I know I haven’t been blogging much lately; the job has been keeping me busy!  I’ve had to work “off the clock” at odd hours to launch our Black Friday and (soon to be) Cyber Monday promotions. My schedule has been a bit hectic to say the least. Also, Tim injured his back on Friday so I have solo dog-walking duties and our plans to get a tree this weekend have been put off.  Poor baby!

Tonight I am enjoying some retail therapy with some online holiday shopping.  I’m making sure to take advantage of the Bing Cashback opportunities. Last year, I blogged about it back when Bing was called Live.com.  Basically, how it works is that you use the Bing search engine to search for items you want to buy.  Make sure you’re signed into your Bing Cashback account. Participating merchants will have a Bing Cashback icon next to the search results which means Microsoft will give you a small percentage back of what you spend with that merchant.  Last year, I got a total of $164.29 back that was deposited right into my bank account!  Took about 45 days after my purchases, but it was well worth it!

The big think last year was 30% Cashback on eBay plus an extra 10% if you use PayPal. That’s a huge discount and I sure took advantage!  Right now, I only see 10% back on eBay but it’s better than nothing.  They also have 15% on Walmart which is pretty sweet. I make sure to shop around and take into account shipping costs and taxes minus any potential cashback before purchasing. I also have an eBates account so sometimes I can get double cashback!

I am trying to be very frugal this year and so far I have gotten most of my shopping done and I’m not spending that much at all. Yay for the internet!

Warning: ranting and winding ahead.  Proceed with caution.

One of my favorite scented candles, a large Yankee Candle in “Macintosh,” is down to half an inch.  I decided to try and find another high quality but less expensive brand, and based on the suggestion of a friend, went to Walgreens tonight to try the Patriot Candles line. As luck would have it, many of the scents in the large 20 ounce jar were on sale for only $4.99 each.  The regular price is $8.99 or 3 for $24.  Unfortunately, the “Crisp Apple” scent wasn’t on sale.  I debated buying just one of the $4.99 jars and getting the regularly-priced “Crisp Apple,” but in the end, I wanted to explore other scents so got 3 of the sale jars instead in “Rainforest,” “Apple Vanilla,” and “Day’s End.”

At the register, one of them rang up correctly at $4.99 but the other two rang up at $7.99.  Now, I was 100% sure that they should also be $4.99.  I am very careful when shopping and always check sale prices, valid dates, and any restrictions.  I like to be very efficient at the register and not waste anyone’s time.  I was confident speaking up and told the cashier, a girl in her late teens or early twenties, that the price on the other candles should have also been $4.99.  She said “No, they’re $7.99, see?” and showed me the receipt.  I said “Yes, I know they scanned at $7.99, I don’t know why, but they should be $4.99 like the other one.  I checked the sale signs.”  Her response was that the sale doesn’t start until tomorrow, and even though I knew that was wrong, I pointed out that one of them scanned at the sale price today.  She then changed her story and said only that one was on sale.  At this point, I was frustrated at her for not listening to me and said “well, you have a sale sign up right now saying those two are on sale for $4.99 and you’re telling me you won’t honor that?”  She simply said “No.”  I know many stores will even give you an item for free if it scans wrong!  I was getting upset, especially with the line of frustrated customers behind me who I’m sure were thinking that I was being a difficult customer.  However, it was becoming obviously that this girl was not going to help me.  I told her I only wanted the $4.99 candle and she voided the other two.

Instead of leaving, I went to another register in the cosmetics section.   I explained the situation to this new cashier and detailed what just happened up front.  She walked with me to the candle aisle where I showed her the clearly marked sale tags showing that those scents were on sale, right now, for $4.99.  She apologized for what happened earlier and said she would give me the sale price. I expected her to scan them and then manually change the price, but when she scanned them they rang up at $4.99 this time.  WTF?!  What was going on?  I showed her my voided receipt so she didn’t think I was crazy.  She told me that she didn’t know what was going on and neither did I as I finally left with my 3 candles.

