~Dining Room Tour~

Today Kelly's room tour is of dining rooms. We got the new dining table this year and have LOVED having comfy chairs to sit on. Thank you to everyone who has taken time to leave such sweet comments regarding the other room tours. Enjoy!
This is the BEFORE:

AFTER:

(The 2 arm chairs in are in the living room)

What we remodeled in the dining:
*New hand-scraped hardwoods
*Window treatments
*Chandelier
*Wall paint
*Trim paint





*Purchased the chandelier at Habitat for Humanity and then added the shades & crystals myself. Saved tons of money by doing it that way!

Hope you enjoyed the tour! Have a very blessed day!
SHO

~Restaurant.com 90% off TODAY ONLY~

Today only, Restaurant.com is offering $25 gift certificates for $1! Enter promo code "WOW" at checkout. I'm super excited about this deal (so is mini-me)!

Happy Thursday!
SHO

~You ask...I tell~

I'm constantly laughing about some of the questions people will stop & ask me, email me or wait until they know me better to finally ask. I figured I would share a few of the questions that I get and the answers that I gave.

Where do you get all of those hair accessories?
I get them all sorts of places! Some of them come together already made. I put some of them on headbands that I already have. I'm constantly wearing something on my head! I heart all things sassy & girly! :)

How can I coupon when there is nothing that I use that offers coupons?
*Do you use toilet paper? Paper towels? Soap? Deodorant? Detergents? Cleaning supplies? Make-up? I could go on and on.

How do you have time to coupon?
*I make time! There isn't anything else that I can do for my family that will pay off this big simply by spending a little time each week planning it out. After all, you have to go to the store anyway...it is a much faster trip if you have a game plan :)

What does your husband think of all of the money that you save?
*He thinks it is FABULOUS! AMAZING! AWESOME! SMART!


Are you organized in all aspects of life?
*Oh, I so wish I could say yes. Sadly, I try & fail. Each year I resolve to be more organized & each year I do get better, but can't seem to conquer everything. It is always a work in progress. If you were to see certain things in my house you would think OCD. Then if you took a look in my craft room...OH MY! You would not think I was the same person. That is the honest truth!


"You don't look like a couponer!"
*I get this ALL OF THE TIME! What do people think a person that uses coupons looks like anyway???
Let me just say that none of my Sassy Saving students "look" like anything other than HOT MOMMAS! The look of couponing has changed (apparently). Not sure what it looked like before, but I'm thinking it looks pretty good now!

What do I think couponers looks like?
A very financially sound wife & mother setting the best financial example possible for her legacy.



Do the cashiers cringe when they see you coming?
*NO! However, I see them cringe when couponers who are not nice to them get in their line. I'm overly nice and actually talk to the cashier during the transaction. Get to know them a bit and call them by name. They are really nice and wave to me when I enter the store now. Trust me...even if I cause them a little extra work, they don't mind simply because I treat them with respect. Everyone has time to be nice :)

What do the people say when they get behind you and see how much you have saved?
*Usually, if I have a lot of coupons to use, I will warn them that it may take a couple extra seconds if they want to find another line that would be faster. Shockingly, 9 out of 10 people would rather stand behind me and see how it all goes down. Strange? Not really! One of the wealthiest women that I know is a HUGE couponer. If you are doing something interesting, people usually want to know what it is all about.

Do you ever get tired of couponing?
*Yes, I get tired of most everything that I do. However, I NEVER get tired of saving money, helping people in need or taking vacations to paradise...Never Ever! I've got some serious motivation :)


Well, that got really long and I didn't get to all of my topics. Hope you got a laugh and enjoyed this segment of "You ask... I tell" here at Queen of Sassy Savings.

Blessed~
SHO

~Restaurant.com 80% Off!~

Get a $25 Restaurant.com gift certificate for $2 by entering Promo Code "FALL" at checkout. Offer ends Thursday, September 30, 2010!

Blessed~
SHO

~Can't Cook?~

Can't cook? Don't have time to make dinner?

I promise, you can make this meal! FAST!

What you will need:


1 can Spaghetti sauce (Hunt's is our fav)= $.98
1 package Spaghetti noodles = $.50
1 can corn (or any type of veggie) = $.17
1 package of crescent rolls = FREE!

Directions (super easy):

Boil noodles per the directions on package.
Warm the sauce on med heat
Warm the corn on med heat
Bake rolls per the directions on can.

This meal can be made in 20 minutes or less. It will take longer to get in the car & pick up take-out. Plus, this meal can feed a large family for around $4 or less. This meal cost me less than $2 with my sale items! You can always fancy this up by adding hamburger meat & mushrooms to the sauce (what I usually do).

Hope this inspires you to eat at home & save money.

Blessed~
SHO

~My Walgreen's Trip~

Retail= Over $60
Paid = $0.00...Zilch...Nada...Nothing! Woohoo!


