GUEST POST: Couponing for Dummies

I have long admired the dedication and loyalty of those who "coupon"... mostly, because after losing my job during pregnancy number one, finding ways to save money became a bit of an addiction (although I found other ways to spend saved money, of course, I'm only a woman) and I've kept this "saving" mentality since then. However, I've never mastered the art of couponing. If I happen to find a coupon of a product I am buying, and remember to bring it, and remember to pull it out of my purse, then I will... but I am one of those people who gets to the line-up, every time, and realizes her 4500 reuseable shopping bags are either (1) by the front door (at home) or (2) in the trunk... However, after reading this great guest post, by my friend and fantastic couponer, Laura, I realized I have part of the steps already completed - meal planning. Meal planning is life in my house. It saves HUGE money and HUGE time, as Laura says, as there's never a point where we're saying "what's for dinner" and realizing that, although we just spent $150 on groceries, we didn't actually buy anything that, together, makes a meal.... What I've never done though, is use the flyers (and what's on sale) to plan my meals. THIS is a HUGELY big deal, fantastic idea that, I realize fully, is not rocket science but just blew MY mind. :p

Here's my intention... I'm going to take Laura's tips and try to apply them to my grocery shopping next weekend and then I'll post about my experience and savings (hopefully) next Monday. I intended to do it this weekend but with Jane's birthday party (pictures to come tomorrow) and a visit from my mom-in-law from NYC, I didn't actually get to the grocery store...

Here it is! Hope you find Laura's tips helpful and can, at least, incorporate some strategies into your weekly shopping as a penny saved is a penny to spend on something for YOU (and to hide from your husband)! :p

When I had a baby and went on maternity leave the budget was tight so I decided to look at ways on how I could save money. It first started with using coupons on diapers and formula but after some internet research I found out about price matching and decided to give it a try. If you’re looking for an easy way to save money, meal planning, using coupons and price matching is the answer!

The first thing you’ll need is flyers.

Flyers are great for two reasons. 1. You can plan your meals based on what is on sale. 2. You can use these flyers to price match. Each week I sit down to make my grocery list with my flyers and when I see something that interests me I write down the item, what flyer it is from and the price listed.  By doing this I can compare the price in the flyer with the price in the grocery store (to make sure I am getting a good deal) without having to shuffle through my flyers. This also helps to be more organized at the cash register so you can remember what item you will be price matching and what flyer it is from.

Meal Planning – This is an easy way to save money! Once a week I sit down and decide what our family is going to eat for the week.  By doing this, I am only buying what our family needs and not buying unnecessary food that can get wasted, especially when it comes to produce. Not only does it saving me money but it’s saving us time knowing what we will be eating each night when we get home from work.

 

Now onto the fun part!

Price Matching – In my opinion, Wal Mart and  Real Canadian Superstore are the best places to price match. (Not all stores will do this so you will have to ask around). What this means is you take the flyer of a competitor company (Loblaws, Sobeys, Shoppers Drug Mart, No Frills, etc) to your grocery store and pay the lower price in their flyer. I do all of my shopping at Superstore and bring all of my flyers with me on my shopping trips and price match so that I don’t have to go to multiple locations to get the deals. Who has time for that? Wondering what you can price match?? Pretty much anything and everything! Food (including fruits, veggies and meat), toiletries, household products, and baby products to name a few.

Coupons - Not only can you price match to save money but you can use coupons too. There are a few websites that will mail you coupons for free, all you need to do is sign up and occasionally check to see if they have added new ones that they can mail to you. These websites include; www.websaver.com, www.save.ca, www.brandsaver.com, www.gocoupons.com. There are also printable coupons which can be found at www.smartsource.ca. Other places you can find coupons are tear pads found in the stores, magazines, inserts in newspapers and Facebook. When you “like” a company you often have  access to promotional coupons. For example, I recently liked Nordica Cottage Cheese and was able to get a coupon for a free container. Typically they are connected to websites such as websaver and save.ca so you must have an account with these websites. The best is when you can use a coupon for an item that you are price matching on a really good sale, quite often I’m able to get something for free!

At first it may seem overwhelming but once you get a system down it is quite easy and takes little time.  I have a notebook for my meal planning and grocery list/price match list, as well as a file folder for all of my coupons. My friend on the other hand has a binder for her coupons with a pad of paper in the binder. Figuring out a system that works for you will reduce the time it takes to get everything together.

