Christmas MP3 Madness, aka, free-and-legal falalalala-lalalala, Rosie Thomas to Mannheim Steamroller to Lady Gaga!

Amazon is flooding us with great free Christmas music, so rather than listing it all I'll just give you a few of my favorites and then let you take it from there. I'd recommend starting with downloads of:
Rosie Thomas with "Why Can't it Be Christmastime All Year",
Sixpence None the Richer with "Silent Night",
Leigh Nash with "Wishing for This",
Jars of Clay with "God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen",
Frank Sinatra with "It Came Upon A Midnight Clear",
Mannheim Steamroller with "Pat A Pan",
Tori Amos with "Snow Angel",
Point of Grace with "Winter Wonderland", and
Lady Gaga with "Christmas Tree"
(Seeeeee I told you it was a flood of great music... or at least entertaining, in the case of the last track. ;P) From there, just scroll down a bit on whatever page you're on, until you see the "Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought" box. Use the arrows to flip through and find a ton more free holiday downloads. Note that this is the box under "Customers Who Bought This Item's Album Also Bought," because those are full album referrals, and hence full cost too.

Also be sure to check out Amazon's 25 Days of Free page too, for a new Christmas MP3 daily.

Then snag an acappella track of Tonic Sol-Fa singing "On This Christmas Night", courtesy of Blue Bunny ice cream.

Courtesy of Blondie, we also have a great rocked-out (but not toooo rocked-out) version of "We Three Kings". If they're done just right, revamps of Christmas carols like this often turn into favorites for me.

For more of what 3hive calls "more or less Christmas music," check out their 3some: Xmas 2009 post for 11 really great, unique seasonal MP3s. These are Must Haves, I promise!! But if you're afraid of commitment when downloading artists you don't know, you can use their handy music player to stream the tracks before you download. And you will download, I'm pretty sure, when you hear how great they are. ;)

iTunes is worth checking out right now too! There's an upbeat, sprightly Christmas tune from none other than Bob Dylan, and an awesome (non-holiday) music video from Beck and Charlotte Gainsbourg, and the other weekly freebies are fairly decent as well.

Have fun, and happy holidays!
1

Printable Whole Foods Coupons! aka, and all the organic coupon clippers say "AMEN!"

This is just quick side-note to say that my latest email newsletter from Whole Foods included a link to their brand-squeaky-new printable coupon page! *ooooooh ahhhhhh*

To be perfectly honest, I've done a lot of price checking at Whole Foods recently and I have to say, if Publix or Kroger carries an equivalent organic item, you'll want to buy it there. That way you don't have to comfort your sobbing wallet all the way home from the store. But for selection Whole Foods can't be beat... there are many things they carry that you would never find at a typical grocery store, so having store coupons on those items rocks the house! Whole Foods even gives out store coupons periodically for completely free items, and it's hard to beat the sheer awesome of that. (Hey, whoever-who-runs-Whole-Foods, thanks for the post-Thanksgiving free bacon!)

Don't forget, you can also find organic/natural printable coupons on these sites:
Mambo Sprouts
Eating Well
Delicious Living

Also check manufacturer's sites for your favorite brands -- my favorites for printable coupons include Laura's Lean Beef, Stonyfield Farm, and Organic Valley.

Lastly! Right now you can find not only the $1/1 Muir Glen organic tomato coupon I mentioned recently, but also a Luna bar "buy two get one free" and a Special K blueberry cereal $1/1 coupon at coupons.com. *Hint* If you don't see them, enter zipcode 08122. Hurry! All three of these coupons have already reached their print limit under other zipcodes.

*Note: Coupons.com is an affiliate for me -- if you click on one and print coupons, not only do you save money, but you help me save towards a wedding! ;P I mean, every little bit helps, right? If you would rather use a non-affiliate link for any reason, you can access the site here instead: coupons.com.


0

Good Eats the Thriftie Way: Free Organic Canned Tomatoes Reminder!

Once upon a time, a long time ago, I mentioned in a monthly budget update that $1/1 Muir Glen coupons can score shoppers of the Organic Mindset and/or Thriftie Persuasion some cheap or even free organic tomatoes. Well, it just so happens that the coupon I mentioned then is available again this month on coupons.com, hurrah! Most recently at Publix this coupon resulted in tomato paste for .09 and diced fire-roasted tomatoes for .59, so even if you don't normally eat organic it's well-worth your while... Muir Glen also makes killer tomato sauce, so no matter what you pick it's pretty much yum all around.

My newest budget challenge is feeding my boyfriend fiance and myself (we live separately but do our grocery shopping together) on $40 a week... and yes, that would include lunches for work. We've got a wedding to save for now, so I'm going to be stepping it up a notch. ;P Further Thriftie updates on will be forthcoming, and until then, enjoy some free organic tomato products!

*Note: The links above are affiliate link -- if you click on one and print coupons, not only do you save money, but you help me save towards a wedding! ;P I mean, every little bit helps, right? If you would rather use a non-affiliate link for any reason, you can access the site here instead: coupons.com
1

Salada Tea Green Spotlight! *bows*


Wow! Salada Tea has chosen my environmental efforts as the Green Spotlight of the Month! I am flattered and flabergasted at having been so chosen, and I am pleased to say that their write-up makes me sound ever so much cooler than I actually am, haha! I have huge respect for Salada's emphasis on environmental responsibility, and can't wait to try many more varieties and flavors of their tea... Did I mention that the prize for being chosen is a year's supply of Salada Tea and a BPA-free water bottle?? LOVE IT!

Quick quick, go check it out! Trot over to the Unbottle Your Tea website, and click on the Green Spotlight icon in the lower right hand corner. There you will see yours truly *bows*, have the opportunity to share your own "green" story, and even print off a tea coupon! If you don't have a green story yet, then you really need to get on that... individual efforts really do make a difference! Check out this recent All Things Considered report if you don't believe me. :)

Thank you again Salada Tea! I will strive to continue my green efforts in a manner becoming of a Green Spotlight Receipient. ;P
0

An engaging Black Friday... aka, my boyfriend proposed!!

*ahem* All eyes over here please, big news coming up...

A week ago Friday, my boyfriend proposed!!

(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Yes, it happened on Black Friday, and yes later we went out to buy him a video game... I figure fair is fair. ;P As for me, no shopping necessary thanks, I was quite good. (pictures to come of my gorgeous ring and hottie fiance soon!!)

I feel incredibly blessed to be engaged to my love, and my mind is still a little boggled as I try to write about it... but we're so happy and excited! We would greatly appreciate your prayers as we begin this new stage of life, and start hammering out wedding plans among other things.

This post feels entirely inadequate for such big news, but I'm sure the topic will come up plenty in the coming days and weeks. ;P I'll be posting photos in a day or so...!
7
Back to Top