Shopping Lately on Vacation & At Home

**Still waiting on Little Penpen to contact me about her giveaway box and time is running out!**

So I hit some stores on our vacation as is my want to do.
Rite-Aid in Wells Maine for some better than free make-up brushes.

We also hit Reny's in Wells and I picked this up..........

2 large jars of roasted red peppers for $3.29 each and 2 bottles of sesame oil for $3.79 each.  I noticed that the sesame oil went up .80¢ there since buying it a couple of years ago, but it's still cheaper than buying it locally here in PA.

Then on the way out of Maine we hit a Marden's in Sanford.  The only foodstuffs I bought there were 2 bottles of chili sauce for $1 each and 6 cans of Tasty Kitchen(from Quebec) brand tomato soup for .29¢ a can.  Never had or heard of that brand of soup but for .29¢ a can why not!  And if it's not so "tasty" I can always use it in my Beef Pie recipe. lolz

After we got home I went to our local Ocean State Job Lot on Monday since they put a $5 wyb $25 Q on my Insider Card.  It expired that day so I had to go have a look  if there was anything worth getting with it.
And there was!

These quart jugs of pure maple syrup, regularly $14.99(still a good price)were marked $8.99 for Insiders Only so I got two.

Jars of spices regularly $1 were priced at .79¢ each.  The olives were $1, on special as well.

For the Grand Opening of the store here they had pallet upon pallet of Polar soda and seltzer 6 packs on special.  I guess they didn't sell as much as they had thought they would so an Insider Special last week with no limit evidently was Polar 6 packs for $1 each.  I got 11 x 6-packs(even though it put me well over the $25 I needed to spend that $5 off Q because duh! It was an awesome price!!! lolz
I got 5 packs of seltzer and 6 packs of soda.  We are having family over the middle of next month so this will come in very handy then.

Ollie's(Good Stuff Cheap!)is have their Bonanza Days this week so everything in the store is 15% off for Ollie's Army card holders, no Q needed.  Hubs and I will be heading over there later today to see if anything is priced low enough for us to pick up.
I have yet to darken the store at Weis(PMITA)Markets before leaving for NH(6/14 to be exact)so I know a trip there tomorrow for the freebie item is in my future.

But I am happy to report the freezer is looking less full these days and we have been able to eat it  down a bit even with a week away thrown in.

Have y'all gotten any good grocery deals lately?
Tell us all about it.

Sluggy

This Week on the Dining Table

The "I Can't Even!" Edition.............

When Ex-College Boy had to take everything out from under his bed when the Daughter took that bed frame to Louisiana with her he found a box of food I had sent off to his college apartment with him his first semester of his Senior year.  Among the foodstuffs were two Hormel Compleats breakfast meals.
Hubs and I took the 2 breakfast ones with us to New Hampshire last week for options if the motel breakfast was sad and/or as a change for the motel continental breakfast since we were going to be staying there 5 nights.
Well we broke out these Compleats on Wednesday.  You can see in the photo above the package "art" compared to what the bacon breakfast scramble actually looked like.  And let me tell you for the record that it tasted WORSE than it looked! lolz
I knew it would be over salted.  I tried to eat it with my eyes closed so the nasty look wouldn't prejudice my taste buds but GAWD!......the texture was just something I couldn't get past!
So breakfast was just the toast you can see in the right bottom corner as this nasty Compleats went directly into the trash can.
Amazingly Hubs ate his all up......*shudder*.  I've always said Hubs will eat anything, anywhere and at any time and this just proved I was correct. 8-)

Moving On....

Onward to the meal planning!

This is what was planned--

1. Sunday--Grilled Steaks, Corn on cob, Mac and Cheese

2. Monday--Eating out w/my cousin

3. Tuesday--?

4. Wednesday--?

5. Thursday-?

6. Friday--?
7. Saturday--?

And this is what actually happened--(everyone else here not me after Tuesday)

1. Sunday--Grilled Steaks, Corn on cob, Mac and Cheese

2. Monday--Eating out-Chowder, Haddock, Cole Slaw, Fries

3. Tuesday--I had an applesauce cup and pretzels(Had a big lunch)

4. Wednesday--Turkey w/Stuffing Compleats, applesauce cup

5. Thursday--Chowder, Burger for lunch, no dinner for me(Hubs had a turkey sandwich)

6. Friday--Pulled Chicken Compleat on Buns, applesauce cup
7. Saturday--Manicotti Compleats, pretzels w/peanut butter

Last week saw 1 nights of home cooked dinners, 5 nights of leftovers/fend for yourself, 1 night of Eating Out/Take-Out. 

