Very pretty!

I found glass hanging lanterns with fairy lights included for 2.00. I bought all they had hoping to be used as part of the centerpieces for my daughters upcoming wedding. She loves them.

As mentioned in another thread, I have the holidays on my brain. Today I ordered (from an Etsy seller) a centerpiece for the table. Not on sale, but good price, I thought. I also ordered wreaths to replace the ones we use on the windows. Last year they had finally gotten so dry, they shed quite a bit. We threw them in the trash when they came down. I did find those on sale - $14.99 for a 20" wreath. Also ordered some checked cloth napkins which were on sale.

Today I had a craving for chocolate crinkle cookies

which I have not made for a year or so, but I noticed that I was almost out of brown sugar. I have all of the other ingredients, and so rather than go to the store (probably Trader Joe's), I decided to order the Coconut Palm Sugar that I normally buy (not sure where) from Amazon.

However, I noticed that Amazon sells Coconut Sugar for less, and so I ordered that instead, along with some Cacao Powder, just so that I will have more, even though I am not out. I do not have any cocoa or cacao powder in Cathedral City, and so I can take some with me when I go back there. I have plenty of Pound+ chocolate from TJ's (which I use for baking and candy making), and so that is not an issue.

Then, after reading this thread and reviewing what I had bought, I noticed that Coconut Sugar might not be the same as Coconut Palm sugar (which is what I wanted and what I use instead of brown sugar), and so I ordered the coconut palm sugar from Amazon so that I will not have to look for it elsewhere. The CPS that I have in my pantry here is in a plastic pouch, and so I know I did not buy it from Amazon before, but I am hoping that what I ordered will be the same.

As you can tell, I am terrible at shopping for bargains. I'll probably have to wait until Tuesday to make the cookies.

Hahaha - Lars - your story managed to twist my brain into a pretzel.

Everybody in my family loves those chocolate crinkles (I call them chocolate snowballs) 😃

No bargains lately - we've been too busy avoiding Ian to shop. I am starting to restock the fridge/freezer tho.

I've NEVER had Chocolate Crinkle Cookies. Link for Recipe I looked them up! YUM!

They're a bit like a brownie, in cookie form, covered in powdered sugar 🙂

Here's the recipe I use for the cookies:

5 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cacao (or cocoa) powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1-1/8 cups packed brown sugar

3large eggs

3 teaspoons instant espresso powder (optional)

1 teaspoon Kahlua (coffee liqueur)

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 2 baking sheets with Silpat or parchment paper.

Combine chocolate and butter in medium bowl and place over small, deep sauce pan with 2” water. Place on simmer, and stir occasionally.

Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda together in small bowl.

Whisk brown sugar, eggs, espresso powder, and Kahlua together in large bowl.

Whisk chocolate mixture into egg mixture until combined. Fold in flour mixture until no dry streaks remain. Let dough sit at room temperature for 15 minutes.

Place granulated sugar and confectioners’ sugar in separate shallow dishes. Working with 2 tablespoons dough at a time, roll into balls. Drop dough balls directly into granulated sugar and roll to coat. Transfer dough balls to confectioners’ sugar and roll to coat evenly. Evenly space dough balls on prepared sheets, 9 per sheet.

Bake cookies 6 minutes, rotate sheet, and bake 6 minutes more, 1 sheet at a time. Let cool completely on sheet before serving.

Thanks Lars!

I went to NYC this weekend on Amtrak for $38 round-trip.

The grocery store up at camp had whole fresh chicken wings for $1.88 lb. I picked up 6 family packages. Goodwill had a new 4 yard piece of Halloween fabric for $ 2.99. I put a quick hem on it and now I have a Halloween tablecloth.

We are running out of steaks from the last steer that we had processed from our herd and we aren't having another one processed until March. Price Chopper had T-bones on sale for $5.99 lb. and when I went there on Saturday morning the butcher was just putting $2 off stickers on 3 of the packages (2 per) so I bought all of them. 6 nice T-bones with good sized tenderloin sides for $38. We split one for dinner Saturday night and I wrapped and froze the others. They also had baby back ribs on sale for $2.99 lb. so I bought 2 slabs.

It's both funny and sad that I get excited when things are now on sale for at or above what used to be the regular price pre-covid.

It is sad. Before I could get eggs on sale for 99 cents a dz, now I'm happy if I can get them for $2.50.

I got 2 sets of blackout curtains for one of the bedrooms. originally $34.99. per set. They were marked down, then 30% off that price then another 20% off at checkout with my rewards card. Total was just over $27. for both sets.

