Hot Sephora Deal: NARS Lip Stain/Lip Gloss Duo

Sephora.com has NARS Lip Stain/Lip Gloss Duo for only $10 and is reguraly $36. If you like this stuff stock up. You should have also received an email if you are a Beauty Insider for a $15 gift certificate (min. $40 purchase) and free deluxe sample of Laura Mercier Loose Setting Powder and a mini brush. They have a lot of holiday deals right now.

Holiday Craze

When I was elementary aged all I wanted for Christmas were Cabbage Patch Kids. That's right plural. My birthday is also during the Holiday season so I expected to get several. I was spoiled and I always got several. This year the hot item seems to be Zhu Zhu pets. I have no idea what they are why they are coveted. I have got a deal for you I found on iheartcvs. There is a BOGO and a B2G1 deal. When you combine them together you can get 4 for the price of one. Let me make it clear how this works.

$9.99 ZhuZhu
+ $0 ZhuZhu
+ $9.99 ZhuZhu
+ $0 ZhuZhu
-$9.99 coupon
________
$9.99

Giant Food 12/3-12/9

Here is what is mostly fresh, mostly healthy, and inexpensive at Giant.

Healthy
$4.77 Sweet Seedless Clementine’s (5lb Box)
.88lb Broccoli Crowns or Bunches
.79lb Kale
$1 Giant Canned Tomato (28oz)
$1.67 Giant Apple Sauce (six pack)

Possibly Healthy*
B1G1 Pork Tenderloin
.99lb Suger G Whole Chickens
$1 San Giorgio Pasta

Not So Healthy
B1G1 Hormel Bacon

*Since we do not know the source of these meats I have listed them as possibly healhty because they may have additives and hormones. I'm still in the process of figuring out if my household wants to switch completly over to hormone and antibiotic free meat exclusively. I have not done enough research on the impact of consuming these types of products. For now we are getting all natural stuff 90% of the time. We just don't want to spend more for some new marketing gimmic. We are concerned with actual health benefits. Since this blog is for everyone I will continue to list all types of deals but make it clearer what I consider to be health promoting.

Knitting Newbie

About five years ago I met a wonderful woman named Sauinell Nichole. She was a software engineer by day and knitter by night. We would go out to dinner or a party and I would ask whre she got that scarf or sweater and she made all of them. I consider myself to be daft when it comes to hand eye coordination so I never asked her how to knit. I just convinced her to make me a vest.

Well this summer Groupon had a nice deal on a beginner knit class from Stitch DC. I learned to make a scarf and hat. I made the scarf right away but the hat I just got around to. Neither one of them is perfect but I think they are great for my first pieces. The hat has some unintended details but it actually looks intentional.

It takes a brush to make a great face.

As you have figured out by now every three months or so I have a new obsession. Right now it's make-up. My skin is currently not becoming of me so I have worked my CVS and Youtube magic to get some great finds at great prices. What I learned is that it is less about the product and more about the application. What you really need are great brushes. I was using the same makeup as some of the youtube superstars but not getting the same results. After hours of video watching I became convinced I needed brushes but didn't want to invest and I wasn't too sure about eyeslipface $1 line of brushes. Yeah I am becoming high maintenance.

The foundation brush I have now is from Studio and I got it at Walgreens at the retail price of $6.50. I bought that because I was impatient and wanted to see if using a real brush would help me. Well it really did help. I now get great coverage from my drugstore brand liquid foundation. Also didn't need a $32 brush from MAC. According to youtube I need several brushes to get the eyes, cheeks, and lips that I want. Today I ventured over to HauteLook for the first time and they have a set of 15 NYX brushes for $54(retail $99). According to Youtube and Makeupalley.com these are great quality brushes. Here is a little round up of what I am using for now as I sit and ponder a brush purchase.

