Free in February

Here's what I got free in February:
2 cans Rotel: $2.78
Ken's Steak House dressing: $3.19
Toufayan mini croissants: $4
2-liter bottle soda: $1.50
tray of valentine brownies: $7
Birds Eye Steamfesh vegetables: $2.39
Royal pudding mix: 34 cents
Ore-Ida fries: $3.19
deli rotisserie chicken: $4.99
1/2 gallon chocolate milk: $2.65
hot cocoa mix: $1.69

2 9-roll packs bath tissue: $8
4-roll pack bath tissue: $2.38
Greeting card: $1
helium balloon: $3

2 bottles Blink Gel Tears: $24
Colgate Total Advantage toothpaste: $3.89
Aussie conditioner: $4.29
2 bottles Crest Pro-Health rinse: $7
small hand sanitizer: $1.19
Ester-C: $12

Total: $100.47

Ribbons

12 spools of ribbon, and I don't think we have enough yet. We need them for bridesmaids, corsages, other florals, and windows. Probably for other places too.

Tablecloths for the Wedding

Two heavy boxes of white tablecloths for the wedding arrived today. I found a great deal online at linentablecloth.com. They turned out to be less expensive than renting! When the wedding is over I can donate all the cloths to our church, so they will benefit too.The tablecloths join a previous order from the same online company: sheer green table toppers which I snagged on clearance.

Yes or No?

To engrave or not to engrave, that is the question. Joann's 50% off coupons are great. I keep going back and buying one thing at a time, always using a coupon. Usually they are 40% off coupons, but on special occasions Joann's puts out 50% off coupons. The cake set I snagged for 50% off.

Making Choices

In the last four days we have looked at 15 different locations for the wedding reception, or for the ceremony and reception. We have narrowed it down to two places now. The other 13 were ruled out because we aren't members there; the facility wasn't suitable for our needs; or the cost was prohibitive.

Lovely historic churches...

Stone barns...Some of the other locations we looked at were art museums, historic houses, and lots more old churches.

Back to Square One

Oh no!

They say every wedding will have things that go wrong, and we have a big "go wrong" situation: We lost our location this morning. It turns out that the reception site, an historic one-room schoolhouse, was closed down suddenly because the county engineers discovered that extensive termite damage had weakened the structure to an unsafe level. It won't be open again until September.

And our invitations have already been printed.

So the search is on again for a place that will (hopefully) be what Greta imagines for her wedding.

Enjoyment on a Snowy Day

For a snowy-flurry day I love hot chocolate in my most favorite mug ever.

Rainy Day Baking

Today I was car-less, it was raining, I didn't want to clean the house, and I was tired of the computer. So, what could I do? I decided to...

BAKE!

I made an apple cake and monkey bread. Both were new recipes, and neither turned out spectacularly, but the family appreciated them. And Luke helped me too: he likes to "bang" eggs.

Free in January

This year, I'm going to continue to keep a record of what I get free, but now I'm going to focus on the retail value of each item rather than the places I get the items, so I will know how much I saved during the year.
How do I get free items? The most usual ways are by combining sale prices with high-value coupons, by using rebates, by rolling drug store "credits" into new purchases (Extra Care Bucks and Register Rewards), and by accepting items my friends offer me.

Scotch Pop-Up Tape: $4
5 blocks Kraft cheese: $7.50
Philly cream cheese: $1.50
5 bags Quaker Quakes: $9
2 Chobani Greek yogurt: $2.68
7 Oikos Greek yogurt: $14
Duck packing tape: $2
2 bottles Eucerin Calming Itch Relief: $16
Eucerin Intensive Repair Hand Creme: $5.69
Schick Quattro Titanium Trimmer: $12
2 large bottles Ester-C: $22
2 small bottles Ester-C: $18
3 refill packs A&H Essentials: $12
Arnold Whole Grain bread: $3
6 lb Italian sausage: $24
2 lb pork chops: $8
Total: $161