I’m sure you’re wondering how much you can save?? On an average grocery bill I will spend $100 but save $30 to $40. Some weeks are better then others and it depends on the sales and what you need to buy but setting aside some time to meal plan, make a grocery list and make a price matching list is well worth the money you will be saving! Knowing that I saved even a little bit of money is a great feeling!

I know only of Laura's couponing because I follow her on facebook and regularly "like" her "Saved $60 on groceries this week" comments... and those are the types of numbers we're talking some weeks! THAT was enough to peak my interest and get her on board to write this post for you! 

Happy Couponing Mommas!

nursery and jane's bedroom decorating complete!

In case you aren't sick of me and my projects yet... I have more!

Here's the thing - we're getting such a great response to our BEST GIVEAWAY EVER - seriously? Click here if you have no idea what I'm talking about which means you are basically a crazy person. OK, so because we're getting such a great response from everybody to the Surface Inspired Wall Decal Giveaway, I'm thinking that I'm obviously not the only one out there who's (1) decorating a nursery or (2) looking for ways to pretty up a room for CHEAP-O.

So, this week, I had two "empty corner" projects I wanted to finish up... Dear Lord, there's nothing worse than an empty corner!! :p

(1) The empty wall corner in the nursery behind the rocking chair
(2) Jane's empty corner behind her swinging chair

Priority went to Jane's room, well, because... um. She's here. So for some reason because Jane is actually out in the world vs. the baby in my belly who has another 15 (likely 17 should I be so lucky...) weeks until he/she joins us, she should therefore get first dibs on filling her empty corner. I know this is something she cries about every night. It may, in fact, be the reason for her few nights of crappy sleep this week. If she's anything like her Mommy that empty corner was too much to bear. :p BTW, nevermind. I'm not saying a thing. What I will say is that I'm not tired right now... hint, hint. I'm not even trusting "knock on wood" with what I was about to say so you get my drift, right? (If, again, you have no idea what I'm talking about, refer to: I'm a Sucker post from Monday).

So, Jane loves horses. I love horses. I will say that I have ridden horses for the last 20 years. I phrase it that way because it is my love. I miss it everyday more than anyone could ever imagine. Fact is, riding is tres expensive and, along with skydiving and roller coasters, apparently doesn't mesh with pregnancy. And it's been four years since I've truly been immersed in horses. My fantastical husband, surprised me this year on our anniversary with an hour long private ride at a local stable that was probably the best gift he's ever given me. Enter: My amazing, beautiful daughter. Who, currently (who knows if it will last) is head over heels for horses and it makes my heart happy. I know that's corny but you know what I mean - when you see a personality trait or mannerism or feature or anything of yourself in your children, it makes you glow. So, Jane and I are at the local horse farm at least 2-3 times a week... just visiting. :) She's fallen in love with a white draft horse, Amos, who she says is "my horsey" and "I'm going to ride him all day in the summer when the leaves come on the trees". When she sees him she gets the shakes - pure excitement - and talks about him randomly, in conversation, all the time... like three year old's do. You know, like she wakes up in the morning four days after seeing Amos and the first thing she says to me is "Amos smiled at me mommy, he's so CRAZY".

So, that was a long story to basically say that - I wanted to fill her corner with Amos. And this is something everyone can do. Find something your babe loves - your dog, your cat, you (ha), playgrounds, dolls, anything. Take pictures of a bunch of them and put them on a wall. Voila. It's cheap - if you visit Michaels in the right week when frames are 40% off (which is pretty near always) - and it's thoughtful and, if your child is anything like mine, seeing her face LIGHT UP when she walked into her room was worth the 15 minutes of photo-taking in the freezing cold and hour it took for me to buy the frames and put the photos in there.

Here's my finished product:

Total cost: $75 - for frames and photo processing. Response: Priceless. She talked about Amos the whole way home and how she wanted to go see Amos in her room before dinner - she didn't even take her jacket off. Straight from the garage to Amos. Worth. Every. Dollar. And. Minute. Plus, here's the bonus. If, next year (please Lord no), she loves bicycles (?) then it's a $15 switch of photos and I'm back in the BEST-MOMMY-IN-THE-WORLD book for another 15 seconds. :p

Ok, so onto project numero deuce... Filling the blank corner (shown left and eating away at my soul) in the nursery.

I had an idea with Jane's nursery about using pages from one of my favourite children's books as artwork. Unfortunately, it didn't work out in Jane's first room as the book I wanted to use, Robert Munch's "I Love You Forever" didn't have the right colour scheme and y'all know I'm a Monica when it comes to coordination.

