$10 coupon for Sierra Trading Post

If you click through any link in this email and are a new customer you should receive a coupon for $10 off your first order (and after your order is finalized I'll get $10 off of a future order so thank you in advance if you try them through my link!). 

I've probably saved thousands of dollars over the years by shopping at Sierra Trading Post.  They have a wide variety of discounted outdoor, casual and even dressy, business and home goods. I've bought discounted Merrell, Jambu, Adidas, Asics, Spooney, Teva, Mephisto, Keen and other name brand goods from them at deep savings. My husband (who prefers to shop in brick and mortar stores) has even bought sandals, shoes and shirts from Sierra Trading Post.

When I first started ordering from them it was mostly outdoor and casual items but they've expanded a lot since then. They even have luxury towels like those from Christy of England now. On the rare occasions I've needed their customer service they were extremely nice and resolved things promptly.

I just placed an order for a pair of Jambu sandals. I'd seen them in a local shop "on sale" for $96.00 (they retail for $99.00). I'd bid on some on ebay but they always went for more than my preferred price point. Today I had an email coupon for 35% off and free shipping so I got a pair of those sandals for $41.57. That's less than half off the retail price. I also bought two pair of polarized sunglasses (Bolle and Optic Nerve), three pair of shorts (Spooney Wear, Filson and Mountain Khakis) and a pair of sports sandals (Teva). I saved up to 85% (after taking my coupon into consideration) and I should be good for the rest of the summer (unless I can find some cute and cool summer dresses that I like more than the ones I already own).

Here's the link for the coupon mentioned above: http://www.sierratradingpost.com/invite~2148033/phyllis~wheeler/

What is your favorite place to get bargains on new, brand name merchandise?

Free Blowout at Ulta

Per Ulta's Facebook Event, you can get a free blowout (your choice of straight or wavy styles).

"FREE blowout using Living Proof products when you book an appointment. Choose your style, straight or wavy & keep it Frizz-Free all weekend long.

Dates: July 6, 13 & 20
Time: 5:00pm - 8:00pm

Call or visit your local ULTA Beauty to book your appointment today!
Appointments limited.

PLUS spend $25 on Living Proof products
and receive a FREE Frizz Restyling Spray 3.4 oz.
A $24 VALUE"

Thank you to my dear friend Lisa for the tip!

Source: https://www.facebook.com/events/454344787917965/

Freebies of the Week: Earrings, Toothpaste & Herb Demonstrations

I thought it'd be fun to start a new weekly freebies feature (at least on weeks that I have freebies to share). This week my favorite physical item freebie is the earrings pictured above that I got at Kohls. They were originally $18, on sale for $9 plus I had stack-able (meaning can be used together) $10 off any $10+ purchase and $15% off purchase total coupons, making them completely free and I was able to use the overage towards another item I purchased (but wasn't free).

My favorite freebie experience of the week was the Herb Demonstrations at the US National Arboretum. In the photo above, Mary Lou Winder demonstrates rose petal jewelry making. There were also interactive displays, question and answer sessions, food, beauty and household herb product demonstrations and more.

Lastly, my free sample of Arm & Hammer sensitive toothpaste arrived. It looks like you can still request your free sample (if you haven't already). I try to only request samples of products I will actually use so I don't request every freebie out there (doing so might be a full time job!). Hope you enjoyed sharing my freebie fun. Happy savings!

Did you receive any freebies this week? Please share if you did!

Free Christian E-Books

Image source

Inspired Reads is a great resource for links to free (and frugal) Christian e-books (thank you to Mary H for the referral!). They're meant for Kindle readers but I believe Amazon.com provides a free cloud drive (online storage) and e-reader (downloadable to your personal computer) to anyone with a valid email address. I use the free program (I don't have a Kindle) and have downloaded several of the free books successfully.  A Time For Peace by Barbara Cameron, pictured above, is currently free at Amazon.com through the link provided at Inspired Reads. As stated on the Inspired Reads website, "Though free at time of posting, prices may change at any time. Please verify that the “Kindle Price” is $0.00. If you see a price for “Prime Members” or “read for free”, then the book is NOT free any longer."

Hope you find a free Christian book to enjoy! May God bless you!

Free Sample of Arm & Hammer Sensitive Toothpaste

Image source: http://tryahsensitive.com/images/sensitive_normal.jpg

Visit http://tryahsensitive.com/ for a free sample of Arm & Hammer sensitive toothpaste. I imagine this is "while supplies last." I requested my sample this morning. They require that you confirm the request by clicking an email link (they send the link after you request your sample). When I confirmed I got a message that they'll be sending my sample and it should arrive in 4-6 weeks. Happy freebie gathering and money saving!

Free Courses from Yale University

Image source: http://oyc.yale.edu/sites/default/files/dimock_1.jpg

"Open Yale Courses provides free and open access to a selection of introductory courses taught by distinguished teachers and scholars at Yale University. The aim of the project is to expand access to educational materials for all who wish to learn.

• All lectures were recorded in the Yale College classroom and are available in video, audio, and text transcript formats
• Registration is not required
• No course credit, degree, or certificate is available" 

Included in this morning's list were courses on literature, financial markets, chemistry, environmental science and history. It looks like an interesting assortment and you have to love the price (free!). 
  
Source: http://oyc.yale.edu/

Plants for 15 Cents!

If you have a large space to fill with plants, starting them by seed could save you a bundle of money. For less than $6.00 ($2.00 for seeds and less than $4.00 in peat pots and we had the potting soil left over from last year) we should end up with over 40 zinnia plants (God willing, of course). That brings the per plant price to less than 15 cents! My local dollar store didn't have the kinds of seeds I wanted for landscaping my front yard but they did have sunflower seeds, vegetable seeds and more for 25 cents a package. That would bring your costs down even more.

There's also a certain indescribable (and priceless) joy that comes with growing plants from seed. It's truly exciting to see them sprout above the ground, grow their first true leaves and eventually flower in your garden. I like to save the seed packet and write the date I planted them (the above packet's seeds were planted on the 16th) right on the packet. I used to tape them into a notebook but it got too messy. I think pictures will be much neater.

These Mexican blanket flower seeds were packaged to be planted in 2010 but they were free (can't get cheaper than that!), courtesy of the Maryland Master Gardeners at the 2011 Montgomery County Fair. I figured that if they grow it'll be a bonus and if they don't I can always reuse the soil and pots.

I also planted this package of purple zinnias today. I think the red and purple will look nice together. The purple will go in a full sun area and the red on the border between sun and shade and even a bit into the shady area.

Have you ever planted anything from seed? Did you enjoy the process? May your gardens be bountiful and may God bless you dear reader!