Score!

Volunteered to give up my seat on my United flight. Was put on an Alaska Airlines flight scheduled to leave 1 hour, 45 min later. Given a voucher for $400!!! It will pay for most of my flight to Madison, WI for the State Street Review Reunion in September!!! Score!!!! 

Bonus: wasn't able to squeeze on a work out today, but it's all okay! Between running around at my apartment this morning, then running through two different terminals at the airport, I managed to get in over 7,000 steps. Not bad considering I hadn't really gone anywhere yet. :)

New Glasses!!

Just picked up my new prescription glasses that I ordered a couple of weeks ago.

The frames are pretty cool (I think). Dick helped me pick them out. You can tell from the photo, but the frames are blue and match my hair. :)

I usually only wear glasses when driving, at night, and when watching a movie or show, so if you never knew I wore glasses, that's why.

I also got the sunglasses clip for them, which is a first for me. We'll see how they work out.

I'm happy with the deal I got on them: the store is in my building, and offered 20% off frames for residents. On top of that, the whole shopping center offered a $50 gift certificate for any of the restaurants in the building if you spent a certain amount during the first two weeks of June. Score!

webTrina loves Banana Republic's Embark Program!!

So, it seems that Dick and I have discovered Banana Republic this year, since moving to Bellevue.
It's not that we didn't know about Banana Republic before, or that we'd never shopped there before, it just wasn't really on our radar.

Because of the move, we both needed some new clothes this year for the different seasons. Not much really, but it was a nice reason to freshen up the wardrobe.

I think a large part of the reason why I started noticing Banana Republic a lot more since the move is that we live very close to a mall here in Bellevue, and it's easy to go there just to stroll around. When we lived in San Francisco, we had great shops near us, both in the Castro as well as in Union Square, but we almost never shopped at malls. We had a lot of local stores in the Castro and the large, flagship stores (not in malls) in Union Square. Usually, when we were out shopping, we'd go out with very specific stores, rather than just browsing.

Since we live near the mall, and I often stroll around, I started to notice how often Banana Republic has pretty significant sales. I've always liked most of the clothes at Banana Republic, but frankly, it was usually too pricy for what I wanted to spend. I guess you can say that I'm upgrading from Old Navy, to The Gap, and now to Banana Republic. The quality is higher, and it's noticeable. Plus, I really only buy things on sale anyway (with the exception of some of the clothes that Dick buys), and as I said before, their sales are quite good. Remember this blog post from late July when I bought six articles of clothing at Banana Republic for $55 after tax? At this point, Banana Republic is on my bargain-hunter radar. Who knew?

On one of my trips to BR in late June, I signed up for their "Embark" program. In a nutshell, it's a free program that ensures that you get the best price for your purchase, within seven days. So, let's say I buy a top for $20 on a Saturday, and sometime that week, they have it on sale for $16 and another customer purchases the same item at the discounted price. If you've signed up for their program, that $4 will be credited to your Embark account. This goes for any item that you buy at BR - regular priced items, sale items, clearance items. Basically, it was a no brainer: it didn't cost any more, and it was just a little reassurance that I'd get a good deal, even after I left the store.

But, here's the thing: I had no idea how much money I would "earn" from the program.
After my first purchase after signing up, I received an email from BR telling me that two items I had purchased had been lowered in price within the next seven days, and that another customer had purchased them at the lower price. And just like that, I had a $23 credit in my Embark Account. This happened two more times over the next couple of months, and all of a sudden, I had $83.33 credit in my Embark Account!


Here is the list of items that I had purchased over three months at BR. You'll see the price I paid, the best price it had been offered at within the next seven days, and the amount of $$ that was credited to my Embark Account

You'll notice on this list that the Embark savings really varies. As I said, I buy most things on sale anyway, so one some items, I only received a buck or two of credit for the difference. However, I got a lot more $$ from other items which I had still bought on sale. However, the largest discount was on a shirt for Dick that we paid full price for. You'll see I earned $31.80 credit on that sale.

So, what does this Embark credit do for me? Banana Republic has special "Embark Days", which last a week two or three times a year. That means, all this credit that I've been saving since June can be spent now, during the first Embark Days, which lasts from Sept 25 - Oct 1st. (I marked my calendar!)