Revlon PhotoReady Foundation: Goes on light and provides full coverage without looking made up. I personally use the Rich Ginger sade. It covers all my imperfections. The problem is that I still have some dry patches and it doesn't work so well and those areas. $13.99

MAC Blot Powder: I'm not really sure what this is doing or not doing for me the jury is still out. I bought this probably five years ago but I used it maybe three times a year.

Smashbox PhotoFinish Primer: I got this as free gift from Sephora. It provides a light silky base and seems to make my foundation last longer. However I need to find a more economical product when this sample runs out. $16-$49

Studio Foundation and Concealer Brush: This double sided beauty does the coverage trick. It can leave streaks at first but just keep blending until they disappear.

Leapfrog Deal

With four great nieces/nephews it is time I get on the ball and start shopping for the holidays. Today I got a great deal thanks to the Krazy Coupon Lady. Target has the Leapfrog Tag Books for $9.99 and BOG0! But wait there are two coupons that could help you get it for free.

Scenario
Buy 2 for $9.99
Use Two $5/1 coupons

Although using two of the exact same coupons is legal, (as long as it obtained legally) some cashiers may question you. You can use this $3 coupon with much less hassle.

Target also has a $10 off the starter system in their online coupon section. So for $29.99 I got the Leapfrog Tag system plus two books. I think I'm going to go back tomorrow and get two more free books for an excellent gift.

Coupons!

So here is a little coupon round-up from the interwebs. Enjoy and let me know if you have others.

American Apparel via Groupon.com
$50 of stuff for $25. I don't really shop there but you might. It's an online groupon so anyone can use it.

http://www.groupon.com/akron-canton/?utm_medium=afl&utm_campaign=3125087&utm_source=rvs

Starbucks
11/18 through Sunday 11/21, Buy 1 holiday drink and get 1 Free automatically between 2-5:00 PM! You don't even need a coupon. How cool is that?

AMF Bowling Centers

$20 bowling for 4 people
http://www.amf.com/corporate/inquiries/promotions/affiliate_20off_a.amfx

New York & Company
They are having a Buy 1 Get 1 50% off everything sale.
Coupon for $25 off a purchase of $75 or more. Redeem through November 22nd.

http://email.nyandcompany.com/PS!lc4prk+uJA0FBgIAAAAGCgFICgg3MzIyMjc3MAoKMzYwMDE2NjY2OAkARt2VCgk1NTUyNTgxMjgF?EAN=


Bath & Body Works
Print a coupon for a FREE Signature Collection travel size item with any purchase. Redeem through December 1st.

http://f.chtah.com/i/34/528207786/20101102_Welcoupon2_rev.HTML

JCPenney

$10 off a $25 purchase
http://f.jcpenneyem.com/i/2/95827765/main_20101116_welcome.html

Ann Taylor Friends and Family

http://ebm.mail.anntaylorloft.com/c/tag/hBM4rssBgYd1XB8VqRIBhv/doc.html?&email=

Once again I've abandoned my blog

I feel bad that I didn't tell you guys how to get not 1 but 2 free tubes of toothpaste this week. I didn't get any either because it's 8:37pm and I wanted to get to CVS today but I will not make it before they close. To make matters worse we are actually running out of toothpaste and I might actually have to pay for it!

Sales for the Little Ones

So many people in my life have little pooper scoopers now. So I wanted to help a few folks out with a list of this weeks baby sales.

Walmart Deals

Enfamil Premium Baby Formula, 12.5 oz. – $13.84

Gerber Good Start Gentle Plus Baby Formula, 12 oz. – $12.97

Similac Advance Baby Formula, 12.4 oz. – $13.17

Gerber Rice Cereal, 8 oz. – $1.77
$0.50/1 Gerber DHA & Probiotic Cereal All You Magazine Oct 2010 (found only at Walmart)

Pampers Wipes, 7 pk. – $11.98

$1/2 Pampers Boxed Diapers AND Pampers Wipes 8/15 RP

Huggies or Pampers Special Pack Diapers – $25

$1/2 Pampers Boxed Diapers AND Pampers Wipes 8/15 RP

$3/2 Huggies Little Snugglers or Little Movers
$2/1 Huggies Little Snugglers Diapers 9/26 SS

