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?

In my pantry, that is. I have been super-hounding (shopping) to get deals on cheapies and freebies to send back with my sister and her friend that came to celebrate DaMama's birthday weekend, and now - I actually have some space in my pantry. And in my freezer. Though a small dent was made in my pantry, I still have some re-arranging to do to make things more accessible. And my freezer - well, I've already started to refill that too.

I cleared out most of the cookie shelf, half the cereal shelf, and weeded out some of the chex mix collection that has been lingering and I've really opened up some areas where I had an over abundance. When I find items, like the Suave and the Colgate which are free after coupons (tax only kind of deals), I get as many as I can either store or as many as I have coupons for. I sent back a few dozen bottles of Suave (body wash, conditioner, and shampoo), 2-3 dozen tubes of toothpaste, jars of Ragu pasta sauce, boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats, and all sorts of other goodies.

Amy (sis) & Tanya (friend) were amazed by the amount of goodies they got to take home. I even took them "out-on-the-hound" so they could see just how easy it is to get all these goodies without breaking the bank. My sister's friend was surprised at how easy it was to spend very little and walk out with oodles of basic, usable food that most families would have on their grocery list. When I asked Tanya what cereals her family likes - she was puzzled - they typically don't get a choice on cereal, so when they have 3-4 different kinds of cereal on hand - that is amazing to them.

It's good for me to see how far I've come now that I coupon. Here just for a quick rundown on things that I have now th at I didn't have before:

1. Choices for meat - I used to stock chicken and ground turkey. Pork was a treat and beef never came into the house. Now - pork is on hand, so is deli meat, different cuts of chicken, etc. This gives me more flexibility on what meals I can make at any given time.

2. Cereal. I used to buy 1-2 boxes at a time at Aldi (I can't remember the last time I went in there!) and pray that it would last a few weeks - which it never did. Now, I pay $.50 or less per box of cereal. We have 8-10 varieties on hand at all times. I haven't run out of cereal since I started couponing. It's all good.

3. Condiments/Flavorings. I have tons of free salad dressing, cheap BBQ sauce, loads of free seasoning packets, and the list goes on. With my variety of meat - I can make any variation I choose. I still can't believe what they charge (regular price) for most condiments. It's insane!

What benefits do you see from bargain shopping, couponing, etc.? For me, it's all about choice and variety!

This past weekend has been a whirlwind, ferris wheel ride of a time! I am still aching from the miles we walked in Chicago, in the 'burbs, in stores, everywhere!! How did I do at going into the city on the cheap? Well - it wasn't easy, but here it goes:

Saturday:
Parking at Navy Pier versus 5 people taking the train and a cab: saved $31 or more than 58%
Dinner at Nuevo Leon $49.xx for 5 people, plus a meal to go. Very good price seeing as we were dining in Chicago at one of the 10 best Mexican resturants the city has to offer. And their mole sauce.....too yummy!
Parking at Nuevo Leon $2.00. Still a lot cheaper than a taxi taking us back and forth.

Monday:
Lunch for 4 at Sweet Tomatoes $38.41 (saved $11.89 using a coupon and going for lunch rather than dinner)
Movies - Alice in Wonderland (3-D) $15.00 for 4 people (saved $21.00 by going during the matinee showing and by using some filled movie punch cards I had been saving for just this occasion - skipped the snacks because we were all so stuffed from Sweet Tomatoes!)
Browsing at books (Goodwill) - saved hundreds over retail price and grabbed 9 more titles for my summer reading!

This week, it's back to scrimping and saving - have to make up for that big budget weekend somehow! No regrets, a good time was had by all for DaMama's 64th birthday.

Meal Plan:

Wednesday: Bean and rice tacos, salad
Thursday - Spaghetti al marinara, french bread
Friday - Cheese pizza, salad
Saturday - leftovers
Sunday - Easter dinner at DaMama's - must find out what dish I need to bring...