But now I do.  At first, the $7.99 price didn’t make sense.  It wasn’t the sale price of $4.99 nor was it the regular price of $8.99.  So where did that price come from? Turns out there’s a flaw in their system and pricing rules.  Yes, those candles were on sale for $4.99 each. If they weren’t on sale, they would ring up at $8.99 each, or, if you were to buy 3, they would ring up at $7.99 each because of the regular 3/$24 deal.  Because I bought 3, my other two rang up at the $7.99 price because in their system the sale price wasn’t sent to trump the old rule.  When the other cashier rang up only 2 by themselves, the $7.99 price didn’t even come into play. I wish my brain was fast enough to figure this out when I was dealing with the first cashier.

Even though it wasn’t her fault that the computer got confused, she should have tried to help me instead of arguing with me.  If a customer told me there was something wrong with my product or service, I would at least investigate the validity of the claim first instead of just blindly telling the customer she was wrong and not offering any alternatives.

Anyway, the “Apple Vanilla” is burning now.  A separate post about what I think of Patriot Candles will be written later.

Even in heels, my jeans are too long.

I practically live in blue jeans and often can’t resist buying a pair if it fits well.  Despite a good fit, they almost always are too long.  Pants aren’t usually designed for someone who’s only five feet tall.  I buy them anyway, telling myself that I will get them altered, but being frugal, I have been putting off spending the asking price of $14/pair to get them shortened.

So for the past couple years, I have accumulated a pile of jeans that never get worn.  While I was in Rite Aid the other day, I saw that Singer products were on sale, and the heavy-duty hand needles caught my eye. Impulsively, I bought a set and a spool of brown thread - might as well try to see if I could do it myself!

I came home and picked out my least favorite pair since the potential for disaster was pretty high.  Now, when it comes to shortening a pair of jeans, you could do a simple, straightforward hem.  This is just cutting, folding and sewing.  The problem with this is that most jeans have distressed hems.  Look at the bottom of jeans and you’ll see that the edge has a worn, “hammered” look.  Some even have fringes or tears, all of which give it character.  Cutting that off and sewing in a new plain hem is not the look I want for my jeans.  Instead, I needed to attach the original hem.

After a bit of searching, I came across this site with great instructions on how to attach the original hems when shortening a pair of jeans.  In a nutshell, you’re not removing excess length from the bottom, but from above the original hem.  It’s sort of like tucking in and cutting.  Your sewing isn’t even noticeable unless someone comes down and examines your hemline closely.  It works perfectly!

Original hem has been pulled up, sewing line barely visible.

I was able to do a pair by hand, but it took me over an hour and honestly, it was pretty tedious.  With nearly a dozen pairs that needed shortening, I couldn’t see myself doing the rest by hand.  I needed a sewing machine and knew just wear to get one!

A few days prior, I was in the thrift store at the corner and saw an old Sears Kenmore sewing machine.  I could tell it was an older model because it was all metal; most modern sewing machines are plastic.  I went back to the store hoping it was still there.  Not only was it still available, but the cashier gave me $5 off!  Though I think it’s because she felt sorry for me since I was carrying it the 2 blocks home.  One thing about metal sewing machines - they are friggin’ heavy!  (It’s been 2 days and my shoulders and upper back are still sore and I work out regularly!)

My new old sewing machine from Out of the Closet.

I got it home, tried in vain for over an hour to figure it out (I’m not used to older models), and then downloaded a manual online for $8.  I found out it’s a Kenmore 158.18033 sewing machine from the 1950s, and at $20, I got it for a major steal.  It’s a favorite machine by many online and I can see why.  After nearly five decades, it still runs beautifully.  I used a straight stitch to hem 11 pairs of jeans and the zig-zag stitch to mend a tear in another.

Special stitches and details on machine and original case.

All my jeans fit perfectly now, and despite all that sewing, I’m dying to do more!  I’ve been looking around the apartment for anything that needs mending with no luck.   Hmm, maybe I’ll just make a blob.

All my jeans are now the perfect length for little ol' me!

I just came from Home Depot where I bought a bottle of commercial strength Drano in an attempt to unclog my kitchen sink (more on that later).  While I was there, I treated myself to a frequently overlooked section: fresh flower bouquets!

