Great Shutterfly Cards!

My friend and coworker Michelle over at Making the Frugal Life Fun posted about getting 50 free Shutterfly cards and I was excited to jump on this deal just in time for Christmas cards! I have never ordered from Shutterfly before, but have heard wonderful things about them and have seen lots of great promo codes that they offer from time to time.


I was excited to see that Shutterfly has a lot of cute options for creating a Christmas photo card! You can see the whole collection here. Last year I used another photo site and I must say that these options are a lot cuter than the options available on the other site. I think this folded card is especially cute and this flat card is great too!

I'm not sure which one we will choose but I am hoping to get some good pictures taken of us while we are at the beach. I am looking forward to experimenting with some of these fun card designs and our pictures!

If you want to get 50 free holiday cards you too can blog about Shutterfly's cards. Just go here for more info!

We're Still Alive...

Life is in high gear for us at the moment but we are still kicking! Ronnie started teaching 3rd grade on Nov. 1 and that has been a big transition. He is already doing a great job! I know though that it has been a little stressful to jump into teaching. Sounds like he has a really good group of kids though.

I am teaching lots of dance classes and have been doing a fair amount of subbing for other teachers so that has kept me hopping (literally at times :). I am also performing in a dance concert in December so that has added to my schedule with rehearsals. Ice the cake with 2 fender benders and you could say this has been a busy and sometimes stressful time- we are anxiously looking forward to the Thanksgiving break!

I hope to get back to some more regular blogging soon!

Great trip to Publix!

$11.90 Spent

Does your Publix consider Whole Foods to be a competitor? If so you are in luck! You can use $1 printable Whole Foods coupons to get free small cans of Muir Glen Organic tomato sauce plus about .11 overage per can. The great thing about Whole Foods printables is that there is no print limit. I have been grabbing several cans every time I shop. There are also .75 Thai Kitchen coupons from Whole Foods that can be stacked with the printable on Red Plum.

The Vivarin and Phazyme medicines were purchased because they were actually money maker deals- took almost $5 off my total because by combining manufacturer and store coupons there was overage.

Oh and I am behind in posting our meal plans. Here is what we have been/are going to eat:

Monday: Baked Chicken Parmesan with Pasta (I don't have a link for this recipe but it is easy and very yummy- if any one wants it I can email it)
Tuesday: Black Bean Soup and Cheese Quesadillas
Wednesday: Pad Thai with Chicken
Thursday: Creamy Spaghetti Squash Casserole
Friday: Leftovers
Saturday: cook out!

Pumpkin Lovin

Don't you hate it when you use a recipe that calls for a portion of something, like half a can of such and such and then you are left with a random opened can wondering what you will use the rest for? Well here are two recipes that are a great compliment to each other! Get yourself a can of pumpkin puree; use 1/2 cup of it for the first recipe and then the remaining cup for the second recipe.

Fettuccine with Pumpkin Alfredo Sauce
This was very good. Don't be scared by the pumpkin alfredo combo...it was subtle and the color was gorgeous. I made this according to the recipe and didn't include any meat, but it would have been great with chicken in it.

Finish it off with this:

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Swirl Cake
This cake was really easy to whip up and tasted great. It was similar in taste to a Pumpkin Roll Cake but not as rich or as complicated to make.

Meal Plan:

Monday- teriyaki beef filet, mashed potatoes, peas, salad and sour dough bread with guests!
Tuesday- Pasta with Pumpkin Alfredo, breadsticks, veggie of some sort
Wednesday- Black Bean Soup, corn bread, salad
Thurday- leftovers
Friday- homemade pizza of some sort

Have you tried these??

We ate the teriyaki beef filet tonight and thought it was delish! Just plop those suckers in a pan and bake- yields flavorful and tender goodness. I see coupons for Always Tender products by Hormel and they go on sale BOGO occasionally. I will be watching out for these.

Wednesday's Wonderful Shopping!

Only $8.90 spent!

Fall Centerpiece

On Sunday I went to a church women's lunch after the service. They had these cute centerpieces and I was happily given one to take home and enjoy! It is a mix of real and artificial flowers and leaves in oasis in the pumpkin. They even got resourceful and put lemon halves, leftover from cooking, on picks in the arrangement.

I recently saw a cute idea in Southern Living magazine that involved putting potted flowers and herbs in a pumpkin. Might have to try it out- in the meantime I will enjoy my blooming pumpkin and the scent of my pumpkin spice candle!