Halloween Hub

Halloween is my favorite holiday. It is the one day of the year you can dress up as someone else and not get strange looks.

Considering the amount spent by Americans on Halloween each year, I'm not alone.

You can find some costume how-tos as well as information on Halloween events in the following links:

Top Halloween Costumes for 2012
South Jersey Halloween Parades
Witch Costume How-to
Pirate Costume How-to
Superhero (Justice League & Avengers!) Costumes How-to
Ninja Costume How-to


For even more ideas, check out my Pinterest Halloween board!

What are my kids dressing up as for Halloween this year? One will be a ninja, while the other will be Cubby, a Neverland pirate.

Jersey Diva

I recently got to interview WWE Diva A.J. Lee to promote Raw coming to Trenton. It was fun chatting with the "geek goddess" about comics, video games and, of course, wrestling.

The article was published in The Trentonian today, and you can read it here:
Jersey native A.J. Lee living the dream as WWE Raw GM

And, if you like that article, you may like these, too:
WWE’s Dolph Ziggler set to make a mark on 1,000th Raw
Million Dollar Dad: DiBiases stay close through busy wrestling careers
Mt. Laurel man going for American Ninja Warrior title

Sam and Julia?

Something neat happened last week. A recipe I submitted to CBS Local Media was selected to be published in their Gridiron Grub series!

In September, contributors were asked to create recipes and the best would be published, with two being published each week throughout the football season. Since football season overlaps with apple season and I am a Giants fan, I thought a burger with apple in it would be a great idea.

My husband and I worked together to make the burgers (I gave him the ingredients, he did his thing on the grill) and the burgers turned out being incredibly juicy. After an initial taste test, we decided which toppings would work best with pure flavor of the new burger.

While I may not be ready to tackle all of Julia Child's recipes, I was pretty proud of the fact that a recipe I created was published for visitors of all the CBS Local sites to try to recreate themselves that weekend.

Ready to try my Big Apple Burgers? Find the article here: Gridiron Grub: Big Apple Burgers

Also, check out a few of my other articles published on CBS Philly's site:
Top Playgrounds In Philadelphia
Baby Nurseries 101: Setting It Up Right In Your Philadelphia Home
Family Guide To The AC Airshow

The Month Ahead: October

There are free (and nearly free) things to do every month in South Jersey. Check this calendar (and the weekly articles listed below) for events near you.

Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Oct. 1-7
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Oct 8-14
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Oct. 15-21
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Oct. 22-28
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Oct. 29-Nov. 4

To add an event, email me at sjfrugalfamily@yahoo.com.

The Month Ahead: September

There are free (and nearly free) things to do every month in South Jersey. Check this calendar (and the weekly articles listed below) for events near you.

Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Aug. 27-Sept. 2
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Sept. 3-9
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Sept. 10-16

To add an event, email me at sjfrugalfamily@yahoo.com.

$5.06

Like many of you, I have spent the last couple of weeks shopping for new school season. This year, I'm shopping for two for the first time since my little one is starting Kindergarten.

Fortunately, the boys didn't need much clothing-wise, but I did need to shop for a majority of the school supplies on the list. (I usually save unused and gently used items from the previous year to reuse the next year.)

Today's shopping trip to Target was my grand finale. I had the supplies and new socks for both left on my list. My grand total for the trip? $5.06.

I saved some money on items on sale, like both packs of socks, the highlighters (he only needed one, though-- saving for future school needs), the pencil box and the tape. I also saved 5 cents by using a reusable bag to tote my purchase home.

My subtotal was $19.75. Thanks to an earlier deal to earn a Target gift card with purchase of an item, I redeemed a $5 gift card. Then, I showed the cashier my phone which had a $10 Target gift card on it from Shopkick and redeemed that. I paid with my Target card, adding 24 cents to my savings.

Even though the lady behind me seemed a little annoyed with my various forms of payment, I felt the joy of one those coupon ladies on television. Not only did I save all that money, but I had finally crossed off all the items my kids need-- that is until the first day of school and the teacher hands over an additional list...

Somehow, I found the time to write a little bit between scouting and shopping trips. In case you missed it, here's the line-up:

Back to School: Consignment stores offer savings on popular styles
County fair provides free family fun this weekend
Night Out events promote safety in local communities
Free haircuts available for young students going back to school


As always, thanks for reading!

The Month Ahead: August

There are free (and nearly free) things to do every month in South Jersey. Check this calendar (and the weekly articles listed below) for events near you.
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: July 30- Aug. 5
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Aug. 6-12
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Aug. 13-19
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Aug. 20-26
Wallet-friendly family activities in South Jersey: Aug. 27-Sept. 2

To add an event, email me at sjfrugalfamily@yahoo.com.