Thought this one was worth mentioning…

Have you noticed those borderline-disturbing new JCPenney commercials where everyone is screaming “NO” at the top of their lungs?

What does it all mean?

Well.

Apparently beginning on 2/1/12 JCP is going to be slashing merchandise prices – hardcore.  Prices will be slashed, not as part of a sale, but down to new “Every Day” prices.

While JCP will still hold seasonal sales on different items, their regular sales will basically cease to exist, the thought being that new price tags will reflect sale-worthy prices… all the time.

There’s nothing more frustrating than buying a new pair of jeans for $30 on Monday only find them on sale for $18 on Wednesday, right?

Here’s an example of how this will work: instead of finding a shirt at JCP that retails for $14.99 and goes on a sale cycle throughout the month, expect to find it for an “Every Day” price of $7.

You can read all the details here.

What do you think about this strategy?  Good?  Bad?

Okay.

Yesterday we took a trip to the mall – more of a “let’s-get-the-kids-out-of-the-house-and-just-walk-around” type trip with my friend Amy.  We found some nice deals at Disney Store, enjoyed lunch, etc.

On the way out, we had to walk through JCP to get to our cars.  The big “UP TO 90% OFF” post-holiday clearance sign just happened to catch my attention and you know I had to check it out.  I mean, it would just be wrong not to, right? 

Turned out that I found 2 INCREDIBLE toy deals that I just couldn’t pass up…  I have been on the fence about replacing Lily Bean’s plastic kitchen set with a nicer, sturdier wooden one, but the pricetag has always stopped me.  Along the same lines, I have always wanted to get a workbench set for the playroom – she LOVES to help Biker Bob with building and fixing.

So -

I found these wooden Treehaus sets at JCP yesterday.  We already have a few of their wooden toy food sets and LOVE the quality (in my opinion they definitely rival Melissa and Doug).

Here’s what I found:

Treehaus wooden kitchen set
List price – $179.99
Selling on JCP.com right now – $100
Price I paid: $25

Treehaus wooden workbench set
List price – $149.99
Selling on JCP.com right now – $80
Price I paid: $30

$55 + tax for BOTH!!!!!!

If you are in the market for either of these items, consider stopping into your local JCP to see if they have any. These prices are better than what I would pay for USED versions at a consignment sale.

YIPPEE!!!

Stopped in to our local Disney Store today – we already happened to be at the mall so we popped into the Disney Store to look for cheap Disney World souvenirs.

There were some good sales on various princess dolls, etc.

But the best finds that we encountered were in the back of the store – some serious clothing clearance deals!  Our store had a bunch of $5.99 sleepwear.

I also took advantage of the 2 for $10 drink bottle sale ($8.50 regular price) and found a cute princess shirt for $7 ($16.50 regular price).

We saved 50% on today’s trip!

Yesterday I had the chance to stop by my local Disney Store - they are holding their Twice Upon a Year Sale in stores AND online and select merchandise is marked up to 50% off… there are some GREAT deals!

One that caught my interest in particular was a big display of character shirts.  These are PERFECT to take on your Disney Parks visit.  I like to pick them up on discount, pack them in our bags and surprise Lily Bean with them when we arrive.  She loves wearing these shirts whether we are home or traveling – they are comfy and cute.  (And they will be WAY cheaper than waiting to purchase them from a park gift shop!)

In fact, she already has the Snow White shirt in this picture.  She loves it SO much that I bought one in a bigger size. 

There were a TON a shirts for $6.99/each.  Regular price is $12.50 and sometimes they will go on sale for 2 for $10, so $6.99 is a great deal.

There are several of these $6.99 shirts also available online – and be sure to shop through Ebates b/c you will earn an additional 5% cash back on your purchase.

Toss an item from the New Arrivals section into your cart to score free shipping with promo code SHIPNEW.

While supplies last – so check them out now!

I whipped up two of these adorable Berry and Evergreen Candle Centerpieces for our dining room table.  It could not get much more simple – they are beautiful and SO easy to make!

There are several advantages and then a bunch of disadvantages to living in your childhood home. You might think that it was a bonus when we purchased our house from my dad after my mom passed away AND IT CAME WITH an entire basement, storage shed, garage and large crawlspace full of 3 generations of family stuff. (Read: crap.)

Cue the dumpster.

