Target Is Awesome. That is all.

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

Seriously. Target is awesome!

A few days ago, I shared my huge ordering mistake. I admit it was my fault.

The Target Order Mistake

Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.

I know it's been a few years since I last posted.  I was focusing on my main blog: Beauty Brite.  

Working on my credit

This week, I received my new credit card!   I have been browsing a few online stores (Kohl's and JC Penney) here and there for sales.  I am on their email mailing list so they send me at least 3 emails a week with sales and discounts they have going. 

About a month ago, I bought new clothes at JC Penney because when I tried shopping on Kohl's website, it would always redirect me to yahoo.  I took it as a sign that I need to shop elsewhere.

Unfortunately, when I went to shop on Kohl's website again, it redirected me again!  I decided to go to JC Penney's website instead.

All of the clothes I bought were on clearance and I had a special coupon code to use which helped me save even more!  I bought a pair of casual flats, pants, two tops and a pair of jeans!  I can easily wear the jeans on "casual Friday." 

I used my new credit card to make my purchase.  

New clothes for school and work

Last weekend and this weekend, I bought Kyle new clothes for school.  He was in need of new pants as his old ones were ripped and too short for him.  His new pants have an elastic waistband.  I also bought him new shoes for school.  This time, I bought him Skechers brand.  They are perfect because they have velcro. 

I did not have time to really shop for me because Kyle was with us, but I did manage to buy one new pair of flat shoes to wear for work! 

When I got home from shopping today, I searched Kohl's and Target.  As I was trying to add items to my cart on the Kohl's website, it would redirect to yahoo each time. 

Instead, I ended up going to the JC Penney website and spent over $111 on new clothes for work.  I also used a coupon code to save $20 off my order!  Every item that I bought at JC Penney is on sale or clearance!  I am looking forward to slowly building my wardrobe for work.  I bought two new pairs of pants and 4 tops that are suitable for work and 4 additional tops suitable for casual Friday or my days off.  The 4 additional tops for casual Friday would work for any day at work as well.  They are neutral enough. 

One day for errands

Shannon is still working non-stop and today is his only day off this week.  Thankfully, it was just in time for us to pick up some things I ordered online through Walmart.  I chose the “site to store” option which means shipping was free!  I bought a Rachael Ray tea kettle in red (to match my red Rachael Ray casserole dish).  

I also bought a welcome mat!  Shannon liked the personalized mat.  We decided on the one below:

We chose the black color design.  Ours has the letter “F” for our last name and also represents what apartment number we’re in.  Instead of our last name, we choose the word FAMILY.  It worked out perfectly.  The letter stands for our last name and the word family!  It is a very basic welcome mat, but it will do.

 

While we were at Walmart, Shannon also received a call from his boss.  He now works every day except Monday!  So, he’s working six days next week! 

New Washer and Dryer

Our washer and dryer is here!  I love it!

Not only that, they were delivered on time.  They called me a little after 9am to say that they will be here around 9:30am and they were on time.

While they were installing it, the maintenance guys came by to change our filter and do pest control.  One of the guys asked, "Did you buy those?"  I said, "Yes!"  He said, "Wow, those are nice!  They are better than the ones we use."  I think he was referring to the ones the apartment complex rents out to residents!

Kyle loves sitting in front of the washer and watch the clothes spin around.

 Our old washer also had a window that he could watch the clothes spin around.  Now he can watch both the washer and dryer through the window! 

The mountain of laundry

I couldn't stand our mountain of laundry anymore.  I decided to do two loads of laundry today!  Kyle helped me along the way by carrying the laundry detergent, the basket or the keys.  He loves helping and he loves going on walks, so it was perfect. 

Our washer and dryer are supposed to be delivered tomorrow!  I am so excited. I also earned over $60 in cash back just from shopping online. 

Buying the big appliances online

Shannon and I were talking about what washer and dryer to purchase.  I would love to get an "energy star" washer and dryer.  I also asked him what he thought of the front loading washer vs the top loading washer.  We decided the front loading washer uses less water and our clothes would get a better wash with the front loading because of the way it spins.  With the top loading, you would have to fill the water level all the way to the top and there is no guarantee that the clothes at the very top will get washed. 

Plus, with the front loading washers, it sounds like you can really stuff them and they have a huge capacity.  That is helpful with bed comforters, sheets and other big loads.  

We're hoping to get a front loading washer.  Although, I do hate that I would have to stoop very low just to load the washer.  I could get the stand but those are usually an extra $300 or so, each. 

Also, Shannon is finally open to the idea of buying the washer and dryer online through the shopping site that I use to earn cash back on online purchases!  I told him that I would need to go to the store first to look at the models and then decide which ones to buy and make the purchase online.  Hopefully we can go later this week. 

