frugal living

LEGOLAND® Castle Hotel opens tomorrow (and a deal)!

Abby H.

The kids and I are so excited! In just a few hours, we’ll be headed up to Legoland California for the opening of the Castle Hotel. We’re getting a sneak peak today, and the hotel opens officially tomorrow!

The kids are excited because the Hotel featuring more than 2,000 LEGO models made out of three million LEGO® bricks, a Knock-knock Joke Door (Henry is big into knock knock jokes), LEGO play pit, interactive play structures and themed entertainment each night. Oh, and the pool.

LLstatueInstall_0152.JPGThe pool has two interactive features: a water fountain and two tipping baskets which will splash guests in the pool from above.

The Royal Courtyard also features a picnic/cinema area with a large movie screen and seating, a stage for daily performances, a DUPLO® play area for toddlers and a Knight Training interactive playground for those children ready to balance, climb and play.

So, be expecting a lot of photos and posts on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. I can’t wait to show you all of the awesome stuff going on up at Legoland and the new Legoland Castle hotel.

Screen Shot 2018-04-26 at 8.33.29 AM.pngAnd if you are looking for a deal on Legoland Tickets, Don’t forget to check your local Denny’s location for a Kid’s Go Free Coupons! I found these at our local Denny’s!

I spied a fresh new pad of these coupons out at our local Santee Denny’s last week!

Screen Shot 2018-04-26 at 8.33.29 AM.png

Tax Day & Earth Day Freebies!

Abby H.

0207e888b0d42795291d2b65c42bc1e8.jpgLet’s be honest… Most of us have already done our taxes, gotten our refunds and spent them. For some of you, you are waiting until the last second.

Regardless of your status, we can all agree that free is good. Here is a list of freebies that are available this week.

Free Hot Dog on A Stick (or Veggie Dog) 4/17/18

If you live near a Hardee’s: Free Sausage Biscuit at Hardee’s  (Carl’s Jr. isn’t participating.. Sorry West Coasters).

National “Chill out Day”! Free Kona Shaved Ice on April 17th From their webpage, “Our motto is “No taxation without relaxation!” It’s free shaved ice for all of working America on Tax Day. Come chill out with us!”

Now I’ve heard that there are some Chick-Fil-A locations that are giving away free 3 count Chicken Minis.. I’ve emailed some people I know that do PR for CFA and I’ll post when I get confirmation/denial.

Now in some states you can’t specifically say the freebie is for tax day (some laws about the freebie being a bribe or gift for doing your taxes), so they may just be freebies. And not all of these are available every area, so you may want to check before you leave home.

Other Freebies this week that I don’t necessarily think are Tax Day Freebies, more like Earth Day (on 4/22) Freebies:

5 Lbs of free shredding at Office Depot or Office Max

Staples – Free 1 lb. of document shredding

National Parks – Free entrance days on 21st
Ikea:  4/21 & 4/22: Each day, the first 200 IKEA FAMILY members to show their membership card will receive a free gift! (One per customer per day.)

Saturday SNAJDA laundry bag
Sunday STAJLIG multifunction hanger
Saturday and Sunday Talanda milk chocolate bar or Talanda dark chocolate bar

 

Screen Shot 2018-04-15 at 9.22.17 PM.pngNOT FREE, but Gift with Purchase…. Disney Stores Go green! Get a FREE reusable tote bag with any purchase on Earth Day, April 22nd, at any Disney store location.

 

Now in past years that have been more freebies, but like so many things, those days have passed. If you plan on taking advantage of any of these dales/freebies, maybe do some other free stuff on the way. Visit a park, go for a walk, or if you are at the mall, duck into See’s Candy for a free sample. Heck, if you are at Ikea and are a Family Rewards Member, go upstairs to the Cafe and get your free cup of Coffee!!

4/16/18 Weekly Meal Plan!

Abby H.

stemarie_1650skitchen.JPG

This week, I’ve got a bunch of event planning and scheduling to do, so I’m trying to plan out some easy/quick meals that use what we’ve got on-hand.

Breakfasts are usually the same for us: Protein shakes for grown ups, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids. We have plenty of protein shake fixins’- I bought a lot of very ripe bananas recently, chopped them up and froze them in individual bags along with other fruit to make “shake/smoothie sacks”.

Lunches are leftovers, salads, or a protein shake for me and the Mister, and The Big kid has a specially packed lunch of whatever he’s into at the time (which changes frequently). Bitty Bird eats whatever I’ll feed her.

I’m only posting our dinner plans, and links to recipes.

