Save $$$ Shopping Online

I wanted to post this really quick just 'cause I was thinking about it...

I am a huge online shopper.  I have a bad habit of staying up late, surfing the net on my Ipad, and making impulse buys.  Most of the time I'm not disappointed though, so it works out!

There is one site I usually go to first though, especially if I know what I'm looking to buy.  It's called Great Canadian Rebates.  For all my fellow Canadians who shop online, if you haven't checked this site out yet - you should!

How it works is you sign in to the GCR site, then go to any of the stores they have available (I don't know the exact count - well over 300 though).  By clicking to the store through the GCR site, you are then eligible to receive the discount that particular store offers by shopping thru GCR.  The rebate is not applied at the check out - you receive the money in your GCR account.  After a period of time (there is payout schedule on the site) this money will be deposited in your Paypal account.  It may seem like a lot of work, but you really just need to have a Paypal account, and then sign up for GCR.  Easy!

There are a variety of stores to choose from, and the rebates range from 0 to 18% or higher.  Each store has it's own rebate amount.  Amazon.ca for example is a place you can shop, but you don't get a rebate really.  The info says you can get free shipping, but with Amazon you don't have to go thru GCR to get free shipping most of the time anyway.  I don't worry so much about going thru GCR when shopping there.  Sears.ca, however, does offer a rebate of 2%.  That may not seem like much, but it all adds up.  Another store I have shopped from thru GCR is SteveMadden.com - the rebate there is 8% - it helps in justifying buying $180 booties :)  I could go on and on with the list of stores I shopped at thru GCR - Dysoncanada.ca, BananaRepublic.ca, and even ebay.ca (which has a 2% rebate per winning bid by the way - sa-weet!).

Not all of the merchants are Canadian, but all offer shipping to Canada - and the dollar is better here right now so, it's really cheaper to shop American!

Anyway, I absolutely love a deal - and the $42 and change in my GCR account right now tells me a little does add up - that's only since March!  Hmm, maybe I do have a problem!

I'm not the PR gal for GCR, but, there is something in this for me if you sign up thru the link below.  If you sign up thru myself, I benefit from every rebate you receive from GCR for the next 2 years!  Isn't that something!  And, once you sign up, you get the same benefit for anyone you refer who signs up thru you (I don't benefit from them as well, only from you)!  And you don't have to do a thing except send your friends an email.  Once they sign up thru you they are linked to you automatically and GCR does all the figuring for you.  How easy is that?

If I don't have you convinced, below is an email suggestion I took right from the website that explains a little (do you see the part about where you get $2 in your GCR account when you sign up?).  It also has the referral link so you can sign up thru me.

Even if you don't want to sign up thru me, for whatever reason, it's still a good deal for all, so I had to share!

Greetings Friends,

You are invited to save!

I wanted to be one of the first to share with you a Canadian online shopping
website that pays you Cash Back Rebates on online purchases. The website is
called GreatCanadianRebates.ca.  Why not join us? Continue to shop online or
become an online shopper at many of your favourite merchants.  The expanding
list of merchants includes: Dell, Expedia, Chapters & Indigo, The Source
by Circuit City, Travelocity, The Apple Store and The Shopping Channel.
Savings and rebates are only a few clicks away.

GreatCanadianRebates.ca is extremely easy to use. To get started, register by
following the link below, shop as you currently do and your rebates will be
automatically credited to your Cash Back Rebate account.
GreatCanadianRebates.ca also has many great coupons, free shipping specials,
and sales directly from the stores.

As a bonus for registering GreatCanadianRebates.ca will give you a Toonie!
That's right, $2.00 will automatically be deposited into your account, just
for registering. GreatCanadianRebates.ca also has an incredible referral
program that will make you money. You will earn a 10% Referral Bonus on all
Cash Back Rebates earned by any new Member you refer.

Please register at:
http://www.GreatCanadianRebates.ca/register/118456/

Happy Shopping and Saving!

- Marsha - 

I love yard sales!

Spring has finally hit in our part of the world, and you can tell by the fact that yard sales are back!  I've always loved yard sales - I can remember going with my mom when I was young, and although in recent years I haven't gone that often, this year will be different!

With the new house must come new decor, right?!  And although I've been a shoppin' fool on Etsy, Ebay, and even Beyond The Rack as of late, yard sales have been a great place to score some good finds too!

Yesterday the man and I headed out pretty early (if you want to catch the good stuff you should go early - and go on Friday evenings if the sellers are hosting at that time - you'll for sure see the best stuff then) and we found 7 just by looking at the local board where everybody posts their items for sale and such.

Below is a pic of the treasures I scored!

The picture frames will eventually be spray painted white for a photo wall I'm inspiring to make.  

The Rod Stewart cassette set will hopefully become artwork, but I'm not sure how yet. 

 The glass pieces I think I will leave alone - I like all the colors just the way they are.

And the books.  It was actually Kev who pointed them out.  Good idea too because I think they make nice decorations.  I liked the color of the blue one and then read the title...'The Assassination of President Kennedy' - I might even read this one some day.