Our washer will no longer connect to our kitchen faucet so I have been hand washing our clothes for the last few days.  We did use the laundry facilities at our new apartment earlier this week.  I am really wanting to get a washer and dryer for our apartment quick! 

Salt Lamps at Walmart?!

Shannon is working every day this week, which means we won't have time to do any shopping.  As of today, we still have not heard back about the apartment we applied to last week.  If we don't hear anything by the end of this week, I plan on calling!

The other day, I received a 16x20 poster for review that I just love.  I want to put it in a frame.  Ours is personalized with our last name! 

I was also searching for a replacement bulb for my salt lamp because the bulb went out for good!  While I was searching online at Walmart, I found that Walmart sells Salt Lamps too!  I ended up getting two lamps for only $20 each!

While I could not find the right size/wattage of bulbs, I decided to get my picture frame and two salt lamps!  I plan on putting a salt lamp in the living room and one in our second bedroom/my computer room! 

Done with "black friday" shopping

It's is about 4:35am on Thanksgiving.  I finished my "black friday" shopping about 15 minutes ago.  Shannon needed black pants for work and they were out of stock at JC Penney, so I turned to Walmart.  I bought 4 pairs for now.  I just hope they fit and will be durable.

I bought a pair of cute boots for only $25 in black:

a pair of skinny jeans for $21

and a pair of Skechers for $31 at JC Penney.

Wells Fargo disappoints again!

I am so irritated with Wells Fargo.  They charged us another service fee of $7 and took another $5 out of our savings.  I have no idea why, since we had plenty in our checking.  We get charged a service fee when we have less than $300 in the savings and with them taking $5 out of our savings, they were able to charge us the service fee.  I can't wait until we can close our accounts with them.  I am so tired of them charging us fees!  

Here is my Tweet to Wells Fargo via Twitter (they also responded):

Shannon both jobs right at the end of the pay periods.  He's been working at both jobs for over 2 weeks and he gets paid this Friday from one of the jobs.  We're anxiously waiting for Friday to get here!  I hope we can close the Wells Fargo accounts and open up accounts with a credit union. 

After Shannon gets paid on Friday, I was going to order him some pants for his Best Buy job but he said I could wait until next Friday which is Black Friday.  His pants will go on sale on Black Friday and they will only be $10!  I plan on ordering him at least 3 pairs of pants for Best Buy and additional pairs in different colors to wear at home.  He needs pants so bad! 

Today, Shannon and I went to Walmart while Kyle was still in school.  We had to pick up a few more things to hold us over until Shannon has another day off. 

Our beloved Dyson Vacuum

We bought our Dyson vacuum in 2005.  Back then, they didn't have the smaller versions like they do now and ones that use the ball technology that make it easier to steer around furniture.  Our Dyson is big and bulky, especially now that we live in a small apartment. 

Our Dyson is close to dying.  The hose is ripped pretty badly and it's not picking up as good as it did before.  It has been through the ringer with moving, years of use and Kyle!  Kyle likes to play with the vacuum!

I went searching online for vacuums.  In the past, I noticed the Shark vacuum.  Their commercials say they offer "no loss of suction" just like the Dyson but they cost much less.  Since we don't have $380 or more to spend on a vacuum, I looked at the Shark vacuums.  I know Shannon is a little against the Shark because when we went shopping for his Mom's Christmas present a few years ago, he wanted to get her a Dyson, NOT a Shark.  I read the reviews on QVC and Walmart regarding Shark and a few reviews were from Dyson owners.

I ended up purchasing the following Shark vacuum:

Although, I saw the one below and really liked it, but chose the one above instead because of the price:

The professional model comes with an attachment that would have been nice, but not a necessity! 

I also compared the prices between Walmart and QVC.  QVC may have cost less but their shipping was almost $20 while Walmart was free shipping!

My new Shark vacuum should arrive by the end of next week!  I can't wait to try it out!  I paid for the vacuum out of my paypal account and it's almost already paid for from my blog earnings! 

Bed and Bath items from Walmart

When we moved into our current apartment back in May of 2011, we bought decorative bathroom towels, matching bath mats and a bed set at Walmart.  We chose their Canopy brand because we thought it was supposed to be better quality.  Shannon chose the colors of course -- he loves blue, so it's in a light blue color.  Our towels are gold/yellow color. 

We soon found out that Walmart bed and bath products do not last.  Our towels started unraveling, losing it's shape, and shrinking after a few months!  Our sheets are okay but the bedspread slowly started beading up and making a lot of fuzz balls!  We were forced to wash our bedspread for the first time since May and I can only imagine how it will look when it's washed and dried. 

Since we finally saw how low quality Walmart stuff is, Shannon and I have decided to buy any future things at a department store.  We've been buying our clothes at JC Penney and I just purchased a new bedspread at JC Penney as well.  I am tired of my clothes unraveling, losing it's shape, etc after only a few months. 

