Coupons....here's to saving money!

When Aunt Sara came up to help us move, she brought along the best present.....my coupon book. I was a bit leery of couponing....how it was going to work, would I have the time, would I really save money. But within the first visit to the store I was hooked. Aunt Sara, my mom and I went armed with our coupons and list. All the items we bought were for the new house. Let me tell you it was great to see the saving roll in....and Kevin is thrilled about it too. So now on Sundays I clip coupons from the paper, print them out from the computer and plan my trip to the store. I especially love it when my grocery store does Super Double Coupons (will double a coupon with a face value of $1.98) and Triples (will triple a coupon with a $0.99 face value). My goal is to save at least one-third of the bill in coupons....so far I have succeed just about every trip. I also like how I am truly saving because I am purchasing items that I do use....no wasteful spending. And, I don't feel guilty about buying other items the rest of the week because I am saving elsewhere. Here is to coupons!!!!!!! These are the savings from some of my recent couponing trips:

Bill paid was $156.02 - coupon savings was $93.60
Bill paid was $87.07 - coupon savings was $57.89
Bill paid was $228.85 - coupon savings was $106.81
Bill paid was $186.16 - coupon savings was $77.89

First Grade!

Tuesday was William's first day of FIRST GRADE!!!!!! He was excited about first grade, but not so much school. When we went to bed the night before he remembered that as a first grader he could play on the "big kid" playground equipment.....no longer stuck on the Kindergarten playground. Going to be that night was very difficult for him.

The next morning he was able to get up pretty easily and had a good breakfast. Daddy went with us to school so he could meet his teacher, Ms. Lester. We saw his classroom and his old friends from his Kindergarten class. He was all smiles when we left. Paulie on the other hand was sad....not because William was not going to be with him....but because he did not get to stay at school. The entire car ride home Kevin and I listened to Paulie saying "I go to school. I want school. Paul go to school. School. School. School." Now Paul has taken to wearing a backpack around the house saying he is going to school too. I don't think we will have any separation/is he ready issues when it comes to sending Paulie to preschool! Here are some pics from the first day morning.

Daddy and his boys.
William at his desk.

Kevin...the woodworking king

During our move, I decided it was time to throw out the old office furniture and bring on some new stuff. Our old desk and credenza were nice but truly for an office...so we have been on the hunt for a new desk. We decided on the style of a writing desk but could not believe the prices. This one below is from Pottery Barn and is $600 or $700. So Kevin decided to build us one. I was a bit nervous, but after seeing the results (and the work while in progress) I think he has a future in woodworking! I am so proud of our sleek writing desk that cost $150 (time and labor don't factor into the price). I have already created a woodworking "to-do" list for him. I know he is thrilled!!!!!! See the pics below.

The inspiration desk.

The office area before the desk. And, yes, that is a side table we were using.

The finished office....modeled after the inspiration desk. AMAZING JOB!!!!

Some close-ups of the desk.

Some new additions

Home decorating always seem to take forever when you more.....and even longer when it is a home you own! Now that we are homeowners again, I feel compelled to decorate, decorate, decorate! Here are some new finds that are now in the house. I am going to try and slow down now that school is starting again.

A new oil for in the dining room. I love this painting because it looks like a home you would see in Palm Beach. It is very calming.

Every girl needs her own space to get read and I have created mine. Here is my make-up vanity that I love to sit at and just enjoy music while getting ready for the day...and that includes just pulling my hair in a ponytail for the gym.

And a final photo of our bed with the bedspread this time.

Blog visitors

As many bloggers do, I have a way to track who checks up on the Capozzoli Clan. It is a simple means of checking who clicks on our site and for how long. We can tell right away who most of our visitors are....family and friends. But recently some new visitors have been checking in from locations where we have no friends or family. So all we ask is if you are stopping by for a quick update or hanging out for sometime, please leave a comment and let us know who you are.....this is for our visitors in Blue Springs, MO and Tokyo, Japan.....and any others that that want to say hi. Hope to hear from you soon.

The Biltmore House

We took the kids to the Biltmore House while vacationing in Asheville. We had a great time walking around the grounds, resting down at the Bass Pond and enjoying watching the kids run wild. We did try to tour the inside of the house but have decided this needs to be done on another visit that is child-free......maybe in 10 years. Enjoy the pics of our day.

Chimney Rock, Lake Lure - Asheville, NC

We decided to do a hike to Chimney Rock which is about 25 miles south of Asheville. The boys had a blast and I must say it was a different hike. We were expecting meandering trails but instead we climbed staircase after staircase and walked on rocky winding trails that led to the bottom of a beautiful waterfall. Here are our photos from that day. Needless to say....all of us were tired at the end of the day!

Chimney Rock from the parking lot below.

William at the lookout from the first of many staircases.

Climbing the beginning of many, many, many stairs.

William and Mommy at the overlook of Lake Lure. We would love to return to this lake for a family vacation and rent a lake house and boat. It would be a wonderful way to spend a hot, summer week.

Lake Lure

Daddy and his boys atop Chimney Rock.

Here are our photos of playing around in the bottom of the falls. It was very refreshing and alot of fun.

The snake that was also enjoying the summer sun at the bottom of the falls. William was the only one that found it. Everyone did not even notice this snake....and for me that is a good thing I did not see it until we left!