I love entertaining, and now that hubby and I have hounded a new living room set (only $700 - beautiful micro-suede couch and loveseat), it's time to gear up for my annual Christmas Cookie Party. I'm planning a menu of seasonal favorites and an array of appetizers, sure to please any palate! With all the hounded cake mixes, flour, and cheap extract that I've been able to load up on - this is the ideal way to entertain on a budget! Can you believe that 7 of the cookies and bars start with a cake mix? How easy is that?!

Cookie and Bars selections:

Egg Nog Crunch cookies with walnuts
French Cappuccino Bars
Lemon Snow Bars
Diane's Almond Cookies
Southern-style brownies - new recipe!
Tuxedo Cookies
Ginger Pear Bars
Oatmeal Cookies (with craisins and walnuts & with golden raisins and almonds)
Classic Chocolate-Almond Biscotti
Shortbread Cubes - new recipe!
Cranberry Dark Chocolate Bars
Sugar Cookies
Buttery Lemon Cookies
Strawberry-Almond Thumbprint Cookies - new recipe!

Other sweet nibbles:

Chocolate dipped pretzels (with sprinkles, crushed peppermint, or toffee bits)
Almond dipped pretzels (plain, sprinkles, or shredded coconut topped)
Divinity - this is a new addition....let's see how it turns out!
EggNog Truffles - still working on creating this recipe

Appetizers:

Mini-frittatas
Blanco Pizza bites
Meatballs
Roasted garlic chicken spread with crackers
Veggie Dip (thank you Lipton!) with baby carrots and celery
BLT dip with toast triangles (gotta love this simple, affordable alternative)

I've always loved autumn, especially here in the Midwest. The leaves turning their vibrant colors, that crisp tang of the first frost in the air, and that seasonal favorite - apple cider. Nothing wrong with appel juice, but the rich, deep flavor of smooth, sweet cider for me simply cannot be beat. Ang, to make my favorite drink even more irrisistable - apple cider donuts.

Having had them for the first time this year, I have to be grateful that there are no donut shops directly on my way home, and I strongly rely on that unwillingness to travel out of my way to get the sugary treat. Though, I don't think my laziness will prove as effective as I'd like it to be. Even now, I'm imagining the smell of the crisp, juice apples combined perfectly with the decadence of doughnuts. Whoever came up with that combination was both brilliant and evil, tohugh my thighs are screaming that it's pure devilry and my taste buds are dancing with brilliance.

Now, this year, I'm going to get even more brave than I have been in the past, and this weekend I'll make my first attempt at homemade doughnuts, with - what else - apple cider doughnuts. Though, the pumpkin spice doughnuts I tried from Country Doughnuts were quite heavenly, too. But, one cooking (or frying) experiment at a time. In a year when I've expanded my cooking repertoire so much, that I've more than doubled the recipes I've created, and had food from across the globe, I'm still nervous about experiment with breads, pastries, and anything deep-fried.

If anyone out there has an easy recipe for homemade doughnuts, could you please share it with me - your resident fraidy-cat? I'm determined to dunk the doughnut, perfect the pastry, and bedazzle with breads this year and there is no time like this weekend to get started! Who's with me?!

I just returned home from my 4th wedding anniversary trip. This year, DH and I have done so well with our saving, that we treated ourselves to a trip to Savannah, Georgia. I've grown up hearing the stories of this magnificent, old, southern wonder and finally, I got my chance to walk her historic streets, see the shrimp boats slowly trolling the waters, and watch wild dolphins playing in the surf. Being a northern girl, with the Windy City and Minnesota being my hometown(s), this trip was nothing short of a treat.

We woke up to 80 degree weather, walked under the bright, southern sun, and walked on the beach. With that unmistakable tang of salt water in the air, it was impossible not to fall in love with Savannah. As the waves washed over the sand, there were little air holes that popped up, and just like my mama taught me, I turned to DH and told him, "There are clams under there." He looked kind of dubious, so I went on to explain that the clams needed the airholes to breathe, and that the pants called "clam-diggers" were made so you didn't have to roll up your pants while going out clam-digging. That seemed to make more sense to him.

We saw a single sanddollar on the shore, still wiggling. For a moment or two, we stopped to look at the little guy, before carefully walking around it and continuing on down the beach. Naturally, I was scouting for shells, but forgot to bring a bag to load them in, so DH graciously offered to put them in his pockets. In no time at all, his pockets were filled with shells, our feet coated in sand, and I was in heaven.

