Odds & ends

Hi everyone

The weather has been great this week. I'm so thankful for warmer weather. My daffodils have started blooming. They're so pretty. The weather's so nice that I placed my lemon tree outside today to catch some sun rays. I bought 2 blueberry bushes on clearance at Menards last year & I'm happy to see that they survived winter. I just hope they keep thriving when I have to replant them after I move. I miss planting this year :( Just a few things that have happened around here. 

• Received a $20 Chicos semi annual reward. Of course they increased their prices again, so I'm hoping to find something that doesn't cost me any or very little OOP.

• Kohls has extra 50% off clearance again, so I used my $10 KC (monthly reward) to buy items to resell.

• Received another free item Q from BBW. 

• I've been waiting for a good Rakuten discount to purchase my new desktop. I knew that the retailer had 5% cash back before, but it was only 1% when I needed to make my purchase. I checked Rakuten & the retailer daily & last Monday saw that the computer was marked down by $80. I didn't even bother waiting for that 5%, because $80 off was a bigger discount. I went ahead and ordered my computer.

• Ordered an Easter gift & stir fry sauce from Target (the Korean BBQ isn't sold at my local store, so I buy it online). When I received the items, the entire box was filled with stir fry sauce. They packed 5 glass bottles into a plastic bag (no bubble or protective wrap) and then didn't even have proper filler for the rest of the box...smdh. One bottle was completely shattered (only the bottom of that bottle was left). Did online chat & they refunded my money. I threw out the stir fry sauce, because I wasn't going to risk using the rest without knowing if there's glass splinters in or on those bottles. Well, DS got a free $60 gift, but that was a huge mess to deal with. I could've done without it. Now I need to wait until I can find the sauce at another location, because I might end up getting broken bottles if I buy online again.

• Bought Nathan's hot dogs at Sams and when I got home, I noticed that the best buy date was for a week earlier. Ugh, this is the 2nd time I got expired meat from Sams (2 different locations). The crazy part is that when I got the package in store, I thought to myself 'check the date'. I wasn't wearing my glasses and DS was waiting with the cart on the side, so I didn't get around to checking the date. Yes, I'm one of those people who check expiration dates...lol I usually purchase the items with later dates. They refunded my money, but I needed the sausages to make sausage rolls for DS. Well, good thing that happened, because Kroger OM sausages (we love the smokies) were $1.99 each last week, so I paid 50% less for the same amount of sausages. 

• I purchased storage totes at Sams. I figure I'm better off buying totes instead of boxes for my move. This way I can still use the totes in future. 

• I found a house I really, really like in the neighboring town. It's listed by my realtor's agency, so I have the inside scoop. The entire house is beautiful - nicely updated (I'm a modern girl). I want a move in ready house. One thing I like about houses built in the 90s, is that the basements have ceilings. That house's kitchen is gorgeous too!!! All white & gray - clean fresh look - just the way I like it. My navy blue kitchen accessories will match perfectly. Kitchens & bathrooms are my favorite places in a house. I also love a good size closet. I NEED a large closet. Well, I've always wanted a walk in closet, so if I find a house with enough bedrooms, I will turn one room into a walk in closet if the bedroom doesn't have a big enough one. The downside. It's $80k over my budget :( Ugh!! I can't afford to spend that much right now. 

• I need to buy new luggage before I can get rid of my old luggage (I'm on a roll with decluttering & packing), but the new luggage is pricey. I don't have any travel plans. I'm just a planner. I like to have all my ducks in a row. The last 2 times I went to SA, my luggage was stolen. In fact, I saw a women lift my luggage off the conveyer belt, not check the tag and just hold onto it. I went over and asked her about the luggage & she just shrugged it off. Then it hit me that she was just gonna take my luggage home with her. I was so mad, because I flew to SA for my parents' funerals.
  
  This time I'm getting hard luggage & all kinds of security features (gotta love the digital age). I need new luggage in case there's ever an emergency with my family. If I need to travel to SA at short notice, I'll already have luggage available (I always keep our passports updated) and just go to my spare closet for new clothes. Easy peasy.   

• Since the weather was good on Monday, I decided to wear a new outfit. No more sweats for me.  I have a closet full of clothes, so I decided to treat myself (from my spare closet)...lol. This is what a $42 outfit looks like.
  
  WHBM Jeans - $1.99 after bonus reward discount
  Chicos Tunic - $10 sale
  Chicos denim jacket - $10 sale (I'm not much into florals, but the price was good. I like the longer length and frayed hem). 
  Skechers flats - $20 clearance
  
  The shoes isn't a perfect match to my outfit, but it's closest in color to the olive (which I have very little of). If you want comfortable shoes and/or you're a dog or cat lover, try Bobs by Skechers. A portion of each sale goes towards supporting dogs/cats.  I love this brand!! I've had a few pairs over the years. They are cute & comfy. Much better than Toms. I've never had Toms before, but I've seen them before and their insoles are nothing like the Bobs memory foam ones.
  
  DISCLAIMER : I'm in no way associated with Bobs/Skechers and don't earn any commission from them. The opinions expressed are solely my own. 

Today I decided to wear the same shoes & jeans with a white kimono top (mix & match). It was hot, so I painted my toenails and decided to wear sandals. I figured the sandals didn't go well with a cargo jeans, so I wore blue ankle jeans and a white eyelet tee. 

Sandals - FREE. I purchased these for vacation before the pandemic (black & brown) and added extra items to help cover my expenses. The items sold like hot cakes, so I ended up with 2 free pairs of sandals. That brand is hard to find now. 

WHBM laser cut jeans - $10 (paid with a xmas gc)

Chicos eyelet tee - $10 or $15 (paid with a xmas gc)

So today's outfit was basically free!

I've decided to take a break from stockpiling. It defeats the purpose of downsizing to move. So I'll redeem my CVS & RA rewards (Wags rewards are good for a year). It's not like we need more HBA anyway. I just need some hair color. 

That's all I can think of right now. I'll post my numbers when I get a chance. I'm just dealing with some personal stuff right now. 

Have a wonderful weekend peeps!