Frugal Friday: good savings, bad savings

Happy frugal Friday! I’m leaving on yet another road trip today. But not going to the beach or anywhere near the ocean–going the opposite way to Indianapolis and then Chicago. This time it’s only a nine hour trip so hopefully i t won’t feel as long as the Florida drive and once again I will have my trusted co-pilot by my side.

(source)

The wonderful Tonya was over the other day and did a mini photo shoot for Lincoln. I just love her work so much and Lincoln was quite well behaved. He usually barks at strangers but fell instantly for Tonya due to the belly rubs and baby talk. But back to my point, Lincoln and I will be going on yet another roadtrip to see my sister then detouring in Chicago for a few days. I can’t wait to get to Chicago!!

The week has been chock full of savings, some I am happy about and some not so much. Yeah, you read right, I am unhappy with some of my savings. But we will get into that later.

The Good Savings

First was when I got back to Charlotte last week. I came home to a ton of mail and while going though the boring stuff saw this beauty of a return address!

Skinny Cow actually sent me coupons—hooray! But they are tricky cows. I wrote them a few weeks back telling them how much I love their products. Their stuff is expensive and I can’t afford it every single week when I need a fix so I just straight up asked for coupons. It can’t hurt to ask right? They emailed me back thanking me for the comments but said they don’t send out coupons so seeing this was a BIG surprise.

If you read yesterday’s post, you saw I am not a brunette. It’s been awhile since I’ve had dark hair and upkeep for highlights are so expensive. And I don’t like looking like white trash with my three inch roots so going back to my natural color seemed to be the best decision for me-financially and appearance-wise. In an effort to save even more money, I skipped going to my regular hairdresser instead and decided to go to the Aveda Institute for a cut and do my own color

But then I asked myself: “What is my natural hair color?” I’ve been coloring it for so long I can’t remember the last time when my hair was au natural. I went to Target to check out their selection of colors and saw this tool in the hair dye section.

Perfect! Just what I was looking for. I entered in my information and it gave me a few different colors and type of dye to choose from. With the recommendation of the find your color machine, I went with Pure Darkest Brown by L’Oreal Sublime Mousse.

I went through my coupons and saw that I had $3 off –yes!

It was on sale for $8.99 so I got a box for $5.99—pretty good deal if you ask me!  I got my hair cut on Wednesday for only $15. It took about an hour and a half since the student had to get things checked off by the instructor. For $15, I am happy with the cut……except the bangs. I told her I wanted longer side swept bangs but they ended up too short and have been pulling them back instead.

So I now have brown hair and bangs, quite a big change for my hair in one day. But I will rock it! The best part was that it usually costs me $100 every three months to get my hair done but by going to the Aveda Institute and doing my own color, it only cost $26. Yeah, I can roll with that.

I found this coupon for a free strawberry-lemonade from McDonalds in the paper a few weeks ago.

So when I looked at the temperature and it was 80 something degrees out by 10am yesterday, it was definitely time to redeem.

So how was it? Very tasty! It was refreshing and sweet but I think I would’ve liked it better if it was over ice instead of slushie form.

I found this purse at Salvation Army for $3.99 on Wednesday. I know, I know, I am moving and do not need to buy any more crap but it was too cute to pass up.

The Bad Savings

I was happy to go food shopping since this week was triple coupons at Harris Teeter. Triple coupons only happen a few times a year and it’s just a magical time for me since I try to save even more than I normally do! I went to Our Coupon Home to check out what items were on sale, what coupons are out there for those products to see what items I could get for cheap or free. After going through their site and my coupons, I put a list together of items that were either going to be cheap or under $2

I went to Harris Teeter on Sunday morning with my list, my coupons and my hunger for savings. And a majority of items I was hoping to get, were all gone. I would look for one item and nothing. Go to the next and nothing. People already cleaned everything out! I did find some items on my list that were under $2 though

The total?

$10.14. Meh. I know it could have been a lot more but when I got a crapload of stuff for $15.12 earlier this month, it annoys me that I didn’t get that much when the coupons were being tripled this time around. So I did some more research and went back to Harris Teeter early on Monday morning to see if I would have any luck at a different location.

Not so much. I only found four items on my list of 10+ items and got a six inch turkey sub from their deli.