However, with my beautiful, neutral, blue nursery, I had lots of potential! I dropped by the local Chapters store to check out some of the books they had in stock that would make for good artwork - some of the pictures in children's books are fantastic! Anyways, I had no idea what book I was going to use but, obviously, I'd like something with sentimental value. Unfortunately, "I Love You Forever" lost again because the writing and the photos were on separate pages and I really wanted to have some nice quotes along with a nice picture, cause I'm anal crazy like that. Enter: "Guess How Much I Love You". I bought the hardcover book as the pages were sized about 9" by 11" and I wanted to do larger frames. What I did NOT do was buy the book at the store... Never buy a book at the store, unless you enjoy paying significantly more (Chapters online price $14.44, store price $19.99). That's five bucks baby - that's like two king sized chocolate bars! :p

I picked up three large, matted, frames from Michaels - again, 40% off, so they were only $10.19 each - SCORE - significantly cheaper than Walmart FYI which is surprising. And Voila. A wall filled beautifully, creatively and meaningfully for under $50. I finished the other wall off with a frame I already had, in dark wood to complement the dark wood of the rocker, that will house the new baby's newborn photos once he/she arrives and we get said photos taken. :p

Here's THAT finished product:

Oh. I also picked up a side table from Homesense for $40. AND, apparently bird houses are really popular right now (no idea what you're truly supposed to do with them) but I thought the sweet yellow one pictured above would make a great book holder while filling the DREADED open space under my side table and it was only $12.99!

So, there. My grand tally on the nursery was $450 - including paint, window treatments, a rocking chair, bedding, storage, a side table and fantastic artwork/decals on all four walls. Which may seem like a lot, but when you consider that a bedding set alone from Sears can cost $200 or more, it's pretty fan-freakin'-tastic. Obviously, I already owned the most expensive pieces - the crib and the changetable. But, you can easily find a nice crib and changetable on kijiji for a great price if you're a first-timer. And don't let colour ever hold you back. Spray paint is the best thing ever created. Addictive good.

All done. I have no more decorating to do. Whatever shall I do with my time and money! :p

NOW CLOSED: BEST GIVEAWAY: Surface Inspired - Adorable Decals for Adorable Kids

PLEASE NOTE: CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

I don't do a lot of giveaways - I tried it before, it wasn't for me. I prefer to blabber and not have to worry about what marketing is going to think about my post. I'm in marketing, I know what they thing - it's never good enough! :p ha ha ha.

BUT, I LOVE to share great products. I LOVE to support great companies, with GREAT customer service. And, in the world where options are a plenty, I LOVE to make your decision easier for you.

Enter: SURFACE INSPIRED WALL DECALS - here's a link to their online store.

I have been a fan on this company's products for a year now - ever since we first decided to redecorate our last house (right before we put it up for sale - FAIL).

I found a photo of one of their cherry blossom trees on their shop and based my entire re-do of Jane's bedroom around it. Here's the finished product:

Of course, then we up and moved a month later which only broke my heart because I had to leave this room behind. Love how elegant and sophisticated it was but still childish.

And, can I say the most important part... EASY. The decals come ready-to-go - you simply tape it where you want it on the wall, peel off the backing, and start scraping. This decal literally took me, say two-three hours in total to do - can you imagine how long it would take to paint! Surface Inspired provides great, simple to understand (mommy brain proof, trust me) instructions on how to apply, including a video on their site.

I have to point this out because I made the mistake of ordering from a different wall decal shop when we moved into the new house... big mistake. When you're a Mom, and you have barely any free time to yourself, when you spend two hours trying to figure out how the heck to get the wall decal from the paper, to the sticky paper, and then from the sticky paper to the wall - without destroying the wall decal, your wall or your sanity, you're not a happy customer. I immediately threw that decal in the garbage out of frustration, demanded a refund and emailed Thomas at Surface Inspired. I love him. Great customer services wins me every time, no fail.

I placed two orders... One for the nursery, which you saw on Monday and one for Jane's room, which you saw yesterday - I fell in love with the Birch Tree decal at first sight. The best thing is that you can completely customize the orientation so that it fits the layout of your room AND the colors so that it coordinates with your room's other decor. WOOT WOOT! Extra benefit - Surface Inspired are experts - I remember with Jane's first decal, I asked them their opinion on a few things and let them decide in the end - they were spot on!