RiteAid Deals

Huggies, Pull-Ups or Goodnights $7.99
$2.00/1 Huggies Little Snugglers Diapers 9/26 SS

$3.00/1 Huggies Pure and Natural Diapers, 9/26 SS

CVS Deals

Huggies or Pampers Big Pack $19.99

$2.00/1 Huggies Little Snugglers Diapers 9/26 SS

$3.00/1 Huggies Pure and Natural Diapers, 9/26 SS

$3/2 Huggies Little Snugglers or Little Movers

Target

Buy 5 Pampers or Huggies Baby Wipes, Receive $5 Target Gift Card

Huggies Wipes, 448-504 ct $11.99

$0.75/1 – Huggies Baby Wipes, 64 ct or larger, target coupon – (target.com)

$2.00/1 – Huggies Baby Wipes, 320ct or larger – (coupons.com)

$2.50/3 – Huggies Baby Wipes, 64 ct or larger – (smartsource.com)

Pampers Wipes, 420-504 ct $11.99
$2.00/1 Pampers Boxed Diapers and Wipes 8/15 RP
$2.00/1 Pampers Diaper,Pants or Wipes 8/29 PG

Sources: Bargain Briana, The Krazy Coupon Lady

Possible Free Fage at Whole Food September 17th Only

Who doesn't love Fage Greek Yogurt? Well this Friday only Whole Foods Market has Fage on sale for $1 just for Friday only. They didn't specify the size when I was there buying hair stuff yesterday. The chalkboard said save .79 cents which probably means the 5.3 or 7oz cup. But if you go to Facebook and get a Fage $1 off coupon so that could make at least one of them free. I was able to do it twice so that's two free for me.

Giant Doublers

The ladies at Redemption Unlimited are reporting that there are Giant Doublers. If you have some the Barilla Piccolini becomes free.

Fresh and Healthy at Giant

Where have I been? Riding my bike and jogging. I have 12 sticks of butter to prove it. I've lost 3lbs and that's like losing the weight of 12 sticks of butter. I've also been cheating and letting someone else shop all will nilly at the new Yes! Organic. He's now had the "fish is expensive" moment and will simmer down and come back to my side. With that said let me tell you what to buy at Giant until September 16th (yeah hella late). If I don't get around to posting deals in the future please remember to visit the links in the sidebar.

$1.99/lb-Boneless Skinless Chicken Breast
.99/lb-White Seedless Grapes
.99/lb-Broccoli Crowns
.99-Barilla Pasta ($1/2 8/29 SS)
$9.99-2lb Bag Frozen Jumbo Cooked Shrimp
$2.99-Nature's Promise Soy Nut Butter
$3.99-Cottonelle 6 Double Rolls (great price)

Remember you must scan your Giant card or key in your phone number to get these prices.

Decisions: I really want french toast

I am going to brunch today at Social 14 in Columbia Heights. I've looked over the menu from to find the best option given what I have to look forward to this week. I really want the Grand Marnier French Toast but there is one problem. I have no idea how to estimate the calories. It could have anywhere from 100-500 calories per slice. That's a huge range and today I am not willing to take the loss. I am not willing to undo all of my hard work in the gym this week over one indulgence. The thing is it could be low in calories (wishful thinking) but I won't know because I can't be sure if they use cream, how many eggs and how much butter. So I am going to have the crawfish Benedict which could have about the same amount of calories as the french toast but I can easily figure it out. Its really about knowing and not guessing on this one. On a different day when I have been eating fruits and berries and running marathons then I can have the french toast, just not today.

It's all about planning.