For dinner, we stopped at a kitchy, riverfront restaurant called The Shrimp Factory for some shrimp - after all, you don't go to the coast and not have some kind of seafood. The shrimp were advertised as fresh off the coast and the flavors certainly didn't disappoint. The shrimp were tender, sweet, and succulent - the remoulade sauce added a bit of tang, and the atmosphere was amazing.

All along River Street are shops, restaurants, bars/pubs, even 2 candy shops were - what else - salt water taffy are made in more than a dozen different flavors right before your eyes! The sugary sweetness of pralines filled the shops, and samples were offered everytime we walked through. If you love people-watching, bird-watching, and seafood-eating - this is an absolute haven.

After 4 wonderful days of fun in the sun, we reluctantly returned to Chicago and 40 degree temperatures. Though, a few days later, the scent of saltwater lingers on, even though the taffy is long gone. What I did take away from that trip - besides memories of hanging out with my cousins (yes, I only have 2 of those, so I get excited to see them!) and a longing for the beach is a new dish to try! Here's my version of that decadent Remoulade Sauce. Goes great on chicken...

It's been a crazy-busy week here - all geared towards going up north for a little visit. I've still been keeping an eye on the budget, going anywhere can cost a lot ofm oney, but there are always ways to offset the expense. Here are some of the things I've done this week:

1. Wash/dry clothes as much as possible during non-peak hours.

2. Charge my cellphone at the office. Every little bit helps. I'll be doing this with my laptop, too. There's a reason DH & I have saved more than 50% off our electric bill of last year, true we moved to a smaller place, but all the other little things add up.

3. I'll swing by Target for some more free ciabatta rolls (after coupon, of course). I'll make some sammies for the trip, and raid the stockpile for some salty snacks to nibble on during the drive - it's an 8 hour trip - so I'll make sure to bring some variety.

4. Conserve fuel cost!! Pack smart - the heavier the car is, the more fuel we'll use. I'll also use any fuel rewards I've got to get us started on our trip. Last time I filled up my car, it was $2.38 a gallon - because I had $.33 per gallon in fuel rewards to use.

5. Always have a plan. I find that when DH & I don't have a plan, it's easier to spend more $$. So, we've thought about the trip, edcided on what we'd like to do with my sister and her family, so when don't end up trying to do too many things and waste money because we didnt' have time to enjoy them. I've decided on a nice dinner with my sister (and family, of course), and everything else is just gravy from that point on.

Since I won't be posting again til Tuesday, have a fun and safe Labor Day Weekend!

My Auntie Pat was born in October. I will remember that until my dying day. Her husband, Uncle Bill, was normally a gruff man, but he celebrated the entire month of her birthday, in October, with a gift each day for her. The gifts may have been something small, but the sentiment behind it was huge - and for me, a new way to celebrate life's little steps.

Now that I'm married, my husband and I celebrate each other's birth month, mine being September, his in November. For our month, we get to pick which restaurants to go to, what entertainment venues to check out, and get small gifts throughout the month from each other. The gifts are simple, he replaced my windshield wipers, brought me home flowers, and even gave me a footrub. For him, it's a back rub, I'll bake him the Cinnamon Roll Brownies, and often, a new package of socks.

As we wind our way through the fall, we go to many of the sights that are too crowded, too hot, or too expensive in the summer. Last year we toured the Morton Arboretum, 2 trips to the Chicago Botanical Gardens, apple picking, raspberry picking, went to lots of movies (we saved up our stack of punch cards for that!), ate homemade pizza, and drove through the countryside (as much of that as you can find around here, anyway) to enjoy the changing colors of fall. For us, the birth month is something to look forward to year round.

This year, as we start into my birth month, I'm looking forward to some little perks and some pampering. I'll kick it off tomorrow with a pedicure (at the local beauty school, for less than $10!), dinner with my sister (I get to do that about 3 times a year), and tons of berry picking - which will be free (as it's in Amy's Organic Garden - Amy is the sister I'm looking forward to have dinner with). Hubby is already outlining which restaurant(s) he wants to go to during his birth month - with this economy, it's never been cheaper to eat out! I love all the deals discounts, and delectable bargains we've been able to try.

