Merry Christmas To All!!

 

Happy Holidays from my family to yours!

 

 

 

 

XOXO-

Kristi

Money Saving Monday- Week 2

It's so hard to believe that in the blink of any eye Christmas 2012 will be over and we will be making resolutions for the New Year. As excited as I get to put up the Christmas decor I get even more excited to take it back down. I love the look of clean and organized, and all the Christmas decorations just put my mind into clutter overdrive. Just 2.more.days and it will all be back down :)

I found some great deals this week to fill our basement pantry and deep freezer, cant wait to share!!

If you want the details of how I stock my pantry on a $15.00 weekly budget, click here. This week we ended up with 9 boxes of Kraft Mac & Cheese, 8 boxes of Stove Top stuffing, and 6 packages of Johnsonville breakfast sausages.

These breakfast sausages ended up being $1.00 a piece after coupon at Giant Eagle this week. They were on sale 2/$5.00, and I found .75 off 1 coupons which doubled to $1.50 off each.  Ebay is a great source for unique coupons that are not found on the normal clipping service sites.

Macaroni and Cheese was on sale at Giant Eagle for $1.00 a piece. My coupon was for $1.00 off 3. Total after coupon is .67 cents each. I bought 9 for a total of $6.03. (Target also had Mac & Cheese for .99 this week)

 

I bought 8 boxes of Stove Top for $1.00 each at Target. My coupon was for $1.00 off when you buy 2. The boxes came out to be .50 cents each after coupon. My total for all 8 was $4.00.

 

So while I did spend $16.00 this week and went $1.00 over budget, I was still pretty proud considering the amount of items of got for that $16.00.

 

What goodies filled your pantry this week?

 

XOXO-

Kristi

 

Batteries Organized- Yes Please!!

A couple nights ago as I cozied up on the couch, wrapped myself in a comfy blanket, plopped the laptop on my lap, and reached for my tv remote the worst thing happened. NO BATTERIES! No batteries= No Days of our Lives and No Days of our Lives means one unhappy momma! (I'm a Days lover- dont judge!) You see, my handsome little boys love to take the batteries out of evvveerrythinnnggg! Swapping them from remote to remote, losing a few here and there, and just plain driving their momma nutty! I had enough! We needed batteries and I needed an organization system. My brain went into overdrive and I came up with a plan. Couldn't wait to head to the store the following day to get everything I needed!

I first headed to our local craft store- Pat Catans. LOVE.THAT.PLACE. I could setup a tent and spend the rest of my life there...and live...HAPPILY...EVER...AFTER! After walking up and down the aisles that were filled with too many perfect solutions I settled on this:

 

A great buy at only $3.47.

 

I loved the different compartments, and slightly taller height than the other organizers had. I knew this would be perfect for the battery organization that was about to go down.

 

Afterwards I headed right next door to Dollar Tree. I picked up 8 packs of assorted batteries. I purchase this brand of batteries all the time and never have any issue. Perfectly inexpensive should any little fingers lose them.

 



 

I brought all of my goodies home and gathered my label maker. Let the battery organizing begin!



 

I seperated the different sizes of batteries in the dividers. Printed out the different labels and placed them directly onto the plastic above each bin. From start to finish this project took 10 minutes and about $12.00 to complete.

 

All done!! I've got the perfect space for this box of goodness...as soon as get the front closet organized ;)  Ahem...off to clean!

 

Stop back tomorrow to check out how I organize my coupon binder.

 

XOXO-

Kristi

Money Saving Monday- Week 1

Hello Hello!! I've had the past 3 days off of work and they have been such a whirlwind. I'm behind on everything. Luckily I'm feeling pretty productive today, so I hope to get caught up. We are still baking, and I will get the blog updated within the next few days with our latest additions to our 12 days of Christmas Cookies.

 

I'm a couponer- not an extreme couponer, you wont find 100 tubes of toothpaste or 300 rolls of toilet paper stockpiled in my basement, but I do love some coupons. I only buy what I know that my family of 5 will use. I have an amazing sense of comfort knowing that I have a stocked pantry, and could spend hours just staring at the organization! I will have lots of couponing posts from how I store my stockpile to how I organize my coupon binder. Stay Tuned!

 

My husband and I budget $80.00 weekly to feed our family of 5. While I know this amount is low to most, with the ease of couponing I stick pretty close to that budget. Our $80.00 budget includes not only food/stockpile items, but also pet items, personal care, and cleaning supplies.I allot myself $15.00 per week to spend towards stockpiling our pantry/storage room. This $15.00 is best spent by using coupons and buying in multiples.

 

Every Monday..Lord willing...I will share my weekly stockpile items. Keep in mind, I shop at Giant Eagle, which doubles coupons up to .99. They also offer fuel perks and food perks. Even if you do not have a Giant Eagle nearby, most of my tips will help you on your coupon ventures as well.

 

Money Saving Monday- Week 1

$15.00 a week towards a full pantry

 

 

This week I spent $12.30 towards my stockpile. Thats 30 item at roughly .40 cents a piece!

 

These Betty Crocker potatoes were on sale for $1.00 a piece. With a .50/2 coupon- doubled- they came out to .50 a box. I bought 10 for a total of $5.00.

