Christmas High Tea

Last year, I was invited to a Christmas Tea sponsored by a local church. At the tea, there was an opportunity to volunteer to host a table for the following year. Guess who signed up!

I've always loved entertaining and have been sad the last few years having a smaller abode without room to host parties. This was a great outlet for me.

There is one hitch! I do not have any China or elegant dishes anymore. I've moved so frequently from city to city and state to state that I've given a lot of it back to my mom for safe keeping.

I had to find a way to get a hold of dishes for this event without breaking the bank.

I went to work visiting thift shops and online postings on Craigslist and Facebook Marketplace.

That did the trick and allowed me to acquire beautiful dishes at a low cost. 

I was able to host 8 ladies with whom I work. What a lovely evening of fellowship, worship songs, an encouraging speaker in a beautiful setting. Each gal felt like a precious jewel! I was so pleased to be part of this lovely event! Perhaps I'll host next year!

Thanksgiving 2017

I have to admit that it has been difficult to be back in the habit of blogging since the hurricane in September. Where does the time go? 

Here we are in the midst of the holidays spanning from Thanksgiving until New Years.

This was the first year in almost 6 years that I did not have to work on Thanksgiving. The previous years I worked in the Canadian division and observed Canadian holidays. 

We had a mini-banquet with my department this year. I brought a veggie tray decked out like a turkey. Thank you Pinterest!

On Thanksgiving Day, we had a small celebration with some friends from church. It was nice to stay local. I refreshed the veggie tray from the previous day and brought a pumpkin pie. Since my husband does not eat eggs, I found a recipe that is eggless. Amazingly delicious!!!

Now we're in a mad dash with Christmas around the corner. I love all the activities this time of year!

Labor Day weekend

We're looking forward to a 3 day weekend! 

It is nice to sleep in and not have to go somewhere on a Monday. 

Our Labor Day will probably start off something like this: 

Birthday Freebies 2017 Recap

Well, it has been a fantastic birthday month! Full of freebies and celebrations. With my birthday and my husband's birthday a few days apart, we were able to enjoy many of these freebies together. 

Here is the list of freebies that we did this year: 

FOOD

• Bonefish Grill
• Chili's
• Cold Stone Creamery
• Denny's
• Dunkin' Donuts
• Einstein Bagels
• Firehouse Subs
• Friendly's
• Ikea
• Jersey Mike's
• Medieval Times
• Moe's Southwest Grill
• Panera
• Pizza Hut
• Red Robin
• Ruby Tuesday
• Starbucks
• TGIFriday's
• Tijuana Flats

NON-FOOD

• Charming Charlie
• DSW
• Rack Room Shoes
• Redbox
• Sephora

Birthday Gift: Keurig Part 2

I posted about my parents giving me a Keurig coffee maker for my birthday.  By registering my Keurig on keurig.com, I was given a promo code for 5 boxes of kcups 50% off the retail price. 

I carefully selected the kcups I wanted to try and added them to my cart. 

I chose 4 boxes that were 24 count and 1 box that was 18 count. 

After selecting the 5 boxes, the 50% discount was applied to the transaction. $34.20 for 114 kcups total. That turns out to be 30¢ a cup. Did I mention free shipping, too? 

Birthday Celebrations: Hubby's Turn

My husband's birthday is a few days after mine. He's been able to enjoy many of the birthday freebies. 

The main event for me this year was going to Medieval Times. While that was not my husband's choice, he was gracious enough to accompany me. 

For his birthday, I wanted to have a separate outing that was something he would want to do. Thinking about his hobbies and passions (which all involve soccer), the choice was easy. 

I pored over going to see Orlando City SC or one of the International Championship games. 

I ultimately decided to gift him with tickets to the Paris Saint-Germain vs. Tottenham game. Hubby was very pleased with this birthday gift. 

Being a francophile, you know I have lots of French stuff including French flags for the car. These make an appearance every 4 years for the World Cup. This game warrants the flags!

We had great seats and an overall wonderful time. I was so glad that my hubby's birthday event was much enjoyed by him. 

Birthday: Air Mail

This lovely card from my French family arrived around my birthday. I love getting mail (not junk mail) especially when it comes from far and away. 

Birthday Freebies: Bonefish Grill

Bonefish Grill is one of the tastiest birthday freebies of the bunch. 

Free Bang Bang shrimp or a dessert is the offering for those subscribed to the emails. 

We chose the Bang Bang shrimp and ordered 2 salmon entrées.

I was given a gift card for this great restaurant chain. That defrayed the cost along with the free appetizer. 

Date night with my hubby who has a birthday a few days after mine.

Birthday Freebies: Friendly's

Friendly's is one of those places I grew up with and associate with ice cream sundaes. Their email club provides a free sundae for a birthday. 

Delicious and glorious! And free!

Birthday Freebies: Einstein Bagels

Bagels are a great way to start the day! This freebie is courtesy of Einstein Bros. Bagels' email club. 

This year's freebie is an egg sandwich with the purchase of a drink. 

I chose the Applewood Bacon and Cheddar on a Hashbrown bagel accompanied by a large coffee. 

I love it when food is delicious and free!

Birthday Freebies: Ikea

Ikea is one of my favorite places for home goods. I have some furniture from Ikea as well because they are modern and affordable. 

I love shopping in the marketplace for kitchen gadgets and other items to organize our home. 

Their restaurant is quite good. For a store, you may not be expecting gourmet food. They have wonderful dishes and it is served cafeteria style. 