They have a program where for every 15 six inch subs you buy, you get a foot long free. This was my 15th sub so I now have a foot long coming at me soon (that’s what she said??) But on the flip side, Harris Teeter has raised their prices for the six inch subs yet again and now they are $3.49. Boo.

The total of $7.52 this time around made me feel a little better so really I got the four items for only $4.03 so about a buck apiece. Not too shabby.

Do you cut or color your own hair?

Do you ever get bummed out about not saving as much as you wanted to as the grocery store? I thought I would get more items both times around but was sorely mistaken.

The long drive home

Driving 11 hours sucks. Driving 11 hours alone sucks even more. No matter how hard I try, I get anxious the night before leaving for a long trip and end up getting almost no sleep which makes for a cranky beginning to the day. Lincoln and I packed up early on Friday morning and started out with a light breakfast of a banana and Nature’s Path Lotta Apricotta granola bar

Boy, that bar was sweet. Like almost too sweet to eat and I love me some sweets. It took a good 15 minutes for me to down. I think it would be really good cut up and sprinkled in greek yogurt though to even out the taste. While at the gas station (which we won’t even begin my rant on gas prices), I found this Seattle’s Best Iced Latte

I love Seattle’s Best but rarely see it anywhere so I was stoked about this. It was like any other iced latte out there but I didn’t find it to be too strong.

I had to go through Gainesville, home of University of Florida, on my way back and it was around lunch time. I was in need of something hearty and Lincoln was practically dying in the car from the sun beating on him

I did a quick search to find dog friendly restaurants in the area and found The Book Lover’s Café, located in Books Inc, a used bookstore a few blocks away from the campus.

They serve lunch items, coffee and tea but what I really liked about it was that their menu consists of vegan and vegetarian treats. I am neither however when you’re on the road, it’s difficult to eat healthy. I try to back food and snacks and sometimes want to sit down and eat but most of the selection seems to be fast food. I ordered and looked around the store for any books that might have been of interest to me. Can we say score?

Only $3.99! Perfect since I just finished The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo. I can’t wait to start this one. I got Lincoln and we sat on their patio and waited for the food to come. They brought him a water bowl and we just enjoyed the day and the freaks walking by. It’s a college town so you are going to have some weird people there and I saw a few people walking by singing and one guy (yes, guy) dressed like Rainbow Brite) it was very funkalicious.

I ordered the Hummus wrap and you can either get a side salad or soup with it-I got the salad with was hopping with veggies-just like the wrap

  

The hummus wasn’t flavored, it was just regular hummus and tasted homemade. It was flavorful but gritty in texture.  All of this for only $7! Plus I get a majority of my veggie servings in for the day while supporting a local business-win win!All in all, a great place to stop, relax, peruse the book selection and hang out. Even though we were in the shade, Lincoln was still panting like a whore in church

I think it’s sweating like a whore in church but I like panting like a whore in church much better-hello saucy!

The rest of the drive through Florida was boring. I took a less traveled state road back to Jacksonville so I could hop on I-95. While on the road, I kept seeing these billboards which was a bit disturbing

I guess Florida is trying to get rid of over population? I must have seen this billboard at least seven times.

And can someone tell me what this is? I despise personalized license plates and despise ones that I can’t figure out even more.

Of course, I pronounce OCRACOK as Okra Cock. Maybe he did have one? I don’t feel bad about saying this since he was the slowest driver ever.

And I finally figured out my cruise control after a year and a half of owning this car—clicks to that!

Lincoln was absolutely pooped by the time we got to South Carolina. So much that he felt the need to jump in my lap and rest while I was driving. Thank God I was just going straight.

While fueling up in South Carolina, I found a new goodie that is going to be on my next shopping list

Hooray for Skinny Cow candy! I love Skinny Cow products so much so this had to be tasty. There were only six clusters in the package and they were quite small but it was a nice, little treat to indulge in.

As soon as I knew it, I was back in Charlotte.

Yay. Can you read the sarcasm?

I came home to a couple of surprises though……

a bunch of mail

Then a couple of packages….hmmmm….what could be in them? Happiness! Well happiness to me because there was food and a book.

