Target Dollar Spot 70% Off

UPDATE: Went to 3 stores Monday afternoon. All the clearance signs are gone and everything is back to $1 again. I've never seen this happen at Target. Weird.

Went this morning and saw a sign for the Blue Spot items 50% off clearance. Came home, looked at my receipt... it's actually 70% off. YAY!

I picked up Superman and Hello Kitty themed items for upcoming birthdays. They also had lots of Avengers, Disney Princess, Monsters' University, Mickey Mouse knick-knacks. Party favors, Christmas stocking stuffers, Samaritan's Purse shoebox fillers, back-to-school surprises- for $0.30 a piece, clearance items like these can quickly fill a gift closet!

The summer/grilling items were also down to 70% off. Plus lots and lots more!

Here's an idea for a boy's Superman birthday gift:
logo pins
logo socks
graphic notebook
pencils and pencil case
wallet (better with a few $1 bills)
logo key cap (little boys love old keys)
put it all in a Superman reusable bag
=$0.30 each, so $2.40 for everything!

I also found a Superman t-shirt for $7 and will get a DS game too. Think I'll make a simple cake with the Superman logo like below. But maybe turn them into pull-apart cupcakes.

Bloggers and their Cookbooks

I love having a very simple meal plan each week. But looking at my Menu Plan Monday postings, it seems like I make the same thing every week! This weekend, I am hoping to pick at least 5 new recipes to try from cookbooks of different bloggers. These will get spread out over the summer. I hope we come up with some winners!

Any cookbooks from bloggers that you like and could recommend? These books were all picked up from our local libraries! Very excited about that.

The Good Life For Less by Amy Clark of Mom Advice

The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Foods From My Frontier by Ree Drummond of Pioneer Woman

Not Your Mother's Make-Ahead and Freeze Cookbook by Jessica Fisher of Life As Mom and Good Cheap Eats!

The Vegan Slow Cooker by Kathy Hester from Healthy Slowcooking

DIY Guitar Wall Mount From Wood Scraps!

I shared with you how I made my husband this shirt from VistaPrint that says: Thomas Town Woodworking as a nod of encouragement to his dream of becoming a craftsman fulltime one day.

Make a custom shirt for $6 through July 14
 

 

Well, he is also a songwriter with a few guitars. Instead of buying a guitar wall mount from Amazon for less than $10, I challenged him to make his own. Boy, did he rise to the challenge. He found some wood scraps and a piece of plywood to make this doodad.

 

Next thing I know the guitar was off the floor and hanging pretty on the wall.

 
 

Next project, table made of reclaimed walnut. That's going to be a beauty!

 



Thanks for letting me share Tony's cool DIY Project. Check out other great creative minds from linky partys Skip to My Lou, Shabby Nest and Somewhat Simple.

Patriotic Stripes T-Shirt

 

Happy 4th of July! Here is a quick craft project I made this morning. It was easy enough to dig up a girl's outfit for the festivities tonight. But alas, nothing for a lil' boy. So, we set out to solve the problem by making a patriotic shirt. It took me about an hour to make. But would take anyone who has been sewing more than once in two years about 30 minutes or less.  

 

 



First, I found a white, red, and blue t-shirt. The white one has to be completely plain, but the others can have print.

 

Then I cut a strip of each t-shirt from the middle section. I didn't want a strip with the bottom hem of the shirts.

 

These strips were then pinned to each other. I normally don't bother pinning. However, this time I wanted to make sure the pieces lined up so I think I overpinned the strips. Off to the sewing machine after this step. Zip, zip, zip on the machine and it's almost done! I tucked the excess length of the red strip so the lengths would all match up.

 

Lastly, I attached the bottom of the white shirt with the hem to the red stripe because the shirt was a bit short. It worked out well and fits great!

 

This post is linked with 400+ other crafty goodness at Made By You Mondays.

Menu Plan Monday July 1

Still making same old tried and true recipes that are super easy and pantry-challenge friendly. I did pick up several cookbooks from the library from some favorite and new bloggers that I am hoping to add some new finds to our weekly meal plan. But for now, I plan to take it easy and enjoy the 4th.

I would love to get ideas for easy summer recipes from you, too! If you have a menu plan, why not share it? Link-up to Menu Plan Monday at orgjunkie.

Here is our menu plan this week:

Breakfasts-
breakfast burrito
hard-boiled eggs
pancakes
waffles
muffins
cereal

Lunches-
rice and beans
spaghetti
lunch out
burgers and hotdogs
chicken fingers
chicken salad
bbq sandwiches

Dinners-
veggie stirfry
calzones
fried chicken
homemade pizza
Hawaiian meatballs
spring rolls

Snacks-
yogurt shakes
cake and ice cream
cookies

Have A Heart For Shoppers! And Maybe Get a FREE Frosty.

