Sweeps & Giveaways

May

Pack a Better Picnic: Albertsons Giveaway

Earlier this week, I received this beautiful picnic set courtesy of Albertsons…

Inspired by this and the beautiful Western Washington weather we’ve been enjoying, I decided to picnic on the beach with my two littles.

So I asked my Facebook pals about some good picnic ideas… and there were many… fried chicken, pasta salad, fruit, french bread, and peanut butter and jelly were just a few suggested. The overall theme was bright, light, fresh, and flavorful.

Building on this theme, I created a recipe. I’m going to call it Angela’s Mediterranean Bean Salad. (I’ve never had a bean salad named after me, so why not.)

The ingredients are few, and the prep takes about 2 minutes.

1 can great northern beans, rinsed (I used Essential Everyday – Albertsons’ brand)
1 vine-ripened tomato
1/4 cup jarred roasted peppers
good handful of fresh basil, shredded
pinch other herbs, fresh or dried (I used fresh sage, oregano)
drizzle of olive oil
salt & pepper, to taste

Isn’t that beautiful? I let mine chill in the fridge for a couple hours before our picnic. Just the perfect, light dinner I was craving. Also perfect because you’ll impress the other picnickers and they won’t be any the wiser it was cheap and quick to make.

I also packed some fresh berries (probably my favorite fruits!) and garnished with mint from my garden. (Wherever I can use mint, I often do.)

We found a nice spot of beach, next to a driftwood for our picnic. The cool thing about this pack? It comes with a blanket. Handy!

It also came with a side pouch to pack a bottle of wine. Since I was picnicking with the kids, sparkling cider it was!

Ah! A perfect picnic plate! My Mediterranean Bean Salad, Crusty Rosemary Bread (from Albertsons Bakery fresh today!) with olive oil and raspberry balsamic for dipping, hummus with jicama, cucumbers, and red pepper, and the berries…. perfect, cooling food for a hot day!

After our dinner, the kids played on the beach…

While I took in some hot Albertsons deals…

Oh! And let’s not forget dessert, shall we?

This is my non-dairy take on one of my favorite treats: rice pudding! Simply take a can of coconut milk and cook in some rice (I used Essential Everday Instant White Rice today – but long grain and jasmine are also excellent). I also like to throw in about 1/4 cup of raisins to plump up in the coconut liquid. Then add about 1/4 cup of sugar (I used raw) and season with about 1/2 tsp of cardammom and I added a few fennel seeds for interest. Once the rice is cooked (should be just a few minutes for the instant), remove from heat and add a touch of vanilla. I like mine chilled.

So one note here, lest you decide to replicate my lovely picnic on the beach. There is sand on the beach. And kids and sand and really pretty picnic food don’t always go together. In hindsight, I should have brought several picnic blankets or left the kids or maybe just sat on a table, but I had this idea in my head of dining on the beach and when I get ideas in my head, I’m not so inclined to let them pass….

Suffice it to say we had quite the fun with sand and both kids ended up promptly in the bath when we got home, plus the backpack and all its contents got a good cleaning out. Even so, I’ve half a mind to try this beachy picnic thing again for my husband’s birthday later this month as a date night. Wouldn’t that be lovely?

OK back to my rough life…

Enter the Giveaway

One lucky Coupon Project winner will receive the same picnic backpack set pictured above, along with lots of food to help get you started on packing a better picnic…

Some of the food items include Duncan Hines cake mix, MiO Water Enhancer, Cheez-its, Barilla pasta and pasta sauce, Hellman’s Mayonnaise, Snapple, Lipton Tea, and French’s Mustard. (And that’s just some!). I’m not sure what the total value of this package is, but I think it’s safe to say it’s well over $100 – a very generous prize courtesy of Albertsons.

To enter, leave a comment on this post that will serve as your official entry. For fun, I’ve love to hear where you’d picnic with your family or friends this summer and/or what you’d be likely to pick up at Albertsons to pack along! One entry/email per person, please. (Also, please note that sometimes when I run contests like these the comments go automatically into moderation. Please refrain from leaving a second comment until you are sure your comment has been approved and posted correctly.)

This contest will run one week and will end on Wednesday, May 23rd and the winner will be randomly selected at 12 pm PST.

Disclosure: Albertsons provided a picnic pack and the food pictured above along with a gift certificate for my review. They will be providing the same for one of my readers. No other compensation was provided. The opinions and concept for this post are my own. For more information on how this site makes money, please visit my Disclosure Policy.

