Finally, I can share the news!

What news, you say? For those of you thinking, "Is she pregnant, again?"...don't even go there! : )

Many of you have asked why our house is up for sale and I couldn't share the whys until now. Kris will be the new campus pastor of the Stewarts Creek campus of Lifepoint Church in Smyrna, TN.



If you go to this website, it tells about how Stonebrook Church (where Kris has been interim pastor for the past 9 months or so.) has merged with Lifepoint Church. It has been awesome to see amazing unity in this. God is definitely at work!

We are super excited about the journey God has had us on. There have been several twists and turns, but we feel like he brought us this far to get us to this point! We are thrilled to be able to serve Him here.

Kris will be starting officially in about a week. We have not sold our house, yet, so please keep that as a matter of prayer. My oldest will start 1st grade in a few weeks. It would be great if he could start at his new school. I am not stressing, though. I know all I can do is pray and trust that God knows best!

More Grocery Deals!

You all know that I love going to the grocery store each week and wait patiently for the clerk to scan ALL my coupons. I eagerly watch as the total gets lower and lower...what a thrill! Well, I’ve gotten my husband in on the action. I talked him into stopping by Harris Teeter on his way home from work so I wouldn’t have to drag, and I do mean “drag” the three kids. Plus it is about 35 minutes away from our house, but on his way home! So, I gave him a very detailed list and even had a few things that I needed him to check the price on and call me to give him the go ahead on buying them.

So, here’s what he bought:



Purex Detergent 5.99 on sale for $2.99 - .35 coupon doubled to .70 = 2.29
Sparkle 8 roll pk Paper Towels $7.89 on sale for $4.99- 1.00 coupon = 3.99
2 boxes Kellogg Poptarts on sale 2 for $3.25
4 12 packs of Diet Coke $5.79 each on sale for $1.97 each
4 lbs ground beef $1.97 lb on sale for $1.27 lb
2 packs of shredded cheese $2.79 each on sale for .97 each

So his total before sales and coupons was $61.42 but it only cost $26.51. That’s only using TWO coupons! They had some great sales going on!!


He was a little overwhelmed with the shopping, but it looks like he might have enjoyed it a little bit!


Here are my Kroger deals:



2 Armour Lunch Makers
2 Men’s Speed stick deoderants
2 Lady’s Speed stick deoderants
1 Total Advance toothpaste
1 bottle of Tylenol
2 Sunny D Smoothies
1 Propel Grape Water
1 Gatorade
2 cans Kroger Green beans
1 lb Pork Chops
1 Spiral Cut ham
1 pack of batteries
1 pot of clearance flowers

Spent $29.42, Saved $26.54!!!


I bought these school supplies at Publix- Spent $12.38 saved $20.26 with NO COUPONS!!



I did get some other deals at Publix, but the list was really long, and I just don't feel like typing it up! I think I spent around $50 and saved about $30. Not too shabby.

Hubby and I were gone to Seattle until last night. I will be posting pics from there soon!!

Tex Mex Chicken Bacon Pizza

I got such a good response from the Catalina Chicken recipe I shared here that I thought I would share another family favorite. I think I found it in Southern Living.

Here's what you need:


1 can of pizza crust or two bags of pizza crust mix (I get these because they are cheaper and I can always have them in the pantry.)
1/2 t ground cumin (I've left this out before or used a little bit of taco or fajita seasoning.)
1 cup black bean and corn salsa (I've used reg. salsa before, too. I mustsay that the bean and corn is better, though.)
2 cups shredded cheddar or taco blend cheese
1 cup cooked diced chicken
4 slices of cooked bacon broken into pieces
1 ripe avocado sliced
lime or lemon
sour cream and any other toppings you like


Roll out your dough then spread with salsa.


Then, add cheese, chicken, bacon.


Cook according to your dough directions. Usually about 15 minutes at 400-425 degrees.

Top with your favorite toppings. I use avocado, sour cream and usually cilantro, but I forgot to get that at the store, so only avocado and sour cream today!

Enjoy!

Hide and Seek

I caught K and E in a sweet RARE moment the other day where K was reading a book to E. I snuck (okay, I know that's not a word!!- What is the past tense for "sneak").


