My Latest CVS Trip!

I am slowly but surely getting a hang of this CVS shopping thing! This past week I went in and bought these items for a total of $2.42 out of pocket, and actually MADE money on the deal!





How did I do it?


The Ivory soap is on sale for 99 cents this week, and there was a $1/1 coupon in Sunday's paper! Final cost = FREE!


The deodorant is on sale for 2/$5 this week, plus get $2 back in ECBs. I had a coupon for $1/2 (also from Sunday's paper!) Final cost = 2/$3, but I got $2 in ECBs so it equaled out to just $0.50/each!

The Dawn dishsoap is on sale for 99 cents and I had a coupon for $0.25/1. Final cost = $0.74!


The Colgate toothpaste is on sale for $2.99 and get $1/back in ECBs. I had a $1/1 coupon, so the final cost was just $0.99/each!

My total at the register came to $7.42, but I had $5 in ECBs so I spent just $2.42 out of pocket!!!


AND I got $3 back in ECBs!!! PLUS a coupon for $1/1 Nivea body wash!

I'm loving CVS. :)

Any "Southern Living" Lovers Out There?

Amazon has done it again. A number of yearly magazine subscriptions are currently on sale for just $5!!

And yes, this includes Southern Living!

Other magazines offered at just $5 are Health, Essence, Coastal Living, Golf, This Old House, and Sunset.

Check out the deals here!

Did You Know...

...you can use Save-A-Lot coupons at Publix? I didn't know that before today - but I'm going to try it tonight!

If you go here, you can print out a coupon for $5 off any $20 purchase. Sweet!

(Thanks Frugal Fun & Fortune!)

A New COACH Coupon!

Who wouldn't love a new Coach purse for Christmas? Coach just released a new 20% off coupon here. It's only good at Factory Stores, but lucky for me I have one less than 30 minutes away! :)

Anybody else out there love Coach purses?

Guess What I Got for $2.09 at Target?

Yes, I spent just $2.09 tonight at Target. What did I get for that?

4 cans of Del Monte Green Beans

2 cans of Campbell's Tomato Soup

1 package of Betty Crocker Garlic Mashed Potatoes

How did I do it?

Del Monte Green Beans are on sale at Target this week for $0.50. (The sign on the aisle said $0.66 but I knew it was in the mailer as $0.50 and it rang up that way.) I printed out a coupon for $1/4 bringing the price to just $0.25 per can! Print the coupon here! (Look toward the bottom right hand corner).

Campbell's Tomato Soup is on sale at Target this week for $0.60. I had a coupon for $0.50/2 bringing the price to just $0.35/each! The coupon is here.

Betty Crocker Garlic Mashed Potatoes are on sale at Target this week for $0.79/each. I had a coupon for $0.40/1 bringing the price to just $0.39! Print the coupon here.

I'm loving this couponing thing! :)

Have you found any great deals this week?

A Fabulous VERA BRADLEY Deal!

Today (and today only!) Vera Bradley is having a great sale on their Zip-Around Wallets.




These are usually $38 and today they are just $15! Now granted this is only a sale on a few select patterns, but this would make a great gift for someone! Go here to check it out!

FREE Christmas Music!

From December 1 until Christmas Day, Amazon is offering a FREE Christmas song download every day!

It is a pretty random assortment of artists (everyone from Jars of Clay to Lady Gaga) and my favorite so far is either Casting Crowns "Joy to the World"

or "The Coventry Carol" by Mediaeval Baebes (who I have never heard of before!) It totally brings me back to my classical singing days.

So go here and check it out. Let me know which songs you like the best!

A GREAT Deal on Magazines!

Through December 12, you can get several magazine subscriptions on Amazon for just $5!

Yes, that's right. A full year subscription for $5. Can't beat that!

Personally, I'm thinking about getting this one:

With all the coupons in GH, I figure it will pay for itself...right? :)

You can also get other great magazines like Cosmopolitan (usually $51.40 for a year!), House Beautiful, Marie Claire, Redbook, and several others. See all the options here.

But remember: the deal is only good through December 12!

Let me know which one(s) you decide to get!

The Art of Couponing

I am always amazed by people who are faithful coupon-cutters. You know the type - the ones who "save" more at the grocery store than they spend?

I'm trying to learn this art. And tonight I bought $39.35 worth of groceries for only $17.21!

Very exciting.