This was a crazy transaction! I had no intentions of buying any of these items when I walked into Walgreen's. I ran by the cosmetic counter to say hello to the cashier and she told me about these deals. It was a super Saturday event of some kind and the toothpastes, which are normally $3.50-$3.99, were on sale for $3/3. She also had special high value coupons behind the register for the event. Again, this is why you MUST always be kind to the cashier. They remember you and will tell you about these deals :)
The Air Wicks were marked down to $3.99 and I used $4 coupons on them, making them FREE!
I didn't run home and post this because people walking by started asking the cashier about how to get the stuff for FREE too & they cleared out the rest of it!

As always be sure to run by the cosmetic counter and ask the cashier if there are any deals that she knows about. Usually, they know more about coupon deals than the other associates.

Monday Blessings~
SHO

~My Tom Thumb Trip~

Good Monday morning! Hope everyone had a great weekend. It finally cooled off here a bit. Yeah! We got to enjoy some time outside yesterday and it was great!

Ran into Tom Thumb this weekend and got these deals:

Milk .99

Campbell's
.88
.40/2 q (doubled)
=.48 each

Cheese .99
*This is a stock-up price! I buy at least 6 when they are this cheap & freeze them.

Retail= Around $10
Paid = $2.94

Happy Monday!
SHO

~Master Bedroom Tour~

This week Kelly's room tour is of Master Bedrooms. Thank you for all of the comments and emails from the Living Room tour. Enjoy!

This is my Master Retreat (as I like to call it). I LOVE relaxing in this room! My goal was to create a space that reminds me of a nice hotel where we stayed. It is filled with our favorite wedding pics & anniversary beach pics.


As mentioned last week, we remodeled the entire house before moving in. This is the list of what was done to the master bedroom:
new carpet
new window (there is a wall of 3 large windows & 1 was broken)
new trim paint
walls painted
new ceiling fan




*This chest was a gift from my cute hubby. The mirror was an awesome find in OKC at a moving sale. The framed picture is of my hubs & I in the limo just after we said "I do"!


*This armoire is HUGE & very heavy. It took 7 coaches to move it from our previous home. Actually, it was so heavy that the previous owners left it for us b/c they couldn't move it! Score! However, it looked NOTHING like this. It was a terrible light faux wood color. Not good! It had a different look in our old master (painted black w/ no scratches or pretty knobs). When being moved it got really scratched up. I had full intentions of repainting it, but instead I sanded it a bit and went for the shabby look. Added the crystal knobs & now it is one of my favorite pieces!
************************************

Just for fun....this is my previous "Master Retreat" in the last home. Yes, I've made all the bedding & draperies in both homes (some of you have asked).

This is my previous living room that I forgot to include on the Living Room tour last week.
Hope you enjoyed the tour! Wishing you a very blessed Friday!
SHO

~3 Coupon Inserts Scheduled~

There should be 3 coupon inserts in the Sunday paper:

*1 SmartSource
*1 Redplum
*1 Proctor & Gamble

Happy Clipping!

SHO

~Donations!~

The donations have been delivered! Thank you so much to everyone who donated. I feel so honored to be surrounded by so many giving people. You have shown me God's love through your giving. These donations are going to bless the family in need so much more than we can imagine.

*The stuff was piled up...we had already grouped it up before I took the pic. There is so much more there than it even looks like. It was awesome!


As always, I encourage to be generous with the items that you collect from couponing. You can really make a difference in someones life!

"A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor"
~Proverbs 22:9~

Blessed~
SHO

~Libby's Vegetable Sale!~

Ran into Kroger to grab these veggies before the sale ended yesterday. This is a great example for those people who think that coupons are only for junk food. Not true!

12 Libby's Vegetables
Reg. $1.19
Sale .50
-$1/3 q
=.17 per can!

Retail= $14.28
Paid= $2.04
*That is a savings of 86% on something that most everyone I know purchases for their families. Yeah!

~Menu Wednesday!~

Mexican out (used Restaurant.com certificate)
Fajita salad (made with leftovers from the dinner out)
Beef stew/stroganoff (tried something new here...Made a meal with something out of a can & used the recipe on the back. Hubs liked it, but the jury is still out for me. I will post the recipe soon and you can give it a try if you'd like. It is super duper easy as everything goes into the crockpot)
Pizza & salad
Enchiladas (pic above)

Yes, that is a lot of Mexican food. We never get tired of it!

What's cookin' at your palace? If you have a recipe you would like to share, please leave me comment or email me at coachoshields@hotmail.com. I'm going to try to be better about posting recipes. I LOVE getting recipes from friends!

Wednesday Blessings~
SHO

~Walgreens Deals~

Here are a few Walgreen's deal I thought I would share:

Reach Dental Care
$.99 (after in-ad coupon)
*Buy 3 & use $3/3 q (8/1 SmartSource)
=Free!