Here's the email I received from BR last week announcing Embark Days, and how much credit I had.


My Embark Credit

So, I went to the mall this afternoon, with the specific intent of going to BR to find an item or two that I could spend my Embark Credit on. $84 is a lot of money, and I'm not sure if goes away if I don't spend it during this allotted time.

It's always weird to shop in a store knowing you're supposed to buy something, rather than just browsing, or looking for something specific. Since it's Fall, I figured I could find a nice sweater. I have also been wanting a long decorative necklace that I can wear with sweaters. After trying on a few items, I got just that: one sweater, and one necklace.

The sweater was marked at $80, and the necklace for $40. This is a lot more than I would normally pay, but figured most of it was covered by my Embark credit, so it was okay to treat myself. Plus, that's the whole idea of these shopping programs, right? They give you some free money, and you end up spending more money since you're already shopping.

What I didn't know was that the store was having a 30% off all regular priced items sale today.

So... when I was rung up at the register, here's what happened:


the final tally

Yep, with the 30% off of my two regular priced items, the total came to $83.30.... and I was left with a mere 3 cents credit in my Embark account! I paid absolutely nothing.

That's crazy!!

So, to recap, I just got FREE clothes because of this program that gives me credit to use when any item that I buy at their store gets sold to another customer for a lower price within seven days.

Hmmm... I just noticed that the Embark Program is in select areas only. Maybe they're trying it out in a few areas before launching it in a wider area. Sorry, CA (and other) friends!


Participating Embark Banana Republic Stores

WebTrina Stikes Again: Bargains at Banana Republic

So, while I was at the Bellevue Arts Museum today, it started to downpour. I made the rookie move when I left home of believing my iPhone (liePhone) when it told me that the rain had stopped for the day. So, there I was wearing a white t-shirt, no jacket, and no umbrella. Rather than brave the wet and chilly weather home, I decided to cross the street and kill some time in the mall. I figured my chances of the rain stopping while I was in the mall was decent.

I've been looking for some summer tops that are casual, but nicer than my basic t-shirts. I had found a really nice sweater/tank at Banana Republic earlier this month, and wanted to see if they had any other colors. I had received an email this morning from them stating that if you spent $100 in store, or online, you would get $50 off. I also saw a sign at the front of the Banana Republic store in the mall stating that all sale items were an additional 40% off today.

I went around the store, actually found quite a few items. I got a pair of shorts, another sweater/tank in a different color, and four cotton shirts that all fit the bill of being slightly nicer than t-shirts. Six items total. All of them were on sale.

So, went I went to the register, I asked if I understood correctly. First, I started with, "are all items that are on sale an additional 40% off?" The reply was, "Yes, and they are all applied to the $50 off if you spend more than $100".

:-o !!!

I was pretty sure that my items, on sale, with the additional 40% off would total around $100, but I knew it would be close. In the end, the sub-total for my six items was $100.75.

So, yes, take an additional $50 off of that, and my new subtotal was $50.75.

After tax, $55.57.

I walked out of Banana Republic with SIX items for $55.00.

Unbelievable!

I haven't had a bargain shopping experience like this in a very long time.

Score!


my receipt from today's bargain shopping

BTW: I just checked the email I got this morning sale goes through tomorrow, 7/26 online or in stores. Enter code BRTAKE50 at checkout.

Goorin Bros. Trunk Show in SF!

You may have noticed from many of the photos from our trip to Japan that Dick had brought his favorite hat. He had bought it at a shoe store (yes, shoe store) on Castro Street in 2009 when Paula and Reeves were visiting.

It's by a company in San Francisco called Goorin Bros. They've been around since 1895! They have a few shops in San Francisco, and we recently discovered their great store in North Beach.

Anyhow, Dick loved this hat. He wore it all the time. He wore it every day in Japan.

Unfortunately, on our last day in Japan, Dick accidentally forgot his hat as we were getting off the train from Kyoto to the airport. Poor hat. Poor Dick. He had made it the whole trip, without forgetting it, and he lost it at almost the last leg.