I also plan on buying Kyle's clothes and shoes from a department store. 

She hasn't called you back?!

I called Speakability again today since it's been almost a week since I called to leave a message with the person who answered the phone.  The lady that answered today even remembered that I called before!  She sounded surprised that "what's her name" hadn't returned my call!  So I left my information again, let's see if she'll call me.

Kyle went to school today!  I sent him to school with an order for his school pictures.  I ordered their "most popular package" since it was so hard to decide, plus it was at a decent price.  He came home with an easter basket that was made by the local high school students!  It has more toys than candy, which is good!  One of the toys was bubbles, so I took that out and played with Kyle.  He LOVES bubbles!  He loves trying to pop them!  I took him outside to play with them but it was windy so the bubbles were going in every direction too fast for him.  I'll have to wait another day until there is little to no wind. 

Shannon received his last shipment of LSAT study materials he ordered.  He's been reading through his books since he received them.  He officially registered to take the LSAT in early June!!!  I am so glad that the books are giving him so much confidence!  They are full of tips and methods to help take the test. He wanted to register as early as he could for the test in June because there are only a certain number of spots available to take the test.  If they are all gone, he would have to wait until the next one. 

I've been wanting to try a different type of workout using kettlebells.  I saw an infomercial for "kettleworx" and after reading the reviews on amazon, they were mixed.  They were saying he doesn't show the correct way to do the exercises AND he doesn't do the same amount of reps on each side of the body.  For example, he'll work the right arm 23 times and the left arm 19 times.  Some people were bothered by that, which I can understand.  I found that QVC sold kettleworx, but while looking at it, I saw someone mention another program called "kettlenetics."  I looked further at the product and found that it was customer top rated which told me something.  I ended up getting that set to start with!  I was impressed with the QVC price and what you get with the set!

Booster Seat Time

Ever since Kyle started Preschool, it made me realize that perhaps it's time for him to be in a booster seat! When we go to pick him up from school, they have it set up like a drive-thru at a fast food restaurant! It's actually kind of funny how it works. I guess we never realized the process until we had to start doing this. Each car pulls up and lines up in a long line in the parking lot and the teacher(s) walks each child up to the car [in the front of the line] and help him/her into the car. The kids just jump in and seem to sit down in their booster seat on their own. We're not sure if they buckle themselves but the parents just drive off after that. However, when it comes to our turn, we have to buckle Kyle in because he's still in a car seat. It's a little awkward because we end up holding up the line because we have to strap Kyle in and adjust the seat belt, etc. The other parents aren't complaining, I am sure they want each child to be safe, but it's just time consuming for everyone!

For the last few weeks, I have been telling Shannon that we should get a booster seat for Kyle. He's been putting it off saying he still fits in his car seat. Well, today, Shannon finally saw that Kyle has outgrown the car seat! Shannon had to move Kyle's car seat out of our car and install it in his Mom's car (since Shannon is going out of town to start work). Shannon said he saw on the side of Kyle's car seat it says: up to 35 lbs. Whoops! Shannon finally gave me the "go ahead" to buy a booster seat online!

I found a booster seat that was very affordable and will adjust with Kyle's growth! This should be much easier to buckle him in.

Sick again!?

Last night I started feeling a tickle in my throat. I was also having trouble falling asleep. Today, I am drinking echinacea tea, hoping to beat whatever sickness is trying to take over!

Shannon is back to school, as of yesterday. He also has a job interview tomorrow for a management position at a hotel. They called last night around 7:30 PM to set up the interview. He also had to take an assessment test online. Since I will be at work on Thursday, my MIL will be watching Kyle while Shannon is at his interview.

I finally treated myself and bought a Coach handbag! My purse zipper broke. It was barely zipping up before it finally broke. I found the bag last night, after searching all the major department store websites. I went through upromise to purchase it, that way I earn money for Kyle's college.

The Smalls Go Fast

One of the frustrating things about shopping for work clothes at work is that the "small" sizes go fast! I bought my latest top on the day I saw them putting them on the racks...literally! It is also frustrating because everyone else is shopping for blue, so there is very little or no selection at all.

I spent some time looking online for some new tops for work. I tried Kmart, Target, Sears, and JC Penney's. Either their "blues" were too light, they didn't have my size, or they just weren't my style.

I finally tried Old Navy and found 3 tops that I ended up purchasing. I prefer NOT to shop at Old Navy, but they have updated & hip styles as opposed to Sears or Kmart. Target and JC Penney's are a little too pricey for my budget. I don't really like Old Navy because their clothes are [as I refer to as] tissue paper thin, but I have recently noticed that a lot of Walmart clothes are very similar in quality.