Couponing - lucky lady style...Consider this your Coupon/ Free GiftCards Bible

Capt. Kurt is ready to coupon and get free $ through Stop n Shop!

****Bookmark this page now, I even book marked it myself AND you might want to read it on your smartphone so you can download the apps right away with the links I give you!

Good Morning people! It's Sunday morning so grab your Sunday paper,smartphones, scissors and laptops...lucky lady lafrance is going to change the way you shop and it's going to blow your mind how easy it is getting free gift cards and items like shampoo for $1.00 or free with very little time preparing!

I started to extreme coupon in 2009.  I watched "Extreme Couponing" on TV one night and I thought " I can do this, hard hard can it be?"  For the next 2 years I followed the crazy ass coupon ladies on Facebook and online and I was stockpiling body wash and laundry detergent with the best of them.  I learned how to stack coupons, use extra bucks at CVS, do multiple transactions, use Target coupons with Manufacturer coupons and Target Cartwheel all together to get massive savings.  I was rolling in shampoo, smart water, vitamin water and razors up the wazoo.  I even had the shelves in the basement full of product all lined up OCD style.  I was giving family and friends bags full of products because it would take me 20 years to use 300 razors.  When Kurt was born in 2011 I slowed down but still used my skills to get formula for $8.00 a can and diapers dirt cheap.

 These days, I stock up on only a few items.

This is my bathroom stock pile today.  Small these days.  Did you know Toms Toothpaste has a .75 cent coupon inside the packaging and Stop & Shop will double that to $1.00 or $1.50! 

Pantene Shampoo and Conditioner Only .84 cents each at Stop & Shop.  These are the only products in our house that is not chemical free or natural.  They were on clearance for $2.14 each so I used the following coupons, remember 10 items so the amount on the coupons add up to 10 items. :  I had a $5.00/3 coupon, a $2.00/1 coupon and 6 $1.00/ 1 coupons. So that was 8 coupons.  I always hold onto and collect shampoo coupons for when I see clearance items like this!

Are you ready to get free gift cards to target, old navy and many more stores?  Are you ready to get a check in the mail just because you shopped online?  Are you ready to save money?  Let's get this party started!!!

Free Gift Cards I have used!

Here we go.................

Coupons:
I use two main sources to get my coupons, the Sunday paper or I print them online at Coupons.com  .
Coupons are all over the internet and sometimes simply emailing a company asking for them works too. My father gives me the Sunday paper coupons and I print coupons for products I know I am buying.  Coupons.com will let you print 2 coupons per computer. ( if you can print from your iphone, props to you, then you can print 4) In my extreme days, I would print from all my co-workers computers to get 10 coupons on a item I needed. You can also buy coupons on Ebay such as B1G1 Free Bic Razors   I would buy these 20 coupons for 99 cents and I would go to CVS or some store and use 10 of them and have enough razors for a year and give the rest away!  It's worth spending .99 cents for 20 coupons, getting 1 coupon in the Sunday Paper cost $2.00 or $2.50!  There is also My Coupon Hunter, her website has tons of coupons to buy cheap.  I subscribe to Sunday Coupon Preview.  Every week they send out what coupons will be in the paper on Sunday, this way I can order some online if I want a specific coupon.  Like I said, these days I don't stockpile but I will buy specific items in bulk when I can get them next to nothing or free:)


Weekly Ads / Weekly Deals
When I sit in bed on Sunday or Monday night cutting my coupons, I also read the store flyers that show their weekly deals. I usually just check CVS, Target, Stop & Shop and Market Basket ( aka " The Basket").  I follow some die hard couponers on Instagram as well.  I only follow the ones I posted below, too many and it clogs up your feed. All day long they post deals, where to get them and step by step detailed instructions on how to get it.  Win -Win right there folks.  Let them find the deals and tell you how to get them! 

CVS:
I love CVS.  The staff in Kingston knows me since I have been in 4 times a week for god only knows how many years!  CVS is the easiest place to get a good deal. Simply paying attention to coupons and deals each week has saved me a ton of money!