Swanson Chicken Broth was on sale BOGO, which comes out to 2 for $1.18. With a .40 off 5 coupon- doubled- they came out to $2.15 for 5. I bought 10 for a total of $4.30.

 

 

Jello Products were on sale 4 for $3.00. With a .50 off 2 coupon-doubled- they came out to .25 cents a piece. I bought 10 for a total of $2.50.

 

Time to start scouring the ads for next week :)

 

XOXO-

Kristi

12 Days of Christmas Cookies- Day 2- Chewy M&M Chocolate Chip Cookies

Back again with Day 2 of our 12 Days of Christmas Cookies. Baking has become a highlight of our day. While it's hard to round up all 3 kids at the same time to gather around and bake, I make sure to have at least one of my kiddos with me during the process. My little guy was home with me today, and was looking for a way to keep his hands busy and out of trouble. He chose Chocolate Chip Cookies so I headed straight to Pinterest. Gathered all our ingredients and got busy baking.

 

CHEWY M&M CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

 

 

I found the recipe for the cookies over at Apple A Day. Check it out here: http://kelseysappleaday.blogspot.com/2011/08/best-ever-chewy-chocolate-chip-cookies.html

The claim was that these would turn out to be super chewy- and the chewiness did not fail at all. These cookies are my new go to Chocolate Chip Cookies!  I already had all the ingredients in our pantry, they were super easy to whip up, and they were a hit with our family. YUM YUM YUM!

 

 

I wanted to spruce them up a little for a touch of holiday cheer, so I added red and green M&M's to the tops after pulling the cookies out of the oven. These were a HIT and I'm sure they will make an apperance around this abode frequently!

 

Happy Baking!!

 

XOXO-

Kristi



12 Days of Christmas Cookies- Day 1- Reese Peanut Butter Cookie Cups

It's beginning to feel a little like Christmas around here. Shopping is in full swing, the decorations are up and my kiddos are full of excitement for good Ole St. Nick. As much as I dislike snow, it just doesn't feel like the Holiday season without it! So if we could get a few flurries from time to time, that would make it feel ALOT like Christmas around here!

 

I LOVE traditions, old and new.  So this year I created a brand spanking new one that I hope will carry on through the years with our family. Drum roll please.....The 12 Days of Christmas Cookies!  I had my kiddos give me a list of their all time favorite cookies and went to work searching pinterest for new recipes to add into the loop as well. We will bake a different type of cookie each day for the next 12 days. I'll feature our daily cookie right here on the blog. Without much ado, lets get started!

 

Our first cookie is one that is very famous around here, we've been baking and eating these for years! Not sure why I chose to make these first, since they are certain not to be around for long.

 

REESE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE CUPS

 

I've found a similiar recipe over at Shanty 2 Chic.

 http://www.shanty-2-chic.com/2012/12/easy-reeses-peanut-butter-cup-cookies.html

 

I should have made a double batch of this yummy goodness!!

This cookie is so easy to make and certain to make your belly happy! Add these into your Holiday baking- you will thank me later!

 

 

Happy Baking!!

 

XOXO-

Kristi

 

 

 

Sweet 7th Birthday- Baseball Style

My love for cleaning, organizing, and decorating expands into party planning and entertaining. Having three kiddos means that birthday parties are a must, and planning a memorable party is top priority. I start brainstorming ideas months in advance and search pinterest for all sorts of inspiration. Both of our boys love sports, so a sports themed party was perfect for our soon to be 7 year olds party. Months of planning, a sports extravaganza filled Sunday, and before we knew it, the party had come and gone with the blink of an eye. Memories were made, presents were opened, and our bellies were filled!

 

Welcome to Foss Field!



 



 

We started the party by opening up our concession stand for everyone to enjoy! Our menu was filled with all sorts of ball park goodies. Foiled wrapped hotdogs complete with toppings of your choice- ketchup, stadium mustard, yellow mustard, and sweet relish. Salty soft pretzels, bags and bags of assorted chips. And cheesy/ salsa nachos complete in plastic nacho trays. I made a concession stand sign out of an old picture turned chalkboard which added the final touch to our stand.

 

 

Our tablescape was quick, cheap, and painless. I found sports themed plates, cups, and napkins at Dollar Tree of all places. I placed a plate, napkin, cup, and utensils at each seat, and topped it off with a plastic popcorn container found in the dollar bins at Target. The rest of our table decor consisted of a cupcake stand filled with baseball styled cupcakes, and plates of cookies and chocolate dipped oreos.

One of the biggest hits at our party was the popcorn stand. The kiddos and adults munched on handfuls of freshly popped popcorn while Carter tore into his presents. The mountains of gifts consisted of legos, games, art supplies, clothes, a drum set, and of course Carter's favorite- CASH! Straight to his savings account that went. Carter was blessed with so many great gifts!

 

 

 

We had loads of games and prizes and a candy filled pinata. Everyone went home with a plastic baseball/bat, gold medal, hand clapper, and oodles of candy. Before everyone headed home we had them sign Carter's Birthday Ball. I've got special plans for this ball in the near future!

 

Our guy had a GREAT birthday!!

 

XOXO-

Kristi