4th of July

I spent my 4th of July weekend in DC this year, while I wasn't on the National Mall to view the fireworks I saw them from Indigo Landing! Indigo Landing had a buffet dinner with views of the fireworks over the Potomac River! Gorgeous view!

I drove up to DC on Friday afternoon and met up with Peter in Alexandria, Virginia, just outside of DC. We shortly left for a walk and water taxi across the Potomac River to the National Harbor. Last year, they were starting to build the Gaylord Hotel and the rest of the shopping center! It was nice to see it all finished!
http://www.nationalharbor.com/consumer/home.htm

The rest of the weekend included a nice walk around Georgetown where I feel more in love with Georgetown! I became more envious of rich people with huge yachts! I soooo want a boat some day....maybe not a huge yacht...but something small! We also had a "BBQ" which included a 5 course meal instead of what I thought would be hotdogs and hamburgers! The men did a great job cooking!

Saturday brunch @ http://www.belgacafe.com/
Mass on Sunday @ http://www.stmatthewscathedral.org/


Overall....great weekend!!!

Wedding weekend!

My good friend Allison got married this weekend in Winston Salem! I went to school with Allison and Mark, Allison went to UNCG and Mark went to UNC. They dated throughout high school and college and most people have said...it's about time! It was a beautiful wedding! Congrats to Mark and Allison! Here are some pictures from the reception!


The lovely couple!


Allison getting ready!!!


Brian and Laura- YOU'RE NEXT!!!


Stephen and Jenn- 2 years and a few months married!!!


Bridesmaids!


Yummy cake! Sharing a piece!


Man we clean up nicely! Peter and I at the reception.

Harris Teeter- Super Doubles

Saved $59.78 at the store today....

Had to buy a few other things without a coupon for the new place though! I would love to be that girl that got all her groceries free....but that's not happening...YET! Any savings to me is a bonus though!

Update!

1.) I transfered from Neurosurgery ICU to Surgery/Trauma ICU. I love the SICU, they get a variety of patients from gynecological patients to brain injuries to belly surgeries etc. It's a good place to spark my learning! I love the people I work with and I'm happy I decided to transfer.

2.) Kyla and I moved out of Liz's condo into a new condo. Still living in the same neighborhood but across the pond! Liz is getting married in December!!! It's been a crazy week between work and packing and moving to more working! My room is slowly but surely getting organized!

3.) I'm going to DC to visit Peter over July 4th weekend! We're going to go to Indigo Landing for July 4th dinner and fireworks! Peter and I went there last year and saw fireworks after dinner! It's a waterfront restaurant which makes for a gorgeous view for fireworks.
http://www.indigolanding.com/

I think that's about it for now...lots of changes and staying busy! Off to rest for the night!

Coupons!

Went to the store to take advantage of Harris Teeter's Super Double coupons...did pretty well for a beginner couponer I think! I spent $52.98....saved $31.61! I hope to continue collecting weekly coupons and make my savings more each week!!! If you don't use the Sunday's paper coupons....send them my way!!!

Yay for saving money!!!

Lemon Bars!

I made these lemon bars today!!! So tasty!! I used Paula Deen's recipe but made a recipe and a half of the lemon filling and added lemon zest to the recipe! So these are now Jancie's Lemon Bars!!!

Here is the recipe!
Ingredients:

Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup confectioners’ sugar, plus more for dusting
pinch of salt
2 sticks butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing

Lemon Filling
6 eggs
3 cups granulated sugar
9 tablespoons all-purpose flour
9 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 tablespoon lemon zest

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 9x13x2-inch pan.

Make the crust by combining flour, confectioners’ sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Cut in the butter to make a crumbly mixture. Press the mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

Meanwhile, make the filling. Mix the eggs, granulated sugar, flour, lemon juice and lemon zest. Pour this over the baked crust and bake for 25 minutes longer. Sprinkle with confectioners’ sugar, if desired, when the bars are done. ENJOY!!!

The Coupon Game

So my new task/goal is to clip coupons weekly and use them to save $ at the grocery store! It's insane how much you can save at the grocery store by doing this. I did some research yesterday on coupons, and found a few websites that have suggestions and tips! My sister in law got me motivated when she told me she spent $30 and saved $40!!! Wowzers!

Stat- 25-34 age group -->78% use coupons! This makes me feel better, I normally feel like a huge distraction in the grocery store with my coupon file...fiddling through expired and current coupons!!! I'm NOT alone!!!

http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/calling-all-coupon-clippers/article10842.html

http://www.nj.com/business/index.ssf/2010/02/the_basic_and_best_strategy_fo.html

I found that some people use the coupon file....other hard core couponers use a 3 ring binder with baseball card slots for extreme organization....uh hmm MELISSA!!!

My first step was get the Sunday paper...clip clip clip --> check
Throw out expired coupons from old organizer--> check
Organize new coupons--> check
Go through Harris Teeters online specials-->check
SHOP!!!

I found that alot of coupons in the paper where things that were on sale at HT this week!!! This may be a no brainer but made me happy! As you read my blog you may find that it's the little things in life that give me that AH HAH moment that Oprah
describes!

I will post back with my results...the savings might be small at first and I'm ok with that...but any savings is a savings right!?!?!