So for CVS, check the weekly ad.  They always offer some kind of Vitamin , Shampoo amd Laundry Detergent deal and typically all have a coupon in the Sunday paper ( CVS even tells you if there is a coupon to use)! Those are the three things I will never pay full price for, EVER.  2 Weeks ago they had Buy 1 get 1 Fee of a new Tide Detergent.  I had 2 coupons that were $2.00 off 1 bottle.  I was able to use both coupons since it was 2 bottles.  Hint:  you can use 1 coupon per item, even if it is b1g1 free. The Tide was around $6.75 each, so I used (2) $ 2.00/1   and it was b1g1 free so I paid around $ 2.75 for 2 bottles.  I did this deal two times.  CVS will limit these deals so one person does not buy all the product on the shelf.  I think the limit on this was 4 per person.
Vitamins is another product I buy only with coupons and extrabucks and I buy TONS!

Here is Purchase #1 above.   I had 3 coupons to use.  1 coupon was a $10.50 extrabucks coupon, and I had (2) $2.00/1 Nauture Made Gummy Vitamins( just cut from Sunday coupons).  I saved $14.50 and I got back (2) $5.00 extrabucks coupons for each bottle of gummy vitamins bought.( deal was buy 1 bottle get $5.00 in extrabucks)  Extrabucks can be used anytime. They are not "coupons"  They are $ off your entire purchase.

I then tore off those 2 extrabucks coupons for my 2nd transaction.

I used 3 coupons and the 2 $5.00 extrabucks coupons. One coupon per bottle of Sundown and the CVS brand was b1g1 free.  So I saved a total of $31.96 and I got back another $3.00 in extrabucks.  So for both transactions I saved $ 46.46 plus my $3.00 extrabucks that kicked out after purchase #2.   I know this might look crazy, but it only took me 45 seconds to cut the coupons and about 2 minutes in the Vitamin isle deciding which ones I needed.  The peeps at CVS are used to people doing 2 transactions to use extrabucks that same day, so it's not a big deal.  There is a great coupon based website for CVS. I will check this out as well to make sure I don't miss a great deal. Head on over to I heart CVS, she is the best CVS website, she breaks down every deal and tells you where the coupon is located ( sunday paper on online). No brainer.

Target:
Where do I begin? Seriously, I freakin love Target. The One Spot is my favorite part of the store.  You know, the bins on the right hand side when you walk in the store or left side, depending on what store you are in.  Everything is either $1.00 or $3.00 and if you go right after a holiday it is marked down 70-90% ( I hit it just right after Halloween and bought jars for my bath soak for 20 cents)!  I am Obsessed. I posted some DIY crafts last night on the lucky lady facebook page, we made a fun valentines banner for only $2.00 and my popular bath soak in bottles that were only $1.00 and $1.50 ! Ok here we go....

Get the Target red card.  The red card program can either be attached to your credit card or debit card and you will get 5% off every purchase when used. You will also get free shipping online and 30 extra days for returns! You can apply online or simply go to customer service in the store and sign up ( you will get a print out to use until your card comes in the mail) I have mine attached to my debit card, this way I don't go bananas when I am in Target.  The next thing to do is download the Cartwheel App.  The cartwheel app has deals that are not in the weekly flyer.These deals range from 5-60% off items.  Open the app before you shop and see if there is anything you might want, then at checkout, open the cartwheel app and the cashier will scan the bar code.  Boom done. Cartwheel deals can be used with coupons AND Target coupons. So you can use 3 different coupons on 1 item.  See, Target rules.  It's one of the only store that has 3 ways to save on one item!

PS.  Remember I showed you the Bic B1G1 Free coupons you can buy right now on ebay....Go to Target and use that coupon and also use the cartwheel deal.  So you will get B1G1 free AND 30% off!  Win Win!

I posted above that I follow " targetfanatic" on Instagram.  She also has a great website that I also check out from time to time to refresh my memory about using multiple coupons, etc.  Here is the link to her "Target 101" page, it's a Target bible, bookmark it on your smartphone.
Click here..Target 101- Bible

My $190.00 Target haul for only $23.50!

I am super happy about these lights, $2 bucks a box!!!  Using them on my deck this spring/summer in pots!

