The Bargain Hound

My fiance and I have been engaged five weeks. In that five weeks we have accomplished arranging and picking out almost everything that we need for our wedding.  During the first week we booked the church and minister.  My very involved groom-to-be arranged to view two possible reception sites and took pictures for me. My fiance had a day off that week, I did not.  At the end of the that first week we registered for basic household items at Wal-Mart.  And by the weekend after our engagement booked the honeymoon.

Going into the second week, we registered for our fine, everyday, and holiday china, silver, and crystal.  That so very fun for both of us! I ordered the invitations, reception items, and my bride’s book from Ann’s Bridal Bargains .  I was so very pleased with Ann’s Bridal Bargains.  The invitations were very reasonably priced.  And the turn around time was truly wonderful.  I ordered my invitations the Tuesday after Labor Day and they were delivered by the next Tuesday.

Now I just have to finish addressing the invitations!

My computer power supply went ca-put about two weeks ago.  Thankfully, it was an inexpensive repair.  But in these two weeks I have learned something, I am computer dependent.  I have had to remember how I did things before a computer was readily available.

No computer ever ‘dies’ at a convenient time. However, I am in the middle of planning my wedding.  Talk about an inconvenient time.  Add to that my mother is getting ready to change health insurance since she is turning 65 next month.  I needed my computer to research health insurance options for her.  Never mind that she has a gazillion booklets from every health insurance medicare option provider in the country.

The booklets were information overload.  And the exact reason I wanted to do my research via the internet.  When I type a phrase into a search engine, I can usually decipher the spam links from the legitimate links.  And after going to a site quickly decipher needed information from irrelevant.

And my blog has suffered.  It is very hard to post a blog it you don’t have a computer.  So the Bargain Hound has been out of touch for a few weeks.  But I am back to happy hunting now.

I got engaged last weekend. My fiance and I are planning a short engagement, just three months.

I have begun to shop for items and in that shopping I am keeping an eye out for good bargains. Ways to stretch our budget without skimping on the elegance wanted for the wedding.

I have ordered a few invitation samples from Ann’s Bridal Bargains.

And as always I will do a majority of my online shopping through Sunshine Rewards.

Stay tuned for further planning and saving ideas.

My name is Prudenceshops and I am a make-up snob. Well, more of a foundation snob. I wear cheap drug store blush, eyeliner, and eyeshadow. As well as some of the department store brands. And I have fallen in love with the Garnier Nutritioniste line of skin care products. However, I cannot find a drug store brand of foundation that I like, try as I may.

The Bargain Hound in me really wants to find a full coverage foundation that doesn’t cost $20-$50. However, I haven’t succeed. And I have decided to stop trying. I’ve wasted too much money. Making the department store brands’ prices appear to be the better bargain.

Which is how I actually started wearing the better brands to begin with. I am not into the natural look. If I wanted to look natural, I wouldn’t wear make-up at all. I love a full coverage foundation. So the lesser quality foundations require me to use more thus costing as much as the higher quality that last three times as long.

Of course, my favorite foundation Estee Lauder Maximum Coverage, isn’t available in ivory at the local department stores. Thank God, I can still order it online.

Do you have a favorite ‘bargain’ foundation?

I am blessed to live about forty miles from paradise. Well, if you think of the world’s most beautiful beaches as paradise. I can drive between forty and sixty miles and see the beautiful panhandle beaches of the Gulf of Mexico in northwest Florida.

I know vacationers drive a long way to enjoy our beaches. However, in the past two days three families have had their vacations interrupted by tragedy. Three people have drowned in or near Panama City Beach in the past forty-eight hours.. The beaches have been flying double red flags. Double red flags indicate that the water is closed. Usually, there is a strong rip current and the waters are dangerous for swimmers.

Have a great vacation. We are glad you choose to spend your vacation dollars in the panhandle. Have a great time. But please, please, please look for and obey the flags.

Walgreens is back at it again this week. Check out their circular and in-store coupons for various price points ranging from 9 cents to 99 cents.

A few of the 9 cent deals are pens, poster board, 6 pack of highlighters, erasers, pocket folders, and a ten pack of wooden pencils.

