The Friendly Frugalista

The Friendly Frugalista Has MOVED to the New URL

Cara — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 08:12:00 +0000

Just an update to let everyone know that the new blog is finally running at full speed. All new posts will be made at the new address, http://www.friendlyfrugalista.com.

If you’re a subscriber, your information has been uploaded to the new blog and you should begin receiving updates by email in the near future. I’m still trying to find the “right” plugin for post notifications, so please be patient. Thanks! I’m hoping to find one that will send a digest once or twice a day, but the one I have installed at the moment isn’t working properly.

If you’re not a subscriber here, please consider subscribing at the new blog. Once I overcome the post notification “flaw”, you will receive email updates for new posts.

PennyRaine.com

Cara — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 02:15:56 +0000

I recently mentioned that I follow the blog of Penny Raine and enjoy her eBook collection, Creatively Simple. She sent out a newsletter today announcing the arrival of 4 new eBooks. These eBooks are “Best of” compilations from her newsletters and they do qualify for the 50% discount announced earlier this week.

In addition, she occasionally posts a FREEBIE on her web-site. She has one there now and the title is 101 Ways to Save Money: Study Guide. I downloaded it earlier today, but haven’t had a chance to take a look at it yet. Since this blog is dedicated to frugal living, I thought you’d want to know about 101 ways to save money! :)

[Edited to add] DUH! It’s a good thing I usually double-check my published posts! I forgot the link for Penny’s FREEBIE! Here it is…PennyRaine.com.

Homeschool Freebie of the Day – Friday

Cara — Sat, 23 Jan 2010 01:43:51 +0000

In the midst of the technical difficulties, I was unable to send a reminder yesterday about Homeschool Freebie of the Day. As I mentioned earlier this week, they divided The Big Handbook of Nature Studies into 6 files and spread them out through the week. I suspected that they’d leave the links up so that folks who heard about this late, or who forgot to download everyday, would have a chance to get the whole eBook. Well, I was right! They announced today that they will be keeping all 6 links available through the weekend. So, if you missed anything, you can still get it. If you didn’t know about it until now, you can still get it all. :)

Here’s a rundown for the whole week:

Monday: Introduction and Teacher’s Guide (Part I) and Bird/Fish Study (Part II)

Tuesday: Reptiles, Amphibians, & Mammals (Part III)

Wednesday: Insects & Invertebrates (Part IV)

Thursday: Trees & Plant Life (Part V)

Friday: Earth, Water, & Sky (Part VI)

Now, that’s an impressive collection of files! But, on top of that, they posted some extra freebies during the week. Those extra links are still up too, so I think you’ll have good chance at downloading those files as well.

[Note: This post is also available at the new blog url, http://www.friendlyfrugalista.com.]

560

Cara — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 19:26:26 +0000

Some of you may have noticed some issues with the blog yesterday. I contacted Support at WordPress.com for assistance and the issues have been resolved. So, a big THANK YOU to Anthony for helping me out!

Even after technical support resolved the original issue, I still could not add new posts. Anthony offered some suggestions, so I switched from Google Chrome to Safari and was able to log in and post with no problem! (I’ll clear my Google Chrome history later.) If you continue to have issues with the blog, you might try the suggestions Anthony gave me:

Empty your current browser’s cache and enter the url again: http://www.friendyfrugalista.wordpress.com/

*OR*

Enter the url in a different browser

Also, the blog is now available at http://www.friendlyfrugalista.com. For now, I will be posting in both places. When the new domain is completely ready, I will permanently switch. If you want to get used to that, go ahead and start using the new url. Thanks!

Minnesota Momma’s Must Haves: Help Haiti

Cara — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 02:14:49 +0000

I’ve blogged about Sarah of MMMH before. While I’m usually mentioning her great giveaways, I’m posting about her this time because she mentioned two ways to help the people of Haiti. Become a fan of the Halo SleepSack on facebook and/or place an order with Softbums. To find out more, visit her blog and scroll down to the post just below the pictures of the sleepsack and the cloth diaper.

