DealSwarm: Another Great Group Buy Company

Today I came across a deal I couldn't resist--$25 for $50 to Uchi or Uchiko in Austin.  For those not from Austin, or those who are unaware, Uchi is and has been the best restaurant in the city for many years.  Uchiko is Uchi's sister restaurant.  They both serve amazing Japanese food and sushi.  I had one of those "Oh My God" experiences after eating their salmon sashimi.  So to find a deal this amazing was way too hard to pass up.  So I bought 2!!

You can only use one per visit, so I'll be using one at Uchi and one at Uchiko.

To those who aren't in Austin, I'm just going to suggest this website anyways since there are other great deals in other cities as well.  For example, Atlanta has 50% off admisssion to STOMP at the Fox.  Dayton has 50% off a manicure, and Seattle has $1 for $10 to Skillet (WOW! $1? That's ridiculous!!)

Anyways, go check out DealSwarm and see if they have something awesome to offer your city!

Oh and here's a picture of Uchi in Austin:

Amazing Simple & Healthy Smoothie

Ingredients:

• 1 cup HEB Almond Milk (or any almond milk of course)
• 3 medium strawberries
• 1 banana
• ice

I know this sounds super simple, but it is absolutely delicious!  Blend all ingredients on highest setting until ice is crushed.  It doesn't need any sweetener since there is plenty of sugar in the strawberries and bananas. I thought the almond milk wouldn't be as good as regular milk, but it tastes just like ever other smoothie I've ever had.  Also, be forewarned, this makes a VERY large glass of smoothie--about 16 oz or 2 cups worth--so make sure you have a large glass, or a friend to share it with!

PS if you want to order some Almond milk now from Amazon, here's another great brand that makes it:

BOGO Free Chipotle

If you "Like" America's Next Great Restaurant on Facebook, and sit through a 90-second promo video of the new show, you get a coupon for Buy One Get One Free to Chipotle.  This counts for burritos, bowls, tacos, and salads.  Make sure to use it before March 3!

Click here to be one your way to a free burrito!

HEB Almond Milk Review (Chocolate Edition)

I went to HEB yesterday (the best, cheapest grocery stores in Texas), and once again they had the deal for $1.00 off HEB brand Almond Milk.  I was running low on the Original flavor, and decided I needed more for my daily cereal breakfasts.  Then, I remembered that I wanted to try the Chocolate flavor too.  I figured, why not?  They would only be about $1.50 each, so $3.00 for it all.

When I got home, I was already excited to try it out (which is how I usually am about new groceries that I try).  I poured myself a little cup and was very pleased.  No, it does not taste exactly like Promised Land or Horizon chocolate milk (nor should it, since that probably has 250+ calories per cup).  However, it's still very delicious.  I ended up drinking a cup for dessert after dinner.  It's rich, thick, creamy, and sweet.  It's very different tasting from the original flavor, as the chocolate masks the "almondy" taste.

Once again, I recommend trying this if you don't have a fear of dairy substitutes.

Help Our Troops with Coupons!

WeUseCoupons is officially partnering with Operation Troop Aid in February and March!!! Operation Troop Aid is going to be sending 1000 boxes to troops in Afghanistan & Iraq and is looking for help filling those boxes!

Operation Troop Aid was started in 2005 by Mark Woods. Earlier in 2001, he was deployed on the USS Enterprise during the 9/11 attacks and watched with his shipmates as the second plane struck the World Trade Center. During that deployment before 9/11, Mark served as the coordinator for a concert on-board the USS Enterprise by Country Artist, Chad Brock. Soon after the attacks, Garth Brooks wanted to have a concert on their ship and Mark was assigned to coordinate that event. After that, Mark was inspired to use the entertainment initiatives for charity! Operational Troop Aid was born and Mark has worked tirelessly to send over one million dollars in care packages or product to the troops stationed overseas! 


To get more info to help donate in some way, check out We Use Coupons.  They also have a wonderful affiliate program that you can make money off of.  Check it out!

Cupcakes: Valentine's Edition

For Valentine's Day, I decided to make some cupcakes for my Valentine.  And what's more valentine's day than pink, sugar, and strawberries?  I found an awesome recipe for vanilla cupcakes, and a recipe for strawberry frosting.

Here are the vanilla cupcakes cooling on the makeshift rack (aka my clean dish drain).

Here is the strawberry frosting.  It's 1 stick butter, 1 lb confectioner's sugar, 1/2 cup of strawberries chopped up.

I decided to get super cute halfway through icing the cupcakes, and started to make hearts on the cupcakes.

I also wanted to be even cuter, and topped each cupcake with a little strawberry slice.


Here are pictures of the finished products:

I can't wait for A to see what I made for him!!!

HEB Almond Milk Product Review

I'm an avid drinker of regular normal moo cow milk.  My usual choice is 2%, or 1% if I'm feeling extra healthy.  Today, I ran across a great deal for H-E-B brand Almond Milk Original which was originally $2.48, and had a $1.00 off coupon.  I also remember my friend Ashley from Go Get Smashed saying something about how good almond milk tastes.  I'm a little hesitant about dairy/meat substitutes, but I wanted to give it a shot since it was so cheap.

Let me begin by saying that almond milk has a lot less calories than regular milk.  It's also better if you have any sort of lactose intolerance (I think most people have it to some degree).  It's also a great way to segue into veganism.

