On The Banks Of Stony Creek

$560 for free!

debbielynne — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 02:00:43 +0000

Remember this post? There definitely was a Sapphire card in my future. My rewards points were posted and lookie here…….

$560 worth of gift cards for FREE!

Dinner, movies, coffee, and shopping ~ can’t wait!

Once again, here are the current best credit cards available now.

VixiDragon Designs

debbielynne — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 22:41:35 +0000

Look at the gorgeous earrings I won from VixiDragon Designs !

I…..love…..them!

These are the multi-gear earrings. They look like they would be heavy, but they are so lightweight you can’t even tell you’re wearing them. Check out all of her designs here. Thanks to Bam Bam for picking my name!

Sorey Fitness Winner

debbielynne — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 23:47:57 +0000

Remember my New Year’s Goals? One of them was to enter 10 contests or giveaways each week. I have stuck with it so far and as of today I have been notified that I won 3 different giveaways. How cool is that? My first win was from Kalee at Sorey Fitness. I won a Road ID bracelet. I chose to have it made for my dad as he is a big walker and is always out and about without any identification on him. Road ID speaks for you, if for some reason you aren’t able. I had it engraved with his name, birthday, location, my phone number, Mom’s phone number, his medical history, and allergies.

Here’s Dad showing off his Road ID.

Be sure to check out Kalee’s site where she blogs about health, diet, and fitness. While you’re there she has another giveaway going right now so be sure to get your name in the hat!

52 Weeks of Goodwill – Week 3

debbielynne — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:00:26 +0000

It’s time for my weekly Goodwill show and tell! This week I’m featuring shoes and boots. All of these were purchased at the Colonial Heights, Virginia, store which is located on the Boulevard. At this location shoes are $4.00 and boots are $5.00. What girl doesn’t love a new pair of shoes? Yes, these are all NEW and UNUSED. Before I show MY new kicks, my husband found himself these…..

I also found boots, although much less practical than his. These are Jazzberry brand. I love the heels. High and a little chunky.

I did find some practical shoes. These are Skechers. I have several pairs and they are some of the most comfortable shoes I’ve ever worn. (My favorite brand of flip flops!)

I’m ready for spring, warm weather, and sandals! How about these Kenneth Cole slip-ons?

Total for 2 pairs of boots and 2 pairs of shoes = $18.00

So what did YOU find good at Goodwill this week?

All in Good Time

debbielynne — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 02:59:20 +0000

One of my favorite bloggers, Tara Kuczykowski from DealSeekingMom.com, recently teamed up with Mandi Ehman of LifeYourWay.net to write an excellent home resource book called ALL IN GOOD TIME: When to Save, Stock Up, and Schedule Everything for Your Home. I’ve been following Tara for quite some time and have learned a great deal about stretching my hard-earned dollars.

The book is meant to be a handbook for families to help them save both money and time. I don’t think it was designed to be read from cover to cover, but that’s exactly what I did! It’s chock full of ideas that any family can use. I’ve already read a few of the sections more than once.

The book is divided into eleven sections: Your Home, Backyard, Basement, Bathroom, Bedroom, Dining Room/Living Room, Home Office, Kitchen, Nursery/Kids’ Rooms, Rec Room and Holiday & Event Planning. There is also an appendix with everything from recipes for cleaning supplies to freezer storage tips and essentials for your pantry. It’s easy to navigate and find just the information you are looking for.

I already use a lot of the information covered, but found some interesting new ideas and tips. Who knew you could make your own microwave popcorn for a fraction of the cost? All you need is a lunch bag and some popcorn. Tara also included a recipe to make your own Clorox Anywhere spray which I will definitely be using. The best time to purchase plane tickets is on Tuesday afternoon and the best time to end an eBay auction is Sunday from 8 to 10pm.

If you struggle with cleaning and how to get it all done, there are great checklists and sample cleaning schedules to get you on your way. I found the laundry section incredibly helpful which includes information on how to get out specific types of stains.

I highly recommend this book for any size household. Mine is sure to get plenty of use. (My cover is already showing some wear!) For more information or to purchase a copy for your home, check out the book’s website AllInGoodTime.net. Thanks Tara and Mandi for sharing all your secrets!

Note: I received a complementary copy of the book to review from the publisher, Penguin Group.

Political Swag

debbielynne — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 01:34:23 +0000

Tonight is another Republican Presidential Candidate Debate. It’s being held in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. We had to leave the Grand Strand this morning, but it would have been nice to attend. We were bombarded with TV and radio ads during our stay. I don’t even want to know how much money is being spent on the ads. The primary in Virginia isn’t until March. I’d imagine by then the Republican Candidate will already be decided. While we were at Broadway at the Beach, we snagged some free political swag! You know if it’s FREE, it’s for me! The only candidate with representatives campaigning for him was Newt Gingrich. The rest of the swag was from lobbyists and local candidates. A group of sand artists were working on sculptures for the event.