Well, there was nothing to be done. We didn't realize it until we were at the airport, and the train would have been well on its way.

We figured that the good news is that the company that made the hat was in San Francisco and that Dick could just get a new one!

Dick checked the website on Monday, and found out that they only had the hat available online in Small. He would need a medium or a large, so asked if I could call the store to see if they had any.

There are four stores in SF, and one in Berkeley (and a few spread out the US). I called the North Beach store and found out that although quite popular, they weren't going to be making that style hat anymore, and that they were out of stock. The other stores didn't have any in stock either.

It seemed dire.

Until, I heard from one of the store employees that the company would be having a Trunk Sale this week! He said there was a chance that they might still have a few of that specific model at the trunk sale.

The Trunk Sale was scheduled for Thurs, Fri and Sat. How's that for timing?

I went at 12:30 yesterday (Thursday). They had a large selection out, all well displayed. Rather than search for a needle in a haystack, I spoke with the employees and told them the story of Dick's lost hat. They immediately knew the hat model from the description (and I had the original email from Dick with the hat style). The sales guy knew there weren't any on the floor, but he offered to check the back for me.

10 minutes later, he came out with one hat, size Medium, in Black. Dick's last hat was brown, but I knew he'd be happy with any color, as long as the hat fit.

The other great part to this story? Trunk Sale price: $15.00.

How's that for a webTrina find?!

I found another similar hat for Dick that I thought he'd like (made of cloth, rather than straw), also $15 so I bought that for him, too.

The straw hat that we found was a little bent out of shape. The sales guy suggested that I bring it home, put it on a cylinder stand of some kind and steam it to reshape it. Dick was super happy to get his new hat!

The sale goes through tomorrow (Saturday). We may be going back to get Dick's hat stretched a bit, and to see what else they have.


one of the last pictures of Dick in his favorite hat








steaming the new hat

Costco Queen

Oh, Costco, how I love thee....

I may have outdone myself today: I went in with my list, bought only one thing not on my list ;), saved $17.00 with coupons, and received $$cash back with my balance from my Costco Rebate Check*.

How often do you leave Costco with more money than you came in with?

To top it off, I also had lunch (pizza) and filled up my tank before leaving.

**My Costco rebate check was extra large this year because I bought all of the window coverings in the new house through Costco's custom shades program. :)

New Speakers & Why I love Groupon

A couple of weeks ago, I received this Groupon Deal. The deal had a photo of a flat screen TV with some cool looking, low profile speakers.

Dick and I had been trying to figure out what to with the speaker system in our main TV room. Our new house came wired for 2 front wall speakers and a low, center speaker. (it also has 2 ceiling speakers for the rear.)

The wall that our TV is on is huge, and frankly, it dwarfed our 46" Samsung LED (which looked quite huge on the wall in our old home). Many of our techie friends who have come over have informed us that we needed a larger TV. :)

The other problem is that the wires for the speakers in the walls are all about 6" off-center for no apparent reason. Very odd. We centered the TV to the un-centered speaker wires, which wasn't really working. Also, we had small, boxy speakers that looked really funny mounted to the wall, so we decided to keep them on stands, and not use the speaker wires in the wall. This worked well enough, so we planned to have a painter come in to stuff the then-unused speaker wires back into the walls, and patch over them.


Our huge wall with our dwarfed TV, and non-centered speaker wires coming out of the wall

Well, procrastination paid off.

When I received the Groupon, I forwarded along the photo to Dick.


the photo that changed everything

Dick loved the look of the speakers in the photo, so we decided to go to the store to check them out. The speakers are by KEF, and are part of the T305 System. We really liked the look of them, and the quality was great.

I hadn't bought the Groupon yet, because we didn't know enough about the product before seeing it. Once we were there and decided to get them, I was able to buy the Groupon right then and there from my phone! We paid $75 for $150 of merchendise. Awesome!!

We decided to install the speakers yesterday. We decided to center the TV to the wall, and have the speaker wires moved over so that they would also be centered correctly. We realized quickly that this is a task that we'll have to hire a pro to do (drill through the walls (drywall on top of plywood, with insulation running between the studs) and fish the wire to the new spot. In the meantime, we mounted the speakers, and draped some of the speaker wires to where they need to be (until they are done properly).