 Above is my target haul from Thursday. I am very proud of this grab:)  I went in looking for glass ornaments on clearance for my uncle ( he makes amazing ornament wreaths) and I managed to get everything in the picture for $23.50!  Oh ya, you read that right, $23.50 is what I handed the cashier!  I hit it just right. Christmas Clearance was up to 90% off.  The Philips Branch lights were only $2.19 per box originally $21.00 each and all the ornaments shown cost $8.40 originally $81.00!  I got 2 iphone cases for .50 cents each, candles for $1.48, Hersey Kisses for .50 cents! Stickers, jars, cards, lights, paper lanterns that light up, socks for Kurt, small gift bags, tissue paper, pens, 'L" ornaments, bows for next xmas wrapping and Mrs. Meyers soap!!! This was a great haul!  I also used a $25.00 gift card that I earned for free from my favorite app....
I saved $145.90!!!!

Best haul to date I got at Target!

Walmart:
Walmart has low prices regardless on most items.  We only grab a few items there but they do have really low prices online that you can choose to " pick up in store"  I was able to grab a Wireless Color Canon Printer for $25.00 online and pick it up in the store!  Walmart has a app and in it is the " Savings Catcher" option.  After you make a purchase at Walmart, open the app and scan your receipt.  It will scan all the local stores and if a item is priced lower it will give you the difference.  So far after scanning 5 receipts I have saved $1.81   Let this add up then choose a gift card.  It's just another way to save $ and get a free gift card!

Stop & Shop
I love my Hannaford but when it comes to coupons and gas points, Stop & Shop is the way to go.
Stop & Shop will double manufacturer coupons up to 99 cents and typically there is no limit on how many you use.  That does vary per store, but my local store has never had any limits.  If you don't use a Stop & Shop card, get one.  Simply head over to the customer service desk and get one.  It's free.  Save money and get free gas points to save $ per gallon at  local gas station that offers your points.  Today I did not scan my Stop & Shop card when I was checking out.  I realized it when I paid so I walked over to customer service, handed them my receipt and my Stop & Shop card and they gave me the difference back in cash ( I paid cash).  I was given back almost $8.00.  The gas points are fantastic.  I used 800 points the other day and filled up for $ 1.81 per gallon!  Stop & Shop also works with Ibotta ( I will show you that next). 

I forgot to scan my card, went to customer service and got cash back on savings and they added my gas points on as well:)

Market Basket:  The place rules.  They have crazy low prices, a fantastic bakery and good pizza!  In the summer they usually have the best prices on Lobsters and cook them for no charge.  Last summer I went in with a cooler, had 10 cooked, loaded them in my cooler and brought home a cooked meal!  They will take coupons too.  I don't have one right down the street from me but the hubs works next door to one ( Sagamore) so he stops in a few days a week and picks up items on sale we need.

Soooo, are you as excited as I am about how easy it is to save money using coupons?  Wait, it get's better.  I will now tell you about my 2 favorite money saving sites/apps that I use everyday and get free gift cards and cash for using.  Yuppers.  Free gift cards and cash.  Cold hard moolah. 

FREE Gift cards I have got and used. FREE. 

Ebates!!!!!!!!!!! 
If you are friends with me on my personal facebook page, then you have seen me post about the website Ebates   This is my all time favorite website to use.  Not only does it give you cash back for simply shopping online at over 100 top online retailers, but it also will list all deals and coupon codes for that store online. Right now if you were to go online and shop Old Navy, you would log into Ebates search Old Navy, click shop now and Old Navy would open up and you would get 7% cash back from Ebates   All the online stores will differ in cash back amounts and coupon codes every day so sign in just like you would to email and keep that tab open.  My BFF bought her new TV at Sears.com and went through Ebates and got 10% cash back.  She is getting $300.00 bucks!!  When you shop through Ebates, it keeps a log of your trip and every three months will send you a check. Checks are sent out on these dates:  Feb 15th, May 15th, Aug 15th and Nov 15th.  As of today, I have $45.00 waiting to be sent to me!

Click on this link: Sign up for Ebates! And it will give you a free $10.00 gift card for signing up for Free! Once you shop online and spend $25.00 it will be sent to you!  My friend Danille Antoniotti got her $10.00 gift card today in the mail from signing up from the link I sent her!  It's fool proof folks. Get $ for shopping online like you already do.  Every day log into Ebates and keep that tab open:)

My friend Paul at Whole Foods, he gave me a free bowl if his soup:)

Ibotta:
Here is a App to get cash back from Grocery Shopping.  Download the app here:  Ibotta App! By clicking the link I provided you join my Ibotta team and the more people on your team the more cash you can make with bonuses!
Once downloaded on your smart phone open the app and choose the store you are shopping at and check out the items that offer cash rebates.  I was in Whole Foods and I bought Organic Vanilla Extract and got $2.00 back.

