CVS Trip Thanksgiving Morning!

So I had a great trip to CVS yesterday morning! After I put the turkey in the oven and unloaded the dishwasher, I grabbed my youngest daughter and we headed out to CVS before 9am. Not only did they have everything, the store was so quiet!

This is what I got:

Transaction 1:

2 Bic Soleil- 5.99= 11.98
3 Gatorade- 1.49= 4.47
2 Aussie 2.99= 6.98
2 Colgate 2.99= 6.98
1 Johnsons lotion=5.69
2 L'oreal lip color 6.99=13.98
1 Covergirl pressed powder=5.99
1 Covergirl foundation=6.99
1 Mr. Goodbar= 1.00
1 Sally Hansen Nail color=3.69
1 Playtex Gentle Glide= 3.99

After ECB's and coupons, I paid about 21.XX oop and I received almost $70 in ECB!

Transaction 2:

4 Oral B, kids power toothbrushes

I had two BOGO, free coupons, plus4/$1 off coupons, after I used one ECB for 11.98, oop was .06!!!!

I am so glad I was able to go yesterday and not today! I'll be they were out of a lot today!

Giving Thanks!

Since I know the next few days will be busy, I'd like to give thanks before it get too crazy.

First of all, I am thankful that I have three beautiful, healthy daughters.

I am thankful for my hard working dedicated husband, Lou. Sometimes marriage is not easy, but we have definatley weathered the hard times and it has been so worth it.

I am thankful that I was able to rise above the ashes and conquer my three year battle with depression. It really is true, that what doesn't kill you makes you stronger.

I am thankful that my parents helped make me into a strong, independent, successful woman. I teach school in an urban area and what I see on a daily basis, really makes me thankful.

I am thankful that in these hard times, we have been spared. We both have steady, secure jobs.

And finally, I am thankful that I found many of my online friends who have been a great support to me on so many levels..emotionally, learning to be thrifty...the list goes on and on.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Green Toys

One of my missions last Christmas was to purge our house of so many plastic toys and get my girls some good quality toys. I did spend a bit more, but most of the gifts were a big hit with everyone that came to my house.

A few of my favorites were a set of rainbow arches from www.atoygarden.com. They were pricey, but all the dads that visit have a lot of fun with them. They have become corrals or pens for animals, pretend horses, and lots more.

I also love any of the Haba blocks, from www.oompa.com. My girls love building castles, houses, and villages.

And finally, we had bought a great set of wooden sticks from www.palumba.com. My fifteen year old nephew had a blast with them, building all kinds of architechture!

However, this year my girls are really into Barbies and Littlest Pet Shop. So in our attmept to be modest with Christmas and humble our girls a bit, since I feel blessed compare to a lot of people, we buy each girls three gifts and fill their stockings. Anywho, my green gift for this year is a green tea set from TRU! It is made form recycled milk jugs, BPA free, and the kids can really drink from it without worrying!

I know this is worthless without pictures! I still have a lot to learn:) But if you are really interested in more about green toys, a friend of mine, has an awesome blog the really gets into green toys, it is called: saras-toy-box.blogspot.com. She is awesome and super intelligent mom and she shares lots of coupon codes!!! Check her out, she has been blogging for over a year!

CVS was generous!!!

I stopped at CVS so I could get the Right Guard, Maybelline and 2 Crest. I scanned my card in the machine and it spit out 4 coupons!!!! One is for 10/$50!!!! I am so psyched since I will definitely use this on the Black Friday deals on Thanksgiving.

So today I changed up my plan a bit and bought 2 Maybelline mineral powder since I now could use a $4/20 that I had from e-mail!

Here is what I bought:

2 Maybelline Mineral powder 8.99 17.98
Right Guard 7.99
2 Crest pro health 3.49 6.98

I used:

-2 off Maybelline
-1 off Crest
-1 off Crest
-4/$20 beauty purchase
-15 ECB

oop w/ tax was 10.XX, so not super great but not bad either. I earned 17.98 ECB and 6.98 ECB. The ECB's for the Right Guard aren't printing, so she gave me $7 cash, which I added to my envelope for Thursday!

I will be back later with my CVS Black Friday scenario's!

Keurig coffee pot

So this wasn't exactly a thrifty purchase, but it will save us money in the long run. I hit Dunkin Donuts every morning for an iced coffee at $2.32! So add that up by a month and it is well over $65! And we make Lou's coffee at home, but occasionally one of us is lazy and forgets to set the coffee pot,so he'll buy then too!

I had a few gift cards from Target that I got for various purchases and I was saving them fro Christmas prsents for the girls, but the toy deals were better else where, so I splurged.

I have to say that I am in love with it! It is the perfect cup every time and I love the different flavors. I also love that you can make tea and hot chocolate, as well a cup of decaf that my MIL can drink!

We are saving up now to buy the K filter, so we can brew our own cup of dunkin right at home for a small fraction of the cost!

I guess this is my early Christmas present!

BTW, it was $99 at Target and it came with an 18 cup sampler pack, probably valued at 9.99. However last night my hubby and I saw a little bit of an upgraded model at BJ's Wholesale Club for $129 with 70 K-cups! Just keeping you posted on the deals!

Weekend ramblings

So I've been taking a small break from posting and from my thrifty deals. Last night I had a date with my DH and it felt so good. We went out for dinner, did a little Christmas shopping, and stopped at a freinds house for a few drinks. We we got home all three girls were sleeping and slept till 8 this morning, so we were happy!

I am hitting CVS tommorrow to get:

2 Crest toothpastes
1 Maybelline
1 Right Gaurd

I'll spend 15 ECB's, but I will get back about 23 ECB for Black Friday.

This week I also took a break from Big Y and Price Chopper since we all pretty stocked up on food. I will be hitting PC on Tues to get my makings for Thanksgiving.

So keep checking back for my CVS Black Friday scenario and my PC deals.

CVS Alert

Check your e-mails! I just received a $4/$20, beauty purchase, in store coupon that expires, 12/4! This can hopefully come in handy for Black Friday!!!!!