it's been a pretty good day.

bicycle planter @ my mom&dads


The weather was dreary.
cold. blustery. rainy.
the perfect day to stay at home & in your pj's.

But today was library day-- so we donned our coats w/hoods and drove downtown.

The next best thing to being home in pj's on a rainy day, is a huge library full of good books waiting to be plucked from their shelves & savored.

We left with two huge stacks...


local schoolyard--the trees look like they're a line of fire!


This trip was solely to replenish the kids seasonal basket of reading.
We returned all books pertaining to Fall, Back to School, falling leaves,etc.
We kept a few Thanksgiving ones, but we've officially turned the basket into a Winter one.
I'm eager to dig in, with the kidlets- nestled into the couch w/quilts and cocoa!

We've had a break in our background music during the day, from Classical to Christmas!

It's officially on the brain-- Christmas, snow, higher ingestion of hot coffee,cider, cocoa & tea & homemade sweets; sweaters, scarves and hats- LOTS of 'em! Quilts. Traditions being recalled & shared with a younger generation. Thoughtful planning in blessings others. It's all so yummy!

Got a new BODEN catalog & READY MADE mag in the mail. MORE yumminess!

Breakfast dinner...pancakes & bacon. mmmm.

Freshly bathed kidlets tucked into bed at a decent hour. mmmmm mmm good.

Survivor, Grey's & CSI on tonite w/Cheezits & Diet Dr.Pepper. MOORRRRRRRE yumminess!

Can I PLEASE have a re-run tomorrow???


Oh right! I *am*!

We're taking the day off school except for an afternoon of reading. Then later it's a night of fellowship, flower arranging & scrapbooking with girlfriends for me!

ooooh how I needed this. yes indeedy.
Here's hoping YOU have a fab Friday yourself!

XOXO
~S

Grocery Gaming...

I think I'm loving it & I've only just begun to "play"!
A girlfriend told me about this a while ago and shared her own success- which completely intrigued me. So I visited the site (click on the post title to visit yourself!)and read, read, read all the information and testimonials. Then I joined the 3 week free trial so I could try it firsthand. I haven't done any MAJOR grocery shopping utilizing this yet- just a few small trips for specific items, but each one was VERY successful. I've been stockpiling coupons for several weeks and can't wait to do our monthly grocery shopping in a few weeks.

Last week I saved 50% off my Safeway bill by using coupons on top of sale prices.
Today I went to Target and bought 3 packages of my favorite coffee (Dunkin Donuts) that was on sale for $5.99 (reg.$7.99 ea) per package. On top of the sale price, if you purchased 3 pkg.s you would earn a $5 Target gift card. So I went through my stockpile and found coupons I'd been saving and discovered I had (3) $2 off coupons! So I was able to purchase the coffee for $3.99 each AND received a $5 gift card! I used the gift card to purchase a double pack of TP that was on sale (plus a coupon I had to save even more) and some dish detergent (with a coupon) so I left with 29 cents still on my gift card!
The hubster was amused at my excitement over the successful transactions...I wanted to find more right away!

If you're on a tight budget or just love making the most of your money and filling your cupboards- try it! And if you do, please use my name/email as your referral. I earn a few free weeks of lists that way. And let me know if you try it! I love bargain stories!!!

XOXO
~S

catch up.

oooh, it's been a LONG time.
We've been busy with day to day things..some fun, some not-so-much.
It's Fall and we're enjoying the change in weather...
Bustin' out the scarves and hats, coats and sweaters.
Fall leaves falling from trees, gorgeous array of color.
Rain.
LOTS of rain.
Forecast... lots MORE rain.
Which calls for much soup & roll consumption.




We had Hannah Montana and The Hulk in the house around Halloween.
We were a bit starstruck by their greatness.













Nanny came and spent a day with us not too long ago.
It was a lovely time that went much too fast.
Josie has been wanting to learn how to knit for a very long time, so Nanny brought some supplies and took some time to show her the ropes. er. skeins?
Although she LOVED it and has attempted a little more on her own- I think it will be another year or two before she takes off.
Her attention span wanes a little too quickly right now.
Still. It was fun to watch her interest in something crafty.





More to come soon.
LOTS more pics to share & little tidbits to update you on our recent activities,etc.

XOXO
~S