In case you missed the last two day's posts, here are the two decals I went with for the new house:

The Birch Tree Decal in the nursery (using the colors brown, yellow, lime tree green & light brown) :

And the Contemporary Cherry Blossom Branch in Jane's room (colors - dark grey, white and lilac):

Time wise, obviously, the birch tree took the longest - with that said, as big as it is and as many leaves as there are, it probably only took me 4-5 hours in total (done over a few days) to complete it. Maybe. Each decal comes with a guide, down the to leaf, that shows you where you can place every element for optimal appearance. I follow this guide to the leaf. :p BUT, the decals are easily removed as well. They peel right off. When I moved out of the old house, I asked Thomas to provide me with instructions for removal for the new home owners, just in case. I assumed, because it's so sturdy and durable and basically part of the wall, that it would require some intense elbow grease to remove. Turns out, you just peel it off! HA! If it's a cooler time of year, you can run a hair dryer over it for a second or two and then peel it off. See, told ya, easy peasy!

Ok, if I haven't sold you enough. Here's the deal.... You want one? I told you it was BIG AND FABULOUS!

Surface Inspired is offering one MOmMy bRaIn reader ANY WALL DECAL OF HER CHOICE! That's right. ANY WALL DECAL! That's up to $100 in value baby!

Here's what you have to do to enter:

(1) Check out the Surface Inspired website and comment on this post letting me know which decal you would LOVE to win if you are the lucky gal (or guy, for that matter).
(2) Like MOmMy bRaIn on Facebook by clicking here and hitting the "like" button on my page.
(3) Like Surface Inspired on Facebook by clicking here and hitting the "like" button on their page.

That's it. Pretty easy for the BEST GIVEAWAY EVER!

Want more entries??? Here's how to qualify for a few extra entries - for each item you check off your list below, enter a separate comment on the post:

• Follow MOmMy bRaIn on Twitter
• Follow Surface Inspired on Twitter
• Share the giveaway on your Facebook page
• Tweet daily about the giveaway using the TWEET below (copy and paste)- one comment per tweet per day please:
• Fantastic Giveaway! Enter to win an adorable wall decal for your kid's room from @surfaceinspired and @MommyBrain2! www.mommybrain.ca

I will draw for the winner in two weeks - on April 18th so get the word out and share, share, share!

jane's room

Does the fact that I'm posting two days in a row all about my children's rooms make me a total narcissist? Like, you're sitting at home dying to know "how has Jen decorated her kid's rooms". I guess, the fact that I write daily about nonsense in my life and actually think people will tune in to read it makes me seem narcissistic... but those who have been with me a while, or who "know" me, know that that's not why I do it. I blog because otherwise I'd probably be divorced because Dan doesn't want to listen to me as much as I want to talk. :p ha ha ha.

In case you don't follow me on Facebook, which is insanity because everyone should (ha ha ha), the other day, we're on our way home from work so, of course, I'm blabbering non-stop about my day and this and that. Jane pipes up from the back seat: "Mommy, be quiet. No more talking all the time!". Priceless. Says it all right there.

Anyways, since I've never shared the little trouble-maker's new room with you, I thought it was about time. A little because I shared the nursery yesterday and am thinking, in the interest of fair treatment to my children, Jane should get equal voice. :p More because it has to do with our BEST GIVEAWAY EVER - coming tomorrow!

Here's my "baby's" room...

Like the nursery, yesterday, this whole room was started with a fabric - the polkadot fabric on the headboard. Found it. Loved it. Had to use it. I love polkadots on everything - clothes, decor, you can't go wrong. Unless you put it on your a**. Polkadots on your a** (via pants obviously) ain't good. So, like anyone who is moving into a new house, I was on an HGTV craze when I picked out this fabric. And, specifically, Sarah Richardson loves upholstered headboards and so. do. i. But, they are expensive. And I. have. no. money. :) So. I did it myself. I found a wooden headboard at the local thrift shop for $15.99. I bought the fabric for $40 ($20/yard), some 2" thick foam for $19.99 and some batting from walmart for $9.99. I glued the foam and batting onto the wooden headboard with spray glue (found at Home Depot for like $5) and used a staple gun to staple the fabric on the back of the headboard. VOILA! It's soft (which is great for head-bump prevention) and it's fantastically cute! And, unlike similar $300-$400 versions, this cost me under $100. WOOT WOOT!