Ibotta App welcome page

Items with rebate amount, Cash back amount!

I have got $20.25 cash back! Join my team and start earning too! Ibotta!!

Before I grocery shop at Whole Foods, Stop & Shop or Hannaford, I open my Ibotta App on my phone and check out what is offered for a rebate and if it's one I am going to buy I make sure I scan my receipt after I shop!  So I bought the Vanilla Extract, clicked on the item, redeemed the rebate, scanned the bar code then receipt and submitted.  This took me 1 minute as I was putting my groceries away and now I will get $2.00 added to my tally.  Once you hit $10.00, you can have it sent to a bank account or a paypal account.  Since I started using the app in late November, I have got $ 20.25 cash back.  Listen folks, it all adds up!  I adore flowers.  I love having a vase of flowers on my kitchen table every week and I can because I coupon and spend that one minute scanning a receipt to get cash back!!

I was in Whole Foods at lunch the other day to purchase Coconuts for my post about making Fresh Organic Coconut oil for less $.  I got a lesson from Kris in Produce about Coconuts.  I'm still working on the Coconut Oil, stay tuned for that!

Did you know that a young coconut's meat is jelly like and can be eaten with a spoon, it's that soft:)

Kris in Produce gave me a Coconut lesson!

I would work at Whole Foods, my OCD would make me employee of the month!

AND FINALLY!  The BEST APP EVER!!!!

SHOPKICK!!!

Who ever created this app needs a hug. A big bear hug. So you get " kicks" by simply walking into stores, scan a few products if you wish for even more kicks and then use your kicks you have earned to get FREE GIFT CARDS...um hello, sign me up!  I started using Shopkick in mid November ( 2 months ago) and since then I have got $ 70.00 in FREE Gift Cards! I have got Old Navy and Target ones.

It works like this......Open your Shopkick App before you go shopping.  Check out what stores are giving " Walk In" kicks and Scan kicks.  So as you can see from the picture above, Marshalls is giving you 50 Kicks just to walk in the store.  I turn my Bluetooth on when I am shopping because some stores have a beacon at the front door and some do not, so it helps to have your Bluetooth on so it can find the signal.  Once you walk in the store you will hear a ding, look at your phone and you will see this...

As I walked into Target

Target was giving 30 Walk In Kicks this day

Each day and store is different, so always check before headed out shopping.  Once you Sign up for Free, you will get emails about what stores are giving Big Walk Ins!  If I have a few minutes to spare, I will scan some items in the store to get even more Kicks. 

Above are items to scan in Target.  Just by scanning 3 different packs of diapers, you would get 75 kicks.
I have noticed that the scans every week or month are the same per store, so once you scan them at say Target, when you go to Walmart you know to swing by the diapers and scan them there.  It's per store, not per item so you could scan at Target, Walmart and Stop and Shop all in one day.

Here is my $25.00 Gift Card I used on my big ass haul!

Above shows Free Gift Cards I have used from my Kicks.  On my big Target haul the other day, I used a $25.00 Gift card that I got from Shopkick!  The best part is you can be sitting in line and redeem a gift card and have the cashier scan it right there!  No waiting at all, it's instant.
So can you see why this is my favorite app for free gift cards!  I am in these stores all week anyway, so I am not wasting anytime at all to get the free gift cards.  The only time spent was downloading the app and signing up which took all of 2-3 minutes.  Dowload it here now!!!

Well folks, that is my coupon / cash back  / free gift card lesson for you:)

I hope you learned a few things and I really hope you at least download Shopkick and sign up for Ebates!  Those are my two favorite.

Have a great Sunday everyone!

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Thank you:)
xoxoxoxox
erica








 

10,000 Steps TEN THOUSAND STEPS 10K Steps

So how far do you think 10,000 steps is?  Personally, I did not care about steps until Christmas morning when I opened my fun new gift from the hubs, a Garmin Vivofit .  

