Give Thanks!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Here's a great thing to do that is always free, giving thanks! I actually write down five things that I am thankful for every day in a journal that I keep by my bed. It's a great way to keep this crazy life in perspective. Here are a few things that I am thankful for this Thanksgiving day: my buddy, that man can make me laugh like no one else on this earth; my dogs, it was a tough year with losing Maddie, but I'm glad that Ella found us and so is Mandy; my job, so many people are struggling with this right now, and I am thankful that, not only do I have a job, I really like my job; I'm healthy and everyone in my family is healthy; my new niece, Isabella Grace, I haven't gotten to meet her yet, but will for Christmas and just can't wait, my kitties, I love watching all of my animals hang out together. These are just a few of the fabulous things that I am thankful for. I wish you and your families a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Gives Back Card

Joseph Beth Booksellers has a fabulous program called the Gives Back Card. For $25 you get the card, and here is what the card gives you: $25 gift certificate to the Bronte Bistro (the fabulous restaurant attached to Joseph Beth), a free meal on your birthday, $10 coupon for every $200 spent in the bookstore, $10 coupon for every $200 spent in the bistro, ok, and really tons of other stuff. But, now why, you ask, is it called the Gives Back Card? Well, that is because 1% of all bookstore purchases are donated back to a local charity of you choice. I chose to have mine given to the Levin Children's Hospital. It's a pretty cool card and a fantastic deal all around.

Cheap and Free Date at Brixx with Buddy

We love Brixx, and I mean L-O-V-E! So, when I came upon a coupon for buy one, get one free pizza, of course, it was time to walk up to Brixx for the night. The very best night to go to Brixx is Monday for $1.95 domestic drafts. Their domestic drafts aren't what you normally think of. We're talking microbrews, the best kind of beer delicious-ness. If you go to Brixx, be sure to start working on your MBA. That's your Masters of Beer Appreciation. You get stamps for having different beers, and you get different prizes along the way, but the grand prize is the party. Oh yes, I will be earning a party!

Back for some more free wine!

Happy Beaujolais Nouveau Day! And, just try to keep me away from the free wine! My friend Sarah and I headed to Reid's today to see what the wine tastings were all about today during free wine week. Of course, they were pouring a Beaujolais Nouveau, which was amazingly delicious. It's a holiday that I always like to take part in. We actually had every intention to go up to the Mint Museum, but we were just having so much fun tasting the wines, and the pours were quite generous. I would say we both had about two full glasses of wine. I stuck to the Reds, but Sarah was tasting both Reds and Whites. Our favorite, though, was the Bliss Merlot. Plus, to make it even better, that's an $11.99 bottle of wine! Great wine for a great price, and the tastes are free? Fantastic!

Free Wine Tasting at Reid's

Reid's Fine Foods is kicking off the holiday season right, with free wine! I headed up to Reid's tonight with my friends, Erin and Anie and we were very happy to partake. Reid's is doing free wine tastings and free appetizer tastings all week. I would say that we probably each had enough samples to equal 1- 1 and a half glasses of wine. Did I mention that I love free wine?

Buddy Loves Samples

Buddy (that's what I affectionately call my husband, he calls me buddy too) hates going to the grocery store, and, I mean hates. There is one notable exception, and that is Earth Fare, and I'll tell you why he likes that store: free cheese samples. So, when I told him that Earth Fare was going to be hosting their Taste of Thanksgiving event and handing out samples of Thanksgiving dinner, he was so in. Of course, we had to enter the store near the cheese section, so we had our fill of the cheese, meandered and did some other shopping, and then made our way to the free Thanksgiving. It was delicious! My favorite quote of the day happened while I was then waiting to order our Thanksgiving turkey. Buddy said to me, "If this takes much longer, I'm going to have to get another plate." I told him to just go, and he was off and running before I got the last word of my sentence out. These plates were more than a snack too, a very enjoyable way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

Giving back and getting something in return

Today I got to give back in a very awesome way... A friend of mine works at Hemby Children's Hospital and today was their annual Thanksgiving party for the patients and families. I was able to go and serve the drinks and mix and mingle with the adorable kids. This is a fabulous event that they put on, and they do a similar event for each holiday. Most of these kids won't get to spend Thanksgiving at home, so the hospital brings the Thanksgiving dinner to them and their families. It's a feel good time for everyone. The kids get some time to just be kids and eat macaroni & cheese and pumpkin pie. US Foodservice donated the food and the talented culinary students at Johnson & Wales cooked and served it. As an added bonus to the great feeling that I get to carry around in my heart after seeing these very special little people, I also got to eat this fabulous Thanksgiving lunch. And, let me tell you, those students can cook! This bumps up eating at the Johnson & Wales cafeteria on my list. I can't wait to help out at the Christmas party!