Obviously, I went with another wall decal to draw attention to the "signature wall" in Jane's room as well. I had bought a similar tree version of this decal for Jane's last room (which we re-decorated last April just before deciding to put the house up for sale a month later... grrr). Love how simple and pretty it is and that it fits perfectly across the top of her headboard. PLUS, it's a very inexpensive way to fill a wall! AND, it's not permanent which is fantastic for someone like me who could easily find a new fabric to love next month and decide to re-do the entire house. :p

So, once the headboard was done, it was just a matter of finding a simple, pattern-free duvet set in one of the colors from the polkadot fabric- which I did, at Homesense (the best place in the world) for $79.99. I went with a pale lilac and choose a similar color for the walls of the room. 

The little footstool at the foot of her bed is a necessity. Right now, we don't have the bed on a frame to keep it as low as possible. But, it's still a bit high for Jane to easily get up. I picked up the footstool for $3.99 at a thrift store and bought the fabric, a Joel Dewberry design (he's amazing, if you search Etsy for his fabrics you'll find instant inspiration) for $5 for a 1/2 yard. I sprayed the bottom, wooden part, with Heirloom White spray paint as it was originally dark wood color and didn't match Jane's white furniture. 

On the other side of the room, I've hung a mirror low so that she can check out how fabulous she looks before she goes to school - very important for a young lady. :p Above, I've hung three of the Etsy-knock-offs that I did earlier for "You are my sunshine". I am thinking, now that I've taken to designing my own items, that I will update these with MOmMy bRaIn DEsiGN originals when I get a bit more time. 

I found this hanging chair from IKEA while perusing PINTEREST one night and had to have it. We've obviously got it hung as low as possible right now so that it still "swings" but Jane can get in and out on her own easily - she currently calls it her "see-saw" and loves to read in it. Hung next to it was a crazy mommy project from years ago - click here to see. 

I kept a frame with newborn photos of Jane in her room because - fact is, once they grow up, the newborn photos start to disappear in favour of new ones. Since I've been preggers and talking about "babies" more often, Jane likes to look at those pictures and talks about how she was a baby and had "bobbies and nunnies sometimes". Too cute. 

Other than that, her room is one big window which I love. But, thank God for blackout curtains. :) Here's the monogram I was chatting about yesterday that I put on her bedroom door. Love it. Whoever comes out this July will have a coordinating one in the matching colors for his/her room on the door. I should get one for the master bedroom that says "where the magic happens" ha ha ha. Or, better, "Jen's room" - that's more accurate. :p You can order a similar one from A Lasting Expression on Etsy - great seller, easy to apply, easy to customize! 

Okee dokes.

That's all folks. Not sure if you have any idea what tomorrow's giveaway will be but, you have to check back! It's seriously fantastic - or, at least, I think so because I am such a big fan.

the nursery

I finally finished the nursery. PHEW and THANK GOD. Not because I was in a rush - I have plenty of time, I realize - but I hate having "things to do", I'm a do it now type of girl for most things (except diets and exercise, that I will put off "until Monday" for the rest of my life).

So why did I need to finish the nursery so soon? ONE REASON... BIG, FANTASTIC, FABULOUS GIVEAWAY that I'm so excited for it's ridiculous because I am such a BIG FAN of these products, to the point that I've never received anything free or any of that nonsense but I just wanted to share the product with you because I love it so much! That's big! Most bloggers that do giveaways do so because they love the free-crap. I love free crap too. But, what I like more??? Supporting fantastic companies and sharing awesome products with other Moms!

You know I love to do everything Ryan Seacrest style... so, you'll have to wait. Until Wednesday. You can guess what my big fantastic giveaway is but you'll have to check back in TWO DAYS to enter it. So there! :p tee hee hee. Mainly because I want to show you the nursery and Jane's room and tell you all that I saved money on by doing myself and, because I like to blabber, this would be the LONGEST post ever if I did that PLUS told you about this fabulous product.