Any ideas of how I should celebrate my birth month? I'd love some new ideas!

Last Friday, I took a good run at some of the Target deals on offer – and I’m so glad I did! Look at these deals:

4 bags of Combo’s at $1.79 - $1 ST Q each = $.79

3 Archer Farms Snack Crackers $2.19 - $1 ST Q each = $1.19

4 Kellogg’s Pop Tarts at $1.46 - $.75 ST Q each = $.71 -$.55 (2) manu Q = $1.74 for 4

1 20 oz. pkg. Johnsonville Turkey and Cheddar brats - $2.99 -$3 winetag Q - $.01 overage

5 Archer Farms mini baguettes at $.99 -$1 ST Q each = FREE (no overage was given)

1 Archer Farms ciabatta at $.99 -$1 ST Q each = FREE (no overage given)

10 General Mills cereal cups at $1.00 each -$1 ST Q each = FREE -$.55 Honey Nut Cheerios manufacturer Q’s = $.55 overage

8 boxes GM cereal at $2.54-$2.79 - $1 ST Q each, - $1/2 (2), $.55 (3), $.75 (1) manufacturer Q’s = $6.74/8 = $.84 a box on average

6.3 lbs. bananas -$/50/lb. ST Q = $1.22

Apples (assorted varieties $1.19-$1.49 lb. - $1 ST Q each lb. = $6.25 for 16.41 lbs. of apples

Gold ‘n’ plump ground chicken $2.99 for 1.25 lbs. -$3 winetag Q = $.01 overage

18 Archer Farms yogurt cups at $.47 each = $8.46

2 Market Pantry juice blends 64 oz. $2.29 each

All of these goodies for only: $36.29
Total Savings = $63.43

Going to take another run at the Target savings - fellow blogger posted about FREE gerber baby bottles, and oodles of other freebies! Now, that's my kind of shopping. I may not have a baby yet, but I know plenty of girls that do and bottles are a thoughtful gift (I hope). Also will make a great donation item to the church's womens shelter.

As the temperatures hit the 90's and the humidity has done things to my naturally frizzy, oops - I mean curly hair, I can't help but think these are the days meant for napping. Or lying in a shady spot with a good book, the scent of summer fruit and the tang of an open BBQ drifting on the breeze. These are the days for enjoying.

I am not a summer person - nowhere near, in fact. For the months of July and August, all I can do is dream of having a bungalow in NewFoundland, some great books, my bead collection, and a pile of great movies. For entertaining, all I need is some good basic meat to grill with, a pile of spices, some summer fruits (peach and mango, here I come!), and mountains of corn on the cob. With a cool breeze from the ocean (or so I imagine it) and a slower pace of life, it sounds like heaven on earth to me. Or to the me that's spent 30 minutes sitting at a standstill in traffic this morning, feeling my hair beginning to frizz (again!), and only is out in fresh air from the walk to and from the car, into work, home, store, etc. I'm not cut out for these humid, stuffy, days.

Back to reality, my pantry is fully stocked and my freezer is full to bursting, now I can finally take a bit of a break from shopping, which is easy to say until the next big deal hits. With the exception of produce, milk, and eggs - I'm pretty well set-up on all the basics I need, the little luxuries I want, and everything in between. Typically, when the deals dry up in Septmeber and October, I just live off what I've already amassed - which at this point, is somewhat substantial.

As I sit here, seeing the leaves on the trees drooping in the sun and dry, brown grass that crunches underfoot, I can't help but be grateful that I don't have to spend a lot of time in the heat, instead, I'll keep reading my latest book, East of the Sun. Nothing is more entrancing than losing yourself in the lives on someone else, especially when you are so drained by the heat.

How have you been keeping yourself busy during the dog days of summer?