I'm still very new to this. I have always been the occasional coupon cutter, grabbing the Sunday paper when I think about it. But the probability of those coupons actually making to to the checkout belt have been slim to none.

But recently, I discovered the joy of printable coupons online. Mailers like Red Plum and SmartSource also have websites with coupons to be printed. Convenient.

Then I've been taking a look at the Publix Weekly Ad. I love Publix. They always have great "Buy One Get One" deals. And the best part? You can use two coupons on top of those items that are already "Buy One Get One".

For instance:

These Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie mix packets are usually $2.19/each. They are "Buy One Get One" right now at Publix. So that brings them down to $1.10/each. I had two $0.40/1 coupons. So the final price? Just $0.70/each!!

Beat that! :)

Do you have any good couponing tips to share?

A GREAT Aveda Deal!!!

Any other Aveda lovers out there? Through today ONLY, you can get a FREE Body Care Trio and 2 FREE samples with ANY purchase!

Just enter coupon code BODYGIFT129 at checkout!

Also, for the next three days you can score FREE shipping on any order--NO offer code needed!

I went ahead and purchased this Rosemary Mint Hand and Body Wash 1.7 fl oz for a total of $4. There are also a few shampoos and conditioners for $3.50! At checkout I entered coupon code BODYGIFT129 --which added on the FREE Body Care Trio set! I was also able to choose 2 FREE samples! Finally cost for all of that... just $4.28 (and that includes tax)! Yay!

(Thanks, MojoSavings and Hip to Save!)

Walking Challenge FAIL

Well, I wore my pedometer for three days.

Then I forgot to wear it yesterday. And today.

Dangit.

What I have learned? 10,000 steps is easy if you go to the gym in the morning. Not so easy if you don't. As in this morning. Slept until 8am. Felt great, but no gym. So I'm trying to run every errand for my office today to get my booty moving.

The good news? I went to the gym 3 days this week. Gotta look on the bright side! :)

My Husband - The Blogger!!!

Yes, it's true - my husband is blogging! What is he blogging about? Sports, of course!

Please check it out: http://wherenatetalkssports.blogspot.com/

Here's the backstory. As long as I have known my husband (which is A LONG time!) he has been obsessed with sports. Seriously obsessed. As in he has read every issue of every Sports Illustrated magazine since he was in the third grade - front cover to back cover. Every word.

He has more sports knowledge than he knows what to do with!

Here are just a few sports photos from throughout the years...

He went to school to be a sports journalist and he currently works for the St. Petersburg Times as a high school sports correspondent. But it's a freelance type job, so he never really gets to showcase his knowledge other areas of sports.

Enter - the blog! Please post it on your blogrolls, pass it on to family and friends, and leave him some comments! Thank youu!!!

Steppin' It Up!

Two things I have learned about wearing a pedometer:

1. Wearing it to the gym in the morning gives me a great head start.
2. It is impossible to wear my pedometer with a dress.

I have gone to the gym the past two mornings (yay me!) and logged 11,211 total steps yesterday. Today I am already at 6472 after going to the gym. That time at the gym makes the 10,000 steps so much easier to obtain! But I am also trying to make the little changes - parking further away, walking to the mailboxes, volunteering to run errands at work, etc. We'll see if it pays off. :)

I'm not quite sure what to do with the whole no pedometer with a dress thing. I don't have to wear a dress to work, but I like to every so often! Any suggestions?

The 10,000 Step Challenge!

First of all, thanks to all who voted on the new name! The change will be made soon. For those of you who asked, yes I had started "Adventures of a Newlywed Sports Widow", but found myself still posting to my "august" blog instead. So here I am, still blogging away. I'm excited to now be august15wife! It just feels right. :)

Tomorrow begins the month of December. If you're like me, you have already been indulging in holiday sweets with many more to come. So to counteract all that (or at least make a little dent in it), I have a challenge for you...

The 10,000 Step Challenge!

If you have a pedometer, start wearing it tomorrow. If you don't have one, go get one and join in the fun! I wore my pedometer today and was SHOCKED at how few steps I had taken. When I left work, I wasn't even to 1500 steps yet! That sedentary lifestyle could have something to do with my perpetual weight gain!

So the goal is to walk at least 10,000 steps (or close to it) every day. Sound like a lot? It's really not. Try it. Let me know what you think. And check in here with your daily totals! I'll be asking you all to hold me accountable too.

So...let's get walking! Who's with me??

