We are entering into anniversary season (at least in my small neck of the woods). Tomorrow is the 8th anniversary of my first date with my hubby. I still can't believe 8 years has flown by so fast! We'll be scrapping Wednesday's dinner plans in favor of a semi-recreation of what we did on our first date.

For our first date, we went to a movie, then shared appetizers at a nearby cafe, and sat in his car talking almost until sunrise. I remember it like it was yesterday. When I finally got home, I knew I had met my future husband. It was crazy, but 8 short- and sometimes crazy - years later I was right.

Unlike in our younger, slightly more foolish years, this year we will celebrate the anniversary at home with a favorite movie and we'll make quesadillas and chicken strips together. I love cooking with my hubby, and this will help us save some money, since we have a week long vacation next month to ring our 5 wedding anniversary. We have not taken a weeklong trip together since our honeymoon, so I think we're long overdue.

For our 5th anniversary, I initially wanted to go to Jamaica (or some other tropical, exotic, fabulous place), but after careful consideration, we'll be staying stateside (and supporting the U.S. tourism industry!) and travelling to The North East Coast. I have never seen the East, so I am crazy-excited to go, especially in the fall it should be beautiful. All of our deal shopping, bargain hunting, penny pinching ways have paid off. We'll fly into a cheaper airport and rent a car and drive to our final destination, much like we did when we went on our honeymoon. There, we actually flew into one city, caught a taxi to the ferry, a ferry ride to the island where we were staying, and a taxi again to the resort. Even with all that, we still managed to save a few hundred dollars by being willing to fly into a different airport.

Over the next week or two, I'll start making my list of places to go on our vacation, checking restaurant prices, and researching the cost of all activities. Even on vacation, we are frugal. And that's perfectly okay with me. I get to see an extra destination because the direct flight to our destination is ridiculously expensive - let's say it's cheaper to fly to Jamaica than to another U.S. city. Isn't that strange?

Tell me - what budget savvy travel tips do you hold true to?

I absolutely love chicken. It's my favorite source of protein, hands down. A lot of people get tired of eating the same old chicken entree - and who can blame them? I used to think chicken could only be roasted or fried, with a dash of season salt and black pepper. I'm so glad over the years that I've proven that mentality wrong! Paired with sweet or savory spices, chicken is my go-to everytime. One of my favorite things about chicken is how budget friendly it is.

1. Want to make a bold dish - swap a cut of chicken in for beef or pork as is called for in your recipe. I match boneless with boneless, bone-in with bone-in. Some of my favorite swaps include: Pulled Chicken Sammies, chicken tacos, and chicken and biscuits.

2. Chicken pairs well with most fruits for awesome kebabs, sizzling stirfries, and wings that make your heart sing! Some of my favorites are chicken "burgers" topped with grilled pineapple rings, Indonesian Chicken with Honey and Garlic, and Thai Mandarin Chicken Stirfry. I haven't yet tried chicken dish with fruit that I didn't like - kids love it, too!

3. Soup and salad. I can think of no other protein base that goes so well into either salad or soup, let alone both. From fancy grilled chicken salads to the humblest of chicken soups, this piece of poultry packs a powerful punch in the flavor department. With bone-in pieces of chicken, you can stretch your dollar even further, and when making soups - stretch the flavor further, too!

4. Chicken as a component in casseroles, pastas, rice dishes, etc. A little of this bird can go a really, really long way. One chicken breast can provide enough meat for 2-4 servings when worked into a pasta sauce, as a primary ingredient in a casserole, and when shredded/cubed into a rice dish. When you do this, let the side dish take center stage as your entree and pair it with a hearty salad. That is a easy supper that's good for you and light on your wallet, too.

5. Spices, marinades, and sauces. Chicken with gravy over potatoes, chicken marinated in teriyaki (or any fruit-based marinade), chicken seasoned with basil, garlic, and onion - any favorite spice combination or flavor mix that you love - you will love it on chicken. I like to pair in smoky elements in chicken (cumin and hickory seasoning, anyone?) for an unexpected twist on a classic chicken dish. If you need inspiration - check out ethnic cooking. Chicken seems to be the favored poultry for many nationalities, if you need some flavor inspiration.

Tell me - what's your favorite chicken dish?