Thanks, Sarah!

Macaroni Grill: Sign Up and Save

Cara — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 01:10:28 +0000

A hearty ~~THANK YOU~~ goes to Jill of Frugal Plus for posting about this! I love Macaroni Grill! And while it isn’t exactly cheap eats, it is (in my humble opinion) good eats. So, a couple times a year (when I’m already in Greensboro), I sneak over and indulge. In order to spare my budget just a little bit, I only order a cup of soup and a cheesecake. Now, they give you free bread anyway. So, I get soup, bread, and a delicious dessert for less than the price of one entree. Yum! By the way, I don’t want any fruity stuff on my cheesecake. I always ask for their chocolate ganache. I love a good chocolate and I love a good cheesecake. A good chocolate on a good cheesecake is my foodie version of Heaven on earth!

OK, so here’s the deal, if you go here and sign up for the Mac Pack, they’ll send you updates and special offers. I’ve already registered and confirmed. In my first official email, I received a coupon for a FREE appetizer. So, next time I sneak over there, I’ll skip the soup, get the FREE appetizer, and enjoy my cheesecake! I get to have my cake, and eat it too! *giggle*

Psst! In case you were wondering, I do draw on the paper tablecloth. Well, sometimes! I usually prefer to play a word game. Like where you think of a word or phrase (such a Macaroni Grill) and see how many words you can make out of it while waiting for your food to arrive.

Like this…

M A C A R O N I G R I L L

car, girl, cram, ram, grim, liar, rail, ail, air, groin, coin, man, can, ran, clam…

This Week @ Family Intel: Summary of “Home Sweet Homework”

Cara — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 23:31:06 +0000

Hmmmm! It almost seems like Family Intel has a videocamera watching our house. Last week’s summary was particularly applicable to our family. And it seems this week’s summary just may be too. Even though we’re homeschoolers and homework is not a huge problem around here (everything we do is home-work–hehe!), I’m pretty sure the studying strategies part will be helpful.

Remember that you must register at Family Intel to see the summaries. As always, registration is FREE! :)

SUMMARY RUN-DOWN:

~This Week~ Home Sweet Homework: A Parent’s Guide to Stress-Free Homework & Studying Strategies That Work by Sharon Marshall Lockett

~Last Week~ Siblings Without Rivalry by Adele Faber & Elaine Mazlish

~Next Week~ Helping Hyperactive Kids by Lynn Horowitz and Cecile Rost

Family Intel now has 43 FREE summaries! Yay!

Homeschool Freebie of the Day: Wednesday Reminder

Cara — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 05:06:55 +0000

Don’t forget to visit Homeschool Freebie of the Day to get Part IV of The Big Handbook of Nature Studies.

Food Lion: Ad w/ Coupons and a FREEBIE Offer

Cara — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 04:37:49 +0000

Click here for the new Food Lion ad.

This weeks’ printable Food Lion coupons:

~$1 off $5 purchase of Butcher’s Brand Beef

~$1 off Tombstone Pizza

~$1 off 2 jars of Mount Olive Pickles

~$1 off one box of Grape Nuts cereal

Also, get FREE Food Lion pasta when you purchase three (3) Ragu 26oz Pasta Sauces. (Valid in a single transaction January 20-26, 2010. Participating products include: Any Ragu 26oz Pasta Sauce, Food Lion Regular or Thin Spaghetti, and Elbow Macaroni.)

And use your Ragu sauce to make the weekly recipe, Ragu No Frying Chicken Parmesan.

This Week @ Barnes & Noble

Cara — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 00:57:21 +0000

~Save 30% on Customer Favorites~

~Save up to 90% on Used Textbooks~

~30% Off Select Kids’ Favorites~

~Don’t forget the COUPONS!~

Click here for the ad with coupon links.