I liked the red color of this one, but it really was the title that made me get it...'The Cow Puncher' - on quick scan it said copyright 1918.  I probably won't read it, but a fun piece I thought!

And here is how some of the above pieces look now sitting on my mantle!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend - did you go to any yard sales?

- Marsha - 

Easy Peasy Homemade Coasters

I guarantee that if you google homemade tile coasters you will find instructions exactly as shown below somewhere, but since I took the trouble to take some pics of my experience making these, I'll just give you a little tutorial on how I did it - and it's super easy - and super cheap!

Gather the following supplies.

4" x 4" ceramic tiles (as many as you want) - I bought mine at the local hardware store for 37 cents each

fabric or paper squares slightly smaller than your tiles - I used fabric for these and then paper for a set I made for a friend

ModPodge

Krylon Transparent Indoor-Outdoor Sealer

Small paint brush or paint sponge - I used one of the blue handled flat brushes

Felt squares for the bottom of the coaster

Start off by giving the (clean) tile a coat of modpodge.

  

Then center your fabric or paper on the tile.  I used a ruler to smooth the fabric.

I let that dry for about 10 - 15 minutes, then I painted on another layer of modpodge, this time going over the fabric.

I gave each coaster 3 layers of modpodge, letting each coat dry for at least 15 minutes in between.

I let the last coat dry for 24 hours, then I sprayed each coaster with the transparent Krylon spray so that the coasters would be waterproof.  Sorry, no pics of the spraying, but I gave each coaster 4 coats of the Krylon spray, letting them dry only 1 minute between coats.  I let the last coat of Krylon dry for 1 hour before bringing them back in the house, where I left them for 24 hours before attaching the felt to the bottom.  I had self adhesive felt, but you could easily use a little craft glue to adhere regular felt, or even fleece.  

Here is the finished product!

For the set I made for a friend (again, sorry no pics), I painted the outside edges of each tile a dark purple and let that dry before I started the above steps.  I then used a lighter purple, patterned paper square, instead of fabric, in the center of the tile.

So, what do you think?  Easy and cheap right?!  Have you seen this somewhere else, and more importantly, have you made these too?  If so, please share!

 - Marsha -  

(I have got to get used to signing my blogs - even if I don't have a fancy font to use for it yet!  Forgive the inconsistency!)

Food Friendly Friday - Week 3 (NOT!)

I'm sorry that I didn't get to this this week, and not just for you (I don't have many followers actually - hint, hint if you are reading this!), but for myself also.  I know it's going to be tough on this household to not have a plan.

Here's the thing.  I started full time at work last week, and come Thursday, I just did not have the energy or motivation to plan - for anything.  No menu, no grocery list - nothing.  I was just beat, let me tell you.

It wasn't really the hours at work that were hard, it was the not getting to bed (or to sleep, rather) that was the issue.  I would go to bed on time (10 - 10:30pm), and tired as I was I just couldn't fall asleep.  I would lay there thinking of what I would have to do at work in the morning, or of which DIY project I wanted to tackle next and how I would accomplish it.  My mind just isn't used to shutting down until around 11:30 or midnight really.

I used to work 8:30am to 3pm Monday to Friday with no lunch break - I just ate while I worked.  Now I work 7:30am to 4:30pm with a 1 hour lunch.  I do enjoy the break - it's great to clear your mind that's for sure, especially since I started full time because I've taken on a bit more work (temporarily) on a daily basis.  The downside is that it is about a 10 minute drive to and from work, and with the cost of gas right now ($1.27.9/L), it really hits the pocket book.  I will be opting to stay at work during the lunch hour for 2 - 3 days per week due to mainly this fact, and the extra mileage it puts on my little Equinox.  I'll just pack a lunch like I used to, and then go for walks now that the weather is nice.  I can use my new snowshoes when the nasty winter hits again.

Anyway, I'll try to be better at the menu plans - as I said, this helps me too.  This week should be interesting - I'll try to at least plan one meal a night in advance and let you know how I fare next Friday when I post the next week's menu - I promise!

Finishing Touches

I'm way behind on showing the last of the cabinet maker's fine work - heck, I'm way behind on blogging period!  (Notice there was no 'Food Friendly Friday' this past week??  Will explain later...)  Without further ado, here it is...

The TV stand.

The mantle...I love the simplicity of it :)

The back porch...so much more practical.

As you can see, this trim still needs to be painted the same color as the walls.  There is some going around the ledge leading to the basement as well that I forgot to take pics of :(

That's it!  Well, actually, ok, so, there is one or two small things.

1.  In the quote there was two shelves I wanted built for my scrapbook space.  I'm not sure if they were forgotten or were scrapped (no pun intended) because of the add-ons we ended up having.  I have to talk to Alex about it still...

2.  I asked him to build me a big mirror.  One that just sits on the floor and leans on the wall.  A big rectangle basically, framed the same as our bathroom mirrors are essentially.  This is seperate from our house though...this was just me as a customer going to him to have him build me one thing.  We'll see what happens with that.

