No More Couponing at Target

After our last couponing adventure’s success, we tried our hand at Safeway and Target today. Yeah, we tried it and utterly failed. There will be no more couponing at Target. I have discovered that those coupons entrap you by making you buy things you normally wouldn’t get. The idea of the sale has finally registered. Stores have sales and offer coupons so that you will come in and buy…not so that you will save. Needless to say, couponing at Target wasn’t that much of a success. It was an utter defeat!

Couponing Adventures Take II

I am very happy today. Though I spent the whole week cutting out coupons (—>I let them pile up), I am very happy to report that we went shopping yesterday and saved 32% on our groceries! We also managed to stay around $50 in our total, and I am planning to never pay more than $50 for groceries ever again! All this to say, we are improving! We saved roughly $25 on this shopping trip, and I’m confident that we would have saved closer to 50% on all our groceries had a certain fellow–ahem!–stuck to my desire to only buy items we had coupons for. But it’s partly my fault too. I forgot the power of the raincheck for items that I would have gotten for nearly nothing had they been in stock. And that forced me to buy two items that I desperately needed but didn’t have the coupon for since they were a different brand than the items I planned. And it was stressful doing all that math on the spot! Oh, well. C’est la vie. We live and learn.

On a happier note, my pride and joy from shopping yesterday was in purchasing a Jack Daniel’s Barbeque sauce. It was on sale at the store for $2.99. My card savings brought it down to 99 cents. And I had a manufacture coupon for 75 cents off. Guess how much that sauce cost?! TWENTY-FOUR CENTS! I had a rush after that, and I am pleased to report that we will be couponing again on Sunday at Target and Safeway. My next plan of action is to search the internet for coupons for brands that we like instead of being beholden to the coupons that come in the mail. And I found a fabulous extreme couponing site that details the coupons and deals of the week at the stores I circulate–check out The Krazy Couponing Lady!

And on an even happier note, Noora has decided to mimick my couponing process today. I had to give her her own stack of (expired) coupons to sort through like Mami! Ah, I’m so pleased!

Visiting my LYS

I took a leap out of my comfort zone this week and read some fiction. I’m not much into the fiction scene for my own reading, but I needed a break from my depressing non-fiction. I just finished Debbie Macomber’s The Shop on Blossom Street…and I loved it! I had only planned to read the one, but now I feel like I want to know more about what happens to the characters (whose friendship blossoms after a knitting class in their LYS). I picked up this book after I saw an interview of the author on Knitting Today. I was curious to see how she combined her love for knitting and writing in her books. There were so many things that I appreciated about Debbie’s style–from her ambition to write while raising 4 children, to overcoming dyslexia, to her Christian beliefs that keep her books clean. I really planned to read this book and then get back into my non-fiction but I’m interested to see what happens to these characters as the series develops. We’ll see if I take another leap of faith in the literary department…

But to top it off, I entered for the FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, my LYS–Fibre Space. I found it by accident in Old Town, Alexandria, VA. It made me feel like I was in A Good Yarn (the name of the yarn shop in the book), watching women laughing and knitting together on a couch and seeing all the skeins of yarn. I had to stop myself before I called the owner Lydia. I think she thought something was wrong with me–LOL–but I don’t get out much…and being in Fibre Space made me feel as if I stepped into the world of the book–into some type of yarn-candy-fantasy that I’ve been dreaming of. And I can’t wait to return! I’m so happy that Fibre Space is in my backyard! Now I just need to learn to drive so I can go there more…

Ribbed Cardigan Complete!

Okay, I didn’t make my deadline, but it’s finally complete. And it only took me one month. After making rows and taking out rows, Noora’s Petite Purple Cardigan is finally ready to be shown to the world. And shown to the world it was. It was featured on Linda Permann (the designer’s) blog, as well as the ravelry page for the sweater. Whoop whoop! I’m so proud of myself–my first sweater, and only my second crocheted apparel item ever!–I think my hooks and I are going to be friends for a long time…so here it is, roll out the red carpet…introducing Noora’s Petite Purple Cardigan, made in Omega Sinfonia mercerized cotton…perfect for the chilly days that come and go in the spring and summer! Oh, and I made those buttons too…

Noora's Petite Purple Cardigan

Yeah, I took a screen shots of my celebrity too….just in case you don’t click those links ;).

From Ribbed Cardigan Ravelry Page

From Lindamade's Blog