I Have a Confession to Make......

I HAVE NEVER BEEN TO IKEA! Sad, isn't it? Sadly, there is no Ikea where I live and the closest one is in Las Vegas and when I go to Las Vegas, I try to leave it as quicly as I can. However, I am on my way to California today and I need to find an Ikea somewhere along the way, so I can go and browse their baking section. If I have to stop at every Ikea between here and San Diego to find that cookie cutter set, I will. I. MUST. HAVE. IT. It's not a want, it's a need. Check out some of these great finds.

Red baking dishes. I love them. This one is only $6.99.

My hubby hunts. He's into everything outdoors and so are my boys. I think these are darling!

This is my very favorite of all the little beauties I saw. I must have this simply for the flower shaped cookie cutter in the middle. I'm envisioning my sweet daughter and her friends decorating cookies in my kitchen.

Cakes and I do not tend to get along, but for $1.49 I may try this fun stencil set. I can just see a fun baby shower cake with polka dots. Yep, going to have to try it.

To see all this and lot's more, click here. The best thing is that they are extremely affordable!

Garage Sale Tips

Brandy and I have an......addiction. Each and every Saturday one of us, if not both of us are out and about garage selling our way to heaven. We find deal after deal and it is what feeds this frenzy. Our main goal is to find good deals on great clothes. But once you get out there, things just call to you and say "Take me home", "You know you want me....even though you don't need me". It is theraputic, it is fun, and it is what I look forward to each and every Saturday.

On my way home today while I was tuning out the chitter chattering and screaming of children in the backseat, I was trying to think of a great post for our blog. I thought "Aha! I will share my tips on Garage selling techniques.

Tip #1

Go on Craigslist the night before and click on the "garage sale" button. This will then show you all of the garage sales for the weekend. It will then actually map out a route for you to follow. Along the way you may or may not find other garage sales along the way that weren't on Craigslist.

Tip #2

Check out the garage sales for friday. These days "with the economy" people are having sales on any day of the week.

Tip #3

Don't be afraid to swindle a deal. Usually people mark up their items so you will be able to talk them down. Most people that do garage sales are just trying to get rid of their things more than making money.

Tip #4

Go EARLY! Most of the good stuff is gone by 9. Brandy and I usually go at 7 and YES things are busy.

Tip #5

If you have to bring your kids with you, bring plenty of snacks and portable dvd players. I also give my kids 2.00 each to spend and when their money is gone it is gone. It teaches them to hold out for something good.

Tip #6

Go with a friend. I love going with Brandy. We help each other look for great deals and even when we aren't together we are still on the prowl for things for each other.

On the whole this is a great way to shop. It is better than thrift store prices and walmart prices. I did a garage sale this past weekend at my house and we brought in some good money! So with that, HAPPY SHOPPING!!!!

Awesome Finds

I have been without my camera for a few days while the husband is off hunting :(. I feel like I am missing a piece of myself! Anyway, so no fun projects from me, though I have several to do this week once the camera returns. But I did want to put a post up today with lot's of cool things that I have found!!

This is for all you LDS Bloggers out there. Ever heard of Themed Cuties ? She has darling clipart for holidays and LDS themes. She has quite a few freebies on her website. Go check her out, she is also very affordable! Alway's a plus.

The Toymaker is a fun little site that I stumbled across. They have lots of ideas for paper. Mostly paper toys that she has offered the patterns for. You simply print out what you want and cut and glue. Easy, easy and free!!!

Simplify Supper is a pretty fun site and what a GREAT idea. They were actually on Good Things Utah the other day. It gives you menu ideas for each month with recipes, and your shopping list is all done for you according to what you choose.



Now, I really haven't liked blinkies much, but Cutest Blog on the Block has some adorable ones!! They have many sayings about family and just darling blinkies, like the one featured above. So go deck out your blog with fun sayings!!

Hope you guys thought this stuff was fun! Hopefully I will be back to posting projects soon!!

A New Boutique

My friend Misty just opened an online boutique. It's called The Creative Itch Boutiqu! This is brand new and things are still under construction, but go check it out. she has way cute handmade cards and bows for little girls. Way to go Misty!

Coupons

If you don't cut coupons, your throwing away money!!! Josh's grandma used to tell me that all the time and she used to give me her Sunday paper coupons. And I hardly ever used them. Shame on me!!!

Since I quit my job last year we have been trying to pinch pennies every where that we can. This picture was from my shopping excursion today. I spent $55.00 with tax for everything here, plus a few other things and I saved almost $77.00 in coupons and in store sales.

I hit Albertsons this morning because they are having great 10 for $10, $15, & $20.00 sales. I automatically saved $15.00 from in store rebates by buying the 10 for 10 items. That was on top of the sale price. And then you add in $13.00 in coupons and it adds up quick.

I think I have a new hobby! There is a website called Grocery Smarts that is amazing. Basically, Grocery Smarts has a website that offers FREE listings of local grocery store ads matched with manufacture coupons from the Sunday paper. They mainly operate out of Utah, specifically the greater Salt Lake/Provo/Ogden areas and in St. George.

You have to have a passport code in order to access the whole sight. But without the passport you can print off coupons. That is how I managed to help myself save quite a bit. It's a shame that in St. George there are no grocery stores that double coupons :(.

The passport code for the Las Vegas Area is g89ccb. I have been in touch with the manager of the Las Vegas area and am waiting for her to get back to me with codes for Utah. They teach FREE classes to organizations and church groups as well as in-home classes to show people how to save big on groceries!

As I find out more information, I will pass it along. Go to the website and check it out. Use the Las Vegas passport code to look and get an idea of what they offer. Click on this link to check out the fun website of Collette, who is the Las Vegas area manager.