It's such a relief to have this space come together so nicely.  Our choices were good ones and we are very pleased with ourselves!  It's also been fun to be able to start to decorate...I've been a shopping, yard saling, DIYing fool - but it's been so enjoyable!  And to top it off, our house is clean (fine print states this applies only to the upstairs portion of this house)!  There is a space for everything and it's so easy to maintain - I absolutely love it!!!!  Ok, enough of that..

On to other things...

I'm going to try to do a few posts today to get caught up on some stuff...if you continue on, bless you and thank you!

Food Friendly Friday - Week 2

Ok, folks, this weeks menu is really nothing to write about, but since I want to get in the habit, I'll post it anyway.

I'm all by myself for Saturday, Sunday and Monday, so there is no plan for those days.  My man is out of town for work, and kids aren't back until Monday night soooo, why make it hard on myself?  I'll just eat what and when I want!

Tuesday (kids for next 4 days) - Pita Pizzas - no link or recipe for this one!  Just put some pizza sauce, meat and cheese on a pita, bake at around 400F until cheese is melted.  Easy and tasty!

Wednesday - I can't justify having Whatever Wednesday when I really haven't had to cook yet this week, so we are having spaghetti.  Again, no link and no recipe.  I cheat and just add a jar of our favorite sauce to a pound of browned hamburger (with onions and garlic of course!).  We ALWAYS have angel hair pasta with our sauce, and we will have garlic bread of some sort too.

Thursday - Slow Cooker Pork Chops with Mashed Potatoes - Again, no link or recipe.  I throw boneless pork chops, onions and garlic in the slow cooker with a can of mushroom soup over top and voila!  Serve with mashed potatoes and the gravy from the cooker.  YUM!

Friday - Dinner out - since it's just me and the kids, and it's Friday, I thought it would be nice if I took them out for supper this night - you know, spend some 'quality' time with my almost grown ups.

Saturday - Slow and Easy Barbecued Ribs - I know we just had pork 2 days ago, but my man will be home for supper for the first time in a week and he has been bugging me to try this recipe.  It's from the Pillsbury Slow Cooker Recipes cook book.  I haven't tried it yet, but if it turns out good I'll do a whole post on the recipe.

Which reminds me of last week.  We tried some new stuff, but we weren't too thrilled.  The Ham and Parmesan Potatoes might have been good if someone had not thrown away my fresh parmesan cheese without me knowing.  We won't be trying it again with the cheese though - not worth it.  The Shaker Tomato soup was actually good, but of course onions and celery didn't go over well with my picky daughter.  I would maybe make this again, but probably not - tomato soup on it's own is just as good with less effort.  And as for the Spicy Goulash - didn't make it.  Was going to do that yesterday, but the kids complained it was too much new stuff so I did the chicken burgers we were supposed to have tonight instead.  I don't have a plan for tonight, but my man will be heading out of town, so we will probably just grab take-out.  I don't feel too bad about that, it's been a while since we had take-out.  Plus, it's Friday - why not!

If anyone out there did try the Spicy Goulash, or is going to, please let me know if you liked it - I would like to put this one back on the menu to try eventually!

Have a great weekend - I hope the sun is shining wherever you are.  

Happy Mother's Day!

Sew Cute IPad Cover

In my last reno update I said I would post about something I made, so here it is (and yay!  I figured out how to make my links have the text I want, instead of the address!!! Go ahead, click where it says 'last reno update, and it will take you to my last reno update!)...

Check out this cute Ipad cover!

I was checking out some blogs one night and came across an awesome tutorial on how to sew them.

The next day I headed to Walmart to pick up some material I had spied earlier, but didn't buy because it wouldn't work in our home...but it is perfect for this, don't ya think?!

That night I hunkered down and made 3 of them! All 3 are the same material, so I personalized them with a blingy initial and a charm (please ignore my sloppy initials, they didn't turn out as planned - have a new strategy for next time!).

Sorry, I already gave one away, so no pics of that one, but it has an ice cream cone and a piece of candy on it. The lovely lady who received that one was actually the one to think of the charms, and since she happened to be in town visiting the day after I made them, she got to pick her own charms. I think her candy perfectly symbolizes what she and I do when we get together...eat junk!

The tutorial actually shows steps for two flaps at the top, and they fasten with buttons.  I did cut two straps, but because the Ipad is so small (her instructions are for a laptop), I figured I could get away with one.  Also, I'm not a good button-holer (I'll practice at that though :)), so I decided to just sew velcro on instead and it works well.

Here is a link to Lindsay over at The Cottage Home blog. She has lots of really good sewing tutorials if you are into sewing at all, and they are all very well explained (I only made the Ipad cover, but of course had to review all her tutorials to see if I would be at all capable of making anything else!).  If you make an Ipad cover though, share a pic, I'd love to see what material you choose!

Today I finished some really cute coasters - next weekend I'll post the tutorial on how I did them - it was super easy!

How did you spend your weekend?

Marsha