So, here she is... The nursery. :)

This is my "signature wall"... every room needs a good wow-factor. Originally, we had the builders paint the room a pale grey colour that was neutral. So, when we got preggers and decided we wouldn't find out the sex, I thought this colour would still be a great neutral - thankfully, because I really don't love painting. The starting point for the entire room, however, was the curtain fabric (shown to the right). I bought it on Etsy over the summer because I was in love with it and wanted to use it in my guest room to cover pillows. Well, that didn't work out. So I had to find a place to use it because I loved it so much. Enter: Neutral nursery. Yes, I'm aware that the main accent colour of the nursery is blue - but blue is the new yellow if you ask pottery barn. Which I didn't as I didn't care because, like I said, the fabric NEEDED a home. When I decided to use the fabric as the curtains, then came decision number two - what to do with the signature wall. Since I wanted a bit more colour in the room, without having to paint it entirely, I went with a grey-blue accent wall and, then, because it's my favourite way to decorate a large blank space - I found a decal that was fantastic. Ummm. Hmmm.

So, here's where I saved money first - custom, one-of-a-kind curtains. Ready-made, decent quality, decorative curtains are typically $50/panel. Custom curtains in the fabric of your choice - like $100/panel. I've never made curtains before. Who cares, you can do anything, you're a Mom. And, you have google. So, I bought the fabric for $9 US on Etsy. THEN, because I rock, I bought a package of two blackout panels from Walmart for $19.99 because, not only did I want beautiful one-of-a-kind curtains, but I wanted them to block the light from the room too. Woot woot! So, for $39.98 + say $5 for thread for my sewing machine, I made two rectangular panels that I hung with drapery clips on a standard rod. Bellissima! I have to admit, when I set out to make the curtains, I envisioned - as with all my crazy mommy projects - disaster and wasted hours. This was SO MUCH easier than I ever imagined. As long as you measure right and cut straight, you're good to go baby! As my favourite HGTV gal Sarah Richardson says "fabric is a great jumping off point". Here, here sister. I also had enough fabric leftover to make a pillow cover for the rocking chair!

Oh, and on that topic... the rocking chair. Another save. It's a 1970's classic lay-z-boy rocker. THE most comfortable chair ever created. I found it at a used furniture shop for $12.99. I bought the pale torquoise fabric at the local fabric shop for $40 (2 yards) and took the chair apart and recovered it myself. THIS was a project all right - I had bloody fingers, knuckles, everything. But I love it. It's not perfect - you might see a rare staple here and there if you looked really closely. But I love it and it does look great. Double plus, it's comfortable. It's like the lululemon of rocking chairs... for $52.99. Win.

Save #3 - the artwork over the changetable. This was from a previous crazy mommy project seen here. The artwork itself cost me nothing but time. The frames, I got on sale from Homesense's clearance dept and Michaels - probably cost me $40 total.

A non-save that I'm happy with was the wooden gardening bins/crates I picked up from Homesense to use as baskets for the shelving on the changetable. They match the light torquoise accents of the room perfectly and I love the shabby chic finish on them. They weren't too $$, about $5-$7 a piece, which is probably cheaper than they charge for baskets at this point... but I like them way better.

My last two items to point out - completely due to pride - are the mirror, which I picked up for $5 at a garage sale last summer and was totally worth it. I love how it shows the reflection of the trees. Also, it's placed at a height so that when there's a bouncing infant in that crib, he/she can enjoy watching giggly reflections. :)

And, the dust ruffle. What is a dust ruffle, you may ask - likely not, since you're Moms - but I had to explain it to my hubby like a hundred times... the crib skirt. So, because of how busy the rest of the room was - the curtains, the pillow on the chair, the decal, I wanted to keep the crib bedding really simple - no big patterns, colors, etc. This is hard to come by in a dust ruffle. So, I made one. Yes, you can bow down to me anytime now (obviously joking). It was easy peasy again. I just measured the base of my crib and started cutting and sewing. I found a greyish brown polkadot patterned fabric at the local fabric shop that I loved (the local fabric shop can be a blessing and a curse - I find myself finding fabrics first and then having to come up with a place to use them). Anyways, the big savings was that, to order in a plain beige or white crib skirt, would have cost me $80 + taxes. I made this dust ruffle - in the fabric of my choice - for $25 + time. WIN.

So, there she is. What are your thoughts? I think it's pretty neutral, despite being a lot of blue - I think it's more serene than boy-ish. Plus, I really like that, if it is two girls for us, we don't have two pinky-purple rooms. There's a difference. I still have to put up some photo frames on the wall behind the chair of newborn shots once the little 'un arrives and I also have to pick up one of these monograms for his/her door as I have one already for Jane that coordinates with the colors of her room from A Lasting Expression shop on Etsy. Love them. So classic.

Check back tomorrow to see Jane's room and, oh, um, maybe on Wednesday for the BEST GIVEAWAY EVER! :p

I've Got a Little Granola in Me

Ok. So, since Jane's been born, I'll admit that I'm about 10x more "granola" than I ever thought I would be.

