treasures!

it's been a great week for garage sales, free samples in the mail and salvation army shopping! i couldn't turn down the shabby chic purse bank above... nor the water pitcher next to it. life's way to short... i'll be using the pitcher for tea or maybe a vase!

i sure do enjoy receiving free samples in the mail! i have lots of links on my sidebar that keep me informed. all which are legit and not a scam. i was shocked when i opened the manila mail envelope to find a full size bottle of aveeno lotion!

i might of paid too much for this "fiddler on the roof" musical turn-around piece... $5. but, it is an antique and fiddler on the roof is one of my top two movies of all time. plus, it works! i adore this mini basket flower holder... i found it for a dollar.

oh! if these little treasures could talk... i'd ask them where they came from? who owned them? and were they used a lot? i always have visions of a sweet, old farm lady... who enjoyed them with passion.

smile, wink, nod!

feeling orange!

new orange craft fabric- found at salvation army 1/2 off sale.

i have no plans for this, but it sure is perky!

you are welcome to click on the picture and use it

for your own craft needs or desktop.

i just picked up this book cold tangerines by shauna niequist.

.50 cents at salvation army.

why it ended up on the bottom shelf at salvation army,

is a mystery to me? why didn't the previous

owner keep it? why didn't she give it to a friend?

remarkably real and sweetly written. here's the link to

shauna's cold tangerines website... you can read a few

chapters on-line.

i just received this! can you guess what it is?

yep! it's an orange tree! my mother-in-law

brought it back for me from florida.

orange jell-o.
how can you possibly feel the winter blues with
this looking at you? cheap thrill!

spot the chickadee!

see if you can spot the chickadee in each picture!

yesterday, we had four of these beauties.... flitting around our patio. try homeschooling when so much excitement is going on. yet... it was too cool to ignore.

the stacked glass scuplture is a homemade bird feeder i made, with garage sale finds!

i've been enjoying this antique drying rack. all i did is ask how much the price was at a garage sale and the older man said my favorite word: free!

speaking of free... how about surprising the man in your life with a free sample? don't have a man in your life? then how about ordering the sample and diluting it a bit with H2O, put it in a spray bottle and use it as an air freshener? i do stuff like this all the time. you can especially find used sprays at salvation army and goodwill. works wonderful! oh, the sample... i almost forgot.... click here!

i made seven cents & chicken tortilla soup recipe you can freeze!

i had a great experience in wallyworld today. with coupons in hand and a little planning... i was able to get 5 items FREE... and if that wasn't enough...walk out with .07 cents extra!

here's a snap of the products i came home with: 1 smithfield bacon (it's BLT time here in michigan, ya know!)m, 2 klondike ice cream bars, 1 glade soy candle and 1 glade essential package of vanilla candles!

well, then i sauntered by redbox... feeling sort of cocky with the money i saved... and thought we deserved a saturday dvd... so i checked out "the life of bees." have you seen it? i hear it's great!

over the next few days, i'll be posting a few soup recipes... that you can freeze! i did. i added various end-of-the-garden vegetables for extra oooooomph! the one i'll share tonight is excellent! It's CHICKEN TORTILLA SOUP! (i also served herbal beer bread in place of the chips and sour cream.)

1 tsp. olive oil

1 c. chopped onion

2 garlic cloves, mince

2 c. shredded chicken

1 c. frozen corn (i used fresh)

1/4 c. dry white wine

1 tsp. cumin

1 1/2 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. chili powder

2 (14.25oz) can no salt added chicken broth fat free

1 (14.5 oz) can diced peeled tomatoes undrained

1 (10.75 oz) can condensed reduced fat reduced sodium tomato soup

1 1/4 c. of crushed salted baked tortilla chips

1/2 c. fat free sour cream

Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. add onion and garlic: saute for 2 mintues. stir in chicken and next 9 ingredients (chicken through tomato soup): bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer one hour.

to freeze: ladle soup into family sized rotions, into freezer containers.

to reheat: reheat from defrosted or frozen, in a covered pot. ladle into bowls and top with tortilla chips and sour cream.

10 sweet things!

ten sweet things on tuesday:

1. this website

2. are you in the market for a couple of i love lucy era vintage aprons? check out my etsy shop! click here!

3. i enjoyed the rough housing of four boys in my home today. sounds of air soft guns, duck tape, wrestling, giggling and boy talk. and burping contests.... which i rolled my eyes and ignored. i mean..kids have to be kids, right? no school today. click on my twisted education blog here for today's update.

4. while number 3 was happening, i managed to list bunches of junk on ebay, craigslist and etsy.

5. wearing a pink hoodie

6. a good trip through our local goodwill.

7. a shabby chic show opportunity to sell some of my treasures. which is a dream come true.... just out of the blue!