Yumm... Specials on Corona Light

Congratulations are in order for my one friend... She got a new job and today is that day that she actually got to quit the old job. Hooray! So, to celebrate, we all headed up to our favorite place, Ed's Tavern. And, wouldn't you know it, Corona Light's were only $2. It was a celebration for me too, that's my favorite beer, and I had completely forgotten that it was Corona Light night at Ed's. What a fabulous little surprise for me on a dreary Thursday night! As a side note, Ed's has a completely revamped menu, and it looks amazing. I haven't eaten from it yet, but I have been with a bunch of people who have gotten the sliders and they look fantastically delicious!

Donate $1 without spending a dime...

So, I just found out a staggering statistic... Did you know that coffee drinkers throw out 28 billion disposable coffee cups each year? That is about 100 million pounds of trash going into our landfills. Wow! Well, the folks at Good Earth Coffee are trying to do something about it. If you sign the "Brew at Home" Pledge and pledge to brew your coffee at home using a re-usable cup, they will donate $1 to the Trust for Public Land. I signed it and plan to keep my pledge. That's something that I can feel good about. While we're on the subject ladies and gentlemen, does your office have a coffee machine? If you're drinking that, you're halfway there by saving yourself some money. How about bringing in your own mug instead of using disposable? Then you can save the environment too! I also like the opportunity to express a bit of my personality with my mug selections. Favorite mug slogan of mine? "Proud owner of a rescued dog"

In-Home Testing Institute?

OK, so I'll admit it like a dork... For some reason, I like filling out forms and surveys, things like that. I think it has something to do with not really being able to sit still and pay attention while watching TV. I like puzzles too, but that's another issue. Well, today in the mail, I received a long consumer survey, and, with excitement, started filling it out. Wouldn't you know that a $5 bill fell onto my lap? That's not cheap & free, that's getting paid for something I would be happy to do anyway. I certainly can't wait to send it back to them and am anxiously awaiting my next one. Shoot me an email at ktamerlano@gmail.com and I can send you the contact info, maybe they have a website and you can try to get on their mailing list too.

The Gem of the Habitat Restore

I was about to title this post "The Hidden Gem of the Habitat Restore," but this gem really isn't hidden at all, I just hadn't yet noticed how awesome it was. What is this gem you say? The book section in Julia's Coffee Shop, attached to the Restore. They have some truly awesome used books for sale and at some truly awesome prices. Hardbacks are either $1.98 or $3.98 and paperbacks are $.98. Plus, they are very, very organized, alphabetical by author's last name and in different subject sections. If you know that you want a book, but don't have a title in mind, check out the employee picks, there were some great books there. I didn't actually buy anything on this trip because I'm making the vow (for about the 5oth time) to read all of the books that I own before buying any more, deal or not, but my friend, Erin, was with me and she had a huge stack of deals that she was getting!

Wine-down Wednesday

I seriously work across the street from Village Tavern, and, I'm ashamed to admit it, but this is the very first time that I have been to Wine-down Wednesday. Basically, all bottles of wine are half off. How great is that? You can get a whole bottle of wine for less than the price of two glasses. Now, just because I love you all, maybe take a drinking buddy to either help you finish that deal of a bottle of wine or to sit and watch you drink it and give you a ride home!

Another thing that I love about the Village Tavern is the patio. And, that I have taken advantage of many, many times. It is big and has a great view of Southpark. Plus, now that it's getting a little cooler outside, they bring in heaters, so the patio can really be enjoyed almost year-round, unless it's raining, of course!

Freebies for Voting

Happy Election Day, everybody! I hope you all voted today and I also hope that you all took advantage of some of the freebies to be had today. 

I got up early to vote before work and when I was all finished, I stopped first at Starbucks for my free cup of coffee. They were giving away a free tall coffee to anyone who came in and said that they voted.

I had also heard that Chick-fil-a was giving away free chicken sandwiches at work and even verified online that Charlotte was one of the cities particpating. Unfortunately, when I went to the Chick-fil-a at Southpark Mall, I didn't get a sandwich. They just said that they had been hearing it all day, but that, no, it wasn't true. I pass the Chick-fil-a on Woodlawn on my way home and was going to try again, but there was an accident and Woodlawn was closed right there (Hope those people are OK, the cars looked pretty smashed up) so I can't verify this one. I had no luck.

Ben and Jerry's was giving away a free scoop of ice cream to anyone who voted today, but only from 5-8pm. My plan was to go get the dogs, drop them off, eat a quick dinner, and then head out again to get my free ice cream. However, I started watching election coverage and got sucked in, so decided against it. I'm still thinking about that ice cream right now.

At least I got my free coffee! I think it's great that all of these places were supporting the election in this way!

Way to use that VIC Card!

I love a sale! Especially, when it is on stuff that I have to buy, like food... I got a wonderful email about a 3-day sale at Harris Teeter... Steaks are $4.99/lb; shrimp is buy 1 bag, get 2 free; and grapes are $.79/pound. What? Crazy awesome prices. Well, I went to Harris Teeter today, and the manager had to override my transaction because I saved more than I spent. No joke! My total at the store today was $88 and my VIC card savings was $94. Yeah, I got a ton of food too! We're eating steak and shrimp for awhile!