London Drugs Canada Coupon Stacking Guide (February 3-5, 2012)

Here are the weekly coupon match-ups for London Drugs.

Oral-B Toothbrush @ 2/$3
- $1 coupon from coupon insert (Brandsaver)
Final Price = $0.50 each

Cascades Bathtoom Tissue 12 doubles @ $4.99
- $1 Cascades coupon
- $1 tear pad coupon
Final Price = $2.99 – $3.99 each

All Bran Bars @ 2/$5
- $2 coupon from Kellogg’s sample box
Final Price = $0.50 each

Click here to view the entire London Drugs Canada flyer.

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Homemade Febreze Fabric Refresher: Do It Yourself

I received a really great tutorial from reader Krista about making your own Febreze fabric refresher. This is a new favourite DIY project of mine and one that is likely going to save me lots of money!

Ingredients:
- 1/8 Cup Fabric Softener (Any that smells nice!)
- 2 Tablespoons Baking Soda
- Hot Water

Instructions:
1. Add all ingredients to a bottle (adding just enough hot water to almost completely fill the bottle).
2. Shake the bottle up and spray!

I actually made this spray a few weeks ago and I love it. I can’t believe how easy it was to make something that I use all the time and pay a hefty price tag for. I’ll be making my own fabric refresher from now on, using this recipe.

Do you have a frugal tip to share? Submit it here.

photo credit

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French’s Canada Printable Coupons (Mustard, Hot Sauce + More!)

Check out these great new French’s printable coupons:

- $0.50 off French’s Mustard
- $0.50 off French’s French Fried Onions
- $0.50 off French’s Honey Mustard Dipping Sauce
- $0.50 off Frank’s Red Hot Sauce

All 4 coupons are available in both English and in French.

(Thanks, Save a Loonie)

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Homemade Gnocchi Recipe

I love gnocchi, but I was way too intimated to make it for so long. I mean, potatoes and flour make some type of dough? That seems hard, I’ll stay away from that recipe!

A friend’s Italian grandmother gave me some great tips on how to make it, so I figured I’d give it a shot – and I’m SO glad that I did. It was delicious and wasn’t really that hard to make!

It is time consuming though – it took me about 3 hours from start to finish to make this dish… but very much worth the time and effort.

Homemade Gnocchi Recipe (Click here to print the recipe.)

Ingredients:
- 6-8 Medium Russet Potatoes
- 2 Cups Flour
- 1 Teaspoon Salt

Instructions:
1. Peel & was your potatoes and boil in a large pot until tender, about 40 minutes. Let cool completely.
2. Mash potatoes (we use a potato ricer and it is one of our favourite kitchen tools!) until there are no lumps at all.
3. Add salt and then add the flour 1/2 cup at a time, kneading well with each addition (you may need to add more than 2 cups.. the key is to make sure the “dough” is not sticky at all).
4. Once all of the flour has been incorporated and your dough is holding together and is not sticky, form it into a ball and then divide it into 4-6 smaller balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball into long strips (about 3/4 inch thick). Cut the strips into 1 inch pieces. Repeat with remaining balls.
5. Boil the gnocchi in boiling, salted water for no more than 2 minutes (they will float to the top when cooked). If they start to fall apart while boiling, that means you did not use enough flour when making the dough.
6. Toss gnocchi in homemade pasta sauce, top with cheese and enjoy!

Makes 3-4 servings.

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Our 2012 Goals: January Update

At the beginning of January, I shared our goals for 2012 and promised you all a monthly update so you could check in on the progress we are making.

I’m not 100% satisfied with how January went, but I would still say it was a successful month.

Family Goals

1. Go to the cottage at least twice. This is obviously not going to happen until summer time.

2. Enroll Elliott in at least one social activity. Swimming will start in the summer and we are waiting until the end of this year to enroll him in skating.

3. Take more family photos. I took more than I did in December of last year, but I still haven’t been taking enough. Richard hasn’t taken any at all, except for my pregnancy photos. We need to step it up in February!

