5 onyo wyb 4
2 containers clorox wipes – $1.50/2 clorox wipes (booklet found @ fry’s)
2 loaves white bread – no q
2 bags Quakes rice snacks – .55/2 (peelies on every bag) .50 ea after q
Please keep in mind that if you’re not located in AZ, prices may vary
Fry’s equivalents: Kroger, king soopers, dillons, ralphs, smiths, city market
WOOHOO!!!
It’s Wednesday and that means new ads and oober cheap fruits & veggies
Some of you might be wondering why I’m spending more than I usually have in the past
My weekly budget for groceries (includes H&B and household items) is $50/wk for our family of 4
I used to spend around $30 a week
But since finding out about my health issues in January, I’ve made a conscious effort to eat healthier and purchase more
natural and organic food items for our family
I still use coupons but mostly for H&B and household items since produce and meat coupons are rare
Since I have a pretty good stockpile of household items, I’m finding myself not really using too many q’s
But still shopping the sales of course 
Just a heads up, while shopping at Sprouts today, I found a coupon booklet full of coupons (manuf q’s)
It was next to the ads right at the store entrance
It’s full of coupons for organic, gluten free, dairy free and natural foods
Below is a pic of the cover
There are also printable store q’s on Sprout’s website if you’re a Sprouts shopper
I do believe they can be combined with manufacturer coupons for even greater savings!!
Items Purchased & Coupons Used
2 seedless watermelons – 19¢/lb sprouts
organic kale – $1.29 sprouts
3 lb organic apples – 99¢/lb sprouts
organic bell peppers – $2.99/3 sprouts
6 lb bananas – 3lb/99¢ pm food city
2 lb tomatoes – 4lb/99¢ pm food city
3 mentos gum – .55/1 mentos (free @ fry’s)
4 simply oj (13.5 oz) – .50/1 simply (wags mag q)
59 oz Simply rasp lemonade – .50/1 simply
(2) 2 liter bottles dr pepper 10 – free dr pepper 10 fry’s cat
2.5 lb boneless chuck roast – no q $2.49/lb food city
4.5 lb 93% lean ground beef – no q $2.99/lb sprouts
2 packs bar s bacon – no q $1.97 ea limit 2 fry’s
(i still have farmer j bacon but it really flies in our fam so I got a few more…)
2 loaves nature’s own whole grain bread – sadly no q since I can’t print But I do believe the .75/1 nature’s own wg printable has reset
1 loaf white bread – no q, hubby doesn’t like the wheat/wg bread
32 oz stoneyfield organic plain yogurt – free q (greenmomsmeet campaign)
2 cans las palmas green enchilada sauce – no q, but there is a $1/1 printable available on the manuf website (only 50¢ @ food city after q)
2 dozen large eggs – no q only 89¢ ea @ fry’s
12 cans casa fiesta beans – $1/2 casa fiesta (free w/q @ food city or albies)
As you can see it really stinks when you can’t print coupons because lately it seems like all the good/high value coupons are printables
Unfortunately my computer went AWOL and I have to wait until I can purchase a new computer to start printing again…AAAHHHH!!!
Hope everyone enjoys the rest of their week 
Here it is!
Simple and easy peasy to make
Last week I purchased some organic green chard and bs chicken @ Sprouts
I also purchased some inexpensive sweet potatoes @ walmart (3lb/99¢)
I’ll be honest, I had never eaten chard before this recipe so I was a little nervous about the taste
But it looked so fresh and green that I had to pick some up
Let me tell you, I’m soooo glad I did!!
If you’ve eaten verdolagas (purslane) before then you’ll ♥♥♥ green chard
Tastes the same
And we ♥ verdolagas!
We grew up eating them with queso blanco, corn, calabasitas (squash) and tomatoes…YUM!
