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I’ve been making plans for Black Friday, as, I’m sure, have many of you.
Here’s what I’m planning to do:
I am planning a little online shopping.
I’ll be ordering some zippers, buttons, and thread at Wawak. The zippers are mostly replacement zippers for a couple of jackets and a skirt (that came from garage sales and the thrift store). I am also ordering some buttons for Cyrus’ suit coat, that was bought at a garage sale earlier this year and was missing a button. I am ordering some buttons for a couple of dresses for Winter, as I discovered I didn’t have any black buttons in the right size. I’ll also be ordering a few spools of Gutermann Mara 100 thread. The zippers are on sale. I will be looking at their sales and I may add some other needed things.
Their shipping is very low ($4.89 for the entire order under $100 or free over $100). I won’t be getting a lot, but I try to only place an order from there once a year.
I’m going to buy myself a new pair of black heels. Typically, I try to wait until Black Friday to order necessary items like shoes for the children.
About 9 years ago, I bought myself a pair of heels in black and a matching pair in brown. The black ones have been worn much more. I fixed them earlier this year with some e-6000 glue, but now they are starting to truly fall apart and need to be replaced. I have wide feet, so my choices are limited, but I do find that Naturalizer makes good quality shoes and offers a couple of wide widths. Shoes.comhas free shipping and they’re on sale. Plus, Shoes.com
is offering 30% off already-on-sale shoes using promo code BLACK. (You can use SHOES15 to get 15% off any regular priced shoes.)
One of the reasons I wait until Black Friday is so that I can combine coupons, sales, and double cash back from Ebates. Ebates typically offers double cash back at most stores on Black Friday, plus they have several coupon codes to use on top of sales, so I can get the best deal on whatever I need. Their “double” is sometimes more than double, too, on that day. For Shoes.com, it’s 17% back. That’s on top of the 10% plus 30% that I’m getting off already.
Ebates is basically a way to get a rebate check back on items that you order online, plus they have coupon codes to make your deal sweeter. If you’re new to Ebates, they’ll give you a $10 gift card of your choice to a few stores when you first sign up, if you make a qualifying purchase of $25 or more after signing up. Rebate checks are sent 4 times a year. I’ve ordered a lot of things online this way, including makeup (all the big names have websites and most are listed on there, so you don’t have to go to the mall and deal with the crowds to get Lancôme, Clinique, etc.–plus there are usually good bonus deals today and free shipping offers), a dryer (Lowe’s and Home Depot give cash back), and shoes for the children.
My grandmother gave me some money to buy something for the children. They really want to do some more science experiments, so I will be ordering from Home Science Tools for them. They have 10% off on some items for the entire weekend (that may not seem like a lot but their prices are really low) plus free shipping all weekend (on orders $75 or higher) using code WCYBER13.
Then for the rest of the day I will be canning. I’m hoping to get 5 batches of pomegranate jelly made today for the first of three canning sessions for my brother’s wedding favors. I’m really thankful that we have leftovers to eat!
Update: My brother has decided he doesn’t want to can, so this has been taken off my to do list. I will do some sewing and organizing instead.
Hello! I have just discovered your blog and am amazed and delighted. One area that I am curious about, and would like to ask you to blog about, perhaps in the New Year… Is your own sewing for yourself and how you cloth yourself. You mentioned at one point that you use a pattern for yourself… And I am curious which one, how you might add to it… Etc.. Thank you kindly for considering this and have a lovely weekend!
Thanks so much for the Ebates recommendation! They have a Canadian site that I didn’t know about, and I just found out! We’ve got a couple of major online purchases planned for this month (which we’ve been saving up for forever, or so it seems), and the cashback on it all will be quite nice when our baby comes in spring! 🙂
Your plans sound great! My mom made pomegranate jelly too, from fruit off the tree in their back yard. The flavor and color are divine! Have a lovely day.
Brandy – Your plans for Black Friday sound satisfying! Is your recipe for pomegranate jelly available? Sounds wonderful and what a great idea for your brother’s wedding favors! Hope your Thanksgiving was a good one. Just wanted to let you know how much I appreciate your website and blog – thank you for all the encouragement and wonderful ideas. I think of you often and pray for you and your family. God is good and He is trustworthy. – Esther in NJ
It’s the liquid pectin recipe on the Sure Jel site. I’ve used it before.
We’ve done it from fruit before (when I took the above photo) but I am glad we are using juice this time.