Last time I was shopping at a local grocery store, the lady in front of me was about to explode. She was trying her best to keep it together. But dang it! Why can't they keep toilet paper in stock? I think that's what she was thinking. She waved the assistant store manager over. Normally a happy guy, distraught was all over his face. All for toilet paper. It wasn't even Charmin!

I felt so bad for the two of them. Someone had ripped open the toilet paper package. It was the last day of the deal and she needed two of them. Of course, no one would take an open package of toilet paper home.

Why didn't a rain check just get issued? Don't know. I only tried to look away. Then, I noticed that she had a Wendy's Frosty Jr. Key Tag in her key ring. They need a diversion, I thought.

I asked her about it because I remembered the Wendy's Frosty Jr. deal vaguely. Her demeanor changed quickly. She was excited talking about getting a FREE Frosty Jr at Wendy's. All she has to do is flash the card. She encouraged me to hop over there in case they still had the promotion. My little kiddos, in tow with me, would love it! she said. And she smiled.

My heart melted for her. I know the feeling of agitation caused by deals gone awry. I'm so thankful she was receptive to my simple act of reaching out to her. I could be in her shoes next time I go shopping. (Especially since I have a Walgreen's trip planned soon.)

When I shop, I am laser-focused getting the deals and my coupons in order. I often have to remind myself to look around. Treat other shoppers, store employees, especially cashiers as regular people with lots of feelings, like me.

I will check out that Wendy's key tag because who doesn't love their Frosty. If I get that key tag, I will have a tangible reminder to have a heart for other shoppers, besides getting free Frosty Jrs. for a year.

10 Weekly Goals June 2-9

Last week was a great week for goal-setting! I finished the Clutter-Busting Challenge with almost 700 items out of the house. (Well, almost. I still have to mail-in the Amazon Trade-In items.) The kids went swimming at least 4 times and had a lesson. I'm almost done with Beth Moore's So Long Insecurity.

But some things I didn't do at all:
Read Platform, go out for a walk (too hot!), or have art and violin lessons. We'll try this week. All I can do is keep at it!

Do not throw away your confidence... You need to persevere...  Heb 10:35-36

Ten things I plan to do this week:
1. Continue taking weekly pictures of the children.
2. Take tea and reading time outside.

3. Continue reading Platform. Finish So Long Insecurity.

4. Finish Grandma's Attic as lunch read-aloud.

5. Continue with violin and swimming lessons. Start art lessons.

6. Enjoy following Monday Menu Plan.

7. Plan upcoming staycation!

8. Write at least one blogpost a day.

9. Memorize Ps 29:11 NET with Siestas in Beth Moore's blog.

10. Continue to de-clutter at least 7 items this week.

 

Link-up your Weekly Goals! Photo source

Inspire Your Man With A Custom Shirt!

Vista Print is currently offering $6 white t-shirts with FREE Shipping. Lots of designs to choose from! Thanks MSM for the heads up!

I made this shirt for my husband as a Father's Day gift. Last week, I shared a picture of the chair he built for me.

He dreams of making woodworking a career. Often, he talks about creating Thomas Town products, a play on the Thomasville brand. This shirt, I hope, fuels on that dream. Plus he always looks cute in white! 

I also got a grey shirt from Target.com for $9 with FREE Shipping and a $5 Target gift card included! Did you know you can pay with those $5 Target gift cards we get from Target store deals (like the cereal from last week)? I did just that and brought my total down to $4 plus tax. Thanks Hip2Save!

Menu Plan Monday June 2

My favorite dish from last week was the Escabeche. Which, of course, I did not follow the recipe. I made it from how I remembered it from 22 years ago. A vague fusion of Southern meets Filipino ~ in a word: delicious!

I need to start writing down my recipes so I can remember it next time I cook. (Anyone relate?!) My escabeche version is pretty much fried fish with sautéed and julienned vidali onions, red pepper and carrots. I used chicken broth, soy sauce, and fresh oregano to season the veggies. Then mix of 2 Tbsp cornstarch to half a cup of water was added to thicken the sauce. It is so, so good!

Oh! Also, success this week! I remembered to put the menu plan on the fridge and referred to it everyday. I didn't try to change the recipes but did change the order of some things. This is a big plus for me because I always get tied up in knots in the kitchen. Instead of being frazzled I remind myself there is already a plan in place to follow! If you are like me, post your menu plan. It will keep you sane- at least in the kitchen!

