shopping

4/30/2021 Friday Freebies and Deals!

Abby H.
bright boxes

I’m a little slow moving this morning. I had my second dose of the Covid-19 vaccine yesterday afternoon (Team Pfizer!), and I feel like my arm lost a fight. 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 Vita Liberata Tanning Product
Free SeaWorld Parks Admission for Active Duty & Veterans
Free Más Agave Premium Hard Seltzer Chatterbox Kit
Free PurKratom Sample Pack
Free 16 oz Fresh Cravings Salsa
Free Okelani Beauty Abundance Hair and Beard Oil
Free 16 lb. Bag of ClimateGard Fertilizer
Free Bodyarmor Edge Drink at QuikTrip
Free Moisturizer Skincare Product
Free Anti-Itch Lotion
Free Oil Control Moisturizer
Free One by Poise Liner & Pads Sample Pack
Free Schar Gluten-Free Hamburger Buns
Possible Free $125 Household Products Research Study
Free Sunscreen
Free $5 Off $5 at Ace Hardware = Free Item
Free Kids Sunscreen Stick or Lotion
Possible Free $150 Cooking Oil Research Study
Free Adventure Force Dinosaur & Slime Toy
Free Fast and Furious Movie Tickets
Free Chloe’s Pops Kids’ Marvel Pops
Free Beauty Products with 0.8L
Free Ponds Chatterbox Kit
Free 2-Year Subscription to Parents Magazine
Free Medium Fries w/ Any $1 Purchase at McDonalds – Every Friday
Free Chloe’s Pops Salted Caramel Oatmilk Pops
Free Hayneedle Kitchen and Dining Furniture

Deals:

Girls Full Length Leggings ONLY $2.99 at JCPenney (Reg $14)
Non-Contact Forehead Thermometer ONLY $7.99 (Reg $26)
Ninja Professional Plus Blend ONLY $48.99 After Kohl’s Cash
Non-Contact Infrared Thermometer ONLY $9.99 (Reg $60)
Kohl’s Outdoor Pillows ONLY $9.59 – Free Ship to Store
55% Off Keen Toddler to Adult Shoes + Extra 15% Off
Olay Cleanser & Moisturizer Mother’s Day Gift Set ONLY $21.24
Care Bears Interactive Figure ONLY $4.44 (Reg. $9)
PAW Patrol Mighty Pups Lookout Tower ONLY $38.99 (Reg. $78)
Coach Daisy Stud Earrings Set ONLY $35.40 (Reg $118)
Dash Cold Press Juicer ONLY $59.99 Shipped (Reg $100)
Target Women’s Sandal Clearance + Free $10 Gift Card
Clarks Shoes Up to 70% Off + Extra 15% Off
Calico Critters Yellow Labrador Family ONLY $9.88 (Reg. $25)
Coach Daisy Ring Set ONLY $29.40 (Reg. $98)

5 Reasons To Try Reusable Menstruation Products 

Abby H.

There are many types of reusable menstruation products on the market these days. Cups, discs, cloth pads, “period panties”.  Here are five reasons to give them a try!

1-While they may have a higher out-of-pocket, over time they cost less than disposable/one-use menstruation supplies. My Diva cup cost $35, but I’ve used it consistently for a year. On average, those who menstruate spend $159 or more per year on menstruation supplies, which equates to $6360 over the reproductive lifetime.

2- Reusable menstruation products are better for the environment. Some disposable menstruation products can’t be recycled, and often aren’t environmentally friendly. The plastics take a long time to biodegrade. Reusable pads can be rinsed out after use and then tossed into the washer and dryer.

3- Some reusable menstruation products can be used/left in for a longer amount of time than disposable. For example, I can wear my diva cup for up to 12 hours (discs have about the same time), but tampons need to be changed every 4 to 6 hours.

4-  Many companies of reusable menstruation products help those in need, or donate a portion of their profits to those who would not otherwise be able to afford menstruation products, People in underserved communities, schools, and homeless shelters.