First, I switched to organic food, then I started using all natural cleaners, then I started using all natural skin care products, then I started making my own cleaners and now, hold on to your burkenstocks (it makes me feel good that I don't even know how to spell this), I have made my own laundry detergent!

I found this recipe online when I was pregnant and was definitely intrigued... although it took me 9 months to give it a shot. Regardless, because I am short on time and just plain lazy today, I thought, instead of writing a post with actual content, I would just share this recipe with you and tell you that it's AWESOME! It smells awesome, it works awesome, it's super cheap and BONUS I can use it on both my own clothes and Jane's!

Here's the Homemade Laundry Detergent Recipe:

1/2 bar of soap (apparently Fels Naptha is the best but I can't find that in Canada) - I used Sunlight Laundry Soap
1 cup Borax
1 cup Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (this stuff smell awesome - so fresh)

(1) Grate a half bar of soap into a bowl using a cheese grater
(2) Put the soap in the food processor and grate until fairly fine
(3) Mix with Borax and Washing Soda
(4) That's it! Use an old coffee scoop and use 2 tbsps (scoops) per load.

You can find Sunlight laundry soap ($2), Borax ($5) and Washing Soda ($5) in the laundry aisle (usually hidden on the bottom shelf). All prices are Canadian obviously because I live in Canada... everything's likely cheaper if you're in the US. :)

Using a little math, I figured out that for $16 (I bought a few extra bars of soap), I have enough laundry detergent for 240 loads of laundry... which is pretty insane. Again (using that math stuff), I worked out the average cost per load of your regular detergent and the cost per load of this homemade stuff and it was more than half the cost. Seeing as the average new Mom does something like 360 loads of laundry in a year, half the cost is definitely a penny-saver!

Like I said, the best thing about this recipe is that I can use the same detergent on all of our clothes - even with Jane's super sensitive skin! I love the smell too. Between the sunlight soap and the washing soda, our clothes smell really fresh vs. perfumey (from our usual Gain detergent).

The recipe is super easy to make. I thought it was going to be a big process but it literally took me 5 minutes. I put my detergent in snap-top ziploc containers from the dollar store.

So, yeah. I've got a little granola in me... and I'm darn proud!

If you didn't check it out before, here's the recipe I use for homemade all purpose cleaner - that I'm also in love with! I stole it from my one of my fav blogging buddies, Ange's site - Swell Little Life. Check her out - her healthiness is inspiring!

Happy Thursday.

Oh, FYI... this is not an April Fools post. I really do make my own laundry detergent! :p

Don't forget to check out our Mini Diaper Bag Giveaway! Genius idea!

thredUP Kids Clothing Exchange

Currently, in my guest room closet, I have two huge Tupperware containers full of Jane's clothes that she no longer fits in. I plan on keeping them, until the next babe comes along and we find out if it's a he or she. If it's a he... most of the clothes will go (I'm gonna keep the "special" outfits for memories, you know). So, what to do, what to do, what to do... with all that clothes?

Here's a fabulous new shop? service? idea? Hmmm... not really sure what to call it.

thredUP is a convenient, affordable and, most importantly, fun way to exchange kids clothes online. Launching in February, thredUP aims to make selling and swapping kids clothes easier, green and more budget friendly than ever!

Here's how it works:
(1) thredUP members browse and choose boxes of clothes they’d like to receive. For example, if you want a box of tops for your 3 yr old, or some snow clothes for your newborn babe. All transactions are pre-paid and no trips to the post office are required.
2) Members build and upload virtual boxes of clothes (10 + items/box) that are available for selection. No pictures, no detailed descriptions, just a simple overview of a box of gently worn items (e.g. “Size 3T, Boys, Pants & Jeans, Gap, Target & Old Navy). Posting is fast & convenient.
(3) Then thredUP enables and manages exchanges. thredUP facilitates exact matches, ensures quality, and remedies the lack of coordination that plagues offline clothing swaps. thredUP is strickly peer-to-peer so they never take possession of the clothing.

**Note: thredUP also allows parents to just sell or buy on the site so you don't have to swap. The service will also allow you to bring friends who you already swap with locally online to swap for free!

Once launched, thredUP will be available to US customers only (sorry Canadian girls, you got the Burt's Bees, these guys get the thredUP).