Monday: Grilled cheese and soup (it’s our Group ABA night, so we don’t get home until late)

Tuesday: Chicken and Wild Rice (based on a recipe here, minor tweaks to the recipe have been made), steamed brocolli

Wednesday: Fritatta with whatever veggies I have in the fridge (probably onion, shallot, spinach, and brocolli), and cheese (of course!). Served with Fruit salad.

Thursday: We are having a friend over, so I’ll probably make Salsa Chicken, and I’ll add some black or cannelli beans. Served with green salad.

Friday: Date Night!! WOO HOO! We’re going to go see Infinity Wars. Not sure what we’ll have for dinner. The kids will probably have grilled cheese and fruit.

Saturday: I’ll bust out the crockpot and make BBQ chicken. We’ve got  some events that day, so I want a dinner that’s quick to serve. Probably brown rice, steamed vegg, and fruit salad.

Sunday: I’m thinking Pizza! Either we’ll make a batch of dough and do a DIY pizza night, or, we’ll order delivery. Either way, we’ll have leftover fruit salad to go with it.

What’s with my obsession with Fruit Salad? We eat a lot of fruit, and fruit salad is a quick, tasty food to prep, everyone likes it (which is saying a lot in this house). I can make one batch and it’s good for 2-3 meals, plus the occasional snack. For those who are curious, I’ll post my recipe later this week.

I’d love to hear about what you’re having this week! What new recipes are you trying?

Friday Freebies!

Abby H.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for some freebies! Now that school is back in session and we’re all healthy- I’ll be posting more often!

Here is a fairly extensive list of Freebies. There are all kinds of goodies. This is a nationwide list, so some of the stores are not in our area. Here are just a few of my favorite freebies:

What is your favorite freebie?

4/10/18 Meal Plan… Tuesday

Abby H.

dsc07997

OMG- Yesterday.. You Guys… Was HORRIBLE. Miss Sally (my car) had her battery die, so had to get a jump start and then off to the shop for a new battery. Luckily, it was still under warranty, so it was free. That debacle threw off my entire day, and by the time the kids were in bed, I was too popped to post.

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos lately have been having protein pancakes (I like Kodiak Cakes mix- it’s yummy and very versatile) with butter and Peanut butter. Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes. We mix it up, and have different flavors and mix in all kinds of stuff into our shakes, so as not to get bored. Here area few of our favorite recipes.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually  fruit, chocolate milk (home made with protein powder and ice cube so it’s still cold at lunch), a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

this week is supposed to be hot, so I am planning a lot of foods that don’t require the stove or oven.

Monday:

  • D: We scrounged leftovers last night- too tired to cook.

Tuesday:

  • D: Smoothies and Salad- It’s currently 82 degrees in our living room, so I am not turning on the stove or oven!

Weds:

  • D: Salsa Chicken (in the crockpot)

Thursday:

  • D: Spinach Salad with Feta and Grilled chicken breasts

Friday:

  • D: Date Night (dinner out)

Saturday:

  • D: Leftovers

Sunday:

  • D:   Breakfast for dinner/Frittata

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first).  One thing that I love to make that cuts down on food waste is fruit salad. It always gets eaten quickly, and everyone in the house loves it!

Freebie Friday!

Abby H.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

It’s Friday, and that means it’s time for some freebies!

Ibotta: April is Referral Cash Match Month!!

Abby H.

Screen Shot 2018-04-05 at 7.58.15 AM.png

Ya’ll know I love a good Cash Back app, and Ibotta is pretty high on my list. In fact, prior to writing this post, I cashed out for $32.58. I had to share this latest promotion!

Screen Shot 2018-04-05 at 7.59.23 AM.pngApril is Referral Cash Match Month!
During April, get $5 for every friend who signs up with your code and redeems an offer AND we’ll match their cash back for you — whatever they earn this month, you’ll earn too! Sounds pretty sweet.

If you aren’t sure about all this Cash Back App stuff, check out my post here. But here is just an example of how you can earn money for stuff you usually buy:

Screen Shot 2018-04-05 at 8.01.45 AM.png

And this offer is available at over 50 stores (including Costco). There are also offers for fresh fruits and veggies, fresh meat, breads, shelf stable food, canned goods, frozen food. There are 75+ offers on the Ibotta App at any time.

 

Disclaimer: This post contains my referral link, and if you sign up and complete the offer, I’ll get the deal too. I use the money I earn from referrals on the blog to pay for hosting fees and giveaways- And also my weekly trip to Starbucks. You can check out my Disclosure for all of the deets.