Impromptu Trip to Yes! Organic Market

We got a juicer! Eff Yeah! I have not been able to stop thinking about the beet lemonade from Stuff I Eat. I tried to make it with our old juicer but it had lots of cracks and a terrible design which made it hard to clean. We wanted a heavy duty juicer and for the past six months but we have been a little shy about spending so much money on a single appliance. Well thanks to those trusty 20% off coupons from Bed, Bath and Beyond we now have this beauty.


We were out of town this past weekend so we didn't go grocery shopping. So what were going to juice with our fly new juicer? Nothing it seemed. That's when I got the bright idea to go to the new Yes! Organic in Anacostia/Fairlawn. They have free parking so we slid right in. The prices are pretty mixed. Somethings I found to be cheaper than the regular store while other were quite expensive. I was annoyed that the red bell peppers were from Holland. There has to be a local or even US source for the peppers.







But all organic food is not healthy. There is plenty of organic junk food. O'Griddle?

Mental Preparation

Last Sunday I was tricked into a 3o mile bike ride on the Mt. Vernon Trail. I was finally on my bike after nearly a year away. I was very weary and mentally committed to only doing about half the trail. Somehow my riding partners convinced me that I could do the entire thing. Punking out ceased to be an option. We did most of the trail before bonking on the way back due to extreme calorie deficiency. I had never rode over 10 miles thus I felt extremely accomplished. I felt high that I completed such a feat and assumed that it would result in a lower number of the scale that week.

Two days later I entered the room and got on the scale very confidently. I was up 1.4lbs and I shouted "No!" very loudly. I was on the verge of tears. I didn't understand how this could be. I was so moody and I proceeded to drown myself in a slice of vegan cake. I didn't want to hear any of the madness of "maybe it's muscle" or "keep trying." Really why should I keep trying if I was going to get the exact opposite results of what was intended?

Tomorrow I have to do this all over again but this time I'm using a different measure. I have to just do what I know is right because there aren't any gimmicks to this. If the scale is up I can count plenty of other victories this week. I have to be mentally prepared, whatever the result.

Free Classic E-Books

Barnes and Noble has a lot of the classics on ebook format for free this weekend. I've never looked into this before but they have a special app that you can download to read their books. So for all of us Ipod touch users we have a nice selection of e-books to download before we go on vacation this weekend. I will download just about all of them so they will be available to my future little ones.

Natural Home Products

With my new (returned) emphasis on using less harmful chemicals in my home I have to figure out how to continue to save on the things I need. Today I tried Soap.com thanks to a post at Money Saving Mom. They have all natural laundry detergent for less than the store price for Tide or other brands. Use the code ISHA4460 and you get 15% off at Soap.com.

I also want to encourage everyone to try and go back to the advice from our grandmothers. There are tons of things we can do with vinegar and baking soda around the house. Living with a man has shown me how dirty a toilet can get. T0 remedy that, try mixing 1/4 cup of baking soda and 1 cup of vinegar and pouring it into your toilet. Let it set for 5 minutes and then scrub away. How's that for cheap and natural?

Disclosure: If you use the discount code I receive shopping credits. You save and I save.

Update: I ordered on Friday afternoon and my products were here by Saturday morning. I've never seen such quick and free shipping service. The only problem is that Fedex Home just left the box on the porch. I'm glad I went outside before we left for the holiday weekend.

Couch to 5K

This month I have foolishly decided to join the PostBourgie.com running challenge. It isn't officially advertised on the site but most of the people who have joined are in some way affiliated with the bloggers of the site.

I've always been the girl with the funny walk because I am extremely pigeon-toed . It's due to a hip misalignment I've had since birth. With that I also suffer from pettallo femoral syndrome. So my knee has a tendency to jump out of place and it sounds like I have rice krispies when I ascend stairs. The only help I can get for this is to strengthen my quadriceps to compensate for my knee. I often get swelling in my knees when it gets cold. It's made me shy about running and working out in general.

