Mulch in my pants

Wow have I been slacking!  When I first started this blog I had a need to post something every single day. I had just quit my job after 10 years of working there.    At first it kept me busy but after a while I would run of things to write about.  Well its been a few years now and life has kept me pretty busy doing many things. I am a stay at home mom of 4 beautiful daughters who keep me pretty busy.  You can add taxi driver to that too. My older girls are in soccer which means I drive them to and from soccer games/practice 5 days a week.  And don't forget that I am training for my half marathon which is coming up in June.  It's not too late to join me! And in between all that I am gardening as much as possible.

Here is what I have been up too lately!

My neighbor was giving away random bricks and stepping stones so I put them to good use.  I plan on turning my front yard into a herb and flower garden with a little wandering path for my girls to be walk on.  They love smelling and touching plants so this path will be their secret little place to run to.  Should be beautiful when finished. Herbs are almost ready to be planted in front. Last week I finally laid fresh organic mulch down.  I just love the color. 

My neighbor works for a tree company and delivers organic mulch for free.  If your looking for a great organic mulch you might try calling your local tree service companies.  Most companies are looking to get rid of the stuff and will deliver it for free or low cost.  I was lucky enough to get some mulch with lots of pine needles. Pine needles mean less weeds.

Last year my neighbor gave me a tree/bush start. I cannot remember the name of this tree/bush but it looks like it has snowballs on it. Each year it will have what looks like white flower balls all over it. It didn't bloom last year because of me transplanting it but looks like I will get some this year. Love this plant!!! Anybody know the name of it?

While my girls are at soccer I roam my local Fred Meyers so I don't have to drive home.  By the time I would get home I would have to turn right back around to pick her up so I just roam looking for deals. I was able to snag these pretty flowers for half price. Each pot has about 6 bulbs so I plan on putting them around my property.  My girls love the white flowers because they look like fairy skirts. Remember even stores have a clearance section in the garden section. These were $9.99 each but I snagged them at half price.  Woot woot!

Excited to see my hasta's finally peeking out of the mulch.  To me this means the sunny weather will be here soon.  I have about 6 of these pretty plants that was here on my property when I bought my house. They didn't look very good so I moved them to a few other places with lots of sun and some shade. They must be loving their new homes because they are much bigger and brighter colored now.

My husband's grandparents gave me this beautiful little tier glass dish. I put it to use holding fresh produce each week. This week we are eating organic apples which were 89 cents per pound and also grapefruit which was 99 cents per pound.  New Season's here in the NW are a great place to find sale produce.  Potatoes were given to me by my friend Theresa who get's organic produce delivered from Organics To You .  Anything she doesn't eat she will give to me.  I will plan my meals around the produce she gives me and the sale produce I find each week.  This way I save money and we try new things all the time.  Our meals never get boring and don't break the bank.

On Easter we decided to finally put some drapes up on our bedroom window and sliding glass window in our living/dining room.  We were able to get rod's and drapes for both windows for about $130.  They were on sale and had a extra 10% off coupon. Since we used our tax money to pay our truck off , we have an extra $250 each month and decided to use that money to invest in making our home better.  I gave my room a make over a few months back and the only thing left was the drapes. So for months I kept putting it off and we had a sheet tacked up.  Now my room looks complete. These brown drapes are made of recycled cotton so I had to buy them.  I feel like a grown up now..... funny how something simple like drapes can do that to you.

These have been put to good use.  I was going to just train with my Nike's from last year but somehow I put a hole in them and they squeaked every time I stepped my right foot down. Wow was that annoying. So instead of going to a local store and finding something on sale that might or might not be good shoes, I went to the right people.  I headed on over to my local Portland Running Store and turned myself over to them.  I highly recommend them to anybody looking to find good shoes.  Apparently I run on the outsides of my feet and was running with the wrong shoes. Oops. They recommended these pretty shoe's which should help correct my goofy running. Best part is they were half price!!! They are not interested in making the buck first.  They catered to what I wanted and made a lifetime shopper for sure.  Instead of me spending $130 on shoe's I spent only $65. They rocked! I now live in these and train 3 times a week. My race is in June and if I wanna survive this half marathon I need to train lots.

Look at this pretty number! Was originally $35 at New Season's and I picked it up for $10 in their clearance section.  Yep they even have clearance! Locally made of bulk food bags so its gonna last a long time.  Perfect side bag for everyday use.  Its fabric lined and has lots of pockets to carry all my junk.  I am in love with the color.  I get so many compliments on this bag as well.

I have been on the hunt for some coasters for a few months now with no luck. I wanted something either local, handmade or upcycled or better yet all three things. Well I had about given up until I found these pretty little things.  I was in my local Goodwill and about screamed when I found these.  They are handmade hand pressed tiles.  Each tile had a different plant pressed into them with a different glaze color.  They are made by Earth Mark's Studio which is located in Boulder Colorado.  To my surprise when I turned them over they used recycled tire rubber instead of cork. How cool is that? Its like they were made specifically for me. Ahh I am in love. Best part was that they were $2.99 on a green tag which was 50% off. I paid $1.49 for these!

I have been looking for a good natural as possible pain reliever for a while and found this Peaceful Mountain joint rescue for half price at Whole Foods. I expected a lot because at $6.49 half price its a hefty price tag.  It is made from certified organic ingredients and promised to help sore and well used joints. I used it for a few weeks and felt no change what so ever.   It did make my hands softer though.  So again I was on the hunt.  I was at my local New Seasons wandering down the aisles when I found the pain relief section.  New Season's is great about having a test product for each item they sell.  I found this J.R.Watkins  Pain Relieving Liniment Spray which is 96.5% Natural.  I sprayed it on my wrist (that I have pain in often) and immediately could feel the relief.  It cooled and soothed my wrist like nothing I have ever tried.  It was $8.49 on sale so I didn't buy it right away and headed on over to Whole Foods to see if I could get it at a better price. Well they didnt sell it and I went home with nothing.  For a few hours I would randomly feel cool relief and I knew I better go back and get that stuff.  I also use this in my back with great results.  If you have pain then you need this stuff. LOVE IT!

I also have been enjoying my new bamboo laptop but will save that review for another day.  So what have you been up to? Any new money saving tips to share with us? Feel free to leave a comment and share!