Are you ready for Halloween? Need a last minute costume? Go to Target.  Yes, Mam.  Blanket sleepers are all the rage this year, and Oh Happy Day you can wear them all winter long.  Oh yeah!  Heck you can even wear them over to your neighbors house at 2 in the afternoon when you need to barter for a few tea bags because you’re out.  Not that I would know anything about that of course.  Nope. Not me.

Enough about pajamas costumes, lets talk groceries. I think I did pretty well in the grocery department this past week with the help of coupons, bartering and gardening.  Here is what I brought home.

Albertsons $7.98
Milk and yogurt for the monkeys. Have you ever had Tillamook yogurt before? My favorite flavor is Marionberry.

Reclaimed Produce $0

Nothing beats FREE Produce!  Well, actually free chicken does. Ha!

Bartering $0

I was able to score 30 pounds of FREE CHICKEN and now I think we are set for the rest of the year meat wise.  Well, actually I still need a turkey for Thanksgiving.

Tacoma Boys Produce Stand $6.51

I stopped by my favorite produce stand and loaded up on apples and peppers.  The prices are so great at Tacoma Boys I just have to stop by every time I’m nearby.

Albertsons $2.97

I had a great time stocking up on basics at Albertsons on my Double Coupon Shopping Trip yesterday. I think I’ll head back over there today or tomorrow and see if I can pick up some more FREE Barilla pasta if it’s in stock.  Fingers crossed!

How did YOU do this past week?  Did you stock up on any freebies?  Get an awesome deal at a roadside stand?  Get a free ride on a llama?  I’d love to hear about it.

Happy Monday!

♥ Mavis

Total Spent This Week $ 17.46
Total Spent This Year $1,045.63
Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $516.21
Total “Seed Money” donations received $51.00

Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.

Poulet: More Than 50 Remarkable Recipes That Exalt the Honest Chicken ~ Amazon.com

Because I didn’t do any shopping at the grocery stores to fill my refrigerator last week, instead I spent the week pulling weeds in the garden and bartering with my neighbors.  So not only did I save on gas, but I saved a few pennies as well.  After all, I need to conserve my resources if I’m going to get a turkey and cranberry sauce for Thanksgiving this year.

Last week The Girl and I were able to glean a good sized laundry basket of neglected apples.

I didn’t have to pay anything for the reclaimed produce either.

My bartering with my neighbor Francisco went much better.  You can watch the video and see how it all went down HERE. 

I LOVE bartering with Mrs. Hillbilly. She always has a ton of fancy cheeses and meat products in stock.  Plus, I was even able to score a can of Guinness for the HH’s favorite Guinness Beef Stew.  Yee-Haw!

I did have one deal that was a total stinker though. 2 of Girl Girls kids came down to barter 2 pounds of ground meat and a tin FULL of moon-cakes with me in exchange for some pumpkins.

But when I opened the tin of moon-cakes, I noticed 2 of them were missing. CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? Girly Girl stuck it to me AGAIN! What a punk!

So how did you do last week?  Did you do any bartering, or find some sweet deals at the grocery store?

~Mavis

Total Spent This Week $ 0
Total Spent This Year $1,028.17
Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $516.21
Total “Seed Money” donations received $51.00

Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.

R & M Industries 5920 Apple Peeler/Corer/Slicer $16.99 ~ Amazon.com

Goodbye sunshine, hello rain.

The burn ban was lifted over the weekend so now I can have a cracking fire burning in the fireplace when the Handsome Husband comes home from work {just like a true Pilgrim woman}.  I LOVE this time of year.  Mostly because I don’t look like a total nut when I run errands around town in my favorite long sleeved t-shirts and sweaters.

People stare at me when it’s 80 degrees,  but not when it’s like 50 degrees out.  Ahhh, the little things.

Anyway, I did quite a bit of grocery shopping last week, it wasn’t all free, but now my refrigerator is stocked and ready for another week.

*If you are a real Washingtonian, you are too cool to use an umbrella.  I just used it so you knew it was raining out. Ha!

Here is what I purchased last week.

Costco Shopping Trip $14.38

The kids were whining we didn’t have any lunch meat for the sandwiches so I broke down and stopped by Costco and picked some up. While I was there I grabbed some crappy Costco milk containers as well.

Local Produce Stand $5.33

Last week I made stuffed bell peppers in the crock pot, caramel apple dip, and Baba Ganoush and needed a few extra ingredients to make it all happen.

Costco Shopping Trip $ 0

The day after I purchased ham and milk my annual Costco rebate check came in the mail.  Instead of cashing in the check like I’ve done in years past, I decided to take a break from coupon shopping and spend all but $.74 of it at Costco on goodies.

Bartering with Mrs. Hillbilly $0

I batered a 25 pound bag of whole wheat bread flour I didn’t want with Mrs. Hillbilly.

Albertsons Shopping Trip $2.39

While I was in Atlanta, Georgia last week I met a rep from International Delight and she gave me a bunch of free product coupons.

Reclaimed Produce $0

Free chicken scraps are awesome!

Albertsons Double Shopping Trip $.24

Who says you need money to buy groceries?  All you need is enough to cover the tax and you’re good!

I spent a lot last week, but I was also able to pick up some really good stuff.  I think I’m going to have to take a break from shopping though this week if I want to stay on track.  We’ll see.

So how did you do this past week?

Did you do any couponing or splurge on anything good?

~Mavis

Total Spent This Week $23.34
Total Spent This Year $1,028.17
Total Spent This Year on Garden Seeds/Supplies $516.21
Total “Seed Money” donations received $51.00

Go HERE to read more Shopping Trip Stories.

Step2 Little Helper’s Grocery Cart is the highest rated kids shopping cart on Amazon.com. Monkey Boy and The Girl had one of these when they were little and LOVED it!