Putting all of those reasons aside, I decided that I would try my hand a jogging. When I get on the treadmill at the gym I feel hindered because I can't walk any faster without breaking into a jog. About three weeks ago I just decided to jog. Surprisingly it didn't hurt and there was no swelling. That's when I started flirting with the idea of jogging the September running challenge. I've signed up to jog/walk 25 miles this month. I know I'll meet the mileage but I really want to jog as many of them as I can. I'm sticking to the treadmill until I feel a little stronger.

At some point I would like to be able to run or jog for longer distances so I am starting the Couch to 5K program. This program starts you out with a combination for jogging and walking until you can run three miles. So in 9 weeks let's see where I am.

Yes! Organic opens east of the river.

Congress Heights on the Rise and And Now Anacostia are both reporting that the new Yes! Organic Market is opening on Pennsylavnia Avenue in Ward 8. This new organic market is opening in DC today in the most impoverished ward of the city. The location will attract people from nearby Capitol Hill and Hillcrest and I feel like it will be a success.

Those of us who can afford organic foods were driving across the city to go to the organic stores. Now residents will have the option of picking things up closer to home. This is an excellent development and chain stores need to take notice. We need more access to fresh food in the neighborhood organic or not.

But what about those who are lower income or who rely on public transportation? Access isn't just about location it's also about affordability. I doubt that Yes! will do anything to really impact their access because sustenance should not feel like a luxury. People may still have to travel long distance to healthier food they can afford or continue to frequent the subpar options that are close by. It's not that poor people don't understand nutrition they just have more pressing matters to deal with first.

I appreciate that the owners of Yes! are investing in areas of DC that really need it. They were given a grant from DC Government to the tune of 900,00 to do so. This should also bring a few jobs for residents east of the river. Despite the bigger issues to contend with, this new store is over all a net positive.

Erika of the Black Girls Guide to Weightloss has a great post up today about making the switch to organic. Please read it and follow the links to find out more about making the switch and why it's worth it. My household is trying to switch to all organic foods and save money while doing it. That's a privilege and a luxury that I have. I've switched about 50% of the stuff to organic but food access issues where we live make it an inconvenience. I personally buy my produce from a coop where the organic prices are 70% less than the store. It's even cheaper than conventional. However, if I can't make my co-op delivery I will spend my money at Yes! .

Places to Play in Congress Height and Anacostia

For those of you don't know I have a Masters in Health Behavior and Health Education. I focus a lot on this blog on changes that people can make in their own lives such as eating better and saving money while doing it. However, making changes in your life is directly impacted by one's access. Access to a grocery store and the ability to buy food not just in the moment. Now that we have one grocery store in the Ward that helps a person not depend on the carryout when they don't have time to go cross town or to Maryland just pick up that onion.

The same goes for physical activity. When a person has real access to safe, affordable places to play we can improve the health of a community. So here is round up of the offerings in the area.

1. Spirit Health and Wellness

Union Temple Baptist and other partners worked together to put together a gym on the top floor of the new Salvation Army building on MLK. It offers 20 cardio stations, circuit training, free weights and lots of cardio classes. All of that for $20 a month. The locker room is sparse with no blow dryer or towels but for that price we can't expect those premium items.

2. Heat Haven

I haven't been here yet but I have walked past this place located on Good Hope Road. This studio offers a variety of spinning, yoga, Pilates, senior and youth classes. They seem to have classes at all times of the day. It's $5 per class, $7 for a day pass and $25 for unlimited classes. This is an incredible deal.

3. South East Tennis and Learning Center

The next Venus and Serena just might come from Ward 8. The Tennis Center located on Mississippi Avenue has a variety of tennis options. They have outdoor and indoor courts. Prices for classes vary. But if you just want to hit the ball around with your friends that's free. The center is run by the DC Department of Recreation.

4. The Arts and Recreation Campus

THEARC is a powerhouse of recreation and learning near the Southern Avenue Metro. The Washington Ballet has all levels of classes for girls, a class for boys, hip-hop, and African Dance. They also have an Adult African and yoga class for adults.