4. Do more crafts and cooking with Elliott. We have been doing more crafts, but I still get really impatient in the kitchen, so I haven’t let him help me as much. Time to relax a bit and let him get his hands dirty.

5. Do more active family activities. Um…. no. Didn’t happen. Unless you count our weekly Walmart shopping trip where we walk around for an hour. Ha!

6. Include Buddy (our dog) in more family activities. This didn’t happen either, but mostly because we ourselves didn’t do much.

7. Plan first Christmas at home. We won’t be worrying about this goal until mid-late 2012.

Marriage Goals

1. Have “date night” at least once every month. We had our January date night and it was fabulous!

2. Go away for Valentines Day (last outing before new baby arrives). We are planning that right now. :)

3. Schedule alone time once every month, where the other spouse takes care of cooking, cleaning, kids, etc. We did this in January and it worked out really well.

4. Plan anniversary event. I don’t think that we will be worrying about this one for at least a few more months (our anniversary is late August).

Financial Goals

1. Put all extra income into house fund. We managed to put away a very hefty amount in January. Yay!

2. Create & stick to a budget for Valentine’s Day & anniversary celebrations. Working on it…

3. Create & stick to a yearly expenses budget for 2012. So far, so good!

4. Put maximum amount allowed into both of our TFSAs (this will be part of our house fund). We haven’t done this yet.

5. Investigate and understand the Home Buyer’s Plan (HBP). I’m pretty sure we understand this now!

6. Create a will. Not done yet. I’m thinking it might be best to wait until after the baby is born to tackle this one.

7. Set up RESP for new baby. We will do this after she is born.

8. Rebalance RESP asset allocation for Elliott. Working on it. This is taking longer than expected (the bank likes to take their time, apparently!).

9. Allocate money to charities. We didn’t do any donating in January. Oops. Since we love animals so much, I’m going to look into donating to the local animal shelter in February.

Personal Goals

1. Drink at least 6 glasses of water every day. I’m not sure I hit the 6-glass mark, but I would say I averaged at least 4 glasses daily.

2. Make healthy meals at least 5 days per week. We didn’t eat as healthfully as I would have liked in January. I’m going to go ahead and blame the pregnancy on this one!

3. Read at least 1 book every month. I actually read 3 books in January.. and it was awesome!

4. Stay active. Booo – nope to this one. The third trimester has hit me hard and I am constantly exhausted. I know exercise will only help me, though, so I need to work on that in February.

Did you set any goals for 2012? I’d love it if you shared your progress in the comments.

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La Vie En Rose: 30% off Sale Merchandise

Save 30% off all sale merchandise at La Vie En Rose.

Valid online and in store, until February 5, 2012.

Also, receive a $25 discount card when you spend $50 or more.

Start shopping at La Vie En Rose online.

Find a La Vie En Rose location near you.

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Banana Republic Canada: 25% off any Regular Priced Item

Save 25% off full priced items at Banana Republic this weekend.

Valid online and in stores, until February 5, 2012.

If you plan to shop online, enter promo code BRCSUPER at checkout. Don’t forget to shop through Ebates for an additional 2% cash back.

Start shopping at Banana Republic Canada online.

Find a Banana Republic Canada location near you.

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American Eagle Canada: 50% off Clearance Merchandise

Take an additional 50% off all clearance merchandise at American Eagle.

Valid in store, for a limited time.

Find an American Eagle Canada location near you.

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PJ’s Pets Canada: Free $20 Cash Card When You Spend $50+

Receive a $20 cash card when you spend $50 or more at PJ’s Pets.

$20 card can be used towards a future purchase of $50 or more.

Valid until February 16, 2012.

Find a PJ’s Pets Canada location near you.

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Bootlegger Canada: 40% off Any Regular Priced Item

Save 40% off any one regular priced item at Bootlegger.

Exclusively for Bootlegger card holders only.

Valid online and in stores, until February 4, 2012.

If you plan to shop online, discount is applied when a Bootlegger card is active on your account or in your card.

If you plan to shop in store, print this coupon.

Start shopping at Bootlegger Canada online.

Find a Bootlegger Canada location near you.

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