Gain Dish Liquid Soap
$.89 (after in-ad coupon)
-$1 q (8/29 P&G insert)
=Free!

Ajax Cleanser
$.50 (after in-ad coupon)
*Buy 2 & use $1/2 q (5/23 SmartSource)
=Free!

Walgreens Pantyliner
$0.50 (after in-ad coupon)

Quaker 1-Minute Oatmeal
$1.50 (after in-ad coupon)
-$1 q (8/29 RedPlum)
=$.50 after coupons


Tuesday Blessings~
SHO

~Restaurant.com 80% Off!~

GET $25 GIFT CERTIFICATES FOR ONLY $2!
Enter Promo Code: SHARE

Offer expires Wednesday, Sept. 22nd.

~Kroger Milk .99!~

Kroger is having a 3 day sale on Springdale Gallon Milk. It is only .99! There is a limit of 2 w/ an additional $10 purchase. Sale ends Tuesday!

~My Sprouts Trip~

I LOVE Sprouts! I've mentioned it before, but I really wish there was one closer!!! The only time I go is when I'm in the area and it is not often. They have some pretty AWESOME deals each time I go. However, no deal is worth me driving 40 minutes each way (unless I'm in the area for something else too).
Shopping at Sprouts (Farmer's Market) is a different experience for me. I don't have a list, don't have a budget, don't know what was it on sale or anything. Sort of exciting! First thing I grab a circular and get to shopping. It is a small store, so it doesn't take long to find the specials.


Watermelon $1.99

Cantaloupe .88

Green beans .47

Red Potato .42
*It seems really weird to pay .42 for 1 potato when I got 5 lbs for $1!

5 lb bag Russet Potatoes $1!

Apples $2.17
($1.27 per lb)

Carrots .59

Mushrooms .78

Spinach $1.50

Cucumber .49

Total= $10.29

Love seeing all of those colorful fruits & veggies! Most of all, I LOVE eating FRESH food. Yeah!

Monday Blessings~
SHO

~Tom Thumb deals today!~

Ran into Tom Thumb since I was passing it on my way home. This is what I got:


Cottonelle
Reg. $8.99
Sale $6.99
In-Ad coupon (q) made it $4.99
-.50 q (doubled)
=$4

Pop Secret
Reg. $2.79
Sale $1.99
In-Ad q made it .99 each
-.50/2 q (doubled)
=.50 per box!
Tip: Typically, if a store has in-ad coupons (that you have to clip) it is a great deal if you have coupons to add to it. I always look to see if there are any in-store coupons, since they can be combined with man. coupons.


Grapes .99 per lb

Roast
$1.99 per lb
*I always like to have at least 1 roast in the freezer at all times. It is something I can always count on and a great meal to put in the oven on Sunday morning & it is ready by the time we get home from church!

Top Sirloin Steak
$1.99 per lb
*I was able to cut up these HUGE steaks & make 5 freezer bags (which for us is 5 meals). I only buy steak when it is a great deal, so my fav Coach was very excited!



Hope you all have a wonderful weekend! Boomer Sooner (yeah, we won!)...and as my fav Coach says it might not be pretty, but a win is a win!

Blessed~
SHO

~2 Coupon Inserts Scheduled~

There are 2 coupon inserts scheduled for the Sunday paper:

*1 SmartSource
*1 Redplum

Happy Clipping!

SHO

~Living Room Tour!~

I was talking with some friends at church this week and we were discussing how fun it is to see where people live. I love reading blogs where people show their things, projects, deals, etc. Kelly's blog is doing a room by room tour each week, so I thought it would be fun to join in!

This is what the living room looked like when we purchased the house BEFORE the remodel. No flooring, no trim, no window treatments & the walls were 3 different colors.

*This is what it looked like during the remodel. Yikes! We spent 3 weeks having the house totally remodeled before we could move in. It is amazing what people can do to a house that was only 3 years old!


Below is my current living room. We moved into this house 2 years ago and I find myself still moving things around. I love to decorate & mix it up!

*I love dual purpose furniture. The 2 leather arm chairs actually go to my dining room set. I'd been wanting two leather chairs for that area, so it worked out perfectly when we got the set. Plus, there is more room around the table until we need the extra seating. I was able to save a great deal of money by putting those 2 chairs there instead of purchasing different chairs.



*My fall/harvest decor. We don't celebrate Halloween, so I do fall decor until it is time for CHRISTmas decor. I heart CHRISTMAS!

Purchased this sofa table with my MIL on Black Friday at Lowe's for $88! Plus, it came with 2 buffet lamps. Awesome! It is not my favorite style, but I knew it would be covered up with pretty things :)
This table is used between my sofa & dining room. Every time I look at this table it is filled with things I love...my miracle girl, our family bible and shells collected on our different trips. I've been collecting shells for years, but didn't have them where I could admire them every day. Now, they bring me joy each day!

