March Deals & Steals

GAP Give & Get promotion - LOVE it! I was very excited to get this email this month. I immediately starting thinking about when I could make it to the outlets. 30% off everything with 5% of the purchase going to a charity of your choice. Joe and I stocked up on some spring essentials for very good prices.
Original price $298. Outlet price $149. 20% off = $119. Heck yea!










Taste of home cookbooks, original price $24.99 each. On sale for $5 each. Free shipping.

Two new LG Cosmos cell phones - free! And despite Verizon's best attempts to force us into a data plan, we won. Our phone bill will actually be $10 cheaper this year.

Spring Cleaning

March in Maryland...warm one day, cold the next. The trees are blooming, though, so it is definitely spring. The Guidos have been cleaning up around the house a bit. We've done a little bit each weekend as to not be overwhelmed. Some may call it spring cleaning, I just think it's a nice opportunity to purge. It only takes a quick glance at shows like "Hoarders" on A&E or "Hording: Buried Alive" on TLC to make you pick up your Swiffer and start filling trash bags.

Credit: TLC

That's enough to make anyone queezy. So what have we been up to? Well, as part of our normal routine, each weekend we like to tackle a bit of vacuuming, bathroom wipe downs, and the kitchen surfaces. But, here's what we've done that's a bit more rare and a part of our spring cleaning:

1. Dumped out all my clothing drawers, removed anything I hadn't worn in a while or didn't fit for donation, and neatly placed back everything that was still good. Similarly, I went through my closet and pulled out anything I don't wear anymore. I packed up two trash bags for donations. I'm still bugging Joe to do the same.


2. Went through all the paper work we've been acquiring of the years - old bank and investment statements, receipts, insurance statements, etc. and PURGED! I'd say 75% of it ended up shredded and in the trash.

Credit: Costco

3. On a different note, well past the time of our builder doing any more work on our place, the condo is still settling. Which means, things that were once perfect are no longer. Specifically, all the molding around the stairs (and boy do we have a lot of stairs) was coming away from the wall. Example:

Credit: greenspirationhome.com

In some places this was just a tiny crack, in others I could stick a pencil in the crack between the molding and the wall. So, being the handy woman that I am (ha!), I got out some spackle and went to town. Success!
We also cleaned all the molding from the 1st to 4th floor - want a clean house? Don't have a black cat...

4. Similarly, I got out touch up paint and went after all the scuffs on the walls, specifically in the stairwells.

5. Found the hose a home. Silly, I know, but it has made a big difference in our garage.

Credit: Walmart

And now I'm on my way downstairs to pull the appliances away from the wall and vacuum behind them. I also want to make sure the dryer vent is clean and change the filter for the furnace.

This post written in hopes of inspiring others to throw some sh*t away!

Love is in the air

Yesterday was the first day of spring, we haven't had the heat on for about a week, and today the windows are open. A change in seasons is upon us and that can only mean one thing...wedding season is just around the corner! Well, at least that's what it seems to mean when you are in your 20s...

Congratulations to Liz and Matt! They got engaged on Valentine's day this year and are planning an October wedding.

Their Wedding Website

Joe and I were asked to be in the wedding (the first time we'll get to be attendants together) which we are excited about. Liz has already selected her dress and her bridesmaid dresses. The dress I'll be wearing looks like this...

Credit: David's Bridal

...also with a champagne sash and "peek-a-boo" skirt. There were also two other styles of dresses that Liz selected so everyone had their choice of either of the three.

Credit: David's Bridal

So, just wanted to share a little tid bit of what has been going on with the fam. A tiny part of me may miss wedding planning a little but it's just as fun to be a part of another person's big day without having to make any decisions!

Away we go

I'm very excited to report that we've booked our next vacation. It's a 7 day cruise of the eastern Caribbean. Joe is a veteran cruiser but I've only been on one other cruise. It was a nice way to be able to hit a bunch of different islands and came out to be cheaper than most vacations we'd been pricing out.
We are starting off in Ft. Lauderdale and visiting the Bahamas, St. Martin, St. Thomas, and Turks & Caicos. I can't wait to see all the beautiful islands and enjoy the clear water.

This is a picture of St. Thomas when we cruised there in 2006:

We're choosing to go in May before wedding season swings into gear this year. Also, I have a lot of classes scheduled at work and we had to pick a time in between those. I can't wait to get away!