Hot! Hot! Deals!

How many of you could use a good deal? With the price of gas soaring this summer, I thought it would be nice to post some money-saving shopping tips in the food and clothing arena (and just a few of my current "favorites"). I cannot speak to stores or vendors outside the Waco area--sorry to all you out-of-town readers!

1. Every Wednesday TCBY offers a large waffle cone of yogurt for .99 cents. It's a super deal and super yummy.

2. This is one heck of a deal. Monday nites at Carinos is order a family size (grandioso) meal and pay the price of a solo dish, plus all the bread and salad you can eat for free! You can order take out, but you'll only be able to get up to three bread and salads. Our entire family ate for $12 last week and even had enough left overs for lunch the next day!

3. Here's the scoop (snicker, snicker!): Several nites each week, BR has a great special for your family.

--Tuesday: get a kids scoop for $1 or adult scoop for $1.50, 5pm to 10pm

--Wednesday: buy one Sundae get one free, 5pm to 10pm

--Thursday: all day long buy one beverage get one free

4. Who on earth doesn't know about Happy Hour from 2-4pm? Sonic is also running a special on .99 cent shakes.

5. I could spend my entire non-existent paycheck in this store. Old Navy is having a great Summer Lovin' Sale, which is especially wonderful in the kids department. I got a couple of dresses for Landrie and Emerie for $6.99 and all bathing suits are $10.

6. Okay, so this isn't exactly a sale, but this shirt from Target is one of my favorites right now. It's called a Slub shirt by Merona. Typically, I'm not a fan of Target clothing (especially Merona) nor am I a fan that someone in marketing thought that "Slub" would make a good name for this shirt. However, I purchased this shirt in zephyr blue for $9.99 and let me tell you....it is so comfortable! It fits like a tiny fit shirt, but doesn't show the belly bulge that I've developed since birthing three children and eating ice cream every afternoon at 4pm, Carinos each Monday nite, and indulging in Sonic's happy hour.

6. Okay, this is total heaven for me.....Bitten is Sara Jessica Chain-Smoking Parker's new clothing line. Did you see her on Oprah? All of the pieces in her line are $19.98 or less, which is right up my alley. Her line is carried in Steve and Barry's department stores....ever heard of it? Me neither. I was searching for store locations, since you can't order anything off the website. But would you believe there is a Steve and Barry's store in Temple and Killeen (and of course, several in the DFW area). I took a "mommy break" last weekend (thanks, Honey!) and visited the store in Temple. EVERYTHING in the store was $8.98 or less. Kid you not. I will say the customer service was extremely low (think Wal-Mart) but I found some decent pieces that I'm excited about wearing this fall. The thing with SJP is that the article of clothing by itself is not that special....it's how she puts it together. If you plan on visiting this store, I strongly suggest visiting her website to see how she pulled together an outfit by mixing and matching pieces. A black dress becomes more than a black dress when you add a wide belt, a pin striped button down, and a great pair of shoes.

So I think this is enough information for now. If you have any "hot deal" tips, please share them in my comments section. Every penny saved is a penny more towards your next clothing purchase.....