I Know My Husband Loves Me When....

he returns from his first week at his new job in Palestine, TX with a giant, white chocolate chip cookie from Collin Street Bakery just for me (along with some other sweet treats!). Mark is the best.

I missed him a lot this week, I am not going to lie. I tried to keep myself busy by talking on the phone to friends, going out to dinner with friends, reading, and watching TV, but honestly, it just isn't the same as having my husband with me. It isn't like we do anything that exciting at night. We usually eat dinner, laugh at/deal with the dogs, watch our favorite TV shows and go to bed. But all those things just aren't the same without Mark around!

I am thrilled he is home for the weekend and know our dogs are too. Dixie was beside herself with excitement last night. She could not get enough of Mark! Bandera was too but she had more tattle-telling to do than giving kisses (like Dixie does).

I think it is safe to say that all of Mark's girls missed him while he was away!

Sarah Jane's Baby Shower

My friend Jenn and I arranged a baby shower for our friend, Sarah Jane. She is the wife of Mark's best friend, Anthony. Their baby is due the day after Thanksgiving so it is just around the corner! He will be named Jack Austin. I can't wait to meet him!

All the girls in our girls group got together at Breadwinners for a yummy lunch. My breakfast tacos were amazing! Anthony's mom and her best friend were also able to join us which was very special. Sarah Jane got some great gifts and even better baby advice.

Jenn already has a little boy so she is VERY familiar with little boy's (and their daddy's) love of sports so she got him this Cowboy's onsie along with many other really cute items!
I gave her a few fun things but also knit her a baby blanket.
Becky made this really cute onesie by sewing a tie on the front...adorable! She even let me sew one of the burp cloths she gave Sarah Jane. Sewing was kinda fun!
It was a nice way to spend the afternoon!

90th Birthday Party/Dixie's Friends

Mark's grandfather turned 90 years old this weekend. His aunts and mom put together a very nice ice cream social at the assisted living community they live at. His grandfather loved it! We made the short trip to Houston to partake in the festivities!

While we were there, we also got to see our friends, John and Abby. They have two wonderful dogs named Ellie and Jock. Dixie came with us on this short trip. Dixie LOVED Ellie and Jock. The three of them played for hours while we enjoyed our friends. While we were eating breakfast Sunday morning, Abby noticed the dogs at the back door and I just had to grab my camera.
How cute are they?!?!? Dixie looks so proud of the fact that she has friends, don't you think? Gosh, I love her so much!

Everything Pumpkin!

Here in Texas we get the Fall season for all of 3 weeks so I decided to take advantage of the cooler weather by opening my windows and doing a little baking and crafting! This also all took place while Mark was away. See, I told you I was productive while he was gone!

I decided to do everything pumpkin. First, I made the delicious Pumpkin Cookies with Cream Cheese Frosting like I did last year. They are SOOOO delicious and now quite a crowd pleaser. I made a double batch and decided to deliver some to 5 different friends since Mark was out of town and I know I can't be trusted by myself with fresh baked cookies.

Next, I wanted to re-create an idea I saw in my latest Rachel Ray magazine. I thought it was so cute and perfect for our front stoop. I scooped out the pumpkin, plopped in the mums and called it done! All the flowers and pumpkin cost just under $10 (with coupons, of course!) which I think is a great amount for something that won't last forever!

I used the pumpkin seeds out of the pumpkin and roasted them to make a yummy treat.

Happy Fall!

Home Alone=Organizing Galore!

Mark went to Austin last weekend to see the Austin City Limits (ACL). It is a huge 3 day music festival. He goes every year with his friend Julian. I stay at home. Although Mark loves every minute of it, but I think it sounds terrible. Porta potties, mass amounts of people, late nights, and unpredictable weather conditions makes me more than happy to remain in Frisco!

While he was away, I was very busy completing some house projects. First, I cleaned every single interior window and window sill with cleaner I made at home (water and white vinegar). I wanted to do the exterior too but couldn't figure out how to get the screens off the windows. I figured I should probably wait for Mark to get home andhelp me.
I also cleaned out/reorganized our pantry. I had been stocking up on soups and baking items for the winter months but just kept throwing everything in the pantry. It needed help. Here is the after picture since I forgot to take a before (oops!):
Next, I tackled the refrigerator. It needed to be emptied and cleanedout in a BAD way! I threw away expired items and reorganized. Before and after:

And the freezer just needed some moving around...