Here's the cool part - if you go here and sign-up as a founding member, you'll have a shot at swapping your first box of clothes for free ($20 value).

Definitely think this is worth a look - with the economy the way it is, this is a great way to save money, avoid waste and still enjoy shopping. I imagine when your box arrives it's like Christmas morning with a box full of surprises! :)

Mommy Money Saver

I don't know how (because I pride myself on being very knowledgeable when it comes to saving dough) but I wasn't aware of this so I thought there was a good chance you might not know about it either.

Several websites have been created that allow you to sell unwanted gift cards or buy discounted gift cards.

Card Swap is Canada's version of this fabulous service. They sell discounted gift cards from spas to restaurants.
Plastic Jungle was top on google's results for American discounted gift cards and seems to be laid out similarly to Cardswap.

If you're interested in buying or selling, this seems like a great opportunity to to be budget-conscious, especially after the Holidays! The only con I can find so far is that, obviously, availability of gift cards is limited based on what other people don't want... as "they" say - one person's trash is one person's treasure.

PS - Wishing you a fabulous start to your 2010... mine will start tomorrow morning as there's no way in heck I'm staying up until midnight. I haven't seen 11pm since my two nights in the hospital when Jane was born! :p

Mommy Money Saver #4

When shopping online, I will ALWAYS google "promotional codes" for the site I am purchasing from. For example, if shopping on amazon, I google "amazon promo codes" and up comes a list of several websites that provide lots of options for saving money. Typically, you can save $5-$10 off smaller purchases (like books, food, etc.) and up to $50 or $100 off larger purchases (from Sears, for example). Restaurants often have promotional codes as well, so don't just look for deals when buying products! Regularly we get free drinks and free appetizers through promo codes when we order from restaurants online (e.g. Swiss Chalet).

If you're willing to put in the effort this can save you some good money over time... you will likely have to try a few codes before you find one that works because you'll often find codes promoted that are already expired - stick with it!

Jen :)

Mommy Money Savers #3

Chicken breasts are probably the most expensive item on my grocery list... and also the most common item in my recipes. But most of the chicken breasts you buy are well over the 3oz-sized protein serving that is recommended for each meal.

I save money by halving each single chicken breast. I then put each piece of the breast in a ziploc bag and pound it out with the bottom of a heavy pan... not only does this make the breast larger but it also tenderizes the meat which is great.

This saves me tons of dough and, not surprisingly, my hubby and I are still full after dinner!

Jen :)

Mommy Money Saver #2

Previously, I would head to the grocery store and buy anything and everything I thought we "needed" to eat for the week. Problem was, I'd get home and I'd have a bunch of random food, no idea what to cook with it, and, never fail, I'd end up back at the grocery store 3 or 4 more times throughout the week to pick up a few things I needed to make meals. End result - wasted money, thrown out food, and no room in my pantry, freezer or fridge because of the collection of unused foods.

When I lost my job, I had to re-vamp everything to try and save every penny. So I started planning. Now, every Sunday morning, I sit down with my cook books and plan out the entire week's meals. I make my grocery list to include only the items I need to make these meals (plus your everyday essentials - cereal, bread, fruits, etc.). End result - fabulous meals that I don't have to think about (I know what we're having every day, what I need to thaw in the morning, I have the ingredients, etc.) and I have an super organized kitchen! By the end of the week my fridge and pantry are basically empty as I have used up everything in them, if I planned correctly.

This doesn't take a lot of time, maybe 20 mins on Sunday morning but it saves you hours in shopping time, planning time, cooking time, etc. Not to mention, like I said, the money you save because you aren't buying things you aren't going to use!

Pre-planning I was spending about $125 at my weekly grocery store trip. BUT then I'd spend at least another $100 on additional food so I could actually put a meal together or on eating out! Now, my weekly grocery bill is about $150 total and that's it... no eating out, no extra trips, period. I will only spend more if items I regularly use are on sale and then I will stock up!! That's key!

Hope this helps - give it a try, it's actually pretty rewarding (I'm such a geek)!

Jen :)

Mommy Money Saver #1

Check out flyerland... it's a one stop shop for Canadian flyers and coupons! I regularly check Walmart, Sears, Babies-R-Us, etc. for sales on baby items. It's updated daily - You'll quickly learn when your fav stores update their weekly flyer!

PS - Top Baby Blogs refreshed their voting, basically starting from scratch... if you like my blog, vote for me by clicking the icon below. I've found a lot of great Mom's this way! :)