A New Name?

I'm thinking my blog needs a new name. We have been married for over three months and "august15bride" is a bit misleading since my "bride" days are over and I am happily a wife!

So what do you think my new name should be? Please vote below!

1) august15wife
2) Adventures of a Newlywed Sports Widow
3) No change (keep august15bride)
4) Another idea - please write below!

Thanks!!!

Thanksgiving With 60 of Our Closest Family Members...

Yes, we had about 60 family members at our Thanksgiving dinner. Want proof? Here's the crowd:

Can you imagine trying to feed all those people? We were all well fed, thanks to Aunt Marion and Uncle Joe. Here he is, slicing the ham...

And check out that spread!

We ate all this on Thursday, and then Friday night was a feast of fresh seafood. Mahi mahi, crabcakes, shrimp, hushpuppies, etc etc. We never go hungry in Uncle Joe's house!

We also celebrated my (only) nephew's first birthday! Here is his - my nephew Malachi! Isn't he the cutest??

Here he is with his parents...who live entirely too far away in Dallas. Boo. Aren't they a beautiful family?

My sister and her boyfriend took all of these photos, and they have more on their website: http://www.artistic-avenues.com/. Check them out!

I have 155 unread items in my Google Reader (yikes!) so I can't wait to read about all of your Thanksgivings! We certainly have a lot to be thankful for. (But at the moment, FSU football is not one of them. Grr.)

How many people were at your Thanksgiving feast?

Thanksgiving!

Okay, I have made progress. Pictures of the new house have been taken...but not yet uploaded. Sorry! The place is looking really great. I promise those will be up before...Christmas. :)

In the meantime, the wonderful holiday of Thanksgiving is quickly approaching. This year, my husband and I will be traveling to Tallhassee to spend Thanksgiving with his family. ALL his family. Well, on his mom's side. Remember them from the wedding?

Except this isn't even close to all of them. There will be at least twice this many at Thanksgiving. No, I'm not joking. They are expecting almost 60 people. (WOW!)

Oh and five of those people will be my immediate family. With one beautiful face obviously missing.

We have been trying to get in touch with my little sister to invite her and her husband to any and all of our holiday festivities - but he says they don't have time to celebrate with us. Sigh. Still praying...

But I digress. This Thanksgiving should be a fun one with lots of family and great food. And probably some nametags. :)

What are your Thanksgiving plans?

I'm Such a Tease

Still no photos of the new house. Sorry...

I know it will never be "perfect" but there are a few more pictures I want to be hung before I share the photos with you. Please be patient with me. :)

We had a fairly productive evening last night. I made trips to Target, TJ Maxx and Bed, Bath & Beyond to get some new items for the house. Thankfully we still have some giftcards left over from the wedding (and a new one from my boss as a housewarming gift!) so most of the things I bought were paid for. Love those giftcards!

My husband and I made it back to the gym this morning. I hope we can make this a habit. It is so nice to come home from work and be DONE with the whole working out thing. :) I'm back to "Miss Lab"'s workout on Weddingbee. I love it. It's a nice combination of weights and cardio and I think (read: hope) it's something I can stick with.

So now that I have all that out of the way...how about a little more wedding recap for you??

Remember the wreaths my family was working on? Wreaths that at one time looked like this?

Here's how they turned out!

You can see them in the background here, on the doors into the reception hall:

You all already knew this, but I have one talented family! :)

Living Out of Boxes...

Wow...has it really been almost a week since I last posted??

This week has been a whirlwind! We are all moved into the new place, and are trying to get rid of all the boxes that somehow still are filled with STUFF. How did we acquire so much STUFF??

We are growing to love our new place. There are some downsides (just wait until you see my closet), but the benefits far outweigh any negatives. And our furniture just fits so well in the place! We are trying to be "finished" moving tonight so hopefully we will have some pictures posted soon. Stay tuned!

Our Ceremony

Our pastor sent us the "script" from our ceremony today. As I read it today, I knew it was something I had to share with you. Powerful. Absolutely perfect. Enjoy.