First was Lance Cracker Creations that I won over at The Food Snob

Oh Monique, your note made me smile, much needed at the end of the day

The second thing was Jen Lancaster’s newest book, If You Were Here. It’s different from her books since it’s a novel as opposed to her memoirs she writes so I’m very interested to read it and see how it compares. One of my sorority sisters went to the book signing in DC and got a copy signed for me since she wasn’t coming to Charlotte this year. Oh well, at least I got to meet her last year.

What’s your favorite part about getting home from a long trip? Mine is my bed and clean clothes!

Two Dresses

What a day! I think I am on some kind of high from being off tomorrow so I have been running around non stop!

I mentioned last night how Lincoln was being a bad baby…barking his balls off (ironically he doesn’t have the boys anymore), not listening to me, etc. Well his behavior did a complete 180 and he was finally my sweet baby that I am used to.

I said I wasn’t going to have ice cream but I lied and cracked open a single portion of Skinny Cow Dulce De Leche-only 150 calories, we like that.

Holy crap-this was amazing. It was decadent with lots of caramel and perfect for my sweet tooth that always wants a lil something something. It’s Lincoln approved as well!

I went to bed at a decent hour and slept in until 630A so I could catch the late bus, which ended up working out because the bus I normally take never even showed up. Which the ride up was a crowded one since we had the amount of two busses of people in one. Side note, I really hate when people sit in the aisle seat so no one sits in the window and they can have the row to themselves. They are always the first ones I go to when I want to sit b/c I? Am obnoxious like that.

I had a Kashi Go Lean Crunch!, Strawberry and Yoplait Greek Yogurt Parfait for breakfast

The Yoplait Greek Yogurt is growing on me. I really like that it’s not too sweet nor sour and 12g of protein. My coffee buddy who I usually go to Starbucks with finally got back from his two wk trip in Hawaii and we have been meaning to catch up. We finally got to today and it was wonderful. He has a snarky sense of humor and has as much frustration with our work as I do. It was great to catch him up on all things—how I’m overloaded, Stinkalicious, Hawaii (which I asked him if he saw any Lost tours but had no clue) and such.

This morning was busy but nothing out of control. I got to take a 20 minute lunch break (woo hoo!) to stroll over to the library and get some cd’s and books for the wknd. I brought lunch—Farfalle Pesto Chicken Pasta with sautéed mushrooms, onions and zucchini.

I need to make more pesto-ASAP.

This afternoon was pretty much making sure everything was in order for tomorrow. Word got around at some banks that I will be out of the office for ONE day and everyone was freaking out. That made me feel good. I hate that I work my butt off and am efficient but the other people on my team don’t roll that way. What can I say, I’m competitive and want to be the best. I took a 20 minute break with one of my co-workers and we walked one mile, which was great to get out and get some fresh air.

 

I had no clue what to have for dinner so just threw some random stuff together. I broke into my Morningstar Grilllers Prime. I love Morningstar products but never tried this kind before so I was exciting!

I had half of a sweet potato and half pita with my Trader Joe’s Edamame Hummus that I love so.

Told you it was a random meal. I slathered some BBQ sauce on the patties and for the most part liked them. I liked the texture since it wasn’t rubber like and the taste was decent. I don’t know if I am crazy about it like their black bean patties but a good quick fix.

After that, I was on a mission…..and kinda wishing someone could cure my lonely condition. I am going to a wedding with a girlfriend of mine the first weekend of June (Hello Irish-Italian wedding with open bar!) and need a dress. I went to Ross which I love because it’s so cheap yet has in fashion stuff. I found not one but TWO dresses for the wedding.

The contenders

Dress One–I absolutely love the pink and black color combo

Dress Two-love purple because it is the color of royalty and just felt classy in this dress.

I couldn’t decide so I got both (two dresses for $34?? Yes please)

But now the important question: Dress One or Two??

Please let me know what you think, be honest (and keep in mind I didn’t have my gut sucking undies on 🙂 lol)

I stopped at the Dollar Tree afterwards to pick up some random stuff then off to the big event of the night-Harris Teeter. Right now, they have Double Coupons up to $1.98, which is a super happy time for me being the frugalista I am!

I got all of this:

*Mission Tortillas

*Real Simple Magazine

*Wholly Guacamole

*Two Cans of Mighty Dog food

*Beggin Strips

*Pedigree Good Bites

*Vanilla Frappaccino Four Pack

*Athenos Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

*Dove deodorant

*McCormick’s Cinnamon and Red Pepper Flakes

*Excedrin Migraine

*California Pizza Kitchen Personal Size Pizza

For $21!!!! I love my coupons so much 🙂

And Lincoln got a new baby to play with, he only has 38 babies so he needs some more. He was a bit excited!

