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Just a reminder, this deal ends on Monday (May 20, 2013)!

Cents of Style is offering a special exclusive deal for my readers only this week.

Use coupon code SAVE and you can any one of the get four different styles of infinity scarves (15 different color/style options!) for just $9.98 with free shipping.

These scarves are regularly $19.95, so this is a good deal — and they are lightweight so perfect for dressing up a spring outfit!

In addition, if you buy one of the $9.98 scarves, you’ll be offered an opportunity to buy a set of bangle bracelets at checkout for just $4.99 extra — plus free shipping!

Thanks to Lysa Terkeurst buying me my first set of bangle bracelets, I’ve become a big fan of them. They quickly and easily dress up any outfit — and they are so versatile and inexpensive, too!

Just use coupon code SAVE to get any scarf for $9.98 and then you can get a set of bangle bracelets for an additional $4.99 shipped for free.

This offer is valid through May 20, 2013.

(Note: The link in this post is my referral link. Read my disclosure policy here.)

If you have children ages 14 and under, they can participate in the Half Price Books Summer Reading Program and get a free $5 gift certificate to Half Price Books for every 300 minutes of reading they do in a month.

This offer is valid June and July 2013.

Thanks, The Freebie Blogger!

I had planned to get up early and do my Freezer Cooking in an Hour session this morning before I headed to the airport to fly to Nashville.

But, um, I made it as far as the taco meat and ran out of time.

Such is life, eh? I promise — barring some unforeseen events — that I’ll make the muffins next week. Because I really, really want to try them myself. And I know some of you are anxious to hear whether I like them or not.

By the way, thank you so much for how you all have been patient and forbearing with me as I’ve navigated this new season of life where I’m traveling and speaking more. It’s been a new adventure — and there have definitely been growing pains as a result.

We’ve put a lot of prayer and thought into the direction it seems God is leading us, and we’re excited about what the future holds. But in the process, I’m still working on finding a good balance so that I’m keeping up with the blog (which is a significant priority for me), while also making sure that my family is my most important priority — and that I’m taking care of my health, too.

I’m nowhere near doing a perfect job (and I don’t ever expect to figure out what anything near “perfect” looks like!), but I feel like we’re really starting to fall into a healthy groove and I’m so thankful. Thank you, each of you, who are sharing in this journey with us and are so patient and understanding. I appreciate you all so very much!

Since so many of you have been enjoying Gretchen’s grocery shopping trips, I asked her if she’d be interested in sharing her weekly big grocery trip and menu plan from time to time.

If you find this helpful, would you leave a comment or click on “Like” button in the top righthand corner of this post. That lets us know that these are posts you’d like to see more of.

And don’t worry, I’ll still keep posting some of my shopping trips and my weekly menu plans. My sister, Gretchen, is a lot more organized than me and on a tighter budget, so I thought that this would be especially helpful to some of you who may be in a similar season of life or like to see a menu plan on a budget all laid out in a step-by-step fashion!

Local Health Food Store

My first stop was our local Health Food store. We love their oranges so I always buy them there. I was hoping they would have some great deals on produce like usual, but I only found one mark-down.

6 Oranges @ 3/$1 – $2 total

Organic Girl Greens – Marked down to $0.99 (I like to use this in our smoothies and juice.) 

Total with tax: $3.21

Aldi (and Walmart)

1 Bath Tissue – $0.99 (I really didn’t see any great coupon deals on toilet paper this week so I just got it at Aldi.) 

1 Roma Tomatoes – $1.19

1 Gallon Milk – $1.99

2 Strawberries – $0.99 each

1 Cucumber – $0.49

I was planning on getting Baking Powder at Aldi but couldn’t find it. (The cashier said they were out and it was only a seasonal item?!?) So I ran into the small neighborhood Walmart right next to Aldi and got it there instead.

Baking Powder – $1.82

Total with tax (for both stores): $9.07

Dillons

1 Kroger Cheddar Cheese – $1.67

1 Simple Truth Bar – $0.89, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon

1 Liberte Yogurt – $1, used Free e-coupon (no longer available) – Free after coupon

1 Ella Baby Food – $1.39, used $0.55/1 printable (doubled to $1) - $0.39 after coupon (My little boy loves these and while I’d prefer to get them free, I thought it would be fun to surprise him with a special treat!)

1 Dillons Bread – $1

2 Dr. Pepper – $1.50 each, used Buy One Get One Free printable (Took off $1.99) – $0.50 each after coupon (I never buy pop but we are having company over this weekend who love pop and I want to be a good hostess.:))

1 Green Giant Veggie Chips – $1, used $0.50/1 printable (doubled) – Free after coupon

1 Chocolate Chips – $1.69

2 Vlasic Pickle Relish – $1 each, used 2 $1/1 printable - Free after coupons

1 Wishbone Salad Dressing – Marked down to $0.89

1 Dove Soap – $1, used $1/1 e-coupon - Free after coupon

1 Romaine Lettuce – $0.99

2 Broccoli Crowns – $1.34

1 Kroger Applesauce – $2.19

6 Clear Care Contact Solution – Marked down to $2 each! (I was SUPER thrilled to find these marked down. This is the only contact solution both my husband and I can use and it normally is priced $8-$12.)