In the beginning, God created…. That’s what He does, He creates. The Bible says the Earth was formless and void, and the Holy Spirit hovered or brooded over the face the deep. It reads like the Holy Spirit was getting things ready for God’s creative word to be spoken. And in the creation account you’ll find it repeatedly stated… God said, let there be…… and it was. It’s God’s nature, it’s a part of His essence… He is THE CREATOR. So God’s first action was creation, and indeed today God’s first and foremost action in this formation of a new family… is creation. In Genesis He created out of nothing; but today He will take two people (the height of all His creation) He will take a man and a woman and create ONE. He does have two excellent parts of His creation to work, but today is no less miraculous that Day one of creation. The power of God, as the Holy Spirit is hovering over this gathering, is here to supernaturally created ONE out of two. And those two, recreated into ONE will together have a higher proclivity to bringing God glory together than they ever could apart. God’s first part in this wedding today is CREATION.


After God created, he gave man his assignment and it was centered around choice. The first man and woman had the privilege of choice. The could choose to follow God, honor God and fulfilled God’s plan for their lives together, or they could choose otherwise. Today, your part in the wedding is CHOICE. People in this room today will wipe away tears, they will laugh and they will experience a gamut of feelings and emotion… but your part today is not feeling or emotion… your first part to play in this wedding today is neither emotion nor feeling… it’s choice. In front of God and in front of this congregation of friends and family you will take solemn vows and make lifelong promises, and not one of those promises is built upon a feeling or an emotion… it’s about choice. No doubt feelings have been a big part of this relationship to date. You saw her and your feelings said… she looks good. You saw him and your feelings said.. that’s a handsome man. You talked with each other and your feelings were stirred as you laughed and your emotions were stoked as you spent time together. Both feeling and emotion are there, but the far more important part of both this wedding and this marriage is your CHOICE. When you chose God individually, it was powerful. As you choose God together there is strength and grandeur you never dreamed.

Callie I know you have a passion to help people and a passion to make your life count. I remember conversations where you spoke with me about missionary causes that were close to your heart. I look forward to seeing that passion multiply into changed lives as you and your husband dream together and reach into a great future.

Nathan, I have watched you grow from a very small child, not even old enough to get into children’s church. And from the beginning you have had a reckless abandon about life that was a joy to watch. As a little boy, you were like a chiahuaua looking for a pit bull to tangle with. When everyone was learning to snow ski properly, as a little fellow you just squatted down on the skis and barreled down the mountain at break-neck speeds and God help the person who was in your way. You knew how to go fast, but you didn’t spend much time learning to turn or stop.

I dare you both to do something dangerous and passionate with your marriage that leaves a mark on society that says “a family sold out to God traveled this way” and left a legacy of life and hope behind. CHOOSE GOD, CHOOSE EACH OTHER. That’s what you’ll do today, and that’s what I pray you do for the rest of your lives. God’s first part is CREATION, your first part is CHOICE, but there is a second part that both you and God must play…. That part is commitment.

God is the quintessential example of commitment. He’s kept His commitment to His people when they refused to even acknowledge Him, much less remain committed to Him. You can be sure that God will be faithful to you in total and complete commitment. But God’s commitment is just part of it, your commitment is equally vital. Commitment not only to God, but to one another. Choose to love, honor and be faithful to one another…. Regardless of emotion or feeling.

God will create, You will make choices, and together in commitment a marriage and family will begin a journey full of love, surprises, as well as heights and depths you never dreamed. But you can walk knowing that God is committed to you and guiding your lives and He will cause all things to work together for good, no matter what the situation.

Family, and friends, your presence here today is also very vital. You will witness their vows and you will witness the commitments they make, but you will also be endowed with a responsibility. You must pray, and help protect this new marriage. Husbands and wives, your life should be an encouragement to them. Should circumstances ever tempt these two to make a decision that is not honoring to the covenant they will enter into today…. Tell them to turn around, tell them they will get through this, tell them you’re praying and God will see them through.

God will create, Nathan and Callie will choose, commitments will be made and a covenant will be formed that is eternal.

Happy Veterans Day!

I thought I would dedicate this post to the members of my family who have served or are currently serving in our armed forces.

My Uncle Roger. You may remember him as one of our "wedding elves" and as the one who gave the "family blessing" at our wedding. Uncle Roger retired from the Air Force when I was in middle school after serving in Germany, Italy, and a bazillion other places I'm sure I'm forgetting. :)


My Grandpa Burgett. Grandpa passed away last year, but we all think of him often. He was a WWII veteran and had some crazy stories about his time fighting in Europe. He was a Navy boy (enlisted on his 17th birthday!) and served in many invasions. We can't even imagine all the things he saw out there on the battlefield. I remember going to many a Veterans' Day parade and watching him march. Miss you, Grandpa!