If you are a member of the Ikea Family you're entitled to discounts and free coffee in the restaurant. A birthday freebie comes along as well. 

This year's birthday meal is the Swedish meatball entrée with the daim cake (think nutella). 

The two of us had dinner for under $10. Our choices were Swedish meatball dish, grilled salmon dish, garlic bread for each of us, hot drink, and cold drink. 

Delicious and affordable. 

Birthday Freebies: Chili's

Chili's has a great reward program which is paired up with Plenti. Regularly, I find coupons in my inbox for various deals at Chili's. 

Birthdays are included in their emailed deals. Free dessert is the treat this year which is good because it is "stressed" spelled backwards. 

A colleague (and friend) of mine also has a July birthday. We decided to do lunch and take advantage of this dessert deal. 

Here is all that was left of this rich skillet chocolate chip cookie. 

It tasted better with a friend celebrating her birthday, too. 

Birthday Freebies: Pizza Hut

I have always loved Pizza Hut. It is the first pizza place I remember going to as a kid because of their Book It program. Fortunately, I don't have an urge for pizza when I read. 

This delicious birthday freebie provides cinnamon sticks or breadsticks with no purchase necessary. 

Ordering is made simple through the birthday email with the promotion code. Follow the link and it will add the sticks of your choice to your cart. 

Because they were also having a 50% off pizza deal, I decided dinner and dessert would come from the Hut!

$8 later we had a large pizza and an order of breadsticks. It is sometimes hard to buy $8 worth of groceries for 1 meal for 2 adults. This satisfies both the budget and deliciousness factor!

Birthday Freebies: Redbox

Gone are the days of going to the video store to get the latest movies. 

In this day in age, purchasing DVDs and streaming are more common practices. 

I was first introduced to a DVD dispensing machine when I was in France in 2007. It was the neatest thing I had ever seen!

Shortly thereafter in the US, I started seeing the same type of machines crop up in various locations. 

Redbox is the most common and are virtually everywhere. Renting DVDs is easily done at the box or reservations made online. 

With an account, comes a birthday freebie! I received a free rental via email and reserved a film on the Redbox app. 

Quick and easy! Oh, and free!

Birthday Freebies: Tijuana Flats

If you want a delicious birthday freebie and you're in Florida, go to Tijuana Flats! The name of this freebie game is churros! 

The great thing about this freebie is that it is truly free! No purchase necessary. 

I would, however, recommend going on Tuesday for their taco lunch special and pairing it with churros. 

Birthday Freebies: Dunkin' Donuts

Attention coffee lovers! This freebie is for you!

Dunkin' Donuts has a free beverage as a birthday freebie! Although I did not receive an email, this freebie appeared on the DD App. 

So many choices at Dunkin' Donuts! I ordered a large latte (sans sugar) to get me going on a weekday morning. 

Birthday Freebies: Ruby Tuesday

Ruby Tuesday has an email club called "So Connected." You'll receive promotions, coupons, and freebies. 

The birthday freebie is a free burger (includes most sandwiches) or a garden bar entrée. No purchase is necessary which makes this freebie a true freebie!

This year I opted for the Avocado Turkey Burger which comes with fries. 

The full meal was even more delicious since it was free! (Is there such a thing as tasting free?)

Birthday Freebies: DSW

Shoes are typically near and dear to a girl's heart. This birthday freebie adds to the joy of the previous shoe birthday freebie (read more here). 

This birthday freebie is from DSW which entails $5 off any purchase. In the past, I have opted for earrings or shoes whatever strikes my fancy.  

A few years ago, I picked out a pair of wedges that were Italian Shoemakers brand with my birthday coupon. They have been such a great pair of shoes! I decided on these cute wedges also made by Italian Shoemakers. 

This time there were sales on top of sales! They were priced at $39.94 marked down by 50%. Then, an additional $5 off with the birthday coupon. The subtotal was $14.97 which means there was $34 savings!

It is a great time of year to shop with all the sales stacked with birthday coupons!

Birthday Freebies: Medieval Times

Medieval Times is truly a unique experience fit for a king. It takes an evening out to a whole new level. How often does one go out to dine and watch jousting? 

This birthday freebie is not only a large value of saving but a large value of fun! The birthday bargain is a buy one get one free (BOGO)! 

My husband and I both have birthdays in July. Many of the freebies we've enjoyed together. This is no exception. We purchased 1 ticket and got the other one free. 

The dinner choices are limited to a standard chicken dinner and a vegetarian dinner. We got 1 of each. the chicken dinner is shown below. The vegetarian option was a bowl of rice, beans, corn seasoned like chili; hummus with veggies to dip; then the same corn, potato, tomato soup, and garlic bread listed on the menu. 

Really a great evening! Dinner was delicious and the show was entertaining. 

Birthday Freebies: Moe's Southwest Grill

WELCOME TO MOE'S!!!

If you've been to Moe's you know that this is the loud and enthusiastic greeting when you walk through the door. 

For this edition of the birthday freebies, a free burrito is presented via email or mobile app. 

I ordered the Earmuffs burrito bowl with tofu so we could share it. I like my burrito bowl with pico de gallo, cucumbers, cilantro, black beans, pinto beans, lettuce, rice, sour cream, guacamole, and salsa. 

Bonus: a plentiful amount of tortilla chips are served as a side. This freebie is delicious and full of fresh ingredients.