Feeling Thrifty

It's been a while since I posted anything thrifty.  To be honest, the couponing thing hasn't been too great lately; blah sales and blah coupons do not a great deal make.  And I just haven't had the time to do any really good thrifting trips... I'm waiting for my sister to come up for that.  So that said, I had to do this post because last week I had a great night as far as thriftiness goes.  A friend of mine was getting rid of her baby girl clothes and invited me and a few friends over to take what we wanted.  So I got some great things for Missy Ashlynn to grow into.  Here's a few pics of my loot:

 I love this raincoat... I wanted to buy this when Ella was little.

Super cute Baby Gap Dress... Ashlynn will look adorable in this this summer.

 These little Gymboree socks are some of my faves.

And what is not to love about these little ballerina tights!?!

After I was done at her house, I figured I didn't have the kids and I had time so why not make a quick stop at the DI.  I'm glad I did, because I found some cute things there as well.

 I spent $13 and was able to get a pair of Sorel snow boots for the kids, a cute Baby Gap shirt for Ashlynn, some warm fleece lined jeans from Old Navy for Ashlynn, an adorable Carter's dress for Ashlynn for summer, some sandals for Ella, a Charlie Brown book (some of our faves are Charlie Brown) and some craft twine.

This shirt will look so cute with some little plaid shorts this summer.

Once I finished at the DI, I ran to the grocery store for a coupon shopping trip.  It was nice to finally get some good deals again.  

I was happy to only spend $33 for 30 items.  All of this pre-sale and coupons would have been $95, so I was more than happy to get close to a 70% savings.  So yeah, it was a good night and I was feeling pretty good.  

I also recently ran into the DI in the search of some shoes for Cameron.  I didn't find what I was looking for, but I did find these adorable sandals for Ashlynn for $1 each and the shorts for $1.  I didn't feel too badly about spending $3 that day.

So have you found any good deals lately?

How'd I Do... January Goals

So, where did January go?  That went by really fast.  I was able to get quite a bit done on the home front though; probably mostly due to being trapped at home with sick kids for half the month.  So let's check in:

January's Goals:

Homemaking -

Pack away Christmas decor

Sort through Christmas boxes and purge unused decor

Organize toy room with new toys

Deep clean laundry room

Paint laundry room - Finally, two and a half years after moving here, the laundry room is painted.

Cooking -

Try three new recipes - I tried some really good ones last month... I'll have to do another post on those.

Gather recipes for family cookbook - I've started compiling recipes.

Mothering -

Take Ella on a date

Patience, Patience, Patience

Creating -

Begin organizing craft closet

Financing -

Work out 2012 budget

Enriching -

Read a book

Give myself permission to take a nap when I'm tired - Finally catching up on some much needed sleep after pulling several late night/early mornings in December.

February's Goals:

Homemaking -

Finish up laundry room 

Finish touching up paint in basement stairwell

Finish decorating toy room

Clean out master closet/dresser

Cooking -

Stock the freezer with some meals again

Finish my part of family cookbook

Try new recipe each week

Mothering -

Spend more one on one time with Cameron

Date with Ella

Creating -

Make some art work for toy room

Financing -

Start saving money for new camera

Enriching -

Read a book