I had a rare diy weekend - not because I had an abundance of spare time but perhaps because I needed a therapy session or was purely just procrastinating from doing the million other things on my list I SHOULD have done instead. Whatever the case, I opened up a nice bottle of Chardonnay and got to work - below is the fruit of my labor.

Cork Christmas Trees

Need:

-Corks

-Screw

-Glue

-Christmas garland/tree branches

Steps:

-Use screw to create a small hole to insert branch (easiest to leverage the hole the corkscrew leaves)

-Cut garland/branch to desired tree height

-Dab a small amount of glue on the bottom of the garland/branch

-Push into hole

-Trim tree to desired shape if necessary

-I also cut a few corks in half to have trees of varying heights 

Total Cost: $0

-I drink a lot of wine so I have plenty of corks laying around

-One of my neighbors threw away an old Christmas tree this weekend and I snipped a few branches off to use as my "trees"

Pretty Packages

Disclaimer - I don't plan to wrap ALL my Christmas gifts this way, unfortunately that would be insane and I don't have that kind of time. However, for a few of my favorite items I will be gifting, I decided to spice up the wrapping and put in a bit more effort than the traditional store bought wrapping paper and bows. 

Total Cost: $10.57

-Roll brown kraft paper, Hobby Lobby $5.99 reg. price (use 40% off coupon)

-'Do Not Open' stamp, Hobby Lobby $3.99

-Tags, Hobby Lobby $2.99

-Brown twine, had

-Black ink pad, had

-Gold washi tape, had

Chalkboard Cheese Board

My friend and I hosted a Stella & Dot party this weekend which was a perfect time for me to combine a few "cheese board" ideas I've been thinking about. 

This is the simplest thing ever. I purchased a roll of chalkboard contact paper and cut a piece to create the single use cheese board below. I bet I will be able to get at least 6 boards out of the roll.

I played around a little bit with what to use to write - settled on permanent chalkboard markers because they showed up the best and I was planning to throw the paper away once I was finished anyway.

My favorite thing on the cheese board was the roasted garlic - slice the top off a head of garlic, drizzle olive oil over it, wrap in foil and bake at 400 degrees for 45 minutes. So yummy.

Can't wait to try this again next weekend for another pre-holiday party.

Total Cost (without cheese & accompaniments): $10.78 *less than $2 a board

-Roll chalkboard contact paper, Hobby Lobby $7.99 reg price (use 40% off coupon)

-Permanent chalk markers, Target $5.99

Sincerely,

Chardonnay

P.S. What's in my glass...

Last week at Kroger a rebate for $3.00 back on (2) bottles of Ménage à Trois wine printed with my receipt. This of course spoke to the inner couponer inside me and I was delighted about saving $$ on even my wine purchases.

This is the remnants of the two bottles I purchased - it is rare for me to open two bottles in a row of the same wine but this was delicious so I made an exception. 

Fabulous Five {#miamigirlgang}

Five things to sum up an amazing weekend:

1. Professional MOH.
2. Work hard, play harder.
3. Be present in your own life.
4. YOLO.
5. Unicorns.

ONE – If things don’t work out for me in Public Accounting, I’m convinced I could pursue a career as a professional Maid of Honor {or event planner}. Resume includes detail oriented, eloquent speech writing, fluent in anything glitter, calligraphy. No prior work experience but when your best woman is getting married, you bring your A game. 

TWO – I work hard and most days I work very hard. This means when I’m not working I get Chardonnay at dinner {and heck lunch too if I want} and the right to check the heck out. And check the heck out is what I did, it was amazing.

THREE – Life is a balance between capturing the moment and living in the moment. Sometimes we get so caught up with capturing the moment {social media} that we miss the moment. Word to the wise – be present in your life.

FOUR – You only live once, and if you do it right… once is enough. This is one of the craziest and busiest years of my life to date {Vegas, Kentucky Derby, South Beach, MOH, Bridesmaid, and counting}. I would not change it for the world. This is a bucket list year, with crossing off the Kentucky Derby and South Beach. What’s next? Make every year a bucket list year.

FIVE – Ahhh. How do I even explain this one. The short version of the story is that unbeknownst to us, Memorial Weekend in South Beach is “Urban Beach Week” and the four of us girls, unicorns.

Sincerely,

Chardonnay

P.S. What’s in my glass…

Chardonnay, it’s always in my glass ;)

There's an app for that!

Had a super successful week couponing -- below are all the free items I scored. Yes you heard me right... FREE items. I think I'm getting good at this ;)

*Retail Value of FREE items: $40.07 

For those of you who are interested in my couponing for more than just pure entertainment purposes, here are a couple tricks of the trade you MUST start doing!

Ibotta - the first app you need to download!

Ibotta is a way to earn cash when you shop. Offers are available at numerous retailers and you "complete" them through liking things on facebook, watching short clips, reading a fact, etc. Once you "complete" an offer you can then "redeem" it for cash by purchasing the product and uploading your receipt. 

Once you have redeemed $5.00 in offers you can "cash out" the money to paypal or purchase giftcards. Offers are great -- money back for purchasing a variety of products including milk and eggs. Why not earn cash back for items you already buy!