8. a pan of homemade brownies. ate up immediatley by the four boys and brad. okay, i ate one, too.

9. learning michelle duggar is pregnant with number 19.

10. another freebie here bear naked sample!

frog!

my boy found this tree frog peeking out of our bluebird house yesterday! i brought it in the house, thinking we could play around with him, examine him and just have him visit us for a few hours before we set him free! honestly, i turned my head just slightly and he hopped away! panic set in... that adrenaline rush that makes you scurry about... looking every which way? i happened to glance sideways and found him stuck to the leg of one of my small tables! glad was i! i didn't exactly want to explain this to brad... he is much more uptight-out-of-sight then i am.

so, how about a bag of free potatoes? click here: potatoes!

we started back-to-homeschool lessons today. sure felt good! if you're interested in our day, click here: twisted education!

organized workspace!

i've been meaning to share my little work space in the corner of my living room.... our house is very tiny.. which i just love! but, i do need to make good use of my space, purge the clutter and keep on top of things, on a daily basis. otherwise... it gets really, really "tight-feeling!"

i picked up this really, banged up dish-rack-dryer (above) at a garage sale for $4. originally, i thought i'd like to use it in my kitchen...but's it's too big for my tiny sink. so, i thought... why don't i use it for a file, book and magazine holder!? makes me feel really organized and quirky.

this is where i type, cut coupons, print off coupons and write my novel. if you're familiar with old paintings... these are just of few paintings by Fox. my favorite roseville vases are above on a shelf. safe and out of the way.

if i turn around... this is what i see over my left shoulder. my mother-in-law brought me two huge garden-cut bouquets from her garden today! the color definitely gives the room a little pop!

how about a nice freebie? click on: country bob's all purpose sauce! i've sent for this in the past... and the coupon really does come!! it's easy to sign up for and no surveys! smile, wink, nod.

happy saturday night.

where have you been all my life????

my oh my! why haven't i heard about this money-saving site before? it's called money saving mommy! okay, so the mommy part makes me cringe and roll my eyes... but the site made me do backflips! this is a free site that tells you whats on sale at local brick and mortar stores, discounters and grocery stores AND gives you tons of links for printable coupons! i haven't been posting my deals... but you can bet your sweet bippy i've been hauling them in!

yesterday, i canned 9 quarts of vegetable soup... using the veg's in the snap above. i also canned rhubarb-orange marmalade and today raspberry-blackberry-mulberry jam...

now, i'm off to money saving mommy to see what other deals i can take advantage of! you can too.... click here:

money saving mommy!

potatoes, homeschooling, and free bags of dog food...

standing in front of redbox today, i pushed the button for this dvd... "faith like potatoes." we're watching it as i type! if you're interested in what it's about... click here: i'm interested in what it's about! so far, it looks to be a wonderful christian-family movie!

i also picked up two free bags of dog food at pet supply plus. here's a coupon for a free 4.4 lb bag. i only had to pay tax. one bag alone sells for $14.! phenomenal deal! you're welcome to print as many coupons out as you need. you might even pick a bag or two up for a friend!

last night, i went to a homeschooling through high school mini seminar. it was different. it validated many of my opinions on technology training at a young age and socialization.

today, i signed up for our homeschool co-op classes... if you're interested to see what we're doing click here: i'm interested in what they're doing!

dinner tonight? italian chicken, corn on the cob, long grain rice and fresh salads.

i miss reading your comments... smile, wink, nod.

recycled garden craft and a few good freebies!

monday morning, found me swatting mosquitoes, picking snow peas (jamie...they're doing swell!), picking green beans and finger sized zucchini in our slow-growing garden!

i also pulled out the clean tin cans i've been saving. dug around for shabby chic colored paints and crudely painted them with one swipe of paint. they dried in no time at all. i stuck sprigs of mint in them and lined them up on the patio.

in the fall, i plan to arrange bouquets of my homegrown zinnias and wildflowers, in the tin cans and sell them in our mini-vegetable roadside stand.

now, how about some fun freebie's? sometimes i get freebies and think... i'll never use this.. if you find yourself doing that... donate it to your church! our church, like most, has those little grooming baskets on the bathroom counter... just toss your sample in there and bless someone! smile, wink, nod!

PURITY SHAMPOO

VIVA PAPER TOWEL

NIVEA FOR MEN

i'll be putting kid-friendly freebie's up on my twisted education blog, in a few minutes... so click over... look on my sidebar...you'll find my link. see you there!

friends, ferns, flavored vinegars and freebie's!

Today's letter of the day..."F!"

As in....making flavored vinegar with flowers! Just clip a few handfuls of chive flowers, wash them well, pat dry and pack loosely in a jar. I added a bit of garlic, oregano and rosemary...then funneled white wine vinegar into each jar. Sealed the jars and set them in my dark pantry. In a week or so, I'll mix it with good olive oil for garden salads!