While they were reading, Baby B was doing this...

It's hard to find good help...so I let him do his thing.



Then, the two older kids started calling for me to find them. They set up a clever decoy.


Nope, not here!


But I did manage to find them here...




here...

and here...


and also here.


I love playing hide-and-seek while someone else does my laundry... okay, so I had to refold a few things, okay, all of it, but it was still worth it! Have a great Monday, everyone!

Coupons at Publix

Here are the details from a recent Publix shopping trip!!

I needed to get a few groceries to finish out some meals for this week and I only had $14 left in our grocery budget...so here's what I bought. The first price is the price I paid for it after store specials and coupons. The price in parentheses is the regular price.



2 bottles of Spray N Wash .99 for both (2.99 EACH so that's $5.98 together!!)
1 box Cookie Crisp cereal 1.49 (3.99)
1 box Reese's Puffs cereal 1.50 (3.99)
1 loaf of Wonder Bread 1.50 (2.49)
1 box of Hormel Pepperoni 1.29 (1.99)
1/4 lb Land o Lakes white American cheese 1.67 (not on sale)
1 box of Fruit Roll- ups .90 (2.79)
1 box of Batman Fruit Snacks .89 (2.79)
1 package of Hillshire Farms smoked ham 2.00 (not on sale)
1 bottle of Publix Italian dressing .01 ( 1.79 -love the 1 cent item every week!!)
1/2 dozen eggs .55 (not on sale)

So my total before store specials and coupons was...$31.78 but I only paid

$14.08!!! Okay, so I was 8 cents over. I can deal with that!

Happy Thursday, everyone!

More treasures.

Here are a few treasures I found this week!!

I found these at Ross on clearance. I thought they would be good have in my supply. These boogers can be expensive when you need them.


I saw a problem when I got home, though...



So I paid $.49 for one pack and $.99 for the other. Why didn't I notice this when I was paying? Probably because I was just trying to make it out the door with my three kids without losing my sanity! : )

This candle holder was $.49 and the white vase was $.25. I bought one of these vases a couple weeks ago. They look great with my hydrangeas in them.


I found this for $.99 at GW. Just bought one at Target on clearance for $4.98, I think. Thought they might look good in pairs.


A plexi frame from Pier One for $.99. I have a plan for this. I will show you later.


A kid's placemat that suctions to the table. This is awesome for restaurants! you know it's clean and it has a place to catch all the crummies! It even rolls up into itself for storing. These sell for about $12 new but I snatched this one for $1. I already have one, but it was such a good deal that I couldn't pass it up!


I bought this cabinet for $4.99. I think it will look great in a bathroom. Not sure which one or what color I will paint it, but I thought it was a great deal!


It is solid wood and has chicken wire on the front of the doors.


That's about it! What did you guys find? Go over to Rhoda's at Southern Hospitality and check out her Thrifty Treasures party!

Price My Space

I’m joining the Nester for Price My Space.


I decided to share my Master Bedroom with you all and the breakdown of what it cost!

I can't believe I am really going to tell you what I spent on every little thing.... but here goes.




1. Panels- I made them from $1 a yard Antique Satin and lined them with white bed sheets. I used about 5 yards of fabric here and two twin flat sheets. Total for panels:$15
2. The rods were Target brand, but got them at GoodWill (GW) for $5 each and two sets of ring clips also on another GW trip for $1.99 a pack. $14 (I rounded up on the ring clips!)
3. I also found this starburst mirror at GW (How would I decorate my house without it?!!) for $15. One of the “bursts” was broken, but all I had to do was superglue it back.
4. I found this lamp and shade at another resale/thrift store for $10.
5. This lamp is a golden glass lamp. It is the same shape as the one on the other side table, but a little more feminine. It was $10 for the lamp at the same resale shop and $14 for the shade at Walmart.
6. I fell in LOVE with this bed when we lived in CA. We bought it there along with a monster sectional (that’s another story). It was $899, I think. Kind of pricey, but it’s a king size, a really nice piece and we loved it so it was totally worth the price tag.
7. When we moved to TN, we were looking for side tables and a dresser or armoire to match the bed. We had been using some cheap put-it-together-your-self-crap that really didn’t look too great after we bought it, but really looked horrible after moving it across country...twice. So, we were on the hunt! We found these side tables that were actually long lost relatives of the bed at a great furniture store called BF Myers. They were $499 each.
8. The bedding- I always had bed in a bag type bedding until about 2 years ago when I decided to go all white...well mostly white. I bought the duvet cover, shams, and sheet set at Kmart for less than $30.
9. Paint color is Behr Cumberland Fog (LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!!) $20 a gallon??? I think can’t really remember. I think the two round medallions and the cone-shaped container were from Kirklands around $5 a piece. The faux roses were recycled from an old arrangement.
10. Back to the bed the orange silk pillows were I think $12 at Walmart and the middle brown silk patterned pillow was $5 at GW


