Frugal Friday 420

 Happy Frugal Friday!

Here's how we saved money/spent money wisely/made extra money this week:

- We enjoyed Thanksgiving in Indy this year. We took macaroni and cheese, squash casserole, mashed potatoes, and chocolate chip pie. We enjoyed spending the day with nearly all of Mark's family. Thank you to healthcare heroes like my sister-in-law Cassidy who work holidays!

- Friday we had a quiet day at home. We put up our tree, found out that half of the lights on our 9 year old tree were out, and promptly decided to just pay $25 for new lights vs the cost of a brand new tree. Mark chose colored lights, our tree was prelit with white, and now it looks like we have a brand new tree! We had leftovers for meals and enjoyed a "Home Alone" movie marathon.

- Saturday we spent the day at Luke and Cassidy's. We all took items for lunch and shared the cost of pizza for dinner. The kids would have stayed another ten days probably, they love playing with their cousins.

- Sunday, Annabeth and Owen led the Advent Service at church. We feel so blessed to raise our children in church and in Truth. Sunday we had a long lazy, games and hang-out afternoon at home. 

- For months I have been making copy-cat Starbucks pepper egg white bites. For around $7 I can make enough for 9 days. This week, I bought supplied for a copy-cat iced white mocha that came pretty close. I spent around $10 for supplies to make over two weeks worth of coffees! I generally splurge on coffee 1x/week BUT this will be a huge savings over time. 

- Our big grocery win was that Walmart was out of the 8 count of Poptarts that I ordered. The teen filling my order just substituted a 48 pack for the 8 pack price! 40 FREE - WOOHOO! 

- This week I ran my 2nd Annual Puzzle Drive for the Franklin PD Toy Drive. The puzzle/book sets are ordered and we'll drop them off when they arrive. We are donating 12 sets!

- Yesterday was our co-op Christmas party. The moms who planned it did an incredible job of making it a day to remember! Our kids loved a pancake breakfast, games, crafts, and more! We are feeling much more in the holiday spirit now!

- Part of why I LOVE being a book lady is that I really, truly love sharing books that I love. This week we were able to send out two books - one to celebrate a baby on the way and one to a little friend with a broken bone. Matching the right books, to the right people, at the right time brings me so much joy! 

We had a great week getting back into the school/work rhythm after vacation and the holidays.