frugal

5/14/2021 Friday Freebies and Deals

Abby H.
bright boxes

This week has thankfully been less “exciting” than last week. No appliances dying. Our HOA is resurfacing our patio deck, so I spent most of Wednesday trapped in the house. They didn’t knock before they started working. I opened the door to leave for the gym and they were resealing the deck. At least I got the living room clean.

And in some sad news, The little one fell down and smacked her face on the pavement, so we’re monitoring her for an emergency dentist trip.

Luckily, We’ve got some good freebies and deals this week.

If you are looking for birthday freebies, fret not! I put together a list new for 2021- Check it out here.

Most of these freebies and deals are online. I am not encouraging anyone to go into stores or go out into public. Mask up, wash your paws, stay socially distanced, get vaccinated when it’s your turn!

Freebies:

Free JoliMoli Baby & Kids Products
Free Diapers
Free Atoll Board Company’s Epic Sticker Pack
Free Incontinence Products
Free Alpha Foods Breakfast Burrito
Free Catit PIXI Smart Fountain & Smart Feeder
Free L’Oreal Paris Excellence Cool Supreme Hair Color Kit
Free Sample of Creme of Nature’s Hair Products
Free Stress-Free Retirement by Patrick Kelly Book
Free Sample of Breathe Right Extra Clear Nasal Strips
Free Bud Light Seltzer Lemonade Chatterbox
Free Pair of Crocs for Healthcare Workers – 10,000 Per Day
Free Phone Case
Free Subscription to Enjoying Everyday Life Magazine
Free 15-Day Riversol Skincare Kit
Free Krispy Kreme Dozen Doughnuts for Graduating Students -Today
McDonald’s -Free Sausage Egg McMuffin, McChicken or Cheeseburger
Free Powerade at Giant Eagle
Free $5 Prepaid Card
Free Estee Lauder Beautiful Magnolia Fragrance Sample
Free Sample of Flor Biz CBD Product
Free Bottle of Frunutta Melatonin
Free Prevent Tickborne Diseases Bookmark
Free Philips Sonicare Product Testing
Kids Skate Free
Free Ocean’s Halo Vegan Broth
Banfield Pet Hospital – Free Office Visit & Consultation
Free Goody Bag at buybuy BABY Stores
2 Free Luxury Haircare Products
20 Free Disney Movie Insiders Points
Free My Life As Remote Controlled Jeep Toy
Free Sample of Flanax Pain Reliever Tablets
Free HoLife Juicer, Toaster, Vacuum, Headphones & More
Free 16 oz. Fage Sour Cream at Sprouts
Free Tena Sample Kits

 

Deals:

Gotham Reversible 6-Pc Comforter Set ONLY $39.99 (Reg $100)
Essentials Office Chair ONLY $69.99 (Reg $130)
Blue 10-Piece Non-Stick Cookware Set ONLY $79.99 (Reg $200)
American Tourister Disney Luggage ONLY $69.99 (Reg $140)
Adidas Men’s Hoodie ONLY $31.99 (Reg $55)
Little Tikes Springlings Surprise Treehouse ONLY $7.57
Kate Spade New York up to 60% Off + Extra 10% Off
MUK LUKS Marsha Sandals ONLY $21.99 (Reg. $45)
Allure Beauty Box ONLY $23 ($190 Value) + 2 Free Gifts
Permanent Hair Removal Device ONLY $229 (Reg $340)
Kate Spade Jae Bundle ONLY $129 (Reg $438)
Star Wars Instant Pot ONLY $59.98 (Reg. $100)
Play-Doh Kitchen Creations Candy Playset $14.99 (Reg. $25)
Madewell Summer & Swim Women’s Clothes up to 80% Off
First Aid Kit 178-Piece ONLY $19.93 (Reg $36)

Summer Fun on a Budget with Dollar Tree!

Abby H.

**Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links. I may earn a small commission if you click on links or make purchases

Summer is coming! Here in CA, starting in Mid-June more places will re-open. I’m planning on taking the kids swimming, go to the beach, going on hikes, picnics, and lots of outdoor fun. As more activities open, I will be posting about frugal adventures in San Diego.

One of my favorite places for summer goodies is Dollar Tree. Water guns, bubbles, bubble accessories, sand toys, pool/water toys– all of these are great deals at Dollar Tree. Even though they are just a dollar, we’ve had the same water guns/squirters and pool toys from Dollar Tree for over 3 years!