For this recipe I merely cut up the bs chicken into smaller pieces, added salt & pepper and cooked in evoo on medium heat for 10-15 min until thoroughly cooked
Then I added 2 med tomatoes (diced) and organic chard
Placed the lid on my pan and cooked for an additional 5 minutes
Lastly, I topped it all off with cheese (you can use queso blanco or mozzarella)
I would have liked to add some fresh corn and italian squash as well but I doubt my kiddos would have eaten it if I had overwhelmed the dish with so many veggies…they’re super picky eaters, especially my 3 yo
The sweet potatoes were super easy to make as well
I just peeled 2 med sized potatoes, diced them, added some salt and cooked in evoo for 10 min over medium heat
Very yummy!!
You can also bake them in the oven if you’d prefer
Just a heads up, the cacique cheese coupon is still available to print if you haven’t printed it yet
Makes for some fairly inexpensive queso blanco
Instead of grocery shopping on Wednesday like I usually do
I went shopping on Tuesday because I wasn’t going to be able to get to the store that day
So these items coincide with last week’s specials…not much help for this week but I’ll post pics and a few details
Just in case the sale continues this week or you got a raincheck
Safeway/Sprouts
Fry’s
The dawn dish soap continues to be $1 this week @ fry’s/kroger, so free if you use the .25/1 or .50/1 dawn q AND if your store doubles/makes all q’s $1 (which they do @ fry’s here in AZ)
Organic apples continue to be 99¢/lb this week @ Sprouts
and broccoli is 2lb/99¢ @ EL Super I believe or PM @ walmart
If you got a raincheck for the 13.5 oz Simply juice, I just found out last week that the new Wags diabetes mag ALSO has the .50/1 simply coupon in it and that q doesn’t expire until 6/30/12
So a great time to head to your local Wags to pick up some of these q’s
Single bottles of Simply juices go on sale for $1 quite often @ Fry’s/kroger and Safeway
Yay for more free juice!!!
One last bit of great news ;0)
Yesterday I received my $50 target gift card from tmobile for winning in their “shop n shuffle” game
I was totally surprised because I thought it wouldn’t be mailed out until after the game’s conclusion in mid May
So if you’re a Tmobile customer, I suggest giving it a try!!
Who couldn’t use free $$$??
http://tmobile.promo.eprize.com/customer/
My 3 yo kiddo jumped from a size 3 in clothes to a size 5 over night so it didn’t take long for me to decide what I was going to do with those $50
I stopped by Target today and purchased her summer wardrobe!!
Hope everyone enjoys their weekend!!
I’ll be posting a chicken recipe on Monday
and will hopefully get to downloading those party pics as well
WooHoo!!! It’s produce Wednesday!
Today I made a trip to Fry’s and Walmart
I planned on going to Sprouts as well for oober cheap seedless watermelon
But my 3 yo was not having it…some helpful advice, NEVER go shopping with a toddler who hasn’t had their nap
ITEMS PURCHASED & COUPONS USED
4 dawn dish liquid – .50/1 dawn (orgullosa booklet sis gave me, thx sis!!)
2 shamrock red fat milk – .25/1 shamrock peelie + 40% off sale (79¢ milk!)
1 lb shamrock sour cream – .50/1 shamrock sc
2 liter pepsi next – free fry’s eq
(6) 12 oz pks fj bacon – $1/1 fj bacon + $1/$10 meat fry’s eq
1 lb kroger shredded cheese – no q
6 single rolls paper towels – no q (pm pros 39¢ ea)
50 ct plates – no q (pm pros $1)
2 cantelopes – no q (98¢ ea walmart)
3.5 lb bananas – no q (pm pros 3lb/99¢)
2 yams – no q (pm pros 3lb/99¢)
6 kiwis – no q (pm pros 6/$1)
2 onions (pm pros 6lb/99¢)
$1/1 floral fry’s eq came off my order as well even though I didn’t purchase anything from the floral dept
Not surprised though…same thing happened the last time fry’s put out this coupon
Hope the rest of your week is fantabulous!!!!
After two long weeks of party planning & a stomach flu
I’m back and ready to share the savings!!
