Groupon Junkie

I have never been into coupons... in fact, I even hate the thought of coupons... and gift certificates.  I mean, they are great in principle, but do you know how many of those things I carry around in my wallet that never get used?  I usually only discover them when I switch to a new wallet which is every 3 or 4 years, and by then the coupons or gift certificates are expired, or worse, the store that sold them is out of business!  There are some exceptions to this rule of course.  For instance, there are certain companies that I frequent regularly (or used to anyway) from which I would gladly accept a gift certificate or coupon (hint: starts with an S and ends with a TARBUCKS)...  I also like gift certificates for things that I can buy on-line, like music from iTunes.  You just load up your account and 'bam!' you can buy new music right then or you can save it for later. (Oh, and if you would like to send me gift certificates for either of the above, I would be happy to accept!!!)

All joking aside, yesterday I made yet another exception to my no coupon rule... yup, Groupon.  Now, I don't completely live with my head in the sand, and I had heard of Groupon before yesterday, however I just figured that it was mostly coupons for material goods that I have vowed not to purchase, so what the heck would I want with those?  It turns out that Groupon also has coupons for restaurants, coffee shops, activities and yesterday they featured a coupn for my very favorite consignment clothing shop: Caprice West.  I must give a heartfelt thankyou and a round of applause to my peeps (yes, I just used the word peeps) out there who messaged me to let me know about this great opportunity, especially to my dear friend who even purchased one for me as a gift (you know who you are!)  The deal yesterday was to spend $25 and get $50 worth of goods at Caprice West.  Can you say STELLAR DEAL?  Especially when everything in that store is a bargain to begin with!  And that is not even the best part... you can actually download an app for your iPhone that allows the store to scan the coupon on your phone so you don't even have to drag around a piece of paper in your wallet (I knew I bought that thing for a good reason). 

Is it bad that I went to sleep dreaming of what today's Groupon deal would be?

Happy saving!

Marebare xoxo

The Grow-Op Begins

Today my green thumb just got a little bit greener, or blacker I guess, from the dirt that I was working with.  I started my indoor garden today (of VEGGIES - get your mind out of the gutter!).  I know, I know, the term 'grow-op' has other connotations, but I like that term.  It makes me feel like a 'rebel'.  I especially liked discussing my 'grow-op' with my mom at the top of my voice in the grocery store as I shopped for seeds.  Anyway, I planted three kinds of tomatoes, broccolli, three different herbs and two varieties of peppers.  They are now snuggled in nicely in their pots baking under the heat lamp in our downstairs bathroom.  I am a lazy gardener (and I mean extremely lazy), and I have never done this before, so I guess we'll see how this little experiment grows... er, goes. 

On to to other 'living with less' news... I went consignment store shopping yesterday.  First stop was the 'Once Upon a Child' store - a kids consignment store, which is truly a one-stop shop for all things baby and/or kid.  I stocked up on splash pants for the little guy so that he can continue to enjoy his puddle splashing, minus the excessive loads of laundry for me.  Next we checked out a ladies consignment store in Edmonton called Caprice West.  I had heard really good things about this store, and I wasn't disappointed!  Funny enough, it is also owned by an old friend of ours who used to teach me piano as a child.  It was neat to see her doing something that she is so obviously gifted and talented at... her shop is amazing!  Imagine what it was like playing dress-up in your mom's closet as a child and that is what this store feels like!  There is something there for everyone.  Even my dad admitted that it was a pretty cool shop, and he HATES shopping!

One final tip:

It sounds kind of ridiculous because we should have been doing this all along, but lately my parents and I have been 'going half-ers' on a lot of bulkly packaged food... especially the fresh stuff.  It is so much cheaper to buy heaps of it and then split it in half... and then of course, there is also a lot less chance of it spoiling on you.  This week we split huge packages of pasta, cucumbers, lettuce, spinach, broccolli, feta cheese... and the list goes on. If you have someone to do this with, I highly recommend it!

Whether you tend a garden or not, you are the gardener of your own being, the seed of your destiny. - The Findhorn Community

Happy Early Spring!!

Marebare :)