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This has been such a fun, busy week! This weekend I am going to SIT and SLEEP! :) Last weekend, my parents and I hit up the outlets for tax free weekend on Sunday morning. That is the time to do it! We got there when they opened at 10 and left around 12:30; it was JUST starting to get busy from the after church crowd. We all 3 left with a few bags of goodies and enjoyed a super delicious lunch at Moe's before they headed home. Then Elizabeth and fam came over for dinner. It was so much fun getting to meet them! Charlie is SO CUTE!
Tuesday, we had a quadruple date at Carolina Ale House with Elizabeth and fam, Mandi and fam, and Kendra and fam. We then headed to the best park ever, Pullen Park, for a little play time. Steven and I definitely rode the train after scoping it out and seeing two friends without children riding. We didn't want to be creepsters, but luckily Elizabeth and fam rode too... so we had Charlie to make us legit ;). The train is only $1 per person and free under $2 and is a pretty decent 7 minute trip around the park. Loved it! We got to see all the new playgrounds (we of course usually stick to the more 'adult' side of the park haha) which was fun... they went all out! Can't wait to have our own little one to take there one day!
I'd blow the picture up but we all have creepy eyes, even the babies!
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Wednesday evening we went to a Goo Goo Dolls/Matchbox 20 concert that we scored groupon tickets for at Easter time. Isn't that crazy? This was Steven's dream combination! It was overall a very good time; the music was good, the weather was perfect, and we ran into a couple old friends of Steven's. The downside? I COULD NOT GET AWAY FROM THE WEED! Note to self: indoor concerts from now on. We must have moved like 4 times until we finally found the 'family zone' in the back that was weed-free. Overall, it was a great and different (for us!) date night!
To continue the fun, we went to a Durham bulls game with Elizabeth and family last night. We had a great time hanging out with them but did learn a very valuable lesson. Do not go to a Bulls game on the deadly combination night of: $1 concessions, get in for free by bringing a book to donate, AND the last night of a living social deal (guilty). I have never seen it sold out and it was sold out and packed to the GILLS with people!
Are you exhausted from reading that? Man, that's more activity in one week than I usually see in a month! We have had a blast with friends and family, that's for sure. And I love that Steven was off at 5 every night this week to do all this fun stuff with me. What a treat!
What's your best grocery saving tip without sacrificing food quality? We don't coupon since we eat lots of real/whole/organic foods (and Trader Joe's doesn't take them, but luckily they have good prices!), but lately our costs have risen. I use to be able to easily feed us for $30-50 a week and now it seems like I go over budget EVERY week. My tip that I just put into action is making a weekly menu. I'm hoping there will be less 'stopping in the store for this item' when we've meal planned in advance. I'm also hoping to get to the farmer's market this weekend! What about you? How do you cut costs?
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That concert! There have been commercials for it all over our area, and I would've loved to go, such a cool throwback! We once went on a hayride at an alpaca farm where we were definitely the only ones without little kids, so no judgment from this girl!
ReplyDeleteIt seems like we eat fairly similarly; the easiest way for me to save on groceries, I think, is to comparison shop the flyers before going out and seeing who has the best deals on produce (sometimes it's Trader Joes and other times it's the regular stores), then I buy only the produce that's on sale and plan our meals around that, rather than making a menu first and then having to buy a bunch of random ingredients. Oh, and eating a few bean-based meals a week is helpful, too. Have a good weekend!
we went on a llama walk on our HONEYMOON as the only adults LOL - apparently it's usually families or "therapeutic" walks with school groups of special needs kids. And then there was us. :)
DeleteThat sounds like an amazing weekend of fun. I hope you do get some time time to rest this weekend. I don't have any grocery tips; I am going over budget every week. I will be checking back to see what other people have to offer.
ReplyDeleteLove the Bulls and Love going to a concert. I hate budgeting for food but with a mortgage payment, this will be something that we HAVE to do. Meal planning will be key as well as shopping at multiple places (which I hate). For instance, Romaine Lettuce come in 5 packs at Sam's (1 head for each day of the week split between 2 lunches) and is the same cost as the crappy lettuce at Walmart for 1/2 the amount. Walmart has fantastic Greek Yogurt (not organic but no additives which I find in almost all other brands besides Fage and Trader Joe's).
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