Saturday was a hop & shop kind of day. Jewel had their generic cereals on sale for $.99 a box, Arm & Hammer laundry detergent onsale for 2/$5, and StarKist Tuna for 2/$1. After numerous transactions - mostly on Saturday - and filling the back of my car, DaMama & I ended up with:

64 boxes of cereal (limit 4 per person)
16 bottles of Arm & Hammer (Limit 2 per person)
32 cans of tuna (Limit 2 per person)

And rainchecks for 16 additional boxes of cereal as well as 12 more bottles of Arm & Hammer.

After all that shopping, I was ready for a nap! But dinner and a movie with DH was even better. We went to see The Proposal, used our free movie passes - tickets cost us $0! Dinner was late, so we grabbed some tacos fresco from Taco Bell for $8.84. And we snuck in an caramel apple empanada. Dinner, dessert, and a movie for under $10! Now, there's some date night savings.

Now, I'm gearing up for the Jewel deal: spend $30, get $15 in cats on select Knorr/B.C./etc. products. Let's see what kind of cheapies & freebies I can load up on!

I've long been a fan of diners, cafes, bistros - any small, non-pretentious, low cost restaurant with a good variety of delicious fare has always won my vote over chain restaurants, upscale, you're-paying-for-the-ambience (dim lighting, $15-$35 a palte, and semi-rude staff) establishment, and fast food. Since I love value for my dollar, its no wonder I fell for this deal:

$.50 Ice Cream Cones for the month of July! Limit one per person per day.
At the Colonial Cafe

The cruelest part ever (especially to my thighs)? There's one right on my way home, less than 2 miles from my house. Guess what I had on my way home? A Cinnamon ice creawm scop in a sugar cone. Total cost = $.54 - yep, that's it. The best part of this deal - the ice cream is made on the premises, just like it has been for over 100 years.

Since this deal will end Friday - I decided to be bad. Very bad. I grabbed an ice cream cone on my way to hound up some deals at Meijer. But, being bad has its perks - usually in the form of an accomplice. Mine was DaMama - eating dessert before dinner definitely sounds like something she would do. And she did. We both did.

Nothing says summer quite like an ice cream cone before dinner. My thighs - well, they need to quit their complaining, at least, that's what my taste buds say!

The backyard grill was screaming for some deals on meat this week - and the stores are only happy to oblige! Check out the deals at some of Chicagoland's tastiest stores:

Meijer:

$.99 lb. pork ribs and steaks
10/$5 Yoplait yogurt - don't forgot all your coupons (printable and insert)

Dominick's: (remember your expired coupons - they're ALL good here!)

$.99 pint blueberries (I'ven ever seen them this cheap)
2/$3 select General Mills cereals
$1.99 lb. London Broil (steak biscuits, anyone?)
Tostitos chips $1.49 WYB5 - grab those free dip coupons, get 2 free

Butera:

$.99 16 oz. Food Club sour cream
$.99 lb. ribs - limit 2
$.89 lb. split chicken breast
$.99 15 oz. Food Club mandarin oranges
$1.98 lb. deli sliced oven roasted turkey breast
$.99 loaf French bread - limit 2

Caputos:
$1.49 lb. boneless skinless chicken breast
$1.49 gallon milk
$.99 28 oz. crushed Dei Fratelli tomatoes

Jewel:
Check out the spend $20 get a $10 cat section.
Buy 4 Keebler cookies and 1 2L. Dr. Pepper, after preferred card, spend only $11.25 - get a $10 cat! Roll this until they kick you out of the store. I haven't tried this $10 cat yet, but by this time tomorrow, I will have!

Need some menu ideas to go along with these deals? Click here for London Broil, here for the pork steaks, and over here for the bone-in chicken.

Sandy, DaMama, & I are all geared up for a money-saving girls night in. We've been snapping up 4 lb. boneless hams for $3.99 each, and tonight is slicing night. In honor of the occasion, I've grabbed about a quarter pound of fontina cheese (so smooth and creamy, it's makes you want to melt!), some strawberries, and some garlic.

I'll rub down some slices of bread with the cloves of garlic, drizzle on some evoo (extra virgin olive oil), and pile them high with fresh sliced ham and some creamy, dreamy cheese. Some large, fresh, plump strawberries (the last batch from Amy's Organic Garden) on the side - and it will feel far more decadent than running to Subway for a footlong. The entire cost of this meal? An unbelievable $3.94. Can't even buy a footlong for that!