Best part is you get a bonus $2.00 just for redeeming your first offer. Use my referral link below to sign up, then pass along your own referral link to all your friends to earn $5 for each one of them who signs up and completes an offer. 

click here ---> ibotta to download the app and get started

Easy first "offer" - complete the V05 Shampoo or Conditioner offers for Walmart. Purchase V05 shampoo or conditioner at Walmart ($1.97 retail) and use $1.00 off coupon from 2/2 Sunday paper. Redeem offer for .50 cash back. That's getting your shampoo or condition for only .47, PLUS you earn a bonus $2.00 for completing your first offer. 

Checkout 51 - the second app you should download!

This is the same concept as the previous app -- "lets you save on the brands you love: Get new offers weekly, buy from any store, snap a photo of the receipt and get cash back!" 

Sincerely,

Chardonnay 

P.S. What's in my glass...

Ending the night with a classic glass of Barefoot Chardonnay. One of my favorites for the $$$.

Sunday Funday

Thought I would update with my Sunday haul -- to either a) give someone an idea for a good deal or b) give a good chuckle to those of you who still think I'm crazy.

I got all of the products below for $5.41 PLUS earned $11.00 in CVS extra care bucks for future shopping trips. (I've detailed out below how you can also get these awesome deals).

I couldn't write this post without an updated picture of my stock pile -- perhaps the most entertaining picture for those of you who think I'm crazy. I realize there is valid truth to the argument that I may have slightly lost my mind BUT my goal is to save enough money this year on grocery / personal care/ health / household items that I would buy anyway... to buy another Louie bag -- and when I do.... won't seem so crazy will it?

Transaction #1

Products Purchased: 

(6) Lady Speed Stick Deodorant - CVS sale price $1.99 ea.

Coupons (in order):

CVS $2.00 off Deodorant purchase of $8.00 or more

(3) Manufacturer Coupon BOGO (up to $2.99) (Sunday paper)

Final Transaction Total (including Tax): $1.60 PLUS earned $6.00 extra care bucks (spend $12 deodorant, get $6.00)

Transaction #2

Products Purchased:

(4) Palmolive Dish Soap 10oz. - CVS sale price $.99 ea.

(2) Maybelline Mascara  - CVS price $8.49 ea.

Coupons (in order):

CVS $5.00 off cosmetics purchase of $15.00 or more

CVS 20% off coupon (non sale items only, i.e., mascara)

CVS print out coupon .25 off one Palmolive Dish Soap

(2) Manufacturer Coupon $1.00 off / 2 Palmolive Dish Soap (Sunday paper)

Used: $6.00 extra care bucks previously earned

Final Transaction Total (including Tax): $3.81 PLUS earned $5.00 extra care bucks 

Awesomeness:

Manufacturer coupon was for up to $2.99, coupon rang up taking $2.99 off my purchase for each coupon used (each coupon was $1.00 moneymaker)

CVS coupons come off prior to any manufacturer coupons used (i.e., how I got to use the CVS $2.00 off)

CVS extra care bucks are earned on the initial ring up of products, not after coupons

Special thanks to the Jaynes for letting me steal all their coupons :)

Sincerely,
Chardonnay

P.S. What's in my glass...

Because you should not coupon with an empty glass...

I stumbled upon Rekorderlig pear cider a few years ago on one of my Europe adventures. The worst part about my love of this cider was that it wasn't sold in the states. I hit the jackpot this fall when Rekorderlig made the big announcement that it was coming to the U.S. The only place I've seen it sold yet is NYC and David brought me this Berry version to try -- one word... delicious! 

Crazy for Coupons {Part II}

Just wanted to add a quick update to my previous coupon post -- Kroger this week is running their $5.00 off 5 items (select varieties of products) and I couldn't help but try to snag a few deals.

Retail Price $24.31

$5.00 off 5
Sale Savings $3.76

Coupons $5.45

Paid $10.10

My 5 Items

1 - Cascade Powder or Gel

Select Varieties, 75 oz or Action Pacs, 14-20 ct $3.99 EA.

Additional Coupons:

Save $0.50 on Cascade
when you buy any ONE Cascade ActionPacs kroger.com (download the Kroger app, search for Cascade coupons, load directly to your Kroger card)

$.45/1 Cascade Product coupons.com

2- Tide Laundry Detergent

Select Varieties, Liquid, 50 oz $5.99 EA.

Additional Coupons:
Save $1.50 on Tide
when you buy any ONE Tide Detergent kroger.com (download the Kroger app, search for Tide coupons, load directly to your Kroger card)

3- Crest Pro-Health Toothpaste

Select Varieties, 5.8-6 oz, Pro-Health Mouthwash, 500 ml or Oral-B Toothbrush $2.99 EA.

Additional Coupons:

Save $0.75 on Crest kroger.com(download the Kroger app, search for Crest coupons, load directly to your Kroger card)

$.50/1 Crest Pro-Health (coupons.com - no longer avail) 

4&5- Gillette or Secret Deodorant (I bought one of each)

Old Spice, Select Varieties, 2.6-6 oz $3.79 EA. 

Additional Coupons:

$1.00/1 Gillette Anti-perspirant/Deodorant or Body Wash (coupons.com – no longer avail)

$.75/1 Secret Outlast or Scent Expressions (coupons.com – no longer avail)

Sincerely,

Chardonnay