It's Moving Day!

Yep, that's right it's moving day! I have moved to:
Ramblings of a Suburban Mom, which you can find here. Hopefully you will follow me to the other side (Wordpress - which is very fancy. And confusing.) and update your Readers!
It's more than fair to say that the blog is still a work in process, but it's a start!

Freebie Fridays!

I thought I'd start doing a weekly post about the freebies I have scored during the week and the prizes I have received. I can't recall receiving any wins in the mail, but I did get some good freebies.

I finally went and picked up my free monthly gift from Bath & Body Works with my BBW LUV card. This month it was three free travel sized products of any scent you wanted. I was super excited and can't wait to see what next month is! Luckily I do not have long to wait!

I also received my Weeble for "liking" the Playskool facebook page and filing out a form. And a coupon for free Coffee-Mate cream from their Free Flavor Friday promotion.

Of course, all of these freebies are expired now, BUT there are always freebies out there to be had! What did you get in your mailbox this week???

Sad it's Over!

I am sad to report that 90% off Valentine's Day items at Target is over. Anything left lingering around at the store now is ringing up the dreaded INF (i.e. prices are no longer in the system) and its YMMV on whether or not they will sell it to you. On Tuesday, I made sure to check out some of the stores in my area I hadn't been to in a few days or looked thru good enough. I knew it would be the last day for 90% off and didn't want to miss out.

My grand total for all items pictured below was $16.93. Had I purchased everything at regular prices, it would have been $181.93 (it's more than 90% off because I was charged $1 for something instead of $1.99). Amazing savings isn't it? While it is true that I am not 100% sure what I am going to do with all this stuff, I know I will find a use for everything. I am planning on using the Crayola items and stickers for birthday party / Valentine's Day / Christmas gifts for my sons friends. And I can never pass up a book at 90% off. It's too good of a deal to let go and shelters, schools, etc. always need books! And I am thinking that the candles in the bottom picture would make perfect teachers gifts or hostess gifts. And I suppose the cake pans mean I need to make a cool cake. Maybe a rainbow cake like this???

I'm already looking forward to Target's 90% off Easter clearance and putting together my plan. Can't wait to see what I can find and I hope everyone shares their finds too!!

Target 90% off Valentine's Day Goodies!!

Not even a snowstorm could keep me away from Target and their 90% off Valentine's Day clearance today! I went to three stores in total and am guessing I didn't spend more than $25! How often can you fill a cart at Target for $25?? I think the general rule is that you have to spend $100 during every visit?

I had heard about some Barbie stuff was that 90% off, so I checked out the "regular" toy aisles and sure enough, I found gift bags, a coffee mug, a travel mug and some cards in a cute tin. Of course, none of it was marked 90% off, but that just makes the hunt more fun! I was also very pleased to find the jar candles! It wasn't until I was at the second store that I remembered that Target even had candles for Valentine's Day. I checked out the candle aisle, and sure enough, there they were. Regular price was $6.99, which made them $0.69! Can't beat that.

I thought the Matchbox cars would be long gone, but I was lucky enough to find some hanging with the regular Matchbox sets. The set of five cars was $0.59! I believe the most expensive item was the Elmo recordable book, which cost $1.99 ($19.99 regular price). The Crayola Color Explosion sets were $0.39, the Sponge Bob stickers were $0.29, the baskets were $0.99, the loaf pans were $0.99, the Doodle Pro was $0.59. I couldn't have had any better luck! I have been blessed to live in an area with loads of Targets, so I am going to hit a few more tomorrow and see what I can find. I'll be back to share my finds!

Target 75% off Valentine's Day Finds!

I don't think I have shared any of my Target deals here yet, but I am pretty much obsessed with Target's after holiday clearance sales. I before / on the holiday, I believe they mark down to 30%, then it's generally 50% for the 3 days after the holiday, then 75% for 3 more days and finally 90% the next two days. Sometimes this varies, but Target holiday markdowns generally follow the 3-3-2 schedule.

My secret is to go check out what is in the holiday aisles in advance. That way I know what I am looking for after the holidays are over. Things get moved all over the place in the store and you can generally find lots of holiday things in the regular aisles. Lots of the items that are "holiday" have nothing to do with Valentine's Day at all, which makes them great additions to kids party gift bags, etc.

My favorite finds are holiday books. You cannot beat discounted books! I like to give them as gifts or save them for the following year.

Some Targets went 90% off yesterday, however, none in my area (Metro Detroit) did. I cannot wait to check in the morning for more hidden deals!!!

St. Patrick's Day Apothecary Jars

These are my St. Patrick's Day apothecary jars from last ear, but I wanted to share early in case anyone was looking for ideas. I want to do something different this year, but I feel like my options are fairly limited. There are not too many great St. Patrick's Day decorations out there! If anyone has any ideas or favorite places to get St. Patty's stuff, I would love to hear them!

Valentine's Day Apothecary Jars

NOTE: WE'VE MOVED! Visit: Ramblings of a Suburban Mom for lots of apothecary jar ideas! Just in case you haven't done your Valentine's Day apothecary jars yet, here is what I put in mine! I thought about doing all pink ones, but could only think of things for two of the three jars. I came up with heart marshmallows (sprayed with something so they wouldn't stick) and pink rose petals. But the third one has me stumped. I could do pink M&M's, but I just did M&M's and am still trying to eat all those (actually I separated them into red for Valentine's Day and green for St. Patrick's Day). Any ideas on pink jars???

Valentine's Day Mantle

I have to admit, I am not the best about keeping my mantle decorated. Christmas time is easy to keep it looking good, but for other seasons, I am often at a loss! I toyed around with a few ideas for Valentine's Day and ended up with this. The flowers and candle holders are from Pier 1. The banner is from Etsy.

I thought the flowers in the vases were SO cute, however, I am not sure they were worth the $20 price tag (yes, each one was $20). However, that didn't stop me from buying six of them. I don't even want to do the math. The pillars were $22/each, so I thought that was more than reasonable. And the banner, which is even more beautiful in person, was $21 from this store on Etsy. I had the pillar candles already, so I saved money there.

I also toyed with the idea of using tall clear glass vases on either end and filling them with stemmed red roses, however, I couldn't find any silk ones I liked. Where can I fund something like this?

Did anyone else do a Valentine's mantle?? I would love to see!