Neutrogena Products

Image from Neutrogena website.

It has occurred to me that my "food blog" has shown more savings on beauty products than it has shown deals on food. But I think I have explained before that most of the food that you can purchase with coupons is stuff that is so processed that I won't eat them. I feel good about saving money on non-food items so that I can spend more money on good meats or vegetables. A quote I have seen on Twitter lately from Danielle Omar: "Those who think they have no time for healthy eating, will sooner or later have to find time for illness.” ~ Edward Stanley." Same goes with money. Spend some money now on good food so you won't be spending so much money later on healthcare.

So this post is all about Neutrogena products. Growing up with an uncle who was a dermatologist, I became aware of how the products are highly regarded by doctors. He used Neutrogena for his shampoo and his face cleansar. A few of my current co-workers swear by the Neutrogena hand cream. My personal favorite over-the-counter skin care product is Cetaphil but Neutrogena is a close second. This is a great week to stock up on these products if you are a fan. CVS has them on sale for Buy one Get one 50% off. The Sunday paper had several coupons that gave you $1 to $2 off certain products (you can also find coupons on their website under "Special Offers." You can use coupons to save even more money at CVS. In addition to that, Neutrogena.com is offering a $10 rebate if you spend $30 on their products from January 8 - February 8. I will be stocking up on my favorite product, Alcohol-Free Toner.

Happy Shopping!

Finding Julia

When I first moved to Washington, D.C., I had a list of things I wanted to do. It was like I was a tourist and only had a limited amount of time here ( I guess I didn't think I would live here for over six years). On this list, I wanted to see Julia Child's kitchen at the National Museum of American History. Within the first month, I accomplished it. If you haven't seen this kitchen, you are missing out on a charming sight (The exhibit will close January 8, 2012 ). Knowing that her husband Paul built a wall, and traced the shapes of the pans on the wall to keep her organized, just warms my heart.

There is so much about Julia to admire. I think part of the reason I love her is because as a young girl, she was tall and awkward and yet she grew into a woman who charmed people with her talent and her humor. Having been an awkward young girl myself, it was encouraging to know that life can get better as you age.

Amazon has her episodes of The French Chef from the 1960's available to view and if you are an Amazon Prime member, viewing them is free. There are seven seasons of the show and they are great. She shows us everything from scallops to pastry to Tarragon chicken. She is so charming and you can see the things she struggled with in camera (very different than cooking shows you see now.). She has great techniques and doesn't need a bunch of gadgets to cook.

The episodes are really entertaining and are inspiring me to do a little more complex French cooking. They are worth the time spent to watch the original cooking show star.

The photo shown below is a little slanted because it is a shot of my Kindle Fire while it is playing the show.

Shopping At Wegmans

It surprises me when people tell me that they have not shopped or heard about Wegmans. Wegmans is a food lovers theme park. They have everything and are known to have knowledgable employees. They send their butchers to seminars about meat so that they are up to date with what is new in butchering. I especially like shopping there because Wegmans is known to have high ratings in employee satisfaction. I support businesses that work to make employees happy in their workplace. They also have a huge prepared foods section where you can get anything from sushi to fried chicken to raw oysters. Before spending hours roaming their aisles, I suggest you fuel up.

DC is lucky to have several locations within an hours drive. Marshall and I visited the one in Fairfax, VA. Though most of the prices on products at Wegmans is about the same as you can find at local supermarkets, they have such a wide selection of products that you will find exceptionally good deals.

For instance, Gold Bond body wash is a new product and I have $2 off coupons for them but could not find them at Harris Teeter or Target. They had them at Wegmans on sale for $5.49. With the coupon, I paid $3.49 for each. Not an Extreme Couponing deal but it was worth it for me to get a quality product for my dry skin this winter.

A great body lotion deal was on Jergens 12.5 oz bottles. On sale for $2.49 each + a coupon for $3 off 2 bottles = $.99 for each bottle.

Another great deal is the Revital Lens contact cleaning solution. They had travel size boxes for $3.99 and I had three $3 off coupon (no limit on sizes). Got each box for $.99. I have not seen these boxes at other stores. Perfect for my trips to visit family.

Another product I have not found is Ivory body wash. A 12 oz bottle is $1.99 + $.20 off coupon doubled (Wegmans will double any coupon that is $.99 or less). A bottle was only $1.59.

For the ladies, I can recommend their makeup aisle. They had lots of brand name mascaras and lip glosses on sale and with $1 off coupons that can be found in Sunday papers, they would have been a steal. I held back from buying them because I cleaned up when CVS had their clearance and am set on makeup for awhile.

If you have not been to Wegmans, a trip is highly recommended. Their food prices are comparable to other supermarkets and you will find everything on your shopping list so a visit is worth it. Like other theme parks, I suggest going early in the day to beat the crowds.

Just a quick note that Harris Teeter has their Super Double coupon deal starting Wednesday, January 4th. Any coupon valued at $1.98 or less will be doubled (20 coupon limit). Have fun shopping!