I Love New York! (And Memphis, Too)

Posted on by Mandy

As we were driving home from a weekend outing Saturday evening, I realized it had been October since I had left the boundaries of our small town.  October!  Life seems to be moving at such a fast pace that this fact never dawned on me until I was out of town and enjoying myself immensely.  We made a day trip to Memphis, which is roughly two hours away from our home.  We were on a mission to pick up my husband from work, but we also took time out to explore a little and do some fun things.

As we crossed the bridge into Memphis over the Mississippi River, E.B. saw the skyline and immediately exclaimed that, “he looooovvvved New York!!!!!”.

2011_03210257

Bless his heart, in his defense, those big buildings did sort of look like we were in NYC.  Not that the kid has ever been there…I’m sure he got the New York stuff from copious amounts of Madagascar watching.

We also took in a little retail therapy, because when you live 2 hours away from the civilized world, this?

2011_03210278

Looks like heaven!

We also had our first dining experience at Joe’s Crab Shack, and we’ve declared as a family that it’s really one of the best places we’ve eaten in a while.  The atmosphere was wonderful! (80’s music, excellent service, eating on a covered porch on a beautiful day, amazing seafood, and a playground for E.B. Bonus!!!)  I had the Caribbean Feast and it was seriously so amazing.

2011_03210287

The trip was declared a complete triumph when I spotted these in Old Navy:

2011_03210295

My shoes!  My shoes! (Insert “The Search Is Over” by Survivor softly playing in the background). $13.99.

I need to get out more.

Kroger Cart Buster Savings Event & Giveaway

Posted on by Mandy

By now we’ve all heard the news that along with gas, grocery prices are also about to start rising.  One thing I’ve been more committed about this year is looking for ways to save on our weekly grocery bill.  By combining coupons with a great sale, it’s easy to shave several dollars off our shopping trips.

Kroger is currently having their fantastic Kroger Cart Buster Savings Event at a store near you.  From February 27th through March 12th, shop Kroger´s biggest-ever promotion and find the hottest prices around on more than 35 brands, across more than 60 categories from General Mills, P & G, Nestle, Pepsi and Kroger Banner Brands. During the Cart Buster Savings Event, you´ll find great savings in almost every department at the Kroger Family of Stores, which includes Kroger, Ralph´s, King Soopers, City Market, Dillons, Smith´s, Fry´s, QFC, Baker´s, Owen´s, Jay C Food Stores, Hilander, Gerbes, Food4Less, Pay Less Super Markets and Scott´s Food & Pharmacy.

Here are just a handful of the great brands participating in the event: Multigrain Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Pillsbury, Betty Crocker, Hamburger Helper, Yoplait, Progresso, Totino´s, Green Giant, Cascadian Farm, Tide, Charmin, Bounty, Pampers, Pantene, Crest, Iams, Febreze, Old Spice, Bounce, DiGiorno´s, Nestle Toll House, Juicy Juice, Coffee-Mate, Edy´s, Stouffer´s, Lean Cuisine, Hot Pockets, Nestle Candy, Purina and many more!

You can also follow Kroger on Facebook and participate in their Deal of the Day.  If you are one of the first 1000 people to click on the deal link for that day, you receive a free load-to-card coupon for that item.

I was generously provided with a $25 Kroger Gift Card to use during this event and was so excited about the savings!   As an avid couponer, this sale really helped me get the most out of my grocery budget for this week.  I always look forward to these big sales, so it was fun planning out my shopping trip.

GIVEAWAY:

I have one $25 Kroger Gift Card to give away to one lucky Mommy Cracked reader.  To enter, just leave a comment on this post.  Giveaway ends Friday, March 18, 2011 at 11 PM Central.  U.S. Only.

The Kroger Family of Stores gift card, information, and giveaway were all provided by the Kroger Family of Stores and General Mills/Nestle/Proctor & Gamble through MyBlogSpark.)