I pack a lunch 5 days a week for work, so does my husband. We're not broke, we have no dietary restrictions, we simply bring our own lunches to work, since driving home for lunch for either of us isn't an option (our commutes are 45-55 minutes one way for work each day). It takes minimal planning, some basics on hand, and a willingness to save time and money every day.

Why would we want to brown bag it every day? For me, I like to know what I'm eating, and I don't want to consume too much greasy, fried, sodium-laden dishes that are the fast-food norm - but beyond that, DH & I each work in areas that have many specialty restaurants, ethnic eateries, high-end fast-food, steak houses, and overblown casual eateries. The costs are insane. Two of my co-workers once estimated that by eating out 2-4 days a week for lunch, they spent an average of $200 a month - just on lunches. I have the added bonus of working in Illinois' infamous Cook County - where sales tax is over 10%.

Every week, I plan lunches along with all our dinners. All our lunches are interchangable - doesn't matter what one of us grabs, there are at least 3 options each day for our lunches. We each take one, and the remaining one goes into the pool of choices for the next day. I typically emphasize the first in, first out rule. We have no problems eating leftovers, so this works out well.

I also do a fair amount of what I call - leftover makeover. This week is a great example of that: I roasted a whole chicken and the leftovers are going to be used in salads, in sammies, in soup, and on a pizza. Not all weeks are like this, but 2-3 weeks each month, I make a meal that converts into many dishes easily. Browned, ground turkey (chicken or beef) or bulk sausage also works well for many meals. If you're new to this, just track for 2-3 weeks what meals you often prepare for your family - it won't take very long for a pattern to emerge.

When you see the pattern emerging, you can do some simple meal planning. You don't have to designate which meal is for which day, if that's too exacting for you. You can meal plan by day, week, or 2-4 weeks at a time. For me, the weekly meal plan with each day planned helps me see how quickly we can use a leftover so we waste less food. When I make my meal plan, I take into account how many lunches we need for the week, if we have sandwich fixings on hand, and try to tailor the meals to be easily portable and reheatable. Each week, I look at the 2 prior weeks of meals, to make sure I'm not serving the same things too often. Each week, I try to offer a different meat that covnerts well to many other dishes.

The result? I take restaurant quailty meals for my lunches, while not paying an extra dime out of pocket for it. Today, I'll be having a Spinach Salad with Mandarin Oranges and Chicken, and a wedge of parmesan focaccia bread. For tomorrow, I'll be having tostadas topped with chicken, red bell pepper strips, and some peach salsa. Where could you get a meal like that?

Tell me, how do you save money on meals? Do you meal plan, brown bag, cook from scratch? I'd love some new ideas!

I've been having so much fun "buying" fresh blueberries and peaches with the $2 off any $2 or more produce coupon at Jewel. I've got more than 2 dozen fresh, plump, juicy peaches awaiting my attention as we speak. While I enjoy snacking on them, making them into salsa, tossing them into muffin batter, folding them into bars, or slicing them thin and adding them to a lovely spritzer - I've got more peaches than I could possibly eat right now. This is when it's time to start preserving or freezing them.

Since I don't have a big enough batch to make canning worthwhile, I'm going to peel, slice/chop, and freeze my overflow of these amazing peaches. Come the fall and winter months, I'll have plenty of peaches for pies, cobblers, muffins, and other tasty recipes I come up with - without breaking the bank. While it sounds like a lot of work, I'll probably have the peaches blanched, peeled, pitted, sliced and diced in less than an hour or two.

Last weekend, when I got home with my blueberry haul, I immediately got out the collander, tossed in the berries, removed any debris or stems, lightly patted them with a slightly damp rag (you should rinse berries just before using - not before freezing - it affects the consistency of the fruit), before measuring them and popping them into quart-sized freezer bags for easy use. The result - tons of fresh blueberries, frozen at the peak of freshness and plenty on hand for blueberry buckle, blueberry muffins, pancakes, and maybe even a blueberry sauce. I filled 13 quart-sized bags and spent only: $4.48. That's the price right now for blueberries when they are in season for one single 6 oz. pint - I'd hate to see how high that would go in the winter!

