Hobby Lobby Clearance Love

Price for both items together: $8

:) le sigh, I am in love. :)

Cheapest Satur-Date Ever!!

If you know me anything about me, you know how much I love a good bargain. I derive some sort of manic excitement over saving money... I might have a problem. ;)

Hubby and I recently had a free Saturday.... what? A FREE Saturday? Yes, it doesn't happen often. At any rate, he remembered that months ago, we had purchased a Groupon for a wine-tasting for 2. It was a gorgeous day to be in downtown Grapevine, so off we went!

When we got down there, there was a sweet little outdoor craft fair going on, but D said we would stop by after our tasting. Unfortunately, everyone was all packed up and gone by that point, but I guess that's okay. :(

We each did a wine tasting, we shared a fruit/cheese platter, AND we got to take home a bottle of Merlot... all for around $15. :)

I love wineries... such a beautiful aesthetic! 

I ran into some of my "kin" while we were there. ;)

D playing with my camera ;)

What is a concrete cell doing in the middle of downtown Grapevine?

We found this at a small little shop and HAD to get it!! :)

After our downtown adventures, we'd planned to head to the AMC over in Grapevine because we had some free movie passes (told ya it was a cheap day!).

I had recently done a Market Research study, so I had $40 in gift certificates to Chili's... good thing there is one at Grapevine Mills! We were starving, so we headed over there for some free lunch and beverages. 

I guess I didn't really think we would be walking all that much, and by this point my oh-so-cute wedges were giving me killer pinky-toe blisters. D was nice enough to let me detour by the Old navy in the mall and get myself some $2 flippies... my toes were so grateful. :)

Then we went for gelato. GELATO....yum. That may have been one of my favorite parts of the day, but I was too busy inhaling it to snap a photo. ;) Trust me, it was gooood.

Our last stop of the day: seeing Pirates of the Caribbean 4 with our free tickets. Little did we know, the Grapevine Mills AMC has gotten quite the face-lift. Our movie was only being shown in their new "cinema suites". For only a few dollars (no biggie since we already had free tickets) we got to watch Johnny Depp on the big screen while lounging in electric recliners. With adult beverages. And complementary Caramel Corn. With hot, fresh towels to clean your hands with at the end of the movie. It was epic. :)

Wow, what a perfect day! Who says you gotta have lots of cash-ola to have a great time? And time like that spent with my honey? Priceless. :) 

Hubby's birthday is this weekend, so I am looking forward to more quality time with him and some of our favorite people! We will be shooting off fireworks, doing some swimming, and enjoying the outdoors! He has such a great birthday - there's always celebrating going on 4th of July weekend!

Markdown Mania!

So here's the big secret... I'm cheap miserly thrifty. :) As much as I love to shop, I generally refuse to pay full price for something. While some days it may mean I do lots of window shopping and don't purchase a thing, it also means I have the patience to sift through racks and racks of "clearance" items to find my little gems. I view it as a win-win: I come home with tons of fun, new things and I get to tell my husband how little I spent and how much I saved. Sure, he'd prefer me never to spend money, but how realistic is that? ;) I think it makes him happy to know that the thought of paying for brands like Gucci or Prada makes me wanna vomit. :)

In the spirit of the letter "M" in today's A to Z challenge, here are a few of my latest "markdowns" that I have found!

$40 Blowfish flats that I scored for $10!! They are sooo comfortable, the inside of the shoe is like a soft micro-suede! I love the plaid - it's a little different and yet SO cute!

$46 Rocket Dog pumps that I got for $12! The online reviews I read had quite a few ladies claiming these were the most comfortable heels they've ever worn! Time will tell, but I HAD to have them! They are a bronzy color that changes depending on which angle you view them at... too cool!!

**I scored both of these pairs of shoes on shoemall.com using a Mamapedia coupon. It's kinda like Groupon and I took advantage of one of their offers last week. Result: $86 in shoes for only $22... including shipping!!!

It was a quick trip to the local Goodwill today, but I found 3 books to add to my summer reading collection and this darling navy blue lace belt... all for $2.20! I am already excited about the things in my wardrobe I can pair this belt with! There was another chick belt-stalking me at the Goodwill... hoping I would put it down!

If you've read any of my previous "great find" posts, you know how much I love shopping at Ross! It's literally down the street from my house and it's so affordable! I went a few days ago to get something I had seen for our guest bathroom, and walked out with 3 pairs of capris (demin, dressy black, and a cool greenish-gray), a sweet, knitted white cardigan, and my new favorite hat. :) All for less than $65. Considering I got three pairs of pants, all of which I can wear to work, I still consider this a HUGE bargain! Plus, Ross carries lots of name brands at a cheap price. 

My final mega-markdown for now is my most recent trip to Kohl's. I found these 3 shirts, all of whose original price tags read $30 - $38. I paid around $12 for each AND had a 15% off shopping pass. :) Oh yeah!


Needless to say, I definitely got in some retail therapy this week. Lucky for my husband, I didn't break the bank! For me, saving money really does make shopping more satisfying. :)