We're super pleased with the result!

The TV size looks much better now - it no longer looks like it's floating in the middle of the wall. It's nicely anchored by the 3 speakers surrounding it. We left enough space between the 3 speakers for a larger TV if we decide to get one. I don't think we need a larger TV now. (Not sure if Dick agrees with that or not!)


The full wall - with properly centered TV and new speakers


The new speakers are GREAT! The low profile looks fantastic, and the sound quality is SO much better than what we had up before.


Profile of the mounted speakers

We still need to have someone help us move the wires to the proper location, but we're really happy with how the new set up looks! I'll try not to procrastinate on having getting the rest of the project finished now. :)

Another reason why I heart All Clad

When Dick and I got engaged, we joked that the only reason why we wanted to get married was so that we could register for All Clad cookware. We were kidding, of course, but we did receive many wonderful All Clad pieces as gifts, and we use them all regularly.

It's been almost five years since we got our non-stick 12" frying pan. We use it at least once or twice a week, sometimes more.

Over time, it began to lose some of it's non-stick qualities. It never went away completely, but a non-stick pan isn't non-stick if it sticks, even just a little.

I remembered reading a long time ago that All Clad cookware comes with a lifetime warranty against any product defects. I didn't know if this included the non-stick surfaces or not, because I figured that was something that just wouldn't last forever.

I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask anyway, so I called All Clad a few weeks ago, and described my pan. They told me to send them the pan, along with a note with a description of the problem, and that they would review it. I asked if a non-non-stick pan was something that would be considered for replacement, and she said it certainly would.

I figured we didn't have anything to lose, so I wrote a nice letter describing my pans non-non-stickiness, along with how long we've had it, and how we use it. As instructed, I boxed it up, and sent it with a confirmation of delivery to All Clad's return center in New Jersey.

I tracked my package, which took less than a week to get to them. That was about two weeks ago.

Yesterday, the nice UPS man delivered a brand-spanking-new 12" non-stick frying pan!

Nice!

I wonder how many people have had the non-stick surface wear down over time, but don't know or don't bother to send their pans in for review.

I was already a huge fan, but now I'm loving All Clad even more!

Thanks, All Clad!
(and see, you even got a nice blog write up!)

Funny conversation on Twitter....

this made me laugh. If you know me, you know I love Costco! :)

(Bruce is my cousin, for those of you who don't know)

breyeschow: Waiting for the, "You need four new tires." call. (@ Borders)
about 2 hours ago

trinachow: @breyeschow i just got 4 new tires installed today at Costco. :) $70 off coupon through end of the month.
about 1 hour ago

breyeschow: @trinachow you and costco . . . tires, caskets . . . did you meet Dick there too ;-) Already at our shop doing some other work, but thanks.
about 1 hour ago

An afternoon at Nordstrom

I've said it before: the $2.50 shoe shine at Nordstrom in San Francisco
Center is the best deal in SF!


After getting our shoes shined, I noticed this... is the Miami Vice
look (pastel t-shirts worn under short sleeved button down shirts -
with the sleeves rolled up) back in?! Say it isn't so!

Wheeeeee!!!!

Or... "Why it never hurts to ask..."

I love it when this happens...

Just over two weeks ago, Dick and I bit the bullet and bought a Wii. I had toyed with the idea of getting one well over a year ago - back in the days when they were sold out, and impossible to find. Once they were back on the shelves, we considered getting one again, but we kept putting it off, and putting it off, but of course, it was inevitable. I finally played one when I was in Chicago visiting Tammy and her Mom, and I was hooked!

We bought our Wii at Costco on Sunday, September 13th from our local Costco. The price of the unit was $244.99 - $5.00 off regular price. We also bought Costco's Wii accessory pack, which includes an additional controller, an additional nunchuck, and a wheel. We then drove across the street to Best Buy, and bought a few more accessories and a couple of games. While we were at Best Buy, we noticed that they offered Wii combo packs, which included most of the things we ended up buying, also at a reduced price. Okay, good to know.

We brought our Wii home, set it up, and have been having a blast with it. Super Fun!

