Let the Games Continue..

I last blogged about the adventures of the pine cone in July, and the story ended with the original pine cone in my dad's possession. After 3 months of waiting, the story continues. Two weeks ago, my parents took some time off from work to visit friends and family and made a stop in Dallas Friday night. I headed over to Kristen and Dave's Saturday morning for some much needed family time and laughter. I got in my car to head home and noticed some brown things in my seat. I took a closer look and realized they were pine cone remnants. My dad was standing in the drive way waving, with a big smile on his face. I said, "Dad... I feel like there may be a pine cone in here." To which he responded, "Huh?" I looked in my console. Jackpot. I found the pine cone. I held it up and smiled.

That night, I went over to Bonnie's house to get ready for a Halloween party. I grabbed my make-up bag and headed towards a mirror. I opened my bag and found another pine cone, the original one. I laughed.

The next day, I went to the gym and was about to put my sunglasses in their rightful place before I headed in. I looked up and saw another pine cone. Is he serious?

I called my dad.

Me: Dad! I found another pine cone!

Dad: How many is that?

Me: What do you mean how many is that? I've found three.

Dad: Keep looking.

Me: WHAT?!

I grabbed my ID card from the cup holder and walked inside. When I came back out to my car, I put my ID card back where I got it, but this time I saw something I hadn't noticed before. I saw that there was something inside the clip of my work badge. What in the world? It was the world's smallest pine cone...

It's been almost a year since the pine cone made its debut. This Christmas will be filled with more excitement and quite possibly more pine cones. I'm thinking it may be time to assign this pine cone a name. The star of a game that's this fun must have a name. Any ideas?

Frugal Friday!

Thursday, November 12th: My colleague (and now friend), Michael, introduced me to some sweet money saving websites after he learned of my love for great deals. The websites are similar in content, but one is better organized and I choose to plug that website. Spoofee strives to provide consumers with the best deals everyday. 7 For All Mankind jeans for 40% off? Yes please! Restaurant.com 80% off coupon? Absolutely! I was hanging out with Kristen and Dave tonight and told them about the steal at restaurant.com. It seemed too good to be true. Too good to be true, because you can already get a $25 gift card at Restaurant.com for $10 without a discount code. Dave mentioned that he had gotten some gift certificates from Restaurant.com before and reassured me that it was a pretty good deal. You basically get more food for the same price you would typically pay for dinner for two. You may be thinking, "How does it work?" Let me explain. Restaurant.com helps restaurant owners promote the new and unique aspects of their restaurants while providing diners with great value in a fun, new and cost effective way. Local restaurant owners entice you with cheap gift certificates and hope that you will visit more than once. I wanted to try it out and realized this would be the best time. I refined my search to restaurants in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area. After browsing 21 pages of featured restaurants, I settled on two gift cards. I bought one $25 gift card to Maestro's and one $25 gift certificate to Sweet Basil. One piece of advice: Make sure you read the restrictions before you purchase. For example, here are my restrictions for the certificates that I purchased: The certificates are only valid on dine-in service, tax and gratuities are not included and 18% gratuity is added. I have to spend at least $35 at Maestro's and at least $50 at Sweet Basil. No problem! I feel a girl's night coming on... So how much did this cost me? I paid a whopping $4.50 for $50 worth of gift certificates! Are you kidding me? How is this legal? Is this legit? Yes, yes, it is! I read the terms and agreements to be sure. Try it out!

Original price: $50.00. My price: $4.50. Total Savings: $45.50 or 91%.

I Love Real Simple.

I love Real Simple magazine and for the past couple of years, I have gifted myself with it for Christmas. They typically have a buy one get one free around Christmas and I like to buy one for my sister and gift myself with the free one. Anyways, aside from the recipes, my favorite section of the magazine is the "New Uses for Old Things" section. Here are some of my favorites:

A giveaway shower cap becomes the perfect wrapper for shoes when traveling, preventing them from dirtying clothes packed in your suitcase.

Make no-mess pancakes with the help of a ketchup bottle: Pour in batter, then squeeze out precise portions.

No more worries of camisoles and sundresses slipping off hangers when you wrap the ends with rubber bands.

Give Easter eggs a year-round use (and save on resealable bags) by filling them with snacks like crackers or Cheerios.

At a party, stash ice in a colander set on top of a bucket or a bowl. Water will drain out, and guests will get only the solid stuff.