Eating was sort of strange(as in not normal/regular)last week at PorcFest.  We either ate turkey sandwiches for lunch(we took bread from the free breakfast at the motel and bought sliced deli turkey from Shaw's), ate from food vendors at the campground, or we went out for lunch(Thursday).
Dinners were either leftover turkey sandwiches at the campground, pastries we bought in Lancaster during the day or Hormel "Compleats" and fruit cups we brought with us from home.  Dinner when we ate it was around 10 or 11 pm as that's when we got back to the motel(except Thursday when we got in before 8 pm as it rained ALL day and I wasn't feeling very well).

What got put into the freezer last week.....

* nothing what so ever as I wasn't home

What got taken out of the freezer and used last week.....
* nothing what so ever as I wasn't home

A small trip to Ocean State Job Lot as they opened the weekend before we left and 2 small shops at Reny's and Marden's in Maine on the way to NH brought the food/toiletries spending last week to $49.45 and my June total to $207.81.  

My savings percentage last week was 47.08%(without Rite-Aid trips)and June's monthly savings total so far comes to 54.25%(w/out R-A). 

I have 6 more food shopping/spending days in June(counting from this past Monday).

Leftovers going into this week.....a little corned beef, a whole pan of stuffed shells(Ex-CB didn't eat), a container of taco meat(Ex-CB didn't eat)and a container of leftover sliced turkey(which I put into the freezer on Monday).

We had lots of food waste while we were gone.  Ex-College Boy didn't seem to eat anything(I left him Domino's gift cards and he just seemed to get pizza and didn't touch any food here).  I threw out corn on cob, Cole slaw, cabbage, zucchini and rice but was able to salvage a couple of things for the freezer.
So unhappy about it.  If I'd known he'd just eat out or eat pizza I'd have frozen or had Hubs eat stuff before we left.
Oh well.....sometimes you loose the game. 8-(

Here is this week's "food plan".....

1. Sunday--leftover turkey sandwiches

2. Monday--leftover Corned Beef turned into hash, eggs

3. Tuesday--leftover Stuffed Shells, Caesar salad

4. Wednesday--Chili(I'll have something else)

5. Thursday--BLT sandwiches

6. Friday--Grilled Cheese sandwiches, Tossed Salad
7. Saturday--Hot Dogs on buns, Beans, Something Green Veg from the freezer

This week will see 4 new meals cooked, 3 nights of leftovers/FFY, and 0 nights of Take-Out/Eating Out.

What needs buying for this menu? We are out of milk and tomatoes and that is all.  I'll need to get fresh produce, lettuce, onions, etc. later this week or early next week. I am hoping to keep the food spending to $50 this week.

What is getting fixed and served at your house this week?

Was last week's plan successful, did you go off plan or did you not even plan what was going to be eaten last week?

Any great deals on food at your stores this week? 

Sluggy  

And the Winner Is..........But First, Some Business

*So I went to record all the entries to figure out who won the Giveaway.
This month I had to disqualify SIX entries, 5 of them because there is no contact info either in the entry or from their Google profile and/or they aren't on my "Giveaway Email Master List" of names/emails.
So in the future if "ladybug", Mimi, Amy(just Amy not Amy in OH) or Linda Cunha want their entries to be valid, PLEASE contact me and give me your email addy.
And Janie Junebug, you posted an entry on the wrong post for it to count, sorry.

Now let's get to who won, shall we?

51 Valid entries this time and the Winner is............

Little Penpen!

Little PenpenJune 19, 2019 at 7:48 AM

I rarely buy makeup so it would be fun to get some new play things for myself. The whole package is sweet. Vacation? I wish! We are nursing two geriatric dogs and I refuse to leave them with anyone. Only day trips are in my immediate future. We live pretty close to the ocean, so I’ll hopefully, get there a few times.

Congratulations Little Penpen!  Please email me your full mailing address within 48 hours of this post going live so I can get this box of goodies out to you asap.

Thanks to everyone for playing this month.

Sluggy

Hurry! Last Day to Enter the Giveaway

I usually do a "This Week on the Dining Table" post on Monday but I am still scrambling to get organized here after getting home last evening.

So instead, here's a reminder that the current June Giveaway ends TONIGHT at 11:59 pm EDST so today is the last day to enter.  Either go HERE or check out the link on my side bar for the Giveaway.