I did a little Christmas shopping this weekend. I've been hoping for a deal on Amazon's Echo line, so I was happy when they went on sale. I enjoy my Echo Shows in the kitchen (10") and bedroom (5"), and Echo Dot in the living room. So on Saturday I snagged an 8" Echo Show (2021 version) for $69.99 and an Echo Dot in Twilight Blue for $24.99. I hope they'll like them.

Also, my daughter's favorite supermarket has announced they will no longer use plastic grocery bags, so I took advantage of one of Amazon's daily deals to buy her a set of deep, square canvas grocery totes.

Oh, one more! This wasn't on sale, but I think it was an excellent deal. I bought these shelves in dark cherry and black as I needed something in my closet-less bedroom to hold the sweats and fleece I live in all winter. At that price, I was surprised at how heavy and well made they are. Super easy to assemble--no tools required.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07PQHNXM

Lars, my Mom made those cookies for every Christmas, graduation or any celebration in our family. Yours turned out perfectly and they are so delicious!

pumpkin what?

7 little 8oz ceramic dipping bowls. For sauces or a scoop of ice cream or a charcuterie board. JCP. I had a coupon & they were on sale. .26cents each ❤️

I bought this dress today at salvation army for resale -$14.99. It’s Escada with tags at $2,400!

That looks like a beautiful dress. You must have an upscale Salvation Army! At our store, I'm thrilled to find something from LL Bean. lol I do love LL Bean, though, and I'm far more likely to wear it than anything by Escada. But that must have been an exciting find! I hope it sells well for you.

@Alisande - here's the thing....this was not an upscale salvation army store. It's actually not far from Disneyland, off the beaten path with no other retail nearby. Sometimes my best finds are from the most unassuming places! That being said, I was probably in there for well over an hour.....dig,dig,dig...dig,dig,dig! heeheehee

I bought a brand new with tags light clay colored ribbed cashmere sweater by Eileen Fisher on eBay—- last year’s design with long sleeves and a funnel neck. Originally $268, purchased for $90. It arrived yesterday and is in new condition, a beautiful color and fits perfectly.

No but when I went to Wal-mart the other day for a few things, including eggs, I noticed the ones I normally buy were nearly $5 a dozen. They are "large" eggs that are brown and in a cardboard carton. They aren't really large, maybe medium sized eggs. So, I went and got the real large white eggs in styrofoam carton for under $2.00. I don't like to buy things in styrofoam but I'm not paying $5.00 for mini large eggs. Had a game night last weekend and I mentioned this to the ladies there and one of them said they have a friend who has chickens and she saves her cartons for her. So, I'll save it and any others for her too.

Two glass vases at a thrift store. One was $2.49 and the other I believe was $4.99. Thick, square like the one already on my shelf that I paid $150 at Pottery Barn several years ago. Love it.

I am super impressed with all the great deals but I have to say, Spanish wins the prize!

at least so far.

spanish...THAT dress is A M A Z I N G !

kwsi...Cashmere! NICE!

Kath....yes. Prices are more than double. It's good to find a price you'd have paid a year ago.

JustDoIt....That's a great bargain!

SueB....awesome little table!

LoneJack...Beef has been low priced "here". Everyones giving up beef.

Spanish - Gorgeous dress. Over the years I have found some fabulous items in our local thrifts but nothing like that. Great find!

@jill302 this was at the rando SA on Lemon in Anaheim. I found Manolo’s for $12.99 at the GW on State College and Lincoln a while back. Crazy!

Spanish, are you a shopaholic? :-) Nice deals! I remeber a while back someone here gave her mom’s mink away, did you get that one?

$8.95 at a thrift store. I brought it for the canvas and planned on painting over it. But I kind of like it.

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@summersrhythm_z6a Ha! My ebay ID includes ”shopaholic, but I sell vintage and designer clothing/shoes/accesaories as a side hustle. I have some extra time right now so I’m sourcing a little more than normal. Being a reseller means I’m not beholden to a single size, although I try and sell size 8+. I do remember chatting with someone about a mink, but didn’t wind up taking it. Can’t remember why.

Shopping is fun for sure. treasure hunt. :-)

I'm doing a long-overdue re-organization of my garage. I needed all sorts of garage hanging gadgets, so I went to Menards. It was during their rebate special... I had no idea what it was. The helpful cashier pointed to the bottom portion of my receipt. I'm getting 11% back!

Does that count as a bargain? I didn't realize Menards carried so much... stuff. They have a whole section of JR Watkins products.

Feathers, I take advantage of Menard's rebates often, despite the catch (what's the catch, you ask? The rebate comes in the form of a credit coupon that can only be used in Menard's.)

I buy things there often - for home repairs, furnace filters, garden stuff, even peanuts when they go on sale there - so I easily use up the rebate certificate.