11. Dresser - another relative of the bed! $719
Mirror from Walmart for $39
12. Accessories- votive candle holder from Southern Living at Home for around $30, urn $5 along time ago...can’t remember where but there’s a hole in the back (NESTER, please don’t look at my fauxliage....I almost didn’t post this pic because I just read your post the other day on ivy! You are definitely right! I would much rather have real plants, but I kill them. If only I would water them, they’d probably live! )
13. Zebra chair- bought chair at GW for $10 after restaining and recovering it, the total ended up being about $25 You can see that transformation here . The blue silk pillow is from a resale shop for $10.
14. side table- originally from Target, I think, but I bought it at GW for $10. The topiary (does that count as fauxliage, Nester? I need your honest, professional opinion!!) well, I can’t remember where I got it either. I think it was Hobby Lobby and it was under $10. On the wall are framed pics of my kids at the beach- $25 counting the frame and the print was a wedding gift- so FREE!!

Okay, going back to the side table.... at first I had this one by the chair....



but then, after I took the pic, I wasn’t sure I liked it so I replaced it with this one...

Now, I can’t decide which one I like best. What do you think?? They both were $10, so it doesn’t change the price...so what is the total price of my master bedroom??

A whopping $2952...if I added right. That’s not too bad considering $2616 of it was the bed, dresser and side tables. Only $336 was spent on the decorations.

I must say that it was actually pretty neat to actually put to paper what I’ve spent in this room. I feel like I made good decisions on the things that I choose to spend more money on. It’s my fave room in the house, that’s for sure!

By the way, did you know you can make your pictures look like a blue print using photobucket?


I just thought that was cool! Maybe it's just me...

Be sure to visit the Nester to find how much other peep’s rooms cost!

Boys, boys, boys

So, Baby B loves to destroy anything! I have always kept my plasticware down low so the kids could play in it. Well it has become a problem because this happens everyday- several times a day!



Then, he started getting inside the cabinet...


And climbing into other pieces of furniture...


So, I put locks on all the cabinets except one and put only one basket of plastic dishes in it for him to play with.

He still gets inside the cabinet.

What a face!

While B was playing in his cabinet, K got a little creative.


He decided to make his own Optimus Prime costume.


He has a costume that he got for his birthday last year (That's where the mask came from), but no, he wanted to make one that transformed. That's so much cooler, right?

Here he is transformed:


Life with boys is never dull!!

Hope you all have a great weekend!

Tablescape Thursday

I've been wanting to share this project for a while and since Susan at Between Naps on the Porch is having her Tablescape party today, I thought it might be a good time! After seeing pics of her tablescapes, I realize that my tablescaping skills obviously need some refining! I will have to do some practicing!


My mom let me borrow her Cricut, which is a cutting machine. You can cut letters, numbers, shapes... all kinds of things!! I used it to cut the vinyl letter I put on this little wooden tote box.


Well, I also cut out some stencils and used them to etch these plates. I absolutely love them. My mom etched the tea glasses for me.



I bought these plates for $1 each at Publix. I just love the beaded trim.



The glasses were some that were in my cabinets. I just got them down and etched them.



I also had a glass pitcher that I etched with a lower case "d."

Do you have a Cricut? What projects have you done with yours? Playing with Mom's really makes me want one!!!

Go on over to Susan's and check out other people's amazing tables!!