Here is my menu plan for the week:
Breakfast:
cereal, scrambled eggs,
matzo crackers and Nutella,
fried rice,
overnight waffles, pancakes, muffins

Lunch:
rice and beans, tacos, nachos supreme
omelets, crustless quiche,
Church picnic

Snacks:
cupcakes, apples, boiled eggs, yogurt

Dinner:
fried fish, pizza
ham steak and zucchini,
corned beef and cabbage soup,
lentil soup with mini meatballs,
chicken tenders with Kraft Fresh Takes,
Filipino spaghetti (I forgot how much I love this!)

Menu Plan Monday linky parties over at Laura's orgjunkie.com and Susie at Susie QT Pie Café. Make sure you check it out!

Hot Deal** Save $10 off $25 Gift Cards at Save-A-Lot!!!

UPDATE** I did this deal tonight and got 3 Home Depot gift cards for only $45 instead of $75! I had to ask for them because the managers stashed them in their office. They said someone came in to get 100 Home Depot cards. Smart man (or a contractor)! Now the limit is 3 per customer per day. We don't mind. Anything to save a little and get my man going on those woodworking projects! 

Wow! This is an Awesome deal!



Photo From For The Mommas!

Get $10 off select $25 gift cards at Save-A-Lot through June 15! So only $15! This seems to be a regional deal, so check the local Save-A-Lot circular (it's on page 4). They have gift cards for Kohl’s, iTunes, Home Depot, and Barnes & Noble. Perfect for graduation and Father's Day presents! 

These are some cities I've found this deal to be valid:
Pensacola FL area
San Diego CA metropolitan area
Charlotte NC area
Lancaster PA area
Richmond VA area

Check your store. You don't want to miss out on this deal! Thanks to Crystal at MSM and also The Frugal Thrifty Mom for the heads up!
Photo source, photo source

HOT**Get $2/Gallon Off At Martin's!!!

If you have a Martin's nearby, check out this deal good thru Saturday, June 1st. Martin's Fuel Perks Program is a great way to save money on gas. Buy 8 items, Get $0.20 off per gallon. This is the best deal I have seen all year: (Speaking of great store deals, don't forget to check out the Save-A-Lot Gift Card deal!)

 

Kool-Aid packets are BOGO $0.25 each, so buy 8, pay $1, get $0.20 off per gallon. The best part is you can do this deal 10 times in one transaction and get $2 off per gas!

 

Buy 80 Kool-Aid Packets

Pay $10 (BOGO deal)

Get $2 off per gallon

up to 20 gallons or $40 off at the pump!



 

Even though 80 packets seems like a lot,

it is only half of one of these boxes.

I made a few trips over the week and was able to do this deal multiple times. There was plenty until Thursday afternoon. They are pretty stingy with rain checks but I got a couple anyway. That way I can still do the deal in July!

Company Girls: Pool Time!

Besides finishing off a month-long Clutter-Busting Challenge, this week had a few highs and lows. Like going to friends' block party, staying out way too late (a high) then the car battery dying and not getting home 'til midnight (a definite low). I guess the flashing battery light was a true car trouble warning! My husband also changed the alternator himself (a high!) and the vicious mosquitos have begun attacking the kids and I (a real low).

We had our annual pool party on Sunday (one more high). Even though the water is still freezing, no child could resist a dip in the pool. It was a great time: bbq sandwiches, mac n' cheese, potato salad, apple cobbler, umm-mmm. Nope, it did not matter that the water was only 60 degrees.

We  found inexpensive bathing suits at Sam's Club. I bought them during the Sam's Club Open House (free shopping pass!) We also bought a couple of pool toys at the end of the season last year. So except for getting more sunscreen, we are all set for a great summer of swimming.



Swimming Laps!

The children swam 4 times this week already. Not me! The lifeguard said it was too cold for her so that's enough reason for me to stay poolside. I was very surprised to that my children remembered the back float. Isabella even swam freestyle and backstroke!



Big Pool = Huge Fun!

I taught them how to swim since they were in preschool. We did not have money for swim lessons but had a pool access in the neighborhood. So, I had to toughen up and get over my fear of water. I watched a couple of swimming tapes from the library, got them some goggles, and months and years of lessons later they can float by themselves! Also, one summer, a friend's teenage daughter gave them weekly lessons. It really helped learning from a cool, big kid!

But freestyle and backstroke are all I know. I'm hoping the lifeguard or my husband can teach them (and me) the breaststroke this summer. We shall see!

How about you? How has your week been? Share and link-up at Company Girls Coffee!