*This is part of my Sid Dickens collection. I LOVE this artist! He makes a limited amount of each piece and then they are retired. Once in retirement, they start gaining in value. Yes, we live in Texas...However we do have Sooner blood running through our veins! BOOMER SOONER!!!


*This corner table is actually an antique piano bench that my Dad refinished and gave to me. I love it! We keep bibles (love to decorate with old bibles) & pics of family members on this table. The iron piece is 1 of a 3 piece collection that I found at a garage sale for $8! It still had the tags on it :)

Hope you enjoyed the tour! Thanks for visiting my savings blog where I tell you about my deals, steals & all things sassy. I'm going to try to join in each week with the tour. Have a blessed Friday!

SHO

~Lamp Shade Re-Fashion-CHEAP!~

Here is a little project that EVERYONE can do. Very easy & cost effective! If you are in the market for a new lamp or shade, be sure to try this first. It will save you a bundle!
Before:

After:


This was a super easy fix to sassy up the lamp shade. I had the flower already & I just pinned it on there (didn't want to glue in case I want to switch it up).

There you have it, a simple solution to a boring lampshade. New lampshades are expensive! I recently priced them and quickly decided to make what I have work. Hope this inspires you to re-fashion your shades for FREE!

Thursday Blessings~
SHO

~Re-Fashion Wednesday!~

Wanted to share with you a re-fashion project from a garage sale. I LOVE garage sales for this very reason! I can buy a basic jacket for .50 cents & make it cute for FREE :)

The jacket before the re-fashion was just a plain denim jacket.

After: A jacket fit for a fashionable princess!


Total cost for this re-fashion: .50 cents!
(I used scrap fabrics that I already had)

~Recipe Tuesday!~

Several of you have asked for the recipe for the breakfast burritos that I make often. Honestly, it is a hit with all who eat it. I got this slammin' recipe from my friend Tiffany (confused yet on all of the Tiff's? I have 3 friends names Tiffany. This recipe came from the blonde Tiff that I call Sniffs)
Tiffany's brother makes this when their large family gets together and they all love it. We do too! Thanks for sharing Sniffs :)

Breakfast Burritos:

1 lb Jimmy Dean HOT sausage (brown & drain)
3 eggs (slightly beaten)
1 can Cream of Chicken (I've also used Cream of Mushroom)
6 slices of cheese (kraft singles or whatever you buy...the recipe calls for 12 slices, but I've never used more than 6 and it is still nice & cheesy)
1.5 cups hash browns (cubed)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated cheese

Mix together & top with grated cheese (you can also top with 1/4 cup bread crumbs!)

Bake in 9x13 in pyrex dish (be sure to spray the bottom or you will have a time getting the dish clean...trust me!)
350 degrees fo 30 minutes

The leftovers travel well the next day too!

Hope you have a terrific Tuesday!
SHO

~Restaurant.com 80% Off!~

Restaurant.com has $25 gift certificates on sale for 80% off, which makes them $2! Enter code TOUCHDOWN at checkout & hit apply. This is offer is good through today, Sept. 13th. Better hurry!

~My Kroger Trip Yesterday~

We were in a huge rush before church. Luckily, I had a strict list so we were in and out in about 8 minutes. It was AWESOME! I will have to go back sometime this week for a few fresh veggies, milk & fruit.

3 Cap. Crunch
Reg. $2.59
Sale $1.98
-.50 q (doubled)
=.98 each

3 Maruchan Noodles
Reg. .99
Sale .88
-.50 q (doubled)
=FREE!!!

5 Mission Tortillas
Reg. $1.59
sale $1
-.75 q
=.25 each!
*I also had a .55 e coupon taken off, so technically I got 2 FREE & paid .25 each for the other 3!
*I was very excited to see this sale today as we were out of tortillas and my q's expired 9/13. Yeah!

Cantaloupe
sale .88

Retail: Over $20
Spent: $4.57
*That is a savings of 77%!

Happy Monday!
SHO

~The Power of a High Value Coupon!~

I've never used Wisk before, but will give it a try at this price! Anytime I see a high value coupon (example: $3) on laundry detergent, I always clip it. Anytime a store runs a B1G1 Free sale, it is usually a great deal if you have q's to use for both items.


CVS sale B1 Wisk Get 1 Wisk FREE
Wisk
$8.49 (I know, totally ridiculous price)
-$3 q
-$3 q
=$2.49 total for 2
or
$1.25 each for 32 loads...which makes it .04 per load!

My other CVS deal:

Stride gum
.99
-.99 ECB
-B1G1 FREE q
= 2 FREE!

Happy Saturday & BOOMER SOONER!
SHO