F is for FRIENDS! After running a few morning errands today, imagine my surprise when I pulled in and found this little package, sitting on a tray with other kitchen goodies (recipe cards, notepads, etc.) waiting for me by my garage AND all tied up in sweet ivory muslin, tied with a black polka-dotted ribbon! Inside, were fresh eggs! My good friend Rhonda had stopped by and went out of her way with this act of kindness. Which made me smile all day!

F is for transplanting FERNS!

I stopped at a garage sale today... they were selling perennials. Can you believe I don't have a single fern? Well, I do now.

F is for FREEBIE'S!!

free sun-maid raisin cookbooks!

aveeno shampoo/conditioner!

freebie, deals found at Meijers this week!

$6.50 is what I paid at Meijers yesterday for $48. worth of groceries! I matched my coupons up with Sunday's flyer and also printed off several from smartsource.com and redplum.com.

2 loaves of Aunt Millies bread .50 cents each

2 strawberries $2.00 (they're having a big sale, a dollar each. I plan to freeze them!)

12 boxes of jello for .30 each

1 box of Ritz crackers for 1.50

2 Tabasco sauces for .18 each

A1 Steak Sauce/Marinate FREE

Wheat Thins FREE

Sweet Baby Ray's Maple grilling sauce 2 FREE

Sweet Baby Ray's sandwich sauce FREE

Sweet Baby Ray's dipping sauce FREE

If you're serious about getting started with couponing... cut out all the coupons that say "on any size"...that way when there is a sale... you can get the best value.

freebie of the day? click right here: walmart garnier free wrinkle cream and fill out the form...it takes all of 30 seconds! plus, walmart free samples always come through...so you're not wasting your time.

Pink Friday, how to coupon and a good freebie!

Yesterday, my mom stopped by to give me this prize... just look at this beautiful stack of wool pieces! Just 5 for a dollar! Some are even tye-dyed and marbleized! They are almost to beautiful to use! I plan to use them in my penny rugs or felt crafts. For now, they sit neatly folded, on a shelf in my kitchen...where I can enjoy the colors! Thanks mom!

A few posts back, I was asked how to "begin" couponing and finding good deals? The first thing I suggest is... (and I'm by far not an expert) buy a Sunday paper or ask friends/family to save their coupons for YOU, scout through the coupon section to see if there are items you will use- if so- then go back and buy several more copies.

For example: last weeks paper had ANGEL SOFT toilet paper 4 pack for .50 cents off. Krogers was running a sale for it for just a dollar. Our Krogers doubles... that means I got it for free. Actually, I purchased several papers last week and used 3 Angel Soft coupons and received 3- four packs for free. Plus of course, lots of other coupons in the papers. And, if you go to my sidebar- Hot Coupon World link, there is a big message board that keeps you updated on the deals! Click here for...Freebie of the day: Nivea Body Wash Sample from Walmart! Thankfully, I always receive the freebie's that Walmart sends out... so will you! The form is quick and easy. Happy Friday, smile, wink, nod.

free laundry detergent!

free organic laundry detergent!

just fill out the form- it's quick and easy- no survey's.

several scents to choose from!

just click here!

new blogs and freebies!

i've found a few new favorite blogs on the internet!

they're all artsy, crafty homemaking -type blogs!

i hope you like them as much as i do! i'll soon be adding them to my sidebar!

mint basil

simple mom

a spoonful of sugar

picnic

lolly chops

i'm still doing the freebie thing. about three days a week, i get something in the mail. sort of makes going to the mailbox fun! here are some of my current links... remember, i'm lazy when it comes to this, i refuse to take those lengthy surveys....so i'm only going to post quick and easy -no survey forms... for you.

mr. clean magic eraser

huggies pure and natural diaper

coupon cabin- lots of printable coupons!

**********

"the picture above is our Easter tree!"

SWEET PRINTABLES! AND....THEY'RE FREE!

This weekend, I had fun printing off freebie's for cheap little shabby chic projects and other free printables for around my home! I found this template to make a shabby chic button jar.. I had an old pickle jar in the basement...which I cleaned up...then just printed, trimmed and glued to the jar! You can download and print this HERE.

I thought it would be fun for Spring, if I found a new grocery list. Forget a plain sheet a paper... how much more exciting is grocery shopping going to be now.... with this whimsical, free, printable, quirky grocery list? You can find it HERE.

I just really love these recipe cards! They're even more sweet in real life! I printed out a stack of them...and will tie them with a soft blue ribbon...and tuck them in my gift drawer to add to someones gift! I even kept some for me! Very, very cute! You can print them, too! Just click HERE.

Be sure to sign up for a FREE Fleischman's Yeast Cookbook! I also ordered one for my mom! Click HERE for the easy/quick sign up form!