Earn 3000 Points from Fetch Rewards!

Abby H.

FetchRewards_LogoFetch is amazing! I love it. I’ve earned over $20 in rewards since August 2017- I usually get Amazon Gift Cards. If you’re not familiar with Fetch Rewards, there is a run down here.

Right now,
Get 3 friends to sign up with your referral code, and scan a valid receipt by
Sunday, March 11th, and you’ll receive 3,000 Bonus Points!

That’s on top of the 2,000 you already get for each friend. That’s 9,000 points for 3 friends! Not to mention, they also get 2,000 points for using your referral code.

Here’s how it works. . .

Step 1: Invite at least three friends to join Fetch Rewards.

Step 2: They sign up with your referral code and each scan 1 valid receipt by 3/11/18.
Valid receipts are any receipt that ends up Completed (not Rejected). Receipts don’t need to be Completed by 3/11/18, but must be scanned by then.

Step 3: You get 3,000 bonus points if three friends complete a valid receipt!
The 3,000 bonus points will be awarded on Tuesday, March 13th. You will be notified via email.

If you aren’t already using Fetch Rewards,  find Fetch Rewards in your app store. Use my code ND2TB when you sign up and you’ll score 2000 points after you scan in your first receipt with Fetch Rewards.

If you use my code, I’ll get 2000 points when you do. Win/Win, right? Honestly, my disclosure statement is here. I’m here to help ya’ll save money, not make a million dollars!

Freebie Round-up!

Abby H.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I haven’t done this for a few weeks and I have found a bunch of really cool freebies and events, so I have to share!

Free Personal Pizza at Chuck E Cheese’s– The pizza is a lot better than it was when we were kids!

Free Window Birdhouse at Home Depot– Check and see if your local Home Depot offers free kids workshop every weekend, a few of our local HD’s do!

Free Subscription to Town & Country Magazine

Free Subscription to Weight Watchers Magazine

Panera Members – Free Bagel Everyday in March

Free Solero Frozen Fruit Bars for Kroger & Affiliates

Free Kroger Tortilla Chips at Kroger & Affiliates

Free Chobani Greek Yogurt

Free Sample of SPLENDA Naturals Stevia Sweetender

Free Goody Bag at buybuy BABY Stores

Free Quick Start kit from Atkins (and $5.00 in coupons too!)

What’s your recent favorite Freebie?

 

2/20/18 Meal Plan… Tuesday?

Abby H.

dsc07997The past two days have been CRAZY. Yesterday was a holiday, so.. no school or therapy. In the morning we hosting a rock painting and hiding event. The kids painted, played and had a great time.  Then in the afternoon, we went to an afternoon playdate at KidVentures sponsored by NFAR. Afterwards, we were hungry and pooped out from a very busy day of play, so we stopped at Denny’s!

I’m just posting dinners for our meal plan. The kiddos lately have been having protein pancakes (I like Kodiak Cakes mix- it’s yummy and very versatile) with butter and Peanut butter. Hubs likes Oatmeal (my recipe for an easy almost instant oatmeal mix can be found here) if he’s got time, otherwise he and I have protein shakes. We mix it up, and have different flavors and mix in all kinds of stuff into our shakes, so as not to get bored. Here area few of our favorite recipes.

Lunches for Lil’ Man are usually Peanut butter and crackers, fruit, milk, a protein muffin (aka a kid cupcake), and applesauce cup. He takes his lunch every day! Hubs usually has a protein shake or I pack him leftovers or a frozen entree.

Bitty Bird and I usually have leftovers from the night before, or soup, sandwiches, quesadillas. She eats almost anything!

Monday:

  • D: Denny’s!

Tuesday:

  • D: Southwestern Chicken Stew

Weds:

  • D: Roasted chicken and veggies- I found some cool recipes in the most recent EatingWell Magazine, and this is one. 

Thursday:

  • D: Grilled cheese and soup ( I really want to make soup from scratch- It’s been super cold here lately). Maybe Colonial Chowder, I’ll post the recipe, whatever I choose. 

Friday:

  • D: Date Night- Probably Himalayan food, since we’ve both been craving it.

Saturday:

  • D:The kids and Daddy are having pizza, I’m going to an influencer event where there will be tasty noms.

Sunday:

  • D: Chef Salad/leftover buffet

The menu may change, as  I pull stuff out of the pantry to rotate what we’ve got (I am trying to cut down on waste, and put the older stuff up front to get eaten first).