There is also a coupon in the circular for up to $10 off (50 cent off each item up to 20 items) on a certain page in the circular that has slightly more expensive school supplies.

Stock up now. Prices on school supplies go up greatly when the back to school season ends.

I became an aunt for the first time in June. My niece is absolutely beautiful and the most precious baby. My sister and brother-in-law are great parents. They are adapting to the limited amounts of sleep that parents receive during those first few months of a baby’s life. And my niece sleeps for five hours straight most nights.

That being said there still are not enough hours in the day to get everything done. In the busyness of daily life, most people feel that way. Add in a tiny being completely dependent upon you and time becomes an even more precious commodity. M sister and I were talking this afternoon about scanning the sales circulars for sales on diapers, wipes, formula, etc… that she will be buying for Little Bit (my nickname for my niece). Along with registering at all the different product websites for their promotional emails. Well, let’s face it, my sister can spend her free time reading all the various sales circulars and coupon circulars each weekend. Or she can spend quality time with her daughter and her husband. Sometimes there are trade offs worth making. Sales and coupons will be the losers.

Being the Bargain Hound that I am I volunteered to scan the circulars and coupons each Sunday for my sister and to let her know if any of the items she uses for Little Bit are on sale. I also volunteered to help register my sister at the product websites.

Do you know a new mom? Have you asked if she needs help taking advantage of all the discounts, promotions, bargains, etc… available to new families? If not, I encourage you to see if she can use your help.

Do you think about blogging constantly? Do your write blogs in your head when not near a computer? Say while shopping or driving or sleeping?

I have found since I began blogging on the Chatter and much more so since The Bargain Hound has been up and running that I am blogging in my head, alot!

So what about you? Do you have an internal blog going a lot of the time?

Target and Wal-Greens both have very good back to school specials ending today- Saturday, July 26. I stopped by both stores and picked up a couple of items. Most of the items will not be for me. Yes, this is the time of year to stock up on pens, pencils, notebooks, etc… even if you are not in school. I’m still using a pack of mechanical pencils I bought last year. And the price was next to nothing. Same goes for this year. Wal-Greens has Paper-Mate mechanical pencils for 5 cent for a five pack with the sales circular coupon– limit 3. One pack I will keep for personal use. The other two packs along with notebook paper, composition books, pocket folders, and pens will be given to help someone provide for their family. All total out of my pocket I will have spent about five dollars. However, five dollars can help make a dent for anyone having to buy a constant stream of school supplies.
So, if you have children in school, now is the time to stock up for the year. And if you don’t have children (like me) or don’t have children in school, now is the time to lend a helping hand to those who might need it.

Yes, I am one of few people who did not see “The Dark Knight” this past weekend. I opted instead to see “Mamma Mia!”

“Mamma Mia!” was definitely worth the cost of admission. It was refreshing to see such talented and experienced actors let loose and enjoy their roles. There was a sense to the film that Brosnan, Streep, and Firth knew these roles were a risk, but were well worth it. Pierce Brosnan’s voice probably won’t win him a recording contract. However, it was nice to see him be stretched in a role. Let’s face it. Pierce has had so many “Bond” type roles through the years. This role was different from anything I can remember seeing him in since “Mrs. Doubfire.”

Meryl Streep let her hair down and relished her role. I left the theater smiling and humming. Okay– ABBA is still playing through my head forty-eight hours later. That can be a plus or a negative depending on the song!

Okay as my title states , I should mention “The Dark Knight.” I did not see the latest Batman movie for several reasons. The first reason would be the violence. I’m not fond of movies with lots of violence. And the film trailer had too much violence for me, personally. And my second reason for not seeing “The Dark Knight” is Heath Ledger. I thought Heath Ledger was an incredible actor. And frankly, I am not ready to see his last role, yet.

So this weekend like most other weekends my boyfriend and I went to the theater. Unlike any other weekend when we got to the box office we got tickets for two entirely different movies. Judging by a few other couples I saw at the theater, I don’t think we were the only couple to make that choice.

Oh and one last plug for “Mamma Mia!” seeing Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth in sequined jumpsuits is priceless.