I know this sounds silly but will you do a tutorial on how you seed your poms? I LOVE them and gobble them up this time of year when I can buy them for $0.50/each. But I can’t manage to get seeds out without making the kitchen look like a murder just took place. There must be a slightly easier and less messy way to get seeds out…right??KK @ Preppy Pink Crocodile
I honestly haven’t bought much for myself in the last 9 years. I did buy a handful of maternity things during that time (some used) and I went to the thrift store for myself twice (I spent around $50 one time and $35 the other time). I also bought socks once during that time. I used a free Groupon deal to get tights once.I made a pattern from a skirt and a shirt that I bought at the thrift store; they fit well and I liked them. I made a blouse from the fabric and pattern that a friend gave to me (she was moving and had not gotten around to making it; that was a blessing). The skirt I copied from the thrift store was two pieces of fabric with an elastic waist; I made a few skirts copying that one. I also bought a few things at garage sales for $1 each. I bought a dress last year for that and then turned it into a skirt. I bought another two-piece dress last year for $2. I purchased a few more things at garage sales as well (pajamas for $0.50) and a few shirts for $1 this year.For the most part, I have been making do with what I have. I took long-sleeved shirts and turned them into short-sleeved ones when my short-sleeved blouses wore out (it’s hot here and I rarely need long-sleeves). My clothes are really starting to wear out now (except for my winter clothing; most of that is still just fine from 10 years ago; between pregnancies and short winters, I haven’t worn it much). I’m just now starting to get some new things as our income has just started to increase. I realize how much I’ve missed dresses, so as we’ve had a little here and there I am starting to find some things for myself. I got a dress for free with a $10 off $10 coupon at one store this year (the dress was $10). It needs some altering but it should work for me. I found another dress for $30 recently. So, I’m starting to get some things now as I can.
My plans for Black Friday are fairly simple. I am putting away the Thanksgiving decorations (wreaths, candle rings, ceramic pumpkins & resin pilgrims) & setting up the Advent wreath, the Christmas tree in the family room downstairs, & a few nativities. If I have time, I may also set up part of the yard display. Every year we set out angels (5), shepherds (2) and sheep (9) for our Christmas decorations. They are blow molds (most bought 2nd hand) & each on takes a 4 watt nightlight-type bulb. The entire display uses less electricity than one string of C-7 lights, so we don’t put lights on the house any more.
I am FINALLY feeling better after my wisdom teeth extraction, so I’ve made a pretty big list for the next two days and hope to get most of it done. 1. Clean Turkey and make a Turkey Pot Pie and Turkey Broth & Freeze leftover Turkey- Check2. Clean ham and portion/ freeze as necessary-Check3. Use ham bone to make a pot of Red Beans-Check4. Work on my sister’s recipe book- In Progress5. Wrap finished presents-6. Start on Christmas Cards- In progress (Envelopes are filled out, starting on inside messages)7. Post in my blog- have some ideas but not sure which one I want to write about today8. Clean out icebox of leftovers- check check and check (everything is either eaten or in the deep freeze)9. Send husband to do last of Christmas shopping10. Go to the Gym- In progress, leaving after I eat lunch
Did a little online shopping beginning at 12 midnight last night, and ordered a couple of pairs of shoes ( thanks for the tips Brandy) Most of this day we were a little preoccupied with the birth of our first grandchild. Overall this was my most successful Black Friday ever!
Our day was a good one, I think. DH had ordered some heavy duty shelving, similar to what you have pictured in your pantry. He was able to pick it up at the store today, so we got it assembled and put some things on the shelves. I gathered up all the autumn/thanksgiving items and packed them away for the year, and also did some sorting out in our basement. I was sick about a week a go and I’m still recuperating I guess, because we didn’t do a lot, but I ended up very tired. We are mostly done with Christmas shopping. I’ve been gathering things all year, and now I’m finishing up a few homemade items and getting boxes ready to mail soon. I am hopeful that we will have a fairly simple, quiet Christmas this year. I feel like that’s what I need most. 🙂
LOL! You can google “How to open a pomegranate”, and you will find videos how to do it. That’s what I did.
Thanks to your suggestion, Brandy, I went to my local fabric store on black Friday and bought 10 sewing patterns for 99 cents each. I never went shopping on black Friday before, but I’m glad I did this time because that was such a good deal. I haven’t made new clothes in ages and am looking forward to being creative in that way again. Now I just have to keep my eyes open for nice fabric. Any suggestions? I wasn’t impressed with the quality and prices at the fabric store.
You inspire me to be a smarter shopper. I am always amazed at your organization and well thought out shopping trips(whether online or in person).
put the entire thing in a bowl of water, then cut it in half with a knife and pick the seeds out: ALL UNDER WATER. It saves your counters and your hands!