52 Weeks of Goodwill – Week 2

debbielynne — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 02:47:43 +0000

So what’s YOUR favorite thing to do on vacation? For me it’s ~~sleeping in~~ scouting out all the Goodwill stores in the area! (I’m not really on vacation, but having holidays on both Friday and Monday plus the weekend in between called for a road trip.) I’ll tell you where a little later. I’m excited about today’s finds! Please excuse my picture quality.

First up…..MISSONI…..you either love it or you hate it. I love it! I found this sleeveless knit for $3.79. Unfortunately, it’s a size small, which I am not. I bought it anyhow and plan to refashion it into a purse, a scarf, or a belt.

I love the bold colors and the pattern.

Stay tuned to see what it becomes!

My husband spied this fur knit fringed vest. It’s perfect for this time of year

(Don’t worry, the fur is faux!) The brand is Dollhouse, which I wasn’t familiar with. After a quick Swagbucks search I found the exact vest on their website selling for $59.99. My price $3.79.

My final item to share is a new pair of sandals for summer, another item from Target. (Merona) These are new, still had the tags. My price $3.99. (Tacky hotel bedspread, huh?)

Look what else I got……a Goodwill Rewards card. I wish they had these in Virginia!

So where is this card good? At any Palmetto Goodwill…..that’s South Carolina folks! So if you happened to be snowed in somewhere….here’s a little sunshine for you.

52 Weeks of Goodwill – Week 1

debbielynne — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 03:25:55 +0000

Welcome to the first week of my 52 Weeks of Goodwill series. I love Goodwill stores. Every trip is a new experience! I like that when I shop I am helping to provide jobs and job training to people in my community. Shopping Goodwill also helps keep a ton (well, more like a billion pounds) of unwanted items out of landfills. Goodwill is good for the community, the environment, and me!

Each week I’ll be featuring items that I find at Goodwill. They have a little of everything! Housewares, fashions, accessories, furniture…you name it. This week I have two items to share. First up is a GUESS handbag. I can’t tell it was ever used. The inside is perfectly clean and looks new. Price $4.00. Purses and shoes are two of my favorites at Goodwill!

This pillow is by Target Home. My area Goodwill stores have a great deal of new items from Target. They must donate overstocked and salvage items. Yay, Target! I found this gorgeous decorative butterfly pillow for $3.99. It matches my den perfectly. I like that it has a zipper so I can remove the cover for cleaning.

First freebie trip of 2012

debbielynne — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 02:08:12 +0000

CVS – I scanned my card at the magic coupon machine and got a $5.00 reward from the Beauty Club. My last purchases of 2011 put me over another $50 check point. I used that to purchase (4) Nivea Lip Balms on sale for $2.50 each. I also had a $3.00 off 2 coupon and (2) $1.00 off coupons. When you spend $10 on Nivea, you get a $5.00 ECB back. So, they all were FREE.

Staples – I picked up (2) letter/legal file boxes that are FREE this week after Staples Rewards. These will come in handy for my organizing goal for the new year.

Rite Aid – I bought nothing. I went in to get the $20 reward for purchasing a pre-paid VISA only to find out that corporate pulled the deal this morning. I guess they were losing too much money. Umm, that’s not a good way to do or keep business. I should’ve gone yesterday.

Happy New Year ~ Welcome 2012!

debbielynne — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:33:51 +0000

Happy New Year everyone! Another year gone….whew….I can’t believe it. This is my 4th year for blogging and posting my goals. I’m hoping to be able to take things a little slower this year. My days always seem so rushed. How about yours? Here are the 5 goals I’m focusing on for the year. (I’m glad none of these involve school anymore!)

(1) Continue to downsize and organize. Last year I opened Sweet Repeats, my booth at an area flea market, which will help out a great deal. One man’s ~~junk~~ clutter is another man’s treasure! I will also use eBay, Craigslist, and Facebook to bring in some cash for my unwanted things. I plan to have a yard sale in the spring. I’ll also be making donations to my favorite store, Goodwill. I’m optimistic that this will be the year my office/stockpile/catch-all room will be cleaned, painted, and organized.

(2) Start a weekly blog series…52 Weeks of Goodwill. Ok, so this goes opposite of the downsizing goal, but you just can’t keep me out of Goodwill! It’s my favorite store. I love, love thrifting. I’ll be doing a weekly post featuring items I find in Goodwill. I hope you’ll stick around for that.

(3) Enter a minimum of 10 giveaways or contests per week. You can’t win if you don’t enter! Who doesn’t love to win something? This will be my equivalent of playing the lottery, except it won’t cost me a dime. Maybe, just maybe, I’ll win something nice.

(4) Get healthier. This is on my list every year it seems. I’m a nurse. I should be healthy and in shape. That’s all I’m saying.

(5) Bump up my couponing and money saving / budgeting skills. One thing I got away from when I was in school was clipping my coupons and filing them on a weekly basis. I want to be sure I get back on track. (Yay me, I already did today’s inserts!) I need to make sure I always have my coupons with me when I shop.

Look out 2012…here I come.