Here she is!  My new permanent bracelet.  Funny how this little thing makes me hit my 10,000 step goal per day.  Well done hubs, well done.  You know I love a challenge and I set a certain goal this year that will be achieved with the help of this.  I LOVE IT!  ( talk to me in a few weeks when I hate 10,000 steps)  You can choose any amount of steps per day, I have decided that 10,000 is the number for me.  It's hard to hit if I don't take a walk so that makes me hit the pavement or sand because my walk can be 5,000 steps or more.

I see people wearing similar fitness bands made by Fitbit.  The hubs said he researched all the bands and he liked the Garmin because of the features it had and the cost.  My Garmin cost around $130.00 and it shows me the date, time, steps achieved, steps to my goal, calories burned, miles completed, lights up at night and goes into sleep mode at night.  The Fitbit is similar in price but does not show you anything, you need to log online.  The Fibit that does show all these features runs around $ 250.00.  

Calories Burned  -  The red line means I have been sitting too long ( working on the computer)

I am lucky to get one for Christmas but if you want to get one online I suggest going through Ebates.   Simply sign up for Ebates and when you shop online and get cash back.  Hello? Sign up people, it's a total win.  Why would you shop online and not go through Ebates  ?????  Get cash back to shop.  It's SIMPLE!  AND, right now when you click on the Ebates link that I have now typed 4 times, you get a $10.00 bonus!
( PS. I am working on my Coupon Blog Post for the weekend....get those scissors ready....)

Another way to log your steps is through your smart phone.  The apps available for health and fitness are endless.  Find one that will work with you and track your steps:) Simply keep it in your pocket while on a walk or jog and or  all day.  You will be amazed how many steps it takes to clean the house or do 1 hr of clean up and laundry.

Total Miles

ANYWAY, every night I log my daily activity.  I did download the app on my iphone, but I still love paper and pen.  I write in my 2015 planner.  This way I can look back and see the days I kicked ass and the days I was a slouch on the couch.
 
At the end of the month I will post my total steps starting today.  Join me! At the end of the month I will have a survey to fill out where you can log your activity.  The person with the most steps will receive a gift basket of my LaFrance Luxury Bath Soaks/Sugar Scrubs.  Start tracking those steps and be a healthier you.  AND it will jump start that diet or weight loss goal you might have set for yourself:) 


Keep up the good work! 

Does anyone think this star fruit looks creepy?  I Do! AND it reminds me of Star on the Goodnight show ( some of you will know what I am talking about) If you have not tried Passion Fruit I suggest you do. It is so yum, good for you AND it is sooooo fragrant, my kitchen smells amazing:)

HEY! I joined Twitter!  Follow me!  Just another way for me to post my blog and sea glass pictures! HAHAHAHAHAAH    My twitter!

Follow me on Instagram! .. My Instagram

"SHOUT OUT" My gold bracelet in the photos was made by Lexi Lynch.  She lives on the amazing and beautiful Cuttyhunk Island.  I get compliments every single day on it.  She makes them to order so if anyone is interested, let me know! This is Cuttyhunk...Now she is one lucky lady:)

Good night all!
Don't forget to take 20 minutes for you.  Just you.  Alone.
xoxoxoxxoxo
erica

PS.  Thank you all for the positive feed back:) I love all the messages, emails and texts sent to me about my new blog.  It means the world to me and I hope you all continue to enjoy it! 

Slow it Down......

It's finally over.
Thank god.  
The holidays are over. 

Our last family Christmas party was yesterday and I could not be happier .  I LOVE the holidays but I am also so happy when the first Monday after New Years comes.  It's the first day of back to "normal".  Back to our schedules, work, clean cooking, and water in the morning not a mimosa, triple chocolate mocha or leftover cookies.  I am very thankful for this as is my wicked dry skin and dehydrated body!

This resolution is all you need in 2015.  Just be more awesome at everything you do.





So here it is, the first Monday.  Time to start eating healthier and ridding your body of all the processed foods and sugar from the holidays.  Sounds easy right?  Fat chance.  Well, for me anyway. I find it hard the first week cutting out the sugars, yummy treats and rich foods.   Sugar acts like a drug in your body, it can even cause withdrawl symptoms when you cut it out completely. Sugar activates the same brain regions as cocaine!!!!!  If you think you are in a bad mood going back to work after your holiday vacation, try cutting out all sugar!  Some studies have shown will be cranky, get headaches, cause fatigue and flu like symptoms.  With that being said and saving my family from me being a even bigger bitch, I cut out sugar slowly. 

