Some Days You Just Win

It's been a rather amazing day.  We went into Ottawa, and stopped to eat at The Lone Star. We have never been there before, but right now they are running a two for one Brunch special. Well, I always figure, if one of you gets to eat for free, there is no sense looking at the price side of the menu, so I had the Country Fried Steak, with fried potatoes, 2 eggs, beans and toast.  Oh, and let's not forget the free dish of tortilla chips and salsa they put on your table the minute you arrive.  Hubby had the Cowboy breakfast, which has 3 eggs, potatoes, beans and toast, and chose the sausages to go with that.  Since my meal was $2 more than his, it was his that got deducted from the bill.  I have a birthday coming up, but life is getting in the way of celebrating it at that time, so I wanted to do something a little different this year, and chose to go to the Lone Star for a meal.  I'm glad I did, and I'm sure we'll go back again sometime.  There is still another week to catch this, so get yourself over there next Saturday!

We went from there to the mall, where I made a small purchase at the drug store, and dug out a couple of my freebie coupons to cash in while I was at it.  I got the Lindt Swiss Classic and a bag of Doritos, both for free.  I have mentioned winning both of these coupons in previous posts.

While at the mall I went looking for shoes. I need new runners, or, to be more specific,  New Balance walking shoes. They also need to be well ventilated.  I could not find any in my size but while looking my hubby managed to find a pair of dress shoes with genuine leather soles.  He's been looking for such shoes for many years, without success.  He purchased them today, at a full 40% off.

We then went over to Leon's, to present our Visa card and get a rebate because an appointment they made with us was not kept.  I'll tell you the rest of that story when it comes to a conclusion, but so far, I cannot complain about how we have been treated. They are going out of their way to make us happy and I believe things will work out well in the end.

So, though we spent a bit of money though out the day, we actually came out ahead in the end.  Maybe I should have bought a lottery ticket today, just to finish it off right.

Catching up on the Freebies

Did you miss me last week? Friday got away on me somehow, but I did get something in the mail. I'll just include it in this batch as I tell you what has arrived since the last time I reported in.

I received an envelope from Marc Angelo, with a coupon for a dollar off any of their products. I had just finished eating a lovely barbequed bacon wrapped turkey breast. It was so good, I'm likely to use this coupon on another one of those.  As there is no expiry date on the coupon, I'll just hang on until they go on sale again.

I also received a coupon for $3.49 off an Lindt Swiss Classic 100g chocolate bar.  That likely makes it free. I won that during a contest they had online. This is just in time as I had just one bite of the last one I won left when the coupon arrived, and it's totally gone now.  Yes, I like chocolate, but one bite is usually enough to satisfy my craving, so a chocolate bar this size can last me a few months.

The Nivea people sent me a couple of samples, along with some coupons too.  The samples are from their Aqua Effect line. They sent Mattifying Day Care, which moisturizes and controls shine, and a Purifying Cleansing Gel, which deeply cleans pores.  That appears to be a new product.  There is apparently also a Purifying Toner available, to use between these two, and one of the coupons offers $5 off if I purchase all three products.   Otherwise, the other coupon is just $1 off if I I buy only one product.  At the moment, I'm too well stocked on facial products to even consider using these coupons.

There was also a big envelope in my mail this week, and when I got home I was surprised to find a complimentary copy of Chatelaine in it, along with a bookmark.  It seems they are trying to coax me back.  I do hope some of the other magazines try this tactic.  Actually free magazines often work well with me, as you may have noticed in a previous post.