Kohl's Lovin!

And this is why I love.......

The miracle of a child is nothing less than well a miracle.  There are so many great things about being a mom that there isn't a blog big enough to hold the lists of wonderment.  One of the teeny tiny drawbacks is the inability to spoil yourself with all the great trendy clothes you once adorned.  For me, this was one of the biggest challenges I faced with my post baby budget. So when a friend of mine raved about Kohl's and how much money she always saves there I just had to check it out.

And I'm not going to lie, I am very much in love with Lauren Conrad's clothing line, and that may have been more motivation than actually saving money.  As soon as we entered the store I all but ran to the LC rack.  One glance at the price tag, however, and I couldn't find an exit fast enough.  One pair of jeans was $50! Maybe in pre-baby days.  Seeing my disappointment my friend walked me through her shopping trip.  At check out she had about $400.00 rung up in her merchandise, but then she pulled a hail mary.  She handed the cashier her 30% off (from her email sign up), then a coupon (yes you can combine them) and finally her Kohl's cash.  She walked out for a little under $100.  And so my obsession with Kohl's began.

My most recent finds are my best by far. For the last year I have scoured the internet and local shoe stores for the perfect booties to wear this fall.  Leave it to Lauren Conrad to have the most amazing pair in her fall line this year.  But of course, who gets new boots without a new pair of pants?  I know rookie move right?  And once more Lauren didn't let me down.  I found the cutest pair of ultra light blue jeans to compliment my gorgeous camel colored booties.

Any time before Zoey, I would have easily thrown down full price for both of these items, but being a responsible parent, yada yada yada.  The boots were originally $79.99, on sale for $55.00, not a bad start. The jeans were originally $50.00 and on sale for $25.00.  Ok so justifying this purchase just got easier.  I finally said screw it and threw both into the cart and headed for check out.

Here's where the magic happened.  I used my $10.00 off a $25.00 or more purchase, a $10.00 Kohl's cash certificate and then a 15% off coupon I received in a mailer.  Final price came to $45 and some change! That was less than the sale price of the boots for both items.  I was so happy I was literally jumping for joy.

Now all you nah-sayers out there, this was not an isolated incident.  While Kohl's does have a slightly higher price range for their clothing, their sales/coupons are amazing.  Make sure you read every coupon closely as most ARE combinable with others.  And when the sales lady pitches the idea of the Kohl's credit card, sign up for it!  Many of you are rolling your eyes, yeah just what I need another credit card but here's the one difference, you can pay it off right after you use it.  Yes you heard me, pay it off at the same register you just used it at.  I try to keep a budget in mind, like today I only have $40 in my checking account that I have allotted to use here.  So I charge no more than $40 and when the transaction is finished I simply tell them that I would like to make a payment on my card in the amount of *whatever I just spent*.  So I still get all the perks of the sales and coupons and credit card gimmicks without the hassle of extra debt. 



  



Christmas in September? (Part 1)

Yup you heard me right: Christmas in September! If you're anything like us, we always say we aren't going to go crazy for Christmas, but then come the end of December, we are flabbergasted at the amount of money we don't have due to gift splurging.  You have your kid(s), your family, your spouse's family, your friends, your spouse's friends, you kid's friends, your co-workers, your spouse's co-workers, teachers, babysitters etc.  With all the madness, I typically start my lists before Thanksgiving and then begin the actual shop during the black Friday rush (I mean who doesn't love spending the whole day with family, then staying up all night planning and the rest of the night and all the next day elbowing people to find that perfect gift at a perfect price.  I know paradise right?).  This year I decided to start now, squirrel presents away, and be able to actually enjoy the holiday season.  I don't want to have to worry about who we are getting what, where we are on the budget, and oh the dreaded, who did we forget.  So, my neighbor, also known as my partner in crime, came up with the idea of making the majority of our gifts this year to say on budget, we call it "DIY Christmas".

 

STEPS TO YOUR DIY CHRISTMAS

• Step One: Who are we buying for?  Are we buying for just parents and siblings?  Are we buying for friends?  Are we actually buying gifts or making hand made items?  For me, I decided to mix store bought and homemade gifts.  First I grouped people into different categories, for instance I have three of my daughter's daycare teachers, four younger cousins under the age of 12, three older cousins 16, 18 & 27, parents, siblings, and of course the few close friends we are doing a little something for.  Lucky me, I have mostly girls to buy for !  

• Step Two:  Find ideas that would work for more than one person.  For the girls, I found a wonderful recipe for a salt scrub, and that inspired my spa themed gift baskets for the older cousins and teachers.  The local AC Moore craft store ran an ad highlighting their sale on infinity scarves, and seriously can you have too many of those?  And while dropping my daughter off at day care, I noticed that all the teachers had a death grip on their coffee cups and I thought coffee and chocolate, the two things women can't live without. (Tutorials coming soon).

• Step Three: Make your supply list.  This is the most important step.  You need to know how many of each thing you're making so you have enough.  I took this time to scour the internet for coupons from Michaels and checked their sales.  I have a local fabric store that had a great sale for Labor Day weekend that I was able to use coupons with.  I love me some savings.

• Step Four:  Get crafty!  I enjoy a craft night, either by myself or with a group of friends.  So, if you're in the mood for company, plan a "Pinterest Party".  Nothing beats a group of friends, some unhealthy snacks and crafting.

I currently have a ridiculous amount of projects to work on, but here are a few of the ideas I came up with: spas sets (nail polish, files, clippers, pumice stones, nail brushes, etc.), infinity scarves, personalized totes, personalized mugs, personalized Christmas ornaments, personalized clipboards and of course, coffee coozies from my Etsy Shop.  Now that I have all my supplies, I need to sit down and actual begin my crafting.  In my upcoming part 2 post, you'll be able to see some of the hand crafted ideas I've mentioned along with the how to. 

Allow Me to Introduce Myself.....

Welcome to my blog! First I'd like to introduce myself, my name is Chelsea and I'm a mother, an ex-wife, a military girlfriend, a full time paralegal for a solo practitioner, and I currently trying to reopen my charming little Esty shop.  I was born and raised in southern California.  While California offers great weather year round, I always wanted to see new places and meet new people.  Twenty years in the same place can make you feel a little boxed in.  After a short adventure in Florida, I made my way to Virginia where I currently live with my amazing boyfriend and adorable daughter.  As a first time mom, I have found that trying to be the "everything mom" is exhausting and things tend to fall through the cracks before I even realized it.  Life is stressful and if you didn't have anxiety before, you probably do now. Amongst the organizing, the work load, the added stress of the deployments (yes two in the first two years of my daughter's life), divorce and a country away from family, I found myself slipping into a routine funk.  I had no hobbies, no social life and no real goals.  I was a working mommy drone.  One day I decided enough was enough and I wanted more out of life, but not at the expense of my responsibilities of course.  So I found a hobby to make a little extra on the side, I found a great baby sitter, and I got organized.  I would like to share a little of my life with you, including the lessons I've learned, some great crafts, and to show you that it's not just you, we all want to pull our hair out from life's challenges.   This is just how I am Keeping up with Life.