REVIEW: thred UP! It's better than going to the thrift store.

Just want to say how happy I was with my order from thred UP.  What's thred up you say?

It's an awesome site - you can buy or conveniently sell excellent-quality women's and kids clothing.  They’ve got everything from Gucci to Gap, J Crew to Justice - at up to 90% off retail prices! The best part is, they're local, AND I can get you $10 off your first purchase with this link.


I originally purchased a few items, and got a great deal on them. Their customer service/quality control is awsome! I found this really cute dress for my niece, so I added it to my purchase. Upon shipping, they noticed a spot, so what did they do? THEY REFUNDED ME! Not only did they refund me for the dress, but they also sent the dress. So essentially, I got it for free. Threw it in the washer, and the spot was gone.

So how does it work, well there are two areas that thred UP specializes in.  One, buying and two, selling.

thredUP is the easiest way to save on great clothing brands and hand down clothing your family no longer wears for cash. We're like a consignment boutique - but simpler. On thredUP you can refresh your family's entire wardrobe online, without ever leaving your house.

Here's how it works:

SHOP: Browse thousands of like-new clothing items, which we've hand-selected and certified for quality. You'll find all your favorite brands discounted up to 80% off year-round. Shop »

CLEAN OUT: When your family has clothing they no longer wear (kids, juniors and women's), simply fill up a thredUP bag and put it on your doorstep. thredUP covers the shipping, and pays you for every item we can hand down to other families. Hand down »

With so many sites popping up on the internet, it hard to know which ones are safe and legit to order from. I can't say enough good things about thred up. So if you're looking for something in particular, check out thred UP here.

College, Books and Financial Aid...Oh MY!

So I recently decided to go back to school. Let me just say college can be overwhelming if you don't know what you are doing, and I clearly did not know what I was doing...lol! 

I had a general idea on what classes I wanted to take, but I just had to make sure I was taking the right ones. I initially thought I was signing up for a local college (LANEY), but it turns out the classes are offered at a sister college (MERRITT). 

I also started this process about a week or two before Christmas 2013. After 3 trips between the two campuses, I finally realized what I needed to do. Here is what happened...lol!

So off to the college I went. Only it was not the right college campus! Upon arriving at the college, I decided to hit up financial aid first.....so glad I did. (Thankfully, I had already applied for admissions and FAFSA, that much I did know how to do)

At the Financial aid office, the line was OUT OF THE DOOR CRAZY LONG! So I stood in line, and waited......and waited....and waited even more, for almost 2 hours only to be told I needed to go to Merritt to apply for Financial aid. However, the guy I spoke with was not very clear at all, I had no idea why I couldn't just got to Laney (where I thought my classes were going to be at). I then headed up to see a counselor, only everyone else had the same idea, and I was turned away because they could not see me because of the long line of other students waiting. So I went home. :( Still worried I might be in the wrong classes.


Long story short, a trip to Merritt, a bus ride downtown to Oakland IRS, and back to Merrit, I FINALLY got financial aid taken care of, my fees waived, and enrolled in the right classes.

The cost of college text books are CRAZY expensive. So I did some research, rented my books from here, used a coupon from here, and also used a cash back site on my online purchase from here. Overall for two classes, I spent $37.46 on my books! THATS AMAZING! It broke down like this:

Subtotal:            $39.43
Tax:                   $3.55
Shipping:                $5.99
6% Off coupon:  -$2.37
Free Shipping:    -$5.99
Total:                $40.61

PLUS I'll get 8% cashback from shopathome.com (so that's another $3.15)

So my GRAND TOTAL I paid was: $37.46!! 

 I saved $344.00 over the cost of buying my books brand new instead of renting them. To add icing to the cake, the site I ordered from also has free shipping back to them for rented books.

So if you do your research, books don't have to cost you an arm and a leg. 

REVIEW: Buying bulk chicken from Zaycon foods. I highly recommend.

I have to say, to the average household who goes grocery shopping several times a week, buying 40lbs of chicken breast from Zaycon foods can be super scary (and downright wasteful if you don't know what to do with it.).  But with a little planning and a little prep time, you can make this,

turn into this,

Note: this is only what 20lbs looks like. So double what you see for a 40lb box.

My 20lbs made 11 meals. 3 meal portions of shredded chicken, 6 half breast whole, 3 meal portions of chicken cutlets, 2 meal portions of stir-fry chicken, and 5 cups of chicken broth. I only had 13oz of fat i needed to trim and about 1.5 cups of liquid waste. Well worth the price. This lasted my family of 5 (3 adults, two kids) for 2 months.

Last time I purchased a box, I split the box with a friend. Inside each box there are 4 bags of large chicken breast (each breast weighs about 16oz or more and they come with both halves together, so that is approx. 32oz) To say that you can share a single breast is an understatement. An average portion size in a restaurant and/or grocery store is about 5-8oz each.

I HIGHLY recommend buying from Zaycon. chicken taste wonderful. It's farm fresh, never frozen, hormone free, and usually straight from the slaughter house to your door step. No middle man or waiting to be packaged in grocery stores. The current price Zaycon is offering on chicken is $1.89/lb. Costco is approx $2.99/lb or more. Grocery store chains, may be closer to the price Zaycon is offering, BUT the quality that you get from Zaycon is MUCH better!

The awesome thing about Zaycon is that they not only have chicken, but ground beef, bacon, strawberries, and MANY more items. So if you are interested in signing up to see if Zaycon will be in your area, and what dates, go here. You won't be sorry.

Free sample of Finish Diswashing Tabs

Love Finish Dishwashing tabs! They work magic in my dishwasher over all other tabs I've tried. So why not snag a free sample of them?

You can go here to get your free sample.


Thanks to Couponlikeaman!

Life doesn't care about your schedule. It goes on with or without you.

Oh how I have missed the blogging world, but things, no, life has a way of taking up your time, if you know what I mean. I've been soo busy that I had to set a few things down and one, was my blog.

Don't get me wrong, I'm still super busy with life and it's many, MANY, MANY, twist and turns, but setting a few minutes aside a few times a week won't be too much to ask now will it?

My last blog post was well over two years ago. So as a refresher to all, I'd like to post 15 things about me.

1.  I love God, my husband, and my two kids.
2.  I have two littles here on earth (One boy and One girl) and 4 littles in Heaven. 
3.  I've been married for 8 years to my best friend.
4.  I moved out "on my own" when I was only 17.
5.  I love baking.
6.  I hate the gap in between my teeth. I'm super self conscious about it.
7.  I am a couponer and a bargain hunter by nature. (I'm sure you'll see tons of that in the future)
8.  I usually drive the long road trips and always make my husband drive around town.
9.  My favorite fruit...Nectarines, but now white nectarines!
10. I nearly drowned at 2. My babysitters son (who was 3) saved my life, and I vividly remember it.
11. I sing, but not as good as I imagine I can. 
12. I'd love to own a plantation style home
13. My favorite childhood book is "Cloudy with a chance of meatballs" 
14.  I'd love to one day own my own bakery.

and finally...

15. My favorite food is Mexican! I heart salsa and chip in particular. I have been known to eat several baskets by myself...lol!

Here's to blogging once again!