5- It’s always good to try something new. People have been menstruating since the dawn of time, and until the past five or six years ago, there weren’t too many different ways to “deal” with the flow. Now those who have periods have choices. Try a new product, try a new brand, you might be surprised, you might find something new that you fall in love with. If you told me 10 years ago I would use a cup, I would laugh in your face. But, it has really helped with my cramps.

If you are interested in checking out some of the reusable menstrual products that I talked about, here is link to my Amazon list with tons of products.

Review of Everything’s a Deal (2 Locations in San Diego)

Abby H.

If you’re like me, you’ve been socially isolated/staying home for the better part of a year, wearing the same clothes, and it’s getting a little repetitive.

But at the same time, you don’t want to go to the mall. And as much fun as shopping on Amazon is, it’s hard to buy clothes on Amazon sometimes.

Last week, after I dropped the kids off at school and ran a couple errands, I found myself in South Bay. I remember that there used to be a discount/mark-down clothing store off of Palomar Road and interstate five, so I decided to drive down and see if it was still there. It is! And it’s even better than I remembered. It’s called Everything’s A Deal (it used to be Everything’s $5.00) and they’ve changed their store again.

The address is: 1141 Bay Blvd, Chula Vista, CA 91911

In a true wholesale try store the more you buy the cheaper the price per item becomes. If you buy between five and 10 items it’s $27.50+ tax for all 5 to 9 items. And the prices go down from there. Unlike a lot of discount clothing stores (I’m looking at a Ross) it’s not mostly trash/fast fashion/awful sweatshop crap.

Originally $44, marked down to $5.99!
I love this brand! They make such cozy sweaters and jackets. Originally sold at Nordstrom’s Rack.

Everything’s A Deal buys lots from well-known retailers (Sears, JCPenney, Nordstrom‘s Rack, or fifth Avenue, just to name a few) and they have a large warehouse-style store where everything is separated by size. All the plus sizes are together, all the small, medium, large, etc.

The nice thing is that the sale prices are for everything. Shoes, accessories, purses, close. They have kids’ clothes in men’s clothes too. So conceivably you could read your entire family there and some really cute outfits and not break the bank. Everything is new with tags. I bought five items and spent $29.99 after tax out the door. I got a jacket, address, two new T-shirts, and a really cute vest that I’m going to tie-dye.

All five items are name brand, and the jacket is a brand that is sold at Nordstrom rack. I googled the RN number and discovered that the original price of my brand new coat was $89.99. My two shirts had the tags still attached, my vest is from a brand I remember seeing at Macy’s, and my new dress, which is adorable, is from a brand that target sells.

Super Cute Sweater from A.N.A. a JCPenney Brand
This sweater, originally from JCPenney started out life at $47, and is now $5.00! Such an amazing deal!

There’s another location on Broadway in Lemon Grove (7696 Broadway Lemon Grove, CA) if South Bay is too far of a jog for you. Honestly, the stores are a great help for us, they help me stretch our clothing budget for new items. I’m able to afford better quality items for the same price that I would be paying at Walmart. And because the clothing swaps are going to be not happening for probably the next year or two, we won’t be able to pick up hand-me-downs or other secondhand clothing and household goods.

Clothing swaps are one of the ways that we are able to save a lot of money and keep the kids’ clothes. The kids are starting to grow out of the clothing that they have been wearing, and because there’s been no clothing swap this year, I don’t have clothing in the next size ready. I am going to have to purchase clothes.

I have been doing buying clothes and replacing our wardrobes little by little when I find stuff on sale and clearance that kids and I will like. This is mostly through jcp.com because they have such great sales and coupons. And I can combine those with cashback deals from online aggregators like top cashback, MyPoints, and Honey.

4/26/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpg

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.

Over the weekend, I did some meal prep: I made a batch of potato cheese soup on Saturday evening, and yesterday I cooked rice, made a big salad, cooked marinated chicken thighs, and refilled the snack/school lunch box to make morning lunch prep even easier.