AND PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, if you entered already make sure you included your email addy in your comment if I don't already have your information(either you emailed it to me privately or your Google blogger profile has your email in it).
If I have no email for you, you can't win and your entry(ies) will be invalid. 8-(((

Ok, I am off to get Chester, check on the food situation here and run some errands.

Have a great day everyone!

Sluggy

Frugal Friday......the June 21st Edition

Here's the awesomeness we call "frugal" that happened at Chez Sluggy and on the road this past week...............

*  I got the Weis(PMITA)Markets Friday Freebie last week........

A full sized (52 oz.)bottle of Weis brand OJ.
That was a really nice one for a change!

*  I got a LOT of free(except for tax)Kokie nail polish last week..  I think the final count was 18 bottles?

The Spend $12/Get $6 BC Deal stopped working on Thursday at my store but I called them on Friday and got the $6 BC on Daughter's card to work.  I bought 6 more between the 2 other cards after that on Saturday and the Deal didn't work on either of those cards then but I didn't call about those bottles.  Might when I get back or I might just return them.

*  We found cheap for MA gas on Monday driving up to see my cousin.
The Sunoco was $2.71 a gallon and with our gas card Hubs got another .05¢ off a gallon.
Last gas I got at home was $2.84 and we saw $2.79 when we left town there.
We'll take it!

* I found money!

On Tuesday I found a penny at Mardens in Sanford ME and another penny at Rite-Aid in Ogunquit ME.  The Marden's penny was an easy pick-up by the register as we were leaving the store.  The Rite-Aid penny was wedged between the trash can and the smoking butt station outside the door in front.  I couldn't get my arm in between or move the containers(both very big and heavy)so I used one of the make-up brushes on the way out to stick in there(in the package!)to move it to where I could reach it.  Of course some strange old man was just loitering by the trash can when I came out(not throwing anything away)so I had an audience while I bent down to do this.  He seemed fascinated so at least I could entertain the old coot! lolz

*  We stayed with my cousin on the first night of this trip.  She lives in a resort town where accommodations are NOT inexpensive in the season so we didn't have to shell out lots of money for a motel/hotel.  We went out to dinner and they picked up the bill(as we had picked it up last Fall when we took them out to dinner).  The best part was spending time with this cousin. ;-)

*  I got almost free(wish I had that Q!)deodorant and then better than free make-up brushes at Rite-Aid this week...........well the deo was free too because I "spent" Bonus Cash for it.

*  Father's Day was spent at home grilling steaks and making sides for my Hubs.
You won't see us going out to dinner on holidays like this.  Yes, we spend money eating out on Birthdays usually but I don't eat out on those holidays were there is a "special" limited menu or a set dinner so that everyone's meal is the same price.  The meal you get may be worth what you are expected to pay but the service is shitty as the waitstaff is overworked and overwhelmed on this shifts plus the kitchen staff is just trying to keep up cranking out what may not be their best work plus the crowds(need I say more?)so yah, that's why we stay home.

*  We fit some frugal shopping into this vacation(of course she did you are all thinking in your heads).

I left these slug/snail decorative watering cans on the shelf  however.  I'll report in next week on what we picked up on this trip. ;-)

*  Going to Porcfest, while not a cheap action(spending money to take a trip)we tried to do it in a frugal manner.
I booked our motel stay through Booking(dot)com.  They sent me a special offer(book a stay and get a rebate), plus I went through a rebate site to reserve the room.  I have an account w/them and they send me another % off in addition on the room. Granted, go through Booking I was limited to motels they deal with but even so among the 3 motels/hotels nearby I could choose from I booked the cheapest one(and it was cheaper through Booking).  It was the most basic motel of motel but we were only sleeping there and not spending time at the motel.  Too much other stuff to do!!

We also bought our Porcfest tickets early and got a $30 discount that way too. Spend $50 during the Early Bird period and don't pay $80. '-)

*  I got some free swag at Porcfest!
Haven't even gone through the few things in the bag but I picked up a free keychain from some game developers, a stack of books for giveaways, a cookie and drink and a slice of birthday cake.


*  Hubs and I found money!
Well he got to it faster but I snatched it from him "like a Kim". lolz

It was tucked under my bed at the motel. 8-)))))))))))))
We asked if anyone had reported missing money and no.  This is an awesome addition to my "found change" envelope.
Sweet.

That's about it around the "Sluggy Traveling Show" this week.

Any good deals or frugal wins in your life this past week?



Sluggy