I have only been to the grocery store once these past 2 weeks so I was more than
anxious to get back to shopping
First let me start off by saying that my girls’ Candyland themed bday party went great
Decorating was A LOT of work but my fam really came through and helped out tremendously
and the end result was really nice
I will post pics once I download them from my memory card
Secondly, I spent a good chunk of last week sick as a dog with a stomach flu…not fun at all
Don’t know what I ate or if it’s just something that was going around because my girls were throwing up for a couple of days too
Easter was great!!
We headed up north to Prescott for the day and spent our time at a picnic campground…wonderful weather
My daughter Loralai was oober excited to open up the Easter basket that her auntie Jenny gave her
Inside was a HUGE 5 lb gummy bear!!
Her and hubby managed to eat the ears
I’m sure it will probably last her until next Easter lol
Today was the first time back grocery shopping and using q’s
So I headed to fry’s, albies and sprouts
Albies & Sprouts TOTAL OOP: $31.XX
Fry’s TOTAL OOP: $13.57
This trip I purchased a ton of organic fruits & veggies simply because I’m trying to get my fam (and myself) to eat more “clean”. I recently read the “dirty dozen” list on organic.org and WHOA!!! Talk about a buttload of pesticides in our fruits & veggies…30-60 kinds in apples alone! Makes you want to stop eating supposedly “good for you” fruits & veggies altogether
Now that’s not to say that I’m gonna go the completely organic route, too expensive, but those top twelve fruits/veggies, I’m going to try to purchase those organic
At least reduce the amount of toxins we’re consuming
I was actually surprised to find that most of the organic produce was fairly inexpensive
I will list prices on the “items purchased/q’s used” section
I was bummed to find the shelf @ albies completely wiped out of fj bacon…I had 6 q’s to use & they expire 4/18 so no point in getting a raincheck
Maybe they’ll restock before the sale ends
ITEMS PURCHASED & COUPONS USED
6 ct conchas (sweet bread) – no q (hubby just ♥ these)
2 lb driscoll organic strawberries – $2.99 ea – $1/1 driscoll q
2 dozen lg eggs – .50/2 eggs (fb printable)
3 simply oj – .50/1 wags diabetes book q
2 sugar free strawberry jello – .50/2 jello
Stouffers fam sz lasagna – $2/1 stouffers
VO5 conditioner – no q (ran out…how’d that happen?)
bread rolls – no q but on sale for 50¢
5 ears of corn – no q 5 for $1 (albies)
2 lb organic apples – no q 99¢ lb (sprouts)
1 lb organic carrots – no q 88¢ lb (sprouts)
organic lettuce – no q 88¢ (sprouts)
1 lb tomatoes – no q 99¢
2 lb bananas – no q 57¢ lb
6 bottles ken’s dressing – $1/1 kens (free @ albies)
2 gallons milk – no q $1.57 (albies)
1 lb chorizo – no q
4 lb bs all natural chicken – no q
2 lb 85% lean ground beef – no q (sprouts)
1 loaf of bread – no q $1 (albies)
For more info on the “dirty dozen” : http://www.organic.org/articles/showarticle/article-214
and http://www.ewg.org/foodnews/summary/
This past week has been a very busy week for me
I have 2 daughters and they have back to back bdays
Today was my youngest’s bday and my eldest had her bday 4 days ago
So I’ve been running around all week like a chicken with my head chopped off trying to get everything ready for this double bday party
AHHHH!!!!
We’re doing a CANDYLAND themed party
That means TONS of candy and candy themed decorations
There are quite a few projects that I’ve taken on to make this a true candyland party
With only a few days left, I’m starting to think I’ve bitten off more than I can chew!!
Here’s a few of the things I’ve made/done so far
(These are not the actual items I made. I found these pics on pinterest & did my own version of these for our party…will post actual pics afterwards)
chocolate tree
candy table centerpieces
(I added some more items to mine)
Needless to say, I have done very little coupon shopping this week (except to buy some candy lol)
I’ll post pics of the party decor some time next week