My breakfast this morning.  8 ounces of vegetable juice and 1 piece of whole wheat bread with coconut oil.  This still has natural sugar in the fresh juice as well as sugar in the bread but for me it was better than the breakfast casseroles and left over desserts of weeks past. 

For lunch I will make a smoothie with fresh coconut water and frozen bananas and maybe some raw almonds or egg white salad.  Again, not cutting out sugar, just choosing natural sugar.  If I am on the road, I will grab a chia bar and almonds to snack on and skip the smoothie.  

Here is an amazing chopped salad recipe I am making tonight for my lunches the rest of the week....

• 2 broccoli crowns
• 1 head cauliflower
• 2-3 carrots
• 1 small bunch kale (stems removed)
• 1 cup parsley
• 1/2  cup sunflower seeds
• 3/4cup almonds, chopped
• 1 cup dried berries (cherries, cranberries, blueberries)
• 1 cup raisins
• Juice of one lemon
• 2 tablespoons rice vinegar (or other mild flavored vinegar)
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup
• Salt & pepper (to taste)
• Top it with unsweetened organic coconut ( see next blog for recipe)

1. Cut the broccoli and cauliflower into florets.
2. Cut the carrots into large chunks.
3. Roughly chop the kale.
4. In a food processor fitted with a steel blade, process the broccoli, cauliflower, kale and parsley until fine and add them to a large mixing bowl. (It will probably take more than one batch)
5. Process the carrots and add to the bowl.
6. Stir to combine.
7. Add the sunflower seeds, almonds, and dried fruit.
8. Stir to combine.
9. Add lemon juice, vinegar and syrup.
10. Toss to coat.
11. Taste, and add salt and/or pepper as needed.
12. Top each serving with unsweetened organic coconut ( see next blog for recipe)   
    
       
    
      This makes a huge amount of salad so share with your friends:)

Dinner will be easy.  We cook lean protein dinners with veggies all the time, so getting back on track will be easy.  I am actually looking forward to a big plate of roasted veggies, they are my favorite!

It's all about smarter choices.  Check out this list of sugar names that are on labels.  Take a picture with your smart phone and reference it in the store or on labels.

1. Barley malt                                        
2. Beet sugar
3. Brown sugar
4. Buttered syrup
5. Cane juice crystals
6. Cane sugar
7. Caramel
8. Corn syrup
9. Corn syrup solids
10. Confectioner’s sugar
11. Carob syrup
12. Castor sugar
13. Date sugar
14. Demerara sugar
15. Dextran
16. Dextrose
17. Diastatic malt
18. Diatase
19. Ethyl maltol
20. Fructose
21. Fruit juice
22. Fruit juice concentrate
23. Galactose
24. Glucose
25. Glucose solids
26. Golden sugar
27. Golden syrup
28. Grape sugar
29. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
30. Honey
31. Icing sugar
32. Invert sugar
33. Lactose
34. Maltodextrin
35. Maltose
36. Malt syrup
37. Maple syrup
38. Molasses
39. Muscovado sugar
40. Panocha
41. Raw sugar
42. Refiner’s syrup
43. Rice syrup
44. Sorbitol
45. Sorghum syrup
46. Sucrose
47. Sugar
48. Treacle
49. Turbinado sugar
50. Yellow sugar

I'm not going to run into my kitchen and check every label this moment, but I will slowly check them as I buy them.  Take is slow.  If you do anything in moderation it works.  

Don't forget to drink your water.  If you do anything right today, drink a ton of water!!!

Warm water with fresh lemon juice first thing in the morning, then water all day and night.  If you like tea and love those cinnamon hearts they sell at CVS around valentines day then buy this tea:  Harney and Sons   Hot Cinnamon Sunset ( I get mine at Foodies in town)   My go to tea at night since I am not going to eat a large bowl of mint chip ice cream:(

Just remember, no matter what you are trying to change or quit, slow it down.  Slowly eliminate sugar, bad fats, bad carbs or smoking for that matter.  I say this from my personal experiences.  Every time I do something 100% from the starting block, I fail,quit or it never lasts.  If I do it slowly it works.   I find cooking healthy and making new recipes fun and even better when serving it to friends and family:)

I hope everyone is having a good first day back to a full regular week!   Don't forget to take 20-30 minutes today or tonight for you.  Just you.  Alone.  And yes, you do have time. Make time, it's very important  :)   xoxoxo




On the blog this week:  $1.50 Organic Coconut Oil and Un-Sweetened Shredded Coconut!!!!!  DIY!!