Total before coupons and sales: $41.99. Total after coupons + tax: $25.22, used $2 catalina from last week’s shopping trip

Paid $23.22 out of pocket

Total for all grocery items: $35.50

Menu Plan for this Week

Breakfasts

Toast, Oatmeal, Cereal, Apple Pie Breakfast, Smoothies/Juice

Lunches

Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches, Leftovers, Homemade Mac & Cheese, Scrambled Eggs, Fruits & Veggies

Dinners

Homemade Cheese Pizza, Steamed Broccoli

World’s Best Pancakes (these are SO yummy!), Eggs, Hashbrowns, Oranges

Steak on the grill (gift from Crystal), Mashed Potatoes, Biscuits

Salad Bar, Strawberries

Crockpot Lasagna, Easy Homemade French Bread, Green Beans

Italian Chicken, Banana Muffins, Tossed Salad

Dinner with my parents

In case you missed them, here are some of the best deals, freebies, and most popular posts from this past week that are still available:

Starbucks: Half-Priced Frappuccinos from 3-5 p.m. May 3-12, 2013

HUGE List of Free Homeschool Curriculum and Resources

Free Early Elementary Subtraction Curriculum from A+ Tutorsoft

Free Cinnabon Classic Roll for Nurses (May 6-12, 2013)

Get Crocs Metallic Flip Flops for $11.99 Shipped

Over 3,000 Free Audiobooks & Ebooks

Free download of Community Wins: 21 Thoughts on Building a Thriving Online Tribe

Are you participating in the Clutter-Busting Challenge? See all the posts from this past week here.

What Do You Do When You’ve Already Given Up?

On April 28, 2013, Krispy Kreme wants to help you celebrate the heroes in your life so they are offering a free dozen doughnuts when you purchase a dozen doughnuts.

Print your Krispy Kreme coupon.

During the month of April, I’m encouraging my readers to participate in a 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge (read more here, if you missed my announcement about this challenge last week). Every week day morning at 9 a.m., I’ll post the daily project and every evening around 6 p.m. EST, I’ll post an update and link-up.

I spent over an hour on my room today (yes, it looked worse than this because I hadn’t gotten unpacked from my trip earlier this week!) and I was excited to show you the pictures.

But alas, Silas somehow got the photo card with the pictures on it stuck down in the crevices of our leather chair in our room and for the life of me, I cannot get it out. I just had to laugh — because that’s just life sometimes, ya know?!

So you’re just going to have to imagine what it looked like before and after! And I’ll do a better job of keeping watch over the photo card in the future.

Join in the Chatter

::Want to blog about this challenge? If you’re blogging through this challenge with me, be sure to leave your link to your direct post on linky below. Plus, if you’d like to post your daily posts to the 30-Day House Cleaning Challenge Pinterest Group, just shoot me an email (moneysavingmom @ gmail dot com) and I’ll invite you.

::Want to follow along on Twitter or Instagram? I’ll also be sharing some of my cleaning pictures on my Facebook Page, my Twitter account, and my Instagram account. I’d love to have you do the same or join in the discussion on Twitter and Instagram. Just follow hashtag #Cleanin30 to see what others are tweeting and Instagramming about this challenge!

If you’re homeschooling and living on a budget, Hearts at Home Curriculum Store is an online store you’ll want to check out because they have everyday low prices on homeschool curriculum. In fact, they offer 30% off 6,000+ items everyday and fasts hipping throughout the USA and Canada!

I’m really excited about today’s giveaway because they are giving away a 5-Subject Set of Switched-On Schoolhouse (valued at $445!). This curriculum set includes a full one-year curriculum for the following five subjects: Bible, History & Geography, Science, Language Arts, and Mathematics. The winner will get to choose which grade they’d like to have (grades 3-12 only).

Combined into one complete set, the SOS 5-Subject Set conveniently contains all the subjects you need. Designed with five core subjects, this curriculum set creates a solid educational foundation while giving your student an engaging, interactive learning environment.

In this step-by-step, comprehensive curriculum, your student will build his knowledge of the five core subjects. Each subject contains nine major topics and a review to guide the learning process. In addition, the SOS 5-Subject Set includes personalized
progressive lessons and time-saving administration features like automatic grading.

During the month of April you can save 20% on all Alpha Omega Publications Curriculum, PLUS when you spend $150 or more on AOP you get 12 Mike’s Inspiration Station Art Instruction DVDs (valued at $79.90) for FREE and get FREE SHIPPING with coupon code AOPFREE20. This sale ends April 30, 2013.

Click on the graphic below to enter to win a complete five-subject set of Switched-On Schoolhouse in the grade of your choice. One winner will be chosen and posted on Tuesday. This giveaway ends Sunday, April 21, at 11:59 pm, CST.