One of the hot toys in our house is sidewalk chalk. Regardless of the time of year, it’s fun to draw outside!

If you are looking for some fun craft ideas, Dollar Tree has tons of fun craft supplies in-store and online. And they have some great craft project ideas as well:

 

 

 

 

Cross Country Cafe: Feeling lucky? Win 4 boxes of K-Cup® pods

Abby H.

Cross Country Cafe has a great giveaway!

Enter to win FOUR full-size boxes of the best-selling K-Cup® coffee pods! Enter to win before May 31st, 2021.

And while you are at it, check out their blog– They have great articles, recipes, and tips to keep your Keurig running its best!

Cents of Style Item Of The Week- 5/10/21- SPRING GRAB BAGS! Starting at $9.99

Abby H.

 

Grab bag

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

You know what I love? So many things, but in this case, I love a good surprise. Cents of Style is hooking us all up with a surprise this week.

This week is grab bag week! These grab bags usually retail from $29.95-$139.95, but are marked down right now PLUS you can enter an EXTRA 20% OFF and get them for ONLY $9.99-$34.99! That is up to 75% off of retail!

SPRING GRAB BAG options:
2 Accessories or shoes for $9.99
2 Bottoms for $15.99
4 Items, 2 clothing & 2 accessories, for $19.99
6 Items, 4 clothing & 2 accessories, for $34.99

Grab bagGrab bag

Grab bag Grab bagTo take advantage of this amazing deal, make sure to use Coupon Code SURPRISEME.

Pizza Hut: Enroll now for Camp BOOK IT!

Abby H.

Enrollment is now open for Camp BOOK IT! 2021. Enroll your children now to help fight the summer slide.

Camp BOOK IT! will run June-August, 2021, and is open to PreK-6th grade students (ages 4-12).

Set reading goals, have fun, and reward your students for their summer reading with free pizza!

Recipe: Roasted Onion and Caramelized Onion Bisque

Abby H.

I saw a video online someplace (I want to say Facebook, but it could have been on Reddit too), and it showed how to make tomato bisque using freshly roasted tomatoes.

I was excited to try it since we’ve been getting tons of big tomatoes in our CSA box over the past two weeks and I had them sitting on the counter.

This recipe is simple, but it does involve a few steps and does take some time.

It’s worth it in my opinion.

Roasted Onion and Caramelized Onion Bisque

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

  • 8-10 Tomatoes, tops cut off. If the tomatoes are not a uniform size, cut them in half /into large uniform hunks
  • 1 large onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic, diced
  • 2 tablespoons avocado oil
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 can (approx 16 oz) chicken or veggie stock
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1 Teaspoon each: Basil, Rosemary
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1 cup half and half
  • dash red pepper flakes (optional)
caramelized onions…. mmmmm

Directions:

  1. Preheat Oven to 425 degrees. Place tomatoes/tomato hunks on an oiled-up baking sheet. Brush tomatoes with oil and a sprinkle of salt and pepper.
  2. Roast tomatoes for 35-45 minutes.
  3. While tomatoes are roasting, melt butter in a stockpot, and over medium/low heat saute onions. in the last 10 minutes of cooking the onions, add the garlic and stir frequently to keep from burning. You will need to stir frequently.
  4. Place tomatoes in with onions, and add stock, and all herbs/seasonings, EXCEPT the bay leaf and red pepper.
  5. Using an emersion blender, blend soup until it’s smooth.
  6. Now that soup is smooth, add bay leaf and simmer for 30-45 minutes on low.
  7. Add half and half, stir well, add red pepper if desired.
  8. Serve topped with croutons.
This is what roasted tomatoes look like in a lonely stockpot.

Note: If you don’t have an emersion blender, pour tomatoes and onions into a blender and pulse until smooth.

This recipe does not make a ton of soup, as most of my soup recipes do. This recipe takes time, but it’s so good. It’s worth the time and effort for sure.

I recommend my 4-way grilled cheese to go with this soup too!

May 2021: New Healthy Freebies From Social Nature!

Abby H.

 If you are into Organic/Natural/Healthy products, then Social Nature is up your alley. Sign up and apply to sample products that you are interested in. I get probably 1-2 products to sample each month. And most of the time it’s full-size products, not just a tiny sample.

Social Nature has rounded up products that are available to try at a Whole Foods Market near you. Apply to Try the products that interest you to see if you’re a match here. All of these products are available at Whole Foods.

And one of the things I love about Social Nature is that they don’t leave our friends with food allergies out.