We loved it so much, that we went to Best Buy the following weekend, and bought one of those handy Wii combo packs for my Sister and her boyfriend as their housewarming gift.

All was well in the Wii World.

...until I noticed a headline two days later that stated that Nintendo was going to drop the price of the Wii by $50.00.

Really?

I'd waited all this time, and when I finally buy not just one unit, but two units, the price drops?!

Whatever.... We'd already opened and played them, so I figured it was a lost cause. Not a huge biggie, but still a bummer.

Until today...

This afternoon, I was back at Costco (it's obviously a regular pilgrimage for me) and there I saw the Wii units with their new price of $194.99. *sigh*

When I went to check out, I asked my cashier about their policy of price drops. I figured it was a long shot, but I might as well ask.

Well, he didn't blink and said all I needed to do was to bring my receipt to the return counter and have them issue me a refund for the price difference.

Cool!

So, I came home, picked up my receipts, and headed back out.

Sure enough - no problem at all. I was credited $54.75 back onto my Costco Am Ex.

Sweet.

So then, I went across the street to Best Buy. I went to the Customer Service Counter, receipt in hand, and again, I was credited $54.75 to my credit card.

Yep - that's $109.50 that I wouldn't have gotten back if I hadn't asked.

I've gotta say that I'm pretty impressed with both stores right now. I realize that they don't have to go out of their way to do price adjustments for you, but I sure do appreciate that they did it at all.

Happy Day. I love saving money. :)

Online Opinion Surveys

A few months ago, I decided to start participating in online surveys. The way they work is that you sign up with a company, they sent you emails to surveys to take online, you spend a few minutes answering their questions about your shopping habits, you earn points for each survey you take, and you eventually cash your points out in the form of a check.

I think I came across the company that I signed up for through facebook. I figured it could be kind of fun to do during my downtime. why not?

As I said, most of the surveys are conducted online. It may be about your grocery shopping habits, electronics, marketing opinion, etc., Today, I received a package in the mail from the survey company. Inside the box were two rolls of paper towels, and instructions to please replace my current paper towels with these, and to use them exclusively for the next two weeks. At the end of the two weeks, I'll receive another online survey specifically about the paper towels.

The funny thing is: it's the exact same brand of paper towels that we already use.

Even funnier: a few months ago, they sent me 8 rolls of toilet paper, which again, was the same brand as I already buy.

So, it's kind of cool. I get some cash, and some free products and get to be opinionated. How bad could that be?

The Day I actually made money at Costco

As most of you know, I'm a huge fan of shopping at Costco. I've been going to Costco (and Price Club before that) for well over 20 years.

...but I've never had this experience before!

Yesterday, I went to Costco to pick up just a few things. My list wasn't long, but we were running low on tissue.

I went to the return line first. I had bought a few things a couple of months ago that for one-reason-or-another didn't work out. BTW: Costco has the best return policy ever. My return credit (which was put back onto my Costco Am Ex Card) was around $75.00. Now, I realize that a return doesn't count as "getting money back" but it's better than spending money on something that isn't being used.

I did my shopping around the warehouse, and it turns out that I really didn't need much this time around. I got my TP (with a $2 coupon!), tissue, some juice and another random thing or two that I can't recall.

Anyhow, I get to the register, and the total comes to just under $50. Pretty low for a Costco bill.

But, here's the thing: I had a rebate check sent to me in the amount of $90.00. (I have an Executive membership and get 1-3% back on purchases for the year.)

I assumed that since my bill was lower than my rebate check, that I wouldn't be able to use it this time around, and would have to wait until another time when I purchased more.

It's a good thing I asked, because they said, "Of course you can use it!"

They took my rebate check, deducted the $50ish purchase, and gave me $40 back in cash!

So, I actually left Costco with more money than I went in with.

That's never happened before!
Thanks, Costco.

Dickies Girl

That's Me!

Yesterday, I went shopping with my sister at an Army Surplus Store in Santa Clara. She's been looking for a certain type of jacket, and we thought we might find one there (we didn't).

I wasn't looking to buy anything. But, you know, there are times when things literally jump out at you, and you just can't help yourself.

Somehow, I managed to find 4 things that I apparently "needed" that I didn't even know!