Once we wrap up the slicing, we'll watch a redbox rental - I love only paying $1 for a movie - unless I luck out with a code, then I don't pay anything. Yeah, I'm awfully fond of that, too. Nothing quite beats a girls night in - even if we have a wee bit of work ahead of us first. That will make the relaxing time so well worth it!

Have you ever turned boring, ordinary chores into a mini-party? I'd love to hear about you ideas for a frugally fabulous girls night in!

I have been making a point to visit swagbucks.com at least 2-3 times per week - trying to find codes to snag another buck - and today, it worked! Try "mega swag buck" in the search bar and let me know what success you have!

This summer is all about piggy love! Why would anyone declare such a thing? Because, in part, of the Gather Round the Grill coupon, giving us $6 off pork with each bag of Kingsford charcoal we buy. The other part - it tastes soo good with all the in-season fruits that are abundantly affordable this time of year. Take it from my pal, Amiyrah, over at 4 Hats & Frugal - her Peachy Chicken/Pork recipe has become an all-time favorite. Or top some lovely grilled pork kebabs, chops, steaks, or tenderloin with a mango pico de gallo, chutney, or salsa - and that is heaven.

As my taste buds mature (finally!), I have been getting bolder and saucier with my flavors. No longer am I cowering before Kung Pao, terrified of teryaki, or weak before a Whiskey sauce - I want to taste my way through life - and pork is such a great conduit for my many experiments. When looking for a lean cut of meat, I tend to turn to pork first.

With each week or so that passes, I'm attempting another piggy experiment. Last weekend, it was a tag team effort. I marinated a pair of half pork tenderloins in some soy, and gave it a simple rub. DH took over from there - as he's officially Licensed to Grill (his T-shirt said so).

Between DaMama, DH, & I - there was a 1/4 of one of the tenderloin's left - which becamse excellent sammies, with the help of some English muffins. The rest - a sinfully yummy sandwich, and less deli meat I needed to buy. Not that I was low - I just resent paying $3-$7 lb. for some small scraps of meat. But, I digress...

Now that we need more charcoal - I just have to ask myself: What kind of pork do I want this time? Let's see who's on sale! Tell me, have you stocked up on pork because of the Gather Round the Grill coupon?

I'm such a ham for ham - it's not even funny! What's crazy-funny? Caputo's putting 4 lb. boneless Corn King hams (perfect for the meat slicer) on sale for.....$3.99 each. Yes, my lovely and briliiant readers, that comes out to $1 lb. - for soon-to-be sliced deli meat. When my friend, Sandy, heard I had a meat slicer - we were goners - I grabbed 7 of those plump and tasty looking hams, and tried to act calm until we got them loaded in the car.

Well, that was a swell idea until DaMama heard how cheap they were. So I did the only responsible, respectable thing I could think of: I went back and grabbed 3 more. Right now I have 40 lbs. of slice-able ham. (I've been too busy buying the hams to slice already - besides, my co-horts get to help me with it - I'm not eating 40 lbs. of ham alone. Trust me.)

Wow, it's a good thing I was able to refill DaMama's freezer - otherwise, I would never have had the space for all 10 of those pretty hams. Is it bad of me to want to go grab a few more? I love nothing better than a good deal, and this one was better than most. Time to start working on my chicken cordon bleu recipe. Either that, or it's an variety of ham sandwiches, omelets, paninis, melts, and subs that will be speeding their way to my meal-plan.

DH & I have a weekly date night. Nope, it's not an extravagance - I think of it as an investment. And sooo much cheaper than couples counseling...but I digress. We've been kickin' around different ideas for date nights, with Chicago's Botanical Gardens, St. Charles Park District (paddle-wheel boat, peddle boats, and minigolf), and summer berry pickin' coming to mind for fresh new ideas. Since I was still somewhat miffed over the sunburn last weekend, we decided to keep it indoors and go with a safe route - dinner and a movie.

