Happy Sunday Guys!

What was everyone up to this weekend?

Thursday night I met up with my bestie at Studio Movie Grill to go see Amy Schumer's new flick I Feel Pretty.

If you haven't seen a preview for it, it's about a woman who struggles with self esteem and is cast into a spell after falling off her bike at Soul Cycle and hitting her head. When she comes to she sees a dreamlike model version of herself whenever she looks in the mirror, though of course nothing in reality has changed. Think Shallow Hal, but reversed.

I have a love/hate relationship with Amy. There are definitely funny parts, though most of them I had already seen from the trailer. Michelle Williams's character annoyed us to no end, and I felt I spent most of the movie uncomfortable rather than entertained. I'm always happy to support women however so I don't regret seeing it, I think I just set my expectations a bit too high for this one.

Friday was a long day at work, so we stayed home for a Netflix and Chill night with leftovers.

Saturday we had planned to take the girls to the dog park, but woke up to pouring rain instead (much to Bacon's dismay). We ended up spending most of the day working (we both work from home), then went out for sushi as an early dinner/late lunch.

Today was absolutely gorgeous out so while the dog park was still too muddy, we were at least able to take the girls for a 2.5 mile walk. I'm slowly getting back into a workout routine and as everyone knows the first few days of doing so are the worst.

The rest of the day was spent doing my usual meal planning for the week followed by a coffee/grocery run. Most of my planning revolves around the coupon apps I use, so I thought I would share those today. That way all of you could get the high from saving money that I do!

***Import disclaimer- This blog does not have any sponsors therefore all opinions, product/app/brand mentions, etc are my own. If we do someday have a sponsor, then I will make note of that before referencing any of their products. Cool? Cool. Moving on ;-)

These are the 3 (FREE!!) money saving apps I use:

1) Wal Mart Savings Catcher- Did you know that on the Wal Mart app, they have a section called the Savings Catcher? What this does is allows you to scan your receipts in and they automatically check deals from other stores in your area to price match your purchased items. If they find that a different store offered something cheaper than what you paid, they will credit you the difference into a virtual e-gift card. You can keep track of your balance online and redeem it either in store using Wal Mart Pay or when shopping online.

This has saved me $75 since I started doing it! It takes 2-3 business days for the results to come back from your receipts but it's worth it. I usually wait until I have $20 and then redeem it for dog food. They do all the research for you, so it's really throwing money away not to.

2) Target Cartwheel App- On Target's app, they have something called Cartwheel. You enter in the Target location you frequent the most, and every week it updates for you with the different sales and coupons for that particular store. Add whichever sale items to your list you plan to purchase, then present the cashier with the barcode in the app which they scan at checkout. The machine will immediately apply those discount codes and update your total right there at the register. (So essentially the app is really just a virtual coupon).

I recently became a Target Red member (which was free, I don't have a Red card), and I believe as you shop it accumulates a certain percentage back of that in which you can later redeem towards a future purchase. Currently I only have $1.40 saved but hey, every little bit helps. And since I've started using Cartwheel I've saved a total of nearly $53. Not too shabby!

3) Checkout 51- The third and final app I use is called Checkout 51. This one was introduced to me by my friend Brenda who lives in Canada. Each week, new product deals are added and you add whichever ones you plan to purchase to your list. Be sure to carefully read the fine print as some offers are only valid at certain stores, or certain products only for a certain size, etc.

Once you purchase said products, you upload a copy of your receipt as proof for them to check. After they verify everything, they credit you back whichever amounts you claimed that were approved. For example, today they had a deal for me to get $3 back if I purchased two bags of Community Coffee (the kind we normally drink everyday). They were on sale at Target for $4.99 each, so I bought them and uploaded my receipt to the Checkout 51 app. Once it gets approved, the $3 gets credited to my account balance and essentially I will have only paid $7 for what normally costs $12 not on sale. Double win!

Each time your balance reaches $20, you can ask to redeem it and they send you a check. It's pretty awesome.

I hope you find these helpful, and please if you use something I haven't mentioned tell me! Who doesn't love a great bargain?

Speaking of bargains, the recipe I want to share with y'all today is one of my favs! It's incredibly easy, super affordable, and will feed you for days and days; my crockpot salsa chicken!

You can use it for tacos, enchiladas, nachos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, soups, chili, the possibilities are endless.

Here's what you do:

Start with your favorite jar of salsa.

Add a thin layer of it (1/3 of the bottle) into a crockpot.

Add boneless, skinless chicken thighs next.

Side note- feel free to use breasts if you aren't a fan of thighs. I find them more flavorful, but I've used breasts before too and liked it just as much.

Now add in your seasonings.

Drizzle of olive oil, salt and pepper, red chili flake to taste (optional), and a BUTT TON of Adobo (the kind with the red lid).

Seriously. Shake, shake, shake until you think you've gone a bit too far and the chicken looks like it was coated in flour. That's when you know you got it right.

See what I mean?

Now add in minced garlic for an extra flavor kick. You can be conservative and add 2-3 cloves, but in case you hadn't noticed yet garlic and I are tight.

I use the ratio of one clove per thigh, so mine ends up looking like this:

Now all you do is simply pour the rest of the salsa right over the top.

Pop on the lid and cook on high for 3 hours, then bump down to low another 3 or until it starts to shred itself.

Boom! Wonderfully versatile chicken full of flavor and ready for whatever you have in mind. I typically serve it over rice with some melted cheese and green onions.

And now I am going to kick back and enjoy the last few remaining moments of my weekend with a facial sheet mask.

This is a little Sunday tradition I started and sort of love, as it gives me something to look forward to before my dreaded Monday morning alarm.

I've tried all kinds of masks and so far nothing tops my love of the Sephora brand. A lot of people rave about K-Beauty products as well, so I purchased these off amazon and they are okay for now. (Pictured is Maple dog who is modeling these for you fine folks).

In this brand I've tried the Bamboo, Grape, Strawberry, and Red Ginseng ones, all of which felt remarkably the same. One of the ones I haven't tried from this pack yet is Bee Venom and to be honest? I am beyond terrified of putting that on my face. I may not be brave enough, but only time will tell. I'll report back.

Tonight's mask will be this one that was half off in my Cartwheel app today!

All the more reason to love those apps.

I hope you find some time today to relax, and wish you smooth sailing into the new week.

Until next time friends, take care and eat well.

<3 Elyse