We have owned the house for just over 5 years at this point and we are STILL making our way through the boxes and totes and bags of stuff. Now, don’t get me wrong – it’s not all trash. We have found some really awesome heirlooms and memories throughout all of this cleaning and purging. From my mom’s wedding dress to my very first pair of Winnie the Pooh sneakers – some really fun stuff to rediscover.

One of the collections that we did gain possession of was my mom’s Christmas decoration collection. That is a good thing and a bad thing. It’s good because there are definitely some pieces in those boxes that I really like and enjoy displaying around the house. Then there are the scary, ugly, beat up ornaments that I don’t want anywhere near our holiday merriment but I feel too guilty to throw away!

If I could have my holiday decorating wish come true, it would be to have the bankroll to instantly acquire a houseful of decor that was my style and looked great.

But that’s unrealistic. There’s no way I have the budget to blow on a ton of holiday decorations all at once.

So here is my plan: Every year, I am going to treat myself to 1-2 pieces of holiday decor to slowly add to my own collection. Each December we travel out to Harrisburg, PA for a HUGE holiday craft show. Finding that special decoration at the show is pretty much a given – the choices can be overwhelming!

Last year I solved the “I have no dining room table centerpiece” issue with this piece:

And just this past weekend I solved the “Thanks for building me a new mantel, Biker Bob, now what the heck am I going to decorate it” issue with this swag and a new wooden sign:

Yahoo!

Pair these with some of my other favorites that I have collected over the years – especially my Willow Tree Nativity Set – and I finally feel like I am on my way. The house is decorated in my own style without blowing my budget.

Now I’d love to know, how do you spread real cheer with your holiday decorating? Show me with your photos! Click “Add me” in the Cheer Tree below to upload your holiday decorating photos and share them with your Twitter followers and Facebook friends. Be sure to click on “Special Offers” to unwrap the hidden coupons and deals exclusively from Sears. Keep checking throughout the holidays–new deals are unlocked every day! For all your holiday decorating needs and solutions, don’t forget to visit Sears and discover real deals, real cheer!

This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Sears. The opinions and text are all mine.

On Sunday we did something that we haven’t done in MONTHS and MONTHS… we made time to check out a local consignment sale.  I can’t say it enough – consignment sales are one of the very very very best ways to save money on all things kid and baby… ESPECIALLY on clothes.  You can find absolute killer deals on gently used and/or worn kid stuff, like… unreal discounts.

Unless there is something that I really need or want to find, I like to treat consignment sales like treasure hunts.  There is no pressure to bring anything home, but I almost always find some great stuff.

Another tactic I like to use is shopping at sales that offer half off or discount sale days.  So this sale in particular offered a 50% off sale.  Tags that listed a “YES” next to discount were offered at half price.  This is where you can find some serious savings.

I have so much fun grabbing name brand (sometimes designer brand) clothes for Lily Bean at $1 (more or less) per article.  It makes me smile to think of how much less I paid than having purchased it in the store – PLUS if she destroys the outfit in the mud or a drive-by spaghetti sauce incident, it’s no big deal.

So!

We filled up two resuseable totes to the tune of just $29.  Here’s what we bought:

5 shirts + 1 shawl (includes 2 OshKosh, 1 Children’s Place, 1 Gymboree) – $7.50

5 pairs of pants (includes 1 pair of Levis and 1 pair from Old Navy) – $7

1 skirt + 1 dress (Lands’ End & Sophie Rose) – $4.50

Some randoms: CD wallet for Lily’s movies when we travel, pumpkin carving tools, Gymboree barrettes for my sweet niece – $3.50

Melissa and Doug ABC puzzle and Disney Princess ball (ie occupy-Lily-while-we-shopped ball) – $1.50

Remember how I told you that we saved a lot of money on Disney souvenirs?  One of the BIGGEST money savers for us at the parks was the elimination of souvenirs purchased on site.  I used post-holiday sales, online sales, etc to pick up fun Disney themed goodies throughout the year and took them to Disney with us.  Each night Lily was surprised by a different souvenir that I had picked up on the cheap.  Did she know or even care where they came from?  NOPE.  Was she thrilled?  YUP.

We are hoping to return to Disney next year, so I am already on the lookout for fun treats to throw in my souvenir bag.

2 princess books + 2 princess puzzles + 1 princess nail decoration pack – $5

So totally awesome!

What have been your best consignment sale scores?