There are sampling offers for Gluten-free, nut-free, meat-free foods frequently.

Canadian Friends- You are in luck, there are sampling opportunities for you too! So if you love trying new products, check out Social Nature!

5/10/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

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Last week on Tuesday night our fridge started acting up, and by Wednesday afternoon, it was no longer blowing cold air. the fan was broken. Thankfully we have the extended warranty, so they came out Thursday afternoon and repaired the fridge (replaced the fan).

As a result, we lost most of the food in the fridge, including all of the condiments. The meal plan for the rest of last week was scrapped.

I hit up the store to replace what was lost, but I wasn’t able to replace all of it, for some reason, there are some food shortages, probably because some items are made overseas and there are some countries that are seeing surges in Covid Cases as of late.

The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes each week, and that really gives me an upper hand when it comes to meal planning for the week.

Veggies and fruit are delivered each Monday by Yasukochi Family Farms CSA. For $25, it’s a great deal. I don’t have to pick anything, go to the store, or carry it upstairs. I can’t go to the store and get the same amount we get weekly for $25. Seriously. It’s a deal. I spend about an hour on Monday afternoon cleaning and prepping veggies for the rest of the week.

For those of you that are new to meal planning, I’ve got an easy 101 style post here with super easy tips and steps. After you get that down, here is info about batch or freezer cooking.

I’ve gotten a pretty good inventory of the pantry, freezer, and fridge done (I try to update it after every shopping trip), so I’m able to plan meals and use up what we’ve got with little waste. If you are looking for a kitchen inventory printable, I like the kitchen inventories here. They are great printables.

I only post our dinner plans for the week, because our other meals are usually the same each day.

Breakfast: Coffee with 1/2 and 1/2  for me, and pancakes or something along those lines for the kids.  The kids are nuts about pancakes. The Big Kid has been on a protein shake kick in the AM.

Lunch: Kids take lunch to school. I eat leftovers. Everyone rejoices.

Dinner: Usually, I do a crockpot meal on Mondays, but now that we are home all the time, we’ve been having an odd combination of fully home-cooked, scratch meals, and frozen entrees and veggies. I have been posting our meal plans on Instagram too- As well as pics of stuff we are doing to keep busy.

  • Sunday:  Take out (It was Mother’s Day after all)
  • Monday:   Big Ol’ Salad, fruit, protein shakes
  • Tuesday:    Salsa Chicken, Rice, roasted veg
  • Wednesday:  Nugget night (nuggets, fruit, crackers, milk)
  • Thursday:  Steak, potatoes, roasted veg
  • Friday:  Pizza/Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Meal o’ Snacks and /or leftovers

Please stay safe you guys!

Talk Back: What are you cooking for dinner this week?

Fetch Rewards Want a piece of over 2.5 MILLION points?

Abby H.

Spring to it! Millions of points are waiting.

 

There’s never been a better time to get into the snap habit. That’s because Fetch Rewards is giving away over 2.5 million points!

Snap all your receipts between 5/9 and 5/16 for a chance to win a share of the pot. That could be up to 50,000 points in your Fetch account, or thousands of other prizes, just for snapping a receipt. Winners will be awarded points on 5/18. Get to it!

If you haven’t signed up for Fetch Rewards yet, or want to learn more, check out my post here. Find the Fetch Rewards app in your app store, and when you download it and scan any receipt, use my code ND2TB when you sign up and you’ll score 2,000 bonus points.

Rubio’s Celebrates National Shrimp Day with $6 Shrimp Entrées

Abby H.

YUM! IF you’ve been reading the blog for a while, you know that I love Rubio’s. They started here in San Diego, and they have such a wide array of tasty food!

Celebrate National Shrimp Day at Rubio’s on Monday, May 10, when all Rubio’s shrimp entrées are just $6 with the purchase of any drink. Simply enter the coupon code MKTG1124 with your order through the Rubio’s app, or online at Rubios.com. Or, show the coupon when you order at any Rubio’s.

Guests can order any shrimp entrée on the menu, including the seasonal favorite, the Smoky Oaxacan Shrimp Bowl. Rubio’s shrimp is responsibly sourced and marinated in a blend of ancho chiles, garlic, cilantro, olive oil and lime. Next, it is pan-seared on an authentic Mexican comal.

Rubio’s locations across California, Arizona, and Nevada are open. Guests may order online, or through the app, for contact-free curbside or express pickup, or delivery for just $1.99. For more information and to view the menu, visit Rubio’s, Facebook and Instagram.