Say, "HELLO!"

That's right folks. A Nordstrom card. It's not a visa card. A DEBIT card. Baker and I worked and are continuing to work hard to not spend on our credit card (we only have one) and we finally paid it off this year. Woo Hoo! So, after having a garage sale last month and making a little cash, I was able to do a little shopping. I also finally convinced Baker that while using cash is good, getting rewards for using cash (in the form of a debit card) was worth it. Okay, maybe I didn't convince him. More like tell him several times once a month for the last several months how great it would be to get this little green card. But whatever. Anyhow. I received my card in the mail today. And when I opened up the envelope, at the top of the letter it said in big green letters, "Hello!" And it just wouldn't be right if you didn't say it like Jerry Seinfeld. Right?! Because after all. . . I'm classy like that.

More?! Seriously?

I like snow. However, this is getting to be a bit much. Snow is pretty. Ice is horrible. It's impossible to drive on ice and Christmas will soon be here. Not to mention Baker & I REALLY want to hit the day after Christmas sales with his bro & SIL April. Okay, Baker probably isn't chomping at the bits to go shopping, but I am! So please God. Please don't send anymore freezing rain. And please. Could we go shopping the day after Christmas?

My First Ebates Purchases

I just completed my first couple transactions through Ebates. Very simple and I got things I needed . . . I wasn't just shopping to buy! I got a winter coat for Luke for $15 with free shipping. Plus did a little more Christmas shopping over at Nordstroms.com. Anyhow, I shall see how all this works and I'm a little excited to see what I'll be doing with that .45 cents I earned buying Luke's coat. Ha ha! If you haven't checked them out yet please visit ebates. My SIL (April) swears by them and so does Frugal Living. . . but please, put in my email as your referal ; )

bakerj@portlandfasteners.com

Girls Just Wanna Have Fun!

This last weekend Natalie and I had the awesome opportunity to go away to Seattle for a weekend of shopping and fun with Nana (MIL), April (SIL), Aunt Linda, Mary & Macey (Mary's 6 month old daughter). Even with two little babies, we had a great time. We started our weekend on Friday morning by meeting at Biscuits for breakfasts - YUMMY! We then made a pit stop before heading out on the road to . . . you guessed it: STARBUCKS!

We arrived in Seattle, checked into our hotel (the staff friendly & the beds sooooo comfy) and headed out to the Seattle Premium Outlets. We shopped until they closed at 9pm. Coach, Gap, Juicy, Kate Spade . . . just a few of our groups favs! I scored big at Gap and finally found a great pair of jeans that this post prego bod looks good in. YIPEE. Since I had gift cards I only spent a total of $1.64 at GAP. Not bad. Not bad at all.
Saturday started out with breakfast at Starbucks (directly across from our hotel . . . such divine placement for this Starbucks junkie), and then walked to the Palace. Uh, I mean downtown Seattle's Nordstroms.
That is where I met up with my bff Jessica.
After a long day of shopping and a yummy lunch, Natalie, Nana & I along with Macey & Aunt Linda headed back to the hotel to regroup. Later we headed back out for dessert at The Cheesecake Factory but decided to get it to go once we heard it was a 45 minute wait. We shopped a little more . . . stopping in at H&M and Old Navy (4 stories high) and then headed back to the hotel. We had a great evening filled with dessert, funny stories & tons of belly laughs. To top it off April & I stayed up until 3am talking like girls at a slumber party. SO FUN!
Sunday we slept in - YAY! Once again headed to Starbucks and then off to Pike's Market.






Natalie & I were spoiled rotten by Nana all weekend. And little Miss Nat had Auntie April front pack her around on Friday AND Sunday. Such a lucky girl. It was a TON of fun and we are excited for next year. When's the Nordstroms Annivery Sale???

The Art of Couponing . . .

takes more than cutting a coupon and "saving" money. Boy! It's a little more difficult than originally anticipated. I thought I had my list, my coupons and my determination and that was good, but what happens when the store is out of stock on your sale items??? OH NO! This was not good and threw a complete wrench into my planned trip to Safeway. I took my mom with me and that proved to be a great decision because at the check out line she put a buffer between me and the 10 other people behind us who were at the store for one item. And here I was explaining to the cashier that a double coupon was actually a coupon and not just "information." I in turn was . . . THE CRAZY COUPON LADY! Oh, no!!! The funny part is, that I didn't care one bit. I was determined to save some money, and you know what? I did! I saved 63% on my grocery bill. I only got 7 items, but it's a start. In fact, if you wanna see some great savings you should check out Super Coupon Girl's blog. INCREDIBLE!