Lastly, I wanted to move around some items in the laundry room so I could store so extra food items (i.e. my mass amounts of apple sauce) that would go bad in the garage. I saw on one of the blogs I follow, how one lady used shoe bags to organize her laundry room so I modified the idea and made it work for me. It sure cleared off space on my shelf! The first picture is before and the other 2 are after!

Mark was impressed at all that I got done while he was away.

Free! (or almost free)

So much to report since I skipped last week....

This weekend at CVS, I paid $1.32 for everything you see here. It would have cost$53 if I didn't have coupons!At Target last week, I scored all of this applesauce for a little over a dollar each after coupons and the $5 gift card I got after buying all of these. This should last us through thewinter!I also bought all of this for just $5. Lots of free with coupons because of samplesized items.
All of these freebies and coupons arrived in the mail! It should make for some great deals later.

All of this was free after BOGOs and coupons from Tom Thumb.

And I scored big again by stocking up on paper goods, Halloween candy, and fabric softener all for a little over $10!

Cheap, yep, that's me!

WARNING: this blog entry may seem extreme to some, but I already know, I am cheap and am willing to do just about anything to save a buck.

I decided I was sick and tired of paying $2.99 (without a coupon, $2.50 with one) for a 6 pack of Jell-O fat free, sugar free pudding each week. That's $10 a month just to eat pudding cups! It is pretty much a staple in my lunch bag these days so I was determined to figure out a way to still be able to enjoy my favorite, low calorie treat while also saving money.

I decided I make my own pudding from a box and just fill cups. But what could I put it in so I was still getting a decent serving size? I decided to start saving my pudding and apple sauce cups and just re-use them! A little saran wrap and a rubber band worked just great!!!I was lucky enough to find JellO pudding on sale at Tom Thumb this week for just 89 cents so I bought 4 boxes. My idea worked just great and I am enjoying my pudding even more this week knowing it cost $3.56 for the entire month! A savings of $6 works for me!

I will be making my own JellO pudding cups each week from now on.

Free! (or almost free)

Was I on a free roll this week or what?!?!? I had such a free high I think I even might have impressed myself!

I got an INCREDIBLE deal on Tippr this week. Tippr is another daily deal site that I signed up for. You can sign up for it here and help me out too! So far their Dallas deals aren't great but I was able to score 4 movie tickets (from the Honolulu site) thru Weekly Cinema for just $5!!! Tippr was asking $20 for the 4 tickets (which is still a great deal) but after getting credit from my dad's earlier purchase and my new registration money, I only had to pay $5. I can't wait to go to a movie with Mark for $1.25 each!!!

The beauty store, Ulta, re-opened by our house this week. They offered an ad for a free bag of goodies valued at $60 with no purchase necessary. I was so excited to find out I got a free tube of mascara, a new eye shadow, hand lotion, and hairspray! I also stopped at Bath and Body works to score a free small size of their new lotion.Becky and I made a 9pm trip to Kohl's Friday night after dinner. We each had $10 Kohl's cash to spend. I bought the necklace and earrings below and spent $1.37 out of pocket after using my Kohl's cash and Becky's 30% coupon. Can't wait to wear these!!!My CVS trip was amazing due to a little planning and some great coupons. I got all of this for a mere $10. Paper towels alone usually cost $13!!! The only reason I bought the Halloween decorations was because they were totally free. The in-store CVS coupon printer printed me a $5 off coupon for Halloween decorations so I found the pumpkin for $3.99 and a sippy cup for Charlotte for 99 cents. Great deal!!JC Penney was also offering two free coupons. The first day they were out of the product so I got some face wash free instead. The second day I was able to score a free 10 day supply of Bare Escentuals powder foundation and a small kabuki brush.Walgreens provided me with this great photo collage (all of Mark and Dixie hunting) for free! It is valued at $3.99 and made a perfect addition to the empty frames still hanging on our wall.I also got all of this for free at Walgreens this weekend. Perfect for the winter months!
And all of this was just $2 at Walgreens!