My Home Depot has a great selection of bouquets with amazing prices.  I picked up a beautiful arrangement of fragrant peach roses, pale orange carnations and a mix of greenery for just $5.97.  I wished I had taken a picture of the bouquet pre-vase because it was wrapped up in very pretty peach paper that complemented the flowers perfectly.  Instead, here’s a picture of it once I had plopped them into a vase.  The leaves are a bit dusty and I took this shot before I wiped them. The picture doesn’t do it justice!

A gorgeous bouquet of peach flowers from Home Depot.

So next time you’re at Home Depot and need an inexpensive pick-me-up, look for the fresh flowers section!

The box art for the New Super Mario Bros. game.

My favorite video game of all time is Super Mario World for Super Nintendo. I love all the classic Super Mario games and really enjoyed their Wii incarnations: Super Paper Mario and Super Mario Galaxy.

So it goes without saying that I am really looking forward to the latest installment, New Super Mario Bros., coming out November 15.  Time to dust off the Wii!

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…and other recent purchases that make me happy.

Total Gym

I got a Total Gym Elite from Out of The Closet (a local thrift store) for only $45.  Found out after the fact that I could have bargained it down to $30 because of a missing (and unnecessary) accessory, but oh well, it all goes to charity anyway.  (I also found a $54 large cork memo board there for only $8—I love finding bargains!)

You’ve probably seen the infomercials with Chuck Norris and Christie Brinkley.  It’s a piece of exercise equipment that uses your body weight and gravity as resistance.  You can find commercial Total Gym models at some gyms where they are better known as Gravity machines.

Despite the infomercial, the Total Gym won’t give you muscles like Chuck Norris.  You need a lot more resistance than your body weight for that, not to mention a good diet and probably supplement plan.  However, if used correctly, it is great for toning, strength building, flexibility and increasing your endurance.  Since I’m more interested in defining my muscles rather than growing them, the Total Gym is perfect for my needs.  I’ve been using it almost every day now and it’s amazing how many different exercises you can do on it.  Based on my body weight and at the top incline, the max resistance I can get is about 50 lbs using one hand or 25 lbs in each hand (or foot).  Coupled with high reps and about 3 sets, it’s perfect for me to get toned and stronger.  I have been doing many of the same exercises I had been doing at the gym on this one machine now.  Since I’m now working with a flexible cable system instead of a fixed machine, I can feel a lot more muscles firing up to stabilize my form with each rep.  In other words, each rep is harder yet more effective!

I used my Total Gym for lunges and squats yesterday and I can totally feel it in my legs today.  It’s also great for cardio as a rowing machine, and on a lower incline, it’s actually pretty fun.

Latisse

I’ve also had great success with another celebrity-endorsed product, Latisse.  It’s a liquid solution that Brooke Shields has been promoting which promises to grow thicker, longer lashes.  The choice of Brooke Shields is odd to me since she has always had naturally thick lashes and brows.  I was a bit skeptical, but since I was able to get the normally $120 product for just $10, I gave it a go.  Full results are supposed to be seen at Week 16, but here is a photo of my eyelashes at Week 0 (before application) and now, which is Week 10:

Latisse: Before use and then at Week 10

It definitely works!  A word of caution though: it has the potential to permanently turn you eye color brown.  If I didn’t already have dark eyes, I definitely would not risk it.  Also, $10 is cheaper than most tubes of mascara so it was a great value to me but I would not pay full price for this.  It’s a nice little feminine perk, but not worth $120 especially since your lashes will regrow at their normal length once you stop using it.

Food

I love food. I love saving money. I love saving money on food!

Pork spareribs were on sale and a $6 slab has lasted me 4 days! Yum! I never get sick of ribs.

Also, bought a bar of Lindt 70% dark chocolate bar with cherry and chili and it was da bomb! So good, and when eaten in moderation, is good for you with all the antioxidants and flavonoids found in dark chocolate.  I don’t have a problem with moderating my sweets and am satisfied after just one or two squares.  When buying chocolate, the darker the better, and make sure the first ingredient is chocolate not sugar like it is with many mainstream brands.

Alright, that’s it for now.  Can you tell I’m trying to blog more often?

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