The high is still going  and I’m just excited I don’t have to get up early. If I can sleep in until 730A I will be happy but we shall see. Happy almost Friday!

Durst Dunst

Happy Monday all! First things first—thanks for the nice wishes on my new pad. I can’t wait to move in and am soooo excited! Unfortunately, I am renting it because if I wanted to buy a house in that neighborhood it would cost a pretty penny but I am fine with that for now. I drove by yesterday to drop off my check and there is a bus stop right in front of there. And have I mentioned it is in walking distance to bars, restaurants and three coffee places? 🙂 So yes, very excited!!! 

Today was a great day. I wasn’t covering anyone for the first day in over a week. I didn’t have any chest pains due to stress. And I got my camera back since I left it at my desk at work so let the food porn commence! 

This morning for breakfast I had strawberry Chobani greek yogurt, blueberries, blueberry flax and coconut granola. 

 

I always mix together in the break room and people tell me how good it looks. Funny since I am always staring at their bacon egg and cheese croissandwiches.  And I am not apologizing for thinking this looks good: 

 

Regardless it nice having people salivate over me something I made.
 

I had a big salad with orange and red peppers zucchini red onions shredded cheese topped with tuna and Trader Joes Feta Dressing for lunch. 

 

 

I love that fresh veggies are so cheap right now. I owe it all the hippies….which I was singing that to the tune of ” I did it all for the nookey” before b.c I’m a dork like that. Whatever happened to Fred Durst by the way? 

Always classy

 And does anyone ever get confused with his name and Kirstin Dunst? 

Sobriety is a beautiful thing.

 No? Ok my weirdness again.
One of the teams had leftover pizza today and very rarely do I meet a piece of pizza I don’t like, so I decided to help them out by taking a slice off their hands. And I was a semi good girl by choosing veggie and not the sausage slice. 

 

And then we had a organization wide mtng to announce the new manager that was hired to replace one who left. Yeah….my mngr took the role. Which sucks….hard. I’m happy for him but not happy about this since good mngrs are few and far between. His position is now open and they are taking applications. When I got back to my desk I got bombarded with ims asking me if I am going to apply for it and people urging me to do it. 

Do I want it? Career and money wise it would be a good move but I really cannot work with Stinkalicious yet manage them. I dislike Stinky so much that I am willing to take a hit on my career. And yall know how unhappy I am in my role so yeah…much dislike. I don’t wish them ill will or anything. I just don’t dig people with a bad work ethic. Example….one of my coworkers was drowning in work this afternoon. I stayed an hour past my normal time to help while Stinky left at normal time. Another example….very rarely do I take a full lunch break. Stinky takes a lunch break plus five smoke breaks (yes I count them and I can tell you what time they are taken) and then complains about not having enough time. I know this is petty crap but when I’ve had friends laid off b.c they don’t have seniority yet are hard workers but this slacker still has a job it gets my blood boiling.

For dinner I had split chicken breast and baked okra and mushrooms tossed in extra virgin olive oil, garlic salt and pepper

 

I also made pork enchiladas since I don’t eat enough Mexican food throughout the week.

I likes it spicy

Pork seasoned with garlic and paprika cooking

Pork, cream cheese, enchilada sauce, onion and jalapeno resting together

 

I can’t wait to dig into these! 

I maybe got four hours of sleep last night. I was absolutely exhausted but kept tossing and turning so I would like to make it an early evening but don’t think that’s going to happen. 

I am enjoying a Skinny Cow sandwich as we speak….or as I type 

 I have been on yet another Arrested Development kick. And I am doing the Gob Chicken Dance because I am crazy and trying to scare Lincoln (he is NOT a fan)

 Hope it’s a magnificent Monday for all 🙂

OH! And click here to win a lovely package of random goodies 🙂

And click here to win a Cabot cheese gift box, hello dairy. I love you.

And this isn’t a giveaway but I absolutely love this idea on Fit Chick In The City, click here to submit one of your favorite workout songs and on Friday she is going to post a new playlist of everyone’s songs. Yay for getting new jams to workout, dance, sing or just have fun to!