First off, I found a great wide-brimmed sun hat! I've been thinking I should get one for when we go to Hawaii later this year. It was 20% off, too!

The next thing I found was a great, RED Pea Coat! I've been coveting a pea coat for many years now, and I loved that this one is red, and that's it's "authentic". It was the only red pea coat there, and it just happened to be in my size. As well made wool coats go, the price was right, too!

So, yeah. There's two items that I wasn't planning to buy that I couldn't resist.

But then... we walked by the clearance rack, my sister saw these great women's t-shirts that said "Dickies" on the front. Dickies is a clothing company that makes work clothes that I'm guessing are well made, and long lasting, and are sold at the army suplus store.

It appears that they have a line for girls/women called Dickies Girl. (who knew?) Anyhow, I bought two t-shirts (because I couldn't choose) which were on clearance for only $6 each. They crack me up! (I'm not sure how amused Dick is, but my sister and I both thought that they were super funny!)

Here's one of the shirts that I got:


Gotta love that.

Nirvana

The annual trek. This year's total: 11 items for $75. :)

A Handy-Dandy Costco Tip

A few years ago, I signed up for a Costco American Express Cash Rebate Card. As you may know, Costco does not take Visa or Mastercard, but it does accept AmEx, Discover and Bank Debit cards.

For years, I used my ATM/Debit card, which was fine, but I would have much preferred to just charge everything to a credit card and pay the lump sum in full at the end of the month.

Enter the Costco AmEx Card. This card, with no annual fee, not only allowed me to charge my Costco purchases, but also gave me 1-3% back in a Costco Rebate check each year. Handy dandy. The breakdown for how much percentage you'll get in a rebate is: 3% for dining out, 2% on travel expenses, and 1% for purchases everywhere else, including Costco (but not including gasoline, alcohol, or cigarettes) . Usually, I only qualify for the 1% tier, since I only use my AmEx card at Costco.

Well, apparently, they introduced a new card last year called the "TrueEarnings Card" from American Express and Costco. The rebate schematic is the same as before, except now, starting in February, you can also receive 3% back on gas purchases! Not bad.

Here's the thing: if you had a AmEx/Costco Platinum Card (like I do) you have to call the number on the back of the card, and have them actually switch you over to the new card.

No reason not to do it (which I just confirmed with the sales rep who helped me out). It's the same rebate structure, with the addition to the 3% rebate for gasoline. Still, no fees, etc.,

...and that's your handy-dandy Costco tip of the day! :)

webTrina: finding bargains in Kentucky!

Tammy and I have had such a great day (already!).


Gap Clearance Center, Hebron, KY

As I've mentioned from previous years, one of our favorite activities during our girl's weekend in WGI is when we make the drive over the border of Kentucky to do some serious shopping at the Gap Clearance Center!

We were not disappointed! Some great clothes, and wonderful bargains were found!

To summarize: I bought 5 pairs of pants (2 of which are for my Mom and my Sister), 1 pair of spandex leggings (been wanted to get some of these for a while) 5 tops, and one pair of sandels.

"How Much?" you say?

You'll never believe it...

To top it off, as we were nearing the check-out counter, a nice woman approached us, offering a 20% off coupon!

"So how much was it?"

But wait... there's more!

They also threw in a free Gap CD - which I'm listening to right now, and it's really great!

So, lets summarize again...

5 pairs of pants
5 tops
1 pair of leggings
1 pair of sandles
1 music CD
6% Kentucky Sales Tax

(minus 20%)

Grand Total: $73.68.

Oh, yeah!

webTrina strikes again!

For the record, Tammy found 2 pairs of pants, 4 tops, a jacket and a bag. She paid under $50.

This is why we love coming here!

After our early afternoon shopping spree, we drove back to Dayton to our favorite little High Tea Restaurant, which we just found last year.

The food was amazing: great tea, tea sandwiches, scones, and pastries.
All for $12/person.

I'm telling you, there are some great buys here!


Afternoon High Tea in Dayton!

We're taking a quick break in our fabulous hotel room, resting up for the big night ahead.

WGI Finals is tonight!

....followed by a late night at headquarters!