Follow me on Instagram!   ERICA_LAFRANCE   Click here!

Thanks!
xoxoxoxo  erica

Happy New Year! Show us what you got 2015

Happy New Year! Bye Bye 2014! Hello 2015!

Happy New Year everyone!  

I hope everyone had a great New Years Eve with family or friends, at home or away and continuing traditions or creating new ones.  However you celebrated, I hope it was memorable:) This year we started a new tradition for New Years Eve, ice bowls.  I will show you how to make them in this post. As a family we wanted to watch the sunrise this morning at Duxbury Beach and start that as a new tradition but 1 out of 3 made it.  I went and met a friend while my husband and son stayed in bed sleeping.  Next year we will all go.  The sun rose at 7:10 am today which in my book is a perfect time.  Talk to my this summer and see how many times I see the sunrise!

Every New Years day people set resolutions, "quit" something or join a gym.  That's my favorite one.  The gym owners love January because their membership increases by 50% , it's busy for 2 weeks then it's back to normal.  They still collect your monthly fee and you are home on the couch telling yourself you will cancel that membership tomorrow and still forget.  The gym wins every time.    That is why a few years ago I started writing down a few goals that I wanted to achieve that coming year.  These goals can be anything you want.  I found my 2013 Goals which I attached to our calendar in our kitchen.  These made me laugh, proud and sad.  Laughing at myself and my unrealistic weight goal, proud of goals I did make and sad about a goal that I can never have again.  This reminds me that we all need to slow down.  SLOW IT DOWN.  Enjoy what is around you.  Maybe this year you don't rvsp to every party and every event.  Maybe this year you set aside Sunday mornings just for you or family time.  I personally will be setting time aside for me as well as time with my family alone and unplugged.  As for goals, I have some I try to do every year like cooking a meal for the senior center, write as many hand written letters as I can ( yes, mail them with a stamp) learn a new hobby/craft and so on.  So with those goals, living a healthy lifestyle, exercising and cooking with real food I think 2015 will be amazing.

New Years Eve was fun!  

I started the day meeting my best friend for a walk on the beach. This would be my last walk of 2014 and it was perfect.  It was a chilly walk but I found some great sea glass and a sea glass marble!  

Here is my marble!  It has a red and white swirl in it.

I was excited about my marble!

Amy and I also found a pocket full of sea glass.  When I got home I formed it out in a heart shape.  There is a tiny cornflower blue piece that is a heart shape and a large coke bottle piece which I love.  Not a bad last walk.  Looking forward to what 2015 sea glass walks will bring:)

On Tuesday night we were so happy it was so cold outside,we could finally try our ice bowls!  We put a few drops of food coloring in a balloon then filled it with water.  We put them out on the lawn overnight and the next morning we took the balloon off and found this!

 I rinsed them all off and placed them on table on my tiny deck.

 

We used our ice bowls as candle holders, the weather was perfect!

Then we decided what better way to enjoy our ice cream than in a ice bowl!  So hopefully every years it is cold enough for Ice Bowls!

What a great way to enjoy ice cream or sundaes with the kids!  I think this will be a great weekend craft this winter it's not only cool but educational:)

Chinese food is the go to for New Years Eve for most families.  Every year my parents come over for dinner.  We used to order take out as well but the past few years we have made our own or some to add to our dinner.   This year we decided to cook steak tips and pork tenderloin on the grill and make homemade Egg Rolls.  I just looked online and used this recipe: Egg Roll Recipe 

They were very easy and quick to make.  I think we will be trying this again with different fillings:)

Kurt and Da being funny 12/31/14

 Fast, easy and delicious!  I highly suggest trying them:)

I hope everyone is having a relaxing New Years Day and if you are hungover try this:
a cup of fruit juice
a cooked egg, any way
a banana or kiwi
and a few big glasses of water!

Sunrise on 1/1/15 and a snowy owl on Duxbury Beach
Took me 20 minutes to get close enough this morning to get a picture this close before he flew away.  He was beautiful.


Love, health and much gratitude in 2015!

xoxo
erica