Here are the nutrition facts:

Serving Size 1 Cup
Calories:  60
Total Fat: 2.5g

Compare to a cup of 2% milk
Calories: 120
Total Fat: 5g

It's literally HALF the calories and fat of milk.  But does it taste good?  My answer: yes.  I don't drink milk much outside of cereal, and when mixed with my Quaker Oatmeal squares, it tastes very similar, actually thicker, than my 2% milk.

I'm going to try the chocolate almond milk next!

****UPDATE:  Just tried the Original with my Special K Red Berries and it was great!  Loved it!****

Free Redbox Rental Tonight

Go to your local Redbox kiosk and enter codes BEMINE & FEB7MOVIE to get a free one night rental with each code (today only 2/7)!

You must return it by 9:00pm tomorrow to avoid the $1 rental fee!

Make tonight movie night with Redbox!  I'm probably going to take advantage of this!

40% Off All CVS Brand Products Online Only

For 3 days, you can get 40% off all CVS/pharmacy brand products, but you have to purchase them online.  This is a great time to stock up on OTC meds, makeup remover, hand santizer, or whatever pharmacy products you need.  Click here to get to the sale!

Free $2 Credit for Amazon MP3

Click on the “Redeem a Gift Card or Promotion Code” on Amazon.com  and enter code VDAYMP3S to get a free $2 MP3 added to your Amazon.com account.


I will definitely be using this to buy another $5 album!


Thanks to Denise at Together We Save.

50 Followers! Celebration!

I am so excited, I have 50 Google Friend Connect followers as of today!  I'd love to celebrate like everyone else, and do a giveaway...but I have nothing to give right now.  Just accept these fireworks as a token of my appreciation for everyone who follows FBNC and also reads it.  If you read something you like, I really appreciate your comments.  If you don't like something I say, let me know.  I want to know your opinions!

Keep em coming, Blogosphere, I can't wait til I get to 100 followers!

$5 Albums on Amazon.com

Amazon.com has a great selection of $5 Albums available as MP3s to download to your computer or iPod. This is the only way I buy albums anymore; their prices are almost always better than iTunes.


I just bought Katy Perry's Teenage Dream album.  I'd been wanting it for a while, but now's the chance to get it half the original price!


Here are some popular ones to choose from:

True Grit Soundtrack

I'm Wide Awake, It's Morning by Bright Eyes

The Fame Monster by Lady Gaga

Need You Now by Lady Antebellum

Teenage Dream by Katy Perry

Some Hearts by Carrie Underwood

The Everglow by Mae (an absolutely FAVORITE of mine...one of my favorite albums ever)

Heavier Things by John Mayer

Treats by Sleigh Bells

No Spend Saveuary is Over

January for me was called "No Spend Saveuary" since I planned to do my best not to spend money on frivolous things like shopping, restaurants, bars, entertainment etc.  I wanted to focus all my spending on fixed expenses, since I have a ridiculous medical bill hanging over my head.  I'm also trying to save money in my emergency funds.  So what was my spending breakdown?

Outside of fixed expenses, I spent:

• Shopping--$128 ($60 toward my party dress for the wedding, $50 toward new sheets, $15 toward donating to my friends' band The Eastern Sea)
• Restaurants & Bars--$140 (this includes an expensive bottle of wine and new years)
• Entertainment--$0

That is according to Mint.com.  There were probably a few expenses here and there with cash, but those are harder to keep track of.  I also want to mention that I spent about $50 more on groceries than I usually do, to compensate for not eating out.

All in all, I didn't completely cut out discretionary spending, that would be impossible and not to mention embarrassing.  When people want to go out and get food or drinks, I hate turning it down for budget reasons.  Instead, I just choose the cheap things on the menu and avoid getting drinks.

I am actually going to try to start over in February, which should be easier since it's a shorter month.

My BigFunny Valentine

Last Friday, I got something very fun and silly sitting on my doorstep.  I was very excited about receiving this special package, since it's my very first review product!  If you read about a week ago, I ordered a giant Valentine from BigFunnyCards.com.  Now, Valentines aren't the only cards you can get from BigFunnyCards.com.  You can get Anniversary cards, Bar Mitzvah, Birthday, Boxer, Christmas, Father's Day, Graduation, Get Well, and many more.

Here is what the "envelope" looks like.  I wrote "To Andrew; Love Melissa":

Here is the other side of the envelope...how cute!

Open it up, and here's the big Valentine, shaped like a chocolate heart candy box:

Look closer, and you'll see a bunch of adjectives (in mirror image form) that say Sweet, Funny, Sexy, Hero, Smart, Hot, Handsome, etc. At the bottom it says Hmm..So Many Choices...

Inside the card, I chose for it to say: Good thing you are all of these!  I Love You, Melissa; Happy Valentine's Baby! Just thought I'd get you a ridiculously big card to show how ridiculously much I love you.  Cheesy? Yes.  Cute? Totally.

 I am so excited to give A this Valentine.  He's going to think it's so silly that it's adorable.  I hope he doesn't read my blog before February 14!

I have to say I definitely recommend trying out BigFunnyCards.com.  It's a lot fun, you get to customize your card (including images, text, etc.) and there are tons of designs to choose from.