Cute Little Girl Gift Idea - Retro Strawberry Shortcake Doll!

I think this is a cute idea for a gift for a little girl.  Its the 35th year retro edition and it even has the strawberry scent like the original doll.   Many of the today's Mamas played with this doll when they were small.

My daughter had one that I made, that was more like a pillow.  Back in the early eighties, you could buy the fabric with the doll shape printed on it.  You just sewed around the outside of the shape with right sides together, turned it right side out and stuffed it with polyfil.    She also had the Strawberry Shortcake bedding set, with the comforter, etc.

Anyway, this doll is only $11.98, normally $19.99.  So I thought I'd order 2!  One for my granddaughter who is turning 2 next week and one for my granddaughter who is not even born yet.  I'll put hers up for later.




I'm not sure if this price will last, so if you decide to order, check the price first!

Trim Healthy Table and an Amazon $5.00 off $15.00 Coupon on Books

I've been wanting the new Trim Healthy Table cookbook and was getting ready to order it for myself on Amazon for Christmas.  I was happy to see that there is a $5.00 off $15.00 book promotion going on right now.  The code is:  BOOKGIFT17.


You can use the code on most any book or combination of books totaling at least $15.00 though.  Just make sure the code works on your particular book order before pressing "Order".  This would be good to use for buying children's books for Christmas gifts.

Sewing To Sell Book

This looks like an interesting read for anyone who wants to make money from home. I love sewing gifts for my family and also items to sell in my Etsy Shop. The problem is to figure out what people actually want! It also has to be something that doesn't take forever to make.


One of my favorite things to make to sell is Clothespin Bags. But, I have to face it, not too many people are in the market for those in this day and time! I think I could sell quilts, but they take me forever to make!


So there might be some ideas in this book.

Sewing/Quilting Clips Lightning Deal

I've been wanting to try some of these kinds of clips for holding down the binding when either machine sewing it or hand sewing it. And the little tins are so cute too. They are on sale for $7.88 on a lightning deal for another hour and 40 minutes


After that I "think"  they will be $9.88.  Be sure to check your price before hitting the purchase button!

A Tiny Frugal Tip# 5 - Play The Games

There are so many stores out there and ALL of them want your money!  There are all kinds of gimmicks that they use to achieve their goal to get you into their store and to spend your money there.  But you have to be smarter than they are!

One of my best frugal tips is to decide on a select few stores, learn their "deal games" and then play the games well.  Just focus on a few.  For me, I have chosen CVS, Dollar General, and Food Lion, as far as brick and mortar stores.  These three stores are convenient for me.  I also love Amazon Subscribe and Save.

I know their prices.  I know how to play their games.  I have their MVP card, Extra Care card, and and have signed up for their digital coupons.  When I go to CVS, if it isn't on sale, or I don't have a coupon, I don't buy it!  At Dollar General, I know what is a good price and I leave the other stuff there.  

A price book is a great tool to help you play the games well.  I like to bring the price of an item down so low, using a combination of sale prices and coupons, that there's no doubt that the price is the best I can find.

My "old lady" brain can't keep up with too many stores at one time.  Sure, there are some great deals at Rite Aid, Walgreens, and Walmart.  I'll visit these stores from time to time, but they just aren't my "deal stores".

There's only such much time to spend on getting the best deal.

So that's my tiny frugal tip for today.  Play the Games ...... and play them well!

My November Amazon Deals

I really love Amazon!  I am shopping on Amazon more and more as time goes along and as I find more ways to get the best deals.

Here are the contents of my November Subscribe and Save Box.  With Subscribe and Save, if your box contains 5 or more items you save an additional 15%.  If you order less than 5 items you save 5%.  Any Subscribe and Save eligible item will count toward the 5 items, no matter the price.  Keep in mind that the prices can change at any time, but these are the prices I paid.  Remember to click on any coupons!  Once you add the item to your order, the price is guaranteed for that month. 

1.  Neutrogena T-Gel Shampoo 16 ounce size for only $8.42.  This is a great deal for the large size bottle. My husband needs to use T-Gel Shampoo and its a fairly expensive shampoo.  So I am always on the look out for a good deal.  I often buy it at CVS with coupons and/or Extra Bucks.  I have also bought the store brand at Dollar General, which is a very good deal.   However, he really prefers the name brand T-Gel.  I was very happy to find that its now available for Subscribe and Save!

2.  Kraft Easy Mac pack of 18 individual size macaroni and cheese.  These were $5.46 after the 15% Subscribe and Save discount and the coupon that you just click on.  I thought these would be nice for our grandchildren or to donate to the food pantry.  I think this price has gone up already!

3.  Maxwell House Decaf 29.3 ounce Canister of coffee for $6.72 after the discount and the 25% available coupon.  That's a great deal! I just checked and this price is still good.

4.  Folgers Decaf Hazel Nut 11.5 ounces for $4.03.  That's not bad and I just wanted to give this coffee a try.  I like it!

5.  True Lemon Peach Lemonade sticks 10 count for $2.29.   I love these which I use with a teaspoon of vinegar to aid in weight control.

6.  Kleenex 120 count, 8 boxes for $7.94.  We use a lot of kleenex at our house and this is a pretty good price.  Just noticed that this isn't available for this price any more.  Ratz!

I buy all of our toilet paper through Subscribe and Save, but skipped this month because we were a little overstocked on it!

I have scheduled my Subscribe and Save box to be delivered by the 10th of the month, so I make sure I review my order by the first of the month.  Sometimes I skip some items for the month or cancel them altogether.  I never just let an item come every month without checking the current price and checking to see if I need and want it.

A couple of benefits of Subscribe and Save are that you don't have to have a Prime membership and there are no shipping charges.  Also, you can cancel any item at any time.