In my freezer, I already have raspberries, strawberries, and tons of apple pie filling. Each time a great coupon like this comes along, my first thought is what can I use right now. And once I've gotten the produce that my family needs for the week: bananas, grapes, cilantro, a few peppers, onions, fresh mushrooms, some salad fixin's, and a potato or two - then I look to what is in season, on sale, and will freeze well. Next, I make sure I have plenty of ways to use that fruit from its frozen form, then it's time to start planning for the colder months. They'll be here before you know it.

What would you do with a deal like this? What fruits and veggies do you put up for the winter?

I know it sounds a little crazy, but I'm a body wash addict. I truly am. I love getting the newest flavor/scent to come out, and I love trying all the different variations that have hit the market. And, thankfully, coupons allow me my addiction. Even though I have more than a dozen free bottles of Suave left, that hasn't stopped me from grabbing a few more brands and scents to pick from.

Last night, I grabbed a bottle of Nivea from Target and last week it was a bottle of Nivea from WalGreens and a bottle of SoftSoap body wash from WalGreens (it was only $.99) in a lovely Sweet Honeysuckle scent. I know I need to be stopped, but I can't get over all the delicious choices that are available. Who could honestly resist? Obviously, not me...

When I was putting away the new bottles of body wash last night and noticed that I have 15-20 different scents to choose from - I had to laugh. No two were the same scent/brand. From Cashmere to Pomegranate, from Cucumber Melon to Peach Silk - I've got a crazy, amazing variety to pick from. Now, when I get to pick the next one to try, I'll probably spend 15-20 minutes trying to decide which one I'm "in the mood" for. I'm worse than a kid at a candy store!

It's a good thing that we have two separate vanities cabinets in the master bathroom - I'm going to have to turn one of them into a place to store my burgeoning body wash collection. It's a good thing I coupon, or I'd have invested a fortune into my addiction. And my current bottle of Suave's Wild Cherry Blossom is almost gone! I'll admit that I'm pondering which one to pick next...

Tell me - what do you love to buy? And, do coupons help make your addiction affordable?

I heard through a few blogging buddies that Lane Bryant was offering a free camisole (no purchase required), so last night, DaMama and I went out to do a little shopping.

We needed to go to a neighboring town to pick up some thread for a sewing project of hers and conveniently, a Lane Bryant is in that same plaza! We used a coupon for 40% off to pick up the thread (a savings of $2.51), and while we were browsing around, looking at different materials, I found some beautiful denim with cream colored, scrolling stitiching on it - that was 50% off! While that was a good price, we didn't realize until we got to the cutting table that it was ringing up 75% off!! For that price, we took all the fabric that was left. It's going to make some amazingly cute (and sturdy) re-usable shopping bags. I've already placed my order with DaMama for another set of bags. I just cannot seem to have enough of them!

Then we popped in to Lane Bryant and each grabbed a free camisole (regular retail price of $19.50!). The girls at the register we also handing out couposn for 40% off one regular priced item, which came in handy, too. I have been eying their new johnny-colored tee shirts for a few weeks now, and with that extra percent off, I treated myself to a $15.00 splurge of a new, pretty tee.

After Lane Bryant, we popped in to Butera on the way home and I picked up deli-style chunks of cheese for $1.98 lb. (munster and mozzarella), a small package of chicken breast ($1.59 lb.), some chicken leg quarters ($.69 lb.), some $1.69 lb. Italian sausage (bulk or rope style), and a small loaf of garlic bread ($.99). The cheese, chicken, and sausage are great staples to have on hand for making homemade pizzas, and the bread was put to use right away for dinner last night. I also scored a container of heavy cream (8 oz.) for only $.79 - this will come in handy for the chicken and gnocchi soup - I'm doing my take on Olive Garden's classic soup for Mother's Day Brunch.

My total spending for the night was only $37.28 for a camisole, tee-shirt, pizza toppings that will last us 3-4 months (if we make pizza every week), chicken that can double in a lot of recipes, and enough fabric for a fabulous pair of shopping bags that will be able to withstand the use I plan to get out of them.

We had dinner at DaMama's - tomato basil penne with ground turkey and mushrooms (most of ingredients were free from stockpile), watched some TV, and talked to my sister on the phone.

Later on last night, I started a load of laundry after 11pm (cheaper rates - check with your electrical company on what are your off-peak hours are for maximum savings), and started the dishwasher after 11 pm, too.

I'll post pictures of the new bags as soon as they are done (probably in a week or two) - I am so excited to see the finished result!