My brother-in-law Brandon. Brandon serves in the Army and is currently in DC. The Army keeps him very busy - but we hope to see him and my sister Tabitha sometime over the holidays!



My cousin-in-law(?) Gary. My cousin Emily married Gary a few years ago. Gary has served several tours in the Middle East over the past few years. We are very blessed that he is stationed near our family so Emily and their baby girl Abby can be near family! Gary just got back from being deployed overseas.


There you go - the military men in my family! (I feel like I am forgetting someone, but I can't figure out who!) Thank you to these men, and all those who have served or are currently serving our country. Happy Veterans Day!

Let There Be...Dessert!

Warnings: If you are craving sweets, this post will not help!

And so continues my disjointed, out of order recaps. :)

This was one of my absolute favorite parts of the wedding reception. There was a room just off the main ballroom that we closed off during dinner. Unbeknownst to our guests - this is where the dessert was hiding!

Check out this spread!

Some of you may remember all my dilemmas about the cake. I was so happy with how it turned out! Oh and my cake topper dilemma? Love how that turned out too!

We had a family friend make her famous brownies...

Grandma made her snickerdoodles...

Littlest Sister made her carrot cake cupcakes...

And when those doors finally opened, it seemed as though there was a collective gasp. Everyone was amazed! Including me - I hadn't seen the finished product until that moment. I couldn't have been happier (as you can tell from this cheesy smile photo). :)

WHOOHOOO! Look at all those desserts!!!! :)


Next up? The cake cutting...to smash or not to smash? :)

Life is Good!

Let me pause the wedding recaps for a moment to update you on newlywed life.

I am happy to report - life is good!

We have dealt with a few struggles over the past few months - mostly financial. I love my job, but took a paycut when I left the practice of law. My husband is working hard to build his book of business in the insurance world, while doing a whole lot of part time jobs on the side. We just never knew each month if we would have enough money to make it. Our two biggest money guzzlers? Our student loan payments and our rent. Just the two of those payments combined took up almost all of my monthly income. Yikes!

How have we fixed this? We found a new place to live - for almost half the price! We are so excited. God absolutely provided more than we could ever have imagined. The price is less than we thought we could find for such a nice place. Just check this baby out!

Right now we live in a 3/2.5 - which is really bigger than we need. Our new place is a 2/2 and is still 1200 square feet! We get the one car garage you see in the picture, and our place is at the front of the building where all those windows are. There are actually three units in this building - my sister-in-law freaked out because she thought we had all those garages to ourselves! Haha.

We will be moving in next weekend. I can't even begin to tell you the peace of mind this has given us. Yes, we love our current place, and hate to have to move everything. But God has absolutely blown me away with His provision. There are so many little blessings in this place too - it's like He said, "Callie and Nate, I want to show you just how much I love you." There are so many little things we always had hoped to have - double sinks in our bathroom, the washer and dryer included, lots of fun places to go within walking distance...just so many little blessings!

Sorry for the oozing of joy in this blog post. I just can't keep it all inside! I feel on top of the world.

God is so good. We are so blessed. I will be giving thanks for so many things this Thanksgiving!!

What are you thankful for today?

Our Wedding Wish

So...I didn't include the words of the mad lib in the last one. Whoops! Here it is in case anyone wants to use this for their own wedding!!

A Wedding Wish
Please leave a message in the “mad lib” style for the Bride and Groom!


I am ______________ for Nate and Callie. They

[Emotion]
are the most _____________________
[Adjective]
___________________, and I wish them nothing
[Noun]
less than ___________________
[Adjective]
_____________ for the rest of their lives together.
[Noun]

My best advice for the newlyweds?
_________________________________________

_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
[Advice]

Lots of ______________,
[Thing/Emotion]

_______________________________

[Your name]

Let me know if you decide to use it...I'd love to see the idea passed on! :)

One of My Favorite Details

I haven't talked about this detail on my blog because, well, I wanted it to be a suprise for our guests! When our guests arrived at their table, they saw this:

We had tucked a card titled "A Wedding Wish" inside their napkin. It was a note in the "mad lib" style for our guests to fill out. Unfortunately, the pens didn't work too well. But most of our guests still managed to fill them out. We received some HILARIOUS responses as well as some words of wisdom that we will treasure forever!

Did you have any suprise details for your guests?