I’m planning on making a couple batches of soup today or tomorrow. I’ll freeze half, and the other half will go into the fridge for my lunch throughout the week. Broccoli Cheese Soup and Copycat Zuppa Toscana are planned (most of the ingredients will be coming in the CSA box today).

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: Leftovers and roasted veggies (it was Brussels Sprouts and onions with bacon)
  • Monday:  Chef Salad, Grilled Croissants (halved, buttered and cooked on the flat top), smoothies
  • Tuesday:   Steak, Potatoes, Fruit, Roasted Veggies (probably broccoli)
  • Wednesday:  Nugget night (nuggets, fruit, crackers, milk)
  • Thursday: Dream Dinners and 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?

4/23/2021 Friday Freebies and Deals!

Abby H.
bright boxes

I’ve been hunting freebies and deals all week! Earth Day was this week and there were a few freebies to take advantage of. You can check out my Earth Day post here.

A new year means new birthday freebies. I put together a list 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!

Freebies:

Free Kids Firetruck Foldup Activity Sheet
Target Baby Registry – Free Welcome Kit In-Stores
Free Subscription to Esquire Magazine
Free Subscription to Cosmopolitan Magazine
Free Tree Seedlings from Arm & Hammer
Free WHOLLY Diced Avocado Package
Free PYT Beauty Cruelty-Free Liquid Lip Gloss
Free PYT Beauty Cruelty-Free Face Primer
Free Pretzel at Auntie Anne’s
Free American Spirit Cigarette Butt Pouches & Gift
Free Mixed Waterproof Stickers Pack
Free Subscription to Runner’s World Magazine
Free Bottle of Frunutta Vitamin C
Free 8×10 Inspirational Quote Print
Free Rowan University T-Shirt
10 Free Promise Cards
Free Sample of Impossible Foods Products
Free CBDa Muscle & Joint Relief Cream Sample
Free Babybel Plus+ at Walmart
Free Ice-Cream, Music Vouchers, SLINKY Shoes & More
Free Medium Hot or Iced Coffee at Circle K
Free Flow Alkaline Flavored Spring Water at Select Stores

Deals:

Cravings: Hungry for More a Cookbook Hardcover $11.07 (Reg. $30)
Little Blue Truck Leads the Way Board Book $4.44 (Reg. $9)
Coach Pebble Leather Wristlet ONLY $39.20 (Reg. $98)
Allure Beauty Box ONLY $23 ($235 Value) + New Mother’s Day Offer
Coach Gifts for Mom from $25 + Free Shipping
Versace Men’s Mini Cologne on Sale for ONLY $7.71 Free Shipping
Weather Radio 2-Pack ONLY $34.99 (Reg $50)
Gorilla Grip Cutting Boards 3-Pack ONLY $14.99 (Reg $40)
Small And Mini Boxy Cosmetic Case Set ONLY $52.50 (Reg $150)
White Sapphire Pendant Necklace ONLY $10 (Reg $50)
Made By Me Window Art ONLY $9.22 (Reg. $19)
Burberry Perfume ONLY $27.99 (Reg $94)
Llama Llama’s Little Library ONLY $13.49 (Reg. $24)

4/22/2021 New Deals from Checkout 51!

Abby H.

unnamedCheckout 51 is one of my favorite cashback shopping apps! Most of the deals/cashback rebates are not store specific, so I can save at stores that don’t accept coupons, like Grocery Outlet and 99 Cents Only.  You can also stack with store sales and discounts.

Here are just a few of the offers for this week!

And in addition to sweet deals on groceries, you can also save on gas at select stations. Information and specific participating stations can be found in their app.

To learn more about all of the Cashback apps I use, click here.

Today is National Garlic Day!

Abby H.

Hot Damn! I love garlic. I decided to celebrate with a new recipe: Roasted Garlic (below), and a round-up of recipes that feature garlic.

