The Sewing Mom

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Alice.com. All opinions are 100% mine.

My work hours were cut today so I made good use of my time off and headed out to run a few errands. I don’t know about you, but I hate running errands and I detest grocery shopping. I feel like it’s such a waste of time and it takes me so long because I am a price shopper. I stand in the aisle comparing ingredients, sizes, coupons and, most importantly, prices. In these times of household budget cuts, price comparison are so important to me.

In the end, I did get my shopping done this morning, even managed to pick up a couple of Christmas presents. After getting home and putting my purchases away, I sat down for some personal time on my computer and I discovered Alice.com, a super convenient way to get my weekly and monthly household shopping done while saving me money.

I signed up for a free account at Alice.com today and started putting items I normally purchase at the store into my online cart. The coolest thing is that I don’t have to print/clip coupons because Alice.com has that all taken care of and applies coupons to my purchase for me. AND, they ship my order to me free (as long as I order a minimum of 6 items). They will even keep track of what I purchase and remind me to reorder so I don’t run out of things in my pantry, whether it’s coffee or toilet paper. Plus, their prices are better than what I just found at the discount store today. I compared prices at Alice.com to my receipt for what I purchased today and I could have saved even more than I did by purchasing online because they would have given me coupons that I didn’t have with me today.

I have such a difficult time staying on a budget and this is a great way for me to be more successful because I can track my purchases.  This is the perfect way for us to manage our household purchases because they carry everything I need outside of fresh food.  I can save money purchasing everything from granola bars, to shower cleaner and they carry name brand products, the ones I usually buy.  I even found a few items that I ordered today because I didn’t care for the prices at the store, even though I needed the products.  Now I’ve ordered them from Alice.com, saved money, time and gasoline.

I highly suggest you check this site out for yourself. Click here to sign up and start saving and you’ll receive $10 off once you’ve spent $50. Plus, for anyone you refer, you’ll receive 3% of their purchases back for one year.

I have been in such a funk lately and decided it’s time to snap out of it! Friday I went and got a new hair cut and I couldn’t believe how much better it made me feel! Now, I’m thinking I need to continue this trend for a new look which seems to be helping me get out of my funk and so, I think the next logical step would be shopping spree for some new clothes. I can’t even remember the last time I bought a new outfit, with the exception of the dress I bought to wear to my nephew’s wedding. But, I need casual clothes. Items I can wear to softball practices (I don’t participate, just watch), and go to dinner in, but that are comfortable enough to wear when I am at home or grocery shopping.

Wouldn’t it be awesome to receive a $500 gift card to Talbots? Seriously, the only items of clothing I’ve purchase for myself recently are made out of t-shirt fabric and I just think if I felt good about what I was wearing, it would help my whole mental state of mind. So, I went to the Talbots website and really liked what I saw. They have items that are exactly what I’m thinking about and make putting together an entire outfit so simple. I could really update my wardrobe in a very nice way with a $500 gift card!

Here are a few items I chose. I really like the jeans because they are an updated version of a classic, must have item and I think they would look fabulous with the boots. What do you think?

By the way, if you haven’t done this yet, you should really go check out these red chair confessions videos on the Talbots blog, they are quite good!

Note: This post is sponsored by Kmart, however, the opinions and memories are truly mine.

I told you that my daughter and have finished with her back to school supply shopping, but now we’re gearing up for the back to school clothes shopping. On top of that, my daughter has decided it’s time to redecorate her room, so we’ve been hunting online and in stores for a new comforter for her bed and the accessories to go along with it.

Imagine my excitement to find out that Kmart is bringing back the Kmart Bluelight Specials that I remember so fondly from years ago! I remember being my daughter’s age, shopping with my mom in Kmart, and the announcement coming over the intercom system that a Bluelight special was taking place somewhere in the store. It could be anywhere, woman’s clothing, shoes, electronics or anything in between. The thing is, when the announcement would be made, the shoppers in the store, including us, knew they had to hurry and get to where ever the blue light was flashing if they wanted the special item because the Bluelight Special is for a very limited time, sometimes only 10 minutes! It was like being in a hunt, a shopping hunt! Bluelight Specials are a shoppers dream!

Kmart is bringing back the Kmart Bluelight Specials tomorrow, Saturday, August 1, for one day only. There will be over 40 different specials taking place throughout the day and through the entire store so there will surely be something for everyone. Who knows, maybe we’ll be able to find the perfect comforter for my daughter’s room, or some new jeans for school, at ridiculous Bluelight Special prices!

For Kmart updates and notices of even more specials follow: @kmartdealsnnews

So, by now you know that my daughter and I have begun the annual late summer ritual of back to school shopping. Our household has not been immune to the recession in this country and so we find it even more important this year to pay attention to who is having sales and make sure we keep track of what we need and what we don’t. I have to tell you how thrilled I am that one store has decided to bring back on of my all time favorite shopping events, the Kmart Bluelight Specials and I am going to be there, ready to shop!

If you’re unfamiliar with the Kmart Bluelight Specials, let me fill you in. I can remember as a kid being with my mom in Kmart and, suddenly, an announcement would come over the store speakers “Blue Light Special in Ladies Shoes” and everyone in the store would make a mad dash to the ladies shoes department to find out what was the quick mark down. You had to rush because a Blue Light Special was only for a limited time (I remember 10-20 minutes), so there was no waiting around if you wanted a good deal on ladies shoes!

Now, to present day, for one day only, July 25, Kmart Bluelight Specials will be taking place throughout the store, throughout the day on just about everything in the store. In fact, there will be over 40 Blue Light Specials taking place over the course of the day. I know that I’m going to be able to find things on our back-to-school shopping list and find those items at excellent prices. So, you know where I’ll be tomorrow!

By the way, feel free to follow at @kmartdealsnnews for updates and more specials.

So, Christmas has come and gone and I hope everyone was able to enjoy a relaxing day with family and friends. Did you get up early to hit the stores this morning? Are you out there making those returns this morning? I have one I have to make, I’m heading out later today, hopefully missing the big rush.

This was what we in our house called “a light Christmas”. There were definitely far fewer gifts under the tree and my husband and I didn’t exchange gifts. That was okay with me. We focused in on the one main gift our daughter wanted and the joy on her face when she opened that gift was worth everything we gave up to get it for her. My husband did have a hard time not buying me anything, he wound up buying me some piece of electronic equipment that I don’t even understand what it is or why I would need it. That’s the item I’ll be returning today! I do appreciate his efforts, but…

I tried to tell him that he could go to get last minute gifts from Kmart and he more than likely would have found a perfect gift for me, or anyone else for that matter. In fact, he knew that I’ve been unable to find our candle holders that I use to decorate the mantle for the holidays, and Kmart carries the Martha Stewart Everyday tall nickel pillar candleholders for under $25. In fact, they carry a lot of gifts for under $25 including Leapfrog brand for kids and Craftsman tools for adults. There are over 25,000 gifts at Kmart for under $25, that’s a great place to shop! He could have even shopped online at Kmart.com.

Well, Christmas day may be gone, but I still would like those candle holders! How about you? What could you get at Kmart?