I used to think dinner and a movie was too expensive for a couple to do more than once every few months, but we've got it down to a science. Movie tickets - $5 each. No joke. Nice theater, movable armrests, stadium-style seating, good neighborhood, free refills on popcorn and soda, and they even have punch cards - every 8th ticket is free! What's not to love?! If you live in Chicagoland, check out Classic Cinemas - I swear it's love at first sight. And I'm not the biggest fan to going to the movies (DH is - it's a way of life to him) but I would recommend that theater to anyone. Totally worth it!

As for the dinner portion, T.G.I.Fridays has been tossing B1G1Free entree's at us every other month, and with my love of DragonFire Chicken, it's hard to say no. And being a member of their Stripes club (costs nothing to join - another savings!), we get points toward free appetizers. We splurged on a nice dinner out - with dessert and spent only $19.14. And that does include tip. It was a great Saturday night - lowkey and fun!

Sunday, after dinner, we picked up DaMama for an ice cream cone over at Colonial Cafe where - for the month of July, single scoop ice cream cones are $.50! Our total there was $1.62 for the three of us! Looks like fun in the summer sun just got tastier, and cheaper than ever before!

I remember my father telling me I was the "cook out of the box." His way of reminding me that I didn't technically know how to cook - I used boxed mixes to get me part of the way. Now, that's called Semi-Homemade, and it's considered chic. Who knew? Well, my father's distinct lack of appreciation for my cooking and baking shortcuts was evident, I could never shake the allure of using some shortcuts that the brilliant folks over at Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, and Duncan Hines provided.

It's the last of those companies that I am currently grateful for today. Well, in conjunction with Target, of course. Target was thoughtful enough to give us a $.50 printable coupon on Duncan Hines baking products (hey, can you say vague wording?), and they were nice enough to drop the price from $1.17 to $.97 each. Combined with an abundant stack of coupons, DaMama, my sister (Amy), and I headed off to harvest some cake mixes (and some frosting, too).

I drooled over the french vanilla, lemon supreme, and the coconut flavors while my sister loaded chocolate cakes into her cart with reckless abandon. How well did we do? 45 cakes mixes and 15 frostings later - here's what we spent: $29.37 - and that includes tax. DaMama had a 10% off your entire shopping order coupon which we put through first - naturally. What really makes me laugh? That's less than half the price that some people spend on a single birthday cake - and no, I'm not exaggerating. I know some of those people...

And the crazy thing is - it won't take that long to go through all those yummy cake mixes - since I tend to turn mine into bars, Amy's great with cakes and cupcakes as is DaMama, and my friend, Sandy makes them into cookies. Sure beats going to Jewel and paying $1.69 for a single box of cake mix. What silly people do that, anyway?

While my cakes are seldom made from scratch, I do know this: I'm happy to spend half the cost of a single birthday cake for delicious treats throughout the year. It may make me frugal (or cheap), but it also makes me smart.

With the abundance of summer berries (mainly FREE organic strawberries from Amy's Organic Garden), I've been brainstorming up a host of new ideas on how to use the deliciously sweet fruit - that is after eating a few generous handfuls of the tangy fruit myself.

With each idea comes another - from my (hopefully soon to be famous) layered Strawberry Cream Cake, to strawberry tarts (thanks, Amanda), to eating them by the mouthful (SonyaAnn - if I could've eaten more, there wouldn't have been any leftover!), to preserves, to decadent desserts - there's so much to love about a batch of beautiful berries. This weekend will mark the first of 4 experiments with strawberries - I've got some new ideas, and I'm aching to give them a try! Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if they ended up topping the next batch of Amish Friendship Bread!

I'm not shy about mixing bold flavors and trying new combinations - I'm more nervous about the outcome of different techniques and how the textures will balance each other. Nothing is worse than burnt toast, soggy bread, tough veggies (that are supposed to be fork tender), and gummy noodles. In that respect, I am a perfectionist. I don't know how the syrup from the berries will react with some of the other ingredients in my ideas, so this weekend - we'll start with a french vanilla cupcake surprise: the surprise being the strawberry center!

This weekend - a cupcake...next week, I'm out to conquer the world! Okay, I'll stick with conquering the berries. That's a sweet challenge I'm more than up for!