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May

Create a Living Salad: Fred Meyer Gift Card Giveaway

Want an alternative to giving Mom a hanging floral arrangement this year? I have one for you: an edible arrangement!

Of course, you’ll want to start with a trip to your local Fred Meyer.

I found several long planters that were as low as $9.99. I opted for this shape over the smaller round ones. But there are truly so many options depending on your preferences and budget.

I found a pretty nice selection of vegetable and herb plants last week, being sold as a 6-pack for $3. That sale is over, but I’m seeing different garden items on sale every week now. You can always view Fred Meyer’s ad online (and sign up for their emails for special alerts) and follow Fred Meyer on Facebook to see what’s on sale. If you end up using shallow planters as I did, opt for plants with shallow root systems such as lettuces, strawberries, or herbs.

To give my planters a special touch, I picked up a couple of these sweet gnome planter stakes. They were $4 each, after 20% discount. Aren’t they adorable?

Start by filling your planter with good quality potting soil.

Space your plants out, making sure to leave some space – they will grow! For this planter, I mixed greens and purples for visual interest.

Add any stakes or decorative elements to tie it all together! You could also create your own stakes using spoons and mod podge. I left the plant care tabs in my box for future reference.

Here is my first planter: it contains roquette, purple mustard, and arugula. I had a few herb seeds handy, so I tucked in some cilantro and parsely in the bare spots. I bet in a month or so this planter will be bursting! All told, I spent about $25 for one planter. Consider too, that these plants may actually be incorporated into salads, smoothies, and sandwiches throughout the summer (and possibly, beyond!).

To keep it going, just snip the outside edges when you wish to eat them. This will encourage the plant to continue to grow. Because lettuces love shade, I’d probably move this out of the sun on hotter days. You could also possibly move it indoors and enjoy your own lettuces year-round!

Here’s another option:

Strawberries! I planted this in a zig-zag fashion in the same sized planter I used for the lettuce. Fred Meyer also carries strawberry pots which are basically taller containers with holes in the side that you can “pocket” the plants in.

Of course, you could also save some money by starting your plants from seed. I planted some red lettuce in this planter about three weeks ago now:

Here’s how our little deck garden looks right now:

We have the two planters from Fred Meyer, some boot planters I created for marigolds, and then I grabbed an assortment of containers I already had laying around, filled them with potting soil and seeds. One will be just flowers (for my daughter), the others have lettuce, herbs, spinach, and radishes just starting to sprout.

On these sunny days we’ve been getting, the kids and I will lay out a big picnic blanket on the deck and lunch by our little container garden.

I hope I’ve given you some ideas for how you could create a living salad/edible arrangement for your mom….or maybe just yourself.

Enter the Giveaway

Fred Meyer is graciously offering up a $25 Gift Card for one lucky Coupon Project reader. To enter, simply leave a comment on this post. For fun, I’d love to know how you use (or would consider using!) Fred Meyer for your gardening needs or to buy something special for your mom for Mother’s Day.

This contest will run through Monday, May 14th at 12 noon PM.

Limit one entry per person. Contest winner will be selected randomly and will be notified by email.

Disclosure: Fred Meyer supplied me with a gift card to conduct my review along with a gift card for the winner. No other compensation was provided. All opinions and concepts expressed are my own. For more information on how this site makes money, please visit the Disclosure Policy.

This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you support this site. Thank you!

May

Did you participate in the $0.81 challenge?

Last month, I asked for readers to consider participating in an $0.81 challenge. The deadline to complete the challenge was April 30th.

If you completed this, please email me any photo(s) and notes of what you did no later than Friday, May 11th for my wrap-up post and winner announcement. I can be reached at angela @ thecouponproject dot com.

I can’t wait to see what everyone did!

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Apr

HOT! Victoria Secret to give away $20,000 Cards 9am PST!

Such a great freebie! Everyday through April 15th, Victoria’s Secret will be giving away 20,000 Secret Rewards cards worth $10-$500! Today’s giveaway starts at 9am PST (um, that’s like in 20 minutes guys!). You’ll want to head to Victoria’s Secret Facebook Page once this deal goes live! Good luck!

Thanks, Couponing to Disney!

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Mar

Just Between Friends Sale $25 Gift Certificate Winners Announced!

There are two winners for the $25 gift certificates to Just Between Friends sale!

Congrats goes to….