Roasted Garlic is easy to make and is great in recipes that call for garlic. It’s very mellow, rich, dare I say, creamy? It’s also super good on toast or warm, crusty bread.

Roasted Garlic 

Ingredients:

  • 1 or more (I suggest more) heads of garlic
  • Your favorite cooking oil

Directions:

  1. Remove the excess papery skin on the garlic heads, leave the bulb intact.
  2. Slice off the pointy tops (about 1/4-1/2 inch)of the garlic bulbs. You want to expose the garlic.
  3. Brush the heads of garlic with oil and wrap them in foil.
  4. Bake at 400 degrees for 40-50 minutes. The garlic is cooked once it is tender (poke it with a toothpick or knife usually after 40-ish minutes). but you can continue to roast it until all of the sugars caramelize, and it turns a light brown color. This caramelization makes the garlic very mellow and slightly sweet.

You can store the garlic in the fridge for 10-14 days, but it won’t last that long. It’s good in dips (like hummus), on its own, in soups, or any recipe that calls for garlic. Use roasted garlic in recipes where garlic is called for 1:1.

Garlic Recipe Round-up:

4/18/2021 Weekly Meal Plan

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpgThe CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes on Monday, so that’s helped me be able to meal prep.

The kids and I went to the store this morning and picked up milk and some stuff for their school lunches. OH YEAH- School starts full-time TOMORROW!!!

This past week we didn’t follow the meal plan because a mystery illness swept the household. Everyone is better, so hopefully, this week will easier. and also now with 50% more SCHOOL!

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: Leftovers and roasted veggies
  • Monday:  Breakfast for Dinner (Sausage, eggs, pancakes)
  • Tuesday:   Dream Dinners Meal and Salad
  • Wednesday:  Soup and Snacks!
  • Thursday: Dream Dinners and veggies
  • Friday:  Pizza/Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Meal o’ Snacks and Protein Shakes

Please stay safe you guys!

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

4/12/2021: Weekly Meal Plan!

Abby H.

0a5e9dab796cea8a07eabe4eb4795b9e.jpg

The CSA emails us in advance to give us a heads up as to what may be in our boxes on Monday, so that’s helped me be able to meal prep and write up this post last night.. But I went to bed early and forgot to hit POST.

I picked up a full order from Dream Dinners on Friday afternoon, and I’ve got three DD meals planned for this week. I’m working through the freezer too, and I’m planning on making vegetable soup with some homemade stock in the freezer and some freshly frozen veggies. I freeze fresh veggies towards the end of the week so that we have room in the fridge for all of the new CSA goodies.

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: The little kiddo and I usually have something quick and filling, lately it’s been sandwiches on croissants, and strawberry yogurt.  Big kid takes his lunch to school.

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: Roasted loaded cauliflower, Salad, Garlic Baguettes
  • Monday:  Orange ginger chicken, rice, roasted veggies
  • Tuesday:   Vegetable Soup and Cheddar Biscuits
  • Wednesday:  Meal o’ Snacks!
  • Thursday: Chicken tikka Masala, rice, salad or veggies
  • Friday:  Pizza/Takeout Night
  • Saturday: Breakfast for Dinner (Pancakes, Eggs, Fruit)

Please stay safe you guys!

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

Cents of Style Fashion Friday LIVE!!- 4/9/21- HUGE Jewelry Collection Starting UNDER $6- NOTHING over $7.99

Abby H.

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

Jewelry

YOU WILL NOT WANT TO MISS this Fashion Friday SPECIAL- because this Cents of Style sales event is HUUUGE!!

There are SO many amazing Earrings, Bracelets & Necklaces! We are offering OVER 90 accessories starting UNDER $6 each with this EXTRA 20% OFF code– Crazy right?

Deal Details:

FREE shipping over $35!
COUPON CODE: CHIC
ACTIVE: NOW-4/13/21 at midnight

 

JewelryJewelry