Candace

Oh how I love JBF! Very well organized, best return on your consignment dollar, and great prices on high quality used clothing! Super looking forward to it! I have two kiddos and am working on a third, so I have lots to shop for!!

and….

Pam

Sounds like fun!

Congrats ladies! I will be emailing you shortly here with instructions on how to pick up your gift certificates.

For more information on this large consignment sale, please visit my announcement post on Just Between Friends from Monday.

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Mar

Just Between Friends Consignment Sale & $25 Gift Certificate giveaway (TWO winners!)

It’s time for another Just Between Friends sale is coming to the Puyallup Fairgrounds this weekend, Thursday, March 29th through Sunday, April 1st. With over 100,000 items to choose from, the Just Between Friends event is the largest consignment sale in the Puget Sound. Geared for parents and children, this event offers everything from maternity, toys, clothing, equipment, and more. And new to this year, they’ve added a day! In past years, the event has run Friday – Sunday. This year, it will start on Thursday.

This sale offers both the opportunity to sell your maternity, baby, and child -teen items or buy them! If you are interested to make some cash? Considersigning up as a consignor.

Here are some tips from the Tacoma sale Event Coordinator on shopping this unique event:

Bring reusable shopping bags!
Bring a laundry basket, storage bin, wagon or stroller to carry items (there is a hold area for large items).
Bring a friend or family member so that you can “divide and conquer” the huge sales floor.
Wear comfortable shoes so that you can get to the good deals quickly.
Shopping for Shoes: Trace your child’s foot (without socks) onto paper, cut out, and bring along!
Bring your child’s measurements and a tape measure to check the items you are buying.
Get a sitter for the kiddos so that you can shop with both hands free!

The Coordinator also shared this with me during a previous sale: ”JBF Moms have been known to get everything their child needs for the next 6 months for about $100!”

Schedule

Here is the schedule for the spring event:

Thursday, March 29th 8am – Noon (Pre-registered First Time Parents & Military Families) $2 Admission
Thursday, March 29th Noon – 8pm (Open to general public; $2 admission)
Friday, March 30th 11am – 7pm $1 Admission
Saturday, March 31st 9am – 5pm FREE Admission (most items 25% off)
Sunday, April 1st 8am – 2pm FREE Admission (most items marked to 50% off)

You can also download this coupon for free admission! Even better – there is FREE parking!

$25 sale gift certificate giveaway!

JBF has graciously offered up TWO $25 gift certificates to use at the sale!

If you are local and are planning on attending the Tacoma event at the Puyallup Fairgrounds, leave a comment to this post as your official entry. For fun, tell me why you’d like to attend this sale or what you’ve gotten out of it before. The giveaway will close this Wednesday, March 28th at 12pm PST and the winners will be randomly selected. Given the tight schedule on this one, please make sure to leave an email address I can contact you at quickly.

Good luck!

This post may contain affiliate links. When you use them, you support this site. Thank you!

Awesome sweepstakes = travel for 2 to ANYWHERE in the world!

March 21, 2012

I don’t generally share sweepstakes on the site, but this one caught my eye today. Perhaps it’s because I’ve been dreaming, pining for a vacation. So check out this hot sweepstakes UPS is offering = the Grand Prize is for a trip for 2 to ANYWHERE in the world ($30,000 in travel expenses) + $5,000 [...]

6 comments Get the full scoop! →

The $0.81 Challenge: Readers invited to join & win!

March 19, 2012

I recently shared how I received an AMAZINGLY AWESOME check for $0.81 in the mail. And I began thinking about how easy it is to write it off as being a few pennies. But those of us that coupon should know that even a dollar has the potential to stretch much further than that with [...]

41 comments Get the full scoop! →

Winner of Eat your Green! $25 Contest

March 19, 2012

The winner of the $25 Fred Meyer or Amazon gift certificate for eating some green on St. Patrick’s Day is…. Jennifer!! I am making authentic green enchiladas for dinner tonight – yum!! We serve it with green cabbage also. I try to get a green food in each dinner! Congrats, Jennifer – and watch your [...]

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Don’t Wear Green, EAT Green = St. Patty’s Day Giveaway!

March 16, 2012

Growing up, I used to always look forward to those Shamrock Shakes at McDonald’s. But when I went to McDonald’s website I discovered these shakes pack a whopping 540 calories, and 16 grams of fat! The 88 grams of carbs are probably not from whole grain either. Yikes. So I would like to offer an [...]

124 comments Get the full scoop! →

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